Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 17
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Extremely offensive Rain team! (With a few Tweaks)
Introduction
The older team I used was okay, but after testing it some more, I found that some pokemon weren't needed, and other things. I also kept trying to not making any huge weaknesses when making the team. Unlike most rain teams I have saw, this one doesn't need a Gastrodon for soaking in electric types, or a grass or flying type for grass types. With that being said, I think that works great, but it does have its drawbacks. First off, not many pokemon on this team can use rain to its advantage fully. There's only two water type pokemon on this team: Poiltoed, and Gyarados. While I think it's okay, I dislike teams that have a huge weakness to a certain type to where you need a pokemon to soak in all the attacks because it gets to the point where it is so bad. So, instead of focusing on pokemon who could use rain and have 5 water types on this team, (I'm not exaggerating. While using this team, I saw a person using a rain team with 5 water types, and a Swampert for electric types) I focused on pokemon whose types, moves, and accuracy would be covered by the rain. Instead of choosing Vaporeon and 3 other water types, I chose Scizor because not only did this team need an excellent check for Terrakion, Obamasnow, Tyranitar, and Kyurem-B, but also because in the Rain, fire type moves are weakened. This means the Bulky, Choice Band, Scizor can survive even two fire attacking moves before it goes down. Another example of this would be Thundurus-T. Thundurus-T is excellent in the rain. It's STAB Thunder with only 70% accuracy get's boosted up to 100%. It works great because its STAB Thunder, which already hits hard with its 120 base power, but with Expert belt sometimes, it can be pretty deadly.
While testing out this team, I felt it worked great, but I also felt it relied to heavily on rain on some cases; and other times, Rain didn't seem that beneficial to the team. Pokemon like Hippowdown and Tyranitar on the same team are a huge problem to this team. With two pokemon capable of setting up Sand and Stealth Rocks, both Tyranitar and Hippowdown become a huge threat to this team. With no pokemon to phaze out the other pokemon, and this team only has one pokemon that can set up weather, I have trouble with those type of teams. I started to test this team more and more, and as I did, I changed things up more and more. No longer is there a pokemon to check for Gastrodon or Swampert. Also, when I was testing this team, I found some threats to this team also. This team looks great, but sometimes it doesn't handle that well. Often times I'll be doing fine and then I'm stuck wondering what to do. So, I changed this team up. It works better than it did before, but sometimes it still feels like it needs work because of how versatile the OU meta game is.
Setting up this team, I instead focused on what this team could benefit from Rain, instead of putting 3 or 4 water type pokemon with Gastrodon so soak up electric attacks, and a flying type for grass type attacks. Battling against rain teams with this team, I had found Thundurus-T wrecks opposing Rain teams. With moves like Thunder, Grass Knot, HP Ice, Focus Blast, Nasty Plot, Substitute, Volt Switch, and Taunt as possible moves that can shut down Rain teams, I didn't want too many pokemon that are weak to those moves. I also focused on things that Rain can cover, instead of what attacks it boosts. This is why I tried creating a synergy between pokemon, and also trying to think of ways the pokemon can benefit from Rain. Even if it is a Rain team, I always try to make a balanced team where there are only two pokemon weak to the same type. For example: Gyarados and Politoed are weak to Electric, Thundurus-T and Latios are weak to Ice, Thundurus-T and Gyarados are weak to Rock, ect...
Being that this is an offensive Rain team, I wanted it to be a balanced Rain team, with only two pokemon Maximum being weak to the same type, even if I do have a scarfed pokemon capable of doing great damage and taking out Threats that may be a problem. This is why there aren't many water type pokemon on a Rain team. I didn't want too many pokemon of the same type on the same team, as Thundurus-T are common in OU, I didn't want my team to have any glaring weaknesses in it, and being able to have a great offensive core, with some pokemon being a little bulky.
Team at a Glance
     
Team Building Process
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Since this is a rain team, Politoed is a staple to this team. It sets up rain, and can check pokemon like Tyranitar or Scizor since they both can OHKOed by Hydro Pump in the Rain and with Choice Specs. Since this is basically the same set as before, I won't really have much to say other than: It hits hard.
