Extremely offensive Rain team! (With a few Tweaks)

[Lightning Dust]

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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:

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Donphan @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake

Scizor @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Pursuit
- U-turn
- Superpower

Gyarados @ Leftovers
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 74 HP / 252 Atk / 182 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Aqua Tail
- Taunt
- Ice Fang

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

Latios (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Spd
- Draco Meteor
- Thunder
- Psychic
- Surf

Politoed (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 Spd
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]

[Remedy]

Hi that's a nice offense team, that's the kind of teams I like to rate !
However, I can see some things you could improve considering the weaknesses.. Which ones ?

Here I go for the weaknesses :

- I think you're in bad bad situation against another offense, especially the Deoxys-D ones. You can't really contain them from putting hazards bar killing the Deoxys-D in two turns with Politoed. And then, you're locked, someone will set-up !
Your Donphan won't be able to spin against a Gengar and will even get killed 1v1.

- I see Rotom-W walling a good part of the team and dealing serious damages. Toed is forced out by volt-switch and your Electric resistance take a big chunk from any Rain Boosted HPump

- You're pretty weak to Sun teams. Your offense usually don't like to fight too much for the weather. On the other hand, Sun teams are built to fight for their weather. Thus, you'll have to deal with a Venusaur under sun.. and I don't see how you can do it. Especially when we know how Donphan is hard to use against a classic sun.

Let's stick to that for the weaknesses.

My changes :

- A pretty classic change for any Rain offense, Terrakion lead over Donphan. This way, you got a fast Taunter to beat Deoxys-D teams, and to put SR asap. Which is really important in an offense.
Moreover, you got a last resort check to Volcarona, which is always good to have because many pokemons here will have issues beating a Volcarona under the Sun.

Minor changes :

- On Politoed. Switch Psychic to Ice Beam, you're not weak to Toxicroak at all, you will prefer the Ice Beam coverage. And it's really hard to catch a Croak on the switch when you get locked right after. You can't afford that in an offense. You can't let a Dragon rampage through your team like that.
Or you can change the item (Splash Plate, Water Gem, Expert-Belt..), but at least get Ice Beam on HP Grass.

- On Thundurus. Give a shot to the Agility set. Agility on your last slot and you're good to go for a easy sweep.

- Gyarados. You really need a way to hit bulky grass and Venusaur, Volcarona, Keldeo harder. To me, a Bounce set is just what you need for a late game sweep. Now that you got Terrakion as Taunter, play a Sub/DD set with Bounce and WaterFall as offensive. You're less prone to be revenged by a Rotom-W with a Substitute set.


THE SETS :

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Terrakion @ Focus Sash
Justified
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock

Putting SR fast will help you so much against a Sun team to pressure them (like set-up on Forretress with Thundurus-T !)


Gyarados @ Leftovers
Moxie
56 HP / 248 Atk / 204 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Bounce

That's all ! Good luck with your team !


TL;DR

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Terrak lead > Donphan
Ice Beam on Toed and probably drop the choice item
Agility on Thundy
Sub/Bounce on Gyarados

[Mr. Green]

Hi, there

Known that the team is a bit 'weak against Rotom-W especially in its bulky holding practically the whole team and the only one who can get on Rotom-W is Latios but if it takes a Thunder Wave or Will-o-Wisp then little can be done too. Without changing things too much advice to change moveset on Gyarados to solve the problem by putting SubDDancer. Gyarados when it enters the field is a perfect bait to attract Rotom-W which will certainly Volt Switch, so you use Substitute before him and him hitting the Substitute will not do you nothing, doing nothing but go away on its own, giving maybe time to your Gyarados to perform another Dragon Dance.

As for Thundurus-T suggest you go to Double Booster moveset with Lum Berry, since you already have two Revenge-killer in the team that Scizor and Latios and then because it is able to do great damage to the enemy team with STAB and Thunder Hidden Power Ice for Landorus, Gliscor and Dragons in general. The things that would be able to stop are not many counting that also withstands the most common priority as Scizor Bullet Punch or Mach Punch Breloom.

