ORAS UU Rate My ORAS Rain Team

[Xeinlad15]

I would like to start with this: I am very new to actually trying to be a good trainer. I usually just get my favorites, level up, get good natures, good egg moves, stuff like that. EV's and IV's are new to me but I'm learning to control them. With that being said, all my Pokemon will have 6 IV's and bred personally by me. And I don't know exactly what "purpose" or "roll" each Pokemon will have. I also don't use starter Pokemon or Legendary Pokemon.

Heliolisk @ Leftovers
Ability: Dry Skin
EV's: 252 Sp. Atk, 252 Speed, 4 Defense
Nature: Modest
-Rain Dance
-Volt Switch
-Thunder
-Hyper Beam

My thoughts for this guy were 100% accuracy STAB Thunder, I have Volt Switch if I need it, Rain Dance because duh, and STAB Hyper Beam just in case. And Rain/Dry Skin+Leftovers to recover HP. This guy is a gem! I may think of running Focus Blast on him justto hit dark and steel types a little harder. Overall Heliolisk's Sp. Atk and Spe and typing with greatly benefit I hope

Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Rain Dish
EV's:
Nature Lonely
-Rain Dance
-Toxic Spikes
-Rapid Spin
-Scald

This guy is my Hazard guy. Scald for the chance of burn, toxic spikes to set poison and hazards, and rapid spin to knock them away. Rain/Rain Dish+Black Sludge for HP recover. Overall I don't know how I feel about Tentacruel. He seems good on paper but I don't know about an actual battle. I may think of replacing him all together. Maybe for Azumaril.

Kindra @
Ability: Swift Swim
EV's 252 Speed, 252 Sp. Atk, 4 Sp. Def
Nature: Modest
-Hydro Pump
-Draco Meteor
-Scald
-Ice Beam

Double Speed in Rain due to Swift Swim, Max EV's in Sp. Atk to ensure Kindra's powerful attacks with STAB Hydro Pump and Draco Meteor. Scald for burn chance on threats such as Mega Altaria and Ferrothorn. This guys brute force and speed makes me thing he'll be my special sweeper. With access to amazing STAB moves and extra power and speed in rain, this guy is definitely a force to be reckoned with

Goodra Wise Glasses
Ability: Hydration
EV's: 252 Sp. Atk, 252 Speed, 4 Def
Nature: Quiet
-Dragon Pulse
-Rain Dance
-Rest
-Focus Blast?

Rain/Hydration/Rest to fully recover health, Stab Dragon Pulse. This guy can be kinda tanky but at the same time he lacks defense. This may mainly be a staller wall with hydra-rest+rain dance. His item may change to damp rock but I haven't fully decided on it. Still not sure about focus blast, I may replace with Aqua tail or power whip.

Toxicroak @
Ability: Dry Skin
EV's: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 Def
Nature: Jolly
-Gunk Shot
-Ice Punch
-Drain Punch
-Sucker Punch

Rain Dance and Dry Skin +Drain Punch for HP recover, STAB gunk shot, ice punch, and sucker punch for type coverage. This guy is to be used in or out of the rain, in the rain he gets an added health boost, and out he still gets a little health boost and can still deal out attacks. His speed should prove useful and I feel his stats are evenly spread out for what I need him to do.

Roserade @
Ability: Poison Point
EV's: 252 Sp. Atk, 252 Sp. Def, 4 Def
Nature: Modest
-Sludge Bomb
-Weather Ball
-Leaf Storm
-Synthesis

Okay so my thoughts about this guy is just what I have on hand xD His Sp. Atk is very high and it offers some type coverage against other water types. Poison Point is to help slow foes by poisoning them. I may need to change a lot of stuff around but this is just what I had in my PC from a previous team. Overall I'm satified with Roserade and am content with adding him to the team

 

[rs]

What's up man, pretty cool rain team you have here. The first thing I noticed is that you don't have some of the EV's, items, or natures inputted which is kind of odd. This team also doesn't have rain's most valuable component, Mega Swampert. But anyway, I'd like to recommend a couple of things to help this team out.

First off, I'd like to recommend changing some of the EV's/Natures/Items on some of the Pokemon on this team.

• On Heliolisk, I'd highly recommend using Timid over Modest, Heliolisk's speed tier is extremely good, especially at max speed, outspeeding the likes of Infernape, non-scarf mienshao, and other high-tier pokemon. I'd also recommend using Life Orb > Leftovers as you won't need any extra recovery with Dry Skin and it gives you a nice boost to Heliolisk's power. While we're on Heliolisk, last thing I'd recommend is using Surf > Rain Dance and Hyper Voice > Hyper Beam. I'll recommend a different rain setter later.
• On Kingdra, I'd like to recommend using Choice Specs. You didn't have an item chosen but I'd definitely recommend using Specs, because Kingdra can freely spam its STABs and hit like a truck doing so.
• Lastly, on Roserade, I'd like to recommend using the set Sleep Powder / Leaf Storm / Sludge Bomb / Spikes. I'd also change the nature to Timid and give it a Life Orb. Using this set, Sleep Powder can give you a chance to Mega Evolve with Swampert (I'll talk about this later on) and gives you more hazards with spikes.

Next, I'd like to recommend a few substitutions for some pokemon.

• First I'd like to recommend using Tornadus in place of Toxicroak. Tornadus gives you a priority rain setter, which is always essential on every rain team. This mon can also use Hurricane in the rain, which is 100% accurate. I'd recommend using a set like this.
  
