Team Maelstrom

[Truth or Dare]

TEAM AT A GLANCE

INTRODUCTION

So i was just thinking one day that i have never made a weather team before so why not start right now. Well I am kind of new to the competitive side of Pokemon but have been playing Pokemon sense Red and Blue were out and have always enjoyed playing Pokemon with my friends. But now that Pokemon Black and White are out i really want to get into the competitive side of Pokemon and see if I'm any good at it using all the knowledge i have collected though my many years of playing. This being only my second competitive team ive made any help will be appreciated.

TEAM BUILDING PROCESS

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The first step to building any weather team is of course choosing the weather you want to use. Now I have never really liked Ninetales (and had wished sense it came out that Arcanine had got Drought because he is a far superior pokemon) and Tyranitar was just to weak to Fighting (The most used type in OU) for my liking so in the end i choose Politoad.

Now the key to any good balanced team is a hazard user and with that a spinner and with that though came two of the best Ferrothorn and Starmie.

Now I needed A physical and special wall, Now with a lot of debate with my self i came up with Jirachi on the special side and i already had Ferrothorn so a physical wall was already sorted.

Now I thought to myself I need some effective attackers so the first thing that popped into my mind was Hurricane Tornadus with the rain up Hurricane becomes very powerful and accurate. Now moving on to the physical side i was searching around for awhile until Breloom just popped out at at me, But then began the debate over SubPunch or all-out attacker so i compromised and went for the new technician Breloom set.

Now while trolling though the OU tier on Smogon looking for anything better Forretress caught my eye so I clicked on him and had a facepalm moment why did I not think of this before he can be a spinner, hazard layer and a physical wall. Well there goes Ferrothorns and Starmies hopes of staying on this team.

Well now that ive got a free spot in my team who could I shove in there. Trolling though the OU list thinking to myself who loves to dance in the rain? then it came to me Rotom-W and his awesome new typing will help this team alot and of course with his STAB Hydro Pump and Thunder in the rain he is a real devil.

Now after a lot of battles I just felt that Tornadus was lacking on coverage and died far to soon but i really want to keep that beastly Hurricane so I smash the move into Google looking for a better Pokemon to use and there he was Dragonite in all his glory, and I knew that he was the Pokemon I needed to complete my team.

Maelstrom @ Expert Belt
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]

This is a pretty obvious Pokemon to have to have a rain team. Now Hydro Pump in the rain is nothing to laugh at, punishing any Pokemon that think they switch can switch in on it (Apart from water absorbers and the such). Ice Beam is a damn obvious move to use on just about any water type because it lets them smack those annoying dragons that resist there stab. Focus Miss is used on Pokemon that resist water and are weak to fighting because a Hydro Pump in the rain hits just as had as a super effective Focus Blast with more accuracy. Hidden Power Grass is for taking down the damn Gastrodon and other water, ground type Pokemon.

Bayblade @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Hp / 176 Def / 80 SpD
Nature: Bold
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Volt Switch

Bayblade is absolute legend and laying down hazards as well as a supreme physical wall and spinner. Spikes and Stealth Rock are pretty annoying par when placed together with Spikes doing large damage to all grounded Pokemon while Stealth Rocks takes down those pesky flyers and levitaters. Rapid Spin is on this set to get rid of the opponents hazards so i can switch more often as well as let Dragonite get in with his multiscale intact. Volt Switch is for get out of those sticky situations as well as racking up some residual damage that is always nice.

Cthulhu @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Hp / 224 SpD / 32 Spe
Nature: Careful
- Iron Head
- Thunder
- Wish
- Protect

Cthulhu is an absolute monster to other teams with his signature paraflinch compo that leaves the other team raging. Iron Head is a very annoying for move when paired with serene grace which makes a 60% chance to flinch the target which becomes increasing annoying when the opponent is paralyzed. Wish is a great move which benfits this team greatly because non of my other pokemon recovery moves so wish support is greatly appreciated. Protect is wonderful move to have on Jirachi a way to scout as well as get extra leftovers and a easy way to heal when paired with wish. Thunder is a great move to have on this set for it's 100% in the rain and 60% paralysis chance because of serene grace.

Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- X-Scissor

Terrakion with Choice Scarf straped on becomes and amazing revenge kill finishing off any pokemon that is low enough. Close Combat and Stone Edge are the stab moves of choice and get amazing coverage between then only missing out on a few pokemon that killed with my other moves anyway. Earthquake is kind of redundent coverage with Close Combat but it allows Terrakion to kill of pokemon like toxicroak that resists it other moves as well as hit any electric pokemon for super effective damage. X-Scissor is the last move on this set to take down Celebi really which resist it's best stab but is easily taken down with it's four times weakness to bug.

Mr.Rental @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Trick

While all the other Rotom forms got the short end of the stick with there new typing, Rotom-W stands out as by far the best Rotom form. Now I was thinking for quite awhile if i should use Volt Switch or Thunder but I ended up using Volt Switch for it's ability to keep momentum going. Volt Switch coming of this guy is just simply amazing really doing very good damage to anything that doesn't resist a lot that do as well as letting it get out of tight situations. Hydro Pump is Rotom-W's main move in the rain doing absolutly insane damge to even things that think they can take it. Hidden Power ice is on this team to take down those damn annoying dragon type pokemon which don't take much damage at all from my other attacks. Trick is just there to cripple any walls or set-up sweepers which becomes really funny when there the last pokemon.

Skyrim @ Leftovers
Ability: Multi Scale
EVs: 252 Hp / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Nature: Calm
- Hurricane
- Substitute
- Roost
- Dragontail

Dragonite will serve as my main physical wall because Forretress has no healing or attacking moves. Hurricane is the stab move of choice to deal large damage and have a 100% accuracy in the rain as well as that very helpful confuse chance. Substitute is to block status and keep myself safe from any move. Roost is well for recovery and has the handy bonus of getting rid of my stupid flying type so im not weak to rock and as weak to ice. Dragontail is for phazing, racking up entry hazards and of course doing some good damage to anything i hit with it being STAB.

Ok so that is my team I have been working on this team for quite awhile now and would apreciate any feed back at all good or bad.​

 

[asterat]

Don't use LO politoed. It is too slow and it is extremely unbeneficial with weather wars.

You probably want a spin blocker or at least something with sub if you are using that many entry hazards

Give Jirachi thunder over body slam

Isn't technician Illegal and if you have SD you want good coverage or 3 attacks (use rock slide) I guess expert belt is an option

On d-nite use specially defensive with dragon tail, thunder/sub, hurricane, and roost and lefties

 

[Truth or Dare]

Don't use LO politoed. It is too slow and it is extremely unbeneficial with weather wars.

It's really not that much different from Choice Specs Politoad, it may lose alittle bit of health but can switch moves witch is great.

You probably want a spin blocker or at least something with sub if you are using that many entry hazards

There arn't that many hazards on my team just two but yea a spin blocker would help could you suggest one?

Give Jirachi thunder over body slam

Body Slam is better because i can paralyze ground Pokemon.

Isn't technician Illegal and if you have SD you want good coverage or 3 attacks (use rock slide) I guess expert belt is an option

I don't think it's illegal and spore gives a much better chance of setting up which is better than a little bit of extra coverage

On d-nite use specially defensive with dragon tail, thunder/sub, hurricane, and roost and lefties

Why?

 

[asterat]

on the aboce post

the reason life orb is bad is politoed loses too much HPfrom life orb making it lose weather wars and crippling your team

You could use jelli over rotom or gengar. If you throw substitute on a pokemon or two that is good as substitute blocks the effect. breloom would be an excellent example as well as d-nite.

Jirachi has no business staying in on gorund pokemon and thunder is a much more powerful move with a much better offensive type. Body slam allows you to do nothing to ghosts like jellicent or chandelure. Usually it is a choice but on a rain team use thunder. there are only 4 ground types i think in OU, swamp and gastro dont care about being paralyzed, gliscor can't be and jirachi cant stay in on landorus.

technician is illegal. that was a nice way of telling you. This is the set i reccomend
Breloom@ toxic orb
-spore
-substitute
-focus punch
-seed bomb
252 attack, 252 speed, 4 HP. Adamant
this is a great set and helps with your spinblocking issue.

The reason i suggested that drasgonite set was it abuses multiscale and entry hazards while still packing a punch and phazing and blocking spins- its a great set

 

[Dragone]

the reason life orb is bad is politoed loses too much HPfrom life orb making it lose weather wars and crippling your team.

I back this up 100%, this change is a must.

