Sableye, the Darkness Pokémon. It dwells in the darkness of caves. It uses its sharp claws to dig up gems to nourish itself. Materials from gems it has eaten float to the surface of its body and can form an infinite number of patterns among individuals.
Overview
Sableye still languishes in the darkness after its fleeting moments of fame generations prior. Sableye still mourns the loss of its Mega Evolution, which turned it into a status immune wall par excellence and while Sableye still has the amazing Prankster ability, new users of the ability and the nerf to the ability itself has left Sableye weaker than when it was first introduced. For Prankster is all Sableye has. The generational shifts have not been kind to Sableye. Never has there been a more Dark infested metagame than right now and Sableye is helpless against them. Power creep also does Sableye no favors, leaving it frail and relatively easy to KO.
Then again, being in the shadows is where Sableye likes to be since you never know what to expect of it. Literally. Sableye has an expansive support movepool with everything short of entry hazards and Sleep at its disposal. You know Sableye is going to abuse Prankster, but after that, everything is fair game. Access to Foul Play and several boosting moves leaves Sableye far from passive despite its meager offenses saying otherwise and Prankster Recover gives Sableye much needed longevity against anything that can’t 2HKO it. Sableye’s typing also gives it some valuable immunities,
Positives
Prankster is an amazing ability that pushes almost any Pokémon that gets it into consideration
Expansive support movepool. While some moves will be more common than others, Sableye can throw out just about anything
Negatives
Poor stats leave Sableye slow, frail and relatively weak, making it easy to Ko and not providing much pressure outside of status.
Sableye is completely walled by Dark types as none of its Prankster moves will get through and its favored attacks are easily resisted by most Dark types.
Stiff competition in other Prankster users and Ghost types who have better stats and are all the more reliable for it.
Movesets
Beryl Beast
-Will-O-Wisp
-Taunt
-Knock Off
-Recover
Ability: Prankster
Item: Leftovers
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
The most common Sableye set you will come across since its inception in the 5th Generation has Sableye act as an annoying physical wall on more balanced teams. Will-o-Wisp is amazing support, defanging any physical threat before it can pick up steam, while Taunt ensures that Sableye can’t be used as setup fodder. Knock Off won’t do much damage in most cases, but provides invaluable item disruption that make few Pokémon truly safe switch ins. Recover keeps Sableye healthy so it can continue to spread around Burns and Knock Offs
Tera Types:
Sableye doesn’t like Terastalizing, it is very reliant on its immunities to get in safely. However, if you need to Terastalize, Steel is a great option, giving a valuable resistance to Fairy along with the plethora of other resistances Steel provides.
EVs and Items:
Max HP and Special Defense to make Sableye as bulky as possible, relying on Will-o-Wisp to shore up physical defense. Leftovers gives Sableye extra longevity, providing passive recovery so it doesn’t need to use its limited Recover PP that often. Defense investment can be considered if you want Sableye to be a dedicated “physical” wall and have a dedicated special sponge as a partner.
Partners:
Specially bulky Pokémon make great partners for this set, providing a reliable pivot for Special Attackers while Sableye cripples the physical attackers that given them trouble on. Florges and Sylveon especially, given their Fairy typing providing a natural out to the many Dark types that also give Sableye trouble. Dragalge and Frosmoth are also of note, providing answers for opposing Fairies and Dark types respectively while Frosmoth enjoys the setup opportunities Sableye can provide with Will-o-Wisp and Taunt/Encore.
Hazard setters enjoy Sableye’s Knock Off removing Defogger’s and Rapid Spinner’s Heavy Duty Boots, making it easier to wear their counters down and actually have their hazards stick. Revaroom stands out thanks to its ability to effortlessly pivot into Fairy attacks that Sableye draws.
Other Options:
Encore -Heavily Punishing for setup sweepers who try to take advantage of the switch they force to setup, only to find themselves forced into setup fodder.
Bulk Up -gives Sableye’s Knock Off’s some teeth as well as making it even more physically bulky
Foul Play -alternative STAB option that forgoes utility for straight damage.
Light Screen/Reflect+Light Clay -Sableye can act as Grimmsnarl-lite with these moves but move space is tight and the loss in longevity from both Leftovers and Recover is significant.
Thunder Wave -invaluable Speed Control
Snarl -slow, but reduces Special Attack, giving Sableye badly needed Special bulk.
