Infernape (QC 3/3) [GP 2/2]

ThePillsburyDoughBoy said:

Honestly I think that the Choice Scarf set should just be all physical with HP Ice in the AC. While being able to to OHKO Dragonite (who can likely Extremespeed you), Salamence, and Landorus is nice, there is are a few beefs I have with running it.

1. Close Combat is hilariously weak as well as U-turn. Seriously 253 attack stat just does not cut it with Close Combat being the cleaning move of choice. To put into perspective how weak it is; 252 atk Naive Scarf Keldeo to revenge kill with only 10 less atk and 4 less SpA, but with a better STAB in Water that can be boosted by omnipresent rain and and has a wider variety of targets to revenge. U-turn is one of Scarf Infernape's best (and almost only) niche against Scarf Terrakion. If you ran Scarf Terrakion you wouldn't have to chose between mence/nite vs volcarona/Gyarados. Terrakion would be a stronger cleaner and revenger (stab SE+attack stat), so you want Infernape's U-turn, which you will be clicking a lot, to hit hard as possible. Seriously 36 Atk EV's almost all the time does less than 50% to Latios with U-turn to put into perspective how weak it is.

2. Flare Blitz is an arguably much better revenging move and cleaning move on Scarf Infernape than Fire Blast. For one, it does not miss. I don't know about you but when I want to revenge something I do not want to mess around with getting haxed out by losing a game to a miss. Secondly, its 20 base power stronger than Fire Blast, so all around it will hit harder than Fire Blast can. This isn't accounting for the EV's you gain with the all out attack investment vs 220 SpA.

3. You can still hit Dragonite and Salamence pretty damn hard with Stone Edge, so it is not entirely outside the realm of revenging them without HP Ice.

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Choice Band turns Infernape into a powerful offensive threat from turn 1, and is an absolutely terror on sun teams. Despite facing competition from Darmanitan and Victini, Infernape actually has several notable advantages over either sun attacker. The first advantage is Infernape's neutrality to Stealth Rock, which allows it switch into battles more often. ( - this is a fairly significant advantage on a Choice Band user). The second advantage is Infernape's Fighting STAB; unlike Darmanitan or Victini, Infernape does not have to consider using coverage moves to deal with opposing weather starters like Politoed or Tyranitar, - it can deter them from switching in with just its STAB moves alone. Despite its lower fire power (pun intended) Infernape is still capable of demolishing most switch-ins with its sSun boosted Flare Blitz. Notably, bulky Water-types such as Tentacruel, Jellicent and Rotom-W all face 2HKOes from sun boosted Flare Blitz. Close Combat is a powerful STAB move, and can deal heavy damage if it manages to hit the right targets. In addition to being useful against weather starters, it's a useful move to fall back on when Flare Blitz isn't ideal. U-turn is primarily used for keeping momentum on your side in situations where attacking would prove detrimental (i.e. when Infernape is not operating under sSun), though you should focus on attacking when Infernape is on the field. ThunderPunch deals with bulky Water-types that are tricky to deal with otherwise, such as Gyarados (who is capable of taking sSun boosted FlareBlitz due to Intimidate) and other Water-types in general when the sSun isn't shining. If you're confident in your ability to deal with wWater-types, Mach Punch gives Infernape access to semi-powerful priority.

