Cinderace

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

He has everything to what a team requires from a team player. He has the speed, the skill required to get past defenders and he can bend it like Beckham! With a fiery passion for scoring bangers with its unique signature move Pyro Ball, Cinderace is the new Fire starter Pokemon ready to ignite the Galarian stadiums. Its blistering speed allows it to outpace many Pokemon in the new metagame. Its Attack stat is also good enough to do damage despite its physical movepool being somewhat limited. Also, it has a really cool support move in Court Change which can turn the tables on most opponents. However, while Cinderace has the skills any virtuoso needs, sadly its defenses are nothing to be proud of. Despite these shortcomings, Cinderace only needs some inspiration moments, to really change the course of the match.
Positives
A base 116 Attack allows Cinderace to fire powerful moves like High Jump Kick and Pyro Ball doing excellent damage against foes that are hit super-effectively.
Its blistering 119 Spe gets the jump on Hawlucha, Gengar and Froslass allowing it to revenge kill these Pokemon.
Court Change is an unique signature move that allows Cinderace to swap the effects of hazards and barriers on both sides of the field. This not only allows Cinderace to gain momentum for its team but also turn the tables on the opponent as it ends up reversing their hazards into them.

Negatives
Base 80 / 75 / 75 bulk is very frail and this means that most attacks will be able to 2HKO Cinderace at best, while super-effective hits scoring most of the time a OHKO.
While it gets decent coverage options on Sucker Punch and High Jump Kick, Cinderace's physical movepool is very narrow as it doesn't really gets options to hit Pokemon like Seismitoad, Gyarados, Hippowdon and Jellicent, which hopelessly wall it.
Compared to Libero, Blaze is a mediocre ability for a physical sweeper who doesn't gets a secondary typing to take advantage of its coverage options.
With being Fire type only, without Heavy-Duty Boots, Cinderace gets punished by all forms of entry hazards

Abilities

Blaze - Raises Fire moves power by 50% when at or below 33% health - This is okay and the only legal option as of writing this so you use it because you have to.
Libero (Non Available)- Changes the Pokémon's type to the type of the move it's about to use. - Easily the better choice of ability, being a renamed Protean, despite Cinderace's movepool. Alas it is not currently available

Movesets

VAR Review

- U-turn
- Court Change
- Pyro Ball
- Taunt / High Jump Kick
Item Attached: Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Blaze
EVs and Nature:
8 HP / 252 Atk / 248 Spe
Jolly Nature

U-turn allows Cinderace to scout the opponent's team and regain momentum against opponents that Cinderace will not want to stay such as Seismitoad, Dragapult or Hippowdon. Thanks to this exclusive move, Court Change, Cinderace is able to swap the effects of hazards, barriers and others between each side of the battlefield. This allows Cinderace to pressure the opponent heavily by transferring the hazards set up in your side to theirs and turn the tables on a battle. Pyro Ball is Cinderace's offensive signature move and it ravages Pokemon like Ferrothorn and Excadrill who are vulnerable to the move while providing it with a consistent STAB. For the last slot, Taunt is an option that allows Cinderace to prevent Corviknight from removing the entry hazards with Defog. On the other hand, High Jump Kick is an option that allows Cinderace to hit Duralodon and Tyranitar for heavy damage preventing them from walling this set. Sucker Punch is also worth mentioning for being a priority move while providing coverage against Dragapult, but Cinderace will just prefer to U-turn out.

A Jolly nature with 248 Spe EVs is enough for Cinderace to outspeed +252 Spe Hawlucha and anything else slower than that. The 252 Attack EVs maximizes its offensive power while the rest is dumped in HP for some extra small bulk. Heavy Duty Boots is what Cinderace needs in order to be successful with this set as it protects it from entry hazard damage which is huge considering its weakness to Stealth Rock, Spikes and Toxic Spikes.

