CAP Updates: Pyroak Discussion (Complete)

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snake

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So I want to bring up something interesting and controversial: Burn Up.

Burn Up for Pyroak can hit pretty hard once per switchin, but then Pyroak loses the 6 resistances and 3 weaknesses of the Fire typing. On the one hand it takes Earthquake and Stone Edge much better, but gets revenged by Fire and Ice attacks much more easily. It fits well with Pyroak's unique defensive style, but definitely is an additional competitive element to consider.
I'm pretty sure that Pyroak regains its Fire typing when it swaps out, meaning you aren't escaping that SR weakness :p

Pyroak @ Leftovers
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD (or some other bulky spread)
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Burn Up
- Giga Drain
- Synthesis
- Will-O-Wisp

I guess you could run something like this and try to abuse your mono Grass-typing until you swap out. Burn Up doesn't enable an offensive set, eats up a valuable moveslot, and the effect honestly isn't all that helpful other than just throwing your opponent off for a turn. It seems like more of an inconsistent gimmick than anything. If you never got the Fire-typing back, then I'd say no because that eliminates Pyroak's problem with Stealth Rock, but as it stands now, it does not.
 
While the Hidden Ability poll is still running, let's get started with the moves discussion.

What new moves from Generations 5-7 should Pyroak receive?
Are there any other moves Pyroak should receive for consistency?
So to get some out of the way:

Flash Cannon - don't know why I feel like it would fit pretty well on Pyroak, but it does, really well (note: there are a lot mons that tend to leans Flash Cannon and have no cannon aspects on them, like Gigalith so you can't say I suggested just cause of Pyroak's blaster arms)

Dragon Pulse - similarly to Flash Cannon, I feel that this is a move that should've been on Pyroak for a long time by now, yet it never got it somehow (you could say that it gives it a better chance at handling different Dragon mons, but there are a tone of reptilian mons that tend to learn DP even non Dragon types, Lapras, Sceptile, Archeops and Feraligatr of the top of my head). Plus, Pyroak is in the MONSTER and DRAGON eggs groups. Again, how come it doesn't learn Dragon Pulse?

Outrage - see above.

Burn Up - Deck and Snake talked about this briefly, but I'm gonna throw my 2$ here to: I don't think that it would be broken on Pyroak in any way. Unlike Arcanine and Typhlosion, Pyroak still gets to keep its Grass typing and in result it looses both its Fire STABS and resistances. And it's not like it's permanent either, you are a pure Grass mon after you use it, but the once you switch out and come back in, hello Stealth Rock.

Explosion - uhhh, hello ?

Iron Head - pulely for cosmetic reasons.

Zen Headbutt - same with Iron Head.
 
Side note, I'm amazed it has Zap Cannon (not that I really have used Pyroak much), honestly. What's the reason for that? If it's because of a Volcano inference, maybe White Smoke isn't relevant, or the other way around. it doesn't learn any other Electric moves, and kind of feels thrown in for potential coverage, and it doesn't have any other Electric Attacks. If we're encourage Zap Cannon, then shouldn't there be more electric type attacks added? The only Fire types with it are Flareon and Ho-oh, and Ho-oh is Legendary, and only as 2nd Gen TM's - Ho-oh at least has access Thunder/bolt/wave and Charge Beam. Is there a particular reason as it wasn't cut, other than its 50% accuracy rendering it to be less than an competitive option so didn't need cutting. I get they have Cannons in their arms, but Magmortar doesn't get it, and that's fairly similar in at least the fire mon with cannon arms design.

I don't actually have a problem with seeing Burn Up available. I don't think it's overly competitive and can have a nice little niche if you have your fire type coverage elsewhere. As a Z-Move, it's got the ability to make it more resilient vs a Slow Earthquake and slaps out at 195 Power, compared to Fire Blasts 195 and resisting a none STAB Earthquake for super niche use. I also particularly see too much issue with it, even if it did lose it's type, would we see a rise in Mono-Grass sets? IMO, it lacks the speed to properly take advantage of it running in face of Ground type, and it's not as though it could run a Choice Specs set after without having to switch and taking additional Stealth Rock damage, even if does now only take 1/8th rather than 1/4 damage (on the theoretical that Burn Up did change permanently in future patches/generations).

Given it's a wall, what's the verdict on giving it Flower Shield? I'm a little wary, because it artwork doesn't have any flowers on it, but given that it's already got Iron Defense, yet doesn't share the characteristics of any other pokemon sharing it's typing (only Fire types with it have Rock or Steel, no Grass types), I don't see it as too out there. That is double battle oriented/flavour more than anything though. Along with/instead of that, Aromatic Mist; it fits with the dex entries about the smoke, and given that it's only use in Singles is to be a one shot +2 Spec Def, I think it's fine balance wise.

Talking of Iron Defence; if this is here, is Autotomize an option? I understand there were issues with it turning into a Phys Sweeper when it was patched to have Dragon Dance, and it being something that split the community. Now, the animation isn't one that's particularly mechanical, and both Kommo'o, Necrozma and Vanillite can learn/be bred with it without sharing the mechanical aspects of it.