At the cost of some Speed, an Adamant nature can be used for a significant power boost. For example, when the Adamant nature is used, Infernape has a guaranteed chance of OHKOing Latios and Jellicent with with U-turn and Thunderpunch respectively. (after Stealth Rock damage) The loss in Speed is generally not worth the boost in power however, especially since Infernape is in an important Speed tier. Life Orb can be over used Choice Band for added flexibility. Those loss of power is actually not as pronounced since Infernape is capable of 2HKOing practically every switch in with sSun boosted Flare Blitz and a coverage move. That said, Infernape now has to deal with Life Orb, which only further compounds with Flare Blitz. Fire Punch can be used in the 4th slot as an alternative to Flare Blitz, in the event where Infernape can OHKO/2HKO it's switch in with Fire Punch, and you find yourself wanting to avoid unnecessary recoil. It goes without saying, but Choice Band Infernape absolutely needs to Ninetales as a partner to succeed, as it is an unremarkable attacker otherwise. While the sSun is up, Choice Band Infernape makes for a fantastic wallbreaker, so it's important that you bring it out as early as possible to weaken your opponents team so that your other sSun sweepers can sweep at a later point in time. There are a few roadblocks that get in the way of Choice Band Infernape and prevent it from doing its job. First and foremost; r, Rain absolutely kills this set's effectiveness, so having a Ninetales that can stick around and anti-Stealth Rock support is important. Latias and Latios are roadblocks to this set; despite taking insane amounts of damage from sun Sun-boosted Flare Blitz and U-turn, Latias and Latios are capable of taking at least taking one hit from sun boosted Flare Blitz and retaliating with a swift OHKO. Worse still, they're perpetual revenge killers to Infernape, and if the sun isn't up, they'll have a much easier time switching into Infernape and forcing it out. Specially Defensive Heatran makes for a great sSun teammate, as it happens to excel at checking Latias and Latios and it has access to Stealth Rock. Physically Defensive Hippowdon is also difficult Pokemon to bypass, as it cleanly avoids the 2HKO from Flare Blitz and Close Combat, and it can change the weather upon switching in. U-turn works best here, and fortunately you havthere are several Pokemon that can switch into Hippowdon, such as Xatu and Forretress.

Choice Band Infernape is prediction heavy; even if your STAB moves do ridiculous amounts of damage, it won't matter if your opponent can switch the right Pokemon into Infernape and kill your momentum. It's important to scrutinize each of your moves before attacking, as a mistake leaves you open to getting set up on, or it might give your opponent a free attack. Overall, Choice Band Infernape's ability to crush Pokemon who are well suited to tanking sun Sun-boosted Flare Blitz with its coverage moves, makes it a handful to deal with, but it's reliance on prediction makes it difficult for it to utilize its full potential.

The original mix-master ace from DPP, returns largely unchanged in the BW2 metagame. This set focuses on Infernape's great coverage and offense to wreck switch ins or break through defensive cores with it's overwhelming amount of attack options. Overheat deals a ton of damage in a burst, but it should be used selectively; only use it when you're sure it will land it against Pokemon who are weak to Fire-type moves, since the Special Attack drop it incurs will leave it vulnerable to certain Pokemon, such as Dragonite. Close Combat compliments Overheat nicely by targeting some of the Fire-type resists in OU, and being a powerful offensive option general. Close Combat shouldn't be used in the early game on forced switches however, as most of Infernape's checks resist it. Instead, it should be used in the mid-to-lategame where your everything on your opponents team is around 50% or lower.

Lead Infernape has the distinction of having an advantage against almost every single common lead in OU, (with the exception of Politoed, Rotom-W and Hippowdon) and is nearly guaranteed to set up Stealth Rock, while simultaneously preventing the opponent from setting up their own hazards. It's effectiveness as a lead is largely attributed to Fake Out, since it completely nullifies lead strategies revolving around Focus Sash and Sturdy. Dedicated leads like lead Terrakion only have a 50% chance of being able to use Stealth Rock, and are OHKOed if they stays in. Custsap Berry users like Skarmory and Forretress are placed in a checkmate position, since they're unable to rely on Sturdy to protect them from Overheat, or use their Cutstap berry. Crustle is the exception to the rule, as Infernape cannot OHKO it. That said, Infernape is capable of 2HKOing it without activating Cutstap Berry which limits it to just 1 layer of Spikes or just Stealth Rock. Overheat and Close Combat round off the set as two powerful STAB moves with decent coverage, and have utility beyond the lead phase. With Focus Sash, Infernape is near guaranteed to activate Blaze, and supercharging Overheat in the process.