Partners

Rotom-Wash: Volt Switch complements Cinderace very well as it can provide momentum due to its low Speed and provide more opportunities for it to use Court Change while being able to check dangerous Water types like Gyarados and Barraskewda.
Gyarados: With hazards being swapped into the opponent, Gyarados can greatly benefit from this and sweep the opponent with Max Airstream and Max Geyser while gaining boosts with Moxie.
Ferrothorn: Its great typing allows it for Cinderace to fall back into Ferrothorn on bad match ups where Ferrothorn can set up against Hippowdown or Seismitoad.
Seismitoad: With Water Absorb allowing it to take Water attacks and completely being able to wall Rotom-Wash, Seismitoad pairs very well with Cinderace, which appreciates its ability to toast Ferrothorn and Rillaboom.
Tyranitar: Thanks to its typing and Sand Stream, it is able to beat Dragapult who would otherwise use Cinderace as set up fodder, while Cinderace can swap hazards and give offensive sets a bigger chance for a sweep.
Togekiss: It synergizes very well with Cinderace who heavily appreciates its ability to reserve hazards and set up a sweep with Max Airstream while flinching opponents to death with the combination of Nasty Plot and Air Slash.
Excadrill: With Cinderace running Court Change, Excadrill can forgo Rapid Spin and use a coverage move in order to have better chances of sweeping.

Falso Nueve

- U-turn
- Pyro Ball
- Zen Headbutt / Sucker Punch
- High Jump Kick
Item Attached: Choice Band
Ability: Blaze / Libero
EVs and Nature:
252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature

U-turn allows Cinderace to scout the opponent's team and regain momentum against opponents that Cinderace will not want to stay such as Seismitoad, Dragapult or Hippowdon. Pyro Ball becomes ridiculously strong when backed up with a Choice Band and it will hit anything that does not resist the move, for big damage. Zen Headbutt is Cinderace's only way to be able to deal with Toxapex while providing decent coverage against Dynamaxed Machamp. On the other hand, Sucker Punch allows Cinderace to hit Dragapult for super-effective damage while granting to its moveset a decent priority move. Finally, High Jump Kick is the last slot allowing Cinderace to crush Tyranitar and Duralodon while also providing an Attack boost if you decide to Dynamax it.

Max Speed and Attack is required to make the best out of Cinderace's offensive potential. A Choice Band is the required item to make the best out of Cinderace's good coverage despite making it much more vulnerable to entry hazards.

Partners

Rotom-Wash: A more offensive Cinderace will always appreciate the slow momentum Rotom can bring with Volt Switch while being able to defeat Gyarados and pressure Barraskewda.
Ferrothorn: Its great typing allows it for Cinderace to fall back into Ferrothorn on bad match ups where Ferrothorn can set up against Hippowdown or Seismitoad.
Seismitoad: Cinderace's access to U-turn allows it to gain momentum for Seismitoad and set up Stealth Rock while protecting Cinderace from its water weakness thanks to Water Absorb.
Tyranitar: Cinderace appreciates Tyranitar's ability to defeat Dragapult while giving it plenty of opportunities to switch thanks to U-turn.
Dracozolt: Due to Cinderace's ability to attract Rotom-Wash and Rotom-Heat, Dracozolt can take advantage of the momentum gained by U-turn and set up a Substitute while being able to fire powerful Bolt Beaks.

Other Options

Bulk Up increases Cinderace's Attack and Defense stat, however, due to its frailness and weak defensive typing, it finds very difficult opportunities to set it up.
Bounce doesn't really provides any additional coverage, but if Cinderace is Dynamaxed, it can increase its Speed when it becomes Max Airstream. However, Cinderace is already fast enough, so it isn't really worth the slot against moves that provide overall better coverage.
Cinderace gets some special moves like Electro Ball and Shadow Ball, but considering its pitiful base 65 SpA, they are not worth it.
*Once Libero is released, it should definitely become the Ability of choice as it grants Cinderace with a STAB bonus on any move it uses.

Countering Cinderace

Bulky Water types like Toxapex, Seismitoad and Rotom-Wash are not really afraid of whatever Cinderace throws at them and their STABs are strong enough to OHKO or 2HKO it due to its pitiful defenses.
Gyarados and Dragapult are massive threats due to their typing which allows it to pick up on Cinderace and set up Dragon Dance on it.
Dugtrio is a massive threat to Cinderace due to its higher Speed and ability to trap and OHKO it with Earthquake thanks to Arena Trap.
Bulky walls like Hippowdon, Gigalith and Coalossal can pretty much set up their hazards on Cinderace with the threat of forcing it out with their STABs.

