Drizzle RMT

Hey, this is my first RMT. I had some success in Gen 4 with a Rain Dance team that was half based on an RMT I'd seen on Smogon, and just various additions I made myself. So upon the arrival of Gen 5 and the release of Drizzle Politoed, I decided to try my hand at another Rain team. So, here's my teambuilding process:


Obviously, I had to have the only Drizzle pokémon legal in OU, Politoed. Next, I needed a sweeper, and who better than everyone's favourite Rain sweeper, and one of my favourite pokémon...


Kingdra was added to the team. And with Drizzle meaning he no longer had to run Rain Dance, this gave him more options for which moveset to run. Awesome. Next, I remembered a very underrated pokémon that had served me very well in my previous G4 Rain team...


Floatzel! Seriously, I don't know why this guy's NU, even out of Rain he's a very useful sweeper. Next, I remembered another pair of useful pokémon I'd used to success previously, though one of them has become even more suited to Rain:


Rotom-W and Skarmory! Previously I've used Rotom-W in a spinblocking role, but this gen he's swapped his spinblocking options for STAB Hydro Pump, made even more powerful by Rain. Meanwhile, Skarmory has its Fire weaknesses negated by Rain, and I've found him very useful for setting up Spikes to help the sweepers, along with phazing stat-uppers etc.
Finally, I needed something new, something to deal with the SandStream, Snow Warning and Drought pokémon. Something to stop them switching in, changing the weather, and switching out again. A trapper. And what better trapper than one that hits three out of four for supereffective, two with his STAB?


I chose Dugtrio, as he can hit TTar on his weaker physical Defense with SE STAB EQ as he can for Ninetales, while Abomasnow and Balloon Ninetales can be dealt with via Stone Edge. And his Arena Trap ability means they can't switch out!

So, the full team:

How badass is that Skarmory animation.

Now for a closer look:

~The Drizzling Staller~



Politoed@Leftovers

Bold | Drizzle
252 HP / 252 Def / 4SpD

-Boil Over
-Toxic
-Protect
-Substitute

Politoed's place on the team is a no-brainer, with Drizzle providing permanent Rain, barring any of the other weather changers coming in. Thanks to Team Preview, I can see whether or not my opponent is running any of said weather changers, and if they're not, I tend to lead with this guy, except in certain situations where Rain would be beneficial for them (such as teams running Kingdra), or they're also running Rain, in which case I try to guess their lead (usually Politoed) and choose my best counter.

In any case, Politoed works pretty much the same way; if they're Steel type or Water-weak, I use Boil Over until they're dead, I'm dead, or they're burned, at which point I start stalling with Protect and Substitute. Politoed's speed is actually relatively good, as Toxic stall is great for messing up walls, which tend to be slow, allowing me to use Sub to block their attempts to Toxic me in return. He's also pretty bulky, taking unSTABed ThunderPunches and even Thunderbolts very well.

~The Wall of Steel~



Skarmory@Leftovers

Impish | Sturdy
252 HP / 64 Atk / 176 Def / 16 Spe

-Spikes
-Whirlwind
-Brave Bird
-Roost

Skarmory supplies very useful Spikes support, made even more useful by being able to pHaze whith Whirlwind. This set doesn't really need any description, it's a standard Skarm set; Sturdy lets Skarm sarcrifice itself by BBing a low-health sweeper when the priority users are dead, and also lets it pHaze out powerful threats that would otherwise OHKO it, or set up that last layer of spikes before going down. Spikes support is very useful on this team, as it lacks Stealth Rock.
Skarm is also useful for taking Grass-type that hit every other team member for at least neutral.

~The Swiftest Swimmer~



Floatzel@Life Orb

Adamant | Swift Swim
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

-Waterfall
-Ice Punch
-Crunch/Brick Break
-Aqua Jet
​

This is a somewhat unusual set for Floatzel. Aqua Jet may seem somewhat redundant with Floatzel's ridiculous speed in Rain; however, AJ is enourmously useful for revenging other priority users like Scizor and Roobushin, and allows Floatzel to function outside of Rain (this is also the reason for max speed, allowing it to outrun base 100's by one point out of Rain). Waterfall is standard STAB, and the flinch chance has come in handy for me on more than one occasion. Ice Punch is helpful for killing the multitude of 4x Ice-weak pokes. Crunch is quite useful for killing Ghosts and Psychics, but since Waterfall in Rain is more powerful than SE Crunch, it's of limited use, only really good against Dark-weak Water resistors, such as Celebi. Brick Break has a similar problem, but it has the advantage of hitting Nattorei, who this team hates, fro supereffective (though due to the low BP, Floatzel's average Attack and Natt's high Defense, I think it only does around 40%). With his ridiculous speed (decent even out of Rain) and Aqua Jet, Floatzel is useful for revenging, and can even sweep if the walls are softened up enough.

