SM OU Fishy Business (Peaked 1633, currently in 1500's)

Hello there! Posting my first attempt at a RMT on here and hoping to receive some constructive advice to improve this team further, any and all comments will be taken into consideration for the team. Without further ado, lets get onto the team shall we?

Pelipper.jpeg
Toilet Bird (Pelipper) (M) @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- Defog
- U-turn
- Roost
- Hurricane

The setter of the team, he makes the magic happen, decided on a defensive spread, though have been considering changing this to tailwind to add some slower sweepers in potentially, um'ing and ar'ing over scald and hurricane in the last slot, but hurricane is what currently occupies it. U turn grabs a slow switch, Defog to get rid of hazards and roost is there for some longevity. With our rain setter in place we need something to abuse it, i decided on a rarer option for this in...

Qwilfish.jpeg
Butt Stinger (Qwilfish) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Poison Jab
- Destiny Bond
- Fell Stinger

Ahh Qwilfish, the damage this little guy can do is seriously slept on and it usually allows me to get a positive trade off in a match, this fish also has the niche of checking both stabs of Tapu Fini, a common way to deal with Kingdras on rain teams, Destiny bond has picked up a fair share of surprise KO's and fell stinger was put on to surprise low health mons and aid Qwilfish in sweeping. Now I have a physical rain abuser i wanted something else that worked with rain to hit on the special side. I decided on...

Greninja.jpeg
Yoshimitsu (Greninja-Ash) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Water Shuriken
- Extrasensory

Ash greninja, this ninja has cemented his place as one of the most used mons in the game, and with good reason, the damage this mon dishes out is crazy and under rain this damage is increased further, this pokemon also adds a form of priority to the team, beating threats such as pheromosa, and landorus T, with ease. Currently running the 4th move as extrasensory to get good hits off on Toxapex and Amoongus, but might change this to U-turn to keep momentum in my corner. With good offense sorted I needed something to sit there and take some hits, I also needed rocks for my team, to this end i decided to add...

Ferrothorn.jpeg
Hug Me Plz? (Ferrothorn) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock

This guy is here to put rocks up and accumulate some chip damage with Leech seed to aid a sweep from the rain abusers. Knock off was added to remove eviolites from things like Porygon 2 or Chansey, which without them pose a lot less of a problem, Power whip helps dish out some damage too, hitting things like dugtrio and Fini, for good damage. In the generally offensive style of the team I next decided i wanted to include another sweeper, while also making use of a Z move on the team, I was also noticing i had quite a tough matchup against opposing Ferrothorns, so i decided to go with...

Volcorona.jpeg
Doritos (Volcarona) (M) @ Firium Z
Ability: Flame Body
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ground]

A typical sweeper Volcorona set, this set helps deal with Ferrothorn and scizor, OHKO'ing both at +1 even in the rain, Giga drain allows Volcorona to get some recovery and beat things like greninja locked into something not named water shuriken, and Tapu Fini. HP Ground allows it to pick up KO's on opposing Heatrans and Magnezones, and Fire blast for some obligatory STAB. The team was looking fairly solid at this stage and i wasnt really sure what to add next, having used this next set on a different team i wanted to try it again on this team and so far its been doing quite well, though this 6th mon is definitely the most interchangable, im currently going with...

Nihilego.jpeg
Lusamine (Nihilego) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Power Gem
- Sludge Wave
- Thunder
- Hidden Power [Ice]

The standard scarf set of this meta, running scarf on Nihilego guarantees the outspeed and KO of scarf Garchomp, a big threat in the current metagame. Thunder has the benefit of being 100% accurate in the rain and helps to deal big damage to Celesteela and opposing water types that arent named seismitoad or Gastrodon. Sludge wave and Power gem are the STAB attacks of choice and help deal with the Tapus and Mega Pinsir very well.

And there you have it. My current rain team, as mentioned before any constructive criticism is appreciated.

THREATS: Stall, this team doesnt have a great matchup against it whatsoever, with predictions you can wear things down but generally it struggles to break super reliably.

Mega Zard Y: This thing counters the weather when it comes in and i dont have a completely reliable switchin, with good prediction Nihilego can force it out, but it doesnt want to come in on solarbeam.

Tapu Koko: If this thing has HP Fire and rain isnt up then i have a problem, and it can often get a kill whenever it comes in, if i have Ash Greninja early game it becomes less of a problem but its still a nuisance. Nihilego beats it 1v1, but again doesnt want to switch into it

HERE IS AN IMPORTABLE IF YOU WISH TO PLAY WITH THE TEAM, FEEL FREE TO CHANGE THE NICKNAMES AS YOU WISH.

http://pastebin.com/qWPxu9Rw
 

AbrarWasee

formerly Train All
Hey man! I quite like the rain team. A few suggestions if you don't mind.
  • Firstly, a big change with Kabutops>Qwilfish. Yup, I know that Qwilfish is something you wanted to try and seems so good on paper, it is often a gimmick at best. It's stats are a bit underwhelming to abuse rain, and you won't need another Tapu Fini check as you already have Ferrothorn. I feel having Kabutops as a replacement of Qwilfish will help. Kabutops is obviously the best Physical rain abuser, with good Attack and Defense, something Qwilfish desires. With Z-Continental Crush, it can heavily dent or KO key threats to your team such as Mega Venusaur, Rotom-W, Alomomola, Tapu Bulu etc. at +2. Yes, it may feel a tad redundant to have 2 Z move users, but I will explain it in the next point.
  • As you said, HP Fire Tapu Koko can be a big threat to your team, and it is somewhat common in the current meta. To deal with this, Alolan Marowak>Volcarona. Yup, Volcarona can be a big boon for rain teams, but in this specific instance, having Marowak would be better. It can do the the things Volcarona was supposed to do such as killing Ferrothorns, but more importantly, lets you deal with Tapu Koko with Lightning Rod. Also, since we already gave our Z-stone to Kabutops, Alolan Marowak should be used as it doesn't need one. Also, it can use Stealth Rock which frees a move in your team.
Ok, the big changes are done. Now the small tweaks.
  • Obviously, Spikes>Stealth Rock on Ferrothorn. Since we have a Stealth Rock setter in Marowak, having Spikes will help you wear down the opposing team so that one of the Pokemon may sweep.
  • Final change in U-turn>Extrasensory. The primary targets of Extrasensory are Amoonguss and Toxapex, which are already dealt with your team. And since momentum is much needed on Rain teams, having U-turn will help you accomplish that.
So that settles it. No other changes as your team already has a strong backbone. Good luck!

