The Darkness-type may not be as underrepresented inPokemon TCG Pocketin the same way as Dragon or Steel-types. However, it does lack many of the options that other types have. Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Space-Time Smackdown heavily improves the effectiveness of Darkness-types by making them both devastating within their own ranks or flexible in other decks that don’t necessarily focus on Darkness-types.
Space-Time Smackdown also includes the first Darkness ex Pokemon to strengthen the collection further than ever before. These Pokemon love to play rough and take advantage of your opponent’s misfortunes. Here are the ones that do it best.
10Stunky
A Searchable Villain Pokemon
Stunky may be a Basic Pokemon, but it makes the cut due to being searchable with Team Galactic Grunt. This makes the Stunky Line one of the easier Pokemon to get started with despite only doing ten damage with Scratch.
If you don’t open this in your starting hand, you can get it with Poke Ball or Team Galactic Grunt. This makes it easier to thin the deck but also go into Skuntank for your setup. With a Retreat Cost of one, this Pokemon is also just easy to get out of the way if necessary.
9Sneasel
A Dark Coin Flipper
Sneasel may not do as much damage as the Basic Farfetch’d, but it is a necessary component if you want to get into the more powerful Weavile ex. Sincethis Pokemon falls into the Darkness-type bracket, it can also hit for Weakness against many Psychic-types.
So, even if you need to flip a few coins to see if it does anything, it’s still worth it as a stepping stone to better plays. You also don’t need to load up Sneasel with too much Energy to start swinging. Especially since the entire line only uses one Energy in total.
8Croagunk
Ganging Up On Your Opponent
If you’re looking for a sample of what Toxicroak can do, then Croagunk already fits the bill right from the get-go. This is because Croagunk is just a mini version of its Evolution, even sporting the same Move with a slightly different effect.
For two Energy,you may flip coins for each of your Pokemon in play. Then you can deal 20 damage for each heads. This gives it a maximum damage output of 80. On top of being able to punish other Basic Pokemon, Croagunk is also searchable with both Poke Ball and Team Galactic Grunt.
7Skunktank
Balancing Poison With Brute Strength
If you’re looking for more ways to Poison your opponent’s Pokemon but are unimpressed by the low damage output many of the Poisoning Moves have, then Skuntank might be the way to go. Poison Gas does 50 damage for two Energy while also being able to apply the Status Effect.
Skunktank also has the benefit of having its pre-evolution be searchable, so it adds consistency for you to be able to Evolve into it quickly. This is an excellent improvement for Pokemon that need to attack to get Poison out.
6Toxicroak
A Devastating Beatdown
Toxicroak’s Group Beatdown is one of the more devastating Movesin the Darkness-type pool. That’s 40 damage for each heads, resulting in a maximum damage output of 160. This can rip right through many of the more powerful Psychic-types in the game.
The cost of two Energy to use this Move is also quite impressive because of the damage it is capable of doing. Being able to set it up easily with a searchable pre-evolution also makes using Toxicroak all the sweeter to use.
5Drapion
A Lucky Poison Technique
Drapion has always had a cool design, but in Pokemon Pocket, it also radiates luck. This Pokemon can do a devastating 160 damage if you get all the coin flips to land perfectly. However, if you land at least two of them on heads, you also get to Poison your opponent.
It’s nice to see coin flip cards have little perks in between. So, even if you don’t get every coin flip the way you want it, you still get to do something that can put your opponent in a bind or even force them to withdraw their Pokemon before it’s too late.
4Honchkrow
Punch Your Opponent Anywhere
Honchkrow doesn’t seem like much until you realize that up till Space-Time Smackdown, Darkness-types did not have a way to hit the Bench effectively like many of the other types. Honchkrow does 50 damage each time it uses Skill Dive.
This makes it the Darkness-type’s very own Bench puncher on par with other cards such as Seadra. This can help your deck strike down your opponent’s Pokemon before they can Evolve. Honchkrow can also hit Pokemon in front of it so it’s not stuck being vulnerable.
3Spiritomb
A Generic Damage Spreader
Generic Pokemon are the absolute best since they can be splashed into so many decks. Spiritomb is a great Darkness-type since it doesn’t need Darkness Energy to attack. Swirling Disaster takes any Energy and canhit all of your opponent’s Pokemon at once.
This makes it a cost-effective way of getting damage counters all over the field. This turns on any Move that gets stronger on Pokemon with damage counters on them already. It also helps Cyrus go online, so you can drag more Pokemon out of the Bench.
2Weavile Ex
Pulling A Fast One On Damaged Pokemon
Ex Pokemon are causing Darkness decks to skyrocket in playability. Weavile ex has 140 HP and a Move that can deal up to 70 damage for only one Energy. All you need is some damage counters already on your opponent’s side of the field, which Space-Time Smackdown does well.
With low costs all around, you can dedicate your Darkness Energy towards other Pokemon that help Weavile ex become even stronger. It also pairs exceptionally well with the other Darkness Pokemon ex available in this set.
1Darkrai Ex
Your Opponent’s Worst Nightmare
Pokemon TCG Pocket hit it out of the ballpark with its Darkness support. The Pokemon on everyone’s hit list is Darkrai ex. Not only is this one of the coolest Pokemon of all time, but its effects do it justice.
Nightmare Aura lets you deal damage before you even attack simply by attaching Darkness Energy to Darkrai. That’s 20 extra damage each turn and with low-cost attackers like Weavile ex that get stronger against damaged Pokemon, Darkrai ex can set you up for some clean victories.
