Hello
Welcome to a new era of rain teams. This team, Ludiwig Van Pert, is a rain offense team centered around Mega Swampert and Ludicolo. It has gotten me to mid 1500s, but I think the only thing holding it back is my own skill. I want to bring this team to the next level. Give your opinions so we can all improve this team. Enjoy.
Team Preview
Teambuilding Process
Politoed is the simplest pick for any rain team. It's the only non-uber drizzle user so this reasoning for choosing this is simple. It provides rain on switch in. The only question is which set to use. I always prefer a tanky Politoed over a offensive because I feel offensive Politoed needs scarf or life orb to be successful and I want rain to stick around by using damp rock. With this in mind I choose to run a defensive bulky set. Politoed's role is to his tribal dance which calls forth rain unto the battlefield. Simply put, Politoed puts the "rain" in "Rain Team". I run scald because its a 30% chance to win. Ice beam to hit any grass types that try to switch in. Toxic for any bulky Pokemon that switch in. And Hidden Power Grass is for any water types that try to switch in and chip damage on Volcanion.
Politoed @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Toxic
- Hidden Power [Grass]
The next Pokemon I wanted was an physical swift swim user. The competitive physical Pokemon that get swift swim is limited to Swampert, Kabutops, and much more uncommon but Kingdra and Omastar. Obviously I ended up choosing Swampert. I chose this mainly due to pure power. In the rain it can hit like a monster. Swampert acts as a fast wallbreaker. The damage he can deal can lead to Ludicolo sweeps. Swampert also has surprising bulk and can take some hits. Relevant damage calculations will be below. Waterfall and Earthquake for STAB and great coverage. Superpower for pesky Ferrothorn and Chanseys. And finally, Stealth Rock because my final team needed rocks and Celebi had no room for change in its moveset which we will get to.
Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Superpower
The final simple pick of any quality rain team. With a physical swift swim user and a rain setter, I only needed a special swift swim user to complete the trio. Ludicolo's role is an end game sweeper, but he can also open doors for team mates to sweep due to his great coverage. Grass, water, and ice provides a near impossible to wall trio coverage. Ludicolo's coverage forces lots of switches by the opponent who try to predict you, and with rocks this can provide a lot of chip damage on the enemy team. I run Hydro Pump for a high damage water move. This has been switched back and forth for scald and its honestly a toss up. I find I like the higher damage slightly more than the burn chance. Giga drain for STAB which helps get rid of water types walling my other water mons. Ice beam for general coverage hitting the obvious Lati twins and Flying types. Lastly, Rain Dance just so I have a second rain setter in case Poltoed faints.
Ludicolo @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Giga Drain
- Rain Dance
Rotom-W was my next choice. I wanted a electric type Pokemon to have another way of hitting bulky water types. The good electric types that came to mind were Thundurus, Rotom-W, Raikou, and Manectric. Speed control wasn't an issue so I got rid of Thundurus. Since Ludicolo isn't weak to grass like Politoed and Swampert I felt like I could have another Pokemon weak to grass and be safe since 3 weakness is manageable depending on my final two Pokemon. I settled on Rotom-W. My Rotom is an offensive presence compared to most Rotoms. While being my bird check, Rotom hits hard and cripples things with Will-O-Wisp. To take advantage of the rain I use Hydro Pump and Thunder. Volt switch for initiative.
Will-O-Wisp is to cripple physical attackers. This set is made to outspeed Landorus-T that is set to outspeed neutral max EVs base 70s. So basically I hit 241.
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 124 SpA / 132 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
At this point my weaknesses were pretty relevant. Grass types were an extreme annoyance so the next step was a member to hit them hard. I couldn't use a fire type due to the rain interfering. I already had ice coverage and Mega Venusaur walled ice anyway. Flying was the way to go. The choice was between the only two non mega hard hitting flying types in OU, Talonflame and Tornadus. Talonflame provides priority but its weakness to water and rocks was annoying so Tornadus-T became the member. Tornadus is the stall killer with knock off and taunt. It also provides great coverage. Hurricane is the flying STAB that never misses in rain. Knock Off and Taunt provide utility and destroy stall teams. Superpower is the final pick because heat wave is weakened in rain and my final Pokemon gives support for physical Pokemon.
Tornadus-Therian @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 76 Atk / 180 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Hurricane
- Superpower
- Knock Off
- Taunt
The final Pokemon I wanted to be unique. Most teams I see use a grass or steel type which takes advantage of the fire being weakened. Most teams end up using either Ferrothorn or Scizor. I wanted something different. I wanted something that would come in and force switch ins while I punish my opponent. I decided to use Celebi since a Keldeo could sweep through my team. Recover is the necessary 50% healing move. Seed bomb for grass STAB. And the unique part of the team, Swords Dance and Baton Pass. These moves allow me to deal with stall better and give sweeping potential to Swampert and in rare cases Tornadus.
Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 148 Def / 108 Spe
Impish Nature
- Seed Bomb
- Swords Dance
- Baton Pass
- Recover
Threatlist
Grass Types (Ferrothorn in particular)
Talonflame (Swampert can take a +2 Brave Bird in case Rotom is weakened too much)
Calcs
+4 252 Atk Sharp Beak Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Rotom-W: 242-285 (79.6 - 93.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Sharp Beak Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mega Swampert: 313-370 (91.7 - 108.5%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
Welcome to a new era of rain teams. This team, Ludiwig Van Pert, is a rain offense team centered around Mega Swampert and Ludicolo. It has gotten me to mid 1500s, but I think the only thing holding it back is my own skill. I want to bring this team to the next level. Give your opinions so we can all improve this team. Enjoy.
