The best Dark-type Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Being the sneaky little rascals that they are, Dark-type Pokémon aren’t necessarily based off of darkness or dark energy like the type is usually associated with. Instead, the Dark type is based on evil intentions and underhanded battle tactics.

Everyone likes a good villain, and today, we will be talking about a couple of them that exist as Pokémon in the Generation IX games.

Here are the 10 best Dark-type Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, based on their design, lore, and competitive viability,

The 10 best Dark-type Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

10) Spiritomb

Spiritomb was always a very spooky yet cool addition, brought into the games back in Gen IV. Since Fairy types didn’t exist back then, Spiritomb’s dual-typing of Dark/Ghost gave it zero weaknesses, and with its respectable bulk, it was quite hard to remove from the field.

Spiritomb is especially memorable because it was always Champion Cynthia’s first ‘mon that she sent out onto the battlefield, and we can now look back on the memories of us trying to figure out what type hits this thing for super-effective damage and laugh at our naivety.

9) Murkrow

Murkrow is a scrappy little runt, and it has little to no business being as good as it is in competitive VGC right now.

Murkrow happens to be the only Pokémon with access to the combination of the ability Prankster and the move Tailwind. Prankster gives its user a +1 in priority to all non-attacking moves, making Murkrow’s Tailwind always go first regardless of Speed tiers, letting it support its partners in battle with doubled Speed stats.

Apart from Tailwind, Murkrow is also one of the only Pokémon to get Haze, and with the Prankster ability, it becomes all the more valuable as a Haze user. Haze gets rid of all stat changes on the field, which is amazing in the meta right now as Pokémon with strategies of boosting their stats are omnipresent.

8) Meowscarada

We know a lot of you are disappointed that just like the previous quadrupedal cat starter—Litten—Sprigatito also evolved into a bipedal final form. But don’t let Incineroar give you unfair biases—Meowscarada is actually an amazing design.

Well, in our opinion at least. Don’t cancel us, please.

Apart from pulling off its cat-magician theme flawlessly, it also has a phenomenal Speed stat and a decent Attack stat, but where Meowscarada’s money truly lies is in its signature move Flower Trick, a 70 base power Grass move that always crits, essentially turning it into 105 base power. Terrastalize it into the Grass type and slap on a Life Orb or Choice Band onto it and watch its damage potential skyrocket.

7) Roaring Moon

Think Salamence, but somehow even cooler. One of the past Paradox forms from Pokémon Scarlet, Roaring Moon is the prehistoric form of Salamence with a new dual-typing in Dark/Dragon.

It’s no coincidence that Roaring Moon looks so similar to Mega Salamence with the wings on its back forming that iconic crescent moon shape; the paranormal magazine from the new games—called Occulture—also hypothesizes that Roaring Moon may have a connection to Mega Evolution.

Well, theorists, go wild.

6) Weavile

Weavile is a super cool Dark-type Pokémon. No, really, with its secondary type being Ice, Weavile is quite literally one of the two coolest Dark-type Pokémon on this list.

Back in 2005 when Weavile was released, not only did it soar up to the ranks of the most popular Ice types but also one of the most popular Pokémon overall. It boasts a slick design, making it look like a little ice ninja that will cut you down and give you frostbite before you can order your Arcanine to use Flamethrower.

Sinnoh fans definitely have a lot of amazing memories of Weavile from traversing across the region and using it in battle, or even falling under its icy heel when going up against Cyrus—Team Galactic’s leader—and one of his strongest Pokémon, Weavile.

Moreover, Weavile is primed to be an amazing pick in competitive VGC, with access to a combination of a high base Speed and the move Fake out, letting it support its teammates as they deal damage or set up. Apart from being a very fast Fake Out user, it also has a good Attack stat and an amazing offensive typing to make quick work of its foes.

5) Chi-Yu

Chi-Yu is a Dark/Fire dual-type Legendary Pokémon belonging to the Treasures of Ruin quartet, who makes a big impression in the competitive scene of Scarlet and Violet.

