Harpp
No rain, no flowers.
OVERVIEW
Electric
========
With 115 / 125 offenses, Thundurus can perform the role of a mixed attacker for Electric-type teams. A vast movepool helps it also check various threats to Electric such as Mega Venusaur and Normal, and it provides an important Ground immunity. Its Defiant can punish common moves like Defog, and a very good Speed at base 111 allows it to outspeed common base 110 Speed Pokemon such as Mega Diancie, Mega Gallade, and Latios. However, Thundurus has mediocre bulk, which means it will be easily knocked out by strong neutral moves and cannot be switched into attacks liberally. Its Flying typing makes it weak to Stealth Rock, which further limits the number of times it can switch in to wallbreak and reduces its pivoting options with U-turn, as well as to common Ice- and Rock-type moves, which Electric-types have difficulty switching into aside from Rotom-W and Alolan Golem, respectively. Thundurus also suffers from a case of four-moveslot syndrome, as it cannot check all the threats it could and will always be walled by some threats depending on the moveset it is running. Thundurus is outclassed by Zeraora as a check to Normal-type teams, but Thundurus can handle Mega Venusaur and Poison-type teams, which Zeraora cannot do.
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker (Electric)
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Superpower
move 4: Fly / U-turn
item: Flyinium Z / Life Orb
ability: Defiant
nature: Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Thunderbolt is Thundurus's primary STAB move and breaks through Flying-types such as Celesteela and Staraptor. Thunderbolt is also important for hitting physically bulky Pokemon such as Slowbro, which would shrug off Wild Charge, much harder. Knock Off is a good utility move that allows Thundurus to not only cripple Normal-type teams but also break Psychic-type teams better through severely damaging Pokemon such as Latios. Superpower allows Thundurus to beat threats to Electric-type teams such as Ferrothorn, Chansey, and Kyurem-B. Fly, when used with Flyinium Z, turns into a 175-Base Power Supersonic Skystrike that allows Thundurus to beat Grass-types such as Mega Venusaur, Celebi and Tapu Bulu on a predicted switch. It is also a powerful move in general, allowing Thundurus to break through neutral targets that can threaten Electric-type teams such as Nidoking. U-turn should only be used over Fly if a Z-Move is used on other Pokemon already. It allows Thundurus to act as a fast pivot and pressure Psychic-type teams in conjunction with Knock Off.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack and Speed investment along with a Naive nature makes Thundurus as strong and fast as possible, allowing it to outspeed base 110 Speed Pokemon such as Latios and Mega Gallade. As the set shown is a mixed set, a Naive nature is used so that Thundurus can better take priority attacks from Pokemon like Choice Band Dragonite. Flyinium Z as the item allows Thundurus to use a powerful move in Supersonic Skystrike to check Grass-types such as Breloom, Mega Venusaur and Tapu Bulu . If Fly is not used on the set, Thundurus can utilize Life Orb to increase the damage output of its moves. Defiant as the ability allows Thundurus to gain a free Attack boost if any of its stats is lowered from moves such as Defog. It is also useful against Intimidate users as Landorus-T.
Usage Tips
========
Thundurus should be preserved in matchups where it is needed to eliminate threats such as against Poison- and Normal-type teams. Its main targets when against those teams are Mega Venusaur, Alolan Muk, and Chansey. Thundurus should not be switched into Stealth Rock often, as it severely limits the number of times it can come into the battle and wallbreak. Due to its low bulk, Thundurus should avoid switching into attacks directly, as it can get severely weakened, making it easy to KO and unable to wallbreak effectively. It should switched in through safe switches after a teammate has fainted, smart double switches, or slow Volt Switch support from Rotom-W and Zapdos. Thundurus has a vast movepool, so it is important to not reveal its coverage until the right moment in the battle. For instance, Thundurus can use Thunderbolt initially against Poison-type teams, giving the impression that the set is a special set and then take out Pokemon that may switch into Thunderbolt such as Nidoking, Alolan Muk, and Mega Venusaur by using Supersonic Skystrike. It should avoid status moves that cause burn and poison at all costs. Against walls that check Thundurus such as Zapdos, it should use U-turn on a predicted switch to such walls, gaining momentum for the team. As Supersonic Skystrike is a one-time move, it should not be used liberally against Poison- and Grass-type teams, as without it, Thundurus will not be able to break Pokemon such as Alolan Muk and Mega Venusaur. Knock Off should be used early-game to cripple walls such as Porygon2 and Swampert as well as punish offensive switch-ins like Latios. Superpower should be used cautiously, as its stat drops make Thundurus susceptible to priority moves such as Quick Attack from Diggersby and let Pokemon like Alolan Muk set up on it.
