Gen 3 Dragon Dance Tyranitar Offense by McMeghan

[RMT Staff]

Introduction

This team was made during the second edition of the Callous Tournament. I wanted to make an offensive team with Bulky Dragon Dance Tyranitar, as it's one of the most effective cleaners in the tier. Between the bulk investment and its Lum Berry, it isn't hard for Tyranitar to find room to set up, often twice, which usually spells doom for the opponent. The rest of the team provides Tyranitar offensive pressure, synergy and momentum. Each member will have the full reasoning behind its addition in their individual description.

This team isn't the easiest to pilot, but it definitely is able to do what it was built for, and you will very rarely find an unwinnable matchup when using it. It also is a good example of an ADV Offense build that doesn't rely on trappers or Spikes (at least not heavily) to win games, and it demonstrates how synergy goes a long way in teambuilding and winning games. I've used this team extensively in friendlies at first, and then started trusting it in tournaments (ADV Cup, Classic Playoffs) due to the fact that it can win any game as long as you play better than your opponent. It also has a lot of room for slight modifications, so you can adjust it to your preferences/metagame evolution.

Team Members

Métalosse (Metagross) @ Choice Band
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 168 HP / 212 Atk / 16 Def / 112 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Explosion

Choice Band Metagross doesn't need much introduction. It's incredibly bulky and hits like a powerhouse. It was added here because it shares a lot of defensive checks with Dragon Dance Tyranitar. By weakening them with Choice Band Meteor Mashes or straight up getting rid of them with Explosion, you open the floodgates for Tyranitar, but the rest of the team does too. Choice Band Metagross also applies a lot of pressure early, which will be useful to scout the opponent's team while setting off your momentum. Using Explosion blindly is a solid option with this team, as the most common switch-ins are threats that this team appreciates it weakening (Skarmory frees up other Explosion options and Snorlax in general, while catching a bulky Water-type can be incredibly useful for late-game Tyranitar). Try not to be greedy with Metagross, as you will hate getting trapped by Magneton before you severely weaken a sturdier wall.

The EV spread allows Metagross to always OHKO 252 HP Skarmory with Explosion while always surviving +1 Earthquake from Salamence, Tyranitar, or Metagross. The rest is put in Speed to outrun all the threats residing in its speed tier or creeping around it. The moveset is standard, with Rock Slide being chosen to round off the set as it's useful for Zapdos in particular, and can induce flinches as a bonus.

Tyranocif (Tyranitar) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Atk / 48 Def / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Bug]

Tyranitar is the best Pokemon in ADV hands down. It is used here with its incredibly dangerous cleaner set as a Dragon Dance user. Offensively, it will usually want to enter in the endgame to finish the match. Between its bulk and the Lum Berry, it has no trouble setting up at least once, and getting two boosts is certainly not out of the question. When Tyranitar can get that second boost, you will usually win. However, it would be a mistake to think Tyranitar always has to wait to show its face. If the gamestate allows it, sometimes you will want to use it earlier, especially against more offensive teams that lack the defensive backbone to properly handle it. Tyranitar also has some defensive utility with its typing and the sand it provides to cancel Leftovers, which can prove useful in some situations. With its current coverage, the biggest stops to Tyranitar are Swampert and Flygon. The former will usually be weakened or targeted with Explosion, and it can also be worn down by Spikes. Flygon is more annoying to deal with, especially bulky variants, but it's also rarer. Try to get rid of it or weaken it with Zapdos or Claydol beforehand if you're going for a Tyranitar endgame.

The current EV Spread allows Tyranitar to take an Earthquake from Adamant Dugtrio, generally giving it a lot of bulk to avoid many 2HKOs and OHKOs. The lower Attack investment can be detrimential, especially when you want to clean up, but it should be sufficient against offensive teams, and the team in general is well-equipped to deal with defensive builds. Maximizing Attack and Speed with a Jolly nature is also worth considering. This provides a lot more offensive power, and the speed can prove useful by allowing Tyranitar to move before the likes of Gengar and offensive Starmie after just one boost.

