Convulsions of Nature- Competitive Terrain Discussion

In 6th Gen, Gamefreak introduced a new yet underexplored mechanic into the game: Terrains.
Neither Weather nor Room, these new field affects- Grassy, Electric, and Misty- affected all pokemon coming in contact with the ground. However, without reliable starters and the fact that they ate up a move slot (and had no way of extending their effects, the moves were sadly lost and forgotten in competitive play.

That was until....




Enter Generation 7, and with it we got powerful setters for all 3 previous Terrains, and a sparkly brand new Terrain in the form of Psychic Terrain. Not only that, but the generation also came with the Terrain Extender and Seed items, allowing Terrains to see play outside of the Tapu Circle. All these elements mixed together creates a perfect storm for Terrain play to take over the meta.





ELECTRIC TERRAIN

Electric Terrain is a nice terrain for those that want to keep up momentum. As long as this terrain is on the field, all electric type moves receive a 1.5x damage multiplier for those pokemon touching the ground. In addition, pokemon touching the ground cannot be put to sleep.

Comboing this with Rain is a truly frightening combo. With rain active and a new Drizzle U-turner in Pelliper, Volt-Turn can be easily achieved through proper synergy. Firing off 100% accurate boosted Thunders are also enough to make even the toughest of walls stumble from blows that large. Under the cover of rain, Magnezones can fire out powerful attacks without minding fire types melting a hole in its core.

While its easy to see this combo with the Rain weather, Its pretty powerful by itself. Volt Turn users like Mega Amphaors, Mega Manectric, and Raikou all hit much harder while switching to safety. Pokemon that like to set up no longer need to worry about spore or Sleep Powder. Bulky Pokemon who rely on Rest suddenly find themselves in deep water. Any Pokemon holding the Electric Seed will automatically receive a +1 boost their Defense. Also, Alolan Raichu's already excellent speed stat skyrockets, becoming doubled while under the terrain's influence.

However, unlike the rest of the Terrains, finding a setter outside of Tapu Koko is going to be difficult. Electric types are infamously frail, and don't like taking hits too often unless their names are Zapdos or Rotom-W. In addition, while preventing sleep is great, there is another terrain we'll discuss later that does that and more. Possibly the most seldom seen without a Tapu Koko present.

Possible Setters: Tapu Koko, Magnezone, Heliolisk, Luxray, Raichu, A-Raichu, Electivire, Ampharos, Manectric, Togedemaru


GRASSY TERRAIN

Grassy Terrain is an odd one, but definitely not to be underestimated. Similar to its sibling above, Grassy Terrain gives everyone on the ground a 1.5 boost in Grass attacks. In addition, all pokemon on the field will recover 6% of their health at the end of each turn. It doesn't stop there though; Earthquake, Magnitude, and Bulldoze all have their attack power cut in half as long as the terrain stays active.

Probably one of the second best of the bunch, Grassy Terrain allows for many different type of playstyles. You can break through an opponent's team with Wood Hammers or Leaf Storms, or take advantage of the extra heals with Horn Leech and Giga Drain. Bulky grass types like Chesnaught, Gourgeist, and Amoongus all appreciate the passive healing they recieve from Grassy Terrain, healing 12% per turn with Leftovers/Black Sludge without factoring in Leech Seed or attacking drain moves. Sweepers like Celebi and Sceptile clean house much easier as well, having a little less to worry about their stat drops from Leaf Storm when they are hitting out moves with 210 Base Power. The Grassy seed item, just like the Electric Seed, gives the user +1 in defense as soon as they touch the ground. The current only Terrain ability for Grassy Terrain, Grassy Pelt, increases the defense of the user by +1 as long as terrain is active. Currently, on Gogoat learns this ability.