Possible Others
Mystical Fire; I'm a little unsure on the flavour, but it would fit in with its walling abilities, dealing less damage in favour of dropping targets SpA. That said, it's more "magic" rather than cannon-fire, so could understand if it was denied for that.

Noble Roar; It fights duals, and just look at its expression and stance in art. It already has Roar anyway.

Petal Blizzard; It has leaves, but it is Physical, so isn't OP, and with Petal Dance, it's consistent with its existent moveset.

Flame Burst; again, lower powered than other options, with a small AoE to help in doubles to break Focus Sash's.

Dragon Tail; It has a tail, and Dragon Dance was a suggested option previously (and by others here), and it has vaguely Dragon-like characteristics/appearances. It already has Roar, so I don't think giving it a none STAB, physical, reduced accuracy phaze is too ridiculous.​

Leaf Tornado; An alternative option to Giga Drain, this can drop accuracy to provide a new kind of walling.

Dragon Breath/Dragon Pulse; I've lumped these two together, for I feel that the only reason you'd take Dragon Pulse is because it has the possibility with the cannons, rather than it actually being something you'd take. That said, there are other Draconic Aspects that you could reinforce, and Dragon Breath could attempt to go for Parahax.

Flash Cannon; I was originally unsure of this, but it literally has no real use in hitting fairy types unless it starts getting run with a SpA investment; and even then Azumarill gets killed after a Belly Drum by a Giga Drain​

Signatures; are we able to suggest these from non-Legendaries?
Fiery Dance; This is a obviously a signature move, but with suggestions of Dragon Dance, and with both Petal and Swords Dance, Fiery Dance actually seems to fit the bill. That said, it is a direct upgrade on Lava Plume due to its 50% chance to stat boost rather than a 30% Burn chance, so even if it wasn't a signature move, I could see this being a no-go.

Dragon Hammer; Again, signature move, but given the closeness that an A-Exeggcutor has with Pyroak in at least its "Dragon-iness", and with Wood Hammer already an option, could this be a further throw back to its Dragon Dancing of the past?​
 

snake

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Side note, I'm amazed it has Zap Cannon (not that I really have used Pyroak much), honestly. What's the reason for that? If it's because of a Volcano inference, maybe White Smoke isn't relevant, or the other way around. it doesn't learn any other Electric moves, and kind of feels thrown in for potential coverage, and it doesn't have any other Electric Attacks. If we're encourage Zap Cannon, then shouldn't there be more electric type attacks added? The only Fire types with it are Flareon and Ho-oh, and Ho-oh is Legendary, and only as 2nd Gen TM's - Ho-oh at least has access Thunder/bolt/wave and Charge Beam. Is there a particular reason as it wasn't cut, other than its 50% accuracy rendering it to be less than an competitive option so didn't need cutting. I get they have Cannons in their arms, but Magmortar doesn't get it, and that's fairly similar in at least the fire mon with cannon arms design.

I don't actually have a problem with seeing Burn Up available. I don't think it's overly competitive and can have a nice little niche if you have your fire type coverage elsewhere. As a Z-Move, it's got the ability to make it more resilient vs a Slow Earthquake and slaps out at 195 Power, compared to Fire Blasts 195 and resisting a none STAB Earthquake for super niche use. I also particularly see too much issue with it, even if it did lose it's type, would we see a rise in Mono-Grass sets? IMO, it lacks the speed to properly take advantage of it running in face of Ground type, and it's not as though it could run a Choice Specs set after without having to switch and taking additional Stealth Rock damage, even if does now only take 1/8th rather than 1/4 damage (on the theoretical that Burn Up did change permanently in future patches/generations).

Given it's a wall, what's the verdict on giving it Flower Shield? I'm a little wary, because it artwork doesn't have any flowers on it, but given that it's already got Iron Defense, yet doesn't share the characteristics of any other pokemon sharing it's typing (only Fire types with it have Rock or Steel, no Grass types), I don't see it as too out there. That is double battle oriented/flavour more than anything though. Along with/instead of that, Aromatic Mist; it fits with the dex entries about the smoke, and given that it's only use in Singles is to be a one shot +2 Spec Def, I think it's fine balance wise.

Talking of Iron Defence; if this is here, is Autotomize an option? I understand there were issues with it turning into a Phys Sweeper when it was patched to have Dragon Dance, and it being something that split the community. Now, the animation isn't one that's particularly mechanical, and both Kommo'o, Necrozma and Vanillite can learn/be bred with it without sharing the mechanical aspects of it.

Possible Others
Mystical Fire; I'm a little unsure on the flavour, but it would fit in with its walling abilities, dealing less damage in favour of dropping targets SpA. That said, it's more "magic" rather than cannon-fire, so could understand if it was denied for that.

Noble Roar; It fights duals, and just look at its expression and stance in art. It already has Roar anyway.

Petal Blizzard; It has leaves, but it is Physical, so isn't OP, and with Petal Dance, it's consistent with its existent moveset.

Flame Burst; again, lower powered than other options, with a small AoE to help in doubles to break Focus Sash's.

Dragon Tail; It has a tail, and Dragon Dance was a suggested option previously (and by others here), and it has vaguely Dragon-like characteristics/appearances. It already has Roar, so I don't think giving it a none STAB, physical, reduced accuracy phaze is too ridiculous.​

Leaf Tornado; An alternative option to Giga Drain, this can drop accuracy to provide a new kind of walling.