Crustabri (Cloyster) @ Leftovers
Ability: Shell Armor
EVs: 72 HP / 244 SpD / 192 Spe
Timid Nature
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Explosion
- Spikes

Spikes are great to get chip damage, and Cloyster was chosen here as an offensive setter. Unlike Skarmory or Forretress, Cloyster can provide some offensive utility in the form of Explosion and its respectable Special Attack. It's also a good switchin to bulky Water-types early game, as Cloyster is by far the most disposable member of the team. Spikes can also force the opponent to use Rapid Spin, which can be capitalized on by all the offensive tools the team possesses.

Cloyster sports a fairly offensive EV spread as well, with all that speed. It is great to make sure you can use Explosion or set Spikes. It's already hard to get Cloyster on the field without taking too much damage and then using one of these moves, so outspeeding foes proved to be a lot more useful than bulk after many games with this team. The offensive moves used to be Ice Beam and Hidden Power Fire for overall good coverage and the ability to hit Forretress, but the latter kinda disappeared for now. Surf is a better as a catch-all move and it's also pretty useful for opposing Tyranitar. As I said earlier, Cloyster is the most disposable member of the team, as its Spikes are more of a luxury than a necessity. As a result, feel free to experiment with different team members in this slot, but keep in mind that switching into bulky Water-types early is one of Cloyster's best traits here.

Électhor (Zapdos) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 244 HP / 220 SpD / 44 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Baton Pass
- Hidden Power [Grass]

Specially defensive Zapdos is a great fit for this team for multiple reasons. It's an additional check to special attackers with this bulky spread, ensuring the team doesn't crumble to them if Snorlax gets weakened or knocked out. It also provides a much needed immunity to Ground, offering great synergy with Metagross. Most importantly, it fits both of these roles while keeping offensive momentum thanks to its excellent stats and Baton Pass, giving free switches to the team's powerful attackers. Thunder Wave deters setup and supports the team's slowness.

Zapdos's EVs give it all the special bulk it needs, with some EVs thrown into Speed for good measure. Hidden Power Grass is the coverage of choice primarily for Swampert, as it's bulkier than Flygon and a lot more common. Hidden Power Ice could still be used instead, since Flygon can be pretty annoying for this team, but this sacrifices the ability to nail Swampert.

Kaorine (Claydol) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 176 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Rapid Spin
- Psychic

Claydol's unique typing brings to the table everything that this team was looking for in its last slot: a much-needed Electric immunity (that doesn't fold to the usual Ice or Grass coverage) and a secondary resistance resistance to Rock moves (especially since Metagross usually doesn't last long). Even if Claydol is designed to be a defensive Pokemon, it has some great offensive traits here. First of all, it isn't weakened by Spikes, which means it's a great pivot for the attacks mentioned earlier. It has access to Rapid Spin, which can be crucial late-game, usually after you take care of their Spike user, which isn't that hard with the offensive nature of the team. Last but not least, it has access to Explosion. While traditionally weak coming from a Claydol, the current spread does wonders, as it outspeeds and does a lot more damage than expected to a lot of key threats like Milotic or Swampert.

Since Claydol is used in an offensive context, the EVs are meant to maximize its damage output whenever it gets on the field and get its hits off. It will 2HKO offensive Starmie sets with Earthquake and outspeed a lot of bulky foes like Blissey, Swampert, and Milotic. Psychic is used to hit Gengar without fearing a burn from its Will-O-Wisp. On the original version of this team, I decided to forgo Rapid Spin, as even an Adamant and uninvested Ice Beam was enough to help check Salamence or Flygon, but Rapid Spin turned out to be more useful over time, especially for late-game setup with Tyranitar.

