Pokémon Landorus-Incarnate

[SuperWumbology]

Why the hell has there not been a thread about this?

Name: Landorus-I
Type: Ground/Flying
Abilities: Sand Force, Sheer Force (Hidden Ability)
Base Stats: 89/125/90/115/80/101
Notable Moves (STAB's are bolded):
Earth Power
Focus Blast
Psychic
Earthquake
Stealth Rock
Gravity
Rock Polish
Swords Dance
Rock Slide
Superpower
Knock Off
Hidden Power (Ice)
U-turn
Stone Edge
Sludge Wave
Substitute
Explosion?
​

General Overview:
Oh boy, it's this thing again. What was once deemed to powerful and versatile for OU to handle last generation is back once again for another round in the ring of semi-titans. Landorus-I has extremely good 125/115 offenses, and each stat is backed up immensely by Sand Force and Sheer Force respectively, shooting Landorus-I's power through the roof. With just enough coverage under its belt, Landorus-I can hit a majority of the metagame for massive damage, especially with its impeccable coverage combined with Sheer Force (moves absent of secondary effects like Hidden Power don't get boosted tho). Unlike its brother, Landorus-T, Landorus-I has a better Speed tier than it, with an above-average 101, which can be boosted even further with Rock Polish, and can be used for dangerous results. But, there are some new problems that have arised while Landorus-I has been gone. Priotity is a lot more prevalent, letting newcomers like Azumarill, and Landorus-I's old enemy Mamoswine run it over with Aqua Jet and Ice Shard. Its Speed tier isn't that great anymore also, compared to other specially offensive 'mons like Gengar, Greninja and Keldeo, which can kill Lando if unchecked. And, to top it all off, Landorus-I has to deal with its crippling 4x Ice weakness, which prevents it from switching into specific things as often. Despite these flaws, Landorus-I is one of the best in its category, and every team should have an answer to it in some way, lest they be overcome by its wrath!

Possible Sets:

Sheer Force is a dick
Moves:
Earth Power
Focus Blast
Psychic
Sludge Wave / Stealth Rock / Knock Off
Ability: Sheer Force
Ev's: 252 Spe/252 SpA/4 HP
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Timid/Naive/Rash

Though Landorus-I's Attack stat is impressive, Sheer Force completely oversells its slightly lower Special Attack, with a 1.66 power increase on most of his moves with help from Life Orb. Sheer Force also negates the Life Orb recoil for secondary-effect moves due to its mechanics, letting Landorus-I switch moves freely while running over anything else. Earth Power literally eats souls for breakfast, severely damaging almost anything that doesn't resist it, and is Lando Calrissian's primary STAB move. Focus Blast rips through the pink blobs and Tyranitar, and can provide better coverage outside of Earth Power's detonation site, like hitting Skarmory, Rotom-W, and Ferrothorn. Psychic allows Landorus to defeat Mega Venusaur, in addition to damage Rotom-W, Zapdos, and Landorus-T due to them being immune to Earth Power. Sludge Wave can destroy opposing Fairy-types without prejudice, Stealth Rock can take advantage of forced switches, and Knock Off can cripple Chansey, which can wall Landorus even with Focus Blast.

Special Sweeper
Moves:
Calm Mind/Rock Polish
Earth Power
Focus Blast
Psychic/Sludge Wave
Ability: Sheer Force
Ev's: (4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spe) (252 SpA/188 Spe/68 HP = Rock Polish)
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Timid (CM)/Modest (RP)

Thanks to Calm Mind and Rock Polish, Landorus-I becomes one of the most lethal late-game sweepers in the entire tier, cleaning up the match like no other. Max Speed and Special Attack is crucial with Calm Mind, but with 188 Speed EV's and a neutral nature, just 1 Rock Polish is all Landorus-I needs to outspeed the unboosted metagame, with remaining EV's being transferred to HP for extra sweeping insurance. Earth Power, once again, will absolutely mutilate pretty much anything that doesn't resist it, and Focus Blast hits everything that does. Psychic can simply destroy Rotom-W, Mega Venusaur and Zapdos after a boost, while Sludge Wave can defeat Fairy-types, with Unaware Clefable being the most notable. With Rock Polish, Landorus-I can now afford to run a Modest nature to increase its power levels to meme-status, but Timid should be the main nature for Calm Mind as you can boost your Special Attack unlike Rock Polish.

