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For full USUM 1v1 analyses, you can check out the USUM format page.

Moves Flare Blitz is boosted by Sheer Force and STAB and 2HKOes most walls if not OHKOing them. U-turn is a great move for pivoting, as it scouts for the opponent's play and creates momentum for the user. Rock Slide hits Flying-types such as Gyarados and Dragonite while also being boosted by Sheer Force. Earthquake hits Steel-types and Rock-types, the latter of which Fire is weak to. Earthquake also hits opposing Fire-types super effectively without risking the miss with Rock Slide. In particular, after Stealth Rock damage, Earthquake OHKOes Mega Diancie, which Fire has a difficult time facing. Alternatively, Superpower is very useful so that Darmanitan does not have to take recoil against bulky Normal-type Pokemon. It also hits Air Balloon Heatran but misses out on the OHKO on other variants. Superpower hits almost the same types as Earthquake but is better against Dark, as it OHKOes Tyranitar, while being very spammable versus Normal as well. Set Details As Darmanitan is a Choice Scarf user, maximum Speed investment with a Jolly nature allows it to become as fast as it can possibly be. It allows it to outspeed Choice Scarf Landorus-T and Choice Scarf Hoopa-U and to Speed tie with Choice Scarf Kyurem-B. Sheer Force is used to boost the power of Flare Blitz and Rock Slide to make Darmanitan a potential wallbreaker. Running maximum Attack investment allows it to hit as hard as possible even without an Attack-increasing ability. Usage Tips Darmanitan should be used carefully to preserve its health, as it is prone to getting worn down by residual damage. Darmanitan can be sent out on the first turn to scout for the opponent's intentions then U-turn out. As it is a pure Fire-type, it is naturally weak to Stealth Rock, and as Flare Blitz has recoil, it should generally not be sent out with Stealth Rock on your side of the field. Darmanitan should avoid getting inflicted with status such as poison, which will heavily cripple its health. Paralysis is another huge status Darmanitan should avoid due to it quartering Darmanitan's Speed, which makes its Choice Scarf useless. Rock Slide and Earthquake are coverage moves and should only be used against Pokemon that are weak to them, as Flare Blitz will generally outdamage them, although they can be used to take out low-health foes to avoid recoil and preserve Darmanitan's health. Due to its amazing power, Darmanitan often forces switches, which you can predict and use U-turn on to gain momentum. Darmanitan can be used as a revenge killer to KO weaker Pokemon, but the user should be aware of Flare Blitz's recoil. Darmanitan can also be used as a wallbreaker due to its ridiculous power, although the recoil taken from Flare Blitz if it attacks bulky walls will reduce its sweeping chances. Team Options As Darmanitan is a Fire-type, a hazard-removing partner like Torkoal or Charizard is absolutely crucial. Torkoal in particular is a great partner due to its ability to set up its own Stealth Rock, which helps cripple opposing Pokemon by breaking Focus Sashes and dealing chip damage throughout the battle, helping Darmanitan take them out easier. Mega Charizard Y and Darmanitan work amazingly as an offensive core due to both having ridiculous offensive stats, and Mega Charizard Y's sun increases the power of the already ridiculously strong Flare Blitz. Mega Charizard Y also helps clear out Rock- and Water-types due to its access to Solar Beam, which makes Darmanitan even better as a late-game sweeper, and is immune to Ground-type moves, which Darmanitan is weak to and doesn't want to stay in against. Infernape has great Fighting-type STAB moves, which helps with Normal-type walls, such as Porygon2 and Chansey, as well as Rock-types, letting Darmanitan use Earthquake as its coverage move. Infernape can also be used as an offensive Stealth Rock setter. Entei heavily weakens the opposing team due to its great coverage, and tt also has access to Extreme Speed, which can KO weakened Pokemon. Furthermore, Entei running Iron Head helps deal with Fairy-types, as most of them have high HP stats, which causes Darmanitan to be worn down by Flare Blitz recoil and prevents it from freely spamming the move. Victini and Darmanitan can also be used together with one weakening the opposing team through its STAB attacks and the other cleaning up late-game. They both also create a nice VoltTurn core, as they can pivot easily due to their ability to force switches. Volcanion is immune to Water-type attacks, which Darmanitan is weak to. It can also burn opposing Pokemon through Steam Eruption, allowing Darmanitan to clean up. Choice Scarf Chandelure is another good offensive partner, as it OHKOes Slowbro with Shadow Ball after Stealth Rock damage. It also has access to Energy Ball and Hidden Power Ice, which can scare off the Ground- and Dragon-types that Darmanitan usually has problems with.

