Landorus Analysis - PokéCheats Pokémon #645, Analysis, Movesets


01/15/25, 13:48
Landorus Analysis
#644 Zekrom Pokédex Strategy Moves Database Kyurem #646

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This article gives you ideas of how to use Landorus in battle in the Pokémon Black, Pokémon White and Pokemon B2W2 Games. It lists popular movesets used by competitive battlers, as well as a description on how to use each set to help you understand why the moves were chosen. These popular sets are usually the best to use in battle and so reading this guide will help you in your team building.

Gen 5: Overview

Landorus is very similar to Gliscor, mainly because both share the Ground/Flying typing. However, Landorus' offensive stats and speed are all higher than Gliscor's offensive stats, meaning that Landorus is not outclassed by the flying scorpion. Landorus' attacking stats are impressive, its defenses are decent, and its movepool is big enough to make Landorus a fearsome sweeper. Landorus' abilities are both quite useful as well. Landorus gets the ability Sand Force, which powers up many of Landorus' attacks in a Sandstorm, making them more potent. In Dream World, Sheer Force can be used primarily for a special attacking Landorus, powering up moves like Earth Power, Psychic, and Focus Blast. Landorus also has a great base 101 speed, which means it can out-speed the numerous 100 base speed Pokemon out there. Landorus also is the fourth-fastest Ground type, only out-sped by Dugtrio, Ground-typed Arceus, and Garchomp. However, Landorus' Ground/Flying typing means that it has a 2X weakness to water moves and a 4X weakness to Ice moves. Furthermore, Landorus can still be outsped by various Pokemon with higher speeds, and Landorus' defenses are not the greatest. Despite these weaknesses, Landorus has some good resistances, including resistances to Electric, Fighting, Ground, Poison, and Bug moves. These resistances are especially effective in aiding Landorus in sweeping.


 
Ability Nature Item HP Atk. Def. SpAtk. SpDef. Speed
Sand Force Naive / Jolly nature choice scarf 0 252 0 4 0 252
There are no current set statistics analysed






This set is probably Landorus' most common set, and for good reason. It has a great attack stat, and its base 101 speed stat allows Landorus to outspeed many Pokemon while equipped with the Choice Scarf. Landorus' typing certainly doesn't hurt it either, giving it some key resistences and immunities to Fighting, Ground, and Electric moves, while only giving Landorus two weaknesses. Landorus also is not affected by Spikes or Toxic Spikes, and only takes neutral damage from Stealth Rock, so it can switch into battle many times. Because of its good typing, good stats, and its access to U-turn, Landorus is often seen on Volt-turn teams. For Landorus' first two moves, Earthquake and U-turn are the obvious choices. Earthquake is a strong move, coming from Landorus' base 125 attack stat. It can also get boosted by Sand Force during a sandstorm, which can really make earthquake a hard attack for foes to deal with. U-Turn is also needed for this set, as it allows Landorus to maintain offensive pressure on the opponent by switching Landorus for a suitable replacement. Stone Edge is recommended for the third slot. It gets great coverage with Earthquake, and it can also be boosted by Sand Force. Rock Slide can also be used if Stone Edges' accuracy is a concern, but Rock Slide is significantly weaker than Stone Edge. Finally, for the last slot, Hidden Power Ice is preferred, as it enables Landorus to effectively deal with Gliscor, a Pokemon that would normally trouble Landorus. Hidden Power Ice also comes with the benefit of dealing major damage to Pokemon like Dragonite and Salamence without needing to use Stone Edge. Hammer Arm is a viable alternative here though, as it hits Air Balloon Heatran and Hydreigon harder than Landorus' other moves. Landorus tends to switch into battle many times, so the speed drop from Hammer Arm won't affect it too much.

Additional Comments

The nature is dependent on Landorus' last move. If Landorus is running a Hidden Power, then Landorus wants a Naive nature. If Landorus is running Hammer Arm, then a Jolly nature should be used. In both cases, a positive speed nature should be run, along with max speed and attack EVs.

 
Ability Nature Item HP Atk. Def. SpAtk. SpDef. Speed
Sand Force Naive nature expert belt 0 228 0 28 0 252
There are no current set statistics analysed






This set is actually very effective, because many people assume that this Landorus is running a choice item, because of the lack of Leftovers recovery and Life Orb recoil. This Landorus aims to lure in some common Landorus counters, like Gliscor and Dragonite, and KO them with the appropiate move. Luring and knocking out a Pokemon can be very important to the success of battles. For example, if Landorus lures and KOs Gliscor, then Terrakion will have a much easier time sweeping later in the match. This Landorus isn't limited to just being a lure though; it still possesses great offensive stats, and it can be a potent sweeper on its own near the end of battles. Landorus' moves are fairly self-explanatory here. Earthquake is Landorus' strongest stab move, and Stone Edge gets good coverage with Earthquake. Rock Slide is not really an option here, as it doesn't have enough power for this kind of set. Hidden Power Ice is important as well, as it lets Landorus get those KOs on Gliscor and Dragonite. U-Turn is important as well, as it can be used to both fake having a choice item and to keep offensive pressure on the opponent by switching to a suitable counter.

