2Stronk

[Azotal]

2Stronk

Written by: Azotal​

First

You may be wondering who I am and why I'm posting an RMT for my first Smogon post. Well, I've been teambuilding/playing for a very long time, unbeknownst to many players. My three days of experience essentially equates my skill level to that of an expert, right? Right. Well, I've actually spent quite a bit of time playing with friends, it's just that the past three days I've been seriously trying to learn the metagame and broaden my horizon of battling tactics (which will change in a few days, I'm sure, due to the new releases). My first few teams I made (and over the course of these three days I've probably made 30) fared very well against my eight year old nephew who thinks that shiny pokemon are naturally stronger because they shine brighter. However, my teams couldn't really beat anyone else. Each of my teams had at least one glaring defensive weakness that the opponent could exploit (common pokemon could beat them): CB Scizor, chlorophyll sweepers, pretty much any Reuniclus set, and air balloon Heatran to name a few. There were many others.

Well, I eventually created a team which could pretty solidly cover its weaknesses. I really was proud of this team, I went through a threat list and could pretty much defend solidly against each of them through checks and walls. However, the very first team I battled happened to be a hail-stall team. I was shit-outta-luck. I got 6-0'd. I could not do anything against a stall team. In fact, any real wall would pretty much just shut down my team. Those damn pink blobs were freaking everywhere, and I couldn't do anything against them for the most part. Around this time I started realizing two things: stall-breakers are pretty damn useful to have, and weather is just flat out stronger than non-weather teams.

So why not use that overpowered weather? I experimented with several teams (my hail team was the worst thing you'll ever feast your eyes on, save that team that could only beat my nephew). I quickly fell in love, however, with the tanky power and versatility of politoed. It was a boss, perhaps not amazing normally, but in the rain it was a menace. And it sets up its own rain. So it's always a menace. And, in killing two birds with one stone, I had decided on my weather.

I thought back on what I'd learned before, all of the beatings I'd received. Losing means that you know your weaknesses and can improve, right? Wrong. I was never weak. I've always been the very best, like no one ever was. So I had no weaknesses. But it still didn't hurt to think back on previous matches. I started my journey on creating this team, combining my knowledge aquired.

Okay, take a break. Get a soda, get some food, stretch. Sorry for subjecting you to that. I feel for you (not really hahahahahhahahahahahahhahahahaha). Achem.


A Closer Look

Politoed @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature (+SpA, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power (Grass)
- Ice Beam
- Perish Song


As I wrote above, I believe rain to be the strongest weather at the moment. Obviously, in order to have strong rain in OU I must use Politoed's Drizzle ability. In addition, Politoed supplies my team with a strong STAB Hydro Pump, an anti-Baton Pass move in Perish Song, and good anti-dragon tactics.

I generally attempt to keep Politoed alive as much as I can until the opponent's weather inducer is dead. Then I'll play aggressively with Politoed, abusing his STAB Hydro Pump in rain, and his Ice Beam and Hidden Power to predict and damage switch-ins. Politoed can be a very strong threat later in the battle if he has taken little damage, as he is tanky enough to soak a few hits and powerful enough to kill a few Pokemon.

Scizor @ Choice Band
Trait:Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 248 HP / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- Pursuit
- U-turn


Scizor, although extremely strong, is used more for checking Terrakion, Tornadus, Latios, and a bunch of other threats. In addition, it provides momentum with U-turn. With the rain it can abuse it's steel-typing and ignore the rain. In addition, technician allows me to switch in and revenge kill with bullet punch 90% of the time.

Scizor, on my team, however, early on plays a role of checking. I try not to let it tank too much damage, as I often need to counter a Latios or something later with it. Instead I use it to U-turn out repeatedly early and provide optimal typing and damage for my team. Later, however, I'll go maco-man and try to kill as much stuff as I can, switching it out after every superpower (unless it can get another kill). Pursuit is for psychic types like Starmie who like to switch (such as after a rapid spin).

Tornadus @ Life Orb
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Hurricane
- Hidden Power (Ice)
- Dark Pulse
- Rain Dance


Tornadus is a monster. Checking threats and killing pretty much everything once rain is up. Hurricane is the obvious high damage, (in rain) 100% accuracy, STAB attack that is my go to if they have no resistances and I just want to sweep them all at once. Hidden Power (Ice) is run for killing Dragons who aren't scarf'd. Dark Pulse, although a weird choice, works very well for countering unusual Pokemon who attempt to switch in with Flying resistances. I thought hard about what I should run there, and I realized that it didn't matter because Hurricane hit so hard. Rain Dance is there so I can predict their weather inducer switching-in and I can just put rain back up.

