Triple Serpent Rain Water
Thought Process
This team was the result of a sleep deprived train of thoughts that somehow led to a friend of mine thinking up a scarf competitive Milotic set to instantly beat teams with intimidate users. We started the team around Milotic, and were going to continue building a normal team around it when I pitched in my own stupid idea to run Primarina because they both have tails and I thought that was nice. The initial idea was to build a balanced team with bulky mons such as Sap Sipper Azumarill and Lanturn to deal with weak matchups to help enable these mons, but the team was too slow and could be destroyed by brute force. Both my friend and I had built different versions of the team, where he ran a more offensive team utilizing Gyarados, and I took this idea and remolded my team. Using the double rain setters that I have always been fond of, as well as a Mega Swampert set with some special tech, I clumsily stumbled across what is now my favorite offensive team to ladder with. However, I think that this team has more potential, and I think that it could be better, so any and all feedback is welcome.
Also I don't care if Primarina is technically a seal, it looks like a serpent and I want to be able to call this team triple serpent, so for the sake of naming this team, Primarina is a serpent. If you say otherwise, I will start sniping you on ladder and put you into the dirt.
The Sets
Milotic @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Competitive
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Electric]
This mon was the set that initially got the team rolling. The idea was to have something that could punish the opponent for choosing Intimidate in the teambuilder as well as something that could punish Sticky Webs moderately well. Unfortunately, neither of these things are extremely common. Sticky Webs is mostly found on bug, and there are not a ton of Intimidate users, especially in the more difficult matchups. This set still acts as a decent scarf mon, as Surf under rain deals a significant amount of damage regardless of Milotic's somewhat mediocre special attack stat. Ice Beam helps to win the dragon matchup, and HP Electric can deal massive damage to a Mantine on the switchin, and is just good coverage in general. Dragon Pulse is the one move that doesn't really have an impact on this move pool, as Ice Beam covers dragon types. However, Milotic does not have that many useful attacking moves, and unless I wanted to run Hyper Beam to lose an important tempo, Dragon Pulse seemed to be the best option.
Primarina @ Choice Specs
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Moonblast
- Surf
- Psychic
If anybody remembers my Crawdaunt rain team that I posted months ago, this set serves pretty much the same purpose. Primarina has a monstrous special attack stat that can wall break very effectively. It isn't very easy to get this mon in sometimes without accidentally losing it due to its less than stellar speed, but it wins almost every 1v1 with slower walls barring Chansey. Through proper prediction and play, Primarina can be used to force your opponent to pick something to throw away. HP Fire was a necessity on this mon, as the rest of the team does not have a great answer to Ferrothorn. Moonblast and Surf function as two strong stab moves that do most of the wall breaking against neutral matchups. Finally, Psychic was added to damage Mega Venusaur, which Primarina generally outspeeds since Venusaur usually has defensive investments. Even if Psychic doesn't get the KO, it can put Venusaur in a situation where it cannot wall the rest of your threats, such as Swampert.
Pelipper @ Leftovers
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- U-turn
- Hurricane
- Defog
- Roost
As much as I would love to run a scarf or specs Pelipper in this slot, that would be a little too heat and would leave the team too frail, even for me. Defensive Pelipper functions as a decent pivot as well as hazard removal for the team. Running a defensive set with Roost allows this mon to set rain more times than any offensive set it could run. There isn't much else to talk about in this slot, since it's the standard Pelipper set, except the choice to run Hurricane over Hydro Pump. It's not an uncommon move to run, but it helps immensely with OHKOing Bulu, which is a huge threat, and with weakning Venusaur, which, as always, helps water out a lot.
Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
EVs: 228 Atk / 28 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Sludge Wave
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
Yes, this Swampert has special attack investments and is not -spatk nature. No, I wasn't high when I built this, only sleep deprived. This Swampert is mostly just the standard double stab rain sweeper with the ability to set up rocks after forcing something out, but it also runs Sludge Wave. This, along with its special attack investments, allows it to OHKO Scarf Bulu 100% of the time.
28 SpA Swampert-Mega Sludge Wave vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Tapu Bulu: 284-336 (100.7 - 119.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
As I mentioned in the Pelipper section, Tapu Bulu is a major threat. The scarf variant can seriously dent the team with Horn Leech or Wood Hammer, even OHKOing the cast. Not only does this hurt when facing a grass team, it also seriously hinders the team's ability to beat mono-fairy. Once Bulu was out of the way, I knew that the fairy matchup would become extremely easy, especially with Swampert to power through the rest of the team, so I decided to sacrifice a little bit of Swampert's massive attack stat to confirm a KO on Bulu. Otherwise, the set is fairly standard, with the two reliable, powerful stab moves in Waterfall and Earthquake that can steamroll many teams.
