Forecast

[Laxpras]

Approved by Eevee General and The Immortal
Banner by Akumeoy

​

Do you think combining your rain, sun, sand, (And hail?) teams into one would be fun? Try Forecast! Forecast is a weather based metagame played with mostly OU clauses. The idea is that there is a set weather pattern throughout the match, switching after every three turns. The pattern is fixed, so players can predict plays accordingly. The pattern will be:

Hail --> Sunlight --> Sandstorm --> Rain (Repeat)​

To keep this pattern, all weather setting moves and abilities are banned (Sunny day, drought, hail etc.). Weather abusing abilities are clearly extremely powerful, however to efficiently abuse this weather players will have to know when to bring the correct pokemon in for the specific weather, and opponents will know this and counter accordingly. Also, the pokemon will only have 3 turns at the maximum for this abuse. Moves like hurricane, thunder, weather ball, moonlight, synthesis, etc. are also severely affected.

Banlist:

Standard OU Banlist
Sunny Day, Hail, Sandstorm, Rain Dance
Drought, Snow Warning, Sand Stream, Drizzle, Cloud Nine


Threats:
Chlorophyll, Swift Swim, Sand Rush users

Thunder, Hurricane, Blizzard, Solarbeam spammers

Castform
And many more! Be creative with ways for one pokemon to be able to abuse or defend against several conditions. For example, weatherball Raikou can have a strong coverage move in various weather settings, and not have to worry about switching out. On the other hand, Rotom-Wash can check Excadrill, as well as most physical swift swimmers.

 

[Twix]

I honestly feel as though Hail should be the starting weather, as it has no Pokemon that can actually gain a Speed Boost or Attacking Boost from it and is generally the most balanced outside of some residual damage and 100% Blizzard.

 

[Laxpras]

I honestly feel as though Hail should be the starting weather, as it has no Pokemon that can actually gain a Speed Boost or Attacking Boost from it and is generally the most balanced outside of some residual damage and 100% Blizzard.

I agree, changed it. Thanks!

 

[Twix]

Sorry for double posting, but what would happen in the case of a Cloud Nine Pokemon?

 

[Laxpras]

Sorry for double posting, but what would happen in the case of a Cloud Nine Pokemon?

Adding that to banlist, included in weather altering abilities.

 

[yoman5]

I feel like cloud nine should be allowed as the only "real" user is golduck. So.

As far as abusers I think rotom F is actually a viable scarf/specs threat with the blizzard/volt switch boltbeam offensive combo.

 

[Laxpras]

I feel like cloud nine should be allowed as the only "real" user is golduck. So.

As far as abusers I think rotom F is actually a viable scarf/specs threat with the blizzard/volt switch boltbeam offensive combo.

I see cloud nine as defeating the purpose, and not going to worry about it just for golduck/Pre-Mega Altaria. All Rotom's should be viable in this, but I see Rotom-Heat as a better offensive threat.

 

[yoman5]

I see cloud nine as defeating the purpose, and not going to worry about it just for golduck/Pre-Mega Altaria. All Rotom's should be viable in this, but I see Rotom-Heat as a better offensive threat.

Notably rotom F has a huge offensive presence in the first 3 turns, and will probably be a good lead or follow up to a uturn/voltswitch. H functions in the second half and notably has to drop its spa to get off a hit leaving it much more at a disadvantage if something like chansey comes in on it, completely halting your momentum and opening up revenge kills or setups after a sac.

 

[MZ]

Notably rotom F has a huge offensive presence in the first 3 turns, and will probably be a good lead or follow up to a uturn/voltswitch. H functions in the second half and notably has to drop its spa to get off a hit leaving it much more at a disadvantage if something like chansey comes in on it, completely halting your momentum and opening up revenge kills or setups after a sac.

I'd actually imagine rotom-f is better later in the match where it gets perfect accuracy on thunder then blizzard for 6 turns. Anyway, this seems p cool

 

[yoman5]

I'd actually imagine rotom-f is better later in the match where it gets perfect accuracy on thunder then blizzard for 6 turns. Anyway, this seems p cool

That's fair, but I was thinking more as a scarf or specs threat in the first three turns giving you huge momentum in the early game.

