If you look to the left of this post, you can see that I've been registrated on Smogon for a long time but haven't really posted.. anything. But recently, after playing Platinum I've rediscovered the competitive aspect of Pokemon for myself. After playing around with a few teams I've started experimenting with Weather teams and found out that I really like them. I've made Sandstorm, Sunny Day and Hail teams but this team is my favourite one so far.
The strategy behind this team is simple - use Rain Dance and then hit the opponent with 100% accuracy STAB Thunders and boosted water attacks. Two Swift Swimmers, two team members with Explosion and Choice Scarf Rotom-W help set the pace. If the Rain stops, Scizor and Zapdos can come in on one of their many resists and set up a 8-turn Rain Dance using Damp Rock.
The team:
The team in detail:
Azelf @ Damp Rock
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/4 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Rain Dance
- Explosion
- Taunt
It's important that I get a Rain Dance up as fast as possible. and Azelf does this job nicely, being faster than many common leads. Since it is a commonly used lead it also doesn't give away my strategy right away like using Electrode in an OU team would. If it can set up Stealth Rock as well, that's another huge bonus. After it's done setting up it can use Explosion to bring in a Sweeper right away or use it to punch holes into the opponents team after I've scouted it for Ghosts and Steels.
EVs: It doesn't use Fire Blast/Psychic so SAtk Evs aren't needed and shifted into HP instead, which gives it more bulk.
Team Contribution: Sets up Rain Dance and Stealth Rock, stops other leads from setting up and uses Explosion to take out threats or bring in a sweeper unharmed.
Zapdos @ Damp Rock
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 224 HP/176 Spd/108 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Rain Dance
- Thunder
- Roost
- Hidden Power [Ice]
At first I was using a more defensive Zapdos with U-Turn (instead of HP Ice), but I've had bad experiences with that set getting walled by Flygon, Gliscor or even Nidoking. This Zapdos can still survive quite a long time thanks to the HP EVs and Roost, which makes it a reliable Rain Dance replenisher. With 344 SAtk it's also an impressive attacker and the pseudo BoltBeam Combo of Thunder+HP Ice offers fantastic coverage. The threat of a STAB Thunder coming from Zapdos is usually enough to scare away most of the bulky waters like Suicune that love stalling Kingdra.
EVs: It reaches 280 Speed, which is enough to outrun Adamant Lucario, who can be tricky to take down (Rotom-W is immune to Extremespeed and outspeeds it but can't revenge kill it reliably). The rest is put into HP and SAtk.
Team Contribution: Sets up Rain Dance.
Kingdra @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk/16 Spd/240 SAtk
Naughty nature (+Atk, -SDef)
- Waterfall
- Hydro Pump
- Draco Meteor
- Rain Dance
The standart Mixdra set. If Kingdra is on the field and Rain Dance is up, it's almost a given that something is going to die. It hit hards on both ends, so there is almost nothing that can reliably wall it. The few Pokemon that can, like Celebi are taken care of by the rest of my team. With Life Orb, no defensive Evs and a Naughty Nature Kingdra doesn't have much staying power, but by the time it is KO'd it has probably already punched some sizeable holes into the opposing team.
EVs: Enough speed to outrun Scarf Heatran in the rain, full Atk Evs and the rest into SAtk.
Team Contribution: Sets up Rain Dance.
Rotom-w @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 40 HP/216 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunder
- Hydro Pump
- Shadow Ball
- Trick
The star player of this team in some ways. The combination of a Rain Dance boosted Hydro Pump and STAB Thunder fits this team perfectly and Rotom can also block Explosion and Rapid Spin. Choice Scarf may seem weird in the context of this team, but this way I have at least one team member (except Azelf, who usually doesn't last very long) who reaches 300+ Speed without Rain and Trick+Choice Scarf can cripple threats like Jirachi.
EVs: Enough Spd EVs to reach 420 Speed with Timid Nature, which outspeeds Scarf Heatran. Full SAtk EVs and everything else into HP.
Team Contribution: Revenge killing, Trick, stops Rapid Spin and Explosion.
Scizor @ Damp Rock
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Rain Dance
- Superpower
Scizor is a relatively new addition to this team (used to have Jirachi), but he's proven to be very useful. U-Turn combined with his low speed is useful in getting other team members out unharmed and Bullet Punch helps deal with Abomasnow, Tyranitar and other threats. Superpower is for additional power against opponents like Empoleon that resist Bullet Punch and U-Turn. Scizor also adds a Dragon resist to this team which is much appreciated by Kingdra. Like Zapdos, Scizor has excellent typing which makes it easy it for to find a chance to switch in and set up Rain Dance or deal some damage with its powerful STAB attacks.