Thundurus-T and Politoed are great partners with each other. Thundurus-T resists Grass, and gets healed by electric attacks, both of which Politoed is weak to. Its STAB Thunder also gets 100% accuracy because of Rain. It can even check for other Politoed who aren't scarfed. It has excellent Special Attack and Speed and it is capable of tearing through teams. Although, I find some teams very weak to Thundurus-T. Most teams with Gastrodon and Politoed gets KOed by Grass Knot and get finished off with a Thunder or Focus Blast. Thundurus-T is a threat not many teams come prepared for.
When making this team the first time, I started to notice that I have excellent Special Attackers, but I don't have anything on the physical side. At first I had bulky Scizor set with leftovers, Swords Dance, and Roost, but I felt like I needed some extra power. Since I needed Scizor for huge threats like Kyurem-B and Terrakion, I needed to do as much damage as I possibly can since Scizor doesn't need Swords dance that much. This set also has something the old set doesn't have: U-Turn. U-Turn is extremely powerful with Choice Band, and it gives me a great pokemon to bring in like Thundurus-T and go for a volt switch only to keep forcing switches. It works great.
Originally in this spot was Ferrothorn, but I changed it to Mamoswine because it does its job better and gets another priority move. Mamoswine can basically set up Stealth Rocks as well as check for Haxorus, Salamance, and Dragonite. With Stealth Rocks up, Dragonite's ability, Multiscale, becomes useless and Mamoswine can KO with an Ice Shard. The only problem is that this team doesn't have a spinner, and it only has on pokemon to set up entry hazards, and I don't think that Mamoswine is bulky enough to set up entry hazards, as well as doing some damage. Nonetheless, Mamoswine is still pretty useful
While testing out this team with Ferrothorn still in this team, I noticed a huge weakness to Volcarona. It can easily set up on Ferrothorn, and set up a Quiver Dance on the switch, only to KO everything with fire or bug type moves. Gyarados fixes that problem. With very good Special Defense, and resisting Volcarona's STAB moves, Fire and Bug type moves, Gyarados can go in, and KO the Volcarona and get the Moxie Boost. Gyarados also has taunt. With Dragon Dance being able to be used, it can out speed and stop pokemon from setting up a spore or whatever. Even with the limited number of speed EVs I gave it, it can still out speed and go for a taunt.
I noticed what this team needed was a good scarfed pokemon. Choice Scarf on a Latios checks many threats such as Thundurus-T and Landorus-T with either Draco Meteor or Surf. Latios also only gets damaged by Stealth Rocks when it switches in, and also 4x resists fighting. Latios becomes pretty important as the battle goes on, since it is my only scarfer.
I replaced Mamoswine with Donphan because Donphan does everything Mamoswine can do, but better! For one thing, it can Rapid Spin. Spinning away hazards is a relief to this team. At first I thought hazards didn't really hurt this team that much, but I found that this team is very weak to hazards in some cases, and being able to get rid of them is a huge relief.
In Depth Analysis
  
Politoed (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 Spd
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Description
Politoed is such a hard hitter with Choice Specs and being in the Rain. I don't even mind Hydro Pump's low 80% accuracy because Politoed is very bulky with Max HP. Also, these four moves basically enable it coverage from almost all types of pokemon. Like I said last time, Hydro Pump with Choice Specs Politoed in the Rain getting STAB with Modest nature and Max SAtk really does some damage, even to things that don't resist it. All of these moves except for Hydro Pump are here to counter pokemon who would switch into Politoed. Even though Politoed is Choice locked, if I predict a switch, any one of these moves will do a lot of damage; even resisted attacks still do a lot. The only move that isn't here to counter Politoed switch ins, is Psychic. I replaced Ice Beam with Psychic because I rarely ever used it. So, I chose Psychic instead. Since the moves Focus Blast and Hidden Power Grass are here to counter Politoed Switch ins, I might as well explain them. After all, I only use them when Hydro Pump won't do much since it will be the only move I'll use on Politoed most of the time. Focus Blast is just an excellent wall breaker. It's the sort of move with the "High risk, High reward" type of move with its low 70% accuracy. Focus Blast in particular stops Ferrothorn which is sometimes a Defensive Threat to this team. However, Hidden Power Grass stops Gastrodons and other Politoed, because my Politoed has max HP and SAtk, which means that it can survive an attack from Politoed, and go for the HP Grass for a 2HKO. So, it just all depends on the situation.
