Drizzle VoltTurn Offense
By Shiny Charizard
Sorry about the lack of pictures and sprites, I formatted it so that should have them, but it's not working for some reason.
Usually I’m going around rating every team I see in need of it. That doesn’t mean you guys can’t return the favor, right? Anyway, looking at the title and the pictures of Politoed and the VoltTurn icon, you guys probably figured that I am using a VoltTurn team that uses rain along with it. I mean, the popular and useful VoltTurn teammates mostly don’t mind and prefer rain. Besides, rain gives me a weather advantage for my own Pokemon to abuse. Not to mention, it messes with other weather teams. Anyway, I’ll probably get into that in the team analyses or the team building stuff. This happens to be my most successful team, as I have yet to lose with the completed team. However, I don’t ladder or anything since I don’t know how to, so that could explain why I have NEVER lost with the completed team. I just battle, so I have no worries posting this team. Though I’m not going for ladders, this may be one of my future tournament teams. Thanks for all rates. All changes will be in black bold.
AT A GLANCE
TEAM BUILDING PROCESS
You know, this team wasn’t even part rain at the beginning? Ah, good things take time. Anyway, this started off as a typical Rotom-W and Scizor (Genesect before it was banned) kickass core. One bulky, and one totally offensive. One specially orientated, one physically orientated. It worked out really well, and I was trying to counter threats that got in the way of typical teams.
As steel types got more popular and annoying than ever, I wanted a Magnezone to help me handle those Pokemon with no trouble. Ferrothorn was just a pain in the ass, and I wanted to tell that stupid thing I meant business. Of course there were also other steel types that were just key Pokemon to teams. Take Forretress, for example. A fucking BAGWORM happens to be arguably the best utility poke in the metagame. You kill that thing and the team usually has no hazards and no Rapid Spinner. Magnezone was just great. Even if things like that stupid bagworm carried Volt Switch, Magnezone was usually capable to OHKO them, anyway.
Politoed just pretty much screamed for a spot, here. Giving Magnezone a fully accurate Thunder, Rotom-W an amazing Hydro Pump, Magnezone and Scizor the ability to handle fire type attacks, and giving the team weather to mess around with other weathers could never hurt. Although Magnezone’s HP Fire was weakened, the advantages more than compensated.
I needed a utility cleric. I was looking for Natural Cure, Stealth Rock, Heal Bell/Aromatherapy, and a typing that could sponge electric and water type attacks. Celebi was just perfect. It even had access to U-Turn.
This team was pretty much finished with Starmie. However, after I found myself totally lost to a Sub Tornadus-T in a battle, I replaced it with Unaware Quagsire. That didn’t work out either, as many people had no problem dealing with it. I also noticed a Conkeldurr weakness, so I finally settled on Tornadus-T.
I won a lot of my battles, but in the end, I felt as if though they were just lucky or I was battling someone new to competitive. This was the major team turning point. First, I replaced Scizor with Jirachi, as Scizor wasn’t pulling its weight, and got OHKO’d by rain boosted surfs out there. Next, I changed Celebi over to Magic Bounce Xatu for Reflect support and totally killing Deoxys-D styled teams. After that, I took a long break. Later, I tested the team out, but still did not find it to my liking. My final changes were Xatu to good old Starmie (lack of offense on Xatu), Magnezone to Cobalion (now that Xatu was gone, lack of SR and physical team force), and Jirachi to Landorus-T (lack of physical force and effective way to handle electric types and Scarf Terrakion).
THE TEAM
Politoed @ Choice Specs
EV’s: 252 SpA, 252 HP, 4 Spe
Ability: Drizzle
Nature: Modest
Moves:
-Hydro Pump
-Focus Blast
-Ice Beam
-Hidden Power (Grass)
Before, when I used Defensive Politoed, it just seemed to set up the rain and get 2HKO’d. When I started using Specs Politoed, I was impressed by its decent bulk and ability to dent teams and opposing weather inducers under or not under rain. It also suited the offensive play this team was meant to have. Anyway, Specs Politoed is a beast under its rain. STAB rain Hydro Pump really hurts, and it can severely dent even those who resist it. Focus Blast is useful when it hits, as it hits steel switch-ins, namely Ferrothorns, hard. Ice Beam hits lead dragons and flying or ground types for effective damage. Finally, HP Grass nails Jellicent, who otherwise kills this set.
Politoed sets up rain, but is also an essential sweeper. Usually, I lead with him in my party to convince the opponent I am a newbie. The opponent actually takes the bait extremely often, and I am able to predict their lead and either counter, or use my typical lead (Rotom-W).
Rotom-W @ Leftovers
EV’s: 184 HP, 4 Def, 144 SpA, 176 Spe
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Modest
Moves:
-Volt Switch
-Will-O-Wisp
-Hydro Pump
-Pain Split
Rotom-W’s typing and ability is just a blessing. This set makes it a devastating sweeper while also maintaining very useful bulk. Will-O-Wisp burns deadly physical threats such as Terrakion before they become major problems. STAB Volt Switch is a powerful scout move that can either get me the right Pokemon out, or finish off a weakened poke while getting me prepared for the rest of their team on proper footing. STAB rain Hydro Pump is the main force of this set, able to OHKO many threats with ease. Finally, Pain Split can actually turn the game around, as most people have agreed that my Rotom-W is my toughest threat, as it is well covered by its fellow team mates. Pain Split finds use when Rotom-W has KO’d about half their team and they have their counter out near full health. Of course this never works when their counter is a fighting type or something, as they just hit me with Mach Punch for reassurance.
Rotom-W is my typical lead, as he is a good scout that usually nets me 2 to 4 KO’s a game. He is extremely threatening under rain. His team mates also seem to cover his counters effectively. The VoltTurn core just patches it all together, and makes Rotom-W arguably the team MVP.
Tornadus-T @ Life Orb
EV’s: 252 SpA, 252 Spe, 4 Atk
Ability: Regenerator
Nature: Naive
Moves:
-Hurricane
-Superpower
-Taunt
-U-Turn
This guy and Rotom-W and sort of Starmie help pull the most offensive part (kind of the glass cannon part) of the team together. Their typing gives them nice synergy, while their coverage and counters also balance out. Rotom-W has no problem crippling or simply KOing Tornadus-T threats, while Tornadus-T returns the favor by checking Breloom and Conkeldurr. The EVs are self-explanatory. Hurricane is Tornadus-T’s main STAB that is one to behold under rain. Hurricane is one of the key reasons I am using Tornadus-T, as it is only resisted by electric and rock or steel type pokes, both of which are checked by Landorus-T and all the fighting type attacks flying around on this team. Superpower eases up the team’s handling of Blissey and Chansey, but mainly hits weakened steel and rock types who resist Tornadus-T’s STAB. The stat drops from Superpower are also of no concern due to U-Turn. Taunt is usually my first move against the blobs, or any other set up wall, or whatever. Finally, U-Turn is a scout move I can use for the same purposes as Volt Switch on Rotom-W.
Tornadus-T has amazing type and coverage synergy with the rest of the core. It becomes much more of a threat late game, when most of its counters are no longer present. By using a VoltTurn core, I typically use Tornadus-T as a lure to draw out its counters for its team mates or vice versa. Regenerator cancels out its Life Orb recoil, so when combined with U-Turn, it is enabled to scout, heal, and have no worry for its stat drops from Superpower. Pretty self-explanatory.
Cobalion @ Expert Belt
EV’s: 228 Atk, 28 SpA, 252 Spe
Ability: Justified
Nature: Naive
Moves:
-Close Combat
-Hidden Power (Ice)
-Volt Switch
-Stealth Rock
I bet this UU/OU badass is going to get me a lot of Luvdiscs :). Though this may surprise, the fact is that Cobalion’s typing is very essential to this team. Under rain, Cobalion really only has a fighting and ground type weakness, which makes it a perfect typing replacement for Magnezone. As for the EVs and item, this set allows for Cobalion to take care of some physically defensive threats, and most specially defensive threats. It also makes use of Cobalion’s amazing 108 base speed stat. Close Combat is a great STAB that does noticeable damage to anything. It can successfully 2HKO both the blobs with Expert Belt, which never hurts. Hidden Power Ice can take care of troubling ground type switch-ins, such as Gliscor, and provides BoltBeam coverage with Volt Switch. Speaking of Volt Switch, it is a useful scout move that (with Close Combat) functions similarly to Tornadus-T’s combination of Superpower and U-Turn. Volt Switch is very useful, as Cobalion has the speed to abuse it. Also, the defense drops are troublesome for Cobalion, as Cobalion’s charisma comes from the fact that it maintains amazing bulk and sweeping capabilities. The ability to remove that effect in one turn is a true example of Cobalion’s capability as a VoltTurn team member and capability in OU. Finally, after realizing I lacked Stealth Rock, it was convenient that Cobalion could use it effectively in its last slot.
Cobalion is the coolest badass poke on my team. It maintains amazing typing, bulk, and offensive capabilities. It sets me up SR, and is my main counter to defensive behemoths that can only effectively cover one defensive stat. BoltBeam coverage and Close Combat cover a wide variety of threats that could cause problems. Being an underestimated musketeer, Cobalion is usually unprepared for, and becomes a top-tier threat after the handling of its common OU counters.
Landorus-T @ Choice Scarf
EV’s: 32 HP, 252 Atk, 224 Spe
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Jolly
Moves:
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-U-Turn
-Superpower
After looking through my team a bit, I realized that although I could effectively check Banded Terrakion with Starmie, I had quite the weakness to Scarf Terrakion. It had enough speed and power to wreck my team. With none of my pokes being able to carry a priority attack to handle it either, Landorus-T was my best solution. At first, I was using Landorus, because at that point, I just wanted an Earthquake user with U-Turn to check electric types, and serve as a scout. It was soon after that I realized my weakness to Scarfed Terrakion. To resolve my problem, I used Landorus-T, who was capable of doing everything I needed from Landorus, and check Scarf Terrakion. The spread here gives Landorus-T enough speed with a Scarf to be effective on my team, and literally exactly enough attack to OHKO 4 HP/0 Def Scarf Terrakion with Earthquake, while it is only able to respond with a 3HKO after Intimidate. STAB Earthquake is the most essential move on the set, allowing me to hit many pokes for effective damage, as well as being able to lure out pesky Levitators and flying types. Stone Edge helps maintain some EdgeQuake coverage and hit flying type switch-ins. U-Turn is great because of the ability to scout and constantly switch in and out. It can also continually reduce the opponent’s attack, continually forcing switches. Finally, Superpower is used over Hidden Power Ice, as HP forces me to run Naive, and I cannot risk to afford that on one of my defensive bulky pokes. Also, Superpower is nice for Blissey if Cobalion dies. Similarly to Cobalion, Landorus-T can also take advantage of its scout move to reset its stat drops.
Landorus-T is a poke that has pulled my team together by being able to nicely check electric types and Scarf Terrakion. Typing synergy and covering each others’ checks is what Landorus-T specializes in. He basically serves as a revenge killer, as he is meant to target fast deadly electric types, and any kind of Terrakion, although Starmie usually takes care of Banded, as they don’t often carry Quick Attack. Not too much to say here, other than he is a beast.
Starmie @ Life Orb
EV’s: 252 SpA, 252 Spe, 4 SpD
Ability: Natural Cure
Nature: Timid
Moves:
-Thunder
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Rapid Spin
Literally, it’s the team’s star. It’s not the MVP or anything, but rather, a star. Anyway, getting to the point, Starmie is a very useful member on the team. It can serve many different team roles effectively. Let’s go with Special Sweeper Rapid Spinner, for now. With a Life Orb, blazing fast speed, pretty good special attack, and a pretty nice rain movepool, Starmie suits its shape. Timid maximizes speed, which is vital for Starmie to also maintain speed and the ability to revenge kill. Thunder in rain and Ice Beam provide powerful BoltBeam coverage. Thunder can hit bulky pokes such as Spinblocking Jellicent pretty hardly. Ice Beam nets some KO’s on pokes such as Breloom that Tornadus-T never gets to face. STAB rain Surf hits hard, and serves as an alternative for Psyshock to KO Gengar. Finally, Rapid Spin can lure out the opposing Spinblockers waiting to be checked. It also rids the field of hazards, which is pretty much mandatory on a VoltTurn team. Not to mention, it gives Deoxys-D styled teams a hard time, especially when Deoxys-D is no more. Lastly, Natural Cure enhances Starmie’s capability as a Spinner.
With Ferrothorn being a main and reliable check, Starmie has an easy time on this team. With all the Superpowers flying all over the place, a Specs Focus Blast, a STAB Close Combat, and a STAB Earthquake, Ferrothorn usually won’t even get the chance to meet Starmie in battle. Same goes for Rotom-W, unless it’s burning it with Will-O-Wisp. Starmie is extremely versatile, and under rain, is very hard to deal with without Ferrothorn. Starmie is similar to Rotom-W, except it has a different support and sweeping role. However, altogether, both of them function similarly, and they have extremely noticeable potential with the right team members.
CONCLUSION
Hey, I know that was a decently long read, so kudos to all you who read it all. I hoped you liked the team, as it was no simple crap I threw together, as shown by the team building process. Usually, it doesn’t take me that long to make a team, but this one was just special. I just had to give everything a shot. Anyway, once again, I hoped you liked the team. Any and all Luvdiscs are welcome and appreciated. Also, if you’re testing out the team for weaknesses, feel free to ladder or something, if you feel it’s necessary for the rate. Thanks for your rates! (Changes will be in black bold)
FINAL GLANCE
IMPORTABLE
Politoed @ Choice Specs
EV’s: 252 SpA, 252 HP, 4 Spe
Ability: Drizzle
Nature: Modest
Moves:
-Hydro Pump
-Focus Blast
-Ice Beam
-Hidden Power (Grass)
Rotom-W @ Leftovers
EV’s: 184 HP, 4 Def, 144 SpA, 176 Spe
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Modest
Moves:
-Volt Switch
-Will-O-Wisp
-Hydro Pump
-Pain Split
Tornadus-T @ Life Orb
EV’s: 252 SpA, 252 Spe, 4 Atk
Ability: Regenerator
Nature: Naive
Moves:
-Hurricane
-Superpower
-Taunt
-U-Turn
Cobalion @ Expert Belt
EV’s: 228 Atk, 28 SpA, 252 Spe
Ability: Justified
Nature: Naïve
Moves:
-Close Combat
-Hidden Power (Ice)
-Volt Switch
-Stealth Rock
Landorus-T @ Choice Scarf
EV’s: 32 HP, 252 Atk, 224 Spe
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Jolly
Moves:
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-U-Turn
-Superpower
Starmie @ Life Orb
EV’s: 252 SpA, 252 Spe, 4 SpD
Ability: Natural Cure
Nature: Timid
Moves:
-Thunder
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Rapid Spin
By Shiny Charizard
Sorry about the lack of pictures and sprites, I formatted it so that should have them, but it's not working for some reason.
Usually I’m going around rating every team I see in need of it. That doesn’t mean you guys can’t return the favor, right? Anyway, looking at the title and the pictures of Politoed and the VoltTurn icon, you guys probably figured that I am using a VoltTurn team that uses rain along with it. I mean, the popular and useful VoltTurn teammates mostly don’t mind and prefer rain. Besides, rain gives me a weather advantage for my own Pokemon to abuse. Not to mention, it messes with other weather teams. Anyway, I’ll probably get into that in the team analyses or the team building stuff. This happens to be my most successful team, as I have yet to lose with the completed team. However, I don’t ladder or anything since I don’t know how to, so that could explain why I have NEVER lost with the completed team. I just battle, so I have no worries posting this team. Though I’m not going for ladders, this may be one of my future tournament teams. Thanks for all rates. All changes will be in black bold.
AT A GLANCE
TEAM BUILDING PROCESS
You know, this team wasn’t even part rain at the beginning? Ah, good things take time. Anyway, this started off as a typical Rotom-W and Scizor (Genesect before it was banned) kickass core. One bulky, and one totally offensive. One specially orientated, one physically orientated. It worked out really well, and I was trying to counter threats that got in the way of typical teams.
As steel types got more popular and annoying than ever, I wanted a Magnezone to help me handle those Pokemon with no trouble. Ferrothorn was just a pain in the ass, and I wanted to tell that stupid thing I meant business. Of course there were also other steel types that were just key Pokemon to teams. Take Forretress, for example. A fucking BAGWORM happens to be arguably the best utility poke in the metagame. You kill that thing and the team usually has no hazards and no Rapid Spinner. Magnezone was just great. Even if things like that stupid bagworm carried Volt Switch, Magnezone was usually capable to OHKO them, anyway.
Politoed just pretty much screamed for a spot, here. Giving Magnezone a fully accurate Thunder, Rotom-W an amazing Hydro Pump, Magnezone and Scizor the ability to handle fire type attacks, and giving the team weather to mess around with other weathers could never hurt. Although Magnezone’s HP Fire was weakened, the advantages more than compensated.
I needed a utility cleric. I was looking for Natural Cure, Stealth Rock, Heal Bell/Aromatherapy, and a typing that could sponge electric and water type attacks. Celebi was just perfect. It even had access to U-Turn.
This team was pretty much finished with Starmie. However, after I found myself totally lost to a Sub Tornadus-T in a battle, I replaced it with Unaware Quagsire. That didn’t work out either, as many people had no problem dealing with it. I also noticed a Conkeldurr weakness, so I finally settled on Tornadus-T.
I won a lot of my battles, but in the end, I felt as if though they were just lucky or I was battling someone new to competitive. This was the major team turning point. First, I replaced Scizor with Jirachi, as Scizor wasn’t pulling its weight, and got OHKO’d by rain boosted surfs out there. Next, I changed Celebi over to Magic Bounce Xatu for Reflect support and totally killing Deoxys-D styled teams. After that, I took a long break. Later, I tested the team out, but still did not find it to my liking. My final changes were Xatu to good old Starmie (lack of offense on Xatu), Magnezone to Cobalion (now that Xatu was gone, lack of SR and physical team force), and Jirachi to Landorus-T (lack of physical force and effective way to handle electric types and Scarf Terrakion).
THE TEAM
Politoed @ Choice Specs
EV’s: 252 SpA, 252 HP, 4 Spe
Ability: Drizzle
Nature: Modest
Moves:
-Hydro Pump
-Focus Blast
-Ice Beam
-Hidden Power (Grass)
Before, when I used Defensive Politoed, it just seemed to set up the rain and get 2HKO’d. When I started using Specs Politoed, I was impressed by its decent bulk and ability to dent teams and opposing weather inducers under or not under rain. It also suited the offensive play this team was meant to have. Anyway, Specs Politoed is a beast under its rain. STAB rain Hydro Pump really hurts, and it can severely dent even those who resist it. Focus Blast is useful when it hits, as it hits steel switch-ins, namely Ferrothorns, hard. Ice Beam hits lead dragons and flying or ground types for effective damage. Finally, HP Grass nails Jellicent, who otherwise kills this set.
Politoed sets up rain, but is also an essential sweeper. Usually, I lead with him in my party to convince the opponent I am a newbie. The opponent actually takes the bait extremely often, and I am able to predict their lead and either counter, or use my typical lead (Rotom-W).
Rotom-W @ Leftovers
EV’s: 184 HP, 4 Def, 144 SpA, 176 Spe
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Modest
Moves:
-Volt Switch
-Will-O-Wisp
-Hydro Pump
-Pain Split
Rotom-W’s typing and ability is just a blessing. This set makes it a devastating sweeper while also maintaining very useful bulk. Will-O-Wisp burns deadly physical threats such as Terrakion before they become major problems. STAB Volt Switch is a powerful scout move that can either get me the right Pokemon out, or finish off a weakened poke while getting me prepared for the rest of their team on proper footing. STAB rain Hydro Pump is the main force of this set, able to OHKO many threats with ease. Finally, Pain Split can actually turn the game around, as most people have agreed that my Rotom-W is my toughest threat, as it is well covered by its fellow team mates. Pain Split finds use when Rotom-W has KO’d about half their team and they have their counter out near full health. Of course this never works when their counter is a fighting type or something, as they just hit me with Mach Punch for reassurance.
Rotom-W is my typical lead, as he is a good scout that usually nets me 2 to 4 KO’s a game. He is extremely threatening under rain. His team mates also seem to cover his counters effectively. The VoltTurn core just patches it all together, and makes Rotom-W arguably the team MVP.
Tornadus-T @ Life Orb
EV’s: 252 SpA, 252 Spe, 4 Atk
Ability: Regenerator
Nature: Naive
Moves:
-Hurricane
-Superpower
-Taunt
-U-Turn
This guy and Rotom-W and sort of Starmie help pull the most offensive part (kind of the glass cannon part) of the team together. Their typing gives them nice synergy, while their coverage and counters also balance out. Rotom-W has no problem crippling or simply KOing Tornadus-T threats, while Tornadus-T returns the favor by checking Breloom and Conkeldurr. The EVs are self-explanatory. Hurricane is Tornadus-T’s main STAB that is one to behold under rain. Hurricane is one of the key reasons I am using Tornadus-T, as it is only resisted by electric and rock or steel type pokes, both of which are checked by Landorus-T and all the fighting type attacks flying around on this team. Superpower eases up the team’s handling of Blissey and Chansey, but mainly hits weakened steel and rock types who resist Tornadus-T’s STAB. The stat drops from Superpower are also of no concern due to U-Turn. Taunt is usually my first move against the blobs, or any other set up wall, or whatever. Finally, U-Turn is a scout move I can use for the same purposes as Volt Switch on Rotom-W.
Tornadus-T has amazing type and coverage synergy with the rest of the core. It becomes much more of a threat late game, when most of its counters are no longer present. By using a VoltTurn core, I typically use Tornadus-T as a lure to draw out its counters for its team mates or vice versa. Regenerator cancels out its Life Orb recoil, so when combined with U-Turn, it is enabled to scout, heal, and have no worry for its stat drops from Superpower. Pretty self-explanatory.
Cobalion @ Expert Belt
EV’s: 228 Atk, 28 SpA, 252 Spe
Ability: Justified
Nature: Naive
Moves:
-Close Combat
-Hidden Power (Ice)
-Volt Switch
-Stealth Rock
I bet this UU/OU badass is going to get me a lot of Luvdiscs :). Though this may surprise, the fact is that Cobalion’s typing is very essential to this team. Under rain, Cobalion really only has a fighting and ground type weakness, which makes it a perfect typing replacement for Magnezone. As for the EVs and item, this set allows for Cobalion to take care of some physically defensive threats, and most specially defensive threats. It also makes use of Cobalion’s amazing 108 base speed stat. Close Combat is a great STAB that does noticeable damage to anything. It can successfully 2HKO both the blobs with Expert Belt, which never hurts. Hidden Power Ice can take care of troubling ground type switch-ins, such as Gliscor, and provides BoltBeam coverage with Volt Switch. Speaking of Volt Switch, it is a useful scout move that (with Close Combat) functions similarly to Tornadus-T’s combination of Superpower and U-Turn. Volt Switch is very useful, as Cobalion has the speed to abuse it. Also, the defense drops are troublesome for Cobalion, as Cobalion’s charisma comes from the fact that it maintains amazing bulk and sweeping capabilities. The ability to remove that effect in one turn is a true example of Cobalion’s capability as a VoltTurn team member and capability in OU. Finally, after realizing I lacked Stealth Rock, it was convenient that Cobalion could use it effectively in its last slot.
Cobalion is the coolest badass poke on my team. It maintains amazing typing, bulk, and offensive capabilities. It sets me up SR, and is my main counter to defensive behemoths that can only effectively cover one defensive stat. BoltBeam coverage and Close Combat cover a wide variety of threats that could cause problems. Being an underestimated musketeer, Cobalion is usually unprepared for, and becomes a top-tier threat after the handling of its common OU counters.
Landorus-T @ Choice Scarf
EV’s: 32 HP, 252 Atk, 224 Spe
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Jolly
Moves:
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-U-Turn
-Superpower
After looking through my team a bit, I realized that although I could effectively check Banded Terrakion with Starmie, I had quite the weakness to Scarf Terrakion. It had enough speed and power to wreck my team. With none of my pokes being able to carry a priority attack to handle it either, Landorus-T was my best solution. At first, I was using Landorus, because at that point, I just wanted an Earthquake user with U-Turn to check electric types, and serve as a scout. It was soon after that I realized my weakness to Scarfed Terrakion. To resolve my problem, I used Landorus-T, who was capable of doing everything I needed from Landorus, and check Scarf Terrakion. The spread here gives Landorus-T enough speed with a Scarf to be effective on my team, and literally exactly enough attack to OHKO 4 HP/0 Def Scarf Terrakion with Earthquake, while it is only able to respond with a 3HKO after Intimidate. STAB Earthquake is the most essential move on the set, allowing me to hit many pokes for effective damage, as well as being able to lure out pesky Levitators and flying types. Stone Edge helps maintain some EdgeQuake coverage and hit flying type switch-ins. U-Turn is great because of the ability to scout and constantly switch in and out. It can also continually reduce the opponent’s attack, continually forcing switches. Finally, Superpower is used over Hidden Power Ice, as HP forces me to run Naive, and I cannot risk to afford that on one of my defensive bulky pokes. Also, Superpower is nice for Blissey if Cobalion dies. Similarly to Cobalion, Landorus-T can also take advantage of its scout move to reset its stat drops.
Landorus-T is a poke that has pulled my team together by being able to nicely check electric types and Scarf Terrakion. Typing synergy and covering each others’ checks is what Landorus-T specializes in. He basically serves as a revenge killer, as he is meant to target fast deadly electric types, and any kind of Terrakion, although Starmie usually takes care of Banded, as they don’t often carry Quick Attack. Not too much to say here, other than he is a beast.
Starmie @ Life Orb
EV’s: 252 SpA, 252 Spe, 4 SpD
Ability: Natural Cure
Nature: Timid
Moves:
-Thunder
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Rapid Spin
Literally, it’s the team’s star. It’s not the MVP or anything, but rather, a star. Anyway, getting to the point, Starmie is a very useful member on the team. It can serve many different team roles effectively. Let’s go with Special Sweeper Rapid Spinner, for now. With a Life Orb, blazing fast speed, pretty good special attack, and a pretty nice rain movepool, Starmie suits its shape. Timid maximizes speed, which is vital for Starmie to also maintain speed and the ability to revenge kill. Thunder in rain and Ice Beam provide powerful BoltBeam coverage. Thunder can hit bulky pokes such as Spinblocking Jellicent pretty hardly. Ice Beam nets some KO’s on pokes such as Breloom that Tornadus-T never gets to face. STAB rain Surf hits hard, and serves as an alternative for Psyshock to KO Gengar. Finally, Rapid Spin can lure out the opposing Spinblockers waiting to be checked. It also rids the field of hazards, which is pretty much mandatory on a VoltTurn team. Not to mention, it gives Deoxys-D styled teams a hard time, especially when Deoxys-D is no more. Lastly, Natural Cure enhances Starmie’s capability as a Spinner.
With Ferrothorn being a main and reliable check, Starmie has an easy time on this team. With all the Superpowers flying all over the place, a Specs Focus Blast, a STAB Close Combat, and a STAB Earthquake, Ferrothorn usually won’t even get the chance to meet Starmie in battle. Same goes for Rotom-W, unless it’s burning it with Will-O-Wisp. Starmie is extremely versatile, and under rain, is very hard to deal with without Ferrothorn. Starmie is similar to Rotom-W, except it has a different support and sweeping role. However, altogether, both of them function similarly, and they have extremely noticeable potential with the right team members.
CONCLUSION
Hey, I know that was a decently long read, so kudos to all you who read it all. I hoped you liked the team, as it was no simple crap I threw together, as shown by the team building process. Usually, it doesn’t take me that long to make a team, but this one was just special. I just had to give everything a shot. Anyway, once again, I hoped you liked the team. Any and all Luvdiscs are welcome and appreciated. Also, if you’re testing out the team for weaknesses, feel free to ladder or something, if you feel it’s necessary for the rate. Thanks for your rates! (Changes will be in black bold)
FINAL GLANCE
IMPORTABLE
Politoed @ Choice Specs
EV’s: 252 SpA, 252 HP, 4 Spe
Ability: Drizzle
Nature: Modest
Moves:
-Hydro Pump
-Focus Blast
-Ice Beam
-Hidden Power (Grass)
Rotom-W @ Leftovers
EV’s: 184 HP, 4 Def, 144 SpA, 176 Spe
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Modest
Moves:
-Volt Switch
-Will-O-Wisp
-Hydro Pump
-Pain Split
Tornadus-T @ Life Orb
EV’s: 252 SpA, 252 Spe, 4 Atk
Ability: Regenerator
Nature: Naive
Moves:
-Hurricane
-Superpower
-Taunt
-U-Turn
Cobalion @ Expert Belt
EV’s: 228 Atk, 28 SpA, 252 Spe
Ability: Justified
Nature: Naïve
Moves:
-Close Combat
-Hidden Power (Ice)
-Volt Switch
-Stealth Rock
Landorus-T @ Choice Scarf
EV’s: 32 HP, 252 Atk, 224 Spe
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Jolly
Moves:
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-U-Turn
-Superpower
Starmie @ Life Orb
EV’s: 252 SpA, 252 Spe, 4 SpD
Ability: Natural Cure
Nature: Timid
Moves:
-Thunder
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Rapid Spin