Tornadus-I [QC 0/3]

[DropTheBass]

Tornadus-I

Overview
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-Niche of being the only offensive Prankster Tailwind setter, the only Pokemon that has this is Whimsicott, which lacks offensive presence
-Hard-hitting STAB Hurricane which is often fully accurate thanks to Kyogre's dominant presence
-Prankster Taunt is another plus to allow you to shut down entry hazard leads without Magic Coat and walls that can't hurt you much
-Base 111 speed tier allows you to outspeed majority of the unboosted metagame
-Frail and cannot switch in freely
-Weak to Stealth Rock which limits its switch-ins
-Forced out by almost any faster Pokemon
-E-killer wrecks you with priority e-speed before you can set up Tailwind

Priority Tailwind Setter
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Name: Aeolus
Move 1: Hurricane
Move 2: Tailwind
Move 3: Grass Knot/Taunt
Move 4: Focus Blast/Heat Wave
Ability: Prankster
Item: Life Orb
EVs: 252 Sp.Atk/252 Spe/4 Def
Nature: Timid/Modest

Moves
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-Hurricane is obligatory STAB to hit a good portion of the meta hard and take advantage of Kyogre's rain to have 100% accuracy
-Priority Tailwind is what gives Tornadus-I its niche, allowing it and its teammates to plough through faster teams
-Grass Knot hits Groudon and Kyogre for massive damage and can OHKO 252 HP Groudon most of the time if using a Modest Nature
-Focus Blast gives Tornadus-I almost perfect coverage, hitting every Pokemon in the meta at least neutrally between Hurricane and Focus Blast
-Superpower is an option to hit Tyranitar harder and is accurate, but lacks power so Focus Blast is preferred
-Priority Taunt shuts down defensive Pokemon with little offensive presence such as Lugia without Ice Beam and Chansey and prevents Defog or setup moves
-Heat Wave can be used over Focus Blast to guarantee the KO on Ferrothorn, Klefki, Mega-Mawile and Scizor and is more accurate, do note that the former 2 are only OHKOed all the time with Stealth Rock up, assuming neutral weather, however it does not serve much purpose outside of that and is weakened by rain, the most popular weather in Ubers

Set Details
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-Max Sp.Atk and Speed allow you to hit as hard and fast as possible
-Remaining EVs are tossed into Defence to take a stray priority move slightly better
-If using Superpower, use a Naive or Rash nature
-Modest nature almost guarantees the OHKO on 252 HP Groudon (98.5 - 115.8%) with Grass Knot and 2HKOes Sp.Def RestTalk Kyogre most of the time without hazards factoring Leftovers (50.8 - 60.5%) but misses out on crucial speed tiers, only being able to outspeed up to positive natured base 96s, so Modest nature should only be used if you run Grass Knot and want the ability to OHKO Groudon and 2HKO Sp.Def Kyogre
-Otherwise, Timid nature is preferred to outspeed important Pokemon like Palkia, Xerneas, Yveltal and Gengar before it Mega Evolves
-Set Attack IVs to 0 if not using Superpower to minimize confusion and Foul Play damage
-Life Orb is the item of choice to give Tornadus-I a much needed power boost and it's not hugely affected by recoil as it's not taking hits anyway
-Prankster gives priority to Tailwind and Taunt and is the main selling point of Tornadus-I

Usage Tips
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-Don't be afraid to spam Hurricane especially under rain as it hits hard and has a 30% chance of confusion
-If you're carrying Taunt, lead with Tornadus-I against suicide leads like Deoxys-S and Smeargle to prevent hazards, barring Magic Coat
-Tornadus-I can be brought in to set up Tailwind before going down to an attack in order for a teammate to be sent in and begin a rampage
-Don't switch Tornadus-I in on an anticipated attack with decent power as it will do a lot of damage considering its pitiful 79/70/80 defences by Ubers standards
-Be wary of residual damage, Stealth Rock and Life Orb recoil will shorten Tornadus-I's lifespan by a great amount

