Introduction
Hello Guys!
So this is my very first teambuild after a few weeks of trying this team out and messing around on the smogon ladder, but that's not to ask to go lightly on me! I embrace critisim so let me have it if im making any mistakes!
Now to the team. The goal here is a rain offense centered around an offensive core of kingdra, kabutops, and Mega Manectric. Ferrothorn and Klefki are for sponging hits and maintaining momentum, which seems to be very important in the limited weather meta. I hope I can sufficiently outline my gameplan and tactics in the following descrptions and that i find the right balance to make my team a winner!
Bringer of Rain
Politoed @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Encore
- Toxic
- Refresh
Mandatory rain setter. Scald over hydro pump for accuracy. Surf could also work here, but i chose scald because i have no will-o-wisp users. Encore is helpful for giving clean switches to my swift swimmers, and quickly deals with set up sweepers. Toxic is mainly for stall breaking, I like having the option to burn offensive pokemon and poison defensive pokemon. I am actually very open to changing the last moveslot; refresh keeps politoed alive in the late game, where even having 1 hp more can make a world of a difference with drizzle. Bold nature and physical investment makes as bulky as possible which is important to keep it alive, and damp rock for max rain is also a must.
Rain Offense Core
Kingdra @ Choice Specs
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 28 HP / 252 SpA / 228 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Draco Meteor
- Scald
- Ice Beam
My swift swim wallbreaker/sweeper. I really went for max power with this set, as Kingdra's underwhelming special attack really needs the choice specs boost, max spA investment, and max power STAB. 100% Disclaimer, I copied the smogon EV spread for this poke, but i understand that 228 speed is all i need to outspeed the unboosted metagame as well as common scarf users, so i put the rest into HP. Hydro Pump in the rain is Kingrda's most powerful move, and can be spammed late game once checks have been removed. Draco meteor is chosen over dragon pulse as the damage difference is imoprtant for wallbreaking troublsome checks like Rotom-W and Mega Venusaur, who avoid 1HKO and 2HKO respectively. Scald is for predicted switches that won't take enough from hydro pump or Draco Meteor, or for when i just need a 100% kill confirm. Ice beam is really just filler, it does hit grass types that can give my team issues but so does Draco meteor.
Kabutops @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Low Kick
- Rapid Spin
My other swift swim sweeper. Being a physical attacker compliments Kingdra, as they can each break threats that the other would struggle with. Life orb is chosen over a choice band as the kabutops has enough power in the rain and needs to stay versitie to cotinue a sweep. Max speed and attack investment with an adamant nature is a no brainer. Waterfall and Stone edge are the bread and butter, and are my go to attacks 90% of the time for the great neutral coverage, power, and stab. I was really wrestling between low kick and aqua jet, but settled on low kick for now as it prevents kabutops from being completely stopped by ferrothorn and gets the ohko on Bisharp. Rapid spin in this last slot is out of team necessity. He isn't the worst rapid spinner though, and no one on my team really needs the support, but the problematic sticky web and late game rocks can be cleaned up this way at least.
Manectric-Mega @ Manectite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunder
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Flamethrower
Customary rain team electric type. This was a hotly contested spot between manectric, the thundurus forms, and even heliolisk, but only mega-manctric had the combination of power, speed, and ability that i needed for this slot on my team. Lightingrod gives my team a much needed electric immunity and the boost in spA doesn't hurt either. Max special attacking and speed investment are to hit as hard and as fast as possible. Oddly, this is my slowest offensive pokemon when the rain is out, so a timid nature is chosen to increase that a little, as i heavily rely on being able to outspeed oponents. Thunder is to take advantage of the rain, Volt switch is to pass momentum along to another sweeper after securing a kill. Hidden power ice is to hit ground and dragon switch ins and gets the ohko on gliscor, landorus and garchomp, as well as the 2hko on the lati's. Flamethrower might seem odd in the rain, but it's enough to get by scizor and ferrothorn, who otherwise cause my team a lot of headaches.
Defense / Support core
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Protect
The standard ferrothorn, with a rocky helmet twist. Ferrothorn's job is to wear down and weaken opposing threats to my sweepers. I am open to suggestions here as my two defenders don't have the greatest synergy, but i needed a defensive pokemon and ferrothorn is one of the very best. Rocky helmet was chosen over leftovers as a ferrothorn switch can flat out kill weakened physical sweepers, but i use leftovers as well from time to time when i feel ferrothorn is dying too quickly. Gyro ball is nice as it gets the ohko on mega diancie and a 2hko on clefable.
