[OVERVIEW]
Tyranitar's unique typing, good bulk, excellent Attack stat, and amazing movepool makes it a great and important Pokemon in the metagame, either as a fearsome wallbreaker or a great Specially Defensive wall. Its Rock/Dark typing allows Tyranitar to switch in and check some of the most dangerous Pokemon in the metagame such as Dragapult, Heatran, and Blacephalon. Additionally, its Sand Stream ability allows Tyranitar to passively chip Pokemon that dont carry Leftovers such as Dragonite and Tapu Koko as well as facilitate Excadrill and the lesser seen Dracozolt thanks to their Sand Rush ability. However Tyranitar lacks reliable recovery, meaning that it can get overwhelmed overtime by repeated hits, residual damage from Entry Hazards, and status from Pokemon like Heatran and Toxapex. Additionally, Tyranitar's low speed and common weaknesses are a hindrance, leaving it vulnerable to faster Pokemon such as Urshifu-R and Kartana. Nevertheless, despite these flaws, Tyranitar's unique traits let it remain as a great pick that is able to fit onto many teams.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Stone Edge
move 2: Crunch
move 3: Fire Punch / Superpower
move 4: Heavy Slam / Ice Punch / Earthquake
item: Choice Band
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Equipped with a Choice Band, Tyranitar becomes a fearsome wallbreaker in the metagame thanks to its great Attack stat and STAB attacks as well as its amazing coverage. Thanks to Sand Stream, Tyranitar can check and threaten certain Pokemon such as Volcarona, Dragapult, and Heatran. Stone Edge is crucial to this set potency as it allows Tyranitar to do massive damage to most Pokemon that dont resist it, being able to 2HKO Corviknight and Clefable while still dealing huge damage on Pokemon that resist it such as Urshifu-R and Kartana. Crunch is Tyranitar's secondary STAB move and it compliments Stone Edge perfectly as it hits neutral targets while also 2HKOing Slowbro, making Tyranitar extremely hard to switch into safely. Fire Punch threatens to OHKO Kartana, Scizor, and Ferrothorn while still 2HKOing Skarmory and Corviknight. Superpower is another option, allowing Tyranitar to hit Heatran, Melmetal, and Ferrothorn while being a great midground against Pokemon that resist Tyranitar's STAB attacks such as Urshifu-R and Bisharp. Heavy Slam allows Tyranitar to threaten and OHKO Clefable. Alternatively, Ice Punch can be used instead to nail Ground-types such as Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Hippowdon. Finally, Earthquake can be used instead to better threaten Toxapex and Heatran. Rock Slide can be used over Stone Edge which gives Tyranitar a much safer option for its Rock STAB move of choice while also coming with the benefit of a 30% flinch rate. However, the sacrifice in power is usually not worth it as Tyranitar can no longer achieve crucial benchmarks such as the 2HKO on Corviknight and Clefable.
Team Options
========
Choice Band Tyranitar fits well on many teams ranging from offense to balance. Offensive partners such as Rillaboom, Urshifu-R, and Dragapult pair exceptionally well with Tyranitar. Rillaboom in particular can setup Grassy Terrain to alleviate Tyranitar’s Earthquake weakness while also threatening Water- and Ground-type Pokemon for it such as Urshifu-R and Hippowdon. In return, Tyranitar can check Flying- and Fire-type Pokemon such as Zapdos and Heatran for Rillaboom. Urshifu-R and Dragapult are also excellent partners for Tyranitar as they can threaten Tyranitar's checks such as Landorus-T and Buzzwole, respectively, while they can pivot Tyranitar in safely with U-turn. In return, Tyranitar can threaten special walls such as Blissey and Heatran for Dragapult as well as Flying-type Pokemon like Zapdos and Tornadus-T for Urshifu-R. Excadrill and the lesser seen Dracozolt pair incredibly well with Tyranitar as they both benefit from Sand Stream, Excadrill can provide Rapid Spin support to prevent Tyranitar from getting worn down by entry hazards while Dracozolt can threaten common physical walls such as Corviknight and Toxapex for Tyranitar. Magnezone is a tremendous partner for Tyranitar since it can trap and eliminate Corviknight and Skarmory for it, allowing Tyranitar to wallbreak more effectively. Defensive pivots such as Corviknight, Slowbro, and Slowking are amazing partners for Tyranitar, as Corviknight can provide Defog support which can help Tyranitar not get worn down by entry hazards as well as switch into Ground-type Pokemon such as Landorus-T and Garchomp to provide safe switch-ins for Tyranitar with U-turn. Slowbro and Slowking can also net safe switch-ins for Tyranitar with Teleport as well as provide Future Sight support which allows Tyranitar to break through physical walls such as Toxapex and Buzzwole much more easily, all while being able to check Fighting- and Ground-type Pokemon such as Blaziken and Landorus-T for Tyranitar.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A Choice Scarf set can be used, allowing Tyranitar to outspeed and surprise faster Pokemon such as Tapu Lele and Swords Dance Kartana as well as catch fast Ground-type Pokemon such as Landorus-T and Garchomp off guard. However Tyranitar is quite slow for a Choice Scarf user, making it undesirable at this role, compared to other Choice Scarf users like Kartana and Urshifu-R. Ice Beam can be used on the Specially Defensive set which allows Tyranitar to nail Garchomp and Landorus-T, however Tyranitar struggles to fit such a move, as Thunder Wave or Toxic are usually better than Ice Beam thanks to both allowing Tyranitar to more easily make progress throughout a game. Heavy Duty Boots can be used on the Specially Defensive set, trading a source of recovery for Tyranitar to not get worn down by Entry Hazards. Beware that Tyranitar will miss the recovery of Leftovers.
