Gangsta Spongebob
"Mama I'm a Criminal" - Badass Smoking Caterpillar
[OVERVIEW]
Despite sporting the second highest BST in PU, Arcanine is largely outclassed by Rapidash, as its ability to outspeed Fearow and access to Fire Spin generally outshine Arcanine's higher bulk. However, using both at the same time is very viable, especially since Porygon walls the duo's sole true counter in Omanyte. With huge bulk, solid offensive stats, and still-excellent Speed that outpaces fast foes like Pinsir and Abra, Arcanine is a formidable progress maker. It notably has a fantastic matchup against Rapidash and Magmar, letting players build Fire-weak teams without having to rely on Omanyte. With Reflect, Arcanine's sheer bulk makes it difficult for common threats like Rapidash and even Nidoqueen to take down. With Reflect and Rest, Arcanine walls Porygon, which otherwise could almost always KO or paralyze a key piece of the opposing team. These traits are sometimes good enough to sometimes justify using Arcanine on its own, but most of the time it should still be used with Rapidash. Even as a team's secondary Fire-type, Arcanine has competition in Magmar, which has the moves to make progress against Omanyte and thus functions with less support. However, Arcanine's much higher bulk lets it fulfill a distinct and generally more useful niche in beating opposing Fire-types and Porygon. Despite its plethora of excellent traits, players should weigh their options when considering Arcanine, though most of the time it will prove itself to be a worthwhile addition to its team.
[SET]
name: Bulky Attacker
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Body Slam
move 3: Hyper Beam / Rest
move 4: Reflect
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Fire Blast is Arcanine's strongest attack against most of the tier, and its burn chance potentially ruins checks like Nidoqueen and Machamp. Fire Blast also 3HKOes Porygon, giving Arcanine solid odds to break through it thanks to Arcanine's high critical hit rate. Body Slam lets Arcanine spread paralysis, notably threatening Fire-resistant Pokemon like Staryu, Rapidash, and Dragonair. Hyper Beam is used as a powerful finisher to KO physically frail threats such as Staryu and Drowzee much earlier than Fire Blast can. It also OHKOes Abra, and the extra damage lets it beat the rare Slowpoke one-on-one. Alternatively, Rest combined with Reflect lets Arcanine wall some threats, notably including Rapidash, Porygon, and opposing Arcanine. However, Rest is risky to use, as it invites foes that would otherwise struggle to switch into Arcanine, like Staryu and Nidoqueen. Reflect is solid on its own, as it still improves Arcanine's matchups against foes like Rapidash and Nidoqueen.
Teams that use Arcanine must either pair it with Rapidash as a secondary Fire-type or focus on its bulk. Omanyte stonewalls Rapidash and Arcanine, making Porygon an essential partner, especially when using multiple Fire-types. Porygon also checks Nidoqueen, another troublesome foe. Checks to Water-types, like Drowzee and Staryu, also make great partners, especially if Arcanine is using Rest and thus not always able to threaten the opposing team. Fearow forms an effective offenisve core with Rapidash and Arcanine, weakening shared checks like Nidoqueen, Omanyte, and Graveler. If Arcanine isn't being used with Rapidash, it should usually use Rest to wall opposing Porygon, Rapidash, and Arcanine for its team. Arcanine can reliably beat other Fire-types, which notably helps Pinsir, and it also has a better matchup against Drowzee, which assists partners like Abra and Staryu.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Agility can be used to negate the Speed drop from paralysis, which is especially useful if Arcanine is used as a lead. It can also let Arcanine act as a cleaner, though in the role of a fast Fire-type it's outclassed by Rapidash. Toxic initially seems like a good option to break through Omanyte, but without a partial trapping move Arcanine has no effective means to rack up damage.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Rock-types**: Omanyte stonewalls Arcanine and doesn't mind burn of paralysis that much, while it can 2HKO Arcanine back with Surf. Graveler is only 4HKOed by Fire Blast and 2HKOes back with Earthquake, though it must watch out for burn.
**Water-types**: Seaking doesn't mind Arcanine's attacks too much and can 2HKO it with Surf. Without Hyper Beam, Arcanine can at best 4HKO Slowpoke, while its unboosted Surf 3HKOes back.
**Ground-types**: Nidoqueen is only 3HKOed by Fire Blast, and Sandslash is only 2HKOed 32.8% of the time; they both can 2HKO Arcanine with Earthquake, and Sandslash OHKOes it after a Swords Dance. However, both Ground-types lose the one-on-one if Arcanine is able to get up Reflect at full health, and they also must be wary of a burn.
