Nails gave me permission to write this up and get it through copyediting etc.
[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Flare Blitz
move 2: Superpower
move 3: Will-O-Wisp
move 4: Protect
item: Leftovers
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While Emboar is often seen as an offensive Fire-type due to its fantastic STAB combination and coverage, people often overlook its 110 / 65 / 65 defenses and great defensive typing, which allow defensive variants to check a surprising number of threats. Unlike some its fellow Fire-types that can be used defensively, such as Entei and Moltres, Emboar is not weak to Stealth Rock, which means that it is significantly more difficult to wear down throughout the match, and since entry hazards are omnipresent in RU, this gives Emboar a very distinct advantage over its competitors. Together, these factors make this variant of Emboar a worthy addition to any Fire / Water / Grass core in need of a solid check to threats such as Durant, Escavalier, Lilligant, Accelgor, and Klinklang.</p>
<p>While their side effects might be off-putting, Flare Blitz and Superpower are Emboar's best STABs for this set, as they are simply the strongest physical attacks that Emboar has at its disposal. Though attacks such as Fire Punch and Brick Break might seem more appealing due to their lack of negative effects, Flare Blitz and Superpower give Emboar some much-needed power to make up for this set's lack of offensive investment, and let it do serious damage to the Pokemon that might attempt to switch in on it. Will-O-Wisp is a huge part of this set's effectiveness, as it allows Emboar to neuter physically offensive threats, allowing it to take their attacks with greater ease. Furthermore, Will-O-Wisp is incredibly effective against many of Emboar's common switch-ins, such as Rhydon, Feraligatr, Kabutops, Aerodactyl, and Druddigon, as these Pokemon will typically switch in expecting one of Emboar's STAB moves, only to be quickly crippled by a burn. Finally, Protect rounds off this set by allowing Emboar to scout for dangerous moves, as well as giving it a crucial extra turn of Leftovers recovery. While this might not seem that important, Protect also lets Emboar play mindgames with the opponent, and the extra turn of Leftovers recovery can occasionally cause Emboar to move out of KO range from certain attacks.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A physically defensive spread is generally best for defensive Emboar, as it lets Emboar take on the biggest range of threats, including Durant and Escavalier, which are otherwise fairly difficult to check. A physically defensive spread also allows Emboar to survive a slew of powerful attacks from strong, physically offensive Pokemon and retaliate with Will-O-Wisp to cripple them for the rest of the match. However, a specially defensive spread is also a viable option, as it allows Emboar to check the likes of of Lilligant and Sceptile with greater effectiveness while still acting as a decent answer to Durant and Escavalier. However, Durant and Escavalier are far more difficult to answer effectively, and as RU is largely dominated by physically offensive threats rather than specially based ones, a physically defensive spread will generally prove to be the better option.</p>
<p>Due to Emboar's incredibly vast movepool, there are a plethora of options that one can use over the suggested moves. For starters, if you really dislike the negative effects of Superpower and Flare Blitz, Hammer Arm and Fire Punch are viable options, though Fire Punch is noticeably weaker and Hammer Arm might miss in crucial situations. Alternatively, you can replace Will-O-Wisp with Toxic in order to lure in and cripple defensive Water-types such as Alomomola and Slowking; however, this means that Emboar can't cripple Druddigon and other physical attackers anymore and that Qwilfish can switch in without any threat. Finally, if you do not find the extra Leftovers recovery from Protect particularly useful, you can replace it with Roar in order to deter setup sweepers, Wild Charge to somewhat threaten Moltres and Slowking on the switch, or Taunt to prevent the likes of Alomomola from passing Wishes as easily.</p>
<p>Defensive Water-types such as Qwilfish, Alomomola, and Slowking give this set huge problems, as it cannot do anything to them barring a burn from Will-O-Wisp, and they can proceed to either threaten it with their STAB Water-type attacks or support their team by setting up hazards or passing huge Wishes to their teammates. To make up for this, it is recommended that you support Emboar with Grass-type Pokemon such as Sceptile, Lilligant, Rotom-C, and Roselia in order to take advantage of the defensive Water-types that Emboar tends to lure in so effectively. Furthermore, while Emboar has fantastic physical bulk, its weaknesses mean that it cannot effectively check certain physical threats, in particular Ground- and Flying-type ones such as Golurk and Braviary. In order to make up for this shortcoming, it is recommended to pair Emboar with another physical wall that can cover the threats it is unable to beat. Alomomola is particularly effective, since it is also able to pass huge Wishes to Emboar, which helps make up for the latter's lack of reliable recovery. In general, this Emboar fits best on a balanced Fire / Water / Grass core, as these cores are able to effectively cover most of Emboar's weaknesses.</p>
