Banner and Text by Moosical (aka torkool)
Hey all, this is GoldenTorkoal with another RMT. This team i'm going to feature in this post surges from the idea of building with a Pokemon that had some presence in ORAS metagame but fall into oblivion this generation: Crawdaunt. Now that the metagame is settled i find the niche of building with not high-ranked Pokemon a suitable way to improve my building skills. Dark has always been a type i wanted to work with and the concept of HO Dark that Wanka introduced in the sample teams thread, inspired me to build something along those lines. Since my early days as a monotype player, building Poison teams with Mega Beedrill in ORAS, i've always tried to improve as a player (both playing and building) and the RMTs show the work and effort i put into Monotype. Without further ado i'd like to present you Asshai!
"The dark city by the Shadow is a city steeped in sorcery. Warlocks, wizards, alchemists, moonsingers, red priests, black alchemists, necromancers, aeromancers, pyromancers, bloodmages, torturers, inquisitors, poisoners, godswives, night-walkers, shapechangers, worshippers of the Black Goat and the Pale Child and the Lion of Night, all find welcome in Asshai-by-the-Shadow, where nothing is forbidden. Here they are free to practice their spells without restraint or censure, conduct their obscene rites, and fornicate with demons if that is their desire"
Crawdaunt is one of my favourite Pokemon because of its design and the competitive fact that nothing appreciates switching in its Knock Off. Crawdaunt acts as the wallbreaker of the team, threatening other teams with its STAB combination only resisted by a few (Tapu Bulu, Azumarill, Hydreigon, Mega Altaria, Mega Sharpedo, Kommo-o, Breloom, Keldeo). I opted for a Choice Band set originally but decided to go with a Sword Dance set after testing, as Crawdaunt appreciates the flexibility to switch moves.
Looking the team to be orientated to Hyper Offense the next member was obvious: Krookodile. Krookodile serves as a dedicated lead capable of setting Stealth Rock and taunting to prevent the opponent from setting hazards up. Nothing much to say about Krook; you'll always find it in every HO Dark team and i wish it had a higher base Speed.
Dark has 3 offensive megas: Mega Tyranitar, Mega Sharpedo and Mega Houndoom. Mega Houndoom provides Fire, Dark and Poison coverage, but that can be shouldered by other teammates as we'll see later, and Mega Sharpedo wasn´t either the choice because having another Dark-Water type is redundant with the presence of Crawdaunt. Taking all those reasons into account, Dragon Dance Mega Tyranitar was my choice for the third slot.
Hydreigon came up to my mind after i noticed Crawdaunt, Krookodile and Mega Tyranitar were physical Pokemon. The team clearly needed some kind of pressure in the special side to help against physical walls, and Hydreigon fills that role with success. In the first version of this team i used Choice Specs, but i ended changing it for Expert Belt, which completely murders Steel teams.
Speed control was something the team needed and in case of Dark teams, Greninja is usually the best bet for that. It's one of the best offensive Pokemon that Dark teams has access to thanks to its amazing ability and diverge coverage options like Gunk Shot or Extrasensory. There isn't really much to explain about this frog, anybody knows what's capable of.
Bisharp was added at the last slot, a great physical attacker with access to Sword Dance and Sucker Punch, as well as Defiant to boost its Attack if the opponent decides to get rid of Stealth Rock. Its secondary Steel typing means a valuable neutrality to Fairy, while Iron Head lets it threaten those Fairy-types. Darkinium-Z is a surprise for some players which expect something like Life Orb or Focus Sash, as well as giving the chance to get rid of Toxapex.
Crawdaunt @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Crawdaunt is a rare option for Dark teams, as it has not the best Speed and bulk, but it still performs a decent role mainly against balance teams like Normal, Flying and Steel. Crawdaunt can also threaten more offensive teams if it finds the turn to set up a Sword Dance, which combined with the priority that Aqua Jet represents, help it to clean types like Bug, Fire, Ground (you'll need to weaken Garchomp before) or Rock. Adaptability-boosted attacks combined with 120 base Attack is all you need to justify the presence of Crawdaunt in this team. 252 Speed EVs and a Jolly nature are needed to outspeed Pokemon that are usually made to outspeed Azumarill and immune to Water: Cradily, Mantine and Seismitoad. The moveset is self-explanatory: Knock Off is Dark STAB to hit opposing foes like Toxapex, Ferrothorn, Cradily, Porygon2 or Chansey, Crabhammer is the strongest Water STAB it can learn and allows it to hit Pokemon like Mega Scizor, Aqua Jet is priority to threaten offensive teams and Sword Dance allows it to boost its Attack. Life Orb is the preferred item to have that extra power needed to get KOs.
