thundurus

[OVERVIEW]

Thundurus is one of the most consistent Pokemon in the format, providing utility and a good offensive presence. He has many tools to deal with a lot of top threats and fits on many teams. Prankster is a great ability that Thundurus utilizes very well. Prankster Thunder Wave is his best tool and is useful for crippling fast threats, sweepers, and Pokemon that try to revenge kill. Thundurus has great offensive stats alongside good speed, outspeeding key Pokemon like Mega Kangaskhan, Garchomp and base 110 speed Pokemon such as Gengar and Latios. Electric and Ice-type coverage covers a wide range of the metagame and is hard to switch into. He has a great movepool and good coverage to choose from, with moves such as Focus Blast and Grass Knot. Thundurus has mediocre stats defensively but his typing gives him useful resistances to popular types such as Flying, Fighting, and an immunity to Ground, making him a good switch-in to Pokemon such as Talonflame, Mega Salamence and Landorus-T. Thundurus is extremely versatile and can run many sets, whether he be a fast attacker, bulky tank or even a sweeper, so he's often an easy fit for many teams. However, Thundurus is weak to Rock and Ice, two very common types. Ice and Rock-type attacks are commonly packed on almost every team. The Rock weakness is especially crippling if the opponent has Stealth Rock, the chip damage from Stealth Rock make Thundurus much easier to wear down.

[SET]
name: Prankster Attacker
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Hidden Power Ice
move 3: Thunder Wave
move 4: Grass Knot / Focus Blast / Volt Switch / Taunt
item: Life Orb
ability: Prankster
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Prankster Thunder Wave can neutralize a fast threat such as Greninja or Blaziken and stops opposing Pokemon from sweeping you such as a Dragon Dance Mega Salamence or Dragonite. Thunderbolt is a good STAB move, its usually Thundurus' most reliable move and covers a lot of Pokemon at least neutrally. Hidden Power Ice hits Ground-types immune to Thunderbolt super effectively. It hits some common Pokemon for 4x damage, such as Mega Salamence, Garchomp, and Landorus-T. The fourth move has a handful of viable options. Grass Knot hits Hippowdon and Mamoswine really hard. Focus Blast deals with some bulky Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Heatran. Volt Switch can be used to gain some momentum. Taunt gets priority from Prankster, shuts down some defensive Pokemon such as Chansey and Clefable, and can stop Aegislash from using King's Shield making it more vulnerable in Blade form.

Set Details
========

The EV spread is used to hit as hard and as fast as possible. Thundurus needs max speed with a Timid nature to outspeed key things such as Garchomp and the crowded base 110 speed tier, with Pokemon such as Gengar and Latios.  Prankster is the only ability available to Thundurus in Battle Spot but he makes very good use of it. Life Orb is used to increase Thundurus' damage output and guarantee an OHKO on Garchomp and Mega Salamence.

Usage Tips
========

Use Thundurus to paralyze Pokemon that could be threatening to your team, such as a speed boosting Blaziken or a Dragon Dance Mega Salamence. Thunder Wave slows them down, making them vulnerable to the rest of your team when they would have swept you otherwise. Thundurus might often have to sacrifice himself to get off a Thunder Wave against a sweeper, but it's for the good of the battle. Thundurus can a good revenge killer thanks to his good Speed and Special Attack, and can threaten common Pokemon like Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Talonflame. Thundurus has good coverage and can deal with Pokemon your teammates struggle with, Electric-type stab is great for dealing with bulky Water-types like Suicune and Hidden Power Ice deals with common threats such as Landorus-T, Mega Salamence, and Garchomp. Thundurus can switch up his coverage move to help deal with whatever your team needs.

Team Options
========

Pokemon with an average speed tier appreciate the speed control with Thunder Wave, such as Mamoswine, Dragonite, and Kangaskhan. Blaziken works well with Thundurus, as Thundurus can deal with Talonflame and Water-types that Blaziken struggles with. Pokemon that are weak to ground appreciate Thundurus' immunity to it, such as Heatran and Aegislash. Suicune provides good synergy defensively and can switch into Ice-type attacks for Thundurus. Landorus-T can form a nice VoltTurn core with Thundurus and appreciate Thundurus' ability to deal with Suicune and slow Pokemon down for Non-Choice Scarf Landorus-T.

