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MikeDecIsHere
01-07-2011, 07:46 PM
http://www.serebii.net/blackwhite/pokemon/555.png
Darmanitan

Type: Fire
Daruma Mode: Fire/Psychic

Abilities:
Sheer Force- Grants a 33% boost to attack moves while losing any posititve secondary effects for the attacker. This means that while you will still have the negative effects from using Super Power, you will not get the speed boosts from Nitro Charge nor the burn chance from Flare Blitz. It is also important to note that Life Orb's recoil gets negated if you use a move that is affected by Sheer Force. Life Orb will not recoil with Flare Blitz but will for Earthquake and Superpower.
Daruma Mode (Dream World)- at 50% hp, Darmanitan changes into Daruma Form

Base Stats:
HP: 105
Atk: 140
Def: 55
SpAtk: 30
SpDef: 55
Spe: 95

Daruma Mode Base Stats
HP: 105
Atk: 30
Def: 105
SpAtk: 140
SpDef: 105
Spe: 55

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/555.shtml

Overview

Normal Opinions:
Darmanitan hits like a truck. A Sheer Force-boosted Flare Blitz hurts things that are even resistant to it. Base 95 speed is good enough to give it options. Base 105 HP means that it can use those Flare Blitzes and take the residual damage. However, grounded Fire type means that it gets hurt by every type of entry hazard. While 105 base HP is nice, 55 base defenses means that it can't take too many hits. Sheer Force is also a double-edged sword, as Darmanitan can't use a Nitro Charge set.

Daruma Mode Opinions:
105/105/105 defenses are very nice, 140 special attack is very nice. Adequate special move pool. However, this mode can only be activated when the user drops below a certain amount of HP, which is hindering. Fire/Psychic has 5 weaknesses and 6 resistances compared to it's normal 3:5. Not a good choice to use.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Depth/Move Sets

http://www.serebii.net/blackwhite/pokemon/555.png
Choice Scarf
Darmanitan w/ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force
Jolly/Adamant
EVs: 252 atk; 252 spe; 4 hp

Flare Blitz
Superpower
Earthquake/Stone Edge
U-turn/Stone Edge


Set Comments

95 base speed is ideal for a Choice Scarf set. The first move is a simple choice, Flare Blitz. Flare Blitz puts a dent in most Pokemon, while Starmie and other frail Pokemon resistant to it still get hurt hard. The second move, Superpower, OHKOs Blissey, Evo Stone Chansey, and Heatran, all of which love to switch in to a Darmanitan locked on Flare Blitz. Be wary of using Superpower blindly though, as Burungeru can come in for free and cause your team problems. The last two move slots are mainly for type coverage. Earthquake is recommended for the first spot. Aside from the great type coverage, the only two types resistant to it, Grass and Bug, will most likely not be switching into Darmanitan. U-turn is used for scouting, as Darmanitan can cause a lot of switches. Both moves can be swapped for Stone Edge, as Gyarados and airborne Dragons walk all over this set without it.

Additional Comments

Jolly is recommended for the nature, as Darmanitan needs the speed boost. However, Adamant can be used if you want that extra power.

http://www.serebii.net/blackwhite/pokemon/555.png
Choice Band
Darmanitan with Choice Band
Ability: Sheer Force
Adamant/Jolly
EVs 252 atk; 252 spe; 4 Hp

Flare Blitz
Superpower
Earthquake/ Stone Edge
U-Turn/ Stone Edge


Set Comments

As if Darmanitan isn't scary enough, someone decided to slap a Choice Band on it, making Darmanitan a humongous offensive threat. The move pool is the same as the choice scarf set. Flare Blitz is amazing, as it takes a huge chunk out of anything that decides to come in on Darmanitan. Superpower is used for type coverage and it also hurts most Pokemon, although Darmanitan will most likely have to switch out next turn. Earthquake is for its great type coverage. U-turn is used for scouting. Stone Edge can be switched for either move to hurt Gyarados and the flying Dragons.

Additional Comments

Darmanitan reaches a massive 624 attack with a Choice Band. While the Choice Scarf set is more common, this set is highly underrated, and with the right support can destroy the opponent's team. This thing hurts everything, even things that are resistant to it. It can 2HKO Burungeru, which is one of Darmanitan's checks.
Fire Punch can be used over Flare Blitz if the recoil is unappealing. However, there is a notable difference in power.

http://www.serebii.net/blackwhite/pokemon/555.png
Substitute
Darmanitan w/ leftovers/life orb
Ability- Sheer Force
Adamant/Jolly
EVs 212 hp; 252 atk; 44 spe

