Terrakion (Analysis)

JabbaTheGriffin

Stormblessed
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PUPL Champion
Jibaku EDIT:
QC APPROVED (5/3)

[Overview]

<p>Part of the new legendary foursome (don't forget PONY, people!), Terrakion boasts a unique type combination with Fighting/Rock and some pretty beastly base stats to take advantage of it offensively. The great type coverage granted by its STABs alone essentially allows Terrakion to do whatever it wants with its last two moveslots. Because of these factors, Terrakion can be one of the best stat-boosters in the game,one of the best Choice Band users in the game, and one of the best revenge killers in the game when equipped with a Choice Scarf. With this offensive diversity, Terrakion is one of the best offensive threats in the game that every team should be prepared for, and everyone should consider using.</p>

[SET]
name: Double Booster
move 1: Rock Polish
move 2: Swords Dance
move 3: Close Combat
move 4: Stone Edge
item: Air Balloon / Life Orb
nature: Jolly / Adamant
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>As mentioned in the Overview, Terrakion has amazing offensive typing, and combined with its bulk, has the freedom to do what very few other Pokemon in the game are able to: run a double boosting set. This gives Terrakion the versatility to be a fantastic weapon against both offensive and defensive teams. Against offensive teams, Rock Polish allows Terrakion to use its great STABs and the boost from Life Orb to run through them. Against slower, defensive teams, Terrakion can amplify its raw power with a Swords Dance, since it is unlikely to require the Speed boost. Also, it isn't that uncommon to find yourself in a situation where you are able to boost both Speed and Attack.</p>

<p>Air Balloon versus Life Orb is the biggest question you have to ask yourself when using Double Boosting Terrakion. Air Balloon is extremely useful for setting up in those frequent situations where you need to avoid an Earthquake. The two most obvious scenarios are getting an extra boost against Gliscor and serving as somewhat of an Excadrill check that can threaten a late game sweepin the absence of a Rock Slide flinch, of course. Life Orb, on the other hand, adds to Terrakion's raw power, allowing it to nail a number of KOs that it normally wouldn't get. It really comes down to personal preference and which item is best suited for your team. Choose wisely!</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Whether to choose Adamant or Jolly is another difficult choice. Jolly is preferred for the ability to outspeed plus-Speed Base 100s before a Rock Polish boost, and to tie other base 108s, most prominently Virizion, Infernape, and obviously other Terrakion. The power boost from Adamant is very welcome, however. So if you're fine losing the jump on a few notable Pokemon, feel free to go with that. You could also run a slightly bulkier spread with Leftovers if that floats your boat. However, the standard 4 HP /252 Atk /252 Spe spread generally works best.</p>

<p>Terrakion already has fantastic coverage with its two STABs, but you can always drop one of the boosting moves for a coverage move, the best option being X-Scissor. X-Scissor gives you a slightly stronger, 100% accurate move against a few of the Psychic-types that can slow Terrakion down a bit (especially Claydol). Earthquake is generally a terrible option, as its coverage is extremely redundant with Close Combat, so don't run that on this set.</p>

<p>Terrakion can function as either the Pokemon that opens holes for the rest of your team, or the Pokemon that takes advantage of the holes opened by other threatening sweepers. Generally, the best sweepers to pair with Terrakion are those that fare well in sand. Landorus and Excadrill are the two prominent sweepers that come to mind. Landorus can stick Hidden Power Ice on its set to take out Gliscor or run Swords Dance and Life Orb to absolutely eviscerate Slowbro or Reuniclus. Terrakion itself can muscle its way through Gliscor, which allows Excadrill to have a field day. Because Terrakion shares a number of weaknesses with either two of those sweepers, you should also consider pairing Terrakion with some sweepers that offer nice resistance-pairing. Choices include Gyarados, which resists Fighting-, Water-, Steel-, and is immune to Ground-type attacks; or Latios, which also provides several compatible resistances while potentially baiting Dark-type attacks.</p>

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: X-Scissor
move 4: Sacred Sword / Quick Attack
item: Choice Band
nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Stop me if I'm talking too much about how great Terrakion's offensive typing is, but the Choice Band set truly exemplifies just how fantastic its STABs really are. Choice Band Terrakion essentially boils down to, "Click its appropriate STAB for the situation and watch things take massive amounts of damage." Additional factors, such as great Speed, a resistance to Stealth Rock, and solid bulk make Terrakion arguably the best Choice Band user in the OU metagame.</p>

