A Legend, Mr. Wayne, a Legend
Introduction
Hey guys, Avatar Korra here. I’m not an avid OU player in 5th gen, as I heard talk that it’s waaaaay to centralized on weather. During most of Black and White 1, I focused primarily on UU, and heck even sometimes went back to my Platinum for some fun 4th gen battling. With the release of BW2, however, I decided to get back into OU, as some Pokemon just seemed too awesome for me not to use. (Tornadus-T anyone?) After messing around with this team for a bit, I decided a Rain team was the best course of action. I’ve literally seen so many Rain teams; I had to try them out to see what the big deal was. I have to say, it was surprisingly fun! Rain is definitely the safest weather choice I think, as there are the most abusers for the Rain boost, and Politoed can handle other weather inducers. I gotta say, blasting powerful STAB Hurricanes have been a blast, and I feel like OU isn’t quite the stale, unchanging metagame everyone told me it was!
Rain is fun and all, however one Pokemon I HAD to use was my second favorite of this generation: Terrakion! (Darmanitan still has a very special place in my heart as number 1…I’ll make an OU team centered around you someday!) Terrakion just reeks of awesomeness. His awesome base Speed of 108 allows him to outspeed a lot of common threats. His earth-shattering base 129 Attack hits the opponent hard. The best part of this rock…horse thing though, in my opinion, is his awesome ability to wreck stall teams. I don’t know if this is just me with my bad luck, but on Pokemon Showdown I have faced countless teams that use the dreaded SkarmBliss combo, with Ferrothorn thrown in for good measure. With the proper set up and support, Terrakion can set up on a ridiculous number of Pokemon and just plow through these teams.
As for this team’s success, it’s been quite good. I usually stuck around the low 30’s high 20’s on the Showdown leaderboard, with my peak being something like number 21 on the leaderboard, at 1900. I don’t really take leaderboards seriously though and I’ve dropped down heavily to like the 60’s lol, mostly for just trying a bunch of things out, messing around, and trying to use fun sets. Having fun should be the most important thing after all :)
You may be wondering about the weird title. I just got back from seeing the Dark Knight Rises again and Batman is just running through my mind right now haha. The full quote was “If you devote yourself to an ideal. Then you become something else entirely, a legend Mr. Wayne, A legend.” I devoted my team around Terrakion and Tornadus, trying to do my best for them to sweep, so I suppose it somewhat fits. Plus, considering I have a whopping 5 legendary Pokemon on my team, I suppose this team has some legendary characteristics ;p
Team Building Process
I wanted to base my team around two of my favorite Pokemon: Terrakion and Tornadus-T. I knew from the start I wanted to use a Specs Tornadus for its raw power, and Sub Terrakion for its versatility and ability to set up much easier.
Well, how can you have Tornadus without his best friend Politoed? His rain would prove invaluable in being able to unleash perfect accuracy Hurricanes. With Politoed on my team, I knew I had to make sure the rest of my team would be okay with rain.
I needed a strong Pokemon that could benefit the rest of my team, and provide a check towards Dragon type Pokemon. Jirachi fit the bill perfectly, with his ability to paralyze the opponent, and pass wishes to rest of my team so they can recover their health. He could also switch into powerful threats that would take advantage of my rain, like other Tornadus-T’s.
I wanted to have a spinner to prevent Tornadus-T from losing health from Stealth Rock, so I just kinda threw a defensive Forretress onto the team.
I realized I needed a strong revenge killer for my team, so I added a Scarf Latios to my team. His strong powerful Dragon attacks were valuable in that I could weaken the opposing team, allowing my Terrakion and Tornadus-T to sweep better. Being able to revenge all dragon types was a huge plus as well.
Now, at this point, my team worked very well, however I felt something was missing. Forretress was the weak link, and Rapid Spin wasn’t necessary with Tornadus-T’s Regenerator ability and Jirachi’s wishes. Having a pure defensive Pokemon on my offensive team didn’t work well.
