SkullCandy
She Bangs The Drums
[Overview]
<p>If one could call RBY the Psychic generation, then it's certain that BW is the Fighting generation. While Primeape has to compete with a plethora of other Fighting-types for a team spot, it has the right tools to help it stand out. Not only is Primeape the fastest Fighting-type in RU, it also has the rare Vital Spirit ability. This allows it to switch into the Sleep Powder users that dominate RU, namely Tangrowth and Lilligant, and makes it the best switch-in to Smeargle as well. Furthermore, Primeape has a unique support move in Encore, along with an extremely powerful attack in Close Combat.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, it's not all sunshine and roses for our anger management case. Primeape has serious issues with Ghost-types as it lacks a reliable coverage move against them, and is terrified of being burned by Will-O-Wisp. This weakness is compounded by Primeape's hatred of any kind of status, as well as its frail defenses. Primeape users should fear not, however, as Primeape has carved itself a niche in RU as a strong and speedy scout.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: U-turn
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Punishment
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Thanks to its good Speed stat, Choice Scarf, and access to U-turn, Primeape grabs momentum very easily and serves as an excellent scout. The crux of this set is U-turn; thanks to its great secondary effect, Primeape can evade counters while dealing some damage to them. In addition to forcing the aforementioned counters to take damage from entry hazards, it also enables favorable switch-ins for your team. Close Combat is Primeape's best STAB move; it hits extremely hard and demolishes common RU Pokemon, such as Ferroseed, Clefable, and Steelix. Stone Edge hits most other Pokemon, such as Moltres, Sigilyph, and Scolipede, for super effective damage. Punishment has become substantially more effective as a coverage move considering the rise of Nasty Plot Cofagrigus, and also hits Rotom for super effective damage.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The nature and EVs maximize Primeape's Attack and Speed, which allows it to outspeed several prominent threats, such as Choice Scarf variants of Moltres, Rotom, and Rotom-C, as well as boosted Omastar and Lilligant. Earthquake can be used to hit Drapion and Qwilfish, but it should only ever be used with the Defiant ability, as Qwilfish isn't even 3HKOed by -1 Earthquake. Vital Spirit is the preferred ability most of the time as it grants Primeape more switch-in opportunities against the likes of Lilligant, Tangrowth, and Smeargle, which it desperately needs due to its paper-thin defenses. However, Defiant, when used with Earthquake, enables Primeape to lure in Qwilfish and 2HKO it with +1 Earthquake.</p>
<p>Choice Scarf Primeape makes great use of entry hazards thanks to its ability to force switches so effectively; it is essential to partner Primeape with one, if not several, layers of entry hazards. Entry hazards also help Primeape by making its average damage output a non-issue. Mesprit and Uxie can both set up Stealth Rock and resist Psychic-type attacks; Ferroseed sports the same resistance and can set up both Spikes and Stealth Rock while healing Primeape with Leech Seed. It should be noted, however, that Ferroseed cannot run those three moves all on the same set. It is equally important to keep hazards off of your side of the battlefield; although it takes little damage from Stealth Rock, Primeape despises Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Therefore, Rapid Spin users, such as Cryogonal and Sandslash, make for good partners as they can spin away the hazards that infuriate Primeape. Partnering Primeape with other users of Volt Switch or U-turn, such as Rotom-C and Scyther, takes advantage of entry hazards even more effectively and is therefore recommended. Finally, this set loses to most Ghost-types in the RU tier, particularly Dusknoir and Golurk; a Pursuit trapper therefore helps it immensely. Spiritomb makes for an excellent teammate thanks to its considerable bulk, access to Pursuit and Sucker Punch, and lack of weaknesses. In addition to trapping Ghost-types, Drapion can lay down Toxic Spikes to cripple the aforementioned Dusknoir and Golurk.</p>
[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Encore
move 4: U-turn / Punishment
item: Life Orb
ability: Vital Spirit