<p>Because of just how balling Terrakion's STABs are, the last two moves in the set serve a very limited function. X-Scissor hits the bulky Psychic-types a bit harder than Stone Edge does, while also having the upside of being 100% accurate. Sacred Sword is a solid option in the fourth moveslot for situations in which you want to use your Fighting-type STAB without being forced to lower your defenses. Quick Attack, normally a terrible option on just about everything that learns it, is somewhat viable on Terrakion. Because Terrakion doesn't need a coverage move in that last slot, Quick Attack becomes a solid situational, last resort move if you need to knock that last 15% off Latios.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Earthquake is extremely redundant with Close Combat, but it nails a couple things slightly harder and doesn't lower your defenses. However, because Choice-locked Earthquake without STAB is generally a terrible option, you're generally better off with Sacred Sword as your situational move of choice. Rock Slide is also a viable option, as it allows you to take advantage of a higher accuracy version of your Rock-type STAB while also being able to fish for a flinch if you ever need one.</p>

<p>You generally don't want to lower a non-Rock Polish Terrakion's speed because it sits at a number where dropping from Jolly to Adamant will leave it outsped by a good amount of threats (as well as losing the speed tie with Virizion and Infernape), but on Choice Band Terrakion, the extra power can be very welcome against Pokemon such as Gliscor and Slowbro.</p>

<p>The same Pokemon that pair up well with the Double Boosting set also pair well with Choice Band Terrakion. In this case, however, Terrakion is generally best suited as the Pokemon that does the damage necessary to open holes in the opponent's team. The sheer damage that even bulkier Pokemon like Gliscor take from Terrakion's STABs make it nearly impossible for those defensive Pokemon to stay around long enough to wall the subsequent Excadrill or Landorus.</p>

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: X-Scissor
move 4: Rock Slide / Sacred Sword
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Many of the same factors that make Terrakion an amazing Choice Band user lend themselves to making Terrakion one of the best Choice Scarf users in the game as well. Its blazing speed allows it to safely revenge kill some of the biggest threats in the game, including Deoxys-S (but unfortunately not Excadrill!), a milestone that many viable Choice Scarf useers fall short of. The moves are self-explanatory if you read the Choice Band set. The fourth slot is, once again, essentially useless, so run whatever you feel like. Rock Slide is the first option merely because the extremely fast flinch is sure to save you more than other options for that last slot could.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Once again, Adamant is an option over Jolly, and even more viable on the with a Choice Scarf. But still, losing the jump on several key Pokemon is rarely worth the extra power. Earthquake is a terrible option again for doing slightly more damage to Jirachi or...Muk, or something. You could still run Quick Attack in the last slot to pick off threatening Pokemon at low health...I'm just kidding. Please don't do that.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>I'm sure you've already looked through Terrakion's moveset and thought, "Whoa it learns Calm Mind!" Yes, yes it does learn Calm Mind. It's arguably Terrakion's best set; however, for some reason, the Quality Control guys won't let me list it first in this analysis. In a similar, actually serious vein, Terrakion also learns Work Up. The only use for it would be to lure Gliscor into a +1 Hidden Power Ice. The problem with that idea is that using Work Up as your opponent switches to Gliscor is a dead giveaway that you're rocking Hidden Power Ice. If you want Terrakion to act as a Gliscor lure, you're much better just pumping a ton of EVs into Special Attack so that it doesn't see it coming until it's already dead.</p>

<p>Terrakion also learns Taunt, which obviously makes a Taunt/Swords Dance set an option. However, most of Terrakion's counters are simply going to attack it straight up, meaning there are very few situations in which Taunt would be anywhere near useful. Maybe against Skarmory I guess? Yeah, that makes sense.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Gliscor and Slowbro are generally your worst enemies. Unless you're using them to counter Terrakion...then they're probably your best friends. The Swords Dance and Choice Band sets can put huge dents into the both of them, and sometimes straight-up beat themthough oftentimes you'll have to rely on hitting two Stone Edges in a row. That's one of the most frustrating things about countering Terrakion: because it has great STABs and hits so hard, even its "counters" have trouble handling it. Jellicent and Reuniclus can also handle Terrakion to a slight degree. Hippowdon handles it about as well as Gliscor does and has Slack Off to stick around longer.</p>

