Pokemon VGC 2015 Metagame Megathread

[Rogue]

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Thundur(us) dome! (Part 2)
There's no time to waste! Lets follow up with Thundurus Therian, while explaining good pair ups and weaknesses for both forms.

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Typing: Electric/Flying
Weaknesses: Rock, Ice (x2)
Resistances: Fighting, Flying, Bug, Steel, Grass (1/2)
Immunity: Ground, Electric
Ability: Volt Absorb (Grants electric immunity, while healing 1/4 of it's max HP if it gets hit by an electric type move.
Stats-
HP: 79
Attack: 105
Defense: 70
Special Atk: 145
Special Def: 80
Speed: 101

The biggest differences from Thundurus-I is that the Therian form has an even stronger special attack stat, along with slightly less speed. Also lost some attack, but not too big of a deal. The higher special attack stat does make a difference, however. Even if it's only by a little, that little bit can make/break and OHKO-2KO. Thundurus-T's sets aren't as vast as Thundurus-I, but they sure do work well.

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-Special Attacker-
Thundurus-Therian @ Life Orb/Zap Plate
EVs: 8 HP / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Ice]/[Flying]
- Protect

This is a great and oowerful set. Zap plate is there if you already have a life orb user. Thunderbolt hits incredibly hard, even against things that resist it. Feel free to use Thunder if you pair up with Politoed. Grass Knot hits ground types, heavy rock/water/ground that need to go. Especially Swampert. Protect works very well with Thundurus-T because usually, a player will choose to double up on it. I know you're sick of seeing HP Ice/Flying, but theyre too good to pass up. There is no wrong answer when it comes to picking ice or flying. It depends on your team.

248+ SpA Zap Plate Thundurus-T Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Azumarill: 176-210 (85 - 101.4%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
(As you can see, even max HP assault vest Azumarill has a chance to be OHKO'd. The reason why this is a big deal, is because most players opt for leftovers/choice band azu, and rarely do they go max HP.)

248+ SpA Life Orb Thundurus-T Hidden Power Flying vs. 96 HP / 80 SpD Conkeldurr: 198-237 (103.1 - 123.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
(Here shows why running that massive attack investment works for you, this is the set up for trick room sweeping Conkeldurr. Rarely do you see this monster getting OHKO'd.)

248+ SpA Life Orb Thundurus-T Hidden Power Ice vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Salamence: 255-302 (149.1 - 176.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
(Not a surprise, but it's always funny to see.)

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-Choiced-
Thundurus-Therian @ Choice Specs
EVs: 8 HP / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Ice]/[Flying]
- Volt Switch

This is an old set from VGC 12. Some people run choice scarf on this set, I prefer choice specs. The only eyebrow raiser is volt switch. I know most players are used to only running thunderbolt. However, volt switch is used to "butter them up" if you will. Nothing that is weak to, or even neutral to electric wants to get hit by a volt switch. It can KO, to considerably weaken your target. Making late game clean up or same turn clean up very easy. You can be very clever with this. Say you're gonna use something like lava plume, surf, self destruct, or even sludge wave. You don't want your Thundurus getting hit by that. Volt switch, hit something hard, then go into something like Gastrodon to eat up your own surf. Or Scizor to not get hit by sludge wave- you get the idea. Don't sleep on volt switch.

248+ SpA Choice Specs Thundurus-T Volt Switch vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Slowbro: 176-210 (87.1 - 103.9%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
(Even specially defensive slowbro doesn't want to take a volt switch. Wanna KO that threat without getting hit? Volt switch on out. It should be noted that Ive never seen someone run max HP/SPD, but I just wanted to show the power. Also take note that mega slowbro has the SAME special defense as regular slowbro.)

248+ SpA Choice Specs Thundurus-T Hidden Power Flying vs. 0 HP / 132 SpD Hariyama: 224-266 (102.2 - 121.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
(Volt Switch does 60-70%, this is the trick room Hariyama set.)

248+ SpA Choice Specs Thundurus-T Hidden Power Flying vs. 252 HP / 72+ SpD Amoonguss: 186-218 (84.1 - 98.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
(Rage Powder? I invite it with open arms.)

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-Favorite Pairs-
Mamoswine- Earthquake spamming and picking off things like lando with ice moves.

Hitmontop- If you played VGC in the past, you know why. These 2 are like best friends. fake out/taunt, fake out/thunder wave. It's not just fake out either. With access to wide guard, Thundurus can't get hit by rock slide. Watch and laugh.

