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Statigar
08-04-2009, 10:50 AM
Holy ****: 7205 words.. thats like... :o
Link to old analysis: http://teamuber.net/forum/showthread.php?t=99 << ROFL Eternal.

Id like to thank myself for wasting four hours on this (H)

Iac edit: And Iac for wasting another four hours on this!

Tyranitar

http://www.gtsplus.net/files/images/art/sugimori/248.png

Summary:

Most Used Set:
The most used set for Tyranitar is the Dragon Dancer set, which offers wide possibilities, and the option to accurately sweep the opponent’s team. The Adamant Nature will give you a 332 Speed stat after one Dragon Dance, which is decent enough to outspeed Lucario, and a max EV Latias with a neutral Nature, or anything with a base Speed stat of 115 and lower. A Jolly Nature allows it to excell at 364 Speed, which offers Tyranitar the capability of outspeeding most threats, including Starmie, Gengar, and Azelf. With 364 Speed, Tyranitar is faster than every Pokémon in the OU metagame, excluding Ninjask, a positive-Natured Alakazam, and of course, anything that is Choice Scarfed, allowing you to attempt a sweep.

In the Dragon Dancer set, you have the option to use a Babiri Berry to prevent serious damage from Scizor. That Berry helps to reduce an average of 80% damage to just 50%, allowing room for a secondary hit your opponent may deliver, which can ruin the sweep, such as a Donphan’s Earthquake or Mamoswine's Ice Shard.

The option of a Life Orb allows Tyranitar to maximise its attacking potential without running the limits of a Choice Band, ensuring that hits from Aqua Tail do enough damage to Hippowdon or Gliscor, which are two common counters.
Usual Counters:

Once Tyranitar has setup Dragon Dance or Curse, there are absolutely no counters for this Pokémon, except maybe a Shuckle or Regirock, which can still be hit hard with Superpower or Earthquake which is common on every Tyranitar. A good Tyranitar counter would have to be Bronzong, especially against the Dragon Dancing set, as Gyro Ball is almost sure to deal an incredible amount of damage, 2HKOing it. For every Dragon Dance used, Gyro Ball's power is increased. This also can be used by a Forretress, which can attempt to wall some Physical hits Tyranitar may deliver. Another counter involves the classic Physical walls: Rhyperior, Swampert, Hippowdon, Metagross, and Gliscor, however, you must be careful and must predict what set your opponent may be using to predict possible counters for them.

One of the best Tyranitar counters would have to be Scizor. An Adamant Scizor holding a Life Orb or any other Attack boosting Item is likely to OHKO a Tyranitar after Stealth Rock damage, and thanks to Bullet Punch being a priority move, it’s the best option for countering the Dragon Dancing and Choice Scarf sets. Scizor's high defense enables him to withstand a few hits from Stone Edge. Even if Bullet punch is not available on Scizor, Superpower provides a definate OHKO, and is a reliable move to use on the Curse set when the going gets tough. Other options include the use of X-Scissor or U-Turn which provide STAB and an option to switch out. The only draw back with a Scizor counter is the possibility of a Fire attack which Tyranitar would most likely use on the Boah set.

A good counter to Tyranitar would be something that inflicts a status change to it, thus disabling the option to setup. A Vileplume with max Speed is able to counter a +1 Dragon Dance Tyranitar, thanks to its Ability, and so is able to attempt to use Sleep Powder or Stun Spore on it. Another useful Pokémon includes the use of Breloom. Breloom's Spore attack allows it to Sleep the foe, while buying time to perform a Substitute and then Focus Punch Tyranitar, knocking it out instantly, even the Curse set. Breloom's typing allows it to deal with STAB Fighting moves, but its poor defenses mean running a risk from Stone Edge, or Ice Beam, however, it is still able to resist every move on the Choice Band set barring the occasional Ice Beam. Breloom's movepool allows it to have Mach Punch and Seed Bomb, which deals serious damage to Tyranitar, even if it has used Dragon Dance or Rock Polish.

Lastly, the most obvious counter would be a Fighting-type Pokémon. With a 400% weakness to the common Fighting-type, Lucario, Machamp, Infernape, and Hariyama are all able to take advantage of this. It is recommended to give them Vacuum Wave or Mach Punch, to attack a fast DDance'd setup Tyranitar. This is the most reliable method of countering Tyranitar, as a 400% weakness can enable even a Tyranitar with three Curse boosts to fall.

Types of Teams Pokemon Is Used In:

The best thing to consider when using a Choice Itemed Pokémon, is to have another Pokémon on your team that is able to take and deliver hits. Bronzong, Suicine, Shuckle, and Skarmory provide this sort of protection, as they're able to take what a Tyranitar counter may deliver, as well as become of some use for aiding the team with Stealth Rock for example.

