DD Tyranitar:
[Overview]
<p>Tyranitar is the most powerful Pokemon in the ADV OU metagame. With the ability to both hit from behind bulky Substitutes and sweep with Dragon Dance, it is the one of the toughest non-Uber threats to counter. Sand Stream negates Leftovers recovery for a lot of Pokemon too, which makes Milotic and Suicune less reliable switch-ins. Unlike Salamence, it can even stay in on bulky Water-types if need be to land a finishing blow.</p>
[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Rock Slide
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Hidden Power Bug / Taunt
item: Leftovers
nature: Adamant
evs: 16 HP / 204 Atk / 120 Def / 172 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Every ADV OU team must be able to deal with this set, as it is one of the most threatening sweepers in the metagame. Setting up Dragon Dance as soon as you switch in Tyranitar early-game is foolish; it should always test the waters first by attacking before attempting to set up. This allows Tyranitar to weaken the opponent's Swampert or Suicune to the point where it can take them out with a boosted attack the next time it switches in.</p>
<p>The final moveslot is mainly for additional coverage. Hidden Power Bug beats Celebi and Claydol, two Pokemon who may try to counter you. Taunt stops Skarmory and other Phazers from roaring you out or healing, allowing Tyranitar to slowly wear them down overtime. When paired with Spikes, Taunting switch-ins like Milotic can devastate a team.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Pokemon that can bait out bulky waters are usually the best pairing for Tyranitar. Self-Destruct Snorlax, Explosion Metagross, and even sets like Hidden Power Grass Salamence can wear down Tyranitar's counters to the point that a Tyranitar sweep is inevitable. Magneton can fit on these highly offensive teams as an answer to Skarmory, allowing you to overwhelm the opponent with physical attacks. Packing an entry hazard user is also recommended to wear down walls such as Swampert, which can halt Tyranitar's sweep; Cloyster, Forretress, and Skarmory can also hit such walls with Toxic on the switch.</p>
<p>The HP EVs and Defense EVs allow Tyranitar to survive Jolly Dugtrio's Choice Band Earthquake. 172 Speed EVs outruns every neutral base 100 Speed Pokemon after a Dragon Dance, and the rest is poured into attack for power. A Jolly Tyranitar with more Speed can be used to beat Adamant Dugtrio and Gengar after a Dragon Dance, but the lack of power is noticeable.</p>
<p>Tyranitar can play the luring role himself by using Ice Beam or Hidden Power Grass in the final slot for Flygon, Claydol, Swampert, and other defensive walls. While this might effectively weaken some, it also hurts Tyranitar's physical coverage.</p>
---
Thanks to Dekzeh for giving me the EV Spread to Special Tyranitar and helping me decide the final moves for an Analysis. I actually like Ice Beam more but Rock Slide is way more common in ADV and has merits, which is why it should still be listed first.
[SET]
name: Special
move 1: Pursuit
move 2: Hidden Power Grass
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Rock Slide / Ice Beam
item: Leftovers
nature: Naughty / Modest
evs: 188 HP / 240 SpA / 80 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>STAB Pursuit, a diverse movepool, and the stats to back it up make Tyranitar a premiere wallbreaker in ADV OU. This set abuses Tyranitar's special moves to assist in taking down more defensive teams while simultaneously threatening unprepared offensive teams as well. One of the major selling points of this set is its ability to effectively trap and kill Gengar with Pursuit. Gengar's only way to damage Tyranitar usually lies on Giga Drain and Will-O-Wisp, both of which this Tyranitar can brush off. With Gengar down, spinning becomes much easier and is why this set is more effective when paired with a Rapid Spinner.</p>
