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Mono-Dark Team (Rate My Team) Here's a team I had been using for a bit, once in a while, because after the moderate success with my mono-Ghost team, I decided for something related, so I decided for a Dark-type team because currently my reviews are stuck in the Dark-type, and I didn't want to use a more successful type yet anyway (Steel, Fighting, Poison and Water comes to mind). As I had feared, it's not a terribly successful team (the highest rating I got was 1080), and I will explain why later. This is where you, if you are experienced, come in to chime in your feedback.
Normally, I would explain which members I had picked, but I decided to just explain the members as I go along. So, unlike the Ghost-type, there are considerably more options for Dark-types. With 23 options, excluding Darkrai and including Murkrow, there's more room to choose. First, I will explain the ones I had chose for the team before, followed by ones that interested me (which I didn't try out). This time, I had some battles, so you could see some battles associated with each member. Some will be logs because for some reason, battle logs can't be saved if my opponent retires first.
Current team
Tyranitar (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 64 SAtk / 192 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Crunch
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam
When making a Dark-type team, the first Pokemon that comes to my mind is Tyranitar. That's because it is an absolutely useful one. One of the things I wanted for the team is entry hazards, and there are only four options. Ultimately, I think Stealth Rock is important, which leaves me with two options: this and Bisharp. The latter simply must have Sucker Punch, which it can't use if Stealth Rock is in the movepool, so Tyranitar becomes the one with it. It is also useful because it changes the weather from Rain and Sun (and Hail), which are important because none of the members could take advantage of either, and of course, the Special Defence boost.
The set in which I could pick becomes trickier, because of the necessity of Stealth Rock. So, I decided to take a look at a Smogon analysis to find out how to the best set that includes Stealth Rock. While this one here is what the set is, it wasn't the one I originally used. I used one that had Earthquake and Stone Edge instead of Fire Blast and Ice Beam (and for some reason, 64 EVs into Defence), because I had two other Special attackers. Besides, there wasn't Earthquake and Stone Edge somewhere in the team, so Tyranitar needs them. It was until I added Krookodile that I changed it. So far, Tyranitar did a great job with the weather wars, and Stealth Rock helped a lot in certain matches.
For some reason, while Tyranitar is allowed to put its Sand Stream in the Monotype metagame, Hippowdon's not allowed to. Probably because of how great Hippowdon is for a Ground-type team.
Hydreigon (F) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 64 HP / 252 SAtk / 192 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Focus Blast
- Dragon Pulse
There aren't many options for a Special attacker, but at least there are some strong contenders in this group. I chose Hydreigon to be the Special attacker, because it is a very capable one. Maybe it's too much to have a couple of pseudo-legendaries in the group, but this is one of the few I could go for, in a dedicated Dark-type. With a great Special Attack and some powerful Special attacks, Hydreigon did well for this team. However, before I went for the Specs set, I used to have a Scarf set, because someone needs a Scarf. It was until Krookodile was added that I changed the set. While in a recent battle (against a Rain team), where the Scarf set proved to be worthy, I haven't had notable victories stemming from the Specs set yet.
MVP Log:
(Summary: Outspeeding stuff with Draco Meteor helped removed notable threats)
Krookodile (F) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
This is the newest addition, and it's proved to be quite awesome so far. I added Krookodile because it's a shame for a Dark-type team to not use Pursuit, and Krookodile is the next best one since Tyranitar doesn't exactly have room for it. Added to that, EdgeQuake is very good to have. In terms of abilities, Moxie is my choice, simply because the rewards for each defeat is greater, and makes it a wonderful cleaner. Of course, there's the Electric immunity, which is a very handy trait to have. All in all, a great Scarf Pokemon.
MVP Log:
(Summary: Moxie proves to be a well-timed life saver. One critical hit helps too.)
Mandibuzz (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Roost
- Toxic
- Taunt
- Brave Bird
Since Tyranitar runs Sandstorm, it's best to have a Pokemon that also takes advantage of the weather. This is where Mandibuzz comes in. Besides having the Sandstorm immunity, Mandibuzz is a good check to Fighting-types like Infernape and some slow walls, because it is relatively fast for one. Taunt is there to prevent other walls from doing something bad, like Ferrothorn (I once forced it into a Struggle) and Chansey, while Toxic is a useful tool of attrition. Brave Bird is just a generally strong attack that hits the Fighting-types hard.
Sableye (M) @ Iron Ball
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Recover
- Trick
Here's another Pokemon I considered for a Dark-type team, alongside Spiritomb. The reason is simple enough: Fighting weakness. Thankfully there are Ghost-types that are able to take their attacks. I chose Sableye because of Prankster, but unlike last time's weather changer, I chose the Trick set to be the one. Why? It's a useful crippling tool for the opponent. Say for example, the opponent has a Tornadus. Once they received an Iron Ball, not only is the Ground immunity removed, it is forced to be slower! It works for Pokemon that relies on their item like Chansey, and give it to another Pokemon that can't take advantage of it. However, I am not sure if Lagging Tail is the better item, since I haven't have any situations where the Ground vulnerability becomes crucial, although with Krookodile here now, it might.
Scrafty (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Shed Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 8 Atk / 248 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Dragon Tail
- Rest
Finally, we have Scrafty. Why did I use this Pokemon? Simple: I needed something that could set up, for a sure-win condition, so I turned to Scrafty's awesome coverage and used the Bulk Up set. Initially, I had Crunch in this set, but after Conkeldurr gave me trouble, I switched to Dragon Tail. I haven't tried it yet, but I think it would be more successful if I am able to ward off Conkeldurr.
