HERE COMES THE SUN
Hi guys, as I've said it before, I dislike the rain based metagame. I wouldn't mind seeing Kyogre on every team (I actually like Kyogre a lot) but the same FerroOgreScarfkia core (throw in some Tentacruel, Chansey and Gira-A/O) gets extremely boring.
I initially tried to counter it with Gastrodon, Xatu (direct counters to FerroOgre) and Deoxys-A (takes care of blobs and other support pokes) with good success (I posted two warstories on it). The problem was it only did just ok against other teams (HO was tough to beat) and my team itself was kinda stallish (style I don't like that much).
So, I tried to come up with a more offensive team that could hold its own against most rain teams. Of course, if I'm battling rain mostly, I had to deny their weather with a weather of my own so I went with sun. Now, I'm not very good at HO but my style is more of a balanced offense.
Thought process
Groudon was the first choice of course because of the permanent sun. It also gives some nice cushion for physical attacks directed to other teammates. I definitely wanted to have Deoxys-A as I think it is a very underrated pokemon and fits into an offensive theme.
With an all-out attacker I felt that I needed a more balanced, yet also powerful offensive pokemon. Since I was making a sun team, I thought Ho-Oh could work.
Obviously, if you are planning to use Ho-Oh effectively then you should be able to control hazards as well. The question was if I needed a spinner or Xatu. Xatu works fine most of the time but I wanted some hazards of my own as well so I went with Forretress because Volt Switch helps me to keep on the offensive.
Of course, if the initial plan is to counter rain teams then I should have a Kyogre check/counter, right? Some ideas came to mind: Gastrodon, Ferrothorn, Grass Arceus, Palkia, Ludicolo and even Calm Latias. Gastrodon worked perfect in my previous team but not only is a free Ferrotroll switch, it doesn't add anything to my team in terms of offense, it would just be a safe switch in against Kyogre and I'm looking more how to threaten it as well. Ludicolo is pretty annoying but not as effective anymore because, again, it gives Ferrotroll a free switch (immune to Leech Seed) and is also kinda deadweight. A Ferrothorn of my own or a Grass Arceus would give me a bit of a Fire weakness since Ho-Oh can't be switched that often if SR are still up. Scarf Reshiram would 6-0 my team just by spamming Blue Flare. I went with Palkia because it adds another offensive component to the team.
OK, so Kyogre is checked now. The other threat you always see lately is Mewtwo. I know Deoxys-A can revenge kill if Mewtwo is around 60% but I sure don't have a counter (is there even one?). I went with Jirachi as it resists most of his common movesets (obviously not if it carries Fire Blast).
So here is my final team:
Team Review
Groudon @ Leftovers
Ability: Drought
Nature: Impish (+ Def, - SpAtk)
252 Hp / 160 Def / 88 SpDef / 8 Spe
Roar
Earthquake
Dragon Claw
Thunder Wave
My usual lead with some SpDef EVs to survive an Ice Beam 2HKO from certain pokes. Enough defensive EVs to not be 2HKOed by +2 Arceus Extreme Speed. Thunder Wave to spread paralysis so that Deoxys-A can have an easier time sweeping. It also helps Ho-Oh against certain threats. Roar instead of Dragon Tail because I found that missing with Dragon Tail can be critical and because it doesn't help if someone is behind a Sub.
Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Relaxed (+ Def, -Spe)
252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpDef
Spikes
Rapid Spin
Volt Switch
Stealth Rock
My spinner and hazard abuser. I know is hard to spin nowadays but most Gira-Os and even Ghost Arceus don't have a fire move but WoW. This allows me to SR from the beginning and then stack Spikes as they WoW me and phaze me away. My policy is: if I can't spin your SR, then I'll have the advantage with SR and 2 layers of Spikes. Volt Switch is when I predict Kyogres, spinners or I already have the hazard advantage. Relaxed instead of Careful because Jirachi is already meant at taking special hits.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
Nature: Careful (+SpDef, -SpAtk)
252 HP / 248 SpDef / 8 Spe
Wish
U-Turn
Body Slam
Fire Punch
Almost standard Wish passer. Jirachi helps a lot with Mewtwo and the -somewhat more common- Deoxys-A. Body Slam allows me to paralyze those Kyogre on the switch. Having 2-3 pokes on their paralyzed is key later in the game as it turns a Deoxys-A revenge kill into a mini-sweep. U-Turn is great for giving safe Wishes to my teammates. I usually aim to Wish Groudon since he doesn't have any recovery and Palkia as SpecsOgre can do around 40-45%. Fire Punch is just filler and gives me a sun boosted attacking move if needed. I was thinking of switching it for Zen Headbutt as Iron Head has horrible coverage against most of the teams I'm facing.
