Battle Spot Tyranitar

[marilli]

[SET]
name: Standard
move 1: Stone Edge / Rock Blast
move 2: Iron Head
move 3: Crunch / Earthquake
move 4: Fire Blast / Crunch
item: Weakness Policy / Assault Vest
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Brave
evs: 244 HP / 52 Atk / 212 Def

[SET COMMENTS]

Tyranitar excels in winning individual matchups due to its absurd stats and coverage. Stone Edge is Tyranitar's strongest STAB move and KOes metagame-defining threats such as Togekiss and Gyarados. Iron Head is necessary to hit Mimikyu and boosts Tyranitar's Defense when it's Dynamaxed. Crunch notably hits Dragapult, but Earthquake is Tyranitar's best option against Toxapex. Fire Blast is used to punish Corviknight and Ferrothorn.

Tyranitar has plenty of weaknesses, but it is bulky enough to take boosted super effective hits. Weakness Policy has the ability to boost Tyranitar's mixed offenses to unparalleled heights and is standard for a good reason. Assault Vest Tyranitar plays rather differently from Weakness Policy Tyranitar, as the item allows Tyranitar to better handle dangerous special attackers as Nasty Plot Togekiss and makes Tyranitar a lot less dependent on Dynamax. The EV spread allows Tyranitar to avoid a 2HKO when Dynamaxed against Life Orb +2 Mimikyu. If running Assault Vest, it is worth considering additional Special Defense investment; 252 HP / 76 SpD Assault Vest Tyranitar, for instance, avoids a 2HKO from +2 Max Starfall Togekiss with the help of Dynamax. These are only two of many possible ways to EV Tyranitar. It is worth doing some calculations to make custom EV spreads for a Pokemon as flexible as Tyranitar.

Fighting-type coverage from the likes of Galarian Darmanitan, Aegislash, and Corviknight can put a heavy dent in Tyranitar. Focus Sash users like Excadrill do damage and stall out Dynamax. None of these Pokemon can actually nab a clean KO or win one-on-one matchups, but they weaken Dynamaxed Tyranitar without Dynamaxing themselves, which is a significant advantage. Common teammates include Fairy- and Ghost-types like Togekiss, Mimikyu, and Dragapult to provide type synergy. Togekiss can also exploit the few Pokemon capable of defensively checking Tyranitar.

[SET]
name: Focus Sash
move 1: Rock Tomb
move 2: Foul Play
move 3: Stealth Rock
move 4: Superpower / Thunder Wave / Taunt
item: Focus Sash
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Jolly
evs: 84 HP / 140 Atk / 28 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

This variant sets Stealth Rock and provides speed control from the lead slot. Rock Tomb allows Tyranitar to break Focus Sash, slow down the foe, and give Tyranitar an extra turn to set up Stealth Rock. Foul Play, on the other hand, is a strong move against physical attackers, OHKOing +2 Mimikyu. The final slot can be very flexible. Superpower allows Tyranitar to KO opposing Tyranitar, but Thunder Wave is an option to cripple certain strong attackers like Dragapult and provide a steeper Speed decrease against faster Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Dracovish. Finally, Taunt is an option to deny opposing Stealth Rock and status moves.

Focus Sash allows Tyranitar to survive super effective hits without Dynamaxing. The spread allows Tyranitar to survive Life Orb Mimikyu's Play Rough + Shadow Sneak and maximizes Speed to outspeed neutral-natured maximum Speed Corviknight. This Tyranitar is a supportive lead set, and it generally wants to be paired with strong Dynamax sweepers. It is frequently paired with Excadrill for its Sand Stream, but it's also paired with Togekiss and Gyarados. Both are highly threatening with a free turn, and Tyranitar often lures in Ground-type and Fighting-type attackers with the threat of Dynamaxing. Outside of the lead slot, Tyranitar can slow down a Dynamax sweep, as is the case with most Focus Sash Pokemon.

