Landorus-T [QC 2/3]

[airfare]

[Overview]

Landorus-T has cemented itself as a mainstay in OU due to its incredible typing, ability, stats, and movepool making it a staple on many teams. As the best Ground-type in the tier, it very often occupies teams' mandatory Ground-type slot. The combination of its solid defensive typing and ability let it serve as a blanket check to many offensive threats in the tier - but it is exceptionally good at dealing with Electric- and Ground-types, including Tapu Koko, Zeraora, and Garchomp. Intimidate lets it switch into physical attackers with little risk, lowering their Attack and giving a teammate easier entry while making it one of the best pivots in the tier in tandem with U-turn. Intimidate also helps it gain the flexibility of being able to run both specially and physically defensive investment, letting it customize itself to check either special attackers like Dragapult and Heatran or physical ones like Zeraora and Garchomp much better. Its utility movepool is also amazing, letting it act as the tier's best Defogger by switching into most of the Stealth Rock setters in the tier - notably including specially defensive Heatran, which other Defogging options like Corviknight and Tornadus-T cannot contest. Alternatively, it can set Stealth Rock itself, using Intimidate and its typing to switch in safely while its U-turn lets it pivot out of Defoggers and into threatening teammates. Aside from removing and setting entry hazards, Landorus-T has access to a great utility movepool, letting it remove Leftovers or Rocky Helmet from Corviknight and Ferrothorn with Knock Off, making its pivoting job easier while supporting teammates like Urshifu-R and Weavile. It can also chip away at common switch-ins like other Landorus-T and Tornadus-T with Toxic. Unfortunately, Landorus-T still comes with its own share of flaws. Due to its lack of reliable recovery, it can be very easily worn down by repeated hits like Tapu Koko's Dazzling Gleam or Heatran's Magma Storm. It's also crippled extremely easily by Knock Off from other Landorus-T or Zeraora, especially when pivoting in with Stealth Rock damage. Garchomp offers competition as another Ground-type defensive option, but Landorus-T often proves itself as a more consistent option thanks to Intimidate, U-turn, and ability to check Electric-types much better over time.

[SET]
name: Defensive Pivot
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: U-turn
move 3: Toxic / Knock Off
move 4: Defog / Stealth Rock
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
ivs: 23 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Special Defense investment lets Landorus-T become an extremely flexible defensive pivot capable of handling threats like Tapu Koko and Heatran easily if its health is managed well. It can also, optionally, run Defense investment instead to better check Garchomp, Zeraora, and Kartana. After switching into an offensive threat like Heatran or Zeraora, U-turn lets Landorus-T give valuable support to its teammates by pivoting on forced switches from Corviknight or other Landorus-T. Its ability Intimidate and its defensive typing give it frequent entry, letting it make use of U-turn throughout the duration of a game. While Toxic is useful to cripple opposing Landorus-T, Hippowdon, Buzzwole, and Tornadus-T, Knock Off can be used for a similar purpose in providing an easy way to force progress against Tornadus-T and opposing Landorus-T. Landorus-T is one of the best Defoggers in the tier, mainly because of its ability to switch into specially defensive Stealth Rock Heatran, as well as most other Stealth Rock users, with little risk. It can also choose to set Stealth Rock itself, especially useful against more offensive teams lacking a Corviknight that would otherwise shut it down. The EV spread maximizes Special Defense while making Landorus-T faster than Adamant Crawdaunt, as well as letting it U-turn slower than most other Landorus-T variants and capitalizing off of the gained momentum. However, optional speed benchmarks can be utilized depending on its teammates and the importance of it checking different offensive threats; it can often aim to outspeed Modest Heatran, for example. Because of the constant defensive strain on Landorus-T in checking multiple threats per team, its health should be preserved as much as possible. Common Pokemon like Zeraora, Tapu Koko, and Heatran can easily chip down Landorus-T if pivoted in predictably and carelessly.

Pivot Landorus-T is a staple of bulky offense thanks to its ability to generate momentum alongside wallbreaking teammates like Galarian Zapdos, Weavile, and Heatran after U-turning out of Ground-, Flying-, and Steel-type switch-ins. Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Heatran, and Corviknight can help patch up its weakness to Weavile while offering their own support in entry hazards or Future Sight. Ferrothorn specifically often forms a potent hazard stacking core while being a decent Water-resist against Tapu Fini and Slowking and handling Ice-types reasonably well. Landorus-T is often seen paired with other Flying-types, like Corviknight and Tornadus-T, that help manage pressure from Kartana and Rillaboom in exchange for handling Zeraora and Tapu Koko. Water-types like Slowbro and Tapu Fini round out common defensive cores on bulky offense teams by adding insurance against Weavile, Urshifu-R, and Heatran. Stealth Rock-weak wallbreakers like Choice Specs Blacephalon and Choice Band Weavile benefit from Landorus-T's ability to Defog on nearly every Stealth Rock user, and its U-turn creating ample wallbreaking opportunities for them.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====

Landorus-T can run a variety of moves to surprise an opponent on its defensive set. Explosion provides a powerful last resort against bulky Pokemon like Calm Mind Clefable, and can lure and heavily chunk other Landorus-T for an Electric-type teammate in the back. Imprison is a more gimmicky option, but can replace Earthquake to turn it into a completely entry hazard-focused pivot, using Imprison to prevent an opponent's Stealth Rock while keeping its own up, and guaranteeing a slow U-turn against other Landorus-T and Corviknight. It's most often used alongside extremely Stealth Rock-vulnerable wallbreakers like Choice Band Weavile and Choice Specs Zapdos as a way to somewhat guarantee that Stealth Rock stays off the field. Landorus-T also has a few different offensive variants utilizing Swords Dance to wallbreak or keep its Stealth Rock up. It often runs a lead set on offensive teams, with the aim to set up Stealth Rock and KO something with Explosion, giving its offensive teammates more opportunities. This set commonly runs Normal Gem to guarantee an OHKO or heavy chip on Corviknight or Skarmory with its Explosion, but Focus Sash can alternatively be used as a safer way to ensure Stealth Rock. Notably, Focus Sash Landorus-T falters against the two major users of multi-hit moves in Urshifu-R and Weavile, which outspeed and OHKO it. Alternatively, Landorus-T can adopt wallbreaking sets using Swords Dance or Bulk Up, sometimes using Substitute to create setup opportunities and wallbreak and often using a combination of coverage in Stone Edge, Knock Off, or even Superpower to snipe specific targets. Choice Scarf and Choice Band can also be used to give Landorus-T more of a niche pivoting role with U-turn while acting as an unpredictable revenge killer or wallbreaking threat respectively.

Checks and Counters
====

**Corviknight**: Corviknight keeps Pivot Landorus-T's Stealth Rock off the field permanently with its Pressure and defensive typing, and can also generate momentum with its slower U-turn.

**Physically Defensive Walls**: Offensive Landorus-T sets struggle against Buzzwole, and Slowbro, which can switch in and beat it courtesy of their solid defensive typing and Defense stat. However, Toxic can make them more vulnerable to physically attacking partners like Weavile and Urshifu-R.

**Water- and Ice-types and coverage**: Urshifu-R and Weavile, if pivoted in safely, outspeed and OHKO most Landorus-T variants. Slowbro and Buzzwole can counter Landorus-T and threaten it with Scald or Ice Punch respectively. Tyranitar and Galarian Slowking, which Landorus-T can often switch into, can snipe it with super effective coverage in Ice Punch and Ice Beam or Scald respectively.

