Hey everyone. I've only just joined Smogon forums so that I could get some advice from the large amount of fantastic players on here. I've been trying for a little bit to improve at Battle Spot Singles since that is the game style that Game Freak supports and I thought I'd try a weather team (dual weather team in the end). My reasoning for this is that even though weather length has been nerfed in Generation 6 it doesn't matter so much when there are only three Pokemon to KO on each side. This has been my most successful team so far but it still has plenty of issues. And also I don't really use Legendaries (as lame as that sounds but I just prefer not to).
Team
Thorp (Swampert-Mega) @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
EVs: 108 HP / 252 Atk / 148 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Power-Up Punch
So, to begin my team I chose Mega Swampert. This was because originally my team was purely rain and Mega Swampert gets it all in rain because of Swift Swim; bulk, power and speed. Mega Swampert's purpose is to punch large holes or a lot of the time just outright OHKO the other team's Pokemon. Damp is the chosen prior ability as he might be able to switch in on a predicted Explosion but it's really just because it's better than Torrent. The EVs and Nature max out his attack and then the EVs put into speed allow Mega Swampert to out speed Mega Sceptile which would normally spell the end for him. The rest go into HP for improved bulk which comes in handy when facing down priority users. Waterfall hits so very hard in rain and with STAB and so is what I regularly click. Earthquake is also a very powerful STAB attack which has a lot of super-effective hits which Waterfall can't get. Ice Punch was a great gift for Swampert and allows him to get KOs on the 4x weakness of dragons that often carry a resistance to waterfall e.g. Mega Salamence. I was struggling sometimes to get the KO on some bulkier Pokemon and so I swapped out Superpower for Power-Up Punch. The Pokemon that sets up the rain I would love to have Memento so that Mega Swampert can use Power-Up Punch as they switch out or stay in doing not much damage. Memento also would mean Mega Swampert can get his speed boost without being absolutely demolished, as it takes one turn for Swift Swim to kick in.
Spill (Muk) @ Damp Rock
Ability: Sticky Hold
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Rain Dance
- Explosion
- Memento
Now, Muk may seem like a strange choice for setting up rain but hear me out. I needed a Pokemon to set up rain, give Mega Swampert an opportunity to set up with Power-Up Punch as well as scare away grass-types. It was quite specific and there he was, Muk, with surprising bulk, the right move pool, decent ability (which keeps rain always going for 8 turns) and fairly synergetic typing with my Mega Swampert. The EVs and nature on Muk are to give him more physical bulk to better survive the ever present Earthquakes (or any other hit). When using Mega Swampert, the idea is to lead with Muk to first set up rain and then Memento to lower the opponents attack and special attack by two stages and faint to let Mega Swampert in to set up and sweep. Gunk Shot is so that Muk has an option for the Grass types which scare Mega Swampert and so he is not completely shut down by taunt. And Muk's attack is actually pretty good for a tank so it actually hits hard. A problem I have encountered in testing this team was substitutes, as Memento doesn't work through them and it wastes a turn of rain. So I gave Muk Explosion to at least break a Substitute before he faints. Muk has worked better than other rain setters I've tried because of these many unique traits but if you can think of a Pokemon which does the same job but better then I'd appreciate hearing of it. One major problem on this side of the team has been Breloom's Spore so maybe some help with that would be great as well.
