OU Spotlight: Terrakion

By Celticpride. Art by Ssensenh.
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Terrakion by Ssensenh

Introduction

Appearing in Black and White as a member of the Swords of Justice, Terrakion stood out as the offensively focused member of the trio. It was also located in Victory Road in Black and White, further adding to its allure as a Legendary and force to be reckoned with.

Terrakion also lives up to its billing as a Legendary in a competitive setting as well. Possessing a strong pair of STAB moves in Close Combat and Stone Edge, it can hit much of the OU tier at least neutrally. Its great STAB coverage also gives Terrakion some flexibility, as it doesn't need to waste moveslots on coverage unlike some other sweepers. It also sits at a Speed tier of 108, which is fantastic for a Pokémon of Terrakion's offensive prowess. While its defensive typing isn't outstanding, it's decent enough to give it a few opportunities to switch in.

Hot Sets

Terrakion's most effective sets share similarities in that they both aim to hit hard and fast. Terrakion also lacks a great defensive typing or bulk, leaving it best in a role that doesn't require it to stay in long. Pivoting in and firing off attacks or forcing out sweepers by threatening to revenge kill them, Terrakion performs best when it can get in and do its job without much setup. This leads to Terrakion's best sets being Choice Band and Choice Scarf.

Let's start by talking about the Choice Band set, which often dictates what can be considered an answer to Terrakion. This is because its STAB moves, backed by a Choice Band, allow it to 2HKO much of the metagame. It also possesses a solid Speed tier for a Choice Band wallbreaker. The lack of Life Orb recoil and a 2x Stealth Rock resistance also allow Terrakion to pivot in and out quite frequently without getting too worn down. The downside to Terrakion's Choice Band set is that it is fairly prediction reliant, and earlier in games it will be able to be played around. However, it is still capable of forcing out walls while significantly denting them, and potentially opening up holes for other threats on the team. For a small example, a Choice Band Terrakion hits a Quagsire with Close Combat, doing 59-70% damage. The Quagsire player then withdraws Quagsire and sends in Clefable to take the Close Combat, taking 32-38% damage. Failed effort, right? But Quagsire is at a maximum of 41% health, preventing it from checking other threats it needs to be healthy to check, such as Mega Charizard X, Weavile, and Mega Scizor. Clefable can't come in safely either. Resetting the above scenario, Terrakion versus Quagsire, going to Clefable immediately to take the anticipated Close Combat isn't a safe play either, as Clefable potentially coming in on a Choice Band-backed Stone Edge would require Quagsire (which resists Stone Edge) to come in back in, and taking a Choice Band Stone Edge would leave Clefable unable to check the likes of Latios. So while the Choice locking effect can be seen as detrimental in a vacuum, Choice Band Terrakion really is one of the better wallbreakers out there in terms of helping to weaken walls for a sweep by a teammate without 6-0ing a team from Team Preview by itself.

Choice Scarf is successful for many of the same reasons the Choice Band set is. This set also relies on Terrakion's good STAB coverage, as neither Close Combat nor Stone Edge is a bad move to be locked into. It outspeeds and revenge kills virtually the entire metagame, from fast Mega Evolutions such as Mega Alakazam, to Dragon Dancers like Mega Charizard X, to other Choice Scarf users such as Excadrill. Toxic is a niche move that helps cripple and wear down checks to Scarf Terrakion, with Slowbro and Landorus-T as examples. While not as threatening as its Choice Band set, Choice Scarf Terrakion is still very good as a glue on bulky offensive teams. Threatening to OHKO is an important aspect of using Terrakion as a Choice Scarf user, as otherwise there's a trade-off scenario where the user of the sweeper can decide that tanking a hit is worth it to deal the most damage possible. Choice Scarf Keldeo, for example, can't KO +1 Mega Charizard X from full but can deal just enough damage to allow another teammate to finish the job, maybe through priority or some other means. But in that scenario Keldeo gets sacked, where Terrakion threatening an OHKO makes the situation much less costly for the player trying to control an opposing +1 Mega Charizard X.

Terrakion

Not Sets

Terrakion's less favorable sets generally involve some kind of setup and generally fall prey to priority users, faster threats that use Fake Out, and Magic Bounce users.

