QC: p2 / Gary / Subject 18
GP: Fireflame479 / P Squared
[OVERVIEW]
Thundurus-T serves as a strong wallbreaker due to its access to Nasty Plot in conjunction with its massive Special Attack stat. It can terrorize offense due to its access to Agility, which allows it to outspeed every threat in the metagame after a boost. Thundurus-T also has a good Speed tier that allows it to outspeed a number of notable threats such as Mega Charizard Y, Mega Medicham, Landorus-T, Zygarde, and Tapu Lele. On top of this, it sports a good defensive typing along with a decent ability in Volt Absorb, allowing it to check the likes of Celesteela, Mega Scizor, Tapu Koko, and Zapdos. On the flipside, Thundurus-T's middling bulk combined with its weakness to Stealth Rock means that it struggles to find opportunities to switch in during the match. It is very reliant on Nasty Plot boosts to do damage, as otherwise it finds itself at the mercy of Pokemon such as Tangrowth, Ferrothorn, and Latios. Thundurus-T also faces competition from other Electric-types such as Tapu Koko, Mega Manectric, and Thundurus, which have much better Speed tiers than it.
[SET]
name: Double Dance
move 1: Agility
move 2: Thunderbolt
move 3: Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Nasty Plot
item: Electrium Z
ability: Volt Absorb
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Agility is used so Thundurus-T can boost its Speed against a threat that it forces out, such as Tapu Fini, and then outspeed the entire metagame after a boost, notably letting it outspeed faster threats such as Greninja, Tornadus-T, Tapu Koko, and Mega Alakazam, as well as all Choice Scarf users such as Keldeo, Garchomp, and Terrakion. Thunderbolt, in combination with Electrium Z, gives Thundurus-T a powerful Gigavolt Havoc that it can use to break past threats that can normally take a Thunderbolt from full health such as Tapu Lele, Heatran, Mega Heracross, and Volcarona. When used with Nasty Plot, Thundurus-T can fire off a strong +2 Gigavolt Havoc, which can take out normal checks to special attackers such as Mew, Tyranitar, Mega Charizard X, and Assault Vest Magearna from full health; +2 Gigavolt Havoc also OHKOes Choice Specs Magnezone, making Thundurus-T a great check to it due to Volt Absorb. Hidden Power Ice provides great coverage in conjunction with Thunderbolt, allowing Thundurus-T to hit Ground-types such as Zygarde, Landorus-T, and Garchomp while also letting it damage the Grass-types that resist Thunderbolt such as Tapu Bulu, which is OHKOed with +2 Hidden Power Ice. Nasty Plot allows Thundurus-T to boost its Special Attack to high levels, letting it break past numerous bulkier threats such as Mew, Zygarde, Tangrowth, and Assault Vest Magearna. Focus Blast is an option that may be used to break past Ferrothorn, Tyranitar, and Excadrill, which are otherwise good checks to it, although this comes at the cost of either Nasty Plot or Agility, which hinders Thundurus-T's ability to perform well against defensive and offensive teams alike.
Set Details
========
Maximum Special Attack and Speed investment with a Timid nature allows Thundurus-T to hit as hard as possible while outspeeding notable threats such as Zygarde, Tapu Lele, Landorus-T, and Manaphy. Electrium Z gives Thundurus-T the ability to net the KO against Mew, Tyranitar, and Assault Vest Magearna with +2 Gigavolt Havoc. Leftovers may be used instead to give Thundurus-T sustainability throughout the match, which also gives it more opportunities to set up Nasty Plot or Agility boosts, although this comes at the cost of its one-time nuke in Gigavolt Havoc, which is one of the main reasons why Thundurus-T serves as a dangerous threat in the metagame. Life Orb gives Thundurus-T consistent power at the cost of its health, which can severely hinder its ability to perform between Life Orb recoil and Stealth Rock damage, limiting its ability to gain boosts. Volt Absorb is Thundurus-T's only ability, allowing it to check threats that use Electric-type moves or coverage such as Magnezone, Zapdos, and Tapu Koko.
Usage Tips
========
Thundurus-T can be brought directly into the match into threats that it checks such as Celesteela and Mega Scizor or after an opponent has picked up a KO. You can choose to use Gigavolt Havoc on threats that Thundurus-T fails to OHKO without it such as Mega Heracross, Tapu Lele, and Volcarona. You may also save it for later in the match if you intend on sweeping with Agility provided that Thundurus-T's checks, such as Tangrowth and Ferrothorn, have been taken out. Given its weakness to Stealth Rock, it is not advised to switch Thundurus-T directly into foes if Stealth Rock is on the field, since it cuts into Thundurus-T's longevity as well as its ability to set up boosts if its health is low from residual damage. If the opponent is using an Electric-type threat such as Tapu Koko, Magnezone, or Zapdos, Thundurus-T can be brought in on a predicted Electric-type move to gain momentum provided that Stealth Rock is off of the field and Thundurus-T is healthy enough to take their coverage moves if the player predicts incorrectly; for example, while Tapu Koko cannot 2HKO Thundurus-T from full health with Hidden Power Ice, it will be riskier to switch it directly into Tapu Koko if it has gotten enough damage to the point where it can be 2HKOed by Hidden Power Ice. Thundurus-T should be used according to the matchup as either an early-game wallbreaker with Nasty Plot or a late-game sweeper with Agility provided that its checks such as Ferrothorn and Assault Vest Tangrowth are sufficiently weakened. When Thundurus-T is in against a threat that it forces out such as Celesteela or Landorus-T, it can either use Nasty Plot on the opponent's switch into a bulky threat such as Assault Vest Magearna so that Thundurus-T can take advantage of it with a +2 Gigavolt Havoc or Agility so that it can sweep if its checks are weakened. Thunderbolt may also be used early-game to wear down Thundurus-T's checks so that it can break past them more easily later on in the game with a Nasty Plot boost or clean after an Agility boost.