Toilet Bird (Pelipper) (M) @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- Defog
- U-turn
- Roost
- Hurricane

Kabutops @ Rockium Z
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Waterfall
- Swords Dance
- Superpower/ Aqua Jet



Hug Me Plz? (Ferrothorn) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Knock Off
- Spikes

Yoshimitsu (Greninja-Ash) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Water Shuriken
- U-turn

Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Bone
- Fire Punch
- Bonemerang
- Stealth Rock



Lusamine (Nihilego) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Power Gem
- Sludge Wave
- Thunder
- Hidden Power [Ice]
 
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Hey, ImMrFlubaDub, cool team, but there are a few suspect elements of it, to be honest. A few of your Pokemon and sets are completely substandard or unviable in the OU metagame (Qwilfish), and there are a few redundancies here and there, as well as poor matchups. I can see this team having a difficult time against Pokemon such as Toxapex (they are pivoting out of Extrasensory and getting health back with Regenerator), Tangrowth, specifically the Assault Vest set (though Knock Off Ferrothorn is incredibly helpful in removing its item, as well as Toxapex's, and opposing Ferrothorn). Balance teams featuring the aforementioned Pokemon seem incredibly difficult to break down with this team.

+
Firstly, I think a couple of alterations to your sets here are required. I'd recommend dropping Defog on Pelipper for Scald, as this gives you a surprisingly strong Water-stab move with a chance to burn the likes of Ferrothorn, and Defog clashes with one of the changes to come. With regards to Greninja, as the previous poster stated, U-turn is considerably more useful than Extrasensory for the reason that both they and myself gave. I'd most definitely go with that.

->
Next up, I'd recommend is to run Choice Specs Kingdra in lieu of the Qwilfish. Kingdra is an incredibly-powerful wallbreaker and sweeper for rain teams, and is near-mandatory for the power it brings to the archetype. A standard set of Draco Meteor / Surf / Hydro Pump / Hidden Power [Electric] | Ice Beam should suffice.

->
I feel as though Volcarona doesn't really have much of a place on this team, as it should be aiming to wear down checks to rain abusers as to attain a win with those; so as an alternative Z-Crystal user I'd go with offensive Rockium-Z Landorus-T over Volcarona. With a set of Swords Dance / Stealth Rock / Earthquake / Stone Edge, you should be able to reliably set Stealth Rock vs common Stall cores such as Sableye-Mega and Skarmory, whilst also breaking down common balance cores that can potentially give the rain archetype problems, such as Ferrothorn, Tapu Fini, and Celesteela. It will also act as your primary stall breaker.

Now Landorus-T is carrying Stealth Rock, you can afford to run Spikes on Ferrothorn, which is an incredible boon for many teams, and especially rain. Spikes+Knock Off Ferrothorn makes the matchup against Pokemon such as Toxapex, Assault Vest Tangrowth, and opposing Ferrothorn far easier, accumulating crucial chip on them via Spikes and removing, in the case of Ferrothorn and Toxapex passive recovery, and in the case of Tangrowth the primary thing that makes it an issue for rain teams to face. Personally, I much prefer a spread of max Special Defence in this meta, especially on rain teams, as to take on the likes of opposing Ash-Greninja and Mega Alakazam, but it's you choice if you decide to continue using the largely outdated ORAS spread.

->
I can't find any compelling reason as to why you went with Scarf Nihilego on this team, in all honesty, as the Pokemon you cited as issues are largely handled by the rain core that you had (or, now have). I think Tapu Koko is a lot more suited for this team, with a set of U-turn / Thunderbolt / Dazzling Gleam / Thunder. What Tapu Koko does is retain the Flying-type resistance that Nihilego brought to the table, which is important for checking Pokemon such as Tornadus-T and Mega Pinsir, but it also gives you a check to Breloom, which is needed after the changes I have suggested. Furthermore, it benefits from Pelipper's Drizzle via Thunders that bypass accuracy checks completely, meaning they will always hit.

Pelipper (M) @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- Scald
- U-turn
- Roost
- Hurricane

Kingdra @ Choice Specs
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Hydro Pump
- Surf
- Hidden Power [Electric]

Greninja-Ash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Water Shuriken
- U-turn

Ferrothorn (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Knock Off
- Spikes

Landorus-Therian @ Rockium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

Tapu Koko @ Magnet
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- U-turn
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Thunder
======================
remaining threats and other options
======================

Keldeo, especially the common Choice Scarf variant poses a sizeable threat to this team, but this is something innate in all solid rain teams. Mega Metagross is broken so that is obviously threatening, also.

Should you find fat too difficult to handle, and Toxapex/Ferrothorn getting turns to lay up Toxic Spikes and Spikes, respectively, try out Wave Incense Greninja with Taunt > U-turn. This also prevents defoggers such as Tapu Fini from removing your hazards.
Greninja-Ash @ Wave Incense
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Water Shuriken
- Dark Pulse
- Taunt

Thanks for reading, and the best of luck to you.
 

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