Fires of Hell [Darmanitan<3]

[Xephyr]

Anyone that knows me and my Pokemon preferences well knows that I fucking love Darmanitan, and I talk about him all the time in DST, mostly complaining about how he's not used NEARLY enough. I decided to prove that he's an absolute monster by making a team centered entirely around him. Now, don't go thinking this is a sun team just because I have sun on it. This team is all about setting my bro Darma up to rip people to shreds. This team has been very successful. I'll keep my peak to myself, though, because I don't wanna brag ;) Chances are, if you're fairly high on the ladder, you've seen this team.

Ninetales (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drought
EVs: 128 HP / 252 SAtk / 20 SDef / 108 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Sunny Day
- Fire Blast
- SolarBeam
- Will-O-Wisp

The best Ninetales set. If you disagree, you simply haven't tried it. While my team doesn't focus very intensely on maintaining sun, I still like to get Tyranitar the fuck off the field, and Ninetales really puts a dent in him with a strong Solarbeam if they stay in. Politoed can be an even bigger problem, because it takes Flare Blitz from the most overpowered move in existence to a just pretty strong move like a Zapdos Thunderbolt. You know, the kind of move that has pretty good power but sometimes won't KO Pokemon that are weak to it and shit like that. So anyway I like to keep Politoed off my ass. This set is simply gold for obvious reasons. If my opponent has a weather starter, I always lead with Sunny Day when I bring this thing out mid-game because I just KNOW what's coming (unless he has Abomasnow but lolhail). Will-O-Wisp makes people hate their lives when it ends the reign of Tyranitar and Scizor (even though my team mostly laughs at Scizor). Fire Blast does a surprisingly ton of damage despite Ninetales's fairly disappointing special attack stat. Overall, this is the way to go with Ninetales. No "bulky" shit cause Ninetales is NOT bulky nor will it ever be, and it's always incapable of being offensive. So go in the middle and bask in your own glory.

Forretress (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Volt Switch

Man, Forretress. All you ever do is boss the place up. Oh, hey, Latios, you wanna spam some Specs Draco Meteors? Dragonite, you think you can sweep me with those silly Outrages? Yeah, right. Anyway, I enjoy this set because Ninetales and Darmanitan do not like Stealth Rocks, Spikes, or Toxic Spikes on the field, and shit gets especially horrible if a combination of those three get laid down. Luckily, Forretress is an absolute pro at getting that shit off the field. And guess what? The few things that don't get OHKO'd by Darmanitan will be with some Rocks and Spikes on the field. So Forretress is one of the best Pokemon here to help out Darma, and it also blocks a lot of fairly dangerous threats in this current metagame. Instead of using Shed Shell and having like no staying power, I'm using Leftovers and Volt Switch so I can get away from Magnezones that think they can be a little bitch.

Jellicent (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Night Shade
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Taunt

One time, I got swept by an extremely well played rain team that destroyed me with a specs Starmie. I knew I wanted a spin-blocker, and I knew I wanted something that could take those powerful Hydro Pumps. Well, I found something that could easily do both in Jellicent. Jellicent really helps me out against all kinds of threats and helps Darmanitan simply because it blocks rapid spin and gives rain teams a hard time. Ferrothorn is nothing once I get it burned, since the worst it can do is Leech Seed me and then do pitiful damage with Power Whip. Even shit like Skarmory cowers in fear against me as I just Taunt it, burn it, and then stall. If he wants to whirlwind me, I'll just laugh because everything on my team besides Terrakion lols at Skarmory (especially Darma<3). Night Shade is here for consistent damage whenever I need it. I don't have to worry about pitiful Scald damage and whatnot. The EVs are just what are suggested as the standard. The 44 speed EVs let me outspeed minimum speed Scizor, which is helpful as I can get a burn on it and effectively ruin it for good.

