Choice Band Tyranitar is one of the most monstrously powerful physical threats in DP. Crunch and Stone Edge both benefit from STAB and Tyranitar's massive Attack stat and will be your main methods of attack. Some people say to use Rock Slide instead of Stone Edge because Stone Edge has such poor PP and accuracy. The problem with that is that you already have Crunch with more power and accuracy (and arguably a better side-effect, when you consider Tyranitar's low Speed) than Rock Slide. If you use Rock Slide, there are going to be very few situations in which you will find yourself using it. With Stone Edge, however, the increase in power can get you out of some tricky situations where Crunch / Rock Slide wouldn't do enough damage, but Stone Edge's massive power will get you through it. Earthquake helps to cover some Steel-types such as Magnezone and Lucario and hits Metagross and Jirachi, although Crunch does some heavy damage to the latter two already. Focus Punch hits many threats on the switch harder than any of your other moves can and can be used to catch things like Roosting Skarmory even if you are faster than it, but it's weaker on Jirachi and Metagross, so Earthquake is usually your best bet. Pursuit is an incredibly dangerous move on Tyranitar, for its foes anyway. Anything that doesn't enjoy taking a boosted Crunch "can run, but can't hide". Pursuit hits a fleeing enemy for the same damage as Crunch would and OHKOs almost everything that is weak to it. With many sweepers opting to use Choice items, some good prediction and making use of Tyranitar's useful resistances can get it in for a free Pursuit to OHKO, or at least wear down many opponents. You can also use the EVs given on the Choice Specs set if you want more Speed. The main reason you'd want Speed on the Choice Bander is to be faster than Skarmory, which is important because it allows you to Stone Edge Skarmory before it can Roost.
This doesn't pose as much of an immediate threat in the same way as the Choice Bander does, but is capable of running through an entire team when played correctly. Crunch and Earthquake provide excellent type coverage to sweep after you pull off a Dragon Dance. You can opt for the Rock / Ground attacking combination by switching Crunch for Stone Edge, but you will be easily walled by Bronzong. As such, it is recommended you pack a Magnezone to remove Bronzong before attempting a sweep. Taunt saves you from being statused or phazed and now lasts up to five turns, making any Weezing, Skarmory, etc. who dare to switch in mere set up fodder for Tyranitar. If you prefer to have greater type coverage, then Stone Edge can go in the last slot. Ice Beam is a worthwhile choice in the final move slot as it really helps in killing off Gliscor, Garchomp, and Hippowdon. Even with a -Special Attack nature, a Life Orb Ice Beam will OHKO Gliscor and Garchomp, and can 2HKO Hippowdon and Donphan. Leftovers is a fine choice since Tyranitar takes hits well, while Life Orb gives it that extra kick needed to KO certain opponents. If you don't like that recoil, then BlackGlasses is worth considering, as it will allow Crunch to 2HKO Swampert after a Dragon Dance.
"DP Boah". Many of the defensive Pokémon that are a threat to Tyranitar will be more effectively taken care of if you use Ice Beam over Thunderbolt. You lose coverage against the likes of Suicune, Milotic, and Skarmory but you can hammer Breloom, Donphan, Garchomp, Gliscor, Hippowdon, and Salamence. As Ice Beam will take care of the majority of enemies you would want to hit on the special side, Crunch can be used in place of Dark Pulse. You have more Attack than Special Attack with this spread, anyway. Crunch should also be your STAB attack of choice if you use this version of Tyranitar in Uber battles thanks to most of your foes having much higher Special Defense. The Speed makes you just faster than Blissey. If you want, you can put a few more EVs in it in case the enemy Blissey also invests in Speed EVs. It can be important to be faster than Blissey so you can Substitute before they Thunder Wave or Toxic. Max HP gives you 404 HP, which creates Substitutes that are 101 HP. This means that Blissey's Seismic Toss cannot break your Substitute in one hit, letting you Focus Punch for free on the next turn. The Special Attack lets you 2HKO a 252 HP / 0 Special Defense Hippowdon with Ice Beam assuming you have a Quiet nature. If you use Crunch, consider Brave over Quiet (and possibly raise Attack at the expense of Special Attack). If you use Dark Pulse, consider dropping Attack and raising Special Attack / Speed in exchange.