  
  
  Tornadus @ Damp Rock
  Ability: Prankster
  EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
  Timid Nature
  IVs: 0 Atk
  - Rain Dance
  - Taunt
  - Grass Knot
  - Hurricane
  
  Again, Damp Rock is to maximize rain turns, taunt can keep rocks off the field and give Tornadus more chances to switch-in without being hurt by rocks.
• Next, I'd recommend using Cobalion over Tentacruel. Cobalion gives you Stealth Rocks as well as a nice check to Hydreigon, especially Fire Blast varients (negates weakness to fire in rain). I'd recommend using a set kind of like this.
  
  
  
  Cobalion @ Leftovers
  Ability: Justified
  EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
  Jolly Nature
  - Stealth Rock
  - Volt Switch
  - Close Combat
  - Iron Head
  
  This set works as a kind of Stealth Rock Offensive pivot. It also really helps with Umbreon, Blissey, Snorlax, etc which is really nice.
  
  
• And lastly, my biggest recommendation, is to add Mega Swampert over Goodra. Mega Swampert opened up the door for rain teams in UU, giving it another huge threat. It's almost essential on every rain team in UU and OU, with its massive 150 Atk and decent speed tier with rain. This is a threat I'd highly recommend you use. This is the set I recommend.
  
  
  
  Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
  Ability: Damp --> Swift Swim
  EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
  Jolly Nature
  - Waterfall
  - Earthquake
  - Ice Punch
  - Rain Dance

But anyway, I still think this is a very solid rain team and I hope you consider my recommendations. Good luck with your team!

 

[teal6]

Hi Xeinlad,

You really should take into account what Shiba suggested above. I do understand you are not terribly interested in using starters, but for a UU rain team Mega Swampert is almost a necessity just because of the sheer amount of threat you lose should you not use him. Alternatives to the set that Shiba posted run Superpower over Ice Punch, but either works well.

After taking into account Shiba's suggestions, which give you the core of a good UU rain team, I would like to just mention how exactly rain should be played. Unfortunately, with the lack of permanent rain in this generation, utilizing the stallish aspects of rain mons isn't really terribly viable any more. The most defensive utility you will get from rain is in weakening fire attacks which helps steel types and grass types survive moves they would not otherwise. A good example of this is the Cobalion suggestion above.

In addition to the changes above which I like a lot:

Your Roserade set is not particularly conductive to what a rain team would want to accomplish. Weather Ball isn't a terribly useful move under rain. Granted, you can hit fire types SE but there are few in UU that you are going to want to stay in with considering that set. I would recommend replacing Weather Ball with Spikes, offering you a way to soften up mons before an eventual Swift Swim Sweep (tm). The reason why chip damage is so important on rain is because of the limited amount of turns. This goes doubly so in UU because the rain is entirely manual, so you cannot switch in a Drizzle user to set up rain for a late game sack. Point being, when you think you have a chance to go for game, you want to make sure any potential 2HKOs are 1HKOs instead. Spikes, taking a consistent 12% from any grounded mon, will help you do this a lot.

In addition to this, I think you should switch to a more offensive variant. Rain teams tend to be fast and hard hitting, so I think a more powerful Roserade helps this a lot. Leaf Storm vs Giga Drain is a personal preference sort of thing, I prefer the latter but on an offensive variant Leaf Storm has its place. Additionally, the ability should be changed to Natural Cure, which lets you deal with burns or paralysis a lot better. The final set should look like this:

Roserade @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Spikes / Toxic Spikes
- Sludge Bomb
- Leaf Storm
- Sleep Powder

Toxic Spikes is an alternative to spikes which will help wear down walls a little more quickly. Sleep Powder is a necessity as it can provide you a free turn or two to set up rain for a sweep.

Your Kingdra set is mono-special attacking, so feel free to run Choice Specs on it in order to deal a ton of damage to anything that switches in. If you feel it more appropriate to keep Kingdra as a backup sweeper, using Life Orb allows you to do so. Kingdra also has the ability to run a mixed set, making advantage of it's equal attacking stat which also allows it to deal with Special walls in the tier (like Blissey) a bit better. If you remain mono special I recommend utilizing a fighting coverage move on Swampert to ensure the OHKO on Blissey just in case, but again it's more personal preference and what you feel more prepared for.

Actually, thinking about it more I would like to recommend Superpower coverage even more on Swampert. This allows you to ensure a KO on Porygon2 on the switch under rain, if you hit it with a Waterfall on the switch and then a Superpower the turn afterward. This is important because a mon like P2 can totally reset the momentum of a match which is something you want to avoid definitely with a rain team. Basically, unlike a balance team, you want to play the entire match on your own terms and never allow the opponent to get a turn in where they aren't "responding" to what you did the turn before.

It is recommended in Shiba's set but I think my final note will just be to ensure you understand the importance of Stealth Rock on any team. Arguably the best move in the game, Stealth Rock function similarly to Spikes which I mentioned above. The consistent damage is vital to you playing out the game the way you would like to.

Rain teams come relatively standard in the tier, with room for innovation only when you are particularly comfortable using them. I think, for the time being, a standard rain team will be best for you to familiarize yourself with both the tier and the style of play. While I do think it is a bit of a "hit or miss" playstyle, a user experienced with weather teams that can make the most of them tend to do well.