[OVERVIEW]
Terrakion is a strong Pokemon with access to powerful STAB attacks that let it threaten common Pokemon, such as Zapdos, Tyranitar, and Snorlax. While strong, however, Terrakion won't do very much damage if it doesn't hit super effectively. It is also very linear. Its base 108 Speed, while fast, means it is outpaced by Tapu Koko and Mega Metagross, both of which can threaten it. Furthermore, Terrakion is very susceptible to Intimidate, and it is also somewhat frail and has lowered longevity due to Close Combat drops and especially if running Life Orb. Terrakion's typing, while great offensively, leaves it susceptible to common spread attacks in the tier, such as Earthquake and Muddy Water from Landorus-T and Tapu Fini, respectively. It is heavily threatened by common Steel-types, such as Aegislash, which completely walls it, and Mega Metagross, which can outrun Terrakion and OHKO it. Nonetheless, Terrakion finds a place on teams as a solid anti-metagame choice by being able to threaten common Pokemon found in bulky offense.
[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Rock Slide / Stone Edge
move 3: Poison Jab / Taunt
move 4: Protect
item: Life Orb / Rockium Z
ability: Justified
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Close Combat is Terrakion's strongest Fighting-type STAB attack. Rock Slide is the prefered Rock-type STAB attack, as it is able to hit both foes and has a chance to induce flinch; on the other hand, Stone Edge bypasses Wide Guard and is also much stronger, with it being able to OHKO Mega Salamence and Zapdos most notably. Poison Jab lets Terrakion hit Tapu Fini, Tapu Bulu, and Tapu Lele for super effective damage. Taunt is an option to stop status moves, such as Trick Room, Tailwind, Wide Guard, and setup moves. Protect shields Terrakion from attacks and can notably protect it from a super effective hit, thus allowing its partner to potentially beat that threat.
Set Details
========
Maximum Speed EVs with a Jolly nature ensure that Terrakion is as fast as possible, and maximum Attack EVs allow it to hit as hard as possible. Life Orb is the preferred item, as it boosts the power of Terrakion's attacks. Rockium Z gives Terrakion a much stronger Rock-type attack that bypasses Wide Guard. It should not be used with Stone Edge on the same set, however, as Life Orb-boosted Stone Edge accomplishes the same thing.
Usage Tips
========
Terrakion is the perfect Pokemon to beat bulky offense, as it is able to threaten common Pokemon found on those teams, such as Zapdos, Snorlax, Ferrothorn, and Heatran. Terrakion is mostly used to beat those common bulky Pokemon, most notably Snorlax and Zapdos, so keep Terrakion healthy so it can better take on those two. If worse comes to worst, Terrakion can make use of its decent Speed to fish for Rock Slide flinches, but that isn't recommended and should only be used as a last resort. If using Beat Up, it can be hard to set up due to the frailty of the Beat Up users that Terrakion is usually paired with. It is best to set up on Pokemon that Terrakion can outspeed and threaten, such as Zapdos and Mega Charizard Y. Make sure that faster threats that can revenge kill Terrakion, such as Choice Scarf Landorus-T and Mega Metagross, are eliminated or that there is some form of speed control up. Try to use Beat Up earlier in the game so that Terrakion gets the most boosts possible.
Team Options
========
Terrakion is able to fit on most teams pretty easily. Once seen as a gimmick, Beat Up is now a viable option, as most teams tend to lack solid Rock-resistant Pokemon and are based around slower, bulkier Pokemon setting up. This drastically slower pace in the game allows Terrakion to easily set up and threaten those teams. Weavile can give Terrakion free boosts with Beat Up, check common Intimidate Pokemon such as Salamence and Landorus-T, and support Terrakion with Fake Out. Whimsicott is another option for Beat Up, as it is able to mitigate Terrakion's mediocre Speed with Tailwind.
