[OVERVIEW]
Infernape is an effective attacker in DPP OU due to its combination of good offensive stats, great base 108 speed, extensive movepool, and excellent offensive typing. These flexible stats allow it to focus on whatever attacking style is needed for the team: it can be mixed, purely physical, or purely special. This flexibility is made possible by its excellent Speed, as it outspeeds Flygon, Jirachi, and Zapdos and forces Gengar and offensive Latias to run maximum Speed to outspeed it. Its Fire / Fighting typing lets it combat many prominent defensive Pokemon in the tier such as Clefable, Tyranitar, Empoleon, Heatran, Bronzong, Skarmory, and Jirachi. Additionally, with its access to U-turn and neutrality to Stealth Rock, Infernape is an effective pivot; it can use U-turn on foes such as Latias and Starmie to maintain momentum. Infernape's movepool is vast: its excellent coverage options such as Grass Knot, Stone Edge, Thunder Punch, and Hidden Power Ice can hit almost every Pokemon in DPP OU super effectively, while it also has both offensive set up moves like Nasty Plot and Swords Dance and strong utility moves such as Taunt and Slack Off. Infernape even has strong priority in Mach Punch and Vacuum Wave, allowing it to revenge kill weakened Pokemon such as Dragon Dance Tyranitar and Swords Dance Lucario before it can use Extreme Speed. Infernape's ability, Blaze, also gives its Fire-type moves a 50% boost in power when Infernape is at 33% health or lower.
Infernape's issues stem from its subpar longevity, the existence of Latias, four moveslot syndrome, and its defensive stats. Although it is neutral to Stealth Rock, Infernape is otherwise vulnerable to Spikes and Toxic Spikes as well as sand. Infernape's poor defensive typing, in conjunction with its low defensive stats, causes it to struggle to switch in safely, and it is easily worn down when it does get on the field. Although Infernape's attacking stats are solid, oftentimes they are not exceptional enough to OHKO bulkier targets without a boosting item such as Expert Belt, Life Orb or Choice Band. A notable example is that maximum HP Jirachi is not OHKOed by maximum Special Attack Infernape's Fire Blast without a boosting item. Life Orb and Choice Band either make it faint exceptionally quickly or lock it into an attack, respectively, meaning it needs to take even more residual damage to switch back in if it is walled. Infernape's defensive stats mean that it already is at least 2HKOed by much of the metagame even before residual damage (e.g sandstorm damage), making it easy prey for various revenge killers such as Gengar, Starmie, Choice Scarf Rotom-A, Choice Scarf Flygon, and Choice Scarf Lucario. As such, Infernape often relies on either Leftovers or Expert Belt to minimize this residual damage. However, the power output of these items, mainly Leftovers, can be disappointing, and this is made worse by Latias, which outruns and effortlessly walls most Infernape sets without U-turn or a boosted Hidden Power Ice. Furthermore, with U-turn alongside an obligatory Fire-type move and Fighting-type move, Infernape frequently cannot fit all of the moves it wants, whether it be Grass Knot for Hippowdon, Swampert and Quagsire, Hidden Power Ice for Dragonite and Gliscor, Slack Off to offset residual damage, or Mach Punch to hit Lucario, Agility Empoleon and Dragon Dance Tyranitar.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Swords Dance is one of the most prominent other options, as it can be used with an entirely physical moveset to break through bulkier Pokemon. Such a set struggles to set up and still can be walled fairly easily by Latias, however. Another option is to use Choice Scarf, as Infernape is quite fast and can revenge kill boosted sweepers with its coverage. Infernape has many other coverage moves it can use: Stone Edge can be used on mixed and all fully physical sets, Thunder Punch can hit Gyarados better than anything else, Shadow Claw can be used to hit Latias on Swords Dance sets, and Focus Blast can be used on fully special sets. Beware that it already has trouble fitting its given options, however. Infernape has a fantastic utility movepool, and thus has many options such as Stealth Rock, Encore, Will-O-Wisp, and even Role Play, but it does not have the bulk to really use these effectively. Infernape can use a dedicated lead set with a Focus Sash focused on setting up Stealth Rock with options such as Fake Out to remove other Focus Sash, Endeavor to bring foes down to low HP, Taunt to prevent set up, U-turn to scout, and many potential offensive moves. Such a set struggles to provide much midgame utility while struggling to fit everything it wants into its moveset. Infernape has the versatility to use many different items, such as Fist Plate or Flame Plate to always power up its attacks, Passho Berry to survive Water-type attacks, Shuca Berry to survive revenge killing from Earthquake users like Choice Scarf Metagross and Flygon, Lum Berry to mitigate status, and Salac Berry to outspeed everything with a Substitute. However, many of these do not help it against Latias.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Latias**: Latias is the best counter to Infernape in the tier, as it resists both its Fire- and Fighting-type moves, outspeeds it, and can either status or OHKO it. Latias does not appreciate U-turn or a boosted Hidden Power Ice, but Infernape otherwise cannot handle it effectively.
