Hey all, I hope you're all doing well today! Today, I really want to talk about an archetype that's been rising in usage lately, and something that I've had a lot of fun experimenting with: Rain.
For those unaware, Weather Offense is a form of Hyper Offense that operates in a very unique way, utilizing weather setters to abuse Pokemon with weather-based abilities, such as Chlorophyll/Swift Swim, STABs boosted by weathers, etc.. However, it is an extremely inconsistent playstyle, primarily because it is extremely momentum focused (as per any HO playstyle), and because weathers need to be reset after a period of time, which forces a loss of momentum, and god forbid you go against another weather setter.
Though, I think with the ban of Kyurem-Black and Zygarde, Rain is looking extremely fearsome again for two reasons: the additional, synergistic options, and its optimized matchups. I want to break down each facet of rain, and explore why I think it's starting to become a much more considerable candidate for offensive archetypes in the tier.
Setters
As far as setting goes, Rain has had it pretty good compared to other setters. Pelipper is an incredible facilitator thanks to its awesome access to U-Turn, longevity in Roost, its defensive typing, and its set options. Thanks to having slow U-Turns, it's safely able to get in powerful weather abusers with relative ease, which is further accented thanks to its defensive typing and longevity. Its resistance to Fighting-type moves makes its Pheromosa matchup decent, and an outright immunity to Ground-type moves make it a pretty simple Pokemon to switch-in in many matchups, and as such it is very readily capable of resetting weather.
Politoed isn't anywhere near as good as Pelipper, but it performs decently as a backup setter. Its main niche over Pelipper is its neutrality to Rock-type moves and a resistance to Ice-type moves, letting it more readily combat opposing weather, alongside access to support moves like Encore. It's niche, but it has some merit.
What changed for the setters? The removal of Kyurem-Black, primarily, is notable. Thanks to losing a major threat that could readily press Fusion Bolt and Icicle Spear, Pelipper finds switch-ins considerably easier, and it finds even more opportunities to provide momentum for weather abusers that otherwise struggle to find switch-in opportunities. Kyurem-Black being a premier wallbreaker makes this a prominent buff for Rain teams that depend on being able to reset weather throughout the course of the game.
Abusers
Thanks to the introduction of a shiny new Zapdos with Hurricane and Weather Ball to Rain cores as well as the return of Tornadus-T, the synergy between Rain abusers is the best it's been throughout the entirety of the generation. Zapdos and Tornadus-T are able to lay out incredible pressure to Grass-types and walls like Corviknight that are willing to take on the onslaught of other abusers, and can provide momentum as well to provide ready switch-ins for wallbreakers. Zapdos, specifically, is an incredible addition for its access to STAB Thunder and Hurricane on top of boasting Weather Ball and a great defensive typing for Rain teams to exploit. Tornadus-T boasts a great speed tier and nuclear STAB Hurricanes that many Pokemon struggle to switch into, as well as having access to U-Turn to get in another weather abuser against AV Melmetal and Corviknight. Both can also provide Defog support if necessary.
It also greatly helps that Tangrowth and Amoonguss are fairly overwhelmed in the current metagame. Although they are both smoked by the new, welcome additions to Rain cores, their decrease in usage provides Urshifu-Rapid-Strike and Barraskewda with a much easier time spamming their Water-type STABs that otherwise could be punished by them. Additionally, the advent of Flip Turn for Barraskewda and U-Turn on Urshifu synergizes immaculately with Zapdos and Tornadus-T for those matchup demons readily able to switch into their Water-type STABs. The fact that most Rain abusers are able to gain momentum on possible switchins cannot be understated; it is a godsend.