Another thing to consider is the Sand Stream boost and damage each turn. Sand Stream boosts the Special Defense of Rock-types by 1.5, and so Tyranitar actually has a better Special Defense than a Defense, enabling it to become a Special wall, therefore, making it a viable switch-in to Special attackers such as Milotic, Suicine, and Heatran. One main thing to consider is the effect Sand Stream can have on your team. Running other Rock-types on your team such as Regirock or Rhyperior, allows you to make the most of the Special Defense boost, and to minmize the damage done to your Pokémon from the Sandstorm buffetting them. A Special Defense boost to Rhyperior enables it to take hits from Suicine's Surf attack, and enables Regirock to become a more effective wall in your team.

Tyranitar's Ability - Sand Stream, allows Gliscor and Garchomp (in Ubers) a free setup to their abilities: Sand Veil, aiding their evasiveness.

http://teamuber.net/dexajax/pt/anim-n/248.pngDDancer@ Babiri Berry / Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 6 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly / Adamant

- Dragon Dance
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Tail / Earthquake / Fire Punch

This set is the most common Tyranitar set in the OU metagame. It uses a lethal combination of Attack boosts and Speed boosts that can make this Pokémon unstoppable, thus leading to a likely, and humiliating defeat.

The trick of this set is to use Dragon Dance when you have the opportunity. Perfect times are when your opponent is forced to switch due to a Choice Item. With good prediction, once you have successfully Dragon Danced, you are then able to attempt a sweep using the other moves you have available, otherwise, Dragon Dance again to seal your opponent’s defeat. As Dragon Dancing requires a turn for setup, this set may not possess the same immediate threat as does the Choice Bander set.

Moreover, Crunch provides STAB and does a great deal of damage to Latias, Dusknoir, and Rotom which may appear on your opponent’s team, therefore, is a must have move for ensuring you aren't walled by them. Thanks to its 100% accuracy, it is a reliable move to use, even against opponents which have the Sand Veil Ability. Stone Edge is a must have move in this set, as it provides decent coverage against Flying, Bug, and Ice-types, which are all too common; by being the most powerful Rock-type move available, it makes the most of Tyranitar's powerful Attack stat.

As in the Choice Bander set, Aqua Tail is a good counter for common Tyranitar counters: Hippowdon and Gliscor. If you decide to use Aqua Tail, it’s best to stick to an Adamant Nature, so it does the maximum amount of damage to them, otherwise Jolly is recommended, as the extra Speed allows Tyranitar to outspeed Skarmory. The choice between Adamant or Jolly is difficult, mainly because the two can ultimately render this killer as too slow or too weak. The Adamant Nature will give you a 332 Speed stat after one Dragon Dance, which is decent enough to outspeed Lucario, and a max EV Latias with a neutral Nature, or anything with a base Speed stat of 115 or lower. A Jolly nature allows you to excell at 364 Speed, which offers you the capability of outspeeding almost every considerable threat, including Starmie, Gengar, and Azelf. With 364 Speed, you'll be faster than every Pokémon in the OU metagame, excluding Ninjask, a positive-Natured Alakazam, and of course, anything that is Choice Scarfed. With a Jolly Nature, your Attack remains at 367, and after one Dragon Dance it still reaches an incredible 550.

If you are that bothered about the stat decrease, then running Tyranitar with a Life Orb would replace the loss, however has the potential of degrading the chances of you surviving when performing a sweep. With both increases in mind, you should be able to sweep the opponents team with ease, therefore a Jolly Nature is recommended to prevent you from being countered by Pokémon such as Infernape and Latias.

Other options include the possible use of Earthquake, which would increase coverage against Steel-types such as Jirachi or Metagross, as well as other Tyranitar or other Rock-types which may attempt to wall you. The use of a Life Orb can allow you to 2-3HKO a Swampert, which is a usual Tyranitar counter.

Lastly, there are many options to consider when chosing your Item. The Leftovers allows you to quickly recover from Stealth Rock, or from damage inflicted when setting up Dragon Dance, however, isn’t vital. The main threat against Tyranitar, which the Choice Bander set fails to take into consideration, is the damage inflicted by an Adamant Life Orb Scizor, which does 75 - 90% damage by Bullet Punch, and with occasional chance of getting haxed (getting bad luck), you'll get knocked out. A safe consideration would be to use a Babiri Berry, which minimizes the damage, thus ensuring safety. Furthermore, with a Dragon Dance, you will always be able to OHKO Scizor with Stone Edge or Fire Punch, after Stealth Rock.

http://teamuber.net/dexajax/pt/anim-n/248.pngMixTar@ Expert Belt / Life Orb
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 232 SpA / 24 Spe
Nature: Brave

- Crunch
- Superpower / Stone Edge / Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam

This set brings together the essence of all the other sets designed for Tyranitar. With STAB moves such as Crunch and Stone Edge, you are still able to deal serious damage to the opponent, whilst investing in Special Attack. With other moves such as Fire Blast and Ice Beam, Tyranitar is able to break through any type of wall and deal super effective hits against many Pokémon, thus making an extra 20% damage from Expert Belt possible. The Brave Nature allows Tyranitar to maintain good defense stats, and a decent Special Attack stat, whilst boosting its Attack.

