Terrakion (Analysis)

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Terakion

[Overview]

- Heralded as one of the best setup sweepers of the new generation due to incredible power, great speed, awesome coverage
- Arguably best Dual STAB in the game, resisted only by Claydol, Goruggu, Nidoking/queen, Medicham, Gallade, Toxicroak (most of which aren't very defensively effective)
- Very versatile- packs both Swords Dance and Rock Polish, and is equally effective at both
- Great type coverage- amazing neutral coverage with dual STAB and effective coverage moves in Earthquake and X-Scissor
- Justice Heart + a resistance to Dark lets it grab free Attack boosts

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

[SET COMMENTS]

- One of the most effective sweepers in Generation 5
- Amazing coverage with its dual STAB
- Uses both Swords Dance and Rock Polish for maximum versatility- use Swords Dance against Stall, Rock Polish against offense, and if you can get both, becomes nearly impossible to stop
- Very bulky- 91/90/90 defenses are very effective, especially with Sandstorm support
- Justice Heart can allow you to nab an extra +1 Attack, extremely useful if you intend to use Rock Polish

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

- If double boosting isn't your style, you can drop one of the boosting moves for a coverage move
- X-Scissor, Earthquake, Quick Attack (only with SD)
- Balloon is the suggested item, as it allows Terakion to set up on Ground moves for free, and also makes it easier for Terakion to switch in. Life Orb sacrifices setup ease for massive increased power. Life Orb is suggested if the primary goal is Rock Polish, doubly so if not running Swords Dance.
- Simple max atk / max spe build- suggested to run max Spe in order to tie Infernape and other horses
- Adamant suggested for Rock Polish, but Jolly acceptable if Swords Dance is preferred. If not using Swords Dance, definitely use Adamant, and vice versa for non-Rock Polish.
- Suggest pairing with Sandstorm in some form for SDef boost- Tyranitar can help break walls for a Rock Polish sweep, but Hippowdon doesn't double up the weaknesses to Fighting and Steel
- Priority users destroy Terakion, as it is weak to Aqua Jet, Mach Punch, Vacuum Wave, Bullet Punch, so remove opposing Priority before attempting to sweep with Terakion

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

[SET COMMENTS]

- Brutal power with high-powered dual stab and a Choice Band
- Extremely difficult to switch into- 2hkos everything with Stone Edge and Close Combat
- Fast- an excellent way to hit powerful setup sweepers like Swords Dance Ononokusu, Calm Mind Jirachi, Tail Glow or Calm Mind Manaphy, Swords Dance Randorosu, etc.
- X-Scissor used to hit Psychic-types such as Lati@s, Rankurusu, etc.
- Quick Attack is fairly strong when empowered by Choice Band, and can pick off weakened opponents. Earthquake offers semi-redundant coverage, but hits Jirachi, Metagross harder
- Justice Heart can allow you to nab an extra +1 Attack

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

- Simple EV spread- Max Atk / Spe, Jolly Nature.
- Again, Sandstorm is suggested for bulk, since this Terakion appreciates the ability to switch into weak Special attacks and dish out damage
- Priority not as much of an issue with Choice Band, but still should be watched for

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: X-Scissor
move 4: Earthquake
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Jolly
EVs: 48 HP / 252 Atk / 208 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

- Excellent revenge killer for a wide variety of threats
- Extremely fast- outspeeds Scarfed Garchomp and all Scarfed base 100s
- Solid power- strong dual STAB and 357 Attack means it can check a huge number of major offensive threats, including DD Ononokusu/Kingdra/Dragonite/Salamence, SD Lucario w/o Bullet Punch, etc.
- Solid bulk w/ 91/90/90 defenses, especially with Sandstorm- makes it easy to switch into resisted moves from faster opponents
- Great type coverage- can revenge an extremely wide range of foes
- Justice Heart can allow you to nab an extra +1 Attack