Infernape can also be used as a dedicated Endeavor lead, and because tof its access to priority, it can finish off opposing leads with a one-two punch combo. Mamoswine is much better at executing this strategy due to its immunity to all forms of weather damage. Infernape can forego running Stealth Rock for more coverage, but there's little reason to do this unless you're fond of Focus Sash attackers. Despite having positive matchups versus most leads, you WILL occasionally run across leads that will completely shut you down. Hippowdon is barely phased by Infernape STABs and can OHKO Infernape in return Infernape with Earthquake. Sands Stream nullifies Focus Sash, so Infernape is forced to flee or sacrifice itself to set up Stealth Rock (which may or may not work to your advantage). Politoed can easily overcome Infernape with its Water-type STAB moves, and render its Fire STAB useless if it decides to switch out. Teammates that canshould be chosen to overcome these Pokemon. Nearly every Grass- and Dragon-type should be able to put a stop to either weather starter. Celebi and Latias deserve special mention for usually being able to hard counter either threat. Because of the advent of team preview, your opponent might decide a fast check to Infernape, such as Alakazam or Latias, so make sure that Infernape's default position is not in the lead position. Lead Infernape finds its home on on offensive teams that want Stealth Rock to be set up as soon as possible, as well as preventing the opponent from setting up their own Stealth Rock. Infernape doesn't suddenly lose its value after it's successfully completed its job; it can still act as a decent offensive threat that can smack things around with its 108 base Speed!

Choice Scarf turns Infernape into your run of the mill revenge killer, with the added benefit of having excellent coverage and high Speed. Choice Scarf Infernape still has basic offensive utility, such as the ability to OHKO Tyranitar and Blissey for example, but its overall damage output is noticeably weaker than the other sets, to the point where Infernape will struggle to damage Pokemon who aren't weak to its STAB moves. Infernape has good enough coverage to target most of OU for Super Effective damage; You'll be using Close Combat to smash a multitude Pokemon who are weak to Fighting, (such as Tyranitar, Heatran, Terrakion and Blissey) and Fire Blast to incinerate the various Pokemon who are weak to Fire (such as Celebi, Scizor, Skarmory and Jirachi). U-turn is a staple on this set; it practically eliminates the need to predict after you've brought in Infernape on something it can force out and it usually nets you a switch advantage. Hidden Power Ice will typically let Infernape revenge kill Pokemon who are 4X weak to Ice, and is effective at stopping Dragon Dance users like Dragonite and Salamence from potentially sweeping. On the other hand, Stone Edge offers similar coverage and trades the ability to deal with Pokemon who vulnerable to Ice for the ability to target Pokemon who are weak to Rock, specifically Volcarona and Gyarados.

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Rohail17 said:

Hi PK, just a few nitpicks here:

What happened to OO (I'm sorry if I'm missing something)? Also it's "Checks and Counters", not "Checks & Counters". You're randomly missing the <p> </p> tags at places such as the Overview.

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[Overview]

<p>A former superstar of mixed sweeping, Infernape has found new life as a brutal sun-based wallbreaker. Boasting a neutrality to Stealth Rock and a devastating Fighting-type STAB, Infernape isn't your run-of-the-mill fragile Fire-type attacker. When the sun is up, Infernape's Flare Blitz is devastatingly powerful, plowing through even the toughest walls. Furthermore, when in less favorable weather conditions, Infernape can fall back on its coverage moves, U-turn, and STAB Close Combat. Infernape also boasts an exceptional base 108 Speed, which makes it an excellent revenge killer and offensive Pokemon in a crowded speed tier.</p>

