So as I sat in my room thinking to myself "How can I make an effective team?" I decided that I would first pick out the most dangerous pokemon in the game right now. I quickly came to the decision that Thundurus was the most dangerous creature in the metagame. Now most of my most successful teams have been rain teams, the weather benefit is to powerful to pass up and in rain Bolt-bro can abuse an 100% accurate Thunder, a match made in heaven no? I had used Thundurus' brother Tornadus in rain and had fallen in love so my original incarnation of the team was a true "Double Genie Team" so heres the team building process.
Now here was my starting point, my two offensive juggernauts and my beautiful rain support!
Now what does every weather team need? An anti-weather pokemon of course! Breloom is one of my all-time fav 'mons due to it's ability to dismantle unprepared teams, and specifically the ability to switch into and set up on both Tyranitar and enemy Politoeds.
Now as I looked at my team there was one thing I didn't like. Three frail ice-weak pokemon. That could pose as a big problem so I added A defensive core of sorts. Ferrothorn, who provided a myriad of useful resistances along with SR and Rotom-W a true BEAST on any rain team.
As I went higher and higher on the ladder my teams weaknesses were quickly exposed. While I had some a fair number of resistances many of my pokemon were to frail to take advantage of them. Even with Tornado-Bro my team hated Fighting and Electric pokemon and enemy Gliscors. I tested many different pokemon including Swampert/Garchomp/Blissey/Scizor but ended up taking out Tornadus for my own Gliscor and switching Breloom for the bulkier Virizion.
Things I've thought of changing:
~ Switch Rest to Ice Beam on Politoed: Politoed would then be able to better take out Gliscors and enemy dragons. Rest is easily Politoed's least used move as he needs a sufficiently weak enemy or else he will spend the rest of the game asleep. It also gives my opponent a free switch if they wish to do so.
~Find a New Home for SR: I one point I ran a Swampert set with SR and Ferrothorn with Spikes. Thundurus really appreciate the extra passive damage when he aimed to demolish the opponent's team.
~Weak Links: Specifically Virizion and believe it or not Rotom-W. I feel these are pokemon that people have begun to really prepare for and they haven't been pulling their weight more recently. Maybe a new water and new anti-weather pokemon are on the horizon.
Now here was my starting point, my two offensive juggernauts and my beautiful rain support!
Now what does every weather team need? An anti-weather pokemon of course! Breloom is one of my all-time fav 'mons due to it's ability to dismantle unprepared teams, and specifically the ability to switch into and set up on both Tyranitar and enemy Politoeds.
Now as I looked at my team there was one thing I didn't like. Three frail ice-weak pokemon. That could pose as a big problem so I added A defensive core of sorts. Ferrothorn, who provided a myriad of useful resistances along with SR and Rotom-W a true BEAST on any rain team.
As I went higher and higher on the ladder my teams weaknesses were quickly exposed. While I had some a fair number of resistances many of my pokemon were to frail to take advantage of them. Even with Tornado-Bro my team hated Fighting and Electric pokemon and enemy Gliscors. I tested many different pokemon including Swampert/Garchomp/Blissey/Scizor but ended up taking out Tornadus for my own Gliscor and switching Breloom for the bulkier Virizion.
............
A Quick Glance
...........
The Frog Pokemon
Politoed (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Rest
- Boil Over
- Protect
- Toxic
So firstly as with any rain team you need the Rain Maker himself, Politoed. Politoed is awesome, I've tried many different 'toeds but this is definitely my favorite. I chose a classic bulky water approach and gave him as much Def as possibly. To give an example of his bulk he takes 44.0%~52.3% from a +Spe Nature Scarfchomp's Outrage. He's actually turned himself into quite the little staller utilizing Toxic and Protect. While he is "required" on this team he's actually so reliable I'd use him on a non-rain team.
...........
The Bolt Strike Pokemon
Thundurus (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Nasty Plot
- Thunder
- Hidden Power Ice
- Focus Blast
Oh man, this dude was just MADE to sweep teams. Everyone agrees that NP-bro man-handles weakened teams and thats with Thunderbolt, with Thunder he does that much more damage. I chose to give him Lum Berry as it allowed him to set up on Ferrothorn's without the worry of Thunderwave. As I went up the ladder the number of sweeps he preformed as dropped dramatically, as of me writing this Bolt-bro has missed his last 12 Focus Blasts(why couldn't they give him Aura Sphere) which has been the main reason for my drop from Top 50 to barely in the Top 200 :(
...........
The Plasma Pokemon
Rotom-W (N) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Trick
- Thunder
- Hydro Pump
- Pain Split
Ah Wash Rotom how I love you. The combination of it's great Typing allows it to take full advantage of the Rainy weather. I originally had him as the bulky Specs set and while the power was incredible he began to seem much less bulky and I feel by using the Scarf set I take many more people by surprise and it even lets Rotom to, no pun intended, clean up.
...........
The Thorn Pod Pokemon
Ferrothorn (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 Hp / 60 Def / 196 SpDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spe)
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
So I had a rain team and I needed SR and a wall, where else would I look besides Ferrothorn? He provides so many key resistances such as Water, Electric and most importantly Ice. When I ran Swampert over Gliscor Ferro had Spike over SR and my teams really misses those extra hazards as 'thorn had more than enough time to set um up.
...........
The Fang Scorp Pokemon
Gliscor (F) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 Hp / 108 Def / 148 Spe
Impish Nature (+Def, -SpAtk)
- Protect
- Swords Dance
- Ice Fang
- Earthquake
Another renowned, revamped pokemon in the Gen V metagame, Poison Heal Gliscor. He finishes up my defensive core of BulkyWater(Toed)/Ferrothorn/Gliscor. He stops all those troublesome Fighting pokemon dead in their tracks including the speed demon Excadrill. He also provides a very useful status absorber once his Toxic Orb has taken effect. His EV's ensure that he outspeeds all non-scarfed Base 70s, including that nuisance Breloom. Gliscor was added over Tornadus for this immunity to Electric and his powerful Defense.