Dragon Breath/Dragon Pulse; I've lumped these two together, for I feel that the only reason you'd take Dragon Pulse is because it has the possibility with the cannons, rather than it actually being something you'd take. That said, there are other Draconic Aspects that you could reinforce, and Dragon Breath could attempt to go for Parahax.

Flash Cannon; I was originally unsure of this, but it literally has no real use in hitting fairy types unless it starts getting run with a SpA investment; and even then Azumarill gets killed after a Belly Drum by a Giga Drain​

Signatures; are we able to suggest these from non-Legendaries?
Fiery Dance; This is a obviously a signature move, but with suggestions of Dragon Dance, and with both Petal and Swords Dance, Fiery Dance actually seems to fit the bill. That said, it is a direct upgrade on Lava Plume due to its 50% chance to stat boost rather than a 30% Burn chance, so even if it wasn't a signature move, I could see this being a no-go.

Dragon Hammer; Again, signature move, but given the closeness that an A-Exeggcutor has with Pyroak in at least its "Dragon-iness", and with Wood Hammer already an option, could this be a further throw back to its Dragon Dancing of the past?​
Zap Cannon should definitely stay because it's not a viable attack. If you really want to use Electrium Z, remember that you're using off of a Base 95 Attack on a slow mon who's best boosting move is Growth. It's purely a flavor move, and it's on there because it has arm cannons in its design. Overwriting it would be unjustly covering up a piece of CAP history.

Autotomize is a move where the user sheds part of its body to get faster. What is Pyroak shedding exactly? I guess some of its leaves, but given its access to Battle Armor, I doubt any of its actual body come off. Autotomize makes sense for some of the other Pokemon because of Kommo-O just sheds some of its plates and Vannilite just drops some of its ice cream.

Mystical Fire is learned by Mismagius and Delphox, and it has a certain "magical" feel to it, like only a ghost or a wizard would be able to use it. An egg move might be a possibility since it doesn't really fit Pyroak's design, but Mismagius and Delphox don't share an egg group with it.

Pyroak already gets Dragon Breath. Dragon Pulse isn't too much farther so it's probably ok imo.

Flash Cannon is being discussed for the same reason as Zap Cannon - it's old flavor from Gen 4, except Flash Cannon got removed from a process where movepools got gutted in Generation 5 (it wasn't removed for a very good reason by today's standards), and since Flash Cannon is super niche it'd be ok to add back.

I'm going to have to disagree with your noms for these two sigs. Competitively, Fiery Dance is not what we want on Pyroak, as it is able to boost up and heal with Giga Drain. It introduces an offensive niche, which isn't the point of the update. (Any mentions of Dragon Dance in this thread should either be a joke or are a joke.) Dragon Hammer, while I could see it, hasn't been around for very long. Additionally, Outrage and Dragon Pulse are Dragon-type moves that Pyroak has had easier access to since Dragon Hammer (both are tutor moves), so I'm more likely to support those over Dragon Hammer.

EDIT: Dragon Hammer would have to be a level up move because Eggy-A and Pyroak don't share an egg group, and currently the only way Pyroak learns any Dragon-type moves is by Egg Move or potentially tutor move, so I wouldn't put it in my level-up submission.
 
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Hmm, must have searched for the old Dragonbreath, rather than Dragon Breath on the page. In regards to Autotomize, it doesn't really explain how Necrozma does it, but that's a bit of weird Legendary. Anyway, thanks for further explanation on Pyroak; I'll further refine my suggestions to;

Burn Up, Aromatic Mist, Noble Roar, Petal Blizzard, Flame Burst, Dragon Tail, Leaf Tornado, Dragon Pulse, Flash Cannon

Tentatively, Flower Shield

Also, Thundershock, and Shock Wave for flavour to give further non-competitive reason as to why Zap Cannon might logically be in the movepool.
 

snake

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Hmm, must have searched for the old Dragonbreath, rather than Dragon Breath on the page. In regards to Autotomize, it doesn't really explain how Necrozma does it, but that's a bit of weird Legendary. Anyway, thanks for further explanation on Pyroak; I'll further refine my suggestions to;

Burn Up, Aromatic Mist, Noble Roar, Petal Blizzard, Flame Burst, Dragon Tail, Leaf Tornado, Dragon Pulse, Flash Cannon

Tentatively, Flower Shield

Also, Thundershock, and Shock Wave for flavour to give further non-competitive reason as to why Zap Cannon might logically be in the movepool.

I personally like how Zap Cannon is the only Electric-type move in Pyroak's movepool. It just shows how versatile Pyroak is with its arm cannons, not how it can use Electric-type moves.

Wild Charge on the other hand is an interesting find given that Pyroak has access to other recoil inducing moves. This gives Pyroak the Electric-type move you want without introducing new elements to Pyroak's design (there's a lot going on to begin with).

EDIT: Forretress gets Zap Cannon despite it's only other offensive Electric-type move being Volt Switch, so I'm honestly not sure why Zap Cannon is a problem at all. Wild Charge is still really neat though.
 
