Entei Finally Get's a Chance to Shine!

[Typhlosion]

As some of you may know, it has recently been announced that, when pre-ordering tickets for the new Pokemon movie, you get special additions of the three legendary dogs that are shiny and each come with a new move. Raikou gets Zap Cannon, Suicune gets Sheer Cold, and Entei finally gets Flare Blitz!!!
Although this special Entei may be restricted to one nature, it could still impact the NU/UU metagame quite severely. So discuss what you think may happen.

 

[Stellar]

I think it will stay exactly where it is. Arcanine has Intimidate and Morning Sun, two things that make it quite a bit better than Entei. You might see a few Choice Band or Life Orb Entei or something, but nothing too eventful.

 

[malomyotismon]

not sure how it's going to compete with arcanine, it's a lot bulkier and it's stronger and more powerful and i has stone edge. but on the other hand arcaine has moarning sun and extreme speed. i think it's a case of wait and see.

 

[Alan]

It might get bumped up to UU, but I think thats where it will stay. Its still SR weak, and it lacks a reliable recovery outside of Rest. It has no priority move either, while Arcanine has both of these (Morning Sun and Extremespeed). However, it does have a higher attack stat, but that can only carry a pokemon so far. Sadly, it will probably remain the most useless legendary beast and be cursed to a life of NU.

But who knows? It depends on what changes happen in the metagame. If certain stuff gets bumped to BL, then maybe Entei will have a chance to shine.

 

[FlareBlitz]

Entei has a few things over Arcanine, probably the most important of which is the ability to actually outspeed Arcanine and smack it with an SE move. Unfortunately, Entei's physical movepool and ability is crap compared to Arcanine, and Arcanine can at least attempt to get past bulky waters with Thunder Fang or Flash Fire boosted Flare Blitz. Entei's strongest moves against bulky waters is Return (which does manage a somewhat impressive 35.9% - 42.2% against max HP/DEF milotic), and its Flare Blitz only hits marginally harder than Arcanine.

Any physical Entei set needs to make full use of Stone Edge and Entei's higher speed to avoid being outclassed by Arcanine.

 

[Delko]

I have my doubts about it's effectiveness as well.
BTW, you forgot to mention that there is also Heatran with Eruption that can be transferred from the new Pokémon Ranger: Tracks of Light (only Quiet nature though).

 

[Stellar]

Heatran is from Pokemon Ranger: Tracks of Light and is not related to this in any way. This is also in the UU forum, so even if it was related, it wouldn't have been mentioned.

 

[GMLW]

My guess is it will absolutely be moved up to UU. While it is almost equal in stats to Arcanine, it has better Speed, allowing it to outspeed certain threats with less EVs. It also has 25 more base HP, allowing it to tank special attackers better, plus Pressure (although Arcanine has 5 more base Sp. Def). And Entei has better Attack, although it isn't that much better, so it shouldn't matter much. And finally, Entei gets Stone Edge.

 

[Delko]

Heatran is from Pokemon Ranger: Tracks of Light and is not related to this in any way. This is also in the UU forum, so even if it was related, it wouldn't have been mentioned.

D'oh, of course.

Anyway, at least Entei get's a move that is decent enough to be used as both Zap Cannon and Sheer Cold are pretty much worthless. But as I said before, I doubt it will change much (perhaps a little raise in usage but that's all).

 

[Megan_Fox]

Unlike arcanine, entei does have a higher base speed + stone edge. i can see a cb set being viable. Entei can actually do something other then toxicing threats like moltres.

 

[Lemmiwinks MkII]

Not quite sure if this is worth its own topic yet, but I'll quote here my initial thoughts on this from the original announcement thread:

Good job I had the curiosity to click on this topic despite initially assuming that the news would have no competitive consequences whatsoever.

As I have said before, Flare Blitz would be an excellent addition for Entei, unlike Flareon, as it has the perfect stat distribution for the move. I can certainly see this pushing Entei up to UU standard finally, but it won't be OU still by a long shot.