[SET]
name: Lure
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Ice Beam / Thunderbolt
item: Weakness Policy / Life Orb
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Modest
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Tyranitar's coverage can surprise its opponents. Dark Pulse is one such move because it takes advantage of common Tyranitar counterplay such as burn and physical walls like Quagsire. It provides great neutral coverage, and the Special Defense drop from Max Darkness often sets up for KOs even against specially bulky Pokemon. Fire Blast is a great move for hitting Corviknight and Ferrothorn. Stone Edge will hit hard with a Weakness Policy or Life Orb boost, and it hits Togekiss super effectively. Thunderbolt threatens Water-types, hitting Toxapex hard and OHKOing Gyarados through Dynamax with Life Orb, but Ice Beam hits Hippowdon and Hydreigon harder than Tyranitar's other options.

Weakness Policy provides Tyranitar with ridiculous stat boosts when activated. Life Orb detracts from Tyranitar's stellar bulk but always adds immediate extra damage. Notably, Life Orb gives Modest Tyranitar a clean OHKO against physically defensive Corviknight and non-Wacan Dynamaxed Gyarados. 252 Speed EVs allow Tyranitar to get the jump on common defensive Pokemon, including Corviknight. This Tyranitar is best paired with physical cleaners like Mimikyu, Excadrill, and Galarian Darmanitan that take advantage of Tyranitar removing physical walls.

[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Blast
move 3: Fire Punch / Fire Blast
move 4: Iron Head / Earthquake
item: Lum Berry / Weakness Policy
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Dragon Dance allows Tyranitar to alleviate one of its biggest weaknesses: low Speed. As Tyranitar boosts its Speed, it can outspeed many of its offensive checks and OHKO them before they get to attack it. Stone Edge is an obligatory attack for Tyranitar with great neutral coverage. Rock Blast has same base power Max Rockfall, and also break through disguise. Fire Punch, or even Fire Blast, is necessary to hit Steel-types such as Corviknight. Finally Iron Head provides a defensive boost with Max Steelspike and handles Fairy-types such as Mimikyu, but Earthquake provides good coverage in conjunction with Stone Edge or Rock Blast.

Lum Berry allows Tyranitar to set up on status users such as Sylveon and Rotom-H. However, Weakness Policy is always an option on Tyranitar. The set outspeeds Durant after a single Dragon Dance. Unfortunately, this is still quite slow, and High Jump Kick Cinderace, Choice Scarf Dracovish, and Choice Scarf Galarian Darmanitan, among others, are capable of outspeeding Tyranitar. However, the Speed boost can be a big surprise factor against teams looking to handle Tyranitar with fast, offensive Pokemon.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[marilli, 70760]]
- Quality checked by: [[cant say, 158401], [Theorymon, 29010]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Rabia, 336073]]

 

[Ika Ika Musume]

Think the main thing I see straight away is that Taunt needs to be mentioned on lead Tyranitar.

 

[1_TrickPhony]

Think the main thing I see straight away is that Taunt needs to be mentioned on lead Tyranitar.

Taunt can be slashed on both foul play and the twave/superpower slots. Good catch!

 

[Theorymon]

Gonna check this now! Comments in Bold.

[SET]
name: Standard
move 1: Stone Edge / Rock Blast
move 2: Iron Head
move 3: Crunch / Earthquake
move 4: Fire Blast / Crunch
item: Weakness Policy / Assault Vest
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Brave
evs: 244 HP / 52 Atk / 212 Def

[SET COMMENTS]

Tyranitar excels in winning individual matchups due to its absurd stats across the board. Stone Edge is Tyranitar's strongest STAB move and while it can be swapped for other Rock-type STAB moves like Rock Blast, its Rock-type STAB cannot be dropped for because Tyranitar's ability to KO metagame-defining threats such as Togekiss and Gyarados is crucial. Max Rockfall also resets Sandstorm, disrupting opposing weather and making sure that Tyranitar keeps its Special Defense boost from Sandstorm. Iron Head allows Tyranitar to KO Mimikyu with Max Steelspike, and the boost in physical defense makes Tyranitar that much harder to KO, with or without the doubled HP from Dynamax. Crunch and Earthquake are other physical options that round out Tyranitar's coverage options: Crunch notably hits Dragapult, but Earthquake is Tyranitar's best option against Toxapex. Finally, Fire Blast generally sees usage on the last slot in order to punish Corviknight switch-ins, though it is possible to go fully physical.