EVs: Full HP to increase survivability since it lacks Roost, everyone else into Atk. No further Spd Evs needed since it mainly uses Bullet Punch and U-Turn.
Team Contribution: Uses Bullet Punch for revenge killing, sets up Rain Dance, uses U-Turn to bring out Sweepers unharmed. Also the only Dragon resist on this team.
Qwilfish @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Poison Jab
- Waterfall
- Explosion
I used to have Kabutops in this slot, but Qwilfish has some advantages compared to Kabutops. Being able to absorb Toxic Spikes is a huge advantage, and Explosion can be a lifesaver. It also has no problem dealing with Celebi, which stops both both Kingdra and Zapdos in their tracks. If the rain is active, Qwilfish reaches 538 speed, which is very useful to hit/finish off fast Scarfers like Flygon or Gyarados/Salamence with some Dragon Dances that outspeed the rest of my team.
EVs: Full Atk and Spd Evs since Qwilfish can't really take hits anyway.
Team Contribution: A powerful Explosion, absorbing Toxic Spikes.
Things I'm not sure about:
- Scizor's last move slot. I'm currently using Superpower, but Brick Break (for Light Screen/Reflect), Roost (for added survivability, as Scizor is very important to this team) and Swords Dance seem like good alternatives
- Kingdra's set. The mixed set has been extremly useful so far, but the special set would add some bulk and enough speed to outrun Pokemon like +1 DD Mence or Scarf Flygon.
Pokemon that (I think) threaten this team:
Empoleon - I really need to make sure that its not able to set up. Once Empoleon has an Agility boost and Petaya activates, it has a good chance of sweeping my team.
Swift Swim Kingdra - especially dangerous if it outspeeds my own Kingdra (which is not unlikely as Mixdra is quite slow compared to other sets). My best bet is to blow it up with Qwilfish or get it to use Outrage on Scizor.
Tyranitar - the main reason I now use Scizor instead of Jirachi. Highly dangerous, but only Azelf and Zapdos (maybe Qwilfish, but Waterfall hurts like hell) have trouble dealing with it directly.
Celebi - stops Kingdra and Zapdos, but Qwilfish and Scizor can take it out. Scizor has almost nothing to fear from it in the rain so it's a good switch-in.
Suicune - CM versions can be quite dangerous, but Zapdos and Rotom can usually take them out or at least get them to switch out.
Latias - resists both Electric and Water attacks and Kingdra doesn't like STAB Dragon Pulse at all.
Swampert - Zapdos can't really hurt it and Earthquake OHKOs Qwilfish.
Jirachi - Thunder Wave/Body Slam cripples my team and CM Jirachis can also be quite dangerous since Scizor and Qwilfish have trouble dealing with it. Definitely need to watch out for this one.
Bronzgong - if it sets up Light Screen/Reflect, I'm in trouble. Explosion is also nasty but can be avoided by predicting it and switching to Rotom.
Zapdos - can easily OHKO both Scizor (if Zapdos has Heat Wave) and Qwilfish if the rain isn't up and hits Kingdra hard.
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Soo.. that should cover everything important about this team. Thanks for reading this, any rates are appreciated. Don't hold back, that's the only way I'm going to learn. :)
The strategy behind this team is simple - use Rain Dance and then hit the opponent with 100% accuracy STAB Thunders and boosted water attacks. Two Swift Swimmers, two team members with Explosion and Choice Scarf Rotom-W help set the pace. If the Rain stops, Scizor and Zapdos can come in on one of their many resists and set up a 8-turn Rain Dance using Damp Rock.
The team:
The team in detail:
Azelf @ Damp Rock
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/4 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Rain Dance
- Explosion
- Taunt
It's important that I get a Rain Dance up as fast as possible. and Azelf does this job nicely, being faster than many common leads. Since it is a commonly used lead it also doesn't give away my strategy right away like using Electrode in an OU team would. If it can set up Stealth Rock as well, that's another huge bonus. After it's done setting up it can use Explosion to bring in a Sweeper right away or use it to punch holes into the opponents team after I've scouted it for Ghosts and Steels.
EVs: It doesn't use Fire Blast/Psychic so SAtk Evs aren't needed and shifted into HP instead, which gives it more bulk.
Team Contribution: Sets up Rain Dance and Stealth Rock, stops other leads from setting up and uses Explosion to take out threats or bring in a sweeper unharmed.