Substitute
Flare Blitz/ Fire Punch
Focus Punch
Stone Edge/Earthquake/Payback


Set Comments

Darmanitan causes a lot of switches. While this Pokemon is generally choiced, this highly unpredicted set eliminates predicting switches and allows Darmanitan to use the right attack on its counter. The first move is substitute. Setting up a substitute is great way to scout. This also allows Darmanitan to utilize Focus Punch instead of Superpower. Flare Blitz is recommended for the second move, as it is Darmanitan's most powerful attack. However, if the accumulative passive damage isn't appealing, then Fire Punch can a plausible alternative, although the difference in power is huge. The third slot should go to Focus Punch, as the sub-punch strategy is still highly effective. The 4th move is used for type coverage. Stone Edge is recommended due to the fact that Gyarados, flying Dragons, and Burungeru wall this entire set without it, forcing a waste of a sub. Stone Edge also gets the boost from Sheer Force. If you think that the low accuracy will be too unreliable, then Earthquake can be used instead, where you can still hit Burungeru. Payback can also be used for that awesome Fighting/Dark combination. If you want Darmanitan to have a little more survivability, then Leftovers is the item of choice. If you're looking for power, then Life Orb should be used. With Sheer Force, Life Orb doesn't have recoil. However, Life Orb should really only be used if Darmanitan doesn't pack Flare Blitz. Life Orb should also be used with Stone Edge and not Earthquake, as Life Orb will not recoil for Stone Edge, but will for Earthquake.

Additional Comments

For the nature, Adamant is recommended, as this set is not designed to out-speed, and the extra power is needed for some KOs and 2HKOs. However, Jolly is another option. The HP EVs give Darmanitan the ability to create 101 subs, which mean they won't be broken by Seismic toss. max attack is used for killing power. The rest is dumped into speed. Max HP is also an option, but the minimum HP needs to be 404.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Other Options

Expert Belt- Can be used to fake a Choiced Set, which can catch the opponent off guard.
Life Orb- Can be used instead of Choice Band in order to have the ability to change moves while maintaining a significant offensive threat.
Will-O-Wisp- Can be used behind a sub, meaning that Gyarados will be crippled after it breaks Darmanitan's sub. However, Darmanitan's mediocre defences means that it can't stay in after it statuses.
Toxic- Darmanitan also has access to Toxic, but again, its mediocre defenses mean it can't stay in after it statuses.
Torment- Can be used if you feel risky and decide to make a Daruma mode set, but this is very had to pull off and isn't recommended.

A Daruma mode set with Psychic/Substitute/Rest/Focus Blast can be used, but it is not recommened due to the nature of Daruma mode, and Darmanitan can't hurt anything with special attacks when not in Daruma mode.

Teammates

Darmanitan loves Spikes or Rocks support, as it can help it get some important 2HKOs on the switch or OHKOs from the start. Nattorei is a great partner for this. Not only is it a great support poke, but it lures out other fire types that Darmanitan can come in on and immediately threaten, mainly other scarfed Darmanitan. Darmanitan also needs teammates to take on Gyarados or flying Dragons that can wall its entire set. Starmie is a good teammate for this as it can come in on Earthquake, Waterfall or setups and threaten with the respective super effective move. Starmie can also Rapid Spin, which can remove entry hazards that plague Darmanitan. Jolteon can also perform Starmie's job minus rapid spin support, but Starmie is generally a better teammate for Darmanitan. Shaymin can also come in and threaten both Gyarados and the flying Dragons (if it has HP Ice). Another interesting teammate is Burungeru, who can come in and status any of Darmanitan's counters with Toxic or Burn. The Fire/Water/Grass core returns with something other than Heatran.
For the Choice Scarf set, teammates that can eliminate faster scarfed pokes can really help Darmanitan sweep. Choice Scarf Starmie is a great choice for this, as it can eliminate a lot of the common Scarfed Pokes in OU. Scarfed Flygon can also be used as it resists 2 out of 3 of Darmanitan's weaknesses and threaten a lot of Pokes. Paralysis support can be wonderful for Darmanitan, allowing it to out-speed checks and other Scarfed Pokemon. Multi-scale Dragonite is a good choice for this, as it resists almost all of Darmanitan's weaknesses. On the Offensive side, a great partner to Darmanitan is Roobushin. After your opponent has to deal with the onslaught of a banded Darmanitan, taking on Roobushin is not easy. Roobushin's Mach Punch is also good for taking out foes that Darmanitan weakened with Flare Blitz. Scizor and Lucario can also pick off Pokemon weakened by Darmanitan.

Counters

As stated in this entire analysis, Gyarados and Flying Dragons are great counters to Darmanitan, as those without Stone Edge are completely walled. Gyarados is the best counter, as the Intimidate boost plus its typing really hurt Darmanitan. Be careful of the Banded set though as a banded Flare Blitz will still hit Gyarados hard. Scarfed Flygon is also a good counter to Darmanitan, resisiting it's entire movepool except Superpower and can threaten Darmanitan with Earthquake. Multiscale Dragonite and Salamence are other good checks to Darmanitan, and can set up on the switch. Bulky Waters are also good checks to Darmanitan. Vaporeon, Suicune, and Burungeru can come in on Flare Blitzes and Superpowers and threaten/set up. They need to be careful of switching into the Banded sets however, as a banded Flare Blitz can put them in the 2HKO range.
While the Banded set is scary, it also makes Darmanitan slower than some notable Pokemon, like Starmie. While Starmie might not be able to switch into a banded Darmanitan, it can come in off of fodder and threaten to KO with Surf.