Moving on to other smaller changes suggest you try to use Politoed with these evs: 120 HP / 252 SAtk / 136 Spd with Ice Beam > Psychic. Evs in the SPD are used to outrun defensive Rotom-W and hit it with Hidden Power Grass, after being KO and not be stalled by hitting Gastrodon effectively too. The 120 Evs in HP allow you to still maintain a good bulkyness the rest is all in special attack.
For Scizor uses these evs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spd with these evs take less damage from Stealth Rock when you enter the field.

Latios is much better for the Timid> Modest, to kill Keldeo Scarf, Scarf Salamence, and in order not to lose speed against other Latios but play the Speed ​​Tie for the moves is better Psychock instead of Psychic Energy Ball or to kill Keldeo Calm Minder for example, and to do more damage on Blissey and Amoonguss.
Thunder do not know how it will be useful, I'd rather Trick to block any annoying wall, the Thunder hit only water Pokemon that are hit neutrally by Draco Meteor and Pokemon that are flyng again hit neutrally by Draco Meteor, I'd rather Trick I repeat, to embarrass any stall team.

Sets

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Gyarados (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 56 HP / 248 Atk / 204 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Bounce

Thundurus-T (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Agility
- Nasty Plot
- Thunder
- Hidden Power [Ice]

120 HP / 252 SAtk / 136 Spd (for Politoed)
248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spd (for Scizor)
Timid > Modest (for Latios)
Psyshock > Psychic/Energy Ball (for Latios)
Trick > Thunder (for Latios)

[Shurtugal]

Hello There!

You seem to be weak to Wash, Keldeo, DubDance ThundyT, SubCM Jirachi, and most sun teams. Some of your sets can also do with some clean up.

Firstly, Politoed does not want to be locked into Psychic. Psychic is only viable on the Bluff Politoed so it can hit Toxicroak or Keldeo. I would follow Remedy's lead here and go for Ice Beam instead, as the water + ice coverage is invaluable. Finally, a small investment of 24 Spe evs should outpace Wobby and Skarm, as well as min-invested Heatran and Scizor.

Secondly, I think you should drop Expert Belt for Choice Scarf on Thundurus-T. It's amazing coverage and power makes it a much more useful scarfer than Latios (and tbh the scarf set is much more surprising than the EB set so you'll be netting more surprise KOs with its speed tier), who is too weak to really abuse Draco Meteor (or any other move). I'd sack Latios for bulky LO Latias. Latias is an easy check to Thundurus-T who set up +2 (in either stat, so long as its not +2 satk AND +2 spe, as it can Draco OHKO). Latias also solves Rotom-W, easily tanking most of its hits, it can also wall Keldeo to death (and providing something for sun).

Give Scizor 248 Hp evs instead of 252, so it can switch into SR a bit more, and then put the other 4 evs into speed to hit 8. Donphan would rather keep its STAB of Earthquake over Counter, as Counter discourages it maintaining bulk and longevity, which, seeing as Donphan wants to maintain as much bulk as possible, I would stick to EQ (not to mention EQ is your only means of checking Terrakion).

On Gyara, I would use Substitute and Bounce over Taunt and Ice Fang / Earthquake. Its much more aggressive as a sweeper and it can sweep sun teams easier given you get an early set up (and bounce is also resourceful for hitting Venu, as well as forcing Keldeo out). Substitute should not break from Tenta's scalds so in a way you don't need EQ to set up on it (as you can set up more DD now than being forced to just EQ and not get enough speed to outspeed Pokemon x).


That's it from me. I wish you luck!

Sets and Nitpicks

Latias

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Latias @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
Nature: Timid
EVs: 72 Hp / 184 SAtk / 252 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Roost
- Surf

: Ice Beam over Psychic and subtract 24 Evs from HP and put them into Spe

: Run 248 Hp evs for a better SR number and dump the rest into Spe

----> : Replace Scarf Latios for LO Latias

: Run Substitute over Taunt || Run Bounce over EQ / Ice Fang

: Keep Earthquake over Counter.

: Replace the EB set for Choice Scarf

[Lightning Dust]

Thanks!