Replacing Forretress with Heatran was the best thing I’ve done. Despite the rain, Heatran could handle all troublesome steel Pokemon easily, and provided another Dragon check. His powerful offense was a breath of fresh air after Forretress, who mostly did nothing on my team besides spin. Right now my team was working very well, and is my final version of the team!
The Team
Politoed @ Leftovers
Ability: Drizzle
Modest Nature
248 HP / 252 SpAtk / 8 Spe
-Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Hidden Power Grass
-Perish Song
My favorite set for Politoed. Ironically, it’s the one that’s the least used. The Specs set, while powerful, never appealed to me as Politoed is still not powerful enough to be considered a huge threat, and being locked into a move like Hidden Power sucks. Its lack of bulk makes it die way too fast, which is bad if the opposing team has a weather inducer. The Scarf set is just as bad to me; you lose power, you’re still locked into a move, no bulk, and you’re not fast enough to deal with other scarfers and you can revenge kill almost nothing with a speed boost like a dragon with a Dance up. The defensive set was my original choice, and it worked alright, however it wasn’t used much as it still died pretty easily (which is a big no-no, Politoed needs to survive as long as possible to win weather wars). I wanted a Politoed which could make an offensive presence, was not burdened with being locked into a move, and still bulky enough to survive. That’s when I decided to use this set, and I’ve never looked back. 3 Attack Politoed almost feels like a nice mix of the other sets. I have a satisfying amount of bulk, some devastating power, (especially from the boosted Hydro Pumps), a support move, and enough speed to outrun opposing Defensive Politoeds, but not fast enough so my rain beats Ninetale’s Sun.
The EV set is pretty standard. Max Special Attack and Modest is necessary so I can heavily dent some troublesome Pokemon like Scizor. Hydro Pumps coming from a Modest Nature, Max SpAtk, STAB, and Rain boosted Politoed hits like a truck and dents many troublesome Pokemon like Scizor extremely hard, allowing my other Pokemon to have an easier time sweeping. Heck, it’s so powerful sometimes I can even two hit KO resisting Pokemon like Wash Rotom, or offensive Politoeds with a little hazard support. It’s definitely my go-to move, as not much enjoy taking the powerful hits. My other moves aren’t used as often, but they are just as important for this Politoed’s success. Plus, because I’m not locked, I won’t suffer as dire consequences for mispredicting and using a move that would get sucked to get locked into, like HP Grass. This lets me use all my moves when it’s appropriate, and I can play a bit more aggressively.
Hydro Pump is of course standard, not much explanation needed for this. I chose it over Surf simply because Politoed needs all the strength it can get. While the occasional miss is annoying, it’s yet to cost me a game so for now I’m satisfied with Hydro Pump. Usually I spam it until some troublesome Pokemon like Kingdra, Ferrothrorn, or Blissey comes in.
Ice Beam provides coverage and is great for hitting incoming Grass types, trying to out-predict me. It’s also needed simply so I’m not set-up fodder for opposing dragons. It’s surprising how many Dragonites try and set up a DD after switching in, as if they think I only have water moves.
Hidden Power Grass is almost exclusively for Gastrodon, who can be a troublesome Pokemon for my team. With Stealth Rock, I have a good chance of getting the 2 hit KO on the standard tank Gastrodon, and I outspeed it as well. At one point I’ve used Focus Blast in this spot, but it was completely useless, as the only time I would ever use it was if I predicted a Ferrothorn switch-in. Its terrible accuracy was a major turn off, so all in all I don’t regret replacing it for HP Grass.
Perish Song is a great tool to ensure opposing sweeper don’t get too troublesome. I try and get one up before say a Reuniclus sets up too many Calm Minds, so I don’t get completely swept. It’s also my defense against those Baton Pass teams I see way too often, stopping their set up. Perish Song causes a lot of switches on the enemy team, allowing me to keep momentum and keep the tide in my favor.
