Community POTW #083

[Serebii]

Time for the next Pokémon and we have another commonly used Pokémon!

It's Terrakion, the fantastic Rock/Fighting-type Pokémon that is commonly seen in the Doubles format

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-xy/639.shtml

Go nuts

 

[Chinonso]

Terrakion was one of my originally used Pokemon when I first started competitive balling in Gen 5:

Positives:
+ Base 129 Attack is an amazing start on any Fighting-type Pokemon, and it can launch very hard-hitting attacks.
+ Base 108 Speed makes it faster than quite a few of its checks, and slower Scarfed Pokemon, such as Magnezone. Scarf that, and you're faster than almost every single non-scarfed Pokemon.
+ 91/90/90 bulk is decent.
+ Sacred Sword is an amazing move, blocking out any defensive set-up Pokemon.
+ It looks pretty cool.
+ Also learns Stealth Rock, which can be extremely useful in defensive sets (because why not?)
+ Justified can be abused quite well in Doubles.

Negatives:
- Because this thing is seen a lot in Doubles, it becomes prone to Pixilate-boosted Hyper Voices from Mega Gardevoir and Sylveon (unless you use Poison Jab).
- Shares the award for the most weaknesses in a single Pokemon with Abomasnow and Exeggutor. Seriously, having 7 weaknesses means it's not to easy to switch this guy in.
- Would've preferred a higher HP on this guy.
- Not a lot you can teach Terrakion...

Ability:
Justified: Raises Attack stat by one stage when hit by a Dark-type move. This ability is nice as you can switch this guy in to a Dark-type move and get a free Attack buff from it, however, it is resisted. But guess what? There's a move called Beat Up which uses all the Pokemon in your current party, except for Terrakion, to deal damage. You can get to +3 Attack, simply by using this move on him in Doubles. You need to make sure that the Pokemon that's using Beat Up is pretty weak, though. I find Focus Sash, Max Speed Sneasel to be alright at it.

Moveset:
Rock around the clock, tonight!
Rock Slide
Close Combat (or Sacred Sword if you don't like the defence drop).
Poison Jab
Earthquake

Item: Focus Sash
EV's 252 Atk, 252 HP, 4 Def
Ability: Justified
Nature: Adamant

Just watch out for Wide Guard users when you use Rock Slide, and Poison Jab is for the Fairies.

 

[Locormus]

Terrakion was one of my originally used Pokemon when I first started competitive balling in Gen 5:

Positives:
+ Base 129 Attack is an amazing start on any Fighting-type Pokemon, and it can launch very hard-hitting attacks.
+ Base 108 Speed makes it faster than quite a few of its checks, and slower Scarfed Pokemon, such as Magnezone. Scarf that, and you're faster than almost every single non-scarfed Pokemon.
+ 91/90/90 bulk is decent.
+ Sacred Sword is an amazing move, blocking out any defensive set-up Pokemon.
+ It looks pretty cool.
+ Also learns Stealth Rock, which can be extremely useful in defensive sets (because why not?)
+ Justified can be abused quite well in Doubles.

Negatives:
- Because this thing is seen a lot in Doubles, it becomes prone to Pixilate-boosted Hyper Voices from Mega Gardevoir and Sylveon (unless you use Poison Jab).
- Shares the award for the most weaknesses in a single Pokemon with Abomasnow and Exeggutor. Seriously, having 7 weaknesses means it's not to easy to switch this guy in.
- Would've preferred a higher HP on this guy.
- Not a lot you can teach Terrakion...

Ability:
Justified: Raises Attack stat by one stage when hit by a Dark-type move. This ability is nice as you can switch this guy in to a Dark-type move and get a free Attack buff from it, however, it is resisted. But guess what? There's a move called Beat Up which uses all the Pokemon in your current party, except for Terrakion, to deal damage. You can get to +3 Attack, simply by using this move on him in Doubles. You need to make sure that the Pokemon that's using Beat Up is pretty weak, though. I find Focus Sash, Max Speed Sneasel to be alright at it.

Moveset:
Rock around the clock, tonight!
Rock Slide
Close Combat (or Sacred Sword if you don't like the defence drop).
Poison Jab
Earthquake

Item: Focus Sash
EV's 252 Atk, 252 HP, 4 Def
Ability: Justified
Nature: Adamant

Just watch out for Wide Guard users when you use Rock Slide, and Poison Jab is for the Fairies.