 

[Martin]

So spikes is really cool here:

Frosslass @ Focus Sash / Bright Powder
Ability: Snow Cloak
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Destiny Bond
- Blizzard

Snow Cloak is cancer on a lead here. Can use it to get up more spikes than normal with a little luck, and then just pressure clearers with spinblockers and bisharp. If you hate sab pair it with SR clef or something.

 

[AWailOfATail]

Code probably coming this weekend
Expecting a lot of U-Turn/Volt Switch to grab momentum and capitalize off of weather. Also, type-matchup and weather will be closely connected. If you have a sunlight Pokemon that can beat their sandstorm poke, that's already a huge advantage.

 

[Laxpras]

Code probably coming this weekend
Expecting a lot of U-Turn/Volt Switch to grab momentum and capitalize off of weather. Also, type-matchup and weather will be closely connected. If you have a sunlight Pokemon that can beat their sandstorm poke, that's already a huge advantage.

Thats where I can see less used threats coming into play. Like Victreebel can abuse sun and then catch a weakened excadrill with a sucker punch.

 

[G-Luke]

I could see this being good, Venusaur runs chlorophyll and doesnt mega until sun's gone.

 

[Akumeoy]

Honestly, Sand Rush / Swift Swim / Chlorophyll are all going to suck. In standard, you're usually not facing opposing weather, so you can have your Tyranitar set sand for eight turns or have Politoed set rain for eight turns. Here, weather sweepers get three turns to work their magic, if they come in at precisely the right time. Less if they don't.

 

[Twix]

Honestly, Sand Rush / Swift Swim / Chlorophyll are all going to suck. In standard, you're usually not facing opposing weather, so you can have your Tyranitar set sand for eight turns or have Politoed set rain for eight turns. Here, weather sweepers get three turns to work their magic, if they come in at precisely the right time. Less if they don't.

The thing is though, most of the time the weather setters have to waste at least 2 turns of their weather, and if they aren't carrying the according rock it cuts it down to 3 turns, like this metagame. In this metagame as well, you can predict the weather shifts and not waste any turns. Weather sweepers won't be amazing, but still pretty solid given correct predictions.

 

[Akumeoy]

The thing is though, most of the time the weather setters have to waste at least 2 turns of their weather, and if they aren't carrying the according rock it cuts it down to 3 turns, like this metagame. In this metagame as well, you can predict the weather shifts and not waste any turns. Weather sweepers won't be amazing, but still pretty solid given correct predictions.

I don't really buy that comparison. Discounting hail, because hail teams aren't really a thing in Gen 6 OU. Sun teams -- at least, those that would run a Chlorophyll user -- run Heat Rock on Ninetales. Rain teams (that run Swift Swim) run Damp Rock on Politoed. If they don't, they suck. Sand is a bit different (20.7% of Ttars run Smooth Rock, 32.8% also run Excadrill; 7.5% of Hippowdons run Smooth Rock, and not very many also run Excadrill), but basically teams with Sand Rush but not Smooth Rock are uncommon.

A/the big issue I see with running weather sweepers is how inflexible they are here. Suppose that it's standard OU, and you're running Tyranitar without Smooth Rock, and you slapped on Excadrill. It's late game, and you can sweep with an activated Sand Rush, but you need sand up. So you switch in Tyranitar, which gets KOed. Excadrill comes in to revenge sweep. Now suppose that it's Forecast, and you're running Excadrill. It's late game, and you can sweep with an activated Sand Rush, but you need sand up. That doesn't happen for another four turns and you get swept first. Tough shit, should have planned for half of the game so that your timing was on point.

Basically, even if you can get your weather sweeper onto the field in a timely fashion, you are either being very predictable, or outmaneuvering the opponent at the cost of not getting another chance with your sweeper for nine turns. Neither is an enticing proposition against a competent opponent. Non-weather-dependent mons are frequently some combination of reliable and flexible; weather-dependent mons are semi-reliable at best and rarely flexible.