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

- EVs outspeed Scarf Garchomp, maxed Attack, rest in HP. Jolly nature for Jolly Scarfchomp and the Jolly base 100s (Salamence, Flygon (if it ever exists), Jirachi, etc).
- Once again, Sandstorm suggested for bulk. Wallbreaking Tyranitar can help with the lower offensive power of this set, as it can sweep later when key resistances are eliminated
- Again, there are some enemies that this can't revenge- Swords Dance Scizor, anything with Rock Polish (except some really slow stuff, or Pokemon with priority for setting up- make sure to deal with these targets

[TEAM OPTIONS]

- Tyranitar or Hippowdon, obviously for the purpose of Sandstorm. Tyranitar is preferred, as it can break troublesome walls like Skarmory and Gliscor with mixed sets.
- Really, the setup version doesn't need much support, as it can basically blast through everything. Wallbreaking allies like Mixed Tyranitar and other lures for Skarmory and Gliscor can be nice if you're running Rock Polish exclusively, while a way to deal with Scarfers and other fast Pokemon can be helpful for Swords Dance exclusive variants. The same goes for Choice Scarf and Choice Band respectively as well.
- Ways to trap/lure and/or kill major Priority users are a big, big deal. Babiri/Chople/Passho Tyranitar can lure and MAYBE kill Scizor / Roobushin or Infernape / Azumarill, or at the very least weaken them significantly.

[Optional Changes]

- Taunt can be used over Rock Polish on the booster set- SD + Taunt with Life Orb basically annihilates stall teams.
- Holy Sword and Rock Slide are passable- Holy Sword doesn't drop defenses and ignores opposing stat boosts, while Rock Slide misses half as much and has a chance to flinch, but Terakion really needs the OHKO power, and Holy Sword / Rock Slide have 25% less power than their mainstay counterparts.
- Chople / Babiri / Passho berries can let Terakion lure in and kill Priority users such as Scizor / Roobushin / Azumarill, which is useful if you want to preotect against a specific priority user or kill one for another sweeper on your team.

[Counters]

- Priority, priority, priority. Scizor, Azumarill, Roobushin, basically anything with super-effective Priority and STAB will hurt Terakion a lot and shut down its sweeping ability.
- Choice Band and Choice Scarf variants are shut down by effective prediction, as it can't leverage its solid type coverage as well. Wobbuffet can also easily revenge a Terakion locked into Close Combat, or especially a Quick Attack locked CB Terakion.
 
Swords Dance and Rock Polish should be slashed on the first set in my opinion. He can make use of both with his defenses, but it's pretty risky spending two turns to use both. The problem is, he doesn't have many other offensive options alongside Close Combat and Stone Edge (aside from Earthquake and X-scissor). He can make use of Taunt or Roar for a disruptive move instead of using both.
 
The aim is not to use both every time, the aim is to have options. You don't need extra moveslots for a sweeper, but the idea is that if you're up against stall or defensive/slow teams, you use Swords Dance, and if you're up against offensive/fast teams, you use Rock Polish. If you can get both you're gravy, but if you're playing trying to get both boosts all the time, "you're doing it wrong".

Forgot about Taunt, I'll mention it in OC. Roar isn't that interesting, though.
 
Hm, I gotcha. Good concept, but it doesn't seem like it should take the top spot over a more "standard" Jolly Sword Dancer with three attacks. But I haven't used him much, so I can't say to much on the set's usefulness. I need to try it out. I'll try to work it in a team, but I'm pretty sure it's a good enough set. Many times have we all run into those situations when we find that perfect time to set up, but run into some sort of roadbloack which the other move could have avoided. It also may fluster the opponent if you use one of them at one point, switch him out when a counter appears, then use the other boost at a later point.

Agreed on Roar though. He has the stats, but if you focus on boosting in the mindset as you described, it won't be as useful as Taunt, especially if you use the Balloon.
 