Latios @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Timid Nature
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
-Draco Meteor
-Surf
-Thunder
-Trick
Choice Scarf Latios is quite underrated, as many people prefer to Specs it for Maximum power, or to use Calm Mind set to try and boost to victory. At one point in time I had a Calm Mind Latias in this spot, however I realized it wasn’t working out so well. My team needed a revenge killer, one who was fast enough to deal with the increasingly powerful Scarf Thunderus-T, as well as being able to reliable check or revenge kill all Dragon types with a dance or scarf. I then chose to replace Latias with her brother and scarfed him, to deal with all those problems. Besides being able to revenge kill many Pokemon, this scarfed set is more beneficial to my team overall than the other set. Unlike the Calm Mind version, which needs a couple boosts before being threatening, I can just switch in and pummel the opposing team with powerful Draco Meteors. Latios is fantastic in that it attracts counters to my Tornadus-T, such as Jirachi, Tyranitar, and Metagross. I can proceed to then do heavy damage to them all, with rain boosted Surfs. I play pretty aggressively with Latios when I know that the enemy team has lost their scarfers, however I still play cautiously when I see an enemy Tyranitar or Scizor. Until they’ve been weakened or taken out, I have to be careful with Latios so I don’t get Pursuited, as Latios is too important for me to lose immediately.
The EV’s for Latios are as basic as can be, max SpAtk to deal heavy damage and max speed to ensure I outspeed all variants of Terrakion, Landorus, Thunderus-T, Infernape, and other fast Pokemon who like to scarf. Despite not having any sort of Special Attack boosts, whether from an item or nature, Draco Meteors still demolish most Pokemon and severely dent guys who even resist it. Despite not being quite as bulky as his sister, and with no investment, Latios is still a great Pokemon defensively thanks to his many resistances. Latios is great at dealing with opposing rain sweepers, such as Starmie, Rotom-Wash, and Thunderus-T. He can make a good revenge killer to opposing Tornadus-T as well. Thanks to Jirachi’s Wish support, I live long enough to usually deal with problematic Pokemon.
Draco Meteor is my main move, the one I likely spam with. As long as my opponent doesn’t have a Pursuit trapper like Tyranitar or Scizor, this is likely the move I use throughout the battle until endgame, when I sometimes have to clean up with Latios. Like I said before, Draco Metors are extremely powerful, and great for just weakening the opposing team so somebody else like Tornadus-T can sweep.
Surf is here for coverage, and with Rain it acts as a pseudo-STAB. It always 2 hit KO’s the common Choice Banded Scizor in rain, meaning it can’t reliably counter Latios. Unfortunately, it doesn’t hurt the increasingly popular Special Defensive Tyranitar’s too much, especially when it changes the weather, which is why I have to play carefully with Latios when I know the opponent has a TTar. Overall Surf is a great boosted move for Latios that hits most Pokemon that Draco Meteor resists, complimenting it perfectly.
Thunder is the move I decided upon, after going through a lot of options. I also had tested Psyshock, HP Fire, and Dragon Pulse, and in the end decided Thunder was the best choice. HP Fire was only used on Scizor, but it only 2 hit KO’d with rain, meaning I might as well just use Surf. Psyshock was decent in that I could at least hurt Blissey, however it doesn’t do enough for me to want to stay in and risk getting paralyzed. I have Trick for her anyways. Dragon Pulse was good in theory, a move for me to use late game when the enemy team was weakened, but I always found myself using Draco Meteor anyways, to not risk anything. In the end I chose Thunder because I can reliably hurt bulky waters, such as Slowbro. This move especially is open to change, I await suggestions!
