Tornadus in SoulGold: Windburst gives you Tailwind for free

Tornadus sets Tailwind just by walking in. At Lv 85, Windburst gives your side a 4-turn Tailwind on entry, so Tornadus can spend its first turn attacking instead of setting up. Thundurus does not have this. Only Tornadus does.

Why Tornadus is broken

Windburst sets Tailwind for your side when Tornadus enters, for 4 turns, the same as the move. It only fires when your side doesn’t already have Tailwind, so it won’t refresh one that’s running. Allies with Wind Rider, Wind Chime or Wind Power react to it just like they would to the move.

Windcaller doesn’t stretch it. Windcaller only adds 2 turns when the Tailwind move is used, so a Windcaller partner gets nothing extra from Windburst.

The Therian form makes it loop. Its ability is Regenerator. When the Tailwind runs out, U-turn out, heal a third of your HP, come back in, and Windburst sets a fresh one.

Here’s the ladder. The innates are the same in both forms:

• Incarnate ability: Prankster, or Defiant as the hidden ability.
• Therian ability: Regenerator.
• Lv 75, Disquiet: on entry, lowers each opposing Pokémon’s Sp. Def by one stage.
• Lv 85, Windburst: sets Tailwind for your side on entry, for 4 turns.
• Lv 95, Vital Spirit.

Disquiet and Windburst together mean every entry drops the foes’ Sp. Def and doubles your side’s Speed. Tornadus is a special attacker, so it cashes in both.

Thundurus is a different ‘mon here. Its innates are Filter at 75, No Guard at 85 and Drizzle at 95, and it can’t learn Tailwind or Hurricane. I picked it up first by mistake and spent an evening wondering why my side never got faster.

The Tornadus set

This is for Therian Tornadus, which has 79 HP, 110 Sp. Atk and 121 Speed.

Move	Why
Bleakwind Storm	Flying STAB, 100 power, 80% accuracy. Learned at Lv 77.
Heat Wave	Fire coverage for Steel and Ice types. Olivine City tutor.
Knock Off	Hits Psychic and Ghost types and strips their item. Olivine City tutor.
U-turn	TM89, the Azalea Gym gift. Pivot out and back for a new Tailwind.

Hurricane (Lv 65 or the tutor) is the swap for Bleakwind Storm. It’s 110 power, but only 70% accuracy, and I missed too many with it. Nasty Plot (tutor), Focus Blast (TM52, Vajra Desert East item ball), Grass Knot (TM86, Deep Ilex Forest item ball), Sludge Bomb (TM36, a gift at the Route 43 gate) and Taunt (TM12, Burned Tower B1F item ball) are all on the list too.

The Olivine City tutor is in the top-right house. Pay 44,444 once and you teach tutor moves from the summary screen after that.

Item: Life Orb. Regenerator covers the recoil every time you pivot. Life Orbs are item balls on Tin Tower 5F and Whirl Islands B1F, and the Battle Pyramid lobby mart sells them.

Nature and EVs: Timid, 252 Sp. Atk, 252 Speed, 4 HP. Under Tailwind that Speed is overkill, but you want it for the turns after the wind stops. Mints are at the Olivine beach café.

If you want Incarnate instead, Prankster gives its status moves +1 priority. Prankster Taunt and Nasty Plot are fun, but Therian is the one I kept.

Where to get Tornadus

Tornadus isn’t wild and isn’t a boss. You buy it at the Battle Café.

1. Become Champion. The Battle Café on Route 50 is postgame.
2. Earn 5 Café Points. Winning a Rush Mode run pays 5. Winning all three Daily Challenge battles pays 3.
3. Spend 5 points at the café’s point exchange on Tornadus. It comes at Lv 70.
4. Your first Forces of Nature purchase also gives you the Reveal Glass. Use it to change Tornadus to its Therian form.
5. Level it to 77 for Bleakwind Storm and to 85 for Windburst.
6. Pick up TM89 U-turn from the Azalea Gym and pay the Olivine City tutor for Heat Wave and Knock Off.

Thundurus, Landorus and Enamorus sit in the same exchange at the same price, if you want the set.

When Tornadus comes online

Windburst turns on at Lv 85. Tornadus arrives at 70, so you need 15 levels. I used Exp Candy XL from the Battle Tower BP shop. Disquiet comes on at 75 on the way.

Title Defense challengers and the Elite Four rematches are Lv 85. Take Tornadus in at 85 and every entry gives you Tailwind and a Sp. Def drop on the other side.

In the Battle Tower, Factory, Pyramid and Battle Café challenges, every innate is on at any level. Tornadus isn’t on the Classic ban list, so a Lv 50 Tornadus works in Classic mode with Windburst already on.

For who to put next to it, read the Tailwind team guide. It covers the Wind Rider and Wind Chime partners that get boosts from Windburst.

What beats Tornadus

• Rock, Electric and Ice moves. Pure Flying takes double from all three. Stone Edge and Thunderbolt users wreck it.
• Trick Room. Under Trick Room, doubling your Speed works against you. Save Tornadus for after the room ends.
• Opposing Windburst. Pidgeotto, Pidgeot, Mega Pidgeot and Yanma also have it, so the other side can get Tailwind for free too.
• Misses. Bleakwind Storm is 80% accurate. Over a long fight it will miss, and Tornadus doesn’t have the bulk to take many hits while you wait.

Go win your first Rush Mode run at the Battle Café, and Tornadus is yours.