With the recent discovery that Generation 2 has been added to the game code, we are officially hyped for what’s coming up! One of our favourite Generation 2 Pokemon is Tyranitar, a Dark / Rock beast with immense power and incredibly strong typing.
Just a heads up before you continue reading. Some of the things here are predictions, as no concrete stats or moves have been datamined. We placed these predictions at the end of the article to avoid confusion. You can take a look at our Generation 2 Max CP chart to see all of the Gen 2 CP predicted calculations.
You may be sceptical of its seemingly weak Rock typing and it’s obvious weakness to Water, but don’t be fooled. Pokemon GO doesn’t work well with Super Effective moves, and with the current Meta, Tyranitar is going to be a God.
Tyranitar as a Gym Attacker
On offense, Tyranitar is going to be a direct counter to most top gym defenders, namely Dragonite, Snorlax, Lapras, Slowbro, and Exeggutor. With his Dark/Rock typing he will resist the majority of their best defensive moves and most likely hit them back with STAB and Super Effectively moves.
- Dragonite already fears Lapras, but now faces double the trouble with Tyranitar in play. Dragonite is weak to Rock Moves, which results in a lot of advantage for Tyranitar, as he gains the STAB bonus on all of it’s Rock moves! All defensive sets not carrying Steel Wing are on the line.
- Lapras is finally getting a good counter, as it’s also weak to Rock moves, resulting in Tyranitar taking place as the best Lapras counter easily. Combine that with the fact that Lapras is NOT super effective against Tyranitar and you got a beast. (Note: This also stands for current Rock Pokemon like Golem and Rhydon, but their poor stats and mixed Ground Typing is holding them down.)
- Snorlax is getting wrecked also, as Tyranitar’s Dark typing allows him to resist both Lick and Zen Headbutt, and it’s Rock typing takes care of all Normal moves. Finally, we are getting a good solid Snorlax counter.
- Exeggutor and Slowbro are also going to have big problems, as their Psychic move sets are not effective against Tyranitar’s Dark typing. They will have even more problems, as Dark attacks are super effective against them. Take that!
Tyranitar as Gym Defender
While Tyranitar’s rock typing is going to leave him vulnerable to the meta-game defining Vaporeon, Tyranitar is going to shine against the top 4 attackers for the same reasons he’ll shine against the top gym defenders.
Lapras, Dragonite, Snorlax, and Exeggutor cannot safely go against this beast. While he will be no concern for Vaporeon, everyone else is going to sweat.
Tyranitar vs Legendary Pokemon
Surely, he’s strong, but one would think Tyranitar can’t hold it’s own against Legendary Pokemon? Wrong. He’s still a monster.
- Mewtwo is one of the only two Pokemon to have a higher CP max than Tyranitar. However, Mewtwo is weak to Dark type attacks, and this same Dark Typing resists all of Mewtwo’s attacks, rendering him feeble.
- Ho-oh is the second Pokemon with a higher CP max thanTyranitar, but also can’t land a solid hit on Tyranitar’s Rock typing. Tyranitar also hits for double against our great Fire/Flying bird.
- Lugia/Mew/Celebi/Articuno/Zapdos/Moltres– All fall victim to the same type faults as the two legendaries above them. Flying, Psychic, Ice, and Fire will give them nothing but trouble against Tyranitar.
- Legendary Dogs are also not a match, as only Suicune may be effective against Tyranitar. Entei is felled by it’s Fire typing and Raikou only being a neutral threat.
Pokemon GO Tyranitar stats and moves (prediction)
With his base stats placing him at 3653 Max CP (higher than our gym lord Dragonite), we already know he’s going to have an impact on the gym meta, but we should highlight just how huge his impact is going to be.
Tyranitar moves are not known at this moment, but the ideal moves we are hoping for:
- Bite / Rock Throw as Quick Move
- Stone Edge / Rock Slide / Dark Pulse as Charged Move