A few things in your post are confusing me. You suggest Stealth Rock in defensive sets, but with those 7 weaknesses, isn't it a forgone conclusion that running defensive Terrakion is a bad way of approaching Terrakion? You suggest Scarfing it, while after mentioning decent bulk, you also mentioning it has a horrid time of getting in the game, and thus when the actual set comes, you suggest Focus Sash out of the blue. Which is it? Scarf or Sash?

You're also noting that it is preferred in Doubles right now, yet no mention of Protect.

As for Mega Gardevoir and Sylveon, I'd suggest running Iron Head over Poison Jab, through tutor in Or/As. That 30% flinch-rate is worth more with 108 Base Speed, over the chance of regular Poison happening (also 30%, but regular Poisoning is bad in most cases). Between Poison and Steel, you're only really looking at Poison also covering Grass in terms of coverage, which basically means: Breloom, Celebi and Serperior. Of which Breloom can wreck with priority and Serperior is faster then you and has the defense to take a super effective attack and will KO with +2 Leaf Storm. You also really have to question yourself if you're staying in against Celebi.. Anyway, at least it's a choice to make rather then presuppose it's easy like that.

And if you are going to mention Wide Guard, then that also applies for EQ, not just Rock Slide.

 

[ger9119]

Terrakion isn't as good as it was last gen, but it's still a pretty viable pokemon. It can run a few sets like Stealth Rock Lead, Scarf or a Subsitute Attacker pretty well.

 

[philzone]

In VGC, I used beat up whimsicott+terrakion to win the UK regionals this year, and it is a scary pokemon for you to face at +4.

Terrakion @ Lum Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Close Combat
- Quick Guard / Earthquake
- Protect

Basically, use both STABs and protect, and the final move is up to you. Quick guard is useful for allies to take down pokemon like thundurus and talonflame, while earthquake destroys pokemon like heatran an aegislash. Lum berry is used to sort out the problem with will-o-wisps and thunder waves.

 

[ClefairyRox]

Ohhh, seeing this thing reminds me of the numerous Terrakion/Whimiscott pairings I got whooped by in Doubles last Gen. Fortunately I don't see that anymore, probably because the metagame has changed a lot since Gen 5.

Terrakion was pretty much the premiere OU legendary of Gen V. Amazing Attack, amazing Speed, amazing offensive typing that hit tons of Pokemon supereffectively, and some powerful moves on top of it. The addition of Fairies, however, has given Terrakion pause. It's STAB combo of Fighting and Rock is still great, but a weakness to a very prevalent type is not good for it. Also, the addition of Mega Evolution has taken a bit of shine away from Terrakion's power. Still, it's a great Pokemon and one you should be prepared for in both OU and VGC.

Justified is Terrakion's only ability. It gets an attack boost when hit with a Dark attack. While it's a bit unreliable, it can discourage the foe from using Knock Off, as while Terrakion won't like losing
it's item it will still get a 50% attack boost from it. This is also what made the Terracott combo so fearsome in Gen V (Whimsicott can learn Beat Up). Beware it.

Terrakion's movepool is surprisingly shallow, but it has what it needs. Close Combat is generally its most powerful STAB, though Sacred Sword is also a decent option. It also runs Stone Edge in Singles or Rock Slide in Doubles for a solid secondary STAB, although the former is a tad unreliable. From there, it has a few options. It can run a suicide lead set with Taunt and Stealth Rock. It can run a Substitute and/or Swords Dance set. It also can use a Choice Scarf well, enabling it to outrun Pokemon it normally can't, like the Lati twins and Mega Metagross. I know one choice last gen was a double boosting set with both Rock Polish and Swords Dance, although I do not think that is very viable anymore (especially with Sir Birdspam, AKA Talonflame, running the joint and able to revenge kill Terrakion fairly reliably). In Doubles, Terrakion provides Quick Guard support, spread attack in the form of Rock Slide, and can Taunt a status or Trick Room abuser.

Countering Terrakion:
Sturdy Fairy-types tend to do well against Terrakion. Unaware Clefable especially deserves a mention against the Swords Dance set. However, Terrakion may carry Poison Jab or Iron Head specifically for Fairies, so be careful. Bulky Psychic-types can tank Terrakion as well. Cresselia (a common Doubles Pokemon) comfortably soaks up everything Terra can throw at her except the rare X-Scissor, although she won't like being Taunted.