I tend to keep Tornadus alive as long as I can, as even one Hurricane can change the flow of a game. He is my special sweeper, and a very good one at that. However, I will let him die if I can Hurricane another Pokemon and the Life Orb will kill me. This is because the other pokemon's death will often make it easier for me to sweep with Sharpedo or Scizor even.

Sharpedo @ Life Orb
Trait:Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Protect
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Waterfall

Sharpedo is the powerhouse of this team. With his STAB Waterfall and Crunch in the rain, as well as Earthquake to counter Jirachi and other steel types, as well as his speed boost with Protect, Sharpedo is pretty much the biggest One-turn set up in rain. His attack damage is high enough to OHKO almost any Pokemon due to my Life Orb. As he doesn't take many hits (being faster than most scarfs with his speed boost) Sharpedo can easily sweep three or four pokemon before the Life Orb kills him.

Like Tornadus, I keep Sharpedo alive as much as possible, hoping that I can get at least one extra kill when I finally switch it in at the end.

Donphan @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk
Impish Nature (+Def, -SpA)
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Knock Off
- Earthquake


Donphan is my go-to defensive Pokemon. He can set up stealth rocks fairly easily (as he is able to tank almost any single hit), and get off a rapid spin. In addition, I can switch him in on any item-reliant Pokemon (like Chansey) and Knock Off the item. I've had success knocking off Gliscor's Toxic Orb before, as it doesn't allow them to Heal Bell anymore. Finally, I run Earthquake as a strong damaging move forcing steel types and other complete stall pokemon to switch out.

Donphan is very readily used throughout the game, forcing switches and allowing me to set up rocks. Early on I use him aggressively, attempting to get rocks and damage up as early as possible. However, I don't let him die as rapid spin is invaluable to my Tornadus and Sharpedo later. Therefore I switch him in later for a rapid spin, then get him right out (unless I can Earthquake someone to death with an OHKO or 2HKO).

Mew @ Leftovers
Trait: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 80 SpD / 176 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Psychic


A lot of times Mew is underrated as a stall breaker, not many people run it. However, this floating pink mouse is a monster. Mew's ability as a stallbreaker, especially for this offensive team, is unparalleled. Taunt, obviously, allows me to stop other stalls and walls and set ups. The speed EVs that I invest in Mew allow him to outspeed almost every set up and wall. His HP and special defense EVs allow him to have a very high tankiness, above even Jirachi and Celebi IMO due to roost and Will-O-Wisp. Will-O-Wisp makes him invaluable against physically-oriented teams, as the burn halves attack. In addition, roost and taunt let him single-handedly shut down almost every stall team. Psychic is there to kill pokemon, as Mew's base damage output with a STAB high damage attack is very high.

Mew is, like Donphan, a very early-oriented Pokemon for me (generally). I tend to try to prevent Stealth Rock from getting set up, and stop Pokemon like Gyarados from setting up. However, against Stall teams I will often just beat the whole team with Mew.


Threat List

Abomasnow: At first glance it may seem like my team doesn't have strong abilities to counter an Abomasnow as I have no fire moves. However, Scizor is pretty good at hard-countering it, and if need be I can use Mew. In addition, Politoed tends to be able to switch into more than scizor, allowing me to win most weather wars.

Aerodactyl: Aerodactyl gets OHKO'd by Sharpedo. If he switches out it gives me a free speed boost. Aerodactyl, though a strong offensive threat normally, holds no power over my team.

Alakazam: Alakazam is a major offensive threat in OU. However, I deal with him very well simply by abusing my Thundurus and Sharpedo (and, if the need arises, Scizor).

Blissey: The second a Blissey comes in my Mew jizzes itsself. My mew is my complete stall-shuter-downer. Blissey isn't a threat when he's around.

Breloom: Breloom is actually pretty easy to kill for my team. Once I sac something to sleep Mew and Scizor easily shut down this oversized mushroom.

Celebi: Celebi gets OHKO'd by my Scizor, and Sharpedo doesn't even take damage when it kills it with a Protect + Crunch.