Opinion

Darmanitan is a great Pokemon. While it doesn't have access to the widest movepool, it does its job by hitting everything hard. The Scarfed set is great, as a fast Pokemon that hits like a truck is always appreciated on any team. The banded set is highly underrated, as it scores 2HKOs on most of Darmanitan's checks. All in all, Darmanitan is a beast, and is a powerhouse in the metagame.

Credit goes to Serebii for the move list and stats.
Special thanks to dragonknight for the edits

MikeDecIsHere
01-07-2011, 07:46 PM
if i missed anything please let me know and i will change it

steel dragons
01-07-2011, 08:58 PM
Nice job on this analysis, as you have seemed to cover everything. However, you don't seem to have a picture of the normal Hihidaruma right now, and I think that that picture should be included also.

I'm adding this to "the list", or the list of analyses after this.

MikeDecIsHere
01-08-2011, 04:42 AM
really? i have the normal picture showing for me. its the left-most photo.

Lovat
01-08-2011, 10:50 AM
The picture isn't showing up for me either.
The only think that I noticed whilst reading over it, was the fact that you hadn't capitalized your items. Other than that minor nitpick, I can't see nothing wrong with the analysis.
Although, even if it's just for sake of gimmicks, I think a Daruma Mode set should be included.

Dragonknight
01-08-2011, 02:44 PM
http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:xp7kRl3V446dgM:http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/uu107/minimingames/Platinium%20Images/hihidarumasprite.png&t=1 http://veekun.com/dex/media/black-white/555-daruma.png

Darmanitan (more commonly known as hihidaruma)

Type: Fire
Daruma Mode: Fire/Psychic

Abilities:
Sheer Force- Grants a 33% boost to attack moves while losing any posititve secondary effects for the attacker. This means that while you will still have the negative effects from using Super Power, you will not get the speed boosts from Nitro Charge nor the burn chance from Flare Blitz. It is also important to note that Life Orb's recoil gets negated if you use a move that is affected by Sheer Force. Life Orb will not recoil with Flare Blitz but will for Earthquake and Superpower.
Daruma Mode (Dream World)- at 50% hp, Darmanitan changes into Daruma Form

Base Stats:
HP: 105
Atk: 140
Def: 55
SpAtk: 30
SpDef: 55
Spe: 95

Daruma Mode Base Stats
HP: 105
Atk: 30
Def: 105
SpAtk: 140
SpDef: 105
Spe: 55

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/555.shtml

Normal Opinions
Good:
Darmanitan hits like a truck. A Sheer Force-boosted Flare Blitz hurts things that are even resistant to it. Base 95 speed is good enough to give it options. Base 105 hp means that it can use those Flare Blitzes and take the residual damage.

Bad: Grounded fire type means that it gets hurt by every type of entry hazard. While 105 base hp is nice, 55 base defenses means that it cant take too many hits. Sheer Force is also a double-edged sword, as Darmanitan can't use a Nitro Charge set.

Daruma Mode Opinions:
Good: 105/105/105 defenses are very nice, 140 special attack is very nice. Adequate special move pool.

Bad: This mode can only be activated when the user drops below a certain amount of hp, which is hindering. Fire/Psychic has 5 weaknesses and 6 resistances compared to it's normal 3:5. Not a good choice to use.

Choice Scarf
Darmanitan @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force
Jolly/Adamant
EVs: 252 atk; 252 spe; 4 hp
-Flare Blitz
-Superpower
-Earthquake/Stone Edge
-U-turn/Stone Edge

Summary
95 base speed is ideal for a Choice Scarf set.
The first move is a simple choice, Flare Blitz. Flare Blitz puts a dent in most Pokemon. Starmie and other frail Pokemon resistant to it still get hurt hard.
The second move, Superpower, OHKO's Blissey, Evo Stone Chansey, and Heatran, all of which love to switch in to a Darmanitan locked on Flare Blitz. Be wary of using Superpower blindly though, as Burungeru can come in for free and cause your team problems.
The last two move slots are mainly for type coverage. Earthquake is recommended for the first spot. Aside from the great type coverage, the only two types resistant to it, Grass and Bug, will most likely not be switching into Darmanitan. U-turn is used for scouting, as Darmanitan can cause a lot of switches. Both moves can be swapped for Stone Edge, as Gyarados and airborne dragons walk all over this set without it.
As for the nature, Jolly is recommended as Darmanitan needs the speed boost. However, Adamant can be used if you want that extra power, though it is not recommended.

