Community POTW #131

[Serebii]

Time for the next Pokémon of the Week and this week we return to Galar!

It's Centiskorch!

Centiskorch #851 - Serebii.net Pokédex

Centiskorch Pokémon Serebii.net Pokédex providing all details on moves, stats, abilities, evolution data and locations for Pokémon Sword & Shield

www.serebii.net

 

[XaelOstigian]

Am I the only one who sees Endeavor's facial hair when I look at Centiskorch?

Anyways, Centiskorch is one of the few Fire types released in gen 8, and even I put one on my team. This living heater is blessed with a large offensive movepool and good defensive stats, but is held back by poor defensive typing that leaves it weak to 4x Stealth Rock and no recovery outside of Leech Life. While not the best Pokemon to come out of gen 8, this hot bug is good for than just heating your house.

Thermal Tank
Ability: Flash Fire
Item: Assault Vest/Heavy Duty Boots
Nature: Impish
EVs: (HP 252) (Attack 252) (Def 4)

Moves:
Fire Lash
Leech Life
Knock Off
Power Whip

Set Details:
An all out attacker with emphasis on bulk. Fire Lash is your go-to STAB that also keeps offensive pressure thanks to the constant defensive stat drops with each hit, Leech Life is your secondary STAB that recovers health, Knock Off offers the best neutral coverage and removes your opponents items, and Power Whip offers coverage against Water and Rock types, as well as the Water/Ground types. Flash Fire offers additional defense by blocking incoming Fire attacks while boosting Fire Lash, and your item choice is up to preference. Assault Vest offers additional bulk, but Heavy Duty Boots ensures Stealth Rock and the other entry hazards won't ruin your day.

Heater Coil
Ability: Flash Fire
Item: Leftovers/Heavy Duty Boots
Nature: Careful
EVs: (HP 252) (Def 4) (Sp. Def 252)

Moves:
Coil
Fire Lash
Leech Life
Knock Off/Power Whip

Set Details:
A set-up defensive where Coil is the star of the show. Set up Coil to boost attack, defense, and even accuracy, unload Fire Lash to further pressure your opponent's own defenses, Leech Life to deal damage and take back some health, and then either Knock Off for neutral coverage and opponent item control, or Power Whip which benefits from Coil's accuracy boost and intercepts incoming Rock or Water types. Leftovers grants some much needed extra recovery, but the Boots removes the threat of entry hazards. This time put everything into HP and special defense since Coil will have you covered in the physical attack and defense departments.

Centipedes are apex predators in the insect world, and so too can be Centiskorch if you know how to play into its strengths.

 

[Mestorn]

Centiskorch immediately drew attention for possessing the rare Fire Bug typing as well as being the first Gigantamax Pokémon in the game, with a watered-down version of Charizard's G-Max Move. Also for Sizzlepede being the first Pokémon that ever justified the Fire attracting effect of Flash Fire.

As for competitive? People tried to make it work. However, common weaknesses, poor speed and physical defense hold it back. Also extremely reliant on Heavy Duty Boots to function, which is often better tied to your team's defogger. Also lack of coverage options against Flying and Fire types hurts a lot. While Centiskorch certainly had niches at the beginning of the generation, the expanded dex post Isle of Armor (adding back Volcarona) and Crown Tundra (adding a bunch of legends Centiskorch struggles to keep up with) leaves Centiskorch by the wayside.

Radiator Coil
Centiskorch
Ability: Flash Fire/White Smoke/Flame Body
Item: Heavy Duty Boots/Leftovers
-Coil
-Fire Lash
-Leech Life
-Power Whip/Knock Off
Nature: Adamant (+ATK, -SATK)
EVs: 252 HP / 252 ATK / 4 DEF or 252 HP / 4 ATK / 252 SDEF or 4 HP / 252 ATK / 252 SPE

Coil seems to be near tailor made for Centiskorch, bolstering its Attack, patching up its lesser Defense, and giving an Accuracy boost for Power Whip preventing Water and Rock types from being a reliable answer against it. Fire Lash is an incredible STAB to have. The guaranteed Defense drop prevents passive walling from anything that doesn't resist it as Centiskorch will break through sooner rather than later. Leech Life is just as important a STAB as Fire Lash, keeping Centiskorch healthy over a long battle. Power Whip as mentioned before is generally preferred for answering Water types but Knock Off's utility and general neutral coverage is hard to pass up.

For EVs, you can either max HP and Attack for a balance of offense and defense, Max out HP and Special Defense relying on Coil to patch up Attack and Defense or go for pure offense with maxing Attack and Speed.

Flash Fire gives Centiskorch more switch in opportunities, but it having no coverage options against Fire types would mean trying to setup against something that likely has neutral coverage against it. White Smoke prevents Centiskorch from being ruined by Intimidate. Flame Body can punish on the switch as well as opponents going after Centiskorch's weaker defense... but you want Coil up to prevent serious damage and Rock Slide/Stone Edge are not contact moves.

Other Options
Will-o-Wisp -another way to patch up Centiskorch's lesser defense