Downpour

[HelloColdWorld]

Hello Smogon! I have been using this rain team to quite some success lately. Since I am (sort of) new to the site, I thought I'd post my team here in order to get some insight from a variety of players, and attempt to make it as good as possible. I decided to use a Drizzle team after many failed attempts at using Drought and Sand Stream based teams. This team does reasonably well, but, like any other team, could use some help. Well, on to the team.

The Team At A Glance

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Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Surf

Keldeo is an AMAZING Choice Scarfer. Many of my other teams struggled with DD dragons, but Keldeo ends sweeps from most of those dragons. Keldeo can also outspeed +2 Dragonite which is amazing from a Choice Scarfer. Hydro Pump takes advantage of the rain, and Surf is there as a filler since Keldeo doesn't have many other options.

Politoed @ Choice Specs
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Surf
- Focus Blast
- Ice Beam

The Pokemon basically required for every Drizzle team. Choice Specs is there in order to ensure I get maximum damage output from Politoed's mediocre special attacking stat, which still gives quite a punch with rain and choice specs factored in. Focus Blast allows me to hit Ferrothorn, which is usually 2HKO'd by choice specs Focus Blast. Ice Beam is there for the many dragons and grass types that might switch into Politoed.

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 224 SDef / 252 HP / 32 Spd
Careful Nature
- Body Slam
- Iron Head
- Wish
- Stealth Rock

Jirachi is a great pokemon, not just in rain, but in any type of team. Body Slam and Iron Head are there for the ParaFlinch combo that can annoy and weaken many other Pokemon. The reason I chose Body Slam over Thunder/Thunder Wave is for the chance that I might paralyze a Garchomp switching into Jirachi, which happens quite more often than it may seem. Wish is there to regain HP and support the rest of the team, and Stealth Rock for the field hazards that help weaken the other team.

Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Trait: Rain Dish
EVs: 240 Def / 252 HP / 16 Spd
Bold Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic
- Scald
- Protect

Toxic Spikes has been changed for Toxic and Giga Drain has been exchanged for Protect.

Tentacruel is here in order to Rapid Spin hazards set up by my opponent. Toxic Spikes helps against stall teams and other stall-related pokemon. Scald's possible chance of a burn is also quite helpful. Giga Drain is here since Tentacruel lacks a form of recovery besides Jirachi's wish. Tentacruel also helps remove Toxic Spikes which would also take quite a toll on this team.

Dragonite (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def
- Outrage
- Superpower
- Waterfall
- Dragon Claw

Choice Band Dragonite is a BEAST. I usually lead with him, since he can remove most leads put against my team. Multiscale also helps him take some strong attacks. ExtremeSpeed is there for priority and to take out weakened threats. Dragon Claw is there in case it is too risky to use Outrage, and is a filler since Fire Punch would suck in rain.

Gothitelle @ Choice Specs
Trait: Shadow Tag
EVs: 188 HP / 252 SpAttack / 68 Speed
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Signal Beam

Gothitelle is extremely useful, as it traps and KO's some pokemon that would give my other pokemon trouble. Psychic is there in case Dragonite has died and I need something to take care of poison types/fighting types that Jirachi can't handle. Thunderbolt helps against water types such as Gyarados and Jellicent. Hidden Power Ice is useful for dragons and grass types. Signal Beam is here because I really needed something to take care of Celebi in case Dragonite fainted, which happened quite often.



So, that's my team. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm open for any types of tips. And thank you for whoever has read all this. It really means a lot.

 

[Jimbon]

Hi there, welcome to Smogon!

