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Landorus (Analysis)
- Thread starter Demoness
- Start date
For the first set, why not run HP fire as an option over ice. Obviously, you would lose the ability to safely OHK Garchomp, Salamance, Gliscor, ect, but with fire, you can deal with Nat, Skarmory, and Bronzong much easiar (and others, but those were the ones that resist you other attacks).
I've been looking for a sand counter who has uses outside of sandstorm.
Am I looking in the right place? If not, who do you recommend?
Am I looking in the right place? If not, who do you recommend?
I don't think landorus is a good sandstorm counter pokemon, he's better on a sandstorm team. Good anti sandstorm pokemon would be bronzong and conkeldurr or a pokemon that sets up different weather of your own
Unofficial GP Check:
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A couple notes in there, which are noted by brackets.
[Overview]
<p>Looking at Landorus,itsit's hard to understand why he isn't getting much usage. HisHe has great offensive stats: base 101 Speed jumpingSpeed—jumping ahead of the 100 Speed tier,tier—and a great 125 Attack backed up withand 115 Special Attack, which give him the ability to go mixed or specialspecial, along with 115 Special Attack,access to Rock Polish and Swords Dance. He has decent defensive statsstats, combined with a great typingtyping, that renders Landorushim immune to Spikes and Toxic Spikes while only taking neutral damage from Stealth Rock and providing immuntiesimmunities to ElectricElectric- and Ground-type moves, access to Rock Polish and Swords Dance, andmoves. These, topped off with an amazing ability that increases the power ofboosts his Earthquake to insane levels while also boosting Stone EdgeEdge, all makes him seem like 5th GenerationsGeneration's Garchomp.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, Landorus suffers from some glaring problems. Unlike in the 4th Generation, outspeeding base100's100s just isn't asthat important, he doesn't have a way of getting past Bronzong unlike Garchomp,(unlike Garchomp), his typing leaves him with two glaring weaknesses in Water and Ice, and he needs to be run alongsidesalongside Tyranitar or Hippowdon in order to function whichfunction. This brings up another problem; Doryuuzu,problem: Excadrill, who reaches 604 Speed in the Sand while also having Swords Dance to boost his Attack. [Note: are you saying Excadrill competes with him for a moveslot or gives him trouble as an opponent? Should specify.] Despite all of this, Landorus is still one of the most dangerous sweepers in the game, and should always be considered if using a Sandstorm team.</p>
[SET]
name: Rock Polish
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: Rock Polish
move 4: Hidden Power Ice
item: Life Orb
nature: Naive
evs: 4 SpA / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While Swords Dance Landorus smashes up defensive teams with ease, he runs into trouble with offensive teams, who can easily revenge kill him. However, Landorus can easily run a Rock Polish set to remedy this problem. LandorusHe can easily get that Rock Polish through various methods, but the end result will likely be the same;same: a sweep for Landorus. Even if the opponent has a reasonably bulky Pokemon on their team, like say Nattorei, theyPokemon, for instance Ferrothorn, it can either be weakened before attempting the sweep or even taken out while Landorus is sweeping. evenEven if the opponent tries to throw Gliscor in the way, Landorus can simply fire off a Hidden Power Ice, OHKOing the annoying purple pest.</p>
<p>Earthquake and Stone Edge are the main attacking moves ofthethis set, essentially having 253 and 169 power after the boosts from Life Orb, Sand Power, and STAB for Earthquake. Rock Slide can be used over Stone Edge if you desire more reliability, but the power drop is bad for a set that needs as much power as possible. Rock Polish boosts Landorus'Landorus's Speed to a amazing 660, ensuring nothing else will outspeed him besideshim, aside from Ninjask and Choice Scarf Deoxys-S, both of which are not used at all.often. Hidden Power Ice may seem like aan odd choice, but it allows Landorus to maul Gliscor,Gliscor while allowing 100% hits on Garchomp, Salamence, and Dragonite.Dragonite. [Note: do you mean OHKOs? Should specify.]</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread couldn't be simpler; 252 Atttack gives Landorus as much power as possible, 252 Speed outspeeds positive base100's100s, while the Naive nature doesn't decrease Randorosu'sLandorus's good Special Attack. Although it may seem tempting to replace Life Orb with another item, Landorus needs all the power he can get, especially because theres no Swords Dancehe does not have access to relay upon.Swords Dance. Brick Break with a Jolly nature could work to make a fully physical set, but Brick Break would really only be used to break Air Balloons, which Hidden Power Ice already accomplishes, and Landorus will end up getting walled by Gliscor,Gliscor while being forced to use Stone Edge to hit Salamence and Dragonite.</p>
<p>Themandatoryprimary partner for Landorus is a choice between Tyranitar and Hippowdon. Both summon the Sandsand nescessary for RandorosuLandorus to sweep. Often times,Oftentimes, Tyranitar is the superior option, taking advantage of the Sand with a 1.5x boost to his Special Defence,Defense while being able to roast both Bronzong and Skarmory with Fire Blast, theseBlast—these two being Landorus'Landorus's best counters. Hippowdon, however, doesn't offer any of those services, but he can easily set up Stealth Rock for Landorus, Roar the opposing team around to stack up entry hazard damage, and act as a great physical wall for opposing Landorus and DoryuuzuExcadrill.</p>
<p>Obviously, Stealth Rock alone won't help Landorus get past walls, soSpikeSpikes support helps immensely in this regard. NattoreiFerrothorn is the obvious choice, easily taking the IceIce- and Water-type moves that Landorus attracts and can threaten the users with Power Whip, Gyro Ball, and Leech Seed. Landorus also likes Wish support, allowing him to try and sweep multiple times if the first should fail. The main candidates for this position are Vaporeon and Blissey, while Randorosuas Landorus easily takes both of their weaknesses easily.</p>
<p>As was mentioned earlier, Landorus absolutlyabsolutely hates Bronzong and Skarmory, both being able toof whom can easily take any of his hits and KO back with Gyro Ball and Brave BirdBird, respectively. A Substitute Magnezone with Magnet Rise easily beats both of them, trapping and KOing Skarmory with Thunderbolt, while using Magnet Rise on Bronzong to avoid Bronzong's Earthquake and 2HKO with Thunderbolt. ItsIt's also possible to use DoryuuzuExcadrill alongside Landorus to pull off a Double Dragon likeDragon-like offensive duo with one weakening the counters and checks while the other breaks through them and sweeps. Air Balloon users also cause Landorus grief, especially Heatran, who can easily take a Stone Edge or Brick Break and KO back with Fire Blast or Hidden Power Ice. A few Choice ScarfersScarf users and naturally faster Pokemon can survive one of Landorus'Landorus's attacks and KO back. A Specially Defensive Tyranitar can deal with all of those threats with relative ease.</p>
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: Swords Dance
move 4: Substitute / U-Turn
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>After a Swords Dance, which isn'tthattoo hard to get against any defensive team, Landorus reaches 698 Attack, whichAttack. This may not seem all that special at first, what with pretty much every other Swords Dancer/Nasty PlotterDance/Nasty Plot user reaching stats that high with only one turn of set up.set-up. However, Landorus hasgains the edge over them bythrough a combination of his typing, whichstats, and ability. His typing stops any potential Thunder Waves from hitting before set upset-up and dodging any Spikes and Toxic Spikes your opponent might have set up, his stats, which pretty muchup. His stats ensure that RandorosuLandorus can take a hit or two and get a Swords Dance, andwhile his ability, which boosts his already strong attacks to insane levels, and with a Life Orb, can easily KO any wall that doesn't resist Earhtquake with just a single layer of Spikes on the field.field, assuming Landorus is holding a Life Orb.</p>
<p>Earthquake and Stone Edge are the attacking moves of the set, providing great coverage, only being resisted by Claydol, Bronzong, Torterra, Breloom, Birijion,Virizion, and Flygon. Out ofOf that list, only Bronzong and BirijionVirizion can be considered threats,threats. Bronzong utterly walling Landorus and Birijion outspeedingwalls Landorus, while Virizion outspeeds and OHKOingOHKOs with Hidden Power Ice. The rest of the Pokemon on the list aren't reallytoo viable besides Breloom, who is OHKOed by a +2 Earthquake. The last move depends on what item Landorus is using.holding. Substitute goes with Leftovers, allowing Landorus to Sub on predicted status moves, potentially allowing for another Swords Dance, which would pretty much seal the game.can ensure a victory. Substitute also works well against offensive teams if you predict a switch to allowswitch—this allows Landorus to take care of the revenge killer. U-TurnU-turn would go with Life Orb, allowinggiving him the ability to scout what the opponentsopponent's answer to Landorus isLandorus, so you can act accordingly.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Brick Break is an option in the last slot, but the main use of it is to hit Air Balloonusers, which Stone Edge already does, although Brick Break does haveusers with 100% accuracy.accuracy, as opposed to Stone Edge. Hidden Power Ice can easily get rid of Gliscor, but it forces Landorus to run a Life Orb in order to ensure a KO. Yache Berry can let Landorus bluff a Choice Scarf early game,early-game, and potentially save him when sweeping lategamelate-game if something tries to revenge him. A slightly gimmicky option for the last slotmoveslot is the move Knock Down. Although it has less power than Stone Edge, it removes any Ground immunity the opponent might have, which thanthen allows Landorus to maul either maul his counter or whatever switched in because of Knock Down's affect with Earthquake.in.</p>
<p>Once again, Tyranitar and Hippowdon are themandatoryprimary partners for setting the Sandsand that Landorus loves. Tyranitar is once again the mainpreferred choice for theits ability to effectively lure in Bronzong and Skarmory, two of Landorus'Landorus's best counters, and roast them with Fire Blast. Hippowdon can easily set up Stealth Rock, Roar the opposing team around to weaken the few things that can take on Landorus, and act as a great physical wall. The choice between the two really depends on whether a you need the ability to lure in Landorus'Landorus's counters or a physical wall with reliable recovery.</p>
<p>Wish support is stillwelcomed,welcome, especially if Landorus is using Substitute. The best users of Wish are Blissey, Chansey, and Vaporeon. Both Chansey and Blissey can spread around paralysis with Thunder Wave, greatly aiding Landorus in sweeping. The choice between the two is simple: if Seismic Toss will be the only way of dealing damage, Chansey will do the job better. Ifbe more effective, while Blissey will be more effective if you decide to use Ice Beam/Flamethrower, Blissey will work better.Beam or Flamethrower. Vaporeon, while unable to use Thunder Wave, can take on the majority of Ice Sharders better thenShard users more effectively than Blissey or Chansey, and can potentially burn them with Boiling Water. Vaporeon can also utilize Roar to shuffle the opponentsopponent's team around to weaken it for Landorus. Of course, phazing the opponent won't doaccomplish much without entry hazards, so setting some up will help immensely. The best userhazard-setter to pair up with Landorus is Nattorei,Ferrothorn, who easily takingtakes on the Water- and Ice-type moves aimed at Landorus andLandorus. It can set up Spikes on a large number of thethese users while being able to run Thunder Wave to cripple the opponent.</p>
