Landorus Pokemon Guide

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Jesus Cruz, Lifelong Pokémon Fan

It all started in 2010 when Jesus was 10 years old. His dad gifted him a Nintendo DS and let him choose a game for it. A weird, enormous, and grey serpent caught my attention on the box art for Pokémon Platinum, and since that moment he's been hooked! He can only thank his 10 years old self for choosing the game that he loves the most in the series

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Landorus, the Abundance Pokémon, is a Legendary, Ground/Flying-type Pokémon introduced in Gen 5, and it’s the leader of the Forces of Nature quartet. I’ve got a lot to tell about Landorus and its siblings, and the best way to do this is to tell a story about Unova and its lands full of abundance and prosperity.

A long time ago, when the big buildings and impressive bridges didn’t exist, Unova’s habitants had a difficult life, as their region was constantly harassed by fiery winds and storms. 

Powerful winds were constantly destroying everything on its path, causing people to lose their houses because of the tornados. Also, tremendous storms flooded all the small cities and towns of the region, making people lose their crops. 

Tired of the situation, the devastated people looked up at the sky and saw two big figures fighting and causing destruction wherever they went. These two figures were none other than Tornadus and Thundurus. The storms and rains continued as time passed, and the people had no option but to pray for help. So that’s how Landorus appeared.

Landorus managed to calm the two beasts only with its presence. Not only that, but it also blessed Unovian terrains with the power of producing wonderful crops and being excellent to build. This is why Landorus is known as the Guardian of the Fields, and it’s categorized as the Abundance Pokémon. 

There are only a few things humans know about Landorus, but one thing is sure: wherever it goes, the lands get blessed. 

What is Landorus Based On?

Landorus has two forms, the Incarnate Forme, which is up in clouds and looks like a genie, and the Therian Forme, which seems like a tiger.  Landorus’ concept is based on the Inari, the Japanese god of cultivation. At the same time, its design is inspired by the typical genie which gives you three wishes. 

But when Landorus gets exposed to the Reveal Glass, it’ll change into its Therian Forme. 

Landorus and its siblings, when they are in their Therian Forme, are based on the Auspicious Beasts, Chinese mythological creatures known as the guardians of the four cardinal points. Under this concept, Landorus’ represents the White Tiger of the West. 

Where Does Landorus’ Name Come From?

Landorus’ name comes from the union of Land and Aeolus, the Greek god, keeper of the wind. 

Therian Forme Summary of Appearances in Pokémon Versions and Media (Games, Anime, Movies)

Games

Landorus will only appear if there’s a conflict between Thundurus and Tornadus. So, the only way to make it appear is by causing a conflict between these two bad guys. 

“Causing a conflict” between Thundurus and Tornadus is just as simple as catching and having them in your team. 

Upon finding both misbehaving siblings, you’ll be able to catch Landorus. You’ll find it in the following places: 

• Black & White: Landorus will appear in the Abundant Shrine. 
• Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire: You’ll eventually find Landorus when Soaring in the Sky. 
• Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon: You’ll find Landorus in the Ultra Space Wilds in the Cliff World. 
• Sword & Shield: This time, you don’t need Thundurus and Tornadus on your team because Landorus will appear on the Max Lair as a Dynamax Adventure. 
• Legends: Arceus: Again, you don’t need Landorus’ siblings to catch it on this game, as it’ll appear on Ramanas Island. 

Anime

Landorus and its siblings (the cool ones, not you, Enamorus) had a two-episode special in the anime named Stopping the Rage of Legends! Where we follow Ash and his pals in their adventure to stop Tornadus and Thundurus from fighting. 

In the first episode, Ash and his crew go to Driftveil City (the city with the best original song ever) to challenge Clay, their Gym Leader. Upon getting to Driftveil City, they realize the weather is very odd and cloudy, the Grass-type Pokémon are getting unwell, and all the Revival Herbs crops are dying. 

Asking about the weather problem, Ash and his friends learn about the legend of Landorus, and realize that Tornadus and Thundurus are causing problems again. They need some help, so Ash and his friends decide to go to Landorus’ Obelisk to try to invoke Landorus. Unfortunately, something went wrong as they only made Tornadus and Thundurus really angry. 

But in the second episode, the help gets in its way, as Landorus appears. Thanks to Landorus’ help, Tornadus and Thundurus stopped fighting, Driftveil City got a sunny day again, and Ash returned to its Gym Challenge. 