Tyranitar has plenty of weaknesses, but Tyranitar is bulky enough to take boosted super effective hits with Dynamax, activate its Weakness Policy, and either serve as a stop to dangerous Dynamax sweepers such as Togekiss, or preserve its HP to sweep through several Pokemon itself. Assault Vest is also a common item on Tyranitar, allowing Tyranitar to be a more functional switch-in to special attackers like Special Dragapult, and making Tyranitar a lot less dependent on Dynamaxing to be an effective Pokemon. However, Weakness Policy has the ability to boost Tyranitar's mixed offenses to unparalleled heights. Tyranitar's ability to efficiently boost its defenses further through Max Steelspike and stay bulky after Dynamax adds another layer of threat. Switching around Dynamax Tyranitar is difficult due to the sheer number of options it gets - Tyranitar has room to use techs to surprise its common checks, and scouting for them not only lets it spread damage, but also boost its defenses and denies attempts to stall out Dynamax and KO it with a Super Effective move after Dynamax ends. The threat of coverage techs or the threat of boosting its defenses to unbreakable levels are both very real, and makes Tyranitar's threat multidimensional, even though it is indeed a fairly straightforward Pokemon otherwise.

Something important I'd mention for Assault Vest is that when Dynamaxed, it actually isn't 2HKOed by +2 Togekiss Max Starfall. This makes it a much better Togekiss check than usual!

Just a small note: it's probably better to call techs techniques, we try to avoid abreviated stuff in analyses. Also, I don't think you need all of that paragraph to sell Tyranitar, you can cut down on just which item to choose if you want.

Despite everything going for Tyranitar, Tyranitar has a pretty defined list of strong checks. Fighting-type coverage from the likes of Darmanitan-G, Aegislash, and Corviknight can put a heavy dent on Tyranitar, while Focus Sash Excadrill can rack up enough damage on top of stalling out its Dynamax turns. None of them can actually nab a clean KO, but it does enough damage to the point that many neutral follow-up attack will KO, and thus let the opponent trade a single Pokemon for Tyranitar and its Dynamax - often an unsurmountable disadvantage. Pokemon like Conkeldurr and Quagsire have enough physical defenses to safely switch into Tyranitar without immediately exploding, but defensive checks to Tyranitar are few and far between. Thus, It is important to keep Tyranitar on the back foot through offensive pressure - this can be accomplished with a prepared team, but often the pressure applied on the opponent often forces certain leads, and can be exploited by its teammates. Common teammates include Fairy- and Ghost-types like Togekiss, Mimikyu, and Dragapult to provide type synergy. Togekiss provides a special attacker that exploits the few Pokemon capable of taking on Tyranitar, while Mimikyu and Dragapult can provide cleanup and thrive against the offensive teams that Tyranitar struggles against.

[SET]
name: Focus Sash
move 1: Rock Tomb
move 2: Foul Play
move 3: Stealth Rock
move 4: Superpower / Thunder Wave / Taunt
item: Focus Sash
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Jolly
evs: 84 HP / 140 Atk / 28 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

I think Taunt is worth slashing in, it prevents Stealth Rock, set up, and totally shuts down support stuff like Umbreon.

[SET COMMENTS]

This set focuses on being a good Lead Pokemon, setting Stealth Rock and providing Speed control from the lead slot. Rock Tomb allows Tyranitar to break Focus Sash, slow down the opponent, and give Tyranitar an extra turn to set up Stealth Rock. Foul Play, on the other hand, is a strong Dark-type STAB against physical attackers, OHKOing +2 Mimikyu. Final slot can be very flexible. Superpower allows Tyranitar to KO opposing Tyranitar, but Thunder Wave is an option that cripples certain strong attackers like Dragapult and provides a steeper Speed decrease. I think it'd be better to mention a different mon than Dragapult, unless its a Dynamax Steel Wing one, they're very rarely going to stay in on Tyranitar.