<p>The best counter to Landorus is Bronzong,resistingwho resists every common move heLandorus carries and 2HKOingcan 2HKO back with Gyro Ball or screwingscrew Landorus over with Trick Room. Celebi can also work well if Landorus isn't running U-Turn,U-turn, which will OHKO with a Swords Dance.Dance boost. Tangrowth and Gliscor work when Landorus doesn't decide to use Hidden Power Ice, which will heavily damage Tangrowth and OHKO Gliscor. However, because Landorus can't boost his Speed with this set, he is easily revenged killedrevenge-killed by a large number of Pokemon, the most dangerous ones being Latios, Sazandora, Birijion,Hydreigon, Virizion, and Voltolos.Thundurus. A Specially Defensive Tyranitar can handle Latios and Sazandora,Hydreigon, Pursuiting Latios while KOing SazandoraHydreigon with Superpower after Stealth Rock and Sandstorm damage. RankurusuReuniclus can take on BirijionVirizion by either defeating it in a Calm Mind war,war or setting up Trick Room and hitting it with Psychic. RankurusuReuniclus can also take on non-Nasty Plot versions of Voltolos,Thundurus, although Taunt will cripple Rankurusu.Reuniclus.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: U-Turn
move 4: Hammer Arm / Hidden Power Ice
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly / Naive
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Much like good old Garchomp, Landorus often finds himself a tad too slow to go up against offensive teams effectively. Slapping on a Choice Scarf easily remedies this problem, turning Landorus into aan effective revenge killer and an amazing late-game sweeper. Although Garchomp may seem better at first, Landorus has several major advantages over the land shark. The biggest advantage is U-Turn, which mayU-turn, which, while possibly not be as good as last gen,it was in DPP, is still an amazing move for any Choice Scarf user to have.user. Landorus also boasts a great typing, which leaves him immune to Toxic Spikes and Spikes, and ability, which gives Landorus a much neededmuch-needed power boost to clean up weakened teams. Top it all off with respectable defensive stats and you get one of the best Choice ScarfersScarf users in the game.</p>
<p>Earthquake and Stone Edge are the obvious moves here, providing great coverage with only 6 Pokemon resisting thecombo.combination. Rock Slide can be used over Stone Edge for more relibility,reliability, but the power drop is noticable. U-Turn,noticeable. U-turn, although having lost its main use in this Gen,generation, is still an amazing move for any Choice ScarferScarf user to have for any hard to predicthard-to-predict situations and to help keep up the momentum for your team. The last move is a toss uptoss-up between Hammer Arm and Hidden Power Ice. Hammer Arm hits Air Balloon users and Hydreigon, and whileHydreigon. While Brick Break may seem like the better option, Landorus is rarely staying in for more then a turn, so the Speed drop isn't that bad,is irrelevant, and Brick Break is noticeably weaker. Hidden Power Ice severely dents Gliscor, but leaves Landorus as severe set-up bait in the process.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>The EVs are the standard fare;fare: 252 Speed to outspeed +natureoutspeeds +Nature base 100's and100s, while 252 Attack to givegives Landorus as much bite as possible. The nature depends on what move you happen to be runningrun in the last slot.moveslot. The last moveslot is quite flexiable,flexible, so you can choose what goes there based on what you want to take care of. Hidden Power Flying is viable for hitting Breloom and Virizion, but it suffers from the same problems as Hidden Power Ice, and only rarely OHKOes Virizion. Outrage is a fun option to hit Dragon-types with,Dragon-types, but the lack of STAB and the locking effect make it a risky option.</p>
<p>Unsuprisingly,Unsurprisingly, Tyranitar and Hippowdon are the mandatoryprimary teammates for setting the Sandsand that Landorus needs. Tyranitar is the main choice once again due to theits ability to go mixed and either weaken or outright KO many of Landorus's counters and checks. Hippowdon, while not being able to boast about weakening Landorus's counters, can easily set up Stealth Rock, Roar around the opposing team to soften it up for Landorus, and act as one of the best physical walls out there.in the game. The choice between the two is simple: if your team needs a great physical wall, Stealth Rock setter, and phazer, go with Hippowdon. If you desire the ability to break down the walls that stand in Landorus's way, go with Tyranitar.</p>
<p>Because of the large amount of switching Landorus will cause, entry hazard support is more important then ever. Once again, Ferrothorn makes for the best user, taking on the walls that Landorus can't get through and setting upSpikesSpikes, while also threatening the wallsthem with Power Whip, Gyro Ball, and Leech Seed. A Wish user, while not as needed for this set, is still welcome. The options for this role are Chansey, Blissey, or Vaporeon. Out of them, Vaporeon is the best user to pair up with Landorus, being able to inflict burn via Boiling Water and Roar the opponentsopponent's team around to soften it up with Spikes and Stealth Rockentry hazard damage.</p>
<p>Because of thissetsset's reduced power, Landorus will often find himself unable to sweep the opposing team. The walls that cause Landorus the most grief are Skarmory and Bronzong, both being able to dodge Spikes and Earthquake willwhile being able to set up on Landorus. A Magnezone helps Landorus immenely,immensely, trapping both Skarmory and Bronzong and OHKOing and 2HKOing bothboth, respectively. Of course, Magnezone alone won't take care of all the walls, so pairing Landorus up with potent wall breakerswall-breakers who love to abuse Spikes likeSpikes, such as Choice Specs Latios and Hydreigon, Swords Dance Terrakion, or Choice Band HaxorusHaxorus, will easily break down pretty much every wallmost walls that Magnezone can't handlehandle, so Landorus can sweep up the remains.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>With 115 Special Attack and a respectable special movepool, a specially-based moveset can be used as a lure of sorts, luring in many ofLandorus'Landorus's normal counters and taking them down. A mixed set consisting of Earthquake, Stone Edge, Hidden Power Ice, and Grass Knot can act as a great partner for Excadrill, destroying many of Excadrill's checks and counters. Landorus also learns Bulk Up and, oddly enough, Calm Mind, but the lack of any form of recovery besides Leftovers hurts thetheir viability. Landorus can also make use of a Choice Band to boost his already great Attack to rediculousridiculous levels. To showAs an example, Hippowdon takes 47.4% - 56% from Earthquake,Earthquake while Landorus holds a Choice Band, an assured 2HKO with a layer of Spikes. Landorus also learns Explosion, but the nerfeffective reduction in damage output it recievedreceived this gengeneration makes it an undesirable option. With access to Swords Dance+RockDance and Rock Polish, Landorus can run a double dance set, but Terrakion pulls this off slightly better due to better coverage with his STABs.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Landorus'Landorus's counters depend heavily on what set and moves he's running. Gliscor can take any nonsets lacking Hidden Power Ice versions with ease, stalling out Stone Edge's low PP. Skarmory and NronzongBronzong can take anything LandoursLandorus throws at themthem, sans boosted Stone Edge and Hammer ArmArm, respectively. Hippowdon takes anything besides boosted Earthquake and Grass Knot. Celebi has a field day if Landorus opts to not to run U-turn. Landorus also happens to run into problems withrisks being revenge killed by something faster with Water- or Ice-type move when running Swords Dance, or failing to get a OHKOrevenge-killed on certian Pokemon witheither boosting set. Faster users of super effective moves can take down the Swords Dance set, while strong attackers can take down the Rock Polish and being OHKOed in return.set if he won't OHKO. Air Balloon users are a problem that plagues Landorus that don't run Hammer Arm, most being able to easily take a unboosted Stone Edge easily and retaliate. Priority is also a problem for Landorus, Azumarill being the worst of the bunch due to having abusdrly powerful super-effectiveLandorus. Azumarill, for instance, has a powerful, super effective priority move in Aqua Jet.</p>
[Dream World]
RandorosuLandorus gets Encourage for its Dream World ability. For physical sets this ability is usless,useless, Sand Power being the ability of choice. Encourage allows RandorosuLandorus to run fully Special sets, with most of its special moves getting aan Encourage boost.
<p>Looking at Landorus,
<p>Unfortunately, Landorus suffers from some glaring problems. Unlike in the 4th Generation, outspeeding base
[SET]
name: Rock Polish
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: Rock Polish
move 4: Hidden Power Ice
item: Life Orb
nature: Naive
evs: 4 SpA / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While Swords Dance Landorus smashes
<p>Earthquake and Stone Edge are the main attacking moves of
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread couldn't be simpler; 252 Atttack gives Landorus as much power as possible, 252 Speed outspeeds positive base
<p>The
<p>Obviously, Stealth Rock alone won't help Landorus get past walls, so
<p>As
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: Swords Dance
move 4: Substitute / U-Turn
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>After a Swords Dance, which isn't
<p>Earthquake and Stone Edge are the attacking moves of the set, providing great coverage, only
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Brick Break is an option in the last slot, but the main use of it is to hit Air Balloon
<p>Once again, Tyranitar and Hippowdon are the
<p>Wish support is still
<p>The best counter to Landorus is Bronzong,
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: U-Turn
move 4: Hammer Arm / Hidden Power Ice
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly / Naive
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Much like
<p>Earthquake and Stone Edge are the obvious moves here, providing great coverage with only 6 Pokemon resisting the
[Additional Comments]
<p>The EVs are
<p>
<p>Because of the large amount of switching Landorus will cause, entry hazard support is more important then ever. Once again, Ferrothorn makes for the best user, taking on the walls that Landorus can't get through and setting up
<p>Because of this
[Other Options]
<p>With 115 Special Attack and a respectable special movepool, a specially-based moveset can be used as a lure of sorts, luring in many of
[Checks and Counters]
<p>
[Dream World]
Add
A couple notes in there, which are noted by brackets.
"sigh" just further proof that I can't write up an analysis without making like 10,000 errors.... Thanks for the GP check. Unforutantley, I had already planned to re-write the Overview considering it isn't exactly accurate at the moment. I was alos contemplating re-writing the Rock Polish set, but I can easily use the rest of the check.
