Taken over from Scoopapa's analysis here with permission from Dragonmaster123
[Overview]
<p>Primeape is one of the many Fighting-types in RU, but has certain niche characteristics that set it apart from the multitude of competitors. These most notably include Primeape's excellent base Speed stat, which allows it to outrun a vast amount of common threats, and its ability, Vital Spirit, which is a godsend in a tier with such dangerous Sleep Powder users. Thanks to those useful advantages, Primeape fits very nicely into the tier, despite the heavy competition of other, stronger Fighting-types.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: U-turn
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Ice Punch / Punishment
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Vital Spirit
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Thanks to its excellent Speed, Primeape can function beautifully with a Choice Scarf set, outrunning a multitude of dangerous threats, such as Choice Scarf Porygon-Z, boosted Lilligant, and even boosted Omastar. U-turn is the core move of the set, allowing Primeape to not only revenge kill some weakened threats, but also run circles around the opponent's team, U-turning out against common switch-ins that can wall its other moves. Close Combat is the obligatory STAB move, hitting quite hard off Primeape's decent base 105 Attack stat. Stone Edge primarily hits Flying- and Ghost-types, since the former are hit harder by Stone Edge than any other move Primeape has to offer, while the latter are unaffected by Close Combat. Finally, either Ice Punch or Punishment can be used in Primeape's last moveslot, each having its own advantages. Ice Punch mostly hits Gligar, while also letting Primeape handle Exeggutor slightly better, while Punishment is Primeape's best possible option against Rotom and Cofagrigus, although it doesn't do much else for Primeape.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Primeape's EVs give it as much Attack as possible, while cutting nothing from its Speed. Due to its average base Attack stat, Primeape doesn't hit too hard, especially with a Jolly nature, but it's not worthwhile to use Adamant, as then it'll be outsped by numerous threats which it would otherwise be capable of checking.</p>
<p>Primeape's main advantage is its ability to keep momentum, something very few Choice Scarf users in RU possess. However, those that do have the ability to pivot by means of U-Turn or Volt Switch pair very well with Primeape, as the ability to force switches while gaining momentum is extremely beneficial. Because of those factors, Primeape pairs well with Pokemon such as Rotom-C, Scyther, and even Archeops. This is because those three are all capable of taking advantage of the free switch-ins that Primeape provides,[add comma] while also being able to threaten and break through common answers to Primeape.</p>
<p>Having entry hazards up on your opponent's side of the field,[add comma] while keeping them off yours,[add comma] is crucial when using Primeape. This is because Primeape will be constantly switching in and out throughout the course of the game, allowing it to quickly rack up hazard damage against itself. This means that most Pokemon that can eliminate opposing spinblockers, namely Rotom and Dusknoir, pair very well with Primeape. Some other examples of Pokemon that can destroy spinblockers are Drapion and Krookodile, both of which can threaten most common Ghost-types. The reason that keeping hazards up on your opponent's side of the field is important when using Primeape is not only because it forces a lot of switches and the residual damage against its counters is important, but also because Primeape doesn't hit all that hard since its Attack is only a bit above average. Excellent teammates for setting up hazards include Mesprit, Uxie, and Scolipede.</p>
[SET]
name: Encore
move 1: Encore
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Substitute / U-turn
move 4: Stone Edge / Toxic
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
ability: Vital Spirit
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 8 HP / 248 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Due to how common Choice Scarf Primeape is in RU, Encore Primeape is capable of catching many opponents off guard and wreaking havoc on their teams. Because of its ability to feign a Choice set, Primeape has plenty of opportunities to use Encore extremely efficiently, locking one of the opponent's Pokemon into a set-up or support move, and then take advantage of the forced switch by either setting up Substitute or getting a fair amount of damage in with Close Combat. Alternatively, Primeape can force a switch with Encore and then proceed to U-Turn to scout the opponent's counter and gain momentum. Finally, Stone Edge has pretty solid coverage with Close Combat, letting Primeape hit Moltres, Entei, and Scyther hard, while Toxic can cripple a fair amount of common switch-ins, such as Cofagrigus and Claydol.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Primeape also abuses Vital Spirit very well with this moveset. Due to Sleep Powder and other sleep-inducing moves being somewhat common in RU, Primeape has plenty of opportunities to switch in. Primeape can then proceed to Encore the move, locking the opponent into it, and then use either Substitute or U-turn to scout the switch.</p>
<p>When using Substitute, Primeape is in play for a significantly longer time than when using U-turn, and thus becomes more vulnerable to passive damage, especially since it loses a quarter of its HP upon the use of Substitute. Because of this, Leftovers is generally the better option if Primeape is using Substitute. On the other hand, if Primape is using U-turn, it can afford to take the extra damage from Life Orb in exchange for a little bit more power.</p>
<p>This Primeape hugely appreciates entry hazard support thanks to its ability to force switches with Encore. Scolipede, Mesprit, Uxie, and Omastar all make excellent partners for Primeape for exactly that reason. The residual damage from the entry hazards is also extremely useful against most physically defensive Pokemon, such as Cofagrigus, Dusknoir, and Tangrowth, who can all take basically anything that Primeape can throws at them, barring Toxic.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Primeape has a pretty wide offensive movepool, and the stats to abuse it fairly well. Options such as Earthquake, which hits Garbodor and Qwilfish hard, along with Seed Bomb, Gunk Shot, Payback, and even Beat Up, can all be used to make Primeape more difficult to handle. However, none of them are particularly useful, as in general, Primeape only needs U-turn, Close Combat, and two essential coverage moves.</p>
<p>Primeape also has some interesting set-up and support options available to it in Taunt, Bulk Up, and Screech. Taunt lets Primeape break down many walls, although the lack of raw power on Primeape's part makes strategies revolving around Taunt less effective than they would be otherwise. Bulk Up can be useful for increasing Primeape's Attack, while giving it a bit of bulk instead of paper thin Defense, but its low Special Defense and lack of Drain Punch usually means that Gallade and Hitmonchan outclass it in that role. Finally, Screech lets Primeape 2HKO defensive behemoths such as Tangrowth, while also allowing Primape to force switches.</p>
<p>Finally, Primeape also has a number of alternative STAB options available. The most notable of these options are Cross Chop, Reversal, and Focus Punch. Cross Chop is essentially a less accurate Close Combat, without the Defense and Special Defense drops, which makes it only really useful on gimmicky Hone Claws sets; Reversal isn't really helpful anywhere, other than some Substitute + Reversal sets, which are extremely hard to pull off. Focus Punch can fit onto most sets with Substitute, but in general, it is an inferior option to the more consistent Close Combat.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>For the most part, anything with reasonable physical bulk or that resists U-turn and Primeape's main STAB move makes a solid counter for Primeape. For example, Dusknoir, Cofagrigus, and even the significantly frailer Rotom, can all take most moves that Primeape can throw at them, but must be careful when Primeape is using U-turn to switch out to something with Pursuit. Many Poison-types, especially those that lack a dual typing which Primeape can hit for neutral damage, also make good switch-ins to Primeape. Garbodor, Muk, Weezing, and Qwilfish are all good options since they can outright wall and set up against Primeape. Bulky Psychic-types, such as Musharna and Claydol, can also counter Primeape pretty well, although they aren’t optimal choices due to taking heavy damage from U-turn.</p>
