Shadow Blaziken
Fast
Charge
PvE Analysis
If you're lucky enough to have a good Shadow Blaziken, then you've got a gem. This Pokemon has great DPS as a Fire Type, and decent Fighting Type DPS as well. Its one issue is the fact that it is pretty frail, to an even greater degree than basic Blaziken, so you're going to want to dodge a lot if you want to utilize it properly.
Best PvE Offensive Moveset
Fire Spin + Blast Burn* | Best |
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Counter + Blast Burn* | Situational |
Fire Spin + Overheat | Good |
Counter + Focus Blast | Good |
Pair Blast Burn* with Fire Spin for outstanding Fire-type DPS.
Use Blast Burn* + Counter for higher DPS against Ice or/and Steel-types.
Pair Counter with Focus Blast for a formidable Fighting-type Pokemon.
Blaze Kick has been nerfed. It's still better than Overheat.
Overheat is inferior to both new moves and not worth using.
Brave Bird is underwhelming in every aspect.
- No one actually has Stone Edge. It's also not useful in PvE.
Best PvE Defensive Moveset
Counter + Blaze Kick or Blast Burn* | Best |
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Fire Spin + Blaze Kick or Blast Burn* | Good |
Counter or Fire Spin + Brave Bird, Stone Edge, Overheat, or Focus Blast | Good |
Fire Spin is slightly superior to Counter on defense, hitting more of Shadow Blaziken’s counters for neutral damage. However, Fire Spin also has the issue of sharing a type with Shadow Blaziken's best defensive Charged Move options, leaving it easily walled out when against anything resistant to Fire.
- Blaze Kick hits fast and furious, but it's best paired with Counter to keep different typings.
- Blast Burn has the highest potential damage output of Shadow Blaziken's Charged Moves, but it's also easy to dodge, and is best paired with Counter for the reasons outlined above.
- Brave Bird hits hard, but it lacks relevant counter-coverage and takes a long time to drop. Chances are that Shadow Blaziken will drop long before it's used.
- Stone Edge has a useful typing and is hard to dodge, but Shadow Blaziken will probably drop before it's used.
- Overheat and Focus Blast hit extremely hard, but they're also easy to dodge and yet more moves that Shadow Blaziken will probably only be able to launch once, if at all.
PvP Analysis
Counter + Blast Burn* and Blaze Kick |
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Counter outperforms Fire Spin and also gives Shadow Blaziken some coverage in this moveset.
What has been anticipated for more than a year has finally arrived, in the form of 2 unique moves. Blast Burn is capable of massive damage for only 50 energy, while Blaze Kick is a mirror copy of the elemental punches and gives Shadow Blaziken some speed by allowing more smooth shield baiting. While this moveset doesn't necessarily help Shadow Blaziken cover its weaknesses, it does let Shadow Blaziken dominate its wins much more cleanly. Brave Bird can be elected for extra coverage, though STAB Blast Burn is more efficient even when resisted.
Counter + Stone Edge* and Blaze Kick |
A more flexible but very limited moveset that gives Shadow Blaziken some coverage, though depending on the matchups this might not matter as much. If you have the legacy Stone Edge, definitely keep it and unlock Blaze Kick to have this option, but this moveset isn't as significantly different as the previous one. It should be noted that without Blast Burn, Shadow Blaziken can get different results depending on matchups.
Great League | 3 / 5 |
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Blaziken first gained popularity during the Silph Arena Kingdom Cup in April 2019, where its ability to "Counter" the ubiquitous Lucario and Bastiodon earned it a position on many rosters despite its slow moveset. With the addition of two useful moves added to its moveset on Torchic Community Day, Blaziken notably moves up the ranks thanks to a faster moveset. Blaze Kick is the main improvement, allowing Blaziken a low cost charge move option energy-wise, which removes Blaziken's reputation as a late game nuker and lets it brawl in early and mid-game. Previous losses that are now wins (under 1-shield scenarios) include Froslass, and almost all Grass-types. Blaziken's low durability is still its main drawback, as a high ATK stat distribution lowers its overall bulk and causes it have close results with Meganium instead of clean wins. | |
Ultra League | 3 / 5 |
A higher CP cap benefits Blaziken's high Attack stat and results in more wins, though a lack of bulk still holds it back. Obvious wins against Steel are to be expected, though narrow victories against Grass-types are somewhat disappointing considering typing advantages, and Giratina can't be touched by it whatsoever. Overall a very interesting candidate, just be prepared to shield it well to preserve its limited endurance. | |
Master League | 2 / 5 |
With a max CP of 2848 Blaziken doesn't really have adequate stats to compete well in Master League. Wins and losses are to be expected where type advantages apply, though Blaziken can return interesting results depending on shielding situations against Dialga. Just like in the other leagues, Blaziken almost demands shields to perform well. |