Pokémon Thundurus-I

[Magnemite]

#642 Thundurus

Type: Electric/Flying
Base Stats: 79 HP / 115 Atk / 70 Def / 125 SpA / 80 SpD / 111 Spe

Abilities:
Prankster: Moves that do not deal direct damage have their priority increased by one level.
Defiant (DW): Boosts Attack by two stages for every stat drop.

Notable moves: (STAB moves in bold; Prankster compatible moves in italics)
Thunderbolt
Thunder
Thunder Wave
Wild Charge
Superpower
Knock Off
Taunt
Nasty Plot
Bulk Up
Focus Blast
Hidden Power
Substitute
Volt Switch
U-turn
Rain Dance
Grass Knot
Fly

General Analysis:

The Incarnate form of the thunder genie returns to OU for generation VI, and it is certainly a force to be reckoned with. It is the best offensive user in the game of the ability Prankster, which gives it the invaluble ability to stop sweepers in their tracks with priority Thunder Wave or shut down defensive Pokemon and many hazard setters with priority Taunt. Thundurus is particularly good at shutting down Baton Pass teams because Prankster lets it use Taunt before the opponent can Baton Pass to Magic Bounce Espeon to reflect it. It also makes a fearsome sweeper with access to Nasty Plot, phenomenal base 111 Speed and base 125 Special Attack, paralysis immunity, and unresisted 3-move coverage. However, with the new generation came the loss of permanent rain, forcing Thundurus to use the less powerful Thunderbolt instead of Thunder. In addition, Thundurus is very frail and cannot take strong hits at all or switch into most Pokemon. It is also worn down fairly quickly due to its Stealth Rock weakness and Life Orb recoil. Despite this, Thundurus is a great choice for almost any team due to its ability to shut down offensive and defensive threats alike with Prankster and its nearly unrivaled special sweeping capabilities.

Potential movesets:

Prankster:

Thundurus @ Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Taunt / Volt Switch / Rain Dance

This set brings excellent utility to offensive teams. Priority Thunder Wave puts a full stop to almost every sweeper in OU, the only notable exceptions being Landorus, Excadrill, Garchomp, or other Thundurus. Taunt prevents hazards from the likes of Deoxys-S and Deoxys-D without Magic Coat, Klefki, Forretress, and Skarmory without the loss of momentum that Defog or Rapid Spin tend to bring. Rain Dance can be used on Drizzle teams to guarantee that rain can be set back up in nearly any situation thanks to its priority. Thundurus also still hits like a truck with Life Orb boosted STAB Thunderbolt and gets great pseudo boltbeam coverage.

Nasty Plot Sweeper:

Thundurus @ Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast / Substitute

This set is tremendously powerful, 2HKOing almost every relevant OU Pokemon at +2. It also boasts perfect coverage and outstanding base 111 Speed, which outspeeds most Pokemon, including base 110's like Latios and Gengar. However, it lacks priority and is easily revenged killed by popular scarfers such as Genesect. It also does not take priority very well and is very easy to wear down.

Conclusion:
Thundurus-I is without a doubt one of the best Pokemon in OU right now. Having an emergency anti-sweep button is incredibly useful in any metagame, especially one as offensive as this. Thundurus is very unique in its ability to be an offensive threat and a fantastic supporter at the same time. Additionally, despite being easily revenge killed, the Nasty Plot set is a major threat to just about every team right now, and very few are prepared for it at all. Despite its strikingly low current usage, every team must be adequately prepared to handle the wrath of the living thunderstorm known as Thundurus.

 

[Super Mario Bro]

Thundurus is a total boss. Trolly speed tier, great movepool, high Special Attack, Prankster...

Speaking of Prankster, I really like using Taunt on the set that takes advantage of that ability, as it allows Thundurus be a fantastic counter to BP Chain teams, which can be really annoying to deal with if you are not prepared for them. People are using them a little bit more than they did last gen, since Scolipede now gets Speed Boost. I expect the usage of those teams to rise even more once Mega Kangaskhan gets banned.

