Pok�mon of the Week

Chandelure, The Luring Pok�mon. It absorbs a spirit, which it then burns. By waving the flames on its arms, it puts its foes into a hypnotic trance.Being consumed in Chandelure's flame burns up the spirit, leaving the body behind.

Chandelure is one of the new 5th gen Pokemon, one who stands out because of its incredible 145 base Special Attack, something that dwarfs even Latios, Kyurem and Darkrai's offenses. It has three great abilities and an amazing movepool. Its basically a Heatran crossed with a Gengar. Unfortunately it is Stealth Rock weak and despite 60/90/90 defenses is rather frail.

Flash Fire: A great ability. Not much can take a hit from Chandelure if it gets a fire boost. It allows for Chandelure to get a boost if hit by Fire-type moves
Flame Body: Useful for messing with Scizor and getting the last laugh against Tyranitar but not nearly as good as the other abilities.
Shadow Tag: The winner, by far the best ability.. possibly the best ability in all of Pokemon (besides Wonderguard). It turns Chandelure from a hard hitter into a devastating assassin. Biggest problem with Shadow Tag.. its not possible to get from the Dream World yet.

-Overheat
-Shadow Ball
-Hidden Power Ice
Energy Ball
Item Attached: Choice Scarf
Ability: Shadow Tag / Flash Fire
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 Speed / 252 Special Attack / 4 Defense
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)

With Shadow Tag Chandelure becomes one of the most horrifying Pokemon in the game. Very few Pokemon are safe from Chandelure's titanic hits. Overheat ravages anything that doesn't resist it while Shadow Ball hits those that do. Hidden Power Ice takes a huge chunk out of common dragons like Dragonite and Latios while Energy Ball takes down Gastrodon and finishes weakened Politoed and Tyranitar. If you can use this in the sun the number of things Chandelure can revenge kill is pretty much every Pokemon around besides Chansey, Blissey, Tyranitar and Heatran.

-Substitute
-Fire Blast
-Shadow Ball
-Pain Split / Hidden Power [Fighting] / Calm Mind
Item Attached: Life Orb
Ability: Shadow Tag / Flash Fire
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 Speed / 252 Special Attack / 4 Defense
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)

Sadly Shadow Tag has not been released so this is Chandelure's second most destructive set. Taking a page from Gengar, Chandelure can use Substitute and Pain Split to be incredibly annoying. Try to Sub on something that can't hurt you like Infernape or Blissey and start wrecking. Pain Split high HP things that you can't outright beat like Tyranitar or Chansey and just attack everything else. Shadow Tag is the best ability as this allows Chandelure to take down defensive teams on its own but Flash Fire is usable if you can't get Shadow Tag. Pain Split is the better move as it keeps Chandelure alive but HP Fighting lets you beat Tyranitar and Heatran more often than not. Calm Mind is the final option as with Shadow Tag you can set up to +6 against a Blissey or Ferrothorn, though with Flash Fire its a lesser option.

-Overheat / Fire Blast
-Shadow Ball
-Hidden Power [Fighting]
-Energy Ball
Item Attached: Choice Specs / Life Orb
Ability: Shadow Tag / Flash Fire
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 Speed / 252 Special Attack / 4 Defense
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) / Modest (+SAtk, -Atk)

Please use this in the sun. Do so and you will laugh when even Multiscale Dragonite falls to your mighty Fire moves. Blissey takes up to a staggering 77% from Specs Overheat in the sun. If you get a Flash Fire boost Kingdra can be taken out in one shot from Overheat. Shadow Tag is the better ability here as always but its hard to ignore the power Flash Fire can bring. Shadow Ball is a lesser option but can help bring down fire resists when the sun isn't shining or if you need something to finish off a damaged team with. Hidden Power Fighting can OHKO some Tyranitar even in a sandstorm. It also cripples Heatran. Energy Ball punishes Politoed and Gastrodon, destroying both after Stealth Rocks. Picking between Choice Specs and Life Orb depends on your needs.

-Flamethrower
-Will-O-Wisp
-Pain Split
-Taunt
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Shadow Tag / Flash Fire
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Defense / 136 Speed
Bold (+Def, -Atk)

Don't laugh, it works! Defensive Chandelure is a possibility thanks to its great anti-grass and steel typing. Flamethrower hits very hard and can easily OHKO any steel it hits super effective besides some extremely bulky ones like Jirachi and Bronzong (and neither will take a second hit). Oh, and Heatran. Yeah you can't really touch Heatran. But thats ok because you can demolish your counters like Tyranitar, Blissey and Snorlax while crippling bulky waters. But best of all is that feeling you get when you switch in on a Scizor using U-turn only for it to end up burned from your Flame Body. Taunt keeps Blissey or Porygon 2 from touching you with annoying status and beats Spikers like Deoxys D and, if sunny, Tentacruel. Pain Split keeps you healthy especially against Blissey who can't touch you. Speed EVs outrun max speed Scizor but if you don't care about that you can just run no speed. You can also run Timid and max speed to outrun and check stuff like Mamoswine, Lucario and Breloom. This also means you will be faster than Gyarados and Dragonite allowing you to burn them before they Dragon Dance.

