Of all the Fire-types in the Pokedex apart from the Fuecoco line, I believe that the ones that stand out the most are:
Talonflame
Armarouge/Ceruledge
Scovillan
Volcarona
Of these, by far the best ones would be the Charcadet evolutions, Armarouge and Ceruledge.
Talonflame would be good, but apart from speed, everything is mediocre at best. Flame Body is cool, but that's about it.
Scovillain has a unique typing in Fire/Grass, and its offenses are good, but it is very frail, and its speed isn't helping. Chlorophyll is situational because Sun isn't really better than just straight up attacking, and while Insomnia could be useful, you won't really get a use from it much.
Volcarona has excellent stats and a good movepool, so you might be thinking why I put the armored Fire-types over this. Simply put, Volcarona is obtained too late into the game. It evolves from Larvesta at level 59, which are around Elite 4 levels. Furthermore, Bug is less good of a type than Psychic or Ghost, so there's that.
Now, we have Armarouge or Ceruledge. Charcadet is obtained quite early into the game (can't remember when, I got mine in the level 12-18 range, I think) and can evolve midway through the playthrough. Upon evolving, it becomes a force to be reckoned with. Not only do they have an amazing 125 in their respective attacking stat, they get good boosting moves in Calm Mind/Swords Dance, allowing them to potentially sweep an entire team.
They're not too frail either, boasting a solid 100 in a defense stat, so they can take 1 or 2 hits. However, they do get their signature moves quite late, so they will be relying on Flamethrower/Flame Charge until they get them.
A good moveset for them could be:
Armarouge @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 100 SpA / 100 Spe
Timid Nature
- Armor Cannon/Flamethrower
- Calm Mind/Shadow Ball
- Aura Sphere
- Psyshock/Psychic
Use Flamethrower until Armor Cannon, or if you want more PP. If you don't want Calm Mind, go with Shadow Ball to provide a combo that can hit everything at least neutrally.
Ceruledge @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 100 Atk / 100 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bitter Blade/Flame Charge
- Brick Break/Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Claw
I think Swords Dance is a must have on this. Once again, Flame Charge until Bitter Blade. Brick Break can be used for more PP or Close Combat for raw power.
However, if you choose Skeledirge, it is recommended to use it over these, as it is much more reliable.
Hope this helps.