Krookodile @ Focus Sash
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Krookodile is the face of every Hyper Offense Dark team, and this is not the exception. With a decent Speed and access to utility moves like Taunt and Stealth Rock, Krookodile accomplishes the role of suicide lead with success for Dark teams. There isn't much to explain about Krook, its role is very clear: Stealth Rock support allows to wear down the opposing team to the range its teammates are able to KO them, especially against Bug, Fire and Flying, and Taunt prevents opposing rockers such as Skarmory, Alolan Golem, Armaldo or Swampert to do its job. Knock Off and Earthquake are the STAB moves that avoid Krookodile being a passive lead, being an added value in battles against Electric, Fire or Steel.
Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Let me just begin saying Mega Tyranitar is just so good. The amount of work it can put with its impressive bulk (with the help of Sand Stream) and great Attack is unvaluable for this team. Mega Tyranitar can threaten itself types like Dark, Electric, Fire, Flying, Ice, Poison, Psychic and even Bug, since it acts as a wincon with Dragon Dance boosts. What differentiates Mega Tyranitar from other set up sweepers is its bulk (100 / 150 / 120), which allows to set up one or two Dragon Dance with ease in most cases. A Jolly nature is chosen to outspeed 130 base Speed Pokemon like Tapu Koko at +1. Stone Edge is Rock STAB that hits very hard after a Dragon Dance even if resisted by the opposing foe, Earthquake coverage is very helpful to nail Toxapex, Heatran or Stakataka for super effective damage and Fire Punch stops Ferrothorn from walling you and Mega Scizor from setting up in your face, while hitting problematic Pokemon like Tapu Bulu.
Hydreigon @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
This Steel-killer set is the reason why i love Hydreigon. Almost every Steel player i've faced believed it was the typical Choice Scarf or Choice Specs set, something that allowed me to blow Heatran away thinking Hydreigon was locked into Dark Pulse or Fire Blast and deleting the threat that Mega Scizor is when trying to set up a Sword Dance in front of me. Draco Meteor is a powerful and spammable move in matchups that are not Fairy or Steel and Dark Pulse is the other STAB move of choice to nail for neutral damage almost everything and super effective damage Ghost and Psychic-types. Fire Blast coverage is mainly to hit Steel-types such as Celesteela and Skarmory, as i've stated above. Earth Power breaks Steel-types along with Fire Blast, most notably nailing Heatran. This set is also useful against Stakataka, a great tool against offensive teams, OHKOing it with Earth Power in case your opponent isn't aware of not being choice locked.
Greninja @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
Greninja is the glue of this team. With its great speed tier while holding a Choice Scarf, it acts as one of the best forms of speed control in the metagame. Greninja is a reliable revenge killer due to its access to a wide range of coverage moves as well as one of the best abilities in the game: Protean. Gunk Shot coverage has an enormous value for this team, threatening Fairy-types like Tapu Bulu, Tapu Koko or Azumarill (once you've get rid of Klefki, Greninja has a field day). Ice Beam is a tool to pressure Flying and Dragon teams, as Greninja outspeeds every member of those teams (once Mantine and Dragonite are gone, Greninja murders both types). Hydro Pump lets Greninja revenge kill threats like Terrakion, Excadrill and Infernape, easing the matchup against Fire, Ground and Rock. Extrasensory was the last move added, chosen over U-Turn to have something to reliably revenge kill Heracross, Mega Lopunny and Keldeo. I know Fighting is irrelevant this gen but Bug, Normal and Water are not, so you need Extrasensory to have a chance against teams including those Pokemon.
Bisharp @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
Bisharp is the last but not the least important member of the team. Like Crawdaunt, Bisharp is a Sword Dance sweeper with access to priority (even more powerful than Aqua Jet). Darkinium Z is a one-time use nuke that blows away walls like Toxapex, Swampert or Celesteela after Knock Off, when they don't expect the Z move. This moveset is the one i like the most for Bisharp, over Focus Sash, Rock Polish or Stealth Rock, and helps Bisharp accomplish what i want for the team. Sword Dance boost its Attack along with Defiant if the opponent opts to Defog rocks, Knock Off and Iron Head are the STAB moves of choice, with Iron Head being very useful when we are featuring a Dark team for obvious reasons. Finally, Sucker Punch provides the always useful against faster Pokemon priority, an amazing tool for Pokemon like Victini, Mega Gallade or Alolan Raichu.
I've put a lot of work in this team, which has been rewarded by the huge amount of fun i've had with it while laddering in Monotype. Crawdaunt might not be the best choice when it comes to building a Dark team, but it has a niche that can be exploited if played correctly. Thanks to this team Dark has become one of my favourite types to use. Thanks for reading!
Bug is one of the most difficult matchups to play with this team. Choice Scarf Heracross or Buzzwole outspeed the entire team with Sticky Web support, which cannot be avoided because Galvantula is faster than Krookodile. Mega Heracross is another threat, but it's not very common and can be handled better even under Sticky Web thanks to Hydreigon's Levitate and Choice Scarf Greninja. Mega Scizor can use Sword Dance and start cleaning the team if its weakened enough; you'll need to preserve Hydreigon's HP, surprise your opponent with Fire Punch Mega Tyranitar or Crawdaunt/Bisharp being faster than Mega Scizor.
