Hello there, this is my first RMT.
I started playing PokemonShowdown a couple of months ago, and I started off with a rain team that looks very different to the one below. I've made a lot of improvements since then, but I've now pretty much run out of ideas on how to improve it.
The objective of this team is to sweep with Toxicroak, and while having rain up helps, the team can function reasonably well without it.
So here it is:
The Details:
Azelf @ Focus Sash
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- U-turn
- Psychic
Azelf is my lead. It will try to get rocks down and prevent the opposition from getting hazards down with taunt. It can also just U-turn out for a favourable match-up.
Psychic gives pretty good neutral coverage, and also packs a punch as well with Azelf's high Sp atk stat.
Toxicroak @ Life Orb
Trait: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 40 Def / 216 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Sucker Punch
Toxicroak is what this team is built around.
The moveset is pretty conventional. Drain Punch is the main STAB. Ice Punch will hurt almost all of Toxicroaks counters and gives great coverage. Sucker Punch is what allows Toxicroak to sweep despite its low-ish speed.
The EVs let it outspeed Jolly Mamoswine. I've considered giving it more, but there really isn't anything notable after that. The rest I put into defense.
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 58 SAtk / 220 Spd / 232 HP
Modest Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
The most common threats Toxicroak faces are Ground types and Flying types, notably Gliscor, Landorus(-T), bulky Donphan, etc. One of the things I noticed about these pokes is that they may also have an Ice attack as their secondary attack (Ice Fang in the case of Gliscor, HP Ice for Landorus(-T) and Ice shard for Donphan). For these reasons, Rotom-W seemed like a good choice.
Also, Skarmory is a problem for Toxicroak, and Rotom-W can handle it without much difficulty.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Pursuit
While a large number of threats are handled by Rotom-W, there are a few more that remain an issue, namely Gengar and Alakazam.
Gengar, with its Disable set, can be difficult to handle. Alakazam often carries a Focus Sash, so it will survive a Sucker Punch from Toxicroak and KO it with Psychic/Psyshock.
This is where Scizor comes in. With its priority move it'll shut these two down, while also giving me access to the VoltTurn combo.
Politoed @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast
- Toxic
This Politoed used to run the Specs set, but kept dying too quickly and had too little an impact on matches so I decided to try this out and it's been a pretty good decision.
Hydro Pump and Ice Beam are obvious. Focus Blast is great for incoming Ferrothorns, occasionally 2HKOing depending on the other guy's EV spread.
Toxic is a recent addition (before it was HP grass). Toxic may look a bit funny on this set, but it does serve a purpose. Jellicent is a huge problem for this team. Toxicroak and Scizor fear getting Will-o-wisped, and Rotom-W's Volt Switch only does something like ~30% on the more bulky variants, and Politoed's HP Grass is even less than that. The only thing I could think of was this. I'd use Toxic on Jellicents that switch in expecting a Hydro Pump, and stall it with Ferrothorn and set up Spikes in the process.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SDef
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Thunder Wave
- Gyro Ball
Toxicroak is very frail and while its weaknesses have been covered pretty well with my other Pokes, it'll struggle to survive strong neutral hits, like Electric and Dragon attacks.
Ferrothorn is my go-to defensive Pokemon. It's my solution to Dragon-types. It will take whatever they can throw it and strike back with Gyro Ball. Fire Blast and HP Fire aren't a big issue as long as I have rain up.
And it has no problem taking strong Thunderbolts from Starmie and Jolteon.
Thunder Wave and Gyro Ball together may seem strange, but it's my only answer to Lucario. Without it, Lucario would come in on Ferrothorn, set up, and sweep, and I wouldn't have anything to stop it. At least this way I can Thunder Wave it and revenge kill it with a Superpower from Scizor.
The Threats:
Jellicent is a huge headache for this team.
Lucario is also a problem after a SD boost.
Also, there's Volcarona, which resists the attacks of my physical attackers, and if it manages a couple of Quiver Dances, will also sweep through by special attackers.
This team has peaked at a rating of 1806 on the ladder, and I think I get can get it that little bit higher if I can get these threats under control.
Thanks for reading. All ideas and suggestions are welcome!
