I couldn't change the title of the old thread (dispite having the OP) so, after about a week of waiting for Laurel to change it (dispite the wallpost I gave him), I just deemed it easier to copy/paste it into a new thread. If someone could lock the old thread that'd be great.
Overview
########
Tyranitar is currently in the top ten most used pokemon in the VGC'14 format, and for good reason. It is one of the best available, walling common threats like Talonflame and filling many roles on teams, making it a huge threat every team must prepare for.
[Pros]
-Well rounded
-Large Movepool
-Good mixed-attacking stats
-Good defensive stats
-Good offensive and, to an extent, defensive typing
-Access to Sand Stream, making it a good weather disrupter
-Gained a mega evolution
-Versatile
[Cons]
-Weak to some common moves including Mach / Bullet Punch
-Weak to some common types such as Fighting-, Water- and Grass-type moves.
-Slow
-4MSS
-Common victim of double-targeting
Physically-Based Mixed Attacker
########
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Crunch
move 2: Rock Slide
move 3: Fire Blast / Ice Beam
move 4: Protect
ability: Sand Stream
item: Life Orb
evs: 252 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD
nature: Brave
Moves
========
-Dark Pulse is the Dark-type STAB of choice, hitting Ghost- and Psychic-types hard
-Rock Slide is a powerful spread move, notable for hitting Talonflame and Mega Charizard Y hard
-Fire Blast is there to deal with Ferrothorn and Amoongus
-Ice Beam can take care of pokemon like Garchomp and Salamence
-Protect is the standard turn waster, scouting the opponent and protecting the user.
Set Details
========
-The EVs give Tyranitar enough bulk to survive both modest mega charizard Y's Solar Beam and Adamant Azumarill's Play Rough. 244 EVs are put into attack as that is the highest highest number left that are not divisible by 8, and the remaining four are put into special attack to get that extra stat point. Provided you are holding Life Orb, you can OHKO non-Occa Berry varients of Ferrothorn and non-Yache Berry varients of Garchomp 100% of the time with no special investment using Fire Blast or Ice Beam, respectively.
-Needs to maximize Attack without lowering its special attack stat and therefore runs Brave
-Life Orb is the preferred item for the power
-Chople Berry can be used to help weaken Fighting-type moves, surviving all but Mienshao's High Jump Kick, Mega Lucario's Close Combat and the rare Sawk's Close Combat.
-A bulkier spread with 252 HP / 88 Atk / 76 Def / 92 SpD can be used to survive Mega Garchomp's Sand Force-boosted Earthquake and Rotom-W's Hydro Pump when sandstorm has worn off (or be 3HKOd inside sandstorm) can be used if you feel that you don't need the extra power of the given spread. However, Mega Garchomp isn't very common and if Sandstorm wears off you shouldn't be staying in in the first place. Please note that you need to run the inferior Chople Berry with this spread.
-Sand Stream is recommended as as it boosts Tyranitar's special defense and chips away at the opponent with a Sandstorm
-Unnerve can be used if you don't want weather interference. It also has the perk of stopping your opponent's pokemon from eating the omnipresent berries. However, it leaves Tyranitar a little lacking in special defense, so must only be used in this situation.
Usage Tips
========
-Generally speaking, bring it in early and keep it alive for most of the match
-Could also bring in a few turns in to win the weather war, if applicable
-Be wary of Will-O-Wisp and Intimidate
Team Options
========
-Talonflame can take care of Fighting-type pokemon like Conkeldurr. It also protects Tyranitar from incoming Mach/Bullet Punches with Quick Guard.
-Garchomp, both mega and normal, are good teammates under sand
-Amoonguss is always nice with that Rage Powder and Spore support
-Safety Goggles Rotom-H as the best counter to the common Mega Charizard Y/Venusaur core due to it being immune to Sleep Powder, resistant of Giga Drain, Heat Wave and Solar Beam and it can take advantage of the opponent's sun
-Anything that can absorb burns, intimidate or King's Shield, such as Conkeldurr, Bisharp and (while often overlooked) Wigglytuff, respectively, are helpful
Special Attacker
########
name: Specialtar
move 1: Rock Slide
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Protect
ability: Sand Stream
item: Life Orb
evs: 252 SpA / 36 SpD / 220 Spe
nature: Modest
Moves
========
-Rock Slide is important for dealing with threats such as Mega Charizard Y and Talonflame, OHKOing both excluding Charti Berry varients of the latter dispite the negative attack nature
-Fire Blast deals with Ferrothorn and other Steel-types
-Ice Beam hits Garchomp and Salamence, among other Dragon-types, hard
-Protect is useful for scouting. Reliant on this to tackle it being a common target of double targetting.