Checks and Counters
===================
Residual Damage: Tyranitar's lack of reliable recovery means that it can be worn down over time via passive damage from Entry Hazards and Status, as well as powerful attacks from Pokemon its tasked to check like Dragapult and Volcarona.
Fighting-type Pokemon and Coverage: powerful Fighting-type Pokemon such as Urshifu-R, Galarian Zapdos, and Blaziken can outspeed and force out Tyranitar in fear of an OHKO. They can all also gain momentum with U-turn or setup against Tyranitar as it switches out. However, these Pokemon do not enjoy Thunder Wave or Toxic from Specially Defensive sets nor do they like switching into Choice Band Tyranitar. Fighting-type coverage from the likes of Tornadus-T and Reuniclus can also threaten to OHKO Tyranitar.
Ground-types: Ground-types like Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Excadrill all threaten Tyranitar out with their powerful STAB Earthquakes. All of these Pokemon can also either setup Swords Dance or Stealth Rock, or in Landorus-T's case, gain momentum against Tyranitar with U-turn or Defog away Tyranitar's Stealth Rocks. However, both Landorus-T and Garchomp fears Ice Punch from Choice Band sets and Toxic or the rare Ice Beam from Specially Defensive sets while Excadrill fears Fire Punch or Earthquake
Grass-types: Grass-types like Rillaboom and Kartana can threaten to OHKO Tyranitar with their powerful Grass-STAB attacks, both of which can threaten Tyranitar out with the fear of Swords Dance and Rillaboom can also gain momentum against Tyranitar with U-turn. However, both of these Pokemon dont like switching into Choice Band Tyranitar and they can have their speed ruined by Thunder Wave from Specially Defensive sets. Ferrothorn is a great switch-in to Specially Defensive Tyranitar as it can set up Spikes or cripple Tyranitar with Leech Seed without fear. However, Choice Band Tyranitar can threaten it with the fear of Superpower and Fire Punch.
Water-types: Water-types like Urshifu-R, Keldeo, and Rotom-W can threaten Tyranitar with their STAB attacks and can also gain momentum on it with U-turn, Flip Turn, and Volt Switch, respectively. Rotom-W can also threaten Tyranitar with the fear of burn from Will-O-Wisp, should Tyranitar stay in on Rotom-W. However they do not appreciate being hit by Thunder Wave or Toxic from Specially Defensive sets and they can take massive damage from Choice Band Tyranitar. Toxapex can tank a hit from Tyranitar and threaten it with the fear of a Scald burn and Knock Off. However, Earthquake from Choice Band sets do massive damage to it and Specially Defensive Toxapex doesn't enjoy taking repeated hits from Choice Band Tyranitar
Fairy-types: Fairy-types such as Clefable and Tapu Fini can completely take on Specially Defensive sets thanks to their bulk and immunities to Tyranitar's status moves, allowing them to wear down Tyranitar overtime with their STAB moves. Other Fairy-types such as Tapu Koko and Tapu Lele can all threaten to outspeed and deal massive damage to Tyranitar with their powerful STAB moves, Tapu Koko in particular can also gain momentum with U-turn against it. However, Choice Band Tyranitar can deal massive damage to all of these Pokemon on the switch with Stone Edge or Heavy Slam, making it harder for them to check or switch in reliably.
Steel-types: Steel-types such as Corviknight, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory are good checks to Tyranitar thanks to their great physical bulk that lets them switch into most of Tyranitar's Attacks as well being able to completely wall Specially Defensive sets. Ferrothorn in particular is a great switch-in to Specially Defensive sets as it can set up Spikes or cripple Tyranitar with Leech Seed without fear. However, Choice Band Tyranitar can threaten it with the fear of Superpower and Fire Punch.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/imzer0.629771/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/pulsar512b.469728/
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Grammar checked by:
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