Terrakion (Revamp) [QC 3/3; GP 2/2]

GatoDelFuego

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<p>Terrakion's trusty STAB combination is all it needs for offense, as they are it is strong and has excellent coverage. This variant is designed to lead and support the team, so Stealth Rock is a natural choice. Taunt is a great move to have in the Ubers metagame and doubly so on something as weak to Giratina as Terrakion, although Dragon Tail variants are still annoying. It also helps stop other Stealth Rock and Spikes setters from getting to lay their entry hazards down at the same time.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Fist Plate allows Terrakion to OHKO lead Dialga, any Tyranitar variant, and Ferrothorn, along with 2HKOing Forretress switch-ins. Focus Sash is useful if you want Terrakion to be a dedicated lead and simplify setting up Stealth Rock or score an extra hit, but the power drop in comparison to Fist Plate is noticeable. Quick Attack can be used to limit Deoxys-S leads to a single layer of entry hazards, in which case you should use a Life Orb in order to maintain the benefits of Fist Plate while also ensuring that you 2HKO Deoxys-S with Stone Edge and Quick Attack.</p>

<p>The goal of this set is to support the rest of the team, so it doesn't need any special support for itself. All the same, a Ghost-type is appreciated, as Terrakion isn't a sturdy Stealth Rock setter and may no longer be around once it Stealth Rock is spun away. There are certain leads that Terrakion can not beat, such as Darkrai in general, or Deoxys-S if Terrakion doesn't run Quick Attack, so Pokemon that have a favorable match-up against them, such as Choice Scarf Genesect and Giratina-O, will be needed. These Pokemon can also serve as switch-ins to common Terrakion checks, as Giratina-O can handle bulky Ground-types like Groudon, (RC) while most defensive checks to Darkrai, such as Ho-Oh or Kyogre, can also check Ghost Arceus.</p>

[SET]
name: Double Dance
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Swords Dance
move 4: Rock Polish
item: Life Orb / Fist Plate
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>When all the coverage you need can be summed up with two high-powered STAB attacks, it's clear that a double dance set becomes viable. Double dance Terrakion adapts to the opposing team type and situation through using the appropriate boosting move. This set's effectiveness is further boosted by Terrakion's natural resistance to common priority attacks, thus easing its attempts to sweep. Don't feel obligated to click a boosting move at every chance you get, as even an unboosted Terrakion is dangerous. This set functions at its best when biding its time for the ideal moment.</p>

<p>Running both Close Combat and Stone Edge is standard fare for Terrakion and this set won't leave you wanting for any other coverage options or fillers thanks to the two setup moves it has. Swords Dance is used when you want Terrakion to bust through defensive cores on balanced or stall teams. You will want to click Rock Polish for offensive or balanced teams that you have managed to weaken and are ready for cleanup.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Life Orb is the preferred item due to the slew of key KOs it secures, such as Substitute shuffler Giratina-O, Latios, Wobbuffet, and Gliscor, as well as for the general extra punch, especially to Ghost-types. Fist Plate is an acceptable alternative as it still gets many important KOs, saves HP, and fakes a Choice set. Air Balloon is another item choice that allows Terrakion to mess with Pokemon like Groudon, Hippowdon, and Earthquake Extreme Killer Arceus. Taunt can be used over a boosting move to be more flexible with Rock Polish sweeps or as a really dedicated wallbreaker when used alongside Swords Dance.</p>

<p>This set appreciates entry hazard support to help set up Rock Polish cleanups or wallbreak with Swords Dance, but doesn't need them it as much as the Choice Scarf variant. If you are adamant about using Terrakion's setup moves, dual screens and/or Wobbuffet support is useful to help buy you those free turns. Wobbuffet is doubly useful because of the ease with which it traps Mewtwo and Choice Scarf users, thus easing Terrakion's need to use Rock Polish. Thunder Wave support, from Pokemon such as Arceus-Grass or Kyogre, is also effective at slowing the opposing team down so that you can click Swords Dance instead of Rock Polish. Otherwise, this set is very flexible so it's nice to have a flexible team around it. Pokemon that can switch into common checks are worth having so that Terrakion can act as a early or mid-game attacker. Using lures or teammates whose checks overlap with Terrakion's helps to weaken a team for a late-game Rock Polish cleanup.</p>

