What is the better Ability for Galarian Darmanitan in-game?
Gorilla Tactics makes it into more of a monster than it already is, but it seriously restricts what Darmanitan-G can do. Zen Mode is harder to obtain, but is it worth it for the freedom of move choice and the potential Fire typing? If it matters at all, I’m going to be doing an Ice monotype run of Shield.
Pleaselog inorregisterto add a comment.
I would definitely recommend Gorilla Tactics. In playthroughs, most Gym Leaders have Monotypic teams, so you just spam the super-effective move to muscle through every single thing, if not you can always Dynamax to get rid of that drawback. Zen Mode is hard to use, and it took me a whole 3 hours to get it. Not really worth it. I would use this moveset for a playthrough:
Darmanitan-Galar @ Choice Scarf / Choice Band (Choice scarf can be found in Ballonlea, Choice Band at Route 2)Ability: Gorilla TacticsEV spread doesn’t matterNature doesn’t matter
Icicle Crash is STAB and is good against Milo’s team, Raihan’s Sandaconda and Flygon, and Eternatus. Flare Blitz hits Melony’s Pokemon hard and is good against the legendary dogs, while also hitting Swordward/Shieldbert’s team pretty hard. Fire Punch can be used instead to not compromise on Darm’s longevity. Earthquake hits Kabu’s team hard, as well as Piers' Skuntank, Marnie’s Morpeko, and Nessa’s Drednaw super-effectively, and is a safer option against the legendary dogs and against most of Swordward/Shieldbert’s team. Iron Head is safer to spam against Melony, and hits Bede and Opal hard as well. It also is super-effective against Marnie’s Grimmsnarl.
Since I know you plan on doing an Ice Monotype, I’ll say you should try to use Zen Mode instead. Here’s my reasoning why:
Here’s a base in-game moveset for Zen Mode Darmanitan:
Darmanitan-G @ Sitrus BerryAbility: Zen Mode
-Belly Drum (Boost Attack)-Ice Punch (STAB)- Earthquake / Bulldoze / Superpower (Coverage against 4x Rock weakness)- Fire Punch (STAB)
After using a Belly Drum, the Sitrus Berry will heal you, so then you got an insane attack stat, plus two STAB moves and a coverage move.
I hope this helps :3c
In my opinion, I believe that Gorilla Tactics is the better ability here. For one, Brute Force is the best way to go in-game. Not only does Gorilla Tactics give you a 1.5x Attack Boost, but you also can give it a Type boosting item like Never-Melt Ice for Icicle Crash (which it learns upon evolution). Now, level it up a bit and boom, you have yourself a Icicle Crash sweeping machine. Additionally, being locked into one move isn’t all that bad because being in-game, you aren’t nearly punished as much as Competitive, making it much less dangerous. With Zen Mode on the other hand, you have to wait for it to activate, which isn’t very desirable in-game, at least for me.
Go with Gorilla Tactics because it gives the immediate boost and being locked isn’t really as detrimental as you think. Both are good abilities, but I believe that Gorilla Tactics is the better ability here. To be honest, as long as Icicle Crash is at least normal effectiveness, you will plow through teams.
Galarian Darmanitan @ Never-Melt Ice (Found in Stow-on-Side and Route 9)-Icicle Crash-Earthquake- Iron Head/any coverage move- Any Coverage Move
The problem with Gorilla Tactics is the fact you’ll probably have to be switching constantly, especially against foes without Monotype teams. You can teach it U-Turn (TM found in Glimwood Tangle) to help with that though.
Galarian Darmanitan already has 140 base Atk, and in-game, that’s really enough. Not to mention that coverage is usually more important than power (not that it needs any more) in in-game playthroughs.
Zen Mode Galarian Darmanitan’s extra Fire-type STAB will be extremely useful, because most Ice-types can’t use Fire moves and you’re doing an Ice Monotype. This extra Fire coverage/STAB can help against foes like Leon’s Aegislash and Mr. Rime/Rillaboom (If you choose Scorbunny or Sobble), Opal’s/Bede’s Mawile, Melony, and Hop’s Corvikight.
If you want to take the time to breed it, Zen Mode is probably better for the extra moveslots in battle and potential Fire STAB.
Besides that, it can learn Belly Drum to immediately activate Zen Mode.
Darmanitan-Galar @ Charcoal / Never-Melt IceAbility: Zen Mode- Belly Drum (Learned at Lv. 38)- Icicle Crash (Learned upon evolution)- Fire Punch (TM bought in Pokecenter outside Wyndon)- Zen Headbutt / Iron Head / Earthquake / Anything Else (TRs)