Mega Sableye can be sometimes difficult to break if you don't find the room to set up a Sword Dance with either Crawdaunt or Bisharp. Choice Specs Hydreigon can pressure it if you opt for that item, although the opponent will always have Alolan Muk to pivot.
With the boost it received in the form of a new Z crystal, Kommo-o has become one of the biggest threats to Dark teams. This team can deal with it wearing it down with sand, Aqua Jet and Sucker Punch, to bring it to the range where Choice Scarf Greninja can revenge kill it. If Kommo-o is running Drain Punch just click x. Mega Altaria is another huge threat with the possibility to set up several Dragon Dance thanks to its good bulk, the plan against it is similar to the one against Kommo-o: putting it in range of Ice Beam.
Choice Specs Tapu Koko can put a lot of work against this team with the combination of Dazzling Gleam and Thunderbolt, while Alolan Raichu outspeeds the entire team under Electric Terrain and has access to Focus Blast. Mega Tyranitar is your best way to handle Tapu Koko and Crawdaunt and Bisharp to do it with Alolan Raichu.
Fairy is another difficult matchup for this team. Azumarill can find the gap to use Belly Drum and sweep late game, Mega Diancie gets a kill every time it switches in and Choice Scarf Tapu bulu with Superpower is a nightmare. All this supported by screens from Klefki. Klefki needs to be gone to clean with Gunk Shot from Greninja.
Terrakion and Keldeo both get a kill every time they come in with Close Combat and Secret Sword respectively. Aqua Jet Crawdaunt and Hydro Pump Greninja are the ways to deal with Terrakion and Extrasensory Greninja the hope against Keldeo.
Infernape can run 2 items in Fire teams: Choice Scarf, which can be handled with Greninja and Crawdaunt, and Choice Band, which is more threatening because of Mach Punch and can only be handled if you preserve Mega Tyranitar and Hydreigon almost at full HP or force it to lock into Close Combat.
Mega Charizard Y is faster than every member of this team except from Greninja, which can't OHKO it from full because of Drought. Stealth Rock is crucial against this megaevolution as well as Aqua Jet Crawdaunt and Sucker Punch Bisharp. Mega Tyranitar is OHKOed by Focus Blast.
Breloom is very hard to deal with because of the combination of Spore, Sword Dance, Mach Punch and Focus Sash. First of, you need to break its Focus Sash and then you need to avoid it to use Sword Dance or it will sweep the entire team. Hydreigon at high HP is the best way to kill it.
Mega Lopunny can destroy this team if played correctly with its strong STAB High Jump Kick. Extrasensory Greninja is your best bet to revenge kill it, as well as wearing it down to Aqua Jet range. Ditto is very annoying because it prevents you from setting up with Mega Tyranitar, Crawdaunt and Bisharp.
With Beast Boost and STAB Megahorn, Scolipede must be taken into account despite not being very common. This team can deal with it thanks to Sucker Punch Bisharp and Aqua Jet Crawdaunt.
Psychic might not have the type advantage against Dark, but it has the tools to beat it. Sword Dance Mega Gallade puts a ridiculous amount of work against this team, double dance Mew can sweep with Focus Blast and Alakazam prevents set up from Mega Tyranitar and Bisharp.
As i've posted in the Bug section, Mega Scizor can use Sword Dance+Bullet Punch to punch holes in this team.
Water teams can have very problematic Pokemon such as Keldeo (STAB Secret Sword) or Mega Gyarados (good bulk and Dragon Dance). Rain teams are also a big challenge for the team.
Crawdaunt @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Crabhammer
- Aqua Jet
- Swords Dance
Krookodile @ Focus Sash
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
Hydreigon @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
Greninja @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Ice Beam
- Extrasensory
- Hydro Pump
Bisharp @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Crabhammer
- Aqua Jet
- Swords Dance
Krookodile @ Focus Sash
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
Hydreigon @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
Greninja @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Ice Beam
- Extrasensory
- Hydro Pump
Bisharp @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
Moosical for making the banner and text as cool as always. One of the nicest guys in monotype
Wanka for inspiring me to build this team, giving me advice and using the team in tourney scene. Thanks man!
stat1c you there?
Eien Vid Haaku. for helping me with the questions i had about teambuilding
ArkenCiel for offering me help with seasonals
@darkshowl (don't think you have an account) for telling me "this 'team' won't even make 1600's". I think you should stop predicting
Wanka for inspiring me to build this team, giving me advice and using the team in tourney scene. Thanks man!
stat1c you there?
Eien Vid Haaku. for helping me with the questions i had about teambuilding
ArkenCiel for offering me help with seasonals
@darkshowl (don't think you have an account) for telling me "this 'team' won't even make 1600's". I think you should stop predicting
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