InPokémonRed, Blue, and Yellow, one type was utterly dominant: thePsychic type. Psychic Pokémon dished out powerful moves with no reliable counters. They were frighteningly strong. To remedy this, Game Freak introduced theDark typein Gold and Silver. Dark type Pokémon are both immune to Psychic damage and hit Psychic-types super effectively.
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Since the advent of Dark and Steel types in Generation 2, the only new type introduced to Pokémon has been theFairy type. Fairy is now arguably the best type in the game. It hits Dark super effectively, as does Fighting, putting a damper on a once solidly defensive type. Still, Dark-type Pokémon are cool, and there are some great ones. Those looking to add one to their team should consider these standout options!
10Honchkrow
Dark/Flying is a solid dual type, with Flying covering two of the Dark type’s weaknesses: Bug and Fighting. Bug isn’t a huge threat in the metagame, but Fighting certainly is. However, flying totally counters it. Unfortunately, it also introduces its own weaknesses. And with its mediocre defense stats, Honchkrow is not equipped to deal with those weaknesses.
However, despite its frailness and mediocre speed, Honchkrow has a very respectable base attack stat of 125. It can also get the abilityMoxie, boosting its attack further when it KOs a Pokémon. With moves likeSuperpowerandBrave Birdat its disposal, Honchkrow can become a surprise runaway sweeper.
Drapion has the Poison type, which is widely regarded as one of the worst types in the game. Combined with the Dark-type, however, it’s surprisingly great. By countering Dark’s biggest weaknesses (Fairy and Fighting), it carves out a niche as a wonderful defensive dual-type.
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In terms of strategy, Drapion gets the moveKnock Off, which is boosted by its Dark typing. Knock Off removes held items from whatever it hits, which is great in competitive play, where all Pokémon have held items. It also getsPursuit, which can punish Pokémon who are switching out to escape Knock Off. Unfortunately, Drapion is held back by its mediocre stats. If it were just a bit faster or hit just a bit harder, it would grab a higher ranking.
Introduced in Generation 2, Umbreon is an adorable, iconic beast. It’s alsosolidin competitive battles, though not amazing. It mainly stands out due to its respectable HP, Defense, and Special Defense stats. Using the abilitySynchronize, as well as the movesWishandHeal Bell, it can take advantage of its excellent bulk to heal itself and others. Alternatively, it can useProtectandToxicto become a solid wall. As a final option, it gets STAB on the damaging moveFoul Play, which deals a ton of damage.
Umbreon is mainly threatened by powerful Fighting types, which can easily break through its defenses. A good tactic to avoid this is to scout these moves with Protect, then counter them by switching to a Ghost-type.
7Alolan Muk
As mentioned with Drapion, Poison-Dark is a phenomenal type pairing. Poison not only defends against the threatening Fighting type, it hits Fairy super effectively. Therefore, any Pokémon using this combo has an immediate leg up on the competition. One such Pokémon is Alolan Muk.
Like Drapion, Alolan Muk gets access toKnockOffandPursuit, which can be used in combination to “trap” opponents looking to switch out. What sets it apart from Drapion is its better Special Defense, as well as its arguably better ability,Poison Touch. This ability gives it a 30% chance to inflict poison with its contact moves, including Knock Off.
6Krookodile
Krookodile is an intimidating bipedal crocodile with a standout base attack stat of 117. It has a wide move pool, with its two primary damaging moves beingEarthquakeandKnock Off.Both of these get STAB, and not many Pokémon resist both of them. Its ability,Intimidate, boosts it attack for each Pokémon it KOs, making Krookodile more and more frightening as it fires off powerful quakes.
Krookodile also earns a niche as aStealth Rocksetter, countering those pesky Flying-types that can’t be hit by Earthquake. Unfortunately, due to its slow speed and poor bulk, setting up Stealth Rock with Krookodile can be risky.
5Crawdaunt
At first glance, this giant crustacean looks a bit silly. But appearance isn’t everything, and Crawdaunt’s terrifying power proves that. Starting with its stats, it has a standout base attack stat of 120, with everything else being just average. In terms of abilities, it getsAdaptability, which dramatically improves its same-type attack bonus (STAB).
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With that in mind, let’s look at moves. First,Swords Dancebuffs its already awesome attack stat even further. All together, we now have a lobster with a 120 base attack, increased by 100% thanks to Adaptability, then increased by 100%againafter each Swords Dance. Once set up, Crawdaunt can annihilate basically anything with its movesCrabhammerandKnock Off.
4Hydreigon
Hydreigon is an absolute beast in terms of special attack, and its other stats are nothing to sneeze at, either. With its powerful dual-type, Dark/Dragon, it’s easily one of the best Dark-types in the series. It gets STAB onDraco Meteor, as well asDark Pulse, which both utilize its special attack. For other options, Hydreigon can grabSurforFlamethrowerfor extra coverage,Roostfor recovery, orU-turnto back out of a fight. Another option is to run a physical set along with the setup moveDragon Dance.
Hydreigon’s major drawback is its quadruple weakness to the Fairy-type, which is huge. Before the introduction of Fairy, Hydreigon was nearly unstoppable.
Bisharp is a more-than-capable physical sweeper with the dual type Dark/Steel. This typing is pretty solid, canceling out Dark’s weakness to Fairy and introducing a number of useful resistances. It also leaves Bisharp with a crippling quadruple weakness to the Fighting type.
However, as long as this weakness is avoided, Bisharp will remain a terrifying threat. It can set up withSwords Dance, boosting its high base attack of 125 even further. Once boosted, it can take advantage ofSucker Punchfor a free hit, finish opponents off withAssuranceorKnock Off,or hit Fairy-types hard withIron Head.
In terms of mechanics, Greninja may be the most interesting Pokémon of all time. Its wide movepool, coupled with its unique abilityProtean,give it a nearly unlimited number of set possibilities. There’s no one “right” way to run a Greninja, and when one pops up in battle, it’s nearly impossible to know what to expect.
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Protean switches Greninja’s type to that of the last move it used. The only other Pokémon with this ability is Kecleon, and Kecleon is abysmally slow. Greninja, on the other hand, is fast. Its type can change in the blink of an eye, making it extremely difficult to counter. Or, if that’s too much, players can go with its other amazing ability,Battle Bond, which gives it an even stronger second form.
1Tyranitar
Finally, we have Tyranitar, the cool-looking T. rex Pokémon. Its base attack stat is approaching legendary levels at 134. It gets the abilitySand Stream, causing a sandstorm that Tyranitar is immune to thanks to its Rock typing. Sandstorms also increase the special defense of Rock Pokémon by one stage, giving Tyranitar some good bulk on top of its phenomenal offense.
Tyranitar can dish out plenty of damage withStone Edge,Crunch,Earthquake, or evenRock Blast. Or, it can provide utility withStealth Rock,Thunder Wave, orToxic. It does have a couple big weaknesses; namely its slow speed and quadruple weakness to the Fighting type. However, it makes up for this with its pseudo-legendary stats as well as its excellent move pool.
