Darmanitan
-Credits also goes to Santuga for making the skeleton for this analysis and getting it through QC, before he resigned from it.
[Overview]
<p>Darmanitan is a Pokemon that's all about raw power. With an outstanding 140 base Attack stat and access to Sheer Force, Darmanitan can punch huge holes in everything that doesn't resist its Flare Blitz. Though Darmanitan hits like a truck, its middling base 95 Speed leaves it outsped by many threats, even in UU. It is also weak to the common Ground-, Water-, and Rock-type moves in the tier, which includes Stealth Rock. However, Darmanitan also has pretty nice bulk thanks to its great HP stat, letting it survive some weaker moves and then retaliate, and Choice Scarf patches up Darmanitan's Speed stat, making it a fast, hard-hitting monster.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Flare Blitz
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Superpower / Fire Punch
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Sheer Force
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Darmanitan makes an excellent candidate for a Choice Scarf user due to its huge Attack and middling Speed stat. There are not many Pokemon that can live through a Sheer Force-boosted Flare Blitz from Darmanitan, meaning Flare Blitz is easily spammable. Earthquake compliments Flare Blitz well, hitting the Rock- and Fire-type Pokemon that resist Fire-type moves for super effective damage. U-turn is an useful move on a Choice Scarf user in general, and it gives Darmanitan an option for scouting and gaining momentum. U-turn is also the best move Darmanitan has against Slowbro. Superpower hits Normal-types such as Chansey, Snorlax, and Porygon2 slightly harder than Flare Blitz, but Fire Punch is still a viable option to clean up late-game.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Rock Slide is boosted by Sheer Force and can be used to hit Moltres and Charizard harder than any of Darmanitan's other moves. Rapid Spin support is a must, as Darmanitan has a Stealth Rock weakness, is vulnerable to both kinds of Spikes, and switches around a lot. Donphan and Hitmontop are both great choices, as they resist Rock-type moves. Entry hazards can also help to score some KOs and limit switching. Roserade is an excellent choice, as it can take care of common Water-types that may get in Darmanitan's way, such as Slowbro and Suicune, besides setting up Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Donphan can also set up Stealth Rock besides removing entry hazards with Rapid Spin, making it a particularly good teammate. Other Grass-type Pokemon such as Shaymin can also help in taking care of Water-types. Sunny Day support can be helpful as well, as a sun-boosted Flare Blitz literally 2HKOes the entire tier, with the exception of Flash Fire users, which Darmanitan can easily get rid of with Earthquake.</p>
[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Flare Blitz
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Superpower / Fire Punch
item: Life Orb / Choice Band
ability: Sheer Force
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Though Choice Scarf patches up Darmanitan's Speed stat, Life Orb and Choice Band will let it destroy everything that doesn't outright resist its moves. Earthquake as mentioned lets Darmanitan hit Rock- and Fire-type Pokemon for super effective damage. U-turn is a good way to get out of tricky situations; it is also Darmanitan's best move against Slowbro. Superpower does more damage to Normal-types such as Snorlax, but Fire Punch is a reliable secondary STAB move that can be used to avoid excess recoil damage.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The choice of item depends on whether you want the freedom to switch moves or more raw power. Both Life Orb and Choice Band have their benefits and downsides; the former gives Darmanitan the freedom to switch moves, and Sheer Force cancels out recoil when moves with a secondary effect are used, while Choice Band can be used for all-out power. Rock Slide is an option to hit Moltres and Charizard harder, which resist or are immune to Darmanitan's other moves. Rapid Spin support is necessary, as with Choice Band, Darmanitan will be switching around a lot. Again, Donphan and Hitmontop are the best choices for this role, as they resist Rock-type moves. Grass- and Electric-type Pokemon help in dealing with Water-type Pokemon such as Slowbro and Suicune, which may get in Darmanitan's way. Good choices are Shaymin, Lilligant, Zapdos, and Raikou. Sunny Day support is a plus; a sun-boosted Flare Blitz is able to 2HKO the entire tier, bar Flash Fire Pokemon.</p>