Dragonite (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Substitute
- Roost
- Dragon Tail
- Thunder Wave

Dragonite here replaces Latios and does a shitload of things for this team and helps Darmanitan immensely. It's no secret that Darmanitan has a fairly disappointing speed, so what's one of the best ways to remedy that? Ding ding, you're right! You lay down some paralysis on a mothafucka and he's ripe for the pickings against a Flare Blitz. This Dragonite is, essentially, my switch-in to all things special. Basically, you're not OHKO'ing it unless you're blasting me with a specs Draco Meteor or Ice Beam, and Forretress is handling those all day anyway. This set really fucks with most teams too. It's amazing that still NO one is ready for ParaShuffling Dragonite, even after all this time of people hyping it up and raving about it. It's extremely hard to take down and extremely frustrating to face, and it has great synergy with my team to boot. Everybody wins.

Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor
- Earthquake

Scizor's cool and all, but he's not Terrakion. No one is. Quite frankly, Terrakion is probably the best overall Pokemon in the metagame. Dragonite? Great, but I honestly think that nothing is as effortlessly devastating and terrifying as a Terrakion staring you in the face. The fear of not knowing whether to try and prepare for Scarf, Band, or SD or even Rock Polish is just insane. Scarf Terrakion is THE revenge killer, and he also functions as the ultimate helper for Darmanitan. They have the same counters, really (if you can even say Darmanitan has counters). What I can do with Terrakion is either help set up Darmanitan or vise versa. If there's a bitchy 252/252 Hippowdon running around, I'm gonna do my best to put a dent in him so Darmanitan gets the easy OHKO, and vise versa. Despite the fact that they share many weaknesses, the two work together to slaughter almost everything. Terrakion doesn't mind the sun ridding him of the water weakness either; I've tanked a Slowbro's Scald for an X-Scissor 2HKO before. It was yummy.

(The End) Darmanitan (M) @ DESTRUCTION ORB
Trait: Sheer SLAUGHTER
EVs: 4 LIFE POINTS / 252 POWER TO DECIMATE PLANETS / 252 SWIFTNESS IN ORDER TO KILL YOU QUICKLY
KILLING Nature (+MANLINESS, -THE ATTACK THAT'S USED BY PUSSIES)
- FIRE-INDUCED DEATH
- U-TURN SO I CAN KILL YOU LATER
- MANPOWER
- MANLY PUNCH OF FLAMES

I'm not even going to waste my time typing shit about this thing. If you don't know, you haven't seen it in action. I recently changed from a generic Banded set to a Life Orb set with Flare Blitz/U-turn/Superpower/Fire Punch. Not only does this actually give me staying power as I can spam moves other than Flare Blitz to inflict insane damage, but it lets me beat Heatran (which is lovely!) I haven't tested it for very long, but I can already tell that it's the better move.



In Conclusion
Heatran fucks me up a bit. Not anymore. Meet Superpower, douche bag.

 

[NatGeo]

lol

heatran gives you a problem, so you might want to consider more liberal usage of superpower like on darmanitan, idk what else you're running on it at this point

 

[Xephyr]

lol

heatran gives you a problem, so you might want to consider more liberal usage of superpower like on darmanitan, idk what else you're running on it at this point

Superpower and Stone Edge. I've used Superpower a couple times on Heatrans indeed but I don't think I've ever used Stone Edge (there's really never a reason to).

Pocket recommended I run Life Orb on Darma simply because it lets me beat Heatran so much easier, and it's really a pretty genius idea. I'm not missing much power on Flare Blitz, anyway. It already does more than enough for the 2ko on Jellicent and whatnot.

 

[Pocket]

I'm using Scarf Latios, and it needs Draco Meteor to revenge things - without Scarf it just doesn't pack a punch. Draco Meteor offers that punch. You need Draco Meteor to OHKO Landorus and Scarf Rotom-W with SR, for instance.

If you have Draco Meteor, you don't need Thunderbolt to revenge Waters. Surf is a MUCH better neutral coverage, hitting Heatran, Tyranitar, and Scizor all for good damage. Grass Knot and Psyshock are also great options - Psyshock lets you revenge Terrakion and Virizion more reliably, and dents Tentacruel and Gastrodon, too. Grass Knot hits Ttar, Terrakion, Jellicent and Gastrodon for good damage.

