Rain Incarnate [BW2 Rain]

[Matt Tuck]

Rain Incarnate



- A BW2 RAIN TEAM –

​

Welcome to another RMT of mine on the Smogon forums, “Rain Incarnate”. This is one of my teams which is what i suppose comes under the standard offensive teams playstyle featuring Nadus who I’ve been wanting to use again ever since its therian counterpart went Uber. This main goal of this team is to utilize Tornadus not only as a late game sweeper but also a team supporter with providing tailwind support for the team. Now, without further ado, let's get on with the team.

The Team:​

Forretress @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Gyro Ball
- Volt Switch​

Forretress is my reliable steel type mon on this team. TBH I would have rather have had Ferro in this spot but rapid spin support is an absolute necessity on this team and other users have agreed that there is no way to add Tentacruel on this team as well as have a reliable steel type so Forretress fills 2 roles for this team and doesn’t disappoint. The spread is standard max max in HP and Def to take Terrakion on which I have checks to but not much can switch into it. The moveset doesn’t require any explanation except that Gyro Ball is meant for stuff like Terrakion and Latios and Volt Switch provides momentum and actually hits Gyarados for decent damage :p

Politoed @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Perish Song​

Politoed is my scarfer and does what any other scarfer does i.e. revenge kill. Toed brings me valuable rain support and scarf has its utility over the defensive set IMO for this team. Main reason for toed being scarfed is I don’t have place for a scarfer since my Keldeo is running a different set and I can’t function well without one. Max Max SAtk and Spd is standard and Hydro Pump is a powerful stab in the rain. Surf is for accuracy over power. Ice Beams hits stuff like Dragons whereas Perish Song in my last resort for stuff that I can’t deal with Eg. CM Rachi.

Celebi @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 236 HP / 252 SDef / 20 Spd
Calm Nature
- Giga Drain
- Recover
- U-turn
- Thunder Wave​

Celebi is my special wall and my switch into bulky waters and most other special attacks. Celebi has really good bulk on the special side and takes on a lot of metagame threats such as keldeo and Thundurus-T. Standard EV spread once again for a special wall. Giga Drain is STAB and obvious recover is obvious. U-turn gives me momentum whereas Thunder Wave helps me cripple faster threats such as Latios and other such mons if they stay in on celebi. As an additional side note im considering switching U-Turn for Baton Pass as sometimes escaping T-Tars pursuit can be a game changer.

Keldeo @ Life Orb
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Ghost]​

Calm Mind LO Keldeo is such a powerful yet an underused set of Keldeo. Keldeo is a monster in this metagame. The EV spread here is standard Max Max Spd and SAtk for a special sweeper. +1 LO Rain boosted Hydro Pump does hefty chunks of damage to anything that Resists it and mostly OHKO’s anything that doesn’t. Secret Sword allows me hit stuff on their weaker physical side such as the pink blobs whereas HP Ghost is preferred for coverage over most of Keldeo’s counters and allows me to take even Jellicent on after a few CM boosts. This Keldeo’s job depends on what I see in the team preview ranging from wallbreaker to mid/late game sweeper.

Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Trait: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Superpower​

The anti-metagame mammoth checks a lot of stuff which the rest of the team does not handle too well ranging from threats like CM Rachi to dragons like Mence and Dragonite. Adamant Mamoswine hits extremely hard with just its STAB moves alone and causes massive damage on teams not prepared for it. Once again the spread is very standard with Icicle Spear STAB over Icicle Crash to break Dragonite’s multiscale and hits through substitutes. Ice Shard is another Powerful priority and is the only priority on my team. Earthquake is another STAB which dents anything that doesn’t fly or levitate or uses magnet rise. Superpower allows me to hit stuff like Rotom-W for heavy damage. I run Adamant nature over Jolly the reason for which is given in the next mon’s analysis.

Tornadus (M) @ Sharp Beak
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
- Hurricane
- Focus Blast
- U-turn
- Tailwind
​

The mon of the hour. Hurricane spam is a very fun and effective strategy. Tornadus is my mid/late game sweeper/cleaner and even provides support for the team. Standard EV’s for a fast special attacker once again. Hurricane and Focus Blast are 2 heavy hitting moves which support each other where STAB Hurricane hits everything that doesn’t resist it extremely hard and Focus Blast hitting mons that do resist Hurricane. U-turn is again for momentum purposes and allows me to switch out on predicted specially defensive T-Tar’s to gain momentum. Tailwind is an excellent last resort which boosts the speed for every pokemon on the team for 3 turns allowing Nadus to deal with scarfers as well. Now imagine having to go against hard hitters like CM LO Keldeo and Adamant LO Mamoswine with a tailwind boost under their belt for 3 turns. Do I need to say anything else? In this mons case I feel the need to explain the item. Sharp Beak allows me to boost the power of Hurricane (The same way as silk scarf Ekiller Arceus) and in this case allows me to bluff a choice item which can be a nasty surprise for the opponent when the trick is revealed and can eventually cost him a mon in the process.

Conclusion:​

And so concludes my RMT, and I seriously hope that I receive strong feedback. This team, if anything, is not flawless. But then again, that's the point of making RMTs in the first place so that you can improve and get better at teambuilding and all that good stuff. Big shoutout to all those guys and gals who decide to read this RMT and stick till the end.

Importable:​

Forretress @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Gyro Ball
- Volt Switch


Politoed @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Perish Song


Celebi @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 236 HP / 252 SDef / 20 Spd
Calm Nature
- Giga Drain
- Recover
- U-turn
- Thunder Wave


Keldeo @ Life Orb
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Ghost]


Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Trait: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Superpower


Tornadus (M) @ Sharp Beak
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
- Hurricane
- Focus Blast
- U-turn
- Tailwind

 

[RoyalBlue]

Very fun team you have here! Tailwind is an incredibly powerful move and I made a team around it that peaked to 2150 four times. Plus I was running Gigalith and Victini :/

Just a thought, but have you considered running Ferrothorn and Tentactuel over Forry and Celebi? You mentioned that you prefer Ferrothorn>Forretress so his combo allows you to have the steel, spinner, checks against Keldeo and Thundy. Tenta also gives you're team T-Spikes absorber, which can 2/3 of your team.

Next, you should run Encore over Perish Song on Toed. They both disrupt set up, but Encore opens up an oppurtunity for you to set up/do whatever while the opponents is forced to switch.

On Celebi, assuming you do t replace it, run Baton Pass over U-Turn for sure. Most offensive KelTar teams need T-Tar to trap celebi in orders for Keldeo to even do anything. Although the damage is nice, it probably have minimal effect on OHKOs etc.

Finally, on Tornadus, run Focus Sash over Sharp Beak. This allows you to live a hit and scout what kind of set the opponent is running and give them a false sense of security that they can kill you with priority without you getting the TW off. You're also able to land another powerful Hurricane on the opposition. Living on 1HP means that any hit will kill you, maximizing the turn of TW for Keldeo and Mamo.

Good luck with the team! VM if you have questions on the sets. B)

 

[Trevorpoke42]

You definitely stole this team from itzGator. Sure you changed a move or 2 but that doesn't mean it's your team. Now to the actual rate. Like RoyalBlue mentioned, Encore over Perish Song, it's SO useful to encore stuff like Latias or Jirachi into Calm Mind or Gyarados and Dnite into Dragon Dance. And your running Hydro Pump and Surf, maybe just choose one and you can still keep perish song, because I agree that Perish Song is helpful at times. A big threat to your team is Specs Latios. It deals a minimum of 67% and your only dragon resist is Forretress which also takes a minimum of 72%. Ok so I'm also going to have to agree with RoyalBlue in using a Ferrothorn and Tentacruel over Celebi and Forretress. Sure it slows down momentum but with all the hazard support I think it will be more beneficial. Sure you'll be weaker to CM Keldeo, but that means Poli can Encore it and Tornadus outspeeds it. That's all I have to say. Good Luck with "your" team!

Changes:
Politoed>Encore
Celebi>Tentacruel
Forretress>Ferrothorn

EV Spreads:
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SDef
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball

Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Trait: Rain Dish
EVs: 240 Def / 252 HP / 16 Spd
Bold Nature
- Protect/Substitute
- Toxic Spikes/Toxic
- Rapid Spin
- Scald

 

[zeo sokurame]

the team only need one change witch is keldo try switching hidden power [Ghost] to hidden power [ice]

 

[Leftiez]

Hey There.
This is a very interesting rain team you have there, your team seems correct to me, but I see some weaknesses, do not worry I will help you, this team is based on several sweeps, I notice the Keldeo + Politoed's synergy, Tornadus + tailwind to avoid Dragonite/Gyarados's sweep after setting up and to do a lot of damage with your sweepers, then a defensive core (Forretress + Celebi) , i really like your team so let's rate.

First I notice a weakness against Tentacruel SubToxic, it can wall many of your pokemons and it can set up easily, then Tentacruel has Rain dish paired with Black sludge to heal under rain, it can wall Celebi with toxic + Sub because it stands up very well against Giga drain and it can avoid ThunderWave if it is faster, you will be forced to break the sub and let a pokemon die to put Mamoswine and force him to switch out, you'll be very disadvantaged.

Then I see a big weakness to Tornadus right? It can kill one of your pokemons to each set up with Hurricane, especially the Choice Spec version, then Tornadus can come easily in the battle (Forretress/Celebi/Keldeo), you only have Mamoswine to revenge kill him and it cannot come directly against tornadus therefore you will be forced to let a pokemon die also to come on him, then the opponent will inevitably switch against Mamoswine to get back after and continue.

My suggestions:
Psychic Over ThunderWave on Celebi==> With psychic you can come directly on Tentacruel SubToxic and hit it, then with psychic you can now kill Breloom Subpuncher more easily.
Specially Defensive Rotom-W Over Keldeo==> Rotom is actually a very good check to Tornadus because it stands up well against Hurricane and it has paint split to heal, now you're less weak to Gyarados subDD and you can try the Forretress/Rotom-W/Celebi core to have a very good momentum and set up with Tornadus.

I hope I Helped and good luck with your team.
~Leftiez