Choice Band
Darmanitan @ Choice Band
Ability: Sheer Force
Adamant/Jolly
EVs 252 atk; 252 spe; 4 Hp
-Flare Blitz
-Superpower
-Earthquake/ Stone Edge
-U-Turn/ Stone Edge

As if Darmanitan isn't scary enough, someone decided to slap a choice band on it. Darmanitan reaches a massive 624 attack with a choice band. While the choice scarf set is more common, this set is highly underrated, and with the right support can destroy the opponents team. This thing hurts everything, even things that are resistant to it. It can 2HKO Burungeru, which is one of Darmanitan's checks.
The move pool is the same as the choice scarf set. Flare Blitz is amazing, as it takes a huge chunk out of anything that decides to come in on. Superpower is used for type coverage and it also hurts most Pokemon, although Darmanitan will most likely have to switch out next turn. Earthquake is for its great type coverage. U-turn is used for scouting. Stone edge can be switched for either move to hurt Gyarados and the flying dragons.

Substitute
Darmanitan @ leftovers/life orb
Ability- Sheer Force
Adamant/Jolly
EVs 212 hp; 252 atk; 44 spe
-Substitute
-Flare Blitz/ Fire Punch
-Focus Punch
-Stone Edge/Earthquake/Payback

Darmanitan causes a lot of switches. While this pokemon is generally choiced, this highly unpredicted set eliminates predicting switches and allows Darmanitan to use the right attack on its counter.The first move is obviously substitute.(Why is it obvious? What would this do to benefit you?) Flare Blitz is recommended for the second move, as it it Darmanitan's most powerful attack. However, if the accumulative passive damage isn't appealing, then Fire Punch can be a plausible alternative, even though the difference in power is big.
The third slot should go to Focus Punch, as the sub-punch strategy is still highly effective.
The 4th move is used for type coverage. Stone Edge is recommended due to the fact that Gyarados, flying dragons, and Burungeru wall this entire set without it, forcing a waste of a sub. Stone Edge also gets the boost from Sheer Force. If you think that the low accuracy will be too unreliable, then Earthquake can be used instead, where you can still hit Burungeru. Payback can also be used for that awesome Fighting/Dark combination.
If you want Darmanitan to have a little more survivability, then leftovers is the item of choice. If you're looking for power, then life orb should be used. With Sheer Force, life orb doesn't have recoil. However, Life orb should really only be used if Darmanitan doesn't pack Flare Blitz. Life orb should also be used with Stone Edge and not Earthquake, as life orb will not recoil for Stone Edge but will for Earthquake.
For the nature, Adamant is recommended, as this set is not designed to outspeed and the extra power is needed for some OHKOs and 2HKOs. However, Jolly is another option.
The HP EVs give Darmanitan the ability to create 101 subs, which mean they wont be broken by Seismic toss. max attack is used for killing power. the rest is dumped into speed. Max hp is also an option, but the minimum hp needs to be 404.

Other Options
Darmanitan has access to Will-O-Wisp and Toxic, but its mediocre defences means that it cant stay in after it statuses. Will-O-Wisp can be used behind a sub, meaning that Gyarados will be crippled after it breaks Darmanitan's sub.
If you feel risky and decide to make a daruma mode set, then a torment set can be used, but it is very hard to pull off and isn't recommended.
A daruma mode set with Psychic, Substitute, Rest and Focus Blast can be used, but it is not recommened due to the nature of daruma mode, and Darmanitan can't hurt anything with special attacks when not in daruma mode.

Team Construction
Darmanitan loves spikes or rocks support, as it can help it get some important 2HKOs on the switch or OHKOs from the start. Nattorei is a great partner for this. Not only is it a great support poke, but it lures out other fire types that Darmanitan can come in on and immediately threaten, mainly other scarfed Darmanitan. Darmanitan also needs teammates to take on Gyarados or flying dragons that can wall its entire set. Starmie is a good teammate for this as it can come in on Earthquake or Waterfall or setups and threaten with the respective super effective move. Starmie can also Rapid Spin, which can remove entry hazards that plague Darmanitan. Jolteon also performs Starmie's job minus rapid spin support, but Starmie is generally a better teammate for Darmanitan. Shaymin can also come in and threaten both Gyarados and the flying dragons (if it has HP Ice).
Another interesting teammate is Burungeru, who can come in and status any of Darmanitan's counters with toxic or burn. The Fire/Water/Grass core returns with something other than Heatran.
For the choice scarf set, teammates that can eliminate faster scarfed pokes can really help Darmanitan sweep. Choice Scarf Starmie is a great choice for this, as it can eliminate a lot of the common scarfed pokes in OU. Scarfed Flygon can also be used as it resists 2 out of 3 of Darmanitan's weaknesses and threaten a lot of pokes.
Paralysis support can be wonderful for Darmanitan, allowing it to out speed checks and other scarfed pokemon. Multi-scale Dragonite is a good choice for this, as it resists almost all of Darmanitan's weaknesses.
On the Offensive side, a great partner to Darmanitan is Roobushin. After your opponent has to deal with the onslaught of a banded Darmanitan, taking on Roobushin is not easy. Roobushin's Mach Punch is also good for taking out foes that Darmanitan weakened with Flare Blitz. Scizor and Lucario can also pick off pokemon weakened by Darmanitan.

