Zoroark (Update) [QC 0/3]

I thought I'd have bulk comparable to that of Deoxys-D, judging by how well I took hits in the movie.

[OVERVIEW]

-It looks cool
-Cannons made out of glass don't tend to live very long
-Myths about Team preview completely hurting Zoroark are not completely true
-If you disguise it as a Flygon and switch in to Stealth Rock + 3 layers Spikes, you will still lose 37.5% of your health
-Great special movepool gives it incredible type coverage
-Great choice for a special attacker

[SET]
name: All-Out Attacker
move 1: Sucker Punch
move 2: Dark Pulse
move 3: Grass Knot
move 4: Flamethrower
item: Life Orb
ability: Illusion
nature: Naive
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

-Great late-game sweeper, can pick off faster, weakened threats with Sucker Punch
-Dark Pulse is still preferred since Zoroark can't afford to miss on its STAB move
-Grass Knot stops bulky waters and Rhyperior from completely stopping you
-Flamethrower ensures Roserade and Bronzong don't just take hits all day

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

-HP IV of 29 can be used to Life Orb recoil
-Sucker Punch won't OHKO much that's not weak to it, so weakening Pokemon before using this is recommended
-Disguising as Heracross is recommended, as Heracross won't attract Snorlax

[SET]
name: Nasty Plot
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Dark Pulse
move 3: Flamethrower
move 4: Grass Knot/Substitute
item: Life Orb/Leftovers
ability: Illusion
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

-678 Special Attack after a boost
-Zoroark's Illusion tends to force switches, allowing for set-up
-Dark Pulse will put a hole in just about anything not resistant to it
-Flamethrower covers most of the stuff that does resist Dark Pulse
-Grass Knot for waters and Rhyperior; Substitute works with the ability to force switches, allowing for easier set-up

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

-Leftovers with Substitute, Life Orb otherwise
-Focus Blast optional for Snorlax; not much use otherwise
-HP IV of 29 can be used with Life Orb; reduces Life Orb recoil
-Get rid of Snorlax before trying to sweep; Heracross is a good teammate

[SET]
name: Choice
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Flamethrower
move 3: Grass Knot
move 4: U-turn/Focus Blast
item: Choice Specs/Choice Scarf
ability: Illusion
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

-Choice Specs lets Zoroark hit hard right off the bat; very much appreciated since Zoroark is frail
-Choice Scarf makes it a great revenge killer, outspeeding the entire unboosted tier
-508 Special Attack with Choice Specs; 508 Speed with Choice Scarf
-Has an advantage over Azelf in lacking a Pursuit weakness
-Dark Pulse chosen for STAB over Night Daze for reliability
-Flamethrower covers Heracross, Roserade, Escavalier, and Bronzong
-U-turn preferred for scouting; Focus Blast can be used to 2HKO Snorlax after Stealth Rock or help revenge kill Krookodile
-Grass Knot is the best option for bulky waters and Rhyperior

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

-EVs maximize offenses; Remaining 4 EVs placed into Special Defense so Download Porygon-Z will not get the Special Attack boost
-Recommended to disguise as a Pokemon that deters Fighting-types like Hitmontop; Mew is a good example
-Using Heracross on your team allows you to eliminate Snorlax, removing the need for Focus Blast
-Modest nature can be used on the Choice Specs set if tying with Mismagius is not important to your team
-Extrasensory for Fighting-types; little use outside of hitting Fighting-types
-Hidden Power Ice can be used over U-turn for Flygon when holding a Choice Scarf

[OTHER OPTIONS]

-Night Daze
-Swords Dance (sucks)
-Agility
-Pursuit
-Taunt

[CHECKS AND COUNTERS]

-Hard to counter when first out due to Illusion and Zoroark's incredible coverage
-Hitmontop checks it with Mach Punch, but doesn't like switching in on too many Choice Specs-boosted moves; Strong priority users in general can check it when weakened because of its bad defenses
-Snorlax sponges hits easily if Zoroark lacks Focus Blast
-Anything faster with a powerful attack can check it due to Zoroark's poor defenses, but must watch out for coverage moves or Sucker Punch

subplot is a beast, it really needs to be on there. if you mask it as something that causes a lot of switches (especially something that might use sub itself, like a zapdos or somethin) you get a ton of free subs and/or plots. sub/plot/dpulse/flamethrower and it was pretty awesome

Really, anything can be a cover for Zoroark as long as SR / spikes doesnt give it away.

I like subplot too but think it's generally inferior to a NP + 3 attacks set. A NP set definitely needs to be written, with sub either a secondary slash or in AC.

I added the Nasty Plot set, with Substitute slashed with Grass Knot (which I figured would be the best place to slash it from what I've been using on the server). Put Leftovers on the set, discussing that Leftovers is better if you're using Substitute

I thought we agreed we weren't going to randomly spout "bring hazard support!" on every offensive Pokemon analysis... -.-

Unless you need hazards for specific critical KOes, of if there's a special reason why the Pokemon will be forcing tons of switches, don't just write down to bring hazard support...

I still use LO Zoroark in UU and I honestly don't think it's your call to change the set order like that. Choice is good, but LO gets the nod because you can 2HKO just about everything in the tier with Zoroark's awesome coverage. There are also little things like unnecesarily changing Zoroark's nature from Naive to Hasty (Naive lets you take priority moves, and most Special attacks KO you regardless)

I do not think Zoroark needs an update at this time since the original write up was well made / it doesn't require much editing to keep up to date with the current metagame. The original author already had NP, so I'm not quite sure why you decided to remove it. If I come across as oppressive I assure you thats not the intention.

You've mentioned Agility in OO, but I think it deserves a main set. It's pretty similar to Agility Lucario, beating some of it's counters with Agility (such as Choice Scarf Heracross). Also like Agility Lucario, anything with a decent Mach Punch can OHKO it. I tested this, and it seemed to work for me, but it's probably crap nonetheless. I used this:

Zoroark @ Life Orb
Ability: Illusion
EVs: 4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)/Modest Nature (+SpA, -Atk)
- Agility
- Dark Pulse/Night Daze
- Focus Blast
- Flamethrower

TheGreenThunder said:

You've mentioned Agility in OO, but I think it deserves a main set. It's pretty similar to Agility Lucario, beating some of it's counters with Agility (such as Choice Scarf Heracross). Also like Agility Lucario, anything with a decent Mach Punch can OHKO it. I tested this, and it seemed to work for me, but it's probably crap nonetheless. I used this:

Zoroark @ Life Orb
Ability: Illusion
EVs: 4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)/Modest Nature (+SpA, -Atk)
- Agility
- Dark Pulse/Night Daze
- Focus Blast
- Flamethrower

Click to expand...

I think Agility should stay OO at best. In theory it works to beat up its usual checks like Choice Scarf Heracross, but Hitmontop is really popular and Zoroark's 105 base Speed is fast enough in UU, so it doesn't really need it boosted.

Anyway, @PK Gaming, I'll be changing the set orders now (and the nature on All-Out Attacker) and @Chou Toshio, I'll remove hazard support mentions from AC comments. Thanks!

Yeah, that's fine. Agility sure is usable, but if you think it's OO worthy then so be it. It's your analysis!

Zoroark has a very high quality on-site analysis that reflects the current metagame as well as Zoroark's role in it accurately. This revamp would at best be no improvement, and more likely be a downgrade. I don't think we have been clear that we are looking for upgrades to the current analyses rather than having them be new for the sake of being new. Don't let this dissuade you from writing other updates, just make sure to check ahead of time whether the update is actually needed.