Nylo (Noivern) @ Life Orb
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Draco Meteor
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
To complete my rain team I wanted to use a Pokemon with naturally good speed, that was resistant to both water and grass and ideally one that could benefit from rain. I began investigating Pokemon that had stats to make good use of STAB Hurricane in rain, and apart from some legendaries, Noivern was the one with pretty much all the criteria I wanted just lacking maybe a bit of bulk. Special Dragonite was also an option but I thought better of it since he didn't have immediate speed at his disposal. Noivern also had a really good ability in Infiltrator which patches up a little bit of my prior Substitute issue and can be handy since Substitute is very popular in Battle Spot Singles. I was originally using a Choice Specs on Noivern but often found I was unhelpfully locked into Hurricane when a Rotom or Aegislash came out but I still wanted some power boost so I gave him a Life Orb. The EVs and chosen nature max out speed so as to helpfully be quicker than common threats like an un-boosted Mega Salamence (even with that oh so common Substitute) as well as Greninja. And the EVs in special attack are self explanatory seeing that all the moves are special. Hurricane is very synergetic with Mega Swampert's weakness to grass in that it decimates them. Noivern can swap into a grass-type move and resist it 4x and then retaliate with a STAB Hurricane. Draco Meteor hits for decently hard damage on things that just need to die. Focus Blast and Shadow Ball provide perfect coverage together. Shadow Ball is especially good for getting through Aeglislash Substitutes and Focus Blast hits Ferrothorn hard. There is a bit of an issue with Rotom-W with these three Pokemon so far but I can often power through it with an unburned Waterfall from Mega Swampert and a Focus Blast or Draco Meteor from Noivern. Still it's not easy.
See (Ninetales) @ Heat Rock
Ability: Drought
EVs: 244 HP / 252 SpD /12 Spe 12 Def
Calm Nature
- Fire Blast
- Will-O-Wisp
- Toxic
-Substitute Foul Play
Okay, so maybe now you're thinking, "What! I thought this was a rain team?" Well, when I play Battle Spot I often think about bringing certain Pokemon that make opponents want to bring their best counters to it. So, if you brought a Mega Kangaskhan, then the opponent would feel obliged to put their best counter to it because it is so powerful. I thought, if I made a obviously totally rain based team, then people would be very likely to bring Pokemon that do well in rain, such as Ferrothorn, Azumarill, Rotom-W, etc. I decided to make a separate, very obvious sun team to make opponents bring lots of fire types and leave their Grass-types at home. Now, don't get me wrong, the sun team is still completely useable in the right circumstances but I like to have the knowledge that the opponent will probably bring a sun team check. And that leads me to the iconic sun setter that is Ninetales and so she is the first Pokemon on my sun team half. She leads with the rare ability Drought to set up the sun mostly for her teammates but also to benefit herself. The Heat Rock provides sun for 8 turns rather than just 5. This was the main reason for not having Mega Charizard Y, as she cannot hold Heat Rock. The given EVs and nature are to make her bulky enough to survive lots of special hits which is what her stats I believe allow for. Fire Blast takes a good chunk out of lots of things with both STAB and a sun boost, even without special investment. Will-O-Wisp is for disabling Physical attackers to enable another teammate to set up with ease. Toxic is for the bulky Pokemon that are not really affected by Will-O-Wisp and Foul Play is damage Physical Pokemon setting up. This move is a bit up in the air for me but seems OK. Baby-Doll-Eyes is another interesting option for a priority growl. This set could use some more suggestions.
Coconut (Venusaur) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 160 HP / 252 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
- Solar Beam
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Growth
Here is the iconic sun sweeper that often combos well with Ninetales on regular sun teams. This pairing further scares away water types at team preview that would do well against the rain team. Black Sludge is to give Venusaur some passive recovery as a lot of people like to burn Venusaur and also because I really need Life Orb on my Noivern for damage. Chlorophyll is like Rain Dance in that it'll double Venusaur's speed to outpace the rest of the meta. The EVs and nature max out Venusaur's special attacking prowess, while the EVs in speed allow Venusaur to out speed Mega Alakazam which would normally end Venusaur's life. The leftover EVs go into HP for added bulk to survive switch-ins. Solar Beam is in my experience better than Giga Drain on Venusaur as it has a huge amount of STAB power and can KO foes often without a boost. Sludge Bomb is his secondary STAB move which provides a decent amount of power and has a chance to poison. Hidden Power Fire is made 50% more powerful in sun and is good for getting knock outs against Steel-types which resist both STABs. And Growth in sun is to massively boost Venusaur's special attack to allow for a sweep. Now, in game, I don't know whether I'll be able to get a Hidden Power Fire Venusaur and so I have been considering switching him out for Victreebel which instead has Weather Ball which would be more powerful but would miss out on some bulk. Another option is to go mixed with Venusaur and put in Earthquake but I think this might take away from his bulk which he often needs to survive switch-ins. I might need EV spread suggestions in that department.