By the way, it might be a good idea to slash in Leftovers on both the NP and Prankster set. It loses the ability to hit like a truck right away, but in exchange, it does not get worn down by Sandstorm and Life Orb recoil.

 

[Calm_Mind_Latias]

Why not Leftovers on the "Prankster" movesets, so you can increase its longevity and paralyze more things?

HP Ice is so weak that it doesn't do 50% on Specially Defensive Hippowdon (less than 30% with Leftovers). I would recommend that it would be supported by Pokemon that can deal with Ground types more effectively.

 

[liimujx]

Why not Leftovers on the "Prankster" movesets, so you can increase its longevity and paralyze more things?

HP Ice is so weak that it doesn't do 50% on Specially Defensive Hippowdon (less than 30% with Leftovers). I would recommend that it would be supported by Pokemon that can deal with Ground types more effectively.

You could always use grass knot to deal with those bulky grounds.

 

[Magnemite]

Thundurus is a total boss. Trolly speed tier, great movepool, high Special Attack, Prankster...

Speaking of Prankster, I really like using Taunt on the set that takes advantage of that ability, as it allows Thundurus be a fantastic counter to BP Chain teams, which can be really annoying to deal with if you are not prepared for them. People are using them a little bit more than they did last gen, since Scolipede now gets Speed Boost. I expect the usage of those teams to rise even more once Mega Kangaskhan gets banned.

By the way, it might be a good idea to slash in Leftovers on both the NP and Prankster set. It loses the ability to hit like a truck right away, but in exchange, it does not get worn down by Sandstorm and Life Orb recoil.

Added. It beats BP chains especially well since Prankster prevents the opponent from outspeeding and passing to Espeon to reflect the Taunt back, which is the only way BP teams beat Taunt in the first place.

Ground types are a problem for it, but at +2, most of them are 2HKOed anyway. Hippowdon is very uncommon right now, so it isn't too much of a problem. Speaking of specially defensive Pokemon, you would think Goodra would stop it, but even at 252 HP / 252+ SpD (which isn't a very good spread regardless), it's 2HKOed by +2 LO HP Ice with a bit of prior damage. It needs Assault Vest to avoid the 2HKO (which again, isn't all that great).

 

[Ash Borer]

I really like focus blast for excadrill, without it you're a free switch in. A free switch in to one of the best spinners in the tier, and a stealth rock setter. ALso, thundy is sorely weak without a boosting item, I dont recommend lefties.

Hide

252 SpA Thundurus Hidden Power Ice vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 292-348 (81.7 - 97.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
vs.
252 SpA Expert Belt Thundurus Hidden Power Ice vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 350-418 (98 - 117%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Thundurus Hidden Power Ice vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-T: 308-364 (80.6 - 95.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
vs.
252 SpA Expert Belt Thundurus Hidden Power Ice vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-T: 370-437 (96.8 - 114.3%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO


252 SpA Thundurus Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Excadrill: 362-426 (85.3 - 100.4%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
vs.
252 SpA Expert Belt Thundurus Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Excadrill: 434-511 (102.3 - 120.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

3 important KOs you shouldnt miss, but do without a boosting item. If hippo were a problem, grass knot kills the fuck out of it anyways.

 

[Ropeburn]

Can thundurus run a sleep talk set?Predict a sleep move then get priority for all attacking moves.

There's nothing that really runs sleep moves, and thundurus has trouble with coverage if you run rest + sleep talk, so I don't really see the point.

 

[Jaroda]

Considering you can slow anything with a Thunder Wave (bar scarf Excadrill or Garchomp who'd be faster anyway) is max Timid really that necessary? Couldn't Modest with some SpD investment be overall more useful? Outside of out speeding max Keldeo, but you still wouldn't outrun a scarf variant, and what Keldeo would stay in if it wasn't otherwise?

