ORAS Doubles OU 1000 subs RMT! Swampert + Ludicolo Rain

Introduction

Here it is! My first ORAS RMT! It has been a long time coming, but after having success across a couple of Tournaments I figure I should share the current version of the first ORAS Doubles team I made. I'm also posting this to commemorate getting my 1000th subscriber on YouTube. Yes I'm aware that has nothing to do with smogon RMTs but w/e. This team has played in a couple tournaments including the first ORAS minitour, and Winter Seasonals and is so far undefeated in tournament play. I made the first version of the team live on video because I wanted to build around Mega Swampert + Flying spam, though that's not what the team ended up looking like. The hype around Mega Swampert has almost entirely vanished since it was introduced, but I still think its one of the best Mega's to choose, and by far the best Mega for Rain. In this RMT I'm going to go over the team building process up until now, an analysis of each team member, how to lead Downpour against other types of teams, and alternatives I have tried including different members, set changes, and a threat list. I will also talk about why I stopped using the things I stopped using. Enjoy!

Team building Process

Wow what a surprise! I started with Mega Swampert and Politoed because Swift Swim kind of appreciates Rain support.

Like I said before, I was planning on building flying spam around Swampert to completely counter all grass types for Swampert. Talonflame is obviously perfect for this job. Talonflame was the first Pokemon for Swampert to Earthquake beside. Not really much else to say here, Talonflame is a pretty common way for rain to beat Grass types.

Escavalier didn't stay so I won't go into it too much. It's job was to counter Amoonguss & Grass types, be a bulky steel and check Trick Room. It did perform these roles but I got rid of it because if Escavalier was in a situation that isn't one of the ones I just listed, it was kind of useless.

I added Thundurus as a way to check Charizard Y (I was Offensive with Life Orb at first, but more on that later) and with Taunt it checked Trick Room as well. This team slot has had the most changes over time, but in the end I stayed with Thundurus-I because its kind of amazing. It is also the second EQ immunity on the team, which gives Swampert some more flexibility.

Count 'em, two swift swimmers! I needed a grass type, Fake Out gave me a "Type 2" for checking Trick Room after Taunt, and Ludicolo formed a Hyper Offensive F/W/G core of sorts. It also gave my team a second Amoonguss/Sleep switchin.

Many Changes Later...

After trying several different Pokemon and sets, the team outwardly looks pretty similar, the only obvious change is Aegislash > Escavalier. Aegislash has Goggles so it can switch into sleeps, but it also gave the team a real Kangaskhan switchin. Wide Guard helped my Sylveon matchup and gave Swampert another Pokemon to Earthquake beside. The main reason for the switch however is that Aegislash is just an overall better Pokemon than Escavalier in almost every situation.


Team Members

Swampert @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Protect

Pretty much the expected Mega Swampert set: Dual Stab with Ice Punch for coverage. Not too exciting, but it gets the job done. Most other Swampert (though there are few) will be running HP, but I figured that doing ~40% to Ludicolo might come in handy one day, so I have max speed as well as max attack (Adamant because I don't need the speed THAT much). It hasn't come in super handy but I'm ready! With 100/110/110 bulk, Mega Swampert can take several hits naturally so I don't ever miss the lack off investment.

As far as traditional team roles are concerned, Mega Swampert doesn't really fit into any of them, especially rain specific roles, so why use it? The only real "role" Swampert fills is hitting things until they're not in front of it. I know that sounds pretty silly but that's really all it does and it does a great job with base 150 Atk + Great Coverage + Spread STAB. It is the only swift swimmer immune to Thunder Wave which has come in very handy, just make sure you send in Swampert carefully when you can get a safe Mega Evolution!

Politoed @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: null Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Helping Hand
- Protect

Every rain team needs a Politoed, and this is mine. The SmogDex entry for bulky doubles Politoed explains why I'm physically Defensive:

"A physically defensive set is preferred to a specially defensive set, as Politoed's weaknesses are mainly specially attacking types, meaning it is generally better off switching to a teammate that can sponge said special attacks instead of trying to sponge them itself."

Damp Rock was really the only item choice I could go with on Toed giving me 8 rain turns. Managing 5 rain turns for 2 swift swimmers can be pretty tight, and opponents generally set themselves up for rain to come down after 5. Damp Rock also allows me to use Politoed as little as possible because it's useless after Drizzle. As far as the moveset goes, I went with Ice Beam > Icy Wind because nothing on my team besides Politoed would really benefit from it, and since I'm not using Encore I would rather just go for the damage +freeze change. Helping Hand is one of those attacks that is never a bad attack to have, but it helps Talonflame so much, giving it the notable OHKOs Charizard Y, Ferrothorn in the rain, and all but the most physically bulky Sylveons among others. Helping Hand gives this team extra muscle to get through some of the bulkier threats that it would otherwise struggle with.

