DPPt/HGSS Infernape

[Tailon]

Sooooo... this is an infernape I've been training and I want to tweak his moveset, etc. for an overall better Pokemon, and I was hoping for suggestions.

Infernape@???
Hardy (Blaze)
-Brick Break
-Blaze Kick
-Overheat
-Swords Dance

current stats are:

Attack-134
Defense-102
Sp. Atk-136
Sp. Def-84
Speed-125

EVs are in Attack, not sure if i should continue this or start changing to a different stat

 

[Sir Red]

Well, Infernape is well-rounded offensively so you can take advantage of that in your moveset and EVs. Also, you may want to rebreed for a stat-boosting nature, Lonely or Naughty to boost Attack would be good. You're gonna want either Grass Knot or Thunderpunch for type coverage. Grass Knot can take out Water and Ground types. Thunderpunch to take out Water types and Flyers. A good fire move to have is Flare Blitz, or Fire Blast to take out Steelix and Skarmory and Forretres. EV spread should cover both Attacks and Speed. For fighting move, Close Combat is a good choice as Infernape has awful Defenses to begin with, so the stat loss isn't that big an issue. Another good move to put on Infernape is U-Turn. It can damage Dark and Psychic types and gives you a free switch out.

 

[Blisk]

Another good move that hasn't been stated is Stone Edge. With it Infernape can take out fliers and he can do 2x damage against other fire types. My current setup on my Infernape is

Infernape @ Life Orb
Naive
Blaze
EV Spread - 155 Attack, 100 Sp. Atk and 255 Speed

- Fire Blast
- Close Combat
- Thunder Punch
- Grass Knot

It covers weaknesses and he has STAB. You can take out Fire Blast and use Flare Blitz, just my team has a lot of Physical power, so I put Fire Blast instead so that it varied somewhat. I recommend this set.

 

[Tailon]

I see were stone edge could definitely come in handy, but I prefer overheat in an otherwise physical moveset for one massive punch against Steelix or Skarmory, then finish Steelix with a Fighting type move or skarmory with Blaze Kick I think Brick Break goes for Close Combat and Swords Dance for Thunderpunch...and that might work.

 

[Blisk]

That makes sense. It really just depends on the team too. The set I gave works well with my team but not as well on others. I think you made a good choice though. And if you haven't decided to, you should put a few of the attack EVs into Sp. Atk to make the damage from Overheat somewhat powerful.

 

[Tailon]

well thanks for the help guys, I'll be locking up now

 

[KoL]

Infernape should always go mixed to some extent since that's his greatest strength. Which end of the spectrum you focus on is up to you:

Infernape @ Life Orb/Focus Sash
Blaze
Hasty/Naive

- Fire Blast
- Grass Knot
- Nasty Plot/Vacuum Wave
- Close Combat

The traditional mixed Infernape leans towards Special mostly, and your EVs generally should be built around its Sp.Attack and Speed mostly, with a few in Attack to boost the power of Close Combat a bit. Nasty Plot makes this set very difficult to wall, since most special walls won't like taking Close Combat attacks and everything else will struggle to hold off Nasty Plotted Fire Blasts from this thing. Vacuum Wave can be used instead if Infernape's frailty puts you off of using a setup move, and if you'd like a good revenge-kill option to take out faster foes.

Or:

Infernape @ Life Orb/Focus Sash
Blaze
Hasty/Naive

- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance/Mach Punch/U-Turn
- Overheat

Same premise as the previous set except focusing on physical attacks as opposed to special attacks. Close Combat will be the attacking move of choice here, alongside Stone Edge to pick off Flying-types. Overheat will cripple the vast majority of physical walls that will come in on you, possibly OHKO'ing some of them, and the third move, once again, is personal preference.

Naturally, there's also the mid-way moveset between these two that simply combines Close Combat and Stone Edge from the physical set with Fire Blast and Grass Knot from the special set, although Infernape risks spreading itself a bit thin here - it's certainly a viable option though, so take your pick.