Focus Sash allows Tyranitar to get its moves off, which is quite important as a lead. Tyranitar has many weaknesses, and it often cannot survive those super effective hits from the likes of Aegislash and Darmanitan-G without Dynamaxing. Thus, the Focus Sash allows Tyranitar to lead without a fear of anything OHKOing it. The spread allows Tyranitar to survive Life Orb Mimikyu Play Rough + Shadow Sneak. This Tyranitar is a supportive lead set, and generally wants to be paired with strong Dynamax sweepers. It is frequently paired with Excadrill for its Sand Stream, but also paired with Togekiss and Gyarados - both are highly threatening with a free turn, and Tyranitar often lures in these Ground-type and Fighting-type attackers with the threat of Dynamaxing. Do note that Tyranitar does not have to lead to provide value - it is capable of stopping a Dynamax sweep as with most Sash Pokemon, especially if it is using Thunder Wave on the final slot.

I think it might be worth mentioning why this is Jolly and Max Speed as well (basically, screw you fast Corviknight lol)

[SET]
name: Lure
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Thunderbolt / Thunder
move 4: Stone Edge / Ice Beam
item: Weakness Policy / Life Orb
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Tyranitar has a ton of coverage options that let it surprise its opponents. Dark Pulse is one such move, because it takes advantage of physically defensive walls - dealing tons of damage, and dropping their Special Defense. Dark-type STAB provides great neutral coverage, and the Special Defense drop often sets up for potential OHKOs even against specially bulky Pokemon, making Tyranitar even harder to play around. It also completely bypasses Burn, which is often one of the best ways to neuter Tyranitar without hitting it super effectively. By using special attacks, Tyranitar will deal irreparable damage to likes of bulky Rotom-W as it wastes a turn going for Will-O-Wisp. Fire Blast is a great move for hitting Corviknight and Ferrothorn, and also sets Sun which can help against Water-type attackers. Thunderbolt threatens Water-types, doing tons of damage to Toxapex, and OHKO Gyarados through Dynamax with Life Orb. Even though this Tyranitar has no Attack investment, Stone Edge will hit hard with a Weakness Policy or Life Orb boost, and provides a strong STAB move against the omnipresent Togekiss. I'd mention why Ice Beam is slashed in (basically it hits Hippowdon lol).

Weakness Policy provides Tyranitar with ridiculous offensive boosts, but can be played around. Life Orb detracts from Tyranitar's stellar bulk, but always adds strong extra damage which suits the spirit of the set. Notably, Life Orb gives Modest Tyranitar a clean OHKO against physically defensive Corviknight and non-Wacan Dynamax Gyarados with the appropriate attack. The spread with max Speed allows Tyranitar to get the jump on common defensive Pokemon, including Corviknight which often uses Speed EVs. Of course, defensive investment can be used as appropriate at the cost of Speed. It is notable that going Timid will lost Tyranitar a lot of damage output, but allows Tyranitar to outspeed likes of Adamant max Speed Corviknight. This Tyranitar is best paired with physical cleaners like Mimikyu, Excadrill and Darmanitan-G. Stacking these Pokemon often baits in physically defensive walls looking for a free win (or in case of Darmanitan-G, avoiding an instant loss), which can be abused as Tyranitar is capable of quickly taking them out.


[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Crunch / Iron Head
move 4: Earthquake / Fire Punch
item: Lum Berry / Weakness Policy
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe


[SET COMMENTS]

I'm not sure if this is any good. I just posted it because someone else said it was good. Wanted QC feedback but no-one responded, so hopefully posting this will make it more visible.

