[OVERVIEW]
Flying
========
Tornadus-T serves as a solid offensive pivot for Flying teams thanks to its good Speed and access to a threatening nuke with Supersonic Skystrike, which gives it many opportunities to use Defog on forced switches. Additionally, Tornadus-T's solid natural bulk combined with Regenerator lets it easily U-turn on forced switches to heal off weak attacks and chip damage from the likes of Scald and Stealth Rock. It has a great utility movepool, including U-turn to gain momentum for the team, and Knock Off, which lets it still be an annoyance to walls that don't care about Hurricane, such as Chansey and Celesteela. Tornadus-T is also very potent against passive balance archetypes like Water, which are unable to overwhelm it late-game due to its ability to continuously heal upon switching out with Regenerator. Flying teams have few or no Pokemon to wield Flying-type STAB moves offensively, giving Tornadus-T a valuable niche despite its pure Flying typing. However, Tornadus-T's typing offers no real defensive utility for Flying, stacking Ice, Rock, and Electric weaknesses that can be exploited by threats such as Tapu Koko and Mega Diancie, which Flying teams already struggle with. Tornadus-T is also reliant on Flyinium Z to threaten many Pokemon, as once it has used Supersonic Skystrike, its average Special Attack and inaccurate Hurricane make it much less of a consistent offensive threat.
[SET]
name: Offensive Utility
move 1: Hurricane
move 2: U-turn
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: Defog
item: Flyinium Z
ability: Regenerator
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Hurricane is Tornadus-T's strongest STAB move, dealing respectable damage to walls like Swampert and Clefable, especially when paired with a 185-Base Power Supersonic Skystrike. U-turn lets Tornadus-T punish switches and gain Regenerator recovery, letting it act as an effective fast offensive pivot. Knock Off gives it valuable utility by removing key items of usual defensive switch-ins such as Porygon2's Eviolite and Celesteela's Leftovers. Knock Off can also remove items like Diggersby's Choice Band and Kyurem-B's Life Orb so a defensive teammate can check them more easily, as well as deal good damage to Psychic-types. Defog lets it take advantage of switches it forces to prevent Flying teams from being rapidly worn down by Stealth Rock. However, if another teammate such as Gliscor or Landorus-T carries Knock Off, coverage moves can be used to surprise usual switch-ins, such as Heat Wave for Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Scizor, and Superpower for Tyranitar and Heatran.
Set Details
========
Flyinium Z gives Tornadus-T access to a 100% perfectly accurate STAB Supersonic Skystrike when it is needed to seriously damage a threat to the team, KOing the likes of Victini or Kyurem-B after Stealth Rock damage. Maximum Special Attack EVs let Tornadus-T hit as hard as possible with Supersonic Skystrike. Maximum Speed investment and a Timid nature make Tornadus-T as fast as possible, giving it many opportunities to Defog or gain momentum with U-turn. Timid is preferred over Naive, since Knock Off and U-turn are used for utility more than damage. However, Naive should be run if Superpower is used. Regenerator lets Tornadus-T heal off excess damage by simply switching out.
Usage Tips
========
Tornadus-T is best used to switch into weak or resisted attacks from Pokemon like Mega Venusaur and Hawlucha so it can stay as healthy as possible throughout the match thanks to Regenerator. Defog can be used to remove Stealth Rock when Tornadus-T isn't offensively pressured, but it should prioritize KOing slower wallbreakers that threaten it like Nidoking and Hydreigon if they are on the field. Use Knock Off to safely remove items whenever possible, such as removing Gastrodon's Leftovers to break through it more easily and Keldeo's Choice Specs to wall it more reliably. It is best to avoid unnecessary residual damage from walls it can't break, such as Mantine, so it can stay as healthy as possible throughout the match with Regenerator. U-turn can be used very liberally to gain momentum off of switches, since Flying has an excellent defensive and offensive core to fall back on. Take advantage of Regenerator by switching Tornadus-T in to scout what sets weak defensive Pokemon are running, such as seeing if a Swampert is carrying Toxic. It can also be worth aggressively switching Tornadus-T into passive Stealth Rock users like Celebi, since Tornadus-T can put itself in an advantageous situation by either removing entry hazards or gaining Regenerator recovery. Be careful when using Tornadus-T's Z-Move, as your opponent may try to bring in something that resists it or shrugs it off with ease. If possible, save it until it is absolutely needed to remove a threat or the opponent has nothing to comfortably switch into it. Tornadus-T can serve as a good Will-O-Wisp switch-in, since it doesn't care about the minor residual damage nearly as much as other teammates such as Zapdos or Celesteela. However, it should avoid paralysis at all costs, since the lowered Speed makes it far less effective at pivoting.
