[OVERVIEW]
Despite numerous weaknesses to many top-tier threats, Tyranitar still stands out as one of the most versatile bulky offense Pokemon in the metagame. Being one of the only two sand setters in the format, Tyranitar faces a lot of competition from Hippowdon, which has superior bulk and typing that allow it to wall any physical attacker with ease. However, due to its Rock typing, Tyranitar gets a 50% Special Defense boost under sand, which can be helpful when playing supportive roles. Taking on a more offensive approach when using Tyranitar is where it really shines, though. Depending on its item, Tyranitar can play a variety of roles, including that of a sweeper, bulky Pursuit trapper, or just support. Its Mega Evolution not only increases its overall bulk but also boosts its Speed, which puts it in an important Speed tier after one boost. Thanks to sand also breaking potential Focus Sashes, Mega Tyranitar differentiates itself from other Dragon Dance sweepers such as Mega Salamence, Mega Charizard X, and Mega Gyarados. With its huge movepool and excellent stat distribution, Tyranitar can run both physical and special sets or even go mixed, with moves such as Fire Blast and Ice Beam letting it easily check some of the threats that would otherwise be troublesome such as Ferrothorn and Landorus-T. Tyranitar is a staple on stall teams due to its ability to get rid of Mega Gengar, a huge threat for stall teams because of Shadow Tag. It is also a must on sand teams, being one of the only two setters that can help Excadrill activate Sand Rush just by switching in. While Tyranitar's typing theoretically lets it handle Fire-, Flying-, and Ghost-types, some of these usually carry Fighting-type moves as coverage, and they can outspeed and OHKO Tyranitar. Tyranitar is also at the mercy of some of the most prominent Fighting-types seen in Battle Spot, such as Blaziken and Breloom. Tyranitar's Speed is also a letdown, as even when it has a Choice Scarf equipped, it fails to hit an important tier, further limiting its effectiveness against the threats that it's supposed to match up well against, such as Mega Gengar, Weavile, and Alakazam.
[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: Ice Punch
move 4: Crunch / Earthquake / Superpower
item: Tyranitarite
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Dragon Dance boosts Mega Tyranitar's Attack and Speed, which, coupled with its more-than-impressive bulk, turns it into a terrifying sweeper that can easily demolish teams. Stone Edge is the primary STAB move and will OHKO almost everything that is weak to it; it also has a nice critical hit chance, so it'll continue to be somewhat useful even if Tyranitar is burned. Rock Slide can be used instead, as the higher accuracy can prevent Mega Tyranitar from missing at crucial times, and the 30% chance to flinch is especially nice at +1 Speed. Rock Slide is better used with Crunch, since you won't be relying on the weaker option as Mega Tyranitar's only STAB move. Ice Punch gives Mega Tyranitar crucial coverage against Garchomp and Landorus-T, making Mega Tyranitar harder to revenge kill with their STAB Earthquake if it already has a boost under its belt. The last move depends on what Tyranitar wishes to hit, as there is no ideal move that will cover all other relevant threats in the metagame. Crunch is a secondary STAB option that is much more reliable than Stone Edge, boasting perfect accuracy and allowing Tyranitar to hit bulky Psychic-types that will otherwise wall it, namely Cresselia and Slowbro. Earthquake hits Steel-types such as Mega Mawile, Heatran, and Aegislash and it is particularly useful against the latter because Earthquake doesn't incur King's Shield's Attack drop, unlike Crunch. Superpower has a chance to OHKO Mega Kangaskhan and opposing Tyranitar prior to boosting while also giving Mega Tyranitar a reliable move to hit Mamoswine, Ferrothorn, and Hydreigon with. It also lets Mega Tyranitar breaks through defensive Normal-types if your team struggles to deal with them, like Porygon2 and Chansey.
Set Details
========
Maximum Speed investment with a Jolly nature is a must for Mega Tyranitar to hit an important tier at +1 Speed, outspeeding Mega Gengar. If reaching this benchmark isn't important for Mega Tyranitar, you may opt for an Adamant nature for more power, although it is generally not recommended. Attack should also be maxed to take full advantage of Dragon Dance, making Mega Tyranitar a very potent sweeper after just one boost. Tyranitarite is necessary for Tyranitar to Mega Evolve, providing it with a much-needed boost to its defenses and crucially increasing its Speed. Sand Stream should always be Tyranitar's first choice of ability, as it only increases its Special Defense by 50% upon the switch in and also breaks Focus Sash via residual damage.
