Landorus Therian Forme

Overview

Landorus is one of the most unpredictable and versatile Pokemon in the whole metagame. It can function as a defensive pivot to check most physical attackers with Intimidate, an excellent sweeper with access to Swords Dance and Z-moves to obliterate its checks, a dedicated wallbreaker capable of denting the opposition with Sheer Force & Life Orb with its Incarnate form, an excellent pivot with a Choice Scarf. Landorus can pretty much do anything using both of its formes, however, both formes suffer from being weak to the common Water & Ice attacks that plague USUM. Landorus Therian is easier to revenge kill due to its average speed stat while its Incarnate form is more frail due to the lack of Intimidate. Nevertheless, Landorus is a very easy Pokemon to fit in to any competitive Singles team and it usually will fulfill its role successfully.
Positives
A very high base 145 ATK allows Landorus-Therian to hit very hard even with the lack of investment.
While 89/90/80 is average bulk, Intimidate is an incredible ability for Landorus as it allows it to effectively pivot into many physical threats taking advantage of its ability.
Landorus-Therian's dual typing is a blessing as it grants two immunities to Electric & Ground while resisting Bug, Fighting and Poison.
Landorus-Therian has a wide support & offensive movepool which allows it to fulfill may roles depending on the moves it chooses. This makes Landorus quite versatile.

Negatives
While a base 91 Speed is not necessarily bad, it is pretty average and it makes Landorus-Therian vulnerable to faster threats such as Volcarona, Ash Greninja, Keldeo and Kyurem-Black.
A x4 weakness to Ice makes Landorus-Therian easy to dent, esspecially for the threats that it is supposed to check such as Mega Medicham, Tapu Koko and Mega Lopunny, which commonly carry Ice-type coverage.
A lack of recovery makes Landorus-Therian very easy to wear down where defensive sets have to rely on Leftovers or pinch berries as its only way for recovery.

Movesets

The Jaguar

- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge / Explosion
- Defog / Hidden Power Ice / Knock Off
Item Attached: Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs and Nature:
80 HP / 148 Atk / 84 Def / 196 Spe
Jolly / Naive Nature

Landorus-Therian's excellent stat distribution coupled with Intimidate and its good typing makes it an excellent pivot with a Choice Scarf capable of both checking threats and revenge killing. U-turn allows Landorus-T to keep momentum in favor of its team allowing for another teammate to switch in safely and scouting the opponent's team when it forces a switch. Earthquake is Landorus-T's main STAB and it hits quite hard. Stone Edge allows Landorus-Therian to destroy Charizard-Y and unboosted Volcarona while nailing Zapdos. Another alternative is Explosion which can be used to dent Tapu Bulu badly; it additionally gives teammates a free switch-in and prevents a slower Pokemon's attempts at clearing entry hazards on the turn that it is used. Defog allows Landorus-T to clear hazards from both sides of the field while Hidden Power Ice can be used to hit Garchomp, opposing Landorus-T and Gliscor for super-effective damage. Knock Off is also an option to remove the foe's items crippling Pokemon such as Tangrowth and Celesteela.

196 Speed EVs allows Landorus-Therian to be faster than a Timid +252 Mega Alakazam with a Jolly or Naive nature. 80 HP and 84 Def EVs prevents Kartana's Leaf Blade from achieving a 2HKO while the rest is dumped in ATK for extra power. A Naive nature should only be used if Landorus-Therian is using Hidden Power Ice.

The Beast

- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Fly / Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
Item Attached: Flynium Z / Rockium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs and Nature:
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly / Adamant Nature

Stealth Rock allows Landorus-Therian to pressure the opponent with hazards on its side of the field. Earthquake is Landorus-T's main STAB and it hits incredibly hard with full investment on its Attack. Swords Dance allows Landorus-T to increase its Attack to jaw dropping levels. Finally, the Z-Move it uses depends on what Landorus-Therian wants to target. With a Flynium Z, Fly becomes Supersonic Strike which allows Landorus-Therian to destroy Tapu Bulu and Tangrowth while being a good neutral nuke for anything resistant or immune to Earthquake; however once its Z-Move is used, Landorus will be burdened with Fly's charge turn. On the other hand, Rockium Z allows Landorus-Therian to destroy Skarmory & Celesteela while still hitting Grass types for good damage. Stone Edge is also a good move that can still be used even after its Z-Crystal has been consumed.

