Overview
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The undisputed king of BW OU returns in the sixth generation, struggling in the depths of lower tiers. This is due to the weather nerf that was introduced in XY, making it so that automatic weather only lasts for five turns, or eight if the Pokemon is holding a weather duration-extending stone. Rain offense is still a threatening force in the current metagame, especially because it's so unprepared for, and Politoed is the centerpiece for all rain teams. Politoed even has a unique set of support moves to further support its team, such as Toxic, Hypnosis, and Scald. Politoed has pretty average stats all across the board though, making it a mediocre Pokemon aside from providing rain support. Overall, while Politoed has gone down a ton in terms of viability, it is still the best supporter to a fearsome playstyle in XY OU.
Specially Defensive
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name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Scald
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Encore / Hypnosis
move 4: Hypnosis / Ice Beam / Rest
ability: Drizzle
item: Damp Rock
evs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
nature: Calm
Moves
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Scald is a must-have for pretty much every bulky Water-type, and Politoed's rain makes it even stronger. Toxic is a crippling status for most Politoed switch-ins like Gastrodon. The third and fourth moveslots are adjustable to your team's needs; Encore can be used in the third slot to foil attempts of using Politoed as setup bait while also giving frail teammates like Kabutops free switch-in opportunities. Hypnosis cripples a single Pokemon for the majority, if not the entirety, of the battle; however, its low accuracy and the change in sleep mechanics are setbacks. Ice Beam has good coverage with Scald and gives Politoed a way to hit Pokemon that resist Water such as Latios and Breloom. Rest is an option for Politoed to get back to full health, giving it opportunities to set up rain later on in the game.
Set Details
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Maximum Special Defense investment compliments Politoed's naturally high Special Defense, and Scald burns shield it on the physical side as well. A physically defensive spread can be used if you already pack a check to common special attackers like Aegislash and Greninja. Damp Rock is the item of choice, as it lengthens the duration of rain from five turns to eight, giving Politoed's teammates more than enough time to wreak havoc.
Usage Tips
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Politoed's main role is to activate rain with Drizzle. Due to XY mechanics, rain only lasts for a limited amount of turns, which means that you need to send Politoed back in to reactivate rain. Scald is usually the most spammable move for Politoed, as it has decent power under rain and can cripple both offensive and defensive Pokemon with a burn. If you use Hypnosis, feel free to fire it off as soon as possible. Politoed's other moves should be used with relative care, as a wrong move can result in Politoed's end, hindering the rest of your team; Toxic should only be used on predicted switch-ins to walls or Pokemon that don't care for Scald, such as Keldeo, while Encore should be used on Pokemon like Dragon Dance Mega Charizard-X or Substitute Gyarados that think they can set up on Politoed. Rest should only be used if you feel that Politoed is getting too low on health and you'll need to reactivate rain later on in the game. Also watch out for Knock Off users, as they severely hinder Politoed's supporting capabilities. Keep track of Politoed's health, as it will need to continuously keep switching in to activate rain.
Team Options
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The most obvious teammates for Politoed are those that require rain support or really appreciate it. Swift Swim Pokemon are an extremely scary force to face in the rain, with the best examples being Kingdra, Kabutops, and Omastar. Bulky Steel-types like Mega Scizor and Mega Mawile love the rain, as it alleviates their Fire-type weaknesses, letting them make better use of their bulk and have an easier time setting up. Thundurus-T can absorb Electric-type attacks aimed at its Water-type teammates and fire back 100% accurate Thunders. Grass-types like Amoonguss and Ferrothorn are nice to deal with opposing Water-types like Keldeo and Azumarill, and they also appreciate their Fire-type weaknesses being alleviated. A backup rain setter is also recommended to ease the pressure off of Politoed; Tornadus, Thundurus, Zapdos, and Deoxys-S are great examples of this.
Offensive
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name: Offensive
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Hypnosis / Psychic / Scald
ability: Drizzle
item: Damp Rock
evs: 172 HP / 252 SpA / 84 Spe
nature: Modest
Moves
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When boosted by rain, Hydro Pump really hurts despite coming from a relatively low base 90 Special Attack stat. Ice Beam provides great coverage for Politoed, letting it hit bulky Grass- and Dragon-types, such as Chesnaught and Latias. Focus Blast is used to get past Ferrothorn, a common check to both Politoed and rain teams as a whole. Hypnosis is a great option in the last slot to practically disable a threat for the entirety of the game, although the horrendous accuracy and change in sleep mechanics are major downfalls. Psychic can be used since it hits Mega Venusaur as well as other roadblocks for rain teams, such as Tentacruel and Toxicroak, really hard. Scald can be used instead as a more reliable STAB, and it also has a decent burn chance that can cripple defensive checks like Latias and Mega Venusaur.
