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QC 3/3 (DMDW, Serial EKiller, Cynara)
GP 2/2 (Fireflame479, The Dutch Plumberjack)
[OVERVIEW]
* Reshiram is known as a niche but capable check to many Steel-types in Ubers by virtue of its typing and strong STAB attacks.
* As a Fire-type special attacker, Reshiram faces extreme competition from Primal Groudon. Reshiram's neutrality to Fairy-type attacks and lacking ability in comparison to Desolate Land means that defensively, Primal Groudon completely overshadows any defensive niche Reshiram may have.
* Offensively, however, Reshiram's signature move in Blue Flare, secondary STAB move in Draco Meteor, reliable recovery in Roost, and the ability to hold Life Orb allow it to separate itself from Primal Groudon's special sets, offering more consistent damage output against neutral targets and a typically superior matchup against Arceus-Water and Ho-Oh.
* Reshiram's lacking Speed tier means that against offensive teams, it will likely be attacked first and offer very little. However, balance teams that make use of defensive Steel-types can have a hard time handling Reshiram, offering it some potent matchups.
* Ultimately, Reshiram suffers from excessive opportunity costs and a lack of unique niches to warrant a place on many Ubers teams.
[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: Blue Flare
move 2: Draco Meteor
move 3: Roost
move 4: Toxic / Stone Edge
item: Life Orb
ability: Turboblaze
nature: Modest
evs: 104 HP / 252 SpA / 152 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Blue Flare is one of the biggest separators between Reshiram and special Primal Groudon sets. While Primal Groudon's Overheat can be slightly stronger, it has the big downside of dropping its Special Attack, leading to a different style of play when compared to Blue Flare's potential. Life Orb-boosted Blue Flare can outdamage Primal Groudon's Fire Blast, though.
* With this in mind, Blue Flare is a consistent high-damage STAB move without any drawbacks other than accuracy, and it is capable of achieving easy 2HKOs on maximum HP Arceus formes neutral to the attack as well as an outright OHKO on Xerneas after Stealth Rock damage.
* Draco Meteor acts as Reshiram's secondary attack, targeting many of the Pokemon capable of taking a Blue Flare such as Arceus-Water, Tyranitar, Ho-Oh, and Primal Kyogre for heavy damage.
* Roost is Reshiram's way of consistently applying pressure to the foe's Steel-type Pokemon. While Primal Groudon doesn't have the recovery to deal with Leech Seed and other residual damage from defensive Pokemon, Reshiram can remain healthy with Roost, adding another separation between the two.
* The fourth moveslot is dedicated to limiting Reshiram's checks. Toxic will wear down many of Reshiram's checks such as Arceus-Water and Tyranitar and can combine with Roost to stall for poison damage on the likes of support Arceus formes. Stone Edge will OHKO offensive Ho-Oh and, with some prior damage from the likes of Blue Flare, OHKO defensive Ho-Oh variants as well.
Set Details
========
* Maximum Special Attack investment with a Modest nature gives Reshiram the ideal damage output for its role as a wallbreaker.
* 152 Speed EVs allow Reshiram to outspeed Adamant Necrozma-DM, giving it the ability to outspeed and OHKO most offensive sets with Blue Flare.
* The rest of the EVs are put into HP to add additional bulk so Reshiram can take less damage from the weaker attacks it may switch in on. 104 HP EVs even allow Reshiram to take an Earthquake from Swords Dance Arceus-Ground sets lacking Earth Plate at full HP.
* Turboblaze generally offers little to Reshiram's offensive potential but does give it the ability to 2HKO Lugia through Multiscale with Blue Flare.
Usage Tips
========
* Reshiram is ideally used to punish defensive Steel-type Pokemon such as Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Magearna, and Celesteela, as well as Stealth Rock variants of Necrozma-DM, and should be used as the primary switch-in to them. This means that Reshiram's ideal matchups involve slower, bulkier teams.
* Reshiram's usage of Roost is a key reason behind using it as the primary switch-in, as it doesn't fear the residual damage from entry hazards and Leech Seed as much as Primal Groudon does. By using Reshiram for this role, Primal Groudon has fewer defensive roles to fulfill during a game and doesn't get worn down as easily.