<p>Fire Blast wears down Skarmory, Forretress, and other Steel-types. With the threat and rising usage of Special Tyranitar, these Pokemon might be weary about staying in on Tyranitar. While this may limit the amount of kills you get with Tyranitar, keeping Spikers at bay is never a bad idea and allows you to more freely spam Rock Slide. Fire Blast may also be your strongest move in general at times. If the accuracy is a concern, Flamethrower can be used over Fire Blast. Hidden Power Grass allows Tyranitar to take down one of ADV's most heralded Pokemon in Swampert. It pairs up well with Fire Blast, providing a sense of offense vs opposing Tyranitar and other bulky waters. On more offensive teams, Hidden Power Grass Tyranitar is a great way to lure in opposing Swamperts and take them down. Rock Slide is generally more common in the last slot because of Tyranitar's phenomenal Attack and the ability to hit threats like Blissey, Zapdos, and Salamence. However, Ice Beam allows Tyranitar to keep its Special Defense by switching to a Modest nature, while giving it more Special Attack to play with. Ice Beam allows Tyranitar to take on Flygon, Zapdos, and Salamence while also providing a guaranteed OHKO on Dugtrio.</p>
<p>188 HP EVs allow Tyranitar to survive Dugtrio's Earthquake and gives Tyranitar bulk to successfully threaten defensive Pokemon who have decent attack. The Speed EVs outspeed 4 Spe Skarmory, allowing you to Fire Blast before they have a chance to use Spikes. The rest is placed into Special Attack to make sure Tyranitar finishes the job.</p>
---
This one's fine, it should be 3rd on the analysis
[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 massive Attack and a Speed stat hovering just above that of most bulky Water-types, Choice Band Tyranitar is very hard to switch into. 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 in the last moveslot to kill Celebi and heavily weakened Claydol.</p>
<p>As Choice Band Tyranitar can take out its typical counters with sheer power, its standard switch-ins need to be more wary in handling it. Prediction is key both in defeating and using this Tyranitar, as one wrong move could put either player in a bad situation.</p>
<p>The EV spread and nature are straightforward and enable this set to hit as hard and fast as possible. As this Tyranitar punishes switching so heavily with its immense power, Spikes can be a useful asset to your team.</p>
---
This one's fine, it should be last on the analysis:
[SET]
name: Physical 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; it is bulky and has the ability to readily switch in and deal huge amounts of damage on the switch. As long as Tyranitar avoids getting hit by status, it can switch in on Blissey and Normal-type moves fairly well. Once safely on the battlefield, choose to either set up a Substitute to ease prediction or Focus Punch right off the bat for immense damage. Using Focus Punch immediately against a foe such as Blissey is a good idea because you won't have to waste Tyranitar's precious HP on a Substitute.</p>
<p>The choice between Hidden Power Bug and Hidden Power Grass depends on what your team has greater issues with. If your team lacks Spikes or a way to threaten bulky Water-types, then Hidden Power Grass is the better option for dealing with Swampert. However, if Swampert is not a problem, Hidden Power Bug eliminates Celebi, who otherwise sets up on Tyranitar.</p>
<p>An Adamant nature boosts Attack without reducing Tyranitar's Speed, but reduces the power of Hidden Power. Brave is quite the opposite, as it reduces Tyranitar's Speed but maintains Hidden Power's strength. Ultimately, the choice comes down to how powerful you need Tyranitar's Hidden Power to be to cover specific opposing Pokemon.</p>
---
removed mention of moves that are on the special set, added boah with an explanation and resttalk
[Other Options]
<p>Curse is usually inferior to Dragon Dance, but such a variant should use a specially defensive EV spread to set up and become a mixed tank. Double-Edge is an option as a fourth move on the Dragon Dance set; it is stronger than STAB Rock Slide and will hit many threats, such as Flygon, Claydol, and Swampert, for heavy damage. Toxic and Thunder Wave are great all-purpose status-inducing moves, but Tyranitar is usually better off attacking; the former is, however, noteworthy for its ability to wear down many of Tyranitar's counters.</p>
<p>Classic sets like Tyraniboah and RestTalk are usable but not very effective in current ADV. Tyraniboah is a Substitute set with special attacks and Focus Punch, working similar to how the current Special set works but focusing more on killing Blissey and opposing Tyranitar. RestTalk gives Tyranitar some livability but doesn't output much damage.
---
some of this stuff didn't make much sense, i removed the already shaky counters from the boah set that was removed anyway and i was a bit nicer to claydol who isn't "dead weight" in adv because of its role as a levitating spinner. Celebi deserves a mention as well.
