Thundurus Movesets and Best Builds

This is a guide to movesets and best builds for using Thundurus in competitive play for the games Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (SV). Read on for tips on the best Nature, EV spreads, Movesets, Tera Type, and Held Items to use with Thundurus, as well as its strengths and weaknesses.

Thundurus (Incarnate Forme) - Related Guides
Evolution and Learnset	Moveset for Ranked Battle	Tera Raid Build

Thundurus Base Stats, Type, Ability and Weakness

Incarnate Forme

Therian Forme

Nat. Dex #642		Type
Thundurus (Incarnate Forme)
		Abilities
		Prankster Defiant (Hidden)
Weak to:
	(2x)
Damaged Normally By:	(1x)
Resists:	(0.5x)
Immune to:	(0x)

Nat. Dex #642.1		Type
Thundurus (Therian Forme)
		Abilities
		Volt Absorb
Weak to:
	(2x)
Damaged Normally By:	(1x)
Resists:	(0.5x)
Immune to:	(0x)

Base Stats

Thundurus Base Stats

Thundurus Level 50 Stats

Best Nature for Thundurus

What are Natures?

Singles Movesets for Thundurus (Therian Forme)

Choice Scarf Moveset & Best Build

Nature	Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
EV Spread	HP 4 / Sp. Atk 252 / Spe 252
Final Stat Values	HP 155 / Def 90 / Sp. Atk 197 / Sp. Def 100 / Spe 168
Ability	Volt Absorb
Tera Type
Held Item	Choice Scarf
Moveset	・ Thunderbolt ・ Tera Blast ・ Grass Knot ・ Volt Switch

Summary

Strong offensive STAB coverage. Immune to Electric-type attacks. Outspeeds opposing non-Speed boosted Pokemon.

Ability and Held Item

Ability	Held Item
Volt Absorb	Choice Scarf

Volt Absorb is Thundurus Therian's only ability. It makes Thundurus immune to Electric-type moves, and it will be healed for a fourth of its max HP when hit by one.

Choice Scarf is the item used for this build to help Thundurus Therian outspeed opposing Pokemon.

Moves Breakdown

Thunderbolt is Thundurus' best Electric-type STAB attack with no downsides.

Tera Blast gives Thundurus a really strong Flying-type STAB attack once it Terastallizes.

Grass Knot helps Thundurus deal with opposing Rock and Ground-types like Garganacl and Ting-Lu.

Volt Switch lets Thundurus pivot out of bad matchups while also doing a good amount of damage.

Best Tera Type: Flying

Flying Tera Type Matchup
Weak to:
	(2x)
Damaged Normally By:	(1x)
Resists:	(0.5x)
Immune to:	(0x)

Flying is the best Tera Type for this build because it makes Thundurs' Tera Blast an incredibly threatening STAB attack. It also doesn't have to worry about opposing Electric-type moves because of its ability Volt Absorb.

Best Electric Type Pokemon for Ranked Battle

EV Spread and Nature

A full 252 EVs are put in Thundurus Sp. Atk and Speed to make it hit as hard and fast as possible. The extra 4 EVs are placed into its HP to help round out its bulk.

A Timid nature is preferred to help Thundurus outspeed as many Pokemon as possible.

Other Viable Moves

Key Damage Calculations

Damage Dealt by Thundurus (Therian Forme)
100 HP｜60 Sp. Def No Defensive EV Investment Item: Punching Glove	Thunderbolt 252-296 (144 - 169.1%) Guaranteed OHKO
80 HP｜96 Sp. Def Defensive EV Investment: 4 Sp. Def Item: Hearthflame Mask	Tera Blast 204-244 (131.6 - 157.4%) Guaranteed OHKO
100 HP｜90 Sp. Def Defensive EV Investment: 252 HP | 116 Sp. Def Item: Leftovers	Grass Knot 144-170 (69.5 - 82.1%) Guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Game8's Competitive Damage Calculator

Doubles Movesets for Thundurus (Incarnate Forme)

Bulky Prankster Disruption Moveset & Best Build

Nature	Bold (+Def, -Atk)
EV Spread	252 HP / 4 Sp. Def / 252 Spe
Final Stat Values	186 HP / 134 Def / 145 Sp. Atk / 101 Sp. Def / 131 Spe
Ability	Prankster
Tera Type
Held Item	Sitrus Berry
Moveset	・ Thunderbolt ・ Thunder Wave ・ Taunt ・ Eerie Impulse

Summary

Effective Prankster Support Pokemon. Can be disruptive with Thunder Wave and Eerie Impusle. Can Terastallize for more resistances.

Ability and Held Item

Ability	Held Item
Prankster	Sitrus Berry

Prankster is an incredible Ability for Support Pokemon as it lets them use non-damaging Moves with increased Priority. Thundurus can be supportive to its team and disruptive to opponents thanks to Prankster always allowing it to move ahead of every other Pokemon.

Thundurus has Sitrus Berry as its chosen Held Item, as the extra health allows Thundurus to be in the match for longer.

