QC: Gary / dk / Subject 18
GP: Winry / P Squared
[OVERVIEW]
Terrakion has a great Speed tier that allows it to perform as a great revenge killer with a Choice Scarf, outspeeding the likes of +1 Volcarona, Mega Charizard X, and Salamence and Choice Scarf Nihilego. It also possesses a near-unresisted STAB combination, which allows Terrakion to serve as a strong wallbreaker and cleaner for offensive teams. On the downside, however, its typing also leaves it weak to Ground-, Water-, and Grass-type moves used by Landorus-T, Greninja, and Tangrowth, which are all common in the OU tier; this also means that it can be easily revenge killed by Ash-Greninja's Water Shuriken. In addition, it also faces competition as a wallbreaker and entry hazard setter from other threats, such as Landorus-T, but its Speed tier and phenomenal coverage overall give it a notable niche in the metagame.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Stone Edge
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Rock Slide
move 4: Toxic / Earthquake
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Justified
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Stone Edge is Terrakion's strongest STAB Rock-type move and is mainly used to revenge kill threats that are not OHKOed by Rock Slide, such as Mega Charizard X and Gyarados, as well as Gengar and Mega Alakazam after Stealth Rock damage. It can also be used to clean weakened teams that tend to lack strong Rock-resistant Pokemon. Close Combat lets Terrakion hit the Steel- and Ground-types that resist its Rock-type coverage such as Ferrothorn, Garchomp, and Zygarde; it is also useful for a more accurate way to hit Greninja. Rock Slide provides an extra Rock-type move and can be used when you want to preserve PP on Stone Edge, as well as when you want to be more confident in hitting targets, such as revenge killing Volcarona, for example. Unlike Stone Edge, it also has a flinch chance, which can be useful in certain situations. Toxic allows Terrakion to passively wear down checks that can consistently switch into this set such as Tangrowth and Landorus-T. Earthquake, while somewhat redundant with Terrakion's phenomenal STAB coverage, allows Terrakion to more securely get damage on the likes of Tapu Koko, Mega Mawile, Magearna, and Mega Metagross, which can all be revenge killed with some prior damage.
Set Details
========
Maximum Speed and Attack investment with a Jolly nature allows Terrakion to make use of its great Speed tier and Attack stat to serve as an efficient revenge killer with its near-unresisted STAB combination. A Choice Scarf is used so that it can perform as one of the best revenge killers in the metagame, being able to outspeed boosted threats like Volcarona, Salamence, and Mega Charizard X and even other fast Choice Scarf users like Nihilego, Garchomp, and Tapu Lele. Justified is Terrakion's only ability and is only situationally helpful, as many threats with Dark-type coverage have other super effective coverage against Terrakion, such as Bisharp and Greninja, meaning that it is not recommended to try to switch directly into Dark-type attacks to get the Justified boost.
Usage Tips
========
Given that this set's primary function is as a revenge killer, it is recommended to bring Terrakion in after an opposing sweeper has KOed a teammate so that it can retaliate using its great STAB coverage. In addition to this, if the opposing team has been sufficiently weakened, this set can also serve as a cleaner due to its great Speed and STAB moves. When using this set, Stone Edge is a more spammable move than Close Combat, but Close Combat can be used if you are predicting a threat that resists Terrakion's Rock-type STAB to switch in, such as a Steel-type like Ferrothorn or a Ground-type like Garchomp. The decision between using Stone Edge and Rock Slide to revenge kill depends on the threat that Terrakion is up against and their amount of HP. For example, it is always safe to use Rock Slide to revenge kill Volcarona, which faints from full, but not against the likes of Salamence and Mega Charizard X, as they are not OHKOed. Stone Edge is necessary until they have taken enough damage to be KOed by Rock Slide. If a threat that can continuously come in on Terrakion such as Landorus-T or Tangrowth is healthy, then it is a good idea to go for Toxic, as it will hinder their ability to switch into Terrakion later on.
