Tyranitar Analysis



After two years of sun and rain dominating the VGC format, sand is once again a viable because of Tyranitar. Boasting incredibly stats and an equally incredible Mega Evolution, Tyranitar serves as crucial weather control to fight against Rain and Sun.




Pros
*Incredible stat distribution, probably my favorite out of any Pokemon
*134 Attack allows Tyranitar to hit like a truck, especially with Rock Slide
*100 / 110 / 100 Bulk is amazing, and allows Tyranitar to tank many moves without much investment at all
*61 Speed allows Tyranitar the option of running Trick Room and Scarf sets
*Sand Stream, as the name suggests, sets up Sand over weathers like Rain and Sun
*Negates Speed boosts and Damage boosts that Rain / Sun abusers depend on
*Rock types have 1.5x Special Defense in Sand, giving Tyranitar a free Assault Vest
*Because of its natural bulk, Tyranitar has the option of running many different items, such as Choice Scarf, Darkium Z, Life Orb, and Assault Vest
*Can also run an Mega Evolution, with even better stat distribution
*164 Attack boosts Tyranitar to almost break 200 without any investment / nature boost
*100 / 150 / 120 Bulk is ridiculous; Tyranitar naturally has 210 SpD with sand up
*71 Speed allows Tyranitar to outspeed Positive Spe Nature Base 130 Pokemon such as Gengar and Tapu Koko after one Dragon Dance or Icy Wind
*Diverse movepool allows Tyranitar to deal Super Effective damage on the entire format (except for Bulky Waters)
*Also allows Tyranitar the flexibility to Set Up with moves like Dragon Dance or Curse
Cons
*Tyranitar is both weak to Landorus and quad weak to Fighting Types, meaning that a Superpower from Landorus can often cleanly KO Tyranitar
*Low Kick from Scrafty or Incineroar also KO or do massive damage
*4 Move slot Syndrome; Tyranitar often wants to run both Low Kick and Ice Punch to cover its bases
*Tyranitar in its Base form only hits 124 Speed with a Positive nature, meaning that even with Choice Scarf or one Dragon Dance boost, it underspeeds Mega Salamence, Tapu Koko, Manectric, and Mega Gengar
*Outside of sand, Tyranitar will often be 2HKO’d by Special Attacks
Set #1 - Standard 252/252
Tyranitar @ Weakness Policy / Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream  
Level: 50  
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe  
Jolly Nature  
- Rock Slide  
- Crunch / Assurance
- Dragon Dance / Ice Punch
- Protect / Low Kick
*Just as much as Rock Slide is a quintessential move on Landorus, Rock Slide is also very important on Tyranitar as well
*A STAB move that hits both targets with 30% chance to flinch is the best Rock move in the game
*Depending on what Item you are running, the next few moves will vary:
*Weakness Policy sets should always run Crunch, Dragon Dance, and Protect
*Crunch is more reliable than assurance for a slow Tyranitar, and with Weakness Policy it often picks up the KOs it needs
*When running Weakness Policy, Dragon Dance is important to allow you to hit +1 Speed along side Attack Boosts
*Choice Scarf sets should always run Ice Punch and Low Kick with Crunch / Assurance
*Ice Punch allows Tyranitar to chunk Landorus and Dragon types, while Low Kick KO’s opposing Tyranitar and chunks Snorlax
*Because of how speedy Tyranitar is with Scarf, Assurance allows Tyranitar to follow up on fast attackers (Excadrill, Salamence) and pick up KO’s
*With Choice Scarf or one Speed boost from Dragon Dance, Tyranitar will outspeed threats such as Mega Metagross, Kartana, and Alolan Persian
*This set relies on Tyranitar’s natural bulk, as 4/0 survives +252 Atk Landorus Earthquake and +252 SpA Tapu Lele Moonblast
Set #2 - Life Orb / Z Move
Tyranitar @ Life Orb / Darkium Z
Ability: Sand Stream  
Level: 50  
EVs: 252 HP / 228 Atk / 4 Def / 12 SpD / 4 Spe  
Adamant / Brave Nature  
- Rock Slide  
- Crunch  
- Low Kick / Ice Punch
- Protect