<p>That said, unlike some of its contemporaries, Infernape isn't a nuclear weapon. It's more of a smart bomb, and needs precise guidance to function effectively. When used carelessly, Infernape's time to shine can be short. Some prominent Pokemon, namely Latios, Latias, and Dragonite, boast resistances to both of Infernape's STABs, and are durable enough that just spamming Flare Blitz won't be enough to take them down. The prevalence of rain teams also makes it difficult for Infernape to leverage its Fire STAB. However, when used with prediction and finesse, you can be sure that Infernape's sunny days will be here to stay.</p>

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Flare Blitz
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: U-turn
move 4: ThunderPunch / Mach Punch
item: Choice Band
nature: Jolly
ability: Iron Fist
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>A Choice Band turns Infernape into a powerful offensive threat from turn one and an absolute terror on sun teams. Though it faces competition from Darmanitan and Victini, Infernape has several notable advantages over both sun attackers. The first is Infernape's neutrality to Stealth Rock, which allows it to switch into battle more frequently, a rather significant trait for a Choice Band user. The second is Infernape's Fighting STAB; unlike Darmanitan and Victini, Infernape does not have to resort to its coverage moves to deal with the opposing weather starters like Politoed or and Tyranitar. Instead, it can deter them from switching in with just its STAB alone. Despite its lower firepower (pun intended), Infernape is capable of demolishing most switch-ins, notably bulky Water-types such as Tentacruel, Jellicent, and Rotom-W, with its sun-boosted Flare Blitz. Close Combat is a powerful STAB move capable of dealing heavy damage to the right targets, and is a useful move to fall back on when Flare Blitz isn't ideal. U-turn is primarily used to keep momentum on your side in situations where attacking would prove detrimental (i.e. when Infernape is not operating under sun), though you should focus on attacking when Infernape is in play. ThunderPunch takes care of bulky Water-types that are tricky to deal with, such as Gyarados, which is capable of taking sun-boosted Flare Blitz due to Intimidate, and other Water-types in general when the sun isn't shining. If you're confident in your ability to deal with Water-types, Mach Punch gives Infernape access to semi-powerful priority.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>At the cost of some Speed, an Adamant nature can be used for a significant power boost. For example, when an Adamant nature is used, Infernape or simply 'Adamant Infernape'? has guaranteed OHKOs on Latios and Jellicent with U-turn and ThunderPunch respectively after Stealth Rock damage. The loss in Speed is generally not worth the boost in power though, because Infernape resides in an important Speed tier. A Life Orb can be used over a Choice Band for added flexibility, and the loss of power isn't too pronounced, as Infernape is capable of 2HKOing practically every switch-in with sun-boosted Flare Blitz and a coverage move. That said, Infernape will suffer Life Orb recoil which compounds with the damage from Flare Blitz. To avoid unnecessary recoil, Fire Punch can be used in the fourth slot as an alternative to Flare Blitz, in the event that an OHKO or 2HKO is possible to achieve weird wording :/ do you mean something like, in the event that flare blitz's higher power is not necessary to secure the ohko/2hko?.</p>

<p>Choice Band Infernape absolutely needs Ninetales as a partner to succeed, as otherwise, it's a fairly unremarkable attacker. While the sun is up though, Choice Band Infernape makes for a fantastic wallbreaker, so it's important to bring it out as early as possible to weaken your opponent's team and facilitate a sweep later on. There are a few roadblocks that prevent Choice Band Infernape from doing its job. First and foremost, rain absolutely kills this set's effectiveness, so it's crucial to keep Stealth Rock off your field and have a Ninetales that can stick around. Latias and Latios are roadblocks to this set, as despite taking insane amounts of damage from sun-boosted Flare Blitz and U-turn, they are capable of tanking an attack and OHKOing Infernape in return. Worse still, they're perpetual common id only use perpetual in the sense that you can wall something perpetually (continually), so yeah it seems a little odd of a word choice here revenge killers to Infernape, and if the sun isn't up, they'll have a much easier time switching into Infernape and forcing it out. Specially defensive Heatran is a great teammate, as it excels at checking Latias and Latios and has access to Stealth Rock. Physically defensive Hippowdon is also a difficult Pokemon to bypass, as it easily avoids the 2HKO from Flare Blitz and Close Combat, and it can change the weather upon switching in. U-turn works best here, and fortunately, there are several Pokemon that can switch into Hippowdon, such as Xatu and Forretress.</p>

