Dark-type

Dark-type

The Dark-type (闇タイプ, Yami Taipu) is one of the eighteen types. Notable Trainers that specialize in Dark-type Pokémon are Karen of the Johto Elite Four, Sidney of the Hoenn Elite Four, and Grimsley of the Unova Elite Four. Notably, the Dark type is the only type that has never had a Pokémon Gym specialize in it. Prior to changes in Generation Sinnoh all Ghost-type moves were special, but they may now also be physical depending on the attack.

Statistical averages

Overall

• HP=67.05
• Attack=89.64
• Defense=65.72
• SpAtk=70.69
• SpDef=63.62
• Speed=73.95
  • Total=430.67

Fully evolved

• HP=76.61
• Attack=101.91
• Defense=78.35
• SpAtk=83.52
• SpDef=75.26
• Speed=80.22
  • Total=495.87

Characteristics

In the anime movie when zarona drowns in the water he evolves into zaroarak

Offense

Dark-type moves, when combating Psychic types, are especially useful due to their secondary effects; Crunch lowers Defense (an already low stat among Psychic types), Bite causes flinching, Faint Attack never misses, Night Slash has a high critical hit ratio while Pursuit hits Pokémon as they switch for double damage. Many Dark-type moves also involve stealing or deception, such as moves like: Thief, which steals an opponent's held item; Snatch, which steals the beneficial effects of an opponent's moves; and Foul Play, which uses a number of the opponent's offensive modifiers, such as Attack, to calculate damage.

Even though the Dark type was considered a special type prior to Generation Sinnoh, the three Dark-type moves that are currently special (Dark Pulse, Snarl and Night Daze) were introduced after Generation Hoenn, meaning that all Dark-type moves that were once special moves are now all physical moves, which helps many Dark types since most of them are physical attackers.

Defense

Dark-type Pokémon are notable for the fact that they don't have any strong stat trends other than Attack (which is in and of itself modified by a few powerful outliers and slightly ironic as Dark was a special type, not a physical type), but usually have relatively poor defenses, with the exception of Umbreon, Spiritomb, Bisharp, Drapion, Scrafty, Mandibuzz and Tyranitar. On the plus side, Dark types have an immunity to Psychic-type moves.

Additionally, prior to Generation Kalos, Pokémon that are both Dark-type and Ghost-type have no weaknesses (excluding Fighting-type moves used under immunity-negating conditions such as Ring Target or Scrappy), as the resistances of the Dark type cover the weaknesses of Ghost, and vice-versa. In Generation Kalos, the Fairy type was introduced, which is super effective against Dark and not resisted by Ghost, so these Pokémon now have a weakness to Fairy.

Meanwhile, a Psychic/Dark-type Pokémon, such as Inkay and Malamar, has no resistances while having a double weakness to Bug-type moves, a single weakness to Fairy-type moves and an immunity to Psychic.

Contest Properties

When used in Contests, Dark-type moves typically are of the Smart category, but can also fall in any of the other four Contest categories.

Pokémon

As of Generation Kalos, there are 45 Dark-type Pokémon or 6.1% of all Pokémon (counting forms and Mega Evolutions that change typing as different Pokémon), making it the 6th rarest type.

Pure Dark-type Pokémon

• Umbreon
• Poochyena
• Mightyena
• Absol
• Darkrai
• Purrloin
• Liepard
• Zorua
• Zoroark

Half Dark-type Pokémon

Primary Dark-type Pokémon

• Murkrow
• Honchkrow
• Sneasel
• Weavile
• Houndour
• Houndoom
• Sableye
• Scraggy
• Scrafty
• Pawniard
• Bisharp
• Vullaby
• Mandibuzz
• Deino
• Zweilous
• Hydreigon
• Inkay
• Malamar
• Yveltal

Secondary Dark-type Pokémon

• Tyranitar
• Nuzleaf
• Shiftry
• Carvanha
• Sharpedo
• Cacturne
• Crawdaunt
• Stunky
• Skuntank
• Spiritomb
• Drapion
• Sandile
• Krokorok
• Krookodile
• Greninja
• Pangoro

Moves

Holy mama

Trivia

• Generation Unova introduced the most Dark-type Pokémon of any generation (minus Generation Kanto), with 16, and Generation Kalos introduced the fewest Dark-type Pokémon, with five.
• Generation Sinnoh introduced the most Dark-type moves of any generation (minus Generation Kanto), with 11, and Generation Kalos introduced the fewest Dark-type moves, with two.
  • Neither of the moves introduced in Generation Sinnoh deal damage.
• In Generation Johto, the Dark type saw one retroactive type change in a move (Bite), but no change in a Pokémon. The opposite is true for the Steel type, which saw one retroactive type change in a Pokémon family (Magnemite and Magneton), but no change in a move.
• There has yet to be a Pokémon Gym that specializes in the Dark type.
  • The Fairy-type, introduced in Generation Kalos, received its own gym before Dark-type.
• Like Ghost-type, there are no Pokémon with a type combination doubly vulnerable to Dark, though in Generation VI the move Trick-or-Treat can create such a combination in-battle if it is used on a Psychic-type.
• Despite Dark-type moves being exclusively special before the physical/special split, every Dark-type move introduced before the split was made a physical move.
• Dark is the only type without a move that has 100 or more base power, not considering Fling with an Iron Ball.
• Dark is the only type not represented by a Pokémon (retroactive or otherwise) in the Kanto Pokédex, not counting Mega Gyarados. Consequently, it is the only type absent from a regional Pokédex.

References

Nugget the balloon girl drowns in the water