The Fire-Type is one of the most popular in the Pokémon mainline games, and Scarlet and Violet recently expanded on that roster. And, as anyone might expect, this typing is home to some of the most capable battlers in the series. They can be fairly versatile when it comes to their strengths, namely by having dual typings to complement and cover the weaknesses of pure Fire.
Pure Fire-Types tend to lean toward the Special stats with low-to-average defenses, which is why dual types tend to bring out the best in them. Some of the starters do well to fill their respective roles well, like the fan-favorite Blaziken, while more technical entries like Groudon's Primal form prove to be near-indomitable forces in battle.
14 Flareon
Flareon is in a complicated position. It is fairly slow, so it moves after foes in many matchups. As a result, it has a great Special Defense to compensate. On the other hand, its Defense is quite low.
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While its Attack is fantastic and its Special Attack is good as well, its unfortunate Speed can be frightening for it. As long as Flareon faces off against Special category specialists, it can shine. This lack of consistency, though, is part of the reason why it is ranked in the middle among every Eeveelution in the Pokémon series.
13 Rapidash
As its horse-like appearance suggests, Rapidash is a fast Pokémon. It uses its Speed to strike quickly and with decent force. However, while its Attack stat is high, it is sometimes not high enough to take out tougher opponents. With only decent defensive stats and fairly low HP, it can face some problems if it does not immediately knock out its foe.
In addition, it can only learn a handful of strong Physical moves, leaving its high Attack stat often underutilized. When fighting weaker enemies or those against which it has a type advantage, Rapidash can do well, but other Fire-Types can do a better job.
12 Ninetales
Like Rapidash, Ninetales is on the faster side. While Ninetales does not have as much attacking capability, it succeeds more on the defensive front. Although its Defense is not much higher, its Special Defense is significantly better. This makes Ninetales situationally much more capable than Rapidash.
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Another added benefit is that Ninetales can know a variety of powerful moves immediately. As long as a move relearner is easily accessible in the game it is in, Ninetales can learn exceptional attacks like Flamethrower and Fire Blast. This does not entirely make up for the limitations of its stats, but it certainly helps.
11 Houndoom
One of the most popular Pokémon from Johto, Houndoom is a competent combatant thanks to its Type combination. This dual Fire/Dark-Type hellhound expectedly has strong Special stats (110 Sp. Attack, 80 Sp. Defense), but it also impresses with a solid Physical Attack stat (90) and Speed (95).
While caution is advised, it could be used as a "glass cannon" Pokémon against Physical opponents thanks to its offenses and being respectably speedy. With moves like Nasty Plot to bolster its strengths even further, Houndoom can take full advantage of what Fire and Dark attacks have to offer, as well as some coverage moves. Just as well, Mega Houndoom builds on what already makes it powerful, while making it more defensively robust.
10 Darmanitan
With a striking character design inspired by mythology and folklore, this Pokémon seemingly innocent appearance hides a surprisingly tough character. Darmanitan's Standard Mode is not as strong as its Zen Mode, but since the latter is Fire/Psychic, it does not qualify as a pure Fire-type. Standard Mode Darmanitan is still powerful, though. It is almost as fast as Ninetales and its Attack stat is incredibly high.
On the other hand, if it does not attack faster than its opponent, it can face many obstacles. Its defensive stats are mediocre at best, and while its high HP helps to balance it a bit, some foes may have little trouble dealing with Darmanitan. However, when it moves first, it can wipe out entire teams without much issue.
9 Magmortar
If Magmortar can strike before its opponent, it can be incredible on both the Physical and Special fronts, more so the Special though. The main issue comes from Magmortar's only decent Speed, which holds it back. Its Special Defense allows it to take this kind of damage, but if it takes a Physical hit, it could go down relatively easily.
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As a pure Fire-Type, it is not extremely vulnerable to any one type, but its lack of Physical Defense is a burden. If it faces off against slower foes, though, it often cannot be stopped, making it one of the strongest non-Legendary Pokémon from the Sinnoh region.
8 Typhlosion
With more balanced stats than Cinderace, Typhlosion is the better fully evolved Fire-type starter. Its Speed and Attack are much lower, but its Speed is still fairly high, allowing it to move first a large percentage of the time. Although Defense and Special Defense are not amazing, Typhlosion can usually take decent damage.
