Tornadus-T [QC 0/3]

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[OVERVIEW]

+ Access to strong STAB in Hurricane
+ Its ability Regenerator makes it a great pivot
+ Great speed tier at base 121
+ New access to defog in USM
+ Movepool which can punish flying resists
+ Passable defences and typing make it a good check to a lot of the meta
- Defogger weak to stealth rock
- Lacklustre defensive typing
- Reliance on Hurricane's 70% accuracy

[SET]
name: Defog Pivot
move 1: Hurricane
move 2: Knock Off / Heatwave
move 3: U-turn / Heatwave
move 4: Defog
item: Rocky Helmet / Flyinium-Z
ability: Regenerator
nature: Timid
evs: 252 Spa / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Hurricane is Tornadus-Therian's strongest STAB attack at 110 base power which, coupled with its strong 110 base Special Attack stat, allows it to effectively damage a large portion of the meta, whilst also securing OHKOs on common threats such as Necturna, Kartana and Greninja after rocks.

This coupled with the flying type Z crystal allows Tornadus-T to make use of a 185BP STAB Z-move granting it the power to heavily dent if not OHKO common Pokemon such as Landorus-T and Clefable. Super Sonic Skystrike also does not check accuracy which allows it to avoid the less than stellar accuracy of hurricane, particularly in the sun.

Knock off provides Tornadus-T the ability to remove items from common switch-ins such as Zapdos, Assault vest Magearna and Cyclohm, allowing them to be worn down much more effectively.

U-turn allows Tornadus-T to make great use of its ability, Regenerator, by pivoting out after forcing the opponent to switch, completely recovering any hazard damage it takes switching it and allowing its teammates to come in on an answer to it in order to retain momentum.

A new addition to Tornadus-T's movepool in Defog allows it to remove entry hazards from the field allowing both itself and its teammates to stay healthy whilst switching in. Defog also allows Tornadus-T to completley shut down a main stay in the meta in Landorus-Therian, which Tornadus-T both walls and prevents from setting up hazards whilst also punishing potential U-turns when running the Rocky Helmet set.

Alternatively, Heatwave can be utilised to great effect as it allows Tornadus-T to beat a common check in Ferrothorn without expending its Z move, allowing it to be saved for situations in which the poor accuracy of Hurricane may prove detrimental. Despite this Tornadus-T is still able to beat Ferrothorn with leftovers removed just by using Hurricanes and its Z move, and the coverage doesn't help with many other common Pokemon, making Heat Wave a niche option.

Superpower can also be used in order to better attack other common pokemon in the metagame which can safely switch in, such as Tyranitar, Heatran and Assault Vest Colosoil however, U-turning out on these Pokemon to bring in a better answer is often much safer as Tornadus-T can utilise regenerator in order to recover any damage from Pursuit.


Set Details
========
The spread given allows Tornadus-T to maximise both its speed stat as well as its offensive power with Hurricane. Timid is chosen as the physical attacks Tornadus-T utilises are purely for utility and the boost in damage is not worth sacrificing the defences from running Naive or Hasty.

If choosing to run Superpower, Tornadus-T can run a mixed spread with 60 Atk / 196 SpA / 252 Spe with a Naive nature. This gives Tornadus-T the power to OHKO Choice banned Tyranitar as well as 2HKO Heatran and Colosoil after rocks whilst preserving its incredible speed stat and the maximum firepower possible for Hurricane and Super Sonic Skystrike.

Rocky helmet is a great item choice as it allows Tornadus-T to punish the common U-turn users which it already checks such as Landorus-T and Defog Mega Scizor by forcing them to take consistent chip damage as they pivot out, which coupled with entry hazards, can rack up quickly.

To maximise Tornadus-T's defensive capabilities, a set featuring Rocky Helmet can be used with the same moveset except with an EV spread of 252hp / 4def / 252spe can be used. This allows Tornadus-T to check much stronger physical attackers, such as Kartana and Tapu Bulu, whilst whittling them down with Rocky Helmet as it switches into their resisted attacks and forces them out, as it outspeeds both of these Pokemon due to the maximum speed EVs and Timid nature unless they're wearing a Choice Scarf.

Flyinium Z can be used on Tornadus-T as it allows it to have an incredibly powerful STAB attack with 100% accuracy, negating the chance to miss that Hurricane has whilst also acting as a strong STAB Nuke that allows it to heavily dent anything that does not resist it.

Usage Tips
========
Tornadus-T is at its best when it is being used as a pivot which checks strong, common, attackers which have trouble hurting it, such as Landorus, Scizor and Kartana. Doing this, it can utilise U-turn as the opponent switches to their own check, allowing Tornadus-T to create momentum by bringing in a threat to the opponents pokemon, as well as recover a significant portion of any damage it has taken back, due to its ability Regenerator.

Defog allows Tornadus-T to come in on common Stealth Rock setters such as Landorus-T and Clefable and remove hazards before U-turning out, allowing its teammates to come in healthily. This is particularly helpful for Tornadus-T's common, bulkier, teammates as it allows them to properly check opposing threats, as well as not get afflicted with Poison by any potential Toxic Spikes.