The link at the top should be changed, as the URLs at veekun are now referencing the English names. Here's the new link for you: http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/landorus
-Zane
-Zane
I can't stress this enough: for god's sake please run your analysis through spell-check before putting it up. It just creates pointless extra work. I've probably got most of it but remember for next time. Also there are a few british spellings (e.g defence) in there that need to go.
GP 1/2
Unofficial check.
Deletions
Additions/Corrections
(Comments)
There are still misspellings, some of which jc104 already pointed out, so make sure to pay close attention when you edit it again.
Deletions
Additions/Corrections
(Comments)
[Overview]
<p>Landorus is just one of those Pokemon that has everything it needs to succeed. 125 base Attack backed up with STAB Earthquake is already good enough, but with Sand Force, Earthquake reaches ridiculous levels of power, (comma) with while Stone Edge also getting gets a nice boost. Landorus is no slouch in the special attack department either, with 115 base Special Attack and a decent special movepool allowing him to easily go mixed. He also possesses decent 89 / 90 / 80 (space it) defenses to take hits while setting up with either Swords Dance or Rock Polish. His typing also complements his defenses, giving immunity to Toxic Spikes, Spikes, Ground-type moves, and Electric-type moves, while also giving and an important resistance to Fighting-type moves.</p>
<p>Despite all this, Landorus still suffers from some major flaws. His typing has its drawbacks, leaving him weak to Water- and Ice-type moves attacks, which is amplified by the popularity of Azumarill and Water-types in general. His physical movepool is very small, with no Fire-type move to help mitgate mitigate his problem with Steel-types who are immune to Earthquake. Landorus also needs to be run alongside with Tyranitar or Hippowdon in order to function at his full power, meaning he must compete with Excadrill as a sand sweeper. Nonetheless, Nevertheless, Landorus is a force to be reckoned with, and should be considered for any sand team.</p>
[SET]
name: Rock Polish
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: Rock Polish
move 4: Hidden Power Ice
item: Life Orb
nature: Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[Set Comments]
<p>Landorus reaches an amazing 660 Speed after a Rock Polish, outspeeding even the fabled Excadrill. This, coupled with Sand Force, lets Landorus tear right through pretty much any offensive team. Landorus is also able to find plenty of places to set up with the threat of an absurdly powerful Earthquake and respectable defensive stats. Even bulky Pokemon like Ferrothorn, Jellicent, and Slowbro will have trouble standing up to Landorus's Earthquakes, meaning that Landorus can attempt to sweep even when these Pokemon are still at good health.</p>
<p>Earthquake and Stone Edge are the bread-and-butter attacking moves, reaching 253 and 169 base power respectively, taking into account STAB, Life Orb, and Sand Force. Rock Slide can be used over Stone Edge for more reliability, but the drop in power is terrible for on a set which that needs all the power it can get. Hidden Power Ice seems like a odd option at first, but it allows Landorus to maul Gliscor and opposing Landorus, OHKO 4/0 (4 what / 0 what?) Garchomp 100% of the time with Stealth Rock support, and hit Salamence and Dragonite accuratley accurately.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>The EV spread couldn't be simpler: 252 Attack gives Landorus as much bite as possible, 252 Speed outspeeds the base 100 Speed tier, while and the Naive nature avoids reducing Landorus's great Special Attack. Although it may seem tempting to replace Naive with Naughty, Landorus will lose the ability to outspeed even the base 90s. Hammer Arm can go over Hidden Power Ice with a Jolly nature to hit Air Balloon users and Hydreigon, but this leaves Landorus walled by Gliscor while also stripping Landorus of the ability to OHKO opposing Landorus. Although Brick Break may seem like a better option than Hammer Arm, the power drop is too great to justify use. Grass Knot is another option in the last moveslot, 2HKOing Hippowdon and OHKOing Quagsire, but has little use otherwise. Lastly, Hidden Power Flying can be used if you really want to lure in and OHKO Virizion and Breloom while also hitting Tangrowth, but it's completely useless outside of that.</p>
<p>The first thing to consider when putting Landorus on your team is whether to use Tyranitar or Hippowdon. Both bring the sand that Landorus needs, so the decision depends on what your teams needs more. Tyranitar is the main option for the ability to take down Bronzong and Skarmory, the two best counters to Landorus. Tyranitar can also lay down Stealth Rock, and his Special Defense is increased due to the sand. Hippowdon, while unable to (spacing+word) destroy Landorus's counters, can also lay down Stealth Rock, Roar the opponents team around to soften it up, and act as an amazing physical wall.</p>
<p>Obviously, Stealth Rock alone won't help Landorus get past walls, so Spikes support helps immensely in this regard. Ferrothorn is the obvious choice, easily taking the Ice- and Water-type moves that Landorus attracts and threatening back with Power Whip, Gyro Ball, and Leech Seed. Landorus also likes Wish support, allowing him to attempt a sweep multiple times if the first should fail. The main candidates for this position are Vaporeon, Chansey, and Blissey, as Landorus covers their weaknesses. The choice depends on whether your teams needs a special wall or a bulky Water-type.</p>
<p>As was mentioned earlier, Landorus absolutely hates Bronzong and Skarmory, both both of whom easily take any of his hits and KO back with Gyro Ball and Brave Bird, respectively. A Substitute Magnezone with Magnet Rise easily beats both of them, trapping and KOing Skarmory with Thunderbolt, while using Magnet Rise on Bronzong to avoid Earthquake and 2HKOing with Thunderbolt. Air Balloon users also cause Landorus grief, especially Heatran, who can easily take a Stone Edge and KO back with Fire Blast or Hidden Power Ice, although while Hammer Arm is able to OHKO Heatran. A few Scarf users and naturally faster Pokemon can survive one of Landorus's attacks and KO back. A specially defensive Tyranitar can deal with all of those threats with relative ease.</p>
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: Swords Dance
move 4: Substitute / U-turn
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[Set Comments]
<p>After a Swords Dance, which isn't too hard to get against any defensive team, Landorus reaches 698 Attack. This may not seem all that special at first, what with pretty much as almost every other Swords Dance/Nasty Plot user is capable of reaching stats that high with after only one turn of set-up. However, Landorus gains the edge over them through a combination of his typing, stats, and ability. His typing gives immunity to Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Thunder Wave, ensuring his sweep will not be cut short. His stats ensure that he can take a hit or two while setting up Swords Dance, while his ability boosts his already strong attacks to insane levels, letting him easily KO any wall that doesn't resist Earthquake with just a single layer of Spikes on the field, assuming that Landorus is holding a Life Orb.</p>
<p>Earthquake and Stone Edge are the attacking moves of the set, providing great coverage, only resisted by Claydol, Bronzong, Torterra, Breloom, Virizion, and Flygon. Of that list, only Bronzong and Virizion can be considered threats. Bronzong walls any Landorus that don't run Hammer Arm, while Virizion outspeeds and OHKOes with Hidden Power Ice. The rest of the Pokemon on the list aren't really viable besides Breloom, who is OHKOed by a +2 Earthquake. The last move depends on what item Landorus is holding. Substitute goes with Leftovers, allowing Landorus to Sub on avoid predicted status moves, (no comma) and potentially allowing for another Swords Dance, which can ensure victory. Substitute also works well against offensive teams if you predict a switch—this allows Landorus to take care of a faster threat. U-turn would go goes with Life Orb, giving you the ability to scout the opponent's answer to Landorus, so you can and act accordingly.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>Hammer Arm is an option in the last slot to leave a huge dent in Bronzong and hit Air Balloon users, but the Speed drop makes it an undesirable option. Hidden Power Ice can easily get rid of Gliscor, but it forces Landorus to run a Life Orb to ensure a KO. Yache Berry can let Landorus bluff a Choice Scarf early-game, and potentially save him when sweeping late-game if something tries to revenge kill him. Passho Berry is also an option, allowing Landorus to take Water-type hits and KO back. A slightly gimmicky option for the last moveslot is the move Knock Down. Although it has less power than Stone Edge, it removes any Ground immunity the opponent might have, which then allows Landorus to maul either his counter or whatever switched switches in.</p>
<p>Once again, including Tyranitar or Hippowdon in the team is mandatory for setting up the sandstorm that Landorus loves. Tyranitar is once again the preferred choice for its ability to lure in Bronzong and Skarmory, two of Landorus's best counters, and roast them with Fire Blast. Hippowdon can easily set up Stealth Rock, Roar the opposing team around to weaken the few things that can take on Landorus, and act as a great physical wall. The choice between the two really depends on whether you need the ability to lure in Landorus's counters or a physical wall with reliable recovery.</p>
<p>Wish support is still welcome, especially if Landorus is using Substitute. The best users of Wish are Blissey, Chansey, and Vaporeon. Both Chansey and Blissey can spread paralysis with Thunder Wave, greatly aiding Landorus in sweeping. The choice between the two is simple: if Seismic Toss will be the only way of dealing damage, Chansey will be more effective,. (end sentence) Blissey will be more effective if you decide to use Ice Beam or Flamethrower. Vaporeon, while unable to use Thunder Wave, can take on the majority of Ice Shard users more effectively than Blissey or Chansey, and can potentially burn them with Scald. Vaporeon can also utilize Roar to shuffle the opponent's team around to weaken it for Landorus. Of course, phazing the opponent won't accomplish much without entry hazards, so setting some up will help immensely. The best hazard-setter to pair with Landorus is Ferrothorn, who easily takes on the Water- and Ice-type moves aimed at Landorus. It can set up Spikes on a large number of Pokemon while being able to also running Thunder Wave to cripple the opponent.</p>
<p>The best counter to Landorus is Bronzong, who resists every common move Landorus carries sans Hammer Arm, and can 2HKO back with Gyro Ball or screw Landorus over with Trick Room. Celebi can also work well if Landorus isn't running U-turn, which will OHKO with a Swords Dance boost. Tangrowth and Gliscor work when Landorus doesn't use Hidden Power Ice, which will heavily damage Tangrowth and OHKO Gliscor. Because Landorus can't boost his Speed with this set, he is easily revenged-killed by a large number of Pokemon, the most dangerous ones being Latios, Hydreigon, Virizion, and Thundurus. A specially defensive Tyranitar can handle Latios and Hydreigon, Pursuiting Latios while KOing Sazandora with Superpower after Stealth Rock and sandstorm damage. Reuniclus can take on Virizion by either defeating it in a Calm Mind war or setting up Trick Room and hitting it with Psychic. Reuniclus can also take on non-Nasty Plot versions of Thundurus, although Taunt will cripple Reuniclus.</p>
[Set]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Hammer Arm / Hidden Power Ice
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly / Naive
[Set Comments]
