Now reading...
Dark-type Award Ceremony

Every Dark-type
(Image by LVStarlitSky)

 
We end this series of Dark-type articles with an Awards article, because it’s a fitting end of a journey after everything is reviewed. In this article, I shall assign several awards to certain Dark-types, and I will make sure that every Dark-type family so far (excluding Generation 6 ones) are awarded, either as a winner or a runner-up. If you are ready to see who are awarded, let’s go!
 
 
 

[CENTER]

Best Name

Zoroark

Zoroark[/CENTER]

Of all the Dark-types, none could possibly get any cooler than Zoroark’s. Not only does it sound right for a Pokémon for its kind, the name is also related to its look (“zoro” for its fox-based design and “ark” could come from the word “Dark”). The fact that it sounds like the awesome character Zorro gives it plus points. In other words, Zoroark sounds about right to an already awesome Pokémon.

Runner-up: Hydreigon family
 
 
 
[CENTER]

Best Concept

Spiritomb

Spiritomb[/CENTER]

Spiritomb is a fusion of concepts, but that fusion works well with one another. For one, it incorporates the number 108 in several places, like its PokéDex entry and its stats. This number is an important number in Buddhism, and Spiritomb is partially based on that. This is the number of temptations that a person must face before they could achieve Nirvana according to Buddhism, and as a wicked Pokémon composed of 108 spirits, the similarity is understandable. The rock that Spiritomb is anchored to could also work as a sort of burden, because sinned souls are sometimes shown to have attached weights, and since Spiritomb’s components are wicked souls… this is also understandable.

Runner-ups: Absol, Honchkrow
 
 
 
[CENTER]

Coolest

Krookodile

Krookodile[/CENTER]

It certainly goes without saying that there are a lot of cool Dark-types, and I am sure everyone has a different idea of which is the coolest. One might consider Darkrai the coolest for being a dark character, or perhaps Tyranitar for being monstrous. However, I chose Krookodile to be the representative of this category for a few reasons. For one, Krookodile looks pretty cool, since it is not only a crocodile, but one that looks like it has shades. Another reason is its abilities. It is essentially a sand-swimming crocodile, and it has binocular vision to boot! Finally, it looks like a boss and behaves like one! It is rather ruthless (like a boss) and having one in your team increases the amount of coolness you have. The fact that it has some shades (pardon me) of likeness to Kamina from Tengen Toppen Gurren Lagann (an anime I never watched) does help, for some people.

Runner-ups: Bisharp, Darkrai
 
 
 
[CENTER]

Smartest

Weavile

Weavile[/CENTER]

A smart Pokémon, according to my criteria (for now), has to not only be a Pokémon that looks smart, but also has a hint of intelligence. Weavile is, in my opinion a Pokémon that fits this category. Its sleek appearance is practical for a Pokémon that hunts for food, and it has that calm and fierce look in the face that shows that it knows what it’s doing. It does help that they have a unique communication system that involves clawing on rocks to inform others of their species.

Runner-ups: Murkrow, Shiftry
 
 
 
[CENTER]

Toughest

Bisharp

Bisharp[/CENTER]

Being the toughest involves being able to not only dish out the hurt, but it could also mean not being one to give up. Now, this category could easily belong to Tyranitar because that seems to be the obvious, but my opinion differs from that. I give this award to Bisharp because its type combination gives it a good amount of resistances and it possesses a powerful (Sucker) punch! Perhaps the most important reason I consider Bisharp ideal is for its ability Defiant. Tyranitar may be strong, but [URL=”http://blue-fox.deviantart.com/art/Intimidation-55681425″]it could be easily scared by a Shinx[/URL]. However, Bisharp doesn’t let such a trivial animal (or a powerful one) deter its ability to hit hard. Its ruthlessness to outsiders adds to its toughness, so watch out for one!