As for Dragon Dance, I think it's worth a set mostly because the speed boost can make it a surprise cleaner, and it punishes more passive ways of dealing with Tyranitar (especially if using Lum, it can really ruin a Rotom-H's day this way rofl).

 

[marilli]

done both - did not implement some of the factually incorrect checks, as mentioned on discord.

 

[1_TrickPhony]

For the lure set, I dont think there is ever a justification to go Timid on the Lure set. Modest should be the only version, as the power drop is not worth entering a not particularly useful speed tier (only becomes useful if you are running DD, but you haven't mentioned DD as an option here.

 

[cant say]

This looks good. can we put Rock Blast on the DD set? then I’m happy making it 1/2

 

[Theorymon]

Only thing needed is to maybe give a small mention of Rock Blast on DD breaking through Mimikyu's disguise / potentially ruining Cloyster through sash. Otherwise, QC Approved 2/2!

 

[Rabia]

add remove comments

gp

[SET]
name: Standard
move 1: Stone Edge / Rock Blast
move 2: Iron Head
move 3: Crunch / Earthquake
move 4: Fire Blast / Crunch
item: Weakness Policy / Assault Vest
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Brave
evs: 244 HP / 52 Atk / 212 Def

[SET COMMENTS]

Tyranitar excels in winning individual matchups due to its absurd stats and coverage. Stone Edge is Tyranitar's strongest STAB move that KO and KOes metagame-defining threats such as Togekiss and Gyarados. Iron Head or Max Steelspike is necessary to hit Mimikyu and boosts its Tyranitar's Defense when it's Dynamaxed. Crunch notably hits Dragapult, but Earthquake is Tyranitar's best option against Toxapex. Fire Blast is used to punish Corviknight and Ferrothorn.

Tyranitar has plenty of weaknesses, but it is bulky enough to take boosted super effective hits. Weakness Policy has the ability to boost Tyranitar's mixed offenses to unparalleled heights (RC) and is standard for a good reason. Assault Vest Tyranitar plays rather differently from Weakness Policy Tyranitar, as the item allows Tyranitar to better handle dangerous special attackers as Nasty Plot Togekiss (RC) and makes Tyranitar a lot less dependent on Dynamax. The EV spread allows Tyraniar Tyranitar to avoid a 2HKO with Dynamax Tyranitar when Dynamaxed against Life Orb +2 Mimikyu. If running Assault Vest, it is worth considering addition additional Special Defense investment;(colon -> semicolon) 252 HP / 76 SpD Assault Vest Tyranitar, for instance, avoid avoids a 2HKO from +2 Max Starfall Togekiss with the help of Dynamax. These are only 2 two of many possible ways to EV Tyranitar. It is worth doing some calculations to make custom EV spreads for a Pokemon as flexible as Tyranitar.

Fighting-type coverage from the likes of Darmanitan-G Galarian Darmanitan, Aegislash, and Corviknight can put a heavy dent on in Tyranitar. Focus Sash users like Excadrill do damage and stall out Dynamax. None of these Pokemon can actually nab a clean KO or win 1v1 one-on-one matchups, but they weaken the Dynamax Dynamaxed Tyranitar without spending the Dynamax Dynamaxing themselves, which is a significant advantage. Common teammates include Fairy- and Ghost-types like Togekiss, Mimikyu, and Dragapult to provide type synergy. Togekiss can also exploit the few Pokemon capable of defensively checking Tyranitar.

[SET]
name: Focus Sash
move 1: Rock Tomb
move 2: Foul Play
move 3: Stealth Rock
move 4: Superpower / Thunder Wave / Taunt
item: Focus Sash
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Jolly
evs: 84 HP / 140 Atk / 28 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

This set variant (entirely optional, I just hate how "set sets" sounds) sets Stealth Rock and providing Speed provides speed control from the lead slot. Rock Tomb allows Tyranitar to break Focus Sash, slow down the foe, and give Tyranitar an extra turn to set up Stealth Rock. Foul Play, on the other hand, is a strong move against physical attackers, OHKOing +2 Mimikyu. Final The final slot can be very flexible. Superpower allows Tyranitar to KO opposing Tyranitar, but Thunder Wave is an option to cripple certain strong attackers like Dragapult and provide a steeper Speed decrease against faster Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Dracovish. Finally, Taunt is an option to deny opposing Stealth Rock and status moves.