*This Tyranitar spread is nothing special, it simply runs 28 HP to hit 179 HP EVs, which minimizes Life Orb Damage
*Low Kick and Ice Punch are interchangeable in this set, depending on whether you need to hit opposing Tyranitar / Normal types or Landorus
         *I personally prefer Low Kick over Ice Punch, as it does lots of damage to Snorlax
         *+228 Atk Tyranitar Life Orb actually has a chance to outright KO 68 / 188 Def Snorlax
*+228 Atk Tyranitar Z Crunch KO’s 220 / 172 Def Cresselia 100% of the time
         *At -1, Tyranitar will often miss KO’s on Cresselia but still guarantees KO’s on Gothitelle
*-1 +228 Atk Tyranitar Rock Slide has a chance to KO 100 / 156 Def Mega Charizard Y; with Life Orb its a 100% KO
*252 HP allows Tyranitar added bulk to its already high defenses, ensuring that the slower Pokemon can get attacks off
*Life Orb Sets can opt into 252 Speed instead of 252 HP, allowing Tyranitar to outspeed the majority of other Tyranitar that are not Scarfed
Set #3 - Mega Tyranitar
Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite  
Ability: Sand Stream  
Level: 50  
EVs: 188 HP / 60 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe  
Jolly Nature  
- Crunch  
- Rock Slide  
- Dragon Dance  
- Protect
*A spread that Conan made, this Mega Tyranitar sacrifices a bit of Damage for longevity
*Mega Tyranitar is typically run with Max Speed and Dragon Dance, so that after +1 Speed you can outspeed Positive Base 130 Speed Pokemon such as Mega Gengar and Tapu Koko
*Crunch and Rock Slide, again, are the essential STAB moves that provide Tyranitar with damage and Flinching :)
*At +1 60 Atk, Tyranitar can:
          *KO 252 / 0 Def Aegislash Shield 56.3% of the time with Crunch
          *KO 4/0 Mega Metagross 93.8% of the time with Crunch
          *KO 252 / 12 Def Gothitelle 100% of the time with Crunch
          *2HKO 4/0 Landorus T with Rock Slide
*188 HP / 4 Defense allows Tyranitar added bulk to survive moves such as -1 +252 Atk Landorus Superpower, -1 +252 Atk Scrafty Low Kick, and -1 +252 Atk Hitmontop Close Combat
*Mega Tyranitar is typically ran alongside Meta Metagross as a secondary Mega Evolution
*The two are suited towards very different matchups, so having the flexibility to pick between the two is useful
          *Also appreciates Amoonguss support for redirection while setting up Dragon Dance
*Yuri in Oceania Internats ran a bulky version of Mega Tyranitar with Low Kick over Dragon Dance, however, I have no info as to the spread of the Tyranitar
Using Tyranitar
*Because of its many different items, Tyranitar can fulfill a variety of roles
*Those seeking to use Tyranitar as a quick form of damage run Choice Scarf to net KOs using Assurance
*However, if running Scarf Tyranitar alongside Excadrill, it is important not to lead with Tyranitar if the opponent has any form of weather
*Keeping Tyranitar in the back as a switch in to negate weather / set up sand is much safer, allowing Excadrill to move before Tyranitar for the 1-2 Punch
*Weakness Policy sets and Mega Tyranitar both appreciate Amoonguss support for redirection as they set up a Dragon Dance or two to sweep
*Other notable partners include Tapu Fini / Tapu Koko, which protect Tyranitar from Spore
          *Tapu Lele provides Terrain support to negate Fake Out and allow for a Dragon Dance
*Life Orb and Z Move Tyranitar find their way onto predominately Fini / Lele Metagross teams and Charizard Y teams
*In both cases, Tyranitar is used as a method to counteract opposing weather
*Tyranitar is used as a pivot for Charizard Y to get rid of Rain, while Metagross teams prefer sand to both Sun and Rain
*Z Move is used for those particularly weak to Trick Room, used to KO TR setters before they can set up

*My personal favorite set is currently Adamant Life Orb Tyranitar, but all of these sets are equally viable and very common on ladder


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