Tyranitar
[Overview]
<p>Tyranitar is one of the most popular Pokemon in the VGC 2012 metagame, and with good reason. It has very high base stats, highlighted by a massive 134 base attack. It is, however, one of the slower Pokemon in the VGC 2012 metagame with a base speed of only 61. This can be taken advantage of by using Trick Room, or simply to underspeed opposing weather Pokemon. Tyranitar's abli
ity Sand Stream causes a Sandstorm to occur whenever Tyranitar enters the battlefield. When two Pokemon with abili
ites that change the battlefield's weather are sent out at the same time (the beginning of the battle, for example), the slower Pokemon's ability triggers last and thus their weather is what affects the field. Tyranitar's typing (Rock/Dark) gives it two very useful STAB types, but it
also is is also it's primary weakness. With a 4x weakness to Fighting, a very popular attack type in the VGC 2012 metagame, one has to be careful when deciding to use Tyranitar on their team and how to play with it. It is also weak to Ground, Water, and Grass-type moves, all of which are common in the metagame as well. Thankfully, the weakness to Water and Grass types is offset by the Special Defense boost that Rock-types receive during a Sandstorm. </p>
[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Crunch
move 2: Rock Slide
move 3: Low Kick
move 4: Protect
item: Chople Berry/Focus Sash
nature: Brave
ability: Sand Stream
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set takes advantage of the aforementioned low speed of Tyranitar by using a -Speed nature and a 0 speed IV. This allows you to control the weather and take advantage of Trick Room. Crunch and Rock Slide are obligatory on every Tyranitar set, as they are the strongest STAB moves that it has to choose from. The third move could be any number of attacks, as Tyranitar has a very versatile movepool. Low Kick is generally preferred, as it hits many of the Pokemon that resist Rock Slide and Crunch very hard.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs listed maximize Tyranitar's HP so that it can take both special and physical hits well. They do not, however, allow Tyranitar to always survive a Close Combat from a max Attack (+Atk nature) Hitmontop
when while Tyranitar
has is holding a Chople Berry, which is popular in the VGC 2012 metagame. The lowest amount of HP EVs necessary to survive that hit 10-0% of the time is 212. An investment into Defense will lower the necessary amount of HP EVs. It is not possible for Chople Berry Tyranitar to survive a Close Combat from max Attack Hitmontop with Life Orb 100% of the time (OHKOs 7.69% of the time with 252 HP/252 Def EVs), and it can only survive the same hit when the Htimontop has Fighting Gem 12.83% of the time.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, Tyranitar doesn't have many options to deal with opposing Fighting-type Pokemon, which are the biggest threat to Tyranitar. As such, good teammates for Tyranitar include Pokemon who are strong against Fighting-types, such as Cresselia and Gyarados. Other good teammates for Tyranitar are Pokemon that can take advantage of the Sandstorm that Tyranitar brings with it when it enters the battlefield. The best of these Pokemon are Garchomp, Excadrill, and Landorus, but there are other examples as well.
Teammates Pokemon that can eliminate the threat
You need to clarify what "the threat" is to Tyranitar quickly, such as Latios and Porygon-Z,
are also good for Tyranitar also make great teammates for Tyranitar. If you are looking to set up Trick Room alongside Tyranitar, Slowking and Dusclops (with Evolite)/Dusknoir are among the best options. Both Pokemon can support Tyranitar's weaknesses by hitting the offenders hard with a STAB Psychic or Scald or burning them and weakening them greatly with Will-o-Wisp. Both Pokemon also have strong defenses and resist or are immune
to many of the common attacks that may be directed at Tyranitar, making them excellent teammates. </p>
[Other Options]
<p>Tyranitar has a vast movepool, but many of it's moves are not viable for the VGC 2012 metagame. If your team relies heavily on Sandstorm being set up, Tyranitar can hold Iron Ball instead of one of the recommended items and use Fling in one of your move slots. Flinging an Iron Ball has a base power of 130, plus Fling is a Dark-type attack so Tyranitar receives a STAB bonus when using it. One problem with this strategy is that if the target uses Protect, the Iron Ball is used up and you cannot Fling again for the rest of the battle. In place of Low Kick, Tyranitar can
instead use a support move
instead such as Taunt or Thunder Wave. Taunt can be used against Trick Room teams, although Tyranitar itself generally fares well in Trick Room due to it's low Speed. Tyranitar also has a wide selection of powerful Special Attacks, but it's base 95 Special Attack pales in comparison to it's base 134 Attack stat. Stone Edge can be used in place of Rock Slide, but it's low accuracy makes it even more unreliable than Rock Slide and it can be redirected by Follow Me and Rage Powder unlike Rock Slide. The main advantage of Stone Edge is that it can easily 2HKO Gyarados, which is a big threat to Tyranitar. A number of other moves such as Iron Head and Aqua Tail are not recommended because their type coverage is poor and incompatible with Tyranitar's most common moves. If you do not care about your weather having priority (or want to take better advantage of one of your teammate's moves, such as Tailwind or Icy Wind), you can use an Adamant nature and a 31 Speed IV. Another option is to use max speed (and Jolly nature) with Choice Scarf, which can catch your opponent's off guard. This opens up Tyranitar to being OHKO'd by any number of attacks, but the added speed can be helpful in some situations. In particular, Tyranitar can outspeed and OHKO Latios and Thundurus, among other Pokemon, that pose a threat to Tyranitar and its teammate.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>As stated before, Fighting-type Pokemon are the bane of Tyranitar's existence. They are able to deal
Tyranitar massive amounts of damage
to Tyranitar while facing relatively little threat in return. Any Pokemon with Intimidate also fares well against Tyranitar, as it almost always relies on physical attacks to deal damage. Some, such as Hitmontop or Arcanine, are more threat
ening because they pose an imminent threat to Tyranitar, but even Salamence and Gyarados can be switched in relatively safely (neither is OHKO'd by Tyranitar's Rock Slide after Intimidate, and both pose a significant threat to Tyranitar). Other Pokemon that can wall Tyranitar well and dish out heavy damage to it include most Steel-types, such as Metagross and Ferrothorn. </p>
[Dream World]
<p>Tyranitar receives a very interesting ability from the Dream World, Unnerve. This ability makes it so that opposing Pokemon's berries cannot be used. This has powerful synergy with a Pokemon that relies on inducing
statii statuses on your opponent's Pokemon, such as Smeargle, Amoonguss, or Parasect. It can also be used to negate type-resisting berries such as Chople Berry and Wacan Berry. This can disrupt your opponent's damage calculations and swing the battle in your favor. Both Sand Stream and Unnerve are very powerful abilities, and each have their uses on Tyranitar. Be aware that your opponent will likely know what abliity you are using, as Sand Stream causes a Sandstorm to appear when Tyranitar enters the battlefield, so if this does not happen the opponent will know that you are using Unnerve (unless they are
aunware of what Tyranitar's other ability is).</p>