**Residual Damage**: Infernape is vulnerable to all of sand, Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and is neutral to Stealth Rock, which further expose its poor bulk. Status is particularly devastating, as it faints very quickly when inflicted with paralysis or poison from Pokemon such as Jirachi, Latias, Clefable, or Blissey. Often keeping sand and entry hazards, especially Toxic Spikes, is enough to hamper Infernape, especially if it has a Life Orb or is using Flare Blitz. However, Leftovers and Slack Off do help to mitigate the residual damage.
**Water-types**: Bulky Water-types such as Suicune, Gyarados, and defensive Starmie are able to take any unboosted attack and OHKO back with Water-type attacks. Starmie is especially threatening due to outspeed Infernape. Gyarados also is a fantastic answer to Infernape, as its Intimidate weakens Infernape's attacks and can potentially set up or it or just OHKO it with Waterfall. Other Water-types such as Milotic, Swampert, and Kingdra can switch into Fire-type attacks and KO in return. However, all of these need to watch out for the Nasty Plot set, which can survive Water-type attacks with the Passho Berry and KO in return with Grass Knot. While uncommon, Tentacruel and Vaporeon are perhaps some of the best Nasty Plot Infernape answers, as they take little damage from Grass Knot due to their weight.
**Flying-types**: Bulky Flying-types such as Zapdos, Dragonite, and Gliscor can survive Infernape's Close Combat easily and OHKO it in return. Dragonite also resists Fire-type moves and can set up on Infernape, while specially defensive Zapdos and Gliscor survive its attacks. Dragonite and Gliscor should watch out for Hidden Power Ice, and neither Zapdos nor Dragonite enjoy switching in with Stealth Rock up or take Stone Edge well, however.
**Ghost-types**: Both Gengar and Rotom-A are immune to Close Combat and hit Infernape hard. Gengar outspeeds Infernape and a Life Orb Shadow Ball OHKOes Infernape after Stealth Rock, while Choice Scarf Rotom-A can OHKO with Hydro Pump or 2HKO with Thunderbolt. Both should watch out, as they do not take Infernape's Fire-type moves well at all.
**Faster Pokemon**: While Infernape can generally survive one strong neutral hit from full HP, it does not like dealing with faster Pokemon such as Latias, Starmie, Gengar, Choice Scarf Tyranitar, Choice Scarf Flygon, Choice Scarf Heatran, Choice Scarf Rotom-A, and Choice Scarf Lucario, as they can easily dispatch it with super effective attacks or after it takes residual damage.
