Pokemon Focus: #59 - Arcanine

Introduction

Arcanine is yet another Pokemon we have mostly ignored until the physical/special split allowed it some firepower *cough* from its high Attack stat. Now, this Chinese-fire-tiger-dog finally has its time to shine on our main team. It always had good stats; it's the Pokemon with the highest base stat total aside from legendaries and the 600-total pseudo-legendaries. And its Special Attack is nothing to scoff at, so special and mixed movesets are still an option. It has two great abilities, too. Its moveset grew quite a bit, and it's still a great user of ExtremeSpeed, which it was the first Pokemon to get way back in Gold and Silver. Overall, it's a great Pokemon worth using.

Training

Once Growlithe evolves into Arcanine, there is no turning back, so make sure Growlithe has learned everything it needs to know before using the Fire Stone. Some possible markers include: Flamethrower at Lv. 34, Crunch at Lv. 42, Heat Wave at Lv. 45, and Flare Blitz at Lv. 48.

Stats

90 HP, 110 Atk, 80 Def, 100 SpA, 80 SpD, 95 Spe

These stats are great. Solid power and solid bulk allow Arcanine to function both as a straight-up sweeper and as a bulky sweeper.

Abilities

Arcanine has two great abilities to choose from. Flash Fire is always fun: it gives Arcanine a Fire immunity, and if you get the switch, you can then proceed to tear through the opponents with your attacks. It's great for sweeper variants.

On the other hand, Intimidate is one of the best abilities, period. Being able to drop the opponent's Attack power instantly is amazing, and works well with Arcanine's decent bulk; in particular, bulky variants of Arcanine will want this ability.

Moves

Starting with Arcanine's Fire attacks, its new Flare Blitz will be the strongest attack it has against foes. It does come with that 1/3-damage recoil, though, so watch out. Arcanine has decent enough Special Attack to make use of the standard Special options, Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Heat Wave, and Overheat.

For other physical options, let's start with Arcanine's previous signature move of old times, ExtremeSpeed. The move is still great as (tied for) the strongest priority move in the game, and easily picks off weakened foes. Other physical options for coverage are Thunder Fang, Iron Head, and Crunch.

Other Special options are typically limited to Dragon Pulse (which actually works well with Arcanine's fire attacks, only having trouble with Heatran) and Hidden Power. SolarBeam is a specific option open to Arcanine on Sunny Day teams.

Arcanine has a fair amount of bulk as he is, which means the fact that he can heal himself with Morning Sun can make him even harder to take down.

Status is something else Arcanine can do, and he does it with Will-o-Wisp and Toxic.

When looking to shuffle things 'round, Roar is readily available for Arcanine's use.

Arcanine can either expect Sunny Day support, or set it up himself. Sunny Day also works in increasing the healing from Morning Sun.

Effective Movesets

1. Morning Glory

- Morning Sun

- Flare Blitz

- ExtremeSpeed

- Will-o-Wisp/Toxic/SolarBeam

Ability: Intimidate

Notes: This bulkier Arcanine dishes out damage and can take it, too. Use with sunlight support for maximum effect.

2. Physical Choice

- Flare Blitz

- ExtremeSpeed

- Thunder Fang

- Iron Head/Crunch

Item: Choice Band/Choice Scarf

3. Special Choice

- Flamethrower/Fire Blast

- Dragon Pulse

- Overheat

- ExtremeSpeed

Item: Choice Specs/Choice Scarf

4. Bulky Special Status Shuffler

- Flamethrower/Fire Blast

- Dragon Pulse

- Will-o-Wisp

- Roar

Ability: Intimidate

5. Sunny Day

- Sunny Day

- Flamethrower/Flare Blitz

- SolarBeam

- Morning Sun

Item: Heat Rock

Note: Arcanine can either abuse Sunny Day himself or provide it as support to teammates. If the latter, Heat Rock works well in tandem with Intimidate, which allows it to switch in more often to wreak its havoc. Flash Fire, on the other hand, gives a ridiculous x3.375 power boost to Fire-type moves with STAB, the Sunny Day boost, and the Flash Fire boost, making it a good option for a stand-alone Sunny Day abuser.

Closing Notes

With great all-around stats and (finally) access to powerful moves on both physical and special accounts, Arcanine is now quite a threat to deal with. Have fun with the canine of legend.