Manga

In Pokémon Adventures, Landorus and its siblings had a very important role. Landorus debuted on A Stormy Time at the Battle Subway, where it gets summoned as Thundurus and Tornadus were wreaking havoc in the Battle Subway. 

But it was all a trap orchestrated by Team Plasma, who summoned Thundurus and Tornadus and made them fight there. Then, as Landorus appears, Team Plasma gets hands-on and kidnaps the three Legendaries. 

Afterward, Landorus and its siblings constantly appear under the forced ownership of Team Plasma, which used them to conquer their Gym Challenge, make the Elite Four eat some dust, and destroy the Unova’s Champion, getting control of the entire region. 

TCG

If you are willing to have a Landorus card, you’ll have to look for it in the following expansions: 

• Noble Victories (Rare Holo)
• Legendary Treasures (Rare Holo)
• Furious Fists (Rare Holo)
• Unbroken Bonds (Rare Holo)
• Fusion Strike (Rare Holo)

Also, Landorus has two cool EX cards in Boundaries Crossed: a Rare Holo ex and a Rare Ultra. 

In all of these expansions, Landorus is a Fighting-type Pokémon. 

Landorus Evolution Line: When does Landorus Evolve? 

Landorus is a Legendary Pokémon, so it doesn’t evolve, and it isn’t an evolution of any Pokémon. 

Landorus Stats

Let’s set Landorus’ lore aside and get into business, as Landorus is one of the best Pokémon for competitive matches.  As I said, Landorus has two forms, the Incarnate Forme and the Therian Forme. These two forms have different stats, so let’s talk about them. 

Incarnate Landorus

Incarnate Landorus is widely known in high-end competitive tiers, mostly in Uber, as a Wallbreaker. It is fast, strong, and has a great type combination, making it a complete beast and a major hurdle to overcome. Here are Incarnate Landorus’ Stats:

As you can see, Landorus has a wonderful Attack, Special Attack, and Speed, allowing it to destroy any bulky Pokémon with just a few turns. Landorus only has a problem, its Defenses, which are below-average considering it’s on a tier mostly populated by other Legendaries. Landorus is heavily susceptible to any Pokémon that can land a hit on it. 

Therian Landorus

But Landorus’ Therian Forme doesn’t fall behind either. It’s commonly used in Uber and OU (Over Used) tiers, the two highest competitive tiers, and it’s known as one of the best competitive Pokémon. I don’t say it; experts say it! 

Therian Landorus can adapt to most offensive roles. It can be played as an Offensive Pivot or a Sweeper thanks to its wonderful Speed and Attack. Let’s see Therian Landorus’ Stats: 

Landorus’ Attack is very good, as well as its Speed, making it able to get on the field, destroy anything on its path, and then leave. But, again, Landorus’ main problem is its Defense, which is really bad compared to other Pokémon on these tiers and makes it vulnerable to any Sweeper faster than it. 

Abilities

Incarnate Landorus

Incarnate Landours have two possible abilities: 

• Sand Force: Sand Force increases the damage of Landorus’ Ground, Steel, and Rock-type moves only when being in a Sandstorm. 
• Sheer Force (Hidden Ability): Sheer Force is an interesting ability that increases the damage dealt by moves with additional effects, but at the same time, it removes all the additional effects.

As an example, suppose Landorus uses Body Slam, which has the additional effect of paralyzing the objective and has a Power of 80. with Sheer Force, Landorus will get an extra 30% of Power, reaching a Power of 104, but it won’t paralyze the target. 

Therian Landorus

Therian Landorus can only have an ability: 

• Intimidate: Every time Landorus gets on the field, the foe’s Attack will be reduced by a stage. 

Possible Natures

Now that we know about Landorus’ role and their best and worst Stats, it’s time to determine which Nature we will use for it. 

Incarnate Landorus

We need Incarnate Landorus to be fast, so the idea is to make Incarnate Landorus fast and strong enough to take its rivals down and avoid getting hit. Knowing that, let’s see which Nature is better for Landorus: 

• Timid (Increases Speed, Decreases Attack)
• Hasty (Increases Speed, Decreases Defense)
• Jolly (Increases Speed, Decreases Special Attack)
• Naive (Increases Speed, Decreases Special Defense)

This one is a risky move, but as I said, the idea is to make Landorus strong and fast enough to hit without getting hit, so I’ll go for Naive. Using Timid or Jolly will mess with our strategy, so the best option is Naive. There’s no other way to go. 

Therian Landorus

Therian Landorus’ Attack is one of the highest I’ve ever seen. But, on the other hand, it has one of the worst Defenses on a Legendary I’ve ever seen, so our best option is to find a Nature that increases Landorus’ Defense without compromising its Attack.

• Bold (Increases Defense, Decreases Attack)
• Relaxed (Increases Defense, Decreases Speed)
• Impish (Increases Defense, Decreases Special Attack)
• Lax (Increases Defense, Decreases Special Defense)

I’ll go for Impish, as Landorus will not use its Special Attack. 

Landorus Moves Per Level (Gen 8)

Landorus can learn the following moves by leveling up: 

Landorus Moves Per TM/TR (Gen 8)

Landorus can learn these moves only through the usage of a TM or a TR: 

Landorus Strengths

Landorus, no matter if it is in its Incarnate or Therian Forme, is a Ground/Flying-type Pokémon, so the moves from the following types will not hurt it: 

• Landorus only gets 1/2 of the damage against Bug, Fighting, and Poison-type moves. 
• Landorus is immune to Electric and Ground-type moves. 

On the other hand, Landorus’ moves will do a lot against Pokémon with the following types: 

• With Ground-type moves, Landorus will deal x2 damage to Steel, Electric, Rock, Fire, and Poison-type Pokémon. 
• With Flying-type moves, Landorus will deal x2 damage to Fighting, Grass, and Bug-type Pokémon. 

Landorus resistances and immunities make it fit in almost every team composition. Are you having a shocking moment against Zapdos or Magnezone? Landorus will help you out. Are Pokémon like Groudon or Zygarde shaking the ground under your feet? Don’t worry, pal, Landorus can get rid of them easily. 

Also, Landorus is a great answer against very annoying Pokémon like Marshadow or Pheromosa, as Bug and Fighting-type moves will not be a problem. 

Landorus Weaknesses

As I said, Landorus is a Ground/Flying-type Pokémon, meaning it won’t do much against Pokémon with the following types: 

• Landorus will receive x2 damage against Water-type moves.
• It will also receive x4 damage against Ice-type moves. 

Also, Pokémon with the following types will laugh at you as soon as you try to use Landorus’ Ground or Flying-type moves on them: 

• Ground-type moves will only deal 1/2 of their damage to Bug and Grass-type Pokémon. Also, Flying-types are immune to moves from this type. 
• Flying-type moves will only deal 1/2 of their damage to Steel, Electric, and Rock-type Pokémon. 

To be honest, Landorus offers great coverage as it is only vulnerable to Water and Ice-type moves. Also, Incarnate Landorus will have some chances of surviving a Water-type move. Sadly, it’s not likely for Therian Landorus to survive after getting hit by a Surf. 

Some Pokémon in Ubers and OU can get Landorus into big trouble, like Calyrex-Ice, Kyurem and its forms, Palkia, and many more. 

Nonetheless, Landorus still have some weapons to face these beasts. Let’s see them! 

Landorus Best Movesets

As Landorus has two forms, I’ll showcase some different strategies for every form. Let’s start with Incarnate Landorus. 

Incarnate Landorus, Wallbreaker

Incarnate Landorus will destroy its bulky enemies with the following build: 

• Earth Power or Earthquake
• Rock Slide
• Sludge Wave or Grass Knot
• Superpower or Calm Mind

With Life Orb as its item, Sheer Force as its ability, and Naive as its Nature.

• EVs (If going with Earth Power): 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe.
• EVs (If going with Earthquake): 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe.

Well, this build has two variables, but both do the same, as the idea is getting rid of all the Walls you can find in an Uber match. 

Moves

Let’s start with the moves. As you can see, you can choose between Earth Power, which is a Special move, and Earthquake, which is a Physical move. Earth Power works better when combined with Sludge Wave or Grass Knot, while Earthquake works better when combined with Rock Slide. 

Using Earth Power or Earthquake will depend if you want to use Landorus’ Attack or Special Attack, so it’s up to you!  Rock Slide is Landorus’ principal weapon when facing an Ice-type Pokémon; Landorus will be faster than most of the Ice-types in Uber and OU, so it’ll have some good chances to hit first and defeat its Ice-type enemies!  

I often see Landorus built with Sludge Wave, and even though I like it because it’s a very strong move that can help Landorus burst most of the Fairy-types, like Xerneas, I feel like Grass Knot can help Landorus better with its Water-type problem. 

Lastly, I added Superpower to Landorus’ moveset because it’ll need a Fighting-type move to eliminate those Dark and Normal-type Pokémon, like Yveltal and Blissey.  I also added Calm Mind as an option, but it’s more of a situational move that you’ll use only in specific moments, like when you have a free turn thanks to a forced switch. 