Team Options
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-Use Tornadus-I with heavy nukes such as Specs Kyogre, Banded Zekrom or Specs Palkia so that they can use the speed boost provided by Tailwind to deal heavy damage
-This set works best on offensive teams that rely on firing off powerful attacks to weaken and break through the opposing team
-As Tornadus-I is gradually worn down by switching into a Stealth Rock, a Defog user or Rapid Spinner is appreciated, Giratina-O has Defog and good offensive stats and resists Electric, though it shares an Ice weakness
-You need a Zekrom switch-in, Landorus-T is a good pivot and can set up Stealth Rock to aid offensive teams in securing KOs, Arceus-Ground is a more offensive answer to Zekrom locked into an Electric move and can set up Swords Dance to attempt a sweep, however it cannot switch into Outrage as it will 2HKO
-Dialga is an excellent teammate as it resists Electric and Rock-type moves for Tornadus-I and can set up Stealth Rock as well, offensive teams also appreciate Dialga's ability to dish out heavy damage while being naturally bulky and having good resistances
-Practically every hard hitter which appreciates the speed boost from Tailwind works well with Tornadus-I
-Tornadus-I can be used as a failsafe against opposing sweepers lacking faster priority as Tailwind allows a teammate to come in after it goes down to revenge kill
-A check for E-killer is a must as Tornadus-I will be caught between staying in to attack or use Taunt and taking an e-speed to the face or switching out and risking a free SD, defensive Yveltal can act as a glue for offensive teams to check this threat
-Ditto is an interesting option to punish setup Pokemon that take advantage of Tornadus-I's switch to go for a boosting move

Other Options
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-Rain Dance can be used in conjunction with Damp Rock on Swift Swim teams alongside Kyogre for more weather control, and has priority as well
-Tornadus-I does get access to physical moves like Acrobatics and Knock Off, but are generally outclassed by its special movepool, using Acrobatics also means that it can't use a held item which further decreases its damage output or utility

Checks & Counters
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-E-killer Arceus: E-speed has greater priority than Prankster Tailwind or Taunt and smacks Tornadus-I very hard even without boosts
-Arceus-Electric: Can set up Calm Minds on Tornadus-I lacking Taunt
-Choice Scarf Users: Can outspeed Tornadus-I and OHKO it with almost any move
-Any offensive Pokemon that outspeeds Tornadus-I such as (Mega X/Y) Mewtwo, Shaymin-S, Darkrai, Mega Gengar and Arceus formes with enough speed investment: For the same reason as scarf users, they can outspeed Tornadus-I and OHKO it, although Shaymin-S cannot straight up OHKO Tornadus-I, it can flinch with Serene Grace Air Slash
-Protect and moves of that category: Users can stall out Tailwind turns using these moves and shorten the window of opportunity that Tailwind provides

 

[Inspirited]

Not QC so take this as you will, but I thought I would provide some insight.

Overview:

-Frail and cannot switch in freely

I would rephrase this to "-Frail and cannot switch into attacks". I see what you mean by the statement and it isn't too bad, but right now the statement kinda contradicts itself.

Set:
I think the set should look like this:

set

name: Aeolus
move 1: Tailwind
move 2: Taunt
move 3: Hurricane
move 4: Grass Knot / Focus Blast
ability: Prankster
item: Life Orb
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe (correct formatting)
nature: Timid
(C/P if you want)
Heat Wave should either be a moves mention or an OO mention since it doesn't hit much and Taunt should not be second slashed or slashed with anything. The move is much too useful skip and Tornadus's Prankster Taunt makes it that much better.

Usage Tips:
I would remove the residual damage mention since Tornadus is generally used once per battle.
Also tack on Taunt as something you DON'T want to come in on.

Team Options:
I would make offensive (mostly specs) Kyogre a mandatory teammate with its own bullet. Rain is that important since Groudon's usage is relatively high also, even though Kyogre is definitely more dominant.

Checks & Counters:
I would revise this to mons that either wall Tornadus and its Tailwind recipients, or stop Tornadus from setting Tailwind all together. Tornadus is a supporting Pokemon and should therefor be checked and countered by Pokemon that prevent it from carrying out its support duties (there isn't much, but you can start with Thundurus).

Overall, this was very good for a first analysis. Keep up the good work.

 

[Minority]

I think Taunt should be mandatory on this set and Heat Wave remained slashed with the other attacking options. Hurricane just doesn't blow away Ferrothorn or Scizor hard enough while Heat Wave OHKOs even specially defensive spreads so long as it isn't raining.

 

[shrang]

U-turn needs a mention in there somewhere

 

[Inspirited]

I think Taunt should be mandatory on this set and Heat Wave remained slashed with the other attacking options. Hurricane just doesn't blow away Ferrothorn or Scizor hard enough while Heat Wave OHKOs even specially defensive spreads so long as it isn't raining.