-Dark Pulse can be used for Dark-type STAB, hitting Meowstic-M hard, but its use is limited to that and it isn't powerful enough to warrent its use.
-Rock Polish can be used to boost Tyranitar's speed, but it is difficult to set up in doubles, made even harder as Tyranitar is a common victim of double targetting
Set Details
========
-Life Orb boosts attacks' power
-EVs maximize power, give you enough bulk to survive Mega Charizard Y's Solar Beam in the sun 75% of the time.
-Modest for power. Rock Slide doesn't lose any KOs with negative nature due to Life Orb boost
-A faster spread of 252 H
Usage Tips
########
[WIP]
Team Options
########
[WIP]
Choice Scarf
########
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Rock Slide
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Ice Beam
ability: Sand Stream
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 20 HP / 4 Def / 220 SpA / 28 SpD / 236 Spe
nature: Mild
Moves
========
-Dark Pulse hits Ghost- and Psychic-types like Chandelure and Aegislash hard. Main move you will clean with.
-Rock Slide hits Mega Charizard Y and Talonflame hard
-Fire Blast hits Ferrothorn and other Steel-types hard not called Aegislash harder than any other moves
-Ice Beam hits Ground-types such as Garchomp hard, as well as getting the hardest hit on Salamence.
-Protect can be used to bluff an un-choiced set.
-Snarl can be used over Dark Pulse as it has utility and is a spread move, but it is too weak to recommend.
Set Details
========
-EVs OHKO 4 HP Garchomp with Ice Beam 100% of the time, underspeed max speed Choice Scarf Abomasnow by a point so sandstorm is set up instead of hail, preventing Blizzard spam, and maximizes the chances of surviving a Timid Mega Charizard Y's Solar Beam in the sun (81.2% chance to survive) while still maximizing Tyranitar's mixed bulk. Remaining 4 in Def for extra stat point.
-Mild so as not to lower either offensive stat. Special Defense lowered due to Sand Stream boosting it anyway and speed being a vital stat.
-Sand Stream as this set is too frail otherwase
-Choice Scarf because choice scarf set. Boosts Tyranitar's speed
-You can run a spread of 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe, but loses a large amount of bulk and it misses out on that niche of underspeeding Choice Scarf Abomasnow by one stat point.
Usage Tips
========
-As this set is frailer than the others, you need to play it a little more conservatively than Tyranitar's other sets
-Think ahead before locking yourself into Fire Blast or Ice Beam in order to KO that Ferrothorn or Garchomp, respectively. It will often come back to bite you
-Due to the frail nature of the set, it will often be best to come in later to clean up weakened foes once you have deemed what will be able to outpace you
-Tyranitar is usually used as a good weather disruptor. Be careful about when you bring it in when you are against opposing weather-based teams
Team Options
========
-Talonflame deals with Scrafty
-Amoonguss deals with Rotom-Wash and opposing Tyranitar
-Rotom-Wash deals with Azumarill and other Water-types
-Safety Goggles Rotom-H as the best counter to the common Mega Charizard Y/Venusaur core due to it being immune to Sleep Powder, resistant of Giga Drain and Solar Beam and taking advantage of the opponent's sun
Physically-Based Mega
########
name: Mega Tyranitar
move 1: Crunch
move 2: Rock Slide
move 3: Earthquake / Dragon Dance
move 4: Protect / Dragon Dance
ability: Unnerve / Sand Stream
item: Tyranitarite
evs: 252 Atk / 108 Def / 20 SpD / 128 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
-Crunch provides a solid STAB
-Rock Slide provides another solid STAB, hitting both opponents
-Earthquake is a hard-hitting attack that provides SlideQuake coverage. Prevents Aegislash from King's Shielding you
-Protect for scouting and getting sandstorm chip damage
-Dragon Dance can be used to boost up to monsterous levels
Set Details
========
-Adamant boosts Attack to monsterous levels
-EVs max out attack while letting you survive max spec. attack modest Megazard Y's Solar Beam in the sun and max attack, adamant Scrafty's Drain Punch, both as mega. The rest are dumped into speed, happening to give you the perk of outpacing neutral, uninvested Rotom-A (not relevant, but, then again, not everyone runs smart spreads
-Tyranitarite for mega
-Unnerve because mega has Sand Stream anyway and blocking opponents' berry-use is helpful, but Sand Stream gives you more momentum-gaining oppertunities, making switch-ins against special attackers easier.