Counters
As stated in this entire analysis, Gyarados and Flying Dragons are great counters to Darmanitan, as those without Stone Edge are completely walled. Gyarados is the best counter, as the intimidate boost plus its typing really hurt Darmanitan. Be careful of the Banded set though as a banded Flare Blitz will still hit Gyarados hard. Scarfed Flygon is also a good counter to Darmanitan, resisiting it's entire movepool except superpower and can threted Darmanitan with Earthquake. Multiscale Dragonite and Salamence are other good checks to Darmanitan, and can set up on the switch. Bulky Waters are also good checks to Darmanitan. Vaporeon, Suicune, and Burungeru can come in on Flare Blitzes and Superpowers and threaten/set up. They need to be careful of switching into the banded sets however, as a banded Flare Blitz can put them in the 2HKO range.
While the banded set is scary, it also makes Darmanitan slower than some notable pokemon, like Starmie. While Starmie might not be able to switch into a banded Darmanitan, it can come in off of fodder and threaten to KO with surf.

Additional Comments
Darmanitan is a great pokemon. While it doesn't have access to the widest movepool, it does its job by hitting everything hard. The scarfed set is great, as a fast pokemon that hits like a truck is always appreciated on any team. The banded set is highly underrated, as it scores 2HKOs on most of Darmanitan's checks. All in all, Darmanitan is a beast, and is a powerhouse in the metagame.

Credit goes to Serebii for the move list and stats.

Great job overall, tried to fix a few kinks here and there.

MikeDecIsHere
01-08-2011, 06:26 PM
ok will try to fix the picture and fix the items when i get back from tennis.
and i will also try to include a daruma set

Lavityranitar
01-09-2011, 04:08 AM
Great job. In Daruma mode, it has 105/105/105 defences and 140 SpA still? What the f*ck gamefreak.

MikeDecIsHere
01-09-2011, 04:14 AM
the reason game freak did that is because the way daruma mode works. only activating at 50% hp is a good reason to give it monster stats. Kind of like Slaking lol

Eos
01-18-2011, 05:27 AM
daruma mode = meh... not really that good in my opinion just like how you said its like slaking. hihidaruma is a complete monster when used correctly, and like you said above; it hits anything like a truck with flare blitz unless it is resisted.
Like always, your analysis's baffle me mike. Great job ^_^

DDwhiscash
01-18-2011, 07:51 AM
Life Orb is a completely viable set, anyway Good job.

Lavityranitar
01-19-2011, 11:50 PM
Daruma Mode is a usable ability.

DDwhiscash
01-20-2011, 06:42 PM
Durama Mode is usable but it's inferior

steel dragons
02-01-2011, 03:42 PM
Yes, Daruma mode is inferior.

Also Mike, this is one of the top UU threats right now. You might want to mention that somewhere in your analysis and possibly rewrite some things.

DDwhiscash
02-04-2011, 05:09 PM
I've used Life Orb Dormanitan/Hihidurama. I think that Life Orb should be at least in Other Options. Since Flare Blitz only does a little bit less with LO (trust me, it hits like an full speed truck)

MikeDecIsHere
02-04-2011, 05:57 PM
I added Life Orb in the other options. Sorry forgot to do it before

lapras6666
02-15-2011, 06:41 PM
Great job. Only thing: Why Stone Edge over Rock Slide?

MikeDecIsHere
02-15-2011, 08:22 PM
Great job. Only thing: Why Stone Edge over Rock Slide?

Stone Edge gets a boost from Sheer Force iirc. It looses the secondary effect of a higher critical hit ratio

lapras6666
02-15-2011, 08:28 PM
ah I thought it didn't.

DDwhiscash
02-15-2011, 09:09 PM
Rock Slide has a finch effect remember. That being said the sole reason Stone Edge is preferred is because of it's higher Damage output

steel dragons
02-15-2011, 10:27 PM
Are you sure that Stone Edge gets a boost from Sheer Force? I thought that a move that has a chance for a critical hit didn't get the Sheer Force boost. I looked on Smogon recently (for Nidoking) for Encourage information, and Stone Edge is not on the list of moves that get the boost. Similar moves, like Leaf blade and Night Slash, also are not on the list.

