Richard's Reasoning - Tyranitar

Welcome to the second installment of Richard's Reasoning, which is apparently what I'm calling this. In this article we'll be discussing a newly buffed Pokemon in Crystal Clear's metagame: Tyranitar.

Base Stats: 100 HP / 134 Attack / 110 Defense / 95 Sp. Attack / 100 Sp. Defense / 61 Speed

The newest patch for Crystal Clear added a ton of new moves for many Pokemon. Among the recipients, Tyranitar stands as one of the Pokemon with the most potential to rise even higher than it has prior. Tyranitar received Agility, Bonemerang, Amnesia, Body Slam, and Double-Edge, giving it access to a plethora of options that make it ever scarier than before. Given that Umbreon was finally re-banned, the metagame is in need of Tyranitar's services now more than ever, so here is what I'd recommend for it:

-The Shadow in the Sands-

Tyranitar@ Miracleberry / Przcureberry / Leftovers / Blackglasses / King's Rock
Rock Slide
Pursuit
Earthquake / Bonemerang / Fire Blast
Agility / Body Slam / Crunch

This is what I would consider Tyranitar's most valuable moveset for the metagame. Not only does it serve as a powerful physical attacker, but also a reliable Pursuit trapper.

Rock Slide is your main move here, dealing damage off your incredibly high 134 base Attack stat. It allows you to hit many Pokemon for either neutral or Super-Effective damage, and keeps Tyranitar consistently threatening.

Pursuit is the second must-have move, but I feel like it can be hard to quantify the reason why for newer players, so allow me to explain. Trapping enemy Pokemon with Pursuit is extremely important for keeping Psychic types in check, as well as securing KOs on weakened Pokemon so that they cannot switch out to come back later. In this way, Tyranitar is one of few Pokemon with a unique role in that it gets access to STAB on the move, as well as being immune to Psychic. This pairs well with Tyranitar's naturally high defenses to make it the most reliable Pursuit trapper, and it should always carry these two moves regardless of set, in my opinion.

The third slot is a tossup for what you prefer. Earthquake is the go-to coverage move to pair with Rock Slide, ensuring that you hit everything in the game for at least neutral damage. Bonemerang is a new tool, though, that can break Substitutes on hit 1, and deal damage on hit 2. It also has 2 chances to crit or, in the case of King's Rock, Flinch. It does have 90% accuracy, though, so use with caution. Finally, Fire Blast is an option specifically for Skarmory, Forretress and Scizor. This also has the benefit of 2HKOing Heracross, heavily discouraging it from switching into an attack directly.

The last slot is where things really get interesting. Agility can double Tyranitar's Speed, allowing it the potential to sweep. If you're going this route, it's sometimes best to save Agility until late in the game when the opposing team is weakened and you can actually achieve the sweep. Setting up too early can mean the opponent switching in a counter and forcing you out without having done anything.

Body Slam is a good choice here for Paralysis support, which Tyranitar itself appreciates. It fires off Tyranitar's high Attack as well, making it a pretty safe option to throw out as the opponent switches.

Finaly, Crunch is a choice in this slot for the ability to hit Psychic types harder that don't switch out of Tyranitar. This is especially important when considering Slowbro, a Pokemon that takes pitiful damage from the rest of the moveset, but will be 2HKO'd by Crunch. What you value here will be down to preference, but the decision should be weighed heavily and considered with the rest of your team.

The choice of item is tough, but ultimately comes down to what your team needs. Miracleberry is the best item in the metagame, with PrzCureBerry not far behind. Leftovers is surprisingly effective on Tyranitar, given its high HP and defenses, but another Pokemon usually wants it more. Blackglasses makes Pursuit that bit more of a threat to any Pokemon attempting to switch out of Tyranitar, which helps wear Pokemon down into KO range for teammates. Finally, King's Rock can be effective if the final move is Agility and you run Bonemerang. Each hit having a chance to flinch can really swing momentum in your favor pretty hard.

Tyranitar has some other options worth considering. Curse is a really nice tool for it to power up and overwhelm opposing teams, but with how many good Fighting types are running around the metagame right now, you'll often find yourself struggling to setup. DynamicPunch is a really powerful tool to hit Normal types hard, and has the benefit of threatening other Tyranitar as well, but I think Tyranitar would rather not rely on such an inaccurate move when its standard set is vying for so many useful moves. Roar allows TTar to disrupt setup Pokemon, but I think there are much better users of it in the metagame as well. Mud Slap gets special mention here for incentivizing the opponent to switch to clear the Accuracy drops, then punishing them with Pursuit, a strategy first seen in tournament by ShockSlayer. It can be difficult to find room for, but is worth considering. Amnesia can help boost Tyranitar's already good Sp. Defense stats to frighteningly high levels, but again, it's matchup specific since Fighting type switch-ins will be common. Finally, Toxic is a good choice for use early in the game to help wear the opponent down in conjunction with Pursuit.

-My opinion-

While I've never been a huge fan of Tyranitar, years of playing competitive Pokemon has made me respect it. While it lacks its signature Sand Stream in this generation, it has proven that it's still an absolutely threatening Pokemon that needs to be considered for any serious tournament team, either when using it or figuring out how to combat it. Don't sleep on this behemoth.