 

[Deluks917]

The LO Set I like the best is:

Earth Power
Focus Blast
Psychic
SLudge Wave

Having another good way to hit mega venusaur is really nice on alot of teams so I really like psychic. Focus miss is lame but its his most powerful move by far vs things like rotom (now usually defensive) so I think it is very useful. A potential benefit of this set is you can use -attack nature since you run nothing physical.

 

[SuperWumbology]

That does look like a good set on Landorus-I, but I feel that stuff like HP Ice is somewhat mandatory due to having amazing SE coverage on the tier, and Sludge Wave really doesn't hit much outside of Fairies, however with all due seriousness, Lando only truly needs Earth Power+Focus Blast to hit stuff he needs to, and all the other coverage moves can be used up to team synergy and what specific crap you need to hit. That's why I like Landorus-I's Sheer Force sets a lot: they can be tweaked easily to suit your team's needs without sacrificing vital coverage, and it all comes down to personal opinion, as I personally like HP Ice more than say, Sludge Wave or U-turn.

Edit: Another good example of stuff like this is Gravity, as it can annoy things like Rotom-W and Skarmory, and OHKO them with Earth Power, which is fun, and I like seeing this kind of versatility on a Pokemon like Landorus-I

 

[X5Dragon]

The LO Set I like the best is:

Earth Power
Focus Blast
Psychic
SLudge Wave

Having another good way to hit mega venusaur is really nice on alot of teams so I really like psychic. Focus miss is lame but its his most powerful move by far vs things like rotom (now usually defensive) so I think it is very useful. A potential benefit of this set is you can use -attack nature since you run nothing physical.

Yeah pretty much, although personally I like EP/HP Ice/Psychic on the rock polish sets.

 

[ShadowMarioGalaxy64]

The two sets I believe will be the biggest:

1. Sheer Force Life Orb Special Attacker. This is my personal favorite set and holds much merit as a difficult Pokemon to wall. This is a Pokemon that 2HKOs most Mega Venusaur (thanks, Psychic), OHKOs and outspeeds most Mega Medicham, and has JUST enough bulk to survive some weaker priority. Sludge Wave+Earth Power makes most Faeries not want to switch into it, though Hidden Power Ice is still very viable.

2. Sand Force Expert Belt Physical Attacker. With some Tyranitar support, Landorus becomes a Physical Powerhouse with EdgeQuake, HP Ice, and U-Turn. The big catch here is that it requires Sandstorm support from Tyranitar, but I still find it usable.

There are more answers to Landorus than before, but not too many more. Assault Vest makes its life slightly more difficult and many stronger and bulkier Pokemon have arrived to slow his sweep, but Landorus is a scary Pokemon--not only in that odd face, but his power.

I also find it funny that Landorus is only as tall as Gengar...

 

[SuperWumbology]

The two sets I believe will be the biggest:

1. Sheer Force Life Orb Special Attacker. This is my personal favorite set and holds much merit as a difficult Pokemon to wall. This is a Pokemon that 2HKOs most Mega Venusaur (thanks, Psychic), OHKOs and outspeeds most Mega Medicham, and has JUST enough bulk to survive some weaker priority. Sludge Wave+Earth Power makes most Faeries not want to switch into it, though Hidden Power Ice is still very viable.

2. Sand Force Expert Belt Physical Attacker. With some Tyranitar support, Landorus becomes a Physical Powerhouse with EdgeQuake, HP Ice, and U-Turn. The big catch here is that it requires Sandstorm support from Tyranitar, but I still find it usable.

There are more answers to Landorus than before, but not too many more. Assault Vest makes its life slightly more difficult and many stronger and bulkier Pokemon have arrived to slow his sweep, but Landorus is a scary Pokemon--not only in that odd face, but his power.

I also find it funny that Landorus is only as tall as Gengar...