I've used him a ton- on basically every single new team I've ever used. The versatility that comes with it is so amazing, and it's basically good game if they have no priority and you get both boosts. I've used every single variant, and I can definitely say that the double dancer is absolutely my favorite set on Terakion. Trust me, I know
 
Do the 48 HP EVs on the Scarf set allow Terakion to survive anything in particular? When I used Scarf Terakion, I just maxed out Speed to tie other Scarf Terakion and Infernape. Granted they're fairly rare, it helped on a few occasions. It's not really a big deal, but I think it deserves an AC mention at least. Everything looks good though.

QC Approved 1/2
 
The double dancer set looks great, I'm going to try it out later.

I've been using a jolly 252/252 set with sacred sword, rock slide, swords dance and sub with lefties.

Rock slides ability to flinch has saved me numerous times. I'm surprised that it hasn't been mentioned anywhere in this analysis. The lack of close combat + lefties and sub give terrakion some staying power, protect him from any wayward status and allow him to set up at times where he otherwise couldn't.
 
Okay, God, I typed up paragraphs of this, but then FireFox got testy with me, so I'll make this concise.

I'd like to point out that while Terakion has terrific offensive stats and to a lesser extent defensive stats, he should be cautioned of his many weaknesses. In this metagame, he is weak to many common attack-types, in particular: Water, Fighting, Grass, Steel, and (less commonly, but getting more popular) Psychic type attacks. Terakion also should be careful of strong neutral hits, because in my experience, 91 / 90 / 90 defenses are convenient, but not fantastically groundbreaking. His nook and crannies are pretty much covered otherwise, some "other options" required (I too am an avid user of Terakion).

As far as Scarf goes, I'm a bit iffy on the extra 48 HP EVs like Iconic is, though Infernape and other trio members are pretty uncommon with +1 Speed. Go with what you think is best for Terakion.

...And yeah. Not much to change here, to be honest.
 
I don't mean to be rude, but the original post has Choice Band listed as the item on the Choice Scarf set. Sorry.
 
I'd like to see Holy Sword slashed with CC, or at least in Optional Changes. It's mostly based on preference, but it should be considered, he is the best user of it of the quartet. And it is more effective if in some situation you found yourself against a BP Vaporeon (I've run into it a few times) or something similar.
 
everything looks great, nice job SDS. @Teh Mysterious Egg, Terakion really loves the power of CC, Birijion is probably the better user of it as it has the nice resistances that terakion doesn't. Terakion has quite a few weaknesses (ground/steel/water/grass/psychic) so a lot of the time the opponent is hitting you SE anyway, thus lessening the need to not drop your defenses with CC. That being said, Optional Changes would be fine with me but SDS has used Terakion way more than me so whatever he thinks there is fine with me.
QC Approved 2/2
 
I think Goruugu needs to be added to the counters section, and possibly Claydol for a mention, as I've just run calcs for both after debate over Terakion over in Uncharted.

Claydol beats any set without X-Scissor - so the boosting one in the analysis, due to resisting both its STABs and being immune to EQ. However due to the tenuous nature of this counter fair play if you don't put it in.

Goruugu however can simply hard counter Tera. It's immune to Fighting and Quick Attack, resists Rock and Bug, and is neutral to EQ. With defensive investment it can avoid being 2HKOd by any variant (or OHKOd by a SD one) even after SR and proceed to OHKO back with EQ. Balloon variants which avoid EQ cannot 2HKO and are beaten by Iron Fist Hammer Arm. The poor beast doesn't even get a single move to hit Goruugu SE.

Admittedly Goruugu isn't the most common mon in OU, but I think he's worth a mention at least. Anyway, the analysis is pretty awesome and there's nothing else I'd suggest adding or changing.
 
I really think Jolly should be the first slash on the double dance set, as it lets Terakion revenge dangerous sand stuff like Landlos, Garchomp, and it also ties with other musketeers.

Otherwise, everything looks fine.
 
I think it's worth mentioning HP Ice as a coverage option. Whilst the only target worth using it against is Gliscor (possibly Intimidate Salamence?) it does a good enough job taking him down consistently, and it's not like X Scissor is really going to be used that much. Here's some calcs.