Usage Tips
========
Mega Tyranitar requires a substantial amount of support and therefore should be kept until later stages and used as a late-game sweeper. Tyranitar can set up on Pokemon that can't do much to it such as Zapdos, Latios, and Raikou and Mega Evolve as soon as possible to make use of its increased bulk and much-needed new Speed tier. When trying to set up, it's not recommended to do so against Ground-types such as Garchomp despite having the bulk to survive an Earthquake, since Rough Skin damage can be fatal after all because Ice Punch is a contact move. Watch out for weaker super effective attacks such as Scald; most of the time, it's not worth the risk to stay in and try to use Dragon Dance and potentially get burned. The unreliability of Stone Edge can sometimes be the difference between a win and a loss; with that in mind, don't use it unless you have to. If you're running Crunch, bulky Steel-types such as Mega Mawile should be removed before bringing out Mega Tyranitar. Likewise, if Earthquake or Superpower is used, you should have teammates that can deal with bulky Psychic-types such as Cresselia and Slowbro. As both Garchomp and Landorus-T are popular Choice Scarf users, using Ice Punch to catch these on the switch before setting up may be an effective play.
Team Options
========
Like with most Tyranitar sets, Talonflame is a fantastic partner, being able to take out almost every Fighting-type easily with its priority Brave Bird. In return, Mega Tyranitar can get rid of annoying Electric-types that it struggles with such as Thundurus, Raikou, and Zapdos. Since Will-O-Wisp gives Mega Tyranitar an easier time to set up against physical attackers, Gengar and Rotom-W make decent teammates. The former can switch into predicted Fighting-type moves with ease, while the latter is able to freely switch into any Ground-types and burn them or just hit them with Hydro Pump. Mega Venusaur is a fantastic Mega Evolution to bring in matchups that may prove troublesome for Mega Tyranitar due to their fantastic synergy in general. Mega Tyranitar powers through offensive teams once it's set up, while Mega Venusaur has the means to take down bulkier teams with its Leech Seed and STAB moves that deal with Fairy-, Ground-, Water-types with ease. Dual screens users give Mega Tyranitar more opportunities to set up thanks to reduced damage; both Latios and Klefki are great options. Latios also has access to Memento to make Tyranitar even harder to take down if the foe decides to stay in, while Klefki can paralyze foes with its Prankster Thunder Wave. Suicune can set up on the defensive threats that Mega Tyranitar might have trouble breaking down such as Porygon2 and Mega Sableye (though Snarl will be somewhat annoying); in return, Mega Tyranitar gets rid of Electric-types for Suicune. Rotom-H is an effective Mega Mawile check and can help spread burns to increase Mega Tyranitar's chances at setting up, but do take note of the shared weakness to Water.
[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Pursuit / Stealth Rock
move 2: Rock Tomb / Stone Edge
move 3: Ice Punch
move 4: Superpower / Crunch / Earthquake
item: Lum Berry / Smooth Rock / Assault Vest / Chople Berry / Tyranitarite
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Pursuit allows Tyranitar to trap Mega Gengar and Latios, outright OHKOing both if they switch out, while also dealing heavy damage to threats that will most likely switch out anyway such as Talonflame and Volcarona. Stealth Rock may be used if you lack a setter, and offensive teams will always appreciate it being up. Rock Tomb is Tyranitar's primary STAB move; it will OHKO all foes that are 4x weak to it as well as offensive Thundurus most of the time. It also has a nice secondary effect of slowing down switch-ins, which can be important considering Tyranitar's low Speed. Stone Edge trades accuracy for more power, allowing Tyranitar to OHKO Mega Charizard X and defensive Rotom-H if these are important targets for your team. Ice Punch provides mandatory coverage against Ground-types, can OHKO Garchomp, has a chance to OHKO Mega Salamence, and deals heavy damage to other Ground-types like Landorus-T and Gliscor. Superpower is the best coverage move on this set, being able to OHKO opposing Tyranitar while hitting both Mega Kangaskhan and Ferrothorn hard, both of which can otherwise take this set on easily. Crunch allows Tyranitar to cleanly 2HKO non-Mega Slowbro and is a more reliable STAB move than Stone Edge thanks to its perfect accuracy. Crunch will also OHKO Mega Gengar without risking Pursuit if it stays in. Lastly, Earthquake is an option mainly to hit Steel-types such as Mega Mawile and Heatran. It also reliably hits Aegislash without risking the sharp Attack drop of King's Shield.
