Summary
ThePokemonmeta has undergone substantial changes over the years as each generation introduces new mechanics and critters that build upon those that came before them. Additionally, games likePokemon Legends: Arceushave introduced new forms of previously existing mons, remixing critters from older generations to fit within the most recent one. However, even after gaining a Hisuian form inPokemon Legends: Arceus, Arcanine remains one of the best Gen 1 Pokemon in the modern Gen 9 era for competitive battles due to its consistently useful ability and great support potential.
Typically, when a Pokemon gains a new regional variant, that variant tends to be stronger than the original, since each variant usually factors modern mechanics into its design.Regional variantshave allowed previously weak mons like Qwilfish, Corsola, and Marowak to receive major glow-ups and even new evolutions that have helped them stay relevant in modern battles. However, Arcanine is one of the few mons whose original form is just as powerful, if not more so, than its regional variant, showing just how great of a Gen 1 mon Arcanine has been throughout the series' history.
Arcanine is Still One of the Strongest Gen 1 Pokemon
Arcanine is best known as one of Gen 1’s Fire-type mons alongside the likes of Charizard, Ninetales, Magmar, and Moltres, and it was originally exclusive toPokemon Redbut has become more widely available in subsequent generations. While Abilities didn’t exist until Gen 3,Arcaninehas consistently made a name for itself in the competitive arena thanks to its Ability Intimidate. Intimidate is already one of the most useful Abilities for competitive battles since it lowers the opposing mon’s Attack when the user enters battle, so an all-around solid monster like Arcanine can make great use of this Ability.
Aside from having Intimidate to weaken the opponent’s mons on switch-in, Arcanine is a great mon to have for support as well, as it has a well-rounded stat distribution and access tomoves like Will-O-Wisp, Snarl, and Extreme Speed. Will-O-Wisp can Burn the target, which deals damage to them each turn and halves the power of their Physical Attacks, and Snarl has the power to lower the opponent’s Special Attack in addition to dealing damage, severely reducing their offensive potential. Having Extreme Speed is also a huge benefit to Arcanine since it gets speed priority and can be used to finish off weakened opponents.
Why Kantonian Arcanine is Superior to Hisuian Arcanine
WhenPokemon Legends: Arceusintroduced Hisuian Arcanine, it appeared as if this new form would outclass the original, as had been the case with many previous regional variants. Hisuian Arcanine does have some advantages over the original, such as slightly higher Attack and HP stats, as well as access to Rock-type moves with boostedSTAB damagesince this form gains the Rock typing. However, even with these new advantages, the original form of Arcanine is still stronger than Hisuian Arcanine in several ways, leading to its continued usage in competitivePokemonbattles alongside its Hisuian counterpart.
There are a few big reasons why players would choose to use Kantonian Arcanine over its Hisuian form like to avoid the numerous weaknesses Hisuian Arcanine faces due to the addition of the Rock type. As a Fire/Rock-type mon, Hisuian Arcanine takes 4x damage from Water and Ground attacks, which are two very commonly used types in competitive battles, as well as 2x damage from Fighting and other Rock types.Fire types already have a tough time defensivelyin competitive battles, and adding the Rock type onto Hisuian Arcanine doesn’t help its case, especially with a lower Speed stat than Kantonian Arcanine.