Rain Dance/Sunny Day -enables terrifying weather sweepers like Barraskewda, Floatzel and Charizard
Calm Crystal Consumer
-Calm Mind
-Will-o-Wisp
-Recover
-Dark Pulse
Ability: Prankster
Item: Leftovers
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
Calm Mind Sableye acts as an all-around wall with this set on the idea of subverting the Special Attackers that normally give its more popular sets trouble. Calm Mind and Will-o-Wisp are what help Sableye boost its bulk to terrifying heights opening with them as appropriate versus Special and Physical Attackers respectively, giving Sableye time to setup even more Calm Minds. Recover keeps Sableye healthy while setting up and enables it to do so multiple times, as even when weakened, Sableye’s Prankster ensures that Recover will go off before any non-priority attack. Dark Pulse rounds out the set, giving Sableye some offense to utilize that bolstered Special Attack while having no targets that are outright immune to it.
Tera Types:
Tera Dark is recommended for Sableye to get more oomph out of its Dark Pulse, while Tera Steel remains a good fallback option against Fairy types that trouble this set a lot. It should be noted that Sableye is not the best Terastalization target, which is fine, it gives more flexibility to other teammates that would like to abuse Terastalization.
EVs and Items:
Max HP and Defense are recommended here as you can bolster your Special Defense so much higher with Calm Mind than you can Defense with Burn. Leftovers again is recommended so Sableye doesn’t have to Recover as often and waste precious PP. As such, it is hard to recommend any item over Leftovers.
Partners:
Answers to Fairy types are recommended given their high Special Defense and resistance to Dark. Revavroom stands out, its typing and good Attack making it a fantastic Anti Fairy option while Parting Shot can provide easier setup opportunities for Sableye. Salazzle and Dragalge also make decent Fairy checks, though the former’s frailty and the latter’s neutrality can be troublesome.
If running Ghost STAB, answers to Normal types while be needed instead. While Grafaiai isn’t anywhere near a problem as it usually is thanks to Sableye’s own Prankster immunity, Arblovia and Blissey are huge problems. Heracross handles both quite well while Passimian and Primeape make decent backup.
Other Options:
Shadow Ball -STAB that isn’t stopped by Fairy types but leaves you helpless versus Normal types.
Hex -pairs well with Will-o-Wisp, but that is a significant amount of setup one must jump through
Giga Drain -offers coverage and recovery, but runs off of Sableye’s much lower Speed and Special Attack, making it far less effective than Prankster Recover.
Doubles and VGC Options
Sableye’s weals and woes are much the same in Doubles as in Singles. Sableye’s already potent moveset is taken up several notches in doubles with options such as Fake Out, Imprison and Quash being standout choices bringing new meaning to the term disruption, enabling Sableye to fit on any team. Sableye’s typing provides another boon; being immune to both opposing Prankster users and Fake Out make it difficult to stop Sableye’s disruption before it can go off. However, Sableye is as frail as ever and Dark types are just as common in Doubles as they are in Singles, being a clean out to Prankster and any damage Sableye wants to do.
The Hide Behind
-Light Screen
-Reflect
-Encore
-Disable
Ability: Prankster
Item: Light Clay
Tera Type: Steel
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
One of Sableye’s many many potential disruptive/supportive sets in Doubles, combining incredibly reliable Screen setting a la Grimmsnarl with incredible disruption in Encore and Disable which helps ensure Sableye isn’t passive either, all while being incredibly hard to stop thanks immunity to both Prankster and Fake Out. Reflect and Light Screen are incredible in doubles, enabling frail offensive threats to get extra attacks off and bulky threats to become nigh unkillable and cannot be blanked out by forced switching. Encore is incredible in Doubles, where there are many moves that should not be repeated including but not limited to Light Screen, Reflect, Tailwind, Trick Room, Fake Out, Protect, etc. temporarily turning a match into a 2v1 Even if you don’t hit a move that doesn’t like being repeated, the knowledge in knowing what your opponent will do can be exploited and combos incredibly well with Disable. Disabling an Encored Pokémon will force them to Struggle, enabling Sableye to do considerable damage while simultaneously shutting the opponent down. And Disable does have its own merits, working better against more offensive Pokémon by locking them out of one of their key/only STABs while Encore is more disruptive against supportive Pokémon.
