PU Combusken

asa

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[QC Checks: Rwby / Many / Megazard]
[GP Checks: marthaa / The Dutch Plumberjack]


[OVERVIEW]

Combusken sports a number of positives that separate it from the myriad of special attackers in the tier. For starters, it has a solid and uncommon ability in Speed Boost, which helps make it a dangerous late-game cleaner after its checks have been weakened enough or removed, as it is able to outspeed and KO everything left on the opposing team. Combusken is always able to at least grab one boost due to Protect. Secondly, its typing is really solid offensively, as its STAB moves alone hit the entire tier, barring a few Pokemon, for neutral damage, and it can beat traditional Fighting-type checks like Gourgeist-XL, Sableye, and Weezing due to its Fire typing and role as being a special attacker. Its offenses aren't the best, though, and as a result, it struggles with special tanks and walls, but access to high-powered STAB moves in Fire Blast and Focus Blast as well as Z-Moves helps to mitigate this. Combusken's other stats are below average, as well. It's rather frail, which makes revenge killing it with priority easier, and a low base Speed of 55 leaves it outsped by common Choice Scarf users like Oricorio-G even at +2.

[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Hidden Power Electric
move 4: Protect
item: Fightinium Z / Firium Z / Life Orb
ability: Speed Boost
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Fire Blast, the first of Combusken's STAB moves, hits Pokemon like Abomasnow, Ferroseed, Gourgeist-XL, Jynx, and Lilligant for super effective damage, and it can deal some pretty good neutral damage to Pokemon like Mesprit, Palossand, Sableye, and Weezing, all of which are typical Fighting-type answers. Focus Blast, Combusken's second STAB move, is able to hit a lot of what resists or takes little from Fire Blast for either neutral or super effective damage such as Carracosta, Drampa, Lanturn, Magmortar, Miltank, and Type: Null. Hidden Power Electric rounds out Combusken's coverage, allowing it to hit Pokemon that resist both of its STAB moves for super effective damage such as Qwilfish and Swanna. Finally, Protect gives Combusken a free Speed boost, and it also allows you to scout for moves.

Set Details
========

Maximum investment in both Speed and Special Attack makes Combusken as fast and strong as it can be. A Timid nature allows Combusken to have an edge over Pokemon that barely outspeed the Modest sets like Jynx, Haunter, Swanna, and Pyroar at +1. A Modest nature, however, does provide Combusken with more power, which can be nice for scoring KOs that the Timid nature sets can't, such as the potential OHKO with Focus Blast and Fire Blast after Stealth Rock damage on Primeape and Oricorio-G, respectively. Speed Boost, Combusken's only viable ability, increases Combusken's Speed every turn, and after enough boosts, Combusken is an absolute annoyance for offensive teams due to how hard it is for them to stop it.

Fightinium Z turns Focus Blast into All-Out Pummeling, which is capable of doing a lot to Gastrodon, Lanturn, Type: Null, Assault Vest Eelektross, and Assault Vest Hitmonchan. Firium Z, on the other hand, turns Fire Blast into Inferno Overdrive, which does a lot of damage to different checks, such as Mesprit, Musharna, Togetic, and the two aforementioned Assault Vest users. Life Orb can be chosen over either Z-Crystal if you already have a Z-Crystal in use or simply want all of its moves to have a bit more power. It should be noted that the recoil makes Combusken easier to pick off with priority.

Usage Tips
========

Due to Combusken's frailty, it should avoid being brought in on non-resisted attacks, as it severely limits its longevity later on and makes it easier to revenge kill. The best ways to get Combusken in are via slow U-turns and Volt Switches, on weak, resisted hits, predicted Will-O-Wisps from Pokemon like Sableye, or on predicted switches to Pokemon weak to Fire-type moves such as Ferroseed. If it needs to, it can act as a revenge killer because of Speed Boost and Protect, allowing it to outspeed opposing Pokemon and either force it out or KO it. When Pokemon like Assault Vest Hitmonchan and Lanturn are weakened enough, Combusken is most effective, as there is little to stop it from spamming its STAB moves and cleaning, getting progressively faster all the while. Despite it succeeding mostly at being a late-game cleaner, however, it can break a wall like Audino or Regirock earlier on if it needs to.

Team Options
========

Combusken appreciates wallbreakers that pressure specially defensive Pokemon like Aggron, Archeops, Mesprit, and Stoutland and wallbreakers that pressure Water- and Ground-types, like Abomasnow, Drampa, Alolan Exeggutor and Alolan Raichu, as those are some of its best checks. The physical wallbreakers in turn appreciate Combusken weakening physical walls, and the special wallbreakers appreciate Combusken weakening the special walls. Entry hazards pressure many of Combusken's switch-ins, especially ones lacking reliable recovery, so setters like Ferroseed, Mesprit, Qwilfish, and Weezing pair well with it. Qwilfish in particular is good because it can absorb Toxic Spikes for Combusken. Hazard removal is good as well, so Rapid Spin users like Hitmonchan and Kabutops and Defoggers like Silvally-Steel, Silvally-Water, Skuntank, and Swanna pair well with it, although Defog isn't advised on hazard stacking teams. Dark-types and Pursuit trappers like Absol, Shiftry, Skuntank, and Stoutland remove Ghost- and Psychic-types that deter the use of Focus Blast like Misdreavus, Mesprit, and Musharna. Absol can support further with Knock Off, making some checks that rely on their Assault Vest or Eviolite less willing to come in, and Skuntank also absorbs Toxic Spikes for it. Slow users of U-turn and Volt Switch such as Eelektross, Lanturn and defensive Mesprit get Combusken in as safely as possible. Eelektross, like Absol, can use Knock Off on Pokemon reliant on their items to check Combusken and act as a decent blanket check to Flying- and Water-types; Lanturn can spread status with Toxic and heal Combusken of its own status conditions with Heal Bell; Mesprit sets up Stealth Rock, which pressures the opposing team and can give Combusken a second chance to clean up should it get weakened beforehand with Healing Wish. Lastly, Pokemon that are good at taking the priority attacks Combusken dislikes the most like Gourgeist-XL, Regirock, Mesprit, and Lanturn make for good partners, and Combusken breaks through some of the bulkier Pokemon that they do very little against like Audino and Type: Null.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Different Hidden Power types can be used over Electric, like Grass and Ice, and they hit certain Pokemon like Gastrodon, Altaria, and Alolan Exeggutor for 4x damage, with Hidden Power Grass even being useful for chipping away at Lanturn. However, Hidden Power Electric pairs better with Fire- and Fighting-type coverage. Eviolite giving Combusken additional bulk might seem nice, but it's harder for it to bust through checks like Lanturn and Musharna without a Z-Move or boost in power from Life Orb. A physical set with Swords Dance, Flare Blitz or Fire Punch, and Low Kick, which can also use Eviolite, is an option. Flare Blitz is its most powerful STAB move, and after a Swords Dance, can hit pretty hard, and Z-Low Kick can help against Lanturn. However, the recoil damage Combusken takes due to Flare Blitz makes it easier to revenge kill, and non-Firium or Fightinium Z sets don't hit very hard, even after a Swords Dance. Work Up can be used over Hidden Power for when a Pokemon is sent in as a sacrifice, which makes Combusken hit harder. Substitute can be opted for in order to make obtaining Speed boosts easier and to shield Combusken from status. Finally, Defog can be used in case your team lacks entry hazard removal, and Combusken does have the bonus of pressuring certain setters like Ferroseed and Regirock due to its typing. All three come at the cost of coverage, however, and Defog doesn't really do much for Combusken at all, giving it a worse matchup against Pokemon like Swanna with no actual benefit.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: While not a lot of them can switch in on one of All-Out Pummeling or Inferno Overdrive, Pokemon like Altaria, Clefairy, Assault Vest Hitmonchan, Lanturn, Muk, Musharna, and Togetic definitely give Combusken trouble due to their ability to take any non-Z-Move well enough and either inflict it with status or KO it. Additionally, all of the examples except for Lanturn and Muk have reliable recovery, meaning that the damage inflicted by Combusken won't plague them for long. However, Clefairy and Togetic don't come in as safely if they lose their Eviolite.

**Faster Pokemon**: Combusken's low base Speed allows Pokemon like Archeops, Alolan Dugtrio, Floatzel, Lycanroc, Alolan Raichu, and Zebstrika to outspeed it at +1, Timid or Modest. Common Choice Scarf users outspeed it even after two like Haunter, Manectric, Mr. Mime, Primeape, and Pyroar, and they can all deal pretty heavy damage to or KO Combusken.

**Water-types**: Water-types like specially defensive Gastrodon, Lanturn, Poliwrath, and Qwilfish are capable of at least taking one hit and either 2HKOing or OHKOing Combusken with their STAB moves. It's worth nothing that none of them bar Qwilfish come in on All-Out Pummeling super well, and Hidden Power Electric variants 2HKO Qwilfish while Hidden Power Grass variants 2HKO Gastrodon.