Additional Comments

Landorus needs max speed EVs in order to outspeed the many base 100 Pokemon. The 28 special attack EVs are needed so that Landorus can always KO Gliscor in all circumstances, while the rest of the EVs are put into attack to make Landorus as strong as possible.

 
Ability Nature Item HP Atk. Def. SpAtk. SpDef. Speed
Sand Force Naive nature leftovers / life orb 0 252 0 4 0 252
There are no current set statistics analysed






This Landorus set focuses on beating its usual counters, like Bronzong and Skarmory. The move Smack Down removes their immunity to Ground moves, making them very vulnerable to Landorus' Earthquake. In terms of the main attacking moves, Earthquake, as always, is Landorus' best Stab move, and Hidden Power Ice is used to deal heavy damage to Pokemon like Gliscor, Dragonite, and Salamence. The last slot has two good options, each working better with one of Landorus' held items. Substitute works well with Leftovers, and, with prediction, it can really frustrate an opponent. U-Turn works well with Life Orb, and it can be used to switch to another Pokemon if Landorus is left in a bad situation.

Additional Comments

The EVs are again simple here. Max attack and speed EVs are recommended for this set to give Landorus the best offenses possible. Leftovers is preferred for this set, especially with Substitute, to give Landorus more longevity. Life Orb can be used instead if more power is desired for this Landorus.

 
Ability Nature Item HP Atk. Def. SpAtk. SpDef. Speed
Sand Force Naive nature life orb 0 252 0 4 0 252
There are no current set statistics analysed






Landorus is a good Rock Polish Sweeper. It out-speeds many Pokemon after a Rock Polish, such as Sand Rush Excadrill in Sand, Swift Swim Kingdra in Rain, Scarfed Starmie, and many others. Landorus also has very high power in Sandstorm conditions because of its ability, making it a potent sweeper. Stone Edge is preferred for the third slot, because this set needs all of the power that it can get. In other words, Rock Slide just doesn't 'cut it' for this set. For the last slot, Hidden Power Ice is the best option for KOing Gliscor, which Landorus would have trouble with otherwise.

Additional Comments

For this set, Labdorus wants max Speed and Attack with a Naive nature, so that its Hidden Power Ice will have enough power to KO certain Pokemon. It also wants a Life Orb, as Landorus loses out on many sure KOs (particularly with Hidden Power Ice) if it is not holding the Life Orb.

Damage Calculations

Landorus' Hidden Power Ice vs 252 HP / 0 SpD Impish Gliscor: 106.2% (minimum)

Landorus' Hidden Power Ice vs 0 HP / 0 SpD Jolly Salamence: 108.8% (minimum)

 
Ability Nature Item HP Atk. Def. SpAtk. SpDef. Speed
Sand Force Jolly nature leftovers / life orb 0 252 4 0 0 252
There are no current set statistics analysed






Instead of boosting Landorus' Speed, this set boosts its Attack in order to overwhelm the opposition. Only physical moves are listed for that reason, since Landorus' attack-boosted physical attacks will almost always do more damage than its Hidden Power attacks. For the third slot, Stone Edge is preferred for this set due to its power, but Rock Slide can be used for the better accuracy. The fourth slot can have a variety of moves. Substitute can enable Landorus to set up a Swords Dance if the Substitute is placed at the right time. U-Turn may not make sense for a Swords Dance set, but it lets Landorus switch out of its counters and can enable Landorus to sweep later in the match. Explosion can also be used, as it can KO a lot of things, especially after a Swords Dance boost.

Additional Comments:

Landorus really needs the Speed-boosting nature, with max Speed, to out-speed the numerous base 100 Pokemon out there. Landorus should always be running a Jolly nature with the Sand Force ability. Its EV spread basically allows to hit as hard as possible with max Attack and Speed.