EVs Maximize Special Bulk given the star offensive Pokémon currently available are Special oriented, though Defense investment can be prudent depending on your concerns. Light Clay maximizes the duration of Screens, so even if Sableye doesn’t stick around, its support does. Tera Steel blanks the Fairy weakness and actually gives Sableye a lot of resistances but at the cost of being exposed to Fake Out and Prankster. .
Other Options:
Fake Out -Incredible move in doubles, near guaranteeing a blanked turn, stopping opposing setup/disruption/offense.
Protect + Imprison -While Protect is always worth consideration in Doubles, combining that with Imprison serves valuable utility, shutting off the best move(s) in doubles for your opponents, leaving them incapable of stalling out your beneficial setup like Screens, Weather, Trick Room, etc.
Taunt -shuts down opposing setup, Protect, disruption ,etc. unless the target is Dark type.
Quash -forces any non Dark type like Regieleki, Iron Bundle and Flutter Mane to move last, leaving them prone to being KO’d before they can act.
Will-o-Wisp -defangs a Physical attacker for the rest of the match.
Knock Off -Provides invaluable item disruption and can’t be shutdown by opposing Taunt.
Foul Play -Sableye’s best Damage dealing option, using everyone else’s much better Attack.
Helping Hand -Sableye help’s Sableye output damage via its Teammate
Thunder Wave -persistent Speed Control
Skill Swap -niche, but can deprive an opponent of abilities they need to operate or serve other functions like triggering Intimidate again or giving Amoonguss Prankster Spore.
Countering Sableye
Dark types are a hard wall for Sableye, since no matter how unpredictable Sableye is, it is going to be abusing Prankster, and a Dark type’s immunity to that just turns Sableye into free setup. Resisting Sableye’s STABs is just icing on the cake and their own STABs go through just fine thanks to Sableye’s neutrality to Dark.
Fairy types also do well against Sableye, having Super Effective STAB, resisting Sableye’s common Dark STAB and often not minding Will-o-Wisp. However, they are significantly more exposed to Sableye’s disruption and cannot setup freely like Dark types can.
After that, what works well against Sableye is largely dependent on the set. On sets carrying Will-o-Wisp, Special Attackers, Guts users and Fire types can pivot in and threaten Sableye while not minding the Burn. With Thunder Wave, Ground and Electric types are recommended to avoid Paralysis.
Generally offense works best against Sableye. While it does have moves that can blunt the damage it takes, Sableye has many tools to disrupt those that are passive in front of it, while its poor defenses offer little recourse against direct assault..
Locations in Games
Red/Blue/Yellow:
Not in game
Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Not in game
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Cave of Origin Floor 1 & Basements 1, 2 & 3, Granite Cave Basements 1 & 2, Sky Pillar Floors 1, 3 & 5, Victory Road (Sapphire, Emerald)
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Trade from Sapphire/Emerald
Colosseum/XD:
Snagged from Navigator Abson in Citadark Isle (XD)
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Iron Island
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Route 9 (HeartGold)
Trade from HeartGold (SoulSilver)
Black/White:
Challenger's Cave
Black 2/White 2:
Nimbasa City Trade
X/Y:
Reflection Cave, Friend Safari
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Granite Cave, Cave of Origin, Sky Pillar, Victory Road (Alpha Sapphire)
Trade from Alpha Sapphire (Omega Ruby)
Sun/Moon:
Ten Carat Hill, Vast Poni Canyon
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Ten Carat Hill, Vast Poni Canyon
Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!:
Not in game
Sword/Shield:
Dusty Bowl, Lakeside Cave
Max Raid Battles: Giant's Mirror, South Lake Miloch, Stony Wilderness, Watchtower Ruins, West Lake Axewell, Slippery Slope, Giant's Bed, Old Cemetery, Snowslide Slope, Giant's Foot, Frigid Sea, Ballimere Lake
Trade from Shield (Sword)
Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl:
Grand Underground (Shining Pearl)
Trade from Shining Pearl (Brilliant Diamond)
Legends: Arceus:
Not in game
Scarlet/Violet:
Alfornada Cavern, Dalizapa Passage, East Province Area Three, North Province Area One, West Province Area One, West Province Area Two
Fixed: South Province Area Six
Tera Raid Battles: 3 Star Raid Battles, 5 Star Raid Battles
Anime Appearences
