[overview]
**Draft order**: Early round 1 onwards
**Price range**: 15-16 points
**Tera Price range**: 19-20 points
**Overview**: Boasting an elite speed stat, strong utility movepool, solid offensive capabilities, amazing ability in Regenerator, and solid typing, Tornadus-T is a very versatile and consistent Pokemon that can fit on nearly any draft or team structure and succeed. This pokemon is the best Tera Captain in the format, being able to utilize it to the highest degree to patch up its middling offences and circumvent common checks by swapping to a type that will check most foes in return. On the contrary, Tornadus-T has a few flaws in that it tends to rely on powerful yet inaccurate moves to increase its underwhelming initial strength and struggles with Stealth Rock so it prefers to tera as soon as possible so it can use more offensive items. Overall, Tornadus-T is a must-pick for the best mix of utility and power even with its problems.
Common Roles
========
**Set-up Sweeper**: Tornadus-T can use its strong mixed offensive movepool in conjunction with damage boosting items, Nasty Plot, and Bulk Up to break holes in teams or sweep games.
**Set-up Breaker**: Tornadus-T is an incredibly scary threat that will break through most teams with Hurricane boosted with Life Orb or Choice Specs. Tera Flying can push this to ridiculous levels as it will threaten even resisting foes.
**Utility Pivot**: Tornadus-T has an incredible utility movepool, using Knock Off, U-Turn, and Taunt, to disrupt the opponent and force progress. Tornadus-T will happily run Heavy-Duty Boots to avoid damage from Stealth Rocks or rock an Assault Vest to soft check plenty of specially offensive foes.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB moves**: Hurricane, Bleakwind Storm, Air Slash
**Setup moves**: Nasty Plot, Bulk Up, Agility
**Utility moves**: Knock Off, U-Turn, Taunt, Substitute
**Coverage**: Heat Wave, Focus Blast, Grass Knot, Sludge Bomb, Sludge Wave, Psychic, Dark Pulse, Icy Wind
Niche Moves
========
**Physical Moves**: Since Tornadus-T prefers to run specially offensive sets which are more difficult to check and force off the field, physical moves generally don't see as much use. Physical sets would include moves such as Acrobatics and Brick Break which work better against builds that lack physical walls or intimidate, in conjunction with Bulk Up, to put pressure on such teams.
**Tailwind**: Tailwind can be used to provide short-term speed control for your team. This functions well to enable slower breakers to clean up a game once Tornadus-T goes down or pivots out.
Common Items
========
**Heavy-Duty-Boots**: Tornadus-T can use Heavy-Duty-Boots to avoid taking damage from entry hazards to allow it additional longevity.
**Damage-boosting Items**: Tornadus-T can utilize Choice Specs or Life Orb on wall breaking and sweeping sets to supplement its damage output. Choice Specs is ideal when using Flying-type STAB against few resists, whilst Life Orb allows flexibility to set up or to switch moves.
**Assault Vest**: Assault Vest can further bolster Tornadus-T’s special bulk at little cost due to it’s wide movepool of attacks.
Niche Items
========
**Rocky Helmet**: Tornadus-T can equip a Rocky Helmet to punish contact moves it commonly absorbs such as U-Turn and Fighting attacks with little drawback due to Regenerator.
**Leftovers**: Tornadus-T can hold Leftovers to help increase longevity. This item is outclassed by Heavy-Duty-Boots, though in some circumstances, sets with Substitute and Nasty Plot will appreciate Leftovers more as to recover health without having to switch.
**Resistance Berries**: In certain matchups where you may require Tornadus-T to take a super-effective attack and have limited options for tera, these may be useful in a pinch.
**Weakness Policy**: In a similar vein to other Agility sweepers, Tornadus-T can occasionally take a super-effective hit with its solid bulk and allow Weakness Policy to activate alongside using Agility to guarantee next to nothing will be able to outspeed it.
Tera
========
Tornadus-T is the best tera captain and should always be chosen as one. It can use Tera Flying to boost its Flying-type STAB even further whilst providing itself accurate Flying STAB with Tera Blast. Tera Fairy, Ground, and Ghost are great choices providing a mix of defensive utility and offensive coverage. Tera Fighting and Fire can be used to deal with the Steel-types Tornadus-T can struggle with. Tornadus-T will also employ defensive typings such as Tera Water to become neutral to Stealth Rocks and swap its Ice-type weakness for a resistance, Tera Electric to deal with opposing Tornadus-T and other Flying-types, or Tera Dragon to better check threats with strong Electric- and Water-type STAB moves.
Draft Strategy
========
Tornadus-T will be the premier Pokemon on your draft with a plethora of tools to build around. This Pokemon will support the rest of your draft whilst standing well on its own, and is extremely flexible so it will fit on teams ranging from offence to balance.
