Pokemon Review: Tepig, Pignite & Emboar

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The fire piggy was a fairly decent starter Pokemon in the original Black and
White versions, but it's had its flame doused a little bit in Black 2 and White
2, especially since there are plenty of other Fire- and other Fighting-type
Pokemon available now. However, it does have an advantage against the first
three Gyms, so that should give you plenty of time to decide on your team.
It focuses on having bulky offense and HP stats once it's fully evolved into
Emboar. That gives it a fair amount of longevity in battle. It's rather slow,
though, and has somewhat lacking defenses (its HP makes up for it,
though).
Early on, it picks up Ember (Tepig, L7) and Flame Charge (Tepig, L15) for
Fire-type attacking moves. Upon evolving to Pignite at level 17, it
learns Arm Thrust (Pignite, L17), which will be the only Fighting-type attack
it has accessible for awhile. It is unpredictable, hitting between 2 and 5
times, so you can't rely on it in battle. That's one of the main problems;
you're stuck with it until it evolves into Emboar at level 36. Pignite also
learns Rollout (Pignite, L23) and Heat Crash (Pignite, L31) as far as useful
moves go, with Heat Crash becoming extremely powerful after evolution due
to Emboar's weight. Emboar getsFlamethrower at level 43, Head

Smash at level 50, and then Flare Blitz at level 62, all of which are alright,
although the latter two are rather risky. Since Brick Break is not as easily
available in this game, you need to invest a Heart Scale in the Pokemon
World Tournament area after evolving into Emboar so it can learn Hammer
Arm, a powerful Fighting-type attack only available at level 1 as an Emboar,
so you need to have the move relearner teach it.
TMs really help Tepig gain some more diversity, although you won't have
access to the better ones until later in the game. Early on, you will want to
consider Rock Smash and Rock Tomb, although the flimsy Arm Thrust is
still generally a better option than Rock Smash, despite it hitting for an
uncertain number of times. Brick Break is, unfortunately, available only by
spending a fair amount of BP, and Low Sweep isn't available until after
beating the game, so you don't have many good Fighting-type TM options
for it. Towards the middle of the game, Rock Slide and Bulldoze (it doesn't
learn Dig) are fair options, while the Water-type Scald, the Electrictype Wild Charge, and the fiery Fire Blast can also be considered later on,
though you're generally better off with Flamethrower over Fire Blast due to
the extra PP.
Thankfully, it does gain access to a few nice Move Tutor moves, too. Fire
Punch for 10 Red Shards in Driftveil City gives it a reliable Physical-based
Fire-type attack, although Flamethrower will usually hit for around the same,
so don't put too much faith in it; instead, give a look at the similarly
priced ThunderPunch, which gives it an Electric-type move fairly early on
to combat a lot of its problems namely Water- and Flying-type
Pokemon. Iron Head (4 Red Shards) is nice due to the chance of flinching,
but it doesn't give it any advantage since Fire- and Fighting-type attacks
cover everything Steel-type attacks do. 8 Red Shards buys you Low Kick,
which, while not inherently powerful, fills the void Arm Thrust leaves you
until your Pignite evolves and you exchange a Heart Scale to the Reminder
Girl in the Pokemon World Tournament to teach it Hammer Arm, which is
very important for it. Lastly, Heat Wave for 10 Yellow Shards in Humilau
City may be a viable alternative to Flamethrower, particularly if you plan on
doing a lot of Double or Triple Battles, since it hits multiple targets.

I'd say that Tepig is the second best (and second worst) starter. It just
doesn't pick up the right moves at the right time and struggles with later
Gyms. The lack of solid attacks also hurts it, as does competition from other
Fire- or Fighting-type Pokemon. It's still not too shabby, though, so use it if
you feel like it.