Aerow
rebel
Taken over from Goddess Briyella.
Overview
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Darumaka is a big offensive threat thanks to its base 90 Attack stat, the Hustle ability, which boosts the power of its attacks by 50%, and good movepool. Darumaka's access to U-turn makes it a good Choice Scarf and Choice Band user, and it also has access to solid coverage options in Rock Slide and Superpower. However, while Hustle boosts Darumaka's Attack stat to monstrous levels, it is also arguably one of Darumaka's biggest problems, as it lowers the accuracy of its moves by 20%. As Darumaka can't afford to hold Eviolite, if one of its moves either misses or fails to KO the foe, it can easily be KOed back. Darumaka is also weak to Stealth Rock and can easily be revenge killed with Aqua Jet or Sucker Punch. Flare Blitz's recoil further decreases Darumaka's longevity.
Choice
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name: Choice
move 1: Flare Blitz
move 2: U-turn
move 3: Rock Slide
move 4: Superpower
ability: Hustle
item: Choice Scarf / Choice Band
evs: 116 HP / 196 Atk / 196 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
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Flare Blitz is a very powerful Fire-type STAB move that punches huge holes into the opponent's team, even if enemies only take neutral damage. U-turn is obligatory for a Choice Scarf or Choice Band user and is used to maintain momentum on predicted switches as the opponent panics to find the safest switch-in. Rock Slide is awesome coverage for hitting the Fire-types that resist both Flare Blitz and U-turn and is also useful for hitting Flying-types such as Archen. Superpower is a very potent coverage move, being super effective on five types, and rounds out Darumaka's moveset nicely.
Set Details
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196 Attack and Speed EVs maximize Darumaka's offensive capabilities, and the remaining EVs are invested into HP to improve Darumaka's overall bulk. With Hustle, a Jolly nature, and Choice Scarf, Darumaka effectively has an Attack stat of 27 and a Speed stat of 22, making it a highly threatening force to be reckoned with in terms of power, speed, and ability to gain momentum. Darumaka's Attack stat with a Choice Band reaches a mind-blowing value of 40 with a Jolly nature, and is guaranteed to hit any target that doesn't resist the move Darumaka is using extremely hard.
Usage Tips
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Prediction is very important when using Darumaka; if you mispredict the opponent's switch, you will give them a free turn you might regret. Make use of U-turn and use your other moves very carefully; a Pokemon with Flash Fire switching into Darumaka's Flare Blitz is a total momentum shift. Try to keep Darumaka from taking too much damage from entry hazards, particularly Stealth Rock, because its health is limited enough as it is, and it's not the easiest thing to pass a Wish to. Make sure Darumaka switches in safely on something it can really threaten; slow Volt Switch and U-turn users really help with ensuring this.
Team Options
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Diglett is a great teammate for Darumaka, being able to trap and KO Chinchou and Ponyta. Darumaka can also get Diglett in easily by using U-turn on a predicted switch. Foongus makes a good teammate for dealing with Water-, Rock-, and Ground-types that might give Darumaka problems. Entry hazard removal support is greatly appreciated by Darumaka, as its Stealth Rock weakness really hampers its survivability, which is further hampered by Flare Blitz's recoil. Good entry hazard removers that synergize well with Darumaka include Archen, which can check Fletchling and Fire-types and has access to U-turn itself, and Staryu, which can deal with Ponyta and Rock-types. Chinchou and Mienfoo can cover Darumaka's weaknesses to Water and Rock, respectively, while also forming a solid VoltTurn core with it, which allows Darumaka to switch in without fear. Vulpix can offer Drought support, which makes Flare Blitz hit incredibly hard. Vulpix and Darumaka can also help wear down each other's shared counters. Watch out for their shared weaknesses to Rock, Ground, and Water, though.
Other Options
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Fire Punch is an option over Flare Blitz if you are worried about Darumaka taking recoil, but it's far from being as powerful as Flare Blitz. Flame Charge is an option to patch up Darumaka's middling Speed, though the coverage options listed are usually better for their overall offensive potential, and they are a lot easier to take advantage of with Choice Scarf's immediate Speed boost. Darumaka can make use of Yawn to force switches and Will-O-Wisp to punish physically offensive foes; however, Darumaka is, in almost all cases, better off just outright attacking. Darumaka can also use Substitute on a forced switch, though the HP loss from Substitute generally doesn't help given Darumaka's already dwindling life expectancy. Life Orb can be used to boost the power of Darumaka's attacks, but it is generally a bad option, as Darumaka already takes sufficient recoil from its primary STAB move and Life Orb exacerbates this problem.
Checks & Counters
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**Fire-types**: Fire-types such as Ponyta, Houndour, and other Flash Fire users can come in on Flare Blitz easily, but none enjoy getting hit by Rock Slide.
**Paralysis**: Thunder Wave users with Prankster, such as Cottonee and Purrloin, can easily render Darumaka pretty much useless, though Darumaka can often KO foes it is faster than and therefore avoid getting paralyzed.
**Water-types**: Water-types such as Chinchou and Shellos can switch into Choice Scarf Darumaka fairly comfortably, but will struggle to avoid the 2HKO if Darumaka is using a Choice Band. On the other hand, Choice Band Darumaka fails to 2HKO Slowpoke.
**Thick Fat Munchlax**: Thick Fat Munchlax can switch into Flare Blitz with relative ease and cause Darumaka to take a lot of recoil due to Munchlax's super high HP stat. However, Munchlax will struggle to withstand a Flare Blitz from Choice Band Darumaka after Stealth Rock damage and is easily OHKOed by Superpower.
**Entry Hazards**: Entry hazards are one of Darumaka's biggest issues. Stealth Rock is especially troubling, as Darumaka is weak to it, but Darumaka doesn't enjoy Spikes or Sticky Web either.
**Priority**: Pokemon with priority moves can easily wear down Darumaka due to its lack of bulk, especially Aqua Jet users such as Tirtouga and Corphish.
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