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Went through all G5-6-7 moves; here are some potentially sensible and not yet mentioned additions:

- Bulldoze (implied by Earthquake)
- Chip Away
- Clear Smog
- Dual Chop
- Incinerate
- Inferno
- Low Sweep
- Quick Guard
- Smack Down (mostly outclassed by Rock Slide)
- Snarl
- Wide Guard
- Work Up
- Brutal Swing
 

LucarioOfLegends

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What new moves from Generations 5-7 should Pyroak receive?
Really just gonna focus on flavor here. Others can work on competitive reasonings.

So, looking through the moves introduced in the gens after its creation, there are a few things that catch my eye. Gen 5 fire moves Inferno, Flame Burst, and Flame Charge are very much appealing, with Incinerate being quite flavorful. Flame Charge is near universal among fire types anyways, so some of these shouldn't be an issue. Heat Crash, although an exclusive to Emboar, works well with Pyroak's build, and it is not exactly light. I also support Dragon Tail fully and Wild Charge to an extent cause of Dex Entry 3.

Onto Gen 6, Grassy Terrain works very well for its flavor. Most people want this on it, so it should be fine. Aromatic Mist has been brounght up, and I think it would fit nicely. The only other option that appeals to me is Rototiller, but I'm not sure how well that fits.

Gen 7 moves could be interesting. Burn Up has already been brought up before, and I support it. I can imagine creating such a big fireball that all of its wood armor burns off. Dragon Hammer could work, but I am still very much iffy about it due to its poor distribution. Leafage theoretically makes sense on it, as it uses its leaves to attack. This would probably fit Embirch better though. The only other suggestion would be Brutal Swing since it can violently swing around its arm cannons and tail. This is a cliche suggestion, but it works in theory.
 

snake

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Clear Smog shouldn't be a thing on Pyroak. There's a reason why it doesn't learn Haze; Roar is good enough.

Flavorwise, Low Sweep implies that Pyroak can make a "swift attack" given its description. Note that Pyroak gets lots of tackling sort of moves like Double-Edge, Flare Blitz, and Wood Hammer - these imply that Pyroak just crashes into its opponent most of the time. Even though it gets Low Kick, Low Kick does not imply Low Sweep. Its description is just a kick that's generally knocks down the opponent, which conveys a different meaning than Low Sweep. Pyroak isn't dextrous enough imo to actually use Low Sweep, but it's most certainly able to knock the opponent down with a kick to the general bottom half of the opponent's body. Most users of Low Sweep are either very agile, actually Fighting-type, or are good at using their feet (Mudsale is a horse), and Pyroak does not fit any of these. This doesn't mean Pyroak shouldn't have access to Low Sweep competitively - just don't expect it in my submission when I post it for this reasoning.

Rock Slide does not imply Smack Down. 89 Pokemon learn both, but 205 learn only Rock Slide. In my eyes, Pyroak cannot shoot rocks; it doesn't have and never had Rock Blast. It can cause a Rock Slide, but it's not doing that by lobbing rocks at the opponent. Smack Down's description talks about throwing, but Pyroak cannot throw anything, meaning it has to shoot a rock from its cannons, but again, I can't see Pyroak actually shooting a rock. This is just my opinion though.
 
Movepool submissions are now open. Please continue providing feedback on individual moves as you see fit.

In your movepool submission, please bold and list all moves that are added, and provide reasoning for why you chose these moves. Keep in mind that many Gen 7 movepools look very similar to Gen 4 movepools with only a few additions. Egg groups may not be changed.

Required Moves: Flame Charge, Confide, Incinerate, Round
Disallowed Moves: Dragon Dance

I'd like to leave as much up to creative interpretation as possible, so the only required additions to Pyroak's movepool are the moves shown above. Confide and Round are universal TMs, Flame Charge is a near-universal TM for Fire-types, and Incinerate is a universal Gen 5/6 TM for Fire-types. Moves on the disallowed list may not be included in your submission. Other than that, anything else we've discussed in the thread is fair game. You may also include moves that haven't yet been discussed if you feel they warrant a place in Pyroak's updated movepool. Just remember that any moves added at this stage should have very little, if any, competitive relevance. Deck Knight and I reserve the right to disallow moves at any time if the situation calls for it, and the list is subject to change at any time.

Please put WIP or Final Submission at the top of your submission post so I know whether or not it's complete.
 

snake

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Final Submission

For reference, Embirch evolves into Flarelm at Level 24, and Flarelm evolves in Pyroak at Level 38. Bolded moves are new moves, italicized moves copied from other parts of the movepool.

- Double-Edge (Heart Scale)
- Wood Hammer (Heart Scale)
- Flare Blitz (Heart Scale)
- Flame Burst (requested evolve move for Flarelm) [Level 24]
- Sweet Scent
- Bullet Seed
Evolve: Energy Ball [Level 38]
5 Ember
10 Leech Seed
14 Synthesis
19 Flame Wheel
23 Seed Bomb
28 Growth
32 Giga Drain
37 Iron Defense
37 Amnesia
41 Heat Crash
46 Flash Cannon
50 Lava Plume
55 Petal Dance
59 Aromatic Mist
64 Zap Cannon
68 Burn Up

Alright so this is a big change to Pyroak's movepool, but it preserves all of the flavor found in its current movepool adds some of its original flavor back from its movepool from Generation 4, along with my personal spin. Pyroak has a lot of design elements to it, and to me they aren't very unified in a satisfactory way. It's got ARM CANNONS, tackling moves, elements of being a dragon, and two pre-evolutions that have cool designs and flavor but aren't well represented in its level up pool. The following changes outlines exactly how a tiny Embirch grows into a mighty Pyroak, explaining every flavor detail and my thought process carefully.