Calcs against 0HP / 0Def / 0SpD Jolly Poison Heal Gliscor.

252 Jolly Terakion's Stone Edge: 45.4% - 53.6% (guaranteed 3HKO, chance to 2HKO with Stealth Rock)
Odds of no misses: 51.2% or 64%

252 LO Jolly Terakion's Stone Edge: 59.1% - 70.1% (guaranteed 2HKO)
Odds of no misses: 64%

0 Jolly Terakion's HP Ice: 61.9% - 72.9% (guaranteed 2HKO)
Odds of no misses: 100%

4 LO Naive Terakion's HP Ice: 88% - 104.5% (OHKO with Stealth Rock, chance to OHKO without)
Odds of no misses: 100%

Calcs against 252HP / 0Def / 0SpD Jolly Poison Heal Gliscor.

252 Jolly Terakion's Stone Edge: 37.3% - 44.1% (3HKO with Stealth Rock, chance to 3HKO without)
Odds of no misses: 51.2%

252 LO Jolly Terakion's Stone Edge: 48.6% - 57.6% (guaranteed 3HKO, chance to 2HKO with Stealth Rock, small chance without)
Odds of no misses: 51.2% or 64%

0 Jolly Terakion's HP Ice: 50.8% - 59.9% (2HKO with Stealth Rock, chance to 2HKO without Stealth Rock)
Odds of no misses: 100%

4 Naive Terakion's HP Ice: 56.5% - 66.7%(guaranteed 2HKO)
Odds of no misses: 100%

Having a Life Orb at all means that HP Ice will always 2HKO Gliscor unless it runs a Yache Berry or a spread exceeding 252HP / 120SpD.

Against Offensive Gliscor: Stone Edge is mostly a 3HKO without Life Orb and a 2HKO with one, but of course you have a significant chance of missing in both cases. On the other hand, HP Ice will always 2HKO without investment, and with a Life Orb and neutral nature you can even guarantee a OHKO with Stealth Rock. And it won't miss, either.

Against Bulky Gliscor: Stone Edge will either 4HKO or 3HKO without Life Orb, and even with one you can't really 2HKO without Stealth Rock. Meanwhile, HP Ice will always 2HKO with Stealth Rock, and with a neutral nature and minimal investment you can still guarantee a 2HKO, all without a Life Orb. And you still have the benefit of never missing.

Seems worth it, although it's probably not if you're running a Swords Dance set. If you have a Balloon, you can just switch in on Gliscor, hit it whilst it breaks your Balloon or boosts, and hit it again for the KO with Naive and 4 EVs, against most Gliscor sets.
 
I know it's in OC, but I think Holy Sword is the better option on the Scarf set as opposed to the filler coverage with EQ. A choice-locked EQ gives too many free turns when he's better off just spamming his STABs. Holy Sword is useful for revenging random boosters and it's nice to have a fighting STAB that doesn't lower his defenses.
 
The actual value of 252 EV's in Speed is debateable.


  • 252 Speed without any investment is enough to outrun stall
  • 252 Speed after a Rock Polish becomes 504, which outspeeds everything, except some scarfed Base 130's who won't be doing much anyway, such as Jolteon. Excadrill can't OHKO you with a Baloon, while you OHKO with Close Combat.
  • Not that much sits between 504 and 630 on the speed Teirs.
Due to these facts, it is probobly viable to redistribute the Speed EV's to addittional bulk. Addittional physical bulk may allow Terrakion to take weaker priority attacks, or set up easier. Terrakion's bulk is respectable, but it could be better.

However, about the distribution of this bulk, I am unsure as to the best methord. I think 248/4/4 gives the most overall bulk.

[Gives stats of 385 HP, 217 Def, 217 Sp.Def. Now, imagine in the sand, giving an effective 322 Sp.Def]
 
@Raikaria: With an adamant nature and 252 Evs in speed, Terrakion has 315 speed, which doubles with Rock Polish and out-speeds any Excadrill unless it's scarfed and in sandstorm.
 
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