**Psychic-types**: Psychic-types like Grumpig, which takes Fire-type attacks especially well due to its ability Thick Fat, Mesprit, Musharna, and Mr. Mime can all take one Fire Blast from even Life Orb Combusken and OHKO it with their STAB moves. None of them take an Inferno Overdrive well besides Grumpig, however.

**Priority**: Accelerock, Aqua Jet, and Mach Punch from the likes of Lycanroc, Carracosta, Floatzel, Kabutops, Gurdurr, and Hitmonchan leave dents in Combusken, which can either force it out and make it lose its Speed boosts or pick it off with enough prior damage.
 
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TJ

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[OVERVIEW]
  • The main thing setting Combusken apart from its Fighting-type brethren is its solid and uncommon ability, Speed Boost.
  • Combusken has really good offensive typing, and all right defensive typing, and while not exemplary, Combusken’s attacking stats are certainly decent, and it having access to strong STABs like Fire Blast and Focus Blast makes up for this to some extent.
  • Speed Boost makes Combusken into a fairly dangerous cleaner late-game, and it can serve as quite the annoyance due to how hard it can be to stop sometimes.
  • Its base stats aside from its offenses are pretty below average, however. With 60/60/60 for defenses, it’s rather frail, which makes it easy to revenge kill with priority. It also has a terrible base Speed stat of 55 which makes it outsped by choice scarf users like oricorio-g even at +2
  • As a result of its low Speed stat, even after a Speed boost, or two in some cases, it can still be outsped and dealt with. i added detail to the sentence above so remove this one imo.
[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Hidden Power Electric / Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Protect
Item: Firium Z / Fightinium Z / Life Orb (i checked in with qc and megazard said to slash Fightinium Z first)
Ability: Speed Boost
Nature: Timid / Modest
Evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
  • Fire Blast and Focus Blast are the two main attacks Combusken’s going to be using. They hit hard and hit a lot of the tier neutrally on their own.
  • Hidden Power Electric rounds out its coverage, allowing it to hit Pokemon that resist both of its STABs for super effective damage such as Qwilfish or Swanna. Alternatively, Hidden Power Grass can be used, which hits Gastrodon for 4x effective damage, and chips away at Lanturn, but opting for this over Hidden Power Electric means that Qwilfish and Swanna come in with fewer issues.
  • Protect gives Combusken a free Speed boost, and it eases prediction against Choice-locked Pokemon such as Primeape or Pyroar. It also allows for any potential status condition on the opposing Pokemon to damage it for another turn, which may be useful for bringing something into KO range.
Set Details
========
  • Speed Boost, Combusken's only viable ability, is what makes it as threatening as it is.
  • Firium Z and Fightinium Z turn Fire Blast and Focus Blast (respectively) into one-time nukes, each capable of picking off different checks to Combusken after they've been weakened enough such as Assault Vest Hitmonchan, Assault Vest Eelektross, Togetic and Lanturn. Life Orb can be used over either Z Crystal should you either already have a Z Crystal user on your team or want a bit of extra power on all of your moves, at the cost of some of your health per attack. It should be noted that the recoil from Life Orb makes you easier to pick off.
  • Maximum investment in both Speed and Special Attack make Combusken as fast and strong as it can be. A Timid nature allows you to have an edge over Pokemon that barely outspeed the Modest nature sets like Oricorio, Jynx, Haunter, Swanna or Pyroar. A Modest nature, however, does provide you with more power, which can be nice for scoring KOs the Timid nature sets can't.
Usage Tips
========
  • Because of Combusken's frailty, lack of reliable recovery and vulnerability to all forms of entry hazards and Toxic, it's highly advised to never bring Combusken directly in on any attacks, resisted or not. The damage that's racking up on it matters and allows for it to be revenge killed by priority users much easier. The way to get Combusken in is via slow Volt Switches or U-Turns or after something faints.
  • Combusken is mainly a cleaner, and as such, should refrain from being sent out much until after anything that could prevent it from doing its job is weakened or removed entirely.
  • Faster Pokemon can take advantage of how Combusken has to use Protect to outspeed them by setting up on the turn it uses Protect, such as Lilligant or Jynx, so be sure not to make it super obvious that you're going to use it by spamming it earlier on in the match.
Team Options
========
  • Combusken appreciates wallbreakers weakening and/or removing its checks and counters, which makes its late-game job much easier. Wallbreakers that place pressure on specially defensive Pokemon such as Absol, Aggron, Archeops, Kangaskhan, Mesprit, Stoutland and Ursaring, as well as wallbreakers that place pressure on Water-types and Ground-types such as Abomasnow, Drampa, Exeggutor-Alola and Raichu-Alola are really solid partners for Combusken in particular.
  • (Toxic) Spikes and Stealth Rock pressure many of the common switch-ins to Combusken, more so the ones that lack reliable recovery. As such, hazard setters like Ferroseed, Mesprit, Qwilfish, who can absorb Toxic Spikes for Combusken, and Weezing are good partners for it. It also appreciates hazard removal, allowing it to tank priority moves and avoid being revenge killed to best of its ability. Rapid Spinners like Hitmonchan or Kabutops and Defoggers like Skuntank, Swanna and Lurantis fill this role well, although Defog isn’t recommended on hazard stacking teams.
  • Pursuit trappers such as Skuntank or Absol pair well with it to remove Musharna and Mesprit, which can both easily tank one hit if it isn’t Firium Z and OHKO with their STABs. Absol can also support Combusken by removing opposing Pokemon's Leftovers, Assault Vests or Eviolites, making them easier to handle.
  • Slow users of Volt Switch and U-Turn such as Lanturn, Eelektross and defensive Mesprit are good at bringing Combusken in as safely as possible. Moreover, Lanturn can provide Combusken with a really solid switch-in to non-Groundium Z Floatzel, which can take a chunk out of its health or simply revenge kill with Aqua Jet and cure it of status with Heal Bell; Eelektross, like Absol, can remove Eviolites with Knock Off, making it harder for Pokemon like Togetic, Clefairy or Type: Null to come in, as well as Assault Vests, and weaken and get rid of Lanturn and Gastrodon for Combusken with Giga Drain; and Mesprit can provide speed control with Thunder Wave, or give it a second chance to finish up should it get weakened beforehand with Healing Wish.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
  • Hidden Power Ice may seem nice over Hidden Power Electric or Grass due to it hitting certain Pokemon for 4x effective damage such as Altaria and Gabite, but Hidden Power Electric pairs better with Fire- and Fighting-type coverage due to Qwilfish and Swanna being more common than the first two mentioned, and Hidden Power Grass mainly targets Gastrodon, who is also more common than them. Combusken prefers its teammates dealing with these Pokemon, anyway. mention that altaria/gabite arent even relevant
  • Eviolite giving Combusken additional bulk might seem nice too, but Combusken would rather have a nuke at its disposal or hit harder with all of its moves than have a bit of extra bulk that really won't help it that much due to it still being relatively frail with it.
  • A physical set with Swords Dance, Flare Blitz or Fire Punch and Sky Uppercut is an option. Flare Blitz is its most powerful STAB, and after a Swords Dance, can hit pretty hard. However, the recoil damage Combusken takes due to Flare Blitz makes it easier to revenge kill, and neither Fire Punch nor Sky Uppercut hit very hard, even after a Swords Dance.
Checks and Counters
===================

**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Pokemon like Altaria, Clefairy, Gastrodon, Lanturn, Muk, Musharna and Togetic are capable of taking Inferno Overdrive and/or All-Out Pummeling safely and a lot of them can force it out due to them having a STAB move that can deal a lot of damage or OHKO it. Furthermore, all of the examples save for Lanturn have access to reliable recovery. Clefairy, Muk and Musharna can even go onto set up using Calm Mind or Curse once the Z Move's been used and the damage healed off. remove alt imo its not relevant

**Faster Pokemon**: Its horrendous base Speed allows for Pokemon like Archeops, Dugtrio-Alola, Floatzel, Lycanroc, Raichu-Alola and Zebstrika to outspeed it after a boost no matter the nature, and common Choice Scarf Pokemon outspeed it even after two like Haunter, Manectric, Mr. Mime, Primeape and Pyroar, and they can all deal pretty heavy damage to Combusken if they don't OHKO it.