Set Details
========
Maximum investment in both Attack and Speed allows Tyranitar to hit as hard as possible without losing any power, OHKOing the likes of Garchomp and Mega Salamence with Ice Punch after sandstorm damage. An alternative spread of 60 HP / 60 Atk / 132 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe can be used, helping Tyranitar survive an Earthquake from Garchomp and Mamoswine while still being able to outspeed Garchomp and Mega Kangaskhan after a Rock Tomb and finishing them off Ice Punch or Superpower. Lum Berry is the ideal item for Tyranitar, as it is a status magnet, allowing it to avoid potential burns, paralysis, and sleep and potentially giving it a free Attack boost from Swagger if the foe decides to stay in. Lum Berry is also particularly useful against Mega Gengar, because it is known to be a common user of Will-O-Wisp and Hypnosis. Smooth Rock greatly helps Excadrill by extending the duration of sand, as it is less likely to get stalled out with eight turns. Assault Vest helps Tyranitar survive Focus Blast without the need to run a Careful nature, turning Tyranitar into a special tank in tandem with the boost from sand. Chople Berry lets Tyranitar take Mach Punch from Breloom, potentially knocking it out with a combination Ice Punch and sand damage. Lastly, if your team can afford to give up a Mega slot, Mega Tyranitar makes a fine trapper due to increased bulk and power.
Usage Tips
========
Tyranitar makes a decent lead to set up Stealth Rock or take out a common lead right off the bat, which Rock Tomb helps with greatly. Tyranitar has a good matchup against Garchomp, Thundurus, and Mega Kangaskhan when running Superpower. When not using Tyranitar as a lead, you can switch it in on a weakened Thundurus or Aegislash and eliminate them without having to worry about Thunder Wave or King's Shield. Rock Tomb is a great move to use when you need good damage against something that isn't weak to Pursuit without needing to guess whether or not they switch. By slowing down a switch-in, you can prevent threats such as Gyarados from setting up Dragon Dance safely and either force them to knock out Tyranitar or leave them easier revenge killed by a teammate. Tyranitar is also a very reliable switch-in to Mega Charizard Y and Volcarona for resetting weather and threatening to OHKO them in return. This Tyranitar set is great to have on dedicated stall teams for its ability to effectively deal with Mega Gengar, as stall teams will have sweepers and walls that easily get trapped and eliminated by it. Paralysis support, speed control via Tailwind, or Baton Pass can help Tyranitar Pursuit trap more efficiently without having to risk taking damage if the foe stays in.
Team Options
========
Being the best sand sweeper in the game, Excadrill is a great partner for any Tyranitar. With its Speed doubling in sand, it can even outspeed common Choice Scarf users such as Garchomp and Latios. Mega Salamence rounds off the core nicely, being able to switch into predicted Earthquakes with ease while also dealing with Fighting- and Grass-types such as Blaziken and Mega Venusaur. Alternatively, Mega Altaria is also nice to round out the sand core. Lastly, Talonflame can close out the game with Brave Bird much more easily when Electric-types and Steel-types are weakened or gone. Garchomp is a decent partner here, as Tyranitar gets rid of opposing Garchomp with Ice Punch and deals with Zapdos and Thundurus so that Garchomp can clean up. Serperior can provide paralysis support for Tyranitar, which is always appreciated on a slow Pokemon, while Tyranitar gets rid of Talonflame, a huge problem for Serperior. In addition, Serperior can threaten Ground-types such as Hippowdon and remove bulky Water-types such as Suicune and Rotom-W with ease. Due to their immunity to Ground-types and the ability to spread burns, Rotom-H and Rotom-W make decent teammates. As the opponent is less likely to expect Thunder Wave from these two, they make effective paralysis inducers, compensating for Tyranitar's low Speed. Naturally, Pokemon that enjoy the absence of Mega Gengar are greatly appreciated on the team. Mega Slowbro is one of the best examples, as Tyranitar helps it remove powerful special attackers such as Mega Gengar and Mega Charizard Y, as well as Electric-types, and Mega Slowbro can help Tyranitar deal with Fighting-types while setting up Calm Mind. Finally, Greninja makes a decent addition, being able to eliminate Ground- and Dragon-types more reliably than Tyranitar while offering great coverage and Speed to the team overall.