With a Choice Scarf attached, Darmanitan outspeeds the entire metagame except for opposing Scarf users, and also outspeeds many Pokemon under Tailwind. With Darmanitan's relatively high Speed stat, it even outspeeds most opposing Choice Scarf users such as Chandelure and Vanilluxe. A Sheer Force-boosted Flare Blitz is outrageously powerful, OHKOing every offensive Pokemon that doesn't resist the move, and doing severe damage to almost everything else. Earthquake complements Flare Blitz by hitting the Rock- and Water-types that resist it for good damage, and allows Darmanitan to provide some powerful spread coverage in conjunction with Rock Slide, hitting everything in the metagame for at least neutral damage. Superpower allows Darmanitan to take out Pokemon such as Terrakion and Hydreigon which resist Flare Blitz, OHKOing any set not holding a Chople Berry or Focus Sash. The EVs and nature allow Darmanitan to hit as hard as possible, and to outspeed almost everything on the field. A Jolly nature is also an option, allowing Darmanitan to outspeed Adamant Scarf Haxorus and Adamant Scarf Terrakion, but is generally not necessary. An alternative EV spread of 220 HP / 252 Atk / 36 Spe is a viable option, as it increases Darmanitan's bulk and reduces the amount of recoil it takes from Flare Blitz, while still allowing it to outspeed the genies. However, in that case, Darmanitan won't be able to outspeed the entire metagame or check Tailwind teams as easily. A spread of 76 Def / 252 Atk / 180 Spe is also an option, allowing Darmanitan to always survive an Adamant Choice Scarf Terrakion's Rock Slide and OHKO back with Superpower. Choice Scarf Darmanitan's incredible power and excellent Speed with the boost from Choice Scarf makes it a good partner to anything struggling with the genies, and especially helps Focus Sash users with its ability to quickly remove an opponent from the match. It also easily takes out Amoonguss that lack Focus Sash or Occa Berry, making it helpful against many Trick Room teams. Its ability to remove many common users of Earthquake or Rock Slide makes it much easier for Flying- and Fire-types to function, so Chandelure and Tornadus can also benefit from Choice Scarf Darmanitan as a partner. Choice Scarf Darmanitan can check opposing Tailwind teams because of its high speed, OHKOing almost everything they commonly carry.

Instead of being a fast attacker with a Choice Scarf, this set intends to do as much damage to the opposing team as is humanly possible. Sheer Force negates Life Orb recoil on moves it boosts, so Darmanitan only really has to worry about the recoil from using Flare Blitz. A Life Orb-boosted Flare Blitz is stupidly powerful; it always OHKOes 252 HP Musharna, and does severe damage to almost everything else, making Darmanitan an extremely potent offensive force. Earthquake hits the Rock- and Water-types that resist Flare Blitz for good damage, and provides powerful spread support with good coverage in conjunction with Rock Slide. Protect allows Darmanitan to avoid taking damage from its many weaknesses, and give its partner a turn to take out Pokemon that might threaten it. The EVs and nature allow Darmanitan to hit as hard as possible, and to retain its spot on the Speed tier, outspeeding Pokemon such as Krookodile and Chandelure. Fire Punch is a second STAB option, allowing Darmanitan to still OHKO many offensive Pokemon while avoiding the recoil from Flare Blitz. However, there is a noticeable difference in power. A Jolly nature does dampen Darmanitan's attacking power, but allows it to outspeed Adamant Haxorus, Modest Hydreigon, and Adamant Landorus, all of which it can OHKO or do severe damage to with a Life Orb-boosted Flare Blitz. Life Orb Darmanitan can OHKO almost anything remotely offensive, and as such makes a great member of a Tailwind team, with its ability to constantly keep up the offensive pressure on the opposing team. Its ability to OHKO or do severe damage to Trick Room users means that it makes an excellent partner for Tornadus, which has no way of stopping Trick Room from being set up outside of the unreliable Taunt. A partner to set up Tailwind can help Darmanitan outspeed and KO many of the Pokemon that trouble it, so Whimsicott, Tornadus, and Braviary make good partners, although the latter two are also weak to Rock Slide. A Fake Out user can also be useful, allowing Darmanitan to eliminate Pokemon that trouble it without being KOed. Darmanitan has some trouble with Dragon- and Water-types, as they resist Flare Blitz, so a Thundurus with Hidden Power Ice can make a very useful partner, hitting both for super effective damage.