<p>Much like Garchomp, Landorus often finds himself a tad too slow to go up against offensive teams effectively. Slapping on a Choice Scarf easily remedies this problem, turning Landorus into an effective revenge killer and an amazing late-game sweeper. Although Garchomp may seem better at first, Landorus has several major advantages over the land shark. The biggest advantage is U-turn; while not as good as it was in DPP, it is still an amazing move for any Choice Scarf user. Landorus also boasts a great typing, which leaves him immune to Toxic Spikes and Spikes, and ability, which gives Landorus a much-needed power boost to clean up weakened teams. Top it all off with respectable defensive stats and you get one of the best Choice Scarf users in the game.</p>
<p>Earthquake and Stone Edge are the obvious moves here, providing a great coverage with only 6 Pokemon resisting the combination combination only six Pokemon resist. Rock Slide can be used over Stone Edge for more reliability, but the power drop is noticeable. U-turn, although having lost its main use in this generation, is still an amazing move to have in hard-to-predict situations and to help keep up the momentum for your team. The last move is a toss-up between Hammer Arm and Hidden Power Ice. Hammer Arm hits Air Balloon users and Hydreigon. While Brick Break may seem like the better option, Landorus is rarely staying in for more than a turn, so the Speed drop is irrelevant, and Brick Break is noticeably weaker. Hidden Power Ice severely dents Gliscor, but leaves Landorus as set-up bait in the process.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>The EVs are standard fare: 252 Speed outspeeds +Nature base 100's positive-natured base 100 Speed Pokemon, while 252 Attack gives Landorus as much bite as possible. The nature depends on which move you happen to run in the last moveslot. The last moveslot is quite flexible, so you can choose what goes there based on what you want to take care of. Hidden Power Flying is viable usable for hitting Breloom and Virizion, but it suffers from the same problems as Hidden Power Ice, and only rarely OHKOes Virizion. Outrage is a fun option to hit Dragon-types, but the lack of STAB and the locking effect make it a risky option.</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, Tyranitar and Hippowdon are the primary teammates for setting up the sandstorm that Landorus needs. Tyranitar is the main choice once again due to its ability to go mixed and either weaken or outright KO many of Landorus's counters and checks. Hippowdon, while not being able to boast about weakening Landorus's counters so much, can easily set up Stealth Rock, Roar around the opposing team to soften it up for Landorus, and act as one of the best physical walls in the game. The choice between the two is simple: if your team needs a great physical wall, Stealth Rock user, and phazer, go with Hippowdon. If you desire the ability to break down the walls that stand in Landorus's way, go with Tyranitar.</p>
<p>Because of the large amount of switching Landorus will cause, entry hazard support is more important than ever. Once again, Ferrothorn makes for the best user, taking on the walls that Landorus can't get through and setting up Spikes, while also threatening them with Power Whip, Gyro Ball, and Leech Seed. A Wish user, while not as needed for this set, is still welcome. The options for this role are Chansey, Blissey, and Vaporeon. Out of them, Vaporeon is the best user to pair up with Landorus, being able to inflict burns (plural) via Scald and Roar the opponent's team around to soften it up with entry hazard damage.</p>
<p>Because of this set's reduced power, Landorus will often find himself unable to sweep the opposing team. The walls that cause Landorus the most grief are Skarmory and Bronzong, both able to dodge Spikes and Earthquake while being able to set up on Landorus. A Magnezone helps Landorus immensely, trapping both Skarmory and Bronzong and OHKOing and 2HKOing, respectively. Of course, Magnezone alone won't take care of all walls, so pairing Landorus with potent wall-breakers such as Choice Specs Latios and Hydreigon, Choice Band Terrakion, and Choice Band Haxorus, will easily break down most walls that Magnezone can't handle.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>With 115 Special Attack and a respectable special movepool, a specially-based moveset can be used as a lure of sorts, luring in many of Landorus's normal counters and taking them down. A mixed set consisting of Earthquake, Stone Edge, Hidden Power Ice, and Grass Knot can act as a great partner for Excadrill, destroying many of Excadrill's checks and counters. Landorus also learns Bulk Up and, oddly enough, Calm Mind, but the lack of any form of recovery besides Leftovers hurts their either moves' viability. Landorus can also make use of a Choice Band to boost his already great Attack to ridiculous levels. For example, Hippowdon takes 47.4% - 56% from a Choice Band Earthquake Earthquake, an assured 2HKO with a layer of Spikes. Landorus also learns Explosion, but the effective damage reduction it received this generation makes it an undesirable option. With access to Swords Dance and Rock Polish, Landorus can run a double dance set, but Terrakion pulls this off slightly better due to better coverage with his from its (genderless) STABs.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Landorus's counters depend heavily on what set set and moves he's running. Gliscor can take any sets lacking Hidden Power Ice with ease, stalling out Stone Edge's low PP. Without boosted Stone Edge, Skarmory checks Landorus, as does Bronzong should Landorus lack Hammer Arm. Hippowdon takes anything besides boosted Earthquake and Grass Knot. Celebi has a field day if Landorus opts not to run U-turn. Also, Landorus risks being revenge-killed; faster users of super effective moves can take down the Swords Dance set, while strong attackers can take down the Rock Polish set if he doesn't OHKO. Air Balloon users are a problem that plagues (no s) Landorus lacking Hammer Arm, most being able to take a unboosted Stone Edge easily and retaliate. Priority users are is also a problem for Landorus, Azumarill being the worst of the bunch due to having an absurdly powerful super-effective priority attack in Aqua Jet.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Landorus gets Sheer Force for its Dream World ability. For physical sets this ability is useless, Sand Force being the ability of choice. Sheer Force allows Landorus to run fully Special sets, with most of its special moves getting a boost.</p>
<p>Landorus is just one of those Pokemon that has everything it needs to succeed. 125 base Attack backed up with STAB Earthquake is already good enough, but with Sand Force, Earthquake reaches ridiculous levels of power, (comma) with while Stone Edge also getting gets a nice boost. Landorus is no slouch in the special attack department either, with 115 base Special Attack and a decent special movepool allowing him to easily go mixed. He also possesses decent 89 / 90 / 80 (space it) defenses to take hits while setting up with either Swords Dance or Rock Polish. His typing also complements his defenses, giving immunity to Toxic Spikes, Spikes, Ground-type moves, and Electric-type moves, while also giving and an important resistance to Fighting-type moves.</p>
<p>Despite all this, Landorus still suffers from some major flaws. His typing has its drawbacks, leaving him weak to Water- and Ice-type moves attacks, which is amplified by the popularity of Azumarill and Water-types in general. His physical movepool is very small, with no Fire-type move to help mitgate mitigate his problem with Steel-types who are immune to Earthquake. Landorus also needs to be run alongside with Tyranitar or Hippowdon in order to function at his full power, meaning he must compete with Excadrill as a sand sweeper. Nonetheless, Nevertheless, Landorus is a force to be reckoned with, and should be considered for any sand team.</p>
[SET]
name: Rock Polish
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: Rock Polish
move 4: Hidden Power Ice
item: Life Orb
nature: Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[Set Comments]
<p>Landorus reaches an amazing 660 Speed after a Rock Polish, outspeeding even the fabled Excadrill. This, coupled with Sand Force, lets Landorus tear right through pretty much any offensive team. Landorus is also able to find plenty of places to set up with the threat of an absurdly powerful Earthquake and respectable defensive stats. Even bulky Pokemon like Ferrothorn, Jellicent, and Slowbro will have trouble standing up to Landorus's Earthquakes, meaning that Landorus can attempt to sweep even when these Pokemon are still at good health.</p>
<p>Earthquake and Stone Edge are the bread-and-butter attacking moves, reaching 253 and 169 base power respectively, taking into account STAB, Life Orb, and Sand Force. Rock Slide can be used over Stone Edge for more reliability, but the drop in power is terrible for on a set which that needs all the power it can get. Hidden Power Ice seems like a odd option at first, but it allows Landorus to maul Gliscor and opposing Landorus, OHKO 4/0 (4 what / 0 what?) Garchomp 100% of the time with Stealth Rock support, and hit Salamence and Dragonite accuratley accurately.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>The EV spread couldn't be simpler: 252 Attack gives Landorus as much bite as possible, 252 Speed outspeeds the base 100 Speed tier, while and the Naive nature avoids reducing Landorus's great Special Attack. Although it may seem tempting to replace Naive with Naughty, Landorus will lose the ability to outspeed even the base 90s. Hammer Arm can go over Hidden Power Ice with a Jolly nature to hit Air Balloon users and Hydreigon, but this leaves Landorus walled by Gliscor while also stripping Landorus of the ability to OHKO opposing Landorus. Although Brick Break may seem like a better option than Hammer Arm, the power drop is too great to justify use. Grass Knot is another option in the last moveslot, 2HKOing Hippowdon and OHKOing Quagsire, but has little use otherwise. Lastly, Hidden Power Flying can be used if you really want to lure in and OHKO Virizion and Breloom while also hitting Tangrowth, but it's completely useless outside of that.</p>
<p>The first thing to consider when putting Landorus on your team is whether to use Tyranitar or Hippowdon. Both bring the sand that Landorus needs, so the decision depends on what your teams needs more. Tyranitar is the main option for the ability to take down Bronzong and Skarmory, the two best counters to Landorus. Tyranitar can also lay down Stealth Rock, and his Special Defense is increased due to the sand. Hippowdon, while unable to (spacing+word) destroy Landorus's counters, can also lay down Stealth Rock, Roar the opponents team around to soften it up, and act as an amazing physical wall.</p>
<p>Obviously, Stealth Rock alone won't help Landorus get past walls, so Spikes support helps immensely in this regard. Ferrothorn is the obvious choice, easily taking the Ice- and Water-type moves that Landorus attracts and threatening back with Power Whip, Gyro Ball, and Leech Seed. Landorus also likes Wish support, allowing him to attempt a sweep multiple times if the first should fail. The main candidates for this position are Vaporeon, Chansey, and Blissey, as Landorus covers their weaknesses. The choice depends on whether your teams needs a special wall or a bulky Water-type.</p>
<p>As was mentioned earlier, Landorus absolutely hates Bronzong and Skarmory, both both of whom easily take any of his hits and KO back with Gyro Ball and Brave Bird, respectively. A Substitute Magnezone with Magnet Rise easily beats both of them, trapping and KOing Skarmory with Thunderbolt, while using Magnet Rise on Bronzong to avoid Earthquake and 2HKOing with Thunderbolt. Air Balloon users also cause Landorus grief, especially Heatran, who can easily take a Stone Edge and KO back with Fire Blast or Hidden Power Ice, although while Hammer Arm is able to OHKO Heatran. A few Scarf users and naturally faster Pokemon can survive one of Landorus's attacks and KO back. A specially defensive Tyranitar can deal with all of those threats with relative ease.</p>
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: Swords Dance
move 4: Substitute / U-turn