You COULD run Dragon Pulse + Draco Meteor, but I personally think other options are more useful.

I definitely suggest Surf or Grass Knot over TBolt to fend off weakened TTars - otherwise Latios is Pursuit-food. If you want Dragon Pulse or Psyshock, it should probably go over Trick.

I understand that you're worried about the special falls, but there is no point in using Scarf Latios if it can't outspeed and threaten to kill things. Even after a special fall, Latios would be doing ~38% to an Offensive Dragonite with intact MultiScale, so Dragonite won't exactly set up for free. Even more, Scarf Latios checks Dragonite even at +2, so it's really not a huge deal for your team (which also has CB Scizor & Taunt Jelli).

 

[Tomahawk]

Quiver Dance Volcarona seems like he could be troublesome, setting up a Quiver Dance against Scizor, Forretress or Jellicent (Will-O-Wisp doesn't work against Fire-types, while Scald won't do a lot of damage after Special Defense boosts and in the sun). After two Quiver Dances, everything on your team gets outsped and OHKOed by Fiery Dance / Bug Buzz / Hidden Power Rock. Latios can't revenge kill a +1 Volcarona either, with 85 / 105 defensive stats and a Special Defense boost.
Crunch Lucario can also pose quite a large threat to your team, setting up on Forretress, Scizor locked in Bullet Punch or Bug Bite and after that sweeps you clean. Ninetales, Darmanitan and Latios get KOed by ExtremeSpeed, Forretress and Scizor get KOed by Close Combat, and Jellicent takes a Crunch to the face. The only way you can beat him is wearing him down with Life Orb recoil and Close Combat defense drops into Bullet Punch range.

To fix this, I recommend using a Choice Scarf Terrakion over Latios. He is probably an even more effective revenge killer, with excellent dual STAB and a great Attack stat. He also OHKOes Volcarona with Stone Edge regardless of how many boosts it has, and also outspeeds at +1 and can take any of its attacks even at +2 or +3 thanks to its typing. Lucario gets outsped, and Terrakion resists ExtremeSpeed so even +6 ExtremeSpeed won't KO, and Close Combat OHKOes Lucario. The exact set is:

Hide

Terrakion @ Choice Scarf | Justified
Jolly | 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Stone Edge / Close Combat / X-Scissor / Earthquake

Good luck!

 

[Xephyr]

I really like both suggestions here. One makes Latios even more effective than I've already used, but Tomahawk's suggestion gives me Terrakion, who is obviously a stud and can get rid of Volcarona, who does indeed screw with me a bit. I'll test out both, guys. Thank you!

 

[Xephyr]

givemeratessss

 

[Kaos]

Jellicent and Scizor seem very out of place on this team, or indeed any Sun team. It also seems to me you really just aren't abusing Sun enough. Literally every Sun team needs something to abuse Chlorophyll, because otherwise running that piece of shit called Ninetales just isn't worth it.

I would definitely replace Jellicent with a Chlorophyll abuser (preferably one that can beat Heatran), as you keep a water resist, but gain both a more effective way to deal with Heatran and an extremely fast revenge-killer/sweeper. I guess Scizor can stay, but I think something like Heatran might be better in his spot.

 

[Jets]

i dont get why you would run sunny day on DROUGHT tails

 

[Xephyr]

Kaos: This isn't a sun team. This is a Darmanitan team. Jellicent and Scizor are in order to properly support Darmanitan. Keeping sun up isn't my top priority, helping Darmanitan sweep is.

Jets: Use it as Tyranitar or Politoed switch in, as they are the most common switch ins to Ninetales. Then you're free to Solarbeam for enormous damage.

 

[Spork]

Wouldn't Ttar just kill you after Solarbeam? Burning Ttar on the switch is a lot more effective than using Sunny Day, IMO.

It destroys rain though.

