Cinderace, the Striker Pokémon. It juggles a pebble with its feet, turning it into a burning soccer ball. Its shots strike opponents hard and leave them scorched. It's skilled at both offense and defense, and it gets pumped up when cheered on. But if it starts showboating, it could put itself in a tough spot.
Overview
Cinderace has been struggling in the ninth generation. Great Tusk, Dondozo, and Landorus-Therian are everywhere, making it difficult for Cinderace to pivot in reliably and it lacks the direct coverage to answer most of them. Many of Cinderace’s moves, including Pyro Ball, Hi Jump Kick and Gunk Shot all have far from perfect accuracy, which with Cinderace’s frailty can often mean Cinderace being KOd by a target it would otherwise threaten out. And that same frailty makes it difficult for Cinderace to setup to get past the walls that threaten it. Libero’s nerf further exasperates Cinderace’s frailty, leaving it unable to pivot typings as freely as in the previous generation.
But Cinderace even at its worst is still an incredible Pokémon. Base 119 Speed leaves Cinderace only outsped by a handful of Pokémon and Cinderace’s wide pseudo-STAB coverage, and potent Base 116 Attack makes pivoting into Cinderace a difficult proposition. Cinderace is not bereft of support options either. Court Change is incredible for Hazard control especially given the lack of Defog users. Access to a speedy Will-O-Wisp further widens the breadth of Cinderace’s game and enable Cinderace to subvert opponents it otherwise has no business beating. Cinderace may be a bit inconsistent, but this ace still has the moves to go the distance.
Positives
Base 119 Speed is incredible, leaving only a few Pokémon that can outspeed Cinderace naturally
Base 116 Attack is good, enabling Cinderace to hit hard with investment
Libero is an amazing ability that gives Cinderace STAB on the first non-Fire attack it uses, making Cinderace’s coverage even more potent.
Great movepool with plenty of coverage to abuse Libero, as well as excellent support options in Court Change, Will-o-Wisp and U-Turn.
Negatives
80/75/75 Bulk leaves Cinderace rather frail and struggles to take attacks without resistances.
Lacks the coverage to deal with the popular bulky Water and Ground types running around.
Unreliable attacks can have Cinderace missing when you need it most.
Movesets
Hit and Hop
-U-Turn
-Pyro Ball
-High Jump Kick
-Court Change
Ability: Libero
Item: Heavy Duty Boots
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Cinderace excels as a hit and run Pokémon, using free switches to come in, slam a target with a super effective Libero STAB attack and U-Turn out to maintain momentum. Or just U-Turn out immediately to counter a predicted switch to maintain momentum. Pyro Ball is STAB of choice having incredible power and wide coverage, hitting Steel and Grass types like Kingambit, Gholdengo, Corviknight, Amoongus, and Rillaboom. This is complimented by the fantastic coverage High Jump Kick provides, hitting Steel, Dark, and Tera Normal Dragonite targets like Kingambit, Hisuian Samurott, Heatran and Tera Normal Dragonite. Court Change rounds out the set and is vitally important as Cinderace’s hit and run style is incredibly exposed to entry hazards and like the chip damage that entry hazards provide, so there is no move like Court Change for both removing and setting up hazards in one fell swoop.
Tera Types:
Like with Meowscarada and Greninja, Cinderace does not like Terastalizing since that does turn off Libero which provides much of the same benefit as Terastalizing in the first place. However, Tera Grass is a tantalizing option for slamming the many Water and Ground types that give Cinderace so much trouble. Otherwise Tera Fire is good for just that extra boost in power when you need it.
EVs and Items:
Max Speed and Attack are necessary for Cinderace to hit as hard and fast as possible. Jolly Nature is recommended to outspeed as many targets as possible. Going down to Adamant leaves Cinderace outsped by targets like Walking Wake, Enamorous, Iron Valiant, Iron Jugulis, and Hisuian Zoroark. Heavy Duty Boots is near mandatory if using Court Change since entry hazard will just eat Cinderace alive before Cinderace can do its job. If not running Court Change, Heavy Duty Boots is still heavily recommended since Cinderace’s constant U-Turns and pivoting leave it incredibly exposed to entry hazards. If not running Heavy Duty Boots, Life Orb is fantastic for picking up extra damage but requires strict hazard control.
Partners:
Greninja and Meowscarada make for good teammates with Cinderace, forming a Fire-Water-Grass U-Turn core that can repeatedly pivot in and take out the others checks. Meowscarada loves Cinderace shellacking opposing Steel types that give it trouble and Cinderace in turns loves Meowscarada for checking Great Tusk and Dondozo with Flower Trick. Greninja loves Cinderace taking out Blissey with Fighting Libero STAB and offers a Special attacking option against many physical walls.
Galarian Slowking is a fantastic slow pivot that helps provide pressure with Future Sight both getting Cinderace in safely and making it very difficult to wall with the one two punch of Cinderace’s Libero STAB and Future Sight.
Zapdos is another excellent example, providing a safe pivot against the Ground types that give Cinderace trouble and utterly ruining Dondozo and other Water types thanks to its Electric STAB. Cinderace in turn pivots into Ice attacks and can easily wreck opposing Rock types with Fighting Libero STAB.
Other Options:
Gunk Shot -wrecks Iron Valiant, Enamorus and Azumarill while providing a good defensive Libero typing.