This set allows Tyranitar to hit super effectively: Dark, Ghost, Psychic, Ice, Grass, Rock, Steel, Normal, as well as Bug and Flying-types. As a result, the Epert Belt will most likely be used, and will increase the power of super effective hits by 20%, increasing the chances of knocking out the foe. This set is also perfect for a team setup where you can Batton Pass Rock Polish, Ninjask's Speed boosts, or Swords Dance effects from Scizor, Gliscor, or Ninjask, as the huge coverage allows you to potentially sweep the opponent’s team.

In the OU metagame, there are many Pokémon which are assigned to countering Tyranitar. This set allows you to OHKO Scizor and Forretress with Fire Blast, and deal serious damage to Metagross, Jirachi, Salamence, etc., and even in the Uber metagame, this set allows you to counter Rayquaza, Mewtwo, Deoxys (all formes), and Groudon. Superpower not only provides a great counter to another Tyranitar, but you will have an easier time against Normal-type Pokémon such as Blissey or Snorlax. On the other hand, Stone Edge remains a decent choice as it provides STAB and almost always will be his most powerful attack option against those who take just 100% damage from all the moves, such as Gyarados.

Moreover, Life Orb is a decent Item to use, as it increases all your attacks by 1.3, which can benefit you greater than an Expert Belt, particularly when against Gyarados, however, running Life Orb is risky, as it causes you to lose health over time, thus making a hit from Scizor more likely to knock you out. Life Orb can also end a possible Batton Pass setup, as it decreases your health. The Expert Belt provides a similar positive effect, but without any drawbacks. This set is only really stopped by a Fighting-type Pokémon who is faster than Tyranitar. If a Fighting-type was to enter, its best to switch.

In conclusion to this set, the EVs in Attack provide all the power you need to attempt a sweep on the foe. With 367 Attack, you're able to OHKO Starmie, Gengar, Scizor, Lucario, and other Pokémon that you face with this mix set. The 24 Speed EVs allow you to outspeed a Blissey and other Pokémon that may try to status you due to your Speed.

http://teamuber.net/dexajax/pt/anim-n/248.pngTyraniffet@ Chople Berry / Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 108 HP / 140 Atk / 68 Def / 172 Spe
Nature: Adamant

- Counter
- Dragon Dance
- Stone Edge / Crunch
- Earthquake

This countering set takes advantage of Tyranitar’s formidable Defense stat, aiming to deal damage, and then throw it back at the opponent - just a Wobbuffet. Due to having 110 base Defense, it’s able to take hits from offensive Pokémon, and survive. Even a super effective Bullet Punch hit from an Adamant Scizor cannot knock it out, dealing just 75% damage, so this countering set has the potential to counter Tyranitar's threats with ease.

The trick of this set is to lure the opponent into attacking you. Most OU battlers will definitely switch-in Pokémon that have a move, or a chance at dealing Physical damage to Tyranitar, (due to Tyranitar's Sand Stream boost, a Special Attack wouldn't be likely), and so by allowing them to do so, you are able to use Counter. Although Speed EVs are not important for a countering set, they are in this case, because after you have countered the opponent, you need some Speed to allow you to move first on the next Pokémon, thus giving you the potential to take down even more Pokémon, but at a lower HP stat. 104 EVs in HP allow a balanced Defence in both areas, and the 72 EVs in Def ensures that some Physical attacking moves dont OHKO Tyranitar, even with Stealth Rock up. The Speed ensures that you are faster than neutrally Natured Lucario after a Dragon Dance; however, beware of Vacuum Wave or Bullet Punch.

Dragon Dance, in this set, is a viable option for setting up a potential sweep on the opponent. It is best to use Dragon Dance when the opponent is forced to switch, and so just one DD increases your Speed, making you faster than Skarmory. Your attack is also boosted from 339 to 509, which is, again, potentially lethal.

To use this set efficiently, the idea is to wait for a Pokémon that would do a great deal of damage to Tyranitar, e.g Metagross. When the opponent is forced to switch, use Dragon Dance to enhance Tyranitar's stats, then use Counter to counter either Metagross' Earthquake or Meteor Mash, thus OHKOing it. Then, when the opponent switches to the next Pokémon, the Dragon Dance effects would be extremely useful, allowing you a good chance of attacking first and dealing a great deal of damage to the foe. Then you can potentially sweep. By using the technique of a standard DD-Tyranitar set, it is incredibly likely that your opponent would switch in: Hippowdon, Scizor, Gyarados Gliscor etc., and so you can quickly shock your opponent as you Counter their attack back at them for an OHKO.

Moreover, in this set, Stone Edge is the prefered option over Crunch because, now that you've killed the usual Tyranitar counter, which is usually a Pokémon that resists Stone Edge, you are now able to use it effectively on Pokémon such as Gyarados or Togekiss. On the otherhand, if you're faced with a special walling Psychic / Ghost Pokémon, then definitely use Crunch to counter the likes of Cresselia, Celebi, or Dusknoir. Earthquake is a good option, as it widens the type coverage of Tyranitar in this set, dealing with any other Steel-types, such as Heatran, or any other Fire-types, such as Arcanine, which may be switched in by the opponent as a last resort.