Chi-Yu has a great Speed stat, along with a hard-hitting Special Attack stat that is further bolstered by its ability Beads of Ruin, which lowers the Special Defense of every Pokémon on the field by 25 percent, which also, in turn, helps its partner if it happens to be a Special Attacker.

Its ability is named after the beads that this Legendary possesses in place of its eyes. These beads were highly desired in ancient times, and legend says that the envy accumulated within these beads that sparked multiple conflicts clad itself in fire, and became a Pokémon. Now that’s a sick backstory.

4) Hydreigon

There are no two ways to put this: this pseudo-Legendary is simply one of the most brutal yet awesome Pokémon the franchise has created. 

The cruel-looking nightmare fuel-worthy design choices for Hydreigon are very reminiscent of Generation V, and you can assure yourself you won’t be getting such frightening designs from the company anymore, which makes Hydreigon all the more cherishable.

Hydreigon has also found itself in an amazing spot in the Season one metagame for Scarlet and Violet’s ranked double battles, and it’s always refreshing to see one of our favorite dragons make the comeback that we have all been waiting for.

3) Tyranitar

You can’t have a list talking about the best Dark-type Pokémon and not include Tyranitar. Introduced back in Generation II along with the welcoming of the Dark type as a whole, Tyranitar was a perfect embodiment of what the new type represented.

Even with all the power creep that has taken place through the generations, Tyranitar has managed to stick around and show its potential in the competitive scene, being able to make its mark even in the ranked double battles of Scarlet and Violet.

Tyranitar’s incredible base stats all-around, with its bulk being further boosted through Sandstorm make it a daunting task to take it out, and now with Terrastalization in play, it can change its type and take away its weaknesses that would otherwise make it highly vulnerable to a variety of ‘mons.

2) Chien-Pao

Just like Chi-Yu, Chien-Pao is one of the four members of the Treasures of Ruin quartet in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. This Legendary Pokémon has a compelling design—just like the other Treasures of Ruin.

Being based on snow leopards and saber-tooth tigers, its long fangs are represented by the two broken halves of an ancient sword hanging from the corners of its mouth. How cool is that? The sword attached to the inside of its mouth also has large implications for this Pokémon’s lore.

Chien-Pao is dubbed the “Sword of Ruin,” simply because its true form is the broken halves of the sword attached inside its mouth. Legend says that the hatred of those who perished by the sword long ago has clad itself in snow and become a Pokémon. Spooky stuff.

Chien-Pao’s ability is aptly named Sword of Ruin, and when it hits the battlefield, every other Pokémon on the field gets their Defense lowered by 25 percent, letting Chien-Pao and its partner take advantage of this and hit their opponents for increased damage. It is also one of the fastest Pokémon in the game with a respectable Attack stat and amazing type coverage, letting it be one of the most prominent threats in the metagame.

1) Kingambit

When Bisharp was released back in Generation V, everybody was pretty satisfied with how it turned out. It was a cool-looking Pokémon that was accepted by the community, and no one really clamored for an evolution to Bisharp over the years. But Kingambit is here, it’s the most badass thing we’ve seen, and we love it.

Kingambit has adopted the samurai design motif, with two long blades running above its mouth that resembles a long mustache, and a lengthy blade jutting upwards from its head which it utilizes to use its signature move Kowtow Cleave, an 85 base power Dark move that never misses. 

Kingambit also has extremely long hair that it—believe it or not—uses as a chair. Yup, Kingambit’s hair is so sturdy that it literally sits on it, even during its idle animation. What an absolute boss.

This Pokémon further boasts an incredible stat spread with a tremendous Attack stat and highly increased bulk from its pre-evolution. Kingambit’s Speed is pretty low, but this lets it be run on Trick Room teams comfortably. With the dawn of Terrastalization, Kingambit can easily get rid of its debilitating weakness in Fighting, along with other prominent ones like Fire and Ground by simply switching up its type and letting it continue to wreak havoc on the battlefield.

For all of these reasons, Kingambit comfortably sits on its hair throne as the No. 1 spot on our list.