GP [2/2] - The Dutch Plumberjack / Weebl
[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Pursuit
move 3: Crunch
move 4: Fire Blast / Stone Edge / Superpower
item: Chople Berry / Lum Berry
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Adamant / Brave
evs: 252 HP / 88 Atk / 168 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Tyranitar's high stats, important ability in Sand Stream, and access to Stealth Rock allow it to provide a supportive role to its team. Stealth Rock is the only entry hazard Tyranitar has access to, but it is very important in punishing the opponent's switches and racking up damage on Pokemon such as Volcarona and Thundurus-T. With enough investment into special bulk, Tyranitar is capable of checking many dangerous special attackers in the tier, such as Latios, Latias, and Gengar. Pursuit allows Tyranitar to trap and remove these Pokemon for its teammates, while Crunch allows Tyranitar to threaten bulkier Psychic- and Ghost-types such as Reuniclus, Celebi, and Jellicent. Tyranitar's last moveslot improves its coverage. Fire Blast can roast common Steel-type switch-ins such as Scizor, Skarmory, Forretress, and Ferrothorn and also prevents the latter three from laying entry hazards on Tyranitar. Alternatively, Stone Edge gains a STAB boost and allows Tyranitar to threaten various threats such as Volcarona, Thundurus-T, Ninetales, and Gyarados—if accuracy is valued over power, Rock Slide can be used instead. Finally, Superpower allows Tyranitar to deal significant damage to some Pokemon it can check, such as Heatran and Hydreigon, as well as being Tyranitar's best bet against Fighting-type switch-ins such as Terrakion and Keldeo.
[ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]
The given EV spread allows Tyranitar to always OHKO Latios and 2HKO physically defensive variants of Reuniclus with Crunch. The HP investment maximizes Tyranitar's bulk, and the remaining EVs are put into Special Defense to help Tyranitar take hits from Pokemon it can trap such as Starmie, Latios, and Gengar, as well as make the most out of the Special Defense boost it receives from the sand. Tyranitar's item depends on what role it plays on the team. Chople Berry allows Tyranitar to check various special attackers that use Focus Blast as a coverage move to hit Tyranitar, such as Alakazam, Gengar, Tornadus, Thundurus-T, Hydreigon, and Reuniclus. Lum Berry aids Tyranitar's ability to Pursuit trap Scald or Will-O-Wisp users such as bulky Starmie, Ninetales, and Jellicent and can also remove crippling Toxic poison. Shed Shell can be used if Tyranitar's teammates are weak to various sun or rain sweepers—using Shed Shell prevents Tyranitar from being trapped by Dugtrio, which allows Tyranitar to continue to provide sandstorm for its team. Tyranitar can even use a Shuca Berry to help it lure bulky Ground-types such as Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Donphan and eliminate them with Ice Beam. If none of these items are needed to help Tyranitar support its team, it can use Leftovers to increase its longevity, bettering its ability to check special attackers and win weather wars.
With Tyranitar's wide movepool, there are many other options that can be used with this set. Ice Beam is the most useful of these and can be used to hit Gliscor, Landorus-T, and Donphan, some common switch-ins to Tyranitar, for massive damage. Tyranitar can also use Ice Beam to deal huge damage to Dragon-types such as Dragonite and Garchomp. Earthquake is another option Tyranitar can use, OHKOing Heatran and 2HKOing Jirachi. Tyranitar can also use Thunder Wave to lure and cripple certain checks to it, such as Keldeo and Terrakion. Finally, Tyranitar can use Dragon Tail or Roar to phaze opposing setup sweepers and rack up entry hazard damage on foes.
Thanks to its massive defenses, Hippowdon doesn't fear anything from this set aside from the rare Ice Beam. Hippowdon can stall Tyranitar out with Slack Off or deal massive damage to it with Earthquake. Fighting-types have always been the bane of Tyranitar's existence, and this generation has only added to the myriad of Pokemon that counter Tyranitar reliably. Pokemon such as Keldeo, Conkeldurr, and Breloom can all threaten Tyranitar with their STAB attacks, but Terrakion deserves a special mention, as it can OHKO Tyranitar even through its Chople Berry. Psychic-types such as Latias and Starmie can switch into Fighting-type attacks and threaten these Pokemon with Psyshock. Starmie in particular is a important teammate if Tyranitar isn't using Fire Blast, as it can spin away entry hazards that Tyranitar tends to concede to the likes of Skarmory and Ferrothorn. Keldeo appreciates Tyranitar's ability to Pursuit trap many of its common checks such as Latios, Jellicent, and Celebi and can threaten bulky Ground-types such as Hippowdon and Landorus-T, which threaten Tyranitar. Breloom is in a similar boat, and it can also threaten bulky Water-type Pokemon. Both Keldeo and Breloom also appreciate Tyranitar keeping opposing weather sweepers at bay by providing sandstorm, allowing the former to outspeed Venusaur and the latter to fare better against powerful Water-type attacks. Skarmory is also a good partner, as it appreciates Tyranitar's ability to check dangerous special attackers and the residual damage it provides against the opposing team with Stealth Rock and sandstorm, which Skarmory can further take advantage of by setting up Spikes and shuffling the opposing team with Whirlwind. Thanks to its good physical bulk and typing, Skarmory can also handle many of the Fighting- and Ground-types that Tyranitar hates.
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