[SET]
name: Boots Attacker
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Sludge Bomb
move 4: Will-O-Wisp
item: Heavy-Duty Boots
tera type: Poison / Ghost
ability: Bad Dreams
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Darkrai's combination of an excellent Speed tier, high Special Attack alongside a strong Dark-type STAB move and excellent coverage options, and access to Will-O-Wisp—an uncommon option for such an offensively oriented threat—allow it to function quite effectively as a potent special attacker throughout a game. Ice Beam complements Dark Pulse well with its excellent super effective coverage, greatly threatening the likes of Great Tusk, Gliscor, Landorus-T, and Dragonite while hitting Ting-Lu harder than Darkrai's other options. Sludge Bomb rounds out Darkrai's coverage by hitting Fairy-types like Primarina, Alolan Ninetales, Iron Valiant, and Tera Fairy Raging Bolt and Kingambit super effectively. Will-O-Wisp cripples physical attackers like most Kingambit variants, Zamazenta, and Ogerpon-W, making them reliable setup fodder for Darkrai's teammates and allowing Darkrai itself to punish overly aggressive attempted switches. It also has the added bonus of crippling Gliscor attempting to survive a Dark Pulse or Sludge Bomb and activate Poison Heal. Darkrai can situationally opt to drop Sludge Bomb or Ice Beam in favor of Knock Off; though the loss of coverage is extremely noticeable, particularly when dropping Ice Beam, Darkrai can remove items like Assault Vest from Alomomola, Leftovers from Garganacl, and Heavy-Duty Boots from a wide array of entry hazard-weak threats and support both itself and its teammates. Knock Off is particularly useful against bulkier teams or on hazard-stacking teams, as the chip damage from hazards can more than make up for Darkrai's reduced coverage. Tera Poison turns all of Darkrai's weaknesses into resistances, flipping otherwise poor matchups against Zamazenta, Iron Valiant, and Assault Vest Primarina in its favor. Tera Poison additionally allows Darkrai to absorb Toxic Spikes in a pinch and greatly boosts Sludge Bomb's damage output, allowing it to reliably 2HKO Assault Vest Primarina and always OHKO Enamorus while turning it into Darkrai's strongest neutral attacking option. Tera Ghost alternatively provides Darkrai with a coveted immunity to Dragonite's Extreme Speed, Skarmory's and Corviknight's Body Press, and Zamazenta's Fighting-type attacks while letting it spinblock against Great Tusk and Iron Treads in a pinch.
Darkrai fits well on offensive teams that appreciate its good Speed, great coverage, and ability to cripple physical attackers throughout a game. Landorus-T is a great teammate that greatly appreciates Darkrai's ability to eliminate Ground-types like Gliscor and opposing Landorus-T and reliably pivots Darkrai in with U-turn, sets up Stealth Rock to support Darkrai and its teammates, and handles attacks like Zamazenta's Body Press that Darkrai often finds itself targeted by. Hisuian Samurott and Ting-Lu are effective Spikes setters that pair well with Darkrai in spite of their shared Dark typings; Hisuian Samurott can further support Darkrai with Knock Off, Encore, and Flip Turn, while Ting-Lu can use Whirlwind to phaze faster threats like Iron Moth and Dragapult. Darkrai benefits immensely from the chip damage forced by hazards, as it becomes a terrific revenge killer and late-game cleaner once slower opponents are worn down into KO range. Zamazenta is a fantastic teammate that greatly appreciates Darkrai's ability to handle threats like Zapdos, Gholdengo, and Sinistcha that can prevent it from setting up an Iron Defense and sweeping. In return, Zamazenta handles Kingambit, which gives Darkrai trouble if it opts to run Lum Berry and/or Tera Fire to handle Will-O-Wisp. Gholdengo, too, is an excellent teammate; it reliably handles Tinkaton and most Zamazenta and Iron Valiant variants and can utilize the combination of Nasty Plot, Good as Gold, and its excellent typing to greatly threaten the defensive teams that Darkrai struggles against, while Darkrai can use its great Speed to pressure faster threats like Dragonite, Roaring Moon, Landorus-T, and Ogerpon-W that Gholdengo may struggle against. They can also collectively overwhelm Ting-Lu, with either Gholdengo or Darkrai weakening Ting-Lu enough for the other to break past it and put massive offensive pressure on the opponent's team. Other Ghost-types like Dragapult and Pecharunt can also check Zamazenta for Darkrai, and they can reliably pivot