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Tyranitar's large movepool makes it 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 it has the disadvantage of having Leftovers recovery canceled in a sandstorm.</p>
<p>Flygon can handle the Dragon Dance set, but should watch out for Ice Beam. Claydol is bulkier, but must watch out for Hidden Power Bug. Similarly, Celebi can also threaten Tyranitar out if it lacks Hidden Power Bug. Dugtrio deserves a mention as it can trap Tyranitar, outspeed it even after a Dragon Dance, and swiftly OHKO it. This is a viable strategy to use if your team consists mostly of offensive Pokemon and you don't want to slow down the pace of the game, but be wary that Dugtrio cannot switch into Tyranitar at all.</p>
[Overview]
<p>Tyranitar is the most powerful Pokemon in the ADV OU metagame. With the ability to both hit from behind bulky Substitutes and sweep with Dragon Dance, it is the one of the toughest non-Uber threats to counter. Sand Stream negates Leftovers recovery for a lot of Pokemon too, which makes Milotic and Suicune less reliable switch-ins. Unlike Salamence, it can even stay in on bulky Water-types if need be to land a finishing blow.</p>
[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Rock Slide
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Hidden Power Bug / Taunt
item: Leftovers
nature: Adamant
evs: 16 HP / 204 Atk / 120 Def / 172 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Every ADV OU team must be able to deal with this set, as it is one of the most threatening sweepers in the metagame. Setting up Dragon Dance as soon as you switch in Tyranitar early-game is foolish; it should always test the waters first by attacking before attempting to set up. This allows Tyranitar to weaken the opponent's Swampert or Suicune to the point where it can take them out with a boosted attack the next time it switches in.</p>
<p>The final moveslot is mainly for additional coverage. Hidden Power Bug beats Celebi and Claydol, two Pokemon who may try to counter you. Taunt stops Skarmory and other Phazers from roaring you out or healing, allowing Tyranitar to slowly wear them down overtime. When paired with Spikes, Taunting switch-ins like Milotic can devastate a team.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Pokemon that can bait out bulky waters are usually the best pairing for Tyranitar. Self-Destruct Snorlax, Explosion Metagross, and even sets like Hidden Power Grass Salamence can wear down Tyranitar's counters to the point that a Tyranitar sweep is inevitable. Magneton can fit on these highly offensive teams as an answer to Skarmory, allowing you to overwhelm the opponent with physical attacks. Packing an entry hazard user is also recommended to wear down walls such as Swampert, which can halt Tyranitar's sweep; Cloyster, Forretress, and Skarmory can also hit such walls with Toxic on the switch.</p>
<p>The HP EVs and Defense EVs allow Tyranitar to survive Jolly Dugtrio's Choice Band Earthquake. 172 Speed EVs outruns every neutral base 100 Speed Pokemon after a Dragon Dance, and the rest is poured into attack for power. A Jolly Tyranitar with more Speed can be used to beat Adamant Dugtrio and Gengar after a Dragon Dance, but the lack of power is noticeable.</p>
<p>Tyranitar can play the luring role himself by using Ice Beam or Hidden Power Grass in the final slot for Flygon, Claydol, Swampert, and other defensive walls. While this might effectively weaken some, it also hurts Tyranitar's physical coverage.</p>
---
Thanks to Dekzeh for giving me the EV Spread to Special Tyranitar and helping me decide the final moves for an Analysis. I actually like Ice Beam more but Rock Slide is way more common in ADV and has merits, which is why it should still be listed first.
[SET]
name: Special
move 1: Pursuit
move 2: Hidden Power Grass
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Rock Slide / Ice Beam
item: Leftovers
nature: Naughty / Modest
evs: 188 HP / 240 SpA / 80 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>STAB Pursuit, a diverse movepool, and the stats to back it up make Tyranitar a premiere wallbreaker in ADV OU. This set abuses Tyranitar's special moves to assist in taking down more defensive teams while simultaneously threatening unprepared offensive teams as well. One of the major selling points of this set is its ability to effectively trap and kill Gengar with Pursuit. Gengar's only way to damage Tyranitar usually lies on Giga Drain and Will-O-Wisp, both of which this Tyranitar can brush off. With Gengar down, spinning becomes much easier and is why this set is more effective when paired with a Rapid Spinner.</p>