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[Set Comments]
<p>After a Swords Dance, which isn't too hard to get against any defensive team, Landorus reaches 698 Attack. This may not seem all that special at first, what with pretty much as almost every other Swords Dance/Nasty Plot user is capable of reaching stats that high with after only one turn of set-up. However, Landorus gains the edge over them through a combination of his typing, stats, and ability. His typing gives immunity to Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Thunder Wave, ensuring his sweep will not be cut short. His stats ensure that he can take a hit or two while setting up Swords Dance, while his ability boosts his already strong attacks to insane levels, letting him easily KO any wall that doesn't resist Earthquake with just a single layer of Spikes on the field, assuming that Landorus is holding a Life Orb.</p>
<p>Earthquake and Stone Edge are the attacking moves of the set, providing great coverage, only resisted by Claydol, Bronzong, Torterra, Breloom, Virizion, and Flygon. Of that list, only Bronzong and Virizion can be considered threats. Bronzong walls any Landorus that don't run Hammer Arm, while Virizion outspeeds and OHKOes with Hidden Power Ice. The rest of the Pokemon on the list aren't really viable besides Breloom, who is OHKOed by a +2 Earthquake. The last move depends on what item Landorus is holding. Substitute goes with Leftovers, allowing Landorus to Sub on avoid predicted status moves, (no comma) and potentially allowing for another Swords Dance, which can ensure victory. Substitute also works well against offensive teams if you predict a switch—this allows Landorus to take care of a faster threat. U-turn would go goes with Life Orb, giving you the ability to scout the opponent's answer to Landorus, so you can and act accordingly.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>Hammer Arm is an option in the last slot to leave a huge dent in Bronzong and hit Air Balloon users, but the Speed drop makes it an undesirable option. Hidden Power Ice can easily get rid of Gliscor, but it forces Landorus to run a Life Orb to ensure a KO. Yache Berry can let Landorus bluff a Choice Scarf early-game, and potentially save him when sweeping late-game if something tries to revenge kill him. Passho Berry is also an option, allowing Landorus to take Water-type hits and KO back. A slightly gimmicky option for the last moveslot is the move Knock Down. Although it has less power than Stone Edge, it removes any Ground immunity the opponent might have, which then allows Landorus to maul either his counter or whatever switched switches in.</p>
<p>Once again, including Tyranitar or Hippowdon in the team is mandatory for setting up the sandstorm that Landorus loves. Tyranitar is once again the preferred choice for its ability to lure in Bronzong and Skarmory, two of Landorus's best counters, and roast them with Fire Blast. Hippowdon can easily set up Stealth Rock, Roar the opposing team around to weaken the few things that can take on Landorus, and act as a great physical wall. The choice between the two really depends on whether you need the ability to lure in Landorus's counters or a physical wall with reliable recovery.</p>
<p>Wish support is still welcome, especially if Landorus is using Substitute. The best users of Wish are Blissey, Chansey, and Vaporeon. Both Chansey and Blissey can spread paralysis with Thunder Wave, greatly aiding Landorus in sweeping. The choice between the two is simple: if Seismic Toss will be the only way of dealing damage, Chansey will be more effective,. (end sentence) Blissey will be more effective if you decide to use Ice Beam or Flamethrower. Vaporeon, while unable to use Thunder Wave, can take on the majority of Ice Shard users more effectively than Blissey or Chansey, and can potentially burn them with Scald. Vaporeon can also utilize Roar to shuffle the opponent's team around to weaken it for Landorus. Of course, phazing the opponent won't accomplish much without entry hazards, so setting some up will help immensely. The best hazard-setter to pair with Landorus is Ferrothorn, who easily takes on the Water- and Ice-type moves aimed at Landorus. It can set up Spikes on a large number of Pokemon while being able to also running Thunder Wave to cripple the opponent.</p>
<p>The best counter to Landorus is Bronzong, who resists every common move Landorus carries sans Hammer Arm, and can 2HKO back with Gyro Ball or screw Landorus over with Trick Room. Celebi can also work well if Landorus isn't running U-turn, which will OHKO with a Swords Dance boost. Tangrowth and Gliscor work when Landorus doesn't use Hidden Power Ice, which will heavily damage Tangrowth and OHKO Gliscor. Because Landorus can't boost his Speed with this set, he is easily revenged-killed by a large number of Pokemon, the most dangerous ones being Latios, Hydreigon, Virizion, and Thundurus. A specially defensive Tyranitar can handle Latios and Hydreigon, Pursuiting Latios while KOing Sazandora with Superpower after Stealth Rock and sandstorm damage. Reuniclus can take on Virizion by either defeating it in a Calm Mind war or setting up Trick Room and hitting it with Psychic. Reuniclus can also take on non-Nasty Plot versions of Thundurus, although Taunt will cripple Reuniclus.</p>
[Set]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Hammer Arm / Hidden Power Ice
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly / Naive
[Set Comments]
<p>Much like Garchomp, Landorus often finds himself a tad too slow to go up against offensive teams effectively. Slapping on a Choice Scarf easily remedies this problem, turning Landorus into an effective revenge killer and an amazing late-game sweeper. Although Garchomp may seem better at first, Landorus has several major advantages over the land shark. The biggest advantage is U-turn; while not as good as it was in DPP, it is still an amazing move for any Choice Scarf user. Landorus also boasts a great typing, which leaves him immune to Toxic Spikes and Spikes, and ability, which gives Landorus a much-needed power boost to clean up weakened teams. Top it all off with respectable defensive stats and you get one of the best Choice Scarf users in the game.</p>
<p>Earthquake and Stone Edge are the obvious moves here, providing a great coverage with only 6 Pokemon resisting the combination combination only six Pokemon resist. Rock Slide can be used over Stone Edge for more reliability, but the power drop is noticeable. U-turn, although having lost its main use in this generation, is still an amazing move to have in hard-to-predict situations and to help keep up the momentum for your team. The last move is a toss-up between Hammer Arm and Hidden Power Ice. Hammer Arm hits Air Balloon users and Hydreigon. While Brick Break may seem like the better option, Landorus is rarely staying in for more than a turn, so the Speed drop is irrelevant, and Brick Break is noticeably weaker. Hidden Power Ice severely dents Gliscor, but leaves Landorus as set-up bait in the process.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>The EVs are standard fare: 252 Speed outspeeds +Nature base 100's positive-natured base 100 Speed Pokemon, while 252 Attack gives Landorus as much bite as possible. The nature depends on which move you happen to run in the last moveslot. The last moveslot is quite flexible, so you can choose what goes there based on what you want to take care of. Hidden Power Flying is viable usable for hitting Breloom and Virizion, but it suffers from the same problems as Hidden Power Ice, and only rarely OHKOes Virizion. Outrage is a fun option to hit Dragon-types, but the lack of STAB and the locking effect make it a risky option.</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, Tyranitar and Hippowdon are the primary teammates for setting up the sandstorm that Landorus needs. Tyranitar is the main choice once again due to its ability to go mixed and either weaken or outright KO many of Landorus's counters and checks. Hippowdon, while not being able to boast about weakening Landorus's counters so much, can easily set up Stealth Rock, Roar around the opposing team to soften it up for Landorus, and act as one of the best physical walls in the game. The choice between the two is simple: if your team needs a great physical wall, Stealth Rock user, and phazer, go with Hippowdon. If you desire the ability to break down the walls that stand in Landorus's way, go with Tyranitar.</p>
<p>Because of the large amount of switching Landorus will cause, entry hazard support is more important than ever. Once again, Ferrothorn makes for the best user, taking on the walls that Landorus can't get through and setting up Spikes, while also threatening them with Power Whip, Gyro Ball, and Leech Seed. A Wish user, while not as needed for this set, is still welcome. The options for this role are Chansey, Blissey, and Vaporeon. Out of them, Vaporeon is the best user to pair up with Landorus, being able to inflict burns (plural) via Scald and Roar the opponent's team around to soften it up with entry hazard damage.</p>
<p>Because of this set's reduced power, Landorus will often find himself unable to sweep the opposing team. The walls that cause Landorus the most grief are Skarmory and Bronzong, both able to dodge Spikes and Earthquake while being able to set up on Landorus. A Magnezone helps Landorus immensely, trapping both Skarmory and Bronzong and OHKOing and 2HKOing, respectively. Of course, Magnezone alone won't take care of all walls, so pairing Landorus with potent wall-breakers such as Choice Specs Latios and Hydreigon, Choice Band Terrakion, and Choice Band Haxorus, will easily break down most walls that Magnezone can't handle.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>With 115 Special Attack and a respectable special movepool, a specially-based moveset can be used as a lure of sorts, luring in many of Landorus's normal counters and taking them down. A mixed set consisting of Earthquake, Stone Edge, Hidden Power Ice, and Grass Knot can act as a great partner for Excadrill, destroying many of Excadrill's checks and counters. Landorus also learns Bulk Up and, oddly enough, Calm Mind, but the lack of any form of recovery besides Leftovers hurts their either moves' viability. Landorus can also make use of a Choice Band to boost his already great Attack to ridiculous levels. For example, Hippowdon takes 47.4% - 56% from a Choice Band Earthquake Earthquake, an assured 2HKO with a layer of Spikes. Landorus also learns Explosion, but the effective damage reduction it received this generation makes it an undesirable option. With access to Swords Dance and Rock Polish, Landorus can run a double dance set, but Terrakion pulls this off slightly better due to better coverage with his from its (genderless) STABs.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Landorus's counters depend heavily on what set set and moves he's running. Gliscor can take any sets lacking Hidden Power Ice with ease, stalling out Stone Edge's low PP. Without boosted Stone Edge, Skarmory checks Landorus, as does Bronzong should Landorus lack Hammer Arm. Hippowdon takes anything besides boosted Earthquake and Grass Knot. Celebi has a field day if Landorus opts not to run U-turn. Also, Landorus risks being revenge-killed; faster users of super effective moves can take down the Swords Dance set, while strong attackers can take down the Rock Polish set if he doesn't OHKO. Air Balloon users are a problem that plagues (no s) Landorus lacking Hammer Arm, most being able to take a unboosted Stone Edge easily and retaliate. Priority users are is also a problem for Landorus, Azumarill being the worst of the bunch due to having an absurdly powerful super-effective priority attack in Aqua Jet.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Landorus gets Sheer Force for its Dream World ability. For physical sets this ability is useless, Sand Force being the ability of choice. Sheer Force allows Landorus to run fully Special sets, with most of its special moves getting a boost.</p>
There are still misspellings, some of which jc104 already pointed out, so make sure to pay close attention when you edit it again.
