Tyranitar

Dark

Tyranitar forges its place on most Dark teams due to not only the defensive backbone it provides but also its offensive presence, allowing it to put pressure on the opponent's team. Tyranitar's defensive capabilities lie in its capacity to sponge special attacks thanks to its great special bulk and its ability Sand Stream giving it a Special Defense boost. It is also one of the most reliable Stealth Rock setters for Dark teams. Tyranitar also has great moves such as Thunder Wave, Fire Blast, and Stone Edge, helping it accomplish its role. Its secondary type in Rock brings Dark teams a key resistance to Fire-types, though it also opens up holes against Fighting-types, as it cannot withstand a STAB attack from them, and also makes it suffer weaknesses to a lot of types, notably Water and Ground. In addition, Tyranitar is cursed with a lack of reliable recovery, hindering its defensive capabilities. Despite its weaknesses, though, Tyranitar is one of the best options that Dark teams have, as it can check a plethora of specially offensive Pokemon that threaten Dark such as Volcarona and Gardevoir while also pressuring common Defog users like Zapdos and Skarmory.

Mega Tyranitar can be utilized not only for defensive purposes but also for offensive purposes thanks to Dragon Dance. It is blessed with more bulk, allowing it to find more opportunities to set up. It also brings more offense to the table to 2HKO a lot of defensive threats such as Skarmory and Porygon2, although it is still crippled by its mediocre Speed compared to other offensive Pokemon.