Since Roman times, people have associated the hand's fourth digit with the wearing of rings. In many cultures, a proportionally longer ring finger in men has been taken as a sign of fertility.
The ball explodes on impact, knocking enemies to the ground and dealing 1d3+3 fire damage per two caster levels (a successful Reflex save reduces the fire damage by half and negates the knockdown effect) and 1d2+2 force damage per caster level (no save) to targets in the area.
The Fire-type is also home to the ever useful defensive status effect, burn. Burned Pokemon have their Attack stat halved, and they take 12.5% damage at the end of each turn. This status effect is so useful that it is a staple status on nearly all stall teams.