Zoroark

One interesting thing I noticed about using Zoroark in-game. Whatever Pokemon that Zoroark is going illusioned as, it will not only mimic it's nickname, gender, and shininess, but also it's Poke Ball as well.

Also, Team Preview is mandatory unless you IR battle :(
 
Phadunk said:
exactly. what's the point of having this Pokemon and it's great ability.. if in the pre-game, your opponent will see you have it in your party.. kind of ruins the surprise factor of the ability. this team preview thing is a bad idea imo
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This generation would be utterly ridiculous and borderline unplayable (or there'd at least be more major bans (Blaziken/Drought/Drizzle probably) without team preview. The vast majority of us learned this months ago.

Knowing that you NEED to save a certain Pokemon to stop a certain threat is so crucial especially with weather omnipresent. It gives us a way to think around BS Pokemon/Weather abuse before it gets out-of-hand.

Like if the opponent has and Excadrill I now KNOW that I need to save my Gliscor.
Or if they have a Blaziken, I KNOW that I need to save my Trick Room Reuniclus.
And if they have Sandstream, Drought, or Drizzle, I KNOW that I need to KO their weather starter and have my Chansey use Hail to get rid of the weather.


Zoroark is a great Pokemon even without Illusion. A little fragile, but that's always been Dark-type's thing. (Pardon me Tyranitar & Scrafty) Nasty Plot, Night Daze, Flamethrower/Focus Blast, and Sucker Punch with 105/120/105 stats is pretty boss.

Especially when you can OHKO Latios, Gengar, Starmie, & Azelf with a Naive Nature Sucker Punch with only 40 EVs in Attack. (a 0/40/0/216/0/252 spread)
 
Ive been using a timid life orb set online and I have to say the ammount of people I have fooled with him is insane. I use a shedinja which causes all kinds of problems for people because they know that they need at least one pokemon on their team that can kill it, this narrows down my guess of what they will choose. Zoroark goes out disguises as shedinja and has managed to do some decent damage. Needless to say that once life orb damage kicks in the jig is up, but usually it forces them to switch into a counter for shedinja giving a turn to set up or attack.
 
Phadunk said:
exactly. what's the point of having this Pokemon and it's great ability.. if in the pre-game, your opponent will see you have it in your party.. kind of ruins the surprise factor of the ability. this team preview thing is a bad idea imo
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Them knowing you have it can be a good thing. Do you know the kind of mind games you can do? Try tricking the opponent into thinking that your pokemon is actually a disguised Zoruark when it is not. See, the ability works both ways.

(Pardon me Tyranitar & Scrafty)
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*coughUmbreoncough*
 
As someone said in the Flat Battle thread, Zoroark thrives in that format. Even though you see him in Team Preview, in the Flat Battle format you aren't required to pick him in Singles and Doubles.
 
I have to say, Porygon2 is a fantastic counter to this guy/girl. Yeah yeah focus blast blah blah blah, it barely 2HKOS mine and i don't use any special defense evs! I find using pg2 in the lead spot works really well if the have Zoroark,but only if pg2 has trace because as we all (should) know,trace doesn't work on illusions.
 
Green Thunder said:
I have to say, Porygon2 is a fantastic counter to this guy/girl. Yeah yeah focus blast blah blah blah, it barely 2HKOS mine and i don't use any special defense evs! I find using pg2 in the lead spot works really well if the have Zoroark,but only if pg2 has trace because as we all (should) know,trace doesn't work on illusions.
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Download COULD work, but less reliably minus the boosting... and PG2 has more use for Trace.

I think Ninjask would be a rather effective counter. Protect/ Sub can scout, likely revealing the illusion. Ninjask has decent atk and X-Scissor if it taunts, but otherwise it resists a lot of Zoroark's movepool barring flamethrower, and it moves fast enough that the attack is rather meh with how Ninjasks usually work. Zoroark certainly has options, but every turn is more boosts that Ninjask can pass, Dance or Hone Claws (if Ninjask can learn that?) both have good chemistry with speed boosts...
 
the best counter for this is anything with u-turn. If it is a Zoroark, it will inevitably deal a crapton of damage and break the illusion. if not, you can switch to the appropriate counter.
 
So I just tested this on my Zoroark in a doubles battle versus the computer. Team was:

1. Zoroark
2. Celebi
3. Raikou
4. Cobalion

Celebi outsped Zoroark for this test. On my first turn, Zoroark and Celebi are sent out, Zoroark illusioned as Cobalion. I switch Zoroark and Celebi for Raikou and Cobalion, respectively. Here's the turn sequence:

1. Zoroark sent out illusioned as Cobalion
2. Celebi sent out.
3. Celebi switches out, Cobalion switches in.

At this point my opponent is staring at two Cobalions. However because one was already sent out, it should be plainly obvious that the other is a Zoroark.

