Keldeo-R @ Leftovers
Trait: Justified
EVS: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Calm Mind
- Hidden Power Ghost / Hidden Power Ice
Calm Mind Keldeo is great candidate when using Rain Offense. After setting up a Calm Mind Hydro Pump hits like several trucks. Secret Sword helps you take on Specially Defensive pokes like the pink blobs or things that resist Water moves. Hidden Power Ghost allows you to hit Jellicent who completely walls any Keldeo set while Hidden Power Ice gives you coverage against Dragons. Another option is using SubCM you would then drop Hidden Power Ghost or Ice for Substitute. However you are then stone walled by Jellicent so having something to deal with Jellicent would then be ideal.
Author: BlackRussian
Politoed @ Choice Specs
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 136 Spd / 120 HP / 252 SAtk
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass] / Surf
Spec hydro pump hit incredibly hard that is difficult to switch in if you don't have strong resistance to water. The other moves are coverage in order to deal with some common switch in like ferro, latias, gastrodon, rotom-w...
The Ev's are to outspeed specially defensive rotom-w so you can 2KHO him with hp grass and open a way for your other rain sweepers. You can also use 4 hp / 252 spatk / 252 spd Timid if you want to outspeed breloom, dragonite, jolly scizor... and OKHO them before they kill you.
Author: Cyredax
Latios (M) @ Expert Belt
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Thunder
- Psyshock
Now, I find Latios to be a very effective option in Rain offense as well. Draco Meteor is a very powerful attack in general. The rain powers up Surf and gives him perfect accuracy on Thunder. He can either be a powerful wallbreaker or a speedy revenge killer. Watch out for Tyranitar, and he can prove to be very deadly.
Author: Polywrath
Toxicroak @ Life Orb
Trait: Dry Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Ice Punch
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Cross Chop
A classic Swords Dance set, with Max Attack and an Adamant Nature, and Max Speed for obvious reasons. Meanwhile, Dry Skin is an excellent ability as I said before, allows you to recover the Life Orb recoil. Ice Punch allows you to KO all unboosted Dragons including Dragonite and Haxorus. Sucker Punch is a necessity on this set as you are otherwise OHKO'd by Reuniclus and the Lati twins otherwise. I prefer using Cross Chop instead of Drain Punch, as despite its shaky Accuracy, it can put a dent in a lot of Pokemon, especially Jirachi.
Author: Dr Ciel
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 156 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Thunder
- Psyshock / Water Pulse / Flash Cannon
Peharps Jirachi is one of the best sweepers for rain teams because he is able to setup on many Pokémon like non-Perish Song specially defensive Celebi, as well as Latias (and almost always win the CM war against her due to Jirachi's double resistance to Psyshock) and even the uncommon Alakazam. Although rain diminishes Jirachi's Fire-type weakness, it makes Water-type attacks hurt a lot more, so be very wary of trying to use bulky Water-types as setup fodder. Thunder is very powerful and hurt a lot on rain, and has amazing neutral coverage with the second attacking move. It also comes with a huge chance to paralyze; that means that even if your opponent is not hurt that much by this move, it will at least cripple the opponent. Psyshock is the recommended secondary move to win CM wars, to defeat most special walls, and to easily deal with Toxicroak and Breloom, both which are surprisingly difficult opponents for rain teams. Water Pulse does not have good coverage with Thunder, but comes with a 40% chance to confuse, as well as coverage against the Ground-types that are immune to Thunder (with exception of Gastrodon). With confusion and paralysis, your opponent will be hard pressed to have a chance to sucessfully attack. Flash Cannon does not have the same properties that Psyshock have, but at least hits some things that neither Psyshock nor Thunder can hit neutrally, such as the Lati twins, and Celebi. It also defeats Tyranitar, which is a pain to deal with if Jirachi does not have many boosts.
Author: Dark Fallen Angel
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD | 0 Spe IVs
Relaxed Nature
~ Spikes
~ Leech Seed / Stealth Rock
~ Gyro Ball / Protect / Thunder Wave
~ Power Whip
Straight from the analysis. While Ferrothorn does not scream "offense" by any means; it's great typing and defenses can grant any team a sturdy defensive backbone. It quad-resists grass and resists electric, two types that rain teams usually struggle against; and its crippling weakness to fire attacks is lessened while raining. Spikes are always useful, especially on a 'mon that can repeatedly come in and set them up like Ferro. On top of that, he can act as a pseudo spin blocker with Rocky Helmet, stripping off an astounding 29% HP off an enemy if they rapid spin. Leech Seed provides Ferrothorn some recovery, and turns him into an annoyance to face. Gyro Ball is very powerful for a defensive poke; with STAB, 120 BP and coming off Ferro's 94 base attack. Protect can grant him an additional 18% health combined with seeds and leftovers, just don't be too obvious. Thunder Wave prevents set-up sweepers from ruining your day. Power whip ruins bulky waters that could give rain teams trouble, like Gastrodon.
Author: ClubbingSealCub
Jellicent @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 36 Def / 220 SDef
Calm Nature (+SpDef,-Atk)
- Scald
- Recover
- Will-O-Wisp / Toxic
- Ice Beam
This is pretty much the best Jellicent set for handling rain, as it easily walls Keldeo and offensive Politoed variants. Ice Beam should generally be used over Shadow Ball to ht Dragons. Scald and Recover are fairly obvious, while the choice between Toxic and WoW is preference really. You should generally run WoW, however, as Toxicroak has his way with you if you run Toxic.
Author: Organization Member XIV
Sharpedo @ Life Orb
Trait: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Zen Headbutt
- Protect
I know I post this thing everywhere, but Sharpedo really is quite an effective sweeper, despite not being OU. Due to Sharpedo's blistering speed after a few turns, once priority users are removed (which is pretty easy to do with a Gothitelle, who can also remove the few counters Sharpedo actually has), you pretty much have to rely on something that can tank a hit then KO back, but that's easier said than then when you're up against an Adamant, base 120 Pokemon, with a Life Orb boosted, rain boosted Waterfall, which also has a flinch chance. This set just has dual STABs for obvious reasons, Protect grabs you an extra speed boost, and Zen Headbutt is for Keldeo, Toxicroak, etc.
Author: The Great Mighty Doom
Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk) / Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 12 HP / 244 Atk / 252 Spd
- Spore
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
- Seed Bomb / Facade
Although it doesn't directly benefit from rain, SubPunch Breloom enjoys the ability to live weaker fire moves and it synergies well with common rain Pokemon. (Think Offensive synergy - Politoed is weak to Electric but, resists Ice. Breloom is weak to ice but, resists electric.) Not only does this Pokemon, in general, fit in on Rain, but SubPunch Poison Heal Breloom has the capabilities to single-handedly beat some stall teams or clean late game, once some quicker threats / status absorbers have been eliminated, thanks to a few good team supporters. Also, the surprise factor - because everyone thinks Technician Breloom - is overwhelming. This is why I have facade listed. It does a ton to Thundurus-T, Dragonite, Lati@s, Amoonguss, and Venusaur (although it is left vulnerable to ghost types.) Once it gets a sub up, or predicts a switch, it can 2HKO / heavily cripple most, if not all, of its usual counters / checks (I suppose it is kind of like running Stone Edge on Technician Breloom but, it has more power - 140 > 100. An example is, with +spd and Facade, Breloom outspeeds and 2hkos Dragonite - with rocks (or any prior damage as long as it doesn't switch in on Multiscale. It also does about 65% to incoming Latioses.)
All in all, a heavy hitter, annoyer, stallbreaker, and great poke - in general - SubPunch Breloom definetly deserves a mention amongst Rain offensive (surprise) threats!
Author: Finchinator
Feraligatr @ Mystic Water / Lum Berry
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant nature
- Swords Dance
- Waterfall
- Aqua jet
- Superpower / Crunch
gator is a monster. in rain, he's extremely powerful. but in rain with torrent activated, it's just unfair. with a swords dance under his belt, there's almost nothing that can actually stop him, especially with a couple hazards under your belt. ev spread, nature, and moveset are all pretty standard. i prefer having both waterfall and aqua jet at my disposal, the latter is definitely necessary, but if you wanted to get cute i guess aqua jet / crunch / superpower would also work for the last two moveslots. there are good arguments on both sides for superpower vs crunch, but what it really comes down to is whether you want to kill ferrothorn or jellicent. take your pick. item is kind of arbitrary, as long as you're not one of the people who runs life orb you're fine. mystic water gives a nice little power boost to 2/3rds of your attacks, but lum berry can be a savior in the right scenario. what's really nice about 252 hp gator is that almost everything gets it into torrent range but not much kills it. terrakion cc, keldeo ss, and landorus eq all put gator somewhere between 0% and 33% after rocks. good stuff, especially when you really need torrent activated for a sweep.
Author: Lavos Spawn
Gyarados (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Bounce
- Substitute
sub DD gyara has been a huge asset to my offensive rain teams. When its counters are down you can bring in this beast. sub prevents walls such as ferrothorn, gastrodon, and jelicent from crippling you with status along with a one-use "shield". After that, you can proceed to dance as many times as possible then plow through everyone while getting more attack boosts after you take out a pokemon. Waterfall becomes gyara's tool of destruction that will deal tons of damage to most non-defensive pokemon even if they resist it(salamence and even Hydreigon take their share of damage). bounce is that special pre-evolution move that gyara has as his only flying STAB(unless you're an ADV guy who uses HP flying). While it doesnt destroy as much as waterfall, it can be used to hit things that gyara can't use waterfall to kill(Celebi, ferrothorn if you have attacks boosts or its its low).
Leftovers is there to get some recovery to make it harder to be revenged by priority attacks though you can swap it out for another item like a lum berry(double status wall!) or a muscle band or something like that. As I said earlier sub DD gyara mows through teams like Rotom-C if the opportunity is given. Sadly, its completely countered by pokemon who can wall it before it gets boosts and then phaze him out. Skarmory is the prime example of that(hippo and donphan can do the job ok but not after a few boosts). 2 other counters include: Toxicroak(can abuse the immunity to waterfall and can sub the bounce) and Vaporeon(bulky and can abuse protect and even roar!).
Author: Zeta5
Azumarill @ Choice Band
Trait: Huge Power
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Ice Punch
- Waterfall
- Superpower
- Aqua Jet
If you're looking for a Pokemon that is an amazing revenge killer in rain and one that has tons of raw power, look no further than Choice Band Azumarill. This bunny may not look like much, but trust me, that 654 Attack stat is no joke. The EV's are near standard, as the 44 Speed EV's are to outspeed 0 Speed Blissey, which can otherwise hit him with a nasty status move. Ice Punch is to hit dragons such as Haxorus, Salamence and has a 78% chance to OHKO standard Dragonite with Multiscale intact. Waterfall is the crux of this set, hitting everything that doesn't resist it for tremendous damage when factoring in STAB and Rain. Superpower is for getting past that annoying Ferrothorn which otherwise walls this set cold. Finally, Aqua Jet is for picking off weakened Pokemon.
Author: Dr Ciel
Thundurus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 152 HP / 252 SAtk / 104 Spd
Modest Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Agility
- Thunder
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Double Dance Thundurus-T is one of the deadliest boosting sweepers. He can use Agility to outspeed offensive teams and sweep with a Modest nature base 145 Special Attack stat. He can use Nasty Plot to sweep defensive teams as +2 Thunder has a chance to 2HKO even Blissey if Stealth Rock are on the field. If he's able to get up both boosts, then it's not looking to good for the opponent. Thunder is tremendously powerful and can be spammed with 100% accuracy under rain and Hidden Power Ice is the suggested coverage move to form the BoltBeam combination. The 152 HP EVs given Thundurus-T some surprisingly decent bulk and the Speed isn't that necessary as Agility will alleviate those Speed issues. I use Leftovers for a bit more longevity and an easier time setting up but you can opt for Life Orb if you want to go for a stronger albeit more reckless option.
Author: Novaray
Gastrodon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 124 HP/252 SAtk/132 SDef
Nature: Modest
-Surf
-Earth Power
-Ice Beam
-Hidden Power Grass
Gastrodon provides a niche that nobody else can really fill on a rain team, and that is the ability to take on the boosted water type attacks coming at you, along with preventing the opponent from getting momentum by constantly volt switching all around. Gastrodon stops Rotom-Wash dead cold, unless it's packing the very rare Hidden Power Grass (Most that run hidden power run ice in order to check dragons), and with a +1 from a storm drain, Rotom-W will be 2hko'd by HP Grass. You can opt to use life orb on offensive Gastrodon, but the best ev spread for that would probably be 104 Hp/252 SAtk/152 SDef in order to have a life orb number. Defensive Gastrodon is able to check one of the biggest rain sweepers, Thundurus-T. In my opinion, Gastrodon, especially an offensive variant, is a great member to have on a rain team, and one to prepare for when building a rain team, just because of how much it screws over other rain teams, and how much it can screw yours over.
Author: Zork
Starmie @ Life Orb
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Thunder
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin
Starmie used to be one of the poster boys of Rain Offense in BW1,being used in the most successful teams of this playstyle in the metagame,such as Stone Cold's Reflections,BKC's Art of Ruin,Iconic's Eriatika and such.In BW2 the introduction of Torn-T and Keldeo gave stiff competition to Starmie which hurt it's popularity as well as Genesect's U-turn spamming.But with torn-t and Gene now banned,Starmie is once again a threatning Rain sweeper.It has some notable advantages over it's rival Keldeo,notably the extra base speed with lets Starmie outspeed Latios,Latias,Tornadus in addition to outspeeding base 108's comfortably.It makes up for the lack of power compared to Keldeo by elemental coverage moves such as Thunder and Ice Beam and the ability to provide spin support.