Torkoal
Attack
Defense
Stamina
Best Movesets
Analysis
Torkoal has good moves but is limited by its poor stats. Though defensively oriented, Torkoal has a bad defensive typing and charge moves that are trivial to dodge. It doesn’t help that it’s a regional exclusive.
Offense
- Fire Spin is strictly superior to Ember.
- Overheat is preferred due to its raw power and synergy with Torkoal’s fast moves.
- Solar Beam suffices in neutral matchups, Earthquake is awful without STAB, and Flame Wheel is just inferior on offense.
Defense
- Fire Spin is strictly superior to Ember.
- Torkoal’s charge moves are easy to dodge, but Solar Beam has counter coverage.
- Flame Wheel is Torkoal's only multi-bar move, so it definitely has value. However, it leaves Torkoal easily walled by anything that resists Fire.
- Overheat, if it hits, will deal hefty damage; Earthquake is okay as well.
Ember is superior to Fire Spin due to slightly better energy gains, synergizing with Flame Wheel's good DPE and helping fuel Torkoal's expensive coverage move options.
Flame Wheel is Torkoal's cheapest Charged Attack and its main way of dealing Fire-type damage. Earthquake or Solar Beam can provide coverage; Earthquake is a cheaper option, but Solar Beam nails OHKOs on most Water-, Ground-, or Rock-type opponents that would otherwise prove troublesome for Torkoal. Overheat can be used instead of a coverage for a high burst of Fire-type damage.
Torkoal is a curious Fire-type - one of the rare few to have actually good bulk. It also has a reasonably powerful moveset. Despite this, Torkoal isn't too commonly used, with glassier options such as Charizard, Talonflame, Typhlosion, or Ninetales finding more either due some combination of better coverage, a useful secondary typing, and/or faster pacing. Torkoal is no slouch, however, and the role of a tanky Fire-type is still unique enough to be worth considering