<p>Choice Band Infernape is prediction-heavy; even though its STAB moves have the ability to do ridiculous amounts of damage, it won't matter if your opponent is able to switch the right Pokemon into Infernape and kill your momentum. It's important to scrutinize 'consider' might be a better word, if i'm not misunderstanding what you're trying to say each your moves before attacking, as a mistake may leave you open to getting set up on or give your opponent a free attack. Overall, Choice Band Infernape's ability to KO Pokemon that are well suited to tanking sun-boosted Flare Blitz with its coverage moves makes it a handful to deal with Choice Band Infernape's coverage moves give it the ability to KO Pokemon that are well-suited (note hyphen) to tanking sun-boosted Flare Blitz, making it a handful to deal with, but its reliance on prediction makes it difficult for players to utilize it to its full potential.</p>

[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Overheat
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: ThunderPunch
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / U-turn / Mach Punch
item: Life Orb / Expert Belt
ability: Iron Fist
nature: Naive / Hasty
evs: 180 Atk / 76 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>The original mix-master ace from DPP returns largely unchanged to the BW2 metagame. This set focuses on Infernape's great coverage and offensive stats to wreck switch-ins and break through defensive cores. Overheat deals a ton of damage in a burst, but should only be used when you're sure it will land on Pokemon that are weak to Fire-type moves, since the Special Attack drop it incurs will leave Infernape vulnerable to certain Pokemon,(comma) such as Dragonite. Close Combat is a powerful offensive option that compliments Overheat nicely by targeting some of the Fire-type resists in OU. Close Combat shouldn't be used in the early game on forced switches however, as most of Infernape's checks resist it. Instead, it should be used mid-game to late-game when everything on your opponent’s team is around 50% or lower. ThunderPunch is used for Pokemon that resist Infernape's STAB combination, and is arguably Infernape's most important tertiary coverage move ? i'd say its more of its primary COVERAGE move, haha, as it allows Infernape to heavily damage its checks—Starmie, Jellicent,(comma) and Tentacruel—and obliterate Gyarados. Hidden Power Ice extends Infernape's coverage by targeting Pokemon with a quadruple weakness to Ice, such as Landorus-T, Gliscor, Garchomp,(comma) and Dragonite. U-turn grants Infernape the ability to scout and offer switch advantage as well as damage Latios and Latias (two fairly good Infernape checks), while Mach Punch can pick off weakened threats such as Terrakion. However, neither option should be used over Hidden Power Ice without justification, as the extra coverage is too important to pass up.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The main spread allows Infernape to OHKO Garchomp after Stealth Rock, usually OHKO bulky Dragonite with Hidden Power Ice after Stealth Rock, OHKO Thundurus-T with Fire Blast after Stealth Rock, and 2HKO specially defensive Hippowdon with Fire Blast after Stealth Rock and a layer of Spikes. If you decide to use an Expert Belt, the spread 96 Atk / 160 SpA / 252 Spe gives Infernape enough power to OHKO Garchomp, Landorus-T,(comma) and Gliscor. Expert Belt strengthens Infernape's performance on sand teams, since it's capable of staying in play much longer compared to Life Orb variants. However, this comes at a significant decrease in power, especially against Pokemon who take neutral damage from Infernape most significantly..?. Grass Knot wrecks Pokemon like Gastrodon that have a quadruple weakness to Grass, such as Gastrodon, and does a decent amount of damage to Jellicent and Hippowdon, though you will need to pump more EVs into Special Attack to guarantee a 2HKO. Fire Blast can be used over Overheat for consistent damage, as it doesn't lower Infernape's Special Attack (important against Dragonite, which avoids the 2HKO from a combination of Overheat and -2 Hidden Power Ice).</p>