Team Options
========
Pairing Terrakion with partners that appreciate its ability to revenge kill threats such as Volcarona and Mega Charizard X is key, as this gives more opportunities for another sweeper on Terrakion's team, such as Supersonic Skystrike Gyarados, to set up and sweep. If this set wants to have a chance of cleaning end-game after successfully being used to revenge kill threats, it is going to need some key threats worn down or taken out in order to sweep. While Toxic helps wear down Landorus-T, Tangrowth, and other walls, Terrakion is going to need assistance from wallbreakers and other partners that can wear these threats down, such as Greninja, which can also set up. There are also other wallbreakers that help with weakening these threats for Terrakion including Mamoswine, Mega Pinsir, Mega Mawile, and Mega Metagross. Partners that resist Water and can deal with both Choice Scarf Keldeo and Ash-Greninja serve as great partners due to Terrakion's massive Water-type weakness; Assault Vest Tangrowth works great in this regard and can even wear down Tapu Koko for Terrakion to clean later on in the match if Terrakion forgoes Earthquake. It can also run Hidden Power Ice to better deal with Zygarde, which this set has difficulty dealing with.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Close Combat
move 4: Stealth Rock / Rock Polish
item: Rockium Z / Life Orb
ability: Justified
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Swords Dance allows Terrakion to serve as a bigger threat against many defensive builds that lack faster answers to it, allowing it to wallbreak with ease. Stone Edge is notable for having a large lack of resistant Pokemon in the OU metagame. With Rockium Z, it turns into a strong 180-Base Power Continental Crush, picking up notable OHKOs at +2 on physically defensive Pokemon, such as Tangrowth and Landorus-T, after Stealth Rock damage and an Intimidate drop in the case of Landorus-T, as well as Mega Venusaur and Toxapex. Close Combat is Terrakion's secondary Fighting-type STAB move, which allows it to hit the Steel- and Ground-type Pokemon that resist Stone Edge such as Garchomp, Zygarde, and Ferrothorn. Stealth Rock lets Terrakion support the rest of its team by providing residual damage for teammates to take advantage of, and it works well on this set because, after a Swords Dance boost, Terrakion can take advantage of many common entry hazard removers such as Zapdos and Tapu Fini. If a Stealth Rock user is already present on the team, Rock Polish can be used instead, which allows Terrakion to perform as a strong cleaner, outspeeding the entire metagame and clean with its near-unresisted STAB coverage. Substitute is another option in the final slot that can be used to take advantage of the switches Terrakion forces, allowing it to set up Swords Dance easily and avoid being revenge killed.
Set Details
========
Maximum Speed and Attack investment with a Jolly nature allows Terrakion to hit as hard as possible while outspeeding threats such as Garchomp, Mega Pinsir, Manaphy, and Landorus-T. The choice between Rockium Z and Life Orb on this set depends on the team; if a more useful Z-Move user is not present on the team, then Rockium Z can be used to turn Stone Edge into a powerful Continental Crush, which can dent even Pokemon that resist it very hard. However, Life Orb is a very useful item that can power up Terrakion's moves at the cost of its health, making it easier to be taken out by the likes of pre-transformation Battle Bond Greninja's Water Shuriken.
Usage Tips
========
This set serves mainly as an early-game wallbreaker, using its great Speed tier to threaten defensive threats such as Celesteela, Landorus-T, and Ferrothorn after a Swords Dance boost using Continental Crush. Bringing Terrakion in with the assistance of Volt Switch and U-turn or double switches is a great way of keeping it healthy so that it does not fall to priority moves such as +2 Bisharp's Sucker Punch later on in the match. When using this set, Stone Edge is the safer move to use due to its lack of resistant Pokemon in the metagame, but you can predict threats that resist Rock-type moves such as Mega Metagross to come in by hitting them with Close Combat on the switch. Use Swords Dance on a predicted switch into a defensive threat, such as Landorus-T, and take it out with a Continental Crush, although you should be wary for opponents that try to scout for the Z-Move. The way this set is used depends on the last slot; if using Stealth Rock, it is wise to set it up against threats that Terrakion normally forces out such as Ferrothorn or Heatran. However, if Rock Polish is being used instead, this can be set up later on in the game when all of Terrakion's offensive checks have been weakened or taken out to give it a better chance of cleaning up.