Darmanitan's base 95 Speed is often not suitable for VGC, where many Pokemon reside at a base Speed of 100 or higher. However, Darmanitan is able to patch this up by donning a Choice Scarf, which boosts its Speed at the cost of it being able to use only one move. Thankfully, Flare Blitz is such as powerful move that this handicap is often not a handicap at all. Still, some Pokemon resist or are immune to Fire-type attacks, meaning Darmanitan can't run away with the game just by spamming Flare Blitz. Darmanitan does have several useful coverage options to fall back on should the foe resist its powerful STAB attacks. Tyranitar and Heatran give Darmanitan massive problems, the former resisting Darmanitan's STAB move and the latter being immune to it. Thankfully, Superpower is super effective against both of these Pokemon—Tyranitar being 4x weak—and with its Choice Scarf, Darmanitan easily outspeeds and OHKOes them. Rock Slide takes on Pokemon that otherwise wall Darmanitan, such as Chandelure. Earthquake rounds off Darmanitan's coverage, completing the QuakeSlide combo and hitting both foes at once; this can be utilized to great effect with an immune partner such as Cresselia. However, the recoil from Flare Blitz may be unattractive, and Fire Punch has certain situational uses, such as OHKOing the genies Tornadus and Thundurus, making it an option over Earthquake. With a Choice Scarf, a Jolly nature, and 252 Speed EVs, Darmanitan is able to outspeed Adamant Choice Scarf Terrakion, which it would fail to otherwise. The remaining 252 EVs are placed in Attack to boost Darmanitan's damage output even further. Moves such as Rock Slide, Earthquake, and Surf threaten Darmanitan constantly, and as such it appreciates a partner that can mitigate this problem somewhat. Hitmontop provides both Intimidate and Wide Guard support; Intimidate lowers the power of Rock Slide and Earthquake, while Wide Guard blocks the effects of the previously mentioned spread moves for a turn. Cresselia is a great partner for Darmanitan, providing it with Helping Hand support while also being immune to Earthquake, if it is used. Ninetales brings sun to the field with its ability Drought, and once Flare Blitz has been powered up by sun, little can stop it. Powerful attackers also pair well with Darmanitan, as they can take out the Pokemon which threaten it while also cleaning up the remains after Darmanitan has sufficiently weakened the opposition with Flare Blitz. Expert Belt Weavile, in particular, is a great partner for Darmanitan; Fake Out + Flare Blitz OHKOes Pokemon such as Thundurus, which would otherwise cripple Darmanitan via a priority Thunder Wave. Weavile also OHKOes Pokemon that trouble Darmanitan, such as Heatran, Terrakion, and Tyranitar with Low Kick. Water-type Pokemon are a real annoyance to Darmanitan; this can be remedied by providing sun support and putting Darmanitan alongside Chlorophyll users such as Shiftry, which handle Water-types with ease. Any Fighting-type will aid Darmanitan greatly, as the Rock-types that threaten it are easily handled by their STAB moves. Zapdos and Thundurus also handle the Water-types that plague Darmanitan with ease, making them wonderful partners.