Lastly, this set can be used to Counter the classic Fighting counters: Machamp, Hariyama, Lucario, and Weavile, which your opponent may feel will destroy your Pokémon. However, it is important that Tyranitar holds a Chople Berry, to prevent it from fainting. Then, Tyranitar can survive a Dynamic Punch from Machamp and OHKO it back with Counter, but due to the confusion, you can still fail to perform this well. With Lucario or Hariyama, the Chople Berry prevents Vacuum Wave from doing any serious damage.

http://teamuber.net/dexajax/pt/anim-n/248.pngTBoah@ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 52 Atk / 172 SpA / 32 Spe
Nature: Quiet / Brave

- Substitute
- Dark Pulse / Crunch
- Focus Punch
- Ice Beam / Thunderbolt / Flamethrower

This set has been around since the Advanced generation, and is a selectively dangerous set, which takes advantage of Tyranitar's amazing base Attack stat, and potential Special Attack capabilities. Even today, Boah is still a threat, and does serious damage to even stall teams. In the current metagame, most Tyranitar counters rely on countering the more Physical and rather limited version. With 252 EVs in HP, and good defense base stats, Tyranitar is protected from many threats, especially Special Attackers, and so makes a good wall. The 176 EVs in Special Attack are there to ensure that the Special moves carried out do enough damage to the opponent, thus the point of this set is to cover all possible possibilities of Attack and to annihilate all opponents.

The idea of this set is to suprise the opponent, and to abuse moderate, but potentially powerful attacks. Due to the difficulty your opponent may have taking this down, it is likely that they'll bring a switch-in, and so Substitute is an excellent move for making the most of that switch, and as a result, you would have bought yourself time to either use Focus Punch, or to weaken the opponent without any risk.

Moves such as Ice Beam provide excellent coverage, dealing serious damage against common faces in the OU metagame, and 2HKOing a 252 HP EVed Hippowdon, also doing mass damage to Donphan, Salamence, Gliscor, Breloom, and Aerodactyl. Alternatives include the use of Thunderbolt, which covers Gyarados, Suicine, and Milotic, or Flamethrower, which takes care of Forretress and Scizor in one hit, or two against a bulky Skarmory or Metagross. The fourth move block is an option entirely open to you, and like Mixape, has the potential of countering, if not all, most of the Pokémon in the OU metagame.

Another option in this set is between Dark Pulse and Crunch. If you are planning on using this Tyranitar in the Uber metagame, then Crunch is the most viable option, as most Uber Pokémon have higher Special Defense. In the OU metagame, Dark Pulse is recommended, as it’s another Special option for you to attack with, and has a greater element of surprise, compared to Crunch. Choosing Dark Pulse ensures that the EVs invested in Special Attack are used to their full potential and it also increases the coverage over other Special walls, which is what this set deals with best.

Furthermore, another Pokémon which this set can counter, is of course the mighty Blissey. The EVs allocated in Speed allow you to outspeed Blissey. The idea is to use Substitute before Blissey moves, then to prevent it from using Thunder Wave or Toxic on you. Once you're set up, you can use Focus Punch, which would knock it out immediately, and as a result, you'll have a Substitute for the next Pokémon. You could place all EVs into HP to ensure that Blissey's Seismic Toss doesn’t break it, allowing you to keep your Substitute.

Lastly, this set has much room for modification, and so, if you want to use Crunch as a good move, you can adjust the nature to Quiet and the EVs to allow it to deal reasonable damage. If you don't decide to use Crunch, Brave is the way to go.

http://teamuber.net/dexajax/pt/anim-n/248.pngChoice Scarf@ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 120 Atk / 136 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Hasty / Naive

- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam
- Crunch / Stone Edge / Superpower
- Earthquake / Stone Edge

Expanding on from the Dragon Dance set and Choice Band set, this set allows Tyranitar to attempt a sweep - instantly. Thanks to its 134 base Attack, even without a Dragon Dance, it's still able to defeat most speedy Pokémon in one hit. Also, most players expect Tyranitar to be bulky and slow - this set, like the TBoah set, attempts to create an element of surprise allowing it to do decent damage to both Special and Physical walls. With a Choice Scarf, 252 EVs, and either a Hasty or Naive Nature, Tyranitar is able to outspeed many OU counters such Azelf, Starmie, Infernape, Gengar, Salamence, Lucario, and any positive-Natured base 115 Speed Pokémon. Even without an attack boost, or max Attack, it is still able to perform a knock out on most of them.

The idea of this set is to counter threats, and so a wider and more diverse moveset is needed. Fire Blast enables Tyranitar to OHKO, or deal serious damage to, Scizor, Forretress, Celebi, Skarmory, and Abomasnow, whilst Ice Beam allows OHKOs on Salamence, Donphan, Gliscor, Breloom, and a 2HKO on Hippowdon. In the Uber metagame, it is particularly useful against Garchomp, Rayquaza, and Groudon, so therefore is an extremely useful move. On the other hand, Stone Edge and Crunch still remain the most important and strongest options, thanks to STAB. Stone Edge counters Gyarados, and all Flying, Bug, and Ice-type Pokémon, while Crunch threatens all the Ghost and Psychic Pokémon in the metagame. In addition to this, Earthquake is another viable option, thanks to its reliability and coverage against Infernape and Heatran. Thanks to the Choice Scarf, you shouldn't be threatened by Infernape, as you will go first.

