Oh look, another casual noob, but this time with a HO rain team that has been tested in battle! it's still kinda crappy though lmao
TEAMBUILDING PROCESS:
Pelipper is self-explanatory as the premier rain setter thanks to Drizzle. I wanted to add Barraskewda as well for speed control, as it outspeeds most of the metagame under rain with Swift Swim. I was thinking about running Scarf to outspeed Regieleki, but it has a shallow movepool that can be countered by another Pokemon I had in mind.
This team was originally gonna be a rain + electric terrain team, but I ended up scrapping the latter due to it requiring too much to maintain both at once. Tapu Koko was my terrain setter of choice.
Specs Dragapult is a beast right now. Plus, I needed a powerful Dragon-type.
I don't know what I was thinking when I added Corviknight; I just needed a Steel-type on the team. Or so I thought.
:
I needed an Electric immunity, so I added Swampert. It stops Blacephalon's Mind Blown and Explosion-like moves in their tracks while taking no damage at all thanks to Damp.
:
I ended up yeeting Tapu Koko and Corviknight out and replacing them with Zapdos and Rillaboom, respectively. Zapdos is now my team's Defogger and it carries both Thunder and Hurricane for maximum damage, especially under rain. Rillaboom provided passive HP recovery via Grassy Terrain.
:
Rillaboom wasn't doing it for me, so I swapped it out for a second Electric-type: Bulk Up Zeraora. I ended up scrapping that too.
:
My team was vulnerable to Future Sight and I needed a priority move user. Enter Weavile, I haven't played around with this setup quite yet.
SETS:
Pelipper @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- U-turn
- Surf
- Hurricane
- Roost
Pelipper is my rain setter of choice. It had Weather Ball at the beginning, and while I enjoy gimmicky movesets I felt that was too situational; what if the likes of Tyranitar switched in to set up sand? I eventually ended up using Surf as the Water-type STAB move of choice. Hurricane comes with a chance to confuse and has perfect accuracy under rain. The last slot originally had Tailwind, but I changed it to Roost in order to provide longetivity. U-turn allows Pelipper to function as a slow pivot to bring in a teammate safely.
Barraskewda @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Close Combat
- Psychic Fangs
- Flip Turn
Barraskewda is my main form of Speed control and rain sweeper. Waterfall provides flinch hax should Barraskewda strike first, and it usually does thanks to its blistering Speed. Close Combat hits Tyranitar, a threat to this team, while Psychic Fangs is used for hitting Urshifu-R and other Fighting-types that threaten Weavile. Flip Turn is used to pivot out and chip foes a little, nullifying Focus Sashes.
Zapdos @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Static
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunder
- Hurricane
- Defog
- Roost
Taking the place of Tapu Koko as the Electric-type of this team, Zapdos is my means of hazard control. As this team lacks entry hazards, and is hindered by them, Zapdos bypasses them all with Heavy-Duty Boots and can safely Defog the hazards away should it force a switch. Thunder and Hurricane both synergize will with rain despite having their accuracy reduced outside of it. This Zapdos has finished off a few teams with Thunder and its ability to heal off damage with Roost.
Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Shadow Ball
- Thunder
- U-turn
Are you noticing the amount of pivoting moves this team has? That's the point; I want this team to keep opponents guessing and annoying them at the same time. Shadow Ball Specs Dragapult is powerful right now, and a Timid nature is used over Modest to win against Modest Specs Dragapults. Draco Meteor is my preferred Dragon-type STAB move, Thunder is for rain and because I had an extra moveslot left over, and U-turn is... well, you get the idea.
Weavile @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk/ 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Triple Axel
- Ice Shard
Weavile is my way to remove items from foes to weaken them. It takes the role of a secondary sweeper and a setup sweeper. Knock Off removes items such as opposing Dragapult's Scarf or Specs, Leftovers from any bulky foe, blah blah blah, you get the idea. Triple Axel hits multiple times, can break through Substitutes, and best of all: gets more powerful with each hit on the same turn. Pressure allows Weavile to PP stall a little.
Swampert @ Choice Band
Ability: Damp
EVs: 252 Atk/ 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Liquidation
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Brick Break
Swampert is my Regieleki counter; it takes no damage from Explosion thanks to its ability, and no damage from any Electric-type moves thanks to its typing. Since Regieleki has a shallow movepool, it won't be able to do much at all against Swampert. Liquidation is used over Waterfall because unlike Barraskewda, this Swampert is quite slow. Earthquake hits the aforementioned Regieleki for super effective damage. Ice Punch hits Grass-types, and Brick Break is used against Ferrothorn, which otherwise walls this team.
Threats:
While Tyranitar is weak against Water, its ability lets it change the weather. If something goes wrong and Pelipper gets KOed, no more rain for the rest of the battle. Other Pokemon on sand teams during sandstorm are threatening.
Other weather teams
It becomes a war of weather, and if Pelipper is KOed then I'm screwed.
(and other Future Sight users)
With Future Sight, Weavile is forced in on the turn it hits. Slowbro and Slowking are also bulky and can tank some hits from my team while healing it off. They fear Paralysis though, and Dragapult may be able to KO them with Specs-boosted Thunder...
