Seo.
Nice guys always finish last...
Flying
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Thundurus's ability Prankster makes it a valuable addition to Flying teams because it can paralyze threats like Kyurem-B and Terrakion with priority Thunder Wave. Thundurus is Flying's best check to Water-types like Toxapex and Mantine that can tank Mega Charizard Y's Solar Beam. Thundurus also has a high Special Attack stat alongside access to many coverage moves such as Grass Knot and Focus Blast, allowing it to threaten bulky Ground- and Rock-types. Furthermore, Thundurus has access to a great utility move in Knock Off, letting it cripple common switch-ins such as Chansey. Thundurus also sits at an amazing Speed tier, which allows it to outspeed threats like Latios and makes it an amazing revenge killer. However, it still gets outsped by common threats to Flying such as Tapu Koko and Greninja, which are also immune to Prankster Thunder Wave. Despite Thundurus being a great offensive threat, its bad defensive stats make it easy to revenge kill, especially through the use of priority moves. Thundurus doesn't appreciate entry hazards due to its lack of recovery, as they wear it down easily with the addition of Life Orb recoil.
[SET]
name: Thunder Wave + 3 Attacks (Flying)
move 1: Thunder Wave
move 2: Thunderbolt
move 3: Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Grass Knot
item: Life Orb
ability: Prankster
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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Thunder Wave, with the help of Prankster, cripples many threats such as Latios and Choice Scarf Kyurem-B. Thunderbolt is a reliable STAB move that gives Thundurus coverage against Water- and Flying-types. Hidden Power Ice is used to hit targets that Thunderbolt cannot hit such as Landorus and Gliscor. Grass Knot is a good coverage move that hits bulky Ground-types such as Seismitoad, Swampert, and Gastrodon. Knock Off is an alternative option that lets Thundurus surprise and cripple switch-ins like Chansey; however, using it means losing out on Grass Knot's useful coverage.
Set Details
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Prankster gives Thunder Wave priority, which allows it to be used against faster Pokemon before they can hit Thundurus. Maximum Speed investment with a Timid nature is used to let Thundurus outspeed many threats like Keldeo, Landorus, and Latios. 252 EVs in Special Attack along with Life Orb let Thundurus hit as hard as possible.
Usage Tips
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Thundurus can utilize Prankster Thunder Wave to slow down faster threats such as Choice Scarf Victini, Kyurem-B, and Terrakion. However, it doesn't have the best bulk and is thus not a reliable switch-in to many direct attacks and almost always goes down in exchange for crippling a foe with paralysis. Thundurus should be brought into play through pivoting moves from teammates such as Zapdos and Landorus-T. Thundurus can also switch into setup sweepers like Mega Charizard X and Salamence prior to their setup, allowing you to fire off a Thunder Wave and cripple them. It's worth it to sacrifice Thundurus to paralyze a big threat like Double Dance Mew or Terrakion. With its amazing Speed tier, Thundurus can revenge kill many Pokemon, such as Tapu Fini, Celesteela, and Mega Charizard Y. If Thundurus isn't needed to paralyze an opposing Pokemon, it should be kept healthy because it's a great late-game sweeper. It's very important to keep Stealth Rock off the field as much as possible to prevent Thundurus from taking entry hazard damage. Most specially defensive walls such as Chansey, Alolan Muk, and Mega Venusaur eat up anything Thundurus throws at them, but it's free to switch in on certain Water-type walls such as Toxapex and Mantine and immediately threaten them.
Team Options
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Stealth Rock users such as Skarmory, Landorus-T, Aerodactyl, and Gliscor help wear opposing teams down and let Thundurus clean up more easily. Zapdos, Skarmory, and Mantine are essential for using Defog to clear Stealth Rock. Substitute + Toxic Zapdos in particular breaks Chansey and other bulkier Pokemon, and defensive Zapdos in general is a good switch-in to threats like Tapu Koko. Mantine and Skarmory provide a neutrality to Ice and form a good balanced core together, with Mantine being the special wall and Skarmory being the physical wall. Another great Pokemon neutral to Ice and Rock is Celesteela, which also helps with wearing down checks like Chansey with Leech Seed and Protect. Gliscor and Landorus-T are two good Electric-immune partners. Gliscor can stallbreak and absorb status ailments once Poison Heal activates, while Landorus-T can bring in Thundurus safely with U-turn and can set up Swords Dance without worrying about its low Speed thanks to Thundurus's Thunder Wave. Landorus, Mega Charizard Y, and Dragonite are great wallbreakers to soften up the opposing team, allowing Thundurus to clean up easily. Mega Aerodactyl is a decent partner, as it sits at an amazing Speed tier that allows it to clean up late-game and also appreciates Thundurus's reliability in taking out bulky Water- and Ground-types.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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Flying
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Nasty Plot can be used to take advantage of Prankster and make Thundurus a deadly setup sweeper, but Thundurus's bad bulk makes setting up Nasty Plot quite hard. Focus Blast can be used to hit certain walls, such as Ferrothorn, Porygon2, and Heatran, harder. Focus Blast can also be used for Excadrill switch ins against Ground, as that is the main switch-in to Thundurus for Ground teams, and being able to eliminate Excadrill is very useful for offensive teams. Taunt is also an alternative that prevents walls like Chansey, Clefable, and Torkoal from setting up entry hazards. The addition of Taunt or Focus Blast, however, means losing Grass Knot, which prevents Thundurus from hitting Swampert, Seismitoad, and Gastrodon, or losing Hidden Power Ice, which means Thundurus cannot hit Pokemon like Garchomp, Landorus, and Dragonite.
Checks and Counters
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Flying
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**Mega Venusaur**: Mega Venusaur doesn't care much about Thunder Wave because it is already a slow Pokemon, and Thundurus can barely touch it.
**Chansey**: Chansey walls Thundurus in general. Thunder Wave doesn't hinder it thanks to Natural Cure, and Thunderbolt doesn't do much damage do it, but Chansey should be careful of Knock Off.
**Special Walls**: Specially defensive Pokemon such as Cradily and Lanturn can easily switch into Thundurus, forcing it out.
**Electric-types**: Tapu Koko and Alolan Raichu under Electric Terrain can outspeed and easily OHKO Thundurus. Specially defensive Zapdos, meanwhile, can stall it out. Electric-types in general are immune to Thunder Wave and can normally switch into Thundurus relatively fearlessly.
**Ground-types**: Faster Ground-types such as Choice Scarf or Sand Rush Excadrill, Dugtrio, and Choice Scarf Garchomp are immune to Thunder Wave, forcing you to sacrifice Thundurus or switch out. Slower Ground-types need to be careful of coverage moves but are still relatively safe switch-ins because they are immune to Thunder Wave.
**Faster Dark-types**: Dark-types such as Greninja, Weavile, and Mega Houndoom are not affected by Prankster Thunder Wave, allowing them to outspeed and OHKO Thundurus. However, Dark-types generally can't switch into Thundurus's attacks.
**Chip Damage**: Thundurus gets easily worn down by Life Orb recoil, Stealth Rock damage, and status ailments, making it easy to revenge kill
**Revenge Killers**: Due to Thundurus's lack of good defenses, it can be revenge killed by many faster threats like Mega Aerodactyl, Weavile, Greninja, and Tapu Koko.
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