THE RAPTURE
†
As we say goodbye to BW and welcome a new metagame I thought I'd retire this team of mine. This team has been my bread and butter for basically the entire BW metagame, undergoing minor changes as threats came and went. I'm eager to see what others have to say about my team, and any ways to fix weaknesses and issues. All in all I believe this is a solid team, and whilst I don't have many achievements with this team I'm confident in its strength in what was the final product of Gen. V. Possibly the only accolade I have with this team is reaching the first page on the Smogon's and Pokemon Online's server, but only barely.
This team works by wearing down opponents teams through hazards allowing for a late game Jirachi sweep. Swampert plays the role as a wall breaker which catches a lot of opponents off guard. I named the team 'The Rapture' simply because I felt that if you didn't believe in the power of Swampert you'd be left behind to die. Anyway enjoy the team and feel free to give me a
POLITOED
Item:
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Nature: Calm (+SDef, -Atk)
Protect | Toxic | Scald |Perish Song
Politoed's role is simply to provide me the rain this team thrives on. Whilst not the best option, Politoed does do its job thanks to its good bulk and supportive move pool. Protect scouts moves and doubles as a good stalling move in tandem with Toxic. Scald is its STAB of choice, being able to harm a lot of things, especially with the rain boost. The 30% chance to burn is also a nice factor. Finally Perish Song prevents those Calm Minder's that Skarmory can't phaze from sweeping my team, functioning as a psuedo-phaze. Whilst not the most secure option, his optimal special bulk allows him to at least temporarily cut off a sweep until either their team is worn down enough that I can handle it or I can get a few Calm Mind's under my own Jirachi.
FERROTHORN
Item:
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SDef
Nature: Sassy (+SDef, -Spd)
IVs: 0 Spd
Leech Seed | Stealth Rock | Gyro Ball | Power Whip
Ferrothorn is one part of my trio of field hazards setters. Stealth Rock's are fundamental on almost any team, capable of breaking sashes and just wearing down opponents. He finds no trouble finding time to set up rocks thanks to the abundance of Rotom-W's that are seen in the current metagame. Leech Seed was chosen just to force switches, since losing 12% at times can be a predicament for my opponent. Power Whip and Gyro Ball are just two solid STAB moves which have fair coverage together. A more specially orientated set was chosen to handle Rotom-W and Latios mainly, since Skarmory functions as a physical Dragon resist.
TENTACRUEL
Item:
Trait: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spd
Nature: Bold (+Def, -Atk)
Toxic Spikes | Rapid Spin | Protect | Scald
Tentacruel provides two pivotal roles for this team. The first and crucial aspect offered and inevitably the reason it is on the team is its ability to spin hazards off my side thanks to Rapid Spin. The second, whilst not as important, is beneficial if I find the opportunity to find time to throw some Toxic Spikes down. Scald is once again a STAB move for Tentacruel but at times it doesn't work well enough. Whilst I usually run Protect, sometimes I do run a coverage move (Ice Beam, Acid Spray) just to prevent anything from using it as set up fodder. Rain Dish really is the main reason as to why I chose Tentacruel over the likes of Starmie, as a physically defensive set was chosen to compliment Politoed who is working on the special spectrum.
SKARMORY
Item:
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Def / 4 Spd / 252 HP
Nature: Impish
Spikes | Roost | Brave Bird | Whirlwind
The final member of the important hazards core. Skarmory is quite possibly the best physical wall in the game. Capable of handling almost all physical threats, Skarmory is a great addition to this team. Spikes are really helpful in wearing down teams, giving me an easier time sweeping. Roost is a solid form of recovery and due to it Skarmory is able to run Shed Shell to stop hyper offense teams and Magnezone's from destroying my team. Brave Bird actually serves as a very good STAB move which can KO fighting type Pokemon before they sweep (Conkeldurr, Mienshao, Virizion sometimes even Volcarona). Whirlwind finally serves to phaze problematic sweepers and just racks up more residual damage, making life easier.
