PotW: Darmanitan

Do you love both Physical and Special attackers and wish you could have both in one?

Do you really like primates, but Primeape just doesn't do it for you?

Do you find that every Pokemon you train just seems to be lacking in the eyebrow department?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this article will be quite to your liking.

In case you weren't able to guess from those questions, or by the giant banner at the top of this page, this week's Pokemon of the Week is none other than the GenV fire-type, Darmanitan!

Darmanitan is one of the few Pokemon in existance based on Primates, and was introduced in Generation 5 along with its pre-evolution, and six similarly simien Pokemon, Pansage, Panpour, and Pansear, and their evolutions.

Apart from being based on an ape, Darmanitan and its pre-evolution, Darumakka, is based off of Daruma dolls from Japanese cultures. These dolls are small, round, and red, and look very similar to Darumakka when they retract their arms and legs into their bodies. Daruma dolls, sometimes called Dharma dolls (hence Darmanitan's name), are made to look like Bodhidharma, a man credited with bringing the idea of Zen to China. Daruma Dolls are commonly found in Japanese households and Buddhist temples as symbols of good luck and percerverence, and are often given as gifts wishing good fortune upon a friend.

Now it's time to get down and dirty and take a closer look at this Poke's stats and competitive battling potential. First and foremost, Its signature ability, Zen Mode, is very interesting, but unfortunately gimmicky. This is because almost all super effective moves that are going to bring him to half health will more than likely kill him, due to his lackluster defenses. Darmanitan's Attack stat, on the other hand, is incredibly non-lackluster, sitting at a very sizeable 140. This, coupled with his Sheer Force ability and a STAB with Flare Blitz, means that he can hit very, very hard. Well, if he can take a hit, that is.

Now, my suggested moveset is pretty much Smogon's suggested moveset, and it looks a little something like this:

Flare Blitz, U-Turn, Rock Slide, Earthquake

252 Atk/252 Speed/4 Whatever

Adamant Nature, Choice Scarf Held Item

His moveset is pretty straightforward, just heavy hitting physical moves for maximum type coverage in the meta, and his EV's and Nature are just to make him as fast and strong as possible. His held item is there to get him to outspeed some of the Pokes in the metagame that might be a little faster than him, so he can do his job and oblitherate him with his Flare Blitz.

Well, that's that. I once again apologize that this article is delayed, and I encourage you to check out my friend Sid's article on the storms that have been rocking my part of the world for the past few days. If you could help in any way, it'd be greatly appreciated, or if not, send some good vibes their way. They need them. Again, please email me your suggestions for the next Pokemon to be featured in this article at DavEdwTho@gmail.com. Thanks for your support everyone, and I look forward to bringing you another action-packed article next week.

-David