I did some further testing on Singles with a team consisting of:

1. Zoroark lead
2. Cobalion

Turn order:

1. Zoroark is sent out illusioned as Cobalion.
2. Zoroark switches out, Cobalion switches in.
At this point, Zoroark is now at the back of the party, since the two Pokemon switched places.
3. Cobalion switches out, Zoroark switches in, not illusioned.

Which pretty much confirms what I suspected. If Zoroark switches places with the Pokemon in the last slot, it will switch in non-illusioned.
 
I find team preview is not a problem. As long as you have your team totally scrambled and zoroark as last (no hints on who you're going to pick) then your foe is forced to keep guessing when zoroark will come out.
 
Emperor said:
I find team preview is not a problem. As long as you have your team totally scrambled and zoroark as last (no hints on who you're going to pick) then your foe is forced to keep guessing when zoroark will come out.
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Alternately, if you don't have it last, then your opponent might expect it to be whatever is last, letting you play more mind games.
 
Is there a particular slot (like second) in your party that contains the Pokemon that Zoroak mimics, or does it do it at random?
 
UnicronEX said:
Is there a particular slot (like second) in your party that contains the Pokemon that Zoroak mimics, or does it do it at random?
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The very last team member in your party. If Zoroark happens to occupy that slot, then the illusion will fail.
 
Today I sent my Honchkrow in on Dusclops and ate a Focus Blast and then Sucker Punched it...for it to turn back into a Zoroark and Dark Pulse me =(

That's what I get for not paying attention to the team preview.
 
I find Illusion is really just icing on the cake. Opponents often fall for it but when they don't thats ok because he's still that powerful glass cannon. Unfortunately I find there are too many more powerful pokes to use in his place.
 
surely you can play different mind games with zoro and team preview too. like hide him as a suicine or osmething, switch him in against ferrothorn for your opponent to switch out thinking that you put in a disguised zoro, he switches out your suicine gets a free calm mind in. have people done that?
 
Lork said:
surely you can play different mind games with zoro and team preview too. like hide him as a suicine or osmething, switch him in against ferrothorn for your opponent to switch out thinking that you put in a disguised zoro, he switches out your suicine gets a free calm mind in. have people done that?
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You can tell right away that it's a real Suicune because the real Suicune has Pressure (the dreamworld version doesn't exist yet afaik). In fact certain disguises are outright useless because of this.

Of course, if you have a Moxie Gyarados, that would work.
 
-Victini- said:
Well Zoroark is strong and in my team right now, how do I use him/her to be really darn good without any choice items?
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I like my set, I strongly recommend it for Random Matchup or for Standard.

Zoroark @ Focus Sash
Timid
Illusion
252Spe/252SpA/4anything else
Nasty Plot
Flamethrower
Dark Pulse
Focus Blast

It's a pretty standard set, even though it lacks good power right off the bat, if you can disguise it as something like Latios or Chandelure, it can usually get a Nasty Plot up in Random Matchup.

It fools my opponent nearly every single time, the only bad thing is when I'm fighting Occa Berry Scizors and they use U-Turn :L This may no longer be a problem for me however, as I now carry Focus Sash as opposed to Fire Gem (I had no better item lol).
 
^ I second that post; I use the exact same set in most of my random matches, and it usually gets a good hit or KO in; I think a good (albiet gimmicky) disguise would be a shedinja, since neither of them have the same weaknesses, and assuming that their lead can't hit it for SE damage, you're guarunteed at least 1 NP.
 
Virizion said:
I like my set, I strongly recommend it for Random Matchup or for Standard.

Zoroark @ Focus Sash
Timid
Illusion
252Spe/252SpA/4anything else
Nasty Plot
Flamethrower
Dark Pulse
Focus Blast

It's a pretty standard set, even though it lacks good power right off the bat, if you can disguise it as something like Latios or Chandelure, it can usually get a Nasty Plot up in Random Matchup.

It fools my opponent nearly every single time, the only bad thing is when I'm fighting Occa Berry Scizors and they use U-Turn :L This may no longer be a problem for me however, as I now carry Focus Sash as opposed to Fire Gem (I had no better item lol).
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Thanks, I'll probably use this and and modify my zoroark depending how my team works around her.
 
a thing that i hated was that illusion only works for bluffing and, after all, a intelligent and versated trainer would know that it's a fake from the first attack...and another thing, he doesn't copy the second pokemon... it copies the LAST pokemon in your party...
 
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