To begin, I've made Pyroak's levels advance in a simple 4-5 pattern. Sweet Scent and Bullet Seed are still its Level 1 moves, and Bullet Seed is the first seed move Embirch masters. I felt like I had a choice between Ember and Fire Spin for its weak early-game Fire-type move. While I could have kept Fire Spin in the level up pool around where it is on like in the current pool, I could never place it in the movepool and feel good about its new location. Therefore, I considered placing it towards the beginning of the movepool and placing it over Ember. Ultimately though, I chose Ember because of Embirch's Pearl Dex Entry: "Pearl: It constantly looks for an opponent to fight. It is willing to launch fireballs to provoke them." Ember reminds me more of fireballs than Fire Spin, so Fire Spin has been moved to Egg Moves instead. It's not gone forever, and now Pyroak has a Fire-type Egg Move! However, before Level 24, the level Embirch would evolve into Flarelm, Pyroak doesn't get other Fire-type moves that involve its cannons. This is because I view Embirch's arm cannons to be weak before evolving, shooting primarily seed based particles and only small fire projectiles. Ember is weak enough for it to shoot, however. Leech Seed follows Ember, so that Ember and Flame Wheel aren't too close to each other, and is a new seed projectile that Embirch learns quite early. Next, while it's quite early for Pyroak to learn Synthesis, Embirch's Platinum Dex Entry explains all: "Platinum: After a battle, it mediates under the sun to restore its willpower and energy." I felt like placing Synthsis when Pyroak would be Embirch was fitting. The next move, Flame Wheel, is the precursor to Flare Blitz on Pyroak, and covers Embirch's Diamond Dex Entry: "Diamond: EMBIRCH strive to get tougher by charging at stronger foes. Over time, its scales grow to thick layers." I felt like it was necessary for Pyroak to lean this move before Embirch would evolve to incorporate this dex entry too. Then, I decided to make Seed Bomb Pyroak's next move, then move Giga Drain to later. Seed Bomb represents how Embirch has mastered shooting seeds (Bullet Seed -> Leech Seed -> Seed Bomb) before it evolves at Level 24.

While I cannot control this, I request that Flame Burst be Flarelm's Evolve move, as bigger arm cannons allow Flarelm to shoot not only seeds and weak fireballs but also bigger and explosive shots of fire. I feel like this is good way to show how Flarelm is more powerful than Embirch: once it's mastered seed projectiles, it begins to focus on fire shots. Level 28 is the earliest level I could give Pyroak Growth back, and while it's usually an early-game move, several Pokemon like Ivysaur, Shroomish, and Parasect learn it around this level. Giga Drain is next, as I felt like it didn't fit at Level 21 now that it has Base 75 Power instead of 60. I decided to not to go the Absorb -> Mega Drain -> Giga Drain route and instead focus Bullet Seed and Seed Bomb, which fit the ARM CANNONS concept much better. Very few Pokemon learn Giga Drain by level up without learning Absorb and Mega Drain too, but Pyroak can be one of the exceptions. Iron Defense and Amnesia appear in Pyroak's current movepool. Oddly enough, Amensia isn't coded in on PS!, so I'd like to solidify its place in Pyroak's movepool. I couldn't incorporate Flarelm's dex entries as well as I could for Embirch, but I'm pretty happy with my take on Flarelm nonetheless.

I'd like for Energy Ball to be Pyroak's Evolve move. This shows a growth from Flarelm to Pyroak, as it is now able "draw power from nature" rather than shoot physical seeds and internal fire. Heat Crash is next in line, to emphasize how Pyroak not only shoots fire but can tackle the opponent while cloaked in flames, and closes the power gap between Flame Wheel and Flare Blitz. One look at the picture Pyroak's dex entry page can show how Heat Crash's description fits Pyroak. While Heat Crash still remains a signature move in the Tepig family, the flavor of this move is too good to pass up. Additionally, the Snivy line had an almost exclusive move given to it (Leaf Tornado), and the Oshawott line had an almost exclusive move given to it (Razor Shell). Both of these moves have had wider distribution since then, so I don't think giving Pyroak this move is too glaring. Given Pyroak's newfound power of firing nature's energy from its cannon, I figured light energy would be a step up, so Flash Cannon is next. Lava Plume acts as Pyroak's semifinal Fire-type STAB move, and it's fitting given that every Pyroak set runs the move. Petal Dance appears in Pyroak's current movepool and is moved to later to allow it some space from Energy Ball (which it learns on Evolve at Level 38 minimum). Aromatic Mist might seem like it doesn't match up with Pyroak's Diamond dex entry: "Dex Entry #1: The smoke from PYROAK's flames is said to have soothing qualities. However, it is also known to induce odd behaviour in Pokémon and humans alike." However, Aromatic Mist's description has nothing to do with actual "mist" and really just has to do with a "mysterious aroma." I'd add it to Egg Moves if I could but the Egg Groups don't work out. Aromatic Mist makes it so Pyroak doesn't have a slew of attacking moves at the end, too. Zap Cannon is Pyroak's current capstone move, but Burn Up should be Pyroak's new capstone move: Pyroak is nuking the opponent so hard with its ARM CANNONS OF JUSTICE that it doesn't even have any fire left to shoot.