Team Preview
Teambuilding Process
Politoed is the simplest pick for any rain team. It's the only non-uber drizzle user so this reasoning for choosing this is simple. It provides rain on switch in. The only question is which set to use. I always prefer a tanky Politoed over a offensive because I feel offensive Politoed needs scarf or life orb to be successful and I want rain to stick around by using damp rock. With this in mind I choose to run a defensive bulky set. Politoed's role is to his tribal dance which calls forth rain unto the battlefield. Simply put, Politoed puts the "rain" in "Rain Team". I run scald because its a 30% chance to win. Ice beam to hit any grass types that try to switch in. Toxic for any bulky Pokemon that switch in. And Hidden Power Grass is for any water types that try to switch in and chip damage on Volcanion.
Politoed @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Toxic
- Hidden Power [Grass]
The next Pokemon I wanted was an physical swift swim user. The competitive physical Pokemon that get swift swim is limited to Swampert, Kabutops, and much more uncommon but Kingdra and Omastar. Obviously I ended up choosing Swampert. I chose this mainly due to pure power. In the rain it can hit like a monster. Swampert acts as a fast wallbreaker. The damage he can deal can lead to Ludicolo sweeps. Swampert also has surprising bulk and can take some hits. Relevant damage calculations will be below. Waterfall and Earthquake for STAB and great coverage. Superpower for pesky Ferrothorn and Chanseys. And finally, Stealth Rock because my final team needed rocks and Celebi had no room for change in its moveset which we will get to.
Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Superpower
The final simple pick of any quality rain team. With a physical swift swim user and a rain setter, I only needed a special swift swim user to complete the trio. Ludicolo's role is an end game sweeper, but he can also open doors for team mates to sweep due to his great coverage. Grass, water, and ice provides a near impossible to wall trio coverage. Ludicolo's coverage forces lots of switches by the opponent who try to predict you, and with rocks this can provide a lot of chip damage on the enemy team. I run Hydro Pump for a high damage water move. This has been switched back and forth for scald and its honestly a toss up. I find I like the higher damage slightly more than the burn chance. Giga drain for STAB which helps get rid of water types walling my other water mons. Ice beam for general coverage hitting the obvious Lati twins and Flying types. Lastly, Rain Dance just so I have a second rain setter in case Poltoed faints.
Ludicolo @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Giga Drain
- Rain Dance
Rotom-W was my next choice. I wanted a electric type Pokemon to have another way of hitting bulky water types. The good electric types that came to mind were Thundurus, Rotom-W, Raikou, and Manectric. Speed control wasn't an issue so I got rid of Thundurus. Since Ludicolo isn't weak to grass like Politoed and Swampert I felt like I could have another Pokemon weak to grass and be safe since 3 weakness is manageable depending on my final two Pokemon. I settled on Rotom-W. My Rotom is an offensive presence compared to most Rotoms. While being my bird check, Rotom hits hard and cripples things with Will-O-Wisp. To take advantage of the rain I use Hydro Pump and Thunder. Volt switch for initiative.
Will-O-Wisp is to cripple physical attackers. This set is made to outspeed Landorus-T that is set to outspeed neutral max EVs base 70s. So basically I hit 241.
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 124 SpA / 132 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
At this point my weaknesses were pretty relevant. Grass types were an extreme annoyance so the next step was a member to hit them hard. I couldn't use a fire type due to the rain interfering. I already had ice coverage and Mega Venusaur walled ice anyway. Flying was the way to go. The choice was between the only two non mega hard hitting flying types in OU, Talonflame and Tornadus. Talonflame provides priority but its weakness to water and rocks was annoying so Tornadus-T became the member. Tornadus is the stall killer with knock off and taunt. It also provides great coverage. Hurricane is the flying STAB that never misses in rain. Knock Off and Taunt provide utility and destroy stall teams. Superpower is the final pick because heat wave is weakened in rain and my final Pokemon gives support for physical Pokemon.
Tornadus-Therian @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 76 Atk / 180 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Hurricane
- Superpower
- Knock Off
- Taunt
The final Pokemon I wanted to be unique. Most teams I see use a grass or steel type which takes advantage of the fire being weakened. Most teams end up using either Ferrothorn or Scizor. I wanted something different. I wanted something that would come in and force switch ins while I punish my opponent. I decided to use Celebi since a Keldeo could sweep through my team. Recover is the necessary 50% healing move. Seed bomb for grass STAB. And the unique part of the team, Swords Dance and Baton Pass. These moves allow me to deal with stall better and give sweeping potential to Swampert and in rare cases Tornadus.
Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 148 Def / 108 Spe
Impish Nature
- Seed Bomb
- Swords Dance
- Baton Pass
- Recover
Threatlist
Grass Types (Ferrothorn in particular)
Talonflame (Swampert can take a +2 Brave Bird in case Rotom is weakened too much)
Calcs
+4 252 Atk Sharp Beak Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Rotom-W: 242-285 (79.6 - 93.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Sharp Beak Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mega Swampert: 313-370 (91.7 - 108.5%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