 

[Meru]

Don't forget that Electric-type scarfers are now also immune to priority Thunder Waves. I think that might be the most notable nerf of the gen for Thundurus, as most Electric-types also resist his Thunderbolt, while the Electric/Flying typing leaves him neutral to theirs.

 

[Idiotesque]

Speaking of Prankster, I really like using Taunt on the set that takes advantage of that ability, as it allows Thundurus be a fantastic counter to BP Chain teams, which can be really annoying to deal with if you are not prepared for them. People are using them a little bit more than they did last gen, since Scolipede now gets Speed Boost. I expect the usage of those teams to rise even more once Mega Kangaskhan gets banned.

I really agree with all this, he also runs Tailwind quite well if he's about to get killed by some scarfer or another. However, does anyone know why Thundy-I has been getting so little usage this generation, despite being allowed down from ubers?

 

[sidakarya]

Oh god, this thing... I shall have nightmares about facing it. Whenever I see it on team preview, I get this feeling of "wow, I'm actually glad to use Absol instead of Lucario".

One other set that hasn't been mentioned, dug up from the old BW days, is a mixed-attacking set with Hammer Arm, which lets you beat not only Tyranitar and Excadrill switch-ins, but Chansey and Blissey, which will be 2HKO'd with Stealth Rock or a bit of prior damage.

Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 32 Atk / 224 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Hammer Arm
- Taunt / Thunderwave / Volt Switch / Rain Dance

I really agree with all this, he also runs Tailwind quite well if he's about to get killed by some scarfer or another. However, does anyone know why Thundy-I has been getting so little usage this generation, despite being allowed down from ubers?

I see them a lot in the ladder above 1800-ish, and for a good reason. It's not only ridiculously strong as a sweeper in its own right, but priority thunderwave is incredibly useful and horribly annoying for offensive teams.

 

[Magnemite]

I really agree with all this, he also runs Tailwind quite well if he's about to get killed by some scarfer or another. However, does anyone know why Thundy-I has been getting so little usage this generation, despite being allowed down from ubers?

Actually, Thundurus doesn't learn Tailwind. Tornadus does. However, Thunder Wave accomplishes a similar role, so it's not that big of a deal.

I really don't know why it's not getting much usage, though. A lot of great Pokemon like Manaphy, Thundurus-I and T, Keldeo, Landorus-I, Jirachi, and the Latis are getting very little usage on the lower ladder, despite their ability to rip through unprepared teams. Just about 99% of teams are horribly weak to Specs Keldeo right now, for example, especially its counters are getting very low usage. I don't think any of Celebi, Latias, Tentacruel, Jellicent, or Venusaur are even in OU range in the stats now, so Keldeo is having a field day in this metagame. Of course, all of these Pokemon have much higher usage on the upper ladder right now. I think the low usage of top tier threats can be attributed to the fact that they're all post bank exclusive, so newer players don't know just how good they are.

It's worth noting that Excadrill and Tyranitar are OHKOed and 2HKOed respectively by either Fighting move, so Hammer Arm is mainly useful for the pink blobs and its higher accuracy. You could also just use Taunt for Chansey and Blissey because it prevents them from doing anything useful.

 

[Exeggutive]

Thundurus I is a total dick to offensive teams. It's just so damn strong and impossible to counter outside of scarf ground types. The weather nerf and hp nerf really suck but still, it's an amazing offensive utility/seeeper with priority t waves and subs.

PO actually did a retest of this guy during early bw2 for some reason and a set I used was
Thundurus @ Salac berry with sub, np, thunderbolt, hp ice.
It is extremely hard to revenge kill since it resists most priority moves and with sub/salac it is impossible for to revenged by scarfers. being low hp isn't that bad since sand is uncommon right now.
It lures in priority and once they are down start subbing if they have a scarfer.

