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Zoroark

I'm not sure why no-one has said what I'm thinking is a most obvious use for Zororak, but the Illusion ability, if accmpanied with some previous scouting to your opponent's reaction, will make this guy a beast of a Pursuit killer.

Here is a typical situation I have in mind. Your opponent has Starmie out, and you want to wall it with blissy. If you were careful in making your team and thinking about forcing switches, you would put blissy second in your party so that you can switch in Zoroark in for a revenge kill. You oppenent will see the blissy and do one of two things: switch; or use that new psychic move which name I have forgotten. Zoro is immune to it regardless and will OHKO Starmie. Here is a quick set off the top of my head:


Illusive Scout

Zoroark @ Life Orb
Jolly/Adamant
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
-Pursuit
-U-Turn
-Ankle Sweep/Night Slash
-Substitute

Pursuit for Revenge Killing. U-Turn for getting the hell out (if you are faster). Ankle Sweep to hopefully nerf the speed of some speedy monster, like that mole thing (helps if u can get a sub up and use illusion to bait it into thinking its a safe switch). Night Slash for brute force, and Substitute to maybe keep you alive.


Hope my set gives some people some ideas. Oh and yay for breaking my shell and posting my first post.
 
Twigvest said:
I'm not sure why no-one has said what I'm thinking is a most obvious use for Zororak, but the Illusion ability, if accmpanied with some previous scouting to your opponent's reaction, will make this guy a beast of a Pursuit killer.

Here is a typical situation I have in mind. Your opponent has Starmie out, and you want to wall it with blissy. If you were careful in making your team and thinking about forcing switches, you would put blissy second in your party so that you can switch in Zoroark in for a revenge kill. You oppenent will see the blissy and do one of two things: switch; or use that new psychic move which name I have forgotten. Zoro is immune to it regardless and will OHKO Starmie. Here is a quick set off the top of my head:


Illusive Scout

Zoroark @ Life Orb
Jolly/Adamant
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
-Pursuit
-U-Turn
-Ankle Sweep/Night Slash
-Substitute

Pursuit for Revenge Killing. U-Turn for getting the hell out (if you are faster). Ankle Sweep to hopefully nerf the speed of some speedy monster, like that mole thing (helps if u can get a sub up and use illusion to bait it into thinking its a safe switch). Night Slash for brute force, and Substitute to maybe keep you alive.


Hope my set gives some people some ideas. Oh and yay for breaking my shell and posting my first post.
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This set looks pretty damn fun, but several things worth mentioning here. Sub, while very useful, may not be the best option if you're hoping to repeatedly bluff anything. Same goes for LO actually, but unless you fancy using Lefties that leaves you confined to things like BlackGlasses and Expert Belt.

In terms of bluffing Blissey, switch-ins will be an issue as they may notice the lack of recovery (though they may suspect Shed Shell) - Chansey with Evo stone may be a better bluff.

I'm thinking about using him in a wifi team with several possible bluffs - things like Gengar, Heatran, etc, enabling you to switch your team around and keep some of Zoro's utility.
 
Benlisted said:
This set looks pretty damn fun, but several things worth mentioning here. Sub, while very useful, may not be the best option if you're hoping to repeatedly bluff anything. Same goes for LO actually, but unless you fancy using Lefties that leaves you confined to things like BlackGlasses and Expert Belt.

In terms of bluffing Blissey, switch-ins will be an issue as they may notice the lack of recovery (though they may suspect Shed Shell) - Chansey with Evo stone may be a better bluff.

I'm thinking about using him in a wifi team with several possible bluffs - things like Gengar, Heatran, etc, enabling you to switch your team around and keep some of Zoro's utility.
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Oh damn, if self induced damage breaks illusion (heck i hope entry hazards dont spoil it either), you would need to ditch LO. Possibly consider a Choice Band, or the Black Glasses. Maybe another utility move can be used instead of Ankle Sweep/ Night Slash... like Taunt or something.
 
Twigvest said:
Oh damn, if self induced damage breaks illusion (heck i hope entry hazards dont spoil it either), you would need to ditch LO. Possibly consider a Choice Band, or the Black Glasses. Maybe another utility move can be used instead of Ankle Sweep/ Night Slash... like Taunt or something.
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Self-induced damage and entry hazards do not cancel the illusion.
 
Twigvest said:
Oh damn, if self induced damage breaks illusion (heck i hope entry hazards dont spoil it either), you would need to ditch LO. Possibly consider a Choice Band, or the Black Glasses. Maybe another utility move can be used instead of Ankle Sweep/ Night Slash... like Taunt or something.
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I didn't mean that they break the illusion, simply that if the opponent is on the ball after one of your pokes attacks he will be able to tell which it is from the LO recoil (if not other damage done).
 
Yep. Looks like this will be the poke of choice for mind games. Its like the spy in TF2, and anyone who plays that knows the sort of paranoia disguises (or in this case Illusions) create.
 