~The Pumping Trickster~



Rotom-W@Choice Specs

Modest | Levitate
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

-Thunder
-Hydro Pump
-Hidden Power Ice
-Trick

Rotom-W is a pokémon made for Rain. If only he had Swift Swim and he would truly be one of the ultimate Rain sweepers. Thunder is for obvious STAB, made 100% accurate by the Rain. Double STAB Hydro Pump is awesome, with a NVE Rain-boosted Hydro Pump doing roughly the same damage as a neutral non-rain Surf. HP Ice is for coverage and hitting Dragons hard, and Trick is for crippling walls, especially Nattorei, who can almost always be relied on to switch in on sight of Rotom. I usually tend to Trick early, but if I do make use of my Specs I tend to go with Hydro Pump simply for its beastly power.

I'm considering swapping Specs for Scarf, as Rotom is rather slow naturally, though Specs boosted Hydro Pump is truly something to be feared. I also find Specs a better item to Trick, as often tricking a scarf results in your target then outspeeding and being able to KO Rotom next turn. I'm not sure about this.

~The Dancing Dragon~



Kingdra@Chesto Berry

Adamant | Swift Swim
144 HP / 148 Atk / 40 SpD / 176 Spe

-Dragon Dance
-Waterfall
-Outrage
-Rest

Ah, ChestoRest Kingdra. This is truly one of the best sweepers in existance, made only more fearsome in Rain. The set needs no introduction, being arguably the best set Kingdra can run. The EV spread is slightly different from the standard; this is so as to ensure Kingdra outspeeds Scarf Garchomp at +2 (either thanks to Rain or after 2 DDs). I've just taken the necessary extra EVs out of Attack, but I'm not sure if I'd be better of sacrificing a little bulk to let him hit a bit harder.

I'd say the worst move on this set is Outrage - I can deal with the locking, but the confusion afterwards is very annoying, especially when I've DD'd up to +3 or +4 and used my berry, so I can't switch out and do my trick again. I'd consider Dragon Claw, but I think it's probably just too weak, especially if I'm faced with another Dragon before I've had the chance to DD up (unboosted Outrage only just OHKOs Garchomp not quite 100% of the time, so DC has no chance)

I tend to save Kingdra for the lategame, and use Waterfall for as long as possible until a Water Absorber or another Dragon comes in and I'm forced to Outrage. I find Kingdra gets Toxic'd very often, so I usually only get around 3 DDs max, though there have been occassions I've managed to get up to +6.

To illustrate the awesome power of Kingdra, consider this situation; I was 5-1 down with only him remaining, and at the end of the match, I won and Kingdra was still at full HP. Truly, a phenominal sweeper.
​

~The Three-Headed Killer~



Dugtrio@Life Orb

Jolly | Arena Trap
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-Sucker Punch
-Substitute

Dugtrio is a pokémon on this team to do a job, and he does his job beautifully. TTar and Ninetales are dispatched with Earthquake, while Abomasnow and Balloon Ninetales are destroyed by Stone Edge. Hippowdon is a problem for Duggy, but due to his low SpD and Water weakness, Rotom can take care of him well, and the other team members can also, in a pinch. Aside from getting rid of opposing weather starters, Duggy can also be used as a general revenge killer, with his high speed and priority.
Sucker Punch is useful for revenging other priority users, and, in a pinch, finishing off weakened Psychic types like Rankusuru, while Subsitute lets me scout their next move to see if Sucker Punch is safe to use, or lets me get a free hit on their switchin if I'm against an airborn poke.
He is a little weak offensively and very frail defensively, but for a revenge killer, he does well.


I'm not sure if there's an official threatlist for G5 yet; if there is I'll edit it in later. For now, I'll state the pokémon I have the most trouble with:


Nattorei is an absolute bastard for this team; he resists Kingdra's and Rotom's STABs and takes pitiful damage from Floatzel's Brick Break. My most reliable way of dealing with Nattorei is to Trick him Rotom's Specs, of which he has no use, and spam Boil Over with Politoed in the hope of a burn to wear him down. Thankfully, he has no reliable recovery.



Rankurusu has given some trouble, but not as much as Nattorei (though this may be because Nattorei is more common); Trick Room variants screw over my Swift Swimmers, and more or less everyone else, but thankfully TR doesn't have a boosting item and I can usually stall him out. His bulk is irritating in that while I struggle to kill him with Floatzel or Kingdra, he CMs up, so when I fail to KO him and he KOs me, he's at +3 and ready to sweep my team. At this point my best hope is Dugtrio's Sucker Punch, but he needs to be sufficiently weakend for that to be effective. Magic Guard is very annoying as it stops me Toxic or Burn stalling him out with Politoed, which would otherwise be very easy due to his godawful speed.
Rank isn't as bad as Natt, but on more than one occasion I've struggled to take him down.

I think that's about it, I may add some more later if I think of them. Bear in mind this is my first RMT, and more or less the first team I've built on my own, so try to be nice :)
​

This team has one glaring weakness that I can see: Breloom. Just the Bullet Seed + Mach combo would be enough to destroy half the team, with only Floatzel really standing a chance with Ice Punch. Kingdra can't OHKO all the time with an unboosted Outrage (especially any Breloom running HP EVs), Dugtrio can't trap and remove it since Mach Punch OHKOes it, and Skarmory can get slept, though Breloom will hate Brave Bird. I call Breloom "the anti-weather Pokemon" for good reason, and you'd do well to pack more power against it.

