Competitive Information for Dusknoir [Sword/Shield]
Ghost
Abilities:
Movesets for Singles
What is a good competitive moveset for Dusknoir? These builds have been optimized for Pokemon competing in Sword/Shield Single Battles. The movesets and EVs have been specifically calibrated to deal the most amount of damage to the largest group of potentially common opponents and typing threats for the Sword/Shield generation metagame.
AmoongussIncineroarRhyperiorDrampaOctilleryGlastrierGrimmsnarlHattereneChanseyDurant
Dusknoir is an extraordinary Ghost-typed Pokemon. It's not-uncommon to find yourself dealing with Dusknoir when battling in the 8th generation meta. Dusknoir's only type-related weaknesses are Dark and Ghost.
Item: Mental Herb / Colbur Berry
Ability: Frisk
Nature: Relaxed (+Def, -Spe)
EVs: 244 Hp / 68 Def / 196 SpD
Moveset:
- Ally Switch
- Helping Hand
- Trick Room
- Will-O-Wisp
Double Wall Dusknoir (Popular/Trending)
Dusknoir is an astounding Double Wall for single battles. It's primary goal is to have enough defenses and bulk to take both physical and special hits. With Frisk, on switch-in Dusknoir identifies the held items of all opposing pokemon. With a Mental Herb equipped to it, cures Dusknoir of attract, disable, encore, heal block, taunt, torment then the Mental Herb gets consumed. With a Colbur Berry equipped to it, halves damage taken from a supereffective dark-type attack then the Colbur Berry gets consumed.
◆ Helping Hand is a status move (one adjacent ally's move power is 1.5x this turn).
◆ Trick Room is a status move (goes last. For 5 turns, turn order is reversed).
◆ Will-O-Wisp is a status move (burns the target).
Note: This moveset is considered Taunt bait! It is highly recommended you typically have atleast one move that does actual damage!
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/is10a1dd
Item: Shell Bell / Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Hp / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Moveset:
- Poltergeist
- Double-Edge / Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Darkest Lariat
Physical Sweeper Dusknoir (Pressure)
Dusknoir is an astounding Physical Sweeper for single battles. It is designed to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Life Orb boosts the power of Dusknoir's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. The Shell Bell item option is to help Dusknoir recover from the recoil damage it may take from Double-Edge. With Pressure, if Dusknoir is the target of a foe's move that move loses one additional pp.
◆ Double-Edge is a physical 120-base power Normal-type move (has 33% recoil).
◆ Body Slam is a physical 85-base power Normal-type move (30% chance to paralyze the target).
◆ Earthquake is a physical 100-base power Ground-type move (hits adjacent pokemon).
◆ Darkest Lariat is a physical 85-base power Dark-type move (ignores the target's stat stage changes).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/is11a1dd
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Impish (+Def, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Hp / 252 Atk / 6 Spe
Moveset:
- Pain Split
- Rock Slide
- Toxic
- Ice Punch
Dusknoir Physical Tank (Ghost Tank)
Dusknoir is an outstanding Physical Tank for single battles. It is meant to take a decent amount of physical hits while dealing some decent damage. Leftovers are always a great recovery option to ensure Dusknoir last longer regaining it's vitality every turn. With Pressure, if Dusknoir is the target of a foe's move that move loses one additional pp.
◆ Rock Slide is a physical 75-base power Rock-type move (30% chance to make the foes flinch).
◆ Toxic is a status move (badly poisons the target; Note: Poison types can't miss with Toxic).
◆ Ice Punch is a physical 75-base power Ice-type move (10% chance to freeze the target).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/is12a1dd
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Frisk
Nature: Calm (+SpD, -Atk)
EVs: 252 Hp / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Moveset:
- Infestation
- Night Shade
- Sleep Talk
- Rest
Dusknoir Special Wall (Dusktime Infestation*)
Dusknoir is a spectacular Special Wall for single battles. This moveset attempts to take a good amount of hits from special attacks while dealing some decent damage. Leftovers are always a great recovery option to ensure Dusknoir last longer regaining it's HP every turn. With Frisk, on switch-in Dusknoir identifies the held items of all opposing pokemon.
◆ Night Shade is a special STAB-boosted 0-base power Ghost-type move (does damage equal to your Dusknoir's level).
◆ Sleep Talk is a status move (Dusknoir must be asleep. Uses another known move).
◆ Rest is a status move (Dusknoir sleeps 2 turns and restores hp and status).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/is13a1dd
Movesets for Doubles
What is a good doubles moveset for Dusknoir? These builds have been optimized for Sword/Shield Double Battles. They have movesets and EVs specifically calibrated to generally work best versus multiple Pokemon at once as well as helping to support other team members and allys in the Sword/Shield generation metagame.
