Rather surprised this wasn't directly given a set in the analysis page; instead Substitute gets a slash alongside Focus Blast ...
[SET]
name: Substitute
move 1: Dark Void
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Dark Pulse
move 4: Focus Blast
nature: Timid
item: Leftovers
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Why this set deserves to be on site:
Darkrai has chronic problems with revenge killers, and going without Substitute means it will be vulnerable. It's easy for something like this to happen: you Dark Void something and NP on the switch for the opponent to bring in Scarf Kyogre (or similar) who OHKOes you. Too bad. With Substitute however you now have a lot more flexibility. You can Sub on slower Pokemon predicting a switch, especially effective since most people go directly to their SleepTalkers when faced with Darkrai, if they have one. You can also Sub after you use Dark Void. If the opponent stays in and eventually wakes up, you can simply sleep again as they break your Sub. Or, if they switch out, you'll have a Substitute up against whoever comes in and react accordingly.
The obvious loss with using Substitute is Nasty Plot, and without it Darkrai's sweeping power is considerably worse, but even so. Darkrai's attacks aren't light. They're backed with 135 SpA. Especially with Bad Dreams backup (if you still have it) you can take down anything without a recovery move. If you do face something with a recovery move and don't have Bad Dreams support anymore, you can still attack with Dark Pulse and it will probably have to recover, allowing you to switch in something else unscathed.
Notably, keeping Focus Blast on this set allows you to beat Dialga and Ferrothorn, two very common Pokemon in Ubers. Of note also is that SleepTalk Heracross and Kyogre aren't perfect counters to Darkrai anymore. If you bring in Heracross as Darkrai uses Sub, then you still have to predict between Sleep Talk and attacking with Megahorn, same with Kyogre. If Darkrai uses Dark Void, Heracross and Kyogre can't Rest, and they take damage from Bad Dreams + unboosted Dark Void. Can be quite severe if they predict wrong (i.e. attempt to use Surf when Darkrai uses Dark Void, and then tries for Sleep Talk when they wake up). Without Substitute, any attack that connects will likely KO Darkrai, but with Substitute you can keep a safety net up.
Additional Comments
Nothing special, just a different take on a standard Darkrai set that however plays quite differently. I think the difference is enough that, if this set is to be merged with Darkrai's NP set, significant amounts of that set should be rewritten.
Checks and Counters
- Manaphy in rain
- the pink blobs especially if you've used sleep; if you haven't used sleep yet you can hope for some hax to kill them
- Ho-oh if you don't have SR up + have used sleep
- fast revenge killers (Scarf Kyogre, Scarf Palkia, etc) that survive a hit can force you out, as long as you have used Dark Void
- like NP Darkrai, you can persuade Darkrai to use sleep and then bring in a counter. This Darkrai can Substitute to scout, however, and it's not going to be easy outspeeding its base 125 speed, so ...
[SET]
name: Substitute
move 1: Dark Void
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Dark Pulse
move 4: Focus Blast
nature: Timid
item: Leftovers
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Why this set deserves to be on site:
Darkrai has chronic problems with revenge killers, and going without Substitute means it will be vulnerable. It's easy for something like this to happen: you Dark Void something and NP on the switch for the opponent to bring in Scarf Kyogre (or similar) who OHKOes you. Too bad. With Substitute however you now have a lot more flexibility. You can Sub on slower Pokemon predicting a switch, especially effective since most people go directly to their SleepTalkers when faced with Darkrai, if they have one. You can also Sub after you use Dark Void. If the opponent stays in and eventually wakes up, you can simply sleep again as they break your Sub. Or, if they switch out, you'll have a Substitute up against whoever comes in and react accordingly.
The obvious loss with using Substitute is Nasty Plot, and without it Darkrai's sweeping power is considerably worse, but even so. Darkrai's attacks aren't light. They're backed with 135 SpA. Especially with Bad Dreams backup (if you still have it) you can take down anything without a recovery move. If you do face something with a recovery move and don't have Bad Dreams support anymore, you can still attack with Dark Pulse and it will probably have to recover, allowing you to switch in something else unscathed.
Notably, keeping Focus Blast on this set allows you to beat Dialga and Ferrothorn, two very common Pokemon in Ubers. Of note also is that SleepTalk Heracross and Kyogre aren't perfect counters to Darkrai anymore. If you bring in Heracross as Darkrai uses Sub, then you still have to predict between Sleep Talk and attacking with Megahorn, same with Kyogre. If Darkrai uses Dark Void, Heracross and Kyogre can't Rest, and they take damage from Bad Dreams + unboosted Dark Void. Can be quite severe if they predict wrong (i.e. attempt to use Surf when Darkrai uses Dark Void, and then tries for Sleep Talk when they wake up). Without Substitute, any attack that connects will likely KO Darkrai, but with Substitute you can keep a safety net up.
Additional Comments
Nothing special, just a different take on a standard Darkrai set that however plays quite differently. I think the difference is enough that, if this set is to be merged with Darkrai's NP set, significant amounts of that set should be rewritten.
Checks and Counters
- Manaphy in rain
- the pink blobs especially if you've used sleep; if you haven't used sleep yet you can hope for some hax to kill them
- Ho-oh if you don't have SR up + have used sleep
- fast revenge killers (Scarf Kyogre, Scarf Palkia, etc) that survive a hit can force you out, as long as you have used Dark Void
- like NP Darkrai, you can persuade Darkrai to use sleep and then bring in a counter. This Darkrai can Substitute to scout, however, and it's not going to be easy outspeeding its base 125 speed, so ...