Set Details
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Maximum Special Attack investment and a Modest nature is used to guarantee the highest damage output. 84 Speed EVs let Politoed outspeed everything up to uninvested base 80s, most notably Mega Venusaur; the rest is thrown in HP for more bulk. Damp Rock, again, is the preferred item, as it lengthens rain turns, letting Politoed support its team to the fullest. Choice Specs can be used instead to be able to beat threats to rain such as Rotom-W, Mega Venusaur, Ferrothorn, and Mega Charizard-Y with much greater ease. Choice Specs does limit the amount of turns rain is on the field, which is the entire point of using Politoed in the first place, but semi-rain teams with Politoed + a Swift Swim sweeper love the power that Choice Specs Politoed brings.
Usage Tips
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This Politoed is played much more offensively, as it greatly pressures its opponents with boosted Hydro Pumps. Politoed's coverage moves should only be used on predicted switches into Pokemon that resist Water, as Hydro Pump will almost always be a better choice otherwise. Again, be wary of Knock Off users, as they limit the turns that rain will be on the field by stripping Politoed of its Damp Rock.
Team Options
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This variant of Politoed's teammates should mostly be those that can work their best on offensive rain teams. Swift Swim Pokemon are again great choices, as Politoed can also soften walls for them to blow past late-game. Keldeo is a great partner for offensive Politoed, blowing past Chansey and Ferrothorn, two Pokemon that usually trouble it. Electric-types like Thundurus-T and Raikou are also appreciated to take on Electric-type moves while firing off powerful 100% accurate Thunders. Backup rain setters are hugely appreciated, especially if Politoed uses Choice Specs; Deoxys-S, Zapdos, and Thundurus are great examples that would fit well on offensive rain teams. Tornadus and Tornadus-T are great rain setters that can also utilize a 100% accurate STAB in Hurricane; Tornadus-T is also an excellent pivot that's appreciated on offensive rain teams.
Other Options
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A Choice Scarf set is a nice alternative to the sets above, but it forces Politoed to lose out on Damp Rock, which is really unfortunate considering automatic rain is Politoed's biggest, and arguably only, niche. Chesto Berry + Rest is a good option to fully cure Politoed so it can keep supporting its team, but again, the loss of Damp Rock really sucks. Similarly, a Rest + Sleep Talk strategy can work, but it's too hard to pull off properly with Politoed and is generally just a waste of moveslots. Leftovers can be used instead for passive recovery, but it greatly lessens the effect of Drizzle. Politoed has access to a lot of other support moves like Perish Song, Haze, and Refresh, but the moves listed on the main sets are generally more helpful. Surf is an alternative STAB that has both reliability and power, but Scald is almost always better due to its higher utility. Rain Dance is useful for resetting rain once it runs out or on a predicted Tyranitar, Hipppowdon, or Mega Charizard-Y switch-in, but it's fairly redundant and Politoed prefers its other support moves. Hidden Power Grass hits Gastrodon and Rotom-W for super effective damage, but it doesn't even OHKO Gastrodon, even with a Choice Specs boost, making it relatively useless.
Checks & Counters
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**Water-Immune Pokemon**: Water-immune Pokemon not only check Politoed very well, but also are great checks to other rain Pokemon. Gastrodon is the best of these, as its secondary Ground typing also lets it wall Electric-types. Vaporeon is also a good check, but it faces trouble from common Thunders that rain teams carry.
**Bulky Grass-types**: Bulky Grass-types not only check Politoed well, but they also check rain teams as a whole. Ferrothorn and Mega Venusaur are amongst the best of these because they aren't hit super effectively by Ice Beam. Ferrothorn can check the Steel-types that are found on rain teams, but it has to beware of Keldeo's Secret Sword as well as offensive Politoed's Focus Blast. Mega Venusaur can check Keldeo, Thundurus, and Azumarill very well, but needs to watch out for a Psychic from Politoed as well as common Hurricanes from Tornadus and Tornadus-T. There are also other Grass-types that check rain teams well, such as Celebi and Amoonguss, but they're fairly rare.
**Common Rain Stops**: Checking Politoed isn't a big deal, but checking rain teams as a whole is. Latias, Latios, and Rotom-W are all great checks to both Politoed and rain teams. The former two have a nice typing that lets them wall Keldeo and Thundurus, while the latter's typing grants it a boosted Water STAB as well as an Electric STAB that hits the majority of rain teams really hard. However, Latias and Latios are hurt by an Ice Beam from Politoed, while Rotom-W is severely crippled by Toxic.
**Other Weather Inducers**: Mega Charizard-Y, (Mega) Tyranitar, and Hippowdon are all common weather inducers that can strip Politoed of its precious rain. They need to be careful, however, as they're all hit super effectively by Politoed's Water STAB, and Politoed can even use Rain Dance on a predicted switch to foil their plans by changing the weather back to rain.
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