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>When equipped with a Life Orb, Primeape becomes a powerful attacker who is able to switch attacks and disrupt the opponent's strategy at the same time. Close Combat does great damage to anything that doesn't resist it thanks to the STAB and Life Orb boost. Stone Edge hits the Flying- and Bug-types that resist Primeape's STAB, and also hits Entei and Typhlosion harder than Close Combat does. Encore helps define this set as it is a fairly unique move that slows down the opponent's momentum, and can potentially disrupt their strategy, while U-turn allows Primeape to help its teammates set up. For instance, Primeape can use Encore on a boosting move or ineffective status move, and then U-turn out to a teammate while scoring some damage on the opponent's Pokemon. Punishment is also a good option in the last moveslot as it enables Primeape to hit the myriad of Ghost-types in RU for super effective damage. It is particularly notable against ones that boost their stats, such as Cofagrigus.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>ThunderPunch is an option to hit Slowking and Qwilfish for super effective damage, but should only be used in conjunction with the Defiant ability to block and take advantage of Qwilfish's Intimidate. Toxic can also be used in place of U-turn or Punishment to capitalize on the switches Primeape causes, as well as to rack up residual damage on the opponent. Life Orb is the item of choice as it gives Primeape a much-needed power boost and increases its versatility. Alternatively, Leftovers and Substitute can replace Life Orb and U-turn to block status and increase Primeape's longevity. Such a variant should instead run a spread of 8 HP / 248 Atk / 252 Spe to make five Substitutes instead of four.</p>
<p>Thanks to its Vital Spirit ability, Primeape can easily switch into common sleep moves in RU, such as Sleep Powder from Tangrowth and Lilligant, as well as Spore from Smeargle. Primeape can then Encore the move and proceed to either hit them hard with Close Combat or U-turn out to an appropriate counter should they switch. This set's advantages over other common Encore users, namely Poliwrath and Raichu, are its STAB Close Combat and better overall coverage.</p>
<p>Primeape excels when paired with entry hazards as they literally put your opponent between a rock and a hard place. If the opposing Pokemon stays in, it risks being hit hard by Primeape's attacks; if it switches out, another one of their Pokemon takes entry hazard damage in addition to a powerful attack. Drapion is a great setter of Toxic Spikes, which greatly help Primeape defeat its usual counters, such as Cofagrigus, Spiritomb, and Golurk. Stat-boosting Pokemon, such as Nasty Plot Cofagrigus and Swords Dance Sceptile, can take advantage of Primeape's ability to gain free turns with Encore and set up more easily. Spiritomb and Dusknoir will make short work of this set. As Entei is immune to Will-O–Wisp and takes little damage from their STAB attacks, it pairs well with Primeape.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Even though Primeape has a fairly limited physical movepool, it has all the tools it needs to succeed. Choice Scarf Primeape only needs U-turn, Close Combat, and Stone Edge to excel, and the choice of fourth move is usually trivial. Although Primeape has some interesting support moves, such as Sunny Day and Toxic, a support set is not a good idea due to Primeape's abysmal defenses. The Life Orb set can utilize Screech or Taunt to force switches, but are generally inferior to the moves listed. Overheat can 2HKO Tangrowth, one of RU's premier physical walls. However, mixed Primeape should always either use Life Orb or be backed up by entry hazards in order to secure the KO.</p>
<p>A boosting set consisting of Bulk Up, Cross Chop, Stone Edge, and Punishment can be used, but is unlikely to be consistently successful due to the unreliable nature of its attacks. On top of this, Primeape is largely outclassed in this role by Gallade, and to an extent Gurdurr; it should therefore stick to the sets listed. Focus Punch and Cross Chop are alternative STAB moves; the former is useful on sets running Substitute and the latter, though weaker than Close Combat, doesn't lower Primeape's defenses. However, this benefit is usually useless as Primeape is more of a hit-and-run attacker.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Although Primeape is relatively strong and fast, it isn't incredible at either. Qwilfish is a hard counter to any Primeape that doesn't run Earthquake and Defiant thanks to Intimidate and its good physical bulk. Bulky Ghost-types, such as Dusknoir and Spiritomb, make short work of Primeape thanks to their excellent bulk and immunity to Close Combat; they can also burn Primeape with Will-O-Wisp and cripple it for the remainder of the match. In fact, any type of status is debilitating to Primeape as it doesn't appreciate drops in Speed, Attack, or longevity. Uxie and Mesprit resist Close Combat, take little damage from U-turn, have Psychic-type STAB attacks, and can paralyze Primeape. Scolipede 4x resists Close Combat and can set up Toxic Spikes and Spikes to stop Primeape from constantly switching in and out of play. Golurk is a good offensive check as it resists or is immune to just about all of Primeape's attacks and takes little from Punishment thanks to its good bulk and Punishment's low Base Power.</p>