With DLC 2 right around the corner, I thought I'd share one of my favourite teams in this metagame that I've been having some decent success with to round off the DLC 1 metagame. The initial version of this team was built not long after the DLC dropped, having gone through multiple revisions and a version of which I used to get reqs for Ursaluna Blood Moon. This version of the team I'm posting right now feels like the best into the current metagame. Without further ado, let's get into it.
The team (Click):
Proof of Peak:
Team Description:
Tyranitar (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Stream
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge
- Ice Beam
- Low Kick
In my opinion the addition of Knock off to Tyranitar's moveset was a massive buff in this DLC, giving it a solid niche in the tier. Tyranitar can check quite a lot of threats in this meta like Dragapult, Zapdos, Slowking Galar, Ceruledge, Skeledirge etc. with its huge bulk and can also 1v1 some other problematic Pokemon in a pinch. This set in particular can take just about any special hit in the tier and 1v1 tier behemoths Kingambit and Gholdengo, assuming tera is used. Tyranitar also synergizes well with other members of the team in Great Tusk, Alomomola, Tornadus Therian and Rillaboom.
The EVs on this set are incredibly important. Max speed adamant hits a speed stat of 221, crucially outspeeding even Jolly Kingambit. Kingambit can be a pain for this team so baiting it to make a move in front of Tyanitar only to be outsped and KO'd is huge, and has happened numerous times in my case. Even Tera Flying Kingambit can be beaten by Stone Edge assuming tera is either predicted or the Kingambit has used it in a prior turn. The speed also lets Tyranitar outspeed 0 speed Landorus Therian, Great Tusk and Gholdendo. Max attack adamant hits very hard, and the plan is to spam knock off most of the time which is stronger than even that of a Weavile. The Assault Vest is important here because with this EV spread Tyranitar's bulk, while good, leaves it prone to getting overwhelmed rather easily. Vest patches that up nicely while letting Tyranitar eat some absurd hits, like Gholdengo Make It Rain, Enamorus Moonblast, super effective coverage from Moth, and +3 Surf from Manaphy from full.
As for the moves, Stone Edge and Knock Off are obvious choices. Low Kick is primarily there for Kingambit, but it is also a nice hit into Ting Lu, Garganacl and Tera Normal Dragonite. Ice beam hits Tusk hard enough on the switch or spin predict even with the -SpA nature, so cutting into bulk isn't necessary. The tera type on Tyranitar doesn't come up too often, but grass is good to resist all of water, grass and ground with a single type, this comes up most frequently vs Dragonite and Ogerpon.
Great Tusk @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Headlong Rush
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Spinner
- Rapid Spin
I personally find Assault Vest slapped on most mons to be rather awkward as the increased bulk is cut into very quickly by passive damage from hazards, which is why the next member is Great Tusk to remove hazards for Tyranitar. With 3 knock users on the team I felt like Ice Spinner works better as the coverage to hit Rillaboom, Tornadus-T, Landorus-T, Zapdos and Dragonite helps in many scenarios. Headlong Rush is used over Earthquake so as to not neuter Tusk's damage output when Grassy terrain is up. High horsepower is an option, but the damage difference vs Kingambit and Gholdengo is very noticeable. Heavy Duty Boots are mainly used so that Tusk isn't worn down by Spikes while trying to remove them and also so that it remains faster than Gholdengo in the matchup vs Webs. Leftovers healing is nice of course, but with wish support from Alomomola and Grassy terrain healing from Rillaboom it is hardly a necessity. The tera type is chosen to resist Ogerpon's grass moves and taking a Moonblast in a pinch while also being immune to poison, steel also works in this case, but other options such as Dragon and Water are also fine.
