The best moveset for Tyranitar in Pokemon Gold and Silver

The pseudo legendary of Pokemon Gold and Silver, Tyranitar, can deal more damage than just about every other Pokemon in the game.

Sadly, the only way to get this Pokemon is by catching Larvitar at Mt. Silver after getting the 16 badges from both Johto and Kanto. There is a reason this Pokemon is so rare, though.

Tyranitar has a whopping 134 base Attack stat, which is tied with Dragonite for highest in the game. This stat, combined with access to some hard-hitting moves is what makes Tyranitar a terror for most Pokemon. With these moves, Tyranitar won’t have a hard time beating any Pokemon.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the opinion of the writer.

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The best moveset for Tyranitar in Pokemon Gold and Silver

Image via The Pokemon Company

There’s nothing too special about this moveset. It’s all about taking advantage of Tyranitar’s incredibly high Attack stat by using four powerful moves. Thankfully, because there is so much coverage that Tyranitar learns, it shouldn't get completely walled by any Pokemon.

• Rock Slide
• Crunch
• Earthquake
• Iron Tail

Rock Slide is the best available Rock-type move. This was a couple generations before they made Stone Edge, which is way more powerful. Rock Slide isn’t horrible in Generation II though. It does consistent damage, and has a 30% chance to flinch the target.

Crunch was one of the best moves in Pokemon Gold and Silver. Most of the other Dark-type moves, like Bite and Faint Attack, are really disappointing in terms of power. Not every Dark-type Pokemon gets Crunch, but the ones that do can inflict serious damage with this move.

This may be a special attack since it’s Dark-type, but Tyranitar can still make use of this move. Tyranitar actually has a 95 base Special Attack stat, which isn’t too bad. It’s obviously known for destroying things with its powerful physical attacks, but Crunch is still going to do massive damage.

Tyranitar is one of the lucky few that learns Earthquake naturally. It involves getting Tyranitar to level 61 to learn it, but it’s worth it for arguably the best move in the game. Earthquake is a great way for Tyranitar to damage Rock-type and Steel-type Pokemon that it can have trouble dealing with.

One interesting way to get Earthquake early is to not evolve Pupitar right away. Pupitar evolves into Tyranitar at level 55, but once it gets to level 56 it learns Earthquake. Waiting to evolve Pupitar one level later means that the player won’t have to wait until level 61 to use Earthquake.

The chances that any player has Iron Tail by the time they arrive at Mt. Silver is slim. The Technical Machine for Iron Tail is given to the player in Olivine City after beating Jasmine, and most players give that move to another Pokemon by the time they arrive at Mt. Silver. If it’s still available though, it’s a great move to teach Tyranitar. With 100 base power, it’s guaranteed to do massive damage to whatever it hits.