Assault Vest can be somewhat of a problem, but Lando's coverage moves can take care of some very popular Vest wearers. Check this out:

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Psychic vs. 0 HP / 252 SpD Assault Vest Conkeldurr: 211-250 (60.1 - 71.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 252 SpD Assault Vest Conkeldurr: 157-187 (44.7 - 53.2%) -- 85.9% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

Though Conkeldurr is still a bulky Pokemon with Assault Vest on, it cannot switch in at all with Psychic, and has a good chance to fall to Earth Power providing SR is up. Having a somewhat good chance to 2HKO probably the most popular Assault Vest user at the moment with a neutral attack is pretty spectacular imo. Here's some extra calcs on how some of the other users of it hold out.

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Assault Vest Tangrowth: 255-302 (63.1 - 74.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Metagross: 237-281 (65.1 - 77.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Tyranitar in Sand: 265-312 (65.5 - 77.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Goodra can hold out against any assault (see what I did there?) Landorus can dish out on it, as even HP Ice is only a 5HKO. Most Assault Vest users that could be detrimental to team members or yourself can be removed by coverage moves Landorus can run with little to no effort. Though Landorus-I is hard to wall, you are right about the metagame being shifted more towards Bulky Offense to deal with priority, but little did we know that most of the bulky walls and/or tanks are primarily physically defensive, letting Landorus-I prey on their lesser SpD stat.

 

[Frochtejohgurt]

Knock Off is a good option for the special attcking set, as it can cripple its unargueably best counter Chansey to an extent that it will be 2hkoed by Focus Blast. It also limits capability of Blisseys, who doesn't exactly enjoy losing Leftovers, and AV Goodra to counter/check it realiably.

 

[WebBowser]

A few questions.

1. When on earth has Garchomp ever ran a special attack other then the occasional fireblast or draco meteor? I would not put him on the same level of specially offensive threat as keldeo or Lando-I. Megachomp, on the other hand..... probably would still only ever run those two special moves, but he does it a heckuvalot better.

2. He can actually run a pretty good hazard set. It would look a lot like this.

set:

**** you spinners

Moves:
Earth Power
Focus Blast
Stealth Rock
Explosion
Ability: Sheer Force
Ev's: 252 Spe/252 SpA/4 HP
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Timid/Rash/Naive

Forgoes coverage for rocks and an emergency "gimme momentum, free kill and keep my rocks up at the same time NHAO" switch. Works great in hyper offensive teams who appreciate his wallbreaking abilities and his rock setting shennanigans.

3. Sludge Wave probably deserves a slash over psychic and u-turn as his last slot. It's one of his most powerful coverage moves besides focus miss and poison actually has decent neutral coverage. Tis an option.

 

[SuperWumbology]

A few questions.

1. When on earth has Garchomp ever ran a special attack other then the occasional fireblast or draco meteor? I would not put him on the same level of specially offensive threat as keldeo or Lando-I. Megachomp, on the other hand..... probably would still only ever run those two special moves, but he does it a heckuvalot better.

2. He can actually run a pretty good hazard set. It would look a lot like this.

set:

**** you spinners

Moves:
Earth Power
Focus Blast
Stealth Rock
Explosion
Ability: Sheer Force
Ev's: 252 Spe/252 SpA/4 HP
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Timid/Rash/Naive

Forgoes coverage for rocks and an emergency "gimme momentum, free kill and keep my rocks up at the same time NHAO" switch. Works great in hyper offensive teams who appreciate his wallbreaking abilities and his rock setting shennanigans.

3. Sludge Wave probably deserves a slash over psychic and u-turn as his last slot. It's one of his most powerful coverage moves besides focus miss and poison actually has decent neutral coverage. Tis an option.

1. I actually put Garchomp in there? I meant to put Gengar in as an example of things that can compete with Landorus-I or kill it. I also added Greninja as one of those examples, and I apologize for the confusion.

2. The hazard set is actually one that I have been seeing more on the ladder as a lead, but Taunt could be used as a slash to let Lando act as a pseudo anti-lead (not sure if it learns Taunt, please correct me if I'm wrong), but I don't think Timid should be used as a nature for this set, because even though it can be used to nullify Defog, Lando's Explosion, unlike Smeargle, can do visible damage, even without investment.

