Eruption

[HuntSaboteur]

150 base power. That's the first thing that jumps out at you when you see Eruption. But then you realise that the move power goes down when the Pokemon's HP goes down - so speed must be important.

The Pokemon that can learn Eruption are as follows:

Camerupt
Entei
Heatran
Torkoal
Typhlosion

I'm mainly talking about UU here, so Heatran is out of the question. Anyway, Heatran does not seem suited to Eruption. Out of the other four, all are RU, and Entei is the only one in the top 50. Now, I know I'm biased towards Entei, but that's what I am going to talk about. Since Eruption relies on full HP, the obvious choice is a scarf set.

Entei @ Choice Scarf
Nature: Modest/Timid
EVs: 4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spe
-Eruption
-Fire Blast
-SolarBeam/HP Grass
-Extrasensory/Shadow Ball/Stone Edge

Just erupt, erupt, erupt until the battleground looks hadean. If anything endures the Eruption and hits Entei, switch to a different Pokemon and use a different attack if Entei has to be sent out again. The second slot is for more reliable fire STAB, the third for a grass attack (Solarbeam if you are running sun, HP Grass if you aren't) and the fourth is a filler attack.

The enemy of this set is clear: Stealth Rock. So the obvious teammate is a rapid spinner. Priority (especially Fake Out!) also gives this set gyp, so if you see an Ambipom don't keep Entei in.

I'll wait for comments on this set before posting anything else, including any analysis of Heatran and Typhlosion.

 

[TM13IceBeam]

Isn't Scarf Typhlosion better for Eruption, or am I missing something?

Heatran is rather meh as it's forced to run a Quiet nature for this...

 

[zarator]

Sorry but in my opinion, Eruption has never been a worthy move. It only does 25% more damage than Fire Blast, which isn't a lot considering that, if the Pokémon gets down to 80% HP or less, Fire Blast would become the better choice. Unless there are some important OHKOs or 2HKOs you would get with Eruption but not with Fire Blast, I can't justify the use of the former.

On top of that, Life Orb Fire Blast slightly outdamages Eruption, and allows you to switch between moves (although at lower speed). Really the case for Eruption seems really weak to me. Especially when one switch into SR is all it takes to nullify its damage advantage on FB.

 

[Axa]

That said, Eruption does have that 15% accuracy advantage. That can be pretty big. It gets a bigger bonus from Flash Fire and Sun as well.

Either way, I see no reason why Typhlosion can't run both. It's starved for moves as it is.

 

[HuntSaboteur]

I already talked about SR. Look, Specs Jolly Eruption would work as well.

 

[Chinese Dood]

From what I know, Eruption and more common Water Spout (Eruption's water counterpart) are most often used in Double battles, where both opponents are hit by a 168 base power move (assuming and including STAB).

Heatran can be used paired with Whimsicott which can Tailwind to outspeed (and Sunny Day and Helping Hand for higher power).

Camerupt can be used (and can really only be used) under trick room. So can Torkoal, but I never see that.

Typhlosion is often used with a Scarf, or in Tailwind.

Again, that's mostly for doubles. For single, I don't imagine seeing use outside of Scarf/Specs Typhlosion/Entei (mostly Typhlosion with higher SpA, never saw Entei before actually...).

Also @HuntSaboteur: You mean Timid, not Jolly.

 

[PokéMontage]

Sorry but in my opinion, Eruption has never been a worthy move. It only does 25% more damage than Fire Blast, which isn't a lot considering that, if the Pokémon gets down to 80% HP or less, Fire Blast would become the better choice. Unless there are some important OHKOs or 2HKOs you would get with Eruption but not with Fire Blast, I can't justify the use of the former.

30 more BP is a lot. You do realize that it's larger than the difference between Fire Blast and Flamethrower, right?

With Eruption, you're looking to do as much damage as possible as quickly as possible. It's not like Scarf Typhlosion is going to sit there taking hits all day. It's not a tank. If you're still alive, you can continue to do damage with Fire Blast when your HP is down.

 

[Farewell]

Then for Typhlosion, Blaze is the better ability, so FB gets a boost when its low on HP

 

[Axa]

Then for Typhlosion, Blaze is the better ability, so FB gets a boost when its low on HP

At the same time, if you're packing some 4x Fire weaks on your team (Ferro, Scizor), Flash Fire is great for switching in on a Fire attack. It works for both Eruption and Fire Blast, too.

 

[Farewell]

But after the 1st switch foes can predict the switch to Flash Fire Typhlosion.

Blaze, especially if foe set up Stealth Rocks, is more guaranteed.