 

[Jets]

Wouldn't Ttar just kill you after Solarbeam? Burning Ttar on the switch is a lot more effective than using Sunny Day, IMO.

It destroys rain though.

agreed, burning Tar completely wrecks him since only the mixed sets carry fire blast and sometimes ice beam.

 

[Thundur]

as of right now you have 666 posts. how ironic.

 

[Drifloon]

Hey Xephyr, nice team you got there, and I definitely agree that Darmanitan is absolute destruction haha. However, I think a Choice Band Dragonite might be a better option than Scizor. The priority you get is only 10 points weaker, and you get a much better second STAB in Outrage. You also get a boosted Fire Punch (fuck you Ferro) and Earthquake is useful for you since Heatran can be problematic to switch into.

Choice Band lMultiscale lAdamant / Jolly
EVs 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Outragel Fire Punchl Earthquake or Dragon Clawl Extremespeed

Good luck!

 

[Xephyr]

I really like the Dragonite suggestion. It does indeed help out more with Heatran. I'll have to edit the OP a bit to include the fact that I'm using Terrakion and Dragonite now.

Also, I've been having slight trouble with Venusaurs lately. Any suggestions?

 

[Magma]

Hey Xephyr. I know you didn't intend to make this a sun team, but I'm going to treat it as such during this rate.

This is hands down one of my favorite teams. I really love the use of Forretress and Jellicent here to tear down opposing walls and auto-weather changers; rather than relying on the standard DD Dragonite or Trapping Dugtrio. The Forretress + Jellicent combo can even out stall the popular Ferrothorn + Tentacruel combo of Rain teams.

Ninetales, Forretress, and Jellicent look like they do a fine job in winnning the entry hazard war and eventually the weather war for Darmanitan. Your final two Pokes, Scizor and Latias, seem to be fillers and can be replaced to patch up a few holes on the team.


Tomahawk9 already noted the Volcarona and Lucario weakness. I have a few more to add to the list.

Threats

Chandelure
Chandelure gets perfect switch-ins against Ninetales, Darmanitan, Forretress, and Scizor. Once it's on the field, the only one of your Pokes who can touch it is Latios, and he doesn't like Chandelure Shadow Balls. Luckily it's pretty rare now-a-days.

Tyranitar
Ninetales isn't the only Pokemon who T-tar can switch-in to, Latias and Forretress are also bait for the flexible T-Rex. Once it's on the field, none your Pokes will enjoy switching into a Stone Edge.

These threats can be contained with a couple of minor changes:

Night Shade > Scald on Jellicent

Night Shade over Scald allows Jellicent to do decent damage in any weather. More importantly, it lets you beat Heatran in the Sun.

Choice Scarf Terrakion > Choice Band Scizor

You should stick with your original gut feeling and leave Terrakion in this spot. Scarf Terrakion gives the team solid Tyranitar switch-in and pairs well with your two defensive pivots by revenge killing set-up sweepers. Plus, Terrakion has decent synergy with Jellicent. Scrafty, Hydreigon, and Tyranitar have to think twice when aimming dark attacks at your spin blocker in fear of activating Terrakion's Justified. A Dragon Danced Terrakion can do pretty serious damage late game, even if it is locked-in to one attack .

Parashuffler Dragonite > Choice Scarf Latios

Now that Scarfed Terrakion is back on the roster to revenge kill Dragon Dancers and other speedy sweepers, Latios's can be replaced with a slower Dragon who still maintains the team's Fighting and Ground resistance - Dragonite. Your team could use the defenses of a Parashuffing Set. Its natural bulk combined with Multiscale and Roost adds some Special Defense to the team which should slow down Gengar, Alakazam, and TR Reuniclus. The set also adds paralysis support to the team (something that LO Daramanitan appreciates) and phazes opposing Pokemon so entry hazards can take their toll.

These suggestions aren't perfect, but they should patch up a couple weaknesses. I still see teams with a Landorus, Rotom-W, or Scizor scouting core being a problem though...