**Paralysis**: Arcanine is reliant on its Speed to defeat foes such as Staryu and Drowzee, and thus it usually loses once it's paralyzed. Arcanine normally can still deal significant damage to checks like Nidoqueen and Seaking, but this is denied to it when it's outsped. However, Arcanine is less fearful of paralysis if it has Agility.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gastlies.540559/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
Despite sporting the second highest BST in PU, Arcanine is largely outclassed by Rapidash, as its ability to outspeed Fearow and access to Fire Spin generally outshine Arcanine's higher bulk. However, using both at the same time is very viable, especially since Porygon walls the duo's sole true counter in Omanyte. With huge bulk, solid offensive stats, and still-excellent Speed that outpaces fast foes like Pinsir and Abra, Arcanine is a formidable progress maker. It notably has a fantastic matchup against Rapidash and Magmar, letting players build Fire-weak teams without having to rely on Omanyte. With Reflect, Arcanine's sheer bulk makes it difficult for common threats like Rapidash and even Nidoqueen to take down. With Reflect and Rest, Arcanine walls Porygon, which otherwise could almost always KO or paralyze a key piece of the opposing team. These traits are sometimes good enough to sometimes justify using Arcanine on its own, but most of the time it should still be used with Rapidash. Even as a team's secondary Fire-type, Arcanine has competition in Magmar, which has the moves to make progress against Omanyte and thus functions with less support. However, Arcanine's much higher bulk lets it fulfill a distinct and generally more useful niche in beating opposing Fire-types and Porygon. Despite its plethora of excellent traits, players should weigh their options when considering Arcanine, though most of the time it will prove itself to be a worthwhile addition to its team.
[SET]
name: Bulky Attacker
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Body Slam
move 3: Hyper Beam / Rest
move 4: Reflect
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Fire Blast is Arcanine's strongest attack against most of the tier, and its burn chance potentially ruins checks like Nidoqueen and Machamp. Fire Blast also 3HKOes Porygon, giving Arcanine solid odds to break through it thanks to Arcanine's high critical hit rate. Body Slam lets Arcanine spread paralysis, notably threatening Fire-resistant Pokemon like Staryu, Rapidash, and Dragonair. Hyper Beam is used as a powerful finisher to KO physically frail threats such as Staryu and Drowzee much earlier than Fire Blast can. It also OHKOes Abra, and the extra damage lets it beat the rare Slowpoke one-on-one. Alternatively, Rest combined with Reflect lets Arcanine wall some threats, notably including Rapidash, Porygon, and opposing Arcanine. However, Rest is risky to use, as it invites foes that would otherwise struggle to switch into Arcanine, like Staryu and Nidoqueen. Reflect is solid on its own, as it still improves Arcanine's matchups against foes like Rapidash and Nidoqueen.
Teams that use Arcanine must either pair it with Rapidash as a secondary Fire-type or focus on its bulk. Omanyte stonewalls Rapidash and Arcanine, making Porygon an essential partner, especially when using multiple Fire-types. Porygon also checks Nidoqueen, another troublesome foe. Checks to Water-types, like Drowzee and Staryu, also make great partners, especially if Arcanine is using Rest and thus not always able to threaten the opposing team. Fearow forms an effective offenisve core with Rapidash and Arcanine, weakening shared checks like Nidoqueen, Omanyte, and Graveler. If Arcanine isn't being used with Rapidash, it should usually use Rest to wall opposing Porygon, Rapidash, and Arcanine for its team. Arcanine can reliably beat other Fire-types, which notably helps Pinsir, and it also has a better matchup against Drowzee, which assists partners like Abra and Staryu.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Agility can be used to negate the Speed drop from paralysis, which is especially useful if Arcanine is used as a lead. It can also let Arcanine act as a cleaner, though in the role of a fast Fire-type it's outclassed by Rapidash. Toxic initially seems like a good option to break through Omanyte, but without a partial trapping move Arcanine has no effective means to rack up damage.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Rock-types**: Omanyte stonewalls Arcanine and doesn't mind burn of paralysis that much, while it can 2HKO Arcanine back with Surf. Graveler is only 4HKOed by Fire Blast and 2HKOes back with Earthquake, though it must watch out for burn.
**Water-types**: Seaking doesn't mind Arcanine's attacks too much and can 2HKO it with Surf. Without Hyper Beam, Arcanine can at best 4HKO Slowpoke, while its unboosted Surf 3HKOes back.
**Ground-types**: Nidoqueen is only 3HKOed by Fire Blast, and Sandslash is only 2HKOed 32.8% of the time; they both can 2HKO Arcanine with Earthquake, and Sandslash OHKOes it after a Swords Dance. However, both Ground-types lose the one-on-one if Arcanine is able to get up Reflect at full health, and they also must be wary of a burn.
**Paralysis**: Arcanine is reliant on its Speed to defeat foes such as Staryu and Drowzee, and thus it usually loses once it's paralyzed. Arcanine normally can still deal significant damage to checks like Nidoqueen and Seaking, but this is denied to it when it's outsped. However, Arcanine is less fearful of paralysis if it has Agility.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gastlies.540559/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
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