3. Ok guys, you win, Sludge Wave has got a set mention. But, I do thank you for giving a bit of explanation of its role, as it does provide better neutral coverage at times and does hit Fairies very hard. Thanks for the input everyone, Nidoking would be proud.

 

[SotheBlacKnight]

I not convinced that Rock Slide should be on any set. Other than Talonflame or Mega-Charizard Y (so long as Lando is Naive/Hasty) it doesn't hit anything he cares about and waste a moveslot for HPIce or Sludge Wave to hit dragons or Togekiss.

 

[Thorhammer]

I not convinced that Rock Slide should be on any set. Other than Talonflame or Mega-Charizard Y (so long as Lando is Naive/Hasty) it doesn't hit anything he cares about and waste a moveslot for HPIce or Sludge Wave to hit dragons or Togekiss.

Given that Charizard Y and Talonflame are considered considerably better than Togekiss right now, that sounds like a strange order of priorities.

 

[SuperWumbology]

Given that Charizard Y and Talonflame are considered considerably better than Togekiss right now, that sounds like a strange order of priorities.

This is a good point, as even though Sludge Wave has better neutral coverage than Rock Slide, Rock Slide does more damage to Calm 'Kiss than Sludge Wave.
252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Togekiss: 211-250 (56.4 - 66.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Rock Slide vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Togekiss: 234-276 (62.5 - 73.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Also, I wouldn't consider having part of a semi EdgeQuake coverage and KOing 2 of the most popular and potent threats in the metagame "a waste of a moveslot", as Lanodrus-I does so much damage with Earth Power+Focus Blast alone, that's all he really needs. You can use Sludge Wave, HP Ice, Rock Slide, or hell, even an uninvested Knock Off in the last 2 slots, because Lando already has the main tools it needs. The rest is just for what you feel either gets in the way of a sweep more or whatever your team needs extra help for (ex. I have ScarfChomp, but it doesn't carry Stone Edge, so it has trouble with Togekiss, but Landorus can deal with that for me if it carries Rock Slide.)

 

[SotheBlacKnight]

Given that Charizard Y and Talonflame are considered considerably better than Togekiss right now, that sounds like a strange order of priorities.

Better is the wrong way to it, they all do different things and thus none are better than the other but I'll concede in that they are indeed powerful threats. I was prioritizing defensive walls over offensive threats.

 

[Schpoonman]

You need to drop any talk of HP Ice being boosted by Sheer Force, because it isn't. In fact, not Hidden Power is SIGNIFICANTLY weaker than Earth Power and Focus Blast against anything not 4x weak to Hidden Power. So something like Goodra is hit hardest by Earth Power anyway.

 

[SuperWumbology]

You need to drop any talk of HP Ice being boosted by Sheer Force, because it isn't. In fact, not Hidden Power is SIGNIFICANTLY weaker than Earth Power and Focus Blast against anything not 4x weak to Hidden Power. So something like Goodra is hit hardest by Earth Power anyway.

Funny, I was just about to drop any mention of it after transferring a HP Ice Landorus, only to find out that it got LO recoil, so Greninja'd. Though frankly, HP Ice primarily hits the 4x weak Pokemon in the meta and still gets an acceptable boost from LO, so thank you for the input, editing the OP now.

 

[WebBowser]

A few comments.

1. Timid reduces attack? Oops (I still haven't memorized all the nature names yet, lol).

2. Rock slide / stone edge I'd imagine would be a must for any sand force lando-I set, sand force alone or even just a sand force bluff on top of being an acceptable move in itself. Stone miss doesn't get sheer force boost, does it? (I know it gets sand force buff obv)

3. I actually forgot he had taunt, certainly an acceptable alternative to explosion to the hazard set. However, any sheer force set absolutely needs EP and one other attack (focus miss strongly preferred).

4. HP ice is probably the only good HP left out there just because of the sheer amount of otherwise good pokemon with *4 weakness to it, like opposing landos, gliscor, and the vast majority of good dragons. HP grass is the only real contender for good ole elec types with otherwise ****** coverage.

