Level 51
the orchestra plays the prettiest themes
i actually have no puns for this one (taken over from BlueSkiddo)
[OVERVIEW]
Though often overshadowed by its Therian counterpart, Incarnate Landorus is a considerable force in its own right, easily dealing with common Steel- and Fire-types courtesy of its iconically powerful Sheer Force-backed Earth Power, which is notably unaffected by both Grassy Terrain and Wide Guard, two huge problems to most Earthquake users. However, it still faces competition from special Landorus-T for a team slot; though Landorus hits much harder, it lacks the Therian forme's key selling point of Intimidate. Perhaps precisely because it lacks Intimidate, Landorus is also heavily threatened by opposing speed control and even faster foes, which can take advantage of its relative lack of bulk to quickly KO it. Landorus is also hurt by the ubiquity of Ice-type coverage attacks, a consequence of the high usage of Mega Salamence, Zygarde, and Landorus-T.
[SET]
name: Life Orb Attacker
move 1: Earth Power
move 2: Sludge Bomb / Rock Slide
move 3: Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Protect
item: Life Orb
ability: Sheer Force
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Earth Power is Landorus's claim to fame: backed by a Life Orb and Sheer Force, it can deal huge amounts of damage, OHKOing many common threats such as Tapu Koko, Aegislash, and Shuca Berry Heatran and 2HKOing a large number of bulkier threats such as Tapu Fini and Milotic. Sludge Bomb, also backed by Sheer Force and a Life Orb, deals with Fairy- and Grass-types such as Tapu Lele, Tapu Fini, and Tapu Bulu, though another option is Rock Slide, which has a chance to OHKO even bulky Mega Charizard Y. In the last of Landorus's attacking moveslots, Hidden Power Ice is a solid choice to allow Landorus to deal large amounts of damage to Mega Salamence, Landorus-T, and Zygarde. Finally, Protect keeps Landorus safe for the turn and helps it stall out opposing Tailwind and Trick Room, which would otherwise pose a large threat to it.
Set Details
========
This set uses a Life Orb in tandem with Sheer Force to boost the power of Landorus's attacks with secondary effects, with the bonus of Sheer Force preventing recoil damage from the Life Orb. The given EV spread and nature maximize Landorus's Special Attack and Speed stats, allowing it to get the most damage out of Life Orb and Sheer Force and guaranteeing that it can outrun the denizens of the well-populated base 100 Speed tier. A Naive nature can be used if Landorus chooses to run Rock Slide in order to guarantee an OHKO on bulky versions of Mega Charizard Y.
Usage Tips
========
Although Landorus's high-powered attacks are very threatening, its Speed tier and lack of general bulk put it at risk when against faster foes. Landorus is best used either early-game, to put severe dents in bulky foes to clear the way for the rest of the team, or late-game, to clean up a match once major threats to it have been removed and many bulkier foes have been put into range to be KOed by Earth Power. Despite its typing lending it immunities to both Ground- and Electric-type attacks, Landorus should not be switched in during a turn, as its mediocre bulk puts it at risk of taking heavy hits from opposing attacks; instead, Landorus is best brought in after a partner has been KOed or off the back of a slow U-turn or Volt Switch. Landorus's quadruple weakness to Ice means that it must be wary even around the Electric-types it should beat, as such foes, including Tapu Koko and Zapdos, are often either immune to Earth Power, can outspeed it and OHKO it with Hidden Power Ice, or both. Zapdos can further worsen Landorus's standing on the field speed-wise by setting up a Tailwind. Indeed, opposing speed control greatly threatens Landorus, as it prefers to move first in order to deal with threats before they can damage it; therefore, one's own speed control is key in order to allow it to continuously exert pressure on the opponent.
Team Options
========
Steel-types such as Aegislash, Genesect, and Mega Metagross pair well with Landorus, appreciating its ability to beat Fire- and Steel-types with Earth Power while threatening Ice-types such as Kyurem-B for it. Fairy-types such as Tapu Lele also benefit from the removal of Fire- and Steel-types and can threaten Kyurem-B. Due to Landorus's glaring weakness to Water- and Ice-type attacks, it should be paired with one or more partners capable of switching into those, such as Tapu Fini or Milotic.
Another important aspect of Landorus's potential teammates is their access to speed control, which Landorus appreciates greatly in order to keep it moving before its threats, allowing it to get the most use out of its devastating Earth Powers. This speed control can come in several forms, such as Icy Wind and Tailwind; notable users of each include Icy Wind Milotic and Gengar and Tailwind Zapdos and Hydreigon.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Though notorious for its inconsistency, Focus Blast makes for a decent attack on Landorus, allowing it to better deal with Snorlax and, to a lesser extent, Tyranitar, but if the team Landorus is on has no particular weakness to these two Pokemon, Earth Power is arguably sufficient for dealing with them. While it forgoes the significant damage boost from Life Orb, Choice Scarf can be used to alleviate Landorus's issues with its somewhat disappointing Speed tier and surprise opposing Landorus-T, Zygarde, and Mega Salamence by outrunning and OHKOing them with Hidden Power Ice.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ice-types**: Ice-types hit Landorus for quadruple damage and can easily OHKO it, as it tends to hold neither a Yache Berry nor a Focus Sash. Furthermore, due to the ubiquity of Mega Salamence, Landorus-T, and Zygarde, Ice-type coverage is extremely common and not hard to fit onto most teams. Threatening Pokemon with STAB-boosted Ice-type moves include Weavile, Kyurem-B, and Alolan Ninetales, and threats such as Zapdos, Tapu Koko, and Mega Metagross commonly run Ice-type coverage in the form of Hidden Power Ice or Ice Punch.
**Water-types**: Landorus has little way to deal with bulky Water-types and gets OHKOed by most Water-type moves. Common Pokemon possessing STAB-boosted Water-type moves include Milotic and Tapu Fini as well as the common Swift Swim users Ludicolo, Kingdra, and Mega Swampert; the latter three are particular threats, as they are also able to outrun Landorus under rain, preventing it from even moving before being KOed.
**Tailwind and Trick Room**: Landorus's mediocre bulk leaves it wide open to being severely damaged by foes that it can't KO with Earth Power first. Opposing Tailwind and Trick Room remove what semblance of a speed advantage it had, greatly lessening its presence on the field.
**Faster Pokemon**: Landorus's frailty causes it to be threatened by any faster Pokemon that can hit it hard, including but not limited to Choice Scarf Genesect, Deoxys-A, and Mega Salamence.
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