Klefki @ Eject Button
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Recycle
Set screens, give clean switches, recycle (pun intended). First off, eject button is very useful for passing momentum to any of my offensive pokemon, as i can usually get up the appropriate screen, survive a hit, and then switch straight into a sweeper for free. Light clay gives me longer screens, but i lose the advantage of a clean switch and sometiems even the chance at a second screen before my sweeper comes in. Additionally, I can use Klefki's typing to sponge a hit and then switch to a sweeper. sequences like politoed --> mega mancetric volt switch--> Klefki eject button--> Kingdra/Kabutops can happen naturally and keep momentum on my side the entire match. thunder wave isn't hugely important with this team but it can come in hand on occasion, such as crippling mega diancie if she goes with rock polish. I might change this out for fairy lock. For the last moveslot i opted with recycle over an attacking move as the momentum grabbing eject button is key for this team. Spikes was also an option here, but its not as important with this team as i would be stalling out my own rain - not good. Max special defense EV's just to compliment the physical defense of ferrothorn.
Known Threats
Mega Venusaur
- Unless i catch him on a switch in before he mega evolves this is a tough pokemon for me to KO. Kingdra has the best shot at him with a 2hko with draco meteor, but everyone else really struggles. The immunity to toxic poison and leech seed doesn't help either.
Rotom-W
- This pokemon seems custom built to mess with rain teams. It's tough to wear down with pain split and will-o-wisp, and can volt switch out to keep momentum whenever it pleases. Manectric is the usual answer here but often can't get out of the matchup without being severely weakened or crippled with a burn.
Ferrothorn
- Ive mentioned him a couple times, and the standard ferrothorn is a tough cookie in the rain. Manectric can deal with him, but in the chance that manectric dies in battle before ferrothorn (which is not unlikely) I don't have a solid answer for it.
mega scizor
- another bulky steel type manectric theoretically handles but is problematic if he's gone.
Tenetecreul
- don't see much of him but the special defense paired with toxic spikes makes him incredibly annoying for all three of my sweepers.
Stall playstyles
etc...
defensive teams that can wait out the rain and can tank my offense give me serious problems. Ferrothorn is my only pokemon capable of stalling, and even then i haven't built him to be a stall pokemon. This may be a stylistic or tactical change i need to embrace however. Sticky web also blows up my rain strategy, so galvantula is another problem as well.
Conclusion:
There you have it! My team is very fast paced and momentum based. I rely a lot, maybe too much, on the rain and using the various typing abilities and traits of my pokemon to maintain momemntum and create advantages through switches. The team is not especially frail, but oftentimes i find the wrong switch or misprediction can leave one of my rain sweepers dead in the water (no pun intended). I don't really want to sacrifice my offensive trio, but if i can find the right support pokemon or changes i can really balance this team out!
ALSO! I don't just want to take from this community, i want to give back as well. Feel free to give me advice on how to rate other teams or other ways to get involved in the community. Thanks so much!
Hello Guys!
So this is my very first teambuild after a few weeks of trying this team out and messing around on the smogon ladder, but that's not to ask to go lightly on me! I embrace critisim so let me have it if im making any mistakes!
Now to the team. The goal here is a rain offense centered around an offensive core of kingdra, kabutops, and Mega Manectric. Ferrothorn and Klefki are for sponging hits and maintaining momentum, which seems to be very important in the limited weather meta. I hope I can sufficiently outline my gameplan and tactics in the following descrptions and that i find the right balance to make my team a winner!
Bringer of Rain
Politoed @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Encore
- Toxic
- Refresh
Mandatory rain setter. Scald over hydro pump for accuracy. Surf could also work here, but i chose scald because i have no will-o-wisp users. Encore is helpful for giving clean switches to my swift swimmers, and quickly deals with set up sweepers. Toxic is mainly for stall breaking, I like having the option to burn offensive pokemon and poison defensive pokemon. I am actually very open to changing the last moveslot; refresh keeps politoed alive in the late game, where even having 1 hp more can make a world of a difference with drizzle. Bold nature and physical investment makes as bulky as possible which is important to keep it alive, and damp rock for max rain is also a must.
Rain Offense Core
Kingdra @ Choice Specs
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 28 HP / 252 SpA / 228 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Draco Meteor
- Scald
- Ice Beam
My swift swim wallbreaker/sweeper. I really went for max power with this set, as Kingdra's underwhelming special attack really needs the choice specs boost, max spA investment, and max power STAB. 100% Disclaimer, I copied the smogon EV spread for this poke, but i understand that 228 speed is all i need to outspeed the unboosted metagame as well as common scarf users, so i put the rest into HP. Hydro Pump in the rain is Kingrda's most powerful move, and can be spammed late game once checks have been removed. Draco meteor is chosen over dragon pulse as the damage difference is imoprtant for wallbreaking troublsome checks like Rotom-W and Mega Venusaur, who avoid 1HKO and 2HKO respectively. Scald is for predicted switches that won't take enough from hydro pump or Draco Meteor, or for when i just need a 100% kill confirm. Ice beam is really just filler, it does hit grass types that can give my team issues but so does Draco meteor.