I can see two viable sets for UU already that utilize it. One is a mixed wallbreaker set already mentioned, using Flare Blitz / HP Grass or Solarbeam / Stone Edge / Return or Sunny Day. Having a viable move to OHKO Chansey in the sun in particular is a huge benefit. Having another good offensive Moltres check in the metagame would probably come second.

The other is a RestTalk set using Flare Blitz / Roar or Toxic / Rest / Sleep Talk to give Arcanine some competition in this role. A reliable and powerful move like Flare Blitz is great for this kind of set, and Entei's superior overall defenses, attack and speed somewhat make up for the lack of Intimidate. Pressure can actually be a useful ability for such a defensive set.

It all depends on the nature it gets as far as what sets will be most viable.

Overall I would say that Entei's most significant advantage is the ability to beat Waters with a SunnyBeam set whilst at the same time not running into trouble against Altaria and other Fire types thanks to a powerful Stone Edge. However, Stone Edge has been the only really useful physical attack up until now, making attack investment for the most part wasteful, and forcing Entei to run STAB off a much lower special attack. With Flare Blitz, this would no longer be as big a problem, and it also has the highest base HP out of all the users by far.

All will depend on the nature though. If it is Adamant, Lonely, Naughty, Jolly, Hasty or Naive (even Impish or neutral natures would be somewhat usable for RestTalk and mixed sets respectively) then there's some potential. If it is anything else (especially a -Atk or -Spe nature), it will be a wasted addition IMO.

 

[GMLW]

I guess it does just depend on the nature. It's too bad it can't be SR'ed to get a different nature.

 

[PK Gaming]

I think Entei's higher speed and attack warrants a use over K-nine. Even if Arcanine is better it couldn't hurt to use Entei. (I've been praying for him to getting Flare Blitz)

 

[Stellar]

I guess it does just depend on the nature. It's too bad it can't be SR'ed to get a different nature.

We know nothing about the specifics of the event. It could very well be a wondercard much like the Jirachi / Manaphy events where it is possible to reset for nature and IVs. All we know is that if you preorder tickets you will "get access to" the three legendary beasts and they can be "sent to your Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, and SoulSilver games".

 

[GMLW]

Oh really? I thought it had a set nature. Let us all pray that it doesn't have a set nature.

 

[Scoopapa]

It's still going to have serious issues not being outclassed by Arcanine. Not having Extremespeed, Intimidate, or Flash Fire really hurts it. Arcanine's priority kind of negates Entei's speed advantage, while Intimidate messes with Entei's bulk advantage. Entei's slightly higher attack probably isn't that important, and while the bigger HP stat helps soften recoil damage, Entei's lack of Morning Sun still leaves him overshadowed. Another thing hurting Entei in the bulk department is that it needs it's speed EV's a lot more than Arcanine, leaving less room for bulky EV's. At least with Stone Edge and base 100 speed Entei won't be getting stonewalled by Moltres and Altaria quite like Arcanine. Speaking of Arcanine, Entei would make a decent switch, eating up Extremespeed with Pressure and hitting back with Stone Edge. This seems like a good option for not being outclassed by Arcanine:

Entei @ Leftovers
Adamant Nature
252 HP / (the rest could feasibly go anywhere)

Rest
Sleep Talk
Flare Blitz
Stone Edge / Roar / Toxic

Speed EV's might work for Roar because how it works with Sleep Talk. Attack EV's would be great if you choose Stone Edge. Otherwise, defense EV's could make this a great counter to other Fire-types (Moltres might be dubious, unless it's a staller). When using Roar, Arcanine's Intimidate doesn't really mean as much in comparison, so Entei's bulk wins here. Pressure is meaningful since you have healing, and the higher HP means a lot since you are using Flare Blitz on a defensive set. This might be cool on a stall team to shuffle enemies around for entry hazard damage, while being a check to Fire type wall breakers and bulky Mismagius, both of whom can mess up stall teams. Stall teams are also likely to have spinners, which will make Entei a lot better.