Other options include the possible use of Superpower for countering other Tyranitar, and now, the more common Snorlax and Blissey threats, as well as Thunderbolt, for tackling bulky Water-types and OHKOing Gyarados. With 260 Special Attack, you're able to use Special Attacks well, and with 334 Attack, you can still deal severe damage to the opponent, and OHKO a Starmie with Crunch. The Natures Hasty and Naive effect the Defense and Special Defense of the Pokémon, respectively, so, based on your team, it’s best to chose the corresponding Nature to complement your team.

http://teamuber.net/dexajax/pt/anim-n/248.pngChoice Band@ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 176 HP / 252 Atk / 80 Spe
Nature: Adamant

- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Pursuit / Fire Punch
- Aqua Tail / Earthquake

With Latias in the OU metagame, Tyranitar now faces a new Pokémon that is difficult to counter; however, this set allows Tyranitar to effectively counter Latias, all Rotom formes, Dusknoir, and any other Ghost or Psychic-types that are commonly seen in the opponent’s team. The Choice Band on Tyranitar is its deadly weapon, and allows it to deal extremely powerful attacks which can OHKO most OU and BL Pokémon - picture it as already having a Dragon Dance (but without the Speed boost). Tyranitar's 404 Attack becomes 606 when holding a Choice Band. In today's OU metagame, many opponents are using Choice Items to boost their stats, and so with good prediction, you can take advantage of an opponent switching out, with Pursuit.

Stone Edge, again, is an excellent choice, as not only does it provide STAB, boosting your already amazing Attack, but it is also the best and most lethal Rock-type move. Stone Edge provides coverage against common counters such as Salamence, and with the Choice Band, can potentially OHKO it. Crunch, again, provides a secondary Dark-type move for inflicting damage to Ghost or Psychic-type Pokémon, when you know they aren't going to switch. In addition, Aqua Tail is a good option for surpasing bulky Ground-type Pokémon. Thanks to the Choice Band, even common Physcial walls such as Hippowdon and Gliscor, which is a likely switch-in from your opponent, is 2HKOed. The only disadvantage of Aqua Tail is the possibility of a miss, and together with Gliscor's Sand Veil, Aqua Tail’s accuracy is dropped even more.

Other common counters you might face when using Tyranitar include the dangerous Metagross and Jirachi, which may use Steel-type moves in an attempt to counter you. Earthquake is a viable option for doing serious damage to these foes, and is an accurate and safe option. The Adamant Nature allows you to increase the Attack stat to 404 for maximum potential when holding a Choice Band, without losing stats in a needed stat.

Fire Punch is an excellent option for countering yet another deadly Tyranitar Counter that you will most likely face in the OU metagame - Scizor. Fire Punch will definitely OHKO a Scizor and 2HKO even a Skarmory. The only disadvantage to consider when playing against Tyranitar's counters is the fact that Tyranitar is a slow Pokémon, and with Scizor's newly adopted Bullet Punch, facing it would mean you would have to deal with serious damage. The 176 EVs in HP allow you to survive such threats. If you are faced with a Pokémon such as Machamp, the best option is to switch.

Lastly, the 80 EVs invested in Speed are there to ensure you are able to outspeed Pokémon such as Metagross, and to counter the 4 EVs in Skarmory's Speed Stat, which allows it to 2HKO it with either Fire Punch or Stone Edge, before it has a chance to Roost.

http://teamuber.net/dexajax/pt/anim-n/248.pngChoice Specs@ Choice Specs
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 180 HP / 252 SpA / 76 Spe
Nature: Modest

- Dark Pulse
- Thunderbolt / Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power Grass / Earth Power

This set is the ultimate surprise package for your opponent, and due to Sand Stream, Tyranitar here is both a Special wall and a Special Attacker. The idea of this set it to selectively surprise the opponent, and just like the MixTar set, it enables you to counter many different Pokémon types.

The Choice Specs Item increases your Special Attack from 317 to 476, which, overall, is more powerful than a standard attacking Tyranitar, allowing you to trick the foe and OHKO Salamence with Ice Beam, and deal serious damage to regular Tyranitar counters: Hippowdon, Swampert, Scizor, Skarmory, and even Rhyperior. This Special set is perfect for breaking Physical walls, and with 180 EVs invested in HP, Tyranitar has a decent amount of Hit Points to survive on.