[SET]
name: Tank
move 1: Thunder Wave
move 2: Thunderbolt
move 3: Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Taunt / Swagger / Volt Switch
item: Sitrus Berry
ability: Prankster
nature: Bold
evs: 244 HP / 168 Def / 68 SpA / 28 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Thunder Wave is a great form of speed control, especially with Prankster, and can deal with threatening sweepers. Thunderbolt is Thundurus' best STAB move and can hit bulky Water-types and Flying-types really hard. Hidden Power Ice rounds out his coverage well and can hit Ground-types that are immune to Thunderbolt super effectively. Taunt can shut down a lot of defensive Pokemon by limiting their utility and recovery. Swagger can help out when you're in a really sticky situation, with Prankster it's very useful to fall back on. Volt Switch can help you gain momentum, as Thundurus often scares Pokemon out.

Set Details
========

This set runs a much bulkier EV spread so Thundurus can take hits a lot better and function as a better check defensively. 244 HP / 168+ Defense along with a Sitrus Berry allows Thundurus to survive two Double Edges from a max attack Mega Salamence and 3 Brave Birds from Choice Band Talonflame. 28 Speed is enough to outspeed max speed base 70s, and the rest of the EVs were dumped into Special Attack. The extra bulk makes Thundurus a better switch-in, especially as a Flying-type check. Bold nature is used to ensure Thundurus can withstand hits from Mega Salamence and other strong Pokemon. Prankster can make up for the lack of speed on this set, and is especially useful for Thunder Wave.

Usage Tips
========

This set takes advantage of Thundurus' great ability and defensive typing. Thundurus' primary goal is to Thunder Wave everything that needs to be slowed down. With the extra bulk, Thundurus can afford to spend a turn using Thunder Wave and taking a hit. Thundurus can use his naturally good Special Attack to deal out good damage once any threats are already paralyzed. With this EV spread, Thundurus can afford to switch into more attacks and function as a better check to Flying-types such as Mega Salamence and Talonflame.

Team Options
========

Pokemon with an average speed tier appreciate the speed control with Thunder Wave, such as Mamoswine, Dragonite, and Kangaskhan. Pokemon that use Substitute, such as Gliscor and Galalie, like the Thunder Wave support so they can use Substitute in front of more Pokemon. Blaziken appreciates Thundurus' ability to deal with Talonflame and Mega Salamence. Mega Salamence can normally set up on Blaziken but Thundurus can come in to check it. Serperior can deal with teams much easier when Thundurus helps deal with opposing Talonflame and Mega Salamence. Steel-types, such as Aegislash, synergize well with Thundurus defensively and can switch into Ice- and Rock-type attacks aimed at Thundurus.

[SET]
name: Nasty Plot
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Thunderbolt
move 3: Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Thunder Wave / Substitute / Focus Blast / Grass Knot
item: Sitrus Berry / Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Prankster
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Nasty Plot makes Thundurus a great sweeper, as not many Pokemon can reliably take hits from Thundurus at +2 Special Attack. Thunderbolt is a good STAB move and Hidden Power Ice hits Ground-types that are immune to it. The fourth move has many viable options. Thunder Wave can be used to give Thundurus some utility outside of being just a sweeper. Substitute can be used to dodge status that would wear him down and avoid Sucker Punch. If Thundurus can get up a Substitue in front of something that can't break it, he can avoid being revenge killed by another Pokemon after. Focus Blast hits Steel-types, such as Heatran and Ferrothorn, who could otherwise take a few hits. Grass Knot can be used to pick up OHKOs on Mamoswine, Hippowdon, and Swampert after a Nasty Plot boost.

Set Details
========

The EV spread is used to hit as hard and as fast as possible. Thundurus needs max speed with a Timid nature to outspeed key things such as Garchomp and the crowded base 110 speed tier, with Pokemon such as Gengar and Latios. Prankster is Thundurus' only ability available but is very useful for getting off a Thunder Wave on sweeper or using Substiture against faster Will-o-Wisp users, such as Talonflame and Mega Gengar. Sitrus Berry gives Thundurus a bit of recovery a helps avoid some 2HKO's such as Hydro Pump from defensive Rotom-Wash. Life Orb gives Thundurus a much stronger damage output. Leftovers can be used with Substitute to give some recovery to make up for the lost HP. When using Substitute and Leftovers, an EV spread of 52 HP / 204 SpA / 252 Spe should be used so Thundurus gains more HP from Leftovers and can make more Substitutes.

Usage Tips
========

Thundurus scares out a lot of Pokemon so he can find many free turns to set up a Nasty Plot or Substitute. He threatens out Pokemon such as Suicune and Talonflame because they fear a super effective attack. Pokemon such as Blaziken or other fast threats fear Thunder Wave. You should not set up if the opponent has a Pokemon that can easily stop Thundurus, such as Mamoswine. It's best to set up when a team is already weakened and Pokemon are in range of your attacks or when you want Thundurus to weaken the opposing team for another Pokemon in the back to clean up, such as a Mega Blaziken or Mega Lucario. Thundurus can still utilize Thunder Wave as well when you need to stop a Pokemon from sweeping your team.