* Reshiram should carefully manage its health when entering the field if entry hazards are up. While Reshiram doesn't necessarily need to be very healthy to force out most Steel-types, the matchup against Double Dance Necrozma-DM, Primal Kyogre, and various Arceus-Ground variants becomes far more dangerous after taking Stealth Rock damage. Roost should be used more often if Reshiram must remain at full HP during a match, but this may lead to a loss in momentum, so be wary.
* Blue Flare is one of the strongest unboosted attacks in Ubers and lacks drawbacks. Make good use of this to break down the enemy team. Draco Meteor should be used as a strong coverage move against Fire-resistant Pokemon rather than as a spammable attack.
* If opting for Toxic, Reshiram should only aim to use it in the face of its hardest checks such as Ho-Oh and support Arceus formes resistant to Fire. In most cases, Reshiram's STAB attacks will put out more offensive pressure than a simple Toxic by forcing recovery options from defensive walls.
* Reshiram can be used as an aggressive check to some offensive Necrozma-DM sets. As Reshiram is invested to be faster than Adamant variants of Necrozma-DM and can survive an unboosted Earthquake when healthy, it can be switched in on turns where it is likely Necrozma-DM will use a setup move such as Swords Dance or into Sunsteel Strike in order to force it out or OHKO it with Blue Flare. It should be stressed that this is only possible when completely healthy, as Necrozma-DM has the potential to use Rock Polish and easily take out a weakened Reshiram with Earthquake on the next turn. Stealth Rock damage in particular can lead to the aforementioned scenario.
* Reshiram's ability against offensive teams is very lacking, and it will likely rely on teammates to cover for its shortcomings in these matchups. Take any opportunity to make Reshiram useful when facing offensive teams.
Team Options
========
* Teams built around Reshiram should aim to be offensive in nature but with sufficient countermeasures against opposing offensive teams. Reshiram's main niche on a team is to offer a primary check to defensive Steel-types in place of Primal Groudon, allowing the latter to run a different set.
* This means that Primal Groudon should be used alongside Reshiram to offer any real benefits. With Reshiram around to threaten Steel-types, Primal Groudon can opt for an offensive set that utilizes Ground- and Rock-type coverage, such as Double Dance or Stealth Rock + Swords Dance. Defensively, Primal Groudon can help deal with Fairy-types and Primal Kyogre, which Reshiram cannot defensively handle or effectively duel.
* The combination of Reshiram and Primal Groudon can leave an annoying weakness to Ground-types. The rest of the team will ideally be able to cover Reshiram's matchup against opposing offensive teams while having sufficient teammates to deal with opposing Ground-types.
* Arceus-Water is the premier support Arceus forme to partner with Reshiram. It offers a reliable check to many Ground-types and an additional check to Primal Kyogre, and it can even set Stealth Rock should Primal Groudon be running an offensive set.
* Mega Salamence is another good partner that can help against opposing Ground-types, and it can either carry Defog to clear entry hazards for Reshiram or use Facade to act as a better Ho-Oh check.
* Choice Scarf Xerneas can revenge kill many common offensive Pokemon that try to revenge kill Reshiram such as Marshadow, Ultra Necrozma, and offensive Arceus formes.
* Necrozma-DM adds to the Ground-type weakness of a team, but, if this is sufficiently covered by other teammates, can partner with Reshiram to handle Fairy-types such as Xerneas and Rock-types such as Mega Diancie. In return, Reshiram can easily pressure defensive Steel-types such as Skarmory and Celesteela that try to handle Necrozma-DM. Trick Room variants of Necrozma-DM in particular offer these benefits while also doing well against offensive teams.
* Yveltal adds a Ground immunity and can use a Choice Scarf set to help Reshiram against offensive teams.
* Marshadow provides revenge killing utility against many offensive Pokemon such as Ultra Necrozma while also threatening Blissey and Rock-type Pokemon for Reshiram.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Grassium Z + Solar Beam can act as a nuke against Reshiram's Water- and Rock-type checks, but this sacrifices a moveslot and item slot, limiting Reshiram's flexibility and damage output while also adding even more opportunity cost by using a Z-Move. It also requires prediction to properly hit the ideal targets, making it an unattractive option.
