Hisuian Arcanine Movesets and Best Builds

This is a guide to movesets and best builds for using Hisuian Arcanine in competitive play for the games Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (SV). Read on for tips on the best Nature, EV spreads, Movesets, Tera Type, and Held Items to use with Hisuian Arcanine, as well as its strengths and weakness.

Hisuian Arcanine Base Stats, Type, Ability and Weakness

Nat. Dex #59.1		Type
Hisuian Arcanine
		Abilities
		Intimidate Flash Fire Rock Head (Hidden)
Weak to:	(4x)
	(2x)
Damaged Normally By:	(1x)
Resists:	(0.5x)
	(0.25x)

What is Type Effectiveness?

Base Stats

Best Nature for Hisuian Arcanine

What are Natures?

Singles Movesets for Hisuian Arcanine

Choice Band Attacker Moveset & Best Build

Nature	Jolly (+Spe, -Sp.Atk)
EV Spread	Atk 252 / Def 4 / Spe 252
Final Stat Values	HP 170 / Atk 167 / Def 101 / Sp.Def 100 / Spe 156
Ability	Rock Head
Tera Type
Held Item	Choice Band
Moveset	・ Flare Blitz ・ Head Smash ・ Wild Charge ・ Extreme Speed

Summary

Hisuian Arcanine's Rock Head Ability allows it to use powerful moves such as Flare Blitz and Head Smash without suffering recoil damage, making it a powerful Choice Band user that can deal significant damage even against Pokemon that resist its moves.

Immune to recoil damage from its own moves thanks to Rock Head Great dual Fire and Rock-type STAB moves Can use Extreme Speed to hit faster Pokemon

Ability and Held Item

Ability	Held Item
Rock Head	Choice Band

Rock Head grants Hisuian Arcanine immunity to moves that inflict recoil, allowing it to use moves like Flare Blitz and Head Smash without losing HP.

Choice Band increases Hisuian Arcanine's Attack by 50%, boosting the power of its moves but locks them into the first move you used until you switch it out of the battle.

Moves Breakdown

Flare Blitz and Head Smash are Hisuian Arcanine's strongest STAB moves, dealing 120 and 150 BP respectively, and lack recoil thanks to its Rock Head Ability.

Wild Charge allows Hisuian Arcanine to damage Water-type Pokemon that might try to check it, while Extreme Speed allows it to hit faster or weakened opponents.

Best Tera Type: Stellar

Stellar Tera Type Matchup
Weak to:	(4x)
	(2x)
Damaged Normally By:	(1x)
Resists:	(0.5x)
	(0.25x)

Stellar is the best Tera Type for this build because it will boost the damage of whatever move it chooses to use.

Although there a more situations where alternate Tera Type can be more useful like a defensive Water type or a consistent Normal type.

Stellar Tera Type Explained

EV Spread and Nature

Full EV investment in Attack and Speed with a Jolly Nature ensures Hisuian Arcanine hits as hard and as fast as possible, with the remaining 4 EVs placed in Defense to slightly improve its physical bulk.

Other Viable Moves

Key Damage Calculations

The following calculations take into account Arcanine's given EV spread with a Jolly Nature and the 50% Attack boost from Choice Band.

Damage Dealt by Hisuian Arcanine
194 HP｜161 Def Defensive EV Investment: HP 252 | Def 252 (Bold) Item: Leftovers	Flare Blitz 210-248 (108.2 - 127.8%) Guaranteed OHKO
211 HP｜167 Def Defensive EV Investment: HP 252 | Def 252 (Bold) Item: Leftovers	Head Smash 254-300 (120.3 - 142.1%) Guaranteed OHKO
157 HP｜215 Def Defensive EV Investment: HP 252 | Def 192 (Bold) Item: Black Sludge	Wild Charge 80-96 (50.9 - 61.1%) 94.9% Chance to 2HKO
155 HP｜101 Def Defensive EV Investment: HP 0 | Def 4 (Adamant) Item: Choice Band	Extreme Speed 75-89 (48.3 - 57.4%) 94.1% Chance to 2HKO

Game8's Competitive Damage Calculator

Doubles Movesets for Hisuian Arcanine

Support Hisuian Arcanine Moveset & Best Build

Nature	Jolly (+Spe, -Sp. Atk)
EV Spread	252 Atk / 4 Sp. Def / 252 Spe
Final Stat Values	171 HP / 167 Atk / 100 Def / 103 Sp. Def / 156 Spe
Ability	Intimidate
Tera Type
Held Item	Sitrus Berry
Moveset	・ Flare Blitz ・ Rock Slide ・ Will-O-Wisp ・ Protect

Summary

Great Attack Stat and Ability. Can deal massive damage even on neutral hits. Resists Dragonite's Extreme Speed.