Terrakion- Straight from VGC 11. Great way to take out other thundurus users. Running high speed on Thundurus-I to taunt their Thundurus first, then picking it off with rock slide. It works well for other match ups too. Terrakion hits hard, and paralyzing your opponents or having someone else to hit hard sure does help.

Heatran- May seem odd, but it isn't that too bad of an idea. Imagine Heatran with like 200 speed but with the same bulk and attack prowess. Scary, right? Thats what it feels like when you have T-Wave support with Thundurus.

-Any other pokemon who abuses earthquake/has average speed. Average speed mons enjoy being able to outspeed threats, where as who doesn't love popping earthquakes without hitting your other pokemon?

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-The Threats-
Garchomp, Tyranitar, Terrakion, Landorus, and everything else who plans on destroying you with one rock slide. HOWEVER; Wide Guard solves this problem. Not too many people opt to use stone edge, but beware that too.

If using Thundurus-I, beware faster Thundurus users. They'll taunt you and render your shenanigans useless for a few turns.

Mamoswine- Rock slide, ice moves, and can't be thunderwaved. cry if you see this and get as far away as possible.

Things like Ferrothorn can also be an issue. However, Thundurus does have access to Focus Blast. It's rarely used, but maybe it'll be used more in this years format.

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-Conclusion-
Both forms of Thundurus will be a threat, and I can't wait to see how both work out in high level play. It'll be a game full of mind games. Will they T-Wave? Substitute? Protect? Taunt? Is he choiced? Life orb? There's a lot of things to worry about, and thats part of what makes it so exciting. I hope this helped!

[Eckley]

Rouge and Naitre, you two are currently saving my life haha

[Rogue]

(Dec 18, 2014, 01:19 PM)Eckley Wrote: Rouge and Naitre, you two are currently saving my life haha

No problem at all Eckley! We seriously appreciate that. It helps us know that you like it and makes us wanna do even more!

[Peppermint]

I think it'll be interesting to see how Aegislash functions in this meta. He's certainly a good way to handle Cress, and I think more of you should be considering using him.

[tygaa2]

(Dec 18, 2014, 03:58 PM)Peppermint Wrote: I think it'll be interesting to see how Aegislash functions in this meta. He's certainly a good way to handle Cress, and I think more of you should be considering using him.

I agree that Aegislash is strong, I like using him. Wide Guard will almost be mediatory on it now that Heatran is back and a lot of Pokemon have access to Heatwave from ORAS move tutor.

[evilsabre]

Aegislash has hardly been far from the meta but i feel the eq spam is still going to stop him seeing widespread use in doubles especially with the return of landerous who from what it sounds like is frequently paired alongside cresellia

[Rogue]

Hey, meet Terrakion. He'll be taking down your walls today.
Terrakion is one of those Pokemon who is just as common as the 3 genies. With a strong arsenal of attacks at his disposal, with good stats: This is definitely something to fear. Terrakion is one of the Pokemon that works as the "glue" of your team. He fits in 9/10 when you're just looking for that last mon to break down those walls. Let's get down into it.

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Typing: Rock/Fighting
Weaknesses: Fighting, Ground, Steel, Water, Grass, Psychic. (All x2)
Resistances: Normal, Poison, Rock, Bug, Fire, Dark (All 1/2)
Ability: Justified (This Pokemon gets +1 attack when hit by a dark type move)

Justified is an amazing ability, and it only helps Terrakion when it comes to letting off those needed KO's. Dark Pulses, Sucker Punches, Night Slashes, Knock Off's; You'll see many of these throughout the year. Especially with the new underlying threats like Cress, Mega Bro, and more; who are weak to dark type moves. So people will be carrying them. Switch into one, resist it, and get a free +1. This does wonders especially when you already have something like Life Orb.

-Stats-
HP: 91 / Attack: 129 / Defense: 90 / Special Atk: 72 / Special Def: 90 / Speed: 108

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-Banded-
Terrakion @ Choice Band
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
– Close Combat
– Rock Slide
– Quick Attack
– X-Scissor/Poison Jab

I wanted to start off with something good, so here is the 2012 world-master's-finalist Terrakion. I did make a small change here, and list Poison Jab as an alternative. Obviously fairy type Pokemon weren't around in 2012, so there was no real reason to run Poison Jab. Running X-Scissor is still not a bad idea though. It hits Cress, Mega Bro, and of course those Dark Types that you don't want to waste the Close Combat on. Close Combat and Rock Slide are Terrakion's favorite moves. Rock Slide tears into thundurus, tornadus, talonflame, charizard y, mega pidgeot, and more. Close combat tears into.. Well, everything.
Quick Attack is there for priority, and it does hit surprisingly hard despite the base power. It can save you when it comes to needed that fast KO while you're paralyzed.

