Moves
Fire Blast is an extremely powerful STAB move that hits any Pokemon that does not resist it for a decent amount of damage. Hyper Voice provides great neutral coverage with Fire Blast, hitting Water- and Fire-types such as Lanturn and Magmortar reasonably hard. Hidden Power Grass rounds off Pyroar's coverage, nailing Rock-types such as Kabutops and Rhydon, which would otherwise wall Pyroar. Will-O-Wisp is used to punish Thick Fat Hariyama, and it also bypasses Sucker Punch users such as Shiftry, Kangaskhan, and Skuntank. Taunt allows Pyroar to halt Calm Mind and Wish users such as Mega Audino and Clefairy while stopping entry hazard users. Flamethrower should be used with Choice Specs and is used as a safer Fire-type STAB move that has 100% accuracy, unlike Fire Blast. Overheat can be used in the last slot for an even stronger STAB move that is useful early on in the game to weaken the opposing team severely.
Set Details
Maximum Special Attack investment is used to give Pyroar as much offensive presence as possible. The maximum Speed investment with a Timid nature is mandatory, as fully invested Pyroar is able to outspeed many pertinent threats such as Scyther and Lilligant. Life Orb is used to amplify Pyroar's attacks, though it comes at the cost of taking recoil damage. Choice Specs can be used over Life Orb for a bigger power boost, granting Pyroar the ability to 2HKO Lanturn after Stealth Rock, and it does not have recoil damage; however, it locks Pyroar into a move. Charcoal can be used to bluff a Choice Specs set to opponents, but it only boosts Pyroar's Fire-type attacks. Unnerve, while situational, is the most useful ability out of the three available, as it can stop foes such as Linoone and Sandslash from using their Sitrus Berry and Lum Berry, respectively.
Usage Tips
Pyroar is mainly used as a wallbreaker to wear down the opposing team to pave a way for its teammates to clean up late-game. For a majority of the battle, Pyroar should keep using Fire Blast, as it is able to dent the opposing team very hard. If running it, Pyroar can also use Overheat early-game, as Pyroar is a hit-and-run Pokemon most of the time anyway. Because Pyroar has a decent defensive typing, it can pivot into Grass- and Ghost-types with relative ease and hit them hard. However, against Grass-types such as Vileplume and Roselia, it has to be careful of Sludge Bomb, while against Tangela and Lilligant, it has to look out for Sleep Powder. Against Ghost-types such as Rotom, it has to be wary of Thunderbolt, but it can reliably switch into Mismagius and Misdreavus, as they cannot do much against it. Pyroar should not be exposed to any status moves; poison can severely wear it down, especially in tandem with the recoil from Life Orb, while Thunder Wave cuts its Speed. Players can attempt to predict switches to Rock-types such as Rhydon and Carracosta by clicking either Hidden Power Grass to 2HKO them or Will-O-Wisp to cripple them. If using Choice Specs, Pyroar should not recklessly lock itself into Hidden Power Grass, as this gives Klinklang and Lilligant free setup opportunities against it; in general, Pyroar should not use it when there is a setup sweeper on the opponent's team.
Team Options
Grass-types such as Torterra and Shiftry have great defensive synergy with Pyroar, as they resist Ground-type attacks while Pyroar resists Bug-type attacks. Torterra and Shiftry are able to take on Rock- and Water-types for Pyroar easily, while Pyroar deals with the Grass- and Ice-types that they struggle with; Shiftry also has Defog to remove entry hazards, which helps Pyroar a lot. Physical wallbreakers such as Mawile and Kabutops work well with Pyroar, as they can wear down special walls for it. Pokemon that can deal with Rock-types are also greatly appreciated. Poliwrath and Gourgeist have no trouble doing so, being able to switch in with ease and proceed to fire of a Scald or Will-O-Wisp, respectively. Water-types such as Prinplup and Samurott also deals with the Rock-types that Pyroar has trouble with. Prinplup is also able to provide Defog support, while Samurott appreciates Pyroar's ability to weaken Vileplume and Gourgeist-S to ease setup for Samurott. Because Pyroar has some trouble getting a safe switch onto the field, it greatly benefits from a slow U-turn or Volt Switch from the likes of Mesprit and Lanturn. Garbodor in particular works well with Pyroar, as it easily handles Fighting-types such as Hariyama and Hitmonchan while Pyroar handles Ghost-types such as Rotom and Haunter for Garbodor. Garbodor also has the additional benefit of providing Spikes and Toxic Spikes support; two layers of Spikes guarantee the 2HKO on Prinplup with Hyper Voice. Pyroar also appreciates partners such as Xatu and Claydol, which can deter or remove entry hazards with Magic Bounce and Rapid Spin, respectively. A Ground-type such as Sandslash or Rhydon, while it shares a common Water-type weakness with Pyroar, appreciates Pyroar's ability to beat Grass-types; furthermore, the combination of the two Pokemon allows them to completely shut down Rotom by virtue of their typings.