Flare Blitz and Wood Hammer are current Heart Scale moves. Double-Edge is added here because it has access to it by Gen 3 Move Tutor, and I feel like it belongs with the current recoil-inducing moves.

Overall, this level up movepool captures:
a) an improved trend of gaining stronger moves as Embirch, Flarelm, and Pyroak level up
b) a growth of character in its evolve moves: how Embirch can shoot only seeds and small bursts of fire, to how Flarelm learns to shoot more explosive fire shots through Flame Burst, to how Pyroak fully masters its arm cannons with Energy Ball (and then its other moves like Lava Plume, Zap Cannon, and Burn Up)
c) more emphasis on arm cannons (Seed Bomb, Flame Burst, Burn Up)
d) more emphasis on Pyroak's tackling abilities (Heat Crash)
e) incorporating Embirch's dex entries and as many other flavor aspects as I could without over-inflating Pyroak's level up movepool.

Note that all moves are not accounted for, but these are important to this submission.
Bullet Seed -> Leech Seed -> Seed Bomb -> Energy Ball (Embirch's capabilities of shooting primarily seeds eventually culminates to Pyroak's ability to use the pure natural energy of Energy Ball)
Ember -> Flame Burst -> Lava Plume -> Burn Up (Embirch's weak flame attacks give way to Flarelm's newfound power to shoot more explosive flames from its arm cannons, which culminates to Pyroak's ability to use Burn Up)
Flame Wheel -> Heat Crash -> Flare Blitz (progression of flaming tackles)
Flash Cannon / Zap Cannon (extraneous cannon moves)
Aromatherapy
Counter
Dragon Breath
Fire Spin (Charizard, Turtonator)
Grass Whistle
Grassy Terrain (Venusaur, Meganium, Sceptile, Torterra)
Petal Blizzard (Venusaur, Meganium)
Psybeam
Revenge
Sand Tomb
Water Sport

Fire Spin was moved here since I lifted it out of Level Up. It also lets Pyroak have a Fire-type Egg Move! Grassy Terrain was added since Shifty and Sunflora, two Pokemon of similar design / concept to Pyroak, have access to it. Petal Blizzard is here because most Petal Dance users can use Petal Dance as well.
Ancient Power
Block
Counter
Double-Edge

Earth Power
Headbutt
Heat Wave
Iron Defense
Low Kick
Mimic
Mud-Slap

Seed Bomb
Snore
Synthesis
Worry Seed

Block
Dragon Pulse
Earth Power
Giga Drain
Heat Wave
Iron Defense
Iron Head
Iron Tail
Low Kick
Seed Bomb
Snore
Stealth Rock
Synthesis
Worry Seed
Zen Headbutt

Ancient Power has been moved to Transfer Only. Counter is an egg move. Double-Edge has been added to Level 1 moves.

Giga Drain, Iron Tail, and Stealth Rock are old TMs. Iron Head and Zen Headbutt are suggested by Pyroak's strong physical moves. Dragon Pulse is a Dragon-type move that Pyroak should have access to, and it isn't very viable, especially when Pyroak's main job is to handle Fairy-types. Also, ARM CANNONS. Note that no punching moves have been added because Pyroak doesn't have fists, and I don't want to distract from Heat Crash and Flare Blitz with Fire Punch.
TM05 Roar
TM06 Toxic
TM10 Hidden Power
TM11 Sunny Day
TM15 Hyper Beam
TM16 Light Screen
TM17 Protect
TM20 Safeguard
TM21 Frustration
TM22 Solar Beam
TM26 Earthquake
TM27 Return
TM32 Double Team
TM35 Flamethrower
TM38 Fire Blast
TM39 Rock Tomb
TM42 Façade
TM43 Flame Charge
TM44 Rest
TM48 Round
TM50 Overheat
TM53 Energy Ball
TM61 Will-O-Wisp
TM68 Giga Impact
TM69 Rock Polish
TM75 Swords Dance
TM78 Bulldoze
TM80 Rock Slide
TM82 Dragon Tail
TM86 Grass Knot
TM87 Swagger
TM88 Sleep Talk
TM90 Substitute
TM91 Flash Cannon
TM93 Wild Charge
TM96 Nature Power
TM100 Confide


For old TMs, Bullet Seed and Giga Drain were removed but they appear in it's Level Up movepool, and the latter also appears in Tutor Moves as well. Iron Tail has been moved to Tutor Moves. Secret Power and Endure have been moved to Transfer Only. Stealth Rock has been moved to Tutor Moves. Sleep Talk changed number.