Zapdos @ Damp Rock
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 224 HP/176 Spd/108 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Rain Dance
- Thunder
- Roost
- Hidden Power [Ice]
At first I was using a more defensive Zapdos with U-Turn (instead of HP Ice), but I've had bad experiences with that set getting walled by Flygon, Gliscor or even Nidoking. This Zapdos can still survive quite a long time thanks to the HP EVs and Roost, which makes it a reliable Rain Dance replenisher. With 344 SAtk it's also an impressive attacker and the pseudo BoltBeam Combo of Thunder+HP Ice offers fantastic coverage. The threat of a STAB Thunder coming from Zapdos is usually enough to scare away most of the bulky waters like Suicune that love stalling Kingdra.
EVs: It reaches 280 Speed, which is enough to outrun Adamant Lucario, who can be tricky to take down (Rotom-W is immune to Extremespeed and outspeeds it but can't revenge kill it reliably). The rest is put into HP and SAtk.
Team Contribution: Sets up Rain Dance.
Kingdra @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk/16 Spd/240 SAtk
Naughty nature (+Atk, -SDef)
- Waterfall
- Hydro Pump
- Draco Meteor
- Rain Dance
The standart Mixdra set. If Kingdra is on the field and Rain Dance is up, it's almost a given that something is going to die. It hit hards on both ends, so there is almost nothing that can reliably wall it. The few Pokemon that can, like Celebi are taken care of by the rest of my team. With Life Orb, no defensive Evs and a Naughty Nature Kingdra doesn't have much staying power, but by the time it is KO'd it has probably already punched some sizeable holes into the opposing team.
EVs: Enough speed to outrun Scarf Heatran in the rain, full Atk Evs and the rest into SAtk.
Team Contribution: Sets up Rain Dance.
Rotom-w @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 40 HP/216 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunder
- Hydro Pump
- Shadow Ball
- Trick
The star player of this team in some ways. The combination of a Rain Dance boosted Hydro Pump and STAB Thunder fits this team perfectly and Rotom can also block Explosion and Rapid Spin. Choice Scarf may seem weird in the context of this team, but this way I have at least one team member (except Azelf, who usually doesn't last very long) who reaches 300+ Speed without Rain and Trick+Choice Scarf can cripple threats like Jirachi.
EVs: Enough Spd EVs to reach 420 Speed with Timid Nature, which outspeeds Scarf Heatran. Full SAtk EVs and everything else into HP.
Team Contribution: Revenge killing, Trick, stops Rapid Spin and Explosion.
Scizor @ Damp Rock
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Rain Dance
- Superpower
Scizor is a relatively new addition to this team (used to have Jirachi), but he's proven to be very useful. U-Turn combined with his low speed is useful in getting other team members out unharmed and Bullet Punch helps deal with Abomasnow, Tyranitar and other threats. Superpower is for additional power against opponents like Empoleon that resist Bullet Punch and U-Turn. Scizor also adds a Dragon resist to this team which is much appreciated by Kingdra. Like Zapdos, Scizor has excellent typing which makes it easy it for to find a chance to switch in and set up Rain Dance or deal some damage with its powerful STAB attacks.
EVs: Full HP to increase survivability since it lacks Roost, everyone else into Atk. No further Spd Evs needed since it mainly uses Bullet Punch and U-Turn.
Team Contribution: Uses Bullet Punch for revenge killing, sets up Rain Dance, uses U-Turn to bring out Sweepers unharmed. Also the only Dragon resist on this team.
Qwilfish @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Poison Jab
- Waterfall
- Explosion
I used to have Kabutops in this slot, but Qwilfish has some advantages compared to Kabutops. Being able to absorb Toxic Spikes is a huge advantage, and Explosion can be a lifesaver. It also has no problem dealing with Celebi, which stops both both Kingdra and Zapdos in their tracks. If the rain is active, Qwilfish reaches 538 speed, which is very useful to hit/finish off fast Scarfers like Flygon or Gyarados/Salamence with some Dragon Dances that outspeed the rest of my team.
EVs: Full Atk and Spd Evs since Qwilfish can't really take hits anyway.
Team Contribution: A powerful Explosion, absorbing Toxic Spikes.
Things I'm not sure about:
- Scizor's last move slot. I'm currently using Superpower, but Brick Break (for Light Screen/Reflect), Roost (for added survivability, as Scizor is very important to this team) and Swords Dance seem like good alternatives
- Kingdra's set. The mixed set has been extremly useful so far, but the special set would add some bulk and enough speed to outrun Pokemon like +1 DD Mence or Scarf Flygon.
Pokemon that (I think) threaten this team:
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Soo.. that should cover everything important about this team. Thanks for reading this, any rates are appreciated. Don't hold back, that's the only way I'm going to learn. :)