Focus Sash allows Tyranitar to survive super effective hits without Dynamaxing. The spread allows Tyranitar to survive Life Orb Mimikyu Mimikyu's Play Rough + Shadow Sneak (RC) and maximizes Speed to outspeed neutral max neutral-natured maximum Speed Corviknight. This Tyranitar is a supportive lead set, and it generally wants to be paired with strong Dynamax sweepers. It is frequently paired with Excadrill for its Sand Stream, but it's also paired with Togekiss and Gyarados. Both are highly threatening with a free turn, and Tyranitar often lures in these Ground-type and Fighting-type attackers with the threat of Dynamaxing. Outside of the lead slot, Tyranitar can slow down a Dynamax sweep,(AC) as is the case with most Focus Sash Pokemon.

[SET]
name: Lure
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Ice Beam / Thunderbolt
item: Weakness Policy / Life Orb
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Modest
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Tyranitar's coverage can surprise its opponents. Dark Pulse is one such move (RC) because it takes advantage of common Tyranitar counterplay such as burn and physically defensive physical walls like Quagsire. It provides great neutral coverage, and the Special Defense drop from Max Darkness (Dark Pulse does not drop Special Defense) often sets up for KOs even against specially bulky Pokemon. Fire Blast is a great move for hitting Corviknight and Ferrothorn. Stone Edge will hit hard with a Weakness Policy or Life Orb boost, and it hits Togekiss super effectively. Thunderbolt threatens Water-types, hitting Toxapex hard and OHKOing Gyarados through Dynamax with Life Orb, but Ice Beam also hits Hippowdon and Hydreigon harder than Tyranitar's other options.

Weakness Policy provides Tyranitar with ridiculous stat boosts when activated. Life Orb detracts from Tyranitar's stellar bulk (RC) but always adds immediate extra damage. Notably, Life Orb gives Modest Tyranitar a clean OHKO against physically defensive Corviknight and non-Wacan Dynamax Dynamaxed Gyarados. 252 Speed EVs allow Tyranitar to get the jump on common defensive Pokemon, including Corviknight. This Tyranitar is best paired with physical cleaners like Mimikyu, Excadrill,(AC) and Darmanitan-G Galarian Darmanitan that take advantage of Tyranitar removing physical walls.

[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Blast
move 3: Fire Punch / Fire Blast
move 4: Iron Head / Earthquake
item: Lum Berry / Weakness Policy
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Dragon Dance Tyranitar allows it Tyranitar to alleviate one of its biggest weakness weaknesses: low speed Speed. As Tyranitar boosts its Speed, it can outspeed many of its offensive checks and OHKO them before they get to attack Tyranitar it. Stone Edge is an obligatory attack for Tyranitar with great neutral coverage. Fire Punch, or even Fire Blast, is necessary to hit Steel-types such as Corviknight. Finally Iron Head provides a defensive boost with Max Steelspike and handles Fairy-types such as Mimikyu, but Earthquake provides good coverage in conjunction with Stone Edge. (why is there no mention of Rock Blast?)

Lum Berry allows Tyranitar to set up on status users such as Sylveon and Rotom-H. However, Weakness Policy is always an option on Tyranitar. The set outspeeds Durant after a single Dragon Dance. Unfortunately, this is still quite slow, and High Jump Kick Cinderace, Choice Scarf Dracovish, and Choice Scarf Darmanitan-G Galarian Darmanitan, among others, are capable of outspeeding Tyranitar. However, the Speed boost can be a big surprise factor in against (I think this is what you mean here) teams looking to handle Tyranitar with fast, offensive Pokemon.

gp 1/1 once done

 

[Theorymon]

Tyranitar is onsite!