* Ancient Power can replace Stone Edge to 2HKO all Ho-Oh sets without accuracy concerns while adding a small chance of a raise to all stats, which will make Reshiram far more difficult to deal with. However, Ancient Power being a special attack means that using Draco Meteor beforehand will ruin its damage output against Ho-Oh.
* Tailwind can boost the Speed of Reshiram and its allies, giving Reshiram in particular a fighting chance to deal a lot of damage to offensive teams and limit the option of using a faster attacker to KO it. However, such a set has limited potential due to the low number of turns Tailwind is active and will likely lack coverage against bulkier teams.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Chansey and Blissey**: Due to Reshiram being a special attacker and having a vulnerability to Toxic, it has no reasonable way to break through Chansey and Blissey, making them surefire counters.
**Rock-types**: Tyranitar, Arceus-Rock, and Mega Diancie are all very effective checks to Reshiram due to their resistance to Blue Flare. Tyranitar can handle Reshiram's STAB moves well and force damage on it with Pursuit or use Rock-type moves, while Arceus-Rock is faster and can use Recover to heal any damage from Draco Meteor. Mega Diancie can pivot into Draco Meteor easily but struggles to switch into Blue Flare. Mega Diancie's higher Speed and Diamond Storm's ability to OHKO Reshiram means that Reshiram stands little chance in a duel.
**Faster Attackers**: While Reshiram's attacks are difficult to switch into, its low Speed, average bulk, and weakness to common Ground- and Fairy-type moves mean that many faster threats in Ubers such as offensive Arceus formes, Ultra Necrozma, and Mega Salamence can dispose of Reshiram without fearing any retaliation if Stealth Rock is in play.
**Water-types**: Primal Kyogre's ability, Primordial Sea, causes Reshiram to be hesitant about its usage of Blue Flare due to the fear of giving Primal Kyogre a free switch. Primal Kyogre does not appreciate Draco Meteor at all, however, meaning that the matchup has a lot of risks involved. In a duel, Primal Kyogre deals higher damage to Reshiram than it takes in return, meaning that if Primal Kyogre is given a safe switch, Reshiram is unfavored to come out on top. Arceus-Water is capable of switching into Blue Flare relatively easily and can either attempt to Toxic stall Reshiram or weaken it with Judgment, but it takes a large amount of damage from Draco Meteor, forcing the use of Recover and handing over a free switch or giving Reshiram the chance to get a free Toxic on Arceus-Water before switching out. Stealth Rock variants of Arceus-Water typically lack Toxic, meaning that Reshiram is actually capable of stalling Arceus-Water out with the combination of Toxic and Roost, reversing the matchup.
**Ground-types**: Arceus-Ground, Primal Groudon, and Zygarde are all capable of offensively pressuring Reshiram with their Ground-type attacks, but they struggle to handle either of Reshiram's STAB moves, limiting their ability to switch in. Arceus-Ground's higher Speed and potential usage of Recover mean that it is the most likely to be a threat, but Reshiram can 2HKO Arceus-Ground with Blue Flare. Reshiram can also survive an unboosted STAB attack from most Arceus-Ground variants if at full HP. Primal Groudon has difficulty taking either of Reshiram's STAB attacks, with Desolate Land boosting Blue Flare's damage output into a clean 2HKO, making it an offensive check at best. Defensive Zygarde has little chance against Reshiram, but Dragon Dance sets have the ability to pivot into Blue Flare at the risk of a burn or just outspeed Reshiram and OHKO it with Thousand Arrows after Stealth Rock damage.
**Ho-Oh**: Ho-Oh can effectively pivot around Reshiram's STAB attacks with Regenerator healing but is a key target of Reshiram's Rock-type coverage, meaning it has to be careful. Reshiram sets opting for Toxic can have a more difficult time dealing with Ho-Oh, however.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Nayrz, 212134]]
- Quality checked by: [[DMDW, 434601], [Serial EKiller, 426631], [Cynara, 224455]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Fireflame479, 231476], [The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216]]
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