#571 - Zoroark - Dark
60 HP / 105 Atk / 60 Def / 120 SpA / 60 SpD / 105 Spe (510 BST)
Illusion
Illusion will change the appearance of the Pokémon to a different species. This is dependent on Pokémon in the player's party.
Acid Bomb, Aerial Ace, Agility, Ankle Sweep, Attract, Back Out, Calm Mind, Captivate, Claw Sharpen, Complete Burn, Counter, Cut, Dark Pulse, Detect, Dig, Double Team, Embargo, Extrasensory, Facade, Faint Attack, Flamethower, Fling, Focus Blast, Frustration, Fury Swipes, Get Even, Giga Impact, Grass Knot, Hidden Power, Hyper Beam, Imprison, Leer, Memento, Nasty Plot, Night Burst, Night Slash, Payback, Protect, Psych Up, Punishment, Pursuit, Rain Dance, Rest, Return, Roar, Rock Smash, Scary Face, Scratch, Shadow Ball, Shadow Claw, Snatch, Substitute, Sunny Day, Swagger, Swords Dance, Taunt, Thief, Torment, Toxic, Troll, U-turn
Legend: Bolded are significant moves. Italicised are competitively good moves that might have niche use but are outclassed / not really relevant (for example, it's a Dark-type! Doesn't need Shadow Ball).
U-turn, Scratch, Leer, Pursuit, Claw Sharpen, Pursuit, Fury Swipes, Faint Attack, Scary Face, Taunt, Acid Bomb, Night Slash, Torment, Agility, Embargo, Punishment, Nasty Plot, Imprison, Night Burst
Claw Sharpen, Calm Mind, Roar, Toxic, Hidden Power, Sunny Day, Taunt, Hyper Beam, Protect, Rain Dance, Frustration, Return, Dig, Shadow Ball, Double Team, Flamethower, Aerial Ace, Torment, Facade, Rest, Attract, Thief, Ankle Sweep, Troll, Focus Blast, Fling, Complete Burn, Embargo, Shadow Claw, Payback, Get Even, Giga Impact, Swords Dance, Psych Up, Grass Knot, Swagger, U-Turn, Substitute, Rock Smash, Back Out, Cut
Detect, Captivate, Dark Pulse, Snatch, Memento, Shadow Claw, Extrasensory, Counter
Claw Sharpen, Calm Mind, Roar, Toxic, Hidden Power, Sunny Day, Taunt, Hyper Beam, Protect, Rain Dance, Frustration, Return, Dig, Shadow Ball, Double Team, Flamethower, Aerial Ace, Torment, Facade, Rest, Attract, Thief, Ankle Sweep, Troll, Focus Blast, Fling, Complete Burn, Embargo, Shadow Claw, Payback, Get Even, Giga Impact, Swords Dance, Psych Up, Grass Knot, Swagger, U-Turn, Substitute, Rock Smash, Back Out, Cut
Detect, Captivate, Dark Pulse, Snatch, Memento, Shadow Claw, Extrasensory, Counter
Name - Category - Type - PP - Base Power - Acc - Effect
Acid Bomb - Special Poison 20 - 40 - 100 - Sharply lowers Special Defense.
Ankle Sweep - Physical - Fighting - 20 - 60 - 100 - Decreases opponent's Speed by 1 stage.
Back Out - Special - Dark - 15 - 55 - 95 - May decrease opponent's Special Attack by 1 stage.
Claw Sharpen - Other - Dark 15 - --- - --- -Raises Atk and Acc 1 stage.
Complete Burn - Special - Fire 15 - 30 -100 - Removes the target's Berry.
Get Even - Physical - Normal - 5 - 70 - 100 - Deals more damage if teammate was KO'd last turn.
Night Burst - Special - Dark 10 - 85 - 95 - May decrease opponent's Accuracy by 1 stage.
Troll - Special - Normal - 15 - 60 - 100 - Raises Base Power the more Pokemon you have with the attack.
Acid Bomb - Special Poison 20 - 40 - 100 - Sharply lowers Special Defense.
Ankle Sweep - Physical - Fighting - 20 - 60 - 100 - Decreases opponent's Speed by 1 stage.
Back Out - Special - Dark - 15 - 55 - 95 - May decrease opponent's Special Attack by 1 stage.
Claw Sharpen - Other - Dark 15 - --- - --- -Raises Atk and Acc 1 stage.
Complete Burn - Special - Fire 15 - 30 -100 - Removes the target's Berry.
Get Even - Physical - Normal - 5 - 70 - 100 - Deals more damage if teammate was KO'd last turn.
Night Burst - Special - Dark 10 - 85 - 95 - May decrease opponent's Accuracy by 1 stage.
Troll - Special - Normal - 15 - 60 - 100 - Raises Base Power the more Pokemon you have with the attack.
Nasty Plot
Zoroark @ Life Orb / Expert Belt / Lum Berry
Timid
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
-Nasty Plot
-Dark Pulse
-Focus Blast
-Taunt / Flamethrower / Substitute
The main problem with this set is that, bar Illusion, it's unfortunately outclassed by Darkrai. It's even frailer than Darkrai. :( However, Taunt lets you set up on Blissey and other defensive types, while Flamethrower gives you a better alternative than Focus Blast against incoming Scizor / Skarmory / Heracross? / etc. Dark Pulse and Focus Blast get amazing coverage side by side. We're not totally sure how Illusion works yet, but you could use it to force a switch by bluffing and Nasty Plot as it goes.
Swords Dance
Zoroark @ Life Orb / Expert Belt / Lum Berry
Jolly
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
- Swords Dance
- Night Slash
- Ankle Sweep
- Taunt
Unfortunately, Zoroark's physical movepool is lacking compared to its special movepool; I feel this is a case where we won't get a new Lucario. Ankle Sweep is its best non-STAB option, and its base power is mediocre, though it has a nice secondary effect.
Choice Scarf
Zoroark @ Choice Scarf
Timid
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
- Dark Pulse
- Flamethrower
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power Ice / U-turn
Utilises Zoroark's great base Speed to revenge kill things like weakened Jirachi, Garchomp, etc. HP Ice is for Dragon-types, though you can use U-turn instead for scouting / hazard damage.
Commentary
With solid offensive stats, boosting moves, and a handy speed that puts it before the monkeys, Garchomp, and the base 100s, Zoroark looks like a pretty serviceable sweeper. Its ability is just plain awesome, though we don't know how it works or how to harness it. You could use it to trap things with a bluff, or, for example, pretending to be something that lures a Shanderaa or other Ghost, then hitting it damn hard with a Dark-type STAB. If this is possible, Zoroark is a great Shanderaa check. However, it's also frail, and has a limited physical movepool. Furthermore, apart from Illusion, it's basically outclassed by the faster, stronger, and better-movepooled Darkrai.