Pokemon Focus: #71 - Victreebel

Introduction

Victreebel is a Grass-type Pokemon who has struggled a bit with having the right moves for its stat distribution. Having such high Attack was okay last generation when Poison was physical, but the lack of type coverage hurt. Its Special Attack is still high enough that special attacks work, which is definitely a good thing since in the generation shift, Sludge Bomb became Special and aside from Razor Leaf, Victreebel got none of the new physical Grass moves, nor did it get Poison Jab. That has since been rectified with the addition of Leaf Blade.

Past that, though, it has some interesting options. Sunny Day is almost a given, and its strong attacking stats on both ends give it a fair amount of options to work with. Having access to Sleep Powder, the most reliable Sleep move this side of Spore/Dark Void, is also great for this Pokemon. Overall, it's a fun Pokemon to use, and should by no means be underestimated.

Capture/Training

These guys are everywhere. Just catch one.

Weepinbell, for whatever reason, learns moves at the same rate as Bellsprout. Victreebel has its movepool limited, but since Razor Leaf is Heart Scale-able, you don't need to wait too long. Ironically, the only move worth delaying Weepinbell's evolution for is Knock Off, learned at Level 27, which can be a useful support move, particularly in the Battle Tower. All-in-all, not hard to manage if you want it.

Stats

80 HP, 105 Atk, 65 Def, 100 SpA, 60 SpD, 70 Spe

Pretty good stats overall. Attacking stats are nice and high. Speed can be an issue, but Chlorophyll can resolve that.

Ability

Chlorophyll doubles Victreebel's speed in sunlight, solving its low speed issue and letting it slot nicely into Sunny Day teams.

Moves

On the physical side, Leaf Blade is the only option really worth considering, considering it has the same PP and accuracy as Seed Bomb but with more power and an increased crit rate. On the special side, the usual options are available: Energy Ball for consistency, Grass Knot to hit heavyweights, Leaf Storm to hit hard once, and, of course, SolarBeam in the sun. Remembering that Victreebel has no physical Poison moves to work with, on the special side Sludge Bomb is still quite powerful.

Going into its secondary movepool, Victreebel somehow has access to Sucker Punch. Being a priority move on par with ExtremeSpeed, it will do great damage to those who don't resist it (particularly Psychic-types) and helps compensate for its low Speed, so long as you predict an attack correctly. It doesn't have any other notable physical moves, though, other than Return. On the special side, one of Victreebel's more interesting options is Weather Ball. In sunlight, it becomes a Fire-type attack, gets the Sunlight boost, and helps take care of those Steel-types that tend to stop Victreebel in its tracks. Like its physical side, though, it doesn't have any alternate Special attacks besides Hidden Power.

Victreebel also has access to various status moves. Sleep Powder is one of the best at what it does, although Stun Spore also has its uses, particularly if you think Victreebel is moving a bit too slow. It also has Toxic and Teeter Dance.

Swords Dance is Victreebel's method of kicking up its Attack power. It also has Growth if it wants to increase its Special Attack, albeit at a slower rate. Stockpile can help with defenses.

Knock Off is a good support move, removing an item from the opponent's hands.

Victreebel can cripple opponents with Encore, as well. Gastro Acid and Worry Seed mess up Pokemon reliant on their abilities.

Synthesis gets a mention as a healing move, although Victreebel is a bit fragile to use it much.

Effective Movesets

1. Sunny Day

- Sunny Day

- SolarBeam

- Weather Ball

- Sleep Powder

Item: Life Orb/Heat Rock

2. Swords Dance

- Swords Dance

- Leaf Blade

- Sucker Punch

- Sleep Powder

3. Mixed Swords Dance

- Swords Dance

- Leaf Blade

- Sucker Punch

- Leaf Storm

Note: Differentiated from the above, as this set should not use a Sp. Atk-hindering nature, instead opting for a nature like Naughty.

4. Choice Specs

- Leaf Storm

- Sludge Bomb

- Weather Ball

- Sleep Powder

Item: Choice Specs

5. Support

- Knock Off

- Sleep Powder

- Stun Spore

- Energy Ball

Closing Notes

The generation shift was a bit slow to give Victreebel what it needed to work, but it got some good attacks and now has various ways it can mess up its opponents. Have fun with it.