Alomomola (F) @ Red Card
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature IVs: 0 Spe
- Wish
- Protect
- Flip Turn
- Scald
Wish support from Alomomola is a really good pairing with Great Tusk and Tyranitar, and when coupled with the other two regenerator Pokemon the entire team can wither most attacks and stay healthy. The options here are fairly standard, red card is to force out setup sweepers that might be problematic and tera fairy is to take strong dragon type attacks should the team not be healthy enough to switch into them. Red card being used up is particularly useful against Ceruledge if it has close conbat or Tyranitar is weakened, as that makes Alomomola immune to Poltergeist. Pinkacross popularized the Alomomola + Slowking Galar core already, and I've been a believer in the core since the very beginning. Relaxed nature and 0 speed IVs are for Alomomola to get the slowest wish passes possible.
Tornadus-Therian @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 248 HP / 20 Def / 240 Spe
Timid Nature
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Bleakwind Storm
- Heat Wave
Tornadus Therian is a center piece of this team, providing much needed speed control vs offense teams while checking grass types like Rillaboom and fighting types like Zamazenta as well as providing a ground immunity. The EVs try to maximise its physical bulk while still outspeeding Cinderace, but a normal 252/252 spread can do just fine. Tera Steel is to resist dragon, fairy and rock type moves, but Tornadus rarely ends up Terastalizing. The last move on this set was initially Taunt, and it is definitely a great option, but having Heat Wave to hit Gholdengo can really come in clutch given that the team doesn't have the greatest Gholdengo switchins. It is also very useful to pressure Corviknight, which can otherwise sit on this team a lot of the time. Hurricane over Bleakwind Storm is also an option, it comes down to preference.
Slowking-Galar (M) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Future Sight
- Chilly Reception
- Sludge Bomb
- Flamethrower
Slowking-Galar completes the triple regenerator core with a specially defensive fairy check. The three regenerators can switch between each other, healing off attacks as they take them and pivot to whichever Pokemon needs to be brought in. Slowking's Future sight is particularly good alongside Rillaboom, Tyranitar and Tornadus pressuring the opponent. Tera Dark is chosen on Slowking to take Knock Off in a pinch as well as random Stored Power cheese and Shadow Ball from Gholdengo and Dragapult. It also lets Slowking take a Kowtow Cleave from Kingambit in a pinch. Lastly, Flamethrower is chosen to not give free setup to Kingambit and Gholdengo, which, as you may have guessed by now, can be rather annoying, and it also lets it not be a sitting duck against Tera Steel Zamazenta.
Rillaboom (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Knock Off
- Grassy Glide
- U-turn
Choice Band Rillaboom rounds the team off with a breaker that appreciates Future Sight support from Slowking. Rillaboom is a great anti offence tool with its powerful priority Grassy Glide while also hitting incredibly hard with Wood Hammer, chip from which can be off set by wish support from Alomomola. The chip healing from Grassy terrain is greatly appreciated by the rest of the team, even cancelling out sand chip on Slowking and Alomomola. Grassy Terrain halving the power of Earthquake is massive for Tyranitar and Slowking to circumvent their weakness against threats like Garchomp, Great Tusk and Ting Lu. Rillaboom's raw power helps the team break through Curse/Iron Defence Garganacl if it can't Tera or is Tera Water. It also provides a check for Ogerpon Wellspring.
Threats:
As alluded to previously,
after getting a free turn can sweep the entire team with little to stop it if Tyranitar and Great Tusk are weakened. All the Pokemon on the team can pressure or pivot on Kingambit of course, but if it gets a free turn to Swords Dance and has tera remaining, switching into it is pretty much impossible and you're guaranteed to lose a Pokemon. Similarly, 
is also a huge pain in the ass to switch into, especially if it's specs, the best way to beat it is to pivot around it and try to chip it down with Tornadus and Slowking. 
can become incredibly dangerous if Rillaboom has fainted and Tornadus is weakened, so caution is required there. Spikes pressure can also be difficult if the opponent plays well by preventing removal and knocking off boots while keeping up offensive pressure.
And that's the team! I quite like this team as Tyranitar is my second favourite Pokemon of all time, so being able to build something good with it after its tragic fall in gen 9 has been nice. I'd love to know your thoughts on the team and any questions or suggestions are welcome. I wrote this on mobile so searching for replays is a bit of a pain as well as the replay situation being a bit of a mess right now, but if there's any specific matchup you'd like to see a replay against feel free to let me know and I'll try to dig up one. That's all from me!
