Forest Fire - Pyroak thread

Pyroak is definitely one of the most interesting characters in the game - he combines a dangerous long-range game, thanks to multiple useful projectiles, with excellent anti-air moves and a throw which lends itself to projectile trapping.

Oak prefers to fire off projectiles, which forces most characters on the defensive and lets him advance. A slow Energy Ball is perfect for this, and can be followed up with Flamethrower if it's jumped. Flamethrower is an all-around excellent anti-air move, and few characters will leave the 'safety' of the ground against Pyroak (Stratagem will often Levitate around, since the floaty physics of the move make him hard to hit, though).

Up close, Pyroak is best off using wake-up games and punishing low blockers with Wood Hammer. If your opponent is fleeing, throwing an Energy Ball out will leave them sitting still long enough to trip with 2C.

Pyroak is the only character which has a major advantage over Revanankh, who is otherwise one of the best characters in the game. Pyroak's trapping game is generally tricky against most characters, but Rev is too slow to approach him safely. Oak's throw can create more than enough space for Ember/Energy Ball shenanigans, and Rev has to march back up to Oak to get a hit in.

Notable combos:

3C > Flamethrower

Has to be low blocked, and gives Oak time to back off or play some wake-up games.

Flamethrower > SolarBeam

Using SolarBeam against an aerial foe means that they can't block it. Generally you're better off saving your special bar for Ember, but if you do save up enough...
 
I tend to do pretty good with Pyroak, in addition to his great defensive game, he is incredible at applying constant pressure, thanks in large part to his slow moving Energy Ball. You add to that solid normals and the threat of Woodhammer/Flamethrower for jumpers and you have a character that really excels at locking down and limiting your opponent's options.

My favorite string after they block a jump in his cr.weak x 2, cr/st. med, followed either by an Energy Ball so I can dash forward and continue the pressure or a Woodhammer which, if they block, will keep you safe, or if theyre blocking low (and they'll have to if they don't want to be hit by cr.wk) will smash them into the ground.

Slow Energy Ball is simply fantastic. It's very tough to jump over, and Oak loves people jumping in at him anyway. Most players will be cautious when they have a ball floating towards them which means you're safe to dash or jump in without too much fear.

Oak also does surprisingly well in the air. j.wk, the headbutt, has great priority and you can usually follow it up with a Flamethrower if you hit them at the peak of your jump. j.med has really good range and functions well as a jump in to. j.sg is quite slow, but deals good damage and can cross up, but requires you to be rather close as his jump arc isnt the most impressive.

His real damage dealer is the Uproot set up however. There are instances when they'll be hit with an EBall and you can dash in and Uproot before they can recover.
Following this, you CAN Flamethrower for easy damage. But if you're feeling up to it, you can get a lot more damage with a j.wk followed by a juggle of your choice. I think I've seen TGM do something to the effect of Uproot>j.wk>st.wk>st.md>eball>flamethrower....or something equally impressive. If you have Solarbeam, you can replace the Flamethrower with it for even more damage.

Ungulateman is right though. Your meter is going to be spent on Ember. It can be good if you're anticipating your opponent to do something (catches Fidgit trying to Earth Power all the time for a beneficial trade at worst) but it's especially great for punishing. If you block an attack, and they're too out of range for an Uproot: st.sg > Ember will do massive damage for a simple one two combo.

Pyroak is a neglected character these days, which is too bad considering how powerful he is. One of the least mobile characters in the game, but also one of the best at preventing others from going where they want with his great pressure game.
 
Updraft!

Close, but not quite. That's a 5b yer seeing, not a 5a. That's how I get the E-ball out ASAP so that the Solarbeam (or Flamethrower) actually combos. But, in true fashion, i've made the combo defunct with an old classic. One I thought you had already removed, like you did with Syclant...

(wakeup E-ball, j.C crossup) 6C, j.A 5B A/B-Ball, (jump forward, start holding Down) j.C, (release down) 5B (hit up) B-Hammer.

Works flawlessly on: Revenankh, Pyroak, Kitsunoh
For Fidgit, Stratagem, Vitalimar, Krilowatt, Skulloton, and Cascavian...
Replace j.C string with a 5C Ember that hits while they're still in hitstun from the E-ball impact. This can also be done on Cyclohm, & Kitsunoh, but are sub-optimal.

Syclant & Cyclohm are both somewhat... "resistant" to the combo. For these two, the timing must be far more precise to get it off, especially in Syclant's case (I think this is a 1-framer). So unless yer really confident in yer ability to complete it, just go for the old/basic variant of just flamethrower after the E-ball (or the above Ember finisher for Ohm).

Soil laughs at your feeble attempts to keep his sheer mass airborn. Oak can NOT combo anything after the j.A... however, he *can* be tagged with an f.5B(!), which allows a 5C(!?) Ember followup. Even if yer a frame off and the ember doesn't combo, block damage will make sure the damage stays up to snuff. Same goes for the above set. Laugh that off, dirtbag.

Poor Kitsunoh actually takes a bit *more* damage, because the B-hammer can actually be improved to a C-hammer for that extra 1 point of damage.
 

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