Low Kick -great against the many heavy Fighting weak targets running around, but power can be inconsistent against light way targets switching in predicting a Low Kick. But at least it doesn’t take half your HP on a miss.
Will-o-Wisp -punishes Great Tusk and Landorus Therian who would normally see Cinderace as a free switch in and does force Dondozo to Rest.
Sucker Punch -Super Effective Priority against Dragapult who otherwise gives Cinderace problems.
Doubles and VGC Options
Cinderace has scarcely been seen in Doubles for good reason. Its favored moves having less than perfect accuracy along with Cinderace’s relative fragility make it incredibly volatile in Doubles, capable of just whiffing its attack and being KOd before contributing anything meaningful. With there being several faster attackers such as Chien-Pao, and Sneasler alongside priority users like Dragonite and Urshifu Rapid, not only does these Pokémon compete for similar role in the team slot but also are direct checks to Cinderace as well. Cinderace closes the gap using its wide coverage bolstered by Libero, hitting many top threats. Cinderace’s coverage is so wide, it is one of the few Pokémon that reliably checks Heatran pre and post Grass Terastalization thanks to its access to High Jump Kick and Gunk Shot. Libero’s type changes can also be used to great effect defensively but also adds to how volatile Cinderace is, requiring good reading of the field.
Titania
-Pyro Ball
-Double Kick
-Gunk Shot
-Iron Head
Ability: Libero
Item: Choice Scarf
Tera Type: Fire
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Cinderace excels as an answer to several of the most popular threats running around right now. Pyro Ball hits many popular targets like Amoongus, Chien-Pao, Rillaboom, and Gholdengo along with the many Tera Grass and Tera Steel users running about. Double Kick offers invaluable Fighting coverage, but Double Kick is specifically preferred to counter Focus Sash Chien-Pao, enabling Cinderace to cleanly remove it and cut down the opposing team’s damage. Gunk Shot is the preferred move to destroy Tera Grass Heatran and Armarouge, both normally massive problems after Terastalization due to Flash Fire negating their most common weakness. Iron Head rounds out the set, able to destroy Flutter Mane and other Tera Fairy users while giving Cinderace a rather solid Steel typing to better resist assaults.
Cinderace does not want to terastalize at all, but Fire is the best option for bolstering Pyro Ball STAB. Choice Scarf helps Cinderace get the jump on Flutter Mane and Chien-Pao, two massive threats that otherwise outspeed it.
Other Options & Partners:
High Jump Kick -massively powerful, but Jump Kicking into a Protect is ruinous for Cinderace
Feint -priority move great for picking off targets on a sliver of health and helps break through the best move in Doubles
U-Turn -good coverage considering the large number of Grass and Dark types running around and enables for aggressive pivoting to counter predicted switches.
Indeedee-F makes for a fantastic partner for Cinderace, solving most of its issues, offering it invaluable protection via redirection, immunity to priority with the Psychic Terrain it sets up and even more damage thanks to Helping Hand.
Urshifu Rapid Strike is another good partner for Cinderace eliminating Intimidate users like Landorus Therian and Arcanine while enjoying Cinderace’s ability to check opposing Grass types and Flutter Mane that give Urshifu Rapid Strike problems.
Countering Cinderace
Cindeace’s massive coverage and shifting types make it incredibly hard to pin down, but there are a few consistent answers due to gaps in its coverage.
Bulky Water and Ground types like Dondozo, Great Tusk and Landorus Therian work great, able to tank Cinderace’s attacks relatively well and threaten it out with their own STAB/coverage due to Cinderace lacking Grass coverage outside the weak Trailblaze. However, aside from Dondozo, none of these Pokémon like eating a Will-O-Wisp.
Dragapult is another frustrating foe for Cinderace, fearing only Sucker Punch, but able to play around it and threaten Cinderace back with STAB/coverage or potentially even Burn Cinderace with Will-O-Wisp if it isn’t currently Fire.
If lacking Gunk Shot, Azumarill is a huge problem for Cinderace, able to stomach most attacks well and even OHKO with Aqua Jet if Cinderace hasn’t changed types yet.
Cinderace lacking Fighting coverage find Ting-Lu and Garganacl unmanageable, both able to take STAB Pyro Balls with ease and threaten Earthquake/Rock STAB in turn.
Otherwise, the few naturally faster attackers and Choice Scarf users can easily revenge KO Cinderace. Greninja, and Zamazenta are excellent examples, the latter even able to use its titanic bulk to switch in safely. Banded Meowscarada can work too, but does not like switching into Cinderace and Cinderace needs to be chipped first. Priority users like Dragonite, the aforementioned Azumarill, Basculegion, and Floatzel also work well.
Locations in Games
Red/Blue/Yellow:
Not in game
Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Not in game
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Not in game
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Not in game
Colosseum/XD:
Not in game
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Not in game
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Not in game
Black/White:
Not in game
Black 2/White 2:
Not in game
X/Y:
Not in game
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Not in game
Sun/Moon:
Not in game
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Not in game
Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!:
Not in game
Sword/Shield:
Evolve Raboot
Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl:
Not in game
Legends: Arceus:
Not in game
Scarlet/Violet:
Transfer from Pokémon HOME
Anime Appearences
