Game:

Pokémon Sword and Shield (2019)

Duration: 20:49

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I was at first deciding to choose the Pokémon for this, but in the end, I randomized a list, and for this week, I will be trading Fletchling. I breed for 31 IVs in at least 4 or 5 stats, and I did go with the Hidden Ability of Gale Wings, while it is a good Ability, it wasn't how it used to be, Gale Wings does give priority to Flying-type moves, it only works when at full HP, this was what caused the nerf of Fletchling's final evolved form Talonflame in the competitive scene, and I didn't bother with Big Pecks, when turns into Flame Body when it evolves into Fletchinder.
I went with Adamant for the Nature, because Fletchling already is fast enough, and it has a decent Attack stat, and it can only learn three Egg Moves, those being Flame Charge, Defog, and Quick Guard, I will list which parents in the Flying Egg Group that can learn those moves.
Defog: G-Farfetch'd, Rufflet, Braviary, Sirfetch'd
Flame Charge: Fletchinder, Talonflame
Quick Guard: Zubat, Golbat, Crobat, Archen, Archeops

Not the best set of Egg Moves, Defog can be nice for removing entry hazards, Flame Charge can already be learned by Fletchling's evolved forms, I did look at past generations, and Fletchling used to learn Snatch as an Egg Move, but that move was removed in this game.
For moves it can learn, Fletchling can get Peck, Growl, Quick Attack, Ember, Flail, Acrobatics, Agility, Aerial Ace, Tailwind, Steel Wing, Roost, and Fly. When it evolves into Fletchinder, it becomes Fire/Flying-type, and it learns Flame Charge upon evolution, in previous games, Fletchling had Flame Charge as a level up move, and Fletchinder would learn Ember after evolution. When fully evolved into Talonflame, it can learn Flare Blitz, Brave Bird, and Feint.
Next are TMs and TRs, and I will be going over what Talonflame can learn, for TMs, it can get Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, Solar Beam, Fire Spin, Thief, Sunny Day, Will-O-Wisp, Facade, U-turn, and many other moves, and for TRs, it can learn Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Swords Dance, Heat Wave, Taunt, Overheat, Bulk Up, Work Up, and Hurricane, and it can learn Dual Wingbeat as its Tutor move.
Back in Gen 6, Talonflame dominated the competitive scene, you might wonder why it would be that good if it only had an Attack stat of 81, which by the way is kind of average, some of the Pokémon that have no viability in the competitive scene, like Bibarel, Fearow, and even Parasect have higher Attack than Talonflame. What made Talonflame dominate the competitive scene was Gale Wings, and that gave it priority to its Flying-type moves, and priority from Brave Bird allowed Talonflame to destroy anything that was weak to Flying, and it can even heal up with priority Roost. When Gale Wings was nerfed, Talonflame fell in usage, because Gale Wings only worked if Talonflame was at full health, and it was even worse when it lost half of its HP from Stealth Rock, but at least the introduction of Heavy-Duty Boots helped it out a bit.
Talonflame can use Swords Dance to boost its Attack to deal a lot of damage with Flare Blitz or Brave Bird, and it can use Tailwind to support its teammates, an alternative is Dual Wingbeat over Brave Bird for more reliability, as the recoil from Brave Bird can cancel out Gale Wings' effect, and it can even use its high Speed stat to make use of status moves like Taunt or Will-O-Wisp.
In Double Battles, Talonflame can work best as a lead with Tailwind, or use Brave Bird to start off if against a Pokémon weak to Flying, it can make use of Quick Guard to stop Fake Out or any priority moves from the opposing side. It is at least good in Double Battles, but most players tend to use Whimsicott or Tornadus for setting up Tailwind, and by comparison, Talonflame has a higher base Speed than Whimsicott, but at least Whimsicott can get priority from Tailwind even if it has taken damage, unlike Talonflame.
Talonflame is one of those Pokémon where it dominated the competitive scene in the generation it debuted in, and is now in the lower tiers, it is in NU in this generation. I do like how Fletchling start out as Normal/Flying, and then become Fire/Flying when evolved, this is the first regional bird that does not stay as a Normal/Flying-type for the whole evolution line, and Fire/Flying can be a rough type to work up when Stealth Rock can get in the way in battle.

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