Darmanitan (QC 2/3) [Writing Up]

[dingbat]

Overview
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• Has a decently fast speed tier
• Can dish out a ton of damage with its STAB Flare Blitz, regardless of which set it uses
• Has Sheer Force, which powers up its moves that have secondary effects (Flare Blitz, Rock Slide, etc.)
• Has an acceptable variety of coverage moves to back up its STAB
• Has mediocre bulk and no recovery options
• Its main STAB, Flare Blitz, greatly limits Darmanitan’s durability on the field, due to its recoil effect

Choice Scarf
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name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Flare Blitz
move 2: Rock Slide
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Earthquake / Superpower
ability: Sheer Force
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly

Moves
========

• Flare Blitz is Darmanitan’s STAB move of choice, and its high base power is further powered up by Sheer Force.
• Rock Slide provides solid coverage alongside Flare Blitz, hitting Fire-types harder while getting the Sheer Force boost.
• U-turn is used to allow another teammate to switch into a threat that Darmanitan cannot defeat, or to gain momentum for your team.
• Earthquake allows Darmanitan to deal more damage to Rhyperior while still dealing Super-Effective damage on many Steel-, Fire-, Poison- and Electric-type Pokemon.
• Superpower is a fine alternative to Earthquake, as it also hits Rhyperiors, Steel-, Normal- and Dark-types, and has greater initial power, however at the cost of stat drops.

Set Details
========

• The 252 Attack and 252 Speed EVs are applied to maximize Darmanitan’s Speed and Attack stats; the 4 Special Defense EVs are applied to force Attack boost downloads from the Porygons.
• Sheer Force boosts Darmanitan’s moves that have secondary effects by 30%, meaning Flare Blitz and Rock Slide are boosted
• Jolly Nature, combined with the Choice Scarf item, allows Darmanitan to outspeed Mega Beedrill, Mega Sceptile, Mega Alakazam, and Mega Aerodactyl.

Usage Tips
========

• U-turn is a great way for Darmanitan to scout switches and provide momentum for the team.
• Do not spam Flare Blitz excessively, as the recoil damage will accumulate quickly.

Team Options
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• A spinner/defogger on your team is crucial, since Darmanitan is weak to Stealth Rocks. Starmie/Mega Blastoise are cool options since Darmanitan can help fend off Grass-types that they have trouble dealing with, while Starmie/Mega Blastoise can take Scalds aimed at Darmanitan and scare away Ground-types.
• Teammates like Nidoqueen, Forretress, or even Celebi can provide hazard support (mainly Stealth Rock), which will greatly help Darmanitan nab KOs that it would otherwise miss without the hazards up.
• Teammates that can deal with Rhyperior/Bulky Water-type Pokemon easily is a must; Grass-types like Celebi or Shaymin are options, as they can hit those threats hard with their Grass-type moves, as well as absorb any Status conditions that come their way, due to their Natural Cure abilities.
• Teammates that can deal with faster Choice Scarfers like Hydreigon and Mienshao are also appreciated. Fairies like Florges/Aromatisse can help deal with those two certain threats, although both are incapable of handling Scarf Jirachi.

Wallbreaker
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name: Wallbreaker
move 1: Flare Blitz
move 2: Rock Slide
move 3: Earthquake / Superpower
move 4: U-turn / Superpower
ability: Sheer Force
item: Choice Band / Life Orb
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly

Moves
========

• Flare Blitz is Darmanitan's main STAB of choice, and its high base power is further powered by Sheer Force.
• Rock Slide provides solid coverage alongside Flare Blitz, hitting Fire-types harder while also powered up by Sheer Force.
• U-turn is used to allow another teammate to switch into a threat that Darmanitan cannot defeat, or to gain momentum for your team.
• Earthquake allows Darmanitan to deal more damage to Rhyperior while still dealing Super-Effective damage on many Steel-, Fire-, Poison-, and Electric-type Pokemon.
• Superpower also hits Rhyperiors, Steel-, Normal- and Dark-types, and has greater initial power, however at the cost of stat drops.

