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Much of the Pokémon battling meta is dominated by certain movesets. Here are some nifty alternatives that you could use instead!
Scarf Terrakion
Item: Choice Scarf
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Speed
Unlike its cousins Cobalion and Virizion who have high defensive stats, Terrakion uses brute force to overwhelm those who dare to stand up against its might. Its double boosting (aka double dancing) set has gained notoriety for its ability to crush both stall and offensive teams alike. However, it would be foolish to ignore one of the best Terrakion sets: the underrated Choice Scarf Terrakion.
Why use this set?
Double dancing Terrakion has some major flaws. One is that Terrakion is often unable to set up Rock Polish due to its poor defensive typing. The second drawback is that even if Terrakion manages to set up, it is easily forced out or defeated by priority users like Scizor and Conkeldurr.
Scarfed Terrakion on the other hand can easily switch into threats like Salamence, Lucario (without Bullet Punch), Volcarona, and a mid-setup DD Gyarados. It can outspeed and KO threats before they can cause any damage. Scarf Terrakion is definitely one of the best Revenge killers and Sweep breakers in the metagame today.
Set explanation
Close Combat and Stone Edge are STAB (Same-type attack bonus) moves which can cover most of the threats in the OU metagame. Rock Slide can be used for the higher accuracy and the nifty flinch rate. X-Scissor can be used to hit Pokémon like Latios and Reuniclus. The last move slot can be filled with Earthquake which hits Pokémon like Jirachi harder or with Quick Attack which can be used to finish off weakened threats.
Other options
Return, Aerial Ace and Poison Jab are the only other moves which Terrakion has for coverage, but they are outclassed by the main options and therefore should be avoided.
Weather
Weather is a dominant force in the B/W metagame and it won’t be an exaggeration to say that weather can often make or break a Pokémon . We’ll now observe Terrakion’s performance in weather:
Sandstorm
Terrakion, being a rock type gets a special defense boost while a sandstorm is brewing. Thanks to the boost, Terrakion becomes even more difficult to beat and becomes one of the most threatening Pokémon in the metagame. However, it risks getting walled by Gliscor, a staple on most sandstorm teams.
Rain
While Terrakion can slay some threatening Pokémon like Choice banded Gyarados in the rain, Terrakion doesn't really benefit from it and has to be careful about boosted Water attacks in the rain.
Sun
Terrakion can easily massacre fire types like Darmanitan and Scarf-Tran in the sun. However, it has to be careful of Chlorophyll abusers like Venusaur.
Hail
Similarly, Terrakion works as a great anti-hail Pokémon and can easily finish off many hail-abusing Pokémon like Scarf-Kyurem.
Teammates
Terrakion benefits greatly from Sandstorm, making Hippowdon and Tyranitar excellent team mates. Hippowdon and Tyranitar can also set-up Stealth Rock, from which Terrakion greatly benefits.
Rotom-W can easily finish off Gliscor, Hippowdon and Skarmory who wall this set.
Scarf-Terrakion is easily crippled by status, so having a cleric like Blissey is recommended.
Finally, Gyarados is an excellent team-mate since Gyarados easily counters priority users like Conkeldurr (lacking Stone Edge), Scizor and Azumarill.
Counters
Since this set lacks the raw power of some of its other sets, physically defensive Pokémon like Gliscor, Hippowdon and Skarmory can wall Terrakion all-day long. Scarf-Terrakion is also easily finished off by priority users like Scizor. Wobbuffet can easily come in on all attacks except X-Scissor, trap and destroy Scarf-Terrakion.
Final note
Scarf-Terrakion is a fantastic but underrated Pokémon. It easily surprises and rips apart many offensive Pokémon and should always be considered for as an Anti-metagame Pokémon.
Taunt Hydreigon
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Naive
EVs:4 atk/252 spatk/252 speed
Known as the "Pseudo-legendary" of Gen V, Hydreigon has already gained infamy among Pokémon fans. Most in-game players will recall Ghetsis' under-leveled and seemingly hacked Hydreigon with horror, while competitive battlers will talk about the "Lord of Hit & Run" with awe. Hydreigon has many tools to smash under-prepared teams to pieces and here we will discuss one of its deadly albeit rarely used options: Taunt.
Why use this set?
While Specs-Hydreigon has its merits like mercilessly crushing foes, it is also a set which is somewhat predictable and "easy" to wall. On the other hand, by using Taunt, the Brutal Pokémon prevents enemies like Blissey and Jellicent from using their support moves which ultimately always yields to one thing: slow but painful destruction.