Once again, this is another terrain that combos with weather: Sun. Chlorophyll and Solar power users become even deadlier, with the regen of Grassy Terrain softening the tax from Solar Power's usage. Fire Types on Sun team also have a much easier time due to one of tier most common moves to be killed by, Earthquake, goes from a formidable 100 base power to a pretty unimpressive 50. This allows Fire Types to not be so intimidated by an incoming counter attack.

It is important to remember, however, that all terrain effects apply to both you and your opponent. if your opponent happens to have a pokemon you cant get over, they will get increased health every turn, making them harder to hit. In addition, Grassy terrain discourages the use of Earthquake, meaning if you are dependent on it, you will be losing out on quite a big attack for coverage.

Possible Starers: Tapu Bulu, Venusaur, Vileplume, Bellossom, Exeggutor, Tangela, Tangrowth, Meganium, Jumpluff, Sunflora, Sceptile, Shiftry, Torterra, Roserade, Serperior, Maractus, Florges, Comfey, Floette-E


MISTY TERRAIN

Misty Terrain happens to be the most passive and defensive of all the terrains thus far. Instead of an attack buff for Fairy attacks, this terrain lowers the damage of all Dragon type attacks by 1/2. In addition, pokemon cannot be affected by status conditions. As of generation 7, this includes confusion.

Ironically enough, despite being the most passive of the terrains, its very suited for agressive play and pokemon tha require set up moves, like Bulk Up, Automatize, Dragon Dance, and Sword Dance. Without the need to fear of Status move, Pokemon that would usually carry a Lum Berry, like Tyrantrum or Haxorus, can run other items instead. Draco Meteors become heavily neutered, giving pokemon a chance to stand up to threats like Latios's or Hydreigon's Draco Meteors. Consider pairing this terrain with Moxie abusers like Krookidile and Heracross to create huge holes in your opponents team uncontested. Also, the new Misty Seed item gives the user a+1 Special Defense boost when it comes into contact with this terrain. Consider this if you want more bulk for your buck.

The downside to this terrains the double edged sword it providers. Your opponent is also protected by this terrain, so status moves like Will-o-wisp and Thunder wave have to be used extremely carefully or not at all. This also discourages the use of Dragons on your own team, Which are typically very powerful wallbreakers that may be sorely missed when teambuilding.

Possible Starters: Tapu Fini, Clefable, Wigglytuff, Mr.Mime, Togetic, Togekiss, Gardevoir, Gallade, Mawile, Audino, Florges, Meowstic, Aromatisse, Sylveon, Xerneas, Primarina, Floette-E, Pikachu (Hoenn and Sinnoh Caps)


PSYCHIC TERRAIN


The final and newest of the terrains, Psychic Terrain has caused quite the buzz here in competitive talk. wielded by a whopping 5 Pokemon in the entire game, Psychic terrain boosts all Psychic attacks by 1.5x. In addition, those affected by psychic Terrain cannot be hit by priority attacks.

Oh boy, this one is pretty scary. The damage boost by itself was great on its own, but negating priority is like every Scarf'd Pokemon's dream come true. Speedy Psychic types are not uncommon at all, big offenders being Mewtwo and his Mega evolutions, Mega Gallade, Mega Alakazam, and even Classic Starmie. Without fear of Sucker Punch, the pokemon would have free reign to wreak havoc all over the place. This also comes in the same generation as the overall change to how Mega Evolution priority works, meaning Alakazam can mega evolve and reach its 150 base speed without needing to stall a turn with Protect. One of Bisharp's greatest tools in powerful Sucker Punches suddenly vanishes in an instant, leaving it high and dry against many threats it used to dispatch with ease. Even pokemon who aren't psychic like Mega Diancie and Gengar can benefit nicely from not getting their day ruined from a Sucker or Bullet Punch. Mega Sharpedo was blessed with Psychic Fangs in the same generation, so you can fire out a Strong Jaw Terrain Boosted Psychic Fang while never worrying about Mach punches ever again. The new possibilities for this terrain are extremely wide and vast, so I'll try to end it off the pokemo discussion here. Like Misty Seed, the Psychic Seed gives the user a +1 Sp.D buff when in contact with the terrain. Try it on a pokemon that youd usually put an assault vest on for more flexibility in your movesets.