Trick is here mostly for completely crippling walls such as Blissey or Ferrothorn. I don’t use it until I’m sure I won’t need to outspeed anything else on the opposing team. This is saved exclusively for stall teams, as often times I need Latios to keep his scarf to outspeed a bunch of threats.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
Careful Nature
252 HP/ 32 Def / 224 SpDef
-Body Slam
-Iron Head
-Wish
-U-Turn
There’s a reason Specially Defensive Jirachi is getting so common; it’s a fantastic check to so many common threats, such as Latios, Latias, and Tornadus-T. Jirachi serves as my very important defensive cushion, able to take so many hits from some of OU’s most powerful. Despite being primarily a defensive Pokemon, the reason I chose Jirachi over some other common Specially Defensive Pokemon like Ferrothorn or Blissey is simple; Jirachi can actually be an offensive threat. Blissey is set up fodder to so many common Pokemon like Lucario, Terrakion, Landorus, etc. Ferrothorn is great, however I didn’t want someone who couldn’t handle Tornadus-T, who could otherwise dent my team. Jirachi, in the end, turns out to be the biggest team player, spreading Para-hax everywhere with his Body Slams, and wishing teammates back to good health with his nice Wishes (Provides 202 HP to all members switching in). With Jirachi providing so much for the team, and handling so many threats such as Latitwins, Tornadus, Alakazam, etc., he really is crucial for this team’s success.
The EV’s are self-explanatory pretty much, max HP is for maximum bulk and for passing on nice Wishes for the rest of my teammates. The majority of remaining EV’s are put into SpDef to sponge powerful Special Attacks, letting me lose only a third of my HP when hit by a Specs Draco Meteor from Latios…one of the most powerful Special Attacks in the game. The remaining is put into defense, just to be a bit more physically defensive as well. The Careful Nature is again to have a really high SpDef, while lowering my Special Attack, which is not a big deal at all.
Body Slam is a great move for Jirachi, the 60% chance of paralyzing the enemy Pokemon really helps my team, making it easier for my Terrakion or Tornadus-T to sweep. I originally had Thunder here, because I figured it would work well with Rain and had the same paralyzing chance, however Body Slam was chosen so I can paralyze Gliscors trying to switch in, Landorus, and Thunderus-T. The only thing I miss out upon is Gengar, and certain physical walls like Skarmory and Slowbro (who didn’t take that much damage from Thunder anyway).
Iron Head is a great STAB, and works sooo well with Body Slam. Paralyzing my opponent so they’re slower and might not move, and then proceed to Flinch them to death? Yes please. It also makes Jirachi a solid check to the increasingly popular mixed Tyranitar, as well as other rock types such as Terrakion.
Wish is of course great for the rest of my team, bringing their health up and ensuring they can continue to wreck the opponent team. It’s important for Jirachi as well, to ensure I stay healthy to continue checking dangerous threats. It’s a shame I can’t fit Protect onto Jirachi, as it’d be great to always get my health back, however I can’t really give up any other move!
U-Turn was chosen so I can scout, gain momentum, and not be trapped by Dugtrio or Magnezone. Pretty simple really, although I am considering replacing this move with Protect, just to ensure Jirachi can always restore all his health. What are you guys’ thoughts on this? I will miss being able to gain momentum though…hmmmm.
Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
Timid Nature
4 HP / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe
-Fire Blast
-Earth Power
-Hidden Power Ice
-Stealth Rock
Heatran may look wayyyyy out of place in a rain team; however he still is very effective for what he does. Despite rain taking away his STAB on Fire Blast, he’s still powerful enough to take out Specially Defensive Scizor, Forretress, and Ferrothorn, all threats to this team. He is a great check to most of Terrakion’s coutners, helping Terrakion sweep better endgame. Scizor dies, Skarmory dies, even Gliscor dies, due to my Air Balloon and immunity to Toxic…most variants can’t even touch me. Heatran also provides me with another steel type, very important with all the dragons running about. Lots of Salamences and Dragonites try to set up against me, only to be blasted away with HP Ice. Switching into them Outraging and taking them out is fun as well. Heatran’s lack of bulk on this set is helped with Jirachi’s Wishes, so I’m not concerned too much with the lack of investment in defense EV’s. Besides Heatran’s role of checking dangerous Dragons, Scizor, etc., he also is my Stealth Rocker, letting my other Pokemon sweep easier with residual damage building up on the enemy team. Stealth Rock is also crucial because otherwise Volcarona can sweep my team pretty much.
