Still doesnt get Hurricane tho.
However, the meta couldn’t be more different now if it tried. Mega Altaria is now arguably the best Pokemon in the tier, as opposed to in the Thundurus-Therian meta where it was mediocre at best, and bulky ground types such as Hippowdon, Rhyperior, Swampert, Nidoqueen, and many more have risen to dominance. Bulky grasses such as Amoonguss, Tangrowth and Zarude are also rather prevalent and are good at harassing it, with Zarude notably outspeeding it and hitting it for neutral with Darkest Lariat. Nihilego is also bulky enough to eat any one hit other than +2 Gigavolt Havoc and KO with its Rock STAB, outspeeding unboosted Thundurus-Therian to boot. Worse still, it is far from rare that multiple of these checks are on the same team. This means Double Dance struggles to hit everything it needs to with its two available moveslots, making Double Dance, the set it was primarily banned for, far less difficult to deal with. And, as if the meta changes weren’t enough of a problem for it, Light Clay has since been banned, making screens virtually nonexistent. This is especially notable as screens were arguably Thundurus-Therian’s best playstyle.
While base 101 speed is indeed fairly above average for a wallbreaker, it’s more than within the realms of what teams are already prepared for. Notably, it is outsped by Nihilego, Terrakion, Zarude, Azelf, Mienshao, and Keldeo, all of which can threaten it with either their STABs or a common coverage move. While the NP 3 attacks set is generally much more lacking in defensive counterplay, we’re not really strangers to boosting wallbreakers with little defensive counterplay, like Terrakion. Z-Move sets also face issues with Stealth Rocks, especially problematic given how it is likely to be forced out a lot, and the meta has struggled to reliably clear hazards effectively for a while now, making pressuring it easier. Ditching the Z Crystal for Heavy-Duty Boots also means Thundurus-Therian loses a significant amount of its breaking power, though that isn’t to say it can’t run a pivoting set with Knock Off and U-turn/Volt Switch instead to be an effective and relatively powerful Electric-type check, and even NP is still probably fairly strong.
However, there are some aspects of Thundurus-Therian that raise some concern. Namely, its typing plus Volt Absorb turns common Electric-types Zeraora and Mega Manectric not running the already rare Hidden Power Ice into setup fodder, especially Z Move Thundurus-Therian sets, as Zeraora cannot cripple it with Knock Off. This is concerning as often Zeraora or Mega Manectric are a team’s main form of speed control. These traits also gives it additional setup opportunities other boosting wallbreakers here lack, namely letting it set up on Scizor, Salamence, Celesteela and Skarmory, the first three being highly relevant meta threats seen on a large number of teams. Biggest of all, however, is the fact that +2 Gigavolt Havoc has the potential to blow past even bulky checks that resist it, OHKOing Zarude after rocks (if you can remove its boots) and doing upwards of 80% to Amoonguss, meaning teams may end up having to play carefully around its Z move. That said, with how prevalent and effective bulky Ground types are, this may be more risky for Thundurus-Therian than it sounds. Finally, between its possible third slot coverage moves (Psychic, Sludge Bomb, Focus Blast), there aren’t really any reliable defensive answers to every possible option, meaning you have to wait until it reveals said coverage move.
Suspect Test Information
- Reading this is mandatory to participate in the suspect test. The voting requirements are a minimum GXE of 79 with at least 40 games played. In addition, you may play 1 less game for every 0.2 GXE you have above 79 GXE, down to a minimum of 20 games at a GXE of 83. Also, needing more than 40 games to reach 79 GXE will suffice.
GXE minimum games 79 40 79.2 39 79.4 38 79.6 37 79.8 36 80 35 80.2 34 80.4 33 80.6 32 80.8 31 81 30 81.2 29 81.4 28 81.6 27 81.8 26 82 25 82.2 24 82.4 23 82.6 22 82.8 21 83 20
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- The Pokemon that's being suspect tested, Thundurus-T, will be allowed on the National Dex UU ladder for the next two weeks so that we can properly assess its position in the metagame.
- This suspect test will go on for two weeks. It will last until July 31th at 11:59 PM GMT-4.