Ability and Held Item

Ability	Held Item
Intimidate	Sitrus Berry

Intimidate is Hisuian Arcanine's best Ability for this build, as it can also support its partner by lowering the opposing side's Attack stat. Sitrus Berry is good for keeping Hisuian Arcanine healthy.

Moves Breakdown

Flare Blitz is one of Hisuian Arcanine's damage dealing STAB moves, which is always great for damaging Grass-weak opponents such as Amoonguss and Gholdengo.

Rock Slide is another option that is good for dealing damage, but can also be used to fish for flinches.

Will-O-Wisp is a great way to render opposing physical threats ineffective.

While Protect is for passive turns, where Hisuian Arcanine has to stay healthy.

Best Tera Type: Grass

Grass Tera Type Matchup
Weak to:
	(2x)
Damaged Normally By:	(1x)
Resists:	(0.5x)

Grass is the best Tera Type for this build because it can turn Hisuian Arcanine's 4x weaknesses to Ground and Water into resistances.

Best Grass Type Pokemon for Ranked Battle

EV Spread and Nature

It is important to max out Attack and Speed for Hisuian Arcanine, as it needs always has to outspeed Pokemon such as Gyarados, Gholdengo, and Dondozo.

The remaining EVs are put into Special Defense to raise it by 1 point.

Other Viable Moves

Key Damage Calculations

Damage Dealt by Hisuian Arcanine
87 HP｜95. Def No Defensive EV Investment Item: Life Orb	Flare Blitz 294 ~ 348 (180.3 ~ 213.4%) Guaranteed OHKO

Game8's Competitive Damage Calculator

Physically Offensive Hisuian Arcanine Moveset & Best Build

Nature	Jolly (+Spe, -Sp. Atk)
EV Spread	252 Atk / 4 Sp. Def / 252 Spe
Final Stat Values	171 HP / 167 Atk / 100 Def / 103 Sp. Def / 156 Spe
Ability	Intimidate
Tera Type
Held Item	Choice Band
Moveset	・ Flare Blitz ・ Rock Slide ・ Extreme Speed ・ Tera Blast

Summary

Great Attack Stat and Ability. Can deal massive damage even on neutral hits.

Ability and Held Item

Ability	Held Item
Intimidate	Choice Band

Intimidate is Hisuian Arcanine's best Ability for this build, as it can also support its partner by lowering the opposing side's Attack stat. Choice Band is the Held Item of choice to give it an extra boost to its damage potential.

Moves Breakdown

Flare Blitz is one of Hisuian Arcanine's damage dealing STAB moves, which is always great for damaging Grass-weak opponents such as Amoonguss and Gholdengo.

Rock Slide is another option that is good for dealing damage, but can also be used to fish for flinches.

Extreme Speed give Hisuian Arcanine a priority option for situations where it has to deal a little bit of damage against quicker foe.

And lastly, Tera Blast with Tera Fairy can deal good chunks of damage to most Pokemon, as very few types resist Fairy.

Best Tera Type: Fairy

Fairy Tera Type Matchup
Weak to:
	(2x)
Damaged Normally By:	(1x)
Resists:	(0.5x)
Immune to:	(0x)

Fairy is the best Tera Type for this build because it can give Hisuian Arcanine a resistance to Fighting, while allowing it to take neutral damage from Water and Ground.

Best Fairy Type Pokemon for Ranked Battle

EV Spread and Nature

It is important to max out Attack and Speed for Hisuian Arcanine, as it needs always has to outspeed Pokemon such as Gyarados, Gholdengo, and Dondozo.

The remaining EVs are put into Special Defense to raise it by 1 point.

Other Viable Moves

Key Damage Calculations

Damage Dealt by Hisuian Arcanine
87 HP｜95. Def No Defensive EV Investment Item: Life Orb	Flare Blitz 294 ~ 348 (180.3 ~ 213.4%) Guaranteed OHKO
79 HP｜70 Def Defensive EV Investment: 4 Def Item: Covert Cloak	Rock Slide 174 ~ 206 (112.9 ~ 133.7%) Guaranteed OHKO

Game8's Competitive Damage Calculator

Howl Offensive Utility Moveset & Best Build

Nature	Adamant (+Atk, -Sp.Atk)
EV Spread	HP 252 / Atk 252 / Def 4
Final Stat Values	HP 202 / Atk 183 / Def 101 / Sp.Def 100 / Spe 110
Ability	Rock Head
Tera Type
Held Item	Leftovers
Moveset	・ Howl ・ Flare Blitz ・ Head Smash ・ Will-O-Wisp

Summary

Hisuian Arcanine can function a sa bulky lead support, using Howl to boost its own and its partner's Attack by one stage. While it's main role is to provide Howl support, it also dissuades other attackers by using recoil-free Flare Blitz and Head Smash thanks to its Rock Head Ability.

