Which move is better: Overheat or Flare Blitz?

Question

Overheat is an 130 base power move that lowers the user's special attack by two stages after attacking. It has 5 PP and 90% accuracy. Its Z-move, Inferno Overdrive, deals 195 damage.

Flare Blitz is an 120 base power move that has a 10% chance of burning the opponent. The user also receives one third of the damage done (recoil). It has 15 PP and 100% accuracy. Its Z-move, Inferno Overdrive, deals 190 damage.

Which one of these moves is better?

Comments

If the Pokemon has the same physical and special attack, then flare blitz is usually better because it can be used repeatedly.

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overheat unless it is a physical attacker

Answer 1

For Pokemon with different attack and special atatck stats
It depends on which Pokemon. For a Pokemon with high Special Attack, Overheat is better, and, for Pokemon with high Attack stat, Flare Blitz.

(The amount of PP, accuracy, and other trade offs are just for them not being overpowered, since they and some others are among the best moves of their category [Endgame tier moves])

For Pokemon with the same stats for both attack and special attack

Then every move has its role and usefulness, like the many NPCs including Flannery teach the player, Overheat is better in the occasion where you have to use the move one time or only a few times in a battle, and Flare Blitz is to be used all the time, but leaving you vulnerable due to the recoil. So, for a Pokemon used for finishing off other Pokemon quickly and is used mostly during the end of the battle, the best move is Overheat. If a Pokemon is to enter first or in middle of a battle and has to fight more than just finishing the last foes off, Flare Blitz is better. Of course, there are a lot of things to consider and exceptions, but if is to talk about the two moves in particular, is this. The last Pokemon entering the battle need to keep his HP as long as possible for obvious reasons.

Answer 2

For Pokemon with both high Attack and high Special Attack (like Blaziken), I would go for Overheat if you want to give it a Focus Sash, as its Defense and Special Defense are not very good, and I think it would be the only special Attack to learn.
I would also use Overheat on Pokemon with higher Special Attack, and Flare Blitz on Pokemon with higher Attack, but it really depends on the Pokemon's stats and the object you want to give him

Answer 3

Well, Flare Blitz is a physical-category move and Overheat is a special-category move, so if a Pokemon is significantly better in one of these two stats, then choose the suitable move.

For cases where Atk=SpAtk stat, Flare Blitz is a much better choice. Overheat lowers your SpAtk by 2 stages after being used, so when the second turn comes around, following up with Overheat will not be as effective. Even though Flare Blitz inflicts 1/3 of the HP back on the user based on what it dealt, you will still find that Flare Blitz keeps its consistency with power, and will end up being the more powerful move. Also, Flare Blitz does have more PP than Overheat.

Hope I helped! :)

Answer 4

It really depends on whether your Pokémon is Physical or Special. But if your Pokémon is mixed... let's view some pros and cons.

Flare Blitz
Info: 120 Base Power, 100 Accuracy, 15 PP. 1/3 recoil damage, with a 10% chance to burn. Also, if the user is frozen, Flare Blitz thaws out the user.
Inferno Overdrive Base Power: 190 Base Power

Pros:
High base power!
100 Accuracy.
Okay PP.
10% chance to burn!
Thaw before attacking.

Cons:
1/3 recoil.
Lower Inferno Overdrive Base Power compared to Overheat.

Flare Blitz Summary: All though the 1/3 recoil is what greatly hinders Flare Blitz, when used with proper healing Flare Blitz can be extremely powerful and spam-able.

Overheat
Info: 130 Base Power, 90 Accuracy, 5 PP, lowers user's Special Attack two stages after attacking.
Inferno Overdrive Base Power: 195 Base Power

Pros:
High base power!
Okay accuracy...
Higher Inferno Overdrive Base Power compared to Flare Blitz!

Cons:
Low PP (5)
Stat drop
90 Accuracy sometimes does not cut it.

Overheat Summary: Despite having high power, the stat drop is why people may not choose Overheat as much. In addition, you might not even get any damage off with 90 accuracy. Switching out to get rid of stat drops can sometimes be very predictable.

Overall Summary: If you have a Physical Attacker, use Flare Blitz. If you have a Special Attacker, use Overheat. If you have mixed, I would probably choose Flare Blitz over Overheat. Mostly only choose Flare Blitz if you have healing options on your team. Flare Blitz can definitely work without healing, however. Stat drops and 90 accuracy for Overheat are the main reasons to pick Flare Blitz over Overheat when you have a mixed attacker.

Answer 5

Overheat Because it my fav and because no lost of Hp

Comments

The recoil damage from flare blitz is usually insignificant because flare blitz users get one-shot by most attacks anyway. On the other hand, overheat's special attack drop prevents it from being used repeatedly, while flare blitz can usually be used at least 3 times before the user faints from recoil.