I've been using a spread of 252 SpA and 252 Spe with U-turn,Trickery, Flamethrower, and Grass knot. For Team Preview I have Heatran in the front, Garchomp in the back, and Zoroark somewhere in the middle. Hippowdons, Swamperts, Nattoreis, and Politoed LOVE going up against Heatran and Zoro has just the tools to dispose of them. Unfortunately Zoro can't take a hit any better than Shedinja, but it is still a nice partner to my sub-CM Mismaguis.
 
I think a Choice Band set deserves a mention. I've been trying out this set in particular.

Zoroark @ Choice Band
Adamant/Jolly
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
-Pursuit
-U-Turn
-Sucker Punch
-Ankle Sweep

I usually disguise my Zoroark as that Ghost/Water Pokemon which has been working great. I can usually nab at least one are two kills with this as s STAB'd Sucker punch can take out a lot surprisingly. I love when Shandeera tries to come in thinking it's going to hit me with a Shadow Ball or a Energy Ball and gets blasted. Pursuit has its uses as well, but U-turn and Sucker Punch are the main selling points.
 
Zoroark is an awesome Lucario partner. If you make both of them run an SD set, your opponent won't know the difference until they get Sucker Punched. I think it's also worth mention that Zoro is capable of OHKOing most of Lucario's bulky sweeper checks sat +2, like Salamence, Garchomp, and Zapdos. If you don't screw up and get him killed too early, Lucario can come in lategame and clean up after the damage has been done.

Another thing I like is that even if there are pretty good indicators that the Pokemon in front of you might be an illusion, it's actually rather easy to disregard smaller details like percentages so that you keep fooling your opponent throughout the battle. Zoroark is very tricky, but unlike other Pokemon, also effective.
 
Zoroark <3s Hidden Power Ice. OHKOing Gliscors when you're dressed as a Roopushin is pretty gamebreaking! Night Burst is also great for Burugeru and random Psychics - I don't buy the idea that Zoroark needs to use Dark Pulse to remain 'hidden' - by the time a special Dark attack has been fired off it's usually pretty obvious that it's not what it appears. The more damage, the better.

Flamethrower has been largely a disappointment to be frank, Focus Blast probably has more utility in general, still hitting Nattorei for large damage but also taking chunks out of Heatran and Snorlax.
 
I hope I didn't post this before

It's great to disguise Zoroark as Roobushin. He generally draws in physically bulky psychic types who will almost always try their STAB Psychic on him.

Roobushin also resists bug, one of Zoroark's weaknesses, and not a lot of people are going to be using fighting type moves against him, since the majority tend to be physical and bulk up Roobushin can shrug them off and recover the HP with drain punch.

They will also expect to outspeed you most of the time since Roobushin has awful speed and as Zoroark you are likely to be faster than whoever they bring in.
 
Here's the problem I have with Zoroark disguised as Roopushin: how do you plan on luring in any counters when Zoroark gives himself away the second he makes his move? Once Gliscor switches in on Flamethrower or Night Burst, your opponent will instantly think "oh snap it's zoro" and switch right back out.

At least with Luke, you can SD right away, then go for an unexpected KO when the counter gets in. If you're in a position to use Ankle Sweep, it's even better, since Luke learns that and gets STAB on it to boot; some players will think it's a stupid gimmick and switch in something else you can kill.
 
^The problem with Zoroark disguised as a fighting-type in general (who he pairs best with, arguably), is that a smart player will closely be watching stealth rock damage throughout the match, especially after team preview has revealed the presence of a Zoroark somewhere on the opponent's team.

Either run Rapid Spin to get rid of hazards or employ smart use of MM Espeon.
 
Twigvest said:
Yep. Looks like this will be the poke of choice for mind games. Its like the spy in TF2, and anyone who plays that knows the sort of paranoia disguises (or in this case Illusions) create.
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and Judging from it's usage it will probably be a staple like Lucario was in DPPt so Prepare for the madness!

Randomplayer: is that eruufun? let me send out shanderaa
*3 secconds later*
Randomplayer: FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-
 
SJCrew said:
Here's the problem I have with Zoroark disguised as Roopushin: how do you plan on luring in any counters when Zoroark gives himself away the second he makes his move? Once Gliscor switches in on Flamethrower or Night Burst, your opponent will instantly think "oh snap it's zoro" and switch right back out.

At least with Luke, you can SD right away, then go for an unexpected KO when the counter gets in. If you're in a position to use Ankle Sweep, it's even better, since Luke learns that and gets STAB on it to boot; some players will think it's a stupid gimmick and switch in something else you can kill.
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Well I guess the best way to make it would work be to run substitute (as sub/punch Roobushin may not be popular but certainly isn't not a possibility for a set), and see what comes in. If it's something you can OHKO, do it. If not, decide whether it's worth it to reveal that it's Zoroark for the damage you can deal. This strategy is best on psychic types like I mentioned, since Roobushin will draw psychic moves and you can hit them with SE Night Burst without taking damage.

