Tepig (Analysis)

Diana said:

[Overview]

<p>Tepig comes into Little Cup as little more than a mostly outclassed Fire-types Fire-type, having only very small differences to set it apart from others. It is the only Fire-type with both Superpower and Wild Charge, and is also the only Pokemon of the type to learn Head Smash as well. It has a good Attack stat with a passable Speed stat that it can boost be boosted with Flame Charge. All of this means that Tepig may not be the best choice, but it can work if your team is in need of a physical, Fire-type attacker.</p>

[SET]
name: Flame Charge
move 1: Flame Charge
move 2: Flare Blitz
move 3: Wild Charge
move 4: Superpower / Head Smash
item: Life Orb
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 236 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Flame Charge allows Tepig to reach 21 Speed, which is just enough to outspeed all unboosted Pokemon in Little Cup. From there, it can attempt to sweep with Flare Blitz, Tepig's most powerful STAB move. Wild Charge is there to do super effective damage to Water-types such as Slowpoke and Frillish, causing it to have thus having good synergy with Tepig's Fire-type attacks. In the last moveslot, Superpower is preferred to deal massive damage to Houndour and Thick Fat Munchlax, though the drop in stats afterward can be troublesome. Flame Charge and Superpower combine to KO on Eviolite Scraggy that carry Eviolite, which is quite useful as well. The alternative in the last slot would be Head Smash, which hits the aforementioned Houndour, (comma) along with other Fire-types. This is one of those rare times that when Tepig's ability, Blaze, makes a good impact, as most of the moves on this set cause recoil damage that can wear it down very quickly.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>A Jolly nature could be used for the extra Speed, but Tepig appreciates the extra power that Adamant provides, causing Jolly to be an inferior option. Gligar and Hippopotas are serious problems that Gligar Tepig needs help getting around, as they can each take a Flare Blitz and KO with Earthquake. Choice Scarf Darumaka has trouble taking hits but can revenge kill with Rock Slide. As a result, Slowpoke and Staryu make fantastic teammates for Tepig, being able to check all three of the aforementioned Pokemon. Wooper and Chinchou resist Fire and are immune to Electric, allowing them to check Tepig nicely. Carvanha can either revenge kill with Aqua Jet or Protect to get a Speed boost and proceed to use Water-type moves of normal priority (I think people understand that once it's faster it doesn't need to use priority) to take Tepig down. Ferroseed works as a nice check to those three, barring the use of Hidden Power Fire. For mixed versions of Carvanha, Timburr can be used as a teammate to easily KO with Mach Punch.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Tepig has a few other options, but none are very impressive compared to the moves listed on the Flame Charge set (you have to assume another set may be added in the future and OO shouldn't become obsolete because of that). Assurance could be used if Spikes or Stealth Rock are on the field, as it can do serious damage that way on a Pokemon trying to switch in, but it is much too unreliable to be worth a moveslot. Toxic could be used, mainly to give Wooper problems in the long run. Magnitude needs a lot of luck to be worth using, but Chinchou is hit super effectively by it, as are Fire-types. Endeavor could work as a last-ditch move for Tepig when used with Flame Charge, as Tepig loses HP quite quickly and can make good use of the move it. Curse could be used to give Attack boosts but Tepig has too many common weaknesses for it to work well. Lastly, Tepig has a few support moves, such as Yawn, Will-O-Wisp, Roar, and Taunt. Tepig doesn't have However, it lacks the defenses to make use of these moves, however, them and is much better off attacking.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Gligar and Hippopotas can take a Flare Blitz and KO Tepig with Earthquake, making them solid checks to Tepig. Wooper and Chinchou resist Fire Fire- and Electric-type moves, making them good checks as well. Tepig is also very prone to revenge killing. Choice Scarf Darumaka can revenge kill with Rock Slide, while Carvanha can revenge kill as well do the same thanks to Water STAB and Speed Boost. Any little bit of outside damage that Tepig takes severely limits its lifespan, meaning that just hitting it can be a very effective way of dealing with it.</p>

[Dream World]

<p>Tepig gets Thick Fat from the Dream World. Tepig already resists Fire- and Ice-type moves, and which means this ability would therefore be mostly useless. Blaze would probably be is better on Tepig anyway, as it frequently gets low on HP, leaving Thick Fat as an inferior but usable option.</p>

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