Chandelure
Max Speed and Special Attack on any offensive sets. Timid is the preferred nature as it allows you to outrun most Gyarados, Dragonite, Toxicroak, Mamoswine, Lucario and all Heatran while giving you a better chance of outrunning Gliscor and base 100's like Celebi and Jirachi. Modest is an option if you really like power, though you will feel the speed loss as the previously mentioned Pokemon are very common.

Calm Mind, Clear Smog / Haze, Confuse Ray, Curse, Flame Charge, Memento
Calm Mind could be used on either a defensive or offensive set, but is generally outclassed unless you have Shadow Tag. Chandelure is too slow to sweep with an offensive Calm Mind set so its only use it trapping something to get a few KOs in a row.
Clear Smog is like an offensive Haze.. Though Haze is not stopped by Substitute and Steels. Both moves are relatively useless on Chandelure.
Confuse Ray is always annoying. Giving your opponent a 50% chance to attack is devastating in some situations but Chandelure is better off attacking most of the time.
Curse could work on one of the Pain Split sets as it forces several switches and can rack up a lot of damage if your opponent doesn't expect it.
Flame Charge can turn Chandelure into a full on sweeper in Sunlight. Chandelure is frail, you're better off using Heatran or (Quiver Dance) Volcarona if you want a speedy sweeper.
Memento is cool especially with Shadow Tag. Wipe out a target wall, then Memento yourself and let a sweeper setup with its counter gone. Much less effective if you lack Shadow Tag to the point of being outclassed by Dugtrio, so don't consider this unless the Dream World ability is released. One cool thing you can do with memento is a "trapping chain". Start with a Whimsicott and Memento.. then Memento Dugtrio.. then Memento Scarf Lampent.. Now use Shadow Tag Chandelure to set up as many Calm Mind and Flame Charges on the helpless -6/-6 Pokemon and sweep.

Chandelure is very good in doubles. Its Heat Wave is very powerful, it has an immunity to Fake out and it can use Trick Room to either abuse itself or counter other Trick Room Pokemon. It can also run Choice Scarf to revenge kill or attempt a sweep as barring Swift Swimmers and Chlorophyll Pokes it will be one of the fastest things around.

The most obvious one is Ninetales. Ninetales' Drought transforms Chandelure's strong Fire attacks into nightmares for anything to switch into even if they resist it. Sunlight also reduces Chandelure's bulky water counters to charred fish. Dragons and Grass types like Latios, Virizion and Hydreigon all pair well defensively, particularly Hydreigon. They also lure in Pokemon Chandelure does well against like Scizor.

Stealth Rocks is a big one, reducing the number of times Chandelure can switch in to a handful. Heatran is immune to Fire moves and resists Shadow Ball, while surviving Hidden Power Fighting and Koing with Earth Power. Despite hating Hidden Power Fighting and Burns, Tyranitar generally does ok. With Choice Scarf and Pursuit it can put Chandelure in a "no matter what you do Pursuit will KO you" situation. Vaporeon and Politoed also do great at taking Chandelure's attacks though repeated Shadow Balls and Grass moves will take their toll. Porygon 2 is immune to its STAB moves and takes little from anything else (besides Choice Specs Hidden Power Fighting). Blissey and Chansey laugh at its attacks but they are vulnerable to Substitute Calm Mind sets and Pain Split. Snorlax is effective as it is immune to Shadow Ball and gets a resistance to Fire thanks to Thick Fat. Dragonite, Kingdra and Hydreigon can each survive at least one attack and all can KO back. Oddly you can even revenge Chandelure with Scizor's Pursuit as long as Chandelure is locked into a non-fire move. Terrakion can generally survive a few hits from Chandelure and easily destroys it with Stone Edge.

Pre-Evolution Corner

Lampent can do everything Chandelure does in lower tiers, but it is important to note that Chandelure is underused itself, so Lampent is only viable in Rarelyused or Neverused tiers. You can try Eviolite with a defensive Pain Split spread or a Choice Scarfer.. its stats are terrible though. Only consider it when Shadow Tag is released. Rotom Heat is the better defensive Fire type for now.

In Little Cup however Litwick is a nightmarish Trick Room sweeper with its 20 base speed and terrific Fire / Ghost typing. It is immune to most priority moves found in Little Cup and has respectable bulk as well. It can run a defensive set in Little Cup too, but its generally not effective as many of the common fighting types in the tier don't care about a burn and can KO you.

Locations in Games

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Not in game.

FireRed/LeafGreen:
Not in game.

Colosseum/XD:

Not in game.

Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Not in game

HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Not in game

Black/White:
Evolve Lampent