So it’s November, the nights are getting darker faster and there’s a distinct chill in the air. We’re rapidly approaching the holidays and it’s time for another Top 5 of my favourite Pokémon from a particular type. This month we’ll be covering Dark type, to coincide with the darker nights. Symmetry.
Like Ghost, Dark is a type I’ve never really put a lot of effort into using properly. Though the ones I have used have usually left me with a good impression of the type, so with that said, let’s dive right in.
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- HOUNDOOM
Every now and then a friend and I challenge one another to complete the story of a main series Pokémon game using a starter one chooses for the other. In my run through of Pokémon Moon earlier this year the challenge was brought forth again. I gave him a newly hatched Hoppip and in return he gave me a freshly hatched Houndour as I’d never used one before.
The little Houndour quickly became a staple of the team and was helpful through a lot of the game. I recall it evolving into Houndoom mere moments before going on to challenge Mallow’s Grass type Trial and you can probably guess how well that turned out.
It was because of Houndoom’s effectiveness I decided to dump every Pokémon on the team at that point (Bar Houndoom) into the Box and strive to use Pokémon from every generation available that I’d never used before and it proved to be an amazingly diverse team that could take on any challenge with relative ease (and some of those Pokémon will be in future lists). My only gripe with Houndoom by the end of it was that it became rather outshined by the other members of the party in later game.
So despite never using its Mega Evolution, which I’m told is rather lack-luster, Houndoom really earned its 5th spot on my Top 5 Favourite Dark Type Pokémon (As of Gen VII)
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- ALOLAN PERSIAN
A lot of people hated Alolan Persian when it was announced and personally I wasn’t really too fussed over it either way. Since I knew the poor feline would never be used by the majority of the fandom when I came across an Alolan Meowth at the start of my play of Pokémon Sun I decided “Why not?”
So Alolan Meowth became a pretty prominent member of my team and was there from beginning to end. Though not the most frequently useful member of the party Alolan Meowth gained the most powerful thing a Pokémon could have – sentimental attachment. Then, when it evolved into Alolan Persian at level 12 I was confused so looked it up and learned it evolved through happiness. That was it, it was there to stay for the rest of the game.
Alolan Persian had the role in my team of being my first choice to pummel the opponent with hard-hitting moves like Power Gem & stalling moves like Fake Out with a Rockium-Z thrown into the mix for when it was better to be rid of something quickly and efficiently.
Though not the strongest Pokémon, it was an appreciated addition to the team and deserves its spot in this top 5.
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- MIGHTYENA
I know, I’m surprised too. Remember that Poochyena you catch at the start of Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire that knows the elemental “Fang” move? Yeah, that one. In my play of Omega Ruby I decided to try out this shaggy-looking pooch and made it a permanent addition to my team pretty quickly.
She could take pretty much any hit and shake it off before delivering a hard-hitting Fire Fang/Crunch. Surprisingly, the move Sand Attack made it into the moveset up to and throughout the Elite 4 as I found it to be a really helpful move to have in Omega Ruby in particular.
I have good memories of Mightyena travelling through Hoenn with me as the first Pokémon I caught in the game, facing off in as many battles as it did and winning every time with it’s sneaky tactics and its enjoyable interactions on Pokémon Amie and I was really surprised at just how much of a best friend this dog proved to be.
Sentimentality for the win.
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- SABLEYE
In my younger years I played Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow religiously, then when Gold/Silver came out I could never got a version of the game so my love of the franchise kind of died off when the hype calmed down in the early 2000s.
Though it didn’t last for long, as only four years later I was looking through a bookshelf in Waterstones and saw a Pokémon book showing off all the new “Generation III” Pokémon and on the cover was this devious looking little mite with gem-eyes and a wicked smirk.
It was love at first sight and I knew then and there I wanted to get back into the series and use this thing. I was 12 at the time so I convinced my mother to get me a Gameboy Advance with Pokémon Sapphire to boot. I was thrilled when I got to Dewford Island and caught my first Sableye and made sure I used it whenever possible. For a long time it was my favourite Pokémon in general and it never let me down.
Sableye will always have a special place in my heart for being one of the few things that managed to rekindle my adoration of the franchise and every time I see one in the game I think back to the little Sableye that could residing peacefully in Pokémon Sun at the time of this writing.
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- KROOKODILE
Sableye was great, but Krookodile was an utter beast. When Black/White came out I passed Sandile off as I already had teams planned for each of those games but when I got my hands on a copy of Black 2 I shrugged in a non-committed way and decided to give it a try. Did not regret.
Krookodile is pretty much Unova’s worst nightmare. I dominated every challenge I put Krookodile up against and found myself trying no to use him to make the game a little more of a challenge, However, when I did let Krookodile loose in gym battles/Elite 4 battles I’m pretty sure there were a few fatalities on the opposing side.
Design wise I was never too keen on them, but over time it has grown on me. It’s still not my all time favourite design but it does the job and does it well enough to earn Krookodile the #1 spot on my top 5 Dark types.
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As I said at the start, Dark is one of those types I’ve never really looked into very thoroughly and honestly I struggled to think of a couple of these entries. I have nothing particularly against Dark type but I find myself to be more of a offensive battler than a defensive one which is why I’m still surprised to this day I allowed Mightyena to keep Sand Attack through to the end of the game. Dark is such a defensive and tricky type, I suppose I’ve just never really adapted properly on how to use them to their full effect. Maybe in Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon I’ll give another Dark type a try and possibly make this list null and void. Who knows, ey?
Do you agree with any of my choices? Do you disagree? Feel free to tell me in the comments!
A new Top 5 Pokémon of [BLANK] Type will be back next month and since it’s December, it’s going to get a little chilly here. 😉
Spectacled Observer, out.
The Spectacled Observer 