**Strong Priority**: Accelerock, Aqua Jet, Fake Out, Mach Punch and Sucker Punch from the likes of Lycanroc, Carracosta, Floatzel, Kabutops, offensive Qwilfish, Kangaskhan, Gurdurr, Hitmonchan, Absol, Skuntank and Raticate-Alola leave dents in Combusken, and that coupled with the damage it takes from entry hazards means that it should absolutely refrain from taking damage if it really doesn’t have to, as mentioned before, or it’ll either get forced out and lose the Speed boosts or get picked off. remove offensive qwilfish

**Water-types and Ground-types**: Pokemon like Gastrodon, Golem, Mudsdale, Lanturn, Palossand, Stunfisk and Qwilfish are capable of taking one hit and OHKOing with their STABs. However, not a lot of them take an All-Out Pummeling or Inferno Overdrive super well. (golem? ig if its at full but i would remove that. also stunfisk isnt releant so id remove that too)
am check
 
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yogi

I did not succumb...
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[OVERVIEW]
  • The main thing setting Combusken apart from its Fighting-type brethren is its solid and uncommon ability, Speed Boost. (well, that's not really the only thing to be honest. it's a special fighting-type meaning conventional fighting type checks like weezing and gourgeist-xl straight lose to it)
  • Combusken has a really good offensive typing, and decent defensive typing, and while not exemplary, Combusken’s attacking stats are certainly decent, and it having access to strong STABs like Fire Blast and Focus Blast makes up for this to some extent. (its stabs alone are basically unresisted bar a few pokemon which is the main reason some teams struggle against it; its attacking stats are actually pretty meh) (I also think you should split up the bit about defensive stats into a separate bullet point if you're going to explain them, because you've tried to cram a lot into one sentence)
  • Speed Boost makes Combusken into a fairly dangerous cleaner late-game, and it can serve as quite the annoyance due to how hard it can be to stop sometimes. (seems vague, you kinda wanna avoid using words like sometimes) (i'd mention how protect basically always allows it to get to +1)
  • Its base stats aside from its offenses are pretty below average, however. With 60/60/60 for defenses, it’s rather frail, which makes it easy to revenge kill with priority. It also has a terrible base Speed stat of 55, which makes it outsped by Choice Scarf users like Oricorio-G even at +2. (hm, unsure about saying how easy it is to revenge with priority. it's only weak to one form of priority, neutral to two and resists two (not including quick attack), and most priority does around 45% average when unresisted)
  • struggles versus special tanks like lanturn and assault vest hitmonchan due to said average special attack stat, along with special walls
[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Hidden Power Electric / Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Protect
Item: Fightinium Z / Firium Z / Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
Nature: Timid / Modest
Evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
  • Fire Blast and Focus Blast are the two main attacks Combusken’s going to be using. They hit hard and hit a lot of the tier neutrally on their own. (split focus blast and fire blast up and describe each separately, what they hit, etc.)
  • Hidden Power Electric rounds out its coverage, allowing it to hit Pokemon that resist both of its STABs for super effective damage such as Qwilfish or Swanna. Alternatively, Hidden Power Grass can be used, which hits Gastrodon for 4x effective damage, and chips away at Lanturn, but opting for this over Hidden Power Electric means that Qwilfish and Swanna come in with fewer issues.
  • Protect gives Combusken a free Speed boost, and it eases prediction against Choice-locked Pokemon such as Primeape or Pyroar. It also allows for any potential status condition on the opposing Pokemon to damage it for another turn, which may be useful for bringing something into KO range. (I would say lets it scout for moves too, over easing prediction) (remove the second bit in my opinion, doesn't have anything to do with combusken directly)
Set Details
========
  • Speed Boost, Combusken's only viable ability, is what makes it as threatening as it is. (would like a little more on this, why is it such a threatening ability?)
  • Fightinium Z and Firium Z turn Focus Blast and Fire Blast (respectively) into one-time nukes, each capable of picking off different checks to Combusken after they've been weakened enough such as Assault Vest Hitmonchan, Assault Vest Eelektross, Lanturn and Togetic. Life Orb can be used over either Z Crystal should you either already have a Z Crystal user on your team or want a bit of extra power on all of your moves, at the cost of some of your health per attack. It should be noted that the recoil from Life Orb makes you easier to pick off. (split this up into each of the three items, makes it easier to read and doesn't confuse what it's actually hitting) (I think it's also worth mentioning some notable things like fighting-z being able to KO gastrodon after a focus blast and firium-z being able to deal with musharna)
  • Maximum investment in both Speed and Special Attack make Combusken as fast and strong as it can be. A Timid nature allows you to have an edge over Pokemon that barely outspeed the Modest nature sets like Oricorio, Jynx, Haunter, Swanna or Pyroar. A Modest nature, however, does provide you with more power, which can be nice for scoring KOs the Timid nature sets can't. (put this as the first bullet point) (I don't think modest is outsped by oricorio-g actually) (any notable KOs that the timid version doesn't get?
Usage Tips
========
  • Because of Combusken's frailty, lack of reliable recovery and vulnerability to all forms of entry hazards and Toxic, it's highly advised to never bring Combusken directly in on any attacks, resisted or not. The damage that's racking up on it matters and allows for it to be revenge killed by priority users much easier. The way to get Combusken in is via slow Volt Switches or U-Turns or after something faints. (I wouldn't say it's "weak" or vulnerable to entry hazards, with the only hazard it doesn't want up being toxic spikes really) (actually it can potentially switch into resisted attacks if needed)
  • Combusken is mainly a cleaner, and as such, should refrain from being sent out much until after anything that could prevent it from doing its job is weakened or removed entirely. (it's generally used late-game once the opponents team is weakened, but that doesn't stop it from being used earlier on)
  • Faster Pokemon can take advantage of how Combusken has to use Protect to outspeed them by setting up on the turn it uses Protect, such as Lilligant or Jynx, so be sure not to make it super obvious that you're going to use it by spamming it earlier on in the match. (so, you mean that it's essentially a 50/50, with it having nothing to do with it being obvious really)
Team Options
========
  • Combusken appreciates wallbreakers weakening and/or removing its checks and counters, which makes its late-game job much easier. Wallbreakers that place pressure on specially defensive Pokemon such as Absol, Aggron, Archeops, Kangaskhan, Mesprit, Stoutland and Ursaring, as well as wallbreakers that place pressure on Water-types and Ground-types such as Abomasnow, Drampa, Exeggutor-Alola and Raichu-Alola are really solid partners for Combusken in particular.
  • (Toxic) Spikes and Stealth Rock pressure many of the common switch-ins to Combusken, more so the ones that lack reliable recovery. As such, hazard setters like Ferroseed, Mesprit, Qwilfish, who can absorb Toxic Spikes for Combusken, and Weezing are good partners for it. It also appreciates hazard removal, allowing it to tank priority moves and avoid being revenge killed to best of its ability. Rapid Spinners like Hitmonchan or Kabutops and Defoggers like Skuntank, Swanna and Lurantis fill this role well, although Defog isn’t recommended on hazard stacking teams.
  • Pursuit trappers such as Skuntank or Absol pair well with it to remove Musharna and Mesprit, which can both easily tank one hit if it isn’t Firium Z and OHKO with their STABs. Absol can also support Combusken by removing opposing Pokemon's Leftovers, Assault Vests or Eviolites, making them easier to handle.
  • Slow users of Volt Switch and U-Turn such as Lanturn, Eelektross and defensive Mesprit are good at bringing Combusken in as safely as possible. Moreover, Lanturn can provide Combusken with a really solid switch-in to non-Groundium Z Floatzel, which can take a chunk out of its health or simply revenge kill with Aqua Jet and cure it of status with Heal Bell; Eelektross, like Absol, can remove Eviolites with Knock Off, making it harder for Pokemon like Togetic, Clefairy or Type: Null to come in, as well as Assault Vests, and weaken and get rid of Lanturn and Gastrodon for Combusken with Giga Drain; and Mesprit can provide speed control with Thunder Wave, or give it a second chance to finish up should it get weakened beforehand with Healing Wish.
okay, this isn't a bad team options section at all but it falls short slightly. you do what quite a few people do and only talk about what teammates do for combusken and not what combusken actually does to aid them. you're also going way overboard on partners, so i'd 100% cut down on them. mention around 2-4 max for each point that you're making, and heavily consider if you'd actually use them on the same team as combusken and don't just put them because they theoretically do the job that you want.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
  • Hidden Power Ice may seem nice over Hidden Power Electric or Grass due to it hitting certain Pokemon for 4x effective damage such as Altaria and Gabite, but Hidden Power Electric pairs better with Fire- and Fighting-type coverage due to Qwilfish and Swanna being more common than the first two mentioned, and Hidden Power Grass mainly targets Gastrodon, who is also more common than both of them. Furthermore, Altaria and Gabite aren't really relevant. (remove last bit because you've already said they're uncommon pokemon; focus blast also does the same damage to gabite) (the way you talk about common in reference to gastrodon makes it seem like it's more common than qwilfish and swanna, which it isn't; i'd split up the sentence to be honest)
  • Eviolite giving Combusken additional bulk might seem nice too, but Combusken would rather have a nuke at its disposal or hit harder with all of its moves than have a bit of extra bulk that really won't help it that much due to it still being relatively frail with it. (cant break past musharna, gastrodon, etc. without z moves)
  • A physical set with Swords Dance, Flare Blitz or Fire Punch and Sky Uppercut is an option. Flare Blitz is its most powerful STAB, and after a Swords Dance, can hit pretty hard. However, the recoil damage Combusken takes due to Flare Blitz makes it easier to revenge kill, and neither Fire Punch nor Sky Uppercut hit very hard, even after a Swords Dance. (mention low kick and the z version, which helps against the likes of lanturn)
Checks and Counters
===================

