Introduction
Weather, weather, weather. Welcome to the OU metagame. Whether or not to use it is the first question to answer when making a new team. My answer was no. Long gone are my days of keeping a below average Pokémon alive to win a game. Long gone are my days of relying on Chlorophyll to sweep a team. Long gone are my days of needing rain to use Hurricane. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to God’s Country. OU Weatherless.
Team Building
A few months ago when I was battling on Showdown my opponent gave me advice. At the time I didn’t want it, I didn’t think I needed it. However, I listened to what he said, and it stuck. He told me that I should be using a Gengar with my Heatran. He told me that Gengar was Immune to Heatrans weaknesses and that Heatran resisted Gengars weaknesses. He told me that the only type that can hit one of these two super effectively and hit the other one neutrally is Water. These two Pokémon were almost a perfect match for each other. A third Pokémon, Politoed joined in on the fun and formed an amazing defensive core. With all the switching these three team mates did, it became evident that they needed rapid spin support. Forretress was my first and only choice. A pine cone with a metal shell? That’s awesome! The next glaring weakness was priority. I needed something to come in and ruin the fun of my opponent. Breloom was my go to choice because he also hit Water type Pokémon hard, something that I was lacking. My last wanted Pokémon was a Dragon, who doesn’t want a pet Dragon? Of course, if I am going to have a pet Dragon I want the coolest looking one Available. Since I can’t get the Night Fury off of How to Train Your Dragon I chose Latios.
My Clique
Here We Go!
Gengar @ Black Sludge
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Disable
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
This is the standard Smogon Sub/Disable set so I am assuming that most of us already understand it. However for those that have been living under a rock this is how I use it. Substitute, Disable what ever attack my opponent used to break my Sub. Set up another Substitute to see if the opponent has another attack that hits me. If he/she does either try to take out their Poke with stab Shadow Ball or Focus Blast or switch out. This works best on Ground or Fighting types who already have one move I am immune to. Simply Disable their coverage move, set up a Sub and do major damage.
Heatran @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 202 HP / 52 Atk / 252 SDef
Lonely Nature
- Lava Plume
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roar
Originally I had a max speed/special attack Heatran here with Air Ballon. However, I was recommended to switch it out with a special defensive variant. Lava Plume is for stab, and for the Burn chance. HP Ice is for Dragons who think that they can can switch in on me. It also catches people who over predict and try to use DD on my Heatran predicting a switch. Roar is pretty standard on a defensive Pokemon. This bring us to Earthquake.... and those 52 Atk EV's. Why 52? I have no idea, just a random number I picked. Let's see what they can do though.
52+ Atk Earthquake Vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Tentacruel
(158 - 188 HP) 43.4 - 51.6%
52+ Atk Earthquake Vs. 252 HP / 32 Def Tentacruel
(208 - 246 HP) 57.1 - 67.6%
52+ Atk Earthquake Vs. 252 HP Jirachi
(154 - 182 HP) 38.1 - 45 %
Now lets look at Earth Power
0 SpA Earth Power Vs 252 HP/ 0 SpD Tentacruel
(140 - 166 HP) 38.5 - 46.5 %
0 SpA Earth Power Vs 252 HP/ 224 SpD Tentacruel
(116 - 138 HP) 31.9 - 37.9 %
0 SpA Earth Power Vs 252 HP / 224 SpD Jirachi
(132-156 HP) 32.7 - 38.6 %
As you can see Earthquake can hit these Special Walls for a 2HKO after hazards.
Politoed @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 236 HP / 52 Def / 220 SDef
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Protect
- Toxic
- Encore
I know this does seem like a joke but it isn't. Politoed has similar stats all across the board with Jellicent. It also bluffs that I have a rain team. That could prevent my opponent from trying to set up with things such as Volcorona and Venusuar if they think I'm just going to make it rain. I don't think I will use this set but it could be interesting to say the least
Latios (F) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Fire]
What I did here was find one of the best choice scarf users in the game. Then I took his move set, and put it on his sister. Latias still hits hard from her base 110 SAtk. Obviously she doesn't hit as hard as Latios, but she is just as fast and just as good. The choice scarf is what makes her shine. She out runs Genesect, who thinks he has an easy KO with U-Turn and OHKOs with HP Fire. Ice beam hits Landorus, Dragonite, and Salamence for OHKOs. Draco is my most powerful move and Psyshock get a stab boost while hitting special walls hard.
Forretress @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Spikes
- Gyro Ball
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
This is usual lead unless I spot a major weakness. Max Def/HP to increase chances of getting my hazards up. Gyro Ball hits most sweepers very, very hard. Rapid Spin and Leftovers are standard for Forre. I don't run Special Def EV's because I try to keep sturdy intact so that I don't get one shotted. One thing that I would like to point out is that Gyro Ball does around 80% to Espeon, a common switch in due to Magic Bounce.
Breloom @ Life Orb
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Seed
- Mach Punch
- Spore
- Focus Punch
This is simple, bring Breloom in on something that it can kill. (T-tar comes to mind, and if I bring Politoed then my opponent will want to keep his T-tar alive.) Force the switch out, use Spore on whatever comes in. From there, if you predict another switch use Focus Punch. Then the switch in is now out sped by Breloom. If you think the asleep Pokemon will stay in use one of your stabs to do massive damage.
Viola, there is my Clique. Let me know what you think! :)