Mega Charizard Y can beat pesky Steel and Water-types that threaten Terrakion and has access to Tailwind to mitigate Terrakion's mediocre Speed. Terrakion, in return, can threaten Zapdos, Heatran, and Tyranitar, which are common Pokemon that threaten Charizard. Tapu Fini and Milotic are also great partners. Tapu Fini, while much less effective than Weavile and Whimsicott, can still perform the same role by being able to give Terrakion a free +2 Attack boost with Swagger. Tapu Fini can also threaten Landorus-T, a common Terrakion switch-in. Milotic, on the other hand, discourages the opponent from switching in their Intimidate user. In return, Terrakion can beat Zapdos to support Tapu Fini and Milotic. Terrakion tends to work well on rain teams, as it can handle Zapdos and Ferrothorn, which are both common Pokemon that threaten rain teams.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Quick Guard can block priority attacks. Focus Sash is an option so that Terrakion can survive a super effective hit. It also mitigates the defense drops from Close Combat, since it guarantees that Terrakion will take a hit if at full health. Earthquake with Groundium Z allows Terrakion to get a surprise hit on Aegislash. Shuca Berry and Adrenaline Orb are great options for Terrakion to be used with Beat Up. Shuca Berry allows Terrakion to survive an Earthquake from Choice Scarf Landorus-T, while Adrenaline Orb essentially gives Terrakion a free Choice Scarf with the ability to switch moves if the opponent sends in an Intimidate user against it, which is common.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-types**: While Terrakion is a Fighting-type, it cannot beat most common Steel-types found in the tier. Aegislash completely walls it, Mega Metagross can outrun it and OHKO with a super effective attack, and Celesteela can block Rock Slide with Wide Guard and threaten Terrakion with Heavy Slam.
**Faster Pokemon**: Terrakion is pretty frail, so anything faster with a super effective coverage attack can usually beat it. Pokemon such as Deoxys-A, Choice Scarf Landorus-T, and Choice Scarf Tapu Lele can beat Terrakion.
**Tailwind and Trick Room**. Terrakion relies heavily on its Speed to pressure the opponent's team. With speed control, slower Pokemon can take advantage of Terrakion's frailty and threaten it.
**Intimidate**: As it is a physical attacker, Terrakion suffers greatly from Intimidate. Terrakion is pretty weak as is, so if its Attack is dropped with Intimidate, it will be dead weight. Landorus-T can switch into Terrakion fairly easily, as it takes very little damage from Rock Slide after the Intimidate drop.
**Wide Guard**: Rock Slide is Terrakion's primary Rock-type STAB attack and is blocked by Wide Guard users, such as Aegislash and Celesteela, with Aegislash also completely walling Terrakion. Araquanid can also block Rock Slide; however, it cannot switch in and has to be wary of Rockium Z.
Terrakion is a strong Pokemon with access to powerful STAB attacks that let it threaten common Pokemon, such as Zapdos, Tyranitar, and Snorlax. While strong, however, Terrakion won't do very much damage if it doesn't hit super effectively. It is also very linear. Its base 108 Speed, while fast, means it is outpaced by Tapu Koko and Mega Metagross, both of which can threaten it. Furthermore, Terrakion is very susceptible to Intimidate, and it is also somewhat frail and has lowered longevity due to Close Combat drops and especially if running Life Orb. Terrakion's typing, while great offensively, leaves it susceptible to common spread attacks in the tier, such as Earthquake and Muddy Water from Landorus-T and Tapu Fini, respectively. It is heavily threatened by common Steel-types, such as Aegislash, which completely walls it, and Mega Metagross, which can outrun Terrakion and OHKO it. Nonetheless, Terrakion finds a place on teams as a solid anti-metagame choice by being able to threaten common Pokemon found in bulky offense.
[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Rock Slide / Stone Edge
move 3: Poison Jab / Taunt
move 4: Protect
item: Life Orb / Rockium Z
ability: Justified
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Close Combat is Terrakion's strongest Fighting-type STAB attack. Rock Slide is the prefered Rock-type STAB attack, as it is able to hit both foes and has a chance to induce flinch; on the other hand, Stone Edge bypasses Wide Guard and is also much stronger, with it being able to OHKO Mega Salamence and Zapdos most notably. Poison Jab lets Terrakion hit Tapu Fini, Tapu Bulu, and Tapu Lele for super effective damage. Taunt is an option to stop status moves, such as Trick Room, Tailwind, Wide Guard, and setup moves. Protect shields Terrakion from attacks and can notably protect it from a super effective hit, thus allowing its partner to potentially beat that threat.
Set Details
========
Maximum Speed EVs with a Jolly nature ensure that Terrakion is as fast as possible, and maximum Attack EVs allow it to hit as hard as possible. Life Orb is the preferred item, as it boosts the power of Terrakion's attacks. Rockium Z gives Terrakion a much stronger Rock-type attack that bypasses Wide Guard. It should not be used with Stone Edge on the same set, however, as Life Orb-boosted Stone Edge accomplishes the same thing.
