Best Competitive Builds for Armarouge in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet

Both Armarouge and Cereledge can fit on the most competitive teams in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. This is due to high Base Stat Total and good Typing. Armarouge has a higher HP stat, allowing it to tank more hits that aren't super effective and many support moves. This makes it very valuable in the Doubles format while also being able to deal lots of damage. These are the best competitive builds for Armarouge in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet.

Best Competitive Moves for Armarouge in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet

Armarouge can be built in many different ways and some moves will only see use in specific team compositions. Trick Room, for example, has its uses when paired up with Pokémon with a low Base Speed stat but can also be used to counter other Trick Room teams. There aren't many useful moves it can learn from Breeding or with the Mirror Herb, so getting the right moves on it is pretty straightforward. These moves can all be divided up by whether they help Armarouge to do damage or to support ally Pokémon. These are the best options it has and why they are so important.

Offensive Moves

• Pyschock - This move will deal with Pokémon with a high Special Defense stat because it will calculate damage based on the target's Defense instead.
• Armor Cannon - The high base power of this move makes it one of Armarouge's best offensive moves, albeit while lowering its defensive stats.
• Expanding Force - This pairs up well with Psychic Terrain teams with Indeedee and does 50% more damage in the terrain.
• Calm Mind - Increasing the Pokémon's stats can make the difference between knocking out a Pokémon or surviving a Special move.
• Tera Blast - Depending on the Tera Type, this move can give Armarouge extra coverage for Types its Fire and Psychic STABS (Same Type Attack Boost) won't offer.
• Heat Wave - Hitting both targets on the field is very valuable and despite the chance to miss, Heat Wave does a good job of putting pressure on both opposing Pokémon.
• Solar Beam - This is typically only useful in Sun-based teams but can be a powerful option to cover the Water, Rock, and Ground Type Pokémon that threaten it.
• Flash Cannon - This counters Rock Type Pokémon and can be even stronger if players want to give it the Steel Tera Type.
• Dark Pulse - This counters other Armarouge and adds to its Type coverage in battle.
• Aura Sphere - Adding Fighting Coverage is useful for taking down Dark Type Pokémon Armarouge struggles against.

Related: Best moves for Ting Lu in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Supportive Moves

• Mystical Fire - While this move damages, its secondary effect of lowering the target's Special Attack can be valuable in keeping Armarouge and its ally Pokémon in the fight.
• Wide Guard - Moves like Heat Wave, Rock Slide, and Make It Rain can all be stopped by this move, and not many Pokémon get access to it.
• Clear Smog - Setup moves like Calm Mind and Swords Dance are dangerous, but this move will eliminate those stat changes.
• Will-O-Wisp - Burn halves the Attack stat of a Pokémon and, unless the opposing team has a way to cure itself, can remove the threat of many Physical Attackers.
• Ally Switch - Switching places with ally Pokémon has several benefits depending on the situation and can protect Grass allies by redirecting moves to Armarouge, who is immune due to Flash Fire.
• Protect - This is a staple for Pokémon and can waste the opponent's turn entirely if they double into Armarouge's slot.
• Reflect - Halving the damage of Physical moves can be important.
• Light Screen - Halving the damage Special moves is invaluable as there are fewer ways to lower Pokémon's Special Attack.
• Taunt - Stopping opposing Pokémon from using Status moves can shut down their entire moveset, such as Pokémon that are looking to use Shed Tail.
• Helping Hand - When paired with a strong Pokémon, Helping Hand can mean the difference between a knockout and leaving enemy Pokémon up to do damage that turn.
• Trick Room - Armarouge is a great user for Trick Room because its Typing and natural bulk make it hard to take out in one turn.
• Destiny Bond - If helped out by Tailwind or Trick Room, a Destiny Bond that moves first can give a low HP Armarouge another knockout in the best scenario.

Best EV Spread and Builds for Armarouge in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet

Much like figuring out the best Nature for a Pokémon, how a player decides how their Pokémon is EV trained will be different depending on how they are using them. Armarouge is bulky and can be EV trained to take advantage of that in HP, Defense, or Special Defense. Alternatively, Armarouge is a good Choice Scarf or Choice Specs user and can be EV trained entirely in Speed and Special Attack. In Psychic Terrain, Expanding force will hit hard for an offense set, while some might want Armarouge to set up Trick Room, making a defensive set more appealing. Here are some example sets:

Fully Offensive

• Item - Choice Specs/Choice Scarf
• Nature - Modest/Timid
• EVs - 252 Special Attack, 252 Speed, 4 Special Defense
• Tera Type - Grass/Steel
• Ability - Flash Fire
• Moves
  • Expanding Force/Psychic/Psyshock
  • Armor Cannon/Heat Wave
  • Coverage Move
  • Coverage Move

Paired with Indeedee, Armarouge can have Psychic Terrain up and deal 80% additional damage to both Pokémon on the opponent's side of the field. Choice Specs increases this damage by an additional 50%, while Choice Scarf will try to ensure that Armarouge moves first in the battle.

Related: Best moves for Espathra in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet

Support Armarouge

• Item - Lum Berry/Sitrus Berry/Light Clay
• Nature - Relaxed/Quiet
• EVs - 244 HP, 252 Special Defense/Special Attack, 12 Special Attack/Special Defense
• Tera Type - Grass/Steel
• Ability - Flash Fire
• Moves
  • Trick Room/Reflect/Light Screen
  • STAB Move/Reflect/Light Screen
  • Ally Switch/Wide Guard
  • Destiny Bond/STAB Move

The STAB moves are just preferences, but Armor Cannon is hard to pass up. Lum Berry can counter Spore or Hypnosis using Pokémon while Sitrus Berry tries to keep Armarouge healthy. Light Clay will increase the turns that Reflect and Light Screen are active. The lowered Speed Natures are for Trick Room teams and can be switched out for Bold or Calm Natures to get that Speed back. The idea is to be an annoying support Pokémon and then, when targeted down, use Destiny Bond to take out an opposing Pokémon.

For helping getting Tera Shards for Armarouge's Grass or Steel Tera Type, check out Best Pokémon for Tera Raids in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, or for a better understanding of what Held Items you'll be seeing in battles, check out All Held Items and What They Do in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet on Pro Game Guides.