[Overview]
Landorus-T is one of the best Pokemon in the metagame thanks to its expansive movepool and good offensive and defensive stats, which make it incredibly versatile. Its typing, access to U-turn and Stealth Rock, and exceptional ability in Intimidate make it an amazing defensive pivot that can check various physical attackers such as Garchomp, Zeraora, and Excadrill, as well as a reliable Stealth Rock setter. Furthermore, it can be a great wallbreaker or Choice Scarf user thanks to its high Attack and access to EdgeQuake coverage. However, its lack of reliable recovery hurts its ability to check certain Pokemon consistently, as it can get pressured and overwhelmed throughout the game. Additionally, its middling Speed tier leaves it slower than many common Pokemon such as Hydreigon, Tapu Lele, and Kyurem.
[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Knock Off / Toxic
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Defensive Landorus-T is a great Stealth Rock setter by virtue of its good typing and Intimidate, which help it switch into many physical attackers including Garchomp and Excadrill to sponge hits. U-turn allows it to safely pivot out against checks like Corviknight, Hippowdon, and opposing Landorus-T as well as keep up momentum during a match. Knock Off cripples any Pokemon that switches in by removing their item; this makes Landorus-T much more annoying to switch into. Removing Heavy-Duty Boots from Pokemon like Tornadus-T, Zapdos, and Mandibuzz is especially useful, as it leaves them vulnerable to Landorus-T's Stealth Rock. Toxic is an alternative that cripples Pokemon like Tangrowth, Slowbro, and opposing Landorus-T. It's also especially useful for pressuring Defoggers such as the aforementioned Tornadus-T and Mandibuzz. Leftovers provides Landorus-T with passive recovery, which somewhat mitigates its problem with longevity. 92 Speed EVs are used to outspeed Bisharp and specially defensive Heatran as well as positive-natured base 60s such as Magnezone and Aegislash.
Slowking can switch into strong special attackers such as Tapu Lele and Latios that easily overwhelm Landorus-T. It also generally covers Landorus-T's Water and Ice weaknesses. Similarly, Slowbro can also cover these weaknesses while also alleviating some of the pressure from Landorus-T in checking physical attackers like Garchomp and Excadrill. Bulky Steel-types like Corviknight and Ferrothorn are good partners, as they can take on the aforementioned Psychic-types. Bulk Up Corviknight can also alleviate pressure against physical attackers like Garchomp, Kartana, and Rillaboom, while Ferrothorn is a good Water-resistant teammate that can form a hazard-stacking duo with Landorus-T. Furthermore, Landorus-T can cripple Bulk Up Corviknight's checks such as Zapdos and Slowbro with Knock Off or Toxic. Offensive Pokemon such as Dragapult and Choice Specs Kyurem appreciate being brought in safely by Landorus-T's U-turn, especially against switch-ins like Slowbro and Tangrowth. They also appreciate its Stealth Rock support and ability to cripple their defensive answers with Knock Off or Toxic. Weavile is another good teammate that appreciates being brought in safely by U-turn against Landorus-T's switch-ins, such as Tornadus-T and Zapdos, to get a chance to set up or freely throw out an attack.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Substitute
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Landorus-T's ability in Intimidate and capability of forcing switches against Pokemon like Heatran and Galarian Slowking give it opportunities to set up with Swords Dance, allowing it to act as a dangerous wallbreaker that can easily overwhelm defensive Pokemon such as Clefable and Ferrothorn. Stone Edge is an amazing coverage move that hits Earthquake-immune targets such as Tornadus-T, Zapdos, Hydreigon, and Corviknight. Substitute eases prediction and allows Landorus-T to avoid Toxic and Leech Seed from Pokemon like Hippowdon and Ferrothorn. Alternatively, it can use Stealth Rock to take advantage of the switches it forces as well as its ability to threaten most entry hazard removers. While Leftovers provides passive recovery to keep Landorus-T healthy, Salac Berry is an alternative that gives it the chance to clean late-game and works well with Substitute, although it can only be used once and in certain situations, so it's often inferior.
Offensive Pokemon like Kartana and Weavile work well with Landorus-T, as they can wear down or remove each other's checks like Corviknight and Rotom-W with coverage moves. This Landorus-T set appreciates VoltTurn support, so it pairs well with Pokemon like Tornadus-T and Tapu Koko that often force in the likes of Heatran, Galarian Slowking, and Blissey, which they can safely pivot against to bring Landorus-T in. Late-game cleaners such as Scale Shot Garchomp and Swords Dance Scizor take advantage of the significant damage Landorus-T does against most defensive answers. Landorus-T can also be used on hyper offense teams with dual screens support from Pokemon like Tapu Koko and Regieleki. They can also bring it in safely by using U-turn against Pokemon like Galarian Slowking and Excadrill in the former's case, or by using Explosion in the latter's case.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: U-turn
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Knock Off
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Intimidate
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
With a Choice Scarf, Landorus-T acts as a great way to check various fast threats such as Garchomp, Tapu Koko, and Tornadus-T. U-turn allows it to pivot out against counters such as Corviknight and Slowbro or bring in teammates safely when it forces a switch. Stone Edge provides good coverage alongside Earthquake and allows Landorus-T to check Pokemon like Tornadus-T. Knock Off is used to cripple defensive switch-ins such as Corviknight, Ferrothorn, Mandibuzz, and Slowbro. Defog can be used in the last slot, as Landorus-T can remove entry hazards on forced switches. Explosion can be used instead as a way to leave a dent in the opposition while also giving a teammate a free switch.