Chansey: Chansey is dealt with even easier for me than Blissey. Reread Blissey's threat analysis, then take into account that I run knock-off on donphan (specifically for Chansey), so he loses his bulkiness. Then Chansey is just a crappy Blissey.

Cloyster: This is not a very big problem considering that most of my team is specially based, so Cloyster will not get many opportunities to set up. Sharpedo with two speed boosts outpaces Cloyster (assuming I'm going to attack first, he SS, then I protect). In addition politoed shuts him down pretty damn well.

Conkeldurr: Conkeldurr's usage has declined from when I used to just play with my friends, but it definitely is still a good Pokemon. Mew, if need be, can beat it down. However, I prefer letting Politoed or Tornadus put it in its place.

Deoxys-D: Deoxys-D is pretty scary for me if I do something dumb like sac Mew and Scizor. However, I tend to try NOT to do that. So I can deal with it.

Donphan: Politoed just shuts this guy down. And, if it comes to it, mew can usually beat him down.

Dragonite: Dragonite is a strong threat to most teams. However, especially after stealth rock, my team has very little problem dealing with him. I run several ice moves.

Dugtrio: Scizor and Donphan both do a good job of checking and killing Dugtrio. He's not really a threat to this team, as one of those two tend to be my last Pokemon.

Espeon: Espeon is seen on Baton Pass and sun teams. I destroy baton pass with a simple perish song from Politoed(watching people forfeit to perish song is hysterical). The espeon on sun teams gives me a bit more difficulty, as I don't have a super hard counter to it. However, I try to first establish rain, then switch and kill with Scizor.

Ferrothorn: Mew is a monster against this guy. Taunt pretty much just wins. If need be, I can also bring in Scizor and Superpower it to death. It's not that big of a threat to me, despite the rain.

Forretress: Forretress does nothing other than set up entry hazards and use Rapid Spin. I tend to deal with it the same way I deal with Ferrothorn, relying more on Scizor.

Gastrodon: Gastrodon is a really strong Pokemon, especially in rain. However, if dealt with correctly it's not that big of a threat. Politoed's HP Grass destroys it. And Mew can beat it, if need be.

Gengar: Gengar, especially Sub-Disable Gengar, is pretty scary to my team. I tend to have to sacrifice a Pokemon if he gets up substitute. After that, however, it's no threat to me anymore.

Gliscor: Gliscor hurts against my team, as my many ice moves destroy it. In addition, it doesn't deal enough damage to my team to be considered a big threat. Mew shuts it down if need be.

Gyarados: Gyarados is pretty scary, especially if it gets set up in the rain. However, Politoed can break the substitutes, and Tornadus outspeeds and destroys. In addition, Mew can use Will-O-Wisp to burn it, crippling its damage output.

Haxorus: Haxorus is pretty easy for me to deal with with my bulky water such as politoed, and ice beam. In addition, burning it with Mew is pretty effective to shut down it's attack.

Heatran: Heatran exposed to my team is destroyed. I run earthquake on donphan, and water type attacks on almost everyone. Especially under the rain, he poses little to no threat.

Hippowdon: Hippowdon is easily dealt with by predicting his switch ins. I can usually 2HKO with Politoed or Sharpedo.

Hydreigon: Substitute variants of Hydreigon are generally dealt with by popping the substitute, then defeating with Tornadus or Sharpedo. Pure special sweepers are pretty easily beaten by Scizor, or by tanking a hit as Politoed and Ice Beaming. Tornadus can pretty much also just straight up beat it.

Infernape: Infernape loses to Sharpedo in one hit in the rain if I get my speed boost. I've never considered it much of a threat.

Jellicent: Jellicent, as with other walls, is shut down by Mew. In addition, I can knock off and whittle it down if need be.

Jirachi: Jirachi is one of the biggest threats to my team. I deal with him by playing correctly, checking him, spinning away his rocks, and killing him with Sharpedo and Scizor when he decides to try to hax me.

Jolteon: Jolteon is a pretty big threat, also, because of the rain and its base speed and special attack stat as well as STAB thunder. I deal with him by outspeeding with Sharpedo and abusing his squishy health and defense stat.

Kyurem: Hahahaha. Stealth rocks and pretty much everyone beats him.

Landorus: Landorus doesn't fare very well against my super ice-heavy team. He's not actually much of a threat.

