Introduced in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, Hisuian Arcanine is a regional variant of Arcanine. Compared to its cousin from Kanto, the Hisuian Arcanine is bigger, bulkier, and more wolf-like in appearance. With the introduction of Pokemon Home to Scarlet & Violet, this mon would possibly succeed in becoming a fearsome metabreaker! Read our guide to know its best moveset.
Hisuian Arcanine Moveset Guide
Here is Hisuian Arcanine’s recommended set of moves for the current metagame. I’ll explain further in the guide what makes this Pokemon and its moveset especially strong.
- Head Smash
- Flare Blitz
- Extreme Speed
- Close Combat / Stealth Rock
Head Smash
Head Smash is a strong Rock-type physical attack that causes twice damage while the user has full health. This STAB attack is evey powerful to knock out meta pokemons like Tornadus, Volcarona and Zapdos. Additionaly, Hisuian Arcanine’s hidden ability is what makes this even more powerful. Rock Head completely nullifies the recoil that would be taken from using this attack.
Flare Blitz
With the introduction of Home, pokemon like Rillaboom, Ferrothorn and Kartana is seen alot in current meta teams. With Hisuian Arcanine’s fire typing, this STAB attack could help alot on knocking out these pokemons. Moreover, this attack ignores recoil damage with Rock Head and also has a chance to inflict burn that could lower the enemy’s attack by half. Flare Blitz is a must have.
Extreme Speed
Hisuian Arcanine benefits from Extreme Speed since it enables it to outspeed and strike first even against faster Pokemon. This is particularly helpful for revenge killing weak Pokemon or for eliminating an opponent who has already sustained some damage. This attack is very powerful with 80 base attack paired with Hisuian Arcanine’s high attack stat.
Close Combat / Stealth Rock
Because it has a high Attack stat and is a physical attacker, the Hisuian Arcanine is a strong choice for Close Combat. This move offers coverage for Pokemon that is weak to Fighting type in the meta like Blissey, Bisharp and Corviknight.
Stealth Rock does damage to all opposing Pokémon, when they switch in. For the opposing side, this can make it challenging to set up and sweep. Due to its strong Special Defense, Hisuian Arcanine may comfortably set up Stealth Rock without taking too much damage. This enables you to use Stealth Rock early on in the game, which may greatly benefit your side.
Additional Tips
What makes Hisuian Arcanine extremely powerful is its Hidden Ability, Rock Head. This ability prevents the Pokemon from taking recoil damage from moves. This allows Hisuian Arcanine from dealing tons of damage without having a drawback.
Overall, the post-HOME meta in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet is still shaky and unstable. The best moveset for Hisuian Arcanine still depends on your team composition and the metagame.
ALSO READ: Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: Orthworm Moveset Guide | Home Update
