This is a strategy guide for using Tornadus in competitive play for the games Pokemon Sword and Shield. Read on for tips on the best Nature, EV spreads, Movesets, and Held Items to use with Tornadus, as well as its strengths and weak points.
| Tornadus - Related Guides | |
|---|---|
| Evolution and Learnset |  Build for Ranked Battle |
List of Contents
- Basic Information for Tornadus
- Singles Movesets for Tornadus (Incarnate Forme)
- Doubles Movesets for Tornadus (Incarnate Forme)
- Singles Movesets for Tornadus (Therian Forme)
- How to Use Tornadus Effectively
- How to Build a Team with Tornadus
- Counters for Tornadus
- Related Guides
Basic Information for Tornadus
Types and Abilities (Incarnate Forme)
| Pokemon | Type 1 | Type 2 |
|---|---|---|
Tornadus | ||
| Abilities | ||
| Prankster | Gives priority to a status move. | |
| Defiant(Hidden) | When its stats are lowered its Attack increases. | |
Types and Abilities (Therian Forme)
| Pokemon | Type 1 | Type 2 |
|---|---|---|
Tornadus (Therian Forme) | ||
| Abilities | ||
| Regenerator | Restores a little HP when withdrawn from battle. | |
What is Type Effectiveness?
Base Stats
Incarnate Forme
| HP | Attack | Defense | Sp. Atk | Sp. Def | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 79 | 115 | 70 | 125 | 80 | 111 |
Therian Forme
| HP | Attack | Defense | Sp. Atk | Sp. Def | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 79 | 100 | 80 | 110 | 90 | 121 |
Best Nature for Tornadus
| Best Natures | ||
|---|---|---|
| Timid (+Spd, -Atk) | Jolly (+Spd, -Sp.Atk) | Naive (+Spd, -Sp.Def) |
Singles Movesets for Tornadus (Incarnate Forme)
Nasty Plot Rain Sweeper Moveset & Best Build
| Nature | Timid (+Spd, -Atk) |
|---|---|
| EV Spread | Def 4 / Sp.Atk 252 / Spd 252 |
| Final Stat Values | HP 154 / Def 91 / Sp.Atk 177/ Sp.Def 100 / Spd 179 |
| Ability | Prankster |
| Held Item | Life Orb |
| Moveset | ・Nasty Plot ・Hurricane ・Weather Ball ・Focus Blast |
Tornadus' Incarnate Forme is a formidable sweeper in Rain. Though not as outright threatening as its counterpart, Thundurus, it's ability to fire 100% accuracy Hurricanes in Rain makes it a terror to slower teams.
About Tornadus Incarnate Forme's Moves
Nasty Plot boosts Tornadus' Special Attack by 2 stages, and will always go first thanks to its Ability. Hurricane is its main STAB move and gets perfect accuracy in Rain and also boasts a 30% chance to inflict confusion.
It's remaining moves are for coverage. Weather Ball becomes a base 100 Water-type move in rain, while Focus Blast lets it hit Steel-types that take little damage from its Flying-type STAB.
About Tornadus Incarante Forme's EV Spread
We're using a basic special attacking EV spread with full investment in Special Attack and Speed, with the remaining 4 EVs placed in Defense to round off its bulk.
About Tornadus Incarnate Forme's Ability
Prankster is the preferred ability for this Tornadus as it gives Nasty Plot a +1 priority boost.
About Tornadus Incarnate Forme's Held Item
Life Orb boosts the power of Tornadus' moves by 30% at the cost of some residual damage.
Other Viable Moves
| Grass Knot | An alternative to Focus Blast that lets it hit bulky and heavier Ground-types. |
|---|---|
| Heat Wave | Another alternative to Focus Blast to hit Steel-types, but is better used on a non-rain team. |
| Air Slash | A weaker alternative to Hurricane that has better accuracy outside of rain. |
Doubles Movesets for Tornadus (Incarnate Forme)
Defiant Doubles Physical Attacker Moveset & Best Build
| Nature | Jolly (+Spd, -Sp.Atk) |
|---|---|
| EV Spread | Atk 252 / Def 4 / Spd 252 |
| Final Stat Values | HP 154 / Atk 167 / Def 91 / Sp.Def 100 / Spd 179 |
| Ability | Defiant |
| Held Item | Weakness Policy |
| Moveset | ・Acrobatics ・Lash Out ・Brick Break ・Tailwind |
A physical attacking Torndaus is an effective lead in Doubles where it can surprise its usual counters and take advantage of the common Intimidate users that are very common in the battle format.
