Emboar
PvE Analysis
Emboar is the smoking hot Fire-type starter of Gen 5, but isn't as smoking hot in the PvE scene. A few ATK stats behind Blaziken combined with an inferior moveset pretty much makes it irrelevant upon its introduction, since we already had Torchic's Community Day and Blaziken is quite common among players. While Emboar will eventually get its Community Day if the trend continues, being worse than something everyone already has isn't gonna do it any favors.
Best PvE Offensive Moveset
Ember + Blast Burn* | Best |
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Low Kick + Focus Blast | Good |
- Low Kick is the best fast move by a very narrow margin from a stats perspective.
- Ember is right behind it, though its typing does allow Emboar to act as a Fire-type attacker.
- Blast Burn is the best Charge Move available by a wide margin, and can pair with Ember to fulfill a Fire-type role.
- Flame Charge falls behind significantly in performance, and other Fire-type Pokemon should be considered instead.
- Heat Wave is a really bad move.
- Focus Blast shares the same typing with Low Kick to fulfill a Fighting-type role.
- Rock Slide lacks STAB and isn't really meaningful for Emboar other than niche uses in attacking gyms.
Best PvE Defensive Moveset
Ember + Rock Slide or Blast Burn* | Best |
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- Ember hits harder than Low Kick on defense and is more optimal.
- Rock Slide is the optimal move on defense due to it being a 2-bar move, having a shorter damage window, and good coverage.
- Blast Burn is arguably the next best Charge Move for defense thanks its huge damage output, but is somewhat easily dodgeable.
- Flame Charge can be used frequently as a 3-bar move, but a late damage window makes it easy to dodge.
- Heat Wave might be difficult to access as a 1-bar move, but it's alright for what it does with STAB.
- Focus Blast hits very hard, but is incredibly easy to dodge.
PvP Analysis
Ember + Rock Slide and Blast Burn* or Flame Charge |
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Ember is the superior choice due to poor performance from Low Kick.
Rock Slide is mandatory due to its lower energy cost, good coverage, and respectable damage output. Blast Burn is limited to Community Day events and Elite TMs, but deals significantly more Damage Per Energy (DPE) than other Charge Moves available, and is very strong with STAB, even when resisted. Flame Charge isn't particularly strong, but benefits from STAB, and is primarily chosen for its consistent +1 ATK buff even when shielded. Focus Blast is too expensive to use energy-wise, but its wide coverage and high damage can surprise opponents. Don't use Heat Wave, it's bad.
Great League | |
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Emboar lacks bulk and has inferior movesets compared to various meta picks that compete for its role. Losses against Pokemon that it shouldn't lose to typing-wise (such as Tropius and Meganium in 1-shield matchups) makes it largely unviable. Flame Charge can be more consistent and improve certain matchups than Blast Burn when shields are available, but Emboar likely won't benefit from the ATK buff long enough due to how fragile it is. | |
Ultra League | |
Emboar is still largely outclassed by existing meta Pokemon, despite gaining the powerful Blast Burn following its Community Day event. Wins against most Grass and Bug Pokemon are to be expected, but struggles vs Exeggutor (especially the Shadow variant) and losses against majority of the meta makes Emboar almost useless. Rock Slide enables Emboar to 1-shot Charizard, but Talonflame's faster energy generation denies Emboar a win by outspeeding it to the Charge Move in all even-shielding scenarios, even without baiting. For an off-meta pick similar to Emboar, consider Blaziken for its faster moveset and access to the superior Fast Move Counter. | |
Master League | |
A max CP of 3372 isn't particularly impressive compared to many of the legendary and pseudo-legendary Pokemon that exist in this league. Emboar's poor moveset is still its major drawback, with struggles against much of the meta even with certain typing advantageous matchups. |