All you really need is damage on those two though. Hurricane 2HKOes 252 HP / 244 SpD Scizor which forces it to Bullet Punch Tornadus this and next turn, the turn you set up Tailwind for your next teammate. Hurricane puts fully specially defensive Ferrothorn in range of Specs Kyogre's Water Spout, Mixed Zekrom's Focus Blast, Life Orb Xerneas's Close Combat and Specs Kyurem-W's Ice Beam, while Ferrothorn's Gyro Ball 2HKOes 'nadus, allowing both the damage from Hurricane and the Tailwind next turn. Focus Blast is enough damage on Ferro for Mixed Zekrom to KO with Bolt Strike and LO Yveltal to KO with Dark Pulse. Heat Wave is kinda redundant on Torn since it isn't meant to nuke anything really, it is just there for damage, Taunt, and Tailwind support.

 

[Minority]

Hurricane puts fully specially defensive Ferrothorn in range of Specs Kyogre's Water Spout, Mixed Zekrom's Focus Blast, Life Orb Xerneas's Close Combat and Specs Kyurem-W's Ice Beam

If you account for Leftovers, Leech Seed, and Protect this is not true (it's too hard to chip damage Ferro to put it in range for a cleaner because it can recover quite effectively), meanwhile Heat Wave outright OHKOs Ferro and even in rain does more than Hurricane. The bigger issue concerning using Heat Wave is if it wants to be able to blast through Scizor and Ferro at all. Idk about U-Turn, its weak on Tornadus but that's not really the point, the thing is that you give up your only opening for coverage.

 

[Inspirited]

It is true when accounting for Leftovers only. Leech Seed shouldn't be a factor considering the threat of a taunt.

 

[Fireburn]

252 SpA Life Orb Tornadus Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ferrothorn: 148-175 (42 - 49.7%)
252 SpA Life Orb Tornadus Hurricane vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Mega Scizor: 226-266 (65.8 - 77.5%)

Ferro and Scizor aren't exactly switching in too well on Tornadus so I am not sure if Heat Wave is really that important + Ferrothorn already dies to Focus Blast. Keys won't want to switch in either because they get shut down immediately by Prankster Taunt. You also need sun support to guarantee the 2HKO on Aegislash which is kind of lame since Tornadus wants to be used with rain.

I think Taunt should be unslashed with slot 4 (Taunt is great utility for antileading Deoxys-S/Scolipede and preventing possible Defogs from fast Arceus) being Focus Blast/Grass Knot and Heat Wave/Superpower relegated to the set comments. I think Focus Blast is generally superior to GK because otherwise Dialga comes in rather freely on Tornadus, as well as being your best move against Zekrom. It also still does decent damage to Groudon, and it nukes Ferrothorn pretty badly making Heat Wave unneeded. Prankster is the reason to use this mon so you might as well take full advantage of it.

U-turn can go in OO. Knock Off can too since it has a nice use in crippling Aegislash and Jirachi switchins (nice if you have a Xerneas).

Counters should be Electric-types (Electric Arceus is the #1 counter followed by Scarf Zekrom), Steel-types (Aegislash Jirachi and Zong wall every set without Knock Off/sun Heat Wave, Dialga beats any set without Focus Blast), strong priority (ESpeed and Mega Kanga), special walls (SDef Kyogre, Ho-Oh, and Blissey), sun, things faster than 111 Speed, and things that stall Tailwind (Protect spam). You got a lot of these already but they could stand to be organized better.

I'll add more once I get a chance to test this thing.

 

[shrang]

Personally, I'm pretty skeptical of this thing. Priority Tailwind is the primary reason to use Tornadus-I, and I personally don't think that alone is enough to justify a niche. Even if it is, I'd personally much rather use Talonflame (and that was rejected). I concede that Tornadus-I has more power to bulkier threats (like Groudon). However, Hurricane isn't the most reliable move with the weather nerf so that's something else you need to consider. Priority Taunt is also another consideration, which lets you shit on Baton Pass and other things more, but Talonflame has a pretty fast Taunt too. On the other hand, while Talonflame isn't as strong, it has utility outside of just priority Tailwind, namely priority Brave Bird to revenge weakened GeoXerns and MMYs and Darkrais and stuff like that. It's a trade-off, but personally I prefer the latter's utility over Tornadus-I's extra power. Not a full reject yet, but I think you really need to sell me Tornadus-I's utility more to me.

 

[Fireburn]

It's not terrible but it's not reliable enough to really consider on a serious team. The weather nerf and decline of Grass/Fighting Arceus really hurt this mon.

QC Rejected 1/3

qc rejected 2/3 ~ MM2

 

[dice]

3/3