<p>Mixed Infernape is oddly at its best on sandstorm teams; Tyranitar is capable of trapping Infernape's best offensive checks (Latios and Latias), and the extra damage from sand makes it easier to obtain kills any significant ones?. On the other hand, sandstorm negatively compounds with Life Orb recoil, which guarantees that Infernape will burn out faster than most Pokemon. A decent alternative to Tyranitar is Weavile, which can trap and kill just about every single offensive check to Infernape, though it has a much harder time doing so. That said, Mixed Infernape should not concern itself with staying alive; its primary goal is to deal as much damage as it can in a short amount of time. Regardless, a spinner like such as Starmie or Forretress couldn't doesn't hurt,(comma) to take some of that pressure off. This set shines against stall teams or teams with durable cores, but a significant amount of prediction is required, as Life Orb, sandstorm, and entry hazard damage seriously hamper Infernape's ability to stay in play.</p>

[SET]
name: Anti-Lead
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: Stealth Rock
move 3: Overheat
move 4: Close Combat
item: Focus Sash
ability: Blaze
nature: Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Lead Infernape has the distinction of having an advantage against almost every single common lead in OU, with the exceptions of Politoed, Rotom-W,(comma) and Hippowdon, and is almost guaranteed to set up Stealth Rock, while simultaneously preventing the opponent from setting up their own hazards. Its effectiveness as a lead is largely attributed to Fake Out, since it completely nullifies lead strategies revolving around Focus Sash and Sturdy. Dedicated leads such as lead Terrakion only have a 50% chance of setting up Stealth Rock, and are OHKOed if they stay in. Custap Berry users such as Skarmory and Forretress are placed in a checkmate position, as they're unable to rely on Sturdy to protect them from Overheat or use their Custap Berry. Crustle is the exception to the rule, as Infernape is unable to OHKO it. That said, Infernape is capable of 2HKOing it without activating Custap Berry, limiting Crustle to just Stealth Rock or one layer of Spikes. Overheat and Close Combat round off the set as two powerful STAB moves with decent coverage, and give Infernape utility beyond the lead phase. With Focus Sash, Infernape is near-guaranteed to activate Blaze, and supercharging Overheat in the process.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Infernape can also be used as a dedicated Endeavor lead, and because of its access to priority, it can finish off opposing leads with a one-two punch combo. That said, Mamoswine is much better at executing this strategy due to its immunity to all forms of weather damage. Infernape can forego running Stealth Rock for more coverage, but there's little reason to do this unless you're fond of Focus Sash attackers.</p>

<p>Despite having positive matchups against most leads, you will occasionally run across leads that will completely shut you this Infernape down. Hippowdon is barely phased fazed by Infernape's STABs and can OHKO Infernape in return with Earthquake. Sand Stream nullifies Focus Sash, so Infernape is forced to flee or sacrifice itself to set up Stealth Rock (which may or may not work to your advantage). Politoed can easily overcome Infernape with its Water-type STAB moves and renders its Fire STAB useless if it decides to switch out i'm not sure i understand the switch out bit/ what it's got to do with anything. Nearly every Grass- and Dragon-type should be able to put a stop to either weather starter, and Celebi and Latias deserve special mention because they are usually able to hard counter both threats. Because of the advent of Thanks to team preview, your opponent might decide to lead a fast check to Infernape, such as Alakazam or Latias, so make sure that Infernape's default position is not in the lead position.</p>

<p>Lead Infernape finds its home on offensive teams that want Stealth Rock set up as soon as possible, as well as those that wish to prevent hazards being set on their side of the field. Even after Infernape has successfully completed its job, it can still act as a decent offensive threat that can smack things around with its acceptable offenses and base 108 Speed!</p>