Flame Charge has been added because it's very similar to Flame Wheel, an existing move that Pyroak has access to, Pyroak can not utilitize the Speed boost well, and basically all Fire-types have access to it. Bulldoze is consistent with Earthquake. Pyroak has access to Roar, Dragon Breath, and Iron Tail, so Dragon Tail seems like a logical addition. Flash Cannon appears in the level up movepool. A good few Pokemon with access to Flare Blitz also have access to Wild Charge, and Pyroak has access to Zap Cannon so it's not out of the question for Pyroak to have this move. Nature Power is suggested by Pyroak's Grass-type, as the grand majority of them learn it. Round and Confide are universal.
Ancient Power (Gen 4 Move Tutor)
Endure (Gen 4 TM58)
Flash (Gen 4 TM70)
Headbutt (Gen 4 Tutor)
Incinerate (Gen 5 / Gen 6 TM59)
Mud-Slap (Gen 4 Move Tutor)
Natural Gift (Gen 4 TM83)
Rock Smash (Gen 4 / ORAS HM06, Gen 5 / XY TM94)
Secret Power (Gen 4 TM43)
Strength (Gen 6 HM04)

Incinerate is the only old TM I added to Pyroak. The rest have been moved here from other parts of the movepool. Rock Climb was abandoned because it didn't really fit anywhere else and most Gen 4 Pokemon who get it in Gen 4 don't get it afterwards.
Low Sweep wasn't added because, even though 69 Pokemon have access to both Low Kick and Low Sweep, 41 Pokemon have access to Low Kick only, and the difference between Low Kick's move description and Low Sweep's move description makes me not want to add Low Sweep because Pyroak does not make "swift attacks" but rather charges at the opponent with all of its might. Double Edge, Wood Hammer, Flare Blitz, Heat Crash, Flame Wheel, Wild Charge, Iron Head, etc. all exemplify how Pyroak just slams into its opponents, and adding Low Sweep would imply that Pyroak is able to execute a well-aimed physical strike.

Smack Down was another addition I chose not to add. Pyroak can shoot seeds, fire, and energy blasts...but not rocks. It also doesn't have access to Rock Blast, a similar move that it could use by shooting rocks from its arm cannons. Access to Rock Slide does not dictate access to Smack Down, and Pyroak isn't causing a Rock Slide by shooting rocks out of its cannons.
Additions:
Aromatic Mist added to Level Up
Bulldoze added to TM List
Burn Up added to Level 64
Confide added to TM List
Dragon Pulse added to Tutor Moves
Dragon Tail added to TM List
Flame Burst added to Level 1 (requested evolve move for Flarelm)
Flame Charge added to TM List
Flash Cannon added to Level 37 and TM List
Grassy Terrain added to Egg Moves
Heat Crash added to Level 41
Incinerate added to Transfer Only
Iron Head added to Tutor Moves
Nature Power added to TM List
Petal Blizzard added to Egg Moves
Round added to TM List
Wild Charge added to TM List
Zen Headbutt added to Tutor List

Moved from one part of the movepool to another:
Ancient Power moved from Tutor Moves to Transfer Only
Double-Edge moved from Tutor Moves to
Fire Spin moved from Level 28 to Egg Moves
Endure moved from TM List to Transfer Only
Flash moved from TM List to Transfer Only
Giga Drain moved from TM List to Tutor Moves
Headbutt moved from Tutor Moves to Transfer Only
Iron Tail moved from TM List to Tutor Moves
Mud-Slap moved from Tutor Moves to Transfer Only
Natural Gift moved from TM List to Transfer Only
Rock Smash moved from HM List to Transfer Only
Secret Power moved from TM List to Transfer Only
Sleep Talk moved from TM82 to TM88
Stealth Rock moved from TM List to Tutor Moves
Strength moved from HM List to Transfer Only

Counter removed from Tutor Moves, already an egg move

Moved within Level Up:
Amnesia moved from Level 42 to Level 46
Ember moved from Level 9 to Level 5
Flame Wheel moved from Level 17 to Level 19
Giga Drain moved from Level 21 to Level 32
Growth moved from Level 5 to Level 28
Iron Defense moved from Level 42 to Level 46
Lava Plume moved from Level 54 to Level 50
Leech Seed moved from Level 13 to Level 10
Petal Dance moved from Level 36 to Level 55
Synthesis moved from Level 48 to Level 14
Zap Cannon moved from Level 60 to Level 59

Duplications:
Energy Ball duplicated from TM List to Evolve Move
Seed Bomb duplicated from Tutor Moves to Level 23

Overall, I want to unify Pyroak's somewhat all-over-the-place flavor aspects with its Level Up movepool and expand upon them with newer moves, bring back some of Pyroak's orignial flavor aspects, and not introduce new aspects to Pyroak's design (Rock Blast / Smack Down, Low Sweep).


EDIT: Thanks to LoL for catching my mistake on Secret Power.
 