Slow but powerful is not only Tyranitar's mantra, but also a description of a good candidate for the Speed-boosting Choice Scarf. 61 base Speed is still quite low, so don't expect to outrun most Dragon Dancers or Pokemon above 115 base Speed; however, that benchmark is just enough to outspeed many of the most dangerous OU Pokemon such as Salamence, Garchomp, Lucario, Gengar, Heatran, Azelf, and Infernape fall, all of which are OHKOed. Ice Beam and Earthquake are obvious choices for their wide coverage against some of the biggest threats, namely Dragon-types and some of the more offensive Steels (Lucario and Heatran) in addition to other Tyranitar. Crunch is mainly for Gengar, Azelf, and Starmie, the former two of whom are always OHKOed (the standard Starmie has a slim chance at survival). Stone Edge loses the lovely OHKOs on Gengar and Azelf, but lets you deal respectable damage to Gyarados without Thunderbolt and has the highest power overall. Unfortunately, even with Stone Edge, a 2HKO on Blissey isn't possible, but she'll be loathe to switch in against something that destroys her with nearly every other viable set. Fire Blast over Thunderbolt can 2HKO some things you couldn't otherwise, like Heracross, Metagross, most Jirachi, and some Bronzong, and wrecks Forretress/Scizor while still beating Skarmory. However, you're far weaker against Gyarados and other bulky Water-types in general.
A combination of all the previous sets. This is designed to break down walls and hit many prospective counters, while retaining the freedom to switch attacks. Best used with support from an Agility or Rock Polish Baton Passer, such as Gliscor. Earthquake means you'll have an easier time against your fellow Tyranitar, although Tyranitar's STAB Stone Edge will frequently be his most powerful attack option against those neutral to the entire set. This Tyranitar's attacks hit a wide range of types for super effective (Flying, Ground, Steel, Psychic, Ghost, Bug, Grass, Dragon, Fire, and Ice, plus Electric and Rock if you use Earthquake), so Expert Belt is a viable alternative, if recoil from Life Orb puts you off.
This Tyranitar is designed to defeat most of the commonly used leads in the OU metagame, and specifically the top 3: Bronzong, Gengar and Gyarados. Lum Berry helps this take a Sleep-inducing move, so Tyranitar can then deal with Gengar, Roserade, Yanmega and Bronzong. 401 HP and 310 Special Defense + Sandstorm allow Tyranitar to survive a 359 Special Attack Life Orb Gengar's Focus Blast over 97% of the time. 401 HP and 268 Defense allow Tyranitar to survive a Waterfall from a 383 Attack Choice Band Gyarados on average. The 117 Speed is designed to minimize the damage Bronzong can do with Gyro Ball. With Tyranitar at 117 Speed, Bronzong's Gyro Ball will have a maximum power of 47, enough to never 4HKO this Tyranitar (assuming Bronzong has minimum Attack). Even if Bronzong runs 252 Attack EVs and Adamant nature, a 3HKO is only made possible if it manages to get maximum damage all three times, a highly unlikely scenario. Crunch will always OHKO Gengar and Azelf, while Thunder will always OHKO 4 HP / 0 SpD Gyarados (assuming that it hits, of course). Fire Punch from 313 Attack will OHKO 4 HP / 0 Def Roserade 66.67% of the time with Sandstorm. Bronzong can never 4HKO, while Tyranitar will almost always 4HKO Bronzong. Also, most Bronzong will Hypnosis first turn, and then waste the next turn due to Taunt. Taunt is especially useful if the opponent switches, since many incoming Pokemon expect to easily set up on Tyranitar. Taunt also debilitates Ninjask and Bronzong, while preventing Snorlax from Cursing up on Tyranitar. The reason Thunder is chosen over Stone Edge, in spite of the accuracy issues, is that Thunder has a chance to OHKO offensive Gyarados, while Stone Edge will not. Fire Punch is chosen over Fire Blast because Fire Punch has a chance to OHKO Roserade, while Fire Blast will not. Substitute is certainly a viable option over Taunt, as it will prevent most Bronzong from lowering Tyranitar's HP significantly, as Gyro Ball will do less than 25%, and it will give Tyranitar the advantage should certain counters switch in (such as Lucario or Breloom). If Substitute is chosen, make sure to take some EVs from Defense and run 252 HP EVs, to reach 404 HP and 101 HP Substitutes.
