Entei

Entei, The Volcano Pokémon. It is said that when it roars, a volcano erupts somewhere around the globe. Unable to contain its sheer power, it races headlong around the land. It is said that one is born every time a new volcano appears. It embodies the passion of magma. It blasts fire that consumes all that it touches.

Overview

I wish I could say Entei was awesome. I really want to, honestly. It has a nice design, the Fire type is a cool type, it has great stats in the right places. But its movepool... oh God, its movepool. It is catastrophic, to say the least. When Rock Smash is considered on its Choice Band set, you know things are bad. At least it has some special attacks... well, a good Fire move anyway. It's a shame, but Entei will be getting some new moves soon, which really will help it out.

Ability

Pressure: cost the opponent an extra PP every time they attack? Oh yes. A great ability.

Move Sets

Pretty calm for a hothead

- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Flamethrower / Lava Plume
- Hidden Power [Grass] / Toxic / Will-o-wisp
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 132 HP / 100 SAtk / 176 Spd
Timid Nature (+Atk, -Spd)

Something Entei can actually do surprisingly well. That huge HP stat really comes into play here with 101 Substitutes, which means... that's right, Entei can actually beat the number one special wall, Blissey. Calm Mind boosts as Entei hides behind the Substitute, which also protects it from stuff like Surf, which won't be able to break the Substitute after a few Calm Mind boosts. Flamethrower is your main STAB move, due to it being powerful and accurate, as well as having good PP which is great for this set. However, Lava Plume is a great option instead of the more mainstream Flamethrower. Same PP, same accuracy, a little weaker, but has a 30% chance of burning your opponent, which really can come in useful. Hidden Power [Grass] takes out anything trying to block Flamethrower, but it is mainly there for Water/Ground Pokémon, as they have Earthquake which ignore Entei's Special Defence boosts and attacks on the physical side. Toxic wears the opponent down very quickly, a very effective tactic for you, an incredibly frustrating game for them. Will-o-wisp also wears opponents down, but its damage doesn't increase over time. However, it does halve the Attack of your enemy, which helps defend Entei from physical attacks.

Beast of choice

- Stone Edge
- Fire Fang
- Return
- Iron Head / Rock Smash
Item Attached: Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)

115 base Attack is great. 100 base Speed is good. Entei's movepool is bad. Really bad. Stone Edge has great coverage and is a fantastic move, despite the shaky accuracy. Fire Fang is Entei's only STAB Fire attack (for now...), so it'll have to do. It really isn't too good, but whatever. Return is... filler. It doesn't have much else. However, it is 102 base power, so that's always good. Iron Head can murder some Rock types if they switch in.

Entei is in possession of the Delorean

- Howl
- Flare Blitz
- Extremespeed
- Stone Edge / Iron Head
Item Attached: Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Spd, -Atk)

Yes, Entei can drive a time machine, and he went to the future and find a few surprises. That's right, it actually gets some good moves now. Howl boosts that already good Attack to big levels, and Flare Blitz is simply amazing. 120 base power is nothing to joke about. Extremespeed is another great move that Entei welcomes into its movepool, with Stone Edge or Iron Head filling the final gap. With these new moves though, Entei can only be Adamant.

Entei is walking on sunshine

- Sunny Day
- Solarbeam
- Flamethrower / Fire Blast
- Calm Mind
Item Attached: Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)

This variation of Entei has a very clear way of removing its most obvious counters. Sunny Day not only boosts Entei's powerful Fire moves, but also makes Solar Beam a one turn move, as well as lowering the power of Water moves that obviously hamper Entei's existence. Flamethrower or Fire Blast depends on whether you want power for less PP and less accuracy. Calm Mind boosts the special attack of Entei to a pretty high number, which is always good.

A volcano has never erupted this quicky

- Eruption
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Shadow Ball / Stone Edge
Item Attached: Choice Scarf
Ability: Pressure
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)

Speedy Entei. Eruption is amazing, and is really quite powerful even with Entei's average Special Attack. Flamethrower is a more reliable attack after Eruption has lost its power. Hidden Power [Grass] takes care of Water types and Rocks. Shadow Ball is filler but could be nice for a revenge kill on something, whereas Stone Edge gives Entei a mixed feel as well as hitting Flying types hard.

EVs and Nature:

Pretty calm for a hothead
Outspeeds all base 90s, the HP gets 101 Substitutes, and the leftover is in Special Attack.

Beast of choice
Uh... max Attack, max Speed. Yep!

Entei is in possession of the Delorean
The Speed lets it outrun all neutral base 90s, the max Attack is obvious, and the leftover is in HP for extra bulk.

Entei is walking on sunshine
Um... max Special Attack, max Speed. Woo?

A volcano has never erupted this quickly
Max Special Attack, max Speed. You could drop it down to 176 Speed but I like the safety.

Other Options

Choice Specs, Bite, Overheat
Choice Specs give Entei a lot of Special Attacking power, but its movepool is shallow and it really isn't that good.
Bite is an option for the Choice Band set, but isn't as good at Entei's other... three or four moves.
Overheat is an all power special attack that could be used over Eruption.

Countering Entei

Water Pokémon really get in Entei's way. Pokémon like Quagsire, Gastrodon, Corsola. They just happened to be dual types, but pure Water work fine, maybe a little better as they don't have to fear Hidden Power [Grass] as much. Rock types also work in a similar way, as they resist Fire and can hit with a super effective STAB attack. However, they have to watch out that they don't get burned. Entei has weak defences that can be punished by any strong attack. Also, Stealth Rock takes a big 25% out of its HP, which really doesn't help. Other Fire types do well against Entei, providing they dodge Stone Edge. Dragon types are also great counters, mainly Altaria though. To be honest, Entei is fairly easy to deal with. He is a generic Fire type that just has a lot of HP. He has basically no movepool and really isn't that much of a threat.

Locations in Games

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald

Trade from CFRLG

Colosseum/XD

Snagged from Cipher Admin Dakim in Mt. Battle (Col) Trade from FRLG (XD)

Fire Red/Leaf Green

Roaming Kanto (If Bulbasaur Chosen)

Diamond/Pearl/Platinum

Trade from FRLGHGSS

HeartGold/SoulSilver

Roaming Johto

Animé Appearences

Entei has had a few Animé Appearences. First, the Unown created one for Molly Hale. Later, Ash & Co. saw one in Johto. Professor Yung also made a mirage Entei. Finally, an alternate coloured Entei was attacked by Zoroark in Crown City

Spell of the Unown
Episode 229: For Ho-Oh the Bells Toll
Episode 261: Entei At Your Own Risk
Jirachi - Wish Maker
The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon
The Rise of Darkrai
Arceus & The Jewel of Life
Phantom Champion Zoroark