Mittens (Rotom-Heat) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
-Pain Split Thunder
I needed on this sun half of the team something to especially deal with Talonflame which would also benefit from sun. Now, this is the choice which I am least sure about but I needed something to take care of Talonflame as well as just being resistant to fire and also having an immunity to ground. Rotom-Heat is also good because in sun he only has the one weakness to rock. But that is also my problem, in that I get swept by Stone Edge on this sun team. Leftovers provides passive recovery, as his role is to tank up hits and then retaliate. The EVs and chosen nature reflect this and will help him absorb more physical hits. Overheat is Rotom-Heat's only Fire-type attacking move and hits very hard in sun and with STAB. Volt Switch gives me a bit of momentum. For times when I use Rotom-H in rain I use Thunder which can get Talonflame better than Volt Switch because Roost will not out heal it. Will-O-Wisp is to disable physical attackers. I have also considered using a Rock-type Pokemon instead of Rotom-Heat but their weakness to Ground is annoying. I also thought of a Dragon-type with that helpful resistance to fire but then I have a lot of ice weaknesses which can be capitalised upon by Ice Shard. I need the most help with this Pokemon slot and suggestions would be much appreciated.
Overview
So, my overall team strategy is to look at the opponents team preview and decide whether to bring rain or sun according to the Pokemon they bring. The team is made purposely to look like a predominately sun based team with the iconic Ninetales and Venusaur duo. This is something like how it'll look in team preview to subconsciously make the opponent prepare for sun:
Well, thanks for reading and I hope you liked my dual weather team. I am pretty new to Battle Spot Singles and so I would really appreciate all the suggestions you can give. I'm sorry if I've missed something or haven't put in enough detail on my sets as I have only just joined Smogon Forums. Thanks :D
Team
Thorp (Swampert-Mega) @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
EVs: 108 HP / 252 Atk / 148 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Power-Up Punch
So, to begin my team I chose Mega Swampert. This was because originally my team was purely rain and Mega Swampert gets it all in rain because of Swift Swim; bulk, power and speed. Mega Swampert's purpose is to punch large holes or a lot of the time just outright OHKO the other team's Pokemon. Damp is the chosen prior ability as he might be able to switch in on a predicted Explosion but it's really just because it's better than Torrent. The EVs and Nature max out his attack and then the EVs put into speed allow Mega Swampert to out speed Mega Sceptile which would normally spell the end for him. The rest go into HP for improved bulk which comes in handy when facing down priority users. Waterfall hits so very hard in rain and with STAB and so is what I regularly click. Earthquake is also a very powerful STAB attack which has a lot of super-effective hits which Waterfall can't get. Ice Punch was a great gift for Swampert and allows him to get KOs on the 4x weakness of dragons that often carry a resistance to waterfall e.g. Mega Salamence. I was struggling sometimes to get the KO on some bulkier Pokemon and so I swapped out Superpower for Power-Up Punch. The Pokemon that sets up the rain I would love to have Memento so that Mega Swampert can use Power-Up Punch as they switch out or stay in doing not much damage. Memento also would mean Mega Swampert can get his speed boost without being absolutely demolished, as it takes one turn for Swift Swim to kick in.