[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Flare Blitz
move 2: Superpower
move 3: Will-O-Wisp
move 4: Protect
item: Leftovers
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While Emboar is often seen as an offensive Fire-type due to its fantastic STAB combination and coverage, people often overlook its 110 / 65 / 65 defenses and great defensive typing, which allow defensive variants to check a surprising number of threats. Unlike some its fellow Fire-types that can be used defensively, such as Entei and Moltres, Emboar is not weak to Stealth Rock, which means that it is significantly more difficult to wear down throughout the match, and since entry hazards are omnipresent in RU, this gives Emboar a very distinct advantage over its competitors. Together, these factors make this variant of Emboar a worthy addition to any Fire / Water / Grass core in need of a solid check to threats such as Durant, Escavalier, Lilligant, Accelgor, and Klinklang.</p>
<p>While their side effects might be off-putting, Flare Blitz and Superpower are Emboar's best STABs for this set, as they are simply the strongest physical attacks that Emboar has at its disposal. Though attacks such as Fire Punch and Brick Break might seem more appealing due to their lack of negative effects, Flare Blitz and Superpower give Emboar some much-needed power to make up for this set's lack of offensive investment, and let it do serious damage to the Pokemon that might attempt to switch in on it. Will-O-Wisp is a huge part of this set's effectiveness, as it allows Emboar to neuter physically offensive threats, allowing it to take their attacks with greater ease. Furthermore, Will-O-Wisp is incredibly effective against many of Emboar's common switch-ins, such as Rhydon, Feraligatr, Kabutops, Aerodactyl, and Druddigon, as these Pokemon will typically switch in expecting one of Emboar's STAB moves, only to be quickly crippled by a burn. Finally, Protect rounds off this set by allowing Emboar to scout for dangerous moves, as well as giving it a crucial extra turn of Leftovers recovery. While this might not seem that important, Protect also lets Emboar play mindgames with the opponent, and the extra turn of Leftovers recovery can occasionally cause Emboar to move out of KO range from certain attacks.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A physically defensive spread is generally best for defensive Emboar, as it lets Emboar take on the biggest range of threats, including Durant and Escavalier, which are otherwise fairly difficult to check. A physically defensive spread also allows Emboar to survive a slew of powerful attacks from strong, physically offensive Pokemon and retaliate with Will-O-Wisp to cripple them for the rest of the match. However, a specially defensive spread is also a viable option, as it allows Emboar to check the likes of of Lilligant and Sceptile with greater effectiveness while still acting as a decent answer to Durant and Escavalier. However, Durant and Escavalier are far more difficult to answer effectively, and as RU is largely dominated by physically offensive threats rather than specially based ones, a physically defensive spread will generally prove to be the better option.</p>
<p>Due to Emboar's incredibly vast movepool, there are a plethora of options that one can use over the suggested moves. For starters, if you really dislike the negative effects of Superpower and Flare Blitz, Hammer Arm and Fire Punch are viable options, though Fire Punch is noticeably weaker and Hammer Arm might miss in crucial situations. Alternatively, you can replace Will-O-Wisp with Toxic in order to lure in and cripple defensive Water-types such as Alomomola and Slowking; however, this means that Emboar can't cripple Druddigon and other physical attackers anymore and that Qwilfish can switch in without any threat. Finally, if you do not find the extra Leftovers recovery from Protect particularly useful, you can replace it with Roar in order to deter setup sweepers, Wild Charge to somewhat threaten Moltres and Slowking on the switch, or Taunt to prevent the likes of Alomomola from passing Wishes as easily.</p>
<p>Defensive Water-types such as Qwilfish, Alomomola, and Slowking give this set huge problems, as it cannot do anything to them barring a burn from Will-O-Wisp, and they can proceed to either threaten it with their STAB Water-type attacks or support their team by setting up hazards or passing huge Wishes to their teammates. To make up for this, it is recommended that you support Emboar with Grass-type Pokemon such as Sceptile, Lilligant, Rotom-C, and Roselia in order to take advantage of the defensive Water-types that Emboar tends to lure in so effectively. Furthermore, while Emboar has fantastic physical bulk, its weaknesses mean that it cannot effectively check certain physical threats, in particular Ground- and Flying-type ones such as Golurk and Braviary. In order to make up for this shortcoming, it is recommended to pair Emboar with another physical wall that can cover the threats it is unable to beat. Alomomola is particularly effective, since it is also able to pass huge Wishes to Emboar, which helps make up for the latter's lack of reliable recovery. In general, this Emboar fits best on a balanced Fire / Water / Grass core, as these cores are able to effectively cover most of Emboar's weaknesses.</p>
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