QC: Colonel M / Subject 18 / Gary GP: DeathByWobbuffet / Haund
[OVERVIEW]
Thundurus is a fearsome wallbreaker in the OU metagame thanks to its good offensive stats, allowing it to run special and mixed sets. Its above average Speed tier lets it outpace some dangerous threats such as Keldeo, Gengar, Mega Medicham, and Mega Pinsir, thus making it fairly hard to revenge kill. It has access to a great boosting move in Nasty Plot, which, in combination with its wide movepool, lets it threaten defensive teams. However, an unfortunate weakness to Stealth Rock as well as subpar bulk make it hard for Thundurus to set up with Nasty Plot unpunished, thus limiting its sweepin capabilities. Despite Thundurus's balance-breaking potential, it faces competition from Tapu Koko as an offensive Electric-type due to the latter's stronger STAB moves and superior Speed. Its abilities don't help it much either outside of niche sets like Prankster Thunder Wave and mixed sets with Defiant.
[SET]
name: Nasty Plot
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Thunderbolt
move 3: Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Focus Blast
item: Life Orb
ability: Prankster
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Nasty Plot is Thundurus's main niche, allowing it to boost its already high Special Attack by two stages and break past some of its usual defensive answers such as Tangrowth, Hippowdon, and Amoongus. Thunderbolt is its most reliable STAB move, dealing a good amount of damage even on neutral targets thanks to the Life Orb boost and denting them severely after a Nasty Plot boost. Hidden Power Ice hits the Ground- and Grass-type Pokemon that either resist or are immune to Thunderbolt, such as Landorus-T, Zygarde, Garchomp, Tangrowth, and Tapu Bulu, for super effective damage. Focus Blast rounds out Thundurus's coverage, hitting Steel-types that don't take super effective damage from the combination of Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Ice such as Ferrothorn, Magnezone, and Excadrill. It also allows it to muscle past Chansey, the specially bulkiest Pokemon in the tier, after a Nasty Plot boost, although it won't stop Chansey from using Toxic on it. Sludge Wave is a nice option as a fourth coverage move to hit Tapu Koko trying to switch into a predicted Thunderbolt as well as some Grass-types like Tangrowth and Tapu Bulu and Fairy-types such as Clefable and Tapu Lele.
Set Details
========
Maximum Special Attack and Speed investment with a Timid nature allows Thundurus to hit as hard as possible while outspeeding the base 110 Speed tier crowded with Pokemon such as Gengar and Latios. Life Orb is the preferred item, as it lets Thundurus hit relatively hard even when unboosted, thus making it a bigger threat to offensive teams.
Usage Tips
========
This set excels as an early- or mid-game wallbreaker against bulkier teams, being able to threaten its defensive answers with boosted attacks and paving the way for sweepers or cleaners. Capitalizing on the switches Thundurus forces to set up with Nasty Plot is a good idea if your opponent has an answer to Electric-types that Thundurus can beat after a boost. Against more offensive teams that lack a reliable answer for it, it's more efficient to just use its coverage moves without boosting as they will still hit relatively hard thanks to the Life Orb boost. Due to its subpar bulk, Thundurus shouldn't be brought in on attacks because taking any kind of damage would limit its breaking potential.
Team Options
========
Sweepers and cleaners that appreciate Thundurus's wallbreaking capabilities make for good partners. Some examples are Ash-Greninja, Choice Scarf Garchomp, and Keldeo because they can all take advantage of Thundurus softening bulky Grass-types that would otherwise stop them in their tracks and putting pressure on some miscellaneous Pokemon such as Celesteela and Tapu Fini. Hazard control from partners such as Mega Scizor, Tapu Fini, and Latios is mandatory, since it will give Thundurus an easier time setting up and prevent it from fainting from Life Orb recoil after taking some prior damage. Thundurus's subpar bulk prevents it from switching into attacks during a match without compromising its sweeping capabilities, making VoltTurn support from the likes of Mega Scizor, defensive Landorus-T, and Assault Vest Magearna very useful. Even though Thundurus's Speed is relatively high, it finds itself easily revenge killed by faster threats such as Greninja, Tapu Koko, and Choice Scarf Keldeo, which are pretty common on offensive teams. Therefore, Pokemon that can pivot into these threats safely like Tangrowth, Ferrothorn, and Assault Vest Magearna help it improve its offense matchup.
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Superpower
move 4: Hidden Power Ice
item: Life Orb
ability: Defiant
nature: Naive
evs: 68 Atk / 188 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Thunderbolt is Thundurus's best STAB option, with enough power to threaten most neutral targets thanks to the Life Orb boost. Knock Off is a great utility move that removes items from the likes of Assault Vest Magearna, Assault Vest Tnagrowth, and Chansey, while also OHKOing Latios and Alolan Marowak after Stealth Rock damage. Its high Base Power also makes it a decently spammable move if it gets a Defiant boost from an opposing Defog. Superpower lets Thundurus further pressure Chansey and gives it crucial Fighting-type coverage move against Ferrothorn, Heatran, Tyranitar, and Kyurem-B. Hidden Power Ice does massive damage against the most common Ground-types in the tier: Landorus-T, Zygarde, and Garchomp, which otherwise prevent it from spamming Thunderbolt.