**Entry Hazard Control**: Tornadus-T really appreciates entry hazards as it wants to click Flying-type STAB as often as possible, even against resisted foes. Tornadus-T is also excellent at knocking off Heavy-Duty-Boots or using Taunt to prevent Defog, which can enable hazard damage to stack up. Pokemon such as Iron Treads, Garchomp, and Ting-Lu can choose to set Stealth Rocks and/or Spikes. You also have Pokemon such as Gholdengo and Pecharunt who pair excellently with Tornadus-T to prevent removal, with a low tier option in Rotom-Base too. Furthermore, due to its Stealth Rock weakness, Tornadus-T is pressured to run Heavy-Duty-Boots. Pokemon such as Iron Treads and Tentacruel with access to Rapid Spin make great partners for Tornadus-T as they allow for item flexibility; Corviknight is an alternative removal option with access to Defog instead.
**Strong Physical Breakers**: Tornadus-T can consistently force Pokemon out and pivot with U-Turn providing momentum into strong breakers such as Palafin, Dragonite and Ogerpon-C. These Pokemon will output heavy physical damage to pressure Tornadus-T's checks and open up cleaning potential late-game.
**Defensive Pivots**: Tornadus-T can do lots of defensive work with Regenerator and great bulk, though can find itself overwhelmed if it must deal with waves of foes on its own, supplementing it with Galarian Slowking or Alomomola means it has less pressure to answer foes as often and can recuperate health more reliably. Tornadus-T also appreciates Ting-Lu and Iron Treads who can keep threatening Electric-types at bay whilst threatening them back with solid damage.
Checks and Counters
========
**Bulky Electrics**: With only Flying STAB and no Ground type coverage, Tornadus-T struggles to break bulkier Electric Pokemon without tera, meaning Pokemon such as Zapdos and Raging Bolt can give it a hard time.
**Bulky Walls**: Tornadus-T generally doesn't possess the power to break bulkier walls such as Ting-Lu and Galarian Slowking who can passively regain health and deal significant damage before it can do the same in return.
**Faster Attackers**: Although Tornadus-T has an elite speed stat, some threats such as Weavile and Iron Bundle can outspeed it and due to its middling bulk, threaten Tornadus-T off the field or force a tera.
**Stealth Rock**: Tornadus-T finds itself either pressured to Tera or run Heavy-Duty Boots due to Stealth Rock taking majority of Regenerator's effectiveness and hurting its longevity, especially in games where they may be few opportunities to remove them.
**Status**: Being hit with Toxic can really hurt Tornadus-T's time on the field as it will be forced out after some turns to recuperate health which will give foes more time to threaten its teammates. Thunder Wave can absolutely cripple Tornadus-T as it will no longer have the speed to pivot as often and can be KO'd by slower foes such as Landorus-T or Ogerpon-Cornerstone that wouldn't take advantage of it otherwise.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/jscurf.608304 (original)
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/flutterfliss.652897
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
Grammar checked by:
**Draft order**: Early round 1 onwards
**Price range**: 15-16 points
**Tera Price range**: 19-20 points
**Overview**: Boasting an elite speed stat, strong utility movepool, solid offensive capabilities, amazing ability in Regenerator, and solid typing, Tornadus-T is a very versatile and consistent Pokemon that can fit on nearly any draft or team structure and succeed. This pokemon is the best Tera Captain in the format, being able to utilize it to the highest degree to patch up its middling offences and circumvent common checks by swapping to a type that will check most foes in return. On the contrary, Tornadus-T has a few flaws in that it tends to rely on powerful yet inaccurate moves to increase its underwhelming initial strength and struggles with Stealth Rock so it prefers to tera as soon as possible so it can use more offensive items. Overall, Tornadus-T is a must-pick for the best mix of utility and power even with its problems.
Common Roles
========
**Set-up Sweeper**: Tornadus-T can use its strong mixed offensive movepool in conjunction with damage boosting items, Nasty Plot, and Bulk Up to break holes in teams or sweep games.
**Set-up Breaker**: Tornadus-T is an incredibly scary threat that will break through most teams with Hurricane boosted with Life Orb or Choice Specs. Tera Flying can push this to ridiculous levels as it will threaten even resisting foes.
**Utility Pivot**: Tornadus-T has an incredible utility movepool, using Knock Off, U-Turn, and Taunt, to disrupt the opponent and force progress. Tornadus-T will happily run Heavy-Duty Boots to avoid damage from Stealth Rocks or rock an Assault Vest to soft check plenty of specially offensive foes.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB moves**: Hurricane, Bleakwind Storm, Air Slash
**Setup moves**: Nasty Plot, Bulk Up, Agility
**Utility moves**: Knock Off, U-Turn, Taunt, Substitute
**Coverage**: Heat Wave, Focus Blast, Grass Knot, Sludge Bomb, Sludge Wave, Psychic, Dark Pulse, Icy Wind
Niche Moves
========
**Physical Moves**: Since Tornadus-T prefers to run specially offensive sets which are more difficult to check and force off the field, physical moves generally don't see as much use. Physical sets would include moves such as Acrobatics and Brick Break which work better against builds that lack physical walls or intimidate, in conjunction with Bulk Up, to put pressure on such teams.
**Tailwind**: Tailwind can be used to provide short-term speed control for your team. This functions well to enable slower breakers to clean up a game once Tornadus-T goes down or pivots out.
Common Items
========
**Heavy-Duty-Boots**: Tornadus-T can use Heavy-Duty-Boots to avoid taking damage from entry hazards to allow it additional longevity.