Psychic Terrain falls under the same flaw all the other terrains do: your opponent benefits from the buff as well as long as they are in contact with the floor. This means priority attacks should rarely be considered when building a team around this terrain. But with so many speedy options at your disposal, that is actually a non issue. the REAL weakness of Psychic Terrain is its scarcity. Outside of Tapu Lele, there are only 4 other pokemon in the entire game that can activate this wonderful terrain, and one of them requires a Z crystal. Should Tapu Lele be banned to Ubers, the terrain might disappear from competitive all together. Maybe in future games it will be a tutor move, but only time will tell...

Possible Starters: Tapu Lele, Musharna, Beheeyem Oranguru, Mew (through Genesis Supernova)


IN CONCLUSION

Terrains overall got a big expansion pack this generation, and witht he Tapus on the rise are more viable than ever before. Mixing these in with Mechanics like Weather or Rooms ad another layer of strategy that everyone should be wary of. Many pokemon once thought underwhelming can suddenly become a force of nature under a terrain's influence. It would be wise to give these terrains a real in depth look over before digging into the the gen 7 metagame before you are flipped upside down by the Leavanny suddenly sweeping up teams.

What are your thoughts on terrain? Do you have any sets in mind? Is it a simple gimmick or a big game changer? Post your thoughts down below!​
 
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Should Tapu Lele be banned to Ubers, the terrain might disappear from competitive all together.​
Literally how. You just listed there are four pokemon with Psychic Terrain, not one. That's not even counting Smeargle.

Also, Ubers IS a tier, lol, so...?
 
Literally how. You just listed there are four pokemon with Psychic Terrain, not one. That's not even counting Smeargle.

Also, Ubers IS a tier, lol, so...?
Well its part of the reason Terrains weren't used before: they take up a move slot. Even if you used terrain extender, all the current users baring Mew are noticeably slow, meaning they could easily die before getting it off. The 2nd best user, Mew, means it would have to use your Once Per Battle Z move on a terrain you can't extend past the 5 turn standard.

Plus none of the pokemon who learn it naturally can really take advantage of the priority immunity because they are so danged slow XD
 
Well its part of the reason Terrains weren't used before: they take up a move slot. Even if you used terrain extender, all the current users baring Mew are noticeably slow, meaning they could easily die before getting it off. The 2nd best user, Mew, means it would have to use your Once Per Battle Z move on a terrain you can't extend past the 5 turn standard.

Plus none of the pokemon who learn it naturally can really take advantage of the priority immunity because they are so danged slow XD
Those are good points, but Psychic Terrain is looking so useful on Beeheyem and Musharna especially that I don't see why Psychic Terrain would "disappear" if Tapu Lele was banned. It's true fitting Psychic Terrain on a moveset for Musharna or Beeheyem is looking actually kinda complicated, but it's not impossible by any means, and it's worth it for Psychic Terrain especially more so than Misty Terrain etc. I don't know about Oranguru but I think it'd use Psychic Terrain on at least some sets too.

And Trick Room teams are all about speed control; they'd appreciate no status, too. ;)


There are sets I'm already considering when it comes to terrain teams! I'm really glad two really gnarly pokemon, including one of my all-time favorites Musharna, got Psychic Terrain.

Here's my tentative Musharna set:


Daisy (Musharna) @ Mental Herb
Ability: Telepathy
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SpD
Bold Nature
- Psychic
- Signal Beam
- Psychic Terrain
- Protect/Trick Room

Musharna unfortunately has to sacrifice a bit to accommodate Psychic Terrain, surprisingly. Telepathy I chose over Synchronize because I run a lot of Earthquake/Surf on my teams. Mental Herb I decided was more valuable than Terrain Extender since Musharna's often Taunted as is and will only be Taunted more so once Psychic Terrain becomes popular. In Doubles, you accomplish way more in five turns than you do in singles, so the extender is not absolutely necessary anyway.