The team (Click):
Proof of Peak:
Team Description:
Tyranitar (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Stream
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge
- Ice Beam
- Low Kick
In my opinion the addition of Knock off to Tyranitar's moveset was a massive buff in this DLC, giving it a solid niche in the tier. Tyranitar can check quite a lot of threats in this meta like Dragapult, Zapdos, Slowking Galar, Ceruledge, Skeledirge etc. with its huge bulk and can also 1v1 some other problematic Pokemon in a pinch. This set in particular can take just about any special hit in the tier and 1v1 tier behemoths Kingambit and Gholdengo, assuming tera is used. Tyranitar also synergizes well with other members of the team in Great Tusk, Alomomola, Tornadus Therian and Rillaboom.
The EVs on this set are incredibly important. Max speed adamant hits a speed stat of 221, crucially outspeeding even Jolly Kingambit. Kingambit can be a pain for this team so baiting it to make a move in front of Tyanitar only to be outsped and KO'd is huge, and has happened numerous times in my case. Even Tera Flying Kingambit can be beaten by Stone Edge assuming tera is either predicted or the Kingambit has used it in a prior turn. The speed also lets Tyranitar outspeed 0 speed Landorus Therian, Great Tusk and Gholdendo. Max attack adamant hits very hard, and the plan is to spam knock off most of the time which is stronger than even that of a Weavile. The Assault Vest is important here because with this EV spread Tyranitar's bulk, while good, leaves it prone to getting overwhelmed rather easily. Vest patches that up nicely while letting Tyranitar eat some absurd hits, like Gholdengo Make It Rain, Enamorus Moonblast, super effective coverage from Moth, and +3 Surf from Manaphy from full.
As for the moves, Stone Edge and Knock Off are obvious choices. Low Kick is primarily there for Kingambit, but it is also a nice hit into Ting Lu, Garganacl and Tera Normal Dragonite. Ice beam hits Tusk hard enough on the switch or spin predict even with the -SpA nature, so cutting into bulk isn't necessary. The tera type on Tyranitar doesn't come up too often, but grass is good to resist all of water, grass and ground with a single type, this comes up most frequently vs Dragonite and Ogerpon.
Great Tusk @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Headlong Rush
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Spinner
- Rapid Spin
I personally find Assault Vest slapped on most mons to be rather awkward as the increased bulk is cut into very quickly by passive damage from hazards, which is why the next member is Great Tusk to remove hazards for Tyranitar. With 3 knock users on the team I felt like Ice Spinner works better as the coverage to hit Rillaboom, Tornadus-T, Landorus-T, Zapdos and Dragonite helps in many scenarios. Headlong Rush is used over Earthquake so as to not neuter Tusk's damage output when Grassy terrain is up. High horsepower is an option, but the damage difference vs Kingambit and Gholdengo is very noticeable. Heavy Duty Boots are mainly used so that Tusk isn't worn down by Spikes while trying to remove them and also so that it remains faster than Gholdengo in the matchup vs Webs. Leftovers healing is nice of course, but with wish support from Alomomola and Grassy terrain healing from Rillaboom it is hardly a necessity. The tera type is chosen to resist Ogerpon's grass moves and taking a Moonblast in a pinch while also being immune to poison, steel also works in this case, but other options such as Dragon and Water are also fine.
Alomomola (F) @ Red Card
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature IVs: 0 Spe
- Wish
- Protect
- Flip Turn
- Scald
Wish support from Alomomola is a really good pairing with Great Tusk and Tyranitar, and when coupled with the other two regenerator Pokemon the entire team can wither most attacks and stay healthy. The options here are fairly standard, red card is to force out setup sweepers that might be problematic and tera fairy is to take strong dragon type attacks should the team not be healthy enough to switch into them. Red card being used up is particularly useful against Ceruledge if it has close conbat or Tyranitar is weakened, as that makes Alomomola immune to Poltergeist. Pinkacross popularized the Alomomola + Slowking Galar core already, and I've been a believer in the core since the very beginning. Relaxed nature and 0 speed IVs are for Alomomola to get the slowest wish passes possible.