**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Pokemon like Clefairy, Gastrodon, Lanturn, Muk, Musharna and Togetic are capable of taking Inferno Overdrive and/or All-Out Pummeling safely and a lot of them can force it out due to them having a STAB move that can deal a lot of damage or OHKO it. Furthermore, all of the examples save for Lanturn have access to reliable recovery. Clefairy, Muk and Musharna can even go onto set up using Calm Mind or Curse once the Z Move's been used and the damage healed off. (untrue, gastrodon cannot pivot into a z focus blast, as it'll almost always die to the incoming second focus blast; same thing with musharna and z fire blast. you may want to separate how you talk about these checks) (nitpick but muk doesn't technically have reliable recovery) (no mention of how gastrodon also struggles with hp grass versions)

**Faster Pokemon**: Its horrendous base Speed allows for Pokemon like Archeops, Dugtrio-Alola, Floatzel, Lycanroc, Raichu-Alola and Zebstrika to outspeed it after a boost no matter the nature, and common Choice Scarf Pokemon outspeed it even after two like Haunter, Manectric, Mr. Mime, Primeape and Pyroar, and they can all deal pretty heavy damage to Combusken if they don't OHKO it. (woh, it's base speed isn't that bad eheh. base 55 isn't the best but it certainly isn't horrendous) (i'd mention specifically at +1 for the first part) (split up the part about choice scarf users)

**Strong Priority**: Accelerock, Aqua Jet, Fake Out, Mach Punch and Sucker Punch from the likes of Lycanroc, Carracosta, Floatzel, Kabutops, Kangaskhan, Gurdurr, Hitmonchan, Absol, Skuntank and Raticate-Alola leave dents in Combusken, and that coupled with the damage it takes from entry hazards means that it should absolutely refrain from taking damage if it really doesn’t have to, as mentioned before, or it’ll either get forced out and lose the Speed boosts or get picked off. (remove sucker punch, remove fake out, sucker does less than 50% even from a life orb absol and even less from users like skuntank and alolan raticate, fake out is blocked by protect)

**Water-types and Ground-types**: Pokemon like Gastrodon, Golem, Mudsdale, Lanturn, Palossand, Stunfisk and Qwilfish are capable of taking one hit and OHKOing with their STABs. However, not a lot of them take an All-Out Pummeling or Inferno Overdrive super well (okay, definitely split this up between water-types and ground-types, remove golem because you're going off the assumption that sturdy is not broken; mention what the coverage and z moves specifically hit too).
Ayy looks good n_n! 1/3 QC
 
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ManOfMany

I can make anything real
is a Tiering Contributor
[OVERVIEW]
  • One of the main things setting Combusken apart from its Fighting-type brethren is its solid and uncommon ability, Speed Boost.
  • Speed Boost is a big factor in what makes it threatening due to it always being able to grab at least one of them with Protect, and it makes Combusken a fairly dangerous late-game cleaner.
don't talk so much about it facing competition from other Fighting-types when it has very little in common with other fighters anyway. It is more similar to Fire-types like Mag/Pyroar really in terms of the role it fulfills. But anyway, you can just say that Speed Boost lets it stand apart from other special attackers
  • Another one of Combusken's positives is that traditional Fighting-type checks such as Weezing or Gourgeist-XL lose to it due to it being a specially offensive Fighting-type.
  • Combusken has a really good offensive typing, and its STABs go near unresisted aside from a few Pokemon, which is a big factor in why it's as threatening as it is. Its offenses are pretty average, but having access to high-powered STABs such as Fire Blast and Focus Blast makes up for this to some extent. mention Z-moves here
  • Its base stats aside from its offenses are pretty below average, however. With 60/60/60 for defenses, it's rather frail, and priority can be pretty annoying for it if it's taken enough damage beforehand.
  • With only base 55 Speed, it can be outsped by Choice Scarf users like Oricorio-G even at +2.
  • It struggles versus special tanks such as Lanturn and Assault Vest Hitmonchan as a result of its average special attack stat, and even more so with special walls.
this is good overall, you might want to trim some of the excess casual language in the write-up though

[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Hidden Power Electric / Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Protect
Item: Fightinium Z / Firium Z / Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
Nature: Timid / Modest
Evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
  • Fire Blast, the first of its STABs, nails things like Abomasnow, Ferroseed, Gourgeist-XL, Jynx and Lilligant, and it can deal some pretty good damage against Mesprit, Palossand, Sableye and Weezing, all of which are typical Fighting-type answers.
  • Focus Blast, Combusken's second STAB, is able to hit a lot of what resists and/or takes little from Fire Blast for either neutral or super effective damage such as Carracosta, Drampa, Lanturn, Magmortar, Miltank, Poliwrath and Type: Null.
  • Hidden Power Electric rounds out its coverage, allowing it to hit Pokemon that resist both of its STABs for super effective damage such as Qwilfish or Swanna. Alternatively, Hidden Power Grass can be used, which hits Gastrodon for 4x effective damage, and chips away at Lanturn, but opting for this over Hidden Power Electric means that Qwilfish and Swanna come in with fewer issues.
  • Protect gives Combusken a free Speed boost, and it also allows you to scout for moves. good
Set Details
========
  • Maximum investment in both Speed and Special Attack make Combusken as fast and strong as it can be. A Timid nature allows you to have an edge over Pokemon that barely outspeed the Modest nature sets like Jynx, Haunter, Swanna or Pyroar. A Modest nature, however, does provide you with more power, which can be nice for scoring KOs the Timid nature sets can't, such as the potential OHKO with Focus Blast and Fire Blast after Stealth Rock damage on Primeape and Oricorio, respectively.
  • Speed Boost, Combusken's only viable ability, increases Combusken's Speed every turn, and after enough boosts, Combusken is an absolute annoyance for offensive teams due to how hard it is for them to stop.
  • Fightinium Z turns Focus Blast into All-Out Pummeling, which is capable of doing a lot to Gastrodon, Lanturn, Type: Null, Assault Vest Eelektross and Assault Vest Hitmonchan. With Stealth Rocks up plus a Spike, specially defensive Gastrodon has a chance to drop to an All-Out Pummeling following a Focus Blast.
  • Firium Z, on the other hand, turns Fire Blast into Inferno Overdrive, which also does a lot of damage to certain checks, but different checks, such as Mesprit, Musharna, Togetic, and the two previously mentioned Assault Vest users. Inferno Overdrive following a Fire Blast will almost always OHKO Mesprit and Musharna.
  • Life Orb can be chosen over either Z Crystal if you already have a Z Crystal in use, or simply want all of its moves to have a bit more oomph, at the cost of a bit of your health every attack. It should be noted that this makes you easier to pick off. with priority
Usage Tips
========
  • Because of Combusken's frailty and lack of reliable recovery, it shouldn't attempt to come in on non-resisted hits if it doesn't have to. The best ways to get it in are via slow Volt Switches or U-Turns or after something faints.
  • Despite Combusken succeeding mostly at being a late-game cleaner, it can certainly be used earlier on in a match should it need to break a wall such as Regirock.
  • this section needs to be more in-depth. Talk about bringing Combusken in on resisted/ineffective moves like Will-o-Wisp, or from predicting switches to Fire-weak pokemon like Ferroseed
  • expand how it can be used as a late-game cleaner when stuff like Lanturn and AV Chan are weakened
  • mention it can also act as a revenge killer with Protect + Speed Boost