Latias: My team is very specially-offensive heavy, so Latias is a pain to deal with. However, Sharpedo with Crunch can destroy it pretty well, as well as Pursuit on Scizor.

Latios: Latios is pretty strong (he is actually one of my favorite Pokemon in rain). However, Scizor and +1 Sharpedo counter it very hard.

Lucario: I really hate facing this Pokemon. Nasty Plot on Lucario isn't tough for my team to deal with, but the only counter I have to SD Lucario is Donphan. If push comes to shove I can use Mew, but he gets killed pretty fast right after beating Lucario.

Magnezone: Magnezone doesn't really fare very well. I don't have much that's especially effective against it (unless it has no Air Balloon or Magnet Rise and I have Donphan out). I can pretty much 2HKO or OHKO it with most of my pokes.

Mamoswine: Sharpedo fares very well against Mamoswine. In addition, Politoed and Mew can defeat it if need be. It's not a major threat, but if Sharpedo is dead for whatever reason it's a bit more difficult.

Metagross: Metagross generally isn't that difficult to deal with as I have Sharpedo, Tornadus, and Scizor, as well as Donphan and even Politoed if need be. Any one of those can beat it.

Ninetales: My strategy with Ninetails is: Dance around until I can get a Earthquake off with Sharpedo to OHKO, an Earthquake off with Donphan, or even let him switch into a hurricane or something and then just finish him off. Basically, play the weather dance game until I can kill it.

Politoed:
My Politoed is basically the best thing since wonderbread, so my Politoed > anyone else's Politoeds. Usually I just get into a politoed duel, and clean up with a bullet punch from Scizor if need be.

Reuniclus: Reuniclus is hard countered by Scizor. It poses little or no threat to my team because of it.

Rotom-W:With Rotom-W, I mostly deal with predictions. Eventualy I aim to burn it with Mew. After that, just avoid getting volt-switched to death, and it's no big deal.

Salamence: Salamence is shut down very hard by all the ice type attacks on my team. If it gets set up on anything it has the advantage of killing maybe one of my Pokemon, but more than that is pushing it.

Scizor:I just sponge Scizor's hits with Donphan, then burn with Mew. He's strong, but nothing that's not deal-able with.

Scrafty:Scrafty isn't that great. He's pretty easy to deal with with Politoed's Hydropump and Scizor's Superpower.

Skarmory:Mew and Politoed both do a fair job of countering and killing Skarmory. I then spin away whatever he set up with Donphan, and he's no big deal.

Starmie:Starmie is very easy to beat for my team. I can switch into its Rapid Spin, then just Crunch or Pursuit it to death.

Tentacruel: Tentacruel is a pain for my team, but I can easily counter it if Mew is still up. A burn and a taunt shuts it down completely.

Terrakion: Terrakion loses to both Donphan and Mew, and is checked by Scizor with a simple Bullet Punch. He's no real threat to my team if I play smart.

Tornadus:Tornadus is OHKO'd with Bullet Punch, so switching in Scizor checks it pretty hard.

Toxicroak: Toxicroak is a pain in the rain. However, Tornadus, Scizor, and Donphan all can kill or force a switch.

Tyranitar: Tyranitar is countered pretty easily by my team. I can burn him with mew, or kill him with Scizor, Donphan, or Politoed.

Vaporeon: Scizor U-turn shuts Vaporeon down pretty hard. In addition, Hurricane from Tornadus results in him not being able to do much. If he's on a Baton Pass team, I just use Perish Song.

Venusaur: Venesaur isn't strong if it's not in the sun. Therefore, all I have to do is get out Poli and it's dead. Once I kill their ninetails, a Venesaur poses no threat to my team.

Virizion:Virizion is very easy for my team to deal with, a simple U-turn from Scizor or Hurricane from Tornadus will kill it.

Volcarona: Politoed, Tornadus, and Stealth Rocks from Donphan all pretty much destroy Volcarona. I've never had trouble with it.



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Politoed (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Perish Song

Scizor (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Pursuit
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower

Tornadus (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Hurricane
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Dark Pulse
- Rain Dance

Sharpedo (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Protect
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Earthquake

Donphan (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Knock Off

Mew @ Leftovers
Trait: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 80 SDef / 176 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Psychic

Conclusions

Well, I'm so so so sorry for the people who write several of these a month (even though I don't think you're supposed to). This thing takes hours to write. My head hurts.

This team has served me well (it's beaten some of you a couple of times), and I wanted to share it with the rest of you (I think I'm off to make a sun team next). My team has taught me, and I hope will teach (or remind you) of a few key things. First, winning the weather war (assuming the opponent is using a weather team also) is imperative to winning 90% of the time. Freaking predict his TTar switching in and superpower dat ho (though why the heck anyone would switch a TTar on a newly switched in Scizor idk).Then get your poli out. This team's main powerhouses, Sharpedo and Tornadus, are almost completely dependent on rain. Secondly, Tornadus is rain is king. You've got a tank? I don't care. Your sweeper is faster? Can take a hit. Didn't kill you in one hit? I don't miss. This guy is a freaking monster if you win the weather war. So don't let him die, get your rain up, and sweep away! Third thing to take away is that some previously-underrated pokemon, Sharpedo for example, are stronger than they appear. Once one speed boost is up, Sharpedo outspeeds and out-damages nearly every other physical rain sweeper in OU. Dream world abilities sure are useful.

Finally, I'd like to thank Harsha for lending his format to me. It was very kind of you. I'd give you a hug, or something, but naw mang. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed my RMT, and I hope you like my team!

 

[mklo14]

Looks like a pretty solid team! Good job dude! However I have a few suggestions for ya.

1. You said you handle politoed with your politoed, this being, I think you should run 8 Spe evs instead of 4 just so you can make sure to outrun them and take less damage in the process. Also on politoed, I was looking over your threat list and rain seems pretty hella important to your team, this said I think your ev spread should reflect this importance, and that you should make him bulkier.

This spread should help you take some more damage:

248HP/252DEF/8SPE

2. Your team without mew is verrry stall weak, and relying on one pokemon alone to stop all the stall probably isn't the best idea, but their is an easy fix here. Give tornadus taunt over dark pulse. This gives you a PRAnkster user to help stop taunt, and will help you shut down the likes of sableye, and whimsicott.

Taunt>dark pulse on tornadus

Only minor suggestions for minor problems, but I think they might be worth trying out!

 

[XcRunner]

This looks like quite a solid team, especially for making it so quickly, so congrats on that.
I'm going to agree with Harsha on the Mew thing. Ice Beam is typically a better coverage move for him, allowing him to destroy dragons and such.
Other than that, the only change I'd recommend is making your Tornadus into the following:
Tornadus@choice specs
Timid
-Hurricane
-Focus Blast
-HP Ice/U-Turn
-Tailwind/Rain Dance
4 def/252 spA/252 spe
Hope this helped and good luck with the team!

 

[Azotal]

@Harsha: I'll test out Ice Beam on Mew. I used to run Ice Shard on Donphan, but Knock-off has proved to be an unexpectedly useful move. As for Tornadus, I'll move the HP EVs into defense for stealth rock.

@mklo14: Thanks dude! As for the Politoed note, I can't switch the Special Attack EVs into defense with that set. My Poli is supposed to be an offensive Politoed. On the other hand, the tip about switching it into 8 speed EVs sounds solid on paper. I'll have to try it. For Tornadus I could very well switch Dark Pulse into Taunt, as Hurricane does 99% of my damage anyway. I'll test it out.

@XcRunner: I guess I'll change it to Ice Beam then and see how it fares. I liked the Psychic coverage, plus the STAB damage against a standard stall poke, but I'll try it and see. For Tornadus I'll take your EV suggestion, but the problem with U-turn is that with Life Orb it takes a toll. I've considered running Specs but as it outspeeds everything for the most part anyway I've found it's more worth it to just take the recoil from Life Orb and to let me switch moves and predict with Rain Dance. This is especially true since it's my only strong special attack damage, so I need to have multiple moves able so that I don't get locked into one attack.

Thanks guys!

 

[Jimbon]

This is a really cool team, I love the use of Sharpedo. One thing that I saw was that your team is pretty reliant on the weather, you even said it yourself. Your two sweepers Sharpedo and Tornadus need Rain to perform their sweeps effectively and if you lose the Weather War it may be hard to win the match. To help with this, I recommend changing your Politoed's EV spread to 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA with a Bold Nature. With this EV spread, your Politoed will have a much easier time switching into physical attacks and ultimately you will increase the longevity of Politoed's lifespan shifting those weather wars more into your favor. This will make dealing with threats like Sub DD Gyara and Sub BU Toxicroak a lot easier to deal with thanks to the bulk and Perish Song.

I also agree with others that Tailwind > Dark Pulse is the superior option on Tornadus. Tailwind gives you a lifeline to outspeed opposing threats that can cause problems for your team, it also compensates for Sharpedo when he cannot outspeed something else at +1 Speed. It's completely situational but in the long run a faster Taunt, Will-O-Wisp or Perish Song can mean the difference between a win and a lose. Not to mention that anything hit hard by Dark Pulse is hit as hard by a STAB Hurricane. I also think that you should try Focus Blast or U-Turn over Rain Dance. While Rain Dance may be supporting your team, it only lasts for 5 turns, and Tornadus doesn't want to waste a turn when it is too frail to take a hit. If you choose to go with the bulkier Politoed, you'll find that winning the weather war will be a lot easier, so there is less need to use Rain Dance. Focus Blast allows you to hit Tyranitar, allowing you to win the weather war. U-Turn is nice for gaining momentum in a match, in conjunction with Donphan's Rapid Spin support and Scizor's U-Turns, you will be slowly wearing down your opponent's team as well as granting yourself a lot of switchins to decimate your opponent.

 

[Azotal]

@ThatsMyLatios: I go over Donphan Ice Shard above, I just kinda like the anti-stallness of knock-off. However, I'm trying both your Tailwind and Ice Beam suggestions. My team has a lot of speed naturally, but I'm sure it'd be useful for breaking/burning Sub DD Gyara, which you go into next. So that should cover both.

@Jimbon: A lot of people have been suggesting that poli to me actually. Were I to run it I'd have to run a more stallish set, I think, to fully utilize the defensive EVs. Scald / Toxic / Perish Song / Hidden Power (grass) or something. I agree with your points on tailwind though. Rain Dance is necessary though, often people will switch into Tornadus, and this lets me set the rain right back up. I'll still try Focus Blast. U-turn isn't worth it because it takes a toll with Life Orb.

 

[destinyunknown]

This team looks extremely weak to the combo of Blissey + a physical wall, as Mew can't really beat Blissey (Blissey can just ppstall Will-O-Wisp) and your team usually struggles against /good/ stall teams. A solution for this would be running Mixed Tornadus over your current set, as it would allow you to take down Blissey and esentially, break the defensive cores your team can't destroy right now. Here's the set:

Tornadus@Life Orb | Prankster
Naive Nature | 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hurricane / Hammer Arm / Rain Dance / Taunt

 

[heinz25]

Hey nice rain team you have there. Seems as though special dragons especially choice specs

, might give you trouble since you have nothing to take a choice specs draco meteor. If a choice specs

comes in on anything other than Sharpedo, something is gonna be hit extremely hard or be killed. Also a Kingdra could pose a problem for you if you happen to come across one. To remedy hits from special dragons, you could try fitting a specially defensive

somewhere. Not sure what set to recommend.

Below is an example of a Kingdra which could pose a threat to your team. It is the one I use on my rain team.

Kingdra @expert belt/ white herb
Nature: Modest
36 hp / 252 SpA / 220 Spe
Ability: swiftswin

-signal beam
-dragon pulse/draco meteor
-hydro pump
-hp grass

 

[heinz25]

@heinz ^

Swift Swim and Drizzle are banned together so Kingdra doesn't really pose a threat to his team

I know that, I never said I use Kingdra with Drizzle. I said I run it on my rain team. I have rain dancers with damp rock to induce rain since Drizzle and swift swim together are banned. I also never suggested he use Kingdra either, if you thought that is what I was trying to say. All I was saying is that if he came across a Kingdra, it could pose a threat.

 

[Azotal]

@DestinyUnknown: I'll try the mixed tornadus also. I've noticed, too, that that was a problem but I didn't really know how to deal with it.

@Heinz25: As ThunderBlunder stated, Drizzle + Swift Swim is banned. As Drizzle is just so much more convenient and powerful than Rain Dance. Someone could probably run a Rain Dance + Swift Swim team, but it'd mainly serve the roll of countering Rain Dance teams. Other weather teams would just destroy it. I acknowledge what you're saying is true, a swift swim Kingdra would give me problems, but the chances of my encountering one is very slim. In addition, in order to change my team around to accommodate to it I'll likely be losing too much coverage in other areas. So I'm just gonna worry about Kingdras when they come up :)

 

[Sayonara]

Hey, Azotal. Nice rain team you developed.