Politoed @ Eject Button
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Encore
- Toxic
Since I started to go inactive a couple of months ago, Politoed seems to have gained a bit of usage on ladder, so most people probably know what it does at this point. Nonetheless, I feel like it is important to note what it does on the team, so I'm going to copy paste what I wrote in my Crawdaunt rain RMT from a few months ago.
"One of the reasons why Politoed is often overlooked in favor of Pelipper is because of its lack of a pivot move. While Pelipper can easily U-turn, you have to switch into something else and let it get hit for Politoed to work. That's where the Eject Button comes in. With this set, you can switch into an attack and set rain, then immediately switch back into one of the Swift Swim attackers without losing a tempo. Then, you can later sacrifice Politoed by switching it in again and setting rain, essentially doing the same thing over again.This is best exemplified by the interaction that Politoed has with Kommo-o. Politoed can live the Kommo-o Z-Move and eject into Kingdra, which can outspeed and OHKO Kommo-o in return, all while setting rain for another 4 turns (5 minus the one turn that passed when you switched it in). Otherwise, the set is pretty standard. Encore can lock an opponent into a move that they do not want to be spamming, such as Dragon Dance, and Scald can fish for burns and otherwise be a decent stab move under rain. Ice Beam is coverage for the Dragon matchup, and Toxic can chip away at certain threats over time."
Gyarados @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Bounce
- Substitute
So Intimidate Z-move Gyarados definitely looks a little weird. Why would you give up on the snowball effect of Moxie on a Gyarados set? While the Moxie set would probably be effective as well, I figured that this team didn't really need any more attacking power. In fact, I thought it would be reasonable to sacrifice that offensive power to make the team a little bulkier again. I have used Gyarados many times to come in on something that just set up and to nuke it with a Z-move in return. This set also further doubles down on the Tapu Bulu weakness by intimidating the Bulu to live a Wood Hammer and Z-move it into next year. Waterfall serves as a non-Bounce attack that Gyarados can click in the meantime, and Dragon Dance serves as a set up option against teams that allow it. Substitute assists in setting up against teams that are not prepared to deal with it, or that are weakened to the point where Gyarados can sweep the rest of the team.
Conclusion
I don't know how this team functions. Looking at it at first glance, it looks like a low ladder, weak team that shouldn't work. And that might be because this team really might not be that good. Scarf Milotic might just not be fit for the meta. However, between surprise factor and some hard reads that I enjoy making, this team actually performs fairly well for me. I am, of course, interested in actually making a decent, legitimate team that could perform much better without sacrificing all of the creative sets, so I would really appreciate all input. The replays below show how the team plays when everything works out, so I hope you enjoy those.
Thought Process
This team was the result of a sleep deprived train of thoughts that somehow led to a friend of mine thinking up a scarf competitive Milotic set to instantly beat teams with intimidate users. We started the team around Milotic, and were going to continue building a normal team around it when I pitched in my own stupid idea to run Primarina because they both have tails and I thought that was nice. The initial idea was to build a balanced team with bulky mons such as Sap Sipper Azumarill and Lanturn to deal with weak matchups to help enable these mons, but the team was too slow and could be destroyed by brute force. Both my friend and I had built different versions of the team, where he ran a more offensive team utilizing Gyarados, and I took this idea and remolded my team. Using the double rain setters that I have always been fond of, as well as a Mega Swampert set with some special tech, I clumsily stumbled across what is now my favorite offensive team to ladder with. However, I think that this team has more potential, and I think that it could be better, so any and all feedback is welcome.
The Sets
Milotic @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Competitive
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Electric]
This mon was the set that initially got the team rolling. The idea was to have something that could punish the opponent for choosing Intimidate in the teambuilder as well as something that could punish Sticky Webs moderately well. Unfortunately, neither of these things are extremely common. Sticky Webs is mostly found on bug, and there are not a ton of Intimidate users, especially in the more difficult matchups. This set still acts as a decent scarf mon, as Surf under rain deals a significant amount of damage regardless of Milotic's somewhat mediocre special attack stat. Ice Beam helps to win the dragon matchup, and HP Electric can deal massive damage to a Mantine on the switchin, and is just good coverage in general. Dragon Pulse is the one move that doesn't really have an impact on this move pool, as Ice Beam covers dragon types. However, Milotic does not have that many useful attacking moves, and unless I wanted to run Hyper Beam to lose an important tempo, Dragon Pulse seemed to be the best option.
