The Influence of Terrains in OU

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Introduction

SM brought us the Island Guardians, all 4 of which have become relevant Pokémon in OU with their own unique niches in the metagame. One of their key defining features are their abilities, which summon their respective Terrains onto the field. These Terrains provide various benefits and lead to the Island Guardians forming potent cores. Although some of these Terrains existed in the previous generation, they were simply not viable enough to be of any competitive use. This article reviews this key feature of the Island Guardians, other Pokémon that are effective in combination with the terrains, and their usage and functionality in the format.

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Electric Terrain

"The power of Electric-type attacks made by grounded Pokémon is multiplied by 1.5 and grounded Pokémon cannot fall asleep."

Tapu Koko's Terrain provides a welcome boost to its Electric attacks, allowing it to deal a great amount of damage and keep momentum up. It also provides the small bonus of preventing grounded Pokémon from falling asleep, which is a welcome addition that buffers its teammates against the likes of Smeargle and Amoonguss. Kyurem-B also works effectively in Electric Terrain, as it appreciates the power of Fusion Bolt being boosted, and it can even run Electrium Z for a greater amount of power. Nature Power is an interesting move that changes into Thunderbolt under Electric Terrain, which gives Pokémon like Mega Camerupt and Mega Diancie an impressive 135-Base Power answer to their conventional checks. It is worth noting that all of these Pokémon work well with Tapu Koko, as it is able to easily bring them in on forced switches with U-turn or Volt Switch due to Tapu Koko's ability to maintain momentum throughout a match.

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Grassy Terrain

"The power of Grass-type attacks used by grounded Pokémon is multiplied by 1.5, the power of Bulldoze, Earthquake, and Magnitude used against grounded Pokémon is halved, and grounded Pokémon have 1/16 of their maximum HP restored at the end of each turn."

Tapu Bulu's Terrain provides a whole slew of defensive and offensive benefits for its teammates. The HP restoration reduces pressure from entry hazards and adds an extra safety net towards damage rolls. The major defensive benefit is Earthquake having its damage halved, which greatly aids Pokémon like Heatran and Toxapex in their duties, as they take less damage and receive increased longevity overall. The offensive merit of Grass-type attacks having their damage output increased boosts Tapu Bulu's offensive presence, and also gives a great deal of power to Kartana, buffing Leaf Blade to dangerous levels. Tapu Bulu works quite well with these Pokémon, as it appreciates Heatran and Toxapex dealing with its answers such as Celesteela and Scizor as well as their defensive typing covering a wide variety of threats, and with Kartana, it can form an offensive core that attempts to overload the opponent's checks as much as possible.

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Misty Terrain

"The power of Dragon-type attacks used against grounded Pokémon is halved and grounded Pokémon cannot be inflicted with a major status condition nor confusion."

Tapu Fini's Terrain provides status immunity, which Pokémon of varying roles appreciate. It also provides a small bonus of reducing the Base Power of Dragon-type attacks against grounded Pokémon, which can be useful in certain scenarios such as facing Dragonium Z Zygarde. Tangrowth has no passive recovery, and having Misty Terrain active gives it some breathing room, as it cannot afford to be statused. Mega Mawile appreciates being unable to be paralyzed or burned so it can freely set up against the likes of Mew and Toxapex with relative ease. Volcarona heavily dislikes status, and Misty Terrain gives it some insurance and an easier time setting up with Quiver Dance. These Pokémon are also prone to being chipped by entry hazards, which Tapu Fini can easily remove with Defog. They have decent defensive synergy as well with Tapu Fini. However, it is relevant to note that Tapu Fini isn't as common anymore in OU, as the metagame is quite rough to it at the moment. Its lack of reliable recovery and weakness to common threats hinders its overall effectiveness.

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Psychic Terrain

"The power of Psychic-type attacks made by grounded Pokémon is multiplied by 1.5 and grounded Pokémon cannot be hit by moves with priority greater than 0."

Tapu Lele's Terrain provides a great boost to Psychic-type attacks, making itself difficult to switch into or effectively pivot in against. It also provides incredible utility with its ability to protect itself and its teammates from priority attacks. Mega Alakazam gets a considerable power boost and becomes a force to be reckoned with under Psychic Terrain, shielding its low defenses from the likes of Bisharp's Sucker Punch, Zygarde's Extreme Speed, and Greninja's Water Shuriken while also firing off boosted Psychic-type attacks. Mega Medicham temporarily loses the ability to make use of Fake Out and Bullet Punch but gains incredible power with Zen Headbutt, shredding through most defensive switch-ins. While rather uncommon, Mega Gallade also appreciates Psychic Terrain as it boosts its Zen Headbutt in the same vein as Medicham, and it can make use of Swords Dance. Tapu Lele performs excellently with these Pokémon as partners, making it difficult for the opponent to handle their offensive onslaught.

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Hawlucha

• Hawlucha @ Electric Seed / Grassy Seed / Psychic Seed / Misty Seed
• Ability: Unburden
• EVs: 152 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD / 96 Spe
• Adamant Nature
• - Acrobatics
• - Swords Dance
• - High Jump Kick
• - Roost

This Pokémon deserves a special mention, as it is quite possibly the biggest beneficiary from the Terrains. Hawlucha has finally risen to stardom in USM OU thanks to the introduction of the Terrain Seeds and metagame changes. The Seeds give a boost to one of its defenses by 1 stage, which, when combined with Roost, allows it to set up on the likes of defensive Landorus-T unopposed with Swords Dance and stomach priority hits more easily, making it harder to revenge kill. It can also run more Speed if necessary, as 128 EVs can outpace Sand Rush Excadrill as well as other opposing Hawlucha. However, despite these advantages, it still is relatively frail and its damage output is quite lacking while unboosted. It also finds itself walled by the likes of Zapdos and is entirely one-dimensional. Stone Edge and Drain Punch can be used over Roost, but the reliable recovery is often preferred. All in all, Hawlucha is a premier offensive threat and is definitely something to prepare for.

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Get out there!

In conclusion, these abilities have a significant impact on the metagame and should always be considered while teambuilding and playing OU. These are just a few examples of the applications of said abilities. Feel free to give these strategies a shot in the tier!

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