Usage Tips
========
-If facing a Charizard, use Protect on the turn it mega evolves and then mega evolve yourself to lock them into a weakened, 2-turn Solar Beam and proceed to KO them while taking no damage from them.
-Make sure that you mega evolve at the right time, and make sure that you take as little damage as possible before you mega evolve as Tyranitar is a frail before mega evolving.
-Dont forget that it isn't always the best idea to mega evolve immediately
-Beware Intimidate and Will-O-Wisp as they may cut your sweep short
Team Options
========
-Talonflame hits Fighting-types and Amoonguss
-Rotom-Wash hits opposing Rock and Ground types
-Mat Block, Quick Guard and Wide Guard users, such as Greninja and Mienshao, are all helpful for protecting Tyranitar
-Anything that can absorb burns or intimidate, such as Conkeldurr, Bisharp and (while often overlooked) Wigglytuff, respectively, are helpful
-Assault Vest can be used, but, when Tyranitar isn't holding a Choice Scarf, Tyranitar basically needs Protect as it is commonly double-targetted
Other Options
########
-Roseli Berry
-Weakness Policy
-Specially-Based Tyranitarite
-Tyraniboah
-Dragon Dance
-Rock Polish Specialtar
-Stone Edge
-Brick Break or Focus Blast
Checks & Counters
########
-Fighting-type moves most notably Mienshao's High Jump Kick, completely destroy T-Tar
-Fairy-types, most notably Mega Mawile, can deal heavy damage to Tyranitar
-Scizor can wreak Tyranitar with STAB Bullet Punch and X-Scissor
-Steel-types, like the two I just mentioned and Ferrothorn deal heavy damage
-Grass-types like Chesnaught, Ludicolo and Ferrothorn can deal heavy damage to Tyranitar
-Water-types like Azumarill and Ludicolo can deal heavy damage to Tyranitar
-Intimidate severely weaken it barring the special set
-Burn and Intimidate have big effects on all sets barring Scarf
Overview
########
Tyranitar is currently in the top ten most used pokemon in the VGC'14 format, and for good reason. It is one of the best available, walling common threats like Talonflame and filling many roles on teams, making it a huge threat every team must prepare for.
[Pros]
-Well rounded
-Large Movepool
-Good mixed-attacking stats
-Good defensive stats
-Good offensive and, to an extent, defensive typing
-Access to Sand Stream, making it a good weather disrupter
-Gained a mega evolution
-Versatile
[Cons]
-Weak to some common moves including Mach / Bullet Punch
-Weak to some common types such as Fighting-, Water- and Grass-type moves.
-Slow
-4MSS
-Common victim of double-targeting
Physically-Based Mixed Attacker
########
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Crunch
move 2: Rock Slide
move 3: Fire Blast / Ice Beam
move 4: Protect
ability: Sand Stream
item: Life Orb
evs: 252 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD
nature: Brave
Moves
========
-Dark Pulse is the Dark-type STAB of choice, hitting Ghost- and Psychic-types hard
-Rock Slide is a powerful spread move, notable for hitting Talonflame and Mega Charizard Y hard
-Fire Blast is there to deal with Ferrothorn and Amoongus
-Ice Beam can take care of pokemon like Garchomp and Salamence
-Protect is the standard turn waster, scouting the opponent and protecting the user.
Set Details
========
-The EVs give Tyranitar enough bulk to survive both modest mega charizard Y's Solar Beam and Adamant Azumarill's Play Rough. 244 EVs are put into attack as that is the highest highest number left that are not divisible by 8, and the remaining four are put into special attack to get that extra stat point. Provided you are holding Life Orb, you can OHKO non-Occa Berry varients of Ferrothorn and non-Yache Berry varients of Garchomp 100% of the time with no special investment using Fire Blast or Ice Beam, respectively.
-Needs to maximize Attack without lowering its special attack stat and therefore runs Brave
-Life Orb is the preferred item for the power
-Chople Berry can be used to help weaken Fighting-type moves, surviving all but Mienshao's High Jump Kick, Mega Lucario's Close Combat and the rare Sawk's Close Combat.
