INTRO
(lol the team has no relation whatsoever to the title aside from being rain based.)
Hello Smogon! I'm proud to present you my very first OU RMT. After a good amount of time twiddling my thumbs and messing around with Sand and non-weather bulky offense teams I decided to give Rain a try. I ended up falling head over heels for it, and have crafted one of my most successful teams ever, which I'm here to share with you! It achieved a ranking of 17 at 1428 points before I went on a losing streak : /
This team was undoubtably going to be played with on wifi, so I had to take that into account when starting to initially build the team. Therefore rain stall was ruled out for time saving purposes, and since I enjoy a much more balanced style of play I built a team to suit me. The following is the Team-building procedure down to the finest detail, I hope you enjoy the rest of this as much as I've enjoyed playing with this team. Changes will be made, after testing, and will most likely be bolded.
TEAM-BUILDING PROCESS
Obviously Politoed was a must since this is a rain team. Pretty damn self explanatory.
Now I thought to myself…"Hmmm just what do rain teams hate?" The answer was obvious; other types of weather! The only question was how to prevent them. With TTar and Ninetails being the only 2 other used weather starters Banded Dugtrio seemed like a great Idea able to trap them, and come in late game for a clean-up if necessary.
Now I wanted an answer to the problems Tornadous, Thundurus, Latios, and Latias all brought to the table. In the end I decided to use specially defensive Jirachi, which provided me a great check to these threats, and a rock setter as a bonus.
Next I wanted something to abuse the rain, after some debate I choose Starmie over Rotom-W due to it's speed stat. Rotom-W would be relying on a scarf, and even if he wasn't he would have to take a hit before retaliating. Starmie on the other hand could use a life orb, and out-speed most threats in general.
BLISSEY holy mother of a god I needed an answer for that bitch. Dugtrio was unreliable, especially against Chansey 9.9 Jirachi could beat it one on one, but I don't want to have to resort to flinch hazing when it gives many premier sweepers the ability to come in with ease. I decided to choose double set-up Terakion.
Next I chose Gliscor, to provide a solid fighting resist, and to provide a solid backbone to the team, he was able to taunt ferro, and break stall which was a major plus.
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…After the first few battles….wow, just wow. Terrible. I seriously needed more water resists, and a safer switch into Ferrothorn. Aside from that Gyarados annihilated my current team, So Virizion replaced Terakion, and Slowbro replaced Gliscor.
After a good amount of time I realized that Dugtrio really had trouble coming in, and it was damn hard to catch a weather starter. his fragility also made the team a lot weaker. I ended up replacing him with scarf Landorous. Virizion was a bit "Meh." In the end Breloom got the spot!
FINAL TEAM
THE TEAM IN DEPTH
Toads OP (Politoed) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Perish Song
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast
Politoed, my main man, my weather starter. The team preforms amazingly well, with this guy in command. He is the main counter to other weather, and the best check to Excadrill I have in my arsenal, I chose the scarf set because it simply fits my playstyle. I'm always more comfortable knowing I have at least one scarfer just in case. He covers a would be large Volcarona Weakness, and is my first choice for cleaning up late game, as well as keeping the team safe from Sun. The moveset provides pretty optimal coverage assuring I can hit all major OU threats. Making the team I initially started with a ScarfToed, since the bulkier sets all seem a little flaky without viable recovery, or stellar defensive stats. Politoed is also my check to one of the bigger threats to my team: Scizor. Fairly bulky he can resist bullet punch, outspend, and fire off rain boosted surfs. Although a little flaky against SD scizor he's my best bet. The lack of lefties is noticeable from time to time, but I still stand by the decision to use scarf. I am have perish song on to counter Smash Passing teams, which can be quite problematic.
Broloom (Breloom) (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 12 HP / 252 Atk / 48 Def / 196 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Spore
- Seed Bomb
- Drain Punch
- Substitute
Breloom! Originally my go to grass type was Virizion, however Breloom's Posion heal recovery was a huge plus. Now you may be thinking well gee, your retarded why not just put Toxicroak, and have a more reliable check to water types? Two reasons: 1: Grass STAB. That's all I'm gunna say. 2: This is the big one, the big reason that is. SPORE. New sleep mechanics allow Breloom to render other pokes absolutely useless! Seriously this is huge taking out a threat for essentially all game (if I play smart) made Breloom Very appealing to me. Although I was turned off by the low speed, so the obvious solution was to stray from the standard set and throw a few EVs in speed, and go for Jolly. He packs more than enough power with jolly, and with the EV investment he manages to hit 247 speed, in an attempt to out-speed creep 244 creepers. He's an awesome check to standard Rotom-w, but in rain Hydro screws him up. He does out-speed the standard Rotom set however, and can set up a sub, spore, or do upwards of 90% or so. Now you may be wondering why I run drain punch over F-punch. The answer is that unless Ferrothorn is spored…it beats Breloom. It can just keep gyro balling, and breaking my focus, therefore I chose drain punch, and while I miss unguarded focus punching, I'm happy with the change. Breloom Is probably one of my most important pokes. I need him to beat Gastrodon, and Jellicent, as well as Ferrothorn, so that the rest of the team can function better. One of the reason's he was chosen over Virizion for this job was the poison heal recovery. Gaining double lefties gave him more longevity than Virision, who had to depend on lefties alone.
DAT EURF (Randorosu) (M) @ Choice Scarf Testing Ferrothorn as an Alternative.
Trait: Sand Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Hammer Arm
Boom son, LandBro bout to do work! Scarfed Landorus was my Dugtrio replacement, and I am loving the change. He helps me check a multitude of threats such as DDing Dragons, and Volcarona. He's mainly just a revenge killer, and patches up some holes in the team. If Jirachi is taken out Jolteon becomes a threat, and it's up to this badass to deal with it. He is also incredibly useful when up against choiced Rotoms, and SandStorm in general. He even manages to put the pressure on Sun, doing a broader version of Dugtrio's original job. I am considering changing out Hammer arm, which gets very little use, for hidden power grass, or ice. Ice would be beneficial to catch Gliscor by surprise, while grass could do the same to Gastro. U-turn makes him an invaluable weapon against Celebi, who cock-blocks a majority of this team. However with a less bulky Celebi set seeing a lot of popularity lately (NP) U-turn generally does about 80% min, making him my number one check to the pixie. LandBro is not without his flaws, however he is a great team player, and my electric immunity. He has come out on top time and time again against Excadrill in the final play of the match, and all in all is a superb addition to the team. His last important job is to handle apposing Starmie. An apposing starmie is a huge threat, and I HATE relying on speed tie's with my own to win against it. Jirachi could beat it, but if I need to save him for another threat then, Landbro can swoop in to save the day.
Alice (Starmie) @ Life Orb
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Thunder
- Ice Beam
- Recover
The queen of this team, and my main specially offensive poke. Starmie in rain is a monster, and is able to outspend just about all common threats in the metagame. She's a little hard to switch in safely, but if I can manage it, rain boosted, LO Starmie wreaks little boy's dreams. Starmie is my main poke for beating Skarm, who can be quite a lot of trouble, checking Latios when it's under about 50% is a huge plus. While it might not have the up front power Rotom posesses, Starmie makes up for it with it's superb speed. Recover is utilized against bulky waters (Tentacruel, SlowBro, Vaporeon )and things that can't really damage me like Bliss and Chansey. I have tried Rapid spin, but in the end I chose Recover for more longevity, and the team in general is hardly impeaded by hazards. Starmie at full health is a great answer to Scizor, however it generally falls to BP at under a hundred or so hp. Starmie's thunder, while unstabed deals with a ton of water types, and none of them aside from Rotom can 2HKO in return. (Aside from the god that is Energy ball Jellicent :O ) Starmie is a great late game sweeper, and can generally finsih off the game after any Scarfers, or major Spdef pokes have been taken out/ weakened. Think of an offensive threat, now think if it can take any given move of Starmie's in rain at under 60%.
There aren't all to many pokes who can boast that.
Bzzzt (Jirachi) @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef /
Sassy Nature
- Wish
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder
- Iron Head
Standard Jirachi, as previously mentioned I absolutely needed something for The Genies, and Lati@s CM Latias would be a MASSIVE threat if Jirachi wasn't on the team. It's useful for setting up rocks, a big help against things like Multiscale Dnite. I'm fairly concerned about Virizion, Celebi, and the Lati@s, since body slam hit for neutral against them, where as Thunder now no longer does, but it still serves as a my main answer to most forms of Virizion, and NP Celebi although Hp fire sucks if rain isn't up. Jirachi is defiantly my main defensive pivot, managing to man a lot of special threats in today's fast paced metagame. It is also how I handle both Reuniclus and Freaking offensive Deoxeys-S's. Seriously if you've been keeping track you'll have noticed how big of a threat Offensive Deoxyes-S is. Ice beam and bolt coming off an attack that decent, and a speed that high is serious trouble. Jirachi works well in correlation with most of the team, resisting a move that could threaten them, or checking a poke that does so. Jirachi is really the Backbone of the team, the glue if you will, and while I wouldn't really say this team has a core he certainly makes up the more defensive aspect. Thunder was added from a great suggestion by Eternal, Still iffy on protect, and I'd like to see how the team ends up after some changes.
Ralph (Slowbro) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Regeneration
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Boil Over
- Psychic
- Slack Off
- Thunder Wave
Derp. my transvestite (only on PO, screw you CB rivalry haxorus.) Slowbro is a total man. He is here instead of Gliscor for a few reasons. The main one being Gyarados, a poke he completely shuts down. Taunt variants still scare me, but Ralph's never lost to one before. Twaving Dragons that attempt to set up is a big plus, and while they still outspend him, it helps the rest of the team carry on (I HATE lum Dragonite with a passion.). Regeneration is a nice trick he got this gen, and keeps him up to scruff for most of the battle. He also stops nearly every fighting type in the tier aside from Special Luke and ape. He even stops plus 2 Toxicroak, taking the sucker punch, and OHKOing back with psychic. In essentiality he really holds the team together. But apart from resisting fighting, he provides a perfect switch in to standard Gliscor, which is an awesome addition to the team. Rain boosts his offensive prowess to respectable levels as well.
BIGGEST THREATS
SD Scizor: kinda hard to play around, Politoed and Starmie are my main checks, but Breloom can spore it as well. Slowbro can handle choiced ones, but boy do I hate SD variants.
Gastrodon: FFS. Seriously no one used him a month ago, but now he's everywhere, and for good reason he handles rain. Breloom, can take him with ease, but that's it. I also have to be careful switching in, and if he's being used in conjunction with Skarm or Glis….it'll be a loooonnnnng battle.
Offensive Deoxeys-S …..Jirachi is essentially my best bet. Toed can live a bolt, but surf won't OHKO back, I can sacrifice toed if it's LO, but if not...Damn.
Rotom-W: Not the biggest threat, but probably the most common, good prediction is my best friend here, although choiced varients aren't that bad.
QUICK CONCLUSION
Well that's it folks This sort of unconventional Rain team really suits my style of play, and may not preform as well for others, but I hope to get some good feedback, and some things to improve upon. Thanks for rating!