Max Attack and Speed are needed in order to maximize Landorus-Therian's sweeping potential and outrun neutral Speed Kyurem-Black & Gyarados with a Jolly nature. Adamant can be used for more power, but it comes at the cost of making Landorus-T slower. Intimidate is Landorus-Therian's only ability and it gives it a little bit of physical bulk which is helpful considering this set's more offensive approach.

Skyline

- U-turn / Protect
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock / Defog
- Hidden Power Ice
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 112 Def / 144 Spe
Impish Nature

U-turn takes advantage of Landorus-T's low Speed stat to grab momentum and help frail teammates switch in without taking damage. Earthquake is the main STAB capable of hitting hard despite the lack of investment. Stealth Rock is such an invaluable move on this set as due to Landorus-T's bulk, it can set up the hazard reliably and it allows Landorus-T to take advantage of the switches it forces. Finally, Hidden Power Ice is used to reliably check Garchomp, Gliscor and opposing Landorus-Therian. Protect is also a nice option to scout for Z-moves, Choiced users and gain more chip recovery from Leftovers.

144 Spe EVs allows Landorus-Therian to outspeed Modest Heatran & Timid Magearna. Max HP and the rest of its EVs into Def, allows Landorus-Therian to maximize its defensive utility. Leftovers is a crucial item for Landorus-Therian as it provides with its only form of recovery. Rocky Helmet can be used to chip down pivots such as Mega Scizor and opposing Landorus-T, however, this makes Landorus-T much more easy to whittle through the match.

Other Options

Landorus-Therian can use a Focus Sash & Explosion to perform like a Suicide lead and set up rocks reliably from the start of the match.
Smack Down is an option to turn the tables on Celesteela and Skarmory and smack them with a STAB Earthquake. Similarly Gravity can provide the same niche for a few turns. However, both moves are hard to justify a moveslot for.
Rock Tomb deserves a mention for being able to reduce the opponent's Speed one stage, making Pokemon like Tornadus-Therian and Latios more vulnerable. It is also the optimal Rock-type move of choice in Battle Spot Singles, always consider it before using Stone Edge or Rock Slide.
Landorus-Therian can also use Rock Polish & Swords Dance to be able to pressure both offensive & defensive teams if needed.
Extrasensory allows Landorus to hit Mega Venusaur for super-effective damage and it is boosted by Sheer Force. Other than that, it has poor coverage alongside its other moves.

VGC & Double Battle Options

Well we're talking about Landorus in Double Battles, does this really need explanation? The regular forme isn't particularly impressive, but Landorus-Therian is easily one of the most infamous Pokemon to ever touch VGC and Double Battles as a whole. This is a Pokemon with Intimidate, a powerful STAB Earthquake, access to Rock Slide and U-turn, immunity to Ground- and Electric-type attacks, Landorus-Therian has so much going for it that you can almost never go wrong with it. Unfortunately it no longer sits on the throne of most common Doubles Pokemon, Incineroar took that title now. However, Incineroar's superior Fake Out utility does not change the fact that Landorus-Therian is still one of the most versatile Pokemon in the game, Doubles or not. You've seen this all before though, whether you love it or hate it, Landorus-Therian is almost always going to be relevant. At least until you throw Kyogre and friends into the VGC 2019 mix, then maybe you don't need Landorus all that much. Aside from that though, Landorus-Therian is always a Pokemon you should be considering in Doubles, it really is that good.

Battle Instinct

- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
- Superpower / Knock Off
Item Attached: Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs and Nature:
252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature

Choice Scarf Landorus-Therian, you've probably seen this set for as long as you've cared about Double Battles. Earthquake is a great STAB move on a Pokemon with such great Attack, even if locking into it can be risky the raw power and spread damage gives it a lot of utility for any Landorus-Therian set. Rock Slide is Rock Slide, it deals good damage against Flying-types and scares Charizard in particular, and that infamous flinch chance is sometimes even more useful than you can imagine. Just don't forget your probability class, Rock Slide won't actually flinch all the time so don't rely on it unless you're backed into a corner with no other choice. U-turn is a fantastic positioning tool that you will almost never use for the damage, being able to command that much offensive pressure gives U-turn a lot of momentum since it can give some very safe switching options despite being a fast U-turn user. Superpower is not a great move to lock into, but it is nonetheless very useful for dealing with foes such as Kartana, Ferrothorn, and Snorlax. Knock Off is arguably a more consistent tool against Snorlax since this shuts down its ability to Recycle the berry, though this makes it tougher for Landorus-Therian to deal with the aforementioned threats. It's also not any better of a move to lock into than Superpower.