Ronflex (Snorlax) @ Leftovers
Ability: Immunity
EVs: 176 Atk / 80 Def / 236 SpD / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Curse
- Body Slam
- Shadow Ball
- Self-Destruct

As with most physical Offense builds in ADV, Snorlax is the chosen check for special attackers, as it can switch in against all of them and keep the momentum going. Snorlax is great at forcing damage on the opposing team with its Body Slam. Spreading paralysis is also very much appreciated, as the team is actually pretty slow. STAB-boosted Self-Destruct will take out pretty much everything it hits, and it is one of the key tools the team has to break the opposition. Shadow Ball is used to hit Gengar. Snorlax really appreciates the lack of sand against bulkier archetypes, as the passive recovery and its bulk allows it to throw out a lot of hits before being forced to use Self-Destruct, so keep that mind. Curse is chosen for the last slot because it gives Snorlax more opportunities to break through some defensive cores that lack Skarmory (or even with Skarmory, if you weakened it with Metagross's Explosion), especially outside of Sand. On top of that, +1 Self-Destruct OHKOes Skarmory with the current EV Spread, which is very useful if Metagross used its Explosion on something else. One problem with this set is that it doesn't really threaten Tyranitar and Metagross, which can be pretty annoying. For this reason, Focus Punch and Earthquake are definitely worth considering. Focus Punch will OHKO Tyranitar and get decent damage on Skarmory, meaning you don't need the Curse boost to kill it with Self-Destruct. Earthquake will hit Metagross harder, but it won't help against Skarmory.

The EV spread maximizes Snorlax's special bulk. It also provides some speed for the mirror and to outspeed Jolteon and Aerodactyl should they get paralyzed.

Threatlist

Swampert, Starmie, Suicune: Offensive Water-types with Ice coverage don't have real answers. Starmie is probably the most dangerous because it has coverage for Cloyster too and outspeeds every member of the team. It will depend on their partners and the health of your Zapdos and Snorlax. Claydol's shortcomings show here, as it's the Pokemon these threats will take advantage of to get going. Don't be afraid to trade with them through Explosion or Self-Destruct if you can.

Tyranitar, Aerodactyl: This team's Rock checks tend to get weakened or use Explosion early. Claydol also doesn't have much physical bulk with its EV spread. Tyranitar's bulk will come handy here. It's a matter of maintaining the lead and using your offensive tools better than your opponent uses theirs.

Flygon: While not much of a threat offensively, its typing is a defensive nuisance as it's immune to Spikes and Sand and it will keep Tyranitar in check.

Salamence, Gyarados: Between Intimidate and the lack of bulky Water-types to properly handle a boosted Dragon Dance user, these Pokemon have the potential to be threats in the late-game. However, they hate status effects and can be KOed with Explosion or Self-Destruct even when Intimidated if you can get chip damage off. Also, Tyranitar will always tank a hit from full HP and KO back.

Heracross: This is probably the single biggest threat to the team. It outspeeds and heavily threatens everything. In addition, the team's only resistance to Megahorn is slower, and Heracross often has Rock coverage to deal with it too. If you can use Explosion or Self-Destruct on it while it gets greedy with Swords Dance, go for it. In dire situations, Tyranitar can also tank a Megahorn and set up, then use a boosted Rock Slide and chip damage from sand to handle it.

Replays
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen3ou-386536 CBB vs Sam, Callous Cup II
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen3ou-388126 CBB vs thelinearcurve, Callous Cup II
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-905637718 McMeghan vs Flaress, ADV Cup V Round 4 Game 3
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen3ou-444959 McMeghan vs Fakes, ADV Cup V Quarterfinals Game 1
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen3ou-450224 McMeghan vs elodin, Classic V Quarterfinals

Importable

Métalosse (Metagross) @ Choice Band
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 168 HP / 212 Atk / 16 Def / 112 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Explosion

Tyranocif (Tyranitar) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Atk / 48 Def / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Bug]

Crustabri (Cloyster) @ Leftovers
Ability: Shell Armor
EVs: 72 HP / 244 SpD / 192 Spe
Timid Nature
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Explosion
- Spikes

Électhor (Zapdos) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 244 HP / 220 SpD / 44 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Baton Pass
- Hidden Power [Grass]

Kaorine (Claydol) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 176 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Rapid Spin
- Psychic

Ronflex (Snorlax) @ Leftovers
Ability: Immunity
EVs: 176 Atk / 80 Def / 236 SpD / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Curse
- Body Slam
- Shadow Ball
- Self-Destruct

Credits
Created by: McMeghan
Written by: McMeghan
Grammar checked by: talkingtree
Art by: Image by Ticken & Text by TPP​