The power difference would then be Rock Slide (97.5 power) against Stone Edge (100 power) if Hihidaruma has Sheer Force. Since Rock Slide has better accuracy than Stone Edge, I would think that Rock Slide would be the better option (though Stone Edge has slightly less power)

Also, since a lot of Hihidarumas are choiced, then Expert Belt should be mentioned in other options.

SilentDreams
03-07-2011, 03:27 AM
New format. Fixed some wording, and the other options section.

http://veekun.com/dex/media/black-white/555-normal.png http://veekun.com/dex/media/black-white/555-daruma.png
Darmanitan (more commonly known as Hihidaruma)

Type: Fire
Daruma Mode: Fire/Psychic

Abilities:
Sheer Force- Grants a 33% boost to attack moves while losing any posititve secondary effects for the attacker. This means that while you will still have the negative effects from using Super Power, you will not get the speed boosts from Nitro Charge nor the burn chance from Flare Blitz. It is also important to note that Life Orb's recoil gets negated if you use a move that is affected by Sheer Force. Life Orb will not recoil with Flare Blitz but will for Earthquake and Superpower.
Daruma Mode (Dream World)- at 50% hp, Darmanitan changes into Daruma Form

Base Stats:
HP: 105
Atk: 140
Def: 55
SpAtk: 30
SpDef: 55
Spe: 95

Daruma Mode Base Stats
HP: 105
Atk: 30
Def: 105
SpAtk: 140
SpDef: 105
Spe: 55

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/555.shtml

Overview

Normal Opinions:
Darmanitan hits like a truck. A Sheer Force-boosted Flare Blitz hurts things that are even resistant to it. Base 95 speed is good enough to give it options. Base 105 hp means that it can use those Flare Blitzes and take the residual damage. However, grounded fire type means that it gets hurt by every type of entry hazard. While 105 base hp is nice, 55 base defenses means that it cant take too many hits. Sheer Force is also a double-edged sword, as Darmanitan can't use a Nitro Charge set.

Daruma Mode Opinions:
105/105/105 defenses are very nice, 140 special attack is very nice. Adequate special move pool. However, this mode can only be activated when the user drops below a certain amount of hp, which is hindering. Fire/Psychic has 5 weaknesses and 6 resistances compared to it's normal 3:5. Not a good choice to use.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Depth/Move Sets

http://veekun.com/dex/media/black-white/555-normal.png
Choice Scarf
Darmanitan w/ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force
Jolly/Adamant
EVs: 252 atk; 252 spe; 4 hp

Flare Blitz
Superpower
Earthquake/Stone Edge
U-turn/Stone Edge


Set Comments
95 base speed is ideal for a Choice Scarf set.
The first move is a simple choice, Flare Blitz. Flare Blitz puts a dent in most Pokemon. Starmie and other frail Pokemon resistant to it still get hurt hard.
The second move, Superpower, OHKO's Blissey, Evo Stone Chansey, and Heatran, all of which love to switch in to a Darmanitan locked on Flare Blitz. Be wary of using Superpower blindly though, as Burungeru can come in for free and cause your team problems.
The last two move slots are mainly for type coverage. Earthquake is recommended for the first spot. Aside from the great type coverage, the only two types resistant to it, Grass and Bug, will most likely not be switching into Darmanitan. U-turn is used for scouting, as Darmanitan can cause a lot of switches. Both moves can be swapped for Stone Edge, as Gyarados and airborne dragons walk all over this set without it.

Additional Comments

As for the nature, Jolly is recommended as Darmanitan needs the speed boost. However, Adamant can be used if you want that extra power, though it is not recommended.

http://veekun.com/dex/media/black-white/555-normal.png
Choice Band
Darmanitan with Choice Band
Ability: Sheer Force
Adamant/Jolly
EVs 252 atk; 252 spe; 4 Hp

Flare Blitz
Superpower
Earthquake/ Stone Edge
U-Turn/ Stone Edge


Set Comments

As if Darmanitan isn't scary enough, someone decided to slap a Choice Band on it. Darmanitan reaches a massive 624 attack with a Choice Band. While the choice scarf set is more common, this set is highly underrated, and with the right support can destroy the opponents team. This thing hurts everything, even things that are resistant to it. It can 2HKO Burungeru, which is one of Darmanitan's checks.
The move pool is the same as the choice scarf set. Flare Blitz is amazing, as it takes a huge chunk out of anything that decides to come in on. Superpower is used for type coverage and it also hurts most Pokemon, although Darmanitan will most likely have to switch out next turn. Earthquake is for its great type coverage. U-turn is used for scouting. Stone edge can be switched for either move to hurt Gyarados and the flying dragons.

http://veekun.com/dex/media/black-white/555-normal.png
Substitute
Darmanitan w/ leftovers/life orb
Ability- Sheer Force
Adamant/Jolly
EVs 212 hp; 252 atk; 44 spe

