might be ou again in gen 12
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[OVERVIEW]
* Sheer Force combined with Life Orb and a varied assortment of complimentary coverage options make Landorus surprisingly difficult to switch into.
* Landorus's typing grants it immunity to Ground-type moves and neutrality to Rock-type moves, making it a decent check to offensive variants of Primal Groudon.
* High damage output against support Arceus formes make Landorus a pretty solid offensive Stealth Rock user.
* Although 101 base Speed puts Landorus ahead of other wallbreakers such as Lunala, Yveltal, and Palkia, Landorus is easily revenge killed due to its modest defenses.
* Landorus's defensive utility is limited — aside from Primal Groudon, it can't switch directly in on much else.
* Landorus has to compete with its own Therian forme for a teamslot, whose access to Intimidate gives it an expanded defensive niche.
[SET]
name: Life Orb Attacker
move 1: Earth Power
move 2: Rock Slide
move 3: Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Stealth Rock / Knock Off
item: Life Orb
ability: Sheer Force
nature: Naive / Rash
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Earth Power provides powerful Sheer Force-boosted STAB, capable of OHKOing specially defensive Primal Groudon and 2HKOing most support Arceus formes after Stealth Rock damage.
* Rock Slide is also boosted by Sheer Force, enabling Landorus to OHKO Ho-Oh and 2HKO offensive Yveltal.
* Hidden Power Ice does not benefit from Sheer Force, but it is necessary for some key targets. It hits Rayquaza and Mega Salamence for OHKOes, 2HKOes Zygarde-C, and provides Landorus's best coverage option against Giratina-O, nabbing a guaranteed 3HKO.
* Stealth Rock allows Landorus to support its team, creating setup opportunities through its ability to force switches.
* Knock Off provides maximum wallbreaking potential, allowing Landorus to cripple many of its defensive checks such as Chansey, Lugia, Bronzong, Celesteela, and Skarmory by stripping them of their item. Knock Off also OHKOes Lunala if Shadow Shield is broken.
Set Details
========
* Full investment in Special Attack and Speed maximize Landorus's offensive potential.
* A Naive nature allows Landorus to outspeed anything slower than Timid Palkia, including most variants of Yveltal, Xerneas, and Lunala, as well as all variants of Primal Groudon.
* A Rash nature can be used for more power, giving Landorus the ability to 2HKO support Arceus formes without any need of prior damage. Rash also gives Landorus a high chance to OHKO specially defensive Primal Groudon from full health. However, using Rash makes Landorus slower than Timid Yveltal, increasing its ability to check Landorus.
Usage Tips
========
* Try to use double switches or U-turn support to get Landorus into play, as its modest defenses prevent it from switching in on too many things. Although Landorus can switch in on Primal Groudon, exercise caution, as Landorus will take a lot of damage from Primal Groudon's STAB Fire-type attacks.
* Landorus works best as an early- or mid-game wallbreaker, so try to bring it out as soon as possible to start weakening the opponent's defensive core.
* Stealth Rock is best set up on forced switches; however, if the opponent still has a Defog Arceus or Giratina-O, Landorus's time may be better spent catching them with Earth Power or Hidden Power Ice on the switch, respectively.
* Try to catch Flying-types with coverage moves, since removing them allows Landorus to spam Earth Power more freely. Double switching out of very bulky Flying-types such as Lugia or Celesteela may be needed, since Landorus may not be able to defeat them with its coverage moves.
* Bear in mind that Hidden Power Ice (and Knock Off) will force Landorus to take recoil damage, which can put it in KO range for an opposing Pokemon if used recklessly.
Team Options
========
* Landorus works best on offensive teams that benefit from its wallbreaking prowess and can cover the things it cannot take out on its own.
* Primal Groudon shares similar checks to Landorus, and the two can work together to take them out. Primal Groudon's ability to switch into Primal Kyogre is also greatly appreciated, and Landorus's access to Stealth Rock frees up Primal Groudon's move options.
* Dark-types such as Yveltal, Darkrai, and Arceus-Dark handle Lugia and Giratina-O well, two of the primary counters to Landorus.
* Geomancy Xerneas handles Giratina-O quite well and can tailor its set to lure in and defeat Pokemon Landorus cannot, such as Celesteela, Blissey, and Lugia. In return, Xerneas appreciates Landorus's ability to switch into Primal Groudon and provide Stealth Rock support.