First off, I notice an apparent weakness to Rotom-W. Due to Rain being present out on the field, its powerful Hydro Pumps will be boosted. Hydro Pump lands a OHKO on both Scizor and Donphan, while Thunderbolt wrecks Tornadus, Sharpedo and Politoed. Nothing can switch into one of those two moves, as Mew is 2HKO'd by Hydro Pump in Rain, if I recall. As heinz25 stated earlier, none of your team members can switch into a Specs Latios' powerful Draco Meteor without either dying, or being severely damaged, which is not good. To fix these two current problems, I would recommend a Wish Blissey (see set below) instead of Mew. Blissey can tank anything Rotom-W decides to use on it, which also includes Draco Meteors. It can then gain back the HP loss with Wish, a pretty reliable source of recovery. Toxic lets it stall out opponents, which allows you to gain an advantage in matches versus stall. Seismic Toss lets you break Substitutes and deal damage, while Protect is helpful to scout your opponent's moves, but also to assure that Wish will heal your health back. It also racks up Toxic damage inflicted to your opponent. I find that Blissey is a better fit on your team than Mew, since you already have a solid physical wall in Donphan. Blissey also solves your slight weakness to Life Orb Venusaur, who can't touch the Pink Blob. Cool team, and good luck!

Blissey @ Leftovers | Natural Cure
Bold Nature | 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Wish | Protect | Seismic Toss | Toxic

Summary of Changes:

Mew ---> Wish Blissey

 

[Azotal]

@Expert Physics: True, I have a Rotom-W and Latios weakness. However, switching in a Blissey would ruin my offense on my team. Instead, what if I were to switch Mew for Jirachi with Wish? It should have the same effect. Jirachi's damage output would also be higher, therefore allowing him to fit into my offensive strategy.

Thanks though, that's a good point.

 

[Harsha]

Hey,

So I can finally come back and give this a full rate. I have a few changes that should be able to make this team better. Now first off, while Mew is definitely a good stallbreaker, I think the most effective one is Dragonite. Rain Dragonite demolishes all stall teams for the most part if you can win the weather war, and it wrecks rain stall so you can sweep with Sharpedo with ease. I'd run a set with 252 HP / 108 SpA / 148 SpD and a Calm nature to give you the ability to sponge hits and attack with a moveset of Hurricane, Thunder, Dragon Tail, and Roost. This should immensely aid your ability to sweep with Sharpedo. While you may miss burns and Taunt, you'll definitely love the ability to ravage through most stall teams with adequate prediction due to Dragon Tail.

Donphan seems a bit out of place on this team to me, to be honest. While it's a decent spinner, it really doesn't bring much to the table in terms of power, defensive capabilities, or even spinning. In fact, it basically completely gives up momentum to threats such as Gliscor. I'd go ahead and try out Forretress over it instead, as it gives you a way to complete your VoltTurn core, a check to Dragons spamming Outrage, and a layer of Stealth Rock to wrap it up. A set with 252 HP / 224 Def / 32 SpA with a Bold nature and a moveset of Rapid Spin, Stealth Rock, Volt Switch, and Hidden Power Ice. Basically, it destroys Gliscor and Dragons so that you have an easier time with your Sharpedo sweep.

On Tornadus, I think your best bet is just switching to the Choice Specs variant and going with a spread of 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe and a Timid nature with a set of Hurricane, Focus Blast, Tailwind, and Rain Dance. To be completely honest, Taunt shouldn't be used very often considering even if you Taunt Blissey or Chansey, they'll take a good chunk of your health out with Seismic Toss. If you're not running Choice Specs, there are Pokemon you aren't KOing. With Choice Specs, you basically just spam Hurricane and OHKO or 2HKO everything, and you cover the Steel-types that Tornadus doesn't kill with the rest of your team. Overall the team is pretty solid, and I think my changes help push it in the right direction. Good luck bro; I hope I helped!

 

[Azotal]

Thanks for the full rate.

I implemented many of the changes given by everyone. I'll update the thread at a later time (which'll take a lot of updating, threat list and what not) with the changes.