MVP Log:
(Summary: Scrafty made the opponent forfeit early)
Past members
Sharpedo (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Speed Boost
EVs: 148 Atk / 252 SAtk / 108 Spd
Rash Nature (+SAtk, -SDef)
- Protect
- Crunch
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
Sharpedo was my choice because I needed another Special attacker, and it had actually been very valuable because of its powers as a late-game cleaner. For example, it managed to remove a weakened Ferrothorn with Hydro Pump (in the rain)! I would love to have Sharpedo around because of how useful it is, but since I needed Krookodile in the team, Sharpedo was the one that was replaced, making Tyranitar the second Special attacker.
MVP Log:
(Summary: Nothing like a finishing end-game sweep!)
Drapion (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Toxic Spikes
- Whirlwind
- Crunch
- Earthquake
Drapion is actually the other entry hazard user, thanks to Toxic Spikes. It's certainly a useful thing to have, but there weren't many cases where Drapion saved the day, considering my lack of need for Toxic Spikes in my experience. Because of that, Scrafty replaced it.
Dark-types I considered
- Darkrai: It's banned, obviously.
- Cacturne: I considered it because it works well with the Sandstorm that Tyranitar sets. It is the only Dark-type with Spikes, which is also a plus. Not only that, Cacturne also has the potential as a powerful attacker, between Focus Punch and Sucker Punch. I didn't put Cacturne in because I don't consider Spikes a necessity, and the best Cacturne set that comes to mind is an offensive one, which went against choosing Cacturne in the first place.
- Houndoom: This is another Special attacker I considered, mostly because I needed something who could attack with Fire. Houndoom was considered, but then I remembered there's Hydreigon. Besides, I don't want another Rock weakness (Mandibuzz), considering the disadvantage of having too many Pokemon that are weak to Rock.
- Bisharp: Bisharp is another powerful Sucker Punch user. Maybe it could replace Tyranitar, but since I need Stealth Rock, Bisharp didn't get the cut. That is mainly because Sucker Punch and Stealth Rock can't be used together, even though it is very powerful, and provides a cushion to those nasty Dragon-types.
- Spiritomb: Fighting immunity is a must for a Dark-type team, and Spiritomb also provides this. The set I had in mind is the Calm Mind boosting one, although perhaps the Choice Band one might be useful too. I would love to have Spiritomb in, but there's no space, and Sableye is a bit better with casting Burns.
- Honchkrow: Flying is a powerful offensive type, so don't listen to people when they say Flying is a bad type. Anyway, the power of Sucker Punch is too good to miss, and besides, it has Super Luck to make Night Slash increasingly deadlier, or Heat Wave so that Ferrothorn and Forretress won't be bugging me. Didn't add it because of lack of space, as usual.
- Weavile: Weavile's good and all, but I didn't like how it doesn't exactly have the moves that matches its great Attack.
- Zoroark: This is another Special attacker, but considering how Zoroark operates best with type synergy, I had to unfortunately leave Zoroark out despite having a very good Special potential with Nasty Plot due to its frailty.
- Crawdaunt: It is certainly very powerful, but it's quite frail, and this is not helped with a lack of Screen support (none of the Dark-types learn them!).
- Shiftry: It could be a nice Sun check, but it's not necessary with Tyranitar around.
Threats
- Conkeldurr: Why of course this Pokemon is on the list! Why won't it be? It's one of the most powerful Pokemon there, and to a Dark-type team, this thing is trouble. That Bulk Up set is very deadly, and not even Scrafty could stop it. While I got lucky sometimes when my opponent didn't know what Sharpedo could do, it is a very notable threat. This is why I put Dragon Tail on Scrafty, so that in the case of some Bulk Up war, I could eliminate Conkeldurr temporarily.
- Rotom-W: I don't normally know what to do with it, since I don't have Grass attacks to scare it. Usually I wear it down with Burn or maybe Toxic, but in the face of one, I hopefully could have Hydreigon dispatch of it with a powerful Dragon attack.
- Gliscor: Another annoying one. If it's the Toxic Stall one with Poison Heal, the stalling would be too good for me to handle, considering how I stopped using Sharpedo and had to use Tyranitar, which is not 100% reliable.
- Infernape: Here's another notable one. Normally, I need a fast user to deal with it, like Scarf Hydreigon to deal with it, but I am not sure what to do if it's Scarfed (which is not common for it). Mandibuzz has the potential to stall its Close Combats, but it's not the most reliable strategy.
- Volcarona: This is why Stealth Rock is a must. Otherwise, I hope some of my Physical attackers might dispatch it, or Scrafty to Dragon Tail it out of there.
- Dragonite: The ones I faced so far have Lum Berry, which is annoying for Sableye, but I hope that it has an Iron Ball! Also, there's Ice Beam to neuter it.
- Scizor: The importance of having a Fire attack couldn't be denied. Hydreigon should be able to remove Scizor, and hopefully Tyranitar too.
- Tentacruel: For some reason, I find it rather annoying, so Krookodile should be able to remove it with a powerful Earthquake.
- Terrakion: I never faced one before, or if I did, I don't remember facing one, but thing is, if it is around, I hope that I could Burn it first. Otherwise, I hope Krookodile's Earthquake would go first.
- Heatran: Another one that I had trouble with, so if it's around, Sableye won't be reckless with Burn. I could use Earthquake on it, but the Air Balloon needs to be removed first. I remembered using Trick to remove Heatran's Balloon when I predicted its entrance once.
- Machamp: Normally I would Burn it, hoping that it is the No Guard version. If it misses, it's a sign.
So that's it for my team. As I have said before, feedback to the team is most welcomed. The threat list is not exactly perfect, but those are some of the perils that made me notice. Also, you could suggest wildcards for the team if you want, since I might try out a wildcard too. However, at least give feedback on the full mono-Dark team too by providing suggestions within the limitations.
Thanks for reading.
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Originally Posted by Iteru 
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