Infernape

[Jukain]

I'm posting a thread for Infernape because there isn't one and it has really high usage. I don't believe it deserves half the usage it gets, but that is beside the point. Infernape gets a new toy in Iron Fist from Dream World that boosts the power of its punching moves, which means Fire Punch and Mach Punch receive a boost to their already substantial enough power.

base stats:
hp: 76
attack: 104
defense: 71
special attack: 104
special defense: 71
speed: 108

possible set (as in dream world exclusive)

Infernape @ Life Orb
Iron Fist
Jolly
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Fire Punch
Mach Punch
Stone Edge / Thunder Punch
Close Combat

The main goal here is abuse your boosted STAB Fire Punch and priority Mach Punch. Stone Edge, Thunder Punch and/or Close Combat add to that by providing coverage and power.

Discuss!

[Vein]

dunno but i believe any elemental punches is illegal with iron fist. i think smogon don't have real reference to check this..

[Jukain]

Originally Posted by Fat Vein

dunno but i believe any elemental punches is illegal with iron fist. i think smogon don't have real reference to check this..

Egg move combinations with female and male-only releases don't apply in Dream World unless they are related to previous generations. So, Infernape can use Fire Punch with Iron Fist, but only in a Dream World setting.

[DDRMaster]

Originally Posted by Fat pokemon0078

Egg move combinations with female and male-only releases don't apply in Dream World unless they are related to previous generations. So, Infernape can use Fire Punch with Iron Fist, but only in a Dream World setting.

In that case, you should at least slash Thunder Punch with Stone Edge as it only has 10 less BP than Stone Edge and allows you to hit Bulky Water-types much harder. The only things I can think of that you would need Stone Edge for are Volcarona, Lightingrod Zapdos, and Chandelure. Offensive Volcarona will always be OHKO'd by Fire Punch in the Sun and Bulky ones have a good chance to be OHKO'd if they come in on SR. Zapdos takes slightly more damage from Fire Punch in the sun and Infernape will either die outright to Chandelure if it's using a Choice Scarf and will still prevent Sub CM ones from setting up as they're 2HKO'd by Thunder Punch if SR is up.

[Jukain]

Originally Posted by Fat DDRMaster

In that case, you should at least slash Thunder Punch with Stone Edge as it only has 10 less BP than Stone Edge and allows you to hit Bulky Water-types much harder. The only things I can think of that you would need Stone Edge for are Volcarona, Lightingrod Zapdos, and Chandelure. Offensive Volcarona will always be OHKO'd by Fire Punch in the Sun and Bulky ones have a good chance to be OHKO'd if they come in on SR. Zapdos takes slightly more damage from Fire Punch in the sun and Infernape will either die outright to Chandelure if it's using a Choice Scarf and will still prevent Sub CM ones from setting up as they're 2HKO'd by Thunder Punch if SR is up.

I see your point, added in.

[Tobes]

I've tried Infernape on a Volturn team with Deo-S and it wasn't bad. It's still not nearly as good as Blaziken, but U-turn does give it a niche that it excels at abusing in a metagame where it has the support of Deo-S and Genesect. I used a Life Orb set and was rather dismayed when Iron Fist Mach Punch failed to OHKO Excadrill, so I'm inclined to think that a Choice Band set would work best for Infernape. This, of course, has obvious weaknesses—namely Chandelure—though, like with LO Breloom, those problems can be mitigated with prediction. This creates some interesting situations. "Do I Mach Punch Excadrill and let Chandelure revenge me, or is he going to bring Chandelure in on the Mach Punch? Should I Stone Edge instead predicting Excadrill to switch out?" This obviously makes Pokemon a high-stakes game of Poker if you are using an offensive team relying on Infernape for handling Excadrill; get that 50-50 predict wrong and you could get your ass swept. It's still one of the very few Fighting-types with U-turn though, and a 4x resist to Genesect's U-turn is invaluable for Volturn teams. I wouldn't recommend it over Blaziken on most teams (although partnering it with Blaziken could produce some interesting results), but it really does shine in the Deo-S + 5 Volturners kind of team.