CAUSE FROAKIE
Hey guys, this is another RMT courtesy of me. I haven’t been able to post shit for quite a while now what with the every RMT I post being locked and stuff so now that I have finally spent enough time idling (I hope so :p) I think it’s about time I posted this team. So anyways as you all already know Tornadus-T has gone uber meaning rain loses one of its best sweepers. How do people react? They switch it for the incarnate form or Thundurus-T and call it New Rain. After all is said and done rain teams look the same as ever. I decided to step away from this norm and taking an idea which one of my friends gave to me I decided to build a team using not so standard pokemon which work well just as any other pokemon in rain and are still big threats. This RMT is built around one of my favourite sweepers under the rain which is Toxicroak a.k.a The Frog. As you go into this RMT you will see pokemon here that are not so common in the OU tier but effective as ever so without further ado let’s get into this team.
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Crobat (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- U-Turn
- Cross Poison
- Sleep Talk
99.9% of the time I will be leading with crobat. Why? Simply because it’s a great lead in terms of scouting my opponent’s lead . Its fast as hell with a base 130 speed which means it has a speed tie only with Jolteon and Aerodactyl both now rare sights in the OU metagame and has a decent base 90 attack stat which is futher boosted by a choice band. Crobat is a great anti-lead in my opinion as it works extremely well against a number of leads as it can u-turn to the appropriate pokemon on my team to deal with the opposing lead or straight out KO It with the sheer power of a choice banded max attack brave bird. The fun doesn’t end there though. Crobat is not only a great lead but also a great cleaner and revenge killer with enough speed to outspeed things like +1 Dragonite and +1 Kingdra making these threats much more manageable. Crobat can also act as a great wallbreaker smashing pokes like gastrodon for heavy damage which my team otherwise struggles against. The EV spread on this set is pretty standard allowing me max attack and max speed with jolly to outspeed the majority of the OU tier. Brave Bird is the crux of this set as nothing likes to switch into a Choice Banded Brave Bird backed by stab. The Almighty ferrothorn itself is 2hko’ed after rocks. U-Turn is a decent move which allows me to scout out the opponents moveset and hits psychic types for decent damage with a Banded U-Turn and also allows me to gain much needed momentum at times. U-Turn allows me to share a volt-turn core between Raikou and Rotom-W and Landorus-Therian. Cross Poison is a filler move on this set which has decent power backed by STAB and a Choice Band. Sleep Talk is a great move for absorbing spore from breloom and amoonguss and outright ko’ing them with Brave Bird or switching out with U-turn or landing decent damage with cross-poison respectively. All in all Crobat is a great member to the team and all it takes is Crobat to show you that you don’t have to be OU to work in OU.
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The Physical Wall
Landorus-T (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 200 HP / 64 Atk / 244 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- U-Turn
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
Landorus-T (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 200 HP / 64 Atk / 244 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- U-Turn
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
Landorus-T joins the team as a rampaging tailed beast, Intimidating opposing physical attackers with its mesmerizing glare. Its great typing, awesome stat distribution, and good coverage bought it its spot on the team. However, this isn't the standard Scarfed Landorus-T most people use- this is the bulky set, the one with even more physical bulk than Gliscor and the one that can rip off chunks of HP from flyers like Salamence / Dragonite and OHKO them on the spot. Landorus's job isn't only to KO things that need KO'ing. It's a physical tank . He sets Rocks, and weakens physical attackers, and then pivots to any of the team’s members who can come in on the opponents poke and deal with it. He also handles Fighting/Ground types much better than Crobat, resisting Fighting and immune to Ground. Landorus's slower U-Turn is really useful against VoltTurn teams- in fact, Landorus's slower U-Turn is my way to VoltTurn teams, because of his slow speed and typing. His powerful EQ is a heavily damaging move in the team. U-Turn allows me to share a volt-turn core between Raikou and Rotom-W and Landorus-Therian. Stone Edge provides desperately needed coverage for pokemon like Tornadus / Volcorona, who would have no trouble sweeping if Landorus couldn't come in to revenge them if Crobat is gone. The EV Spread allows almost max defense with enough HP investment to tank a number of hits from many physical attackers. Landorus acts as a check to many of the physical attackers and fighting types in the metagame including physical dragons which would otherwise wreck my team apart with their powerful stabs. Landorus-T also has great synergy with my teams special wall Rotom-W as Rotom-W can take water and ice type moves all day while rotom-W’s only weakness to grass type is dealt by Landorus fairly well. Landorus stands as an integeral part of my team and one which I cannot do without.