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Fire Blast / Flare Blitz
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Stone Edge
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Blaze
nature: Naive
evs: 36 Atk / 220 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>A Choice Scarf turns Infernape into your run-of-the-mill revenge killer, with excellent coverage and a high Speed. Choice Scarf Infernape still has basic offensive utility, for example, the ability to OHKO Tyranitar and Blissey, but its overall damage output is noticeably lower than that of the other sets, to the point where Infernape will struggle to damage Pokemon that aren't weak to its STAB moves. Infernape has good enough coverage to target most of OU for super effective damage; Close Combat smashes a multitude of Pokemon weak to Fighting, such as Tyranitar, Heatran, Terrakion,(comma) and Blissey, and Fire Blast incinerates various Pokemon weak to Fire, such as Celebi, Scizor, Skarmory,(comma) and Jirachi. U-turn is a staple on this set, as it practically eliminates the need to predict after you've brought Infernape in on something it can force out, and will usually net you a switch advantage. Hidden Power Ice allows Infernape to revenge kill Pokemon that are 4x weak to Ice, and is effective at stopping Dragon Dance users like either replace with 'such as' or just remove 'like', that works too Dragonite and Salamence. Stone Edge offers similar coverage but targets specific Pokemon weak to Rock, namely Volcarona and Gyarados.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The listed EVs allow Infernape to OHKO Garchomp, Salamence, Landorus and Offensive Dragonite with Hidden Power Ice, and guarantee the OHKO on Terrakion with Close Combat after Stealth Rock. If Stone Edge is used in place of Hidden Power Ice, a physically offensive spread (252 Atk / 252 Spe) with Flare Blitz over Fire Blast should be used. Attack-boosting natures are discouraged, as with a Naive nature, Naive Choice Scarf Infernape actually outspeeds +2 Speed Modest Venusaur, and guaranteed Speed ties with Choice Scarf Keldeo and Terrakion are invaluable as well. ThunderPunch covers most of the Pokemon that are hit super effectively by Stone Edge, and is more accurate and deals decent damage to bulky Water-types, especially Gyarados.</p>

<p>Bulky Water-types and Dragon-types are the bane of this set, as Choice Scarf Infernape is usually walled by either type, and in some cases can be set up on. Celebi can easily handle Water-types, and a Steel-type (e.g. Jirachi and Scizor) or a fast Dragon-type of your own (e.g. Latias and Latios) can be used to check opposing Dragons. Rain teams with Fighting-type resists completely shut this set down, so countermeasures should be taken to deal with them. Examples of this include Celebi, Politoed trappers such as Wobbuffet and Magma Storm Heatran, and a weather condition of your own (e.g. sun or sand). Choice Scarf Infernape works particularly well on sun teams as a late-game sweeper or utility Choice Scarf user, but it's viable (albeit slightly mediocre) on non-sun teams.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Let's take a moment to appreciate how expansive Infernape's movepool is. It has a healthy supply of offensive choices, access to some of the best boosting moves in the game, and a surprisingly long list of support moves. Infernape is capable of using movesets with Nasty Plot, Work Up, Calm Mind,(comma) or Swords Dance to decent success, as the extra power boost makes Infernape difficult to wall. The days of sweeping entire teams with it are long gone,(comma) however, as Infernape finds itself easily revenge killed in the OU metagame. Vacuum Wave can be used over Mach Punch on pure special attacking sets. Encore can occasionally be used to lock an unsuspecting Pokemon into a useless move and give you a free turn. It's useless in practice though, as Infernape's fantastic coverage can easily force switches. Focus Blast is an option on pure special attacking sets, but its abysmal accuracy and the fact that most special walls take more damage from Close Combat make it a throwaway move option. Slack Off can be used on the mixed set to mitigate Life Orb recoil or heal in general. However, Slack Off it takes away Infernape's ability to put out pressure on the opponent, and comes at the cost of a coverage move, which makes Slack Off making it difficult to use in general.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Unfortunately for Infernape, its fantastic coverage cannot account for the certain Pokemon that can easily beat it how about something like 'its fantastic coverage nonetheless leaves certain Pokemon easily able to beat it'. Latias and Latios,(comma) for example, are the perfect counters to Infernape. They're capable of switching into most of Infernape's attacks, have access to healing moves to keep up defensive pressure, and can threaten Infernape or its teammates with STAB Draco Meteor or Psyshock. They also make for fantastic checks, due to their higher Speed stats; as long as either Latias or Latios are is still standing, Infernape will have a hard time doing much of anything. The only things either of them has to worry about is U-turn, especially from the Choice Band set, and sun-boosted Flare Blitz, which deals over 60% to both of them. (Note: Latios's comparatively weaker poorer defensive stats make it harder for him to check Infernape.) Other Dragon-types,(comma) like such as Salamence and Dragonite,(comma) can act as decent checks to Infernape, but need to watch out for Hidden Power Ice.

