Therian Forme Thundurus with Wildbolt Storm: A PvP Analysis

Howdy folks! Today is the second of a series of articles looking at The Forces Of Nature trio in their Therian forms and with their signature moves, being added one by one throughout January. After a disappointing opener with Tornadus, might things get more electrifying with THUNDURUS? Let’s start with our customary Bottom Line Up Front and then dig in and see.

B.L.U.F.

• Yes, Thundurus is better across the board with new Wildbolt Storm, in some cases tripling its former winrate.
• Unlike poor Tornadus, Thundurus may actually have a place in PvP now on the right team, with some intrigue in Master League (beating Solgaleo and more!) and even Ultra League.
• Perhaps the biggest thing holding it back is the many hard losses Electrics face in the Ultra and especially Master League metas. Thundurus has some tech to overcome some of these, but it’s still an uphill battle.
• I do think this is worth raiding if you have the budget and inclination, though it really needs Grounds and even Dragons to fall a little more out of favor in Master League to truly be worth it, IMO.

Alright, hopefully that gives you an idea of what follows. Here comes the details!

THUNDURUS (Therian) Stats and Moves

Thundurus (Therian) ElectricFlying

Ultra League Stats

Master League Stats

Perhaps appropriately to a Pokémon themed around lightning and thunder, Therian Thundurus hits very hard but has little actual substance to it. At least in CP-capped Leagues like Ultra, it has bulk (and I use the term “bulk” very loosly here!) almost exactly equivalent to Gengar. In Master League, some comps I can come up with are things like Mamoswine and Conkeldurr, which have close to 400 less CP and 40+ less Attack, but notably *more* bulk. Even Genesect, hardly known for being bulky, trails by over 300 max CP and 35ish less Attack and still far outbulks Therian Thundurus, and heck, freaking Magnezone has over 500 less CP, about 40 less Attack, and easily outbulks Thundurus-T as well. The stats are just BAD, folks. It gets so large in Master League (4137 CP!) *because* it’s so Attack-weighted.

Good thing the typing is favorable. Electric Flyers like Thundurus’ Therian Forme come with only two weaknesses — Rock and Ice — balanced against SIX resistances: Steel, Flying, Grass, Bug, Fighting, and — unlike most Electrics — Ground damage. As we’ll see later, however, that last one doesn’t help as much as you might hope.

But first, we have the moves to cover, including the new signature move.

Fast Moves

• Volt Switch – Electric type, 3.0 DPT, 4.0 EPT, 2.0 CoolDown
• Bite – Dark type, 4.0 DPT, 2.0 EPT, 0.5 CD

I mean… sometimes this job requires a painstakingly thorough breakdown of why multiple moves are worthy of consideration and many words to convince the audience of why one is really better than the other.

…and there there are things like this. It’s Volt Switch in every conceivable scenario, and if you need me to explain why, then I have completely failed you in my past 500+ analyses. (This is somehow #516 already, for those keeping score at home… didn’t we JUST have #500?! Anyway….)

Volt Switch is a nice middle ground between Tornadus’ Gust (4 DPT but only 3 EPT) and Landorus’ Mud Shot (only 1.5 DPT, but 4.5 EPT). One could argue that Volt Switch is the overall best of any of those, and I could see that rationale. But it only works if the charge moves work along with it. Do they?

ᴱ – Exclusive Move

Charge Moves

• Wildbolt Stormᴱ – Electric type, 60 damage, 45 energy, Reduces Opponent Attack -1 Stage
• Thunderbolt – Electric type, 90 damage, 55 energy
• Thunder – Electric type, 100 damage, 60 energy
• Sludge Wave – Poison type, 110 damage, 65 energy
• Focus Blast – Fighting type, 150 damage, 75 energy

As with Tornadus, Thundurus has long been trapped behind charge moves costing 55 energy or more. UNlike The Cyclone Pokémon, Thundurus The Bolt Strike Pokémon has the energy gains to kind of make it work, even with existing moves. Focus Blast is generally the best closer/coverage option, and it takes 5 Volt Switches to get to it OR Sludge Wave anyway. (Four Switches = 64 energy, agonizingly just ONE short of the 65 needed for Wave, and five Switches = 80 energy.) Thunderbolt is typically the other best move to run, as it doesn’t overcharge by too terribly much and can be strung together back-to-back for “only” seven total Volt Switches. And as you can see by the sim above, it works well enough to enter the discussion of best Electric types in Master League, up there with Zekrom and the others (though trailing a bit behind overall).

But now, enter new signature move Wildbolt Storm. How does it shake things up?

