What are all of the Pokemon in Competitive that can viably run a Ghost AND Dark move on the Same Set?
Yes, this is probably a weird question. Usually, Pokemon don’t run a ghost and dark move because they cover the exact same thing. However, there’s only one Pokemon I know of that runs a ghost and dark move on the same set, and that Pokemon is Golurk(specifically the Choice Band variant):
Golurk @ Choice BandAbility: No GuardEVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 SpeAdamant Nature- Poltergeist- Earthquake- Heat Crash- Darkest Lariat
It runs Darkest Lariat alongside Poltergeist in NU to be able to deal damage to itemless Pokemon like Dhelmise, and can get past the defense boosts of Iron Defense + Body Press Bronzong.
Golurk running Poltergeist and Darkest Lariat on the same set made me wonder if there are other Pokemon in Competitive battling that can viably run a Ghost and Dark type move on the same set, and why. I’m not sure what format to specify if this question needs one, but I guess in general the Single Battle formats like AG, Ubers, OU-PU, etc inGen 8.Also feel free to change the question title if it’s confusing. Also, I do not mean status ghost and dark moves, I’m talking about ghost and dark moves that do damage.
Edit:By viable, I mean do the ghost and dark move on the same set serve different purposes. Sorry for not being clear.
Pleaselog inorregisterto add a comment.
After a lot of searching and asking on various forums, this is what I came to understand and know - Of all the Pokemon who run a Ghost and Dark move together, 99% of time they are Ghost ‘mons. They do this mainly because of three reasons, those being:
- For dual STABs, example beingSpiritomb.2) A barren movepool. For example,Spectrier. As we all know, Spectrier has a very barren movepool, and that forces it to run a Ghost + Dark move.3) This is the most common reason I noticed, it being the sheer utility Dark moves provide. For example, Golurk running Darkest Lariat to take care of Iron Defense + Body Press Bronzong, and Dragapult running Sucker Punch to take care of faster ‘mons. This used to be most common in gens where Pursuit existed, as seen in this gen 7Marshadowset, again for its sheer utility. But, as you asked Gen 8 ‘mons, I’ll leave that out. Some p ghost ‘mons also run Knock Off as seen in thisDecidueyeset.
So, to answer your question, it is mostly Ghost ‘mons who run a Ghost + Dark move, examples including Spiritomb, Spectrier, Golurk and Decidueye. Examples in Gen 7 include Marshadow and Mega Banette
Hope I helped :)