**Residual Damage**: Knock Off and Toxic from Landorus-T, Zeraora, and Heatran are extremely effective at whittling down Landorus-T, but can be circumvented with skillful and purposeful pivoting. This is especially noticeable when facing a Stealth Rock Heatran or Landorus-T that can keep Stealth Rock up reliably and force more damage on it. Avoiding a scripted Knock Off or Toxic from any of these Pokemon by strategically switching into and out of Landorus-T's teammates can help slow its inevitable demise.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[airfare, 513717]]
- Quality checked by: [[ausma, 360720], [Clone, 218318], [username3, userid3]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

 

[wind]

It has been a long time, hasnt it?
Comments in blue

literally a cloud

[Overview]

Landorus-T has cemented itself as a mainstay in OU due to its incredible typing, ability, stats, and movepool, and its versatility in running both defensive and offensive sets makes it a staple of bulky offense Not only bulky offense, a lot of teams overall (See: VoltTurn, HO, etc) teams. The combination of its solid defensive typing and ability let it serve as a blanket check to almost every offensive threat in the tier Yeah, no. The reason of why Landorus-T started running Specially Defensive sets was because it couldnt check main physical attackers at the moment - Weavile and Shifu-R - and other reasons ofc, so i think this can be worded a bit better - but it is exceptionally good at dealing with Electric- and Ground-types, including Tapu Koko, Zeraora, and Garchomp. It has the flexibility of being able to run both specially and physically defensive investment I think you could mention something about its great defensive stats all around here since you talk about every single characteristic in detail after naming them in the overview, which lets it customize itself to check either special attackers like Dragapult and Heatran or physical ones like Zeraora and Garchomp much better. Intimidate lets it switch into physical attackers like Dragonite, Rillaboom, and Scizor with little risk, lowering their Attack and giving a teammate easier entry while making it one of the best pivots in the tier in tandem with U-turn. Its utility movepool is also amazing, letting it act as the tier's best Defogger by switching into every Stealth Rock setter in the tier - most notably Heatran. Alternatively, it can set Stealth Rock itself, using Intimidate and its typing to switch in safely while its U-turn lets it pivot out of Defoggers and into threatening teammates. This sentences can be switched around as i think Stealth Rock is more important overall, though its ok as it is. Aside from removing and setting entry hazards, Landorus-T has access to a great utility movepool with both Knock Off and Toxic, letting it chip away at common switch-ins like other Landorus-T and Tornadus-T. It can also run offensive sets with Swords Dance, using the same defensive factors mentioned beforehand to create setup opportunities and beat down teams with its unresisted coverage. Unfortunately, Landorus-T still comes with its own share of flaws. Due to its lack of reliable recovery, it can be very easily worn down by repeated hits like Tapu Koko's Dazzling Gleam 252 SpA Tapu Koko Dazzling Gleam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Landorus-Therian: 88-105 (23 - 27.4%) -- 62.1% chance to 4HKO or Heatran's Magma Storm. It's also crippled extremely easily by Knock Off from other Landorus-T or Zeraora, especially when pivoting in with Stealth Rock damage With the calc above what im trying to say is that Dazzling Gleam chip damage is usually not enough to wear down Landorus-T, at it takes 24% from it and then recovers a bit while Koko switches out, and maybe then gain a bit more, idk. This is related to this point as i think it could be great to emphasize that these attacks hurt a lot more after a Knock Off so these sentences can be switched (or maybe even merged into one). Garchomp offers competition as another Ground-type defensive option, but Landorus-T often proves itself as a more consistent option thanks to Intimidate, U-turn, and ability to check Electric-types much better over time Anything about Flying typing? This can be huge because if you use Chomp instead of Lando-t it means that you need a Flying-type in the next slot, so Lando-T can compress roles better overall. I think the "ability to check Electric-types much better over time" is a bit wrong too as Tankchomp can run Rest and, even though it doesnt like Dazzling Gleam, it has recovery, so i think you can change that a bit too.

[SET]
name: Defensive Pivot
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: U-turn
move 3: Toxic / Knock Off
move 4: Defog / Stealth Rock MIGHT fix move order sometime maybe
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
ivs: 23 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Special Defense investment lets Landorus-T become an extremely flexible defensive pivot capable of handling threats like Tapu Koko and Heatran easily if its health is managed well. It can also, optionally, run Defense investment instead to better check Garchomp, Zeraora, and Kartana. After switching into an offensive threat like Heatran or Zeraora, U-turn lets Landorus-T give valuable support to its teammates by pivoting on forced switches from Corviknight or other Landorus-T You could mention that you can gain momentum from this maybe?. Its ability Intimidate and its defensive typing give it frequent entry, letting it make use of U-turn throughout the duration of a game. While Toxic is useful to cripple opposing Landorus-T and Tornadus-T, Knock Off can be used for a similar purpose in providing an easy way to force progress Can mention something about it removing items from switch ins like Boots and Leftovers. Landorus-T is one of the best Defoggers in the tier, mainly because of its ability to switch into Stealth Rock Heatran, as well as most other Stealth Rock users, with little risk. It can also choose to set Stealth Rock itself, especially useful against more offensive teams lacking a Corviknight that would otherwise shut it down I mean Corv is usage #2 so finding a team without it is kinda hard. You can be specific and talk about offensive teams here instead. The EV spread maximizes Special Defense while making Landorus-T faster than Adamant Crawdaunt, as well as letting it U-turn slower than most other Landorus-T variants and capitalizing off of the gained momentum. However, optional speed benchmarks can be utilized depending on its teammates and the importance of it checking different offensive threats; it can often aim to outspeed Adamant Scizor or Timid Magnezone, I think Adamant Bisharp deserves a mention here since the 241 benchmark is known for it and Zone for example. Because of the constant defensive strain on Landorus-T in checking multiple threats per team, its health should be preserved as much as possible. Common Pokemon like Zeraora, Tapu Koko, and Heatran can easily chip down Landorus-T if pivoted in predictably and carelessly.

Pivot Landorus-T is a staple of bulky offense thanks to its ability to generate momentum alongside wallbreaking teammates like Kyurem, Weavile, and Heatran after U-turning out of Ground-, Flying-, and Steel-type switch-ins. Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Heatran, and Corviknight, as well as Galarian Slowking, can help patch up its weakness to Weavile and Kyurem while offering their own support in entry hazards or Future Sight. Ferrothorn specifically often forms a potent hazard stacking core while being a decent Water-resist against Tapu Fini and Slowking and handling Ice-types reasonably well. Landorus-T is often seen paired with other Flying-types, like Corviknight and Tornadus-T, that help manage pressure from Kartana and Rillaboom in exchange for handling Zeraora and Tapu Koko. Stealth Rock-weak wallbreakers like Choice Specs Blacephalon and Choice Band Weavile benefit from its ability to Defog on nearly every Stealth Rock user, and its U-turn creating ample wallbreaking opportunities for them.

great job on this section!

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge / Smack Down
move 4: Substitute
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Swords Dance lets Landorus-T act as a threatening wallbreaker, using its defensive attributes to set up and bust through teams with its unresisted coverage. Stone Edge targets Flying-types primarily while also letting it hit Buzzwole, and most of the other Ground-resisting Pokemon in OU for neutral damage. Smack Down can alternatively be used to beat Skarmory and Corviknight more easily at the expense of losing much of Stone Edge's power. Substitute takes advantage of typical defensive answers like Skamory, Skarmory can 1v1 Lando-T with Iron Defense so you can remove it imo Corviknight, and Clefable, letting Landorus-T set up and prevents it from being revenge killed by the majority of faster threats - however, Weavile's Triple Axel, Urshifu-R's Surging Strikes, and Infiltrator Dragapult's Draco Meteor or Hydro Pump are still capable of eliminating Landorus-T even behind Substitute. While Jolly is most commonly used to outspeed Modest Kyurem and Tapu Lele, deterring any revenge killing attempts, Adamant can be used for an extra boost in power. Landorus-T can run Stealth Rock, using its unresisted coverage and Swords Dance to keep its Stealth Rock up vs the most common Defoggers in opposing Landorus-T and Corviknight. Soft Sand optimizes its wallbreaking power with Earthquake, notably letting it 2HKO Unaware Clefable, but makes it a less effective long-term win condition without Leftovers recovery. Maybe add something about Substitute here without Lefties?

Substitute Landorus-T usually wants another Stealth Rock setter alongside it, like Garchomp or Heatran. Because it can uniquely pressure common defensive staples like Corviknight, Skarmory, and Buzzwole, physical attackers like Weavile and Kartana make for great teammates.

this mons linear af

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====

Pivot Landorus-T can run Earth Power to OHKO Kartana if weak to it, especially useful on teams alongside Rillaboom, whose Grassy Surge weakens its Earthquakes. Offensive Landorus-T can also adopt a specially defensive Bulk Up Gravity set, notably capable of beating Skarmory and other Landorus-T and make revenge killing harder from the likes of Kartana's Leaf Blade or Weavile's Triple Axel. Gravity lets it avoid the annoying pivoting scenarios that Stone Edge or Smack Down would struggle against while still guaranteeing setup against opposing Landorus-T with Bulk Up's Defense boost, at the cost of making it less immediately threatening. Lastly, it can run a lead set on offensive teams I think this set is more seen on HO teams than offensive teams overall so it may be worth clarifying, with the aim to set up Stealth Rock and KO something with Explosion, giving its offensive teammates more opportunities. This set most commonly runs Focus Sash, but Normal Gem is also a viable option to guarantee an OHKO or heavy chip on Corviknight or Skarmory with its Explosion.