Spill (Muk) @ Damp Rock
Ability: Sticky Hold
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Rain Dance
- Explosion
- Memento
Now, Muk may seem like a strange choice for setting up rain but hear me out. I needed a Pokemon to set up rain, give Mega Swampert an opportunity to set up with Power-Up Punch as well as scare away grass-types. It was quite specific and there he was, Muk, with surprising bulk, the right move pool, decent ability (which keeps rain always going for 8 turns) and fairly synergetic typing with my Mega Swampert. The EVs and nature on Muk are to give him more physical bulk to better survive the ever present Earthquakes (or any other hit). When using Mega Swampert, the idea is to lead with Muk to first set up rain and then Memento to lower the opponents attack and special attack by two stages and faint to let Mega Swampert in to set up and sweep. Gunk Shot is so that Muk has an option for the Grass types which scare Mega Swampert and so he is not completely shut down by taunt. And Muk's attack is actually pretty good for a tank so it actually hits hard. A problem I have encountered in testing this team was substitutes, as Memento doesn't work through them and it wastes a turn of rain. So I gave Muk Explosion to at least break a Substitute before he faints. Muk has worked better than other rain setters I've tried because of these many unique traits but if you can think of a Pokemon which does the same job but better then I'd appreciate hearing of it. One major problem on this side of the team has been Breloom's Spore so maybe some help with that would be great as well.
Nylo (Noivern) @ Life Orb
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Draco Meteor
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
To complete my rain team I wanted to use a Pokemon with naturally good speed, that was resistant to both water and grass and ideally one that could benefit from rain. I began investigating Pokemon that had stats to make good use of STAB Hurricane in rain, and apart from some legendaries, Noivern was the one with pretty much all the criteria I wanted just lacking maybe a bit of bulk. Special Dragonite was also an option but I thought better of it since he didn't have immediate speed at his disposal. Noivern also had a really good ability in Infiltrator which patches up a little bit of my prior Substitute issue and can be handy since Substitute is very popular in Battle Spot Singles. I was originally using a Choice Specs on Noivern but often found I was unhelpfully locked into Hurricane when a Rotom or Aegislash came out but I still wanted some power boost so I gave him a Life Orb. The EVs and chosen nature max out speed so as to helpfully be quicker than common threats like an un-boosted Mega Salamence (even with that oh so common Substitute) as well as Greninja. And the EVs in special attack are self explanatory seeing that all the moves are special. Hurricane is very synergetic with Mega Swampert's weakness to grass in that it decimates them. Noivern can swap into a grass-type move and resist it 4x and then retaliate with a STAB Hurricane. Draco Meteor hits for decently hard damage on things that just need to die. Focus Blast and Shadow Ball provide perfect coverage together. Shadow Ball is especially good for getting through Aeglislash Substitutes and Focus Blast hits Ferrothorn hard. There is a bit of an issue with Rotom-W with these three Pokemon so far but I can often power through it with an unburned Waterfall from Mega Swampert and a Focus Blast or Draco Meteor from Noivern. Still it's not easy.
See (Ninetales) @ Heat Rock
Ability: Drought
EVs: 244 HP / 252 SpD /
Calm Nature
- Fire Blast
- Will-O-Wisp
- Toxic
-
Okay, so maybe now you're thinking, "What! I thought this was a rain team?" Well, when I play Battle Spot I often think about bringing certain Pokemon that make opponents want to bring their best counters to it. So, if you brought a Mega Kangaskhan, then the opponent would feel obliged to put their best counter to it because it is so powerful. I thought, if I made a obviously totally rain based team, then people would be very likely to bring Pokemon that do well in rain, such as Ferrothorn, Azumarill, Rotom-W, etc. I decided to make a separate, very obvious sun team to make opponents bring lots of fire types and leave their Grass-types at home. Now, don't get me wrong, the sun team is still completely useable in the right circumstances but I like to have the knowledge that the opponent will probably bring a sun team check. And that leads me to the iconic sun setter that is Ninetales and so she is the first Pokemon on my sun team half. She leads with the rare ability Drought to set up the sun mostly for her teammates but also to benefit herself. The Heat Rock provides sun for 8 turns rather than just 5. This was the main reason for not having Mega Charizard Y, as she cannot hold Heat Rock. The given EVs and nature are to make her bulky enough to survive lots of special hits which is what her stats I believe allow for. Fire Blast takes a good chunk out of lots of things with both STAB and a sun boost, even without special investment. Will-O-Wisp is for disabling Physical attackers to enable another teammate to set up with ease. Toxic is for the bulky Pokemon that are not really affected by Will-O-Wisp and Foul Play is damage Physical Pokemon setting up. This move is a bit up in the air for me but seems OK. Baby-Doll-Eyes is another interesting option for a priority growl. This set could use some more suggestions.