[SET]
name: Defensive Trapper
move 1: Pursuit
move 2: Rock Slide / Rock Tomb
move 3: Foul Play
move 4: Thunder Wave / Crunch / Stealth Rock
item: Lum Berry / Tyranitarite
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 44 Atk / 4 Def / 204 SpD / 4 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Pursuit is a necessary move for Tyranitar to function as a trapper, easily OHKOing Mega Gengar but also getting damage on the targets that are likely to switch out such as Talonflame and Volcarona. Rock Slide is the primary STAB move that is fairly accurate compared to Stone Edge and used to check Fire-types such as Mega Charizard Y, Talonflame, and Volcarona. Rock Tomb is an alternative that has better accuracy and can slow down switch-ins; while you should note that it fails to OHKO Thundurus, it is generally the better option when you're not running Thunder Wave. Foul Play prevents Tyranitar from being setup bait to certain physical attackers such as Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Salamence, is boosted by STAB, and has the benefit of not being affected by King's Shield. Thunder Wave further prevents Tyranitar from being setup bait, crippling nearly anything that is faster than Tyranitar. A combination of Thunder Wave and Rock Slide can be deadly if flinches stack. Crunch can also be used if you want a safer Dark-type STAB move for those Mega Gengar that decide to stay in as well as a reliable move to hit bulky Psychic-types such as Slowbro. If your team wants Stealth Rock support as well as a trapper in one slot, Stealth Rock can be used in the last slot.
Set Details
========
Maximum HP investment with 204 EVs in Special Defense and a Careful nature allows Tyranitar to survive any Focus Blast with ease, including Life Orb Thundurus's. Other common users of this move include Mega Gengar and Mega Charizard Y. 44 EVs are then allocated to Attack to give Tyranitar a chance to OHKO even some bulkier variants of Mega Gengar. The remaining EVs are allocated to Defense and Speed so that no points are wasted due to the EV mechanics at level 50. Lum Berry lets Tyranitar avoid status one time, which can be crucial against the threats it's meant to trap, since they are very likely to target Tyranitar with a status move such as Will-O-Wisp, Hypnosis, or Thunder Wave. Mega Tyranitar is also an option if you want greater bulk and damage output, although you won't be able to bring a different Mega Evolution, making this somewhat less appealing. Sand Stream gives Tyranitar the ability to set sand on the switch, effectively breaking all Focus Sashes on foes not immune to sand and making Excadrill a huge threat to offensive teams.
Usage Tips
========
Because this Tyranitar can reliably remove Mega Gengar, it should be used on stall teams that are particularly vulnerable to having their Pokemon trapped and eliminiated by it. Therefore, you would often be benching Tyranitar if there are few to no foes that may pose a threat to your defensive team or if you do not require a particular threat removed such as Thundurus, Talonflame, or Charizard. You may use Tyranitar as a lead to try and trap Mega Gengar from the get-go or just neuter something with Thunder Wave and work from there. Against unfavorable lead matchups such as Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Ferrothorn, due to lack of coverage and less Attack investment, you may directly switch out to a bulkier teammate so that you can save Tyranitar for trapping later on. As with most Tyranitar sets, prior paralysis support is greatly appreciated, as this allows it to run other moves such as Crunch and Stealth Rock and also lets it trap foes more safely in case they stay in.
Team Options
========
Mega Slowbro appreciates Mega Gengar and Thundurus gone and in return takes on most Fighting-types with ease. Chansey is often found on stall teams and is great to have, despite the duo's shared weakness to Fighting, since Tyranitar is able to remove or cripple the Ghost-types that threaten it, such as Mega Gengar and Aegislash. Gliscor makes a decent teammate and functions a decent status absorber for Tyranitar once Lum Berry is gone. Tyranitar can also help Gliscor get rid of pesky Taunt users including Talonflame, Thundurus, and Mega Gengar. Any Talonflame is good with Tyranitar; offensive ones appreciate Thunder Wave or Stealth Rock support to can clean up more easily, while specially defensive variants do well against defensive threats thanks to Taunt and Will-O-Wisp. With fantastic synergy and great overall bulk, Mega Venusaur makes a great teammate, being able to deal with Water-types while Tyranitar can come into Flying- and Psychic-types with ease. Skarmory appreciates Tyranitar's ability to deal with Electric- and Fire-types such as Raikou and Volcarona. Excadrill is Tyranitar's sand partner in crime, as it benefits greatly from Tyranitar's sand to take advantage of Sand Rush as soon as it comes in to threaten offensive teams.
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