Runner-ups: Tyranitar, Drapion, Sharpedo
 
 
 
[CENTER]

Most Beautiful

Liepard

Liepard[/CENTER]

When you look at the Dark-type, it’s harder to find a Pokémon that fits the category of being beautiful, since they are supposed to be tough and all, at least most of them are, with a few standouts such as Mandibuzz. However, one Pokémon stands out from the essentially unpopular crowd: Liepard! It has a nice fur to not only cat-lovers, but for almost anyone. It likes to impress anybody with its graceful style, so you could say that it loves to be admired.
 
 
 
[CENTER]

Funniest

Scraggy

Scraggy[/CENTER]

Scraggy is a funny Pokémon mainly because it just looks funny. Its pants-like skin also contribute to the humour of this Pokémon, because the way it tries to keep the constantly falling skin back up makes its battle animation funny. Its anime incarnation just help matters, and fans of the anime generally agree that it’s a great Pokémon to see.

Runner-up: Houndour, Stunky
 
 
 
[CENTER]

Cutest

Poochyena

Poochyena[/CENTER]

Usually, when it comes to cute Pokémon, you can’t beat any basic Pokémon. Poochyena, in my opinion, is the cutest the Dark-type has to offer. It has puppy-dog eyes that also have a hint of pluck. The fact that it is essentially a puppy helps matters. Its black fur also looks streamlined, and it has some cute behaviour as well.

Runner-ups: Deino, Scraggy
 
 
 
[CENTER]

Scariest

Hydreigon

Hydreigon[/CENTER]

There is no shortage of scary Dark-types. Being a scary Pokémon means that not only do they have that inherent intimidation factor, they also must have something that justifies their formidable appearance. Hydreigon is a Pokémon that fits best in this category. It is a very fierce Pokémon that won’t hesitate to go in an outrage, and once it starts, it might end up destroying a lot of things, unless something brave prevents its destruction. Besides, its black sclera and red eyes give it an inhuman look, justifying its scariness.

Runner-ups: Cacturne, Spiritomb
 
 
 
[CENTER]

Weirdest

Skuntank

Skuntank[/CENTER]

Sometimes, there are Pokémon just weird that you either love them or hate them just for the oddness factor. For this category, I pronounce Skuntank the weird one. It is a mammal that is able to absorb poison, which is an uncommon trait indeed. More importantly, it spews fumes from the tip of the tail, contrary to how skunks release their stench. To top this all, it could burst a stream of fire from its tail! Is that strange or what?

Runner-up: Scrafty
 
 
 
[CENTER]

Most Improved

Sableye

Sableye[/CENTER]

Sableye used to be a Pokémon that was only known as the one with the type combination with no weaknesses. Its other characteristics are much less impressive, and it didn’t help that Spiritomb was out, which is another Pokémon with no weakness, but it was a better Pokémon in almost any way, making Sableye overshadowed to all except for those who actually like this Pokémon. One day, it has the blessing of having a cool new ability that differentiates it a lot from its competition: Prankster! With this, Sableye becomes very useful, and now it is a potential threat against certain teams. Not only is Prankster its only treat, but the fact that elemental gems are easily available in caves (and sometimes Boldore’s there too) means that it is easy to provide its favourite food, and they are probably cheap since they are common and easily available.
 
 
 
[CENTER]

Most Improvable

Crawdaunt

Crawdaunt[/CENTER]

Crawdaunt, as a Dark-type, is the most unimpressive of the lot. It doesn’t have anything noteworthy that makes it a notable Dark-type, even though it is very powerful with that Adaptability. Because of this, there is a lot of room for improvement for it.

Runner-up: Mightyena
 
 
 
[CENTER]

Best in VG competitive battling

Darkrai

Darkrai[/CENTER]

There’s really no competition here. First of all, Darkrai has Dark Void to make someone sleep, which it can take advantage of since it drains the opponent’s HP. It is also fast enough to use that move. Secondly, Darkrai’s also very powerful on the Special side, but to make matters worse, it could learn Nasty Plot, making it more powerful than it originally is. It has sufficient coverage, and together with its essentially overpowered Sleep move, Darkrai is a threatening Pokémon, even in Doubles or Triples (because it hits every opponent near it).