Choice Specs Tyranitar has the potential to surprise your opponent, as they will likely expect it to be dishing out physical hits. Dark Pulse is for reliable STAB and hits Swampert, who usually focuses on physical Defense, hard enough to 3HKO and you may get some luck with the flinch rate. Ice Beam destroys most of the other Ground-types (Donphan, Garchomp, Gliscor, and Hippowdon in particular) who tend to switch into Tyranitar. Flamethrower helps against Bronzong, Skarmory, Heracross, and Lucario, while Thunderbolt hits Water-types like Gyarados, Suicune, and Milotic. Focus Punch is to prevent Blissey and Snorlax coming in and walling you, and it also destroys your fellow Tyranitar. The Speed EVs put you at 177 Speed, just above the minimum Speed of Skarmory and Metagross. Because they can (and often do) carry some Speed EVs, you might want to invest some more to have a greater chance of being faster. This is only if you use Modest. For Quiet, you should forgo Speed EVs entirely and just pump HP to the max. Quiet is an option so you don't weaken Focus Punch, although it will fall just short of a OHKO on even 4 HP / 252 Defense Calm Blissey. Other OptionsThunder Wave isn't too helpful on Tyranitar as many of its common switch-ins are Ground-types. Stealth Rock is useful for support but is best left to more defensive Pokémon. Avalanche or Ice Fang can be used on the Choice Band set to potentially OHKO an incoming Garchomp or Gliscor (Gliscor will never faint if it has 252 HP / 252 Def Impish), although Ice Beam is usually a superior option as it does far more to the likes of Gliscor and Hippowdon. Aerial Ace destroys Breloom and Heracross in one hit, but is of little use outside of those two. Rock Slide is still a good option if Stone Edge's accuracy bothers you—it's particularly good on the Dragon Dancer where you can utilize the 30% flinch rate. Rock Polish can be used over Dragon Dance. You trade the Attack boost from Dragon Dance in order to outspeed more threats. This also has the advantage of not requiring as much initial Speed as the Dragon Dance set, allowing for more HP EVs. However, be sure to get to at least 202 Speed to outspeed Choice Scarf Heracross after a Rock Polish. It is a lesser option than the Dragon Dance set for the most part and is best used if you're carrying a Baton Passer to pass Attack boosts or if you want to use it on a special attacker. Curse is available, but better left to Tyranitar's fellow Rock-type, Regirock, who isn't entirely screwed by Fighting attacks. EVsChoice Band: There are two main ways to EV Tyranitar. The most common way is to go 252 HP / 252 Attack / 4 Special Defense Adamant. This gives you plenty of survivability without compromising Attack. The other option is to use 252 HP / 40 Attack / 216 Special Defense Careful. This puts your Special Defense up sky-high, and lets you live through a Timid Life Orb Gengar Focus Blast 100% of the time (and thus you will live through anything from most special attackers, although Modest Life Orb Gengar has a 38% chance to OHKO). You still have plenty of Attack thanks to Tyranitar's high base stats and Choice Band, but you will feel the power loss in some cases. Choice Specs follows a similar distribution set, except you'd obviously want Special Attack over Attack. While Tyranitar is an OU Pokemon, it has massive utility in Ubers thanks to Pursuit and Crunch, which hammer the large amount of Psychics that reside in that tier. 252 HP / 56 Attack / 200 Special Defense and a Careful nature capitalizes on Tyranitar's neutrality to common Uber attacks such as Ice Beam and Thunder, and even lets it survive an Aura Sphere