[SET]
name: SubPunch
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Focus Punch
move 3: Fire Punch
move 4: Encore
item: Leftovers
ability: Sheer Force
nature: Jolly
evs: 212 HP / 120 Atk / 176 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With its great HP stat, Darmanitan makes a great user of Substitute and Focus Punch, being able to make 101 HP Substitutes. One should not forget about the massive power behind a Focus Punch coming from Darmanitan's huge Attack stat; it OHKOes walls such as Chansey and Porygon2. Fire Punch is a great STAB move with no drawbacks, while at the same time receiving a Sheer Force boost. With its bulk, Darmanitan can make great use of Encore, which helps it set up on walls safely by locking them into an ineffective move, such as Will-O-Wisp from Dusclops.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Rock Slide and Earthquake can be used over Encore in the last slot to hit certain Pokemon Darmanitan wouldn't be able to hit very hard otherwise. Rock Slide hits Chandelure, Moltres, and Charizard, while Earthquake hits Chandelure slightly harder, as well as Pokemon such as Nidoking harder than Fire Punch. The listed EVs allow Darmanitan to outspeed positive natured Nidoking and Heracross, and also gives it the ability to create 101 HP Subsitutes.</p>
<p>Chandelure will completely wall Darmanitan running Encore, as Chandelure is immune to both Fire Punch and Focus Punch. A teammate that can take care of Chandelure is thus a wise choice, and Houndoom fits the bill perfectly; it resists Ghost-type attacks, packs a Fire-type immunity thanks to Flash Fire, and takes Chandelure down easily with its STAB Dark-type attacks. Even though Darmanitan can hit Water-types with Focus Punch, it still needs to be careful, especially against bulky ones, such as Slowbro, Qwilfish, and Suicune; Slowbro and Qwilfish even resist Focus Punch. Grass- and Electric-type Pokemon, such as Roserade, Shaymin, Jolteon, and Zapdos, can help Darmanitan in taking care of them. Rapid Spin support is also appreciated, as it's a good idea to keep entry hazards away when switching in Darmanitan, just to keep it at full health and free from an unwanted status. Also, entry hazards can help Darmanitan in taking care of Pokemon such as Slowbro.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>There's not much else Darmanitan can do well, but there are quite a few other options. Yawn could be useful to either put an opponent to sleep or force a switch, but it should really be left to bulkier support Pokemon. Will-O-Wisp could also be a quite useful support move, crippling the opponent's Pokemon. Though these two moves might not be a good choice on the more offensive sets, they can come in handy on the SubPunch set. Yawn can make it easier for Darmanitan to set up, and Will-O-Wisp does make it more physically bulky. Belly Drum is a really risky move to use, but it can really pay off. However, it needs a huge amount of prediction to use successfully, so it really isn't recommended. Although very gimmicky, Zen Mode can be used with Darmanitan's relatively wide special movepool; it gets access to powerful STAB Fire Blast and Psychic, but you probably have better things to do than fooling around with Darmanitan-Z.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Slowbro is the number one counter to Darmanitan; Slowbro resists Darmanitan's Fire-type moves, as well as its Fighting-type moves Superpower and Focus Punch, and takes little damage from Earthquake. Slowbro also only takes only about 50% damage from a Choice Band Adamant U-turn, and has access to both Slack Off and Regenerator to heal off the damage. Suicune and Alomomola are two other defensive Water-types that can take hits from Darmanitan with relative ease. However, they both lack a reliable recovery move, which means that they can get worn down pretty fast. Rhyperior and Carracosta also resist Darmanitan's Fire-type moves, and can take a hit from Superpower and or Earthquake thanks to Solid Rock and their huge Defense stats. In Solid Rock Rhyperior's case; Darmanitan is not a problem, as Rhyperior can dispose of it with a STAB move. Due to Darmanitan's massive power, it's also a good idea to send in a Pokemon to finish it off when a Pokemon of your own has fainted. Azumarill and Feraligatr can take it down with a super effective Aqua Jet, and Choice Scarf Flygon can outspeed Darmanitan and easily KO it with Earthquake.</p>
