Tornadus-Therian Duo/Trio Guide
Tornadus-Therian is underwhelming. Base 238 Attack isn't terrible, but a lackluster Flying-type moveset in Air Slash/Hurricane means that Tornadus-T performs worse than Moltres, Honchkrow, Rayquaza, and even Unfezant (the Pidgey of Gen 5), while requiring Rare Candies. Bite/Dark Pulse isn't a bad Dark-type moveset, but Tornadus-T lacks STAB, meaning it performs worse than Houndoom and Absol, let alone the stronger Dark-types like Weavile and Hydreigon.
Level 40 Rampardos is the only Pokemon that can duo Tornadus. If you do not have 6 maxed out Rampardos, this guide will also cover the trio, which is much easier.
- Air Slash is boosted by STAB and has much higher Base Power than Bite. Despite being resisted by Rock- and Electric-types, Air Slash will still hit harder than Bite.
- Grass Knot hits Rock-types for super effective damage and can be used frequently, making it the most difficult Charge Move to face.
- Grass Knot Tornadus cannot be duoed in neutral Weather without Dodging. With Dodging, you would need extremely good RNG to duo Grass Knot.
- Hyper Beam hits hard, but it comes out infrequently and predictably due to being a 1-Bar move. It is also resisted by Rock- and Steel-types, making it much easier to face than Grass Knot.
- Hurricane hits hard and is boosted by STAB; however, Flying is resisted by both Rock- and Electric-types, making Hurricane fairly easy to go against.
- Dark Pulse comes out frequently, has good neutral coverage, and hits decently hard. In terms of overall difficulty, Dark Pulse is around the same level as Hurricane.
- Partly Cloudy boosts the power of your Rock-type attacks, making the duo much easier if you're using Rock-types. Under Partly Cloudy, Level 40 Rampardos and Smack Down Tyranitar are capable of duoing all movesets, even Grass Knot.
- Level 40 Rhyperior is capable of duoing all movesets except Grass Knot; Level 40 Aerodactyl is capable of duoing against Hurricane, but not any other moveset.
- Rain boosts the power of your Electric-type attacks. Under Rain, Level 30+ Raikou, Level 35+ Electivire, Magnezone, Zapdos, and Luxray are all capable of duoing all movesets.
- Snow boosts the power of your Ice-type attacks. With Snow, Level 40 Weavile and Glaceon become capable of duoing all movesets.
- Level 35+ Mamoswine is capable of duoing all movesets except Grass Knot.
Tornadus Duo - Viable Counters
Minimum viable levels assume Best Friends, no Weather, no Dodging.
Italics indicate a Legacy move.
Level 40 Rampardos is the only viable option for duoing Tornadus without Weather.
Dodging Charge Moves will make the duo much easier, as you can cut down the total death count to 10-11, or 5-5.5 deaths per trainer, allowing you to avoid relobbying entirely.
Tornadus Trio - Viable Counters
Minimum viable levels assume Best Friends, no Weather, no Dodging.
Italics indicate a Legacy move.
The Tornadus trio is much, much easier than the duo. Almost any Ice-, Electric-, or Rock-type found on this list, powered up to Level 25-35, will be able to trio.
Electric-types perform very well against Hurricane compared to other movesets, thanks to their resistance to Flying.
Yes, Aggron can trio Tornadus-T. No, this does not mean Aggron is a good attacker. The fact that Aggron can trio Tornadus-T is a testament to how easy the Tornadus trio is, rather than how good Aggron is.
With no Dodging, Rampardos is non-viable for the trio against Grass Knot under Level 35, due to how many times it will faint at low levels.
If you can dodge all Grass Knots, however, Rampardos is trio-viable at Level 20.