You need to remove that last mention of Sazandora in the last paragraph of the Additional Comments section of the Swords Dance set.
Deletions
Additions / Corrections
Comments
GP 2 / 2
Additions / Corrections
Comments
[Overview]
<p>Landorus is just one of those Pokemon that has everything he needs to succeed. 125 base Attack backed up with STAB Earthquake is already good enough, but with Sand Force, Earthquake reaches ridiculous levels of power, while Stone Edge also gets a nice boost. Landorus is no slouch in the special department either, with 115 base Special Attack and a decent special movepool allowing him to easily go mixed. He also possesses decent 89 / 90 / 80 defenses to take hits while setting up either Swords Dance or Rock Polish. His typing also compliments his defenses, giving immunity to Toxic Spikes, Spikes, Ground-, and Electric-type moves, and giving an important resistance to Fighting-type moves.</p>
<p>Despite all this, Landorus still suffers from some major flaws. His typing has its drawbacks, leaving him weak to Water- and Ice-type attacks, which is amplified worsened by the popularity of Azumarill and Water-types in general. His physical movepool is very small, with no Fire-type move to help mitigate his problem with Steel-types who are immune to Earthquake. Landorus also needs to be run alongside Tyranitar or Hippowdon in order to function at his full power, meaning he must compete with Excadrill as a sand sweeper. Nevertheless, Landorus is a force to be reckoned with, and should be considered for any sand team.</p>
(remove space)
[SET]
name: Rock Polish
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: Rock Polish
move 4: Hidden Power Ice
item: Life Orb
nature: Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[Set Comments]
<p>Landorus reaches an amazing 660 Speed after a Rock Polish, outspeeding even the fabled Excadrill. This, coupled with Sand Force, lets Landorus tear through pretty much any offensive team. Landorus is also able to can also find plenty of places to set up with the threat of an absurdly powerful Earthquake and respectable defensive stats. Even bulky Pokemon like such as Ferrothorn, Jellicent, and Slowbro will have trouble standing up to Landorus's Earthquakes, meaning that Landorus can attempt to sweep even when these Pokemon are still at good health.</p>
<p>Earthquake and Stone Edge are the bread-and-butter attacking moves, reaching 253 and 169 Base Power respectively, taking into account STAB, Life Orb, and Sand Force. Rock Slide can be used over Stone Edge for more reliability, but the drop in power is terrible on a set that needs all the power it can get. Hidden Power Ice seems like an odd option at first, but it allows Landorus to maul Gliscor and opposing Landorus, OHKO 4 HP Garchomp 100% of the time with Stealth Rock support, and hit Salamence and Dragonite accurately.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>The EV spread couldn't be simpler: 252 Attack gives Landorus as much bite as possible, while 252 Speed helps him outspeed 252 Speed the base 100 Speed tier,. while the A Naive nature avoids reducing Landorus's great Special Attack. Although it may seem tempting to replace Naive with Naughty, Landorus will then lose the ability to outspeed even the base 90s Pokemon with base 90 Speed. Hammer Arm can go over Hidden Power Ice with a Jolly nature to hit Air Balloon users and Hydreigon, but this leaves Landorus walled by Gliscor while also stripping Landorus of the ability to OHKO opposing Landorus. Although Brick Break may seem like a better option than Hammer Arm, the power drop is too great to justify use. Grass Knot is another option in the last moveslot, 2HKOing Hippowdon and OHKOing Quagsire, but has little use otherwise. Lastly, Hidden Power Flying can be used if you really want to lure in and OHKO Virizion and Breloom while also hitting Tangrowth, but it's completely useless outside of that.</p>
<p>The first thing to consider when putting Landorus on your team is whether to use Tyranitar or Hippowdon. Both bring the sand that Landorus needs, so the decision depends on what your teams needs more. Tyranitar is the main option for the ability to take down Bronzong and Skarmory, the two best counters to Landorus. Tyranitar can also lay down Stealth Rock, and his Special Defense is increased due to the sand. Hippowdon, while unable to destroy Landorus's counters, can also lay down Stealth Rock, Roar the opponents team around to soften it up, and act as an amazing physical wall.</p>
<p>Obviously, Stealth Rock alone won't help Landorus get past walls, so Spikes support helps immensely in this regard. Ferrothorn is the obvious choice, easily taking the Ice- and Water-type moves that Landorus attracts and threatening back with Power Whip, Gyro Ball, and Leech Seed. Landorus also likes Wish support, allowing him to attempt a sweep multiple times if the first should fail. The main candidates for this position are Vaporeon, Chansey, and Blissey, as Landorus covers their weaknesses. The choice depends on whether your teams needs a special wall or a bulky Water.</p>
<p>As was mentioned earlier, Landorus absolutely hates Bronzong and Skarmory, both of whom easily take any of his hits and KO back with Gyro Ball and Brave Bird, respectively. A Substitute Magnezone with Magnet Rise easily beats both of them, trapping and KOing Skarmory with Thunderbolt, while using Magnet Rise on Bronzong to avoid Earthquake and 2HKOing with Thunderbolt. Air Balloon users also cause Landorus grief, especially Heatran, who can easily take a Stone Edge and KO back with Fire Blast or Hidden Power Ice, although Hammer Arm is able to can OHKO Heatran. A few Scarf users and naturally faster Pokemon can survive one of Landorus's attacks and KO back. A specially defensive Tyranitar can deal with all of those threats with relative ease.</p>
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: Swords Dance
move 4: Substitute / U-turn
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[Set Comments]
<p>After a Swords Dance, which isn't too hard to get against any defensive team, Landorus reaches 698 Attack. This may not seem all that special at first, as almost every other Swords Dance / Nasty Plot user reaches stats that high with only one turn of setup. However, Landorus gains the edge over them through a combination of his typing, stats, and ability. His typing gives him immunity to Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Thunder Wave, ensuring his sweep will not be cut short. His stats ensure that he can take a hit or two while setting up Swords Dance, while his ability boosts his already strong attacks to insane levels, letting him easily KO any wall that doesn't resist Earthquake with just a single layer of Spikes on the field, assuming Landorus is holding a Life Orb.</p>
<p>Earthquake and Stone Edge are the attacking moves of the set, providing great coverage, only resisted by Claydol, Bronzong, Torterra, Breloom, Virizion, and Flygon. Of that list, only Bronzong and Virizion can be considered threats. Bronzong walls any Landorus that don't run Hammer Arm, while Virizion outspeeds and OHKOes with Hidden Power Ice. The rest of the Pokemon on the list aren't really viable besides Breloom, who is OHKOed by a +2 Earthquake. The last move depends on what item Landorus is holding. Substitute goes with Leftovers, allowing Landorus to avoid predicted status moves, potentially allowing for another Swords Dance, which can ensure victory. Substitute also works well against offensive teams if you predict a switch—this allows Landorus to take care of a faster threat. U-turn goes with Life Orb, giving you the ability to scout the opponent's answer to Landorus and act accordingly.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>Hammer Arm is an option in the last slot to leave a huge dent in Bronzong and hit Air Balloon users, but the Speed drop makes it an undesirable option. Hidden Power Ice can easily get rid of Gliscor, but it forces Landorus to run a Life Orb to ensure a KO. Yache Berry can let Landorus bluff a Choice Scarf early-game, and potentially save him when sweeping late-game if something tries to revenge kill him. Passho Berry is also an option, allowing Landorus to take Water-type hits and KO back. A slightly gimmicky option for the last moveslot is the move Knock Down. Although it has less power than Stone Edge, it removes any Ground-type immunity the opponent might have, which then allows allowing Landorus to maul either his counter or whatever switches in.</p>
<p>Once again, including Tyranitar or Hippowdon in the team is mandatory for setting up the sand that Landorus loves. Tyranitar is, once again, the preferred choice for its ability to lure in Bronzong and Skarmory, two of Landorus's best counters, and roast them with Fire Blast. Hippowdon can easily set up Stealth Rock, Roar the opposing team around to weaken the few things that can take on Landorus, and act as a great physical wall. The choice between the two really depends on whether you need the ability to lure in Landorus's counters or a physical wall with reliable recovery.</p>
<p>Wish support is still welcome, especially if Landorus is using Substitute. The best users of Wish are Blissey, Chansey, and Vaporeon. Both Chansey and Blissey can spread paralysis with Thunder Wave, greatly aiding Landorus in sweeping. The choice between the two is simple: if Seismic Toss will be the only way of dealing damage, Chansey will be more effective. Blissey will be more effective if you decide to use Ice Beam or Flamethrower. Vaporeon, while unable to use Thunder Wave, can take on the majority of Ice Shard users more effectively than Blissey or Chansey, and potentially burn them with Scald. Vaporeon can also utilize Roar to shuffle the opponent's team around to weaken it for Landorus. Of course, phazing the opponent won't accomplish much without entry hazards, so setting some up will help immensely. The best hazard-setter to pair with Landorus is Ferrothorn, who easily takes on the Water- and Ice-type moves aimed at Landorus. It can set up Spikes on a large number of Pokemon while being able to use Thunder Wave to cripple the opponent.</p>
<p>The best counter to Landorus is Bronzong, who resists every common move Landorus carries sans barring Hammer Arm, and can 2HKO back with Gyro Ball or screw Landorus over with Trick Room. Celebi can also work well if Landorus isn't running U-turn, which will OHKO with a Swords Dance boost. Tangrowth and Gliscor work when Landorus doesn't use Hidden Power Ice, which will heavily damage Tangrowth and OHKO Gliscor. Because Landorus can't boost his Speed with this set, he is easily revenge killed by a large number of Pokemon, the most dangerous being Latios, Hydreigon, Virizion, and Thundurus. A specially defensive Tyranitar can handle Latios and Hydreigon, Pursuiting Latios while KOing Hydreigon with Superpower after Stealth Rock and sandstorm damage. Reuniclus can take on Virizion by either defeating it in a Calm Mind war or setting up Trick Room and hitting it with Psychic. Reuniclus can also take on non-Nasty Plot versions of Thundurus, although Taunt will cripple Reuniclus.</p>
[Set]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Hammer Arm / Hidden Power Ice
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly / Naive
[Set Comments]
<p>Much like Garchomp, Landorus often finds himself a tad too slow to go up against offensive teams effectively. Slapping on a Choice Scarf easily remedies this problem, turning Landorus into an effective revenge killer, and an amazing late-game sweeper. Although Garchomp may seem better at first, Landorus has several major advantages over the land shark. The biggest advantage is U-turn; while not as good as it was in DPP, it is still an amazing move for any Choice Scarf user. Landorus also boasts a great typing, which leaves him immune to Toxic Spikes and Spikes, and an ability, which gives Landorus him a much-needed power boost to clean up weakened teams. Top it all off with respectable defensive stats, and you get one of the best Choice Scarf users in the game.</p>