 

[branflakes]

I've been experimenting with Thundurus's high attack stat that is often ignored (for more logical options but eh). It's other ability Defiant now has an additional use in punishing Defog users and threatening to deal heavy damage with its high speed, good physical movepool and good defensive typing to shrug off most priority moves.

Thundurus @ Expert Belt/Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Jolly Nature
- Wild Charge/Thunderpunch
- Superpower
- Knock Off
- Bulk Up/Sky Drop/U-turn/Taunt

Alternatively, physical Thundurus could work very well as a pivot that doesn't necessarily rely on Defiant, though it could still greatly benefit from the ability:

Thundurus @ Expert Belt
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Knock Off
- Taunt(Defiant)/TWave(Prankster)

Knock Off and Superpower work well together (judging from 2000+ ladder experience) to remove unsuspecting counters such as Chansey and Blissey, Latios/Latias. Even though Taunt isn't supported by Prankster in this set, one of the only notable hazard setters that outspeeds Thundurus is Deoxys-S. With the somewhat-common Life Orb Deoxys-S running around with Ice Beam, I wouldn't necessary stay in with Thundurus anyway.

idk I just like physical thundurus. it works surprisingly well.

 

[mertyville]

IMO the only reason to run Defiant would be on a choiced physical or mixed set. Prankster might not be the main selling point, but if you use any non-attacking move, you should run Prankster.
I wonder how I-Form will affect the meta game. I can see T-Form dropping in UU just because of it, Weather nerf, Special Move nerf and the T-Wave nerf. But only time will tell.

 

[RufflesPro]

You should put that Atk IVs being 0 is preferable, taking minimum damage from confusion and Foul Play. It turn the 68% chance of a 3HKO into a guaranteed 4HKO.

 

[hyunwoo0124]

I am running
-Thunder Wave
-Taunt
-Dark Pulse
-Volt Switch

This set seems stupid but its actually doing me pretty nicely and its unexpected. Especially to neuter the popular pranksters

 

[Magnemite]

You should put that Atk IVs being 0 is preferable, taking minimum damage from confusion and Foul Play. It turn the 68% chance of a 3HKO into a guaranteed 4HKO.

This is a good idea on almost every special attacker, so there's no real reason to mention it. Also, Thundurus nearly always uses HP Ice, so isn't as simple as just lowering the IV to 0.

 

[Nysyr]

Few things...

Twave should be on every serious set, it is extremely clutch when a setup sweeper starts to run away.

All mixed sets should be Naive, preferrably 30 Def IVs as this will give genesect the attack boost while still living +1 banded Espeed. Basically you will always get off a Twave on genesect at full HP. Superpower vs Focus blast is entirely dependent on if you ate your lucky charms for breakfast the morning of.

Ebelt is required to OHKO garchomp and gliscor with HP ice. Might be lando-t as well but im too lazy to calc. Lefties is good to keep thundy-i healty to check talonflame and pinsir. LO is good for breaking things.

Superpower with LO and Ebelt will clean 2hko blissey after rocks.

Volt Switch is a waste of a moveslot on thundy-i, you want coverage and support.

My personal Favourite set:

Thundurus (M) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk
Naive Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Superpower

 

[RufflesPro]

That's true, that's true, but for the HP ice set, I believe 2 IV will be enough, correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Calm_Mind_Latias]

Few things...

Twave should be on every serious set, it is extremely clutch when a setup sweeper starts to run away.

All mixed sets should be Naive, preferrably 30 Def IVs as this will give genesect the attack boost while still living +1 banded Espeed. Basically you will always get off a Twave on genesect at full HP. Superpower vs Focus blast is entirely dependent on if you ate your lucky charms for breakfast the morning of.

Ebelt is required to OHKO garchomp and gliscor with HP ice. Might be lando-t as well but im too lazy to calc. Lefties is good to keep thundy-i healty to check talonflame and pinsir. LO is good for breaking things.

Superpower with LO and Ebelt will clean 2hko blissey after rocks.