TEAMBUILDING PROCESS:
Pelipper is self-explanatory as the premier rain setter thanks to Drizzle. I wanted to add Barraskewda as well for speed control, as it outspeeds most of the metagame under rain with Swift Swim. I was thinking about running Scarf to outspeed Regieleki, but it has a shallow movepool that can be countered by another Pokemon I had in mind.
This team was originally gonna be a rain + electric terrain team, but I ended up scrapping the latter due to it requiring too much to maintain both at once. Tapu Koko was my terrain setter of choice.
Specs Dragapult is a beast right now. Plus, I needed a powerful Dragon-type.
I don't know what I was thinking when I added Corviknight; I just needed a Steel-type on the team. Or so I thought.
:I needed an Electric immunity, so I added Swampert. It stops Blacephalon's Mind Blown and Explosion-like moves in their tracks while taking no damage at all thanks to Damp.
:I ended up yeeting Tapu Koko and Corviknight out and replacing them with Zapdos and Rillaboom, respectively. Zapdos is now my team's Defogger and it carries both Thunder and Hurricane for maximum damage, especially under rain. Rillaboom provided passive HP recovery via Grassy Terrain.
:Rillaboom wasn't doing it for me, so I swapped it out for a second Electric-type: Bulk Up Zeraora. I ended up scrapping that too.
:My team was vulnerable to Future Sight and I needed a priority move user. Enter Weavile, I haven't played around with this setup quite yet.
SETS:
Pelipper @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- U-turn
- Surf
- Hurricane
- Roost
Pelipper is my rain setter of choice. It had Weather Ball at the beginning, and while I enjoy gimmicky movesets I felt that was too situational; what if the likes of Tyranitar switched in to set up sand? I eventually ended up using Surf as the Water-type STAB move of choice. Hurricane comes with a chance to confuse and has perfect accuracy under rain. The last slot originally had Tailwind, but I changed it to Roost in order to provide longetivity. U-turn allows Pelipper to function as a slow pivot to bring in a teammate safely.
Barraskewda @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Close Combat
- Psychic Fangs
- Flip Turn
Barraskewda is my main form of Speed control and rain sweeper. Waterfall provides flinch hax should Barraskewda strike first, and it usually does thanks to its blistering Speed. Close Combat hits Tyranitar, a threat to this team, while Psychic Fangs is used for hitting Urshifu-R and other Fighting-types that threaten Weavile. Flip Turn is used to pivot out and chip foes a little, nullifying Focus Sashes.
Zapdos @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Static
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunder
- Hurricane
- Defog
- Roost
Taking the place of Tapu Koko as the Electric-type of this team, Zapdos is my means of hazard control. As this team lacks entry hazards, and is hindered by them, Zapdos bypasses them all with Heavy-Duty Boots and can safely Defog the hazards away should it force a switch. Thunder and Hurricane both synergize will with rain despite having their accuracy reduced outside of it. This Zapdos has finished off a few teams with Thunder and its ability to heal off damage with Roost.
Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Shadow Ball
- Thunder
- U-turn
Are you noticing the amount of pivoting moves this team has? That's the point; I want this team to keep opponents guessing and annoying them at the same time. Shadow Ball Specs Dragapult is powerful right now, and a Timid nature is used over Modest to win against Modest Specs Dragapults. Draco Meteor is my preferred Dragon-type STAB move, Thunder is for rain and because I had an extra moveslot left over, and U-turn is... well, you get the idea.
Weavile @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk/ 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Triple Axel
- Ice Shard
Weavile is my way to remove items from foes to weaken them. It takes the role of a secondary sweeper and a setup sweeper. Knock Off removes items such as opposing Dragapult's Scarf or Specs, Leftovers from any bulky foe, blah blah blah, you get the idea. Triple Axel hits multiple times, can break through Substitutes, and best of all: gets more powerful with each hit on the same turn. Pressure allows Weavile to PP stall a little.
Swampert @ Choice Band
Ability: Damp
EVs: 252 Atk/ 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Liquidation
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Brick Break
Swampert is my Regieleki counter; it takes no damage from Explosion thanks to its ability, and no damage from any Electric-type moves thanks to its typing. Since Regieleki has a shallow movepool, it won't be able to do much at all against Swampert. Liquidation is used over Waterfall because unlike Barraskewda, this Swampert is quite slow. Earthquake hits the aforementioned Regieleki for super effective damage. Ice Punch hits Grass-types, and Brick Break is used against Ferrothorn, which otherwise walls this team.
Threats:
While Tyranitar is weak against Water, its ability lets it change the weather. If something goes wrong and Pelipper gets KOed, no more rain for the rest of the battle. Other Pokemon on sand teams during sandstorm are threatening.
Other weather teams
It becomes a war of weather, and if Pelipper is KOed then I'm screwed.
(and other Future Sight users)With Future Sight, Weavile is forced in on the turn it hits. Slowbro and Slowking are also bulky and can tank some hits from my team while healing it off. They fear Paralysis though, and Dragapult may be able to KO them with Specs-boosted Thunder...
Ferrothorn