Summary
- Arcanine remains a competitive powerhouse in modern Gen 9 battles with its useful Ability Intimidate and great support moves.
- Unlike other regional variants, Kantonian Arcanine is still stronger than Hisuian Arcanine due to fewer weaknesses in competitive battles.
- Pokemon Legends: Arceus introduced new forms, but Arcanine shines as one of Gen 1's best due to its well-rounded stats and move pool.
The Pokemon meta 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 like Pokemon Legends: Arceus have 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 in Pokemon 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 variants have 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 to Pokemon Red but has become more widely available in subsequent generations. While Abilities didn't exist until Gen 3, Arcanine has 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 to moves 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
When Pokemon Legends: Arceus introduced 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 boosted STAB damage since 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 competitive Pokemon battles 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 defensively in competitive battles, and adding the Rock type onto Hisuian Arcanine doesn't help its case, especially with a lower Speed stat than Kantonian Arcanine.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus
- Released
- January 28, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E for Everyone: Mild Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo, The Pokemon Company
- Franchise
- Pokemon
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch
- How Long To Beat
- 26 Hours
- Metascore
- 83