Team Options
========
  • Combusken appreciates wallbreakers weakening and/or removing its checks and counters, which makes cleaning much easier. Wallbreakers that place pressure on specially defensive Pokemon such as Aggron, Archeops, Mesprit and Stoutland, as well as wallbreakers that place pressure on Water-types and Ground-types such as Abomasnow, Drampa, Exeggutor-Alola and Raichu-Alola are really solid partners for Combusken in particular. The physical wallbreakers in turn appreciate Combusken beating certain physical walls for them like Gourgeist-XL, Sableye, and Weezing, and Combusken can weaken some special walls for the more specially offensive wallbreakers.
  • (Toxic) Spikes and Stealth Rock pressure many of the common switch-ins to Combusken, more so the ones that lack reliable recovery. As such, hazard setters like Ferroseed, Mesprit, Qwilfish, who can absorb Toxic Spikes for Combusken, and Weezing are good partners for it.
  • It also appreciates hazard removal, as it hates being chipped away at. Combusken beats a lot of the more prevalent spinblockers such as Golurk, Oricorio-G, Palossand and Sableye, which Rapid Spinners like Hitmonchan or Kabutops can take advantage of. Defoggers like Skuntank and Swanna can remove hazards as well, but if you're using Combusken on a hazard stacking team, Defoggers aren't recommened, as you'll get rid of the hazards you got up on the opposing side too.
  • Pursuit trappers such as Skuntank or Absol pair well with it to remove Musharna and Mesprit, which can both easily tank one hit if it isn’t Firium Z and OHKO with their STABs. And Skunk absorbs Tspikes too Absol can also support Combusken by removing opposing Pokemon's Leftovers, Assault Vests or Eviolites with Knock Off, making them easier to handle.
  • Slow users of Volt Switch and U-Turn such as Lanturn, Eelektross and defensive Mesprit are good at bringing Combusken in as safely as possible. Moreover, Lanturn can provide Combusken with a really solid switch-in to non-Groundium Z Floatzel, which can take a chunk out of its health or simply revenge kill with Aqua Jet and cure it of status with Heal Bell; just say take Water-type attacks aimed at Combusken lol Eelektross, like Absol, can remove Eviolites with Knock Off, making it harder for Pokemon like Togetic, Clefairy or Type: Null to come in, as well as Assault Vests, and weaken and get rid of Lanturn and Gastrodon for Combusken with Giga Drain; and Mesprit can provide speed control with Thunder Wave, or give it a second chance to finish up should it get weakened beforehand with Healing Wish.
  • this is good stuff, maybe just mention a few more mons that have good Defensive synergy with Combusken to take Psychic/water/flying attacks aimed at it. You already covered some of the mons though
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
  • Hidden Power Ice may seem nice over Hidden Power Electric or Grass due to it hitting certain Pokemon for 4x effective damage such as Altaria and Gabite, but Hidden Power Electric pairs better with Fire- and Fighting-type coverage due to Qwilfish and Swanna being more common than the first two mentioned. Gastrodon, while not as common as either Qwilfish or Swanna, is still relatively common, gastro is very common :( and it being lured by Hidden Power Grass is really nice.
  • Eviolite giving Combusken additional bulk might seem nice too, but Combusken isn't much bulkier with an Eviolite, and is completely incapable of busting through things like Lanturn or Musharna without a Z Move. you're a tiny bit harsh on this, Evio isn't the worst thing in the world
  • A physical set with Swords Dance, Flare Blitz or Fire Punch and Low Kick is an option. Flare Blitz is its most powerful STAB, and after a Swords Dance, can hit pretty hard, and Z Low Kick can help against Lanturn. However, the recoil damage Combusken takes due to Flare Blitz makes it easier to revenge kill, and neither non-Z Fire Punch nor Low Kick hit very hard, even after a Swords Dance. mention this set can use Eviolite too
  • Substitute can be used to make grabbing Speed boosts easier, shield Combusken from status conditions and from priority as a whole, but this cuts into Combusken's coverage, which allows Qwilfish and Gastrodon to come in much easier.
  • Work Up over Hidden Power (set up as they switch to a sack and bop stuff)
Checks and Counters
===================

**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: While not a lot of them can switch in on one of All-Out Pummeling or Inferno Overdrive, Pokemon like Clefairy, Gastrodon, Lanturn, Muk, Musharna and Togetic definitely give Combusken trouble due to their ability to take any non-Z Move well enough and either inflict it with status or KO it. Additionally, all of the examples except for Lanturn and Muk have reliable recovery, meaning that the damage inflicted by Combusken won't plague them for long. However, Gastrodon loses to Hidden Power Grass variants, and Clefairy and Togetic don't come in as safely if they lose their Eviolites, making them softer checks. remove gastrodon mention, not rly a specially defensive mon and besides it loses to AoP + Focus, and HP Grass (also you already mention it quite a bit below)

**Faster Pokemon**: Its low base Speed allows for Pokemon like Archeops, Dugtrio-Alola, Floatzel, Lycanroc, Raichu-Alola and Zebstrika to outspeed it at +1, Timid or Modest. Common Choice Scarf Pokemon outspeed it even after two like Haunter, Manectric, Mr. Mime, Primeape and Pyroar, and they can all deal pretty heavy damage to or KO Combusken.

**Water-types**: Water-types like specially defensive Gastrodon, Lanturn, Poliwrath and Qwilfish are capable of at least taking one hit and either 2HKOing or OHKOing Combusken with their Water-type STABs. None of them save for Qwilfish come in on All-Out Pummeling super well, however and Hidden Power Electric variants 2HKO Qwilfish, while Hidden Power Grass variants 2HKO Gastrodon.

**Ground-types**: Ground-types like specially defensive Gastrodon, Mudsdale, and Palossand are also capable of taking at least one hit and OHKOing with their Ground-type STABs. It's worth mentioning that Inferno Overdrive is capable of muscling past Mudsdale and Palossand, and Hidden Power Grass variants beat Gastrodon.

**Strong Priority**: doesn't have to be strong tbh, busken is frail Accelerock, Aqua Jet, and Mach Punch from the likes of Lycanroc, Carracosta, Floatzel, Kabutops, Gurdurr, and Hitmonchan leave dents in Combusken, which can be annoying for it as they either force it out and make it lose its Speed boosts or pick it off with enough prior damage.

**Water-types**: Water-types like specially defensive Gastrodon, Lanturn, Poliwrath and Qwilfish are capable of at least taking one hit and either 2HKOing or OHKOing Combusken with their Water-type STABs. None of them save for Qwilfish come in on All-Out Pummeling super well, however and Hidden Power Electric variants 2HKO Qwilfish, while Hidden Power Grass variants 2HKO Gastrodon.

**Ground-types**: Ground-types like specially defensive Gastrodon, Mudsdale, and Palossand are also capable of taking at least one hit and OHKOing with their Ground-type STABs. It's worth mentioning that Inferno Overdrive is capable of muscling past Mudsdale and Palossand, and Hidden Power Grass variants beat Gastrodon.
you mentioned this twice lol. Anyway i'm not sure if this is worth its own slash for C&C considering they are all either pretty poor checks or uncommon.

C&C also needs to mention pokemon like AV Chan and Mesprit somewhere. Ask me on Discord and I'll see what can be done to fix this section
good job Drumstick,

Let me know when you've implemented these changes, after that feel free to give yourself QC 2/3 and write it up
 
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MZ

And now for something completely different
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
[QC Checks: Rwby / Many / ?]
[GP Checks: ? / ?]


[OVERVIEW]

Combusken sports a number of positives that separate it from the myriad of special attackers in the tier. For starters, it has a solid and uncommon ability in Speed Boost, which increases its Speed at the end of every turn and helps make it a dangerous late-game cleaner after its checks have been weakened enough or flat out removed due to it being able to outspeed and KO everything left on the opposing team, and because of Protect, Combusken's always able to at least grab one boost. Secondly, its typing is really solid offensively, as its STABs alone hit the entire tier barring a few Pokemon for neutral damage, and it can beat traditional Fighting-type checks like Gourgeist-XL, Sableye and Weezing due to it being a special attacker and its Fire-typing. Its offenses aren't the best, and as a result it struggles with special tanks and walls, but having access to high-powered STABs in Fire Blast and Focus Blast as well as Z Moves helps to mitigate this. Aside from its offenses, however, its stats are below average. It's rather frail, which makes revenge killing it with priority easier, and a low base Speed of 55 leaves it outsped by common Choice Scarf users like Oricorio-G even at +2.

[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Hidden Power Electric / Hidden Power Grass i would deslash hp grass, it's basically just "if u wanna hit gastrodon and lose hard to a lot of other things" which is fine for OO but not here
move 4: Protect
item: Fightinium Z / Firium Z / Life Orb
ability: Speed Boost
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Fire Blast, the first of its STABs, hits Pokemon like Abomasnow, Ferroseed, Gourgeist-XL, Jynx and Lilligant for super effective damage, and it can deal some pretty good neutral damage against Pokemon like Mesprit, Palossand, Sableye and Weezing, all of which are typical Fighting-type answers. Focus Blast, Combusken's second STAB, is able to hit a lot of what resists and/or takes little from Fire Blast for either neutral or super effective damage such as Carracosta, Drampa, Lanturn, Magmortar, Miltank and Type: Null. Hidden Power Electric rounds out its coverage, allowing it to hit Pokemon that resist both of its STABs for super effective damage such as Qwilfish or Swanna. Alternatively, Hidden Power Grass can be used, which hits Gastrodon for 4x effective damage, and chips away at Lanturn, but opting for this over Hidden Power Electric means that Qwilfish and Swanna come in with fewer issues. drop hp grass to OO Finally, Protect gives Combusken a free Speed boost, and it also allows you to scout for moves.

Set Details
========

Maximum investment in both Speed and Special Attack make Combusken as fast and strong as it can be. A Timid nature allows you to have an edge over Pokemon that barely outspeed the Modest nature sets like Jynx, Haunter, Swanna or Pyroar specifically when combusken is at +1. A Modest nature, however, does provide you with more power, which can be nice for scoring KOs the Timid nature sets can't, such as the potential OHKO with Focus Blast and Fire Blast after Stealth Rock damage on Primeape and Oricorio, respectively. Speed Boost, Combusken's only viable ability, increases Combusken's Speed every turn, and after enough boosts, Combusken is an absolute annoyance for offensive teams due to how hard it is for them to stop it.