Talonflame @ Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Protect
- Quick Guard

Talonflame is a pretty standard Pokemon for Rain, especially Swampert rain, if only because it's so great at beating grass types. Even though I normally dislike Life Orb on Talonflame because of the horrendous recoil, I find that I can normally play Talonflame well enough to where I can "spend" my HP KOing enemy Grass types or at least forcing switches. Quick Guard is great for supporting Swampert and Ludicolo in the rain, where generally the only way to hit them first is with priority. This is especially true vs opposing Talonflame, who would otherwise OHKO Ludicolo and 2HKO Mega Swampert. Quick guard is also nice for defending against Fake Out when I don't want to lead Politoed + Ludicolo.

Aegislash @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: null Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Wide Guard
- King's Shield

Aegislash fills a huge number of roles for the team including Sleep switchin, Kangaskhan switchin, Trick Room check, and Wide Guard support. The Wide Guard support comes in handy for blocking my own Swampert Earthquakes and Hyper Voice from enemy Sylveon, but it also in theory protect Thundurus and Talonflame from Rock Slide (although I'd probably just end up going into Swampert for that one). Even though it fills the 4th slot on my team, Aegislash was the last member added and I'll go over the other Pokemon I've tried in this spot further on in the RMT.

Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 228 HP / 100 Def / 80 SpA / 100 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: null Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt
- Thunderbolt
- Rain Dance

Wait a minute, Damp Rock and a manual rain setter? Yeah, manual rain gives improves my matchup against other weathers significantly, I already had 3 other Pokemon with Ice type attacks so I knew that I would be safe dropping Hidden Power Ice for a more useful utility option. Manual rain was also pretty important for Thundurus because in sun I don't have a Pokemon to outspeed + OHKO full speed Charizard (which is pretty rare now).
The other 3 attacks on Thundurus are standard, and Thundy acts as my second TR check with taunt (after Aegislash).
The EV spread guarantees Thundy survives a 208 Atk Diamond Storm from Mega Diancie and deals a minimum of 75% to 252 HP Azumarill with Thunderbolt. The remaining EVs are all in SDef and guarantee Thundurus survives a Draco Meteor from LO Latios. If you want to run 24 speed to outspeed other Thundurus you'll lose the 100% Draco survival, and given that Swampert is an excellent Thundurus check I figured I didn't need the speed.

Ludicolo @ Assault Vest
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Fake Out
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump

Finally assault vest Ludicolo, originally this Ludicolo outsped Adamant Scarf Lando-T while in rain, then it outsped Modest Scarf Genesect in Rain, then it outsped Jolly Scarf Landorus-T, and now here we are at max speed. Moveset is standard and item is standard so nothing really to explain there. Ludicolo was chosen for its grass typing (spore switchin, Fire/Water/Grass, beat bulky waters etc) as well as having Fake Out (originally this was my 2nd TR check type but it stuck anyways). Despite being the last Pokemon added, this Ludicolo hasn't had any significant changes since I made the team. The only thing that changed was the speed which I already addressed.

Lead combinations

Standard: Politoed + Ludicolo
+

This is the lead I look to make first, if the opponents team doesn't force a different lead then getting rain up right away, and using Fake Out to get a free switch out from Politoed is the best play to start off the game and immediately begin the HO pressure.

vs Trick Room/Tailwind: Ludicolo + Thundurus/Aegislash
+
/

Basically vs Trick Room you just have to decide what your opponent is the least prepared for. If the opponent has a slower Fake Out user than Ludicolo or no user, I'll lead Ludicolo and probably Thundurus to use Taunt. If the setter is invulnerable to Taunt or OHKOd by Aegislash I'll lead that instead. Same goes for Tailwind.

vs Sun: Politoed + Thundurus
+

Get up rain and switch Toed out. If they lead Charizard, go into the appropriate teammate for Politoed and set manual rain as they Mega Evolve and hopefully lock themselves into Solar Beam.

vs other rain: Ludicolo + Thundurus/Talonflame
+
/

basically your #1 priority is to take out or cripple the opponents Ludicolo. Because this team 100% of the time has the faster Ludi you can go for Fake Out and crush it with whichever is a safer lead of Thundy or Talon. Keep Politoed out because it's mere presence on the field will give your opponent momentum.

vs sand: you win because they brought sand
>

It's also important to remember a couple of pointers when you use this team.