Runner-ups: Hydreigon, Tyranitar
 
 
 
[CENTER]

Best Move

Taunt

Taunt[/CENTER]

So far, the moves I considered best are the status moves, but that’s mainly because they are [B]that[/B] useful! It goes without saying that Taunt is the best Dark-type move, because it controls the match more to the user’s favour by preventing the opponent from using their own status moves. It is a rather famous move to prepare for in competitive battling, even in Doubles where it’s likely to see a Trick Room team. This gives Mental Herb something to do, as this is so far the only way to cure Taunt.
 
 
 
[CENTER]

Most Original

Houndour & Houndoom

Houndour & Houndoom[/CENTER]

Usually, when I award Most Original, there would be a Least Original to go along with it. This time, I didn’t put that because I don’t quite see anything that contains a lack of originality. In addition to taking the appearance of a dark-furred Doberman Pinscher, it has elements of a hellhound and demons. They even breathe fire too, which is not something you would see any dog do normally. This blend of concepts is quite amazingly done if I say so myself, because they are designed in such a way that both concepts seems to realistically synergise each other quite well, due to the ferocity of demons and dogs. A quick look at Wikipedia taught me that [URL=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Doberman_Pinschers_black_and_blue.jpg”]blue Doberman Pinschers[/URL] (which look more like faded black than being actual blue) are not as strange as I once thought, and why do I mention this? Because these Pokémon’s shiny colour is blue. Bottom line is, Houndour and Houndoom are one of the most original Dark-types out there, if not the original.

Runner-ups: Scrafty family, Mandibuzz, Spiritomb, Absol
 
 
 
[CENTER]

Best Specialist

Grimsley

Grimsley[/CENTER]

There is no competition here. Karen is just too ordinary for my tastes, while Sidney suffers from lack of exposure and notability. Grimsley, on the other hand, is a clear winner because he’s not only got a sense of good fashion, but also got a decent personality. His choice of Pokémon is also very good, consisting of some of the best and his favourites. The overall exposure Grimsley’s got so far makes it promising for him too.
 
 
 
[CENTER]

Least Favourite

Umbreon

Umbreon[/CENTER]

To be honest, Eeveelutions are my least favourite kind of Pokémon, so it’s no surprise that I consider Umbreon my least favourite Dark-type. The reason for my lack of interest in Eeveelutions had to do with how each member just looks a lot like each other, making it look like they have little variety. Not only that, but with them around, other split-evolutions shine even less with them around, since they have a lot of evolutions. Part of me wishes that all the types are done, so that there is no room for more Eeveelutions. Umbreon is not my least favourite Eeveelution, but it is among my least favourite Dark-type.
 
 
 
[CENTER]

Most Favourite

Absol

Absol[/CENTER]

Since a lot of people liked Absol, this is probably an unsurprising choice. Aside from that, I think Absol is my favourite Dark-type because it has Dark-type characteristics in some ways, but in others, it deviates from the conventional Dark-type. Things like being a benevolent Dark-type and being powerful put it in its favour, but another thing about Absol is how it fits multiple categories here. It didn’t get nominated in all of them, sure, but the fact that it possesses a degree of something in each category (coolness, name, concept, etc.) makes it my clear favourite.
 
 
 
 
And so ends our series of Dark-type articles. This took a lot of time, since it’s the first time this series of articles gone through proofreading, making the process of releasing each article take longer. If you had been reading every Dark-type article I had to offer, you are awesome, and I really, really appreciate that you took your time for something I put more effort in, compared to last time! I hope you enjoyed reading the articles as much as I have writing them.
 

Thank you for reading, everyone.
I appreciate it.


Ongoing Conversation