Wallbreakers such as Dragapult, Choice Specs Kyurem, and Nasty Plot Tornadus-T appreciate being brought in safely by U-turn against Landorus-T's switch-ins like Slowbro and Tangrowth. Pokemon such as Tapu Koko and Zeraora can form a VoltTurn core with Landorus-T; they also pressure the likes of Slowbro and Corviknight that switch into it and appreciate that it checks opposing Ground-types. Pokemon like Heatran and Ferrothorn can wear down the opposition by setting up entry hazards or by using moves such as Toxic, or Knock Off and Leech Seed in the latter's case. This can potentially give Landorus-T a chance to clean late-game. Furthermore, Heatran can take advantage of Corviknight and Tangrowth, which Landorus-T can use U-turn to pivot on.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
A Focus Sash set can be used to set up Stealth Rock for hyper offense teams and potentially leave a dent with Explosion. Defensive sets can utilize Defog, as Landorus-T has a favorable matchup against Stealth Rock setters such as Heatran and Tyranitar. However, it's rather inconsistent, especially against entry hazard setters that carry Toxic like Garchomp and opposing Landorus-T. Rocky Helmet can be used on defensive sets to punish contact moves, especially U-turn from Rillaboom, Tapu Koko, and opposing Landorus-T, at the cost of not having a way to maintain health. Soft Sand can be used on Swords Dance sets for more offensive pressure, making it even harder for Pokemon like Slowbro and Hippowdon to keep Landorus-T in check, although this leaves it without passive recovery. Protect can be used on defensive sets to gain extra Leftovers recovery, making Landorus-T harder to wear down. It can also waste Defog PPs from Corviknight, which can otherwise use Pressure to stall out Stealth Rock. Additionally, it can scout Choice-locked attackers like Choice Specs Dragapult and Kyurem, making them easier to play around; however, Landorus-T struggles to fit it over any other moves. A Double Dance set with Rock Polish and Swords Dance can make Landorus-T much harder to check. Although, finding a chance to use both setup moves is difficult, often forcing it to choose between the two. Other Swords Dance sets with moves such as Fly to hit Grass-types like Tangrowth or Gravity to hit Ground-immune targets can be used, but they're rather inconsistent. A Choice Band set can be used to take advantage of Landorus-T's high Attack and strong coverage, although it requires a lot more prediction to pull off.
Checks and Counters
====
**Water-types**: Slowbro is a great defensive answer to Landorus-T by virtue of its high Defense, which means it can take hits well and retaliate with Scald or Ice Beam, although it dislikes taking a Toxic. Other bulky Water-types such as Rotom-W and Gastrodon can usually take a hit and threaten Landorus-T with their super effective STAB moves, but they struggle against Swords Dance sets and dislike Toxic as well. Offensive Water-types like Urshifu-R, Barraskewda, and Choice Scarf Tapu Fini can easily revenge kill Landorus-T. Urshifu-R is notably good at taking down Substitute variants thanks to Surging Strikes.
**Corviknight and Skarmory**: Thanks to their typing and excellent defensive stats, both of these Pokemon take very little from Landorus-T's attacks and are immune to Toxic. Corviknight can clear Stealth Rock with Defog, use Brave Bird to chip away at Landorus-T, or use U-turn to pivot out into a teammate. Skarmory can set up its own entry hazards, threaten Landorus-T with Toxic, or use Iron Defense to make tanking hits easier and be one of the best counters to Swords Dance sets.
**Grass-types**: Tangrowth can easily wall Landorus-T due to its typing and good Defense; Ferrothorn can also take a hit from Landorus-T, although it struggles against Swords Dance variants. They can both use Knock Off or wear down Landorus-T with their STAB moves and Leech Seed. Rillaboom can revenge kill offensive Landorus-T with Grassy Glide and also summon Grassy Terrain to lower Earthquake's damage, but it dislikes switching into U-turn or Toxic from other sets.
**Strong Special Attackers**: Landorus-T's mediocre special bulk means it can easily be KOed by special attackers such as Tapu Lele, Dragapult, and Latios.
**Ice-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Ice-types such as Kyurem and Weavile can outspeed non-Choice Scarf Landorus-T and easily OHKO it. Ice-type coverage like Ice Beam from Nidoking and Galarian Slowking is also problematic for Landorus-T.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[DKM, 402001]]
- Quality checked by: [[ausma, 360720], [curiosity, 443485]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [Milak, 262594]]
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