About Dugtrio, while it is true that Ninetales gets destroyed by EQ, Tyranitar at 100% will never be OHKOed, and can OHKO with Crunch. Hippowdon just laughs at Dugtrio. If you want a weather inducer destroyer, the aforementioned Breloom is your best bet.

Breloom @ Life Orb
Trait: Technician
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
- Mach Punch
- Bullet Seed
- Swords Dance/Stone Edge
- Spore

Breloom hits both Sand Streamers, Politoed, and Abomasnow for huge damage, and deals with Rain and Sand abusers like a dream. Replace Dugtrio with this, and while it can't trap Tyranitar, it easily forces it out. I slashed in Stone Edge in case you don't want to use SD.

If you want to keep Dugtrio, that's fine too, just keep Floatzel alive for Breloom and Tyranitar.

Other than that, I like how you incoporated Floatzel, as it is one of my favorite Gen IV Pokemon. This looks like a fine team indeed.

Hmm, actually running the calcs, I can see what you mean with Dugtrio - he does 97% max vs 4/0 neutral TTar... I must have some prior damage from Spikes or something during my successful KOs.

I do really like the look of that Breloom, and it even helps me take care of Nattorei, resisting Grass, immune to Leech Seed, and hitting it with a supereffective STAB. The only problem is... Technician Breloom doesn't exist yet. I built this team for Standard OU, not Dream World :/
D'you have any other suggestions? Breloom does seem to solve a lot of this team's problems, so could the standard SporePuncher work?

Thanks for the rate anyway :)

Got your VM and I was actually looking over this team earlier. I honestly have yet to play test a rain team myself, which is why I refrained from commenting. Please take my advice with that grain of salt. This also means I would have a lot of trouble making specific changes, but I can see some general issues.

I can advise as to what I personally hate seeing when I play against a rain team:

1) It's all about Preserving Politoed / Swift Swimmers

If you can preserve your own weather and health of your rain sweepers, you will almost always win (assuming also you can win mirror matches-- bring some anti-rain yourself).

So, a number of your teammates should be dedicated to giving politoed easy switch-outs (so it can set up rain comfortably multiple times in a battle), and ideally also be able to heal your rain team (Politoed + 1/2 rain abusers).

The main enemies are:
1) Entry Hazards (Especially Toxic spikes, as Politoed hates poison)
2) Status (especially Politoed getting poisoned)
3) General attacks (ie. Wish Support is nice)

With this in mind, you need a minimum of 3 on the whether team (Politoed + 2 rain abusers), and amongst the other 3 (non-rain team), ideally be able to provide support to deal with the above, and some useful resistances (ie pack non-water types).


Dealing with Entry Hazards

Spinners are a definite possibility, but since the main enemy is toxic spikes, grounded poison types are fine too. I actually think Grounded Poisons generally fit the build better in terms of synergy, but I'll comment:

Spinners:

Forry: really enjoys rain blocking its fire weakness, but on the other hand, STAB rain boosted water attacks from the enemy will pretty much kill it instantly. :/ It does provide a nice 4x resist to grass, but can you really see forry doing anything against Breloom, Roserade or Shaymin-S after it has switched in? Yeah, Forry is kind of meh here.

Starmie/Tentacruel: While they do get boosted STAB in rain, I personally think it best to avoid additional water types where possible . . . they bring no additional resistances either (except fighting which is kinda nice).

Doryuuzu: lol, no


Example Grounded Poison Types:

Roserade: Is actually really nice for rain I think. It can suck up special Electric and Grass attacks with relative ease, and retaliate with powerful special attacks of its own. It sucks up Toxic Spikes, can set up entry hazards itself, and can even bring Aromatherapy support. It also has some use anti-rain use in a mirror match (namely setting up toxic spikes against the enemy politoed, or just spamming Leaf Storm).

Nidoking/Queen: So, they get really powerful special attacks thanks to their new ability (Chikaraduku-- sorry, what's the decided English name? Too much cartridge play :S), making them great OU candidates. An Electric immunity attached to no grass weak is always welcome to a Rain team as well. Nidoking can break down enemy walls while Queen can provide your team with some entry hazard support. I'd definitely say they're worth a look.


Status:

Pack Aromatherapy somewhere if you can. Grass types are nice teammates for the reasons mentioned under my comments about Roselia anyway. I think every Rain Team should pack some sort of Grass type (my personal preference would be non-ludicolo, but something like roserade in the support team). Blissey is also a very real candidate that should be considered.


Wish Support

Ideally, when you have really valuable key pokemon in a team, it's a good idea to pack some wish support. Look over the list there's quite a few. Ideally, pick something that's not a water type, but if you must, pick the new Dream World Vaporeon. It's got very real scary-kind potential.


My main suggestion would be to put Politoed / Kingdra / Floatzel aside, and see if your other pokemon really do or don't provide the type of support commented above, and whether or not you feel the need for such support.