Team Options
========
Rotom-W is a good teammate, as it can sponge special attacks aimed at Thundurus, cripple threats with Will-O-Wisp, and utilize a slow Volt Switch to bring in Thundurus freely. Rotom-W also deals with bulky Ground-types such as Landorus thanks to STAB Hydro Pump. Zapdos provides essential Defog support for Thundurus so that it can wallbreak without getting worn out fast from Stealth Rock. It also acts as physical wall to beat Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Tapu Bulu and provides Thundurus with Volt Switch support. Tapu Koko is a good wallbreaker that appreciates Thundurus checking some of its switch-ins such as Mega Venusaur and Alolan Muk. In return, Tapu Koko can deal with threatening Dragon-types with Dazzling Gleam. Alolan Golem provides Thundurus with important Stealth Rock support, which lets Thundurus KO more effectively. It can also trap Pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Excadrill and eliminate or weaken them with Fire Punch or Earthquake. Alolan Raichu is another good teammate that can act as a cleaner once Thundurus weakens or removes its checks and counters. Zeraora is a fantastic physical attacker that appreciates Thundurus taking down shared checks and weakening walls such as Mega Venusuar and Swampert for it. Zeraora can also beat the Eviolite core of Normal-type teams, relieving pressure from Thundurus. Magnezone can trap and eliminate Pokemon like Mega Scizor, which can tank moves from Thundurus and pose a threat to it.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Electric
--------
Thundurus can also use Hidden Power Ice over Fly to form pseudo-BoltBeam coverage and take on Ground-types such as Landorus, Gliscor, and Garchomp. Thundurus can also utilize Grass Knot to beat bulky Ground-type Pokemon like Swampert and Hippowdon for teammates such as Zeraora. Thundurus can utilize a Choice Band set to wallbreak better; however, it is heavily prediction-reliant and makes Thundurus unable to check some of the major threats to Electric-type teams such as Mega Venusaur. Regardless, if running a Choice Band set, Thundurus can utilize Wild Charge over Thunderbolt. A set that uses Prankster instead of Defiant with Thunder Wave or Taunt is also viable, as it allows Thundurus to cripple faster threats or stallbreak. Thundurus can also utilize a Bulk Up set to boost its Attack and Defense stats. However, Thundurus has mediocre bulk, so it will find it hard to set up Bulk Up safely.
Checks and Counters
===================
Electric
--------
**Faster attackers**: Faster attackers such as Choice Scarf Victini, Tapu Koko, and Choice Scarf Nihilego can easily outspeed and KO Thundurus.
**Ground-types**: Thundurus is walled by bulky Ground-types such as Hippowdon and Gastrodon, as it cannot fit moves to break past them and can get crippled with Toxic.
**Dragon-types**: Dragon-types like Dragonite and Garchomp are not threatened by Thundurus and can KO it easily with their STAB moves.
**Mega Venusaur**: While Mega Venusaur is checked by Fly, it can completely wall variants without Fly.
**Priority Users**: Strong priority users such as Choice Band Dragonite and Bisharp can check and do some serious damage to Thundurus with their priority moves. Thundurus is more susceptible to priority if it is running Life Orb due to the recoil.
**Mixed Walls**: Mixed walls such as Clefable, Mega Sableye, and Mew take on Thundurus pretty easily. Such Pokemon can simply recover off the damage from Thundurus and proceed to cripple it or use status moves such as Stealth Rock.
**Stealth Rock**: Thundurus will lose 25% of its health to Stealth Rock due to its Flying typing, making it easier to check.
[Credits]
-Written by: [[Harp, 320110]]
-Quality Checked by: [[Eien, 100418], [Moosical, 215618], [Maroon, 305839]]
-Grammar Checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216 ],[CryoGyro, 331519]]
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