What it does
Fire Punch deals Fire-type physical damage at 75 base power, 100% accuracy, and carries a roughly 10% chance to inflict a burn. Burn halves the target's physical Attack for as long as it persists and chips HP every turn. That's a significant shift in doubles — a burned physical attacker suddenly operates at half its threat level, which can flip an otherwise unfavorable matchup.
Fire Punch is a contact move. That matters in two directions: Iron Fist boosts contact punching moves by 20%, bringing Fire Punch's effective power on an Iron Fist holder up to the equivalent of a higher-power base move. On the flip side, contact also triggers abilities like Rough Skin and Iron Barbs, dealing recoil to the attacker — something to check before clicking into a potential Garchomp sitting across the field.
Who runs it
Infernape (19%) is the cleaner fit. It's Fire/Fighting type, so Fire Punch gets STAB. More importantly, its hidden ability is Iron Fist — which pushes Fire Punch from 75 to effective 90 base power, stacking on top of STAB. Infernape is fast and physical, and Fire Punch fits its flexible offense: a move that does its job on Steel-types and Grass-types while threatening a burn against anything that survives the initial hit.
Rampardos (16%) tells a different story. It's a pure Rock-type physical behemoth. Fire Punch has no STAB here — it's strictly coverage. The reason it's on Rampardos is that Steel-types hard-wall Rock-type moves, and Rampardos's Attack stat is so high that even a 75-power coverage move from it hits very hard. Fire Punch lets Rampardos threaten Steel-type Pokémon that would otherwise soak its Rock STAB without consequence. It also has secondary use against Ice-types. Without Fire Punch, Rampardos runs into situations where its otherwise overwhelming Attack stat is completely neutralized.
How to use it
The decision to use Fire Punch is a matchup call. If the opposing Pokémon is weak to Fire, or if it resists Rock (making Steel coverage relevant for Rampardos), Fire Punch is the right slot.
For Infernape, Fire Punch and a Fighting move together create a two-vector offensive threat. Fighting STAB handles Rock and Dark; Fire Punch handles Steel and Grass. The Iron Fist bonus means that on the right Infernape set, Fire Punch competes with its Fighting moves in terms of effective power — sometimes you use it even without a type advantage because the math works.
For Rampardos, the context is usually reactive. It's slow and will often take hits before it moves. When it does move, Fire Punch against a Steel-type target that's been sitting safely behind Rock-resistance is a way to threaten the opponent's safe switch-in. A burn landing on that Steel-type Pokémon is particularly impactful if it's a defensive one, since the burn chip now pressures it every turn.
In doubles, Fire Punch is single-target — you choose. If you're targeting a physical attacker on the opposing side, the 10% burn chance is a real factor. A burn on the right Pokémon at the right moment can swing the remaining turns significantly.
Tips & strategy
Iron Fist is the ability to look for on Infernape sets. Many Infernape builds specifically choose Iron Fist over Blaze to amplify the punching moves as a package — Thunder Punch, Mach Punch, and Fire Punch all gain from it. Confirming whether an opposing Infernape runs Iron Fist or Blaze is important when calculating how much damage Fire Punch will do to you.
Don't plan around the burn chance — treat it as a genuine bonus when it lands. The 10% is real, but building turns around 'if the burn triggers' is a mistake. The move earns its slot from the base damage and coverage alone. A burn that does land, especially on an opposing physical attacker, can change the math on every subsequent turn.
Contact move interactions: before using Fire Punch into a Pokémon with Rough Skin or Iron Barbs, account for the recoil. In doubles, an opponent might position a Garchomp or Ferrothorn specifically on the side they expect to receive a contact move. That recoil chip adds up across turns, especially on Rampardos which is already taking hits due to low Speed.