Set Details
========

• The 252 Attack and 252 Speed EVs are applied to maximize Darmanitan’s Speed and Attack stats; the 4 Special Defense EVs are applied to force Attack boost downloads from the Porygons.
• Sheer Force boosts Darmanitan’s moves that have secondary effects by 30%, meaning Flare Blitz and Rock Slide are boosted.
• Jolly Nature allows Darmanitan to outspeed threats like Roserade and Krookodile.

Usage Tips
========

• The choice between Life Orb and Choice Band depends on whether you want move switching flexibility at the cost of recoil damage on moves not boosted by Sheer Force (including U-turn) or some extra power and no Life Orb recoil at the cost of move switching flexibility.
• Darmanitan can very capably bluff the Choice Scarf set, although the user must be aware of when it's safe to reveal the power boosting item.
• Be aware of the recoil damage accumulated by using Flare Blitz; the damage will quickly rack up, especially with the damage that Darmanitan causes.

Team Options
========

• A spinner or a Defogger will be of great benefit as Darmanitan does not enjoy coming in on hazards. Starmie provides spin support and can help cover Darmanitan's Water-type weakness, while Crobat can provide Defog support while covering its Ground-type weakness, and it can create an OK U-turn core with it.
• Teammates that can deal with Rhyperior and bulky Water-type Pokemon is key for Darmanitan to perform its wallbreaking role. Grass-types like Shaymin and Celebi are great options, although those are not the only options.
• Teammates like Hydreigon will greatly appreciate having walls like Florges/Aromatisse broken down.

Other Options
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• Fire Punch can be used over Flare Blitz as it will avoid the recoil effect, but it is significantly weaker than Flare Blitz and it removes Darmanitan’s ability to wallbreak.
• Zen Headbutt is another move that is boosted by Sheer Force, has no recoil effect, and hits Fighting- and Poison-types harder, however it provides rather redundant coverage with its main options.
• A Belly Drum set with Salac Berry can be utilized to attempt a sweep, but it is generally not advised, due to the sheer amount of support this set needs in order to be successfully pulled off.

Checks & Counters
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**Defensive Walls**: Some Defensive-oriented Pokemon such as Suicune, Rhyperior, and Swampert avoid 2HKOs from any of Darmanitan’s moves and KO it back; others like Hippowdon and Vaporeon can also tank a Flare Blitz and KO back, although they do not want to switch into a Choice Banded Flare Blitz.

**Arcanine**: Physically Defensive Arcanine can capably switch into any of Darmanitan's moves and heal off the damage with Morning Sun, although it must be wary of switching into a Rock Slide or Earthquake, especially when switching into Stealth Rocks.

**Stealth Rocks**: Stealth Rocks will help wear down Darmanitan significantly, as it takes around 25% every time it switches into them.

**Revenge Killers**: Faster attackers, as well as strong Priority-users, can dent Darmanitan’s wallbreaking/sweeping capabilities. Those include, but are not limited to Hydreigon, Mega Aerodactyl, and Entei.

 

[Meru]

mention belly drum in OO for the luls

 

[dingbat]

This shit is fking overdue lol; procrastination is love, procrastination is life.

I'm moving this into QC stage.

 

[Meru]

QC 1/3

Although you need to fix your C&C section. Make it **Water-Types**, **Rock-Types**, **Arcanine, **Faster Pokemon**, etc. Refer to other analyses if you don't know what I mean.

 

[tehy]

a lot of formatting is off

spaces between slashes, slashes instead of commas when talking about evs, etc

 

[dingbat]

QC 1/3

Although you need to fix your C&C section. Make it **Water-Types**, **Rock-Types**, **Arcanine, **Faster Pokemon**, etc. Refer to other analyses if you don't know what I mean.

Changes are implemented!

a lot of formatting is off

spaces between slashes, slashes instead of commas when talking about evs, etc

Duly noted, will keep that in mind when/if I decide to pull off another analysis

 

[dodmen]

Pretty straightforward analysis, 2/3. Just make sure to specify Defensive Arcanine in C&C when you write this up n_n

 

[dingbat]

Pretty straightforward analysis, 2/3. Just make sure to specify Defensive Arcanine in C&C when you write this up n_n

Thanks dodmen ^_^

Time to write this up

 

[Bouff]

ununhexium is workin on this, locking!