<p>Earthquake and Stone Edge are the obvious moves here, providing great coverage with only six Pokemon resisting the combination. Rock Slide can be used over Stone Edge for more reliability, but the power drop is noticeable. U-turn, although having lost its main use in this generation, is still an amazing move to have in hard-to-predict situations and to help keep up the momentum for your team. The last move is a toss-up between Hammer Arm and Hidden Power Ice. Hammer Arm hits Air Balloon users and Hydreigon. While Brick Break may seem like the better option, Landorus is rarely staying in for more than a turn, so the Speed drop is irrelevant, and Brick Break is noticeably weaker. Hidden Power Ice severely dents Gliscor, but leaves Landorus as setup bait in the process.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>The EVs are standard fare: 252 Speed allows Landorus to outspeed positive-natured base 100s, while 252 Attack gives Landorus as much punch as possible. The nature depends on which move you happen to run in the last moveslot. The last moveslot is quite flexible, so you can choose what goes there based on what you want to take care of. Hidden Power Flying is usable for hitting Breloom and Virizion, but it suffers from the same problems as Hidden Power Ice, and only rarely OHKOes Virizion. Outrage is a fun option to hit Dragon-types, but the lack of STAB and the locking effect make it a risky option.</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, Tyranitar and Hippowdon are the primary teammates for setting up the sandstorm that Landorus needs. Tyranitar is the main choice once again due to its ability to go mixed and either weaken or outright KO many of Landorus's counters and checks. Hippowdon, while not being able to boast about weakening Landorus's counters so much, can easily set up Stealth Rock, Roar around the opposing team to soften it up for Landorus, and act as one of the best physical walls in the game an excellent physical wall. The choice between the two is simple: if your team needs a great physical wall, Stealth Rock user, and phazer, go with Hippowdon. If you desire the ability to break down the walls that stand in Landorus's way, go with Tyranitar.</p>
<p>Because of the large amount of switching Landorus will cause, entry hazard support is more important than ever. Once again, Ferrothorn makes the best user, taking on the walls that Landorus can't get through and setting up Spikes, while also threatening them with Power Whip, Gyro Ball, and Leech Seed. A Wish user, while not as needed for this set, is still welcome. The options for this role are Chansey, Blissey, and Vaporeon. Out of them, Vaporeon is the best user to pair up with Landorus, being able to inflict burns via Scald and Roar the opponent's team around to soften it up with entry hazard damage.</p>
<p>Because of this set's reduced power, Landorus will often find himself unable to sweep the opposing team. The walls that cause Landorus the most grief are Skarmory and Bronzong, both able to dodge Spikes and Earthquake while being able to set up on Landorus. A Magnezone helps Landorus greatly, trapping both Skarmory and Bronzong and OHKOing and 2HKOing them, respectively. Of course, Magnezone alone won't take care of all walls, so pairing Landorus with potent wallbreakers such as Choice Specs Latios and Hydreigon, Choice Band Terrakion, and Choice Band Haxorus, will easily break down most walls that Magnezone can't handle.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>With 115 Special Attack and a respectable special movepool, a specially-based moveset can be used as a lure of sorts, luring in many of Landorus's normal counters and taking them down. A mixed set consisting of Earthquake, Stone Edge, Hidden Power Ice, and Grass Knot can act as a great partner for Excadrill, destroying many of Excadrill's checks and counters. Landorus also learns Bulk Up and, oddly enough, Calm Mind, but the lack of any form of recovery besides Leftovers hurts either moves' viability. Landorus can also make use of a Choice Band to boost his already great Attack to ridiculous levels. For example, Hippowdon takes 47.4% - 56% from a Choice Band Earthquake, an assured 2HKO with a layer of Spikes. Landorus also learns Explosion, but the effective damage reduction it received this generation makes it an undesirable option. With access to Swords Dance and Rock Polish, Landorus can run a double dance set with two boosting moves, but Terrakion pulls this off slightly better due to better coverage with its STAB attacks.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Landorus's counters depend heavily on what set and moves he's running. Gliscor can take any sets lacking Hidden Power Ice with ease, stalling out Stone Edge's low PP. Without boosted Stone Edge, Skarmory checks Landorus, as does Bronzong should Landorus lack Hammer Arm. Hippowdon takes anything besides boosted Earthquake and Grass Knot. Celebi has a field day if Landorus opts not to run U-turn. Also, Landorus risks being revenge-killed; faster users of super effective moves can take down the Swords Dance set, while strong attackers can take down the Rock Polish set if he Landorus doesn't OHKO. Air Balloon users are a problem that plagues Landorus lacking Hammer Arm, most being able to take a unboosted Stone Edge easily and retaliate. Priority users are also a problem for Landorus, Azumarill being the worst of the bunch due to having an absurdly powerful super effective priority attack in Aqua Jet.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Landorus gets Sheer Force for its Dream World ability. For physical sets this ability is useless, Sand Force being the ability of choice. Sheer Force allows Landorus to run fully special sets, with most of its special moves getting a boost.</p>
<p>Landorus is just one of those Pokemon that has everything he needs to succeed. 125 base Attack backed up with STAB Earthquake is already good enough, but with Sand Force, Earthquake reaches ridiculous levels of power, while Stone Edge also gets a nice boost. Landorus is no slouch in the special department either, with 115 base Special Attack and a decent special movepool allowing him to easily go mixed. He also possesses decent 89 / 90 / 80 defenses to take hits while setting up either Swords Dance or Rock Polish. His typing also compliments his defenses, giving immunity to Toxic Spikes, Spikes, Ground-, and Electric-type moves, and giving an important resistance to Fighting-type moves.</p>
<p>Despite all this, Landorus still suffers from some major flaws. His typing has its drawbacks, leaving him weak to Water- and Ice-type attacks, which is amplified worsened by the popularity of Azumarill and Water-types in general. His physical movepool is very small, with no Fire-type move to help mitigate his problem with Steel-types who are immune to Earthquake. Landorus also needs to be run alongside Tyranitar or Hippowdon in order to function at his full power, meaning he must compete with Excadrill as a sand sweeper. Nevertheless, Landorus is a force to be reckoned with, and should be considered for any sand team.</p>
(remove space)
[SET]
name: Rock Polish
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: Rock Polish
move 4: Hidden Power Ice
item: Life Orb
nature: Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[Set Comments]
<p>Landorus reaches an amazing 660 Speed after a Rock Polish, outspeeding even the fabled Excadrill. This, coupled with Sand Force, lets Landorus tear through pretty much any offensive team. Landorus is also able to can also find plenty of places to set up with the threat of an absurdly powerful Earthquake and respectable defensive stats. Even bulky Pokemon like such as Ferrothorn, Jellicent, and Slowbro will have trouble standing up to Landorus's Earthquakes, meaning that Landorus can attempt to sweep even when these Pokemon are still at good health.</p>
<p>Earthquake and Stone Edge are the bread-and-butter attacking moves, reaching 253 and 169 Base Power respectively, taking into account STAB, Life Orb, and Sand Force. Rock Slide can be used over Stone Edge for more reliability, but the drop in power is terrible on a set that needs all the power it can get. Hidden Power Ice seems like an odd option at first, but it allows Landorus to maul Gliscor and opposing Landorus, OHKO 4 HP Garchomp 100% of the time with Stealth Rock support, and hit Salamence and Dragonite accurately.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>The EV spread couldn't be simpler: 252 Attack gives Landorus as much bite as possible, while 252 Speed helps him outspeed 252 Speed the base 100 Speed tier,. while the A Naive nature avoids reducing Landorus's great Special Attack. Although it may seem tempting to replace Naive with Naughty, Landorus will then lose the ability to outspeed even the base 90s Pokemon with base 90 Speed. Hammer Arm can go over Hidden Power Ice with a Jolly nature to hit Air Balloon users and Hydreigon, but this leaves Landorus walled by Gliscor while also stripping Landorus of the ability to OHKO opposing Landorus. Although Brick Break may seem like a better option than Hammer Arm, the power drop is too great to justify use. Grass Knot is another option in the last moveslot, 2HKOing Hippowdon and OHKOing Quagsire, but has little use otherwise. Lastly, Hidden Power Flying can be used if you really want to lure in and OHKO Virizion and Breloom while also hitting Tangrowth, but it's completely useless outside of that.</p>
<p>The first thing to consider when putting Landorus on your team is whether to use Tyranitar or Hippowdon. Both bring the sand that Landorus needs, so the decision depends on what your teams needs more. Tyranitar is the main option for the ability to take down Bronzong and Skarmory, the two best counters to Landorus. Tyranitar can also lay down Stealth Rock, and his Special Defense is increased due to the sand. Hippowdon, while unable to destroy Landorus's counters, can also lay down Stealth Rock, Roar the opponents team around to soften it up, and act as an amazing physical wall.</p>
<p>Obviously, Stealth Rock alone won't help Landorus get past walls, so Spikes support helps immensely in this regard. Ferrothorn is the obvious choice, easily taking the Ice- and Water-type moves that Landorus attracts and threatening back with Power Whip, Gyro Ball, and Leech Seed. Landorus also likes Wish support, allowing him to attempt a sweep multiple times if the first should fail. The main candidates for this position are Vaporeon, Chansey, and Blissey, as Landorus covers their weaknesses. The choice depends on whether your teams needs a special wall or a bulky Water.</p>
<p>As was mentioned earlier, Landorus absolutely hates Bronzong and Skarmory, both of whom easily take any of his hits and KO back with Gyro Ball and Brave Bird, respectively. A Substitute Magnezone with Magnet Rise easily beats both of them, trapping and KOing Skarmory with Thunderbolt, while using Magnet Rise on Bronzong to avoid Earthquake and 2HKOing with Thunderbolt. Air Balloon users also cause Landorus grief, especially Heatran, who can easily take a Stone Edge and KO back with Fire Blast or Hidden Power Ice, although Hammer Arm is able to can OHKO Heatran. A few Scarf users and naturally faster Pokemon can survive one of Landorus's attacks and KO back. A specially defensive Tyranitar can deal with all of those threats with relative ease.</p>
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: Swords Dance
move 4: Substitute / U-turn
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[Set Comments]