Substitute
Flare Blitz/ Fire Punch
Focus Punch
Stone Edge/Earthquake/Payback


Set Comments

Darmanitan causes a lot of switches. While this pokemon is generally choiced, this highly unpredicted set eliminates predicting switches and allows Darmanitan to use the right attack on its counter.
The first move is substitute. Setting up a substitute is great way to scout. This also allows Darmanitan to utilize Focus Punch instead of Superpower.
Flare Blitz is recommended for the second move, as it is Darmanitan's most powerful attack. However, if the accumulative passive damage isn't appealing, then Fire Punch can a plausible alternative, although the difference in power is huge.
The third slot should go to Focus Punch, as the sub-punch strategy is still highly effective.
The 4th move is used for type coverage. Stone Edge is recommended due to the fact that Gyarados, flying dragons, and Burungeru wall this entire set without it, forcing a waste of a sub. Stone Edge also gets the boost from Sheer Force. If you think that the low accuracy will be too unreliable, then Earthquake can be used instead, where you can still hit Burungeru. Payback can also be used for that awesome Fighting/Dark combination.
If you want Darmanitan to have a little more survivability, then leftovers is the item of choice. If you're looking for power, then life orb should be used. With Sheer Force, life orb doesn't have recoil. However, Life orb should really only be used if Darmanitan doesn't pack Flare Blitz. Life orb should also be used with Stone Edge and not Earthquake, as life orb will not recoil for Stone Edge but will for Earthquake.

Additional Comments

For the nature, Adamant is recommended, as this set is not designed to outspeed and the extra power is needed for some KOs and 2HKOs. However, Jolly is another option.
The hp EVs give Darmanitan the ability to create 101 subs, which mean they wont be broken by Seismic toss. max attack is used for killing power. the rest is dumped into speed. Max hp is also an option, but the minimum hp needs to be 404.
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Other Options

Expert Belt- Can be used to fake a Choiced Set, which can catch the opponent off guard.
Life Orb- Can be used instead of Choice Band in order to have the ability to change moves while maintaining a significant offensive threat.
Will-O-Wisp- Can be used behind a sub, meaning that Gyarados will be crippled after it breaks Darmanitan's sub. However, Darmanitan's mediocre defences means that it can't stay in after it statuses.
Toxic- Darmanitan also has access to Toxic, but again, its mediocre defences mean it can't stay in after it statuses.
Torment- Can be used if you feel risky and decide to make a Daruma mode set, but this is very had to pull off and isn't recommended.

A daruma mode set with Psychic/Substitute/Rest/Focus Blast can be used, but it is not recommened due to the nature of daruma mode, and Darmanitan can't hurt anything with special attacks when not in daruma mode.

Teammates in OU

Darmanitan loves spikes or rocks support, as it can help it get some important 2HKOs on the switch or OHKOs from the start. Nattorei is a great partner for this. Not only is it a great support poke, but it lures out other fire types that Darmanitan can come in on and immediately threaten, mainly other scarfed Darmanitan. Darmanitan also needs teammates to take on Gyarados or flying dragons that can wall its entire set. Starmie is a good teammate for this as it can come in on Earthquake or Waterfall or setups and threaten with the respective super effective move. Starmie can also Rapid Spin, which can remove entry hazards that plague Darmanitan. Jolteon can also perform Starmie's job minus rapid spin support, but Starmie is generally a better teammate for Darmanitan. Shaymin can also come in and threaten both Gyarados and the flying dragons (if it has Hp ice).
Another interesting teammate is Burungeru, who can come in and status any of Darmanitan's counters with toxic or burn. The Fire/Water/Grass core returns with something other than Heatran.
For the choice scarf set, teammates that can eliminate faster scarfed pokes can really help Darmanitan sweep. Choice Scarf Starmie is a great choice for this, as it can eliminate a lot of the common scarfed pokes in OU. Scarfed Flygon can also be used as it resists 2 out of 3 of Darmanitan's weaknesses and threaten a lot of pokes.
Paralysis support can be wonderful for Darmanitan, allowing it to out speed checks and other scarfed pokemon. Multi-scale Dragonite is a good choice for this, as it resists almost all of Darmanitan's weaknesses.
On the Offensive side, a great partner to Darmanitan is Roobushin. After your opponent has to deal with the onslaught of a banded Darmanitan, taking on Roobushin is not easy. Roobushin's Mach Punch is also good for taking out foes that Darmanitan weakened with Flare Blitz. Scizor and Lucario can also pick off pokemon weakened by Darmanitan.

Teammates in UU

The Fire/Water/Grass core is amazing in UU, and there are a bunch of viable options for this core. Shaymin and Celebi are great teammates to Darmanitan, taking any Eathquakes or Stone Edges that come Darmanitan's way. Milotic is another great partner for Darmanitan, as it can easily take all Water attacks that haunt Darmanitan. Latias is another great teammate for Darmanitan, as it resists all of Darmanitan's weaknesses minus Earthquake.

Counters in OU

As stated in this entire analysis, Gyarados and Flying Dragons are great counters to Darmanitan, as those without Stone Edge are completely walled. Gyarados is the best counter, as the intimidate boost plus its typing really hurt Darmanitan. Be careful of the Banded set though as a banded Flare Blitz will still hit Gyarados hard. Scarfed Flygon is also a good counter to Darmanitan, resisiting it's entire movepool except superpower and can threted Darmanitan with Earthquake. Multiscale Dragonite and Salamence are other good checks to Darmanitan, and can set up on the switch. Bulky Waters are also good checks to Darmanitan. Vaporeon, Suicune, and Burungeru can come in on Flare Blitzes and Superpowers and threaten/set up. They need to be careful of switching into the banded sets however, as a banded Flare Blitz can put them in the 2HKO range.
While the banded set is scary, it also makes Darmanitan slower than some notable pokemon, like Starmie. While Starmie might not be able to switch into a banded Darmanitan, it can come in off of fodder and threaten to KO with surf.

Counters in UU

Milotic is an excellent counter to Hihidaruma, and the bulky variants can easily take on it's onslaught. If Darmanitan is locked into Flare Blitz, then Terakion can easily come in and start setting up or just KO with Earthquake. Latias resists all of Darmanitan's most powerful moves minus Stone Edge and U-turn, which is the more threatening of the two. Flygon is a great counter to Darmanitan, as it resists everything Darmanitan can throw at it minus U-Turn. Mamanbou can wall Darmanitan with its massive defensive bulk.

Opinion

Darmanitan is a great pokemon. While it doesn't have access to the widest movepool, it does its job by hitting everything hard. The scarfed set is great, as a fast pokemon that hits like a truck is always appreciated on any team. The banded set is highly underrated, as it scores 2HKOs on most of Darmanitan's checks. All in all, Darmanitan is a beast, and is a powerhouse in the metagame.

Credit goes to Serebii for the move list and stats.
Special thanks to dragonknight for the edits

Eternal
03-07-2011, 03:47 AM
Excellent work guys.

Lovat
03-07-2011, 11:40 AM
You may as well just give SilentDreams your password and she can do it without this quoting nonsense?
._.

Anyway, your help is appreciated, SilentDreams.

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SilentDreams
03-07-2011, 02:45 PM
You may as well just give SilentDreams your password and she can do it without this quoting nonsense?
._.

Anyway, your help is appreciated, SilentDreams.

That would definitely make my life easier, and then I could just put things that need to be changed in another color so he can add them when he has free time. It might help to have the posts that have the updated format moved to the top, but that probably doesn't matter all that much.

Not too sure how other people would feel about me going on Mike's account though (or how he'd feel about it)?

MikeDecIsHere
05-16-2011, 03:43 PM
I've made a few changes, including removing all mentions of Darmanitan being UU.

Placing this in QC phase

steel dragons
05-16-2011, 04:29 PM
Ok Mike, this analysis looks very good. My thoughts:

First, Stone Edge does not get the Encourage boost, because Sheer force doesn't boost moves that have a change of hitting crittically (critical hits...). This means that Rock Slide, which does get the Sheer Force boost, should be used over Stone Edge.

Also, for some reason, when sheer force boosted moves are used on a Pokemon with Sheer Force, Life Orb's recoil is NEGATED, however the LO boost still occurs. This means that you could 'fake' a choiced set by using Flare Blitz/Rock Slide with the Life Orb. Because of this effect, I think that Expert Belt should be removed from other options, since Life Orb is way better now for faking choiced sets on Darmanitan.

Yes, this effect with LO being negated when sheer force boosted moves are used on a Sheer Force Pokemon has been confirmed by Smogon. That is really scary on a Pokemon like Nidoking or Feraligetr, which use lots of Sheer force boosted moves. You can look here for that information. (http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79195&page=5)

SilentDreams
09-04-2011, 05:54 AM
Just updated this analysis. Everything is much shorter and to-the-point in this one, but it's also older, so should anything be changed or added? Also, were Steel's comments in the above post ever taken into account?

MikeDecIsHere
09-04-2011, 03:13 PM
No, Rock Slide needs to be swapped with Stone Edge still

pokemonisfun
09-04-2011, 03:28 PM
Why bother to use a Choice Band set if Life Orb offers no recoil yet plenty of power still? I mean most people are going to be using Darmantian in Sun or at least Sand so its still going to be absurdly powerful. Anything that cannot take a Choice Band Flare Blitz is certainly still not able to take a Life Orb Flare Blitz. This on top of the fact that Darmantian has quite great coverage in Fire/Fighting/Rock. You are just shooting yourself in the foot by restricting yourself to one move.