Set Details
========
Maximum Speed investment with a positive nature is mandatory on a fast offensive Pokemon like Thundurus, letting it outspeed everything in the 110 Speed tier and below, where Pokemon like Keldeo and Latios lie. 68 Attack EVs give Knock Off enough power to OHKO Latios and Alolan Marowak after Stealth Rock damage, while the remaining EVs are invested in Special Attack to power up Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Ice. Life Orb is mandatory on this set for maximum damage output. Defiant lets Thundurus punish opposing Defog by boosting its own Attack by two stages, making its Knock Off hit significantly harder.
Usage Tips
========
This set can't punish switch-ins with a boosting move, so proper prediction is required in order for it to wallbreak efficiently. If there's a specially defensive wall on the opposing team, Knock Off is usually the go-to move, as it will either remove Assault Vest in the case of Tangrowth and Magearna or Eviolite in the case of Chansey. Taking advantage of Thundurus's Defiant ability also gives it more wallbreaking potential due to how scary a +2 Knock Off is, so it should try to switch directly into passive Defog users like Mew and Tapu Fini. However, switching into more aggressive hazard removers like Latios isn't advised because they could predict Thundurus to switch in and OHKO it with an attack.
Team Options
========
This set is suited to more offensive playstyles with hazard-stacking cores because of its ability to punish Defog users, so Stealth Rock and Spikes setters like Landorus-T, Ferrothorn, Garchomp, and Greninja make for good partners. Suicide leads such as Excadrill and Azelf are also good options depending on the team's playstyle, as hyper offensive teams appreciate how Thundurus keeps the momentum up with its Defiant ability. Smeargle gets a special mention for its ability to set up Sticky Web for Thundurus, slowing down the opposing team and making it harder to revenge kill. Without Nasty Plot, Thundurus finds itself unable to pose a threat to bulkier teams with reliable checks to it. For that reason, it is a good idea to pair it with balance breakers like Swords Dance Tapu Bulu and Mawile.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
An alternative mixed set can be used with Thunderbolt / Fly / Knock Off / Superpower and Flyinium Z in order to further take advantage of Defiant boosts with a strong STAB Z-Move that hits most of Thundurus's defensive switch-ins for a lot of damage. Thundurus can make use of its Prankster ability with moves such as Taunt and Thunder Wave that appreciate the increased priority, though giving up either Nasty Plot or a coverage move for one of these situational moves isn't advised. Hidden Power Flying hits bulky Grass-types for more damage than Hidden Power Ice thanks to the STAB boost, allowing Thundurus to OHKO Tangrowth, Amoongus, and Mega Venusaur after a Nasty Plot boost as well as Alolan Marowak. While this ensures it won't take any kind of damage from them, it also limits its coverage options because it won't be able to run Hidden Power Ice anymore, meaning it will struggle against Zygarde, Landorus-T, and Garchomp. Fightinium Z can be used alongside Hidden Power Flying for a strong neutral move against bulky Ground-types that would stomach Hidden Power Ice easily as well as a one-time accurate Fighting-type move. Incinerate is an alternative to Focus Blast to guarantee an OHKO against Mega Scizor after Stealth Rock damage while still hitting one of its main targets in Ferrothorn for the same damage with the added bonus of perfect accuracy. Finally, Grass Knot is another coverage option that hits some bulky Ground-types for significantly more damage than Hidden Power Ice, such as Hippowdon, Quagsire, and Gastrodon, although they aren't common enough to warrant using a moveslot just for them.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ground-types**: Hippowdon, Gastrodon, Mamoswine, and Quagsire are all immune to Thunderbolt and take very little from Hidden Power Ice, making for reliable switch-ins, as they only fear the rare Grass Knot. While Mamoswine must be wary of taking a Focus Blast as it switches into Thundurus, it can heavily cripple it in a 1v1 situation with Ice Shard. Quagsire in particular ignores Nasty Plot boosts thanks to its ability, making it a very reliable counter.
**Grass-types**: Bulky Grass-types such as Tangrowth, Amoongus, and Mega Venusaur resist Thunderbolt and can take even +2 Hidden Power Ice due to their high special bulk. However, they are all 2HKOed by Hidden Power Flying.
**Alolan Marowak**: Lightning Rod grants Alolan Marowak an immunity to Thunderbolt, which in combination with its Fire / Ghost typing allows it to completely wall Nasty Plot sets lacking Hidden Power Flying. However, its Stealth Rock weakness combined with the fact that mixed sets threaten it with a Knock Off makes it an unreliable answer.
**Faster Pokemon**: Naturally faster Pokemon and Choice Scarf users such as Greninja, Tapu Koko, and Choice Scarf Garchomp outspeed Thundurus and threaten to OHKO it.
**Chansey**: Due to its immense special bulk, Chansey can easily take any unboosted attack and is only 2HKOed by the unreliable Focus Blast after a boost, thus making it a good answer to Nasty Plot sets because it will always get a Toxic on them. It still needs to watch out for a mixed set because getting its Eviolite removed by Knock Off severely cripples its bulk and makes it more susceptible to Superpower.
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