from a Choice Specs Timid Mewtwo. For a more offensive set up, you can switch to Jolly and use max Speed and Attack. This will outrun most Giratina and some slower versions of Groudon and Dialga. Dragon Dance: Jolly nature with max Speed allows Tyranitar to outspeed Azelf, Garchomp, Raikou, and Starmie after a single Dragon Dance, while Adamant gives a nice power increase and is a bit more common. Max Attack. If you want to power up Ice Beam a little, use a -Defense nature (or a -Special Defense nature). You'll probably want to use a +Speed nature with Ice Beam, as you can abuse the fact that you are faster than Jolly Garchomp (make sure it doesn't have a Choice Scarf first). Life Orb: The given EVs allow Tyranitar to outpace Blissey, even with the -Spe nature. The Attack and Special Attack maximise the damage output for any and all walls that you are trying to break down. If you wish, you can change the nature to Lonely or Naughty and use 72 HP/ 252 Atk / 96 SpA / 88 Spe. The 88 Spe bests both CB Metagross and Skarmory, the latter of which you can OHKO with Fire Blast with the mere 96 EVs. This also allows you to pump HP and increase overall survivability. OpinionMonstrous, both competitively and aesthetically, Tyranitar is easily one of the most dangerous Pokémon in the game, with its massive Attack stat, good defenses—aided by the Special Defense boost from Sand Stream—and passable Special Attack. Tyranitar's only mediocre stat is Speed, and Dragon Dance and Rock Polish help fix that. Not only does Tyranitar's Sand Stream ability grant it the aforementioned boost, but it negates Leftovers recovery on anything not immune to its effects, making staying alive against Tyranitar an even tougher proposition for many Pokémon. It also makes Tyranitar somewhat of a team player, granting an evasion boost to those with the Sand Veil ability, such as Garchomp and Gliscor. Tyranitar's incredible power is backed up by a huge movepool, with which it can hit anything attempting to counter it very hard. The fact that Tyranitar can also acquit itself well against many in the Uber metagame is testament to just how good this powerhouse of a Pokémon really is. CountersBulky Ground-types are good counters for the physical sets, thanks to their Rock resist and high Defense. Donphan, Hippowdon, Rhyperior, and Swampert all work well. Steelix is a good option, but watch out for repeated Earthquakes or Focus Punches. Gliscor can work very effectively as Sand Veil helps to avoid taking a hit and Roost can buy him a Rock resist. Garchomp is in the same boat as Gliscor, except that it's not immune to Ground, has slightly worse physical defensive ability, and cannot Roost, but it can threaten to OHKO Tyranitar. All of these can bring down Tyranitar with Earthquake. Although Breloom's poor defenses mean it's at risk from Stone Edge—which can 2HKO—it resists everything on the Choice Band set barring the occasional Ice Beam and has Mach Punch and Seed Bomb to kill off Tyranitar. Lucario is in a similar position, but boasts 4x resistances to both STAB moves. Earthquake or Focus Punch will finish Lucario, though, so be wary of that. Hariyama and Machamp both have the defenses to handle Tyranitar's attacks, and resistances to both STAB attacks is a big help. Hariyama has the additional advantage of Thick Fat, giving it resistances to the Ice and Fire moves of the Life Orb set. Bronzong is useful against the Dragon Dancer as it's immune to Earthquake, resistant to Rock, and neutral to Dark. Gyro Ball's power is boosted after a Dragon Dance, which helps to kill off Tyranitar. |
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