Which of Talonflame or Hawlucha are better for XY playthroughs?

Question

A thing about my Greninja team is it needs a flyer! My Greninja team already has a Venusaur and I wanted a flying type for my team! Crobat is out because it is a Poison type like Venusaur! Although Talonflame and Hawlucha are fast, you need to choose one or the other!

Comments

Why don't you use Aerodactyl?

Answer 1

Hawlucha
Availability: Route 10, 5-20%
Stats: Fast. It is not amazing on the defensive side of things, but its offensive presence makes up for it.
Typing: Fighting/Flying is a strong STAB combo. It hits 4 of the gyms super effectively, though you may need to be weary of the type that is attacking back.
Movepool: Early options with Karate Chop and Aerial Ace allow you to cover almost everything. You will want a Level 19 one as it will still have Karate Chop (or else it will have Encore instead). It can solidly use Fly and Flying Press. The coverage is poor, but its STAB coverage is all you really need. It gains Low Sweep in the Tower of Mastery and Power-up Punch from Korrina. Hawlucha is also a solid HM Slave if needed.
Major Battles: Takes on Grant, Korrina, Ramos and is reasonable against Wulfric. Excellent matchups against Team Flare's multitude of Dark- types. Solid performance in the Elite 4 and does reasonably against half of Diantha's team. It will struggle against Clemont, Valerie, and Olympia however.
Additional Comments: Hawlucha is very one dimensional in how it plays; STAB spam is all you really need.

Fletchling
Availability: Route 2 and Route 3, 20%.
Stats: As a Talonflame, it Base 126 Speed, giving it the edge in attacking first even against fast higher levelled opponents. Its other stats are mediocre but still very usable in terms of offense and defense.
Typing: Normal/Flying is decent early game. Upon evolving into Fletchinder, it becomes Fire/Flying, allowing it to handle Steel-types better in exchange for losing to losing to most Rock-, Electric-, and Water-types.
Movepool: Fletchling always has a reliable Flying STAB to use throughout the game. Return is good Normal STAB, but it lacks strong Fire STAB until late-game. The Move Relearner grants it early access to both Flare Blitz and Brave Bird. Other useful moves are Fly, Fire Blast, Swords Dance, Roost, and Taunt.
Major Battles: It performs well against Viola, Korrina, and Ramos, and is usable against Wulfric. It does not contribute against Team Flare besides KO Fighting-types. At the Pokémon League, it can beat most of Wikstrom's Pokémon and can beat Diantha's Hawlucha and Gourgeist.
Additional Comments: Fletchling's viability in-game is highly dependent on its type matchups, as it cannot overcome most foes who have the type advantage. Nevertheless, it is still a solid choice for its Flying STAB and high Speed.

XY In-Game Tier List

Hawlucha is the better choice, even though it comes later. This is because Fighting is generally a superior type to Fire, and you'll really only be using Hawlucha/Talonflame for their STAB moves.

Comments

Hawlucha also has higher base physical attack (especially before Fletchling is fully evolved), and its STAB moves are more spammable than Talonflame's flare blitz.

Answer 2

While Hawlucha is superior in a vacuum due to having the very versatile Fighting type, you'll get a Lucario on your team in Shalour City. It is arguably a superior fighting type and has the option to Mega Evolve very early.

Talonflame would provide better balance if you plan to use Lucario on your team during your run.

You'll also get Charizard as soon a you get to Lumiose City, which outclasses both of them (and shares typing with Talonflame).

This answer is based on your plans going forward, so I can't give a binary answer. Please use the following to decide.

Will you be using Lucario and/or Charizard on your team later?

If no to both, choose Hawlucha.

If yes to either, choose Talonflame (and replace it with Charizard if you use it).

- It looks like your team would be:
Greninja
Venusaur
Lucario
Talonflame/Charizard

Of course you have plenty of options, so just follow that yes or no question, and you'll find balance.