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Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 28 SAtk / 232 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Thunder-Wave
- Pain Split
Rotom-W is such a versatile pokemon. In fact it seems to be the fix to most of my team’s problems. Rotom-Wash is the electronic device for dealing with rain teams or sun teams or mamoswine or a great special wall. He's such a great team player, having access to a decent moveset for scouting and racking up serious damage. It also has a great ability in Levitate meaning I can laugh off hits from Mamoswine and Landorus. His EV spread is the standard Rotom-W set, and it is to maximize his special bulk, while giving him extra fire power. Rotom-W in my opinion is the most versatile and useful Pokemon in this current meta game. Having only one weakness to Grass types, Rotom-W can really apply pressure to teams with his dual typing and his annoying move set. He also has great synergy with my team, providing support against Mamoswine and the ability to cripple scarfers with T-Wave. Hydro Pump is his best STAB that douses Mamoswine and Fire types alike. It's great for dealing with Landorus as well, and is very powerful when used in the rain even though having minimal investment. Volt Switch is for scouting out of trouble, and giving me a core with Landorus, Raikou and Crobat to annoy the hell out of people with the infamous Volturn strategy. It's also good for scaring away Thundurus-T and frail Water types and now doesn’t even have to worry about taking repeated hurricanes. Thunder Wave always succeeds in paralyzing crippling a lot of faster threats allowing me to pain split on them easily. This move is essential for slowing down faster Pokemon like scarfers which is something to definitely watch out for. His last move is Pain Split, which is used to heal off of healthy Pokemon in order to get Rotom's health back. It's great against Chansey and Blissey who both tank Rotom's moves. Rotom-W opens up new doors for my team, and helps it out against sun, rain, and sand teams. His coverage and support is pretty much what holds this team together. Rotom-W works best with Landorus and Toxicroak. That being said I can proudly say that Rotom-W is the glue of my team and holds the team in place very well.
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The Scarfer
Politoed (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Ice Beam
- Perish Song
Politoed (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Ice Beam
- Perish Song
While choice scarf politoed might not be the best scarfer out there it certainly gets the job done. Politoed is a far cry from the best revenge killer, but a Choice Scarf gives it a chance to flex its power on much faster foes. With a Choice Scarf equipped, Politoed can outpace any Pokemon under 130 base Speed and hit it with the corresponding attack. Hydro Pump gives it just enough power to KO Tornadus/Thundurus reliably with as little as one round of Life Orb recoil, and 2HKO the likes of Starmie, Rotom-W, and Salamence with the help of Stealth Rock. Hidden Power Grass helps me deal with Gastrodon a bit better. Ice Beam is a vital move for this set, revenge KOing not only the likes of an unboosted Haxorus, Salamence, or Hydreigon, but even an Adamant Dragonite with a Dragon Dance under its belt (assuming Multiscale has been broken). The fourth moveslot is Politoed's last resort, useful in situations where simply attacking will not get the job done. A quick Perish Song really ruins any set up sweeper such as CM Latias or CM Reuniclus, and is Politoed's only chance at forcing either foe to switch. This is especially useful against pesky Substitute users, such as Gliscor, who are forced to forfeit their momentum before the timer runs down. The current spread gives me max speed and max special attack with a timid nature for even greater speed. If you’re going to use a pokemon who sets up weather for you it might as well be someone who is fast right? Even though scarf toed may not have the sheer power of specs toed it has the power to outspeed 2HKO Tyranitar after rocks in the sand and OHKO in rain after rocks and that’s fine by me so it’s on the team.