-A bulkier spread with 252 HP / 88 Atk / 76 Def / 92 SpD can be used to survive Mega Garchomp's Sand Force-boosted Earthquake and Rotom-W's Hydro Pump when sandstorm has worn off (or be 3HKOd inside sandstorm) can be used if you feel that you don't need the extra power of the given spread. However, Mega Garchomp isn't very common and if Sandstorm wears off you shouldn't be staying in in the first place. Please note that you need to run the inferior Chople Berry with this spread.
-Sand Stream is recommended as as it boosts Tyranitar's special defense and chips away at the opponent with a Sandstorm
-Unnerve can be used if you don't want weather interference. It also has the perk of stopping your opponent's pokemon from eating the omnipresent berries. However, it leaves Tyranitar a little lacking in special defense, so must only be used in this situation.
Usage Tips
========
-Generally speaking, bring it in early and keep it alive for most of the match
-Could also bring in a few turns in to win the weather war, if applicable
-Be wary of Will-O-Wisp and Intimidate
Team Options
========
-Talonflame can take care of Fighting-type pokemon like Conkeldurr. It also protects Tyranitar from incoming Mach/Bullet Punches with Quick Guard.
-Garchomp, both mega and normal, are good teammates under sand
-Amoonguss is always nice with that Rage Powder and Spore support
-Safety Goggles Rotom-H as the best counter to the common Mega Charizard Y/Venusaur core due to it being immune to Sleep Powder, resistant of Giga Drain, Heat Wave and Solar Beam and it can take advantage of the opponent's sun
-Anything that can absorb burns, intimidate or King's Shield, such as Conkeldurr, Bisharp and (while often overlooked) Wigglytuff, respectively, are helpful
Special Attacker
########
name: Specialtar
move 1: Rock Slide
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Protect
ability: Sand Stream
item: Life Orb
evs: 252 SpA / 36 SpD / 220 Spe
nature: Modest
Moves
========
-Rock Slide is important for dealing with threats such as Mega Charizard Y and Talonflame, OHKOing both excluding Charti Berry varients of the latter dispite the negative attack nature
-Fire Blast deals with Ferrothorn and other Steel-types
-Ice Beam hits Garchomp and Salamence, among other Dragon-types, hard
-Protect is useful for scouting. Reliant on this to tackle it being a common target of double targetting.
-Dark Pulse can be used for Dark-type STAB, hitting Meowstic-M hard, but its use is limited to that and it isn't powerful enough to warrent its use.
-Rock Polish can be used to boost Tyranitar's speed, but it is difficult to set up in doubles, made even harder as Tyranitar is a common victim of double targetting
Set Details
========
-Life Orb boosts attacks' power
-EVs maximize power, give you enough bulk to survive Mega Charizard Y's Solar Beam in the sun 75% of the time.
-Modest for power. Rock Slide doesn't lose any KOs with negative nature due to Life Orb boost
-A faster spread of 252 H
Usage Tips
########
[WIP]
Team Options
########
[WIP]
Choice Scarf
########
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Rock Slide
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Ice Beam
ability: Sand Stream
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 20 HP / 4 Def / 220 SpA / 28 SpD / 236 Spe
nature: Mild
Moves
========
-Dark Pulse hits Ghost- and Psychic-types like Chandelure and Aegislash hard. Main move you will clean with.
-Rock Slide hits Mega Charizard Y and Talonflame hard
-Fire Blast hits Ferrothorn and other Steel-types hard not called Aegislash harder than any other moves
-Ice Beam hits Ground-types such as Garchomp hard, as well as getting the hardest hit on Salamence.
-Protect can be used to bluff an un-choiced set.
-Snarl can be used over Dark Pulse as it has utility and is a spread move, but it is too weak to recommend.
Set Details
========
-EVs OHKO 4 HP Garchomp with Ice Beam 100% of the time, underspeed max speed Choice Scarf Abomasnow by a point so sandstorm is set up instead of hail, preventing Blizzard spam, and maximizes the chances of surviving a Timid Mega Charizard Y's Solar Beam in the sun (81.2% chance to survive) while still maximizing Tyranitar's mixed bulk. Remaining 4 in Def for extra stat point.
-Mild so as not to lower either offensive stat. Special Defense lowered due to Sand Stream boosting it anyway and speed being a vital stat.