<p>If you want to reach down into UU, you can actually find a couple Pokemon that shut down Terrakion better than anything in OU can. Nidoqueen and Golurk are just about full stops to Terrakion. Claydol shuts down most Terrakion, though make sure you don't get caught on the wrong end of a Choice Band-boosted X-Scissor.</p>

<p>Terrakion can be hard to check because of its great speed. Scizor and Azumarill are two Choice Band users that can stop any Terrakion set dead in its tracks with their STAB priority attacks. Latios and Latias both outspeed it before a Rock Polish boost and threaten an OHKO with Psyshock. Excadrill can do the same with Earthquake in sand, though make sure you break the potential Air Balloon first!</p>
 
wow this system is run terribly. i can't believe it took me 7 minutes to get 3 QC checks.

whatever i'll do the writeup anyway.
 
QCed way too fast for my taste (...even if I'm NOT part of QC)

1- EV Spreads should be 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
(to avoid getting an extra Spike3 damage).

2- Double Booster should mention:
"drop a boosting move for a coverage move such as Earthquake if double boosting isn't your style."

3- Quick Attack should indeed be slashed before Earthquake on the Choice Band set
(Earthquake won't be used nearly as much as Quick Attack and after testing the Choice Band set,
I think that Quick Attack really is the best option).

4- I tried the Choice Scarf set and I was disappointed: 108 base Speed really is enough by itself !
Starmie and the Latis are the only problem, Thundurus (and Tornadus) usually don't stay on Terrakion, Scarf or not.

5- Mention Nidoking resisting your STABs and OHKOing you with Earth Power on steroids.
 
Holy Sword is a very good option on CB / CS when you want accuracy and can't afford lowering defenses... X-Scissor doesn't do anything anyway because claydol doesn't exist and you probably shouldn't revenge Reuniclus anyway (though you can if its weakened). I would probably go:

Close Combat
Stone Edge
Holy Sword / X-Scissor
Quick Attack / Earthquake

Also, for Double booster, Life Orb Terakion pretty much blasts through Gliscor and Hippo at +2, so they are pretty shaky counters (gliscor must be in REALLY good health it does 80%ish, Hippo roughly 90%). Balloon lets you sweep easier, but Life Orb is better in my opinion because you can pretty much blindly SPAM Close combat for super damage against most things even when you can't set up. Landorus for example is cleanly 2HKOed with SR from Life Close Combat.
 
Yeah i only thought of Holy Sword earlier and realized it's probably an OK option but i'm not sure if i'd give it preference over a coverage move especially X-Scissor since i would never want to drop the 100% 160 bp move against both reun and Lati@s. If anything i'd opt it in the last slot.

And yeah LO SD definitely blasts through. But it's probably one of the least common terrakions but i'll definitely give it high praise in the write up
 
No mention of rock slide? Terrakion appreciates the higher accuracy, and he's fast enough to abuse the flinch chance.
 
Cecil made this Terrakion set, so all credit goes to him / her.

I saw this set on WishMKR:

name: Work Up
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Justified
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 232 Atk / 24 SpA / 252 Spe
IVs: 31 / 30 / 30 / 31 / 31 / 31
~ Work Up
~ Close Combat
~ Stone Edge
~ Hidden Power Ice

It works by using Work Up to boost both its Attack and Special Attack, then attacking with its boosted stats. If a Gliscor just so happens to pop in this Terrakion's path, Hidden POUWER Ice takes it down, dealing a minimum of 100% to it. After that, it usually is free to continue its sweep. My only contribution to this set is the slashing of Air Balloon alongside Life Orb to allow for easier set-up, although that might cost this Terrakion a few KOs.
 
Cecil made this Terrakion set, so all credit goes to him / her.