<p>Fire Blast wears down Skarmory, Forretress, and other Steel-types. With the threat and rising usage of Special Tyranitar, these Pokemon might be weary about staying in on Tyranitar. While this may limit the amount of kills you get with Tyranitar, keeping Spikers at bay is never a bad idea and allows you to more freely spam Rock Slide. Fire Blast may also be your strongest move in general at times. If the accuracy is a concern, Flamethrower can be used over Fire Blast. Hidden Power Grass allows Tyranitar to take down one of ADV's most heralded Pokemon in Swampert. It pairs up well with Fire Blast, providing a sense of offense vs opposing Tyranitar and other bulky waters. On more offensive teams, Hidden Power Grass Tyranitar is a great way to lure in opposing Swamperts and take them down. Rock Slide is generally more common in the last slot because of Tyranitar's phenomenal Attack and the ability to hit threats like Blissey, Zapdos, and Salamence. However, Ice Beam allows Tyranitar to keep its Special Defense by switching to a Modest nature, while giving it more Special Attack to play with. Ice Beam allows Tyranitar to take on Flygon, Zapdos, and Salamence while also providing a guaranteed OHKO on Dugtrio.</p>
<p>188 HP EVs allow Tyranitar to survive Dugtrio's Earthquake and gives Tyranitar bulk to successfully threaten defensive Pokemon who have decent attack. The Speed EVs outspeed 4 Spe Skarmory, allowing you to Fire Blast before they have a chance to use Spikes. The rest is placed into Special Attack to make sure Tyranitar finishes the job.</p>
---
This one's fine, it should be 3rd on the analysis
[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 massive Attack and a Speed stat hovering just above that of most bulky Water-types, Choice Band Tyranitar is very hard to switch into. 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 in the last moveslot to kill Celebi and heavily weakened Claydol.</p>
<p>As Choice Band Tyranitar can take out its typical counters with sheer power, its standard switch-ins need to be more wary in handling it. Prediction is key both in defeating and using this Tyranitar, as one wrong move could put either player in a bad situation.</p>
<p>The EV spread and nature are straightforward and enable this set to hit as hard and fast as possible. As this Tyranitar punishes switching so heavily with its immense power, Spikes can be a useful asset to your team.</p>
---
This one's fine, it should be last on the analysis:
[SET]
name: Physical 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; it is bulky and has the ability to readily switch in and deal huge amounts of damage on the switch. As long as Tyranitar avoids getting hit by status, it can switch in on Blissey and Normal-type moves fairly well. Once safely on the battlefield, choose to either set up a Substitute to ease prediction or Focus Punch right off the bat for immense damage. Using Focus Punch immediately against a foe such as Blissey is a good idea because you won't have to waste Tyranitar's precious HP on a Substitute.</p>
<p>The choice between Hidden Power Bug and Hidden Power Grass depends on what your team has greater issues with. If your team lacks Spikes or a way to threaten bulky Water-types, then Hidden Power Grass is the better option for dealing with Swampert. However, if Swampert is not a problem, Hidden Power Bug eliminates Celebi, who otherwise sets up on Tyranitar.</p>
<p>An Adamant nature boosts Attack without reducing Tyranitar's Speed, but reduces the power of Hidden Power. Brave is quite the opposite, as it reduces Tyranitar's Speed but maintains Hidden Power's strength. Ultimately, the choice comes down to how powerful you need Tyranitar's Hidden Power to be to cover specific opposing Pokemon.</p>
---
removed mention of moves that are on the special set, added boah with an explanation and resttalk
[Other Options]
<p>Curse is usually inferior to Dragon Dance, but such a variant should use a specially defensive EV spread to set up and become a mixed tank. Double-Edge is an option as a fourth move on the Dragon Dance set; it is stronger than STAB Rock Slide and will hit many threats, such as Flygon, Claydol, and Swampert, for heavy damage. Toxic and Thunder Wave are great all-purpose status-inducing moves, but Tyranitar is usually better off attacking; the former is, however, noteworthy for its ability to wear down many of Tyranitar's counters.</p>
<p>Classic sets like Tyraniboah and RestTalk are usable but not very effective in current ADV. Tyraniboah is a Substitute set with special attacks and Focus Punch, working similar to how the current Special set works but focusing more on killing Blissey and opposing Tyranitar. RestTalk gives Tyranitar some livability but doesn't output much damage.
---
some of this stuff didn't make much sense, i removed the already shaky counters from the boah set that was removed anyway and i was a bit nicer to claydol who isn't "dead weight" in adv because of its role as a levitating spinner. Celebi deserves a mention as well.
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Tyranitar's large movepool makes it 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 it has the disadvantage of having Leftovers recovery canceled in a sandstorm.</p>
<p>Flygon can handle the Dragon Dance set, but should watch out for Ice Beam. Claydol is bulkier, but must watch out for Hidden Power Bug. Similarly, Celebi can also threaten Tyranitar out if it lacks Hidden Power Bug. Dugtrio deserves a mention as it can trap Tyranitar, outspeed it even after a Dragon Dance, and swiftly OHKO it. This is a viable strategy to use if your team consists mostly of offensive Pokemon and you don't want to slow down the pace of the game, but be wary that Dugtrio cannot switch into Tyranitar at all.</p>