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Thundurus-Therian (M) @ Expert Belt
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Thunder
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast
- Volt Switch / Grass Knot
Description
Thundurus-T is my favorite pokemon on this team. It just works so well. Politoed and Thundurus-T are great partners in rain. With Thundurus-T's already powerful STAB Thunder, it gets even more deadly in Rain. Thunder's accuracy goes from 70%, to 100%! Thundurus-T's extremely good Special Attack also makes it the ideal sweeper for this team to have. It takes advantage of Rain so well, even if it is just one move that takes advantage of Rain. That's just all Thundurus-T needs to wreck teams which aren't prepared for it, and just like Politoed, the other 3 moves are there to counter pokemon who would resist or take advantage of the moves I used. For example:HP Ice Shuts down Landorus and Haxorus who would try switching in on the opposing Electric attack if it isn't scarfed, meanwhile Focus Blast and Grass Knot are great for Gastrodon or Ferrothorn. Best of all, it won't take any recoil for the move. Since it is my best sweeper on this team, I want it to stay alive as much as possible. That's why I went for Expert Belt instead of Life orb or something else, but the last move Volt Switch is great for switches as well. It's almost as great as Thunder. Thundurus-T with Volt Switch and Scizor with U-Turn with the VoltTurn are a mighty threat not many teams are prepared for. Overall, I would say Thundurus-T is an excellent pokemon to have on this team, and is staying on this team always.
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Scizor @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Pursuit
- U-turn
- Superpower
Description
Before I went with this Scizor set, I had a more Bulky set. It had the same EVs, but that's about it. I needed more power. Setting up Swords Dance isn't that efficient even though I can switch up moves. Scizor's main job became simple: Hit Hard, and hit fast; get in and out as fast as possible. Scizor's main job became to scout and to take down opposing threats who would out speed most of my team. It takes care of lots of threats such as Terrakion or Kyurem-B with Bullet Punch, or Specs Latios, and being able to take Draco Meteors because of its max HP, and trap them with Pursuit. Scizor will mostly be using its STAB moves, which are U-Turn and Bullet Punch. There isn't much to talk about here since it is basically the standard set every Scizor uses. Although, Superpower can catch some players off guard. Lots of times I find myself OHKOing a Ferrothorn without them expecting the Superpower, and since Scizor is such an important physical sweeper, I needed it to be more bulky, while still doing a great amount of damage to threats. Scizor is slow anyway. I'll just be using Bullet Punch more than U-Turn anyway, so why bother putting in EVs in speed?
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Donphan @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Impishk Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake / Counter
Description
Donphan is also a very important Pokemon to this team mainly for the one and only reason: Rapid Spin. Without Rapid Spin, my team has trouble dealing with hazards sometimes. Donphan's Bulk and great attack makes it ideal for the perfect Spinner in place for Starmie because it can set up Rocks. I figured since I have enough Powerhouses already, Stealth Rocks would just be needed to break Sashes Pokemon might have. With Sturdy, it's always guaranteed to set up Rocks, or Spin away them. After its job is done, Donphan sort of becomes a physical wall with Counter and Ice Shard. Counter on Donphan is very interesting indeed. Not many people even know Donphan gets Counter. With Counter and Sturdy, and Ice Shard, Donphan can simply KO the physical attacker on the other team. When I'm not using Counter on Donphan, I'll use Earthquake instead. Earthquake and Ice Shard are great on Donphan because Earthquake gets STAB and Ice Shard gets Priority. Both are great, and when I'm using this set, I'll normally go with Earthquake since it is sometimes hard to pull of the counter KO. Even with it, having only a non STAB move which priority doesn't seem that efficient.
