I've been kind of struggling with my monotype Dark team. I'm a bit unsure on how to build it, what Pokemon to put on it, the moves, etc. It's a bit of a balanced team.
Also, I'm using this team in both the Monotype format and the OU format. Sometimes I'll play it in Monotype, and sometimes I'll use it in OU (I think using Monotype teams in OU makes things more interesting).
This is the team so far:
The Team
Hydreigon @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Focus Blast
- Fire Blast
Hydreigon is a powerful Dark wallbreaker. It has an amazing typing in Dark / Dragon that gives it almost perfect neutral coverage against any type except Fairy. Its Dragon typing helps it resist the 4 main typings (Fire, Water, Grass, and Electric) that may threaten his other teammates, and it has decent bulk to allow it to switch into a decent amount of attacks comfortably. It also has an excellent movepool, decent Speed, and great Special Attack that makes it a powerful wallbreaker. Its ability in Levitate allows it to be immune to Ground and most entry hazards like Sticky Web, Toxic Spikes, and Spikes.
I personally prefer an Expert Belt on Hydreigon over Life Orb and Choice Specs because I like the lack of recoil damage with LO and the ability to switch moves with CS. Besides, it helps me wallbreak easier. Timid is for increased Speed. Draco Meteor is for a powerful Dragon STAB, and it helps deal with opponents who are tough to bring down. Dark Pulse provides good coverage and is a nice STAB move that isn't Knock Off. Focus Blast and Fire Blast are for coverage against Steel and Ice types, especially Ferrothorn and other bulky Steel types who take extra damage from it due to Expert Belt (and 4x weaknesses in Fire Blast against Ferrothorn). Fire Blast also additionally deals with Mega Mawile, Mega Scizor, and Skarmory. The EV spread maximizes Hydreigon's power and speed, and gives it a bit of bulk.
Sableye-Mega @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 SpD
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Will-O-Wisp
- Foul Play
- Recover
Sableye is a very important member of this team because it takes neutral damage against Bug, which can be problematic when facing U-Turn Landorus Therian. It also has an immunity to Fighting types, who are huge threats to Dark types. It's only weak to Fairy, which other members can deal with. I chose Prankster for my Sableye prior to mega evolution because I can use a priority Will-O-Wisp to weaken the opposing team without being hit or Taunted. After Mega Evolution, Magic Bounce is extremely helpful for protecting my team against entry hazards and status conditions and instead bounces it back to harm the opposing team. Magic Bounce also helps deal with bulkier teams that can otherwise easily wear my team down. Mega Sableye is also a bulky Pokemon that has access to reliable recovery, which is very important for any walls/bulky Pokemon to have, and it has good enough defenses to take a neutral Z-move. Knock Off is an important move for crippling opponents, especially when dealing with Pokemon who heavily rely on their items such as Chansey. Foul Play helps deal with set-up sweepers and Recover gives Mega Sableye more longevity so it isn't easily worn down by entry hazards or manual switch-ins to attacks. The EV set capitalizes on Mega Sableye's bulk and longevity. 144 Special Defense EVs allows Sableye to soak up attacks from Pokemon such as Sheer Force Nidoking, and 112 Defense EVs allows Sableye to take attacks from threatening Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Terrakion.
Mandibuzz @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
- Foul Play
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Defog
Mandibuzz is an extremely useful Pokemon on my team. Her fantastic bulk combined with her ability to check Fighting and Bug types makes her a very important part on my team. The Rocky Helmet is there to punish physical attackers that might try to attack Mandibuzz. Overcoat helps protect her against Sand and Hail teams, and it also helps against Spore Breloom or Amoonguss. If you guys think I should put Tyranitar on my team, then it'll also help protect it from the sandstorm. The HP and Defense EVs with an Impish nature ensures that Mandibuzz is as bulky as possible. The 16 Speed EVs allows Mandibuzz to outspeed 252 Speed Adamant Azumarill. Roost gives Mandibuzz reliable recovery so she can consistently check Pokemon like Heracross. Defog allows Mandibuzz to remove entry hazards, and Foul Play punishes set up sweepers such as Belly Drum Azumarill and Mega Scizor. Brave Bird allows Mandibuzz to threaten Fighting and Bug types instead of just resisting them.
Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
When it comes to Fairy types, Bisharp is the one who gets to say "Checkmate!".
Bisharp is a real force to be reckoned with. With a high Attack, Swords Dance, Life Orb, and even priority in Sucker Punch, it turns into a powerful force. It takes neutral damage from Fairies and can hit back with Iron Head. It's ability in Defiant makes it gain a boost in Attack if one stat is lowered, which is useful when the opponent uses things like Defog or Sticky Web or has an Pokemon with Intimidate like Landorus-T. (Speaking of Defog, maybe a Stealth Rock setter will be useful so the opponent may be tricked into Defogging and I can just send out Bisharp.) Maximum attack investment along with a Life Orb and Adamant nature allows Bisharp to hit as hard as possible, and possibly getting a O/2-HKO (OHKO or 2HKO) with Knock off, or even just Sucker Punch!!