 

[Truth or Dare]

the reason life orb is bad is politoed loses too much HPfrom life orb making it lose weather wars and crippling your team

You could use jelli over rotom or gengar. If you throw substitute on a pokemon or two that is good as substitute blocks the effect. breloom would be an excellent example as well as d-nite.

Jirachi has no business staying in on gorund pokemon and thunder is a much more powerful move with a much better offensive type. Body slam allows you to do nothing to ghosts like jellicent or chandelure. Usually it is a choice but on a rain team use thunder. there are only 4 ground types i think in OU, swamp and gastro dont care about being paralyzed, gliscor can't be and jirachi cant stay in on landorus.

technician is illegal. that was a nice way of telling you. This is the set i reccomend
Breloom@ toxic orb
-spore
-substitute
-focus punch
-seed bomb
252 attack, 252 speed, 4 HP. Adamant
this is a great set and helps with your spinblocking issue.

The reason i suggested that drasgonite set was it abuses multiscale and entry hazards while still packing a punch and phazing and blocking spins- its a great set

Yea just looked it up Breloom's ability isn't out yet which sucks so ill use the set you suggest should work until it comes out. Should i go for Choice Specs or Choice Scarf on Politoad i can't decide? Also I will defiantly try that Dragonite set out seems like it would help my team out alot but if i do that do you think i should change Jirachi to a different set?

 

[sent1mental]

expert belt politoad would definately catch a few teams offguard especially if they think you are running a specs or scarf'd politoad

 

[-Tsunami-]

Hey there.

One thing that really hinders this team is the lack of a true Physical wall. Forretress cannot deal any damage to enemy physical attackers, and lacks a recovery move. This allows many physical attackers such as SD Toxicroak and DD Dragonite to cause your team major problems. Breloom isn't really filling any major roles on your team, so I suggest that you replace it with a Slowbro. Slowbro can easily take out a vast array of physical attackers and keep itself healthy very easily due to Slack Off and Regenerator. Threats such as Scizor that can defeat Slowbro can be swiftly taken on by Forretress and Rotom-W.

Defensive Slowbro

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Slowbro @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Nature: Bold
- Slack Off
- Ice Beam
- Psychic
- Scald

Psychic lets Slowbro decimate Pokemon such as Toxicroak and Conkeldurr, while Ice Beam lets it handle dangerous Dragon-Types such as Dragonite. A Relaxed nature allows Slowbro to be slower than standard Brave Conkeldurr, thus allowing Slowbro to take Paybacks from Conkeldurr much more easily and 2HKO it easily with Psychic.

Also, run Choice Specs on Politoed since it allows it to hit much harder and decimate Pokemon with the help of entry hazards. Run Volt Switch over Thunder on Rotom-W as well. One of the major reasons to use Rotom-W as a scarfer is because it can maintain momentum by utilizing Volt Switch, especially since it can also function as Rotom-W's STAB attack. Volt Switch is especially useful on your team since it will allow you to indirectly rack up entry hazard damage on the opposition and take them down much more easily.

Solid team. Hope I helped, and good luck!

 

[By Myself]

Might i suggest running hp ice on Rotom seeing as Dragonite is a huge threat, and u really can't take it on after a couple DD's. Since you already have breloom gastrodon shouldn't be a prob, as with Politoad already having Hp grass also.

 

[Tomahawk]

Swords Dance Lucario can set up against Rotom-W locked in Hidden Power Grass, Forretress, or Breloom without a Sub up and Sleep Clause activated. After a Swords Dance, nothing on your team will be able to take an attack. Rotom-W gets KOed by a +2 ExtremeSpeed, and so does Politoed. Forretress and Jirachi get KOed by Close Combat, while Breloom and Dragonite can't take an Ice Punch.
Swords Dance Toxicroak functions similarly, also abusing your rain to heal every turn. He can set up much more often as well, seeing as he heals from Hydro Pump. He Cross Chops Forretress and Jirachi, Ice Punches Breloom and Dragonite, and Sucker Punches Politoed and Rotom-W. Your only real hope of beating him is Tricking him with Rotom-W while he uses Sucker Punch.
Dragon Dance Salamence can set up against Forretress, Breloom after Sleep Clause, or Rotom-W locked in Hidden Power Grass. After that, Dragonite, Politoed, Rotom-W, and Breloom are KOed by a +2 Outrage or Dragon Claw, while Jirachi is demolished by a +2 Earthquake. Forretress is KOed by Fire Blast, or worn down by Earthquake because he can't do anything back.