Howl also raises the Attack of its partner by one stage. Great natural bulk and 4x resistance to Fire-type moves Full Atk investment allows it to still hit hard with its STAB moves

Ability and Held Item

Ability	Held Item
Rock Head	Leftovers

Rock Head grants Hisuian Arcanine immunity to moves that inflict recoil, allowing it to use moves like Flare Blitz and Head Smash without losing HP.

Leftovers gives it passive recovery and allows it to stay on the field for longer.

Moves Breakdown

Howl raises Hisuian Arcanine and its partner's Attack stat by one stage, making it a great parter for other setup sweepers like Dragonite and Roaring Moon who will appreciate the extra Attack boost.

Flare Blitz and Head Smash are its main STAB moves and can easily KO Pokemon that don't resist it once Arcanine gets a +1 Attack boost, while Will-O-Wisp allows it to dissuade opposing physical attackers and setup sweepers from staying on the field.

Best Tera Type: Water

Water Tera Type Matchup
Weak to:
	(2x)
Damaged Normally By:	(1x)
Resists:	(0.5x)

Giving Hisuian Arcanine Water Tera typing gives it newfound resistances to Water-type moves, while also removing its debilitating 4x Weakness to Ground-type moves which are very common in the Doubles metagame.

EV Spread and Nature

Full HP and Atk EV investment gives it as much bulk as possible while still ensuring it deals as much damage as possible with its physical moves, while the remaining 4 EVs slightly improve its physical bulk.

Best Water Tera Type Pokemon for Ranked Battle

Other Viable Moves

Key Damage Calculations

The following calculations take into account Arcanine's given EV spread with a Jolly Nature and the +1 Attack boost from Howl.

Damage Dealt by Hisuian Arcanine
194 HP｜161 Def Defensive EV Investment: HP 252 | Def 252 (Bold) Item: Leftovers	Flare Blitz 344-408 (177.3 - 210.3%) Guaranteed OHKO
211 HP｜167 Def Defensive EV Investment: HP 252 | Def 252 (Bold) Item: Leftovers	Head Smash 278-330 (131.7 - 156.3%) Guaranteed OHKO

Game8's Competitive Damage Calculator

How to Use Hisuian Arcanine Effectively

Take Advantage of its Rock Head Ability

Hisuian Arcanine's lower speed compared to regular Arcanine is offset by its recoil-free Flare Blitz and Head Smash thanks to its Rock Head Ability. This gives it a separate niche as a more offensive-oriented Pokemon for teams or as an offensive lead in Doubles.

How to Build a Team with Hisuian Arcanine

Hisuian Arcanine is a great addition to hyper offense teams that appreciate the high base power Fire and Rock-type moves it provides.

Sample Singles Team

Lead Attacker	Defensive Pivot	Special Attacker
Hisuian Arcanine	Chesnaught	Flutter Mane

Choice Band Hisuian Arcanine is a great offensive lead whose main role is to deal as much damage as possible with either Flare Blitz and Head Smash. Chesnaught is a great defensive pivot as it resists Water and Ground-type moves that Hisuian Arcanine is weak to and is also immune to moves such as Aura Sphere and Focus Blast thanks to its Bulletproof Ability.

Flutter Mane fills the role of a fast special attacker that Hisuian Arcanine can switch into if it's faced against a Fighting Pokemon.

Sample Doubles Team

Lead Attacker	Lead Support
Annihilape	Hisuian Arcanine
Redirection Support	Special Attacker
Amoonguss	Iron Bundle

Hisuian Arcanine's access to Howl allows it to support Annihilape, ensuring it gets +2 Attack on the first turn when it uses Howl in conjunction with Annihilape's Bulk Up.

Amoonguss serves as this team's redirection support, switching in once Arcanine is done providing support while Iron Bundle provides strong offense with its Water and Ice-type STAB.

Counters for Hisuian Arcanine

Outspeed it with a Faster Attacker

Hisuian Arcanine's mediocre 90 Base Speed stat means it's easily outsped by faster attackers that can take advantage of its common weakness to Ground, Rock, and Fighting-type moves.

Best Pokemon to Use

Pokemon	Description
Flutter Mane	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Naturally outspeeds Hisuian Arcanine and immune to Extreme Speed. ・Easily KOs Hisuian Arcanine with Ground-type Tera Blast. ▶️Flutter Mane Best Movesets
Iron Valiant	Ranking: ★★★★ ・Naturally outspeeds Hisuian Arcanine. ・Can easily KO Hisuian Arcanine with STAB Close Combat or Focus Blast. ▶️Iron Valiant Best Movesets
Sandy Shocks	Ranking: ★★★★ ・Naturally outspeeds Hisuian Arcanine. ・Easily KOs with STAB Earth Power. ▶️Sandy Shocks Best Movesets

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