* Mega Gengar can trap and take out most defensive Pokemon that wall Landorus, including Lugia, Blissey, and Celesteela. It can also assist Landorus in removing support Arceus formes to ensure Stealth Rock stays on the field.
* Mega Lucario can take advantage of Lugia, Blissey, and Celesteela, using both as setup fodder.
* Landorus appreciates Sticky Web support from Shuckle and Smeargle, allowing it to outspeed support Arceus formes and many other threats that could otherwise revenge kill it.
* If Landorus is carrying Knock Off, Mega Salamence and Extreme Killer Arceus make useful teammates, as both appreciate a Lugia or Celesteela losing Leftovers.
* U-turn support can help get Landorus into play. Mega Scizor and Tapu Koko are the best options since both lure in Primal Groudon, which Landorus can promptly force right back out for a free attack.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Focus Blast allows Landorus to OHKO Ferrothorn and 2HKO Skarmory and Celesteela which could otherwise check it. It also confers useful, albeit situational, OHKOes against Extreme Killer Arceus and Shuca Berry Dialga.
* Sludge Wave is boosted by Sheer Force and allows Landorus to do massive damage to Xerneas while still doing respectable damage to Flying-types such as Yveltal. However, Sludge Wave is not quite powerful enough to KO standard Geomancy Xerneas after Stealth Rock damage, limiting its value.
* Explosion allows Landorus to block Defog for one turn by sacrificing itself, which can benefit hazard stacking teams. However, Explosion offers little in the way of coverage.
* Superpower destroys Blissey, but is rather useless against most other targets.
* U-turn allows Landorus to pivot out of checks and capitalize on its ability to force switches, but it provides no useful coverage and forces Landorus to take Life Orb recoil, hampering its effectiveness.
* Rock Polish affords Landorus potential to sweep weakened offensive teams at the cost of coverage.
* Gravity allows Landorus to damage Flying-types and Giratina-O with Earth Power, usually doing far more damage than Rock Slide or Hidden Power Ice allows. However, Gravity also costs Landorus's team any immunity to Ground-type attacks for five turns, which can backfire.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Giratina-O**: Giratina-O is immune to Earth Power and avoids the 2HKO from even Hidden Power Ice, easily destroying Landorus in return with Draco Meteor or clearing its Stealth Rock with Defog.
**Lugia**: Even with a potential Knock Off removing Leftovers, Lugia easily walls Landorus and drops it with one Ice Beam.
**Chansey and Blissey**: Although neither enjoy losing their item to a potential Knock Off, both Chansey and Blissey wall Landorus comfortably due to sheer special bulk.
**Skarmory and Celesteela**: Unless Landorus has the rare Focus Blast, Skarmory and Celesteela can switch in with impunity and stall out Landorus with Toxic.
**Primal Kyogre**: Defensive Primal Kyogre avoids the 2HKO from Earth Power and OHKOes Landorus back with Scald or Origin Pulse. However, Primal Kyogre can potentially lose with bad Sleep Talk rolls or hazard support.
**Yveltal**: Although offensive Yveltal is 2HKOed by Rock Slide, it takes no damage from Earth Power and can easily OHKO Landorus with Dark Pulse. Defensive Yveltal avoids the 2HKO from Rock Slide and stalls out Landorus with Toxic and Roost, although Stealth Rock can put it into KO range rather quickly.
**Fast support Arceus formes**: Landorus has a significantly harder time dealing with support Arceus formes if they outspeed it, since they can threaten to KO Landorus with a faster Ice Beam or Recover off damage before Landorus can deal the finishing blow. Arceus-Ground is likely to always be faster than Landorus, and Arceus-Water's threat of a super-effective STAB Judgment makes it risky to stay in against.
**Revenge killers**: Landorus's modest defenses mean that most powerful attackers faster than 331 Speed can revenge kill it. Common examples include Mega Lucario, Mewtwo, Mega Salamence, Deoxys-A, Pheromosa, and Choice Scarf users such as Lunala and Xerneas. Arceus and Rayquaza can also bypass Landorus's Speed with strong priority.
**Ferrothorn**: Although Ferrothorn takes a lot of damage from Earth Power, it narrowly avoids the 2HKO and can outstall Landorus with Leech Seed and Protect.
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