To fix this, you can try a Choice Scarf Terrakion over Rotom-W, or more likely using it over Breloom while switching Rotom-W to a Choice Specs set. Terrakion outspeeds all of those aforementioned Pokemon, even Salamence after a Dragon Dance, and is able to OHKO them all. Lucario's ExtremeSpeed is resisted, while STAB Close Combat OHKOes. Salamence is taken down by STAB Stone Edge, while Toxicroak gives Terrakion a welcome Attack boost with Sucker Punch and gets OHKOed by Earthquake. The exact set is:

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Terrakion @ Choice Scarf | Justified
Jolly | 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Close Combat / Stone Edge / Earthquake / X-Scissor

Good luck!

 

[asterat]

Use hurricane over thunder on dragonite, the STAB makes it worth it

 

[chimpact]

You really struggle to combat rotom Wash which is a very common pokemon in the metagame, and replacing breloom with slowbro will only add to that weakness. I suggest you either make that breloom a more bulky variant or replace it altogether with another grass type or gastrodon.

The reason for gastrodon is that it does not add another fire weakness to your team, which your team definitely has a weakness too despite the rain. Oone downside to gastrodon is that it makes your team vulnerable to status ailments, and celebi (or even shaymin) help your team with that if you decide to go that route.
Standard Gastrodon

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Gastrodon (M) @ Leftovers Trait: Storm Drain

EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Toxic
- Recover


Clear Smog is an option over Ice Beam. You do have two steel types to work against dragons, and Dragonite for (most) of the other threats that Ice Beam hits.

Celebi can also pass paralysis onto your opponents team, making it easier for dnite get off substitutes easier and jirachi for paraflinching. Combined with U-turn and spikes support, you can add on a lot of pressure to your opponent's team.

Tinkerbell Celebi

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Celebi @ Life Orb Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 232 HP / 240 SAtk / 36 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunder Wave
- Leaf Storm
- U-turn
- Recover

 

[Truth or Dare]

expert belt politoad would definately catch a few teams offguard especially if they think you are running a specs or scarf'd politoad

Yes that will work great because i never liked choice items that much and he gets alot of super effective coverage with his moves so it will work great.

Run Volt Switch over Thunder on Rotom-W as well. One of the major reasons to use Rotom-W as a scarfer is because it can maintain momentum by utilizing Volt Switch, especially since it can also function as Rotom-W's STAB attack. Volt Switch is especially useful on your team since it will allow you to indirectly rack up entry hazard damage on the opposition and take them down much more easily.

Solid team. Hope I helped, and good luck!

Concerning the physical wall I'm just going to change dragonite to a physical wall because ive already got Jirachi and i then i don't have to waste a spot. Ive changed Rotom to choice specs and given him voltswitch which will help.

Might i suggest running hp ice on Rotom seeing as Dragonite is a huge threat, and u really can't take it on after a couple DD's. Since you already have breloom gastrodon shouldn't be a prob, as with Politoad already having Hp grass also.

Yes i guess that will be better because dragonite is on nearly every team these days.

Terrakion @ Choice Scarf | Justified
Jolly | 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Close Combat / Stone Edge / Earthquake / X-Scissor

Good luck!

That will help alot more than breloom i think so have changed him but also given rotom choice specs because i don't want 2 choice scarfers

Use hurricane over thunder on dragonite, the STAB makes it worth it

Yea i don't why i had it on i guess i just wanted the paralysis chance.

Standard Gastrodon

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Gastrodon (M) @ Leftovers Trait: Storm Drain

EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Toxic
- Recover


Clear Smog is an option over Ice Beam. You do have two steel types to work against dragons, and Dragonite for (most) of the other threats that Ice Beam hits.

Celebi can also pass paralysis onto your opponents team, making it easier for dnite get off substitutes easier and jirachi for paraflinching. Combined with U-turn and spikes support, you can add on a lot of pressure to your opponent's team.

Tinkerbell Celebi

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Celebi @ Life Orb Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 232 HP / 240 SAtk / 36 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunder Wave
- Leaf Storm
- U-turn
- Recover

I don't really know who i would replace now that i changed my team.