Having access to two great boosting moves seems good in theory but often falls flat in practice. As a result, Double Dance sets are probably something to avoid. Ideally, Swords Dance would allow Terrakion to break defensive cores, while Rock Polish would allow it to sweep offensive teams. There are two problems with that thought process. First, most bulky offenses carry faster Pokémon that can revenge Terrakion when it uses Swords Dance, such as Latios, and bulkier pivots that can check and force out Terrakion when it uses Rock Polish, such as Slowbro. The second flaw is that priority moves are generally a pain for Terrakion when it tries to set up and sweep teams, as Azumarill's Aqua Jet and Mega Scizor's Bullet Punch are common moves that KO Terrakion. Choice Band Terrakion circumvents this priority weakness by hitting hard right off the bat, albeit with the drawbacks that come with a Choice item. Terrakion's traits and typing lend itself more towards immediate power and less towards long-term setup sweeping, and therefore this set should generally be avoided.

A dedicated lead set was popular in XY, but several ORAS Megas made these types of sets less effective. The combination of a fast Taunt, Stealth Rock, a Focus Sash, and two strong STAB moves used to, in XY, virtually guarantee either Stealth Rock on the opposing side of the field, or a quick KO if a faster Taunt user challenged Terrakion. Think: Thundurus attempting to Taunt Terrakion; Terrakion may not get Stealth Rock set up, but at least it can OHKO Thundurus with Stone Edge if it goes for the Taunt. And if Thundurus pivots out, here come the hazards! Come ORAS, many of these advantages were nullified as a result of new threats being introduced. Mega Sableye, aided by Magic Bounce, completely prevents lead sets from doing their job, especially in a lead matchup due to base form Sableye have access to Prankster Will-O-Wisp. Mega Lopunny can anti-lead Sash Terrakion quite easily, as Lopunny commonly uses Fake Out to safely Mega Evolve. Lopunny simply uses Fake Out and breaks Terrakion's Focus Sash in the process. Once Mega-Evolved, Mega Lopunny outspeeds and KOes Terrakion. Mega Diancie also hurts this set, as it commonly runs Protect to Mega Evolve safely. Once Mega-Evolved, Mega Diancie outspeeds Terrakion and beats it one-on-one. Three prominent Megas beating this set makes it one to avoid.

Terrakion

Good Cores

Choice Band Terrakion and Mega Latias are an example of a core using Terrakion. The two can be found on bulky offense builds together. Terrakion appreciates a team that contains bulky pivots, allowing it to pivot in and dish out hits before retreating out to a pivot when one of its checks comes around. Mega Latias offers a lot of resistances, including a vital Ground immunity that lets it switch into common Terrakion checks such as Hippowdon and Landorus-T. Mega Latias's other resistances, such as Water, Psychic, and Grass, allow it to further synergize well with Terrakion. Terrakion benefits Mega Latias in that it can switch in on some common Pursuit trappers, such as Tyranitar, and force them out. Some other threats that set up on Mega Latias, such as Bisharp, are also forced out by Terrakion and generally threatened by its presence.

Metagame Trends

Terrakion doesn't prefer a specific type of metagame, as it can vary its sets to keep up with various trends. In a slower, bulky offense metagame, Choice Band Terrakon can throw around its STAB moves pretty freely and help open holes for teammates. In a more offensive metagame, a Choice Scarf set can stand out as a fast revenge killer with a pair of decent STAB moves to be locked into. However, offensive metagames that favor priority often leave Terrakion out in the cold, as it has little in the way of combating it, outside of using Substitute on a SubSD set.

Diving a bit more specifically into some metagame trends, the trend of Scarf Landorus-T becoming more prevalent over the defensive set benefits Choice Band Terrakion, as Scarf Landorus-T gets 2HKOed by Stone Edge after Intimidate, whereas defensive Landorus-T can at least come in more than once on Stone Edge. Sand prevalence is a mixed bag for it, as Tyranitar is generally a pretty easy entry opportunity for Terrakion to come in because it resists both of Tyranitar's STAB types. However, Excadrill under sand is one of the few non-priority threats that can outspeed Choice Scarf Terrakion. The spike in Dugtrio usage on some stall builds hurts Terrakion, as it can trap it and revenge kill it or pull off a double switch and effectively stop it in its tracks. OU has also seen a spike in the effectiveness of Rock-types at large, due to many teams lacking bulky Rock-resistant Pokémon, and instead relying on physical pivots like Tangrowth, Slowbro, and Landorus-T to check them. In addition to making Choice Band Terrakion a more effective wallbreaker, this trend also benefits Choice Band Tyranitar and physically based Mega Diancie.

Conclusion

While Terrakion may not be the peak of popularity, it is certainly a force to be reckoned with and lives up competitively to the in-game legend that surrounds it. As mentioned before, it's a pretty good time for Rock-types in OU, and Terrakion benefits no less than the more popular ones. Just remember, don't set up, don't set hazards, hit hard, and pivot out ASAP! Get out there and use this strong Fighting-type to its fullest potential, chances are it won't disappoint.

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