Dark Pulse is a must as it not only provides STAB, but it also provides a 20% chance to cause the foe to flinch. Using Dark Pulse against a Swampert will more than likely 2HKO it with Stealth Rock set up, and OHKO a Latias with Stealth Rock up. Thunderbolt helps to tackle the common Gyarados within one hit, and in the Uber metagame, eliminates Kyogre and deals serious damage to Palkia. Thunderbolt is also a decent move to counter Suicine, who is all too common in the OU metagame. Ice Beam, on the otherhand, is a decent move for countering Celebi, all Flying-types, and in the Uber metagame - Shaymin. It’s also a reliable and deadly move against Dragon-type Pokémon, as well as Garchomp. The third option block is dedicated to Flamethrower, as that is an important move to use against Skarmory, Scizor, Forretress, Celebi, and other Bug, Grass, and Steel-types. In addition, the fourth move slot can either contain Earth Power or Hidden power Grass. Earth Power is a good move to have when faced against Heatran, Rhyperior, Lucario, and other Ground / Rock / Steel-types, and provides a decent counter to Scizor, but the best option is Hidden Power Grass, as that fulfills the element of surprise – an OHKO on Swampert, and a deadly move for Suicine, Vaporeon, and Rhyperior.

This set is unreliable against Blissey and Snorlax, and so, staying in is not recommended. Using Superpower or Focus Punch as an option isn't viable either, as you are holding a Choice Item, and so will need to switch out and in again - and by the time you've done that, your opponent has probably Cursed a few times, or Paralysed your Pokémon.

http://teamuber.net/dexajax/pt/anim-n/248.pngPolish Orbed Ttar@ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 98 HP / 252 Atk / 160 Spe
Nature: Adamant

- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Rock Polish
- Stone Edge

One major flaw in Tyranitar's stats is its Speed. It is a bulky Pokémon, and doesn’t have the necessary base stats in Speed to overcome counters, and therefore, usually takes a hit first. Setting up Dragon Dance is a good option, however, setting it up is risky, and EVs have to be used up on the Speed stat to ensure that the set is effective. This set builds from the DD-Tar set, and uses the move "Rock Polish" to set Tyranitar up for a potential sweep.

Rock Polish boosts Tyranitar's Speed stat by two stages, and its Speed is boosted from 198 to 396, which outspeeds all positively natured OU Pokémon, excluding Ninjask. Having Rock Polish enables you to invest the Speed EVs and Nature into another stat area, and in this set, it’s all invested in Attack. Therefore, moves dealt by this set will do a decent amount of damage before and after a setup, so there are no risks involved. Holding Life Orb allows Tyranitar to deal serious damage to the foe, increasing its already powerful 403 Attack to 524, which is perfect for knocking out foes such as Starmie, Gengar, and Heatran.

Stone Edge again provides STAB for sweeping Flying, Bug, and Ice-type Pokémon, whilst Earthquake provides coverage over Steel-type Pokémon, including Scizor. This set allows you to 2HKO a Scizor. Crunch is also a good option for STAB and for countering Latias and other Ghost / Psychic-type Pokémon.

Lastly, the 98 EVs invested in HP help to even out Tyranitar's Defenses, enabling it the capability of surviving many Physical attacks from Salamence, Heatran, and Swampert. The Adamant Nature ensures the Attack stat is decent, without losing any necessary stat from a needed area.

http://teamuber.net/dexajax/pt/anim-n/248.pngLeadMuncher@ Focus Sash / Lum Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 240 HP / 36 Atk / 48 Def / 185 SpD Or 252 HP / 36 Atk / 36 Def / 185 SpD
Nature: Sassy / Careful

- Taunt / Substitute / Dragon Dance
- Pursuit / Crunch
- Fire Punch
- Counter / Thunder / Thunderbolt

Suicide is all too common these days, and so this set is designed to counter those horrid leads which aim to Explode, counter, or Sleep you, in an aim to truly anger you. This set has the advantage of defeating commonly used OU leads such as Azelf, Swampert, Gyarados, and Metagross. The move Counter is a successful option in this set, particularly when against a Swampert lead. Simply use Dragon Dance first, when you know they're going to set up Stealth Rocks, then use Counter to counter the move they'd use to try and take you down. Consequently, this results in an OHKO, leaving you with a Speed and Attack boost to help you take on the next opponent with either Fire Punch or Crunch.

Fire Punch is a viable option against Scizor leads, as it will OHKO it, and whilst holding a Focus Sash, you're safe from any potentially lethal moves. Fire Punch also works against Metagross leads, however for Ninjask leads, careful prediction is needed - you need to know whether to use Dragon Dance when they'd try to Protect, or Fire Punch when they'd try to hit you. Instead, you can use Taunt to prevent Ninjask from Protecting, then use a Fire Punch to knock it out. Running Taunt on this set is a perfect way to disable the effects of Ninjask, and so it is recommended. Moreover, Crunch is an excellent choice for tackling Gengar and Azelf leads, OHKOing them with ease. Together with STAB and with Tyranitar's incredible power, you're able to successfully dent the opponent if he also tries to switch. Pursuit, however, remains the ultimate choice for a lead set, as it is almost certain that the opponent would switch if a counter was successful, therefore it allows you to OHKO an escaping Ghost or Psychic foe with ease, and thanks to STAB, does serious damage to any other type of Pokémon.

If countering Pokémon is not your thing, then another suitable option would be to run Taunt, Substitute, or Dragon Dance alongside Thunder. This would help protect you from Dragon Dancing Gyarados, whilst giving you the chance to either create a Substitute, or to set up Dragon Dance yourself.