Damn, I guess Lemmiwinks beat me to it :P

 

[MegaAwesomazing]

Well I'm guessing he will since Heatran haves a set Nature(Quiet).

 

[Stellar]

Seriously people, I'm about to go ballistic here. Heatran is not tied with this event in any way, stop comparing the two.

 

[Demoness]

even your avatar looks angry Stellar. I think it's great anyway.



i'm still amazed they actually gave Entei a good fire move to use, better him the Flareon thats for sure

 

[The Pokemon Pimp]

I think they're set natures though, because they're all supposed to be shiny and shiny events have set natures, right? Such as Pichu and Jolly Nature.

 

[franky]

Whew finally, a better Venusaur counter. I've been using RestTalk Arcanine on all my stall teams for the past months, but now I think I can replace it with Entei. Outside of Intimidate, Entei is actually p. bulky with 115/85/75 compared to Arcanine's 90/80/80. The extra HP will probably help when taking Sludge Bomb's from Venusaur - something Arcanine struggles to do somewhat. In my opinion the only set I will incorporate on my stall team is:

Entei @ Leftovers
Impish Nature (Def+ / SpA-)
252 HP / 252 Def / 6 SpD
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Roar
- Flare Blitz

 

[Bluewind]

I guess everything has been said so far, so I think this'll be like a mini-Aggron hype. Some people will use it in OU, it won't work; in NU it'll rock (even though I never played that metagame, so I might be wrong); and it'll end up making the cut into UU, but not as a top-notch poké. Entei would be a rather interesting addition to the tier though, as that would net us another viable Moltres' check among many other things.

Whew finally, a better Venusaur counter. I've been using RestTalk Arcanine on all my stall teams for the past months, but now I think I can replace it with Entei. Outside of Intimidate, Entei is actually p. bulky with 115/85/75 compared to Arcanine's 90/80/80. The extra HP will probably help when taking Sludge Bomb's from Venusaur - something Arcanine struggles to do somewhat. In my opinion the only set I will incorporate on my stall team is:

Entei @ Leftovers
Impish Nature (Def+ / SpA-)
252 HP / 252 Def / 6 SpD
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Roar
- Flare Blitz

Still a bit of a shaky check to be honest. Entei will hate switching in as Venusaur SDs and having to eat a +2 Earthquake. Special Venusaur is indeed countered better by Entei though, but Chansey is around for that (unless it's a Seeding set, then Chansey cries).

 

[Jibaku]

Posting here to say that Wondercard Shinies do have a set PID, and therefore, set natures. Which means you can only sr/RNG for IVs.

But, if we're assuming that Entei will get the nature we want, I'd consider the following EVs for countering Venusaur:

Jolly, 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Speed, outrunning all nonScarf Venusaurs. At worst, LO unboosted Earthquake does 54% max, which isn't too shabby should it catch on. Flare Blitz easily OHKOes Saur.

 

[Lemmiwinks MkII]

I agree with Jibaku in a way, running all out defensive investment on a Sleep Talk shuffler kinda wastes Entei's impressive speed, which gives it a chance to shuffle around some more offensive Pokes. Even going as far as running 176+ to get the jump on Timid Moltres might be worthwhile, given that pure Fire is ideal for taking it on. Being able to shuffle Moltres / Arcanine etc in and out with SR + Spikes and the possibility of not allowing them to recover, as well as every spinner, is rather neat. Arcanine is already capable of a similar thing, but Entei is statistically superior all round, and now has the perfect attacking move that a lack of held it back before, which will probably make it more effective.

Also, note that with Entei's base distribution, max HP won't always be the most efficient defensive spread. It is not a case of maxing the defense stats first like with Chansey, but there is some middle ground that Pokemon like Entei tread, so it would be wise to check your defensive spreads carefully.

 

[Veedrock]

Entei will stay NU...because Shoddy doesn't have a way of enforcing a specific nature to a move and thus Flare Blitz won't be allowed. Sorry to be a buzzkill, somebody had to say it.