Yeah, it would seem HP Ice is a viable replacement for Stone Edge, although I'm willing to bet there would be situations where you think "Ah fuck, I wish I had Stone Edge!" You're also needing Life Orb to do respectable damage, which means you lose the power CB would allow. And on the note of unexpected mixed attackers...
Yeah, I've been on a 1st gen buzz lately.
Primeape @ Life Orb/Fist Plate
Nature: Hasty
Ability: Vital Spirit
EV's: 216Atk, 78SpA, 216Speed
- Close Combat
- Payback
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt/U-Turn/Stone Edge
Note: EV's generate 300 Attack, 175 Special Attack and 308 Speed.
Core moves
The Life Orb grants a 30% boost to all his attacks, but I personally think it's an awful item so I've listed Fist Plate as an option.
The Fist Plate grants Primape a 20% boost to his Close Combat attack giving it an effective 216BP. The EV's generate 300 Attack, so such a powerful move with great coverage is always welcome. It also serves the vital function of luring out Ghosts or Psychics. If you predict the switch, Payback will lay waste to Starmie and Gengar as well as hitting Cresselia and Dusknoir for a sturdy 200BP. Those two moves form the core of the set, allowing for a potent combination.
Overheat
Overheat is the trump card of this set. Primeape is one of the few non-fire types on the game capable of learning this devestating attack. Only Rayquaza, Dialga, Groudon, Mew, Granbull and Exploud share the same ability. Some calculations...
Overheat vs 252/0 Skarmory WITHOUT LIFE ORB:
60.48% - 71.26%
Overheat vs 252/0 Skarmory WITH LIFE ORB:
78.74% - 92.51%
A Fist Plate powered Close Combat hits Skarmory for nearly 40%, so if he switches in to the CC, he will be getting destroyed by Overheat on the following turn.
Overheat vs 252/0 Tangrowth WITHOUT LIFE ORB:
64.60% - 75.92%
Overheat vs 252/0 Tangrowth WITH LIFE ORB:
83.91% - 98.76%
CC hits Tangrowth for
30.69% - 36.14%, so if he switches in he will be sharing Skarmory's fate at the hands of Overheat.
Overheat vs standard 252/98 Bronzong WITHOUT LIFE ORB:
36.39% - 42.90%
Using the EV's from the first set in the analysis (252 HP / 152 ATK / 8 DEF / 98 SPDEF @ Brave/Relaxed/Sassy), Close Combat will hit the +Def variants for
47.04% - 55.33%, so that's a 2HKO without Overheat's assistance.
Overheat vs 252/0 Forretress WITHOUT LIFE ORB:
128.53% - 151.41%
Thanks for coming along, Forry.
Filler move
Picking the last move has been the bane of my life. The previous three moves form a difficult to wall combination so the final move needs to address this. The three moves to consider IMO are Thunderbolt; U-Turn and Stone Edge.
Thunderbolt/Thunderpunch: Both moves spike Gyarados pretty badly.
Thunderbolt vs BulkyGyarados WITHOUT LIFE ORB:
54.17% - 63.80%
Thunderbolt vs BulkyGyarados WITH LIFE ORB:
70.31% - 82.81%
With Life Orb, Bulky Gyara cannot switch into any of Primeapes attacks for fear of being KO'd.
Thunderpunch vs BulkyGyarados WITHOUT LIFE ORB *After Intimidate*:
48.44% - 57.03%
Thunderpunch vs BulkyGyarados WITH LIFE ORB *After Intimidate*:
63.02% - 74.22%
Thunderbolt > Thunderpunch for Primeape. All other Water types will be hit harder by Close Combat or Payback.
U-Turn is a great move and allows Primeape to escape an unfavourable match up and do a little scouting. Paybacking Cresselia on the switch, then U-Turning to a counter is gonna leave the Space-Duck in a lot of pain.
Stone Edge hits a lot of things hard and should always be considered on a Fighting type Pokemon. Salamence does a fair job of absorbing Close Combats, Paybacks and Overheat but Stone Edge addresses this problem whilst also smacking Gyarados about.
I'd like to see some opinions on this set, and especially the last moveslot.