Team Options
========

Thundurus needs teammates that can deal with Pokemon that usually wall Thundurus, such as Mamoswine, Ferrothorn, and Porygon2. Suicune can easily counter Mamoswine and Fighting-types, such as Blaziken and Mega Lucario, can deal with Ferrothorn and Porygon2. Mega Gengar can trap and take out defensive walls such as Chansey and Cresselia. Stealth Rock support is nice to get some chip damage and break Focus Sashes so Thundurus can have an easier time sweeping. Garchomp and Mamoswine are some reliable Stealth Rock setters. Mamoswine also covers Thundurus' ice weakness and helps deal with Breloom and Dragonite, which Thundurus sometimes struggles with.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Thundurus has below average defenses with his offensive sets, so a Focus Sash can allow him to live attacks that would normally OHKO, such as Greninja's Ice Beam or Dragonite's Outrage. But Thundurus can usually take at least one hit from most Pokemon normally, and Stealth Rock isn't a rare sight, so Focus Sash isn't useful in every battle. Knock Off is good utility, it really cripples Porygon2 and Pokemon with Sitrus Berry such as Rotoms and other Thundurus. Psychic hits Mega Venusaur, who walls you completely otherwise. Rocky Helmet can be used on the Tank set to hurt Talonflame and Mega Salamence even further, as well as somewhat punishing Mega Kangaskhan. Calm nature can be used on the Tank set if you want Thundurus to take on more Special Attackers, this is useful for switching in to Water-types that Thundurus can threaten. Superpower is a good coverage option over Focus Blast, Thundurus has a solid 115 base Attack and can use Superpower to pick off weakened Chanseys at around 45%. Don't reveal superpower unless you need to, if the opponent knows you have it they can easily play around it. Incinerate can be used as a more accurate option over Focus Blast to hit Ferrothorn and Scizor, and also burns off berries. U-Turn is weaker than Volt Switch, but still a good option for momentum as it has no immunities. Jaboca Berry helps deal with Focus Sash Breloom and Mamoswine, acting like a one use Rocky Helmet but doesn't require physical contact.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Electric-types**: Mega Manectric and Raikou outspeed Thundurus, are immune to Thunder Wave, can take most of Thundurus' attacks and deal good neutral damage back. Rotom-H resists both Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Ice, is bulky enough to take on his other coverage options, and hits Thundurus hard with its STAB moves.

**Special Tanks**: Pokemon with high Special Defense, such as Chansey, Cresselia, and Porygon 2, can take hits and recover off the damage while firing back with Ice Beam, Seismic Toss, or even Toxic. Taunt can somewhat help against these Pokemon.

**Mamoswine**: Mamoswine is immune to Thunderbolt and Thunder Wave and resists Hidden Power Ice with Thick Fat. It can hit Thundurus super effectively with STAB Ice-type attacks and set up Stealth Rock to cripple Thundurus upon switch-in.

**Fast Revenge Killers**: Thundurus has mediocre bulk and gets KO'd by many fast Pokemon such as Greninja, Blaziken, Choice Scarf Landorus-T, and Choice Scarf Garchomp. Choice Scarf Landorus-T and Garchomp can revenge kill Thundurus without fear of Thunder Wave but most others come with a big cost of getting paralyzed, which is very crippling for fast Pokemon such as Greninja and Blaziken.

**Slow Heavy Hitters**: Strong Pokemon that are bulky enough to take hits from Thundurus, such as Aegislash, Sylveon, and Conkeldurr, can be threatening. These Pokemon are already slow so they don't fear Thunder Wave as much as other Pokemon, and Conkeldurr will actually get a Guts boost from it.

**Mega Kangaskhan**: Mega Kangaskhan can take out any variant of Thundurus, bar bulky Sitrus Berry, with Fake Out + Double Edge and is bulky enough to take a hit from most Thundurus. Mega Kangaskhan is usually willing to take a Thunder Wave if it needs to, especially if it's paired with Lunar Dance Cresselia.

**Dragonite**: Choice Band Outrage OHKOs all variants, Lum Berry takes one paralysis for free, Weakness Policy can activate from Hidden Power Ice and it can proceed to spam Extreme Speed. Dragonite's Multiscale makes it very reliable against Thundurus and it's tough to play around if its item hasn't been revealed.

**Breloom**: Breloom can check or revenge kill Thundurus. It survives at least one attack with Focus Sash and can lower speed or 2HKO with Rock Tomb. It can Spore Non-Taunt Thundurus or Spore on a predicted switch after a Rock Tomb.