Psychic is terrain-boosted STAB so Musharna has some offensive presence as needed, although this set is intended to set up Psychic Terrain and maybe Trick Room if you have it and then die. Signal Beam I decided was crucial coverage because otherwise Musharna gets absolutely walled by Dark types. Musharna still struggles against Steel types, however.

In doubles, Musharna's also particularly exposed to Knock Offs as well as Taunts and Encores, which it can scout for with Protect. Trick Room could replace Protect here, if you wanted to fit this set on a Trick Room team. Trick Room also gives Musharna some versatility, allowing Musharna to pull the rug from under fast sweepers.

EVs are split evenly defensive because Musharna is doubly exposed to physical and special attackers on the field simultaneously in doubles. Bold to maybe survive Knock Offs lol

Also, here's a Misty Terrain set, although I can't vouch that it's good:


Jeanette (Clefable) @ Mental Herb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Moonblast
- Flamethrower
- Misty Terrain
- Moonlight

I chose the EVs to give Clefable more of an offensive edge. Unlike the Musharna set above, I built this set to have longevity; the idea being Clefable staying on the field for long periods of time and repeatedly setting up Misty Terrains. Magic Guard really does wonders for Clefable's longevity, blocking residual damage (often one of the two largest downfalls of walls). Moonlight gives Clefable reliable recovery it can abuse given its considerable bulk. Mental Herb I once again chose because Taunt is very prevalent in doubles, and Terrain Extender isn't crucial.

I intend this Clefable to set up Misty Terrain for its very offensive allies, protecting them from status as they sweep. Moonblast is STAB, which shouldn't be OHKOing anything but ideally will do large chunks that put pressure on the opponent. Hopefully, Clefable will often be helping its ally pokemon finish the KO on an enemy within the same turn. Flamethrower gives Clefable decent coverage, including neutral damage on Poison types and super effective damage on Steel types; only Fire types resist this set entirely.


Also, in lower tiers, I think Misty Terrain could help A-Exeggutor Harvest-Sitrus defensive sets! Maybe, Misty Terrain teams could even run Choice Specs Sludge Bomb Dragalge as a fairy killer
 
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For lower tiers, Musharna is a very viable choice to set Psychic terrain given its excellent natural bulk. Nothing but Tapu-Lele should be considered for the higher tiers unless it is deemed too OP.
 
I really dig the love the Terrain moves are getting. Between the island deities as automatic setters, terrain extender, and terrain seeds, they will be fun to experiment with!

One team combo I'm interested in, is a lead of Oranguru + any of the deities. The idea is for the deity to activate their respective terrain seed right away while Oranguru passes its item to its partner with its Symbiosis ability. This should give you an early advantage before the battle actually starts, unless you're still met with unfavorable lead match-ups.

There's a good number of items that can be used to take advantage. Life Orb can be passed for more damage output, the seed boost can help offset the life loss per attack. Assault Vest can be passed to combine the electric or grassy seed's defense boost & turn Tapu Koko or Tapu Bulu into durable tanks.
 
Well, Thought I should give some examples of Megas under Terrain influence, here we are:


Mega Sharpedo
Ability: Strong Jaw
252 ATK/ 252 Spe / 4 HP
Adamant/ Jolly Nature
Waterfall
Crunch/Psychic Fangs
Protect
Ice Fang

Under the cover of Psychic Terrain, Sharpedo and his new toy of Psychic Fangs are allowed to knash through pokemon like butter. Once Terrain is set up and Sharpeo gains a speed boost, You can attack with Double STAB Psychic Fangs on foes like Conkledurr or Machamp, pokemon that used to be sure switch ins, downright vanish without a trace. No need to fear Vacuum Wave or Mach Punch, and with a speed boost or 2, very few pokemon outside of Scarfs can actually keep up with Sharpedo's speed. Ice Fang is still needed to deal with Salamence and Landorus. Crunch is steal as good as it always was, but can be swapped with Psychic Fangs for Bonus damage. Waterfalls is to hit what the other two moves do now.
 