Volt Switch is a waste of a moveslot on thundy-i, you want coverage and support.

My personal Favourite set:

Thundurus (M) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk
Naive Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Superpower

Well, one is at least not helpless when facing Excadrill.

0 Atk Expert Belt Thundurus Superpower vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Excadrill: 353-415 (97.5 - 114.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

EBelt also guarantees a KO on Lando-T after Stealth Rock.

252 SpA Expert Belt Thundurus Hidden Power Ice vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-T: 370-437 (96.8 - 114.3%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO

 

[ShadowMarioGalaxy64]

Not a single mention of Knock Off? I use Thundurus-I as a support Pokemon and the surprise Knock Off has crippled to many Pokemon. I use this set:

Thundurus-I @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
Naive Nature
252 HP/4 Sp. Def/252 Spe
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave
- Volt Switch
- Knock Off

Anybody else find this usable?

 

[Calm_Mind_Latias]

Not a single mention of Knock Off? I use Thundurus-I as a support Pokemon and the surprise Knock Off has crippled to many Pokemon. I use this set:

Thundurus-I @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
Naive Nature
252 HP/4 Sp. Def/252 Spe
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave
- Volt Switch
- Knock Off

Anybody else find this usable?

Knock Off can only be used for Gengar. I rather keep my Thundurus so it could have another shot at paralyzing a fast foe rather than relieving another Pokemon of their item.

Really, I did not notice the spread initially. Could you give me some calcs showing that the defensive investment can withstand hits from key metagame Pokemon.

Also,
72 Special Attacks EVs are need for Thundurus to act as an offensive check to standard Pinsir.

72 SpA Thundurus Thunderbolt vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Pinsir: 272-324 (100 - 119.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

 

[AOPSUser]

That's true, that's true, but for the HP ice set, I believe 2 IV will be enough, correct me if I'm wrong.

Hidden Power's base power is set this gen, so there is no reason to run 2 IVs instead of 0.

 

[ShadowMarioGalaxy64]

Knock Off can only be used for Gengar. I rather keep my Thundurus so it could have another shot at paralyzing a fast foe rather than relieving another Pokemon of their item.

Really, I did not notice the spread initially. Could you give me some calcs showing that the defensive investment can withstand hits from key metagame Pokemon.

Also,
72 Special Attacks EVs are need for Thundurus to act as an offensive check to standard Pinsir.

72 SpA Thundurus Thunderbolt vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Pinsir: 272-324 (100 - 119.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Knock off is more the "Thundurus is done with its initial supporting role and can now go on to removing the items off of Pokemon". I've used it with TormenTran in one of my later teams to some success (and as a bit of a surprise for most that face it...then again, I'm a sucker for gimmicks).

252 Atk Flying Gem Talonflame Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Thundurus: 114-135 (31.4 - 37.2%) -- 83.8% chance to 3HKO

252 Atk Pinsir Return vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Thundurus: 145-171 (40 - 47.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252+ Atk Technician Mega Scizor Pursuit vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Thundurus: 107-127 (29.5 - 35%) -- 15.9% chance to 3HKO

Mind you for Mega Scizor, that's its strongest attack to use if it goes that route and uses Pursuit (though Superpower is about the same).

252+ Atk Aegislash-Blade Shadow Claw vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Thundurus: 187-222 (51.6 - 61.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Once a blade...

0 Atk Life Orb Thundurus Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Blade: 354-419 (109.2 - 129.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

...and Aegislash be gone (hopefully)!

Thundurus is, for me at least, really only used against offensively weaker threats that keep popping up. Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and others that don't have a giant offensive fear to use is what my team struggled with, so I stuck Thundurus-I on there and he has been a huge help, especially when combined with TormenTran in my experience. Of course, one could experiment more with the EV spread to see what works best, but I'd likely put the remaining 4 EVs on Special Attack or something instead of Special Defense.