it in with U-turn and Parting Shot, respectively. Ogerpon-W is a great teammate that can punch holes in bulkier teams featuring specially bulky threats like Blissey, Ting-Lu, and Clodsire that can wall Darkrai, provides Knock Off support to further assist Darkrai against bulkier teams, and hits Tinkaton extremely hard with Ivy Cudgel, while Darkrai can handle Dragonite, Pecharunt, and Sinistcha that can give Ogerpon-W trouble. Other powerful wallbreakers, like Ogerpon-C, Choice Specs Kyurem, maximum Attack Booster Energy Great Tusk, and mixed Iron Valiant, can break down defensive cores and open up Darkrai to clean up late-game. Great Tusk can utilize an assortment of other sets to set up Stealth Rock and provide valuable Knock Off support to support Darkrai's ability to outspeed and 2HKO much of the offensive metagame, and it reliably handles Kingambit so that Darkrai doesn't need to rely on Will-O-Wisp against it. Tinkaton is another excellent teammate that, like Great Tusk, provides Stealth Rock and Knock Off support, but it can also provide Encore support or paralyze faster threats like Iron Valiant and Dragapult so that Darkrai can outspeed and eliminate them. Moltres can reliably answer physical attackers like Kingambit and Zamazenta, taking pressure off Darkrai to land a Will-O-Wisp against them, and can also pivot Darkrai in safely with U-turn. Lastly, powerful priority attackers like Raging Bolt, Dragonite, and Kingambit make for strong teammates that can answer foes that outspeed and threaten Darkrai, such as +1 Tera Flying Roaring Moon, +1 Iron Valiant, and Dragapult. In return, Darkrai can utilize its great Speed to put immediate pressure on threats like Landorus-T, Air Balloon Gholdengo, Zapdos, and Moltres.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/dreadfury.408271/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/veti.612907/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/zastra.558636/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-blue-banana.649096/
name: Boots Attacker
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Sludge Bomb
move 4: Will-O-Wisp
item: Heavy-Duty Boots
tera type: Poison / Ghost
ability: Bad Dreams
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Darkrai's combination of an excellent Speed tier, high Special Attack alongside a strong Dark-type STAB move and excellent coverage options, and access to Will-O-Wisp—an uncommon option for such an offensively oriented threat—allow it to function quite effectively as a potent special attacker throughout a game. Ice Beam complements Dark Pulse well with its excellent super effective coverage, greatly threatening the likes of Great Tusk, Gliscor, Landorus-T, and Dragonite while hitting Ting-Lu harder than Darkrai's other options. Sludge Bomb rounds out Darkrai's coverage by hitting Fairy-types like Primarina, Alolan Ninetales, Iron Valiant, and Tera Fairy Raging Bolt and Kingambit super effectively. Will-O-Wisp cripples physical attackers like most Kingambit variants, Zamazenta, and Ogerpon-W, making them reliable setup fodder for Darkrai's teammates and allowing Darkrai itself to punish overly aggressive attempted switches. It also has the added bonus of crippling Gliscor attempting to survive a Dark Pulse or Sludge Bomb and activate Poison Heal. Darkrai can situationally opt to drop Sludge Bomb or Ice Beam in favor of Knock Off; though the loss of coverage is extremely noticeable, particularly when dropping Ice Beam, Darkrai can remove items like Assault Vest from Alomomola, Leftovers from Garganacl, and Heavy-Duty Boots from a wide array of entry hazard-weak threats and support both itself and its teammates. Knock Off is particularly useful against bulkier teams or on hazard-stacking teams, as the chip damage from hazards can more than make up for Darkrai's reduced coverage. Tera Poison turns all of Darkrai's weaknesses into resistances, flipping otherwise poor matchups against Zamazenta, Iron Valiant, and Assault Vest Primarina in its favor. Tera Poison additionally allows Darkrai to absorb Toxic Spikes in a pinch and greatly boosts Sludge Bomb's damage output, allowing it to reliably 2HKO Assault Vest Primarina and always OHKO Enamorus while turning it into Darkrai's strongest neutral attacking option. Tera Ghost alternatively provides Darkrai with a coveted immunity to Dragonite's Extreme Speed, Skarmory's and Corviknight's Body Press, and Zamazenta's Fighting-type attacks while letting it spinblock against Great Tusk and Iron Treads in a pinch.