Moves Breakdown

Thunderbolt is Thundurus' primary STAB move, which is a consistent way of dealing good damage.

Thunder Wave is Thundurus' means of Speed control. While Tornadus may opt to set up Tailwind, Thundurus wants to paralyze every Pokemon on the opposing side of the field, making it very disruptive.

Taunt gives Thundurus a way to shut down set up Pokemon, such as Pokemon with Trick Room, or Swords Dance. It is also good against opposing Thundurus, especially if they do not run Mental Herb themselves. Additionally, Amoonguss will opt to run Rocky Helmet in Regulation D, instead of Mental Herb, to help combat Urshifu Rapid-Strike Style. Taunting these Amoonguss can help take them out of the match.

Eerie Impulse allows Thundurus to stop Special Attackers from being effective by reducing their Special Attack stats by two stages.

Best Tera Type: Steel

Steel Tera Type Matchup
Weak to:
	(2x)
Damaged Normally By:	(1x)
Resists:	(0.5x)
Immune to:	(0x)

Steel is the best Tera Type for this build as it can give Thundurus plenty of resistances to go with its bulk.

Best Steel Type Pokemon for Ranked Battle

EV Spread and Nature

This build focuses on bulk and speed, so a full 252 EVs are put into HP and Speed. The remaining 4 EVs are put into Special Defense to slightly increase Thundurus' special bulk.

Other Viable Moves

Key Damage Calculations

Damage Dealt by Thundurus
100 HP｜60 Sp. Def Defensive EV Investment: 4 HP Item: Mystic Water	Thunderbolt 186 ~ 218 (105.6 ~ 123.8%) Guaranteed OHKO
79 HP｜80 Sp. Def Defensive EV Investment: 4 HP Item: Covert Cloak	Thunderbolt 150 ~ 176 (96.7 ~ 113.5%) 75% Chance to OHKO
Damage Dealt to Thundurus (Incarnate Forme)
124 Sp. Atk Offensive EV Investment: 252 Sp. Atk Item: Booster Energy	Freeze-Dry 138 ~ 164 (74.1 ~ 88.1%) Guaranteed 2-Hit KO After Sitrus Berry Recovery
145 Atk Offensive EV Investment: 252 Atk Item: Assault Vest	Rock Slide 68 ~ 82 (36.5 ~ 44%) 18.1% Chance to 3-Hit KO After Sitrus Berry Recovery

Game8's Competitive Damage Calculator

How to Use Thundurus Effectively

Use Volt Absorb to Tank Electric Moves

Switch in Thundurus Therian whenever your teammates are threatened by opposing Electric-type attacks to absorb them and heal Thundurus.

Use Thundurus' Disruptive Options

A Prankster Pokemon dedicated to being disruptive is difficult to deal with, and in the case of Thundurus with Tera Steel, this holds true. Opponents will need to dedicate turns toward taking it out, leaving Thundurus' partner to do as it pleases.

How to Build a Team with Thundurus

Thundurus works well in teams where its teammates can benefit from its moves and abilities. Rapid Strike Urshifu, Heatran and Rillaboom are solid partners for Thundurus.

Sample Singles Team

Offensive Lead	Physical Attacker	Physical Attacker
Thundurus (Therian Forme)	Urshifu Rapid-Strike Style	Ogerpon (Hearthflame Mask)

This trio can cover for each other's weaknesses and they can all offensively pivot out bad matchups with moves like Volt Switch and U-Turn.

Also, all three of these Pokemon's STAB typings are very difficult for opposing teams to resist thus making this core a very strong hyper-offense combination.

Sample Doubles Team

Support / Special Attacker	Physical Attacker
Thundurus (Incarnate Forme)	Urshifu Rapid-Strike Style
Special Attacker	Physical Attacker
Heatran	Rillaboom

Rapid-Strike Urshifu is a solid partner for Thundurus, as it can benefit from Thundurus' support options. Thundurus can also reduce the effectiveness of Special Attackers with Eerie Impulse, and improve Rillaboom's matchup against opposing Heatran.

Heatran and Rillaboom both work well with Urshifu, making up a Fire-Water-Grass Core that can switch in for each other and fill in for each other's weaknesses.

Heatran and Rillaboom also suffer from middling speed and can benefit greatly from Thundurus' Thunder Wave support.

Counters for Thundurus

Best Pokemon to Use

Pokemon	Description
Ogerpon (Cornerstone Mask)	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Cannot be OHKO'd because of its ability Sturdy. ・STAB Ivy Cudgel threatens an easy OHKO. ▶️Chien-Pao Best Movesets
Iron Bundle	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Good matchup against Thundurus and its usual teammates. ・Can hit Thundurus with a super-effective Ice-type Attack. ▶️Iron Bundle Best Movesets
Tornadus (Incarnate Forme)	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・While weak to Electric-type Attacks, Tornadus can use Prankster Taunt to shut down Thundurus. ▶️Tornadus Best Movesets

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