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:
EvenNot 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

Animé Appearences

At time of writing, Cinderace has yet to make an appearance in the anime

# -English Episode Name- -Jp. Episode Name- Pics
1134 Sword and Shield: The Legends Awaken! Sword & Shield IV: Ultimate Sword & Shield Pics
1135 Getting More Than You Battled For! Battling & Getting! Mewtwo Comes Back Pics
1136 Crowning the Chow Crusher! Pokémon Champion! The Battle of Big Eaters!! Pics
1137 A Close Call... Practically Almost Pikachu Crisis! Pics
1138 To Train, or Not to Train! Chloe & The Really Mysterious Eevee Pics
M22 Pokémon: Secrets of the Jungle Pokémon: Koko  
1139 A Pinch of This, a Pinch of That! Galar Fossils! Stick 'em Together!! Pics
1140 Trials of a Budding Master! The Great Farfetch'd Trial! Pics
1141 How Are You Gonna Keep 'Em Off of the Farm? Hands-On Agriculture Studies! Where is Diglett?! Pics
1142 Healing the Healer! Getting a Legend?! Search for Suicune, the Guardian Deity of Water!! Pics
1143 Sobble Spies a Stealthy Strategy! Sobble In Possible Pics
1144 The Tale of You and Glimwood Tangle! The Tale of You and Me in Glimwood Tangle! Pics
1145 Searching for Chivalry! Elite Four Wikstrom! The House of Chivalry Pics
1149 Beyond Chivalry... Aiming to be a Leek Master! Aim to Become Leek Master! Stay With Me, Chivalry!! Pics
1151 Not Too Close for Comfort! Woebegone Drizzile! Pics
1153 Absol Absolved The Detested Absol!! Pics
1154 Thrash of the Titans! Dragon Battle! Ash VS Iris!! Pics
1157 Advice for Goh! Rivals for Goh?! The Road to Mew!! Pics
1159 Take My Thief! Please! Please Get Morpeko!! Pics
1160 Leaping Towards the Dream! Let's Go! Project Mew!! Pics
1162 Grabbing the Brass Ring! Commander Pikachu! Head Forth, Falinks!! Pics
1164 A Midsummer Night's Light! Cresselia's Midsummer Night's Light! Pics
1165 All Out, All of the Time! Fully Powered! The Alola Desert Island Race!! Pics
1167 Detective Drizzile! The Cerise Laboratories Become a Target!! Pics
1169 Trial on a Golden Scale! Trial Mission! Volcarona's Golden Scales!! Pics
1172 Star Bright, Star Flight! The Cleffa That Became A Star Pics
1173 An Adventure of Mega Proportions! The Lucarionite! Adventure on Mega Island!! Pics
1179 Showdown at the Gates of Warp! Dialga & Palkia! The Decisive Space-time Battle!! Pics
1182 It's all in the Name! Your Name is Francois Pics
PLA2 To be confirmed Arceus, the One Called a God: The Explosive Evolution of Heatran!!
PLA3 To be confirmed Arceus, the One Called a God: A Fierce Fight on Mt. Coronet!!
PLA4 To be confirmed Arceus, the One Called a God: Radiance of a Miracle! The Sinnoh Legend!
1184 The Good, The Bad, and The Lucky! Farewell! The Wandering Team Rocket Pics
1185 Lighting the Way Home! Reach Space! Ampharos' Light Pics
1191 Battling in the Freezing Raid! Trial Mission: A Frozen Raid Battle!! Pics
1197 Catching the Aura of Fate! Lucario & Greninja! The Aura of Fate!! Pics
1198 Aim for the Eight! VS Raihan! A Fight with Masters Eight on the Line!! Pics
1201 Helping the Hometown Hero! A Triumphant Return! The Alola Champion!! Pics
1202 Chasing to the Finish! Last Mission! Get Regieleki & Regidrago!! Pics
1208 TBC Chloe and Eevee and the EV-io-lite! Pics
1213 Valor: A Strategic Part of Battling! The Semifinals III: Valor Pics
1214 Whittle While You Work! The Semifinals IV: Impact Pics
1215 TBC Go for Dream! Goh's Road to Mew!! Pics
1216 Just a Scone's Throw From Here Goh and Cinderace! The Place Where It All Began!! Pics
1217 TBC Climax! The Night Before the Decisive Match: Ash VS Leon!! Pics
1218 A Flood of Torrential Gains The Finals I: Torrent Pics
1219 Toying With Your Motions! The Finals II: Toying Pics
1220 Paring Pokémon While Parrying! The Finals III: Smashing Pics
1221 Partners in Time! The Finals IV: Partner Pics
1223 In the Palms of our Hands! The Future I Seize Pics
1224 Heroes Unite! Pokémon! I Am Glad I Got To Meet You Pics
1225 These Could be the Start of Something Big! Ash and Goh! Setting Off Anew!! Pics