[col49]

lol, I had just wrote a whole big post on this stuff then my computer up and died on me. Well whatever, I'll see what I can say.

I have been using Smeargle on my Rain team, and it is imo the best and only way for a Rain team to set multiple hazards. I don't know how other players having been taking to this challenge, but I feel as though manual rain is at it's best in a purely offensive format, with maybe one defensive pivot to hold the team together. A team relying on setting up hazards slowly would require 2 hazard users (barring ineffectual stuff like SR+Spikes Ferroseed) and a spin-blocker. Not only does this restrict three team-slots to accomplishing this, but also severely impedes momentum, which is key is any given offensively oriented team. That being said, I've been running a rather similar set to that posted by Phazon00, with some minor differences. One would be the EV spread (92 HP/120 Def/44 SpD/252 Spe, 'cuz strong), and the other being the use of Memento over Whirlwind. This makes Smeargle much less reliant on a Ghost-type blocking the Rapid Spin, allowing it to self-spinblock spinners such as Cryogonal and Adamant Kabutops (also Weakslash, and non-Jolly Weakmonchan and Weakmonlee, but I don't care for them :< ). Moreover, this allows Smeargle to act as even more of a team player, blunting the opponent's attacking power and allowing a Rain sweeper to set up without much hassle, allowing it to nab that free turn without all the hassle.

Thus far I've been yielding a decent amount of success on the challenge, hitting the 1800 mark, and I can definitely say the lack of 'Tops and Ludi is palpable. Though it definitely does inspire some creativity in play, it is somewhat unrealistic to a more "standard" rain team, as not utilizing one or more of such excellent Rain sweepers is a waste :[ Also expect some posts from me on Cress (why hasn't it been brought up yet .-.), MANtine, and Absol, 'cuz strong.

P.S Pocket should drop the top 5 req so I can win :]]]