Fightinium Z turns Focus Blast into All-Out Pummeling, which is capable of doing a lot to Gastrodon, Lanturn, Type: Null, Assault Vest Eelektross and Assault Vest Hitmonchan. Firium Z, on the other hand, turns Fire Blast into Inferno Overdrive, which also does a lot of damage to certain checks, but different checks, such as Mesprit, Musharna, Togetic, and the two previously mentioned Assault Vest users. Life Orb can be chosen over either Z Crystal if you already have a Z Crystal in use, or simply want all of its moves to have a bit more power, at the cost of a bit of your health every attack. It should be noted that this makes you easier to pick off with priority.

Usage Tips
========

Due to Combusken's frailty, it should avoid being brought in on non-resisted attacks, as it severely limits its longevity later on and makes it easier to revenge kill. The best ways to get Combusken in are via slow U-Turns and Volt Switches, on weak, resisted hits, predicted Will-O-Wisps from Pokemon like Sableye, or on predicted switches to Pokemon weak to Fire-type moves such as Ferroseed. If it needs to, it can act as a revenge killer because of Speed Boost and Protect, allowing it to outspeed the opposing Pokemon and either force it out or KO it. When Pokemon like Assault Vest Hitmonchan and Lanturn are weakened enough, Combusken is most effective, as there is little to stop it from spamming its STABs and cleaning, getting progressively faster all the while. Despite it succeeding mostly at being a late-game cleaner, however, it can break a wall like Audino or Regirock earlier on if it needs to.

Team Options
========

Combusken appreciates wallbreakers that place pressure on specially defensive Pokemon like Aggron, Archeops, Mesprit and Stoutland and wallbreakers that place pressure on Water-types and Ground-types like Abomasnow, Drampa, Exeggutor-Alola and Raichu-Alola, as those are some of its best checks. The physical wallbreakers in turn appreciate Combusken weakening physical walls, and the special wallbreakers appreciate Combusken weakening the special walls. Hazards pressure many of Combusken's switch-ins, especially ones lacking reliable recovery, so setters like Ferroseed, Mesprit, Qwilfish and Weezing pair well with it. Qwilfish in particular is good because it can absorb Toxic Spikes for Combusken. Hazard removal is good as well, so Rapid Spinners like Hitmonchan and Kabutops and Defoggers like Silvally-Steel, Silvally-Water, Skuntank and Swanna pair well with it, although Defog isn't advised on hazard stacking teams, as you'll remove your own hazards too. Dark-types and Pursuit trappers like Absol, Shiftry, Skuntank and Stoutland remove Ghost- and Psychic-types that deter the use of Focus Blast like Misdreavus, Mesprit, and Musharna. Absol can support further with Knock Off, making some checks that rely on their Assault Vest or Eviolite less willing to come in, and Skuntank also absorbs Toxic Spikes for it. Slow users of U-Turn and Volt Switch such as Eelektross, Lanturn and defensive Mesprit get Combusken in as safely as possible. Eelektross, like Absol, can knock off Pokemon reliant on their items to check Combusken as well as they do, and act as a decent blanket check to Flying-types and Water-types; Lanturn can spread status with Toxic and heal Combusken of its own status conditions with Heal Bell; finally, Mesprit sets up Stealth Rocks, which pressure the opposing team, and can give Combusken a second chance to clean up should it get weakened beforehand with Healing Wish. Lastly, Pokemon that are good at taking priority attacks like Gourgeist-XL, Regirock, Mesprit and Lanturn make for good partners, as they sponge the forms of priority Combusken dislikes the most, while Combusken breaks through some of the bulkier Pokemon that they do very little against like Audino or Type: Null.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
put hp grass here
Hidden Power Ice hits certain Pokemon for 4x effective damage such as Altaria and Exeggutor-Alola, but both Hidden Power Electric and Grass this no longer makes sense bc grass is unslash pair better with Fire- and Fighting-type coverage. Eviolite giving Combusken additional bulk might seem nice, but it's harder for it to bust through things like Lanturn or Musharna without a Z Move or boost in power from Life Orb. A physical set with Swords Dance, Flare Blitz or Fire Punch and Low Kick, which can also use Eviolite, is an option. Flare Blitz is its most powerful STAB, and after a Swords Dance, can hit pretty hard, and Z Low Kick can help against Lanturn. However, the recoil damage Combusken takes due to Flare Blitz makes it easier to revenge kill, and neither non-Z Fire Punch nor Low Kick hit very hard, even after a Swords Dance. Work Up can be used over Hidden Power for when a Pokemon is sent in as a sacrifice, which makes Combusken hit harder. Substitute can be opted for in order to make obtaining Speed boosts easier and to shield Combusken from status. Finally, Defog can be used in case your team lacks removal, and it does have the bonus of pressuring certain hazard setters like Ferroseed and Regirock due to its typing. Furthermore, Fire Blast and Focus Blast's lower accuracies are no longer an issue because of Defog decreasing the opposing Pokemon's evasion. All three come at the cost of coverage, though. u should be much more negative about defog, it's just... no. real bad.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: While not a lot of them can switch in on one of All-Out Pummeling or Inferno Overdrive, Pokemon like Altaria, Clefairy, Assault Vest Hitmonchan, Lanturn, Muk, Musharna and Togetic definitely give Combusken trouble due to their ability to take any non-Z Move well enough and either inflict it with status or KO it. Additionally, all of the examples except for Lanturn and Muk have reliable recovery, meaning that the damage inflicted by Combusken won't plague them for long. However, Clefairy and Togetic don't come in as safely if they lose their Eviolite.

**Faster Pokemon**: Its low base Speed allows for Pokemon like Archeops, Dugtrio-Alola, Floatzel, Lycanroc, Raichu-Alola and Zebstrika to outspeed it at +1, Timid or Modest. Common Choice Scarf Pokemon outspeed it even after two like Haunter, Manectric, Mr. Mime, Primeape and Pyroar, and they can all deal pretty heavy damage to or KO Combusken.

**Water-types**: Water-types like specially defensive Gastrodon, Lanturn, Poliwrath and Qwilfish are capable of at least taking one hit and either 2HKOing or OHKOing Combusken with their Water-type STABs. It's worth nothing that none of them bar Qwilfish come in on All-Out Pummeling super well, and Hidden Power Electric variants 2HKO Qwilfish while Hidden Power Grass variants 2HKO Gastrodon.

**Psychic-types**: Psychic-types like Grumpig, who takes it especially well due to its ability Thick Fat, Mesprit, Musharna and Mr. Mime can all take one Fire Blast from even Life Orb Combusken and OHKO it with their STABs. None of them take an Inferno Overdrive well besides Grumpig, however.

**Priority**: Accelerock, Aqua Jet, and Mach Punch from the likes of Lycanroc, Carracosta, Floatzel, Kabutops, Gurdurr, and Hitmonchan leave dents in Combusken, which can be annoying for it as they either force it out and make it lose its Speed boosts or pick it off with enough prior damage.
qcstamp.gif
3/3. this is good.
 
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autumn

only i will remain
is a Site Content Manageris a Member of Senior Staffis a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis an Administrator Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
C&C Leader
note that it's a pokemon's stab moves/attacks rather than their stabs.

GP 1/2
add remove comments

OVERVIEW]

Combusken sports a number of positives that separate it from the myriad of special attackers in the tier. For starters, it has a solid and uncommon ability in Speed Boost, which increases its Speed at the end of every turn and (dex info) helps make it a dangerous late-game cleaner after its checks have been weakened enough or flat out removed, (AC) as it is due to it being able to outspeed and KO everything left on the opposing team, (RC) and because of Protect, Combusken's Combusken is always able to at least grab one boost due to Protect. Secondly, its typing is really solid offensively, as its STAB moves alone hit the entire tier, (AC) barring a few Pokemon, (AC) for neutral damage, and it can beat traditional Fighting-type checks like Gourgeist-XL, Sableye, (AC) (serial comma) and Weezing due to its Fire typing and role as being a special attacker and its Fire-typing. Its offenses aren't the best, and as a result, (AC) it struggles with special tanks and walls, but having access to high-powered STAB moves in Fire Blast and Focus Blast as well as Z-(AH)Moves helps to mitigate this. Aside from its offenses, however, its stats are below average. It's rather frail, which makes revenge killing it with priority easier, and a low base Speed of 55 leaves it outsped by common Choice Scarf users like Oricorio-G even at +2.

[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Hidden Power Electric
move 4: Protect
item: Fightinium Z / Firium Z / Life Orb
ability: Speed Boost
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Fire Blast, the first of its STAB moves, hits Pokemon like Abomasnow, Ferroseed, Gourgeist-XL, Jynx, (AC) and Lilligant for super effective damage, and it can deal some pretty good neutral damage against to Pokemon like Mesprit, Palossand, Sableye, (AC) and Weezing, all of which are typical Fighting-type answers. Focus Blast, Combusken's second STAB move, is able to hit a lot of what resists and/or takes little from Fire Blast for either neutral or super effective damage, (AC) such as Carracosta, Drampa, Lanturn, Magmortar, Miltank, (AC) and Type: Null. Hidden Power Electric rounds out its coverage, allowing it to hit Pokemon that resist both of its STAB moves for super effective damage such as Qwilfish or and Swanna. Finally, Protect gives Combusken a free Speed boost, and it also allows you to scout for moves.

