[Overview]
<p>Possessing great mixed attacking stats and a wide movepool, Infernape is a Pokemon that can give just about anything a run for its mon(k)ey. It can threaten a wide variety of Pokemon, and opponents wanting to take it down must run either a faster Pokemon or an especially bulky Trick Room user - tanks like Dragonite and Snorlax will be able to take a hit, but will be crippled in the process of KOing it. Infernape shouldn't be trifled with, as its unpredictability may lead to your downfall.</p>
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Heat Wave / Overheat
move 4: Protect / Encore / Hidden Power Ice
item: Focus Sash / Life Orb
nature: Naive
ability: Blaze
evs: 116 Atk / 140 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Infernape's stats and movepool scream mixed attacker, which this set capitalizes on. In general, Fake Out is a great move, providing a guaranteed flinch as well as damage, which most teams love to have. Close Combat provides a powerful physical STAB, and works well with Focus Sash, allowing Blaze to activate more easily. Heat Wave is a great STAB spread move, though the meager 100 (75 when hitting multiple Pokemon) Base Power can be off-putting. As an alternative, Overheat packs enough firepower to roast 4 HP Zapdos with only Focus Sash and a Blaze boost, and does around 50% to the same Zapdos, even at -2, when a Life Orb is equipped. The last moveslot is preferential, as Infernape has many options. Protect is a staple move that keeps Infernape safe from faster Fake Outs, keeping its Focus Sash intact. Encore can punish Pokemon that try to guard themselves with Protect, locking them into a useless Protect for the next few turns, and allows you to focus on the cripple's partner. Hidden Power Ice hits Pokemon such as Dragonite and Salamence who otherwise wall this set, and provides nice coverage overall.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs listed guarantee Infernape an OHKO on 4 HP / 4 Def Terrakion, and provided it's not holding Focus Sash or Chople Berry, lets it OHKO 252 HP Chople Berry Tyranitar 40% of the time with Life Orb. If you want to drop some Speed to make room for more Attack EVs, some good benchmarks to consider are 236 EVs, for base 105 Pokemon such as Mienshao, and 212 EVs, for Garchomp and everything slower. Infernape especially loves Drought Ninetales and Sunny Day support, as sun support not only powers up its Fire-type STAB, but removes damaging weather, such as hail and sandstorm, that nullifies Infernape's Focus Sash.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Infernape has a few other tricks up its sleeve, including support options such as Quick Guard, Helping Hand, and Taunt, and offensive options such as Vacuum Wave, Mach Punch, Grass Knot, and Rock Slide. Quick Guard protects your team from slower Fake Out users such as Hitmontop and Hariyama; however, because Fake Out from faster Pokemon like Weavile will bypass Quick Guard, it's not very useful. Helping Hand and Taunt are cool moves, but are wasted on the frail Infernape. Mach Punch and Vacuum Wave are handy priority moves—Mach Punch in particular can be boosted by Iron Fist—but they are hard to fit into Infernape's moveset. They can, however, be used in conjunction with Endeavor and Focus Sash in a pseudo F.E.A.R. combination. Infernape gets Iron Fist via a Dream World promotion, but such Infernape are male only, making Mach Punch the only move boosted by Iron Fist, therefore Blaze is generally better. Grass Knot seems like a good choice at first, but most of the things you'd hit with it are so light that Infernape's usual moves out-damage it. Rock Slide is a nice coverage move, but unfortunately, isn't as useful as Hidden Power Ice is against Dragon- and Flying-types, though it does hit Volcarona hard. Infernape also gets Feint, which is a great move, but requires a lot of prediction. If you need to eliminate Politoed badly, Infernape gets ThunderPunch, which deals a minimum of 51% to neutral 4 HP Politoed with the supplied EV spread and Focus Sash. However, Close Combat does more damage on average, so it's not worth the loss of the main options.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Latios can outspeed and OHKO Infernape with only a few scrapes and bruises, but must be wary of Hidden Power Ice and the occasional Shadow Claw. Tornadus and Thundurus give Infernape similar problems, but they are more susceptible to Hidden Power Ice and Rock Slide. Infernape without priority (outside of Fake Out) will struggle against Trick Room in any form, especially Sandstorm + Trick Room, which strips Infernape of its Focus Sash, leaving it vulnerable to pretty much anything. As a Fire-type, Infernape does not enjoy Politoed, Ludicolo, and company, but they must be wary of ThunderPunch, and a possible Acrobatics.</p>