If you prefer to use Counter, then increase your Speed IV to 31, and opt for a Careful Nature. Use Taunt to prevent Bronzong from setting up Stealth Rock, and Counter his Gyro Ball back if your opponent decides to stay in. The IV and Nature change allows you to get a decent return on Bronzong's Gyro Ball, and with Counter and Taunt, Bronzong will find it difficult to eliminate Tyranitar. After one Counter, you are then able to knock out Bronzong with a Fire Punch. You can use a similar technique against Swampert.

On the other hand, Thunder is a good choice on this Tyranitar to deal with Gyarados, Milotic in OU, or Kyogre and Manaphy in Ubers. Thunder also contains an element of surprise, and does more damage to Tyranitar’s counters than Stone Edge. Also, Fire Blast is not included in this set, because, due to Tyranitar's lower Special Attack and Roserade's higher Special Defense, Fire Blast will not knock it out. If you decide to use Substitute instead of Taunt, then it is safe to switch the 48 EVs in Defense to 36 EVs in Defense, and therefore increase your HP to 252 EV points. This would allow your Substitute to survive a Night Shade or Seismic Toss.

Subsequently, each move in the move options has a different role for different possible leads, and so it can be very difficult to decide what is best. Another option on this set would be to use Stealth Rock to aid another setup from another Pokémon in your team.

Here, the Item choices are important. If you decide to use Counter, Focus Sash is an excellent option, as it prevents you from being OHKOd by suicide Pokémon, thus making your Counter secure. If you do use a ‘Sash, EVs can be invested in your Attack to boost the power of your moves. If you don't decide to use a ‘Sash, then the EVs in Defense and the Nature become important for allowing Tyranitar to survive. In addition, Lum Berry is a useful Item to have when facing Breloom, Smeargle, or Gengar, as it cures Spore effects or Hypnosis effects, allowing Tyranitar to attack them and OHKO Gengar with Crunch, Roserade with Fire Punch, and Yanmega with Fire Punch or Thunder. Holding a Lum Berry will prevent you from being effected by a status move, therefore, preventing a switch out.

Although Tyranitar gets a 1.5x Special Defense stat increase due to Sand Stream, it is worth investing the EVs into Special Defense, as Counter does not provide an option for you to strike back on Special moves. If you do face a Special Attacking foe, then by all means, use your attacks against it, or try and setup Substitute. With 401 HP and 465 Special Defense with Sandstorm, Tyranitar is capable of surviving a Life Orb Gengar's Focus Blast. The HP EVs and Defense EVs even allow Tyranitar to survive a Waterfall from a Choice Band Gyarados most of the time.

Lastly, if you don’t use Thunder, then choose a Careful Nature, as that would keep your Speed to a good level, without lowering any important stats. If, however, you do use Thunder, switch to a Sassy Nature, which preserves your Special Attack, and lowers your Speed. A Sassy Nature is also good for lowering your Speed to decrease Bronzong's Gyro Ball power.

http://teamuber.net/dexajax/pt/anim-n/248.pngUberTar@ Lum Berry / Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 SpD
Nature: Careful

- Curse
- Payback / Crunch
- Rest
- Stone Edge / Sleep Talk

Tyranitar has extremely good stats, and an extremely good movepool, which is what makes it extremely popular. This set aims to take advantage of Tyranitar's extremely high defenses, and to make it "Uber". Together with the 1.5x boost from Sand Stream to its Special Defense, 216 EVs, and with its Careful Nature, this Tyranitar has a huge 438 Special Defense, closely matching that of Lugia. This Special Defense walls and elimates Special Attackers, therefore rendering this Tyranitar as almost undefeatable. The given EVs in HP are there to increase both Special and normal Defense. The EVs in Special Defense are there to prevent death from a Focus Blasting Gengar. The remaining EVs were assigned to Defense to take Physical hits better while setting up Curse.

The aim of this set is to setup Curse as many times as possible, and then Rest when your HP gets too low. Then, while sleeping you could use Sleep Talk to continue Cursing or to attempt to attack the opponent, until you've woken up. By using Curse six times, your Defense jumps from 266 to 1064... absolutely undefeatable. Curse also boosts Tyranitar's Attack stat too, and after using it six times, you jump from 304 to 1216. Then, just feel free to sweep with your eyes closed. The best time to setup this set is when the opponent is using a Special Attacking foe such as Suicine, Starmie, Alakazam, Magnezone, Zapdos, Togekiss, etc. The only thing to watch out for is for Gengar's Focus Blast and super effective hits from Choice Specsed Pokémon. During setup, it is important to monitor your HP, and if things get difficult, Rest and Sleep Talk to attempt to eliminate the foe. Another good time to setup is when the opponent has a Blissey on the field, a Pokémon is asleep or Frozen, or when you're able to spare a few turns - as once the ball gets going, the opponent will find it hard to defeat you. It is important to be aware of Fighting-type Physcial walls, as it would take 6 Curse's to normalise their Attack.