The elimination of Kyurem-Black and Zygarde are especially monumental for the abusers. Zygarde's neutrality to Water-type moves and its natural bulk allowed for it to spread Glares with extreme freedom, crippling abusers. The one Glare switch-in, Zapdos, is decently checked by Zygarde due to its access to Thousand Arrows and Substitute. Kyurem-Black, as stated, was extremely hard for Rain cores to battle against due to its resistance to Water-type STABs, and the sheer difficulty of switching into its nuclear BoltBeam. In fact, Kingdra was the only abuser on Rain that was able to immediately threaten Zygarde and Kyurem-Black due to its access to Draco Meteor. The implications of these removals are incredibly obvious, as they were some of the more consistent, splashable ways of checking Rain offense. Kingdra appreciates having the pressure of this role lifted from it, especially since Draco Meteor is an exploitable move.
While I'm on the subject, I find Seismitoad to be an underrated threat on Rain currently. As an abuser, its immunity to Electric-type moves is monumental, and it is a great Stealth Rock setter that eases up pressure on Ferrothorn to set hazards, and reduces the momentum loss that comes with switching it in. Its STABs are also very helpful against Melmetal, alongside Sludge Wave to hit Clefable and Tapu Fini harder. I highly suggest giving it a try if you haven't already.
Glues
As far as glues are concerned, they are benefited, but not as much as with the setters and abusers.
Ferrothorn is a mainstay staple on nearly every Rain core thanks to how well it synergizes with Pelipper, however, having pressure eased off of it from having to simultaneously check Zygarde and Kyurem-Black lets it switch in more readily to Rain checks like Rillaboom. Ferrothorn provides a lot of neat utility as well, with access to options such as Leech Seed, Knock Off, and Stealth Rock/Spikes to ease switch-ins and provide long term pressure.
Blissey is a good check to base Kyurem that is able to invite in Fighting-type Pokemon, and gain momentum on them with Teleport. I find Blissey to be pretty cool on Rain currently for this reason, and I think it can definitely perform pretty nicely if you want a bit of Special Defense backbone to your core. Obviously, it likes both Kyurem-Black and Zygarde being gone, as the former tore through it, and the latter used it as setup fodder for Substitute and/or for a boosting opportunity.
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All in all, I find rain to be an extremely potent form of offense right now, especially with the elimination of Zygarde and Kyurem-Black. It is a genuinely valid archetype right now, and something that you absolutely should keep an eye out for in the builder.
Thanks for reading!
For those unaware, Weather Offense is a form of Hyper Offense that operates in a very unique way, utilizing weather setters to abuse Pokemon with weather-based abilities, such as Chlorophyll/Swift Swim, STABs boosted by weathers, etc.. However, it is an extremely inconsistent playstyle, primarily because it is extremely momentum focused (as per any HO playstyle), and because weathers need to be reset after a period of time, which forces a loss of momentum, and god forbid you go against another weather setter.
Though, I think with the ban of Kyurem-Black and Zygarde, Rain is looking extremely fearsome again for two reasons: the additional, synergistic options, and its optimized matchups. I want to break down each facet of rain, and explore why I think it's starting to become a much more considerable candidate for offensive archetypes in the tier.
Setters
As far as setting goes, Rain has had it pretty good compared to other setters. Pelipper is an incredible facilitator thanks to its awesome access to U-Turn, longevity in Roost, its defensive typing, and its set options. Thanks to having slow U-Turns, it's safely able to get in powerful weather abusers with relative ease, which is further accented thanks to its defensive typing and longevity. Its resistance to Fighting-type moves makes its Pheromosa matchup decent, and an outright immunity to Ground-type moves make it a pretty simple Pokemon to switch-in in many matchups, and as such it is very readily capable of resetting weather.
Politoed isn't anywhere near as good as Pelipper, but it performs decently as a backup setter. Its main niche over Pelipper is its neutrality to Rock-type moves and a resistance to Ice-type moves, letting it more readily combat opposing weather, alongside access to support moves like Encore. It's niche, but it has some merit.
What changed for the setters? The removal of Kyurem-Black, primarily, is notable. Thanks to losing a major threat that could readily press Fusion Bolt and Icicle Spear, Pelipper finds switch-ins considerably easier, and it finds even more opportunities to provide momentum for weather abusers that otherwise struggle to find switch-in opportunities. Kyurem-Black being a premier wallbreaker makes this a prominent buff for Rain teams that depend on being able to reset weather throughout the course of the game.