 

[Laxpras]

I don't really buy that comparison. Discounting hail, because hail teams aren't really a thing in Gen 6 OU. Sun teams -- at least, those that would run a Chlorophyll user -- run Heat Rock on Ninetales. Rain teams (that run Swift Swim) run Damp Rock on Politoed. If they don't, they suck. Sand is a bit different (20.7% of Ttars run Smooth Rock, 32.8% also run Excadrill; 7.5% of Hippowdons run Smooth Rock, and not very many also run Excadrill), but basically teams with Sand Rush but not Smooth Rock are uncommon.

A/the big issue I see with running weather sweepers is how inflexible they are here. Suppose that it's standard OU, and you're running Tyranitar without Smooth Rock, and you slapped on Excadrill. It's late game, and you can sweep with an activated Sand Rush, but you need sand up. So you switch in Tyranitar, which gets KOed. Excadrill comes in to revenge sweep. Now suppose that it's Forecast, and you're running Excadrill. It's late game, and you can sweep with an activated Sand Rush, but you need sand up. That doesn't happen for another four turns and you get swept first. Tough shit, should have planned for half of the game so that your timing was on point.

Basically, even if you can get your weather sweeper onto the field in a timely fashion, you are either being very predictable, or outmaneuvering the opponent at the cost of not getting another chance with your sweeper for nine turns. Neither is an enticing proposition against a competent opponent. Non-weather-dependent mons are frequently some combination of reliable and flexible; weather-dependent mons are semi-reliable at best and rarely flexible.

Momentum will clearly be dominant in this, but it can completely change on one switchin prediction. That is why as AWailOfATail stated, voltturning can be key in Forecast to abuse weather. Take something generally not used like solar power heliolisk. With 476 SpA when timid and in sun, this thing can do big damage with life orb, or if fearing residual damage, a magnet. On the last turn of sun however, it can volt switch out to play into sand. If fearing something like excadrill coming into the volt switch, a well played surf/focus blast can heavily turn the game. Similarly, unique sets like solarbeam victini can surpise unsuspecting checks like rotom-wash, then u-turn out after to gain momentum.

Ignoring weather abusing abilities would definitely leave you vulnerable to being destroyed by them. Scarf users will likely not be very effective, as they will commonly be out-sped and OHKOd. Also, I can see sticky web being very useful, as the most used weather sweepers are likely to be common on most teams, and a sticky web lead can set the team up to outspeed the opponent for the match, creating a huge advantage.

You're right, players can't rely on a clutch late game sweep from excadrill, but they can try to get a key KO with excadrill in sand, and follow that up by playing key predictions to win the rain battle in the following turns, beating your team in a more thought out way.

 

[AWailOfATail]

code

config/formats.js

  {
     name: "Forecast",
     section: "Other Metagames",
     mod: 'forecast',

     ruleset: ['OU'],
     banlist: ['Sunny Day', 'Hail', 'Sandstorm', 'Rain Dance', 'Drought', 'Snow Warning', 'Sand Stream', 'Drizzle', 'Cloud Nine']
   },

mods/forecast/scripts.js
too big for inside a hide tag imo

tadah

 

[Laxpras]

code

config/formats.js

  {
     name: "Forecast",
     section: "Other Metagames",
     mod: 'forecast',

     ruleset: ['OU'],
     banlist: ['Sunny Day', 'Hail', 'Sandstorm', 'Rain Dance', 'Drought', 'Snow Warning', 'Sand Stream', 'Drizzle', 'Cloud Nine']
   },

mods/forecast/scripts.js
too big for inside a hide tag imo

tadah

Awesome!!

 

[Mega-Serperior-Z]

Sand Veil and Snow Cloak are kinda funny here.
Also RIP Tyranitar, Hippowdon, Abomasnow and all the Pokemon thats only purpose was to set weather

 

[Maleovex]

Sand Veil and Snow Cloak are kinda funny here.
Also RIP Tyranitar, Hippowdon, Abomasnow and all the Pokemon thats only purpose was to set weather

Of the weather setters, Hippo and TTar are probably the only ones that are actually useful in this

 

[drampa's grandpa]

Also RIP Tyranitar, Hippowdon, Abomasnow and all the Pokemon thats only purpose was to set weather

Don't forget about Hippo's other ability. It hits really hard on sand turns and still has that fantastic physical bulk and reliable recovery.

Goodra @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA
Mild Nature / Modest
- Fire Blast
- Draco Meteor
- Rest
- Aqua Tail / Muddy Water

Goodra has key fire and water resists. It can also learn blizzard if that's your cup if tea, but Dragon STAB probably suffices.

Manaphy @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Rest
- Tail Glow
- Scald
- Blizzard

The prince of the sea is fantastic in rain but can also fire off perfectly accurate blizzards in hail. Both of these sets abuse Hydration rest obivously, because it's nothing short of the best recovery out there.

Clefable @ Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Moonblast
- Blizzard
- Fire Blast
- Calm Mind / Protect / Softboiled

Magic Guard and Overcoat have the potential to be very good in this meta, as they prevent all that. You could throw protect on this thing to stall turns and rack up sandstorm damage. Fire Blast gets powered up in sun and also smacks most hail abusers hard, although part water ones and Kyurem not so much.

Mandibuzz (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Taunt
- Brave Bird / Bone Rush (This is a joke don't use Bone Rush why does Mandibuzz even gets this)
- Knock Off

Bulky overcoat. This also lets it avoid things like Venusaur's Sleep Powder, which might me common under sun.
Evs on everything are just what the teambuilder spit out, so eh.

EDIT:
So yeah I thought I'd add in a sun abusing Heatran because those tend to show up in OMs where Heatran works with weather.
REDIT: Woops forgot about Heatran having to be Quiet for Eruption.

Heatran @ Choice Specs / Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Quiet Nature / Timid
- Eruption / Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast / Stone Edge
- Solar Beam

 

[Maleovex]

Heatran @ Choice Scarf / Specs
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Eruption
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam

You have to run a Quiet nature on eruption Heatran, which is +Special Attack but -Speed

 

[Mega-Serperior-Z]

Don't forget about Hippo's other ability. It hits really hard on sand turns and still has that fantastic physical bulk and reliable recovery.

Goodra @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA
Mild Nature / Modest
- Fire Blast
- Draco Meteor
- Rest
- Aqua Tail / Muddy Water

Goodra has key fire and water resists. It can also learn blizzard if that's your cup if tea, but Dragon STAB probably suffices.

Manaphy @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Rest
- Tail Glow
- Scald
- Blizzard

The prince of the sea is fantastic in rain but can also fire off perfectly accurate blizzards in hail. Both of these sets abuse Hydration rest obivously, because it's nothing short of the best recovery out there.

Clefable @ Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Moonblast
- Blizzard
- Fire Blast
- Calm Mind / Protect / Softboiled

Magic Guard and Overcoat have the potential to be very good in this meta, as they prevent all that. You could throw protect on this thing to stall turns and rack up sandstorm damage. Fire Blast gets powered up in sun and also smacks most hail abusers hard, although part water ones and Kyurem not so much.

Mandibuzz (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Taunt
- Brave Bird / Bone Rush (This is a joke don't use Bone Rush why does Mandibuzz even gets this)
- Knock Off

Bulky overcoat. This also lets it avoid things like Venusaur's Sleep Powder, which might me common under sun.
Evs on everything are just what the teambuilder spit out, so eh.

EDIT:
So yeah I thought I'd add in a sun abusing Heatran because those tend to show up in OMs where Heatran works with weather.
Heatran @ Choice Scarf / Specs
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Eruption
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam

I had never thought of Sand Force. Its cool though i think Heliolisk is interesting. It can be either chosen to be put on the sun side, or the rain side. It can have Solar Power to have that extra boost, or the Rain Side with Dry Skin with Thunder & Surf. And yeah, TTar and Hippo are still good