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Quick Attack
move 4: Rock Slide / Toxic
item: Choice Band
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This is Terrakion's least flexible set, as it's Choice-locked and slow compared to the others but it makes up for these drawbacks with the raw power of Choice Band. It doesn't have to waste any time boosting up to crush things and it's fairly fast in the Ubers metagame. Unlike other Choice Band users, Terrakion always has a safe option, since both its STABs are strong attacks with little drawbacks. They are once again the heart of the set with the filler options being even more situational because of the extra strength and lack of Speed. Quick Attack is surprisingly the most useful of its remaining options, as the extra punch from Choice Band barely gives it a relevant amount of power, so it's helpful to have the utility of priority for a slower set. Rock Slide is always nice to have since Stone Edge can choose to miss at the most inopportune moments. Toxic is exclusively for the likes of Ghost Arceus, who which becomes a bigger pain for this set than the Choice Scarf variant since the drop in Speed means Terrakion is now slower and it still can't even do as much as 60% to bulky Calm Mind variants.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Sacred Sword is sort of an option to deal more damage to Bulk Up Dialga, but Close Combat hits so hard already that the difference isn't really notable. Choice Band Terrakion is far less entry hazard dependent than the other sets, as that extra passive damage is really only worthwhile for Giratina and Ghost Arceus. However, it is much more reliant on teammates, as it's designed to switch in, hit hard, and switch back out. The same teammates that work for Choice Scarf apply for this set. It will also need a stronger general defensive backbone out of the team supporting it to deal with the large amount of threats that now outspeed Terrakion. You can also support it with Thunder Wave to slow down those faster threats.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Substitute with Swords Dance isn't very viable anymore now that Giratina runs Roar to avoid being setup fodder for Ho-Oh. Liechi Berry and Salac Berry are too weak to clean up any better than the Double Dance or Choice Scarf variants and only have one shot at doing so, while leaving Terrakion vulnerable to even resisted priority. X-Scissor does a bit more damage to Psychic-types than Stone Edge and doesn't risk a miss, but outside of the Choice Scarf variant, it is largely non-viable as it requires dropping superior filler options and involves being Choice-locked into a very poor move on top of being completely prediction-based. It is also unlikely that the intended targets will even attempt to directly switch into Terrakion rather than attempt to revenge kill. Double Kick is another interesting move for Choice Scarf Terrakion to OHKO Smeargle past his its Focus Sash. However, it is completely useless besides this single target, as even Deoxys-A has enough bulk to avoid the OHKO.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Ghost-types, such as Ghost Arceus, Giratina, Giratina-O, and even Sableye are massive pains for Terrakion, especially the Choice Scarf variant, which is by far its most common set. All of the listed Pokemon are not bothered at all by the stronger and more reliable of its two STABs, Close Combat, while the first three have a enough natural bulk to shrug off Stone Edge. Bulky Ground-types, such as Groudon, Hippowdon, and Arceus-Ground, resist Stone Edge and can tank Close Combat easily with defensive investment. The Ground / Flying types, Gliscor and Landorus-T, resist Close Combat while typically having significant enough defensive investment such that Stone Edge is not an issue for them either. Gliscor is special in that it actually benefits from Terrakion's Toxic rather than being crippled by it thanks to its ability, Poison Heal. Other assorted Pokemon that resist Rock- or Fighting-type attacks resists can be used with prediction as Terrakion is often Choice-locked. Although uncommon, Scizor's Bullet Punch and Kabutops's Aqua Jet are the two viable priority attacks that hit Terrakion for super effective damage. Sand Rush Excadrill, Swift Swim Kingdra, and very fast but rare Choice Scarf users such as Mewtwo and Shaymin-S can revenge kill even a Choice Scarf Terrakion. Rock Polish Terrakion, however, can only be stopped by priority attacks or defensive checks once it has attained the boost.</p>

<p>Although Terrakion can do a lot, it can't do it all at once. Either it will be really fast with a Choice Scarf or Rock Polish but a lot weaker and have to work for OHKOs or it will be very strong with a Choice Band or Swords Dance but not very fast. Once you know the set it is using it's a lot easier to play around, since it lacks the bulk to survive most attacks, meaning if it fails to KO its opponent, it will be the one to be KOed.</p>


oglemi's first half changed + my second half = 2/2
 
Last edited:
Ah, excellent. Thank you so much Oglemi and GatoDelFuego for the GP checks. This analysis is now done.
 

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