As for its offensive capabilities, Typhlosion is much more comfortable on the Special side, but it can use its reasonable Attack stat effectively too. Along with this, it can access many great Physical and Special moves, helping to provide coverage for different defensive specialists.
7 Arcanine
Arcanine has the honor of being one of the strongest dog-like Pokémon from the Kanto region, as well as an incredible pure Fire-Type. Both its Attack and Special Attack are high, which lets it use both categories well and gives it flexibility offensively. Its Speed stat is solid, and even when it cannot outspeed opponents, its defensive stats and HP are better than passable.
As an added option, Arcanine can use the move Extreme Speed, which goes first and does a great deal of damage. Paired with the Pokémon's high Attack stat, this move is incredibly powerful, even though it is Normal-type.
6 Infernape
As far as the starters go, Infernape is arguably one of the most popularly used Pokémon in the Sinnoh region games. That's with good reason, as this ape species is perhaps the most effective of the starters -- and one of the few Fire-Types available in Diamond and Pearl. Infernape's stat spread makes it an excellent mixed attacker, with a powerful 104 in both Physical and Special Attack.
Combine that with its diverse move pool by being a dual Fire/Fighting-Type and its impressive access to coverage attacks, and players will have one of the strongest starters in the series. Being able to dish out attacks like Close Combat and Flare Blitz while also being able to cover with moves like Earthquake and Rock Slide makes it nothing to take lightly.
5 Blaziken
Of all the starters in the franchise, though, Blaziken is debatably the strongest of the Fire-Type starter Pokémon. The original dual Fire/Fighting-Type species in general, Blaziken also has superb stats that allow it to be a potent mixed attacker. Its offensive stats aren't equal to each other like Infernape's, but they're both individually stronger than the ape Pokémon's, with an imposing 120 in Physical Attack and 110 in Special.
Likewise, it was decent Speed and defenses that should hold their own while Blaziken goes scorched earth on the competition. Mega Blaziken was practically overpowered in its day, as its stats were boosted alongside its Speed Boost ability that passively went into effect every turn.
4 Cinderace
Cinderace is at its best when it has its Hidden Ability Libero, which changes its type to that of the move it is about to use. However, since this changes its typing, Libero Cinderace should not be included in an evaluation of pure Fire-Types. Blaze, Cinderace's other Ability, is not as viable, but it is still helpful. It raises the power of Cinderace's Fire moves when it is at low health.
On top of this, the Pokémon has excellent Speed and Attack stats. Its defensive stats are less impressive, but it can often defeat opponents in one strike. The lack of balance can occasionally hurt it, so players should be strategic with Cinderace and attack aggressively before the opponent gets a chance to strike back.
3 Entei
As a Legendary Pokémon, Entei does not disappoint with its stats. It has high Speed and the offensive capability to make the most of it. With a high HP stat as well, it takes a lot to defeat Entei.
The creature's Defense and Special Defense are the most underwhelming part of this Legendary, but even they are not terrible. If it does not take opponents out on its first turn, it can usually withstand their strikes. Entei also can utilize many strong Fire moves, giving it even more offensive power.
2 Moltres
Moltres is one of the classic Legendary creatures from the original Kanto games and, because of that classification, has some unsurprisingly powerful stats to let it hold its own in battle. The dual Fire-Flying-Type bird is solid statistically all around, with respectable defensive attributes to keep it going long enough to deal some serious damage.
Both of its offensive stats are great, but Moltres excels in Special Attack with a 125. On top of reliable Flying attacks like Hurricane (which has a secondary status effect) and heavy hitters like Fire Blast, Moltres can also benefit from the likes of Roost and U-Turn for self-preservation.
1 Primal Groudon
It's something of a technical member of the Fire-Type roster since this relies on an alternate form, but Primal Groudon's sheer power is tough to ignore. The standard Groudon that's been around since the early 2000s in Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald was a force to be reckoned with as is within its Ground typing -- with triple digits in 4/6 stats -- but the Primal form takes things to a monstrous level.
Now a dual Fire/Ground-Type, Primal Groudon sees a boost in its Physical Attack, Defense, and Special Attack (180, 160, 150, respectively). On top of that, it now has STAB benefits (same-type attack bonus) with Fire attacks.
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