...........
The Grassland Pokemon
Virizion (N) @ Life Orb
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power Ice
- Focus Blast
The pokemon I have the least experience with and am the most "on-the-fense" about. It's claim to fame is it's ability to handle Rain and Sand teams on it's own and I decided to replace my faithful Breloom with it because it could handle Gliscor's along with Ttars and 'toeds. Now while in the past it could handle all weather people have begun to design their teams with ways to get around it specifically Tornado-Bro. This green horse acts as a bulkier Breloom but has yet to really prove its worth.
............
A Final Look and Final Thoughts
So there you have it, now while the team has had some success(peaking Top 50 on the Smogon Server) nothing is perfect so I came here because there are so many great players here who can hopefully give me some great advice. I've had a sinus infection for the past week so I thought I'd ladder while resting bed, after one night and numerous loses I decided to stop laddering till I wasn't blowing my nose every five seconds. Now there are some things I would like to add here as well some final notes if you will.
A Quick Glance
...........
The Frog Pokemon
Politoed (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Rest
- Boil Over
- Protect
- Toxic
So firstly as with any rain team you need the Rain Maker himself, Politoed. Politoed is awesome, I've tried many different 'toeds but this is definitely my favorite. I chose a classic bulky water approach and gave him as much Def as possibly. To give an example of his bulk he takes 44.0%~52.3% from a +Spe Nature Scarfchomp's Outrage. He's actually turned himself into quite the little staller utilizing Toxic and Protect. While he is "required" on this team he's actually so reliable I'd use him on a non-rain team.
...........
The Bolt Strike Pokemon
Thundurus (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Nasty Plot
- Thunder
- Hidden Power Ice
- Focus Blast
Oh man, this dude was just MADE to sweep teams. Everyone agrees that NP-bro man-handles weakened teams and thats with Thunderbolt, with Thunder he does that much more damage. I chose to give him Lum Berry as it allowed him to set up on Ferrothorn's without the worry of Thunderwave. As I went up the ladder the number of sweeps he preformed as dropped dramatically, as of me writing this Bolt-bro has missed his last 12 Focus Blasts(why couldn't they give him Aura Sphere) which has been the main reason for my drop from Top 50 to barely in the Top 200 :(
...........
The Plasma Pokemon
Rotom-W (N) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Trick
- Thunder
- Hydro Pump
- Pain Split
Ah Wash Rotom how I love you. The combination of it's great Typing allows it to take full advantage of the Rainy weather. I originally had him as the bulky Specs set and while the power was incredible he began to seem much less bulky and I feel by using the Scarf set I take many more people by surprise and it even lets Rotom to, no pun intended, clean up.
...........
The Thorn Pod Pokemon
Ferrothorn (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 Hp / 60 Def / 196 SpDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spe)
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
So I had a rain team and I needed SR and a wall, where else would I look besides Ferrothorn? He provides so many key resistances such as Water, Electric and most importantly Ice. When I ran Swampert over Gliscor Ferro had Spike over SR and my teams really misses those extra hazards as 'thorn had more than enough time to set um up.
...........
The Fang Scorp Pokemon
Gliscor (F) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 Hp / 108 Def / 148 Spe
Impish Nature (+Def, -SpAtk)
- Protect
- Swords Dance
- Ice Fang
- Earthquake
Another renowned, revamped pokemon in the Gen V metagame, Poison Heal Gliscor. He finishes up my defensive core of BulkyWater(Toed)/Ferrothorn/Gliscor. He stops all those troublesome Fighting pokemon dead in their tracks including the speed demon Excadrill. He also provides a very useful status absorber once his Toxic Orb has taken effect. His EV's ensure that he outspeeds all non-scarfed Base 70s, including that nuisance Breloom. Gliscor was added over Tornadus for this immunity to Electric and his powerful Defense.
...........
The Grassland Pokemon
Virizion (N) @ Life Orb
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power Ice
- Focus Blast
The pokemon I have the least experience with and am the most "on-the-fense" about. It's claim to fame is it's ability to handle Rain and Sand teams on it's own and I decided to replace my faithful Breloom with it because it could handle Gliscor's along with Ttars and 'toeds. Now while in the past it could handle all weather people have begun to design their teams with ways to get around it specifically Tornado-Bro. This green horse acts as a bulkier Breloom but has yet to really prove its worth.
............
A Final Look and Final Thoughts
So there you have it, now while the team has had some success(peaking Top 50 on the Smogon Server) nothing is perfect so I came here because there are so many great players here who can hopefully give me some great advice. I've had a sinus infection for the past week so I thought I'd ladder while resting bed, after one night and numerous loses I decided to stop laddering till I wasn't blowing my nose every five seconds. Now there are some things I would like to add here as well some final notes if you will.
Things I've thought of changing:
~ Switch Rest to Ice Beam on Politoed: Politoed would then be able to better take out Gliscors and enemy dragons. Rest is easily Politoed's least used move as he needs a sufficiently weak enemy or else he will spend the rest of the game asleep. It also gives my opponent a free switch if they wish to do so.
~Find a New Home for SR: I one point I ran a Swampert set with SR and Ferrothorn with Spikes. Thundurus really appreciate the extra passive damage when he aimed to demolish the opponent's team.
~Weak Links: Specifically Virizion and believe it or not Rotom-W. I feel these are pokemon that people have begun to really prepare for and they haven't been pulling their weight more recently. Maybe a new water and new anti-weather pokemon are on the horizon.
