Zoroark. Yup, Zoroark. How to describe this guys? Well, it's a black fox that can make illusions of its allies to confuse opponents. Well, pretty decent, but does it live up to its potential? It's up to you to find out, of course!
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Subject No.9
Name: Zoroark
Species: The Illusion Fox Pokemon
Height: 5'3"
Weight: 178.8 lbs.
Type: Dark
Ability: Illusion
Smogon Tier: BorderLine2
Insights: So Zoroark is basically a prankster... without Prankster. It does have this nice niche of confusing your opponents, though. Dark is also a type that many consider to be a strong one but it is also weak enough to stand alone. Also, there many Pokemon who can simply destroy Zoroark once the strategy is foiled, but nevertheless, Zoroark has particular strengths that it can be concealed within someone else's face and strike them down before even knowing what to get them.
Recommended Ability: Illusion
An exclusive Ability for Zoroark, It's distinctly useless in-game but it shines in competitive battles. It allows Zoroark to copy the appearance of the last Pokemon you have in your roster which is basically predictable and unpredictable at the same time. Truly, the confusion that Zoroark may cause can practically help you win fights for as long as you are crafty enough not to let Zoroark faint so easily.
Recommended moves:
1. Dark Pulse - Zoroark's main STAB move and with a good amount of power and flinch rate. There is no reason to forego this move for something else.
2. Flamethrower - burn your opponents with such sheer magnificence through this move. It's a more convenient coverage move than Fire Blast simply in its accuracy alone. In addition, it inflicts a burn rate which can be always beneficial against the hard-liners of the metagame such as Bouffalant (did I spelled that correctly?).
3. Grass Knot - there are many heavy Pokemons that scatter in the metagame, and this is where Grass Knot comes in handy. It inflicts damage based on the opposing Pokemon's weight. The heavier the foe, the more damage it deals. Convenient way to get rid of those bulky monsters like Donphan.
4. Nasty Plot - all it takes is an excellent plot to take down the most nefarious of opponents, and Zoroark makes great use of its powerful ability to set up at least one boost from Nasty Plot. It only takes one nefarious plot and you can count on that.
5. Extrasensory - a nice coverage move for Zoroark against Fighting-Types and its flinch rate can be helpful to withstand against certain threats.
Other recommended moves:
1. Shadow Ball - another coverage move and it synergizes well with a Ghost Pokemon on your party; creating an actual diversion of sorts against certain Pokemon.
2. Night Slash - surprisingly enough, Zoroark has the potential to be a mixed attacker in every way possible due to its decent 105 Attack stat. It has STAB and an increased critical-hit rate.
3, Sucker Punch - one of the few Pokemon who can manage to pull-off a STAB-powered Sucker Punch which is always a good thing for any Pokemon who relies on great offensive capabilities.
4. Night Daze - Zoroark's signature move that damages foes as well as reducing foe's accuracy. If you are using Smogon rules, however, then this skill is not that particularly useful since means of increasing evasion is never allowed.
5. Counter - in conjunction with Focus Sash, Counter allows Zoroark to beat down foes into a juicy pulp, provided that a physical move recently hits Zoroark.
6. U-Turn - a perfect scouting move for Zoroark, but for as long as it runs a physical set.
7. Pursuit - it deals STAB damage as well as to prevent injured Psychic types from escaping Zoroark.
Recommended items:
1. Life Orb - main offensive item. 30% boost for all attacks is always a sweet thing.
2. Dread Plate - this is mainly for its Dark moves such as Night Slash, Dark Pulse, Sucker Punch, Night Daze, and Pursuit.
3. Choice Specs - big boosts for its special attacks but will force you to stick on one move. Pretty reliable but it takes a lot of switching to maximize its effect.
4. Choice Band - same as Specs but for physical attacks.
5. Focus Sash - best used with Counter, but prediction is another story.
Recommended natures: Timid or Jolly
Speed is what Zoroark needs the most; whether you are going physical or special. 252 Speed is to make sure to outrun most of its enemies in the tier. Also, you might want to consider Jolly for a physical attacker build. That's all there is to it; straightforward build for this nostalgic fox.
Overall: Zoroark's mixed movepool has a lot of potential against high-tier foes, but its only hindered by a limited array of coverage moves that can be either too weak or just too unreliable. However, everything may not seem as bad for Zoroark as it can cover itself with Illusion, and that effort to puzzle your foes is always rewarding. All in all, proper prediction and intuition are the most valuable key factors in winning battles with Zoroark.
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