Coconut (Venusaur) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 160 HP / 252 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
- Solar Beam
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Growth
Here is the iconic sun sweeper that often combos well with Ninetales on regular sun teams. This pairing further scares away water types at team preview that would do well against the rain team. Black Sludge is to give Venusaur some passive recovery as a lot of people like to burn Venusaur and also because I really need Life Orb on my Noivern for damage. Chlorophyll is like Rain Dance in that it'll double Venusaur's speed to outpace the rest of the meta. The EVs and nature max out Venusaur's special attacking prowess, while the EVs in speed allow Venusaur to out speed Mega Alakazam which would normally end Venusaur's life. The leftover EVs go into HP for added bulk to survive switch-ins. Solar Beam is in my experience better than Giga Drain on Venusaur as it has a huge amount of STAB power and can KO foes often without a boost. Sludge Bomb is his secondary STAB move which provides a decent amount of power and has a chance to poison. Hidden Power Fire is made 50% more powerful in sun and is good for getting knock outs against Steel-types which resist both STABs. And Growth in sun is to massively boost Venusaur's special attack to allow for a sweep. Now, in game, I don't know whether I'll be able to get a Hidden Power Fire Venusaur and so I have been considering switching him out for Victreebel which instead has Weather Ball which would be more powerful but would miss out on some bulk. Another option is to go mixed with Venusaur and put in Earthquake but I think this might take away from his bulk which he often needs to survive switch-ins. I might need EV spread suggestions in that department.
Mittens (Rotom-Heat) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
-
I needed on this sun half of the team something to especially deal with Talonflame which would also benefit from sun. Now, this is the choice which I am least sure about but I needed something to take care of Talonflame as well as just being resistant to fire and also having an immunity to ground. Rotom-Heat is also good because in sun he only has the one weakness to rock. But that is also my problem, in that I get swept by Stone Edge on this sun team. Leftovers provides passive recovery, as his role is to tank up hits and then retaliate. The EVs and chosen nature reflect this and will help him absorb more physical hits. Overheat is Rotom-Heat's only Fire-type attacking move and hits very hard in sun and with STAB. Volt Switch gives me a bit of momentum. For times when I use Rotom-H in rain I use Thunder which can get Talonflame better than Volt Switch because Roost will not out heal it. Will-O-Wisp is to disable physical attackers. I have also considered using a Rock-type Pokemon instead of Rotom-Heat but their weakness to Ground is annoying. I also thought of a Dragon-type with that helpful resistance to fire but then I have a lot of ice weaknesses which can be capitalised upon by Ice Shard. I need the most help with this Pokemon slot and suggestions would be much appreciated.
Overview
So, my overall team strategy is to look at the opponents team preview and decide whether to bring rain or sun according to the Pokemon they bring. The team is made purposely to look like a predominately sun based team with the iconic Ninetales and Venusaur duo. This is something like how it'll look in team preview to subconsciously make the opponent prepare for sun:
Well, thanks for reading and I hope you liked my dual weather team. I am pretty new to Battle Spot Singles and so I would really appreciate all the suggestions you can give. I'm sorry if I've missed something or haven't put in enough detail on my sets as I have only just joined Smogon Forums. Thanks :D
Attachments
Last edited:
