Assault Vest
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name: Assault Vest
move 1: Hurricane
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: U-turn
item: Assault Vest
evs: 132 HP / 160 SpA / 216 Spe
nature: Timid
Moves
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Hurricane is Tornadus-T's STAB attack and largest source of damage; the accuracy is a necessary evil because the only alternative is Air Slash, which can't even KO Keldeo. Focus Blast provides important coverage on Flying resists Pokemon that resist Flying, such as Tyranitar and Heatran, and 2HKOes Ferrothorn. Knock Off is a major detriment to most defensive switch-ins to Tornadus-T, especially because it threatens Mega Venusaur greatly, one of the best Mega Evolutions for balanced and bulky offensive teams. It can get rid of Heatran's Leftovers or Chansey's Eviolite, for example, to allow Tornadus-T and its teammates to break through them more easily. It also lets Tornadus-T function as a more effective Landorus check, getting rid of its Life Orb, which is a huge source of power for it. U-turn rounds out the set perfectly, as it is simply a great move, working well in tandem with Regenerator to let Tornadus-T (U-turn doesn't pivot of anything. It's Tornadus-T which pivots out with U-turn.) pivot out of threatening Pokemon, and keep the momentum in its team's favor whilst it is healed.
Heat Wave particularly annihilates Ferrothorn and Skarmory, but Focus Blast already 2HKOes both, and the loss of coverage on Heatran and Tyranitar is significant. Superpower is a potential option over Focus Blast for a 100% accurate Fighting-type coverage move that does more damage to Tyranitar and Heatran; however, it does barely anything to Ferrothorn, (remove comma) and moreover forces Tornadus-T to run a Hasty nature for it to have a decent damage output, which unnecessarily compromises its physical bulk.
Set Details
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The EVs give Tornadus-T a guaranteed OHKO on Keldeo with Hurricane whilst allowing it to outspeed (again, the EVs don't outspeed anything. Tornadus-T, with the given EVs, outspeeds said threat and has enough bulk to take on whatever.) Choice Scarf Tyranitar, while and still have some bulk to take on the likes of Landorus and Choice Specs Keldeo better. The choice of a Timid nature over Hasty might seem odd, as this set has two physical moves; the reasoning is that neither is used for its power or coverage, but for pure utility, at which point meaning the decrease in physical bulk is not worth a slightly increased damage output.
Usage Tips
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The function of this Tornadus-T is to pivot into special attackers, most notably handling Landorus admirably and checking Keldeo: it takes about 65% from Choice Specs Hydro Pump and is able to threaten an OHKO in return with Hurricane. As the opponent switches out to some sort of defensive answer, Knock Off is usually the best option to cripple it, and Tornadus-T should then U-turn out to get Regenerator recovery. If you have Torndaus-T has already gotten rid of the threat's item, or you don't want something like Mega Charizard X or Mega Mawile to pick up the momentum, then a flat U-turn is the best option. If you see that the opponent doesn't really have any good switch-ins, then firing off a Hurricane is a good option. Most of the time, however, Tornadus-T's best move is U-turn, as it has literally zero downsides, giving its team momentum and Tornadus-T back a good chunk of its health.
Team Options
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One of this Tornadus-T's primary roles is as a Landorus check for stall, which tends to have enormous issues with it. Defog support from the likes of Skarmory or Mandibuzz is very much appreciated, as even with Regenerator, Stealth Rock is simply too much of a detriment to its Tornadus-T's hit-taking ability and longevity. Skarmory pairs especially well because it can deal with Tyranitar, which despite Focus Blast manages to remain as a pain for Tornadus-T to defeat because it doesn't OHKO, isn't OHKOed by Focus Blast and can tank its Tornadus-T's other moves with ease. Furthermore, it can deal with Gyarados and Dragonite, which can take advantage of Tornadus-T to set up. Although irrelevant to Defog, Ferrothorn also fits well because it can handle these threats. Mandibuzz in conjunction with Tornadus-T ensures that you are mostly safe against Landorus, although it is slightly redundant. Bulky Will-O-Wisp Mega Charizard X, as well as Heatran to some extent, are good partners too, as they are able to put pressure on the Steel-types that stand in Tornadus-T's way. A good Mega Charizard X check of your own is imperative with Tornadus-T, as bar a Hurricane confusion, it which is complete setup fodder for it the former barring confusion from Hurricane (the latter part of the sentence is really confusing. "it" is quite ambiguous). Hippowdon, Quagsire, and Slowbro are good examples of such. Amoonguss can handle the Electric-types that threaten Tornadus-T and serves as a second reliable answer to Keldeo in conjunction with it as a check to cover it really well, forming a Regenerator core with it Tornadus-T that can pivot around threats and generally stay healthy without giving up free turns to heal. Slowbro can be added to this core in order to take on Mega Charizard X, Mega Gyarados, and other attackers that threaten it.
From a balanced and bulky offensive point of view, Tornadus-T pairs well with Mega Manectric and Raikou; the Electric-types cover Thundurus especially, while Tornadus-T deals with defensive Grass-types, most notably Mega Venusaur, and can check the Ground-type Choice Scarf users that threaten them. It can also fit well onto certain rain teams that want its defensive services, greatly appreciating perfect accuracy on Hurricane, but it is simply too weak to as compared to Life Orb variants, which are much more difficult to deal with and typically the better option for an offensively minded rain team.