As per usual, many Doubles players use a specialized stat spread if they have specific benchmarks they care about, but otherwise it's safe to go with the generic maximum Attack and Speed investment. Choice Scarf sets appreciate having as much power and speed as they can get, and an Adamant nature edges out as the extra damage makes Earthquake a more useful cleaning tool. However, Jolly nature is still a useful option to ensure Landorus-Therian can outspeed as many foes as possible. Intimidate is broken and your only ability option, this needs no explanation you know why this is good.

Other Options

- Assault Vest gives Landorus-Therian a great combination of bulk to work with, turning it into a reliable pivot that can take even a Hidden Power Ice. The moves remain largely unchanged from a Choice Scarf set, and much of the Speed investment is shifted into improving bulk. If you're all about the bulk you can give Landorus-Therian near maximum Special Defense investment while you're at it, in case you really hate Hidden Power Ice Tapu Koko. - Groundium Z allows Landorus to snipe a threat at any given time or otherwise bypass Grassy Terrain's damage reduction to Earthquake. If you've seen Groundium Z Garchomp in VGC 2017, this is effectively the same thing except it comes from Landorus-Therian so it's arguably scarier.
- Protect is generally a good move to consider if you're using an item that makes it a viable option, such as the aforementioned Groundium Z, though it is often running Choice Scarf or Assault Vest which can't really utilize it. Definitely not an excuse to remind you that Protect is one of the most important moves in Doubles again.
- Earth Power seems like a bizarre choice but sometimes you really hate Intimidate and Incineroar especially so you might want a STAB move that isn't affected by Intimidate. Remember that Landorus-Therian has a base 105 Special Attack so it isn't exactly weak on the special side.
- In a similar vein to Earth Power, Hidden Power Ice can be used to snipe opposing Landorus-Therian or Mega Salamence. Along with Earth Power, this often requires a specialized spread to utilize optimally and in many cases probably isn't optimal, but it's a very viable option nonetheless.
- Stealth Rock isn't worth it in VGC, but in a 6v6 Doubles setting it can be worth consideration due to the increased average length of these battles and prevalence of the pinch berries, of which Landorus-Therian itself can also make decent use of if you want bulk and longevity without the restrictions of Assault Vest.

Countering Landorus Therian Forme

While Landorus-Therian is harder to take down from the physical side, both Pokemon are easily checked by Water and Ice types. Pokemon like Mamoswine and Weavile deserve a special mention not only for their access to Ice Shard which hits quite hard due to Landorus's x4 weakness. Weavile's higher Speed means that it can easily outspeed non-Scarf sets and obliterate them with Ice Punch. Mamoswine's higher Attack makes Ice Shard hit incredibly hard and it scares defensive sets easily.

Pokemon such as Zapdos, Rotom-Wash and Celesteela can switch into Landorus quite easily due to their immunity to Earthquake and they can cripple it. However, Zapdos can be defeated with Rock Slide from a Sheer Force set. Grass types like Tapu Bulu and Tagrowth wall sets without Flynium Z or Sludge Wave. Water types like Ash Greninja and Manaphy can hit Landorus quite hard with their STAB moves. Gyarados can switch into Landorus as long as it avoids Rock coverage and set up on it. Both forms struggle on taking strong special attacks from the likes of Heatran, Tornadus-T and Latios due to their mediocre special bulk.

Locations in Games

Red/Blue/Yellow:
Not in game

Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Not in game

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Not in game

FireRed/LeafGreen:
Not in game

Colosseum/XD:
Not in game

Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Not in game

HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Not in game

Black/White:
Abundant Shrine

Black 2/White 2:
Transfer from Dream Radar

X/Y:
Trade from Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire

Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Soaring in the Sky

Sun/Moon:
Trade from Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon

Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Ultra Space Wilds

Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!:
Not in game