**Damage-boosting Items**: Tornadus-T can utilize Choice Specs or Life Orb on wall breaking and sweeping sets to supplement its damage output. Choice Specs is ideal when using Flying-type STAB against few resists, whilst Life Orb allows flexibility to set up or to switch moves.
**Assault Vest**: Assault Vest can further bolster Tornadus-T’s special bulk at little cost due to it’s wide movepool of attacks.
Niche Items
========
**Rocky Helmet**: Tornadus-T can equip a Rocky Helmet to punish contact moves it commonly absorbs such as U-Turn and Fighting attacks with little drawback due to Regenerator.
**Leftovers**: Tornadus-T can hold Leftovers to help increase longevity. This item is outclassed by Heavy-Duty-Boots, though in some circumstances, sets with Substitute and Nasty Plot will appreciate Leftovers more as to recover health without having to switch.
**Resistance Berries**: In certain matchups where you may require Tornadus-T to take a super-effective attack and have limited options for tera, these may be useful in a pinch.
**Weakness Policy**: In a similar vein to other Agility sweepers, Tornadus-T can occasionally take a super-effective hit with its solid bulk and allow Weakness Policy to activate alongside using Agility to guarantee next to nothing will be able to outspeed it.
Tera
========
Tornadus-T is the best tera captain and should always be chosen as one. It can use Tera Flying to boost its Flying-type STAB even further whilst providing itself accurate Flying STAB with Tera Blast. Tera Fairy, Ground, and Ghost are great choices providing a mix of defensive utility and offensive coverage. Tera Fighting and Fire can be used to deal with the Steel-types Tornadus-T can struggle with. Tornadus-T will also employ defensive typings such as Tera Water to become neutral to Stealth Rocks and swap its Ice-type weakness for a resistance, Tera Electric to deal with opposing Tornadus-T and other Flying-types, or Tera Dragon to better check threats with strong Electric- and Water-type STAB moves.
Draft Strategy
========
Tornadus-T will be the premier Pokemon on your draft with a plethora of tools to build around. This Pokemon will support the rest of your draft whilst standing well on its own, and is extremely flexible so it will fit on teams ranging from offence to balance.
**Entry Hazard Control**: Tornadus-T really appreciates entry hazards as it wants to click Flying-type STAB as often as possible, even against resisted foes. Tornadus-T is also excellent at knocking off Heavy-Duty-Boots or using Taunt to prevent Defog, which can enable hazard damage to stack up. Pokemon such as Iron Treads, Garchomp, and Ting-Lu can choose to set Stealth Rocks and/or Spikes. You also have Pokemon such as Gholdengo and Pecharunt who pair excellently with Tornadus-T to prevent removal, with a low tier option in Rotom-Base too. Furthermore, due to its Stealth Rock weakness, Tornadus-T is pressured to run Heavy-Duty-Boots. Pokemon such as Iron Treads and Tentacruel with access to Rapid Spin make great partners for Tornadus-T as they allow for item flexibility; Corviknight is an alternative removal option with access to Defog instead.
**Strong Physical Breakers**: Tornadus-T can consistently force Pokemon out and pivot with U-Turn providing momentum into strong breakers such as Palafin, Dragonite and Ogerpon-C. These Pokemon will output heavy physical damage to pressure Tornadus-T's checks and open up cleaning potential late-game.
**Defensive Pivots**: Tornadus-T can do lots of defensive work with Regenerator and great bulk, though can find itself overwhelmed if it must deal with waves of foes on its own, supplementing it with Galarian Slowking or Alomomola means it has less pressure to answer foes as often and can recuperate health more reliably. Tornadus-T also appreciates Ting-Lu and Iron Treads who can keep threatening Electric-types at bay whilst threatening them back with solid damage.
Checks and Counters
========
**Bulky Electrics**: With only Flying STAB and no Ground type coverage, Tornadus-T struggles to break bulkier Electric Pokemon without tera, meaning Pokemon such as Zapdos and Raging Bolt can give it a hard time.
**Bulky Walls**: Tornadus-T generally doesn't possess the power to break bulkier walls such as Ting-Lu and Galarian Slowking who can passively regain health and deal significant damage before it can do the same in return.
**Faster Attackers**: Although Tornadus-T has an elite speed stat, some threats such as Weavile and Iron Bundle can outspeed it and due to its middling bulk, threaten Tornadus-T off the field or force a tera.
**Stealth Rock**: Tornadus-T finds itself either pressured to Tera or run Heavy-Duty Boots due to Stealth Rock taking majority of Regenerator's effectiveness and hurting its longevity, especially in games where they may be few opportunities to remove them.
**Status**: Being hit with Toxic can really hurt Tornadus-T's time on the field as it will be forced out after some turns to recuperate health which will give foes more time to threaten its teammates. Thunder Wave can absolutely cripple Tornadus-T as it will no longer have the speed to pivot as often and can be KO'd by slower foes such as Landorus-T or Ogerpon-Cornerstone that wouldn't take advantage of it otherwise.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/jscurf.608304 (original)
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/flutterfliss.652897
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
Grammar checked by:
Last edited:
