SoulGold Tailwind team: Tornadus Windburst and the fastest partners

Tornadus sets a 4-turn Tailwind the moment it enters. That’s its Windburst innate at level 85, in either form. Thundurus doesn’t have it and can’t learn Tailwind at all. I mixed the two up for a week, so check the name on the Café menu before you spend your points.

Why Tornadus Windburst is the Tailwind setter to build around

Windburst sets Tailwind for your side when Tornadus enters battle. It lasts 4 turns, the same as the move. It only fires if your side doesn’t already have Tailwind, so it never wastes an active one.

Allies with Wind Rider, Wind Chime or Wind Power react to Windburst exactly like they react to the move. Windcaller does not extend it, though. Only the Tailwind move gets the 2 extra turns.

Tornadus’s ladder is the same in both forms:

• Normal abilities: Incarnate has Prankster or Defiant (hidden). Therian has Regenerator.
• 75, Disquiet: lowers both foes’ Sp. Def by one stage on entry.
• 85, Windburst: 4-turn Tailwind on entry.
• 95, Vital Spirit: can’t be put to sleep.

Take Therian. Regenerator heals a third every time you switch out, and every switch back in after the wind ends sets a new Tailwind. Incarnate is the pick only if you want Prankster Taunt.

Form	Type	HP/Atk/Def/SpA/SpD/Spe	Ability
Incarnate	Flying	79/115/70/125/80/111	Prankster or Defiant
Therian	Flying	79/100/80/110/90/121	Regenerator

Thundurus is a different build. It has Filter at 75, No Guard at 85 and Drizzle at 95. No Guard Thunder is great, but it’s not a Tailwind setter.

The Tornadus set

Move	Why
Bleakwind Storm	Flying STAB that hits both foes. Learned at level 77.
Knock Off	Strips items, and it’s a single-target hit for when Wide Guard is up. Tutor.
U-turn	Pivots out so Windburst can fire again later. TM89, Azalea Gym.
Taunt	Stops Trick Room setters cold. TM12, Burned Tower B1F.

Hurricane (level 65 or tutor) and Heat Wave (tutor) are the other options. I hold Leftovers from Goldenrod Underground Storage and run Timid.

Where to get it: both Tornadus and Thundurus are in the Battle Café point exchange on Route 50, in the postgame. Each costs 5 Café Points and comes at level 70. The first Forces purchase also gives you the Reveal Glass, which turns it into Therian.

Café Points come from the challenges:

1. Win all three Daily Challenge battles for 3 points.
2. Clear Rush Mode for 5 points.
3. Each challenge pays out once per day, so do both and come back tomorrow.

Then get it from 70 to 85. Disquiet turns on at 75 and Windburst at 85. Exp Candy XL from the Battle Tower BP shop is the fastest way I found.

The best Tailwind partners and fast abusers

These either set a second Tailwind, get a bonus from it, or are slow enough that doubled Speed takes them from last to first.

Pokémon	Ability and innates that matter	Why it fits	Where
Pidgeot (Mega, Flyingite)	No Guard; Vital Spirit 75, Windburst 85, Delta Stream 95	Second Windburst setter. No Guard Hurricane never misses. 121 base Speed	Pidgey, Route 29 (40%) or Route 30 (20%), evolves at 18 and 32. Flyingite on Route 47
Salamence (Mega, Dragotite)	Aerilate; Windcaller 75	Flying Double-Edge and Hyper Voice get Aerilate, Windcaller and STAB. Dragon Dance	Bagon, Dragon’s Den Cavern, Lv 42 to 45, 30% (evolves at 30 and 50). Dragotite in Dragon’s Den Cavern
Staraptor	Intimidate or Reckless; Gale Wings 75, Flier 85	Intimidate, priority Flying moves at full HP, and Flier makes Fly a one-turn move with 50% more power	Staravia, Route 37
Talonflame	Flame Body or Gale Wings; Bull Rush 75, Reckless 85, Windcaller 95	Gale Wings Brave Bird. At 95 its own Tailwind move lasts 6 turns	Route 50, Lv 50 to 55, 15%. Fletchling in the Ruins of Alph
Yanma	Speed Boost; Windburst 75	The earliest Windburst, at 75. Yanmega loses it, so keep it unevolved	Route 35, 30%
Ninjask	Speed Boost or Infiltrator; Sharpness 75, Wind Rider 85	Speed Boost plus an Attack boost every time Tailwind goes up	Route 50, Lv 50 to 55, 15%. Nincada in National Park
Jumpluff	Chlorophyll, Leaf Guard or Infiltrator; Wind Rider 75, Prankster 85	Wind Rider raises its Attack on Tailwind. Prankster status moves at 85	Skiploom, Route 48, 30% (evolves at 27)
Drifblim	Aftermath, Unburden or Flare Boost; Wind Rider 75	150 HP, an Attack boost on Tailwind, and its own Tailwind as a backup	Drifloon, Lost Woods (30%) or Route 42 (5%), evolves at 28
Chimecho (Mega, Psychite)	Mind Float; Wind Chime 75, Punk Rock 85	Wind Chime raises its Sp. Atk when Tailwind goes up	Chimecho, Mt. Silver Mountain Side, 30%. Chingling in Slowpoke Well. Psychite on Mt Mortar 2F
Mienshao	Maneuverability 75, Technician 85	Moves of 60 power or less get +1 priority, which covers you once the wind runs out	Mienfoo, Route 49, 30%
Machamp	No Guard; Sheer Force 75	55 base Speed doubled, then a sure-hit Dynamic Punch with Sheer Force	Machop, Route 33, 30%. Machoke evolves with the Linking Cord
Electivire	Motor Drive or Vital Spirit; Shockwiring 75, No Guard 85	95 base Speed doubled. Sure-hit Thunder, and its first Electric move after entry is doubled	Mt. Silver 1F Item Room and Waterfall Room, Lv 62 to 63, 15%
Golurk (Mega, Groundite)	Unseen Fist; No Guard 75, Spectral Drain 85	55 base Speed doubled. Contact moves go through Protect, and Ground and Ghost moves heal 25%	Golett, Mt Mortar, 5% (evolves at 34). Groundite in Union Cave B2F