Moreover, Rest and Sleep Talk help in setting up Curse, while Crunch and Payback are the moves you need to inflict damage on the foe. Crunch is useful as it has a 20% chance of lowering your opponents Defense, however is only base power 80, and as Curse lowers your Speed, Paybacks power will increase to 100 as you're moving last; therefore, it is best to choose Payback for this set. Stone Edge is recommended for this set to give Tyranitar extra STAB coverage when the going gets tough. Alternatively, you could use Sleep Talk, which would allow the use of your Dark STAB move in Sleep. Stone Edge is also a good move to use when you are unable to setup, or when faced by Bug-type Pokémon.

Finally, holding a Lum Berry allows Tyranitar a free turn to recover, or cures a status infliction which could potentially ruin this set, so it is highly recommended. Otherwise, Leftovers would benefit you turn by turn whilst you are setting up.

One last thing to note is that a Close Combat from Lucario, Superpower from Mamoswine etc. will OHKO Tyranitar even if it has gained 2 Curse boosts.

Other Options: Tyranitar has one of the most diverse and active movesets of all Pokémon in the 4th generation. Together with a 95 base Special Attack and 134 base Attack stat, this Pokémon has many options, all with their advantages and disadvantages, and the potential to sweep most Pokémon by just gaining a few stat boosts.

On the MixTar set, there are plenty of other options, such as using Ice Punch or Ancient Power to make the most out of Tyranitar's amazing Attack stat. Ice Punch can do a great deal of damage to Flygon and Gliscor, and offers decent accuracy when compared to Aqua Tail, however, Ice Punch doesn't offer the same coverage as Aqua Tail when facing a Hippowdon. Another useful move includes ThunderPunch, which has the potential to do serious damage to Gyarados, however Thunderbolt or Stone Edge are preferred uses overall, as they provide greater coverage over different Pokémon as well. Aerial Ace, another option, is useful, but due to Tyranitar's poor Speed, is not useful for countering a Fighting-type Pokémon.

A great move to use in the Dragon Dance set includes Taunt, which is particularly useful at preventing Skarmory or Swampert from using WhirlWind or Roar. This is also particularly useful at countering Pokémon such as Rayquaza from setting up in the Uber metagame, forcing a switch. Consequently, forcing a switch allows the clever use of a Substitute, allowing you to access free protection from Scizor or Dugtrio, but running Substitute and Taunt only leaves you with two moves left, therefore isn't a suitable choice.

If you are planning on using a Batton Passing team, then Rock Polish on Tyranitar is not recommended, but the Boah set is instead. Stealth Rock is a useful option for supporting your team, however it is better suited to a more defensive Pokémon, such as Bronzong or Swampert, as Tyranitar has the potential to be something much better than just a setup Pokémon. When running the lead set, you also have the option to use Thunder Wave, however most opposing Pokémon which counter Tyranitar are immune to it, such as Swampert, Gliscor, and Hippowdon.
Opinion:

There have been several occasions where Tyranitar has been blamed for ruining the OU metagame. It has also been suspected of being Uber, based on its 1.5x increase to its Special Defense, even after already having perfectly decent statistics. Tyranitar is easily the most lethal Pokémon in OU play, and its UberTar set has been rendered undefeatable when used correctly and setup within a standard team. By just looking at its stats, you can see that this offensive, yet bulky Pokémon, is a threat to most Pokémon, even Physical walls, and when it setups with Dragon Dance, it has the easy capability of sweeping, too. The capability of Tyranitar achieving well even in the Uber metagame shows that this Pokémon is extremely useful and powerful, and together with its huge movepool, there's rarely a forseeable escape to its deadly attacks.

Eternal
08-04-2009, 04:15 PM
It's like you're writing a research paper on Tyranitar. Damn man...

GarcianSmith
08-04-2009, 04:54 PM
I'd list Pursuit as an option over Crunch on the lead set.

Iggylow
08-12-2009, 09:03 PM
[SIZE=3]Holy ****: 7205 words.. thats like... :o
There have been several occasions where Tyranitar has been blamed for ruining the OU metagame. It has also been suspected of being Uber, based on its 1.5x increase to its [SIZE="2"]Special Attack, even after already having perfectly decent statistics. Tyranitar is easily the most lethal [/COLOR][/FONT]Pokémon in OU play, and its UberTar set has been rendered undefeatable when used correctly and setup within a standard team. By just looking at its stats, you can see that this offensive, yet bulky Pokémon, is a threat to most Pokémon, even Physical walls, and when it setups with Dragon Dance, it has the easy capability of sweeping, too. The capability of Tyranitar achieving well even in the Uber metagame shows that this Pokémon is extremely useful and powerful, and together with its huge movepool, there's rarely a forseeable escape to its deadly attacks.

Shouldn't that say Special Defense?
I could be wrong though :/

Statigar
08-12-2009, 10:04 PM
Shouldn't that say Special Defense?
I could be wrong though :/


thanks for pointing that out :D

Iconic
08-12-2009, 10:29 PM
I CAME O_O

I'm gonna start my analyses... sorry I've been busy/lazy/gone.

Statigar
08-13-2009, 05:36 PM
I CAME O_O

I'm gonna start my analyses... sorry I've been busy/lazy/gone.

yay <3333