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Gyarados @ Leftovers
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 74 HP / 252 Atk / 182 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Aqua Tail
- Taunt
- Ice Fang / Earthquake
Description
If you read the Team Building Process, you would know Gyarados is my physical water sweeper. The only reason I have this pokemon on this team with the EVs like this, is because Volcarona becomes a huge threat to this team with Quiver Dance. Gyarados' excellent Special Defense and HP combined with its Speed and Attack makes it the best Volcarona counter since it resists its dual STABs. When Gyarados' job is done, or if there isn't a Volcarona, Gyarados becomes a Dragon Dance set with Taunt. Dragon Dance Boosts its Speed and Attack, and with Gyarados in the Rain combined a DD boost it can start a sweep with only one DD because of Moxie. Even though there are only 182 Speed EVs, I found Gyarados out speeding lots of things to my surprise, and possibly going for Taunt. Once Gyarados has enough boosts, I would just go for aqua tail. I chose Aqua Tail over Waterfall because it has more power, even though it doesn't have the same 100% like it should have. For the final move, it depends on what i like, and what the situation is, like Politoed and Thunderus-T. Ice Fang is great for Dragon types who would resist both Earthquake and Aqua Tail, but Earthquake takes down Tentacruel and Jolteon, which are sometimes a threat due to Jolteons high speed or Tentacruel setting up hazards or spinning them away.
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Latios (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Thunder
- Psychic / Energy Ball
- Surf
Description
Latios on this team with Choice Scarf is a threat indeed. With Draco Meteor, Surf, AND Thunder for some of its moves capable of being used in the rain, Latios can out speed and KO and maybe get a sweep going. Like Politoed and Thunderus-T, I will only be using one or two moves from Latios most of the game. Most of the time, I just use Draco, but some times I do use the other moves in a certain situation. Latios with a Choice Scarf just counters, Gastro, Breloom, Landorus, Politoed, Tentacruel, Haxorus, and even other scarfers! Now, those are just some of the pokemon Latios can counter easily, but I think you get the point by now. So, let's get on with the moves. Draco Meteor on Latios is by far the most threatening move to have on it. With Choice Scarf, Draco Meteor does lots of damage to threats and can be taken out since it is scarfed. Thunder on the other hand, counters Rain teams pretty well due to Latios' high attack and Speed. Psychic, while isn't as powerful as Draco, it still counters lots of types, and does a lot of damage. Energy Ball is a little on on Latios, though. I only use it for Gastrodons or Swamperts if I need to, but they don't seem like a huge threat anymore like they used too. Last but not least, Surf in the Rain with a Choice Scarf REALLY does a lot. It gets even better when you don't have to have it's Special Attack lowered by Draco, and since Latios is my only counter to some things because it is scarfed, Latios becomes extremely important since it is my only Scarfer.
Conclusion:
I'm Hyper Sonic, or Lightning Dust on Pokemon Showdown, and with this team, I was able to create many sweeps on Pokemon Showdown. I'm ranked at 1476 on Hyper Sonic in just a few battles. It worked out very well, and with my decision two pokemon weak to the same type worked out perfectly. I didn't have trouble dealing with Electric or grass types because I didn't make it like that. I just tried focusing on the things that are helped with Rain, instead of throwing a whole bunch of different water types in there, but because of that, I feel like this team gains almost nothing from Rain sometimes. Sometimes after Politoed faints and I lose the weather war, I still don't have much trouble because I didn't focus on that type of thing; or maybe, it's because I'm that good?  Either way, This team has grown on me, and I love Rain Teams a lot more now because I actually got better in Pokemon and I was able to construct my own teams without having to look up movesets. I had won more battles with this team than I have with all my other teams as well.
Thank you for reading this far. I tried to make this team easy and simple to read and rate, and also a little interested to read as well. 
Last Glance:
Importable:
Last edited by Lightning Dust; Feb 9th, 2013 at 8:29:16 PM.
Reason: added changes
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