MASTER LEAGUE

Let’s stick with Master League for the moment, where the Forces Of Nature are most likely to have an impact due to their monstrous max CP. You can immediately see the positive impact of Wildbolt Storm by the numbers, surprisingly with Focus Blast AND Sludge Wave both making a good showing, at least at surface level. Sludge Wave is able to outrace Mewtwo, though the sims credit that as TWO wins since it includes versions of Mewtwo with either Shadow Ball or Ice Beam. I think Focus Blast still gets the nod overall, as it can finish off troublesome Ground types Swampert and Excadrill… and one result that is NOT shown: Solgaleo, a significant pickup in this era of increasingly more common (and very difficult to break) Solgaleo/Zygarde cores. And while it won’t normally overcome it in even shield scenarios, a Focus Blast from Thundurus will one-shot Dialga even from full health, as well as things like Melmetal and very nearly Snorlax and Metagross too. The Swampert and Excadrill wins are joined by Xerneas as the new ones that come with Wildbolt Storm (or Mewtwo and Xerneas, if you’re running Wave). But also telling is that Thundurus has the same winrate with Wildbolt Storm alone as it formerly got with Thunderbolt/Focus Blast, with only Electric-resistant Swampert, Excadrill, and Zarude (or Mewtwo and Zarude for Sludge Wave) strictly requiring a second move at all.

Of course, the big issue is what it still does NOT defeat. As I mentioned, Thundurous can JUST manage to finish off Solgaleo, but obviously struggles mercilessly versus TRIPLE Electric resistant Zygarde. Even a landed Focus Blast deals less than 50% to Zygarde Complete. It’s so bad that Thundurus loses even the 2v0 shield matchup. 😬 Not surprisingly for an Electric type, Thundurus struggles versus Ground types in general, as well as Dragons in general, and those two make up more than half of the established Master League meta. But, between the speed and debuffs of Wildbolt and the constant threat of Focus Blast, there is certainly more potential for success here than Tornadus could ever hope for, and arguably more than any other Electric currently in the game. Zekrom has basically the same winrate, beating a number of Dragons (Palkia, Rayquaza, Giratinas) and Mewtwo, while Thundurus instead takes down the aforementioned Excadrill, Swampert, and Xerneas, as well as Zacian, Togekiss, Sylveon, and Gyarados. As compared to Zapdos, Thundurus takes out Excadrill and Ho-Oh while Zappy instead gets Mewtwo and Mud Shot Garchomp (thanks to resisting Ground damage). And there really isn’t any other comparable Electric competition at Master League level.

As for other shielding scenarios, the difference between old and new is astounding in 2v2 shielding. Previously you only beat Gyarados, Lugia, Yveltal, Melmetal, and Metagross. But with Wildbolt Storm, that number triples to now include Kyogre, Mewtwo, Swampert, Zarude, Ho-Oh, and ALL the major Fairies. Nice!

With shields down, the overall improvement is minor but IS still there. Wildbolt adds on Lugia, Xerneas, Sylveon, and Dragonite, while Thunderbolt instead has the punch needed to beat Kyogre and Ho-Oh instead. (Worth noting: Thundurus also comes one fast move short of beating Solgaleo in 0shield too, though it’s not because of Wildbolt.)

Will Thundurus carve out some role in Master League now? I honestly don’t know, but it certainly has as good a shot as any Electric type now, with very threatening KO/coverage moves and now Wildbolt Storm as the piece it needed to pressure, bait, AND extend its own lifespan by debuffing the opponent.

But that’s not quite all….

ULTRA LEAGUE

So poor Tornadus still struggles in Ultra League even with Bleakwind Storm. And while admittedly even Wildbolt Storm Thundurus struggles a bit too, the improvement is massive. New to the win column? In order, we have DDeoxys, Golisopod, Greedent, Jellicent, Obstagoon, Poliwrath, Registeel, Talonflame, Tapu Fini, Umbreon, and Virizion. Previously it could take down only Gyarados, Mandibuzz, Pidgeot, Tentacruel, and Toxicroak, so the gains cannot be overstated… Wildbolt Storm MORE than triples Thundurus’ previous number of wins.

But is that enough? Eh, probably not. Unlike Master League, there are a number of already-viable Electric types like Ampharos, Magnezone, and even spicy things like the Raichus, and underrated things like Bellibolt and Galvantula (if you feel inclined to max one out like that).

IN SUMMATION

So we’re getting better! Tornadus was a bust, but Thundurus has at least SOME potential with its Storm now. And perhaps the best is yet to come? But that will have to wait for next time as we wrap up this miniseries.

Alright, that’s all I got for today. Thanks for reading! Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter with regular Pokémon GO analysis nuggets, or Patreon, if you’re feeling extra generous.

Happy raiding for those going out! Stay safe out there, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!