<p>After a Swords Dance, which isn't too hard to get against any defensive team, Landorus reaches 698 Attack. This may not seem all that special at first, as almost every other Swords Dance / Nasty Plot user reaches stats that high with only one turn of setup. However, Landorus gains the edge over them through a combination of his typing, stats, and ability. His typing gives him immunity to Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Thunder Wave, ensuring his sweep will not be cut short. His stats ensure that he can take a hit or two while setting up Swords Dance, while his ability boosts his already strong attacks to insane levels, letting him easily KO any wall that doesn't resist Earthquake with just a single layer of Spikes on the field, assuming Landorus is holding a Life Orb.</p>
<p>Earthquake and Stone Edge are the attacking moves of the set, providing great coverage, only resisted by Claydol, Bronzong, Torterra, Breloom, Virizion, and Flygon. Of that list, only Bronzong and Virizion can be considered threats. Bronzong walls any Landorus that don't run Hammer Arm, while Virizion outspeeds and OHKOes with Hidden Power Ice. The rest of the Pokemon on the list aren't really viable besides Breloom, who is OHKOed by a +2 Earthquake. The last move depends on what item Landorus is holding. Substitute goes with Leftovers, allowing Landorus to avoid predicted status moves, potentially allowing for another Swords Dance, which can ensure victory. Substitute also works well against offensive teams if you predict a switch—this allows Landorus to take care of a faster threat. U-turn goes with Life Orb, giving you the ability to scout the opponent's answer to Landorus and act accordingly.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>Hammer Arm is an option in the last slot to leave a huge dent in Bronzong and hit Air Balloon users, but the Speed drop makes it an undesirable option. Hidden Power Ice can easily get rid of Gliscor, but it forces Landorus to run a Life Orb to ensure a KO. Yache Berry can let Landorus bluff a Choice Scarf early-game, and potentially save him when sweeping late-game if something tries to revenge kill him. Passho Berry is also an option, allowing Landorus to take Water-type hits and KO back. A slightly gimmicky option for the last moveslot is the move Knock Down. Although it has less power than Stone Edge, it removes any Ground-type immunity the opponent might have, which then allows allowing Landorus to maul either his counter or whatever switches in.</p>
<p>Once again, including Tyranitar or Hippowdon in the team is mandatory for setting up the sand that Landorus loves. Tyranitar is, once again, the preferred choice for its ability to lure in Bronzong and Skarmory, two of Landorus's best counters, and roast them with Fire Blast. Hippowdon can easily set up Stealth Rock, Roar the opposing team around to weaken the few things that can take on Landorus, and act as a great physical wall. The choice between the two really depends on whether you need the ability to lure in Landorus's counters or a physical wall with reliable recovery.</p>
<p>Wish support is still welcome, especially if Landorus is using Substitute. The best users of Wish are Blissey, Chansey, and Vaporeon. Both Chansey and Blissey can spread paralysis with Thunder Wave, greatly aiding Landorus in sweeping. The choice between the two is simple: if Seismic Toss will be the only way of dealing damage, Chansey will be more effective. Blissey will be more effective if you decide to use Ice Beam or Flamethrower. Vaporeon, while unable to use Thunder Wave, can take on the majority of Ice Shard users more effectively than Blissey or Chansey, and potentially burn them with Scald. Vaporeon can also utilize Roar to shuffle the opponent's team around to weaken it for Landorus. Of course, phazing the opponent won't accomplish much without entry hazards, so setting some up will help immensely. The best hazard-setter to pair with Landorus is Ferrothorn, who easily takes on the Water- and Ice-type moves aimed at Landorus. It can set up Spikes on a large number of Pokemon while being able to use Thunder Wave to cripple the opponent.</p>
<p>The best counter to Landorus is Bronzong, who resists every common move Landorus carries sans barring Hammer Arm, and can 2HKO back with Gyro Ball or screw Landorus over with Trick Room. Celebi can also work well if Landorus isn't running U-turn, which will OHKO with a Swords Dance boost. Tangrowth and Gliscor work when Landorus doesn't use Hidden Power Ice, which will heavily damage Tangrowth and OHKO Gliscor. Because Landorus can't boost his Speed with this set, he is easily revenge killed by a large number of Pokemon, the most dangerous being Latios, Hydreigon, Virizion, and Thundurus. A specially defensive Tyranitar can handle Latios and Hydreigon, Pursuiting Latios while KOing Hydreigon with Superpower after Stealth Rock and sandstorm damage. Reuniclus can take on Virizion by either defeating it in a Calm Mind war or setting up Trick Room and hitting it with Psychic. Reuniclus can also take on non-Nasty Plot versions of Thundurus, although Taunt will cripple Reuniclus.</p>
[Set]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Hammer Arm / Hidden Power Ice
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly / Naive
[Set Comments]
<p>Much like Garchomp, Landorus often finds himself a tad too slow to go up against offensive teams effectively. Slapping on a Choice Scarf easily remedies this problem, turning Landorus into an effective revenge killer, and an amazing late-game sweeper. Although Garchomp may seem better at first, Landorus has several major advantages over the land shark. The biggest advantage is U-turn; while not as good as it was in DPP, it is still an amazing move for any Choice Scarf user. Landorus also boasts a great typing, which leaves him immune to Toxic Spikes and Spikes, and an ability, which gives Landorus him a much-needed power boost to clean up weakened teams. Top it all off with respectable defensive stats, and you get one of the best Choice Scarf users in the game.</p>
<p>Earthquake and Stone Edge are the obvious moves here, providing great coverage with only six Pokemon resisting the combination. Rock Slide can be used over Stone Edge for more reliability, but the power drop is noticeable. U-turn, although having lost its main use in this generation, is still an amazing move to have in hard-to-predict situations and to help keep up the momentum for your team. The last move is a toss-up between Hammer Arm and Hidden Power Ice. Hammer Arm hits Air Balloon users and Hydreigon. While Brick Break may seem like the better option, Landorus is rarely staying in for more than a turn, so the Speed drop is irrelevant, and Brick Break is noticeably weaker. Hidden Power Ice severely dents Gliscor, but leaves Landorus as setup bait in the process.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>The EVs are standard fare: 252 Speed allows Landorus to outspeed positive-natured base 100s, while 252 Attack gives Landorus as much punch as possible. The nature depends on which move you happen to run in the last moveslot. The last moveslot is quite flexible, so you can choose what goes there based on what you want to take care of. Hidden Power Flying is usable for hitting Breloom and Virizion, but it suffers from the same problems as Hidden Power Ice, and only rarely OHKOes Virizion. Outrage is a fun option to hit Dragon-types, but the lack of STAB and the locking effect make it a risky option.</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, Tyranitar and Hippowdon are the primary teammates for setting up the sandstorm that Landorus needs. Tyranitar is the main choice once again due to its ability to go mixed and either weaken or outright KO many of Landorus's counters and checks. Hippowdon, while not being able to boast about weakening Landorus's counters so much, can easily set up Stealth Rock, Roar around the opposing team to soften it up for Landorus, and act as one of the best physical walls in the game an excellent physical wall. The choice between the two is simple: if your team needs a great physical wall, Stealth Rock user, and phazer, go with Hippowdon. If you desire the ability to break down the walls that stand in Landorus's way, go with Tyranitar.</p>
<p>Because of the large amount of switching Landorus will cause, entry hazard support is more important than ever. Once again, Ferrothorn makes the best user, taking on the walls that Landorus can't get through and setting up Spikes, while also threatening them with Power Whip, Gyro Ball, and Leech Seed. A Wish user, while not as needed for this set, is still welcome. The options for this role are Chansey, Blissey, and Vaporeon. Out of them, Vaporeon is the best user to pair up with Landorus, being able to inflict burns via Scald and Roar the opponent's team around to soften it up with entry hazard damage.</p>
<p>Because of this set's reduced power, Landorus will often find himself unable to sweep the opposing team. The walls that cause Landorus the most grief are Skarmory and Bronzong, both able to dodge Spikes and Earthquake while being able to set up on Landorus. A Magnezone helps Landorus greatly, trapping both Skarmory and Bronzong and OHKOing and 2HKOing them, respectively. Of course, Magnezone alone won't take care of all walls, so pairing Landorus with potent wallbreakers such as Choice Specs Latios and Hydreigon, Choice Band Terrakion, and Choice Band Haxorus, will easily break down most walls that Magnezone can't handle.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>With 115 Special Attack and a respectable special movepool, a specially-based moveset can be used as a lure of sorts, luring in many of Landorus's normal counters and taking them down. A mixed set consisting of Earthquake, Stone Edge, Hidden Power Ice, and Grass Knot can act as a great partner for Excadrill, destroying many of Excadrill's checks and counters. Landorus also learns Bulk Up and, oddly enough, Calm Mind, but the lack of any form of recovery besides Leftovers hurts either moves' viability. Landorus can also make use of a Choice Band to boost his already great Attack to ridiculous levels. For example, Hippowdon takes 47.4% - 56% from a Choice Band Earthquake, an assured 2HKO with a layer of Spikes. Landorus also learns Explosion, but the effective damage reduction it received this generation makes it an undesirable option. With access to Swords Dance and Rock Polish, Landorus can run a double dance set with two boosting moves, but Terrakion pulls this off slightly better due to better coverage with its STAB attacks.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Landorus's counters depend heavily on what set and moves he's running. Gliscor can take any sets lacking Hidden Power Ice with ease, stalling out Stone Edge's low PP. Without boosted Stone Edge, Skarmory checks Landorus, as does Bronzong should Landorus lack Hammer Arm. Hippowdon takes anything besides boosted Earthquake and Grass Knot. Celebi has a field day if Landorus opts not to run U-turn. Also, Landorus risks being revenge-killed; faster users of super effective moves can take down the Swords Dance set, while strong attackers can take down the Rock Polish set if he Landorus doesn't OHKO. Air Balloon users are a problem that plagues Landorus lacking Hammer Arm, most being able to take a unboosted Stone Edge easily and retaliate. Priority users are also a problem for Landorus, Azumarill being the worst of the bunch due to having an absurdly powerful super effective priority attack in Aqua Jet.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Landorus gets Sheer Force for its Dream World ability. For physical sets this ability is useless, Sand Force being the ability of choice. Sheer Force allows Landorus to run fully special sets, with most of its special moves getting a boost.</p>
GP 2 / 2
please remove any garchomp mentions