**Bulky Ground-types**: If Infernape lacks Grass Knot or Hidden Power Ice, bulky Ground-types like Hippowdon, Nidoqueen, Swampert, Quagsire, and Gastrodon can check Infernape well. However, Nidoqueen is 2HKOed by Fire Blast, while the rest do not enjoy Grass Knot at all, however.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [Cubic Skunk 527292]
- Quality checked by: [[johnnyg2, 57904 ], [[DeepBlueC, 307789]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
Infernape is an effective attacker in DPP OU due to its combination of good offensive stats, great base 108 speed, extensive movepool, and excellent offensive typing. These flexible stats allow it to focus on whatever attacking style is needed for the team: it can be mixed, purely physical, or purely special. This flexibility is made possible by its excellent Speed, as it outspeeds Flygon, Jirachi, and Zapdos and forces Gengar and offensive Latias to run maximum Speed to outspeed it. Its Fire / Fighting typing lets it combat many prominent defensive Pokemon in the tier such as Clefable, Tyranitar, Empoleon, Heatran, Bronzong, Skarmory, and Jirachi. Additionally, with its access to U-turn and neutrality to Stealth Rock, Infernape is an effective pivot; it can use U-turn on foes such as Latias and Starmie to maintain momentum. Infernape's movepool is vast: its excellent coverage options such as Grass Knot, Stone Edge, Thunder Punch, and Hidden Power Ice can hit almost every Pokemon in DPP OU super effectively, while it also has both offensive set up moves like Nasty Plot and Swords Dance and strong utility moves such as Taunt and Slack Off. Infernape even has strong priority in Mach Punch and Vacuum Wave, allowing it to revenge kill weakened Pokemon such as Dragon Dance Tyranitar and Swords Dance Lucario before it can use Extreme Speed. Infernape's ability, Blaze, also gives its Fire-type moves a 50% boost in power when Infernape is at 33% health or lower.
Infernape's issues stem from its subpar longevity, the existence of Latias, four moveslot syndrome, and its defensive stats. Although it is neutral to Stealth Rock, Infernape is otherwise vulnerable to Spikes and Toxic Spikes as well as sand. Infernape's poor defensive typing, in conjunction with its low defensive stats, causes it to struggle to switch in safely, and it is easily worn down when it does get on the field. Although Infernape's attacking stats are solid, oftentimes they are not exceptional enough to OHKO bulkier targets without a boosting item such as Expert Belt, Life Orb or Choice Band. A notable example is that maximum HP Jirachi is not OHKOed by maximum Special Attack Infernape's Fire Blast without a boosting item. Life Orb and Choice Band either make it faint exceptionally quickly or lock it into an attack, respectively, meaning it needs to take even more residual damage to switch back in if it is walled. Infernape's defensive stats mean that it already is at least 2HKOed by much of the metagame even before residual damage (e.g sandstorm damage), making it easy prey for various revenge killers such as Gengar, Starmie, Choice Scarf Rotom-A, Choice Scarf Flygon, and Choice Scarf Lucario. As such, Infernape often relies on either Leftovers or Expert Belt to minimize this residual damage. However, the power output of these items, mainly Leftovers, can be disappointing, and this is made worse by Latias, which outruns and effortlessly walls most Infernape sets without U-turn or a boosted Hidden Power Ice. Furthermore, with U-turn alongside an obligatory Fire-type move and Fighting-type move, Infernape frequently cannot fit all of the moves it wants, whether it be Grass Knot for Hippowdon, Swampert and Quagsire, Hidden Power Ice for Dragonite and Gliscor, Slack Off to offset residual damage, or Mach Punch to hit Lucario, Agility Empoleon and Dragon Dance Tyranitar.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Swords Dance is one of the most prominent other options, as it can be used with an entirely physical moveset to break through bulkier Pokemon. Such a set struggles to set up and still can be walled fairly easily by Latias, however. Another option is to use Choice Scarf, as Infernape is quite fast and can revenge kill boosted sweepers with its coverage. Infernape has many other coverage moves it can use: Stone Edge can be used on mixed and all fully physical sets, Thunder Punch can hit Gyarados better than anything else, Shadow Claw can be used to hit Latias on Swords Dance sets, and Focus Blast can be used on fully special sets. Beware that it already has trouble fitting its given options, however. Infernape has a fantastic utility movepool, and thus has many options such as Stealth Rock, Encore, Will-O-Wisp, and even Role Play, but it does not have the bulk to really use these effectively. Infernape can use a dedicated lead set with a Focus Sash focused on setting up Stealth Rock with options such as Fake Out to remove other Focus Sash, Endeavor to bring foes down to low HP, Taunt to prevent set up, U-turn to scout, and many potential offensive moves. Such a set struggles to provide much midgame utility while struggling to fit everything it wants into its moveset. Infernape has the versatility to use many different items, such as Fist Plate or Flame Plate to always power up its attacks, Passho Berry to survive Water-type attacks, Shuca Berry to survive revenge killing from Earthquake users like Choice Scarf Metagross and Flygon, Lum Berry to mitigate status, and Salac Berry to outspeed everything with a Substitute. However, many of these do not help it against Latias.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Latias**: Latias is the best counter to Infernape in the tier, as it resists both its Fire- and Fighting-type moves, outspeeds it, and can either status or OHKO it. Latias does not appreciate U-turn or a boosted Hidden Power Ice, but Infernape otherwise cannot handle it effectively.