Abusers
Thanks to the introduction of a shiny new Zapdos with Hurricane and Weather Ball to Rain cores as well as the return of Tornadus-T, the synergy between Rain abusers is the best it's been throughout the entirety of the generation. Zapdos and Tornadus-T are able to lay out incredible pressure to Grass-types and walls like Corviknight that are willing to take on the onslaught of other abusers, and can provide momentum as well to provide ready switch-ins for wallbreakers. Zapdos, specifically, is an incredible addition for its access to STAB Thunder and Hurricane on top of boasting Weather Ball and a great defensive typing for Rain teams to exploit. Tornadus-T boasts a great speed tier and nuclear STAB Hurricanes that many Pokemon struggle to switch into, as well as having access to U-Turn to get in another weather abuser against AV Melmetal and Corviknight. Both can also provide Defog support if necessary.
It also greatly helps that Tangrowth and Amoonguss are fairly overwhelmed in the current metagame. Although they are both smoked by the new, welcome additions to Rain cores, their decrease in usage provides Urshifu-Rapid-Strike and Barraskewda with a much easier time spamming their Water-type STABs that otherwise could be punished by them. Additionally, the advent of Flip Turn for Barraskewda and U-Turn on Urshifu synergizes immaculately with Zapdos and Tornadus-T for those matchup demons readily able to switch into their Water-type STABs. The fact that most Rain abusers are able to gain momentum on possible switchins cannot be understated; it is a godsend.
The elimination of Kyurem-Black and Zygarde are especially monumental for the abusers. Zygarde's neutrality to Water-type moves and its natural bulk allowed for it to spread Glares with extreme freedom, crippling abusers. The one Glare switch-in, Zapdos, is decently checked by Zygarde due to its access to Thousand Arrows and Substitute. Kyurem-Black, as stated, was extremely hard for Rain cores to battle against due to its resistance to Water-type STABs, and the sheer difficulty of switching into its nuclear BoltBeam. In fact, Kingdra was the only abuser on Rain that was able to immediately threaten Zygarde and Kyurem-Black due to its access to Draco Meteor. The implications of these removals are incredibly obvious, as they were some of the more consistent, splashable ways of checking Rain offense. Kingdra appreciates having the pressure of this role lifted from it, especially since Draco Meteor is an exploitable move.
While I'm on the subject, I find Seismitoad to be an underrated threat on Rain currently. As an abuser, its immunity to Electric-type moves is monumental, and it is a great Stealth Rock setter that eases up pressure on Ferrothorn to set hazards, and reduces the momentum loss that comes with switching it in. Its STABs are also very helpful against Melmetal, alongside Sludge Wave to hit Clefable and Tapu Fini harder. I highly suggest giving it a try if you haven't already.
Glues
As far as glues are concerned, they are benefited, but not as much as with the setters and abusers.
Ferrothorn is a mainstay staple on nearly every Rain core thanks to how well it synergizes with Pelipper, however, having pressure eased off of it from having to simultaneously check Zygarde and Kyurem-Black lets it switch in more readily to Rain checks like Rillaboom. Ferrothorn provides a lot of neat utility as well, with access to options such as Leech Seed, Knock Off, and Stealth Rock/Spikes to ease switch-ins and provide long term pressure.
Blissey is a good check to base Kyurem that is able to invite in Fighting-type Pokemon, and gain momentum on them with Teleport. I find Blissey to be pretty cool on Rain currently for this reason, and I think it can definitely perform pretty nicely if you want a bit of Special Defense backbone to your core. Obviously, it likes both Kyurem-Black and Zygarde being gone, as the former tore through it, and the latter used it as setup fodder for Substitute and/or for a boosting opportunity.
---
All in all, I find rain to be an extremely potent form of offense right now, especially with the elimination of Zygarde and Kyurem-Black. It is a genuinely valid archetype right now, and something that you absolutely should keep an eye out for in the builder.
Thanks for reading!
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