Set explanation
The set is fairly easy to use. The objective is to simply switch in Hydreigon and take advantage of the switches (and panic) which Hydreigon routinely causes by smacking the switch-in hard with a STAB Draco Meteor. Dragon Pulse is also a great option, if you find the Special Attack drop unappealing and don't mind the lower base power of Dragon Pulse. If you predict a Steel-type switch-in, just use your second attack, Fire Blast. Flamethrower can be considered if you prefer reliability over power.
The third option is the crux of the set: Taunt. Taunt prevents your opponent from using recovery and support moves. This means that opponents who often switch in Pokémon like Blissey, hoping to sponge the attack and recover their health are surprised with a Taunt which leaves them completely helpless and vulnerable to a set-up sweep. To add insult to injury, Hydreigon can use U-turn to gain momentum and exchange places with a Pokémon, who easily defeats the opponent’s switch-in. However, Surf can be used to hurt Heatran, who completely walls this set otherwise.
The EV distribution and Nature allow Hydreigon to wield maximum Speed and Special Attack.
Other options
Hydreigon has a few other moveset options. It can use Focus Blast to badly dent Tyranitar but Focus-Blast’s unreliable accuracy can often be a disappointment. Dark Pulse is a great STAB move which can be used to hit Jellicent harder. It also comes with a useful flinch chance. Earth Power can also be used to hit Heatran harder but it is riskier due to large amount of Air Balloon-wielding Heatran.
Hydreigon can also pack physical attacks like Earthquake and Outrage; however, it can be difficult to find room for them. Items like Wise Glasses, Expert Belt and Leftovers can be considered if you dislike the Life-Orb recoil. Wise Glasses in particular can be used to fake a Choice Specs set and add more to the element of surprise.
Weather
As stated before, weather is a dominant force in B/W and its important to see how Hydreigon performs in different weather conditions:
Sandstorm
Hydreigon doesn’t do well with the passive damage caused by Sandstorm. To make the matters worse, Terrakion becomes specially-bulky in the sandstorm and easily defeats Hydreigon.
Rain
If being used on a rain team, Hydreigon should opt for Surf instead of Fire Blast. Ferrothorn lacking Gyro Ball are easily subdued by Taunt, making Hydreigon difficult to wall.
Sun
Under Sunny conditions, Hydreigon gets a boost to its Fire-type attacks making it a daunting task to wall the dragon. Hydreigon can also deal with Drought sweepers like Darmanitan by utilizing Earth Power.
Hail
While fighting in frigid temperatures, Hydreigon has to be careful of Blizz-spam. (Blizz-spam is a term that describes the frequent use of 100% accurate Blizzard under Hail conditions.) Hydreigon also dislikes the passive damage caused by hail, making Hydreigon unsuited for fighting in wintery conditions.
Teammates
Latios, Latios and Latios. The combination of Hydreigon and Latios is deadly to say the least. While Hydreigon lures out and weakens the special walls of the opponent’s team, Latios cleans up the remaining mess.
Entry hazards are Hydreigon’s best friends. Thanks to entry hazards, Hydreigon can often do more than 50% damage within a single turn to a large number of Pokémon and thus completely terminating them.
Forretress is a great team-mate, since it can set up hazards and also spin them away.
Packing a cleric is recommended since a statused Hydreigon is fairly ineffective. A Wish passer can also be used to help Hydreigon regain health lost due to passive damage.
Finally, Pokémon like Conkeldurr who can set-up on taunted special walls are great team-mates to a Taunt Hydreigon.
Counters
It is fairly difficult to counter this set outright simply because Hydreigon can abuse Taunt or U-turn to turn the tables against a switch in. Specially defensive Conkeldurr can defeat Hydreigon, however Conkeldurr will take a great deal of damage from Draco Meteor. The best way to counter this set is to use the special defense drop from Draco Meteor to your advantage. A Specially defensive Scizor can come in and take the flying meteors and threaten back with Superpower. However, Scizor will be easily defeated if it switches into a Fire attack. The best way to counter the set is to provide wish support to your special defense wall, which prevents Hydreigon from doing its job successfully.
Final note:
A deadly set if used correctly. Can easily soften teams for a late game sweep by a Specially based sweeper. Underestimate it at your own peril.
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