Though Darmanitan's middling Speed becomes more predominant in the absence of a Choice Scarf, a Life Orb set can provide the sheer firepower which the Choice Scarf set lacks. STAB-, Life Orb-, and Sheer Force-boosted Flare Blitz has a mind-boggling Base Power of 304, destroying everything that doesn't resist it. Superpower deals with pesky Rock-types, as well as Heatran, which is immune to Flare Blitz via its ability Flash Fire. However, Earthquake deals damage to both opponents at once, and with an immune partner that can also provide Helping Hand support, such as Cresselia, it still gets the same KOs Superpower does. Keep in mind though that even with a Helping Hand boost, Earthquake won't OHKO Tyranitar, which will KO back with its STAB Rock-type attacks. Rock Slide, while granting little additional coverage, grants Darmanitan the ability to hit two opponents at once without harming its partner. Protect is vital to Darmanitan's well-being, allowing its partner to eliminate a threat and granting it a crucial additional turn of life. With its ability, Sheer Force, Darmanitan takes no recoil from Life Orb—while still receiving the boost—when using moves boosted by Sheer Force. This allows it to utilize a Life Orb relatively risk-free, as Life Orb will only cause recoil when Superpower is used. Darmanitan sits at an odd base Speed of 95, something very few other Pokemon have. A Jolly nature would thus be wasted on Darmanitan, as a Speed-boosting nature outspeeds nothing important, allowing it to run an Adamant nature and further boost its massive Attack. The given EV spread simply maximizes Darmanitan's Attack and Speed, as its poor defenses render any investment in its defensive stats useless. Base 95 Speed is relatively slow, as many of the Pokemon that stop Darmanitan are faster. Because of this, Darmanitan appreciates a partner that can slow the opponent down through moves such as Thunder Wave. Cresselia thus makes a fantastic partner, as it can utilize either Icy Wind, which slows down both foes, or Thunder Wave, which reduces Speed by 75% and has a chance to incapacitate the victim for a turn. On the other hand, Tailwind can be used to speed Darmanitan up, allowing it to outspeed and deal massive damage to its usual counters. Whimsicott sets up Tailwind with priority thanks to its ability, Prankster, and can Charm physical attackers that want to cause Darmanitan pain. Thundurus can paralyze faster foes with Thunder Wave and take on Water-types with its STAB Thunderbolt, making it a prime choice for a teammate. Zapdos can set up Tailwind as well, in addition to taking on Water-types with its powerful STAB Thunderbolt.

This is Darmanitan's most effective set, packing enough Speed to outpace the most important threats of the unboosted metagame. Flare Blitz is the most important move in Darmanitan's repertoire, annihilating threats that don't resist it (and even some that do!), making it nearly impossible to switch into. The other moves on this set serve only to make way for Darmanitan to sweep with Flare Blitz unhindered. Earthquake dismantles Flash Fire Pokemon, most importantly Heatran. U-turn is important to scout for said Pokemon, in case they are holding an Air Balloon. It is also great for breaking Sturdy users and holders of Focus Sash, allowing you to switch in a counter and take them out. Rock Slide punches through +1 Dragonite's Multiscale, forcing it to use ExtremeSpeed if it hopes to stop Darmanitan. Superpower is mainly filler, but it can take care of Air Balloon Heatran, who could otherwise switch in on Darmanitan with impunity. The given EVs and nature listed are self-explanatory: maximize Darmanitan's Attack with an Adamant nature and bolster its Speed with full EV investment. To give you an idea of the strength offered by Adamant, Flare Blitz has a chance to OHKO Latios and Salamence, and 2HKOes Jellicent in the sun; Superpower OHKOes Heatran, and Earthquake 2HKOes Politoed with damage from Stealth Rock. Jolly can be used to outspeed Timid Choice Scarf Rotom-W, whom Darmanitan has a fair chance of defeating after prior damage in the sun, but that is about the only relevant threat it outspeeds. Darmanitan's artificially high Speed and raw power almost make it self-sufficient, but it does need some support in order to sweep. First, Drought support from Ninetales is absolutely necessary to gain crucial OHKOs and 2HKOs with Flare Blitz. Secondly, Flash Fire users, namely Heatran, should be dispatched before Darmanitan attempts to go on a Flare Blitz rampage. Darmanitan itself can take care of Heatran with Earthquake as long as it doesn't carry Air Balloon, but as always, a Choice-locked Earthquake is extremely risky. If you fear a Heatran switch-in, U-turn is a better choice to pop the Air Balloon it may be carrying, and a quick switch to Dugtrio will end Heatran's fun. Entry hazards, most importantly Stealth Rock, are also required to break through Multiscale, Sturdy, and Focus Sash, which may otherwise ruin Darmanitan's sweep. Finally, if you plan on running Superpower, make sure you have a way of taking out Chandelure, or else Darmanitan becomes pure setup bait.