252+ Atk Choice Band Terrakion Poison Jab vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Gardevoir: 212-250 (121.1 - 142.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Terrakion Rock Slide vs. 212 HP / 128 Def Thundurus: 236-282 (130.3 - 155.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Terrakion Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Heatran: 234-276 (118.1 - 139.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

-1 252+ Atk Choice Band Terrakion Rock Slide vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Salamence: 168-200 (98.2 - 116.9%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO ^Thats minus 1. Be afraid.

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-Sub/STAB-
Terrakion @ Stone Plate/Fist Plate
Ability: Justified
EVs: 52 HP / 188 Atk / 6 Def / 12 SpD / 250 Spe
- Substitute
- Protect
- Close Combat
- Rock Slide

Stone Plate/Fist Plate do their best to make up for the lack of rock gem/fighting gem. The EV's are made to have a chance to not let your Substitute get OHKO'd by certain moves. Mostly those strong resisted moves such as a heat wave from defensive Heatran. So you can get surprise your opponent with the unexpected survival, and freely pop off your STAB moves. Or freely protect, knowing your opponent will see your Terrakion as a huge threat.

0+ SpA Heatran Heat Wave vs. 52 HP / 12 SpD Terrakion: 39-47 (22.5 - 27.1%) -- 43.6% chance to 4HKO

252+ Atk Tyranitar Rock Slide vs. 52 HP / 6 Def Terrakion: 39-46 (22.5 - 26.5%) -- 22.4% chance to 4HKO

Even though the bulk isn't much, it gives you a chance for your sub to live while keeping most of your physical strength. In the game of Pokemon, a little bit of luck goes a long way.

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-Taunt Sash-
Terrakion @ Focus Sash
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
– Close Combat
– Rock Slide
– Protect
– Taunt

Focus Sash Terrakion is simply amazing. If you play smart, you can easily pick up a KO or two. Protect is good to bait fake outs. Taunt shuts down Thundurus who aren't running max speed/timid (however with prankster they can get one thing off), trick room users, weather set up users, etc. You get the idea. You can also close combat freely without worrying about your defense drop considering your focus sashed anyway.

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Terrakion is paired up well with prankster users, fake out users, and follow me users.
However, there is this one pair up option...
Whimsicott with Terrakion. Otherwise known as, "Terracott" Sounds intimidating enough, right?
The name of the game is to protect first turn with Terrakion, while setting up Tailwind with your Whimsicott. This ensures you outspeeding just about everything.
Next off, the player makes Whimsicott hit his own Terrakion with a weak dark type move called "beat up". I'll save the explanation and cut to the chase. Beat up will hit Terrakion 4 times. It's a dark move. Terrakion has Justified. 4 hits = +4 attack. Your Terrakion now has +4 attack while outspeeding just about everything. Rock slide, Earthquake, close combat. Have fun!

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Terrakion fears a lot of Pokemon. Luckily, he resists a lot too. You just have to know your weaknesses and fill in the blank. I'll say that Landorus is definitely to be feared. He gives you -1 attack while having access to moves like Earthquake, while you can't damage him at all. Garchomp should be feared as well unless you're running the choice banded set. Even then you just have to hope they aren't scarfed. Other mons like breloom, and conkeldurr which both have access to Mach Punch should also be noted. Terrakion is one of those "play it as it goes" types. I do feel however that Terrakion will be very good this year. He takes out many of the legendary threats. Latios, Latias, Thundurus, Zapdos, Regi's, and even more.

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Last thing to be said is that there are some noteable moves that Terrakion has. Those being:
Zen Headbutt / Sacred Sword / Iron Head / Facade / Aerial Ace / Quick Guard
I wanted to note these because I could see them all being used. Maybe not Aerial Ace, but I think it's a good move regardless. The reason why I didn't include them in a set is because I need to wait and see as the meta evolves before I assume to run "weirder" things.

I hope you all enjoyed this, thanks for reading!

[mike3640]

These posts are amazing thanks so much stole your guys sets for my landorus-T and Heatran

[Justin]

Just updated the OP this thread is getting epic! Thank you Rogue. Also, make sure to give Rogue and Naitre some Rep for these great builds!

[evilsabre]

i don't think i can give them enough the limit is too strong