Terrakion is quite hard to counter altogether but a lot of things can check it. Breloom needs a free switch-in but can do massive damage with Mach Punch. Talonflame can't OHKO unless Terra is weakened and can't switch in on a Rock attack but still does massive damage with priority Brave Bird. Ghosts can switch in on Fighting moves and then Burn with Will-O-Wisp -- Sableye is probably best due to Prankster, although it won't like eating a Stone Edge. Mega Metagross outspeeds all sets except the Scarfed one and can easily OHKO Terra with either Meteor Mash or Zen Headbutt. There's probably a lot more, but I don't feel like listing them all.

 

[donut dude]

Terrakion Singles
Weakness Policy
Sacred Sword/Close Combat
Poison Jab
Iron Head/Earthquake/X-Scissor/Zen Headbutt
Stone Edge
Jolly
252 Atk/252 Spe/4 HP

 

[Karxrida]

Poison Jab and Iron Head barely outdamage Stone Edge against Fairies, don't run them on any set bar Iron Head on Scarf. Substitute, Quick Attack, and HP Ice are far more valuable coverage options on a non-Scarf/non-SR set.

Also don't run Weakness Policy. Terrakion is too easily forced out/revenged by faster threats, and unlike Dragonite (btw don't run WP Dragonite, smart people will hit you with a neutral attack first) you can't cushion the super effective blow with Multiscale so there's a good chance of getting KO'd.

 

[Mye]

Ah Terrakion, the thing that didn't really see much use due to Aegis murdering half the OU tier. If someone decides to do "checks/counters" for it, Eviolite Doublade remains the best thing possible as it doesn't really fear any of its moves (from what I recall, max attack jolly earthquake is a 3hko on 252hp/0def eviolite sets) and can either set up on it or outright k/o with iron head. Priority is also pretty nasty to it, as it is 2x weak to all of: Mach Punch, Vaccuum Wave, Aqua Jet, Bullet Punch. Basically anything with priority not named Weavile, Talonflame, or Mamoswine (who always packs earthquake) can do tons of damage to it pretty easily.

 

[Silvershark]

There's a move called Beat Up which uses all the Pokemon in your current party, except for Terrakion, to deal damage. You can get to +3 Attack, simply by using this move on him in Doubles. You need to make sure that the Pokemon that's using Beat Up is pretty weak, though. I find Focus Sash, Max Speed Sneasel to be alright at it.

No, Terrakion gets used too, so it's actually +4. That's also big time overkill though, and, let's be honest, who doesn't know how to counter Terracotta these days. I do like pairing it up with Kangaskan in doubles though. That way you're using a pokemon that's actually useful on it's own and is just a quick Sucker Punch from a +2 Terrakion, which is just as terrifying as +4.

 

[Locormus]

Poison Jab and Iron Head barely outdamage Stone Edge against Fairies, don't run them on any set bar Iron Head on Scarf. Substitute, Quick Attack, and HP Ice are far more valuable coverage options on a non-Scarf/non-SR set.

Also don't run Weakness Policy. Terrakion is too easily forced out/revenged by faster threats, and unlike Dragonite (btw don't run WP Dragonite, smart people will hit you with a neutral attack first) you can't cushion the super effective blow with Multiscale so there's a good chance of getting KO'd.

Agreed, but I suggested Iron Head on a Doubles set. Stone Edge has near-craptastic accuracy and low PP, with Doubles featuring heavy usage of Protect, it's just not worth gambling against those odds of it not hitting anything and wasting a turn. So, with Rock Slide being the preferable choice in Doubles, Iron Head (and Poison Jab) do more damage to Fairies.

 

[Mye]

Iron head of course being preferred, as unless you're also super afraid of grass types (many of whom take decent damage from close combat) steel has just overall better coverage.

 

[SaurusHam]

Terrakion - Focus Sash
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
Ya lead terrak.

 

[Psynergy]

TerraCott is actually still a fine and strong strategy, the problem is when you try to build your whole team around it to depend on TerraCott working. Whimsicott as a partner shouldn't be on the team solely to boost Terrakion, and that's a problem that many people run into when using it. Weavile is also a cool partner for Terrakion that can also pull off this strategy too while also boasting a far more potent offensive presence. Bonus points for having Fake Out as an option.