About Tornadus Incarnate Forme's Moves
Acrobatics is its strongest STAB move and, with the right partner that can trigger its Weakness Policy, becomes a base 110 move once it consumes the item.
Lash Out is a good neutral move that becomes a 150 Base Power Dark move if its stats get lowered. Brick Break is another coverage move that lets Tornadus hit Rock and Steel-types. It's last move is Tailwind which, while not boosted by Prankster, lets Tornadus support its team when it's not attacking.
About Tornadus Incarnate Forme's EV Spread
We're using a basic physical atacking EV spread with full investment in Attack and Speed, with the remaining 4 EVs placed in Defense to round off its bulk.
About Tornadus Incarnate Forme's Ability
Defiant boosts Tornadus' Attack by 2 Stages when its stats are lowered. When facing an Intimidate user, it gets a +1 Attack.
About Tornadus Incarnate Forme's Held Item
Weakness Policy boosts Tornadus' Attack and Sp.Attack by 2 stages. Once consumed, Tornadus' Acrobatics becomes a Base 110 Move.
Other Viable Moves
| Superpower | A stronger alternative to Brick Break but lowers Tornadus' Attack and Defense and doesn't activate Defiant. |
|---|
Tailwind Setter Moveset & Best Build
| Nature | Timid (+Spd, -Atk) |
|---|---|
| EV Spread | Sp. Atk 252 / Sp. Def 4 / Spe 252 |
| Final Stat Values | HP 154 / Def 90 / Sp. Atk 177 / Sp.Def 101 / Spd 179 |
| Ability | Prankster |
| Held Item | Focus Sash |
| Moveset | ・Tailwind ・Protect ・Hurricane ・Taunt |
This build is primarily used when Tornadus is partnered with Kyogre, taking advantage of its Drizzle Ability while supporting it with Tailwind.
About Tornadus's Moves
With Tornadus as your lead, Tailwind allows your team to be faster by doubling their Speed once it is up. This synergizes well on teams with sweepers to outspeed opposing Pokemon.
Taunt allows Tornadus to stop status condition setters from killing your team's momentum while Tailwind is up, avoiding instances where your main attacker will be targeted by moves like Spore or Trick Room being setup.
Hurricane allows Tornadus to deal damage, but suffers from having low accuracy unless you are running Tornadus in a Rain team.
About Tornadus' Ability
Prankster gives Tornadus' status moves +1 priority, which enables it to use Tailwind immediately.
About Tornadus' Held Item
Focus Sash guarantees Tornadus will be able to use and setup Tailwind without any worries of getting knocked out before it can use it.
Other Viable Moves
| Icy Wind | Acts as Speed control, and useful against enemy Tailwind setters. |
|---|---|
| Rain Dance | Allows Tornadus to be an alternative Rain setter if Kyogre and the like cannot be used. |
| Air Slash | Flying-type move that has a chance to flinch your opponent. |
Singles Movesets for Tornadus (Therian Forme)
Mixed Offensive Pivot Moveset & Best Build
| Nature | Naive (+Spd, -Sp.Def) |
|---|---|
| EV Spread | Atk 4 / Sp.Atk 252 / Spd 252 |
| Final Stat Values | HP 154 / Atk 121 / Def 100 / Sp.Atk 162 / Spd 190 |
| Ability | Regenerator |
| Held Item | Life Orb |
| Moveset | ・Hurricane ・Superpower ・Grass Knot ・U-Turn |
Tornadus Therian's mixed attacking set from Generation V is still effective, especially in Rain Teams where it can fire 100% accuracy Hurricanes.
About Tornadus Therian Forme's Moves
Hurricane is Tornadus' strongest STAB move and has 100% accuracy in Rain. Superpower is its main coverage move, letting Tornadus hit Rock and Steel-type Pokemon that are expecting a pure special attacking Tornadus.
Grass Knot is another coverage move that hits Bulky Ground and Water-types. U-Turn, on the other hand, lets Tornadus quickly pivot away from the battle.
About Tornadus Therian Forme's EV Spread
We're using a basic mixed attacking set with full investment in Special Attack and Speed. The remaining 4 EVs are placed in Attack to boost the power of Superpower.