JIRACHI
Item:
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Nature: Timid (+Spd, -Atk)
Calm Mind | Substitute | Thunder | Water Pulse
End game sweeper that can really clutch sweep teams. This set, whilst being a viable set, functions as well as it does only thanks to Serene Grace. Moves like Thunder and Water Pulse that shouldn't be haxxing teams as often as it does not only makes my life easier, but also puts a lot of pressure on opponents. Thunder with an improved chance to paralyze and 100% accuracy in rain hits hard and stops sweeps cold. Water Pulse receives the rain boost and functions as a pseudo-parahax set. Not only is the hax annoying, but due to its typing and the help of rain, Jirachi is almost unstoppable. Substitute makes it even harder to stop, especially with the 101 Substitutes that fail to break from Seismic Toss, stopping burn or Leech Seed from cutting sweeps short prematurely. The amount of times I've been left with just Jirachi and swept or relied on a paralysis or confusion to regain momentum and finish a sweep is mind blowing. Hazards are a major plus for Jirachi, wearing down Pokemon and turning 2HKO's to OHKO's. All in all, Jirachi does what is required of it, better than any Pokemon I can imagine.
SWAMPERT
Item:
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SAtk)
Waterfall | Earthquake | Superpower | Ice Punch
Finally comes the Pokemon that I was really eager to test; Banded Swampert. It's something I've always thought about, but never really gotten around to trying before now. I'm sure were all aware of Swampert's great bulk, but what I was fascinated with was its very good attack stat (the ability to 2HKO physically defensive Skarmory under rain) and its great move pool. Apart from that its great typing also made it a great check to the popular play style that is Volt-Turning. However, the most rewarding thing is that Swampert can cleanly OHKO most weather inducing Pokemon, while the others are still clean 2HKO's.
Waterfall vs 252 HP/252 Def(+Def) : 58.57% - 69.29% (2 hits to KO)
Waterfall vs 252 HP/252 Def(+Def) : 87.14% - 102.86% (18.75% chance to OHKO) [Rain]
Waterfall vs 252 HP/252 Def(+Def) : 95.14% - 112.29% (68.75% chance to OHKO)
Earthquake vs 252 HP/252 Def(+Def) : 118.29% - 139.71% (Guaranteed OHKO)
Superpower vs 252 HP/252 Def(+Def) : 85.94% - 101.56% (12.5% chance to OHKO)
Superpower vs 252 HP/252 Def(+Def) : 128.71% - 151.49% (Guaranteed OHKO)
Superpower vs 252 HP/252 Def(+Def) : 64.36% - 75.74% (2 hits to KO) [Chople Berry]
Waterfall vs 252 HP/252 Def(+Def) : 63.86% - 75.74% (2 hits to KO)
Earthquake vs 252 HP/252 Def(+Def) : 80.2% - 95.05% (2 hits to KO)
The calculations speak for themselves and as I have said just about every single one of those spreads are unrealistic (with the exception of Hippowdon). Waterfall and Earthquake are two realiable STAB moves which punch holes in team, especially Waterfall in rain. Superpower is predominantly for weather inducers and Ice Punch rounds out the coverage, hitting Dragonite and the likes. Swampert's surprise factor really helps me nab a few free kills which aid immensely, especially in weather wars. More or less I'm going to switch Swampert in after something dies and just spam Waterfall. I guess my aim with Swampert is to bring some versatility to a rather generic era of Pokemon we're in right now, without using stupid shit.
The major threat to my team is
Politoed @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Protect
- Toxic
- Scald
- Perish Song
Swampert @ Choice Band
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Superpower
- Ice Punch
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SDef
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
Tentacruel @ Leftovers
Trait: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spd
Bold Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Protect
- Scald
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Thunder
- Water Pulse
Skarmory @ Shed Shell
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Def / 4 Spd / 252 HP
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Roost
- Brave Bird
- Whirlwind
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Protect
- Toxic
- Scald
- Perish Song
Swampert @ Choice Band
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Superpower
- Ice Punch
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SDef
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
Tentacruel @ Leftovers
Trait: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spd
Bold Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Protect
- Scald
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Thunder
- Water Pulse
Skarmory @ Shed Shell
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Def / 4 Spd / 252 HP
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Roost
- Brave Bird
- Whirlwind