As for more conventional partners in Doubles though, Gengar + Terrakion is one of the scariest leads that few teams have a safe answer to. The beauty of this combo is that these two put absurd pressure on Mega Kangaskhan since Gengar can Will-o-Wisp it to avoid a Sucker Punch while Terrakion outright outspeeds and OHKO's it with Close Combat. Terrakion is a solid Pokemon in Doubles despite its struggles in the current Singles metagame, and with a strong STAB combination that includes the flinch-happy Rock Slide it's no surprise Terrakion is still solid.

 

[Mye]

To be fair, whimsicott does have some perks over both weavile and gengar. The ability to use tailwind is pretty nice, as the added speed boost can often compensate for running a +attack nature instead of a +speed one. Being a part-fairy type with access to dazzling gleam also finally gives it a spammable move to hit both opposing pokemon, even if the move is relatively weak.

On the subject of terrakion, I've actually seen quite a few people running sets consisting of STAB+STAB+boosting move (usually swords dance)+taunt as of late, the idea being that it allows terra to kill off walls that'd normally switch in on it.

 

[KillerDraco]

Base 108 Speed makes it faster than quite a few of its checks, and slower Scarfed Pokemon, such as Magnezone.

No it doesn't. Scarf Mangezone reaches 360 speed, which outspeeds anything up to an unboosted base 114 (Swoobat). Literally every single relevant Choice Scarf user outspeeds an unboosted Terrakion. Its speed tier is still solid, don't get me wrong, but an unboosted Terrakion is not outspeeding other Scarfed Pokemon. I have the feeling you may be quoting what I've put into several of the other PotW articles to emphasize fast Pokemon's speed tiers, such as Noivern, Mega Pidgeot, and Mega Lopunny, but it's not the case here for Terrakion.

Sacred Sword is an amazing move, blocking out any defensive set-up Pokemon.

There's actually not a whole lot of reason to use Sacred Sword... which is honestly an understatement because in actuality there's no reason to use Sacred Sword. Defense boosting moves are rare to the point of being nonexistent, and the VERY few things that MIGHT use a defense boosting move, i.e., Cosmic Power Sigilyph, are not things you want to hit with Sacred Sword regardless. And Sigilyph's not viable in OU so it's not really a factor either. The only other moves that see any use at all are Cotton Guard on Altaria and Whimsicott (both of whom resist Sacred Sword so hitting them with it is pointless, and also Cotton Guard's not seen very often if at all), and Ancient Power, which in addition to almost never being seen in OU, is extremely unreliable with its 10% fractionation chance. Close Combat's always the better option, as it has a noticeable increase in power over Sacred Sword.

And of course, evasion clause also exists so the evasion ignoring is a non-factor as well.

 

[Mye]

While I don't want to correct you Draco, Bulk Up users tend to primarily be fighting types so Sacred Sword could have an obscenely small niche at being able to hit those. That being said, many of the pokemon who do run it (Conkeldurr) can outright murder it with Mach Punch, making it a less than stellar option.

 

[XXD17]

Does no one use the SD set anymore?

Jolly@ life orb/ expert belt
252 ATK/ 252 SPD/ 4 HP
-SD
-stone edge
-close combat
- x-scissor/ poison jab/ EQ

 

[ger9119]

While I don't want to correct you Draco, Bulk Up users tend to primarily be fighting types so Sacred Sword could have an obscenely small niche at being able to hit those. That being said, many of the pokemon who do run it (Conkeldurr) can outright murder it with Mach Punch, making it a less than stellar option.

Except Bulk Up is rather irrelevent in OU so it doesn't have a small niche at all.

 

[KillerDraco]

While I don't want to correct you Draco, Bulk Up users tend to primarily be fighting types so Sacred Sword could have an obscenely small niche at being able to hit those. That being said, many of the pokemon who do run it (Conkeldurr) can outright murder it with Mach Punch, making it a less than stellar option.

While I did in fact forget Bulk Up (posting at 1am wasn't the best idea), there are no viable bulk up users in OU against whom Sacred Sword would be beneficial. Conkeldurr flat out doesn't use Bulk Up sets in OU (where Assault Vest is its most viable set and what you almost always see), Talonflame, Tornadus, and Gallade all rarely run it (to the point of it being a non-factor on them) but resist Sacred Sword anyway so it's wouldn't matter regardless, and anything else that might use Bulk Up isn't viable. So to reiterate: Sacred Sword has no use on Terrakion, use Close Combat.