I really dig the love the Terrain moves are getting. Between the island deities as automatic setters, terrain extender, and terrain seeds, they will be fun to experiment with!

One team combo I'm interested in, is a lead of Oranguru + any of the deities. The idea is for the deity to activate their respective terrain seed right away while Oranguru passes its item to its partner with its Symbiosis ability. This should give you an early advantage before the battle actually starts, unless you're still met with unfavorable lead match-ups.

There's a good number of items that can be used to take advantage. Life Orb can be passed for more damage output, the seed boost can help offset the life loss per attack. Assault Vest can be passed to combine the electric or grassy seed's defense boost & turn Tapu Koko or Tapu Bulu into durable tanks.
You may have chosen Oranguru specifically for Instruct or something else, but I'll add that Symbiosis Florges might be a good partner for Tapu Bulu and Tapu Fini especially given that Florges can set up Misty or Grassy Terrain again if the opponent also leads with a diety
 
I could see Grassy Terrain (or rather, Tapu Bulu) being used for teams that need some way to deal with sand, boosting the damage of moves of a type most of the sand-reliant Pokemon are weak to, as well as reducing the damage of the most significant move they have.
 
Is it possible for terrain to overlap with weather? Auto-Electric or Psychic Terrain combined with auto-rain appears to be quite beastly, now that Pelipper has received Drizzle and a boost in Special Attack.

Tapu Bulu could work well with Torkoal to deal with Ground and Rock-types better, which would also make a great combination.

Kapu-Tetefu for Ruler of Alola OU and possibly VGC 2017
 
Is it possible for terrain to overlap with weather? Auto-Electric or Psychic Terrain combined with auto-rain appears to be quite beastly, now that Pelipper has received Drizzle and a boost in Special Attack.

Tapu Bulu could work well with Torkoal to deal with Ground and Rock-types better, which would also make a great combination.

Kapu-Tetefu for Ruler of Alola OU and possibly VGC 2017
Weathers, Terrains and Rooms don't override each other, so you can even have all three if you desire :P
 
I actually mentioned such combos in the article above. its what makes Pelliper/Tapu Koko so frightening.

Tapu Bulu and Sun also work; Fire types get breathing room from enemy earthquakes, grass types with chlorophyll and Solar Power hit even harder, And the new Solar Blade and Solarbeam both become Z-Move levels of power.
 
Under Psychic terrain, Mega Gardevoir is going to have a second nuke in its Psyshock. It also gets its Mega speed stat on the first turn now, on top of being immune to priority while Psychic terrain is active.

+1 252 SpA Mega Gardevoir Psyshock vs. 4 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 310-366 (48.2 - 57%) -- 91% chance to 2HKO

The ultimate wallbreaker just got scarier.
 
This was clearly the "nerf priority" generation with Gale Wings getting clipped, Psychic Terrain, and multiple priority blocking abilities being introduced.

Trick Room and Psychic Terrain may be an interesting combo too because priority can be a bother to Trick Room sweepers and Psychic types tend to fit naturally as TR setters.
 