 

[SuperWumbology]

I actually checked and unfortunately have to confirm that Lando does not learn Taunt unlike Thundurus, but it can still do it's job while having enough offensive pressure to keep rocks up. Rock Slide/Stone Edge does get the Sheer Force buff I believe, as they do have secondary effects that are affected by Sheer Force, which is the flinch rate and high crit ratio respectively.

 

[Salemance]

I actually checked and unfortunately have to confirm that Lando does not learn Taunt unlike Thundurus, but it can still do it's job while having enough offensive pressure to keep rocks up. Rock Slide/Stone Edge does get the Sheer Force buff I believe, as they do have secondary effects that are affected by Sheer Force, which is the flinch rate and high crit ratio respectively.

Stone Edge does not get buffed by Sheer Force. For reference: http://www.serebii.net/abilitydex/sheerforce.shtml (link to page with all moves that can be boosted via sheer force).

 

[SuperWumbology]

Stone Edge does not get buffed by Sheer Force. For reference: http://www.serebii.net/abilitydex/sheerforce.shtml (link to page with all moves that can be boosted via sheer force).

Sorry again, guys. I really need to brush up on Sheer Force if I'm going to contribute to this discussion.

 

[Salemance]

Sorry again, guys. I really need to brush up on Sheer Force if I'm going to contribute to this discussion.

Nah its fine. Just need to know whats secondary and main effect

 

[hobo bob]

I really like the SR+ Explosion set since you can threaten something with an Earth Power, set up rocks, then explode for massive damage + momentum. When I first encountered the set it really caught me off guard because I assumed it was the regular LO special attacker set, only to watch Landorus blow up and severely weaken my defensive rotom. It opened me up to a talonflame sweep later in the game, so I would say the surprise factor alone is worth it.

 

[Chou Toshio]

OP gives too much credit to Rock Slide, and not enough to Psychic and Sludge Bomb, which are both really good attacks on Lando-I in this metagame. Finding room for them alongside Earth Power, Focus Blast, and HP Ice is actually quite a challenge!

 

[SuperWumbology]

OP gives too much credit to Rock Slide, and not enough to Psychic and Sludge Bomb, which are both really good attacks on Lando-I in this metagame. Finding room for them alongside Earth Power, Focus Blast, and HP Ice is actually quite a challenge!

I agree. I personally prefer HP Ice over Rock Slide, and while Rock Slide hits a lot of important targets in the metagame (Talonflame, Meag-Pinsir & Charizard), I think it should leave that to its teammates. However, Rock Slide can still KO every 4x weak 'mon with LO and neutral nature, and should deserve a slash, but the order of slashing for Rock Slide on the first 2 sets have been changed, along with nature order.

 

[Meru]

I don't get the point of Psychic. Earth Power already slams Conkeldurr and Venusaur. I mean sure Earth Power can be bad to use sometimes because it can invite an immune pokemon to come in that isn't OHKO'd but is 2HKO'd, but I feel like HP Ice is more important for things like Dragonite, Gliscor, opposing Landorus, and Landorus-T.

 

[WebBowser]

I don't get the point of Psychic. Earth Power already slams Conkeldurr and Venusaur. I mean sure Earth Power can be bad to use sometimes because it can invite an immune pokemon to come in that isn't OHKO'd but is 2HKO'd, but I feel like HP Ice is more important for things like Dragonite, Gliscor, opposing Landorus, and Landorus-T.

Psychic is used as a fourth attack for lando-I. A lot of folks would rather not spend a turn using gravity or SR and do not like the idea one of the game's best wallbreakers blowing himself up, so psychic is often used to give him an extra, and actually quite painful option to use in case focus miss or EP is not optimal.

Relatively common situation:

Lando-I is in on a weakened Entei who will die to Lando's next move (lets assume that Lando is healthy enough to take an e-speed). The opponent has a healthy Rotom-W in reserve. You don't want to give your opponent a free turn, but you also do not want to risk a focus miss in case Entei decides to stay in for some reason. In this case, psychic offers a very nice middle ground of being able to pick up the KO should Entei stay in, and heavily damage the likely Rotom-W switch in. He could always predict that and swap in a dark type, but Lando threatens pretty much any dark type not named Mandibuzz or Weavile anyway (provided it's healthy enough to take a sucker punch), so a free turn doesn't mean quite as much as it normally would.