[Asterat]

This is a lot like my attempt at a gyarados rain team. Bulky intimidate gyarados is most definitely a better choice becuase it can set up on ferrothorn with a mere 56 HP EVs. The EVs I reccomend for this set are 56 HP/204 Atk/248 Spe with an adamant nature. The unusual speed allows you to outspeed modest venusaur outside of sun with no boosts or modest venusaur in sun and scarf terrakion at +2. Donphan is like 9HKOed by scarf stone edge but his limiting coverage make switching into him a joke for many teams, so getting the surprise KO with gyarados will help you maintain momentum much better. For a moveset Substitute/Waterfall/Bounce/Dragon Dance should suffice. What does ice fang hit anyways? Intimidate hepls your team soften blows from conkeldurr, mamoswine, or anything else. Substitute dragon dance is superior to any other set because it can sort of beat rotom-w by substituting on the volt switch and setting up or smashing with waterfall on the switch in. I think this team could really benefit from a toxicroak as well. Swords dance croaker is a great check to pretty much all water types (Starmie!!!!!) and gives your team a physical attacker which is always nice. A bulk up set can help with rotom-w who gives your team nightmares. Substitute avoids will o wisp. Do what you want but I would replace latios and thundurus with toxicroak and dragonite, who can use a choice band and revenge kill a lot with extremespeed and aqua jet (jk). CB outrage will destroy rotom-w. If you want another special attacker make scizor a jirachi.

[undisputed]

Hey!

Solid rain team. Rain teams are definitely going to go through a lot of changes in the near future because of the Tornadus-t ban. You've definitely got a good one so far, but the metagame is probably going to shift before you can really perfect this one. I think you could really benefit from some set changes without even having to change any Pokemon.

First, I want to recommend Timid 252 Spe / 252 Sp Atk Choice Specs Politoed instead of the one you currently have. It goes against the conventional wisdom, but I've been using it a lot lately. I have not looked back since. Part of the reason that Max Speed Politoed is so effective is its surprise value. Your team is ideal for it too because you can nab surprise KOes against Pokemon like Rotom-w and Dragonite because they expect to outspeed. You've got a lot of Tyranitar and Hippowdon checks, I don't think you'll miss the extra bulk too much. Conserve Politoed and conventional Sand counters like Rotom-w will have trouble taking 2 STAB Rain Water Attacks. I also like Surf instead of Hydro Pump for the accuracy, but that's up to you. You can also consider Ice Beam if you want to hit Celebi, but Psychic is effective against Toxicroak as well.

Furthermore, I think Double Dance Thundurus-t is a better option than Expert Belt. I personally think Expert Belt is a bad set, but your team could use raw wall breaking power. Right now a simple Skarm + Bliss core could wall your entire team, even playing conservatively. Defensive teams are definitely on the rise, and Nasty Plot Thunder will plow through them easily. Offensive teams also have a very difficult time responding to Agility, and the combination of Agility + Nasty Plot is basically impossible to counter.

Use 248 HP and 8 Spe for your Scizor. It's the usual Scizor set, and there's no reason not to use it. At the very least, you can Speed tie with other 8 Spe Scizor, which as I mentioned, is the most popular set by far.

On Gyarados, I have to recommend Sub DD Bounce. It's a great, old set that doesn't get enough love these days. Use 56 HP / 248 Atk / 204 Spe for your EVs. There isn't a lot to say about the set except that it's definitely the best one. Sub allows you to beat Status users and weak Scald users. Fast Politoed will be a great partner for Gyarados because you can weaken Rotom-w, Gyarados' number one counter. Gyarados is a fantastic wall breaker, and it should be your main weapon against Sand teams.

Finally, I want you to use Trick instead of Psychic/Energy Ball on Latios along with a Timid Nature. You never know when you'll need to Trick a problem Pokemon like CM Jirachi, Blissey, or Ferrothorn, and Timid allows you to beat Scarf Keldeo. Scarf Keldeo is a pretty important Pokemon to beat since it's very popular on good teams.

Good luck!

[Lightning Dust]

added changes