Team Options
========
Wallbreakers such as Mega Metagross, Garchomp, and Mega Mawile that appreciate Stealth Rock support or appreciate Terrakion's ability to wear down and take out the likes of Celesteela, Tangrowth, and Landorus-T pair well with this Terrakion set. These wallbreakers can even wear down threats to prepare for a late-game Terrakion sweep. Partners that can take on faster offensive checks to Terrakion like Greninja, Tornadus-T, Tapu Koko, and Mega Metagross pair well with this set; such partners include Tapu Koko and Choice Scarf Keldeo, for example. Other checks to Mega Metagross such as Mega Scizor can prevent Mega Metagross from gaining momentum on Terrakion's teammates. Terrakion can find itself hindered by its weaknesses to Water-type moves from threats such as Ash-Greninja, which can deter Terrakion from setting up with Hydro Pump or can even revenge kill Terrakion if it sets up a Rock Polish. Partners such as Assault Vest Tangrowth can assist in taking these threats on and therefore perform well with Terrakion. In addition, partners that can deal with stall builds work great in breaking along with this set, given that stall builds generally have Dugtrio to revenge kill a boosted Terrakion. Shed Shell Tapu Lele performs this role well and partners with Terrakion in weakening defensive and stall builds. Given that this set can severely weaken or take out Landorus-T, a teammate that appreciates this such as Swords Dance Mega Mawile, Agility Mega Metagross, or Dragon Dance Mega Charizard X can easily find more opportunities to set up and sweep.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A Stealth Rock entry hazard lead set with Focus Sash is a usable option due to its strong STAB moves allowing it to match up well against a number of entry hazard setters like Ferrothorn while also making use of Taunt to deter Defog users. However, this set has a bad matchup against some hazard leads such as Azelf, and Ash-Greninja is able to take advantage of lead Terrakion by transforming after taking it out. Double Kick can be used on this set specifically to beat Smeargle, preventing it from setting up Sticky Web or Stealth Rock. A Choice Band set allows Terrakion to work as a powerful wallbreaker by taking advantage of the lack of Pokemon that resist its STAB coverage and of its great Speed tier to revenge kill. Most notably, it can threaten normal checks such as Mega Mawile with a Choice Band-boosted Earthquake. Hidden Power Ice may be used with a Life Orb to avoid recoil and wear down Landorus-T and Garchomp, although this option forces it to cut some of its bulk in order to power Hidden Power Ice up, leaving it at the mercy of Battle Bond Greninja and its Choice Specs-boosted Water Shuriken when unboosted.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ground-types**: Landorus-T, Garchomp, Hippowdon, and Zygarde all resist Terrakion's Rock-type STAB moves and can threaten it with their Ground-type STAB moves. Landorus-T also cuts Terrakion's Attack with Intimidate, severely limiting its damage output. All except for Landorus-T must watch out for Close Combat if significantly weakened, and they do not appreciate getting hit with Toxic.
**Water-types**: Keldeo, Toxapex, Greninja, Ash-Greninja, and other bulky Water-types like Tapu Fini all take advantage of Terrakion due to their great natural bulk. Keldeo can take easily take out Terrakion with a Water-type STAB move, and Toxapex can easily take a hit from all of Terrakion's moves.
**Grass-types**: Tangrowth and Mega Venusaur can take most of Terrakion's attacks and respond with a strong super effective Grass-type STAB move. Tangrowth can get worn down with Toxic, while Mega Venusaur does not have the ability to consistently switch into Terrakion due to its lack of Regenerator. Tapu Bulu is a notable mention, as it is able to take advantage of most hits from the Choice Scarf set, although it must watch out for either Continental Crush or a Choice Band-boosted Stone Edge.
**Dugtrio**: Dugtrio is one of the hardest stops to offensive Terrakion sets on stall builds, as it can easily trap Terrakion after it has managed to pick up a KO or if Terrakion is locked into an unfavorable move. Dugtrio can then proceed to OHKO Terrakion with its super effective STAB Earthquake.
**Priority**: Super effective priority such as Ash-Greninja's Water Shuriken, Mega Medicham's Bullet Punch, Mega Scizor's Bullet Punch, and the rare Breloom's Mach Punch are able to pick off a weakened Terrakion and stop any sweep cold in its tracks.
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