Against Gliscor you'd need HP Ice which you probably don't have room for on a substitute set.

It's probably a little gimmicky but can work if your team is build around a Roobushin sweep and would like to weaken or eliminate just one counter.

IcyMan28 said:
^The problem with Zoroark disguised as a fighting-type in general (who he pairs best with, arguably), is that a smart player will closely be watching stealth rock damage throughout the match, especially after team preview has revealed the presence of a Zoroark somewhere on the opponent's team.

Either run Rapid Spin to get rid of hazards or employ smart use of MM Espeon.
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While this is true SR isn't quite as omnipresent as it was before, especially with the advent of Sunny Day and Rain Dance teams.

Either way if you can manage to pull it off it can be worth it, but you are right the disguise is given away if the opponent has SR up and is paying attention.
 
As I have mentioned, HP Ice is great on Zoroark. With Night Burst and Flamethrower/Focus Blast he can take out a lot of physical walls who would otherwise put a stop to Roopushin.

Another move I've been toying around with is Memento. I really think Zoroark is the perfect user, as he can disguise himself to lure a counter, take off a chunk off its HP then Memento, leaving the opponent with a massively weakened counter to your main sweeper.
 
SJCrew said:
Zoroark is an awesome Lucario partner. If you make both of them run an SD set, your opponent won't know the difference until they get Sucker Punched. I think it's also worth mention that Zoro is capable of OHKOing most of Lucario's bulky sweeper checks sat +2, like Salamence, Garchomp, and Zapdos. If you don't screw up and get him killed too early, Lucario can come in lategame and clean up after the damage has been done.
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Just a nitpick, but Zoroark would be at +1 against a Salamence, since DW Bagon hasn't been released yet (and even then, Intimidate will be very common anyway).
 
^The problem with Zoroark disguised as a fighting-type in general (who he pairs best with, arguably), is that a smart player will closely be watching stealth rock damage throughout the match, especially after team preview has revealed the presence of a Zoroark somewhere on the opponent's team.
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Believe it or not, small stuff like that is very easy to overlook. I can't even count the number of times I've EQ'd a Balloon Pokemon. Theoretical moves are always flawless, but what happens while you're playing is a tossup. Even if you suspect Zoroark, once you're up against a Garchomp or something, you really want to click Ice Beam. Good Zoroark players can still trip up good players in general.
 
And you can always stop them from even using Stealth Rock in the first place if you have a good lead.

Either that, or rapidly spin them away before you bring Zoroark in.
 
I've been using Specs Zoroark and loving every minute of it. It's hilariously fun when you use it with Scarf Heracross. Burungeru givin you problems? Zoroark destroys it. Randorosu being a bitch? Zoroark beats it (HP Ice, Monkfish). It's just SUCH a GOOD LURe. It messes with the opponents head so much and keeps them on their toes, sometimes not even switching out things like Tyranitar from Heracross in fear of their counter being Night Bursted/Dark Pulsed. Using Specs Zoroark is very tough though. Constantly manipulating your team lineups during the match in order to make sure Zoroark is illusioning the right pokemon can be taxing. This also goes for any other Zoroark as well. Also, Zoroark doesn't have any immunities, so it is very hard to switch in without breaking the illusion. You have to hope that the opponent is using a non-attacking move, or you can use U-turn or Baton Pass or something I guess.
 
In all technicality, you can still switch Zoro in on a stray Psychic from Espeon or something, but for the most part, he's operating on prediction and revenge killing.
 
My next project is going to be Naive and Rash Zoroarks. I could get 31 / 31 / 31 / 31 / 30 / 31 Zoroarks really easily using the seed/frames that I've been using. But I'm kind of thinking that HP Flying 70 (30 / 30 / 30 / 30 / 30 / 31) might be useful on it, seeing as its weaknesses are Bug and Fighting? Or should I just go for the easy seed/frame I've been using?
 
mattj said:
My next project is going to be Naive and Rash Zoroarks. I could get 31 / 31 / 31 / 31 / 30 / 31 Zoroarks really easily using the seed/frames that I've been using. But I'm kind of thinking that HP Flying 70 (30 / 30 / 30 / 30 / 30 / 31) might be useful on it, seeing as its weaknesses are Bug and Fighting? Or should I just go for the easy seed/frame I've been using?
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Well you'll probably never be pretending to be a Dark pokemon, so things switching in won't be the types you could get with HP Flying. Imo you'd be better off using Ice or something with better coverage to catch things off guard instead, if going for a HP at all.
 
Oh, definitely a good point. I just think it might be benificial to take out your threats before they realize you ARE a Dark mon. And this is for VGC, where you have two targets to choose from. Much less switching in and out (unless you're sixonesix).
 
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