 
Ability Nature Item HP Atk. Def. SpAtk. SpDef. Speed
Sheer Force Timid nature life orb 0 0 4 252 0 252
There are no current set statistics analysed






Landorus can actually use Special moves with a good degree of success, especially since most of its moves (including its STAB move) are boosted by Sheer Force. Though Landorus doesn't have very many Special moves, it has enough options to make it a good threat. Landorus' first move should be Earth Power, since it would be Landorus' strongest move in most cases and Landorus gets STAB from it. The next slot should be Hidden Power Ice, as many Pokemon like Gliscor, Dragonite, and Salamence are hit hard by it. Focus Blast works well for the third slot because it gets the Sheer Force bonus, and it enables Landorus to hit foes like Tyranitar, Ferrothorn, and Scrafty for good amounts of damage. The final slot should be Psychic. Though it doesn't give Landorus much more coverage, Psychic also gets a power boost from Sheer Force. It also enables Landorus to hit the many common Fighting Pokemon, notably Breloom and Conkeldurr, for super-effective damage.

Additional Comments

Landorus should be running a Timid nature, along with max Speed and Special Attack EVs to increase its effectiveness to the best possible level. A Life Orb should be used to increase Landorus' power.

Team Mates

Most Landorus sets need ways to get past physical walls. A Gyarados, especially a bulky Gyarados with Taunt, can work well with Landorus in getting rid of physical walls like Hippwodon, Skarmory, and Ferrothorn. Gyarados resists Landorus' Water and Ice weaknesses to an extent, while Landorus resists Gyarados' Electric weakness. Hard hitting Special Attackers, like Starmie and Latios, can also work well with Landorus for getting rid of these special walls. Tyranitar, despite not helping Landorus defensively, can aid Landorus in setting up Sand Stream, which powers up Landorus' Ground and Rock attacks. Tyranitar also can also do heavy damage to Skarmory and Ferrothorn through Fire Blast. For Landorus' special sets, Ferrothorn can work, as Ferrothorn does well against the likes of Gyarados, Jellicent, and Blissey. Ferrothorn also resists Landorus' weaknesses, which can be helpful.

Other Options

Grass Knot - Can be used to destroy some Bulky Water-typed Pokemon like Quagsire and Gastrodon. Usually, Landorus is better off using other moves for its move sets.

Bulldoze- Can be used as a gimmicky option, in particular for lead sets, since Bulldoze lowers the opponent's speed.

Calm Mind- can be used on Landorus' Dream World special attacking set, but has limited use otherwise. Landorus usually gets better results from the likes of Swords Dance and Rock Polish though.

A Double Dance Set can be used also on Landorus, using both Rock Polish and Swords Dance on a set, with the attacking moves Earthquake and Stone Edge. However, this is outclassed by Terrakion, since Terrakion has higher Attack, higher Speed, and two great STAB moves as opposed to Landorus' one STAB move.

Choice Band - Can be used on Landorus for the extra immediate power. However, Landorus fails to get past some walls like Skarmory and Gliscor, and Choice Banded Landorus is largely outclassed by Terrakion.

Usual Counters

For the physical sets, most physical walls can stop Landorus cold. Physical walls like Skarmory, Hippwodon, Forretress, and Quagsire can work well here. Skarmory and Bronzong are generally considered to be the best Landorus counters, since they don't take much damage from most of Landorus' attacks, barring the unusual Hidden Power Fire (which doesn't even 2HKO Bronzong). Gliscor could also be a decent Landorus counter, but most Landorus carry Hidden Power Ice, making it difficult for Gliscor to stay in battle. Gyarados can intimidate Landorus and set up a Dragon Dance, but has to watch out for a Stone Edge. Latios can switch in on an Earthquake, and force Landorus out with its high powered moves. Vaporeon can take a hit and either use Scald or Ice Beam to maim Landorus, while Ferrothorn can also take a hit, but can't hit back too well. For the special attacking sets, Gyarados becomes an excellent counter, as Gyarados doesn't take much from Landorus' moves and can set up Dragon Dances on Landorus. Reuniclus, Latios, Blissey, Jellicent, and Rotom-W can also work well against special variants of Landorus. Keep in mind that some high powered attackers, like Gengar, Starmie, and Latios can easily force Landorus out, since they are faster and Landorus can't handle their attacks.

Opinion

Landorus is not to be underestimated. Having resistances to the ever-so-common Fighting and Ground moves, as well has having great offensive stats and decent Speed, enables Landorus to become a major threat. Landorus also gets set-up moves like Swords Dance and Rock Polish, which help it to sweep. Landorus is not just confined to physical moves either, as it can also run special sets, which makes it much more effective. Landorus may suffer from not being as fast or not having the same defenses as some Pokemon, but in the right hands, Landorus can be hard to deal with.











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