Dabbling In Drizzle
A First Attempt at Rain in the BW2 Meta
First Look:
Fallen Comrades:
A First Attempt at Rain in the BW2 Meta
First Look:
Fallen Comrades:
Introduction:
Weather has found itself to be one of the greatest force in the meta. To not run your own weather is to allow the opponent to freely run their own without contest. It is for this reason I almost always run weather in OU. I am usuually employing a more defensive play style using sand. For this reason I wanted to make a switch in both weather and play style. I wasn't comfortable switching to the hyper offensive nature of Sun, so I settled to switch to offensive rain. While rain has lost a dear comrade (Tornadus-T) to the abyss known as Ubers, rain offensive still finds itself to be terribly threatening and quite effective in higher levels of play.
The Team:
Politoed @
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 224 Def / 32 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Protect
- Scald
- Toxic
- Perish Song
When considering making a rain team, Politoed should be the first Pokemon that comes to mind. Drizzle is a fantastic ability, and otherwise Politoed is largely outclassed by almost every other bulky water. For this reason I went with the defensive set in order to take advantage of Politoed's utility moves rather than rely on its rather mediocre stats. Protect is used to scout choice pokemon, regain hp using leftovers, and stall toxic/burn/perish song turns. Scald is a useful STAB move that actually does a decent amount to threats in rain. More importantly it can burn threats or at least prevent switch ins who fear the burn. Toxic is to stall out threats that I find to be more difficult to take on without residual damage and often is a good move to use when the opponent is likely to switch. Perish Song is my best answer to Baton Pass teams, which I detest as they are neither fun to play nor to use and require a level of skill that I believe is lesser than most other teams. The 0 Att IVs are because I've no use of attack, it also lessens the amount of damage I take from Foul Play, a common move carried by Sableye and Umbreons. 32 Speed EVs outspeeds most standard Jellicent, this allows Politoed to dodge Taunt in time to get off a Toxic.
Keldeo @
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Surf
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump
Keldeo is a fantastic sweeper, it has a good speed and it's massive Rain Boosted STAB Hydro Pumps can do massive damage to even pokemon that resist it. Having Secret Sword gives it a second STAB and allows it to hit Pokemon with high SpD, like the fat pink blobs, on their lesser denfensive stat. This makes Keldeo a brilliant psuedo mixed attack. Surf gives it a more reliable STAB and since Keldeo's movepool is rather barren it doesn't sacrifice much in doing so. Hidden Power Ice allows me to kill the common Dragon type. Donning a Scarf makes Keldeo a great revenge killer, especially with rain in play.
Ferrothorn @
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 168 SDef / 252 HP / 88 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
Originally this spot was taken by Deo-D, as I regard it as one of the best hazard supporters for Offensive teams. Deo-D worked really well as a hazard supporter, most of the time ensuring that I would get at least 2 layers of spikes assuming he was fresh when I had brought him in. He also did a decent job of preventing hazards, as he was able to taunt most common hazard supporters. I found myself though requiring something with a bit more walling properties that could also still give me the Spikes to support my sweepers. Ferrothorn became the obvious choice, the mixed defensive stats and amazing defensive movepool made it an awesome fit on the team. Spikes is used for support. Gyro ball hits fast sweepers for massive damage. Power Whip hits Rotom-W, especially its SpD Set, hard. Leech Seed is Ferrothorn's only form of recovery outside of Leftovers, it helps it in its longevity.
Dugtrio @
Trait: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Reversal
I love trappers, they are OP. I really wish that is all I could say, however due to RMT rules I must say more. Dugtrio sets up the all important rocks and kills Tyranitar and Ninetails. Almost ensuring that I get my weather for the entire match. He couples well with my two U-turning pokemon and can even be used to perish trap in combination with Politoed. Dugtrio is a major bro. EQ for strong STAB. Stone Edge to miss all the time so I can bitch about hax... I mean flying types and levitate Pokemon. Reversal to garantee a dead TTar, and to hit massively when brought down to his sash. SR because SR are pretty much mandatory in competitive.
Thundurus-Therian (M) @
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 156 HP / 252 SAtk / 100 Spd
Modest Nature
- Thunder
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Agility
Thundurus-T takes on Jellicent, who prior to its arrival was quite a pain in the ass for this team. He synergizes well, giving the team another electric immunity/resist. Unlike the previous Tornadus, Thundurus-T is capable of a mid game sweep as well as a late game. Thunder was chosen over Thunderbolt for the added power. With the support of Dugtrio it's reliability doesn't become an issue because it almost guarantees my rain in play. Hidden Power Ice is to achieve psuedo-BoltBeam coverage. Focus Blast hits those who resist the famed bolt beam coverage. Agility allows a monsterous speed boost, allowing it to outpace most everything important in the metagame and smack it down with a monstrous Thunder or one of it's previously mentioned coverage moves. Yache Berry was chosen over Life Orb so that he could hopefully avoid being decimated by Mamo's potent Ice Shard. The Ev's were also changed, as suggested by Alexander. The additional bulk allows for Thundurus-T to have an easier time setting up an agility while not risking being outpaced by anything relevant. Modest gives Thundurus-T more firepower, which is always appreciated.