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Toxapex: 304-359 (100.3 - 118.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 240+ Def Landorus-Therian: 257-304 (67.2 - 79.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Defensive Lando Set)
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 640-751 (162.4 - 190.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 244 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 582-686 (82.9 - 97.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. +1 0 HP / 0 Def Victini: 424-502 (124.3 - 147.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Speed also ensures that Bisharp can outspeed Pokemon such as Azumarill, who is OHKO'ed by its Iron Head after a Swords Dance Boost. Sucker Punch gives Bisharp priority and allows it to revenge kill. It also makes up for its rather poor speed. Knock Off is the most spammable Attack for Bisharp and lets it remove items from foes such as Eviolite, Leftovers/Black Sludge, Choice items, etc. Swords Dance allows Bisharp to be a powerful cleaner and able to O/2-HKO a lot of Pokemon.
Muk-Alola @ Assault Vest
Ability: Poison Touch
EVs: 248 HP / 12 Def / 248 SpD
Careful Nature
- Poison Jab
- Knock Off
- Fire Punch
- Rock Slide
Because the majority of Fairies used in the meta take neutral damage from Steel attacks due to a second typing, Poison is becoming a bit more useful than ever! This is also good since Alolan Muk is part Dark, meaning it doesn't have to worry about a Psychic move from Gardevoir or Tapu Lele. Alolan Muk also has fantastic special bulk to be able to take a lot of hits, which its EV set capitalizes on. The Assault Vest, plus a Careful nature, improves Alolan Muk's Special Defense. 248 HP and 12 Defense EVs mean that even after Stealth Rock damage, Muk will never be OHKO'ed by Choice Scarf Victini's V-Create. Poison Touch also gives Muk the ability to poison its target, and is especially effective with Poison Jab. Poison Jab also checks Fairy types. Knock Off is a decent STAB attack that removes items off of Pokemon, especially Eviolites and Choice items so Muk can more easily take them out. Rock Slide is also a great coverage move and OHKOs significant threats to Dark teams like Volcarona. In addition, it usually OHKO's Mega Charizard Y and significantly damages Mega Pinsir, preventing the latter from safely setting up. Fire Punch also deals with Steel types like Klefki and Mega Scizor.
Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Gunk Shot
- Extrasensory
Finally, we have Greninja, one of the most useful Pokemon on this team thanks to its amazing movepool.
I personally don't like the Choice Scarf set for Greninja on mono Dark, so I'm using the offensive set. I went with a Life Orb because I really hated being locked into one move for Greninja. I genuinely felt restricted with his moveset and I felt like I wasn't able to use Greninja properly. So, I switched to the Life Orb. A little less fast, but hey, at least I could use all of my moves to my advantage and my opponent won't be able to take advantage of Protean+Choice Scarf. Anyways, I thought Greninja would be a really good member of the team because of its access to Gunk Shot and Extrasensory, not to mention its Protean ability making him able to switch types depending on the move he uses. This is especially useful on monotype. The Naive nature increases his Speed without lowering his Attack. Because I have Gunk Shot, a Timid nature would weaken its power and make it harder to check Fairy Pokemon. Therefore, a Naive nature is better in this case, especially since I don't have a Choice Scarf. This Nature along with maxed out Speed allows Greninja to outspeed anything that has under base 122 Speed and doesn't use a Choice Scarf. Maxed out Special Attack also lets Greninja hit as hard as possible, and Life Orb helps him do a lot more damage to the opposing team. These things are amplified from the STAB of Protean. Since Gunk Shot is a physical move, I have 4 Attack EVs for a small boost in power. However, I don't need a lot though, since he'll get STAB from Gunk Shot anyway and Gunk Shot is an already powerful move boosted by the Life Orb. Hydro Pump is Greninja's strongest STAB move for hitting threats such as Mega Diancie, Heatran, and Excadrill. Ice Beam is for hitting Flying, Ground, and Dragon types such as Landorus-T, Garchomp, Mega Altaria, Zapdos, and Gliscor. Gunk Shot is for hitting Fairy types, and it even OHKOs Azumarill! Extrasensory is used for hitting Fighting types that my team is weak to. It also hits Poison types like Toxapex and Mega Venusaur.
Conclusion
I'm assuming that this team still needs a lot of improvement. I'm sort of thinking that I have too many Knock Off users, but I'll let you guys let me know. Please help me make this team better! I want to make good monotype teams of every type in the game.
Thanks for reading~
Also, funny story: When I was looking at the monotype analysis for Greninja on Smogon, I looked at the Choice Scarf set and thought, "Why would you use U-Turn when Greninja has access Extrasensory, something that can check Fighting types? Wouldn't that be a better idea than U-Turn?" I decided to switch U-Turn to Extrasensory and eventually switched Choice Scarf to Life Orb. I couldn't understand the weird moveset they gave me before. And only today have I realized that there was more than one Dark monotype set for Greninja, and I ended up using the exact same set as the offensive monotype set!
