Going to come back to this because I just lost two matches back to back because Great Tusk clicked Tera, clicked Rapid Spin, and then just Headlong Rushed my entire team to death, and I'm mad.
This is all helpful advice... before Great Tusk clicks Rapid Spin. As I mentioned before, a speed boosted Great Tusk is nearly impossible to out-offense, even without accounting for Tera. I think people seriously need to consider the fact that this thing is just as bad as a Tera fish as Kingambit. You and pretty much everyone else are ignoring the fact that if you don't have either a booster speed/scarf user on hand or a physical wall, if Great Tusk clicks Rapid Spin mid or late-game, you are basically guaranteed to lose, just like if Gambit gets an opportunity to SD. And of course, sometimes your counter can just get decimated by Tera regardless. Can you give me a single Pokemon that can handle every Tusk tera? I don't think so.
To tie this back into Lokix, it just completely thuds into Tusk and Zama, both of which are extremely common.
252+ Atk Choice Band Tinted Lens Tera Bug Lokix First Impression vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Great Tusk: 216-256 (58.2 - 69%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Tinted Lens Tera Bug Lokix First Impression vs. +1 252 HP / 88 Def Zamazenta: 150-178 (38.6 - 45.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Tinted Lens Tera Bug Lokix First Impression vs. 252 HP / 88 Def Zamazenta: 224-264 (57.7 - 68%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
>”it completely thuds to Tusk and Zama”
>proceeds to show First Impression doing over half to Tusk and doing around 40% to +1 Zama
what is bro talking about?
If your team is struggling to deal with Tusk after it clicks Spin, either your team isn’t well-built or you played poorly.
Tusk is not hard at all to play around. You have checks such as Zapdos/Molt, Corv, Mola, Ogerpon, Araq, Balloon Pecha, Sinistcha, etc. Even so, its not difficult to pivot around with Lando, spinblockers, Zama, etc.
Most good spike stacking teams can very reliably prevent Tusk from getting up a spin with a combination of spinblockers, Tera Ghost, and continuous offensive pressure. Plus, Ting-Lu, the best spiker in the tier can straight up 1v1 Tusk most of the time. After a Ruination, Tusk is now in range of 2 EQs and Tusk doesn’t do enough back.
Saying Tusk is as good of a Tera abuser as Gambit is a such a fucking stretch that a rubber band would snap trying to match it. Often Tusk doesn’t abuse Tera and when it does, its mostly for honest Tera shenanigans like reactive defensive Teras, or boosting Ice Spinner or Headlong Rush’s dmg output.
Tera abusers like Gambit, Garg, Val, Moon, and Bolt can flip the script of entire game, which demands careful decision making through the early-to-mid game and teambuilding to not flop to. That doesn’t mean they’re broken, but it means they’re much more dangerous than something like Tusk.
Going back to Lokix for a sec. It’s kinda ironic that you list Tusk as a check. If anything, Lokix 1v1s it. If you don’t click First Impression like a bot, you can either U-Turn for heavy chip, Knock to remove Boots/Helmet, or Leech Life to heal tons of dmg and 2HKO Tusk due to its fat HP stat.
People underrate Lokix’s wallbreaking abilities. While it isn’t consistent, Tera Bug Leech Life and U-Turns are not easy for most Balances to switch into. Most dual Bug resists either hate Knock (Moltres/Ghold/Pecha), get worn down over time (Tinkaton), or are frail (Valiant). Corv is a strong counter, but Lokix can keep U-Turning after Knocking Helmet and continue the pressure with its teammates. Relying soley on Lokix to wallbreak is terrible, but pairing Lokix with other breakers like Kyurem or Specs Crown can devestate slower builds. It also helps that Lokix threatens one of the biggest mons in the meta rn, Ting-Lu, even if it has to be careful around rocks and Ruination.
What you said about Lokix being a high-skill celling mon is true. Lokix is a strong A-/A tier Pokemon, but it demands specific team support to function and hates SR in a meta where hazard removal is difficult due to Ting-Lu and his friendly ghost friends. Newer players will have a hard time knowing when to click something other than First Impression and will get frustrated when the opponent takes advantage of Lokix being locked into First Impression to set up. Ofc, there are matchups where Lokix can just spam First Impression, but in more Balance or BO-oriented matchups, you gotta turn on your brain.