About Tornadus Therian Forme's Ability
Regenerator is Tornadus Therian Forme's only ability and restores its health by 1/3 of its maximum health when it switches out.
About Tornadus Therian Forme's Held Item
Life Orb boosts the power of Tornadus Therian's attacks by 30% at the cost of some residual damage. This recoild damage, however, is easily patched up by its Regenerator Ability.
Other Viable Moves
| Weather Ball | A good alternative to Grass Knot that becomes a 100 Base Power Water-type move in Rain. |
|---|
How to Use Tornadus Effectively
A Powerful Rain Sweeper
Special and Mixed Attacking variants of Tornadus, whether it's in its Incarnate Forme or Therian Forme, are formidable sweepers in Rain where it can fire powerful STAB Hurricanes. With high speed and great attacking stats, it's the best counter to Bulky Grass-types that wall Rain Teams.
How to Build a Team with Tornadus
Although it faces some competition from its Electric counterpart Thundurus, both formes of Tornadus are great additions to Hyper Offense teams in both the singles and doubles format thanks to its great neutral STAB and high speed.
Hyper Offense Rain Sweeper
The mixed attacking Tornadus Therian Forme is arguably the best choice for offensive pivot in offense-oriented rain teams. With the right team support, it can decimate a Rain Team's usual counters and checks.
| Politoed | Azumarill | Tornadus (Therian Forme) | Toxapex | Ferrothorn | Kingdra |
| Lead Weather Setter | Choice Band Sweeper | Offensive Pivot | Physical Wall | Special Wall | Choice Specs Sweeper |
Tornadus Therian functions as an offensive pivot between the two choice-locked sweepers in this team, Azumarill and Kingdra. Tornadus' Flying STAB also gives it great neutral coverage and lets it hit Bulky Grass-types that will have no trouble walling Rain Teams.
Counters for Tornadus
| Weakness |
|---|
Check it with an Electric-type
Both Incarnate and Therian Formes of Tornadus struggle against Electric-types as it lacks a reliable way to hit them. The most it can do is force it to switch with Hurricane, but it's often forced to switch out itself or risk getting knocked out.
Best Pokemon to Use
| Pokemon | Description |
|---|---|
| Thundurus | Ranking: ★★★★★・Resists Tornadus' STAB, takes little damage from its coverage moves, and easily knocks it out with Thunderbolt ・Thundurus' Incarnate Forme can cripple Tornadus with Prankster-boosted Thunder Wave |
| Regieleki | Ranking: ★★★★★・Resists Tornadus' STAB and takes little damage from its coverage moves ・Naturally outspeeds Tornadus' Therian Forme, even with a Modest Nature, and easily KOs it with Thunder Cage Moveset & Best Build for 'Counter' |
Related Guides
All Competitive Builds for Ranked Battle
Competitive Guides for Pokemon Sword and Shield
| Competitive Pokemon Battle Guides | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tier List | Best Builds | Series 10 List of Contenders | |||
| Doubles Tier List | Team Building | Rental Teams | |||
Best Builds for The Crown Tundra Pokemon
| Movesets & Best Builds for The Crown Tundra Pokemon | ||
|---|---|---|
| Galarian Articuno | Galarian Zapdos | Galarian Moltres |
| Raikou | Entei | Suicune |
| Articuno | Zapdos | Moltres |
 Tornadus | Thundurus | Landorus |
| Tapu Koko | Tapu Lele | Tapu Bulu |
| Tapu Fini | Regieleki | Regidrago |
| Latios | Latias | Heatran |
| Cresselia | Glastrier | Spectrier |
| Nidoking | Swampert | Dragonite |
| Salamence | Garchomp | Metagross |
| Galarian Slowking | Nihilego | Naganadel |
| Pheromosa | Buzzwole | Celesteela |
| Kartana | Stakataka | Blaziken |
| Kyogre | Yveltal | Xerneas |
| Necrozma (Dusk Mane) | Calyrex (Shadow Rider) | Mewtwo |
| Calyrex (Ice Rider) | Dialga | Lugia |
| Black Kyurem | Zekrom | Ho-Oh |
| Rayquaza | Zygarde | Reshiram |
| White Kyurem | Groudon | Regirock |
| Palkia | Regigigas | Registeel |
| Regice | Giratina | Solgaleo |
| Lunala | Kyurem | Necrozma |
| Uxie | Mesprit | Azelf |
| Calyrex | ||