Primarina @ Choice Specs
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Moonblast
- Surf
- Psychic
If anybody remembers my Crawdaunt rain team that I posted months ago, this set serves pretty much the same purpose. Primarina has a monstrous special attack stat that can wall break very effectively. It isn't very easy to get this mon in sometimes without accidentally losing it due to its less than stellar speed, but it wins almost every 1v1 with slower walls barring Chansey. Through proper prediction and play, Primarina can be used to force your opponent to pick something to throw away. HP Fire was a necessity on this mon, as the rest of the team does not have a great answer to Ferrothorn. Moonblast and Surf function as two strong stab moves that do most of the wall breaking against neutral matchups. Finally, Psychic was added to damage Mega Venusaur, which Primarina generally outspeeds since Venusaur usually has defensive investments. Even if Psychic doesn't get the KO, it can put Venusaur in a situation where it cannot wall the rest of your threats, such as Swampert.
Pelipper @ Leftovers
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- U-turn
- Hurricane
- Defog
- Roost
As much as I would love to run a scarf or specs Pelipper in this slot, that would be a little too heat and would leave the team too frail, even for me. Defensive Pelipper functions as a decent pivot as well as hazard removal for the team. Running a defensive set with Roost allows this mon to set rain more times than any offensive set it could run. There isn't much else to talk about in this slot, since it's the standard Pelipper set, except the choice to run Hurricane over Hydro Pump. It's not an uncommon move to run, but it helps immensely with OHKOing Bulu, which is a huge threat, and with weakning Venusaur, which, as always, helps water out a lot.
Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
EVs: 228 Atk / 28 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Sludge Wave
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
Yes, this Swampert has special attack investments and is not -spatk nature. No, I wasn't high when I built this, only sleep deprived. This Swampert is mostly just the standard double stab rain sweeper with the ability to set up rocks after forcing something out, but it also runs Sludge Wave. This, along with its special attack investments, allows it to OHKO Scarf Bulu 100% of the time.
28 SpA Swampert-Mega Sludge Wave vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Tapu Bulu: 284-336 (100.7 - 119.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
As I mentioned in the Pelipper section, Tapu Bulu is a major threat. The scarf variant can seriously dent the team with Horn Leech or Wood Hammer, even OHKOing the cast. Not only does this hurt when facing a grass team, it also seriously hinders the team's ability to beat mono-fairy. Once Bulu was out of the way, I knew that the fairy matchup would become extremely easy, especially with Swampert to power through the rest of the team, so I decided to sacrifice a little bit of Swampert's massive attack stat to confirm a KO on Bulu. Otherwise, the set is fairly standard, with the two reliable, powerful stab moves in Waterfall and Earthquake that can steamroll many teams.
Politoed @ Eject Button
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Encore
- Toxic
Since I started to go inactive a couple of months ago, Politoed seems to have gained a bit of usage on ladder, so most people probably know what it does at this point. Nonetheless, I feel like it is important to note what it does on the team, so I'm going to copy paste what I wrote in my Crawdaunt rain RMT from a few months ago.
"One of the reasons why Politoed is often overlooked in favor of Pelipper is because of its lack of a pivot move. While Pelipper can easily U-turn, you have to switch into something else and let it get hit for Politoed to work. That's where the Eject Button comes in. With this set, you can switch into an attack and set rain, then immediately switch back into one of the Swift Swim attackers without losing a tempo. Then, you can later sacrifice Politoed by switching it in again and setting rain, essentially doing the same thing over again.
Gyarados @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Bounce
- Substitute
So Intimidate Z-move Gyarados definitely looks a little weird. Why would you give up on the snowball effect of Moxie on a Gyarados set? While the Moxie set would probably be effective as well, I figured that this team didn't really need any more attacking power. In fact, I thought it would be reasonable to sacrifice that offensive power to make the team a little bulkier again. I have used Gyarados many times to come in on something that just set up and to nuke it with a Z-move in return. This set also further doubles down on the Tapu Bulu weakness by intimidating the Bulu to live a Wood Hammer and Z-move it into next year. Waterfall serves as a non-Bounce attack that Gyarados can click in the meantime, and Dragon Dance serves as a set up option against teams that allow it. Substitute assists in setting up against teams that are not prepared to deal with it, or that are weakened to the point where Gyarados can sweep the rest of the team.
Conclusion
I don't know how this team functions. Looking at it at first glance, it looks like a low ladder, weak team that shouldn't work. And that might be because this team really might not be that good. Scarf Milotic might just not be fit for the meta. However, between surprise factor and some hard reads that I enjoy making, this team actually performs fairly well for me. I am, of course, interested in actually making a decent, legitimate team that could perform much better without sacrificing all of the creative sets, so I would really appreciate all input. The replays below show how the team plays when everything works out, so I hope you enjoy those.