This is a pretty solid Rain build you have here, Gothitelle is madly underrated as a trapper and I can definitely attest to the effectiveness of the Specs set. Anyway, as for your team, I think you're going to have some trouble with more defensively minded teams, the main reason being that your only Pokemon to break through Special Walls is Dragonite, who may have to lock itself into Outrage to do so, baiting a switch into a Steel and essentially rendering Dragonite useless. As a result, any team with some sort of defensive core is going to cause you some troubles, and it'll force you to consistently make double switches in and out of Dragonite, which you shouldn't be trying to do, especially in situations when you cannot spin with Tentacruel. My suggestion would be to drop Psychic on Gothitelle in place of Psyshock, as well as trying out an EV spread of 188 HP / 252 SAtk / 68 Spe. Psyshock allows you to combat stuff like Blissey and Ninetales easier, both of which look annoying for your team. The bulkier EV spread gives Gothitelle a little more survivability, as it actually has pretty decent bulk while still allowing you to outspeed everything up to Skarmory, which is all you really need to do. Gothitelle has a pretty awkward speed tier, so I can assure you the loss of speed won't hurt your team.

Also looking over your team, I noticed your Dragonite's moveset -- I think you could improve this slightly. I'd strongly recommend dropping Earthquake and Dragon Claw in place of Waterfall and Superpower. The only things that you really hit extra hard with Earthquake is Terrakion, Heatran and Magnezone, all of which can be dealt with by Superpower, while more important allowing you to hit Ferrothorn which is huge for a team like this, when Keldeo needs Ferrothorn gone to start sweeping. Waterfall similarly gives you a nice option against Heatran when you don't want the stat drops, while also allowing you to remove Volcarona without having to lock yourself into Outrage. It's also nice for smacking Skarmory under Rain, who otherwise walls your current Dragonite set. Just something to consider, I think you'll get a lot better use out of Dragonite if you go with these changes.

Another thing I'd suggest is modifying your Tentacruel slightly. Toxic Spikes in this metagame are very mediocre, as there's not a lot of Pokemon that are actually affected by Toxic Spikes. I'd also doubt the effectiveness of Giga Drain, as I really don't think you'll have a whole lot of trouble against Quagsire / Gastrodon, especially when Keldeo can 2HKO Quagsire and Dragonite can easily break through Gastrodon. If you really think these are a problem then try Hidden Power [Grass] somewhere on Politoed, but Tentacruel really would benefit from better moves. In places of these moves, I'd strongly suggest trying out Toxic and Protect. Given that Tentacruel is your only physically defensive Pokemon, it's going to be your only switch for Scizor, Terrakion and the plethora of other physical attackers in the tier. Protect, Black Sludge and Rain Dish will compensate for the many times you have to switch into these physical threats, and overall increase the survivability of Tentacruel, which you might value a lot against more defensively minded teams that force Tentacruel to spin many times in a match. Toxic is nice for crippling common Tentacruel switch-ins such as Ninetales and Latias, both of which can be annoying if Politoed / Jirachi has taken prior damage.

Cool team, good luck!

 

[Stex]

Hey HelloColdWorld!I like really so much your rain team but i notice that you is so weak against VoltSwitch abuser infact you don't have a great resistor...for example Thundurus-T have possibility to spam Thunder/Volt Switch against 6 member...for this reason in battle you must pay attention because if you use Earthquake whit CBDragonite,Secret Sword whit ScarfKeldeo,Thunderbolt/Signal Beam Gothitelle and others are outspeed ,Thundurus-T will destroy your team and successive you will be forced to locked Keldeo in Surf/Hydro Pump...i think that is so annoying.
So my suggestion are:
Ferrothorn>Jirachi because whit him you'll sponge electric spam better...obviously Thundurus-T isn't the only reason infact Rotom-W,Gastrodon,Jellicent,Phisical Dragon spam were a problem because Jirachi is so weak to Earthquake and whit a little predict you losed entire match...
This Ferrothorn need of Chesto Berry infact your team is very weak against Will-O-Wisp and Scald spam for this reason i think is the best choice.
Also Ferrothorn+Tentacruel=one of the best core in the game for a lot of reasons
the set:

Ferrothorn (F) @ Chesto Berry
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Power Whip
- Stealth Rock
- Rest
- Gyro Ball
Now a little nitpick,you must put Protect>Giga Drain on Tentacruel because is very useful how recovery move and for scouting Band/Scarf pokemons..Giga Drain don't have a good utility in this case and is filler.
Good luck whit your team!! :)

 

[HelloColdWorld]

Hi there, welcome to Smogon!