AmoongussIncineroarRhyperiorDrampaOctilleryGlastrierGrimmsnarlHattereneChanseyDurant
Item: Shell Bell / Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Hp / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Moveset:
- Earthquake / Bulldoze
- Poltergeist
- Rock Slide
- Double-Edge / Body Slam
Doubles Physical Sweeper Dusknoir (Pressure)
Dusknoir is a pretty decent Physical Sweeper for double battles. It's primary goal is to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Life Orb boosts the power of Dusknoir's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. The Shell Bell item option is to help Dusknoir recover from the recoil damage it may take from Double-Edge. With Pressure, if Dusknoir is the target of a foe's move that move loses one additional pp.
◆ Bulldoze is a physical 60-base power Ground-type move (100% chance lower adjacent Pokemon speed by 1 stage).
◆ Poltergeist is a physical STAB-boosted 110-base power Ghost-type move (fails if the target has no held item).
◆ Rock Slide is a physical 75-base power Rock-type move (30% chance to make the foes flinch).
◆ Double-Edge is a physical 120-base power Normal-type move (has 33% recoil).
◆ Body Slam is a physical 85-base power Normal-type move (30% chance to paralyze the target).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/id10a1dd
Item: Shell Bell / Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Brave (+Atk, -Spe)
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Hp / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Moveset:
- Poltergeist
- Double-Edge / Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Trick Room
Offensive Trick Room Dusknoir (Pressure)
Dusknoir is a phenomenal Offensive Trick Room for single battles. Life Orb boosts the power of Dusknoir's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. The Shell Bell item option is to help Dusknoir recover from the recoil damage it may take from Double-Edge. With Pressure, if Dusknoir is the target of a foe's move that move loses one additional pp.
◆ Double-Edge is a physical 120-base power Normal-type move (has 33% recoil).
◆ Body Slam is a physical 85-base power Normal-type move (30% chance to paralyze the target).
◆ Earthquake is a physical 100-base power Ground-type move (hits adjacent pokemon).
◆ Trick Room is a status move (goes last. For 5 turns, turn order is reversed).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/id11a1dd
Movepool
Wondering what moves can Dusknoir learn? Here is the list of moves this Pokemon can learn in this selected generation.
Sort and organize the learnset by move type, category, accuracy, and power. Bolded moves will gain the same-type attack bonus (STAB) if this Pokemon uses them.
Damage Modifiers:
Combo List
These are a list of several common move combinations Dusknoir can perform in Sword/Shield. Not every combo going to be game-changing, but some can be pretty fun to play with. Sometimes these can be easily overlooked or forgotten, hence why we find and list them here. Discover what items, abilities, and moves this Pokemon can use in combination with each other to gain a strategic advantage in competitive battles.
Competitive SS Move and Ability Combos for Dusknoir
- Moves: Mimic + Imprison
- Moves: Swagger + Psych up
- Moves: Psych up + Haze
- Moves: Rest + Sleep talk
- Moves: Rest + Snore
- Moves: Pain split + Toxic
- Moves: Pain split + Will-o-wisp
- Move: Swagger + Item: Mirror Herb
- Move: Fling + Item: King's Rock
- Move: Facade + Item: Flame Orb
- Move: Facade + Item: Toxic Orb
- Item: Blunder Policy + Move: Dynamic Punch
- Moves with Priority: Endure, Protect, Helping Hand, Sucker Punch, Shadow Sneak, Ally Switch
- Moves that Break Screens: Brick Break
- Moves that inflict status (and combo with the move Hex): Toxic, Will-O-Wisp
Moves that boost Dusknoir's stats
- Calm Mind
- Charge Beam
- Curse
- Power-Up Punch
Most notable and possible best moves for Dusknoir
- Ally Switch
- Curse
- Destiny Bond
- Earthquake
- Gravity
- Helping Hand
- Ice Beam
- Ice Punch
- Memento
- Night Shade
- Poltergeist
- Protect
- Rest
- Rock Slide
- Shadow Sneak
- Taunt
- Thunder Punch
- Toxic
- Trick
- Trick Room
- Will-O-Wisp
Common Effort Values for Dusknoir in Sword and Shield
- Relaxed Nature ( 244/0/68/0/196/0 )
- Relaxed Nature ( 252/0/140/0/116/0 )
- Optimize Dusknoir's EV spread for Pokemon Sword and Shield
Related Videos
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Here are the best movesets for Dusknoir. Top rated Dusknoir Sword/Shield movesets. You can find Dusknoir builds Sword/Shield. Dusknoir movesets Sword/Shield are listed here. VGC Dusknoir Competitive Movesets can be found here. Find various EV spreads, find the best nature for Dusknoir in Sword/Shield along with competitive movesets. Basic info and Movesets for evolution