Darkrai fits well on offensive teams that appreciate its good Speed, great coverage, and ability to cripple physical attackers throughout a game. Landorus-T is a great teammate that greatly appreciates Darkrai's ability to eliminate Ground-types like Gliscor and opposing Landorus-T and reliably pivots Darkrai in with U-turn, sets up Stealth Rock to support Darkrai and its teammates, and handles attacks like Zamazenta's Body Press that Darkrai often finds itself targeted by. Hisuian Samurott and Ting-Lu are effective Spikes setters that pair well with Darkrai in spite of their shared Dark typings; Hisuian Samurott can further support Darkrai with Knock Off, Encore, and Flip Turn, while Ting-Lu can use Whirlwind to phaze faster threats like Iron Moth and Dragapult. Darkrai benefits immensely from the chip damage forced by hazards, as it becomes a terrific revenge killer and late-game cleaner once slower opponents are worn down into KO range. Zamazenta is a fantastic teammate that greatly appreciates Darkrai's ability to handle threats like Zapdos, Gholdengo, and Sinistcha that can prevent it from setting up an Iron Defense and sweeping. In return, Zamazenta handles Kingambit, which gives Darkrai trouble if it opts to run Lum Berry and/or Tera Fire to handle Will-O-Wisp. Gholdengo, too, is an excellent teammate; it reliably handles Tinkaton and most Zamazenta and Iron Valiant variants and can utilize the combination of Nasty Plot, Good as Gold, and its excellent typing to greatly threaten the defensive teams that Darkrai struggles against, while Darkrai can use its great Speed to pressure faster threats like Dragonite, Roaring Moon, Landorus-T, and Ogerpon-W that Gholdengo may struggle against. They can also collectively overwhelm Ting-Lu, with either Gholdengo or Darkrai weakening Ting-Lu enough for the other to break past it and put massive offensive pressure on the opponent's team. Other Ghost-types like Dragapult and Pecharunt can also check Zamazenta for Darkrai, and they can reliably pivot it in with U-turn and Parting Shot, respectively. Ogerpon-W is a great teammate that can punch holes in bulkier teams featuring specially bulky threats like Blissey, Ting-Lu, and Clodsire that can wall Darkrai, provides Knock Off support to further assist Darkrai against bulkier teams, and hits Tinkaton extremely hard with Ivy Cudgel, while Darkrai can handle Dragonite, Pecharunt, and Sinistcha that can give Ogerpon-W trouble. Other powerful wallbreakers, like Ogerpon-C, Choice Specs Kyurem, maximum Attack Booster Energy Great Tusk, and mixed Iron Valiant, can break down defensive cores and open up Darkrai to clean up late-game. Great Tusk can utilize an assortment of other sets to set up Stealth Rock and provide valuable Knock Off support to support Darkrai's ability to outspeed and 2HKO much of the offensive metagame, and it reliably handles Kingambit so that Darkrai doesn't need to rely on Will-O-Wisp against it. Tinkaton is another excellent teammate that, like Great Tusk, provides Stealth Rock and Knock Off support, but it can also provide Encore support or paralyze faster threats like Iron Valiant and Dragapult so that Darkrai can outspeed and eliminate them. Moltres can reliably answer physical attackers like Kingambit and Zamazenta, taking pressure off Darkrai to land a Will-O-Wisp against them, and can also pivot Darkrai in safely with U-turn. Lastly, powerful priority attackers like Raging Bolt, Dragonite, and Kingambit make for strong teammates that can answer foes that outspeed and threaten Darkrai, such as +1 Tera Flying Roaring Moon, +1 Iron Valiant, and Dragapult. In return, Darkrai can utilize its great Speed to put immediate pressure on threats like Landorus-T, Air Balloon Gholdengo, Zapdos, and Moltres.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/dreadfury.408271/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/veti.612907/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/zastra.558636/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-blue-banana.649096/
Last edited:
