Let the Dark Consume You: Most Dominating Dark-types in OU

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They're sinister and cunning, lurking in the shadows to find their next victims. Introduced in Generation II, Dark-type Pokemon have not always been at the top of the OU tier. With Steel-types aplenty and a lack of a strong, reliable physical move, the only Dark-types to truly shine in OU were Tyranitar and Hydreigon. In Generation VI, however, Knock Off received a massive buff in power, jumping up to 65 Base Power if the target is itemless or around 97 Base Power if the target is holding an item. This buff was certainly nothing to scoff at, as removing an item can truly cripple a Pokemon, and it gave Dark-types lacking Crunch a better STAB attack than the far weaker alternative Night Slash. However, one of the biggest causes of the rise of the Dark typing was the removal of Steel's resistance to it. With common Pokemon such as Scizor, Heatran, Skarmory, and Ferrothorn no longer resisting Dark, the likes of Bisharp and Crawdaunt finally got their chances to shine. Most common checks, such as Mega Lopunny and Keldeo, lack any means of recovery or can be easily defeated by a coverage move. "Darkspam" also gained its wings in the ORAS metagame, using the power of Dark-type STAB attacks to overwhelm defensive checks. In the end, some Dark-types ended up defining the metagame they thrived in, and any teams not prepared for them faced potentially being wiped out.

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Most powerful Dark-types

Weavile

• Weavile @ Life Orb
• Ability: Pressure
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Knock Off
• - Icicle Crash
• - Ice Shard
• - Low Kick / Pursuit / Swords Dance

Weavile has always had potential, but it had been lacking a few essentials since its arrival in DPP. A lack of powerful STAB moves was a major issue for it, as it only had Night Slash and Ice Punch to work with, neither of which were particularly impressive in the power department. With XY came the introduction of the new-and-improved Knock Off and the removal of the Dark-type resistance from Steel-types; and come ORAS, Weavile could run Icicle Crash alongside Knock Off. These changes allowed Weavile to shoot up in viability and take OU by storm. Its high Speed tier allows it terrorize all forms of offensive teams, and it can easily wear down checks such as Keldeo and Mega Manectric with a combination of powerful attacks and repeated switches into entry hazards. Weavile's huge increase in usage was one of the main reasons that Keldeo rose to S rank for a good period of time.

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Tyranitar

Since its inception in GSC, Tyranitar has been a massive force in the OU metagame. Thanks to its all-around impressive stats, its role has changed drastically throughout the years, from running defensive support sets to acting as a wincon. These days, Tyranitar typically finds itself running Choice items to make the most of its offensive prowess and access to Pursuit. Choice Scarf, a set that has been common since the beginning of XY, allows Tyranitar to circumvent its low Speed to outrun the likes of Latios, Latias, and Starmie. Lately, however, Choice Band has seen a surge in popularity, making use of Tyranitar's good STAB options and high Attack stat to pressure defensive cores. Many Dark-type switch-ins, especially Clefable, discouraged from switching in, as they can be easily defeated by a high-powered Stone Edge. Its Mega, however, wasn't as lucky as others, as most of the things it can achieve are done better by regular Tyranitar, all the while preserving a Mega slot. It serves as a decent Dragon Dancer, but for the majority of the time, you're better off using another Mega.

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Bisharp

• Bisharp @ Life Orb
• Ability: Defiant
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
• Adamant Nature
• - Knock Off
• - Swords Dance
• - Iron Head
• - Sucker Punch

Bisharp used to be a very niche Pokemon in the OU metagame. However, when Defog gained the ability to remove hazards, Bisharp's ability Defiant became a lot more useful, as it allows it to switch into Latias and Latios and gain a possible Attack boost if they attempt to clear hazards. Even if Bisharp is not at +2, a STAB Knock Off has the ability to nuke opposing Pokemon, and with STAB Iron Head, Fairy-types such and Mega Diancie, Togekiss, and Clefable, cannot switch in safely without fear of taking massive damage. With powerful priority in the form of STAB Sucker Punch, Bisharp is able to circumvent its mediocre Speed stat, making it a fantastic revenge killer to fast offensive threats such as Tornadus-T, Mega Gardevoir, and Mega Metagross. Similarly to Weavile, many offensive teams rely on Keldeo to check Bisharp, which is a Pokemon that is easy to wear down throughout the match.

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Mega Sableye

• Sableye @ Sablenite
• Ability: Prankster
• EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 SpD
• Careful Nature
• - Knock Off
• - Will-O-Wisp
• - Recover
• - Fake Out / Foul Play

While most of the other Dark-types on this list are offensive in nature, Mega Sableye is rather passive. It's not exactly the bulkiest thing ever, either, as its lack of resistances make it somewhat easy to wear down over time, although its access to Will-O-Wisp can cripple physical attackers, making it nearly impossible for them to break through Mega Sableye. Mega Sableye's effectiveness mostly comes from its ability, Magic Bounce. This ability makes Mega Sableye one of the best supporting Pokemon on stall and semi-stall teams, as it is able to manage hazard setters, such as Ferrothorn and Klefki, and shut down passive stallbreakers, such as Mew. Mega Sableye's unique typing also allows it to serve as a full stop to one of the most powerful wallbreakers, Mega Medicham. Apart from this, Mega Sableye doesn't profit a ton from changes to Dark-type moves. It uses Knock Off more as a utility move than anything else, and the popularity of Clefable is a major issue for it. Even with its downsides, Mega Sableye was considered so dominating that it was suspected alongside Shadow Tag, though it was kept in the tier in the end; however, it was recently suspected again, this time alone, and is currently going through another round.

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Mega Gyarados

• Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
• Ability: Intimidate
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Dragon Dance
• - Crunch
• - Waterfall
• - Ice Fang / Earthquake / Substitute

Water / Flying typing has always been a mixed blessing for Gyarados. On the one hand, it offers a number of good resistances that partner well with Intimidate, but a lack of good secondary STAB moves made it difficult to get anywhere, and Gyarados often found itself walled by common Pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Rotom-W. The gift of a Mega Evolution was a huge deal for Gyarados. Water / Dark coverage is incredible, especially after the Steel-type nerf, and the combination of Waterfall and Crunch allows Mega Gyarados to hit most of the tier for neutral damage. On top of this, Mold Breaker allows Mega Gyarados to do some unique things, including using Taunt on Mega Sableye through Magic Bounce and hit Rotom-W with Earthquake, ignoring Levitate. It fell from usage after the "new-toy" syndrome wore off, but Mega Gyarados still remains a threatening Pokemon that can easily break through unprepared teams.

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Hydreigon

Of all the Dark-types, Hydreigon was hit hardest by the introduction of Fairy-types. Hydreigon's wallbreaking potential in BW was incredible, as it had ridiculous firepower, more than enough coverage options for most of the metagame, and even a few utility moves such as Roost and Taunt. With the new type, however, Hydreigon's movepool is limited by the need for the mediocre Flash Cannon, as otherwise it becomes complete fodder for Clefable and Mega Diancie. Despite this, Hydreigon's incredible power still allows it to use Choice Specs and smash apart almost every defensive core. Thanks to the removal of the Dark-type resistance on Steel-types, Dark Pulse is now much safer for Hydreigon to be locked into.

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Crawdaunt

Crawdaunt has seen a surge in usage, though initially it doesn't look very appealing. The issues are that it has terrible bulk, and unlike most other glass cannons in OU, Crawdaunt is slow. The combination of slow and frail is typically crippling, but Crawdaunt does have a few things that break the mold. Its Attack stat, STAB moves, and access to an amazing ability in Adaptability give it an incredible amount of power that allows it to smash through defensive cores with Knock Off and Crabhammer. It also has access to Aqua Jet; this remedies its low Speed to a certain degree, lets it pick off faster Pokemon that could take advantage of its middling defenses, and allows it to serve as a revenge killer against faster threats. Generally, Crawdaunt will run either Choice Band or Life Orb sets. The former provide a good balance of immediate power and flexibility, while the latter specialize in obliterating defensive teams.

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The banned Dark-types

Greninja

• Greninja @ Life Orb
• Ability: Protean
• EVs: 40 Atk / 216 SpA / 252 Spe
• Naive Nature
• - Ice Beam
• - Gunk Shot
• - Low Kick / Hydro Pump
• - Dark Pulse / Grass Knot / Hidden Power Fire

When Greninja was first introduced, it immediately struck people as a powerhouse in the OU metagame. With blazing Speed that allowed it to be one of the best revenge killers available, a massive movepool, and its ability Protean, which gave it STAB on every move it used, few Pokemon could stand up to Greninja. One of the only reliable ways of defeating it was through revenge killing, as so few Pokemon could switch in. People started using questionable strategies such as Assault Vest Kyurem-B to and Empoleon attempt to defeat Greninja. However, come ORAS Greninja managed to become even more of a threat, as the move tutors granted it Low Kick, allowing it to more easily defeat Kyurem-B and Empoleon. More importantly, Greninja also received Gunk Shot, a very powerful Poison-type STAB move that easily allowed it to break past Fairy-types such as Clefable and Azumarill, which could previously stand up to its attacks. This, in tandem with its already metagame-defining qualities, easily pushed it over the edge, and it was banned from OU with a massive 82% supermajority.

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Hoopa-U

Despite a few resistances and an immunity to Psychic, Dark has never been a particularly defensive type. Since the physical / special split, it has typically been used for offensive purposes, and nothing spells offensive like Hoopa-U. Game Freak, in their unerring fashion, decided that an average Speed and low Defense were more than enough to make up for 160 / 170 offenses. To their surprise, however, Hoopa-U not only managed to become a potent wallbreaker, it nearly invalidated everything slower than it, forcing balance and stall to run trappers such as Choice Scarf Tyranitar and Choice Band Weavile in order to reliably deal with it. Hoopa-U's incredible stats allowed it to use a number of different sets, including Choice Band or Choice Specs, in order to maximize its power, or alternatively, Life Orb, and take advantage of both offensive stats at the same time. Its Speed, though decidedly average, was good enough to run Choice Scarf as well, so it could pose a massive threat to offensively based teams. In the end, Hoopa-U ended up being suspected and banned from the OU metagame with a 61.24% majority. With Sun and Moon around the corner, there's no doubt the metagame will be changing. Will this affect the Pokemon on this list? We'll just have to wait and see.

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