What is a reliable check to Thundurus in OU?

Whenever I build teams and I go up against Thundurus, I always have a very tough time beating it, having to resort to Toxic stalling it out by sacrificing the rest of my team. I need a reliable check to Thundurus, and if it can check other prominent Pokemon in OU as well, that would be great. Thanks!

Pleaselog inorregisterto add a comment.

So to counter or check Thundurus we need a Pokemon that:- Resist Electric, Flying, Grass, Fighting and Ice attack (to avoid its STABs and main coverage).- It must also be able to deal with both physical and Special moves (as Thundurus can run both)- Isn’t reliant on status moves (to avoid Prankster Taunt).- Immune to Electric moves (to avoid Prankster Thunder Wave).

These are Thundusrus main selling points, and I thus present the following the Pokemon as checks/counters these particular points:

(not that nothing counter all sets Thundurus can run, these are merely the best in a poor situation)

Mamoswine @ Focus Sash/Choice Band/Leftovers/Assault VestAbility: Thick FatEVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpDAdamant Nature- Stone Edge/ Icicle Spear- Ice Shard- Earthquake- Knock Off

First of we have Mamoswine. It’s raw bulk and great attack make it a clear threat to Thundurus, but it can be killed back. Stone Edge/ Icicle Spear can kill Thundy, but its Focus Blast/Grass Knot can kill it back. Overall though Mamoswine will force it out or scare it away.

Conkeldurr @ Assault VestAbility: GutsEVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpDAdamant Nature- Knock Off- Drain Punch- Mach Punch- Ice PunchIf its a special Thundurus, Conk will kill it, no question. If it is physical one with no item using Acrobatics it is Conkeldurr will die. Overall though, that is relatively rare set so this thing should do its job often enough.

Thundurus-Therian (M) @ Choice ScarfAbility: Volt AbsorbEVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 SpeTimid Nature- Volt Switch- Grass Knot- Hidden Power [Ice]- Sludge BombFight Fire with Fire right? Thundy-Ts great SpAtk, Ability and Typing means it can easily check its Incarnate counterpart. It is however vulnerable to being worn down by Hidden Power Ice.

Ampharos-Mega @ AmpharositeAbility: Mold BreakerEVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpDModest Nature- Volt Switch- Hidden Power [Ice]- Dragon Pulse- ThunderboltLastly we have Mega Ampharos. Its bulk and typing allow it to check Thundy quite well, but only hit back decently well as well. Its not great but its a decent check.

These four Pokemon are some viable checks to Thundurus, and are able to hold their own in almost any team.

Thundurus can indeed be a very troublesome Pokemon to deal with once it gets its time to wreck havoc, however there are enough Pokemon in OU that can reliable check it while retaining their viability in this tier.

Hippowdon is a great check for Thundurus-I on Sand teams, most notably the mixed wall and specially defensive variants, as they avoid the 2HKO from HP Ice and take like 0 damage from all of its other attacks. With great bulk and access to recovery and Stealth Rock, Hippowdon will commonly find itself acting as a very useful asset on sand teams.Besides checking Thundurus, Hippowdon is a great check to the likes of Grass Knot-less Mega Metagross, Mega Lopunny, Mega Gallade, Tyranitar(Mega), Excadrill etc.

AV Conkeldurr is a decent check to Thundurus-I, but cannot switch into it as often as Hippowdon can due that thing’s great offensive prowess. I believe we all know that AV Conkeldurr is perhaps most known for its great ability to check Rotom-W and is generally a great status absorber as well as a good check to Bisharp and the pink blobs. Furthermore, it has the ability to strike Thundurus-I extremely hard with Ice Punch

Like, do you even bop. Raikou is arguably one of the best offensive checks to Thundurus-I, while taking very little damage from its Thunderbolts, it strikes it down with its own. It also does a fantastic job at swallowing up them Thunder Waves and other then that, is a questionable check to Talonflame and overall great asset on fast offensive teams

Thundurus hates to go up against Amoonguss, mainly due to the simple fact that its attacks do very limited damage to it and it risks getting spored and crippled by Amoonguss in return. After it has been spored, Amoonguss can then commence with depleting Thundurus' health with its attacks, or have a teammate deal with the crippled threat. Other then that, Azumarill, Keldeo, Clefable etc… do not appreciate facing Amoonguss either, due to its ability to undo their boosts with Clear Smog

Celebi acts in a very similar way to Amoonguss, just that it doesn’t have access to spore, can set up on it or can simply fire off stronger attacks at once

Despite it not being able to switch in on Thundurus' HP Ices, Scarfed Landorus-T can easily revenge kill it or with great prediction switch into its electric type attacks or Thunder Waves and proceed to kill it off with Stone Edge.Landorus-T is overall a great Pokemon and can usually do well on pretty much any playstyle.

All Weavile needs is for Stealth Rock to be up and it will be able to KO Thundurus-I with Ice Shard while not having to fear being Thunder Waved as well

Generally, having stealth rock up usually makes life easier when dealing with Thundurus as it will gradually wear it down