Tornadus-Therian @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 248 HP / 20 Def / 240 Spe
Timid Nature
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Bleakwind Storm
- Heat Wave
Tornadus Therian is a center piece of this team, providing much needed speed control vs offense teams while checking grass types like Rillaboom and fighting types like Zamazenta as well as providing a ground immunity. The EVs try to maximise its physical bulk while still outspeeding Cinderace, but a normal 252/252 spread can do just fine. Tera Steel is to resist dragon, fairy and rock type moves, but Tornadus rarely ends up Terastalizing. The last move on this set was initially Taunt, and it is definitely a great option, but having Heat Wave to hit Gholdengo can really come in clutch given that the team doesn't have the greatest Gholdengo switchins. It is also very useful to pressure Corviknight, which can otherwise sit on this team a lot of the time. Hurricane over Bleakwind Storm is also an option, it comes down to preference.
Slowking-Galar (M) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Future Sight
- Chilly Reception
- Sludge Bomb
- Flamethrower
Slowking-Galar completes the triple regenerator core with a specially defensive fairy check. The three regenerators can switch between each other, healing off attacks as they take them and pivot to whichever Pokemon needs to be brought in. Slowking's Future sight is particularly good alongside Rillaboom, Tyranitar and Tornadus pressuring the opponent. Tera Dark is chosen on Slowking to take Knock Off in a pinch as well as random Stored Power cheese and Shadow Ball from Gholdengo and Dragapult. It also lets Slowking take a Kowtow Cleave from Kingambit in a pinch. Lastly, Flamethrower is chosen to not give free setup to Kingambit and Gholdengo, which, as you may have guessed by now, can be rather annoying, and it also lets it not be a sitting duck against Tera Steel Zamazenta.
Rillaboom (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Knock Off
- Grassy Glide
- U-turn
Choice Band Rillaboom rounds the team off with a breaker that appreciates Future Sight support from Slowking. Rillaboom is a great anti offence tool with its powerful priority Grassy Glide while also hitting incredibly hard with Wood Hammer, chip from which can be off set by wish support from Alomomola. The chip healing from Grassy terrain is greatly appreciated by the rest of the team, even cancelling out sand chip on Slowking and Alomomola. Grassy Terrain halving the power of Earthquake is massive for Tyranitar and Slowking to circumvent their weakness against threats like Garchomp, Great Tusk and Ting Lu. Rillaboom's raw power helps the team break through Curse/Iron Defence Garganacl if it can't Tera or is Tera Water. It also provides a check for Ogerpon Wellspring.
Threats:
As alluded to previously,
after getting a free turn can sweep the entire team with little to stop it if Tyranitar and Great Tusk are weakened. All the Pokemon on the team can pressure or pivot on Kingambit of course, but if it gets a free turn to Swords Dance and has tera remaining, switching into it is pretty much impossible and you're guaranteed to lose a Pokemon. Similarly, is also a huge pain in the ass to switch into, especially if it's specs, the best way to beat it is to pivot around it and try to chip it down with Tornadus and Slowking. can become incredibly dangerous if Rillaboom has fainted and Tornadus is weakened, so caution is required there. Spikes pressure can also be difficult if the opponent plays well by preventing removal and knocking off boots while keeping up offensive pressure.And that's the team! I quite like this team as Tyranitar is my second favourite Pokemon of all time, so being able to build something good with it after its tragic fall in gen 9 has been nice. I'd love to know your thoughts on the team and any questions or suggestions are welcome. I wrote this on mobile so searching for replays is a bit of a pain as well as the replay situation being a bit of a mess right now, but if there's any specific matchup you'd like to see a replay against feel free to let me know and I'll try to dig up one. That's all from me!