Palkia @ Wide Lens
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
252 SpAtk / 4 SpDef / 252 Spe
Thunder
Fire Blast
Earth Power
Spacial Rend
Who needs Scarf Palkia? Really, Palkia in the sun is awesome but only if you are able to use its great coverage. No Water move because the main switch in, Ferrotroll, laughs at it. Thunder for Kyogre, Fire Blast for steels, specially Ferrothorn and Earth Power for the rare Jirachis and Heatrans. Now, I know what you are thinking: why on earth Wide Lens?? I'm choosing more power for Fire Blast because once Kyogre is forced out and Ferrothorn switches in, Fire Blast is gonna hit harder than Flamethrower. That is, of course, if it hits. Wide Lens gives me more precious accuracy so that Spacial Rend becomes a 99% accuracy move and Fire Blast is now 94% which is very reliable. No Life Orb as it would give away that I'm not choiced. I use to run Stone Edge with Hasty for Ho-Oh but he is so rare nowadays that I changed it to Timid and Earth Power. Aura Sphere could work too but I like Fire Blast in the sun more. I'm considering Expert Belt too, but really you can't afford to miss with Palkia. A single Spacial Rend missed is gg to Palkia and missing Fire Blast against Ferrothorn on the switch is pretty sad too as an early dent on him maims the whole rain stall core. Anyways, regardless of the item you choose, I would encourage you to use non-Scarf Palkia and see for yourself how awesome it is.
Ho-Oh @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpAtk)
240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe
Roost
Substitute
Brave Bird
Sacred Fire
The Immortal Phoenix. SubRoost is very hard to deal if you don't have Roar. Most Dragon Tail users are weak and have no Atk investment. Sun boosted Sacred Fire dents a lot of pokemon who doesn't resist it. Brave Bird gets the clean OHKO against ScarfOgre with SR up and has a good chance at 2HKOing bulkier versions with SR. 16 Spe so I can outspeed most support 90 base speed pokemons like Dialga, Groudon or bulky Kyogres. Not much to say, I try to switch Ho-Oh against Giratina-A/O since they can't WoW nor phaze him behind a sub. Brave Bird 3HKOs Gira-A, so if he uses Rest he won't be able to stop Ho-Oh.
Deoxys-A @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Mild (+SpAtk, -Def)
20 Atk / 252 SpAtk / 236 Spe
Low Kick
Ice Beam
Psyshock
Extreme Speed
The alien pokemon has found a spot on almost all of my teams. It saddens me that some people still use him as sash lead. 395 speed allows me to outspeed Timid Mewtwo who is the fastest non-scarf pokemon bar other Deoxys formes and Ninjask (lol). My moveset looks a lot like Mewtwo's standard set: Ice Beam, STAB move that hits defense and Fighting attack. I don't like the stat drops that Psycho Boost and Superpower have. The way I play this team is to spread paralysis so that my Deoxys-A will take advantage of it and kill at least 2 pokemon. Scarfers are dealt by switching and letting them rack up hazards damage to the point a Extremespeed from Deoxys-A can take them out. I've played this team for more than 2 months now, and I can tell you that many of them ended with a mini sweep that could have not been achieved if I had a -2 SpAtk drop. The only things that aren't hit as hard by Low Kick (as compared to Superpower) are the blobs but you 2HKO them with Psyshock anyways. With this moveset I can not be pivoted out (like switch Chansey to take Psycho Boost then switch to physical wall to absorb the Superpower) unless they switch into Gira-O when I Low Kick but that could happen with Superpower as well and most of the times I use Psyshock anyways. Espeed does around 25-30% to Extremekiller if Groudon fails to stop him.
REPLAYS
I'd appreciate any constructive criticism. If you want to discuss Deoxys-A moveset just drop a VM/PM. If you see any immediate threat to this team that I haven't thought of let me know. Volt Switch and U-turn helps a lot against stall. And, believe it or not, I've been able to Rapid Spin in quite a few matches, so it's not totally impossible.