The EV’s again are nothing too fancy, max speed for outrunning many Pokemon and getting a Speed Tie with other Heatran. Max Special Attack is necessary, as with rain hampering my Fire STAB I need all the power I can get. Most Pokemon Heatran needs to kill, (Skarmory, Gliscor, Scizor, Dragons), are taken out even with rain, so I’m not worried about his power too much.
Fire Blast is my main move, and even with rain it still hurts. It deals with Steel types fine, and that’s all I need to be worried about. Despite the shaky accuracy, I absolutely need all the power I can get, so Flamethrower is not an option. I’ve even considered Overheat before…what do you guys think?
Earth Power is for opposing Heatran, and that’s really it. Heatran isn’t really a big threat to this team, and I’m really considering replacing this with Roar. This will stop Volcarona from using me as set up fodder and proceeding to sweep my team…again, what do you guys think?
Hidden Power Ice is useful against Dragons, Gliscor, and Landorus. None of them can really hurt me with my Air Balloon intact, allowing me to take them out easily. With my max Special Attack, all should die in one hit, provided Dragonite doesn’t have Multiscale of course. It’s quite useful and for some reason nobody expects it, despite it being quite standard.
Stealth Rock is Stealth Rock, enough said. Heatran has to be “burdened” with it unfortunately, as he’s the only one on my team who has use for it. (Jirachi can’t give up any of his moves, that’s for sure). I say burdened not very seriously of course, because it’s extremely helpful for weakening the opponent, and preventing Pokemon like Volcarona from causing too much problems.
Tornadus-T @ Choice Specs
Ability: Regenerator
Timid Nature
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
-Hurricane
-Focus Blast
-U-Turn
-Sleep Talk
One of the two stars this team was based around. Tornadus-T is THE biggest threat in the rain, unleashing powerful STAB Hurricanes to decimate the enemy. He honestly is one of my favorite new Pokemon released for BW2, as he’s so simple to use; come in, then start blasting Hurricanes. Once certain problematic Pokemon are gone, (Blissey, Jirachi), Tornadus can proceed to decimate. His awesome base speed of 121 allows him to outspeed Alakazam, Gengar, Starmie, Latios, Latias, all the muskateers…the list just goes on and on! Specs Hurricane is strong enough to 2 hit KO most Ferrothorn and Forretress, meaning not even those defensive behemoths are safe.
The EV’s and nature require no explanation. Tornadus-T needs to be as fast and powerful as possible, in order to cause maximum carnage. Although a Modest nature would be nice for even more power, Timid was chosen to ensure Keldeo, Terrakion, Verizion, Gengar, and Starmie were always slower.
Hurricane is my main move, the one I use 99% of the time. Flying has great coverage in OU, allowing me to use it pretty safely, when I know threats like Tyranitar and Jirachi are gone. It’s just so powerful!
Focus Blast is the next move, mostly for Tyranitar. With Stealth Rock, I have a good chance of taking out even Specially Defensive versions in one shot, (providing it hits of course). Being able to outspeed even scarfed TTars is fun as well, so I know I’ll always get two chances to hit it with this move. Aside from TTar though, it’s safe to say this is my least used move, simply because of its poor accuracy. Perhaps replace it with Superpower? Idc, I’m usually just spamming Hurricane anyway.
U-Turn is for scouting and gaining momentum. U-Turning to Jirachi when I anticipate a Rock or Ice move is always fun. Overall it’s very good, very standard, not much else to replace it with.