Team Options
========
Given Thundurus-T's weakness to Stealth Rock, entry hazard removers serve as great partners with Thundurus-T; such hazard removers include Mew, Latios, Mega Scizor, and Starmie, and they can all assist Thundurus-T in breaking down its checks such as Ferrothorn and Assault Vest Tangrowth. Pokemon that can weaken or take out Grass-type checks to Thundurus-T like Ferrothorn, Mega Venusaur, and Assault Vest Tangrowth make for great partners with Thundurus-T, as having these threats weakened allows it to sweep late-game with Agility; such partners include Heatran, which can set up Stealth Rock for Thundurus-T to take advantage of, and Choice Specs Tapu Lele, which can 2HKO Assault Vest Tangrowth and take out Ferrothorn with Focus Blast or Hidden Power Fire. Partners that appreciate bulky threats such as Mew, Tyranitar, and Assault Vest Magearna eliminated with the assistance of +2 Gigavolt Havoc have great synergy with Thundurus-T. Protean Greninja is a fantastic partner, as it appreciates having all of these threats weakened, and it can assist Thundurus-T in sweeping by taking out Ferrothorn with Hidden Power Fire and Tangrowth with Gunk Shot; it can also set up Spikes for Thundurus-T to utilize. Ash-Greninja forms a similar offensive core with Thundurus-T. Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Zygarde can assist Thundurus-T by checking threats to it such as Alolan Marowak. Landorus-T can also bring Thundurus-T in on a slow U-turn as well as set up Stealth Rock for it, Garchomp may also carry Stealth Rock, and Zygarde is able to weaken a number of Thundurus-T's checks, such as Ferrothorn, with its Choice Band-boosted moves like Superpower; it can also surprise Unaware Clefable, a strong threat to Thundurus-T on stall builds, with Iron Tail. Steel- and Fairy-type partners can switch into Latios, one of the strongest offensive checks to Thundurus-T, and take advantage of it. Jirachi and Clefable can set up Stealth Rock for Thundurus-T, and Clefable notably has a great matchup against Mega Sableye, making it much easier for Thundurus-T to break past stall builds.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Fightinium Z may be used to give Thundurus-T access to All-Out Pummeling to take out Ferrothorn and Chansey, two of its strongest checks; this comes at the cost of a valuable coverage option and Electrium Z, which is one of the biggest reasons to run Thundurus-T. Hidden Power Flying is an option that allows Thundurus-T to hit Alolan Marowak, which switches into the rest of its moves, while also hitting Mega Venusaur and Assault Vest Tangrowth; this, however, comes with the inability to take out Zygarde, Landorus-T, and Garchomp with Hidden Power Ice. Sludge Wave may be used to better secure OHKOs against the likes of Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, and Tapu Bulu, although this move provides very little coverage otherwise and forces Thundurus-T to forgo Nasty Plot or Agility. If you decide to forgo Nasty Plot and run a third coverage option, Thundurus-T can serve as a threat towards offense with its extra coverage.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Grass-types**: Mega Venusaur, Ferrothorn, Amoonguss, and Assault Vest Tangrowth are all fantastic checks to Thundurus-T, taking very little damage from Hidden Power Ice and resisting STAB Thunderbolt. Ferrothorn can set up entry hazards against Thundurus-T, while Mega Venusaur can throw out strong STAB Sludge Bombs against Thundurus-T, which can severely weaken it.
**Alolan Marowak**: Alolan Marowak is immune to Thunderbolt and Focus Blast and takes very little damage from Hidden Power Ice, making it a hard counter to Thundurus-T; it can take advantage of Thundurus-T by throwing out a strong STAB move such as Fire Punch or Shadow Bone.
**Specially Defensive Threats**: Specially defensive threats such as Chansey, Assault Vest Magearna, and Nihilego can take any unboosted hit from Thundurus-T. Choice Scarf Nihilego is notable for not being OHKOed by Gigavolt Havoc, which means that it can stop Thundurus-T from sweeping with Agility if it has not been sufficiently weakened. Chansey, while not able to take a +6 Gigavolt Havoc, can otherwise wall Thundurus-T if it has used its Z-Move trying to break past Unaware Clefable and set up Stealth Rock or wear it down with Toxic.
**Faster Attackers**: Latios is one of the strongest offensive checks to Thundurus-T in the tier, as it outspeeds Thundurus-T without a boost and can respond with a strong STAB Draco Meteor; it handles Thundurus-T very well after an Agility boost given that it must be sufficiently weakened to be taken out by Hidden Power Ice. Greninja and Choice Scarf users like Keldeo, Nihilego, and Garchomp can take out a weakened Thundurus-T provided that it has not boosted up with Agility.
**Unaware Users**: Unaware users such as Clefable and Quagsire do a great job of handling Thundurus-T by ignoring any Nasty Plot boosts it has accumulated. Even without any Special Defense investment, Unaware Clefable is not 2HKOed by Thunderbolt, while Quagsire takes Hidden Power Ice with ease and is immune to Thunderbolt. While Clefable can be taken out by the combination of Thunderbolt + Gigavolt Havoc, doing so means that Thundurus-T is at the mercy of Chansey, which it is no longer able to break past at +6 Special Attack.
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