Checks and Counters
====

**Corviknight**: Corviknight keeps Pivot Landorus-T's Stealth Rock off the field permanently with its Pressure and defensive typing, and can also generate momentum with its slower U-turn. However, Substitute Landorus-T sets can use Corviknight as setup fodder. Imo you should mention something about Corviknight literally blanking Landorus-T at the start since thats what makes it a great counter (Knock doesnt do enough damage and Corv can be used as Knock absorber, etc)

**Physically Defensive Walls**: Offensive Landorus-T sets struggle against Buzzwole, Skarmory, and Tangrowth, which can switch in and beat it courtesy of their solid defensive typing and Defense stat.

**Ice-types and Ice coverage**: Kyurem and Weavile, if pivoted in safely, outspeed and OHKO most Landorus-T variants. Triple Axel can also bypass Substitute, making it a major hindrance for the Substitute set. The section is named "Ice-types and Ice coverage" though you dont mention Ice coverage users

**Residual Damage**: Knock Off and Toxic from Landorus-T, Zeraora, and Heatran are extremely effective at whittling down Landorus-T, but can be circumvented with skillful and purposeful pivoting. I dont get what does skillful and purposeful pivoting means here? Like specifically from Zeraora where every time you switch into it you get knocked and there's no way to avoid that since thats its main tool to beat you. I think you can explain a bit more the part of pivoting with what you mean (I think you mean like, predicting what they're gonna do? and send another teammate instead)

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[airfare, 513717]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2], [username3, userid3]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

Overall great job! Hope this was good enough. This was a nice read

 

[pannu]

amqc no real reason to implement or w/ever


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[Overview]

Landorus-T has cemented itself as a mainstay in OU due to its incredible typing, ability, stats, and movepool, and its versatility in running both defensive and offensive sets makes it a staple of bulky offense teams. i feel as if this sentence downplays Landorus' splashability or at the very least reads weirdly, "defensive and offensive" makes it sound like the only things it can do are wall stuff and spam Earthquake The combination of its solid defensive typing and ability let it serve as a blanket check to almost every offensive threat in the tier - but it is exceptionally good at dealing with Electric- and Ground-types, including Tapu Koko, Zeraora, and Garchomp. It has the flexibility of being able to run both specially and physically defensive investment, which lets it customize itself to check either special attackers like Dragapult and Heatran or physical ones like Zeraora and Garchomp much better. Intimidate lets it switch into physical attackers like Dragonite, Rillaboom, and Scizor with little risk, lowering their Attack and giving a teammate easier entry while making it one of the best pivots in the tier in tandem with U-turn. Its utility movepool is also amazing, letting it act as the tier's best Defogger by switching into every Stealth Rock setter in the tier - most notably Heatran. Alternatively, it can set Stealth Rock itself, using Intimidate and its typing to switch in safely while its U-turn lets it pivot out of Defoggers and into threatening teammates. Aside from removing and setting entry hazards, Landorus-T has access to a great utility movepool with both Knock Off and Toxic, letting it chip away at common switch-ins like other i think "opposing" being used here sounds better but iunno Landorus-T and Tornadus-T. It can also run offensive sets with Swords Dance, using the same defensive factors mentioned beforehand to create setup opportunities and beat down teams with its unresisted coverage. Unfortunately, Landorus-T still comes with its own share of flaws. Due to its lack of reliable recovery, it can be very easily worn down by repeated hits like Tapu Koko's Dazzling Gleam or Heatran's Magma Storm. It's also crippled extremely easily by Knock Off from other Landorus-T or Zeraora, especially when pivoting in with Stealth Rock damage. Garchomp offers competition as another Ground-type defensive option, but Landorus-T often proves itself as a more consistent option thanks to Intimidate, U-turn, and ability to check Electric-types much better over time.

[SET]
name: Defensive Pivot
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: U-turn
move 3: Toxic / Knock Off
move 4: Defog / Stealth Rock MIGHT fix move order sometime maybe
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
ivs: 23 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Special Defense investment lets Landorus-T become an extremely flexible defensive pivot capable of handling threats like Tapu Koko, Volcarona and Heatran easily if its health is managed well. It can also, optionally, run Defense investment instead to better check Garchomp, Zeraora, and Kartana. After switching into an offensive threat like Heatran or Zeraora, U-turn lets Landorus-T give valuable support to its teammates by pivoting on forced switches from Corviknight or other Landorus-T. Unlike other defensive Ground-types, Landorus-T is able to keep up the momentum with U-turn, allowing it to safely pivot in teammates like Urshifu-R, Dragapult, and Tapu Koko against foes like opposing Landorus-T, Buzzwole, and Corviknight. I feel as if this highlights a big reason why Landorus is better than other Ground-types in the tier. Even if you dont like this suggestion i do feel as if you should add some examples after "teammates" in the original sentence. Its ability Intimidate and its defensive typing give it frequent entry, letting it make use of U-turn throughout the duration of a game. While Toxic is useful to cripple opposing Landorus-T and Tornadus-T, Knock Off can be used for a similar purpose in providing an easy way to force progress. against? Landorus-T is one of the best Defoggers in the tier, mainly because of its ability to switch into Stealth Rock Heatran, as well as most other Stealth Rock users, setters with little risk. It can also choose to set Stealth Rock itself, especially useful against more offensive teams lacking a Corviknight that would otherwise shut it down. The EV spread maximizes Special Defense while making Landorus-T faster than Adamant Crawdaunt, as well as letting it U-turn slower than most other Landorus-T variants and capitalizing off of the gained momentum. However, optional speed benchmarks can be utilized depending on its teammates and the importance of it checking different offensive threats; it can often aim to outspeed Adamant Scizor or Timid Magnezone, for example. Because of the constant defensive strain on Landorus-T in checking multiple threats per team, its health should be preserved as much as possible. Common Pokemon like Zeraora, Tapu Koko, and Heatran can easily chip down Landorus-T if pivoted in predictably and carelessly.

Pivot Landorus-T is a staple of bulky offense thanks to its ability to generate momentum after U-turning out of Ground-, Flying-, and Steel-type switch-ins alongside to bring in wallbreaking teammates like Kyurem, Weavile, and Heatran after U-turning out of Ground-, Flying-, and Steel-type switch-ins which can take advantage off of them. reads better imo, makes it more obvious why Landorus is good alongside these mons Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Heatran, and Corviknight, as well as Galarian Slowking, can help patch up its weakness to Weavile and Kyurem minor thing, you might want to replace these two with "Ice-types" or "Ice-type attacks"; these two arent the only Pokemon in the meta which carry ice-type moves. while offering their own support in entry hazards or Future Sight. Ferrothorn specifically often forms a potent hazard stacking core while being a decent Water-resist against Tapu Fini and Slowking and handling Ice-types reasonably well i think mentioning what Landorus can do for Ferrothorn here is good. Landorus-T is often seen paired with other Flying-types, like Corviknight and Tornadus-T, that help manage pressure from Kartana and Rillaboom in exchange for Landorus-T handling Zeraora and Tapu Koko. Stealth Rock-weak wallbreakers like Choice Specs Blacephalon and Choice Band Weavile benefit from its ability to Defog on nearly every Stealth Rock user, and its U-turn creating ample wallbreaking opportunities for them.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge / Smack Down
move 4: Substitute
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Swords Dance lets Landorus-T act as a threatening wallbreaker, using its defensive attributes to find ample set up opportunities and bust through teams with its unresisted coverage. Stone Edge targets Flying-types Like? primarily while also letting it hit Buzzwole, and most of the other Ground-resisting Pokemon in OU for neutral damage. Smack Down can alternatively be used to beat Skarmory and Corviknight more easily at the expense of losing much of Stone Edge's power. Substitute takes advantage of typical defensive answers like Skamory, Corviknight, and Clefable, letting Landorus-T set up and prevents it from being revenge killed by the majority of faster threats - however, Weavile's Triple Axel, Urshifu-R's Surging Strikes, and Infiltrator Dragapult's Draco Meteor or Hydro Pump are still capable of eliminating Landorus-T even behind Substitute. While Jolly is most commonly used to outspeed Modest Kyurem and Tapu Lele, deterring any revenge killing attempts, Adamant can be used for an extra boost in power i think mentioning some key speedtiers lost upon this nature change could be nice. Landorus-T can run Stealth Rock, using its unresisted coverage and Swords Dance to keep its Stealth Rock up vs the most common Defoggers in opposing Landorus-T and Corviknight. Soft Sand optimizes its wallbreaking power with Earthquake, notably letting it 2HKO Unaware Clefable, but makes it a less effective long-term win condition without Leftovers recovery.

