**artwork by me**
Arcanine is one of RarelyUsed's prominent Fire-type Pokemon because it has the stats, movepool, and abilities to shine as a wallbreaker. Thanks to its good offenses and movepool, Arcanine can reliably 2HKO almost every defensive Pokemon in the metagame as well as threaten Stealth Rock setters such as Necrozma, Metagross, and Rhyperior. Flash Fire notably allows it to be one of the best counters to Ninetales in the tier. Arcanine also has a good Speed tier, outpacing offensive threats such as Roserade, Gardevoir, and Metagross. Despite those great traits, Arcanine's biggest flaw is that is is easily worn down by Stealth Rock, Flare Blitz recoil, and Life Orb, limiting the number of times it can safely switch in and compromising its potential as a check to Fire-types. Arcanine relies heavily on prediction, so one wrong prediction can leave it helpless against Pokemon such as Milotic, Mega Blastoise, and Golisopod. Fast threats such as Raikou and Zygarde-10% as well as common Choice Scarf users such as Tyrantrum, Drapion, and Flygon can outpace Arcanine. However, Extreme Speed does help against these threats if they are weakened. Arcanine faces competition as a Fire-type from Ninetales and Salazzle, which have better Speed tiers, boost their stats, and, in Ninetales's case, can reliably OHKO bulky Water-type Pokemon with Solar Beam. Arcanine also has competition as a Fire-type check with Houndoom, as Houndoom can also check Psychic-types and has a better matchup against bulkier teams.
[SET]
name: Wallbreaker
move 1: Flare Blitz
move 2: Wild Charge
move 3: Extreme Speed
move 4: Morning Sun
item: Life Orb
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Flare Blitz is Arcanine's strongest STAB move, heavily damaging or KOing Pokemon like Shaymin, Metagross, and Bewear. Wild Charge is Arcanine's best tool for hitting Water-type Pokemon. It has the power to OHKO Mantine and Araquanid while 2HKOing Mega Blastoise, Milotic, and Golisopod. Morning Sun recovers the recoil and damage Arcanine has sustained. Extreme Speed is great to reliably revenge kill weakened faster threats such as Raikou, Zygarde-10%, and Flygon.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack and Speed EVs with a Jolly nature and a Life Orb allow Arcanine to hit as hard and be as fast as possible. Flash Fire boosts Arcanine's Flare Blitz to insane levels after it is hit by a rival's Fire-type move. Using a Z-Crystal such as Firium Z or Electrium Z can ease prediction for Arcanine by giving it a one-time nuke to OHKO Pokemon like Mandibuzz, Mega Blastoise, and Milotic. Said Z-Moves also don't deal recoil damage, meaning Arcanine doesn't necessarily have to use Morning Sun in its set. However, keep in mind that Arcanine is weaker after using its Z-Move compared to Life Orb variants.
Usage Tips
========
Arcanine is a wallbreaker that can come in early- to mid-game as long as entry hazards are cleared. If running Extreme Speed, Arcanine can also be brought late-game to act as a cleaner by picking off weakened threats. Arcanine can safely come in on Pokemon like Ninetales thanks to its Fire typing and Flash Fire. It also can try to come in when predicting that a passive Pokemon such as Registeel will not use Toxic. Arcanine forces a lot of switches, so use Wild Charge or Morning Sun if you predict the opponent to switch to a Water-type like Mega Blastoise, Milotic, or Golisopod. Similarly, hit predicted Fire-type answers like Tyrantrum on the switch with Close Combat. Arcanine is heavily worn down by Stealth Rock and recoil from Flare Blitz, Wild Charge, and Life Orb, so try not to switch Arcanine in too frequently and keep hazards off when it does come in. Using a pivot is also preferred so that Arcanine can get the jump on a foe it can threaten.
