Pokkén Tournament Braixen and Supports

[DoctorKitsune]

I haven't seen much discussion on this, so I thought I'd throw it out there. Braixen seems to be much more capable of utilizing support Pokemon effectively than the rest of the cast. Many of her moves increase the support gauge - according to her move list in the game, every one of her normal moves increases it at least slightly, and her burst move fills it completely. Sunny Day and its enhanced version fill it as well, though I'm not sure what the exact percentages are (her high stance in duel phase will also fill it, but I've yet to make use of that). On top of this, as far as I know she's the only one who can cancel moves by calling a support Pokemon.

I've seen some interesting combos with Cubone, Frogadier, and Rotom - who else makes a good support for Braixen? I've been mainly using Eevee to buff myself mid-combo and Reshiram due to how many times I can use him in the match.

Also I'd like to note that I'm really inexperienced with (and really bad at) this game, so I'm sorry if any of this is commonly known/incorrect!

 

[EvilPinkamina]

I've seen some good pressure applied with Mismagius. Personally I like Croagunk for campy play.

 

[Macchiato]

I like using Pachirisu as a support.

 

[dettadeus]

I use Whimsicott almost exclusively. Whimsicott is easily Braixen's best support in matchups where she has to deal with lots of projectiles herself (such as Suicune and the ditto) because it allows her to almost entirely ignore ranged attacks and approach for free when combined with Light Screen. And because Sunny Day charges the support gauge, you can often get three Whimsicotts off in a single round, which is a lot of healing as well.

I think the combo supports are somewhat overrated on Braixen because utility becomes much stronger on repeated uses, and she already has very high damage output without support combos due to her own self enhancement on Sunny Day and Enhanced Sunny Day. It just means that some of your moves are less usable because your support cancels aren't combos, but that's manageable because most of those moves aren't particularly usable in the first place (like standing x in duel phase).

 

[DoctorKitsune]

What exactly does Whimsicott block? I remember trying it when I was using Jirachi and lots of projectiles still hit me through it.

 

[meleebrawler]

Braixen also gets faster support charge from being in high stance during duel.

 

[Jigglymaster]

I've found that Braixen should be using Synergy Cheering more than anything else. It just feels like his Synergy Burst Mode is soooo good. Like others have stated before already, Braixen already gets his assists super fast because of things like Sunny Day. I also have found little to no reason to really use an assist in the very beginning of a match. The only time I really do feel like I NEED an assist is when Braixen is cornered in Duel Phase. Braixen loses so much health from a single combo it's not even funny. So a good GTFO me assist is probably best for him to use.

 

[CatRaccoonBL]

The support I've been using currently is the Dragonite + Victini set. I use Dragonite in the first round and then use Victini in the following rounds. The "Special" cheer skill also helps with this as I usually have quite a bit of synergy left for the next round. Victini is awesome, especially since it stacks with attack up buffs you can get from ESD. And despite being an enhancing pokemon, it also does an attacking move...for some reason. Not that I'm complaining. Getting a burst attack off is also amazing because then I can immediately use Victini again if they survive, (which they most likely will), meaning even more critical + attack buff hits.

Braixens and supports are interesting, since it is not as risky to use slower charging supports thanks to how she can easily make the support gauges charge faster. Which is one of the reasons I don't think Cressilia is much of a good option for her. You will be getting plenty of healing either way and I just don't see the reason to use a one time support pokemon for her.

Anyway, I also do love Jirachi and Whimsicott. Though, I still have absolutely no idea what it can and cannot block. Is there a list?

I've found that Braixen should be using Synergy Cheering more than anything else. It just feels like his Synergy Burst Mode is soooo good. Like others have stated before already, Braixen already gets his assists super fast because of things like Sunny Day. I also have found little to no reason to really use an assist in the very beginning of a match. The only time I really do feel like I NEED an assist is when Braixen is cornered in Duel Phase. Braixen loses so much health from a single combo it's not even funny. So a good GTFO me assist is probably best for him to use.

I personally don't like how winning with that cheer only gives 10%. I prefer the Special set because it allows me to more freely use my synergy burst so if I win when using it I still get a large chunk of my Synergy back. Plus, if I lose I get a free Victini/Whimsicott use at the start of the match.