I started playing PokemonShowdown a couple of months ago, and I started off with a rain team that looks very different to the one below. I've made a lot of improvements since then, but I've now pretty much run out of ideas on how to improve it.
The objective of this team is to sweep with Toxicroak, and while having rain up helps, the team can function reasonably well without it.
So here it is:
The Details:
Azelf @ Focus Sash
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- U-turn
- Psychic
Azelf is my lead. It will try to get rocks down and prevent the opposition from getting hazards down with taunt. It can also just U-turn out for a favourable match-up.
Psychic gives pretty good neutral coverage, and also packs a punch as well with Azelf's high Sp atk stat.
Toxicroak @ Life Orb
Trait: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 40 Def / 216 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Sucker Punch
Toxicroak is what this team is built around.
The moveset is pretty conventional. Drain Punch is the main STAB. Ice Punch will hurt almost all of Toxicroaks counters and gives great coverage. Sucker Punch is what allows Toxicroak to sweep despite its low-ish speed.
The EVs let it outspeed Jolly Mamoswine. I've considered giving it more, but there really isn't anything notable after that. The rest I put into defense.
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 58 SAtk / 220 Spd / 232 HP
Modest Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
The most common threats Toxicroak faces are Ground types and Flying types, notably Gliscor, Landorus(-T), bulky Donphan, etc. One of the things I noticed about these pokes is that they may also have an Ice attack as their secondary attack (Ice Fang in the case of Gliscor, HP Ice for Landorus(-T) and Ice shard for Donphan). For these reasons, Rotom-W seemed like a good choice.
Also, Skarmory is a problem for Toxicroak, and Rotom-W can handle it without much difficulty.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Pursuit
While a large number of threats are handled by Rotom-W, there are a few more that remain an issue, namely Gengar and Alakazam.
Gengar, with its Disable set, can be difficult to handle. Alakazam often carries a Focus Sash, so it will survive a Sucker Punch from Toxicroak and KO it with Psychic/Psyshock.
This is where Scizor comes in. With its priority move it'll shut these two down, while also giving me access to the VoltTurn combo.
Politoed @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast
- Toxic
This Politoed used to run the Specs set, but kept dying too quickly and had too little an impact on matches so I decided to try this out and it's been a pretty good decision.
Hydro Pump and Ice Beam are obvious. Focus Blast is great for incoming Ferrothorns, occasionally 2HKOing depending on the other guy's EV spread.
Toxic is a recent addition (before it was HP grass). Toxic may look a bit funny on this set, but it does serve a purpose. Jellicent is a huge problem for this team. Toxicroak and Scizor fear getting Will-o-wisped, and Rotom-W's Volt Switch only does something like ~30% on the more bulky variants, and Politoed's HP Grass is even less than that. The only thing I could think of was this. I'd use Toxic on Jellicents that switch in expecting a Hydro Pump, and stall it with Ferrothorn and set up Spikes in the process.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SDef
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Thunder Wave
- Gyro Ball
Toxicroak is very frail and while its weaknesses have been covered pretty well with my other Pokes, it'll struggle to survive strong neutral hits, like Electric and Dragon attacks.
Ferrothorn is my go-to defensive Pokemon. It's my solution to Dragon-types. It will take whatever they can throw it and strike back with Gyro Ball. Fire Blast and HP Fire aren't a big issue as long as I have rain up.
And it has no problem taking strong Thunderbolts from Starmie and Jolteon.
Thunder Wave and Gyro Ball together may seem strange, but it's my only answer to Lucario. Without it, Lucario would come in on Ferrothorn, set up, and sweep, and I wouldn't have anything to stop it. At least this way I can Thunder Wave it and revenge kill it with a Superpower from Scizor.
The Threats:
Jellicent is a huge headache for this team.
Lucario is also a problem after a SD boost.
Also, there's Volcarona, which resists the attacks of my physical attackers, and if it manages a couple of Quiver Dances, will also sweep through by special attackers.
This team has peaked at a rating of 1806 on the ladder, and I think I get can get it that little bit higher if I can get these threats under control.
Thanks for reading. All ideas and suggestions are welcome!