Well, Thought I should give some examples of Megas under Terrain influence, here we are:


Mega Sharpedo
Ability: Strong Jaw
252 ATK/ 252 Spe / 4 HP
Adamant/ Jolly Nature
Waterfall
Crunch/Psychic Fangs
Protect
Ice Fang

Under the cover of Psychic Terrain, Sharpedo and his new toy of Psychic Fangs are allowed to knash through pokemon like butter. Once Terrain is set up and Sharpeo gains a speed boost, You can attack with Double STAB Psychic Fangs on foes like Conkledurr or Machamp, pokemon that used to be sure switch ins, downright vanish without a trace. No need to fear Vacuum Wave or Mach Punch, and with a speed boost or 2, very few pokemon outside of Scarfs can actually keep up with Sharpedo's speed. Ice Fang is still needed to deal with Salamence and Landorus. Crunch is steal as good as it always was, but can be swapped with Psychic Fangs for Bonus damage. Waterfalls is to hit what the other two moves do now.
You don't eve need Ice Fang. Naughty Nature (or whatever the +Atk -somedefense nature is) max attack with Psychic Fangs/Waterfall [PLEASE GET LIQUIDATION]/Crunch is actually better. A little chip damage means you still bust Lando-T and Garchomp wide open.
 
This was clearly the "nerf priority" generation with Gale Wings getting clipped, Psychic Terrain, and multiple priority blocking abilities being introduced.

Trick Room and Psychic Terrain may be an interesting combo too because priority can be a bother to Trick Room sweepers and Psychic types tend to fit naturally as TR setters.
Pretty much. Not sure how useful Dazzle / Queen's Majesty will currently be, considering that both mons that have access to both abilities are not very fast at all. TR is still unfortunately short lived due to it only lasting 5(4) turns. It's dumb that the turn you set TR, it "counts" as 1/5. Would be nice if TR lasted actual 5 turns as apposed to 4. A Trick Extender would be brilliant, though I'm sure that's a little too good for this gen. An instant TR setter would massively change the meta, rendering fast, hard hitting, but frail Pokes pretty obsolete.

TR + Psychic Terrain is a pretty sick strategy. It can be a hassle to set and maintain both active though. But man, it can make really slow but deadly mons wreck havoc without having to worry about priority.
 
Pretty excited to try out some grassy terrain teams. Sun is my favorite weather to play and it seems to compliment it perfectly.
 
You don't eve need Ice Fang. Naughty Nature (or whatever the +Atk -somedefense nature is) max attack with Psychic Fangs/Waterfall [PLEASE GET LIQUIDATION]/Crunch is actually better. A little chip damage means you still bust Lando-T and Garchomp wide open.
I'd actual still prefer waterfall on mega shark rather than liquidation. You give up 5 base power but the flinch chance is more important to a speedy frail mon than a defense drop, considering you may not survive your opponents next attack.
 
Mega shark will be decent at best. By the time you've switched in (no small feat given base Sharpedo's paltry bulk) and protected to get the speed boost, only two turns of Psychic Terrain will remain. Unless of course you've used Lele's item slot on Terrain Extender.

I'm really digging the possibility of a Pelipper / Mega Swampert / Tapu Koko rain Terrain core. Pelipper sets Rain and has STAB Hurricane to deal with bulky grasses while Swampert boasts great bulk, speed, power, and a resistance to Electric and Rock that plague Pelipper. Finally, Koko has incredible speed and a STAB Thunder under rain, not to mention Volt-Turn utility for bringing either of the other two in safely.
 
I have a question :

Let's say a Pokemon is already asleep.
I switch for Tapu Koko, then I re-switch for that asleep pokemon.

Does it wake up ?
 
When Bank drops i'm seeing Tapu Koko forming an effective Volt Turn core with Pelipper and Tornadus-T. Personally thinking of slapping the MegaMan/Lando-T core in as well, MegaMan firing off Thunders under Electric Terrain is the stuff of nightmares.

The big issue is that Pelliper and Koko will probably need to carry their Weather/Terrain extension items to be any good given how long it would take even VoltTurn to get into whatever power play you want to use, But i can definitely see Rain+ Electric Terrain being the Volt Turn team style of choice. What Volt Turn users DON'T Benefit from those?

In general Terrains and weather just work so well together that i'm really looking forward to their resurgence. Terrains always had potential and the Tapus are finally delivering.
 

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