Usage Tips
========
Terrakion is the perfect Pokemon to beat bulky offense, as it is able to threaten common Pokemon found on those teams, such as Zapdos, Snorlax, Ferrothorn, and Heatran. Terrakion is mostly used to beat those common bulky Pokemon, most notably Snorlax and Zapdos, so keep Terrakion healthy so it can better take on those two. If worse comes to worst, Terrakion can make use of its decent Speed to fish for Rock Slide flinches, but that isn't recommended and should only be used as a last resort. If using Beat Up, it can be hard to set up due to the frailty of the Beat Up users that Terrakion is usually paired with. It is best to set up on Pokemon that Terrakion can outspeed and threaten, such as Zapdos and Mega Charizard Y. Make sure that faster threats that can revenge kill Terrakion, such as Choice Scarf Landorus-T and Mega Metagross, are eliminated or that there is some form of speed control up. Try to use Beat Up earlier in the game so that Terrakion gets the most boosts possible.
Team Options
========
Terrakion is able to fit on most teams pretty easily. Once seen as a gimmick, Beat Up is now a viable option, as most teams tend to lack solid Rock-resistant Pokemon and are based around slower, bulkier Pokemon setting up. This drastically slower pace in the game allows Terrakion to easily set up and threaten those teams. Weavile can give Terrakion free boosts with Beat Up, check common Intimidate Pokemon such as Salamence and Landorus-T, and support Terrakion with Fake Out. Whimsicott is another option for Beat Up, as it is able to mitigate Terrakion's mediocre Speed with Tailwind.
Mega Charizard Y can beat pesky Steel and Water-types that threaten Terrakion and has access to Tailwind to mitigate Terrakion's mediocre Speed. Terrakion, in return, can threaten Zapdos, Heatran, and Tyranitar, which are common Pokemon that threaten Charizard. Tapu Fini and Milotic are also great partners. Tapu Fini, while much less effective than Weavile and Whimsicott, can still perform the same role by being able to give Terrakion a free +2 Attack boost with Swagger. Tapu Fini can also threaten Landorus-T, a common Terrakion switch-in. Milotic, on the other hand, discourages the opponent from switching in their Intimidate user. In return, Terrakion can beat Zapdos to support Tapu Fini and Milotic. Terrakion tends to work well on rain teams, as it can handle Zapdos and Ferrothorn, which are both common Pokemon that threaten rain teams.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Quick Guard can block priority attacks. Focus Sash is an option so that Terrakion can survive a super effective hit. It also mitigates the defense drops from Close Combat, since it guarantees that Terrakion will take a hit if at full health. Earthquake with Groundium Z allows Terrakion to get a surprise hit on Aegislash. Shuca Berry and Adrenaline Orb are great options for Terrakion to be used with Beat Up. Shuca Berry allows Terrakion to survive an Earthquake from Choice Scarf Landorus-T, while Adrenaline Orb essentially gives Terrakion a free Choice Scarf with the ability to switch moves if the opponent sends in an Intimidate user against it, which is common.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-types**: While Terrakion is a Fighting-type, it cannot beat most common Steel-types found in the tier. Aegislash completely walls it, Mega Metagross can outrun it and OHKO with a super effective attack, and Celesteela can block Rock Slide with Wide Guard and threaten Terrakion with Heavy Slam.
**Faster Pokemon**: Terrakion is pretty frail, so anything faster with a super effective coverage attack can usually beat it. Pokemon such as Deoxys-A, Choice Scarf Landorus-T, and Choice Scarf Tapu Lele can beat Terrakion.
**Tailwind and Trick Room**. Terrakion relies heavily on its Speed to pressure the opponent's team. With speed control, slower Pokemon can take advantage of Terrakion's frailty and threaten it.
**Intimidate**: As it is a physical attacker, Terrakion suffers greatly from Intimidate. Terrakion is pretty weak as is, so if its Attack is dropped with Intimidate, it will be dead weight. Landorus-T can switch into Terrakion fairly easily, as it takes very little damage from Rock Slide after the Intimidate drop.
**Wide Guard**: Rock Slide is Terrakion's primary Rock-type STAB attack and is blocked by Wide Guard users, such as Aegislash and Celesteela, with Aegislash also completely walling Terrakion. Araquanid can also block Rock Slide; however, it cannot switch in and has to be wary of Rockium Z.
Last edited: