Rain Mercenaries, Critique Please

[Prophyte]

[(*/#) = competing for slot.]

Politoad - Leftovers
Ability: Drizzle
Nature: Modest
Evs:200 HP, 150 Defense, 100 Sp. Defense, 58 Sp. Attack
-Perish Song
-Ice Beam
-Scald
-Hypnosis

Well, just like ninja's love the darkness and work best at night, my team loves the rain and politoad summons an endless rain with drizzle. The ev spread on my politoad may not be typical but I've run this on a few rain teams, and he just can take about any hit thrown at him. Ice beam and scald are here just to cover his weaknesses, as not to be forced to switch out more then needed. Hypnosis is and excellent stall to allow leftovers to work, let alone hit with a few 2x scald with burn chance a few times. Perish song scares out sweepers and walls keeping my opponent from stalling or sweeping cleanly. Overall I just want him alive and to be annoying.

Jolteon - Choice Specs/Focus Sash
Ability: Volt Absorb
Nature: Modest
Evs: 252 Sp. Atk, 252 Speed. 4 HP
-Hidden Power (Ice)
-Thunder
-Trump Card (2pp)
-Volt Switch

Scout, sweeper, electric sponge, jolteon is an amazing addition to my team. Just to explain trump card as everything else is standard jolteon, Trump card is a move where the less pp it has the stronger it is. At 2 pp its base power is 80, and at 1 pp it has 200 base power. So That really puts use to jolteon's stats.

Forretress - Shell Bell
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Impish
Evs: 204 HP, 204 Defense, 100 Atk
-Revenge
-Stealth Rocks
-Spikes
-Rapid Spin

Possibly my lead for most games, as to set up my entry hazards, or remove them when needed. I chose revenge as my attack move because forretress' attack stat is higher then it's special and would barely help in battle using thunder. I'm on edge about if it should be explosion, if there are ways to make better use of forretress here, please let me know.

Tentacruel - Black Sludge
Ability: Rain Dish
Nature: Timid
Evs: 252 HP, 200 SP. Defense, 56 Speed
-Aqua Ring
-Scald
-Sludge Bomb
-Rain Dance/Toxic

We all know how annoying it is to have your opponents poke regain health, well imagine how annoying black sludge, rain dish, and aqua ring must be. On a max hp tenta that's about 68 HP back per turn. Being my special defense wall and most it's weakness' being mostly special attack in the metagame, this is a quite cruel set up. Scald holds a lovely STAB position with the rain, as well as having sludge bomb as another powerful STAB, though I'm open to ice beam. In case the sad event of losing my politoad and the weather having been changed, tentacruel is my back up rain summoner, and being poison in type can absorb a toxic spikes if using forretress would be a bad idea.

*Whiscash - Life Orb
Ability: Hydration
Nature: Jolly
Evs: 252 HP, 100 Defense, 100 Sp. Defense, 56 Speed
-Dragon Dance
-Earthquake
-Rock Slide/Stone Edge
-Rest

Hydration is a wonderfully amazing ability!!!! While in the rain all status conditions go away at the end of the turn, self induced or not. With the access to dragon dance and rest, set up is possible and rather easy in the rain. The spread is to keep me alive and make best out of the dragon dance as best as possible, and then sweep with perfect coverage from earthquake and rock slide/stone edge. The typing allows him to fit in rather well, with only weakness to grass and resistance to electric.

*Lapras - Life Orb
Ability: Hydration
Nature: Jolly
Evs: 252 HP, 100 Defense, 100 Sp. Defense, 56 Speed
-Dragon Dance
-Outrage
-Waterfall/Iron Head
-Rest

Lapras is only here as a possible replacement for whiscash as every stat is better besides speed being the same, while still having access to D dance, rest + hydration, and good coverage. The only sorta kinda problem is lapras' typing isnt part ground, its part ice. So instead of adding resistances it adds more. Let me know who you believe better fits the position.

#Crawdaunt - Choice Band
Ability: Adaptability
Nature: Adamant
Evs: 252 HP, 252 Speed, 4 Atk
-Dragon Dance
-Crabhammer
-Endeavor
-Fling

And for the Hard Hitter on my team, crawdaunt!!! (or basculin, again please help decide whose better). Now follow me here, crawdaunt needs work but the basic idea is this. STAB move (0.5), Choice Band (0.5), Adaptability (0.5), + Rain (0.5) = 2x bonus plus basic 1x is a 3x multiplier to any water move that is used, i.e. crabhammer would be 270 base power and a 120 base Atk stat plus the fact it is high crit rate. Not sure if Fling the D dancing is needed or even useful, I think I just love D dance a bit too much. But yea, that's what I mean by hard hitter.

#Basculin - Choice Band
Ability: Adaptability
Nature: Adamant
Evs: 252 HP, 252 Speed, 4 Atk
-Aqua Jet
-Waterfall
-Crunch
-Final Gambit

My other choice is basculin who has access to priority in Aqua Jet, which using the same multiplier makes aqua jet 120 +1 priority attack. His evs need to be more invested in Atk maybe, not sure yet. But yea, that's about it. [/font]

Any suggestions about bettering these pokes are great. A potential threat list would be FANTASTIC. But other then that go ahead and tell me, really, anything ya think. Thanks!!! P.S. This is a 5G Wi-Fi OU Team...

 

[Jets]

you have 8 pokemon. and why does crawdaunt have DD with a choice band... and recount your ev's...

 

[Lemonz]

Im guessing that youre still composing this...

 

[mklo14]

You should not post when you havent decided all your different members yet. So I suggest (quickly) putting in crawdaunt over bascullin, and laprass over whiscash. Lapras has better stats, and whiscash just isn't a great pokemon, and crawdaunt is a lot stronger then bascullin, you don't need the priority really. And you have CB on crawdaunt and you run dragon dance................................................................................... Ya get rid of dragon dance on that set, since if you use it with choice band you'll just have to keep using it until you switch out.

It appears to me since you have DD on a banded poke, that you haven't tested this team much at all. So I suggest that you play around with it some more, before posting,

 

[Prophyte]

I really don't understand, the 1st line says that there are pokes competing for a slot, which will make a 6 poke team, so there really isnt a need to point out there is 8 pokes. Reading the little required paragraphs below each poke also make for better advice ya'know, because when you critique something that's answered in the reading as understood, you dont really help. Only person that sorta helped was mklo14 saying who he feels is better for the team. But that last line, if you noticed, however strange there is fling on crawdaunt soooo, yea, before you comment, please read the post, as to better help me and not seem like a general annoyance. Thanks again.

 

[Prophyte]

Is there no one who can lend a hand to help with this?

 

[Penance]

I would try Whishcash over Lapras since the Cash has a lot better switch ins compared to Lapras. For the Cash set I would try something like this:

Whishcash @ Rindo Berry / Leftovers
Hydration
Jolly
92 HP / 166 Atk / 252 Spd
Aqua Tail / Waterfall
Earthquake
Dragon Dance
Rest

Rindo is to let you tank an HP Grass or whatever. Or straight lefties for recovery.

 

[Lemonz]

ok, here goes nothing. Im gonna help by pointing out some obvious things.

First of all, your jolteon may be original, and I like that, but its not necessarily good. In fact, I would even go as far as to say its set is a horrid choice. You see, trump card may seem nice and all once all its pp is out, but thats like 8 turns. Not only that, but trump card has horrible offensive typing, hitting nothing super effectively. So assuming it has 1pp left, Jolteon wont ko something like ninetales w/ minimum sp.def for example. And if you have specs, youll be locked into a non-stab normal attack, and the opponent could easily work arround that. Also, I recommend you remove that things focus sash. Jolteon is a revenge killer, not a sweeper. It switches in and out a lot, and a single layer of any kind of spikes, or sandstorm for that matter, will ruin it's effectiveness.

Secondly, I would take off revenge and get gyroball or volt switch onto forretress. Revenge may have more coverage, but gyroball provides superior damage, and volt switch allows you to use a viable rotating Jolteon-forry core (which doesnt boast the same effectiveness as say Rotom-Scizor, but its what you can do still).

Another thing is that while I understand what you are trying to do w/ tentacruel, its futile. Any stab earthquake user will force him out, or get ko'd. As a special wall, tentacrual is still weak to Earth Power, Thunderbolt, Psykic(and Psyshock too nowadays). What Im saying is that tentacruel is a pivot, used for switching in on pokes who cant touch it, a lot of whom are physical, and setting up toxic spikes, rapid spinning, or scalding whatever comes out next. He has little staying power. Also, take off sludgebomb and put on ice beam or giga drain. Sludgebomb may get stab, but its coverage is repulsive. Ice beam hits the same pokes, and more. Giga drain for combating fellow water types.

Also, I dont really like the idea of Choice band Crawdaunt or Baskulin on here. You already have a plethora of water types, why dont you try to cover soem of your other weaknesses there?

Look, i dont mean to be harsh, but Ive only scratched the surface of your team's problems. However, there are some redeeming qualities. I like your Whiscash set, but I dont know its its been released in the dream world yet.

 

[phoenix_master]

[(*/#) = competing for slot.

#Crawdaunt - Choice Band
Ability: Adaptability
Nature: Adamant
Evs: 252 HP, 252 Speed, 4 Atk
-Dragon Dance
-Crabhammer
-Endeavor
-Fling

And for the Hard Hitter on my team, crawdaunt!!! (or basculin, again please help decide whose better). Now follow me here, crawdaunt needs work but the basic idea is this. STAB move (0.5), Choice Band (0.5), Adaptability (0.5), + Rain (0.5) = 2x bonus plus basic 1x is a 3x multiplier to any water move that is used, i.e. crabhammer would be 270 base power and a 120 base Atk stat plus the fact it is high crit rate. Not sure if Fling the D dancing is needed or even useful, I think I just love D dance a bit too much. But yea, that's what I mean by hard hitter.

Hard hitter, 4 attack ev's.... Also the fling + Dragon Dance is too gimicky to work. Just decide on either CB or DD. 252 attack and 252 speed is also preffered.

 

[Prophyte]

Thanks, Ill try that ev spread, and I dont have a rindo on 5G so ill just use the lefties. Thanks again

 

[Prophyte]

See, now that helps a ton lemonz, and I thank you for that. I see what it is you mean on tentacruel, there are those who threaten him rather easily, but I wouldn't use him until those threats be taken care of. Even still, he is a little gimmecky, but then again gimmecks work on those who haven't studied your team, or even those who just cant keep up with the other 5 pokes. As for the crawdaunt or basculin, you're saying that I should replace them, with what though? I mean, I have a mixed attacker D-nite that has proved itself quite useful on a rain team, set-up below, you think that works? and finally the jolteon-forre core is a great idea, Ill use that, and ill switch trump card out for shadow ball or something of the like, I only used trump card there because the moves I'd be using mostly are thunder/voltswitch/HP Ice so I just filled in the slot.

Dragonite - Lum Berry
Ability: Inner Focus (This is the one I have I can breed up a multiscale if itd be better)
Nature: Modest
Stats: (Been awhile and ive forgotten the evs)
HP: 331
Atk: 264
Def: 229
Sp.Atk: 256
Sp.Def: 230
Speed: 203

-Hurricane
-Outrage
-Thunder
-Agility

Point is, agility, then just do what dragons do, lol.

 

[Prophyte]

"Hard hitter, 4 attack evs...." yea, sarcasm not needed. Besides, I really didnt think he needed the attack investment with the 3x multiplier to his water moves, and a 2.5 to his dark ones. Also, can you explain more why you say Fling + DDance is to gimmecky? I mean with the health investment I gave, and me not playing stupidly be subjecting him to mass damage before i even fling, I think that was looking like it could work, or just plainly rely on the multipliers to do damage.