  • Wait for a free turn to Mega Evolve Swampert, but when you get the chance take it because you may not get another.
  • If the opponent has Ferrothorn play Talonflame really well. It's kind of impossible to give broad advice here but just keep in mind that you need a little bit of prior damage, no rain, or helping hand to KO with Flare Blitz,

Other things I've tried and why they didn't work out
Slot 1

I originally had Superpower on Swampert to hit Kangaskhan and Ferrothorn, but found that in practice having Ice Punch was way more useful. The additional Ice move let me take HP Ice off Thundy for Rain Dance.
Slot 2

I've tried a bunch of moves over Helping Hand including Hypnosis, Perish Song, and Rain Dance. Hypnosis and Perish are honestly just as useful as HH so choose whatever you like best.
Slot 3
->

Started with banded Talonflame to OHKO Charizard, after I found out it wasn't really needed I switched to a quick guard set with Life Orb to better support Ludi and Swampert in rain.
Slot 4
->
->
->

Escavalier did the role of Amoonguss counter + TR player really well, but was terrible everywhere else, it also wasn't a very good Kang switchin. I switched it for Ferrothorn but Ferrothorn didn't really beat Amoonguss even though it was an excellent Kangaskhan counter. I then went super HO and figured if I had a bunch of Pokemon that could pressure Kangaskhan I wouldn't need to switch on it frequently so I went with Superpower Deoxys-A which was terrible but really fun. I then settled down and picked Aegislash which did all of the things I needed. It also came with the bonuses of having Wide Guard and being a Sylveon switchin.
Slot 5
->
->

Started with fast offensive Life Orb Thundy to beat Charizard + Diancie (I had Flash Cannon) but that was pretty miserable because I didn't have Thunder Wave and Taunt. I then switched to the standard bulky Thundurus (244 HP/108 Def/64 SpA/72 SpD/20 Spe Modest) with a Charti Berry to help vs Rock Attacks. Charti wasn't really being used too often so I created the spread I use today, which allows me to use Sitrus to get the most out of my item slot, and still survive Diancie.
Slot 6

Just made Ludicolo a bit faster over time. Nothing else!

Threat List

Sub Kyurem B - Beat it down Gradually with Swampert EQ or play around very carefully with Aegislash. The Scarf set is much less of a threat to the team but is unfortunately also much more rare.

Ferrothorn
- Play Talonflame carefully, if all that fails Aegislash can beat it 1v1 in a pinch but it can be a real pain if you waste Talonflame

Kangaskhan + Tailwind - You have to play around Kanga fairly carefully without tailwind, but in Tailwind you need a Para or a lot of prior damage to take it out without losing something. While Aegislash is a switchin, it is not a check so play carefully

Cradily

I was once predicted to bring this team in a game, and I was only able to defeat this monster with massive hax. Para and spam ice attacks. pray to whatever god you believe in for mercy.

Shoutouts
shrop05 has been the most frequent guest on the channel by far and my main source of VGC knowledge when I need it. The channel wouldn't be as good as it is today without your help shrop, hopefully you make a channel before I get a million or at the very least get your report published. Thanks friend.
Haruno has been very supportive of the channel since Day 1. Haruno I know I can count on you to tell me my teams are shit & weak to hax, or to ruin a recording because you have high pitched humming in the background of your mic. Even though people may not know it, Haruno has given me many valuable tips for team building (despite his reputation for not even building) such as "a paralyzed mon = a dead mon" and more gems of that quality.
finally hopefully you didn't get this notification while eating pizza otherwise you may not even acknowledge it. Thanks for coming on the channel occasionally friend, recording with you is always fun and you should do it more. Congrats on doing so well in SPL, even though I'm not surprised because you're far and away better than everyone else.
Lady Gaga my silent protector :]
BLOOD TOTEM by far the funniest person with the strongest meme game I know.
TGMD nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn it's always fun having you around :] hopefully we can build teams together soon that are just as good as the Stoutland one!
Victorious B.I.G. this man just dropped a mixtape and it's fire.
pastelgameboy 13ulbasaur thanks for working on the channel art :] you guys rock
qsns Arcticblast Audiosurfer innovamania Stratos chimpact Dashspin Electrolyte Hashtag Memoric GiraGoomy iliketrains11 Lohgock Pinoy Pwnage SocialSocialSocial thebagman SpaceBass Yellow Paint just a few guys that have in one way or another helped with the channel, be it supporting the videos, being in a recording or both. Thanks a lot!
@allofmyothersubs thanks a lot everyone :] past/present/future/whatever I plan to keep making these vids as long as you can all tolerate them so hopefully I'll see you a million!


Conclusion
Thanks for reading and thanks for watching, have a great day :]
 
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