I've been playing around with a Rain team I've been making since Day 1 of the Showdown ladder and thought I'd share what I have so far in this mini RMT! There are definitely still some flaws and I'm not particularly high on the ladder (1327 at the time of writing) but hopefully this can generate some discussion of Rain in BSS :) Here's the team:
Pelipper @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
Level: 50
EVs: 212 HP / 4 Def / 36 SpA / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Hurricane
- U-turn
- Roost
Pelipper now having Drizzle is by far the biggest and best update to Rain teams this generation. Although I have seen the occasional Politoed I don't see much reason to. Rain boosted Scalds and perfect accuracy Hurricanes coupled with a reliable recovery in Roost and slow U-turns to safely go into sweepers has made Pelipper the ultimate staple for Rain teams. As a bonus, Pelipper can switch into the commonly used Pheromosa with ease and retaliate with Hurricane. 252 SpD for as much bulk as possible, 36 SpA allows you to OHKO Marowak-A, 212 HP gives you an even HP number for maximum Roost healing, 4 Spe to outspeed oppoising 0 Spe Pelipper, and 4 Def because 8 EVs are a waste at Level 50.
Kingdra @ Choice Specs
Ability: Swift Swim
Level: 50
EVs: 28 HP / 252 SpA / 228 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Draco Meteor
- Ice Beam
Until we get M-Swampert back, Kingdra is one of the few pre-bank Swift Swimmers available, the other being Golduck. 252 SpA for maximum damage, 228 Spe to outspeed base 70s out of Rain.
Tapu Koko @ Electrium Z
Ability: Electric Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder
- Dazzling Gleam
- Grass Knot
- Volt Switch
Special Tapu Koko works great with Pelipper, being able to abuse the Rain for perfect accuracy Thunders. Hidden Power Ice is a good choice over Grass Knot but I don't think Grass Knot is bad either, it takes on Mamoswine and Mudsdale quite nicely. Perhaps this will change in post-bank when Gliscor and Landorus-T comes back.
Pheromosa @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Ice Beam
- U-turn
- Poison Jab
Pheromosa counters such as Aegislash, Marowak-A, and Mimikyu are near essential in this format, but once they are taken of Pheromosa has an easy time sweeping teams. Furthermore, Pelipper/Tapu Koko/Pheromosa make a great VoltTurn core, especially with Pheromosa's absurd 151 base Speed which can be used to lead with to scout and U-Turn into an appropriate answer if they aren't immediately destroyed by any of your other attacks. I played around with Focus Sash Pheromosa and I still think that it has its advantages but I found that Life Orb helps to secure knock outs, and makes sense because Pheromosa is going to get KO'd by anything that moves anyway.
Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Roost
The Intimidate on Salamence has been great for Pokemon such as Mimikyu and M-Kangaskhan. It's also possible to win games off a well-timed Dragon Dance.
Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
Ability: Thick Fat
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Spear
- Stealth Rock
I played around with Assault Vest Mudsdale and Marowak-A before settling on Mamoswine but I still think that the former two are still great options for almost any team. What I really liked about Mamoswine on this team however was the Ice-type coverage and the priority in Ice Shard, something this team severely lacks. Mamoswine has been a key Pokemon in taking out common threats such as Tapu Koko, Salamence, and Aegislash.
Again this team isn't quite complete and I'm still a long way from the top of the ladder. I also haven't tried this on the 3DS ladder yet so I don't know how it will fare on cart. In post-bank, Rain will improve even more with the inclusion of M-Swampert, M-Manectric, Ferrothorn, and more Swift Swimmers such as Kabutops. That said, I'd really appreciate any thoughts on the team and ways to improve it! If you use this team or any other Rain team please let me know, I'd like to see how someone else might use Rain!