Kick-*** Fighting Chicken
Blaziken@Blazikenite/Life Orb
Adamant nature
Speed Boost
252 Atk/252 Spd/4 HP
~Protect/Swords Dance
~Flare Blitz
~High Jump Kick
~Shadow Claw
It's amazing what something so simple as a new Ability can do for a Pokémon. Before Generation V, nobody would have given Blaziken much in the way of attention- its average Speed meant it was seemingly doomed to forever live in Infernape's shadow. Seemingly. Once it got Speed Boost, then things started looking up for our Fire/Fighting fiendish fowl, perhaps too much so. Anyway, this remains your best bet for Blaziken- Protect is great for a free Speed Boost, though Swords Dance is an option if you think you can get it in. Flare Blitz and High Jump Kick are your STAB moves of choice, both of them immensely powerful. As for the final slot, you're gonna want to save that for coverage purposes. And my coverage move of choice? Shadow Claw. It and High Jump Kick alone offer totally unresisted coverage, meaning that you can't wall this with resistances alone.
Item is up to you, though either one serves basically the same purpose- boost that Attack power. Ability is absolutely crucial to Blaziken's sweeping capabilities, as without it, it wouldn't have the speed to wipe out entire teams.
Blazi-Pass
Blaziken@Leftovers
Adamant nature
Speed Boost
252 HP/252 Spd/4 Atk
~Protect
~Bulk Up/Hone Claws/Swords Dance
~Baton Pass
~Blaze Kick/Substitute
As anyone who has ever used or faced a Ninjask can tell you, Baton Pass and Speed Boost is a very desirable combination. The premise is simple- Beef up Blaziken's stats with the move of your choice, Protect for more Speed increases, and pass away. Last slot is up to you- Blaze Kick means Blaziken won't be total Taunt bait, whereas Substitute is another good move to pass, albeit not as good as it used to be, given how Infiltrator and sound-based moves now bypass Substitutes. Still worth consideration, though.
Item helps recover any lost HP. Ability, again, is crucial, as it's those Speed increases you'll be primarily passing on to teammates.
Other options:
*Hone Claws is a beautiful option on the sweeper set, especially when you consider the consequences of High Jump Kick missing.
*With a base Special Attack of 130, Mega Blaziken can attempt a special attacking set. Unfortunately, Flamethrower and Focus Blast is pretty much the extent of its special attacking capabilities. Hidden Power wouldn't be a bad idea, were it not for the power nerf.
*Stone Edge and Earthquake are both viable options, and together have great coverage. Thing is, they still don't get the perfect unresisted coverage of High Jump Kick and Shadow Claw, and Blaziken even gets STAB on one of those!
Abilities:
*Blaze: When Blaziken's HP goes below 1/3 of its maximum, its Fire moves gain a x1.5 boost in power. Not a bad Ability in and of itself, but it's hardly Blaziken's best option.
*Speed Boost: Blaziken's Hidden Ability. After every turn, Blaziken's Speed increases by one stage. This is it, ladies and gentlemen, this is Blaziken's one-way ticket to stardom. Every Blaziken you use for competitive battles should have Speed Boost.
Partners:
Blaziken doesn't need very much in the way of partners- it can crush entire teams like empty soda cans if it's able to set up, which it usually has little issue with. That said, any physical sweeper will love Blaziken passing some Attack and Speed boosts its way.
Counters:
Correctly predicting a High Jump Kick and switching a Ghost-type into it, there's half your work done right there. Do it with a Gengar, and you can Mega Evolve it to handle the inevitable Shadow Claw and take out the rest of its HP with a nice STAB Sludge Bomb. Slurpuff also resists High Jump Kick, and after a Calm Mind or two, Blaziken is powerless to stop its Surf. A physical-oriented Greninja can also come in on a resisted Flare Blitz or Shadow Claw (look out for High Jump Kick, though!) and take it out with Water Shuriken. In fact, priority moves in general are a good way to go about countering Blaziken. One of the best ways, though- Azumarill. It resists both of Blaziken's STABs, and takes it out with a Huge Power-boosted STAB Aqua Jet.
Opinion:
Overpowered, overrated... And yet, still one cool chicken. In the real world, you fry chicken. In the Pokémon world, the chicken fries you.
Prediction for next week:
Diggersby.