Substitute Landorus-T usually wants another Stealth Rock setter alongside it, like Garchomp or Heatran. Landorus-T's unique role that it occupies as a standalone wallbreaker makes it quite flexible and it offers solid offensive prowess in its own right. Because it can uniquely pressure common defensive staples like Corviknight, Skarmory, and Buzzwole, physical attackers like Weavile and Kartana make for great teammates. i think the Weavile and Kartana part at the end can be expanded upon to cleaners in general w/ stuff like Tapu Lele and Rillaboom also appreciating its breaking prowess.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====

Pivot Landorus-T can run Earth Power to OHKO Kartana if weak to it, especially useful on teams alongside Rillaboom, whose Grassy Surge weakens its Earthquakes. mention the power loss being bad for other mons lando wants to hit Offensive Landorus-T can also adopt a specially defensive Bulk Up Gravity set, notably capable of beating Skarmory and other Landorus-T and make revenge killing harder from the likes of Kartana's Leaf Blade or Weavile's Triple Axel. Gravity lets it avoid the annoying pivoting scenarios that Stone Edge or Smack Down would struggle against while still guaranteeing setup against opposing Landorus-T with Bulk Up's Defense boost, at the cost of making it less immediately threatening. Lastly, it can run a lead set on offensive teams, with the aim to set up Stealth Rock and KO something with Explosion, giving its offensive teammates more opportunities. This set most commonly runs Focus Sash, but Normal Gem is also a viable option to guarantee an OHKO or heavy chip on Corviknight or Skarmory with its Explosion. Choice Scarf and Choice Band can also be used to give Landorus-T more of a niche pivoting role with U-turn while acting as an unpredictable revenge killer or wallbreaking threat respectively.

Checks and Counters
====

**Corviknight**: Corviknight keeps Pivot Landorus-T's Stealth Rock off the field permanently with its Pressure and defensive typing, and can also generate momentum with its slower U-turn. However, Substitute Swords Dance Landorus-T sets can break through use Corviknight, meanwhile, Substitute variants can use it as setup fodder.

**Physically Defensive Walls**: Offensive Landorus-T sets struggle against Buzzwole, Skarmory, and Tangrowth, which can switch in and beat it courtesy of their solid defensive typing and Defense stat. mention how they hate toxic and how Landorus can u-turn out of them

**Ice-types and Ice coverage**: Kyurem and Weavile, if pivoted in safely, outspeed and OHKO most Landorus-T variants. Triple Axel can also bypass Substitute, making it a major hindrance for the Substitute set. there are no mentions of Ice-type coverage here, either add some or remove it from the segments name imo

**Residual Damage**: Knock Off and Toxic from Landorus-T, Zeraora, and Heatran are extremely effective at whittling down Landorus-T, especially in tandem with Stealth Rock. But can be circumvented with skillful and purposeful pivoting.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[airfare, 513717]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2], [username3, userid3]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

 

[ausma]

going to take a slightly different approach with this, ill be manually checking in one and then will be giving feedback to the above am checkers in two separate spoilers just to keep things clean

comments in orange
additions/changes in purple
removals will be striked

my check

[Overview]

Landorus-T has cemented itself as a mainstay in OU due to its incredible typing, ability, stats, and movepool, and its versatility in running both defensive and offensive sets, (AC) making it a staple of bulky offense teams. You could elaborate on the archetypes as Wind said but it's not entirely necessary The combination of its solid defensive typing and ability let it serve as a blanket check to many almost every offensive threats in the tier - but it is exceptionally good at dealing with Electric- and Ground-types, including Tapu Koko, Zeraora, and Garchomp. It has the flexibility of being able to run both specially and physically defensive investment, which lets it customize itself to check either special attackers like Dragapult and Heatran or physical ones like Zeraora and Garchomp much better. Intimidate lets it switch into physical attackers like Dragonite, Rillaboom, and Scizor with little risk, lowering their Attack and giving a teammate easier entry while making it one of the best pivots in the tier in tandem with U-turn. I feel like the previous two sentences could probably be compressed in some way? Intimidate lets it consistently switch into certain physical threats even without investment as you say, but I think that's in part why it's able to afford so much special investment? You could probably remove the first sentence and amend it somewhere in the second sentence. Either way it feels a bit too wordy and i'm fairly sure there's a more concise way to convey this point. Its utility movepool is also amazing, letting it act as the tier's best Defogger by switching into every Stealth Rock setter in the tier - most notably Heatran. Alternatively, it can set Stealth Rock itself, using Intimidate and its typing to switch in safely while its U-turn lets it pivot out of Defoggers and into threatening teammates. Aside from removing and setting entry hazards, Landorus-T has access to a great utility movepool with both Knock Off and Toxic, letting it chip away at common switch-ins like other Landorus-T and Tornadus-T. I'd be talking about what Knock Off tends to remove, such as Heavy-Duty Boots and Rocky Helmets which can be really helpful for allies like Urshifu-R or Weavile, since that contributes to the opportunity cost between Toxic/Knock Off. It can also run offensive sets with Swords Dance, using the same defensive factors mentioned beforehand to create setup opportunities and beat down teams with its unresisted coverage. Unfortunately, Landorus-T still comes with its own share of flaws. Due to its lack of reliable recovery, it can be very easily worn down by repeated hits like Tapu Koko's Dazzling Gleam or Heatran's Magma Storm. It's also crippled extremely easily by Knock Off from other Landorus-T or Zeraora, especially when pivoting in with Stealth Rock damage. Garchomp offers competition as another Ground-type defensive option, but Landorus-T often proves itself as a more consistent option thanks to Intimidate, U-turn, and ability to check Electric-types much better over time. A mention of 4MSS here is probably nice to have, it really likes having Knock Off to screw with air mons immune to toxic, and Toxic for obvious reasons, but it really can't afford to have both unless a team already has a rocker/defogger, and you can say smth similar with its offensive set

[SET]
name: Defensive Pivot
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: U-turn
move 3: Toxic / Knock Off
move 4: Defog / Stealth Rock
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
ivs: 23 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Special Defense investment lets Landorus-T become an extremely flexible defensive pivot capable of handling threats like Tapu Koko and Heatran easily if its health is managed well. It can also, optionally, run Defense investment instead to better check Garchomp, Zeraora, and Kartana. After switching into an offensive threat like Heatran or Zeraora, U-turn lets Landorus-T give valuable support to its teammates by pivoting on forced switches from Corviknight or other Landorus-T. Its ability Intimidate and its defensive typing give it frequent entry, letting it make use of U-turn throughout the duration of a game. While Toxic is useful to cripple opposing Landorus-T, Hippowdon, Buzzwole, and Tornadus-T, Knock Off can be used for a similar purpose in providing an easy way to force progress. In what way exactly and against what? Landorus-T is one of the best Defoggers in the tier, mainly because of its ability to switch into Stealth Rock Heatran, as well as most other Stealth Rock users, with little risk. It can also choose to set Stealth Rock itself, especially useful against more offensive teams lacking a Corviknight that would otherwise shut it down. The EV spread maximizes Special Defense while making Landorus-T faster than Adamant Crawdaunt, as well as letting it U-turn slower than most other Landorus-T variants and capitalizing off of the gained momentum. However, optional speed benchmarks can be utilized depending on its teammates and the importance of it checking different offensive threats; it can often aim to outspeed Adamant Scizor or Timid Magnezone, for example. Because of the constant defensive strain on Landorus-T in checking multiple threats per team, its health should be preserved as much as possible. Common Pokemon like Zeraora, Tapu Koko, and Heatran can easily chip down Landorus-T if pivoted in predictably and carelessly.