 

[ShadedUmbreon]

I personally use the Rotom/Togekiss set. The ability to constantly deny any aerial approach is extremely powerful, and the Speed debuff is extremely helpful to Braixen as well. If the opponent can't move out of the way of Braixen's projectiles, it forces them to either shield or Counter Attack Dash Cancel, basically locking them in place from the constant pressure in field phase. Togekiss works well if Braixen needs to get in on the opponent themselves during field phase, the extra speed allows the ability to simply rush in or dodge projectiles without the constant need to Block or CADC.
Rotom may also help with some combos during duel phase, but the main upside is the speed debuff and aerial denial. Togekiss in duel phase isn't as helpful as in Field phase, but it can allow for quicker positioning mid combo.

 

[Lightsoul]

I mostly use Victici as my support pokemon. He raises Braixen's critical hit rate, heals and charges her synergy. Plus his set is with Whimscott as well so when dealing with long range battles that can be a blessing.

 

[dettadeus]

I mostly use Victici as my support pokemon. He raises Braixen's critical hit rate, heals and charges her synergy. Plus his set is with Whimscott as well so when dealing with long range battles that can be a blessing.

...victini is paired with dragonite.

Also, Victini has some weird hitbox that deals insane damage on its activation, and doesn't increase your critical hit "rate", because critical hits are not random in Pokken. Critical Hits are effects of the attack triangle (attack > grab > counter) and will cause the attack to "crumple" the opponent (the way fully charged counter does in Duel Phase). Victini turns all your hits into Critical Hits, meaning that even standing Y in Duel Phase will crumple the opponent.

 

[EvilPinkamina]

I've noticed some braixens running Ninetails to help their camp game in duel phase.

 

[LancerStaff]

I prefer Jirachi in most matchups since it's basically converting the support gauge into the burst gauge, and she seems really strong in burst since all her Pokemon moves become enhanced, she can ESD whenever she wants for an attack buff, and Jirachi is effectively another attack buff while in burst. Also you can negate a negative status by using both together, for what it's worth.

Since he's paired with Whimsicott I'm inclined to think that's the best support set to go into a match with blind, though I don't know how actual tournaments will be run.

 

[DoctorKitsune]

I found a spreadsheet that shows what projectiles Whimsicott will block! (courtesy of togii over on the Pokken Arena forums) My understanding is that anything marked with a red square in the "Hit?" column is blocked while anything marked with green will still hit us, though I haven't tested any of it yet.

On a related note, does Light Screen block the same projectiles as Whimsicott, or is it different?

 

[dettadeus]

Looks like Light Screen blocks more projectiles then, because I know for a fact you can Light Screen Pikachu's Thunder, as well as literally every projectile Gard has (except burst, obviously).

 

[Scarlet Knight]

I personally use Reshiram as my support

 

[Zeekfox]

Okay, so at first I only really used Fennekin for that "get off me" option. But I basically realized that using a Fast charge support was a waste of Braixen's abilities. For a while I've been using Reshiram, which is amazing damage and just bodies so many approach options from the opponent. However, I've been feeling stuck since Cresselia is even more of a waste since it's one call per round.

I haven't put them to practical use, but rather have just been in training mode this afternoon. Dragonite looks similar to Reshiram, but with the upside of being able to KO with a confirm. At close range, you can sneak a Psybeam in there. At most ranges, a jump forward Y will connect. That's huge if you just need that last HP to KO since supports themselves cannot KO. Victini also seems like a reasonable pick for a switch.

Lapras looks decent too, washing away projectiles and knocking away the opponent. Good damage too, especially for an average charge time. Snivy looks decent against opponents who love to dive kick you at angles that Flamethrower doesn't fix.

There were a couple I didn't like that I won't go too much into. One oddity is that I was trying to use Yveltal against the AI, and I fired it off when the Lucario CPU jumped. The laser part knocked him down, then he immediately got up and went into synergy burst. What? Yveltal is supposed to seal that! But, I guess the laser part doesn't have that property and only the ground circle part does it.