<p>There are bulky Water-types that exist with certain quirks that Certain other bulky Water-types possess unique traits that make it difficult for Infernape to succeed beat them. Politoed is a decent stop to Infernape, as long it doesn't switch into Close Combat or ThunderPunch. The rain that accompanies it removes sun and sandstorm, effectively neuters Fire moves, and dramatically lessens Infernape's usefulness in the long run. Jellicent's immunity to Fighting, resistance to Fire, and access to Recover make it a near constant 'near-unbeatable'? or just 'solid' / 'reliable'? i dont really get what you mean by 'constant' here haha counter to Infernape. Jellicent only has to worry about ThunderPunch and sun-boosted Flare Blitz, which can 2HKO it. Tentacruel is capable of getting in Infernape's way with its dual resistances to Infernape's STAB moves, and if rain happens to be up, can avoid being 2HKOed by ThunderPunch with Protect. Gyarados has Intimidate and resistances to both Fire and Fighting, which allow it to easily withstand sun-boosted Flare Blitz, and have a lasting effect on provide an all-around good check to Infernape in general. That said, it's its vulnerability to Stealth Rock and quadruple weakness to ThunderPunch make it a shaky check in some cases.</p>

<p>Hippowdon's meaty defenses allow it to wall Infernape both physically and specially. Specially defensive sets can wall every set barring the Choice Band set (Fire Blast and Close Combat fail to 2HKO specially defensive Hippowdon) and physically defensive sets can easily wall the Choice Band set. Hippowdon's Sand Stream also passively nerfs Infernape used on sun teams. Faster revenge killers like such as Alakazam, Choice Scarf Keldeo alakazam AND scarf keldeo, but leaving a note here in case you'd intended to add something more but forgot can spell the end to Infernape, and finally, good prediction on your part and passive damage can help defeat Infernape. Since it usually incurs recoil damage from Life Orb or Flare Blitz, switching in the right checks at the right time can quickly whittle it down.</p>

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sirndpt said:

looked through your changes, vertex, and tbqh i don't really like them :/

the fact that you missed several actual mistakes aside (e.g. don't use 'like' where you mean 'such as', don't capitalize things like Specially Defensive <pokemon> or Sun/ Sand/ Rain etc, smogon uses serial commas), several changes you made, such as in the CB set's AC (adding 'or a weather trapper like Heatran in the worst case') and the scarf set's one (adding 'though slightly mediocre') aren't grammar/prose but content edits - you shouldn't really be attempting to fix/ edit content!

if you think there's something majorly wrong with the content, take it up with a qc member / if there are small but important points you feel were left out, maybe add those in in comments. pk can take whichever edits he wants, but, yeah, just wanted to point out - try not to make content edits, and if you absolutely have to, keep them distinct from gp-related edits.



[gp]2/2[/gp]

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