Team Options
========
Entry hazard removers are mandatory teammates for Arcanine so that it doesn't lose a quarter of its health every time it comes into battle. Pokemon such as Mega Blastoise, Mantine, and Forretress fit this role excellently. Water-resistant or -immune Pokemon such as Shaymin, Toxicroak, Mantine, and Seismitoad help absorb Water-type moves that target Arcanine. They also help Arcanine by threatening Water-types so that Arcanine doesn't have to predict them coming in for it to wallbreak. Pokemon like Shaymin and Virizion can check the Ground-type Pokemon that Arcanine struggles with such as Rhyperior and Donphan. Arcanine is great for taking out Steel-types for teammates like Roserade, Gardevoir, and Noivern, as well as checking Fire-types for teammates like Toxicroak, Shaymin, and Metagross. Pokemon like Noivern, Yanmega, and Salazzle appreciate Arcanine's ability to threaten Stealth Rock setters such as Metagross, Necrozma, and Rhyperior with chip damage. Special walls such as Registeel, Snorlax, and Florges can help sponge special hits that target Arcanine's weaker defensive stat. A slow pivot such as Mandibuzz, Mega Ampharos, or Forretress can bring Arcanine in on a foe it can threaten safely. Fast pivots such as Raikou, Yanmega, and Flygon also help Arcanine safely come into battle by threatening out the foe with their powerful attacks.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Close Combat can be used considering it the considerable damage it deals to Pokemon that resist Flare Blitz such as Snorlax, Tyrantrum, and Rhyperior. A mixed offensive set using a Hasty nature and Hidden Power Ice can be used to deal decent damage to Pokemon such as Flygon, as well as OHKO Noivern after Stealth Rock. Arcanine prefers the coverage it has with Close Combat, however. Defensive Arcanine seems appealing thanks to Intimidate and moves such as Will-O-Wisp, Morning Sun, and Roar. However, Arcanine is a mediocre wall because it is weak to Stealth Rock and Toxic damage and its defensive stats are only average at best. Choice Band can be run instead of Life Orb to grant Arcanine more power, but Arcanine prefers to switch its moves around and be able to recover its HP with Morning Sun. Intimidate can also be run to reduce the power of physically offensive Pokemon like Machamp, but Arcanine loses out on countering Ninetales, which is one of its main selling points.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Residual Damage**: Entry hazards like Stealth Rock limit Arcanine's chances to be brought into battle, since it is vulnerable to every entry hazard in the game. Arcanine is also prone to being worn down by the recoil from Flare Blitz, Wild Charge, and its own Life Orb.
**Super Effective Attacks**: Arcanine has very common weaknesses in Water, Rock, and Ground, which are easily exploited by Pokemon such as Mega Blastoise, Tyrantrum, and Zygarde-10%. Other Pokemon such as Metagross and Virizion can also carry coverage moves that score super effective damage on Arcanine.
**Walls**: Defensive Water-type Pokemon can give Arcanine trouble, because all of them can come in on Flare Blitz and proceed to threaten Arcanine out. Slowbro in particular is only 3HKOed by Wild Charge and easily recovers the damage dealt to it with Slack Off and Regenerator. Rhyperior completely walls Arcanine's STAB moves and even stomachs one Close Combat before revenge killing it with its STAB moves. Opposing Arcanine also come in for free on Flare Blitz and forces it out.
**Faster Threats**: Many faster Pokemon such as Lycanroc-D, Salazzle, and Zygarde-10% can revenge kill Arcanine or threaten it out. Some of them such as Gardevoir and Tyrantrum can carry a Choice Scarf to get the jump on Arcanine. Setup sweepers such as Barbaracle, Dragon Dance Tyrantrum, and Flygon threaten Arcanine out by boosting their Speed. Pokemon such as Noivern can hurt Arcanine because they target its weaker Special Defense. Running Extreme Speed does help against these Pokemon, especially if they have been weakened prior. Arcanine can also afford taking a hit from these Pokemon as long as they don't run super effective coverage.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[JustoonSmitts, 239732]]
- Quality checked by: [[roman, 396169], [zizalith, 410251], [Averado, 409096]]
- Grammar checked by: [[A Cake Wearing A Hat, 388157], [The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216]]
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