**Residual Damage**: Infernape is vulnerable to all of sand, Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and is neutral to Stealth Rock, which further expose its poor bulk. Status is particularly devastating, as it faints very quickly when inflicted with paralysis or poison from Pokemon such as Jirachi, Latias, Clefable, or Blissey. Often keeping sand and entry hazards, especially Toxic Spikes, is enough to hamper Infernape, especially if it has a Life Orb or is using Flare Blitz. However, Leftovers and Slack Off do help to mitigate the residual damage.
**Water-types**: Bulky Water-types such as Suicune, Gyarados, and defensive Starmie are able to take any unboosted attack and OHKO back with Water-type attacks. Starmie is especially threatening due to outspeed Infernape. Gyarados also is a fantastic answer to Infernape, as its Intimidate weakens Infernape's attacks and can potentially set up or it or just OHKO it with Waterfall. Other Water-types such as Milotic, Swampert, and Kingdra can switch into Fire-type attacks and KO in return. However, all of these need to watch out for the Nasty Plot set, which can survive Water-type attacks with the Passho Berry and KO in return with Grass Knot. While uncommon, Tentacruel and Vaporeon are perhaps some of the best Nasty Plot Infernape answers, as they take little damage from Grass Knot due to their weight.
**Flying-types**: Bulky Flying-types such as Zapdos, Dragonite, and Gliscor can survive Infernape's Close Combat easily and OHKO it in return. Dragonite also resists Fire-type moves and can set up on Infernape, while specially defensive Zapdos and Gliscor survive its attacks. Dragonite and Gliscor should watch out for Hidden Power Ice, and neither Zapdos nor Dragonite enjoy switching in with Stealth Rock up or take Stone Edge well, however.
**Ghost-types**: Both Gengar and Rotom-A are immune to Close Combat and hit Infernape hard. Gengar outspeeds Infernape and a Life Orb Shadow Ball OHKOes Infernape after Stealth Rock, while Choice Scarf Rotom-A can OHKO with Hydro Pump or 2HKO with Thunderbolt. Both should watch out, as they do not take Infernape's Fire-type moves well at all.
**Faster Pokemon**: While Infernape can generally survive one strong neutral hit from full HP, it does not like dealing with faster Pokemon such as Latias, Starmie, Gengar, Choice Scarf Tyranitar, Choice Scarf Flygon, Choice Scarf Heatran, Choice Scarf Rotom-A, and Choice Scarf Lucario, as they can easily dispatch it with super effective attacks or after it takes residual damage.
**Bulky Ground-types**: If Infernape lacks Grass Knot or Hidden Power Ice, bulky Ground-types like Hippowdon, Nidoqueen, Swampert, Quagsire, and Gastrodon can check Infernape well. However, Nidoqueen is 2HKOed by Fire Blast, while the rest do not enjoy Grass Knot at all, however.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [Cubic Skunk 527292]
- Quality checked by: [[johnnyg2, 57904 ], [[DeepBlueC, 307789]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
