Tyranitar
[Overview]
<p>Tyranitar is the most powerful Pokemon in the standard Advance metagame. With the ability to hit from behind bulky Substitutes or sweep with Dragon Dance, it is the toughest non-Uber threat to counter. Sand Stream negates Leftovers recovery for a lot of Pokemon, making Milotic and Suicune less eager to switch in. Unlike Salamence, it can even stay in on bulky Water-types if need be to land a finishing blow.</p>
[SET]
name: Dragon Dancer
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Rock Slide
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Ice Beam / Hidden Power Grass / Taunt
item: Leftovers
nature: Adamant / Naughty
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Every team in Advance must be able to deal with this Tyranitar. You should always test the waters first by attacking before attempting to set up. This allows you to weaken the opponent's Swampert or Suicune to the point where Tyranitar can take them out the next time it comes in and Dragon Dances.</p>
<p>The final slot is there for coverage. Ice Beam destroys Flygon, who otherwise shuts down Dragon Dance Tyranitar well. After a Dragon Dance, Tyranitar hits 331 Speed and outruns the fastest Flygon. Adamant Tyranitar almost always OHKOes Flygon who don't invest in HP. A Naughty nature is useful if you want to kill Flygon with HP investment. Hidden Power Grass can be devastating for Swampert. Taunt was the old standard, but is more predictable and easy to deal with. However, you should use Taunt if you plan on using this with a Mean Look + Baton Pass Umbreon, or if you can readily remove threats like Flygon and Swampert without the need for Ice Beam or Hidden Power Grass.</p>
[SET]
name: SubPunch
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Focus Punch
move 3: Rock Slide
move 4: Hidden Power Bug / Hidden Power Grass
item: Leftovers
nature: Adamant / Brave
evs: 252 HP / 240 Atk / 16 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is a popular Tyranitar set that is bulky and has the ability to readily switch in and deal huge amounts of damage on the switch. As long as it is careful to avoid getting hit by status, this Tyranitar comes in on Blissey and Normal-type moves fairly well. Once safely on the battlefield, choose to either Substitute for easier prediction, or Focus Punch right off the bat. Focus Punching straight-up against a foe like Blissey is a good idea because then you won't have to waste HP on a Substitute.</p>
<p>The choice between Hidden Power Bug and Hidden Power Grass should depend on what your team has more problems with. If you lack Spikes or multiple Pokemon who threaten bulky Water-types, then you might want to use Hidden Power Grass for Swampert. Hidden Power Bug levels Celebi pretty well, who otherwise sets up on you (defensive sets take about 30% from Rock Slide).</p>
[SET]
name: Boah
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Focus Punch
move 3: Crunch
move 4: Thunderbolt
item: Leftovers
nature: Quiet
evs: 252 HP / 188 SpA / 68 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Although Boah is one of the most well-known sets in Pokemon history, it was an anti-metagame set in its prime that is no longer so devastating. Boah dismantled standard stall teams because of its mixed attacking power. Thunderbolt did heavy damage to Skarmory and dented Suicune. Focus Punch nearly KOs Blissey even without any Attack investment. Crunch puts a big dent in Claydol, Celebi, and Donphan.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Boah is largely eschewed in favor of the physical SubPunch set because most Pokemon Boah was designed to break are no longer popular. Donphan and Dusclops have dropped off in usage, and the physical set has nearly 100 more Attack points, something that really helps Focus Punching bulky Pokemon.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Rock Slide
move 2: Focus Punch
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Hidden Power Bug
item: Choice Band
nature: Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With over 600 Attack and a Speed stat hovering just above that of most bulky Water-types, Choice Band Tyranitar is very hard to switch in on. The most common Tyranitar counter, Swampert, takes as much as 70% from Focus Punch on the switch. Milotic shouldn't even think about coming in, as it stands a good chance of getting 2HKOed by Rock Slide. Hidden Power Bug is useful to kill Celebi and seriously wound Claydol.</p>
[SET]
name: RestTalk
move 1: Rock Slide
move 2: Focus Punch
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 80 Atk / 176 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set is a specialized bulky Tyranitar to deal with several Special Attacking threats like Gengar. Since Focus Punch on Gengar is not very common anymore, this set can handle pretty much anything Gengar throws at it. Status is not a problem because of Rest and Sleep Talk. Giga Drain dents Tyranitar, but not enough to prevent it from switching in. Thanks to this set's high Special Defense and HP, Tyranitar can handle Regice, Raikou, and bulky Zapdos pretty well too.</p>
<p>It's worth noting that Sleep Talk won't pick Focus Punch, so Tyranitar has a 50% chance to pick Rock Slide while sleeping.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Because Sand Stream can be harmful for your team as well as the opponent's, it is wise to use Pokemon that don't get totally screwed by the lack of Leftovers recovery. Use a Swampert instead of a Suicune or Milotic for your bulky Water. Blissey and Regice both work better than Snorlax alongside Tyranitar as far as special walls go.</p>
<p>Tyranitar is the centerpiece of Toxic Sandstorm Spikes teams, and therefore works well with Pokemon like Skarmory, Cloyster, and Forretress. Throwing Toxic around greatly helps wear down defensive Pokemon that prevent Tyranitar from sweeping.</p>
<p>Umbreon deserves a special mention because of its ability to set up Dragon Dance Tyranitar. If you can manage to trap a Skarmory or a similarly useless Pokemon under the effects of Taunt, quickly Baton Pass to Tyranitar. Dragon Dance as much as you can, using Taunt every other turn to prevent status moves or Roar, and proceed to sweep.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Curse is usually inferior to Dragon Dance, but you can go for a Special Defense-heavy spread and try to kill stuff that way. Double-Edge is an option as a fourth move on the Dragon Dance set. Double-Edge is stronger than STAB Rock Slide and will hit many things including Flygon, Claydol, and Swampert for heavy damage. Fire Blast hits Steel-types and Heracross hard, but usually isn't worth it. Toxic and Thunder Wave are great all-purpose status-inducing moves, but Tyranitar is usually better off attacking. Toxic is noteworthy as it wears down many of Tyranitar's counters.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Because of Tyranitar's large movepool, it is difficult to counter effectively. Swampert is the best bet here as it is able to switch in on and scare away all Tyranitar sets barring ones with Hidden Power Grass. Suicune is bulkier but has the disadvantage of not having Leftovers recovery with Sand Stream present. This makes it not very reliable, since Tyranitar can often switch in on fodder Pokemon more than Suicune can switch in on Tyranitar.</p>
<p>Flygon handles the Dragon Dance + Taunt set well, but should watch out for Ice Beam. Claydol is bulkier but often ends up being dead weight thanks to its inability to do much damage. While Boah is not common anymore, bulky Zapdos, bulky Heracross, Swampert, and Jirachi with Thunderbolt handle it well. Dugtrio deserves a mention, but it isn't really a counter. Even after a Dragon Dance, Dugtrio should outrun Tyranitar and KO it. This is a viable strategy to use if you are using mostly offensive Pokemon and don't want to slow down the pace of your team.</p>