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LucarioOfLegends

Master Procraster
is a CAP Contributor
Final Submission

0 Double-Edge
0 Wood Hammer
0 Flare Blitz
0 Aromatic Mist
0 Sweet Scent
0 Bullet Seed
5 Growth
9 Ember
13 Leech Seed
17 Flame Wheel
21 Synthesis
28 Flame Burst
36 Petal Dance
42 Amnesia
42 Iron Defense
48 Flash Cannon
54 Giga Drain
60 Lava Plume
66 Zap Cannon
72 Burn Up

So I decided not to give a 5 paragraph essay on my changes like snake did, so here are my changes. I added a whole buncha moves to its Heart Scale list, which I'm not super satisfied with. Double-Edge makes sense because of its habit to charge at its foes, which is already a trend show by its other Heart Scale moves. Aromatic Mist functions similarly to Sweet Scent in nature, but because it gain no other Fairy type moves via level up, I chose to add it to the Heart Scale list. Fire Spin didn't make a ton of sense here, so I decide to add Flame Burst. It also makes sense flavorfully, as it would have learned to control greater fires, but can't succesfully compress them into accurate cannonball of it, so that means it would come out like buck shot from a shotgun. Giga Drain is unnaturally early for a mon like this, so I decided to swap it with Synthesis. While this may be weird for it to be this early, there are a number of mons that get it in the 20s, and I believe that Pyroak would be one of these mons. It also makes sense flavofully, as Embirch is still quite weak and has not developed its armor, meaning it has to heal off most of the damage it has taken from battle. Flash Cannon, after much consideration, was added to its level up moveset. It would make sense that Pyroak would be able to gather all the light that it has produced and release it in one blast, since fire naturally produces light. Finally, Burn Up was added for some competitive implications, and I can see consuming its flames all in strike, leaving its extinguished wood armor.

TM05 Roar
TM06 Toxic
TM10 Hidden Power
TM11 Sunny Day
TM15 Hyper Beam
TM16 Light Screen
TM17 Protect
TM20 Safeguard
TM21 Frustration
TM22 Solar Beam
TM26 Earthquake
TM27 Return
TM32 Double Team
TM35 Flamethrower
TM38 Fire Blast
TM39 Rock Tomb
TM42 Façade
TM43 Flame Charge
TM44 Rest
TM48 Round
TM50 Overheat
TM53 Energy Ball
TM61 Will-O-Wisp
TM68 Giga Impact
TM69 Rock Polish
TM75 Swords Dance
TM78 Bulldoze
TM80 Rock Slide
TM82 Dragon Tail
TM86 Grass Knot
TM87 Swagger
TM88 Sleep Talk
TM90 Substitute
TM91 Flash Cannon
TM93 Wild Charge
TM96 Nature Power
TM100 Confide


Added the required moves in Flame Charge, Confide, Incinerate, and Round, as well as Bulldoze because of Earthquake's presence. Flash Cannon is already a Level-Up move, so it would make sense to include it here. Wild Charge was added because it has synergy with its other recoil moves, and a number of pokemon who get both Flare Blitz and Wild Charge have to do heavily with head-on assaults, such as the Tepig and Ponyta line. Nature Power is added cause its a force of nature. Dragon Tail is added because it already has a phazing move in Roar, and it can swing its tail to attack.

Aromatherapy
Counter
Dragon Breath
Dragon Pulse (Charizard, Salamence, Haxorus)
Fire Spin (Charizard, Turtonator)
Grass Whistle
Grassy Terrain (Venusaur, Sceptile, Torterra)
Psybeam
Revenge
Sand Tomb

Added Fire Spin to the Egg Moves section since it no longer is in its Level Up pool. Dragon Pulse was added here because it has cannons, and Dragon Breath shows that it can gain draconic power through heredity means. Grassy Terrain adds to Pyroak's grass typing, and its habitat being in a forest.

Block
Dragon Pulse
Earth Power
Giga Drain
Heat Wave
Iron Head
Iron Defense
Iron Tail
Low Kick
Seed Bomb
Snore
Synthesis
Worry Seed
Zen Headbutt

Double-Edge is now a Heart Scale move, Counter is already an Egg move, Mimic is physically impossible to have on Pyroak, and all other moves not present are added to transfer only. Stealth Rock I decided against adding to the list because of the fact it got the moves in previous generations. With that said, I did add Iron Tail because of its near universal distributon among things with tails, and Giga Drain because its already in its moveset. Dragon Pulse falls under a similar suit of the latter, since its an egg move now.

As for new moves, Iron Head and Zen Headbutt were added because it already showed evidence of cranial carnage with Headbutt, and its works well with Pyroak charging to attack. I decided against Outrage because of the fact it does not fit with Pyroak's fighting style. Dragon Pulse fits because it can shoot the draconic energy out of its arm cannons. As shown by Dex Entry 3, it attack physically through charging at its foe, not wildly thrashing around like what Outrage suggests. Just doesn't make sense to me.

Ancient Power (Gen 4 Tutor)
Endure (Gen 4 TM)
Flash (Gen 4 TM)
Headbutt (Gen 4 Tutor)
Incinerate (Gen 5/6 TM)
Mud-Slap (Gen 4 Tutor)
Natural Gift (Gen 4 TM)
Rock Smash (Gen 4 HM, 5/6 TM)
Secret Power (Gen 6 TM)

Only added the required move in Incinerate, and Rock Climb is weird on most pokemon that used to get it, so it was removed from Pyroak to follow that trend.
 
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snake_rattler's updated movepool has won the poll, meaning that Pyroak's update is now complete. To sum up, Pyroak has gained White Smoke as a Hidden Ability and has picked up several new flavor moves. The full details of the updated movepool can be seen in snake's post.

Thank you to everyone that participated in this update!
 
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