Item

Life Orb + Sheer Force is one of the best combinations you can use for your Pokémon. Let’s see why. Life Orb will increase the damage dealt by Landorus by 1.3x, but, to compensate, it’ll inflict some damage on Landorus. 

On the other hand, as we know, Sheer Force negates any side effects a move or an item can have. Now, we can tie the loose ends up. Sheer Force negates all the side effects moves and items can have after Landorus uses a move. On the other hand, Life Orb should damage Landorus after executing a move. 

So, as Sheer Force negates any side effects after using a move, Life Orb’s recoil is negated, and Landorus will not receive damage while still having the 1.3x Attack buff!  Well, only if Landorus land a hit on its opponent. If Landorus fails or uses Calm Mind, it’ll receive the Life Orb damage. 

Good Teammates for Landorus

Every Pokémon need some help from its team, and Landorus is not an exception. In this case, Landorus will highly appreciate being around some Entry Hazard Setters that flood the battlefield with Stealth Rocks or Spikes. 

Incarnate Landorus, Entry Hazard Setter

Landorus can also do it perfectly as an Entry Hazard Setter with the following build: 

• Stealth Rocks
• Earth Power
• Rock Slide
• Explosion

With Focus Sash as its item, Sheer Force as its ability, and Naive as its Nature.

• EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe.

As I said, Landorus’ Speed and the access it has to use Stealth Rock makes it a very good Entry Hazard Setter. 

Moves

The only moves that changed compared with the previous build are Stealth Rock, which will help Landorus and your team deal extra damage to your rivals, and Explosion. Explosion is like a panic button. There are some Pokémon that can learn moves like Defog or Rapid Spin that can remove your highly appreciated Stealth Rocks. And we don’t want that to happen. 

So, whenever you see Pokémon like Skarmory, Corviknight, Excadrill, or Lugia, don’t hesitate to explode your Landorus on your rival’s face! Yes, the Stealth Rocks are more appreciated than Landorus; trust me, when you stack a lot of them, they’ll be dealing a lot of damage, and they also are great options against Fire-types. 

Item

I set Focus Sash as Landorus’ item because we want it to resist at least two turns in the field, enough to set the Stealth Rocks and then leave by switching or exploding. 

Therian Landorus, Pivot

It’s time to talk about Therian Landorus, which can do the most out of the following build: 

• Earthquake
• U-Turn
• Stone Edge
• Toxic or Stealth Rocks

With Leftovers as its item, Intimidate as its ability, and Impish as its Nature.

• EVs: 124 HP / 124 Atk / 252 Def / 8 Spe

Moves

We can’t just waste Therian Landorus’ Attack; that’s why I chose Earthquake and Stone Edge, very practical moves which will help Landorus get those Ice, Fire, and Electric-type Pokémon down. U-turn will make Landorus return to its PokéBall only after hitting its opponent. It works to take Landorus out of unfair situations. We don’t want to risk our great pivot, right? 

Lastly, you can choose between two interesting passive damage options; Toxic or Stealth Rock. If you want to punish those trainers with loads of Pivots on their teams, Stealth Rock is the best option. But, if you suffer when facing a Wall Pokémon, I recommend using Toxic. 

Item

Landorus needs Leftovers because it isn’t the best at defending. So, Leftovers will constantly be healing Landorus after a turn ends, which is very good, as it’ll give Landorus some chances to survive a strong hit. 

Great Teammates for Landorus

As Landorus’ role will be chipping its enemies down, it’ll need a teammate that finishes the job. Sweepers and Wallbreakers are the best fit for Landorus.

I remember a battle against a guy with Therian Landorus and Calyrex. Landorus prepared the situation using Toxic, while Calyrex only had to land a powerful hit. They swept my entire team up, so it’s not crazy to think they can do it perfectly together! 

Landorus In Action

Let’s see some tapes where Landorus is participating in a competitive match! It’s always a great idea to see builds from other players so you can know what works and what doesn’t on a Pokémon. 

In this first video, we can see a team composition with Therian Landorus as a pivot. Still, instead of having Stealth Rocks or Toxic, it is an entirely offensive Landorus build with Fly! 

In this video, we can see Landorus working perfectly as a teammate in Double Battles! This time, it has Protect, Grass Knot, Sludge Bomb, and Earth Power, so it’s more of a Special Wallbreaker built with Protect to help its teammates.

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