Movesets

Jellicent (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Recover
- Night Shade

Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor
- Earthquake
- Close Combat

Dragonite (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Substitute
- Roost
- Dragon Tail
- Thunder Wave

Hope I helped. GL!

 

[Xephyr]

HmmMmmmMmMMmmmmm

I can't decide between the CB Dragonite and that Prashuffler Dragonite. The CB Nite has been working pretty well but not fantastic. I'm definitely going to give the Parashuffler a try. I'll decide tomorrow what my favorites are and update the OP. Thank you for the rate, Magma! I'm digging the Night Shade>Scald on Jelli as well.

 

[Pocket]

Solid rate, Magma :d. I second Night Shade on Jellicent - it's a much more solid way of draining the health of Volcarona than Scald. I feel like a bulky Gyarados can serve this team better than Dragonite - the main reason is that it lacks weakness to dragon moves, allowing it to do a good job in wearing down these mons for Darmanitan.

Bulky Gyarados
Gyarados @ Leftovers
248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef | Impish Nature
~ Earthquake
~ Avalanche
~ Thunder Wave
~ Taunt / Dragon Tail

This is the set I use in my Sun team. Thanks to Intimidate, it checks Dragon Dancers and Fighting Types exceptionally well. It also handles Fire Types, such as Darmanitan, Volcarona, and Heatran, too.

Avalanche is there to kill Dragonite, Haxorus, Landorus, and Gliscor. Once you prod them to Outrage with Thunder Wave, Taunt, or Dragon Tailing them out the first time, they will retaliate. Earthquake is a useful move to hit Heatran, Lucario, Toxicroak, etc. for good damage. Gyarados also provides paralysis support, which will greatly benefit a non-scarfed Darmanitan, and it is a great way to stop Volcarona's sweep with Thunder Wave + Taunt.

For the last slot, Dragon Tail is better to deal with HO teams that likes to abuse Dual Screens with Shell Smash or Set Up Sweepers, since Gyarados can Dragon Tail out these mons and burn out the Screen time. However, Taunt is a good way to prevent Ferrothorn, Skarmory, TTar, etc. from setting up Rocks, as well as preventing sweepers from setting up.

The only disadvantage I see in using Gyarados over Dragonite, is that Gyarados may be more vulnerable to Rotom-W / Scizor combo, but paralysis does a good job in crippling Rotom-W, and your team is not that weak to that combination anyway. Combined with Rapid Spin support and Terrakion's revenge-killing prowess, I think Gyarados fits in really well.

Another change you may want to consider is going specially-defensive on your Jellicent. This well let Jellicent tank Fire hits from Heatran better, as well as LO Thunderbolts from Starmie or Draco Meteors from Latios. You have a premier physical wall in Gyarados, so mine as well leave physical hits to Gyara and special hits to Jellicent.

Specially-Defensive Jellicent
Jellicent @ Leftovers
252 HP / 32 Def / 224 SDef | Calm nature
~ Night Shade
~ Will-o-Wisp
~ Taunt
~ Recover

calcs
Modest Heatran's Fire Blast in Sunshine: 28-33%
Choice Specs Latios's Draco Meteor: 60-71% (~62.5% chance of surviving 2 consecutive hits w/o Rocks)
LO Starmie's Thunderbolt: 39-46%

 

[Razza]

Massive weakess to heatran,
the only thing that can hope to ko it is darmanitan who will die fast to flareblitz recoil, and a competent opponent will be wary of sheer forces ability to negate LO.

Also you seem weak to quiver dance volcarona, especially sub variants who can avoid latios' trick. I recommend the use of a scarfed terrakion to patch this up, or at the very least the use of earthquake on forretress (useful for magnezone too).

 

[Xephyr]

I tested out all the suggestions and decided on a "final product" and updated the OP. Lemme know if you see any new problems!

 

[Zack Drake]

I love this Darmanitan Team !

 

[Xephyr]

Thank you! The new changes have been bringing me some great success lately. I've peaked prettyyyy high ;)