-Sand Stream as this set is too frail otherwase
-Choice Scarf because choice scarf set. Boosts Tyranitar's speed
-You can run a spread of 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe, but loses a large amount of bulk and it misses out on that niche of underspeeding Choice Scarf Abomasnow by one stat point.
Usage Tips
========
-As this set is frailer than the others, you need to play it a little more conservatively than Tyranitar's other sets
-Think ahead before locking yourself into Fire Blast or Ice Beam in order to KO that Ferrothorn or Garchomp, respectively. It will often come back to bite you
-Due to the frail nature of the set, it will often be best to come in later to clean up weakened foes once you have deemed what will be able to outpace you
-Tyranitar is usually used as a good weather disruptor. Be careful about when you bring it in when you are against opposing weather-based teams
Team Options
========
-Talonflame deals with Scrafty
-Amoonguss deals with Rotom-Wash and opposing Tyranitar
-Rotom-Wash deals with Azumarill and other Water-types
-Safety Goggles Rotom-H as the best counter to the common Mega Charizard Y/Venusaur core due to it being immune to Sleep Powder, resistant of Giga Drain and Solar Beam and taking advantage of the opponent's sun
Physically-Based Mega
########
name: Mega Tyranitar
move 1: Crunch
move 2: Rock Slide
move 3: Earthquake / Dragon Dance
move 4: Protect / Dragon Dance
ability: Unnerve / Sand Stream
item: Tyranitarite
evs: 252 Atk / 108 Def / 20 SpD / 128 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
-Crunch provides a solid STAB
-Rock Slide provides another solid STAB, hitting both opponents
-Earthquake is a hard-hitting attack that provides SlideQuake coverage. Prevents Aegislash from King's Shielding you
-Protect for scouting and getting sandstorm chip damage
-Dragon Dance can be used to boost up to monsterous levels
Set Details
========
-Adamant boosts Attack to monsterous levels
-EVs max out attack while letting you survive max spec. attack modest Megazard Y's Solar Beam in the sun and max attack, adamant Scrafty's Drain Punch, both as mega. The rest are dumped into speed, happening to give you the perk of outpacing neutral, uninvested Rotom-A (not relevant, but, then again, not everyone runs smart spreads
-Tyranitarite for mega
-Unnerve because mega has Sand Stream anyway and blocking opponents' berry-use is helpful, but Sand Stream gives you more momentum-gaining oppertunities, making switch-ins against special attackers easier.
Usage Tips
========
-If facing a Charizard, use Protect on the turn it mega evolves and then mega evolve yourself to lock them into a weakened, 2-turn Solar Beam and proceed to KO them while taking no damage from them.
-Make sure that you mega evolve at the right time, and make sure that you take as little damage as possible before you mega evolve as Tyranitar is a frail before mega evolving.
-Dont forget that it isn't always the best idea to mega evolve immediately
-Beware Intimidate and Will-O-Wisp as they may cut your sweep short
Team Options
========
-Talonflame hits Fighting-types and Amoonguss
-Rotom-Wash hits opposing Rock and Ground types
-Mat Block, Quick Guard and Wide Guard users, such as Greninja and Mienshao, are all helpful for protecting Tyranitar
-Anything that can absorb burns or intimidate, such as Conkeldurr, Bisharp and (while often overlooked) Wigglytuff, respectively, are helpful
-Assault Vest can be used, but, when Tyranitar isn't holding a Choice Scarf, Tyranitar basically needs Protect as it is commonly double-targetted
Other Options
########
-Roseli Berry
-Weakness Policy
-Specially-Based Tyranitarite
-Tyraniboah
-Dragon Dance
-Rock Polish Specialtar
-Stone Edge
-Brick Break or Focus Blast
Checks & Counters
########
-Fighting-type moves most notably Mienshao's High Jump Kick, completely destroy T-Tar
-Fairy-types, most notably Mega Mawile, can deal heavy damage to Tyranitar
-Scizor can wreak Tyranitar with STAB Bullet Punch and X-Scissor
-Steel-types, like the two I just mentioned and Ferrothorn deal heavy damage
-Grass-types like Chesnaught, Ludicolo and Ferrothorn can deal heavy damage to Tyranitar
-Water-types like Azumarill and Ludicolo can deal heavy damage to Tyranitar
-Intimidate severely weaken it barring the special set
-Burn and Intimidate have big effects on all sets barring Scarf
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