
Tornadus-t
With the Advent of the gen 5 games, b2/w2 came the Therain forme for the 3 Genies. Thunderus got an increase in SpA up to 145 but it's Spd was reduced all the way to 101. Landorus was much the same only with it's Atk being increased and it's Spd being lowered to 91. Tornadus, at first glance, looks like it may have gotten the short end of the stick. It's Atk and SpA was reduced to 100 and 110 but it's Spd was increased up to 121. What does this mean for our newly transformed bird Genie? Well, let's look at it and see what we can find.
Typing: Flying
Base Stats: HP: 79 / Atk: 100 / Def: 80 / SpA: 110 / SpD: 90 / Spd: 121
Ability:
Regenerator: Regenerator is actually quite a big deal over Prankster. While it loses it non attacking priority, it gains an ability to switch in with much more impunity. That flying typing was always a problem with Stealth Rock but no more with Regenerator which will recover it's HP by 33%. Quite the better ability if I do say so myself.
Move Data: All of what Incarnate Forme has, Therain Forme has. However, with B2/W2 Tornadus got Move tutor Data.
New Move Tutor Data:
Dark Pulse, Foul Play, Heat Wave, Icy Wind, Iron Tail, Knock Off, Role Play, Sleep Talk, Snore, Superpower, Tailwind, Uproar
Notable Move Tutor Moves:
Heat Wave:
That can be a good thing for Tornadus depending on how you look at it. In B/W, it had to rely on Focus Miss as a way to hit steel types Specially. With Heat Wave, it has a more secure method of hitting Steel Types not named Heatran. However, that only works well outside of Rain where Hurricane is suddenly turned into focus miss with stab. Now you can use Air Slash outside of rain but that's a Dramatic decrease in power. In the end though it really depends on what you want. You can use Heat Wave outside of Rain with Air Slash if you really want to. Personally, I'll stick with Rain on this one.
Superpower:
Vs Hammer Arm, I'm really not sure if it's good or not. It has slightly more power right away but from there it reduces your power. Hammer arm is a good major option but it reduces your speed which is Therain Forme's strong suit. This is really a pick your poison moment.
Move Sets:
3 Attacks + Substitute@Life Orb
Nature: Naive/Timid
Evs: 4 Hp, 252 SpA, 252 Spd
Moves:
- Hurricane
- Focus Blast/Superpower
- Hidden Power (Ice)
- Substitute
Info: Consider this set Gengar without Disable but on Steroids. With it's higher speed and 100/110 Atk spread, it can make fine use of a Sub. Behind Rain, Hurricane is increased to 100% which gives it a 120% Atk with perfect acc and a 30% chance to confuse. Behind a sub, that's a very scary thought. Focus miss is still on this set as the primary option. The miss part is mitigated by Sub which will give you a chance to use it again. Superpower is slightly more powerful straight away than Hammer arm and gives you a physical fighting option. Just don't expect to use it to much. Hidden Power is really just there. Enjoy it. Substitute, as stated in this paragraph is a beautiful option.
Why does a bird need glasses?@Choice Specs
Nature: Naive/Timid
Evs: 4 Hp, 252, SpA, 252 Spd
Moves:
-Hurricane
- Focus Blast/Hammer Arm
-Hidden Power (Ice)
- U-turn
Info: That power reduction may be a bad thing to some but to Tornadus, it's just one more excuse to wear specs, especially with that nice Spd increase. Hurricane is as always the go to option. Perfect Acc, 120% power, 110 SpA, and Specs are nothing to snuff at. Focus Miss is still here. It still has 120% power and it's a special attack so that is indeed an option in a Specs set. Hidden Power (Ice) is still there. It's a coverage move so yea. U-turn is still an option. It's good for scouting and with that 121 base Spd and Regenerator, it's not a bad move by any means.
Personal Thoughts:
Therain forme is a pretty interesting Forme change when you think about it competitively. That Spd increase is a great boon for Tornadus and the reduction of it's power isn't as bad as someone could make it out to be. Dont forget that premier OU pokemon like Starmie, Rotom-W, and Jolteon rely heavily on their SpA even though all of their base SpA stats are 100, 105, and 110 respectively. Only time will tell if Therain Forme can join the ranks of those pokemon but I think, in the end, Therain Forme can only be a good thing for Tornadus.
Welp, that's the end of my rambling. Give me your thoughts on Therain Forme. One person's opinion does not an OU pokemon make after all.