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Toxicroak (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Dry Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
Toxicroak is the MVP of this team. It's not hard to see why Toxicroak is such an amazing sweeper in this metagame – rain is so common that it has plenty of opportunities to set up, and its coverage grants it an easy time against sand teams as well. If I'm facing a rain team, I usually aim to sweep mid-game with Toxicroak so that I can weaken the opponent sufficiently. I can get an easy Swords Dance against Politoed and work from there, though I do have to be careful because Psychic is becoming more common. I can also send Toxicroak out once an opposing Choice Scarf Keldeo has revenge killed one of my Pokemon, as Toxicroak resists or is immune to almost all its moves bar Hidden Power. With a Life Orb, Toxicroak can actually OHKO most of the threats that it will face in this metagame, and Sucker Punch is actually pretty powerful. If the opponent is using sand, I use Toxicroak to clean up in the late-game, as Jirachi will have far fewer opportunities to pull off a sweep. Drain Punch threatens most common Pokemon on sand teams, and for opposing Gliscor and Landorus, I have Ice Punch waiting. The main draw to using Toxicroak is its ability, Dry Skin. With Dry Skin, I get a net gain of 2.5% HP after each turn with the Life Orb recoil. This means that Toxicroak will stick around for a long time, and my Life Orb boosts are virtually free in the rain. As said before drain punch (now legal with ice punch) is a powerful stab that dents anything not resisting it at +2 while regaining HP increasing toxicroak’s survivability. Ice Punch threatens Gliscor and Landorus respectively as none of them can take a +2 Ice Punch and you can add multiscale dragonite to that list too. Sucker Punch is my only form of priority which allows me to deal with faster threats fairly easily and outright ko half the metagame with sucker punch after prior damage. It's not hard to see why Toxicroak has become so popular this metagame.
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Raikou @ Choice Specs
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Volt-Switch
- Thunder
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Shadow Ball
Raikou is yet another underrated UU threat that works just as well in OU. I dare you to tell me otherwise after you see the power Specs Raikou wields. Raikou has great things going for it. Its high base 115 Special Attack which makes it a powerful special sweeper with choice specs further boosting its power and with a extremely high base 115 speed stats which means it outspeeds the most common ou sweepers unless they have a few speed boosts under their belt or they hold a scarf. Raikou’s decent bulk means it can also take a few hits such as scarf keldeo’s HP ice and celebi’s earth power fairly well and retaliate with the thunder and shadow ball respectively. Raikou has a decent movepool and having gained volt-switch this generation it becomes a slightly slower yet a bulkier version of a jolteon. Volt-Switch is a move which gets decent power thanks to specs and allows me to scout while forming a decent volt turn core with rotom-w, landorus-t and crobat which is all fine and dandy. Next up on the moveset list we have thunder powerful electric type move with a base power of 120 and with perfect accuracy in rain meaning that once raikou fires this off anything which doesn’t resist it and has taken previous damage before can say their prayers. Hidden Power Ice helps deal with dragons a whole lot easier and forms the much hyped about bolt-beam combo which only a handful of pokemon resist. Shadow ball remains an effective means to deal with latios and celebi who don’t take much damage even from a specs hidden power ice. Raikou is more of a late game cleaner of the team but has no problem revenge killing slower pokes due to its superior speed and sheer power. After all is said and done you see that Raikou is no pushover and is a huge threat to deal with so watch out for this legendary dog and making the mistake of underestimating it while cost you dearly.
Code:
Crobat (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- U-Turn
- Cross Poison
- Sleep Talk
Landorus-T (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 200 HP / 64 Atk / 244 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- U-Turn
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 28 SAtk / 232 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Thunder-Wave
- Pain Split
Politoed (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Ice Beam
- Perish Song
Toxicroak (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Dry Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
Raikou @ Choice Specs
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Volt-Switch
- Thunder
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Shadow Ball
