STARAPTOR STRATEGY IN COMPETITIVE POKÉMON

Staraptor is a fourth-generation Pokémon that is frankly one of the most interesting Pokémon we have going competitive this generation.

It is the typical Pokémon that is a bit Kamikaze; come on, it’s very easy for it to die but it will surely take more than one Pokémon along the way (as long as you know how to take care of it a little and return it to its Poké Ball when it touches). In that sense, it reminds a bit of Talonflame (which is also a bird), only Staraptor is even more Kamikaze because the idea is to abuse its movements with recoil (you’ll see why as you read the post).

He is powerful, quite fast and has very good movements; the thing is what I have already told you, that it is too easy for it to die, which does not mean that it is still a very good Pokémon. Let’s go with your analysis and strategy.

? STARAPTOR STATS

His stats add up to a total of 485 points , which is not bad, very close to the 500 that I consider ideal.

• Health: 85.
• Attack: 120.
• Defense: 70.
• Special Attack: 50.
• Special Defense: 60.
• Speed: 100.

Well, you see, a pure and hard offensive. 120 Attack is outrageous and it is also accompanied by a Speed ​​of 100 which is quite good although it is true that it is in that range between 90-110 in which there are lots of Pokémon and where it becomes quite difficult to know if you are faster you or the opponent (unless you’re a god and you know all the Pokémon’s Speed ​​by heart, and you still wouldn’t be able to know their EVs or if they’re wearing an item like Choice Scarf).

Defensively what is expected, quite meh, we will have to be careful with him as it happens with most offensive players.

TYPE, RESISTANCES AND WEAKNESSES

Staraptor is a Normal Flying Type , which gives it the following weaknesses and resistances:

• It is immune to Ghost and Ground.
• It is resistant to Bug and Plant.
• It is weak to Electric, Ice and Rock.

It’s a fairly normal combination of types, although it’s true that having 2 immunities is very good and they are also 2 very interesting. Ground is excessively common in Competitive and Ghost is not too bad even if it is not as interesting.

The resistors it has are only 2 and they are a bit meh. Neither of the 2 is too relevant, but there they are. Regarding the weaknesses, it must be mentioned that they are not very pleasant; the Rock-Type is especially unpleasant because of Rock Trap, Ice is quite common as coverage moves and in the Water-Types that are also super present in the competitive and Electric would be the mildest, but it is still something to take into account.

Come on, we will have to be very careful with Pokémon like Luxray or Weavile , and of course the Rock Trap.

STARAPTOR ABILITIES

Let’s now see his abilities and which ones could become interesting:

INTIMIDATION

Without a doubt one of the best skills in Competitive Pokémon, especially in doubles. Basically when entering the field we will reduce the opponent’s Attack by one level (in doubles it will be from the opponent’s 2 Pokémon), something that is brutal to slow down the physical attackers a bit and therefore also withstand the blows better.

BOLD

This is the one I would most recommend for single as it will give us quite a relevant extra power. Typical attacks that have a knockback (that do a little damage to us when performing them) will see their power increased by 20%. Which translates into 20% more damage (and more recoil damage, be careful with this huh).

IVS, EVS AND NATURE

The perfect Iv’s, as almost always. Regarding EV’s and Nature…

• EV’s : Normal in a physical offensive. All EVs in Attack and Speed. The ones that are left over can be put into Special Defense.
• Nature : One that lowers our Special Attack (which we don’t care about) and improves Attack or Speed, depending on what we want to boost more. Steady (+Attack -Special Attack) or Cheerful (+Speed ​​-Special Attack).

RECOMMENDED ITEM

These are the items I recommend for Staraptor:

• Choice Ribbon : Increases physical damage by 50% with the drawback that when we use a movement we will be forced to continue using it until we change the Pokémon.
• Election Scarf : The same, but what will increase us will be the Speed ​​(50%).

And in case you’re wondering why I don’t mention the Lifesphere, it’s because since we’ll be using a lot of recoil attacks, since on top of that we’ll be draining our life when attacking, we’re going to last nothing.

BEST MOVES FOR STARAPTOR

The movements that I recommend the most for Staraptor:

• Bold Bird : STAB Flying, Physical, 120 power, 100% accuracy, and the drawback that we will take knockback damage, which greatly increases its power due to Bold’s Ability. Flying is effective against Grass, Fighting and Bug.
• Double Edge : STAB Normal, Physical, 120 power, 100% accuracy, and again has knockback damage, which is what we want to hit hard.
• Point Blank : Fighting, Physical, 100 power, 100% accuracy, but with the problem that using it will lower our Defense and Special Defense by one level. It’s still a brutal coverage move. Remember that Fighting is effective against Rock, Ice, Steel, Dark and Normal.
• Round Trip : Bug, Physical, 70 power, 100% accuracy and the cool thing about it is that when using it we will also change our Pokémon for the one we choose. So it is a way to get out of the field and incidentally we hit so as not to lose that turn; be careful, yes, because if they are faster than us they will hit us before the change.
• Clear : Very useful move as it removes all the annoying stuff from the field like Trap Rocks, Spikes and such.

STARAPTOR STRATEGY

I will put a single strategy, but I will give you some options so that you can adapt it to your liking depending on what you prefer (basically roll more for Speed ​​or offensive power).

• IVs: Perfect.
• EVs: 252 Attack, 252 Speed ​​and 4 Special Defense.
• Nature: Cheerful (if you go with Ribbon), Firm (if you go with Scarf).
• Item: Election Ribbon or Election Handkerchief.
• Ability: Bold.
• Movements:
  • Bold Bird.
  • Double edge.
  • To Bocajarro.
  • Round trip.

Everything will depend on the object you put on it; With Choice Tape we will hit so hard that it will be rare for them to be able to resist us well except for the hyper-defensive ones on duty like Ferrothorn or Toxapex . But… with Scarf we are practically guaranteed to be the fastest on the field, which is something that always comes from fable (except for a faster Pokémon and with Ribbon too, which is not something so common but it can happen).

Be that as it may, we have some very powerful moves, good coverage and an ability that will greatly enhance our 2 STABS, which are Bold Bird and Double Edge to cause havoc.

HOW TO DEFEAT STARAPTOR AND COUNTERS

If you want to get rid of a Staraptor from the rival team, I recommend the following:

• Rock Trap : It is a slightly kamikaze Pokémon, so if it enters the field and already loses a considerable amount of life just by entering… well, it will make the job much easier.
• Burn : If we burn him he will lose a lot of power and on top of that he will damage himself when attacking, something that along with the burn damage… well, you destroy him, come on.
• Types to which it is Weak : It is a Pokémon that falls very easily, it will be enough for you to hit it with movements of Electric, Ice or Rock Type with Pokémon that exceed it in speed (or with priority attacks). Keep in mind that if he’s wearing Choice Scarf it won’t be that easy to outspeed him. Pokémon like Excadrill , Garchomp , Tapu-Koko or Greninja.
• Stall : Pokemon that hold up well and can slowly drain the life out of it. Corsola Galar is a very good example, another could be Ferrothorn.