Only one Pokémon can Mega Evolve per battle. Pidgeot, Salamence, Chimecho and Golurk all want the slot, so pick one.

Sample six for Title Defense and Elite Four rematches

Get everyone to 85 so Windburst, Flier and No Guard are all on.

Pokémon	Item	Ability	Key moves
Tornadus (Therian)	Leftovers	Regenerator	Bleakwind Storm, Knock Off, U-turn, Taunt
Salamence	Dragotite	Aerilate (Mega)	Double-Edge, Hyper Voice, Dragon Dance, Dual Wingbeat
Staraptor	Focus Sash	Intimidate	Fly, Close Combat, Double-Edge, Tailwind
Machamp	Assault Vest	No Guard	Dynamic Punch, Close Combat, Stone Edge, Knock Off
Electivire	Life Orb	Motor Drive	Thunder, Plasma Fists, Ice Punch, Volt Switch
Drifblim	Mental Herb	Unburden	Tailwind, Will-O-Wisp, Hex, Strength Sap

Staraptor and Drifblim are your backup setters if Tornadus goes down. The Focus Sash is a one-time gift in the Kitakami Temple Training Room. Life Orb is in Tin Tower 5F, and the Assault Vest is in Rocket Hideout B3F.

Gameplan: Koga’s Bug rematch on Hard

Koga’s second rematch team is Ribombee, Scizor, Yanmega, Volcarona, Golisopod and Crobat, all level 85. Flying, Rock and Electric hit almost all of it.

1. Lead Tornadus and Salamence. Windburst sets Tailwind for 4 turns, and Disquiet drops both foes’ Sp. Def.
2. Turn 1: Mega Evolve Salamence and use Hyper Voice, which is now a Flying spread move. Tornadus uses Bleakwind Storm. Both hit both foes, and Volcarona’s Rage Powder can’t redirect them.
3. Turn 2: Kill Ribombee or Crobat first. Both carry Tailwind, and if they set it your speed edge is gone. Ribombee holds a Focus Sash, so hit it twice.
4. Turn 3: U-turn Tornadus out to Machamp, and Regenerator heals a third. Salamence keeps attacking.
5. Turn 4 is the last Tailwind turn. Machamp uses Stone Edge on Volcarona or Yanmega, which both take four times. If Crobat or Golisopod is the bigger problem, have Electivire in that slot instead, because No Guard Thunder never misses.
6. Once the wind ends, switch Tornadus back in. Windburst sets a fresh 4 turns.

Golisopod has Wide Guard, which blocks both spread moves. When it’s out, switch to Knock Off and Double-Edge. Ribombee’s Dazzling at 85 blocks Staraptor’s Gale Wings priority. Scizor’s Bullet Punch and Golisopod’s Aqua Jet still go first no matter how fast you are. My first try, I forgot about Wide Guard and threw away two turns of wind into it.

What beats a Tailwind team

Trick Room. Under Trick Room, Tailwind makes you slower. Will’s first rematch has Farigiraf and Exeggutor with Trick Room and a Reuniclus with Showtime. Whitney’s Title Defense Porygon-Z has Trick Room too. Taunt the move users on turn one. Showtime is an innate, so you can’t Taunt it. Protect and switch to burn its 5 turns. If you run Incarnate, its Prankster Taunt is priority, so Farigiraf’s Armor Tail blocks it.

Priority. Priority moves ignore Speed. Scizor’s Bullet Punch, Golisopod’s Aqua Jet, Lucario’s Vacuum Wave, Kingambit’s Sucker Punch and Rayquaza’s Extreme Speed in Clair’s Hard Title Defense all hit you first.

Bulky walls. A fast team that can’t break a wall just gets to lose faster. Skarmory in Bruno’s second rematch and Jasmine’s Hard Title Defense runs Body Press, Iron Defense and Roost, and has Mirror Armor at 85. Mirror Armor bounces Disquiet’s Sp. Def drop back onto Tornadus. Machamp’s Dynamic Punch and Electivire’s Thunder are your answers.

The other side’s Tailwind. Most of the Hard Title Defense pool carries a Tailwind user, and the Director’s Hard Tornadus-Therian has Windburst too. Two Tailwinds cancel out. Kill their setter first.

The wrong legend. Buy Tornadus, not Thundurus. Thundurus is a strong rain attacker, but nothing on it sets wind.

If your team is slow and bulky instead, build the opposite way with the Trick Room team guide. For how a Tailwind team fits the six roles, start with how to build a team in SoulGold.