Set Details
========

Maximum investment in both Speed and Special Attack make Combusken as fast and strong as it can be. A Timid nature allows you to have an edge over Pokemon that barely outspeed the Modest nature sets like Jynx, Haunter, Swanna, (AC) and or Pyroar at +1. A Modest nature, however, does provide you with more power, which can be nice for scoring KOs that the Timid nature sets can't, such as the potential OHKO with Focus Blast and Fire Blast after Stealth Rock damage on Primeape and Oricorio (which one?), respectively. Speed Boost, Combusken's only viable ability, increases Combusken's Speed every turn, and after enough boosts, Combusken is an absolute annoyance for offensive teams due to how hard it is for them to stop it.

Fightinium Z turns Focus Blast into All-Out Pummeling, which is capable of doing a lot to Gastrodon, Lanturn, Type: Null, Assault Vest Eelektross, (AC) and Assault Vest Hitmonchan. Firium Z, on the other hand, turns Fire Blast into Inferno Overdrive, which also does a lot of damage to certain checks, but different checks, such as Mesprit, Musharna, Togetic, and the two previously mentioned aforementioned Assault Vest users. Life Orb can be chosen over either Z-(AH)Crystal if you already have a Z-(AH)Crystal in use, (RC) or simply want all of its moves to have a bit more power, at the cost of a bit of its health every attack. It should be noted that this makes it easier to pick off with priority.

Usage Tips
========

Due to Combusken's frailty, it should avoid being brought in on non-resisted attacks, as it severely limits its longevity later on and makes it easier to revenge kill. The best ways to get Combusken in are via slow U-turns and Volt Switches, on weak, resisted hits, predicted Will-O-Wisps from Pokemon like Sableye, or on predicted switches to Pokemon weak to Fire-type moves such as Ferroseed. If it needs to, it can act as a revenge killer because of Speed Boost and Protect, allowing it to outspeed the opposing Pokemon and either force it out or KO it. When Pokemon like Assault Vest Hitmonchan and Lanturn are weakened enough, Combusken is most effective, as there is little to stop it from spamming its STAB moves and cleaning, getting progressively faster all the while. Despite it succeeding mostly at being a late-game cleaner, however, it can break a wall like Audino or Regirock earlier on if it needs to.

Team Options
========

Combusken appreciates wallbreakers that place pressure on specially defensive Pokemon like Aggron, Archeops, Mesprit, (AC) and Stoutland and wallbreakers that place pressure on Water-types and Ground-types, (AC) like Abomasnow, Drampa, Alolan Exeggutor-Alola, (AC) and Alolan Raichu-Alola, as those are some of its best checks. The physical wallbreakers in turn appreciate Combusken weakening physical walls, and the special wallbreakers appreciate Combusken weakening the special walls. Entry hazards pressure many of Combusken's switch-ins, especially ones lacking reliable recovery, so setters like Ferroseed, Mesprit, Qwilfish, (AC) and Weezing pair well with it. Qwilfish in particular is good because it can absorb Toxic Spikes for Combusken. Entry hazard removal is good as well, so Rapid Spinn users like Hitmonchan and Kabutops and Defoggers like Silvally-Steel, Silvally-Water, Skuntank, (AC) and Swanna pair well with it, although Defog isn't advised on hazard stacking teams, as you'll remove your own hazards too. Dark-types and Pursuit trappers like Absol, Shiftry, Skuntank, (AC) and Stoutland remove Ghost- and Psychic-types that deter the use of Focus Blast like Misdreavus, Mesprit, and Musharna. Absol can support further with Knock Off, making some checks that rely on their Assault Vest or Eviolite less willing to come in, and Skuntank also absorbs Toxic Spikes for it. Slow users of U-turn and Volt Switch such as Eelektross, Lanturn, (AC) and defensive Mesprit get Combusken in as safely as possible. Eelektross, like Absol, can use Knock Off on Pokemon reliant on their items to check Combusken as well as they do, (RC) and act as a decent blanket check to Flying-types and Water-types; Lanturn can spread status with Toxic and heal Combusken of its own status conditions with Heal Bell; finally, Mesprit sets up Stealth Rocks, which pressures the opposing team, (RC) and can give Combusken a second chance to clean up should it get weakened beforehand with Healing Wish. Lastly, Pokemon that are good at taking priority attacks like Gourgeist-XL, Regirock, Mesprit, (AC) and Lanturn make for good partners, as they sponge the forms of priority Combusken dislikes the most, while Combusken breaks through some of the bulkier Pokemon that they do very little against like Audino or and Type: Null.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Different Hidden Power types can be used over Electric, like Grass and Ice, and they hit certain Pokemon like Gastrodon, Altaria, (AC) and Alolan Exeggutor-Alola for 4x effective damage, with Hidden Power Grass even being useful for chipping away at Lanturn. However, Hidden Power Electric pairs better with Fire- and Fighting-type coverage. Eviolite giving Combusken additional bulk might seem nice, but it's harder for it to bust through things checks like Lanturn or and Musharna without a Z-(AH)Move or boost in power from Life Orb. A physical set with Swords Dance, Flare Blitz or Fire Punch, (AC) and Low Kick, which can also use Eviolite, is an option. Flare Blitz is its most powerful STAB move, and after a Swords Dance, can hit pretty hard, and Z-(AH)Low Kick can help against Lanturn. However, the recoil damage Combusken takes due to Flare Blitz makes it easier to revenge kill, and neither non-Firium or Fightinium Z sets Z Fire Punch nor Low Kick hit very hard, even after a Swords Dance. Work Up can be used over Hidden Power for when a Pokemon is sent in as a sacrifice, which makes Combusken hit harder. Substitute can be opted for in order to make obtaining Speed boosts easier and to shield Combusken from status. Finally, Defog can be used in case your team lacks entry hazard removal, and it does have the bonus of pressuring certain hazard setters like Ferroseed and Regirock due to its typing. All three come at the cost of coverage, however, and Defog doesn't really do much for Combusken at all, giving it a worse matchup against Pokemon like Swanna with no actual benefit.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: While not a lot of them can switch in on one of All-Out Pummeling or Inferno Overdrive, Pokemon like Altaria, Clefairy, Assault Vest Hitmonchan, Lanturn, Muk, Musharna, (AC) and Togetic definitely give Combusken trouble due to their ability to take any non-Z-(AH)Move well enough and either inflict it with status or KO it. Additionally, all of the examples except for Lanturn and Muk have reliable recovery, meaning that the damage inflicted by Combusken won't plague them for long. However, Clefairy and Togetic don't come in as safely if they lose their Eviolite.

**Faster Pokemon**: Its Combusken's low base Speed allows for Pokemon like Archeops, Alolan Dugtrio-Alola, Floatzel, Lycanroc, Alolan Raichu-Alola, (AC) and Zebstrika to outspeed it at +1, Timid or Modest. Common Choice Scarf Pokemon users outspeed it even after two Speed boosts like Haunter, Manectric, Mr. Mime, Primeape, (AC) and Pyroar, and they can all deal pretty heavy damage to or KO Combusken.

**Water-types**: Water-types like specially defensive Gastrodon, Lanturn, Poliwrath, (AC) and Qwilfish are capable of at least taking one hit and either 2HKOing or OHKOing Combusken with their Water-type STAB moves. It's worth nothing that none of them bar Qwilfish come in on All-Out Pummeling super well, and Hidden Power Electric variants 2HKO Qwilfish while Hidden Power Grass variants 2HKO Gastrodon.

**Psychic-types**: Psychic-types like Grumpig, who which takes it especially well due to its ability Thick Fat, Mesprit, Musharna, (AC) and Mr. Mime can all take one Fire Blast from even Life Orb Combusken and OHKO it with their STAB moves. None of them take an Inferno Overdrive well besides Grumpig, however.

**Priority**: Accelerock, Aqua Jet, and Mach Punch from the likes of Lycanroc, Carracosta, Floatzel, Kabutops, Gurdurr, and Hitmonchan leave dents in Combusken, which can be annoying for it, (AC) as they either force it out and make it lose its Speed boosts or pick it off with enough prior damage.
 

Lumari

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GP 2/2
[OVERVIEW]

Combusken sports a number of positives that separate it from the myriad of special attackers in the tier. For starters, it has a solid and uncommon ability in Speed Boost, which helps make it a dangerous late-game cleaner after its checks have been weakened enough or flat out removed, as it is able to outspeed and KO everything left on the opposing team. Combusken is always able to at least grab one boost due to Protect. Secondly, its typing is really solid offensively, as its STAB moves alone hit the entire tier, barring a few Pokemon, for neutral damage, and it can beat traditional Fighting-type checks like Gourgeist-XL, Sableye, and Weezing due to its Fire typing and role as being a special attacker. Its offenses aren't the best, though, and as a result, it struggles with special tanks and walls, but having access to high-powered STAB moves in Fire Blast and Focus Blast as well as Z-Moves helps to mitigate this. Aside from its offenses, however, its stats are below average. (doesn't make sense, you just said its offenses are subpar too) It's rather frail, which makes revenge killing it with priority easier, and a low base Speed of 55 leaves it outsped by common Choice Scarf users like Oricorio-G even at +2.

