Sep 27, 2015, 05:37 AM
If flariate was his ability, having flare blitz would be pointless considering return does a lot more damage with no recoil. Thrash isn't a particularly good move considering IMO being locked in to the move with the chance for confusion isn't worth the extra damage, considering double-edge and return still hit like a truck. For doubles there are a lot more options for strategies, for example pairing with a sunny day pokemon (because you can't use Zard Y with mega arcanine and ninetails isn't particularly good) and running a mixed set with solar beam for coverage. With intimidate as a pre-evolution ability, Mega Arcanine would likely be a bit overpowered. It would essentially be a Mega Salamence with higher base attack, similar defensive stats (just so you know, the HP stat always stays the same after mega evolution) but with access to a base 80 STAB flariate boosted +2 priority move which has a decent offensive typing. All of this without a x4 weakness to anything. This would basically make Mega Pinsir obsolete.
If this were to be introduced, I doubt it would survive long in Smogon OU for a while and I think it would be a serious threat in VGC with correct team support.
I personally would prefer to see a more balanced stat distribution, as I like the fact that you can run Arcanine either physically or specially. But as mentioned, fire priority would be very strong. I like the idea of arcanine becoming very bulky, but with access to fairly reliable recovery in morning sun thick fur might make Arcanine ridiculously difficult to take down.
If this were to be introduced, I doubt it would survive long in Smogon OU for a while and I think it would be a serious threat in VGC with correct team support.
I personally would prefer to see a more balanced stat distribution, as I like the fact that you can run Arcanine either physically or specially. But as mentioned, fire priority would be very strong. I like the idea of arcanine becoming very bulky, but with access to fairly reliable recovery in morning sun thick fur might make Arcanine ridiculously difficult to take down.