Kabutops @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Low Kick
- Rapid Spin
My other swift swim sweeper. Being a physical attacker compliments Kingdra, as they can each break threats that the other would struggle with. Life orb is chosen over a choice band as the kabutops has enough power in the rain and needs to stay versitie to cotinue a sweep. Max speed and attack investment with an adamant nature is a no brainer. Waterfall and Stone edge are the bread and butter, and are my go to attacks 90% of the time for the great neutral coverage, power, and stab. I was really wrestling between low kick and aqua jet, but settled on low kick for now as it prevents kabutops from being completely stopped by ferrothorn and gets the ohko on Bisharp. Rapid spin in this last slot is out of team necessity. He isn't the worst rapid spinner though, and no one on my team really needs the support, but the problematic sticky web and late game rocks can be cleaned up this way at least.
Manectric-Mega @ Manectite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunder
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Flamethrower
Customary rain team electric type. This was a hotly contested spot between manectric, the thundurus forms, and even heliolisk, but only mega-manctric had the combination of power, speed, and ability that i needed for this slot on my team. Lightingrod gives my team a much needed electric immunity and the boost in spA doesn't hurt either. Max special attacking and speed investment are to hit as hard and as fast as possible. Oddly, this is my slowest offensive pokemon when the rain is out, so a timid nature is chosen to increase that a little, as i heavily rely on being able to outspeed oponents. Thunder is to take advantage of the rain, Volt switch is to pass momentum along to another sweeper after securing a kill. Hidden power ice is to hit ground and dragon switch ins and gets the ohko on gliscor, landorus and garchomp, as well as the 2hko on the lati's. Flamethrower might seem odd in the rain, but it's enough to get by scizor and ferrothorn, who otherwise cause my team a lot of headaches.
Defense / Support core
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Protect
The standard ferrothorn, with a rocky helmet twist. Ferrothorn's job is to wear down and weaken opposing threats to my sweepers. I am open to suggestions here as my two defenders don't have the greatest synergy, but i needed a defensive pokemon and ferrothorn is one of the very best. Rocky helmet was chosen over leftovers as a ferrothorn switch can flat out kill weakened physical sweepers, but i use leftovers as well from time to time when i feel ferrothorn is dying too quickly. Gyro ball is nice as it gets the ohko on mega diancie and a 2hko on clefable.
Klefki @ Eject Button
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Recycle
Set screens, give clean switches, recycle (pun intended). First off, eject button is very useful for passing momentum to any of my offensive pokemon, as i can usually get up the appropriate screen, survive a hit, and then switch straight into a sweeper for free. Light clay gives me longer screens, but i lose the advantage of a clean switch and sometiems even the chance at a second screen before my sweeper comes in. Additionally, I can use Klefki's typing to sponge a hit and then switch to a sweeper. sequences like politoed --> mega mancetric volt switch--> Klefki eject button--> Kingdra/Kabutops can happen naturally and keep momentum on my side the entire match. thunder wave isn't hugely important with this team but it can come in hand on occasion, such as crippling mega diancie if she goes with rock polish. I might change this out for fairy lock. For the last moveslot i opted with recycle over an attacking move as the momentum grabbing eject button is key for this team. Spikes was also an option here, but its not as important with this team as i would be stalling out my own rain - not good. Max special defense EV's just to compliment the physical defense of ferrothorn.
Known Threats
Mega Venusaur
- Unless i catch him on a switch in before he mega evolves this is a tough pokemon for me to KO. Kingdra has the best shot at him with a 2hko with draco meteor, but everyone else really struggles. The immunity to toxic poison and leech seed doesn't help either.
Rotom-W
- This pokemon seems custom built to mess with rain teams. It's tough to wear down with pain split and will-o-wisp, and can volt switch out to keep momentum whenever it pleases. Manectric is the usual answer here but often can't get out of the matchup without being severely weakened or crippled with a burn.
Ferrothorn
- Ive mentioned him a couple times, and the standard ferrothorn is a tough cookie in the rain. Manectric can deal with him, but in the chance that manectric dies in battle before ferrothorn (which is not unlikely) I don't have a solid answer for it.
mega scizor
- another bulky steel type manectric theoretically handles but is problematic if he's gone.
Tenetecreul
- don't see much of him but the special defense paired with toxic spikes makes him incredibly annoying for all three of my sweepers.
Stall playstyles
defensive teams that can wait out the rain and can tank my offense give me serious problems. Ferrothorn is my only pokemon capable of stalling, and even then i haven't built him to be a stall pokemon. This may be a stylistic or tactical change i need to embrace however. Sticky web also blows up my rain strategy, so galvantula is another problem as well.
Conclusion:
There you have it! My team is very fast paced and momentum based. I rely a lot, maybe too much, on the rain and using the various typing abilities and traits of my pokemon to maintain momemntum and create advantages through switches. The team is not especially frail, but oftentimes i find the wrong switch or misprediction can leave one of my rain sweepers dead in the water (no pun intended). I don't really want to sacrifice my offensive trio, but if i can find the right support pokemon or changes i can really balance this team out!
ALSO! I don't just want to take from this community, i want to give back as well. Feel free to give me advice on how to rate other teams or other ways to get involved in the community. Thanks so much!