Pivot Landorus-T is a staple of bulky offense thanks to its ability to generate momentum alongside wallbreaking teammates like Kyurem, Weavile, and Heatran after U-turning out of Ground-, Flying-, and Steel-type switch-ins. Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Heatran, and Corviknight, as well as Galarian Slowking, can help patch up its weakness to Weavile and Kyurem while offering their own support in entry hazards or Future Sight. Ferrothorn specifically often forms a potent hazard stacking core while being a decent Water-resist against Tapu Fini and Slowking and handling Ice-types reasonably well. Landorus-T is often seen paired with other Flying-types, like Corviknight and Tornadus-T, that help manage pressure from Kartana and Rillaboom in exchange for handling Zeraora and Tapu Koko. Stealth Rock-weak wallbreakers like Choice Specs Blacephalon and Choice Band Weavile benefit from its ability to Defog on nearly every Stealth Rock user, and its U-turn creating ample wallbreaking opportunities for them.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge / Smack Down
move 4: Substitute
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Swords Dance lets Landorus-T act as a threatening wallbreaker, using its defensive attributes to set up and bust through teams with its unresisted coverage. Stone Edge targets Flying-types primarily while also letting it hit Buzzwole, and most of the other Ground-resisting Pokemon in OU for neutral damage. Smack Down can alternatively be used to beat Skarmory and Corviknight more easily at the expense of losing much of Stone Edge's power. I feel something else that's important about Smack Down is that it makes Earthquake a lot easier to click, which can alleviate pressure in having to predict against teams with only one immunity. Substitute takes advantage of typical defensive answers like Skamory, Corviknight, and Clefable, letting Landorus-T set up and prevents it from being revenge killed by the majority of faster threats - however, Weavile's Triple Axel, Urshifu-R's Surging Strikes, and Infiltrator Dragapult's Draco Meteor or Hydro Pump are still capable of eliminating Landorus-T even behind Substitute. While Jolly is most commonly used to outspeed Modest Kyurem and Tapu Lele, deterring any revenge killing attempts, Adamant can be used for an extra boost in power. Is this extra power boost notable in any way? Landorus-T can run Stealth Rock, using its unresisted coverage and Swords Dance to keep its Stealth Rock up vs the most common Defoggers in opposing Landorus-T and Corviknight. Soft Sand optimizes its wallbreaking power with Earthquake, notably letting it 2HKO Unaware Clefable, but makes it a less effective long-term win condition without Leftovers recovery.

Substitute Landorus-T usually wants another Stealth Rock setter alongside it, like Garchomp or Heatran. Landorus-T's unique role that it occupies as a standalone wallbreaker makes it quite flexible and it offers solid offensive prowess in its own right. Because it can uniquely pressure common defensive staples like Corviknight, Skarmory, and Buzzwole, physical attackers like Weavile and Kartana make for great teammates. Maybe mention some pivots that can get Landorus in, or maybe would help reinforce its breaking power? What else can help it overload its checks and vice versa?

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====

Pivot Landorus-T can run Earth Power to OHKO Kartana if weak to it, especially useful on teams alongside Rillaboom, whose Grassy Surge weakens its Earthquakes. what is the opportunity cost Offensive Landorus-T can also adopt a specially defensive Bulk Up Gravity set, notably capable of beating Skarmory and other Landorus-T and make revenge killing harder from the likes of Kartana's Leaf Blade or Weavile's Triple Axel. Gravity lets it avoid the annoying pivoting scenarios that Stone Edge or Smack Down would struggle against while still guaranteeing setup against opposing Landorus-T with Bulk Up's Defense boost, at the cost of making it less immediately threatening. Lastly, it can run a lead set on offensive teams, with the aim to set up Stealth Rock and KO something with Explosion, giving its offensive teammates more opportunities. This set most commonly runs Focus Sash, but Normal Gem is also a viable option to guarantee an OHKO or heavy chip on Corviknight or Skarmory with its Explosion. Choice Scarf and Choice Band can also be used to give Landorus-T more of a niche pivoting role with U-turn while acting as an unpredictable revenge killer or wallbreaking threat respectively.

Checks and Counters
====

**Corviknight**: Corviknight keeps Pivot Landorus-T's Stealth Rock off the field permanently with its Pressure and defensive typing, and can also generate momentum with its slower U-turn. However, Substitute Landorus-T sets can use Corviknight as setup fodder.

**Physically Defensive Walls**: Offensive Landorus-T sets struggle against Buzzwole, Skarmory, and Tangrowth, which can switch in and beat it courtesy of their solid defensive typing and Defense stat.

**Ice-types and Ice coverage**: Kyurem and Weavile, if pivoted in safely, outspeed and OHKO most Landorus-T variants. Triple Axel can also bypass Substitute, making it a major hindrance for the Substitute set. Buzzwole and Galarian Slowking run Ice-type coverage, be sure to bring those up too, hugely because it makes pivoting around them not as easy.

**Residual Damage**: Knock Off and Toxic from Landorus-T, Zeraora, and Heatran are extremely effective at whittling down Landorus-T, but can be circumvented with skillful and purposeful pivoting. What does skillful/purposeful pivoting mean in this context? Obviously we know but the reader might not.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[airfare, 513717]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2], [username3, userid3]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

qc 1/3

wind's check

[Overview]

Landorus-T has cemented itself as a mainstay in OU due to its incredible typing, ability, stats, and movepool, and its versatility in running both defensive and offensive sets makes it a staple of bulky offense Not only bulky offense, a lot of teams overall (See: VoltTurn, HO, etc) Ye teams. The combination of its solid defensive typing and ability let it serve as a blanket check to almost every offensive threat in the tier Yeah, no. The reason of why Landorus-T started running Specially Defensive sets was because it couldnt check main physical attackers at the moment - Weavile and Shifu-R - and other reasons ofc, so i think this can be worded a bit better Ye a bit, but the structure itself is sound - but it is exceptionally good at dealing with Electric- and Ground-types, including Tapu Koko, Zeraora, and Garchomp. It has the flexibility of being able to run both specially and physically defensive investment I think you could mention something about its great defensive stats all around here since you talk about every single characteristic in detail after naming them in the overview Not necessary, there's already a lot of description on how it operates defensively with Intimidate and its defensive typing, which lets it customize itself to check either special attackers like Dragapult and Heatran or physical ones like Zeraora and Garchomp much better. Intimidate lets it switch into physical attackers like Dragonite, Rillaboom, and Scizor with little risk, lowering their Attack and giving a teammate easier entry while making it one of the best pivots in the tier in tandem with U-turn. Its utility movepool is also amazing, letting it act as the tier's best Defogger by switching into every Stealth Rock setter in the tier - most notably Heatran. Alternatively, it can set Stealth Rock itself, using Intimidate and its typing to switch in safely while its U-turn lets it pivot out of Defoggers and into threatening teammates. This sentences can be switched around as i think Stealth Rock is more important overall, though its ok as it is. Not really necessary but optically it makes sense, airfare you can decide whether you want to take this route Aside from removing and setting entry hazards, Landorus-T has access to a great utility movepool with both Knock Off and Toxic, letting it chip away at common switch-ins like other Landorus-T and Tornadus-T. It can also run offensive sets with Swords Dance, using the same defensive factors mentioned beforehand to create setup opportunities and beat down teams with its unresisted coverage. Unfortunately, Landorus-T still comes with its own share of flaws. Due to its lack of reliable recovery, it can be very easily worn down by repeated hits like Tapu Koko's Dazzling Gleam 252 SpA Tapu Koko Dazzling Gleam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Landorus-Therian: 88-105 (23 - 27.4%) -- 62.1% chance to 4HKOor Heatran's Magma Storm. It's also crippled extremely easily by Knock Off from other Landorus-T or Zeraora, especially when pivoting in with Stealth Rock damage With the calc above what im trying to say is that Dazzling Gleam chip damage is usually not enough to wear down Landorus-T, at it takes 24% from it and then recovers a bit while Koko switches out, and maybe then gain a bit more, idk. This is related to this point as i think it could be great to emphasize that these attacks hurt a lot more after a Knock Off so these sentences can be switched (or maybe even merged into one). No, Landorus-T's lack of recovery makes any kind of accumulated damage a problem, especially if it's tasked to check other things like Heatran, which really lets damage stack up. It's fine as is. Garchomp offers competition as another Ground-type defensive option, but Landorus-T often proves itself as a more consistent option thanks to Intimidate, U-turn, and ability to check Electric-types much better over time Anything about Flying typing? This can be huge because if you use Chomp instead of Lando-t it means that you need a Flying-type in the next slot, so Lando-T can compress roles better overall. I think the "ability to check Electric-types much better over time" is a bit wrong too as Tankchomp can run Rest and, even though it doesnt like Dazzling Gleam, it has recovery, so i think you can change that a bit too. Yea this is fine, but its lack of longevity doesn't really make it a great solo Flying-type, though I do agree being in the air is pretty big.

[SET]
name: Defensive Pivot
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: U-turn
move 3: Toxic / Knock Off
move 4: Defog / Stealth Rock MIGHT fix move order sometime maybe
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
ivs: 23 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Special Defense investment lets Landorus-T become an extremely flexible defensive pivot capable of handling threats like Tapu Koko and Heatran easily if its health is managed well. It can also, optionally, run Defense investment instead to better check Garchomp, Zeraora, and Kartana. After switching into an offensive threat like Heatran or Zeraora, U-turn lets Landorus-T give valuable support to its teammates by pivoting on forced switches from Corviknight or other Landorus-T You could mention that you can gain momentum from this maybe?. Not necessary Its ability Intimidate and its defensive typing give it frequent entry, letting it make use of U-turn throughout the duration of a game. While Toxic is useful to cripple opposing Landorus-T and Tornadus-T, Knock Off can be used for a similar purpose in providing an easy way to force progress Can mention something about it removing items from switch ins like Boots and Leftovers. +1 Landorus-T is one of the best Defoggers in the tier, mainly because of its ability to switch into Stealth Rock Heatran, as well as most other Stealth Rock users, with little risk. It can also choose to set Stealth Rock itself, especially useful against more offensive teams lacking a Corviknight that would otherwise shut it down I mean Corv is usage #2 so finding a team without it is kinda hard. You can be specific and talk about offensive teams here instead. Nah this is fine as is, it makes sense especially given Corviknight can be slotted off pretty readily for other things like Tornadus-T, or sometimes Zapdos/Skarmory which Landorus-T can exploit a lot more reliably. You're not really gonna see Corviknight compound with other birds unless it's Lando itself The EV spread maximizes Special Defense while making Landorus-T faster than Adamant Crawdaunt, as well as letting it U-turn slower than most other Landorus-T variants and capitalizing off of the gained momentum. However, optional speed benchmarks can be utilized depending on its teammates and the importance of it checking different offensive threats; it can often aim to outspeed Adamant Scizor or Timid Magnezone, I think Adamant Bisharp deserves a mention here since the 241 benchmark is known for it and Zone Timid Magnezone covers Bisharp anyway though for example. Because of the constant defensive strain on Landorus-T in checking multiple threats per team, its health should be preserved as much as possible. Common Pokemon like Zeraora, Tapu Koko, and Heatran can easily chip down Landorus-T if pivoted in predictably and carelessly.

Pivot Landorus-T is a staple of bulky offense thanks to its ability to generate momentum alongside wallbreaking teammates like Kyurem, Weavile, and Heatran after U-turning out of Ground-, Flying-, and Steel-type switch-ins. Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Heatran, and Corviknight, as well as Galarian Slowking, can help patch up its weakness to Weavile and Kyurem while offering their own support in entry hazards or Future Sight. Ferrothorn specifically often forms a potent hazard stacking core while being a decent Water-resist against Tapu Fini and Slowking and handling Ice-types reasonably well. Landorus-T is often seen paired with other Flying-types, like Corviknight and Tornadus-T, that help manage pressure from Kartana and Rillaboom in exchange for handling Zeraora and Tapu Koko. Stealth Rock-weak wallbreakers like Choice Specs Blacephalon and Choice Band Weavile benefit from its ability to Defog on nearly every Stealth Rock user, and its U-turn creating ample wallbreaking opportunities for them.

great job on this section!

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge / Smack Down
move 4: Substitute
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Swords Dance lets Landorus-T act as a threatening wallbreaker, using its defensive attributes to set up and bust through teams with its unresisted coverage. Stone Edge targets Flying-types primarily while also letting it hit Buzzwole, and most of the other Ground-resisting Pokemon in OU for neutral damage. Smack Down can alternatively be used to beat Skarmory and Corviknight more easily at the expense of losing much of Stone Edge's power. Substitute takes advantage of typical defensive answers like Skamory, Skarmory can 1v1 Lando-T with Iron Defense so you can remove it imo Not with Smack Down though, and even then Iron Defense is falling a bit by the wayside Corviknight, and Clefable, letting Landorus-T set up and prevents it from being revenge killed by the majority of faster threats - however, Weavile's Triple Axel, Urshifu-R's Surging Strikes, and Infiltrator Dragapult's Draco Meteor or Hydro Pump are still capable of eliminating Landorus-T even behind Substitute. While Jolly is most commonly used to outspeed Modest Kyurem and Tapu Lele, deterring any revenge killing attempts, Adamant can be used for an extra boost in power. Landorus-T can run Stealth Rock, using its unresisted coverage and Swords Dance to keep its Stealth Rock up vs the most common Defoggers in opposing Landorus-T and Corviknight. Soft Sand optimizes its wallbreaking power with Earthquake, notably letting it 2HKO Unaware Clefable, but makes it a less effective long-term win condition without Leftovers recovery. Maybe add something about Substitute here without Lefties? Sure

Substitute Landorus-T usually wants another Stealth Rock setter alongside it, like Garchomp or Heatran. Because it can uniquely pressure common defensive staples like Corviknight, Skarmory, and Buzzwole, physical attackers like Weavile and Kartana make for great teammates.

this mons linear af

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====

Pivot Landorus-T can run Earth Power to OHKO Kartana if weak to it, especially useful on teams alongside Rillaboom, whose Grassy Surge weakens its Earthquakes. Offensive Landorus-T can also adopt a specially defensive Bulk Up Gravity set, notably capable of beating Skarmory and other Landorus-T and make revenge killing harder from the likes of Kartana's Leaf Blade or Weavile's Triple Axel. Gravity lets it avoid the annoying pivoting scenarios that Stone Edge or Smack Down would struggle against while still guaranteeing setup against opposing Landorus-T with Bulk Up's Defense boost, at the cost of making it less immediately threatening. Lastly, it can run a lead set on offensive teams I think this set is more seen on HO teams than offensive teams overall so it may be worth clarifying, yes with the aim to set up Stealth Rock and KO something with Explosion, giving its offensive teammates more opportunities. This set most commonly runs Focus Sash, but Normal Gem is also a viable option to guarantee an OHKO or heavy chip on Corviknight or Skarmory with its Explosion.

Checks and Counters
====

**Corviknight**: Corviknight keeps Pivot Landorus-T's Stealth Rock off the field permanently with its Pressure and defensive typing, and can also generate momentum with its slower U-turn. However, Substitute Landorus-T sets can use Corviknight as setup fodder. Imo you should mention something about Corviknight literally blanking Landorus-T at the start since thats what makes it a great counter (Knock doesnt do enough damage and Corv can be used as Knock absorber, etc) ye

**Physically Defensive Walls**: Offensive Landorus-T sets struggle against Buzzwole, Skarmory, and Tangrowth, which can switch in and beat it courtesy of their solid defensive typing and Defense stat.

**Ice-types and Ice coverage**: Kyurem and Weavile, if pivoted in safely, outspeed and OHKO most Landorus-T variants. Triple Axel can also bypass Substitute, making it a major hindrance for the Substitute set. The section is named "Ice-types and Ice coverage" though you dont mention Ice coverage users yes

**Residual Damage**: Knock Off and Toxic from Landorus-T, Zeraora, and Heatran are extremely effective at whittling down Landorus-T, but can be circumvented with skillful and purposeful pivoting. I dont get what does skillful and purposeful pivoting means here? Like specifically from Zeraora where every time you switch into it you get knocked and there's no way to avoid that since thats its main tool to beat you. I think you can explain a bit more the part of pivoting with what you mean (I think you mean like, predicting what they're gonna do? and send another teammate instead) ye

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[airfare, 513717]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2], [username3, userid3]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

solid check Windingsss gj

pannu's check

[Overview]

Landorus-T has cemented itself as a mainstay in OU due to its incredible typing, ability, stats, and movepool, and its versatility in running both defensive and offensive sets makes it a staple of bulky offense teams. i feel as if this sentence downplays Landorus' splashability or at the very least reads weirdly, "defensive and offensive" makes it sound like the only things it can do are wall stuff and spam Earthquake That's fair but I think this is a biiiit nitpicky, since it still encapsulates what it's able to do in a broad sense. The combination of its solid defensive typing and ability let it serve as a blanket check to almost every offensive threat in the tier - but it is exceptionally good at dealing with Electric- and Ground-types, including Tapu Koko, Zeraora, and Garchomp. It has the flexibility of being able to run both specially and physically defensive investment, which lets it customize itself to check either special attackers like Dragapult and Heatran or physical ones like Zeraora and Garchomp much better. Intimidate lets it switch into physical attackers like Dragonite, Rillaboom, and Scizor with little risk, lowering their Attack and giving a teammate easier entry while making it one of the best pivots in the tier in tandem with U-turn. Its utility movepool is also amazing, letting it act as the tier's best Defogger by switching into every Stealth Rock setter in the tier - most notably Heatran. Alternatively, it can set Stealth Rock itself, using Intimidate and its typing to switch in safely while its U-turn lets it pivot out of Defoggers and into threatening teammates. Aside from removing and setting entry hazards, Landorus-T has access to a great utility movepool with both Knock Off and Toxic, letting it chip away at common switch-ins like other i think "opposing" being used here sounds better but iunno yea this is fine Landorus-T and Tornadus-T. It can also run offensive sets with Swords Dance, using the same defensive factors mentioned beforehand to create setup opportunities and beat down teams with its unresisted coverage. Unfortunately, Landorus-T still comes with its own share of flaws. Due to its lack of reliable recovery, it can be very easily worn down by repeated hits like Tapu Koko's Dazzling Gleam or Heatran's Magma Storm. It's also crippled extremely easily by Knock Off from other Landorus-T or Zeraora, especially when pivoting in with Stealth Rock damage. Garchomp offers competition as another Ground-type defensive option, but Landorus-T often proves itself as a more consistent option thanks to Intimidate, U-turn, and ability to check Electric-types much better over time.

[SET]
name: Defensive Pivot
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: U-turn
move 3: Toxic / Knock Off
move 4: Defog / Stealth Rock MIGHT fix move order sometime maybe
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
ivs: 23 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Special Defense investment lets Landorus-T become an extremely flexible defensive pivot capable of handling threats like Tapu Koko, Volcarona and Heatran easily if its health is managed well. It can also, optionally, run Defense investment instead to better check Garchomp, Zeraora, and Kartana. After switching into an offensive threat like Heatran or Zeraora, U-turn lets Landorus-T give valuable support to its teammates by pivoting on forced switches from Corviknight or other Landorus-T. Unlike other defensive Ground-types, Landorus-T is able to keep up the momentum with U-turn, allowing it to safely pivot in teammates like Urshifu-R, Dragapult, and Tapu Koko against foes like opposing Landorus-T, Buzzwole, and Corviknight. I feel as if this highlights a big reason why Landorus is better than other Ground-types in the tier. Even if you dont like this suggestion i do feel as if you should add some examples after "teammates" in the original sentence. You do that in the teammates section, it's not needed here. Its ability Intimidate and its defensive typing give it frequent entry, letting it make use of U-turn throughout the duration of a game. While Toxic is useful to cripple opposing Landorus-T and Tornadus-T, Knock Off can be used for a similar purpose in providing an easy way to force progress. against? ye Landorus-T is one of the best Defoggers in the tier, mainly because of its ability to switch into Stealth Rock Heatran, as well as most other Stealth Rock users, setters ye with little risk. It can also choose to set Stealth Rock itself, especially useful against more offensive teams lacking a Corviknight that would otherwise shut it down. The EV spread maximizes Special Defense while making Landorus-T faster than Adamant Crawdaunt, as well as letting it U-turn slower than most other Landorus-T variants and capitalizing off of the gained momentum. However, optional speed benchmarks can be utilized depending on its teammates and the importance of it checking different offensive threats; it can often aim to outspeed Adamant Scizor or Timid Magnezone, for example. Because of the constant defensive strain on Landorus-T in checking multiple threats per team, its health should be preserved as much as possible. Common Pokemon like Zeraora, Tapu Koko, and Heatran can easily chip down Landorus-T if pivoted in predictably and carelessly.

Pivot Landorus-T is a staple of bulky offense thanks to its ability to generate momentum after U-turning out of Ground-, Flying-, and Steel-type switch-ins alongside to bring in wallbreaking teammates like Kyurem, Weavile, and Heatran after U-turning out of Ground-, Flying-, and Steel-type switch-ins which can take advantage off of them. reads better imo, makes it more obvious why Landorus is good alongside these mons i think it's fine either way, a bit nitpicky imo Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Heatran, and Corviknight, as well as Galarian Slowking, can help patch up its weakness to Weavile and Kyurem minor thing, you might want to replace these two with "Ice-types" or "Ice-type attacks"; these two arent the only Pokemon in the meta which carry ice-type moves. that's fine but would probably mean having to reword this to be "pivoting around Ice-type moves" as opposed to just purely checking them, since several Pokemon that carry Ice-type moves have options to threaten switch-ins. while offering their own support in entry hazards or Future Sight. Ferrothorn specifically often forms a potent hazard stacking core while being a decent Water-resist against Tapu Fini and Slowking and handling Ice-types reasonably well i think mentioning what Landorus can do for Ferrothorn here is good. yeah Landorus-T is often seen paired with other Flying-types, like Corviknight and Tornadus-T, that help manage pressure from Kartana and Rillaboom in exchange for Landorus-T handling Zeraora and Tapu Koko. Stealth Rock-weak wallbreakers like Choice Specs Blacephalon and Choice Band Weavile benefit from its ability to Defog on nearly every Stealth Rock user, and its U-turn creating ample wallbreaking opportunities for them.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge / Smack Down
move 4: Substitute
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Swords Dance lets Landorus-T act as a threatening wallbreaker, using its defensive attributes to find ample set up opportunities and bust through teams with its unresisted coverage. Stone Edge targets Flying-types Like? yea primarily while also letting it hit Buzzwole, and most of the other Ground-resisting Pokemon in OU for neutral damage. Smack Down can alternatively be used to beat Skarmory and Corviknight more easily at the expense of losing much of Stone Edge's power. Substitute takes advantage of typical defensive answers like Skamory, Corviknight, and Clefable, letting Landorus-T set up and prevents it from being revenge killed by the majority of faster threats - however, Weavile's Triple Axel, Urshifu-R's Surging Strikes, and Infiltrator Dragapult's Draco Meteor or Hydro Pump are still capable of eliminating Landorus-T even behind Substitute. While Jolly is most commonly used to outspeed Modest Kyurem and Tapu Lele, deterring any revenge killing attempts, Adamant can be used for an extra boost in power i think mentioning some key speedtiers lost upon this nature change could be nice. not necessary, he does that in the previous sentence Landorus-T can run Stealth Rock, using its unresisted coverage and Swords Dance to keep its Stealth Rock up vs the most common Defoggers in opposing Landorus-T and Corviknight. Soft Sand optimizes its wallbreaking power with Earthquake, notably letting it 2HKO Unaware Clefable, but makes it a less effective long-term win condition without Leftovers recovery.

Substitute Landorus-T usually wants another Stealth Rock setter alongside it, like Garchomp or Heatran. Landorus-T's unique role that it occupies as a standalone wallbreaker makes it quite flexible and it offers solid offensive prowess in its own right. Because it can uniquely pressure common defensive staples like Corviknight, Skarmory, and Buzzwole, physical attackers like Weavile and Kartana make for great teammates. i think the Weavile and Kartana part at the end can be expanded upon to cleaners in general w/ stuff like Tapu Lele and Rillaboom also appreciating its breaking prowess. ye

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====

Pivot Landorus-T can run Earth Power to OHKO Kartana if weak to it, especially useful on teams alongside Rillaboom, whose Grassy Surge weakens its Earthquakes. mention the power loss being bad for other mons lando wants to hit yes Offensive Landorus-T can also adopt a specially defensive Bulk Up Gravity set, notably capable of beating Skarmory and other Landorus-T and make revenge killing harder from the likes of Kartana's Leaf Blade or Weavile's Triple Axel. Gravity lets it avoid the annoying pivoting scenarios that Stone Edge or Smack Down would struggle against while still guaranteeing setup against opposing Landorus-T with Bulk Up's Defense boost, at the cost of making it less immediately threatening. Lastly, it can run a lead set on offensive teams, with the aim to set up Stealth Rock and KO something with Explosion, giving its offensive teammates more opportunities. This set most commonly runs Focus Sash, but Normal Gem is also a viable option to guarantee an OHKO or heavy chip on Corviknight or Skarmory with its Explosion. Choice Scarf and Choice Band can also be used to give Landorus-T more of a niche pivoting role with U-turn while acting as an unpredictable revenge killer or wallbreaking threat respectively.