[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Hidden Power Electric
move 4: Protect
item: Fightinium Z / Firium Z / Life Orb
ability: Speed Boost
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Fire Blast, the first of its Combusken's STAB moves, hits Pokemon like Abomasnow, Ferroseed, Gourgeist-XL, Jynx, and Lilligant for super effective damage, and it can deal some pretty good neutral damage to Pokemon like Mesprit, Palossand, Sableye, and Weezing, all of which are typical Fighting-type answers. Focus Blast, Combusken's second STAB move, is able to hit a lot of what resists or takes little from Fire Blast for either neutral or super effective damage such as Carracosta, Drampa, Lanturn, Magmortar, Miltank, and Type: Null. Hidden Power Electric rounds out its Combusken's coverage, allowing it to hit Pokemon that resist both of its STAB moves for super effective damage such as Qwilfish and Swanna. Finally, Protect gives Combusken a free Speed boost, and it also allows you to scout for moves.

Set Details
========

Maximum investment in both Speed and Special Attack make makes Combusken as fast and strong as it can be. A Timid nature allows youCombusken to have an edge over Pokemon that barely outspeed the Modest nature sets like Jynx, Haunter, Swanna, and Pyroar at +1. A Modest nature, however, does provide you Combusken with more power, which can be nice for scoring KOs that the Timid nature sets can't, such as the potential OHKO with Focus Blast and Fire Blast after Stealth Rock damage on Primeape and Oricorio-G, respectively. Speed Boost, Combusken's only viable ability, increases Combusken's Speed every turn, and after enough boosts, Combusken is an absolute annoyance for offensive teams due to how hard it is for them to stop it.

Fightinium Z turns Focus Blast into All-Out Pummeling, which is capable of doing a lot to Gastrodon, Lanturn, Type: Null, Assault Vest Eelektross, and Assault Vest Hitmonchan. Firium Z, on the other hand, turns Fire Blast into Inferno Overdrive, which does a lot of damage to different checks, such as Mesprit, Musharna, Togetic, and the two aforementioned Assault Vest users. Life Orb can be chosen over either Z-Crystal if you already have a Z-Crystal in use or simply want all of its moves to have a bit more power, at the cost of a bit of its health every attack. It should be noted that this the recoil makes it Combusken easier to pick off with priority.

Usage Tips
========

Due to Combusken's frailty, it should avoid being brought in on non-resisted attacks, as it severely limits its longevity later on and makes it easier to revenge kill. The best ways to get Combusken in are via slow U-turns and Volt Switches, on weak, resisted hits, predicted Will-O-Wisps from Pokemon like Sableye, or on predicted switches to Pokemon weak to Fire-type moves such as Ferroseed. If it needs to, it can act as a revenge killer because of Speed Boost and Protect, allowing it to outspeed opposing Pokemon and either force it out or KO it. When Pokemon like Assault Vest Hitmonchan and Lanturn are weakened enough, Combusken is most effective, as there is little to stop it from spamming its STAB moves and cleaning, getting progressively faster all the while. Despite it succeeding mostly at being a late-game cleaner, however, it can break a wall like Audino or Regirock earlier on if it needs to.

Team Options
========

Combusken appreciates wallbreakers that pressure specially defensive Pokemon like Aggron, Archeops, Mesprit, and Stoutland and wallbreakers that pressure Water- and Ground-types, like Abomasnow, Drampa, Alolan Exeggutor and Alolan Raichu, as those are some of its best checks. The physical wallbreakers in turn appreciate Combusken weakening physical walls, and the special wallbreakers appreciate Combusken weakening the special walls. Entry hazards pressure many of Combusken's switch-ins, especially ones lacking reliable recovery, so setters like Ferroseed, Mesprit, Qwilfish, and Weezing pair well with it. Qwilfish in particular is good because it can absorb Toxic Spikes for Combusken. Hazard removal is good as well, so Rapid Spin users like Hitmonchan and Kabutops and Defoggers like Silvally-Steel, Silvally-Water, Skuntank, and Swanna pair well with it, although Defog isn't advised on hazard stacking teams, as you'll remove your own hazards too. Dark-types and Pursuit trappers like Absol, Shiftry, Skuntank, and Stoutland remove Ghost- and Psychic-types that deter the use of Focus Blast like Misdreavus, Mesprit, and Musharna. Absol can support Combusken further with Knock Off, making some checks that rely on their Assault Vest or Eviolite less willing to come in, and Skuntank also absorbs Toxic Spikes for it. Slow users of U-turn and Volt Switch such as Eelektross, Lanturn and defensive Mesprit get Combusken in as safely as possible. Eelektross, like Absol, can use Knock Off on Pokemon reliant on their items to check Combusken as well as they do (unless you really really need it, readability) and act as a decent blanket check to Flying- and Water-types; Lanturn can spread status with Toxic and heal Combusken of its own status conditions with Heal Bell; Mesprit sets up Stealth Rock, which pressures the opposing team and can give Combusken a second chance to clean up should it get weakened beforehand with Healing Wish. Lastly, Pokemon that are good at taking the priority attacks Combusken dislikes the most like Gourgeist-XL, Regirock, Mesprit, and Lanturn make for good partners, as they sponge the forms of priority Combusken dislikes the most, while and Combusken breaks through some of the bulkier Pokemon that they do very little against like Audino and Type: Null.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Different Hidden Power types can be used over Electric, like Grass and Ice, and they hit certain Pokemon like Gastrodon, Altaria, and Alolan Exeggutor for 4x damage, with Hidden Power Grass even being useful for chipping away at Lanturn. However, Hidden Power Electric pairs better with Fire- and Fighting-type coverage. Eviolite giving Combusken additional bulk might seem nice, but it's harder for it to bust through checks like Lanturn and Musharna without a Z-Move or boost in power from Life Orb. A physical set with Swords Dance, Flare Blitz or Fire Punch, and Low Kick, which can also use Eviolite, is an option. Flare Blitz is its most powerful STAB move, and after a Swords Dance, can hit pretty hard, and Z-Low Kick can help against Lanturn. However, the recoil damage Combusken takes due to Flare Blitz makes it easier to revenge kill, and neither non-Firium or Fightinium Z sets don't hit very hard, even after a Swords Dance. Work Up can be used over Hidden Power for when a Pokemon is sent in as a sacrifice, which makes Combusken hit harder. Substitute can be opted for in order to make obtaining Speed boosts easier and to shield Combusken from status. Finally, Defog can be used in case your team lacks entry hazard removal, and it Combusken does have the bonus of pressuring certain setters like Ferroseed and Regirock due to its typing. All three come at the cost of coverage, however, and Defog doesn't really do much for Combusken at all, giving it a worse matchup against Pokemon like Swanna with no actual benefit.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: While not a lot of them can switch in on one of All-Out Pummeling or Inferno Overdrive, Pokemon like Altaria, Clefairy, Assault Vest Hitmonchan, Lanturn, Muk, Musharna, and Togetic definitely give Combusken trouble due to their ability to take any non-Z-Move well enough and either inflict it with status or KO it. Additionally, all of the examples except for Lanturn and Muk have reliable recovery, meaning that the damage inflicted by Combusken won't plague them for long. However, Clefairy and Togetic don't come in as safely if they lose their Eviolite.

**Faster Pokemon**: Combusken's low base Speed allows for Pokemon like Archeops, Alolan Dugtrio, Floatzel, Lycanroc, Alolan Raichu, and Zebstrika to outspeed it at +1, Timid or Modest. Common Choice Scarf users outspeed it even after two like Haunter, Manectric, Mr. Mime, Primeape, and Pyroar, and they can all deal pretty heavy damage to or KO Combusken.

**Water-types**: Water-types like specially defensive Gastrodon, Lanturn, Poliwrath, and Qwilfish are capable of at least taking one hit and either 2HKOing or OHKOing Combusken with their Water-type STAB moves. It's worth nothing that none of them bar Qwilfish come in on All-Out Pummeling super well, and Hidden Power Electric variants 2HKO Qwilfish while Hidden Power Grass variants 2HKO Gastrodon.

**Psychic-types**: Psychic-types like Grumpig, which takes it Fire-type attacks especially well due to its ability Thick Fat, Mesprit, Musharna, and Mr. Mime can all take one Fire Blast from even Life Orb Combusken and OHKO it with their STAB moves. None of them take an Inferno Overdrive well besides Grumpig, however.

**Priority**: Accelerock, Aqua Jet, and Mach Punch from the likes of Lycanroc, Carracosta, Floatzel, Kabutops, Gurdurr, and Hitmonchan leave dents in Combusken, which can be annoying for it as they either force it out and make it lose its Speed boosts or pick it off with enough prior damage.
 
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