Carnivine Movesets & Competitive Sets

Moves Sleep Powder allows Carnivine to cripple opposing Pokemon to get the chance to fire off its attacks. Power Whip is Carnivine's main STAB move, while Knock Off is used to hit Pokemon immune or resistant to Grass-type attacks and can cripple switch-ins such as Tangela and Vullaby, which are immune to Sleep Powder. Natural Gift gives Carnivine a one-time 100-Base Power Fire-type move to hit Grass-types with if it's running a Watmel Berry, and it can help improve Carnivine's poor coverage. Set Details Maximum Attack investment with an Adamant nature gives Carnivine as much wallbreaking power as possible. 68 Speed EVs allow Carnivine to outspeed uninvested Gourgeist-XL to hit it with a Knock Off. The rest of the EVs are put into HP to give Carnivine extra bulk. Watmel Berry is essential with Natural Gift, as otherwise Carnivine is incapable of using the move. Usage Tips Carnivine is most effectively used early- and mid-game where it can cripple opposing teams to support a sweep. Sleep Powder is the move Carnivine should use most of the time since it can start firing off attacks afterward. If you're predicting the opponent to send in a Pokemon immune to Sleep Powder such as Tangela or Zebstrika, use Knock Off or Natural Gift to get off damage, depending on the circumstance. Use Knock Off more early-game to cripple foes by removing their items. Be wary of switching Carnivine into Scald or status users such as Politoed or Misdreavus, as it is permanently crippled by burns and does not appreciate being worn down by Toxic or slowed by paralysis. Team Options Setup sweepers such as Kingler appreciate Carnivine's ability to Knock Off Eviolites from the likes of Tangela. They can also use the foe Carnivine has put to sleep as setup fodder provided that the foe does not switch out. Pokemon immune to Fire-type attacks, such as Rapidash, can help take on and discourage the use of Fire-type moves for Carnivine. Most Pokemon immune to Fire also carry super effective coverage for the Grass-types that can wall or threaten Carnivine. Pokemon that can take on Ice-types, such as Audino and Grumpig, can also help switch into Pokemon such as Articuno that threaten to revenge Carnivine. Zebstrika can counter Jumpluff, one of the biggest threats to Carnivine, as well as threaten other Flying- and Grass-types such as Swanna and Tangela. Pokemon with a slow pivoting move, such as Probopass, can get Carnivine a free switch onto the field with Volt Switch so that it avoids taking extra damage.

With its Attack boosted, Carnivine can do a good amount of damage, but due to its low defenses and Speed, it often doesn't get a chance to set up. Therefore, this is the best and only remotely viable set Carnivine can run. Swords Dance is used to boost Carnivine's mediocre Attack stat so that it can hit decently hard. Power Whip is the primary STAB option, although it's inaccurate, it's strong, which helps make up for Carnivine's low Attack. Sleep Powder can put an opposing Pokemon to sleep if it hits, which can give Carnivine an opportunity to set up a Swords Dance. Return provides good neutral coverage with Power Whip, but no super effective coverage unfortunately. It is still the best choice however, since Carnivine doesn't have access to any useful coverage options. Focus Sash is the chosen item to ensure that Carnivine can take at least one hit from something, and the item's use is made more effective by Carnivine's immunity to Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Leading with Carnivine or having a Pokemon that can keep Stealth Rock off the field is the best way to keep Carnivine's Focus Sash intact. Good teammates for Carnivine include Pokemon that beat bulky Steel- and Poison-types, such as Seismitoad, Golurk and Golem. Grass-, Flying-, and Fire-types are also a nuisance, so Pokemon such as Samurott and Ludicolo are useful teammates. Carnivine really likes to have a free switch due to its sub-par defenses. Slow pivots such as Probopass and Musharna can be very helpful for this, as they take damage before using Volt Switch or Baton Pass respectively, causing Carnivine to take no damage. While the EVs may seem simple, having 252 EVs in Speed along with a Jolly nature lets you outspeed max Speed Adamant Golurk so you can get in a Power Whip before it attacks you. Trick Room support could be used alongside Carnivine, as Carnivine is slow, so it can "outspeed" the majority of Pokemon in NU. 0 Speed EVs and IVs with a Brave nature should also be used when used with Trick Room. Bullet Seed can be run to beat Sturdy and Focus Sash users such as Kadabra and Golem, respectively. Carnivine can also choose to run a bulkier spread without Focus Sash, which is equally as mediocre as Carnivine with Focus Sash.

This set takes advantage of Carnivine's best stat, its Attack, and boosts it with Swords Dance before attempting a sweep. Levitate gives Carnivine a unique immunity to Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Ground-type moves, allowing it to take hits, conserve more health, and afford more opportunities for it to set up a Swords Dance. Sleep Powder can potentially remove one of Carnivine's counters from the match, which can mean a sweep or a key threat eliminated. Power Whip is Carnivine's main STAB attack, having an effective Base Power of 180 after the STAB boost, and it will be hitting like a truck even without a Swords Dance. Return is a generic powerful move, and garners good coverage alongside Power Whip, denting Pokemon like Arcanine, Leafeon, Scyther, and Swellow hard. A mono-attacker approach can be attempted with Substitute and Leftovers over Return and Life Orb, but it is not encouraged as mono-Grass is walled by quite a few of the top UU Pokemon, and without Swords Dance or Life Orb, Carnivine will not be hitting nearly as hard as it needs to be. As it stands, Carnivine outspeeds standard Milotic and can OHKO it with a boosted Power Whip, or 2HKO with an unboosted one. An option for using Carnivine in a Trick Room team is to remove all Speed EVs, place them in HP, and run a Relaxed nature to become as slow as possible. Carnivine is not recommended on a dedicated Trick Room team, though, since after a Sleep Powder and a Swords Dance, it only gets one turn to use an attack. Synthesis is another option to use in the last slot to give Carnivine a means of easy recovery. On the other hand, Stun Spore can paralyze common switch-ins, such as Venusaur, Mismagius, Scyther, and Swellow (before its Orb activates). Once they are paralyzed, Carnivine can come in later in the game, Swords Dance, and sweep through the paralyzed Pokemon. Sleep Powder is generally superior, however, as it can completely remove a counter from the game. Carnivine, like all offensive Pokemon, enjoys entry hazards to help gain KOs and do more overall damage to the opposing team. Omastar is a notable teammate because it can easily come in on the Fire-types, such as Arcanine, that plague Carnivine and set up any one of the three entry hazards. Rhyperior can also deal with Fire-types, while also being able to handle Bug-types, due to its natural physical bulk, and Flying-types, due to its resistance. In addition, Rhyperior can easily switch into Registeel, a common Carnivine counter, and set up Stealth Rock to aid in Carnivine's sweep. Most Water-types can sponge the Fire Blasts and Flamethrowers that are sure to be launched at Carnivine. Offensively, Fire-types are an excellent complement to Carnivine. Arcanine can get a free Flash Fire boost on many Fire-types and draws out Pokemon like Milotic, who can be easily set up on by Carnivine. Arcanine also easily handles any Steel-types and can lure out and KO Pokemon such as Moltres with a Flash Fire-boosted Flare Blitz. Slowking is also a great partner offensively, as it can switch into Fire-types and set up Trick Room to remedy Carnivine's low Speed. It can also lure out Grass- and Electric-types for Carnivine to set up on.