Team Options
========
Tornadus-T provides great utility with U-turn, Knock Off, and Defog, combined with solid offensive presence with Flyinium Z, making it a solid choice for many Flying teams. Zapdos can deal with bulky Water-types such as Toxapex and Mantine, alleviating pressure from Tornadus-T, as well as act as a switch-in for Electric-types like Zap Plate Tapu Koko. Zapdos also is able to run other sets such as Substitute + Toxic due to Tornadus-T taking the role of a Defogger. Gliscor serves as an effective stallbreaker using Taunt that can take on many defensive threats Tornadus-T can't easily muscle past, such as Chansey and Ferrothorn, and it can switch into and offensively threaten Electric types like Magnezone and Alolan Raichu. Gliscor can also form a U-turn core with Tornadus-T to constantly pressure the opponent as they switch, as well as Defog to make both itself and Tornadus-T very hard to wear down when paired with their strong defensive abilities in Poison Heal and Regenerator. Mantine serves as a great blanket check to special attackers and switch-in to Ice- and Water-type attacks from threats such as Greninja and Keldeo and as a strong defensive Defogger, forming a strong entry hazard removal core with Tornadus-T. Mantine also can use Haze against priority users like Mega Scizor and Z-Belly Drum Azumarill that blow past Tornadus-T after boosts. Skarmory and Celesteela can take on Rock-types like Mega Diancie that easily switch into Tornadus-T. Skarmory can also chip threats like Alolan Muk with Stealth Rock that try to switch into Tornadus-T, whereas Celesteela can situationally provide it with extra recovery with Leech Seed. Mega Aerodactyl and Choice Scarf Landorus-T are good offensive partners for Tornadus-T, since they appreciate Tornadus-T's ability to deal with Mega Venusaur and weaken teams so they can clean late-game. Tornadus-T synergizes even better with them if it runs Heat Wave, letting it break many defensive Steel-types like Skarmory that the former two struggle with. Landorus-T and Mega Aerodactyl can both deal with Heatran for Tornadus-T, which otherwise easily switches into most of its sets. Landorus-T can form a U-turn core with Tornadus-T, while Mega Aerodactyl can trap threats like Victini with Pursuit. Thundurus-T serves as an offensive pivot for Electric-types with Choice Scarf and can threaten teams more effectively thanks to Tornadus-T's ability to deal with Mega Venusaur. Dragonite appreciates Tornadus-T's ability to preserve its Multiscale with Defog. In exchange, it can use Dragon Dance or Choice Band to deal with defensive threats like Mantine and Tyranitar, which can otherwise wall Tornadus-T, as well as pick off fast threats like Greninja with Extreme Speed.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
========
Taunt is an option to make Tornadus-T even more efficient at keeping entry hazards at bay, but Tornadus-T is outclassed as a stallbreaker by Gliscor due to the lack of immediate recovery, and Taunt is sometimes hard to fit on a set. An expansive utility and offensive movepool means an Assault Vest set is possible, but Tornadus-T has to give up Defog for this set, which Flying teams greatly appreciate.
Checks and Counters
========
**Electric-types**: Electric-types like Rotom-W and Zapdos resist Hurricane and threaten Tornadus-T and the rest of the team with their STAB attacks, although those without recovery such as Zeraora are prone to getting worn down, invalidating them as switch-ins.
**Rock-types**: Rock-types like Mega Aerodactyl and Alolan Golem can switch into most of Tornadus-T's attacks, force it out with their STAB moves, and even set entry hazards if they carry them. However, most Rock-types lack recovery, leaving them susceptible to being chipped and too weak to switch into a Hurricane.
**Steel-types**: Steel-types like Bisharp and Z-Happy Hour Jirachi can use Tornadus-T as setup fodder if it has been scouted to not be carrying Superpower or Heat Wave.
**Special Walls**: Special walls like Zapdos and Mantine typically can shrug off any of Tornadus-T's moves, though some like Celesteela and Chansey hate losing their items.
**Paralysis**: Although Tornadus-T doesn't care much about burn or poison thanks to Regenerator, paralysis severely cripples it from effectively Defogging and pivoting by decreasing its Speed.
**Durable Entry Hazard Setters**: Hazard setters with reliable recovery like Clefable and Cradily can outlast Tornadus-T if its Z-Move has been used, though confusion from Hurricane can potentially cause issues for them if they fail to use a healing move when it is needed for them to avoid being KOed.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[guwahavel, 446329]]
- Flying analysis by: [[guwahavel, 446329]]
- Quality checked by: [[Eien, 100418], [Moosical, 215618], [maroon, 305839]]
- Grammar checked by: [[A Cake Wearing A Hat, 388157], [The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216]]
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