Checks and Counters
====

**Corviknight**: Corviknight keeps Pivot Landorus-T's Stealth Rock off the field permanently with its Pressure and defensive typing, and can also generate momentum with its slower U-turn. However, Substitute Swords Dance Landorus-T sets can break through use Corviknight, meanwhile, Substitute variants can use it as setup fodder. Meanwhile isn't the word I would use, probably "and furthermore" would be a better way of doing so. Fair enough edits though

**Physically Defensive Walls**: Offensive Landorus-T sets struggle against Buzzwole, Skarmory, and Tangrowth, which can switch in and beat it courtesy of their solid defensive typing and Defense stat. mention how they hate toxic and how Landorus can u-turn out of them Skarmory being in the center kidna screws this a bit in terms of wording but yeah this is alright

**Ice-types and Ice coverage**: Kyurem and Weavile, if pivoted in safely, outspeed and OHKO most Landorus-T variants. Triple Axel can also bypass Substitute, making it a major hindrance for the Substitute set. there are no mentions of Ice-type coverage here, either add some or remove it from the segments name imo definitely

**Residual Damage**: Knock Off and Toxic from Landorus-T, Zeraora, and Heatran are extremely effective at whittling down Landorus-T, especially in tandem with Stealth Rock. But can be circumvented with skillful and purposeful pivoting. yuh

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[airfare, 513717]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2], [username3, userid3]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

good check from you too pannuracotta

 

[Clone]

i put this off for way too long
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[Overview]

(I'd mention somewhere in the first few lines that Lando is the best ground type in the tier atm (free Gliscor) and as such is usually the best choice for the mandatory ground slot on a team)

Landorus-T has cemented itself as a mainstay in OU due to its incredible typing, ability, stats, movepool, and its versatility in running both defensive and offensive sets, making it a staple of bulky offense on many teams. The combination of its solid defensive typing and ability let it serve as a blanket check to many offensive threats in the tier - but it is exceptionally good at dealing with Electric- and Ground-types, including Tapu Koko, Zeraora, and Garchomp. Intimidate lets it switch into physical attackers like Dragonite, Rillaboom (I'd either find a better example or just keep it to these two. Rilla is pretty uncommon and lando doesn't check it well), and Scizor with little risk, lowering their Attack and giving a teammate easier entry while making it one of the best pivots in the tier in tandem with U-turn. Intimidate also helps it gain the flexibility of being able to run both specially and physically defensive investment, letting it customize itself to check either special attackers like Dragapult and Heatran or physical ones like Zeraora and Garchomp much better. Its utility movepool is also amazing, letting it act as the tier's best Defogger by switching into every Stealth Rock setter in the tier - most notably Heatran (clarify spdef here). Alternatively, it can set Stealth Rock itself, using Intimidate and its typing to switch in safely while its U-turn lets it pivot out of Defoggers and into threatening teammates. Aside from removing and setting entry hazards, Landorus-T has access to a great utility movepool, letting it remove Leftovers or Rocky Helmet from Corviknight and Ferrothorn with Knock Off, making its pivoting job easier while supporting teammates like Urshifu-R and Weavile. It can also chip away at common switch-ins like other Landorus-T and Tornadus-T with Toxic. Unfortunately, Landorus-T still comes with its own share of flaws. Due to its lack of reliable recovery, it can be very easily worn down by repeated hits like Tapu Koko's Dazzling Gleam or Heatran's Magma Storm. It's also crippled extremely easily by Knock Off from other Landorus-T or Zeraora, especially when pivoting in with Stealth Rock damage. Garchomp offers competition as another Ground-type defensive option, but Landorus-T often proves itself as a more consistent option thanks to Intimidate, U-turn, and ability to check Electric-types much better over time.

[SET]
name: Defensive Pivot
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: U-turn
move 3: Toxic / Knock Off
move 4: Defog / Stealth Rock
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
ivs: 23 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Special Defense investment lets Landorus-T become an extremely flexible defensive pivot capable of handling threats like Tapu Koko and Heatran easily if its health is managed well. It can also, optionally, run Defense investment instead to better check Garchomp, Zeraora, and Kartana. After switching into an offensive threat like Heatran or Zeraora, U-turn lets Landorus-T give valuable support to its teammates by pivoting on forced switches from Corviknight or other Landorus-T. Its ability Intimidate and its defensive typing give it frequent entry, letting it make use of U-turn throughout the duration of a game. While Toxic is useful to cripple opposing Landorus-T, Hippowdon, Buzzwole, and Tornadus-T, Knock Off can be used for a similar purpose in providing an easy way to force progress against Tornadus-T and opposing Landorus-T. Landorus-T is one of the best Defoggers in the tier, mainly because of its ability to switch into specially defensive Stealth Rock Heatran, as well as most other Stealth Rock users, with little risk. It can also choose to set Stealth Rock itself, especially useful against more offensive teams lacking a Corviknight that would otherwise shut it down. The EV spread maximizes Special Defense while making Landorus-T faster than Adamant Crawdaunt, as well as letting it U-turn slower than most other Landorus-T variants and capitalizing off of the gained momentum. However, optional speed benchmarks can be utilized depending on its teammates and the importance of it checking different offensive threats; it can often aim to outspeed Adamant Scizor or Timid Magnezone, for example. Because of the constant defensive strain on Landorus-T in checking multiple threats per team, its health should be preserved as much as possible. Common Pokemon like Zeraora, Tapu Koko, and Heatran can easily chip down Landorus-T if pivoted in predictably and carelessly.

Pivot Landorus-T is a staple of bulky offense thanks to its ability to generate momentum alongside wallbreaking teammates like Kyurem Galarian Zapdos, Weavile, and Heatran after U-turning out of Ground-, Flying-, and Steel-type switch-ins. Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Heatran, and Corviknight, as well as Galarian Slowking, can help patch up its weakness to Weavile and Kyurem while offering their own support in entry hazards or Future Sight. Ferrothorn specifically often forms a potent hazard stacking core while being a decent Water-resist against Tapu Fini and Slowking and handling Ice-types reasonably well. Landorus-T is often seen paired with other Flying-types, like Corviknight and Tornadus-T, that help manage pressure from Kartana and Rillaboom in exchange for handling Zeraora and Tapu Koko. Stealth Rock-weak wallbreakers like Choice Specs Blacephalon and Choice Band Weavile benefit from its ability to Defog on nearly every Stealth Rock user, and its U-turn creating ample wallbreaking opportunities for them.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====

Pivot Landorus-T can run Earth Power to OHKO Kartana if weak to it, especially useful on teams alongside Rillaboom, whose Grassy Surge weakens its Earthquakes, at the cost of an extremely reliable STAB move and inability to pressure walls like Toxapex and Galarian Slowking. Landorus-T also has several different offensive variants utilizing Swords Dance to keep up pressure by threatening Defoggers with a boosted Stone Edge or Explosion. It often runs a lead set on offensive teams, with the aim to set up Stealth Rock and KO something with Explosion, giving its offensive teammates more opportunities. This set commonly runs Normal Gem to guarantee an OHKO or heavy chip on Corviknight or Skarmory with its Explosion, but Focus Sash can alternatively be used as a safer way to ensure Stealth Rock. Notably, Focus Sash Landorus-T falters against the two major users of multi-hit moves in Urshifu-R and Weavile, which outspeed and OHKO it through its Focus Sash. Alternatively, Landorus-T can adopt wallbreaking sets using Swords Dance or Bulk Up (add here that its paired with Gravity/Smack Down), using Substitute to create setup opportunities and wallbreak. Choice Scarf and Choice Band can also be used to give Landorus-T more of a niche pivoting role with U-turn while acting as an unpredictable revenge killer or wallbreaking threat respectively.

Checks and Counters
====

**Corviknight**: Corviknight keeps Pivot Landorus-T's Stealth Rock off the field permanently with its Pressure and defensive typing, and can also generate momentum with its slower U-turn. However, Substitute Landorus-T sets can use Corviknight as setup fodder (with smack down/gravity).

**Physically Defensive Walls**: Offensive Landorus-T sets struggle against Buzzwole, Skarmory, and Tangrowth Slowbro, which can switch in and beat it courtesy of their solid defensive typing and Defense stat. (add that they gotta watch out for toxic tho. I also think you can put skarmory in with corv and say lando is spikes fodder, and keep this section for the non steel birds)

**Ice-types and Ice coverage**: Kyurem and Weavile, if pivoted in safely, outspeed and OHKO most Landorus-T variants. Triple Axel can also bypass Substitute, making it a major hindrance for the Substitute set. Tyranitar and Galarian Slowking, which Landorus-T can often switch into, can snipe it with super effective coverage in Ice Punch and Ice Beam respectively. Buzzwole can counter Landorus-T and threaten it with Ice Punch.

**Residual Damage**: Knock Off and Toxic from Landorus-T, Zeraora, and Heatran are extremely effective at whittling down Landorus-T, but can be circumvented with skillful and purposeful pivoting. Avoiding a scripted Knock Off or Toxic from any of these Pokemon by strategically switching into and out of Landorus-T's teammates can help slow its inevitable demise. (Add that its compounded with the fact it often switches into rocks to defog)

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[airfare, 513717]]
- Quality checked by: [[ausma, 360720], [Clone, 218318], [username3, userid3]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

lmk when you implement and I'll look at it again. I may have missed a Kyurem mention so just make sure they're all removed

 

[ausma]

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