Finding the right time to use Super Sonic Sky Strike is crucial when using Tornadus-T, as it allows you to ignore the accuracy penalty of Hurricane and nuke down an opposing threat in any tight situations. Since it is single use, deciding whether to use to remove opposing hazard setters, dent problematic walls, or have a gaurenteed kill on a threat, the Z move plays a pivotal part in how Tornadus-T is used.
Team Options
========

Bulky pokemon which appreciate hazards removed, as well as Tornadus-T's ground immunity are excellent team mates on a more balanced core. Toxapex, for example, forms an excellent regenerator core with Tornadus-T and allows Tornadus-T to much more easily break through checks such Ferrothorn and Cyclohm with potential Scald burns and Toxic Spikes respectively.

For a more offensive style, wallbreakers which appreciate Tornadus-T's ability to pivot on pokemon such as Tyranitar and Heatran make great team mates. Mega Medicham and Choice Banded Zygarde, for example, can come in on these Tornadus-T checks and force them out whilst dealing heavy damage to any potential switch-ins.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Taunt can be used to turn Tornadus-T into a fantastic stallbreaker, allowing it to Knock Off leftovers, preventing passive recovery, as well as taunting defensive checks to prevent them from using any recovery moves, allowing Tornadus-T's teammates to more easily beat their walls. Taunt also allows Tornadus-T to prevent Pokemon such as Clefable and Toxapex from setting up hazards.

Life Orb can also be used on Tornadus-T in order to give it additional power, at the cost of its health, which it can then easily recover back utilising its ability; Regenerator. Using Life Orb comes at the cost of being a safe check to many Pokemon as it means Tornadus-T is worn down more easily due to it inflicting damage on itself with every attack.

Tornadus-T can make use of multiple Hidden Power types in order to better combat serious threats in the meta. Hidden Power Ground and Ice are the most common as they allow Tornadus-T to threaten 2 would be checks in Heatran and Crucibelle with HP ground whilst HP Ice allows Tornadus-T to threaten Zygarde without having to risk a Hurricane miss.

Grass Knot is also a niche option which allows Tornadus-T to remove opposing Gastrodon, which is an effective check to many of the offensive teammates Tornadus-T is commonly paired with such as Ash-Greninja and Tapu Koko.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Tapu Koko**: Tapu Koko is the best offensive check to Tornadus-T, as it resists all of the common moves it runs allowing it to switch in, outspeed, and easily OHKO with Electric Terrain boosted STAB thunderbolt or Wild Charge. Whilst forcing Tornadus-T out, Tapu Koko can also pivot with either U-turn or Volt Switch to easily gain momentum for its team.

**Zapdos and Cyclohm**: Both of these Pokemon take very little from Tornadus-T's attacks, and can use it to recover HP, pivot or in Zapdos' case, remove hazards. Tornadus-T also can't risk U-turning on these Pokemon as they often carry static, which means doing so could result in Tornadus-T becoming paralyzed.

**Crucibelle and Mega Crucibelle**: Crucibelle is able to resist all hits coming from most Tornadus-T sets and isn't phased by Knock Off as its Mega Stone cannot be removed. Crucibelle also has access to the same combination of U-turn + Regenerator prior to its Mega Evolution, allowing it to safely switch into Tornadus-T, threaten it out, and easily pivot to regenerate any lost health. Similarly, after undergoing Mega Evolution, Crucibelle can still safely switch in and force Tornadus-T to U-turn out whilst its increased defensive stats make up for its lack of regenerator.

**Heatran**: Similarly to Crucibelle, Heatran to easily switch into Tornadus-T variants which don't carry Superpower and can often force it out with a Z move, or use it as an opportunity to set up hazards. Heatran is not a hard stop to Tornadus-T however as Knock Off can hinder leftover variants, causing any chip from Tornadus-T and any potential hazards to quickly rack up.

**Revenge Killers**: Whilst Tornadus-T has an incredible speed stat at base 120, it is still outsped and revenge killed by many offensive threats in the tier such as Greninja, allowing Ash-Greninja variants to gain their transformation, as well as Choice Scarf Tapu Lele and Volkraken which can both OHKO Tornadus-T after Stealth Rock damage with their chose STAB attacks.

**Drought**: Pokemon which set up drought essentially reduce Tornadus-T's accuracy on its most important attack; Hurricane, giving it only a 50% chance to hit whilst the Harsh Sun effects the field. This makes using Tornadus-T effectively much more difficult as hitting potential threats without Super Sonic Sky Strike becomes even more unreliable than before.
 
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LucarioOfLegends

Master Procraster
is a CAP Contributor
Before I plan on giving out any official checks, I want you to generally expand upon your points here. Your overview in particular is incredibly vague and is not at the level that QC wants before giving checks. I recommend taking a look at some more fleshed out analyses in the subforum to see what they should look like. Tag me when this is updated and I will be happy to start checking.
 
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