Replaced:
Tornadus (M) @
Trait: Defiant
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn
With Tornadus-T being banned Tornadus is no longer outclassed blah blah blah blah. While it's true that Tornadus-T was badass, and likely should be banned, rain didn't lose all too much. Tornadus finds itself more than capable. He envys his therian formes regenerator ability, but with envy comes wrath in the form of a devastating Hurricane. I found that the power of its Hurricane was sufficient enough to forgo both Life Orb and Choice Specs, and subscribe to a Choice Scarf set. It's blazing speed stat allows it to outspeed almost every pokemon in the tier, including Pokemon who posses the scarf as well. Hurricane is to hit everything but Steels and Electric types hard, though Dugtrio usually takes care of them, because he is a bro. Focus Blast is used for the Steels or Electric types that are somehow able to escape the grasps of the mighty Dugtrio. Hidden Power Ice is useful in revenge killing dragons with bulk and a 4x Ice weakness. U-Turn allows for increased momentum. Also Defiant was used over prankster because I don't use any non-attacking moves and I don't want it traced, also on rare occasions I get an attack boost, making U-Turn very powerful even with the next to nothing investment I put into it with a negative nature.
Celebi @
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 236 SDef / 20 Spd
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Recover
- Psychic
- Baton Pass
Celebi takes care of a lot of counters/pain in the asses that my team had previously struggled with. Natural Cures means that Celebi isn't bothered by status, making him a great switch in on status moves. It's overall well rounded bulk lets it tank hits from Breloom, who prior to Celebi's arrival was something that could really threaten my team. Giga Drain gives it recovery and is a good move against Jellicent and Rotom-W, aka big pain in the asses. Recover keeps Celebi alive as the little fairy attempts to survive the constant bombardment of TechniLooms, Jellicents, Rotom-Ws, and other miscellaneous pests. Psychic is a nice STAB that works to actively threaten Breloom. Baton Pass gives Celebi a means to escape the ominous pursuits of Tyranitar and Scizor.
Replaced:
Scizor @
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 8 Spd / 248 HP
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Pursuit
- Superpower
- U-turn
Now that Genosect is banned Scizor can go back to being everyone's favorite bug/steel type. Scizor is a Pokemon that almost always finds itself useful somehow. Bullet punch is great for checking a huge amount of metagame threats, Bullet Punch finds itself particularly useful with hazards in play, as even the bulkier Pokemon who generally scoff at Scizor's Bullet Punch do not share the same attitude towards it after hazards have racked up. Pursuit is useful in trapping weakened foes desperate to escape, or Starmie who attempts to rudely fling my hazards off the opponents field. U-Turn is powerful and great for momentum, it is particularly useful when the common heatran attempts to threaten Scizor, as Dugtrio once again can trap it. Superpower finds itself to be the lesser used move, but is useful when dealing with Steel Types, or the surprisingly defensively bulky Chansey.
Concluding Thoughts:
The team is very solid, most of my counters are fairly taken care of. With the changes made my team has gone from solid to very good. I feel I may lack a presence on the physical side, but that is the only issue that stands out to me. Thanks to the smogon community there aren't many threats that really stand out.
Change Log:
Round 1:
-Tornadus is removed
-Agility Thundurus-T is added
Round 2:
-Choice Banded Scizor is removed
-SpD Celebi is added
-Thundurus-T has its IV spread changed, speed is sacrificed for additional bulk
-Thundurus-T losers his Life Orb and receives a Yache Berry
-Politoed loses its SpD investment, Defensive investment is reduced, Speed investment takes their place
-Tornadus is removed
-Agility Thundurus-T is added
Round 2:
-Choice Banded Scizor is removed
-SpD Celebi is added
-Thundurus-T has its IV spread changed, speed is sacrificed for additional bulk
-Thundurus-T losers his Life Orb and receives a Yache Berry
-Politoed loses its SpD investment, Defensive investment is reduced, Speed investment takes their place
Current Importable:
Politoed @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 224 Def / 32 Spd
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Toxic
- Perish Song
- Protect
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SDef
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
Thundurus-Therian (M) @ Yache Berry
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 156 HP / 252 SAtk / 100 Spd
Modest Nature
- Thunder
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Agility
Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Surf
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump
Celebi @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 236 SDef / 20 Spd
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Recover
- Psychic
- Baton Pass
Dugtrio @ Focus Sash
Trait: Arena Trap
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Reversal
- Stone Edge
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 224 Def / 32 Spd
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Toxic
- Perish Song
- Protect
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SDef
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
Thundurus-Therian (M) @ Yache Berry
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 156 HP / 252 SAtk / 100 Spd
Modest Nature
- Thunder
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Agility
Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Surf
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump
Celebi @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 236 SDef / 20 Spd
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Recover
- Psychic
- Baton Pass
Dugtrio @ Focus Sash
Trait: Arena Trap
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Reversal
- Stone Edge