I saw this set on WishMKR:

name: Work Up
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Justified
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 232 Atk / 24 SpA / 252 Spe
IVs: 31 / 30 / 30 / 31 / 31 / 31
~ Work Up
~ Close Combat
~ Stone Edge
~ Hidden Power Ice

It works by using Work Up to boost both its Attack and Special Attack, then attacking with its boosted stats. If a Gliscor just so happens to pop in this Terrakion's path, Hidden POUWER Ice takes it down, dealing a minimum of 100% to it. After that, it usually is free to continue its sweep. My only contribution to this set is the slashing of Air Balloon alongside Life Orb to allow for easier set-up, although that might cost this Terrakion a few KOs.

since gliscor takes about 80% from +2 terrakion, like raikou said, there is no real reason for this set. like it doesnt hit as hard as sword dance terrakion, and this set seems to only be made to kill gliscor. oo makes sense i guess
 
A single boosting set should be mentioned, probably before choice band is.
Running both Rock Polish and Swords Dance robs you of the opportunity to run further coverage (X-Scizzor, Earthquake, Quick Attack). Why not something standard and simple like:

@Life Orb / Air Balloon
Nature: Adamant / Jolly
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
-Rock Polish / Swords Dance
-Close Combat
-Stone Edge
-X-Scizzor / Earthquake
 
The point is that this is Rock/Fighting coverage, unless you're one of those types then double boosting is more than enough, or at the very most Taunt over Rock Polish.
 
It has already been mentioned that if the player doesn't want to run two boosting moves, it can replace one of them with coverage. Simple as that.
 
Cecil made this Terrakion set, so all credit goes to him / her.

I saw this set on WishMKR:

name: Work Up
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Justified
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 232 Atk / 24 SpA / 252 Spe
IVs: 31 / 30 / 30 / 31 / 31 / 31
~ Work Up
~ Close Combat
~ Stone Edge
~ Hidden Power Ice

It works by using Work Up to boost both its Attack and Special Attack, then attacking with its boosted stats. If a Gliscor just so happens to pop in this Terrakion's path, Hidden POUWER Ice takes it down, dealing a minimum of 100% to it. After that, it usually is free to continue its sweep. My only contribution to this set is the slashing of Air Balloon alongside Life Orb to allow for easier set-up, although that might cost this Terrakion a few KOs.

Wait, what?
 
Would love to see a taunt set.

@Air Balloon
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Speed
Move 1: Taunt
Move 2: Swords Dance
Move 3: Close Combat
Move 4: Stone Edge

This set is a stupendous wall breaker and can move on to sweep after. The Air Balloon is crucial to this set working, allowing him to set up on Gliscor. His STAB attacks are resisted by only a select few pokemon, so he doesn't really need filler coverage. Taunt completely shuts down Skarmory and makes him set up fodder. There's a lot more this set can do. I'm shocked that no one has suggested it yet.

Fun fact: +4 Terrakion OHKOs Gliscor with Stone Edge, after SR damage. +6 Terrakion OHKOs just about anything, and doesn't get 3HKO by Skarmory's Brave Bird.
 
Cecil made this Terrakion set, so all credit goes to him / her.

I saw this set on WishMKR:

name: Work Up
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Justified
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 232 Atk / 24 SpA / 252 Spe
IVs: 31 / 30 / 30 / 31 / 31 / 31
~ Work Up
~ Close Combat
~ Stone Edge
~ Hidden Power Ice

It works by using Work Up to boost both its Attack and Special Attack, then attacking with its boosted stats. If a Gliscor just so happens to pop in this Terrakion's path, Hidden POUWER Ice takes it down, dealing a minimum of 100% to it. After that, it usually is free to continue its sweep. My only contribution to this set is the slashing of Air Balloon alongside Life Orb to allow for easier set-up, although that might cost this Terrakion a few KOs.

Ciele mentioned this set to me. After testing it, I found that it actually works extremely well. Definitely worth including, or at least mentioning in the Other Options
 
since gliscor takes about 80% from +2 terrakion, like raikou said, there is no real reason for this set. like it doesnt hit as hard as sword dance terrakion, and this set seems to only be made to kill gliscor. oo makes sense i guess

the difference between 80% and 100% is that you have to take an earthquake and rely on a 64% chance in the former.

I can't say that using work up isn't extremely predictable though, lol
 
I've found bulky Tangrowth to be one of the best counters to both of the choice sets, tanking hits and then regenerating off to something that resists the move you're locked into. Similar to Slowbro except bulkier but without a Fighting-type resist.
 
Come on guys, just let the guy write. I'm sure Jabba will make mentions of the options above this post when he does get to it, so relax!
 
Chople Berry should definitely get a mention here (at least in Other Options). It lets Terrakion handle Conkeldurr's Mach Punch and allows it to switch into Tyranitar easier (among other things).
 
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