Sleep Talk is a move that’s somewhat unique, as I don’t see that many people use it. It was originally recommend to me by a good friend of mine, burritosenior. Originally, I had Grass Knot here to deal with Hippowdown and Gastrodon better, but I replaced it for Sleep Talk so I have someone who can take Sleep from Breloom and Amoonguss. With Tornadus taking the Spore, sleep clause activates and those pesky grass types can’t threaten any more of my team with Spore, while I still get the option of attacking!
Terrakion @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
Jolly Nature
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
-Close Combat
-Stone Edge
-Swords Dance
-Substitute
Terrakion is my other star in this team, and one of my favorite Pokemon of all time. He is in my opinion the best Swords Dancer in the game. I see him as a better version of Lucario from last gen, except more powerful, faster, and with better STAB coverage. The main strategy I use with him is get him in when the time is right, set up a Sub, then proceed to either Swords Dance for Sky-High attack or just start pummeling my opponent immediately. Terrakion behind a substitute is frightening; it means I’m free to cause massive damage to at least one of your guys. He works pretty well with Tornadus as well. I love predicting a Special Wall to come in, then U-Turning out to Terrakion. Allows me to get a free sub and start demolishing the opponent.
The EV spread and nature are obvious here again. Max attack for maximum power, and max speed to outrun all potential threats in the base speed region of 107 below. I also Speedtie with opposing Terrakion, Infernape, etc., which is great as if they come to revenge kill, I can get lucky and take them out without them damaging my substitute.
Close Combat is my main move of choice. High power, perfect accuracy, STAB…what’s not to love? It can 2 hit KO or 1 hit KO most bulky Pokemon in the game, even without the Swords Dance Boost. After getting a Sub up, I’m usually guaranteed at least two hits, as Terrakion is quite the speed demon, so between this and Stone Edge I can pummel whatever the opponent sends out.
Speaking of Stone Edge, it’s my other STAB move and a great one at that. While the accuracy is somewhat questionable, it’s usually reliable for me and I have no problems with it. Even if I get a defense drop from an Intimidate from incoming Salamences and Gyarados trying to revenge kill me, I can still secure the OHKO after Stealth Rock.
Swords Dance is to boost my already ridiculous attack even higher, allowing me to 1 hit KO almost everything neutral to it, and 2 hit KO’ing most things resistant to my STABS. I rarely go for a Dance outright, as I like to be secure behind a Substitute before I go for it.
Substitute is actually the move I often use first, even before Close Combat. The safety it gives me from Pokemon switching in is awesome, as I’m guaranteed one hit against it. This means I can get one hit on Scizor, Gliscor, etc. before having to switch out. All in all an awesome move for this Pokemon, and I highly recommend you all use Sub Terrakion!
Conclusion
Well, that's my team everyone! It definitely isn't original, it's as overused as one can be lol. I've had a blast using it though, and it's been pretty successful so far. It's definitely not perfect by any means, I eagerly await you guys improvements!
Anyone looking over my team, please rate, comment, luvdisk, and suggest anything you think will improve this team's success. Thanks for reading my RMT!! :)
Politoed @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpAtk / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power Grass
- Perish Song
Latios @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Thunder
- Trick
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP/ 32 Def / 224 SpDef
Careful Nature
- Body Slam
- Iron Head
- Wish
- U-Turn
Heatran @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power Ice
- Stealth Rock
Tornadus-T @ Choice Specs
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Focus Blast
- U-Turn
- Sleep Talk
Terrakion @ Life Orb
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpAtk / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power Grass
- Perish Song
Latios @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Thunder
- Trick
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP/ 32 Def / 224 SpDef
Careful Nature
- Body Slam
- Iron Head
- Wish
- U-Turn
Heatran @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power Ice
- Stealth Rock
Tornadus-T @ Choice Specs
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Focus Blast
- U-Turn
- Sleep Talk
Terrakion @ Life Orb
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
- Substitute