This is a pretty solid Rain build you have here, Gothitelle is madly underrated as a trapper and I can definitely attest to the effectiveness of the Specs set. Anyway, as for your team, I think you're going to have some trouble with more defensively minded teams, the main reason being that your only Pokemon to break through Special Walls is Dragonite, who may have to lock itself into Outrage to do so, baiting a switch into a Steel and essentially rendering Dragonite useless. As a result, any team with some sort of defensive core is going to cause you some troubles, and it'll force you to consistently make double switches in and out of Dragonite, which you shouldn't be trying to do, especially in situations when you cannot spin with Tentacruel. My suggestion would be to drop Psychic on Gothitelle in place of Psyshock, as well as trying out an EV spread of 188 HP / 252 SAtk / 68 Spe. Psyshock allows you to combat stuff like Blissey and Ninetales easier, both of which look annoying for your team. The bulkier EV spread gives Gothitelle a little more survivability, as it actually has pretty decent bulk while still allowing you to outspeed everything up to Skarmory, which is all you really need to do. Gothitelle has a pretty awkward speed tier, so I can assure you the loss of speed won't hurt your team.

Also looking over your team, I noticed your Dragonite's moveset -- I think you could improve this slightly. I'd strongly recommend dropping Earthquake and Dragon Claw in place of Waterfall and Superpower. The only things that you really hit extra hard with Earthquake is Terrakion, Heatran and Magnezone, all of which can be dealt with by Superpower, while more important allowing you to hit Ferrothorn which is huge for a team like this, when Keldeo needs Ferrothorn gone to start sweeping. Waterfall similarly gives you a nice option against Heatran when you don't want the stat drops, while also allowing you to remove Volcarona without having to lock yourself into Outrage. It's also nice for smacking Skarmory under Rain, who otherwise walls your current Dragonite set. Just something to consider, I think you'll get a lot better use out of Dragonite if you go with these changes.

Another thing I'd suggest is modifying your Tentacruel slightly. Toxic Spikes in this metagame are very mediocre, as there's not a lot of Pokemon that are actually affected by Toxic Spikes. I'd also doubt the effectiveness of Giga Drain, as I really don't think you'll have a whole lot of trouble against Quagsire / Gastrodon, especially when Keldeo can 2HKO Quagsire and Dragonite can easily break through Gastrodon. If you really think these are a problem then try Hidden Power [Grass] somewhere on Politoed, but Tentacruel really would benefit from better moves. In places of these moves, I'd strongly suggest trying out Toxic and Protect. Given that Tentacruel is your only physically defensive Pokemon, it's going to be your only switch for Scizor, Terrakion and the plethora of other physical attackers in the tier. Protect, Black Sludge and Rain Dish will compensate for the many times you have to switch into these physical threats, and overall increase the survivability of Tentacruel, which you might value a lot against more defensively minded teams that force Tentacruel to spin many times in a match. Toxic is nice for crippling common Tentacruel switch-ins such as Ninetales and Latias, both of which can be annoying if Politoed / Jirachi has taken prior damage.

Cool team, good luck!

Thank you very much for reading this. I do agree on the set you gave me for Dragonite. It has been very helpful since I began testing it. Also, Tentacruel has strongly improved with Toxic instead of Toxic Spikes also.
Thank you very much for the fabulous tips.

Hey HelloColdWorld!I like really so much your rain team but i notice that you is so weak against VoltSwitch abuser infact you don't have a great resistor...for example Thundurus-T have possibility to spam Thunder/Volt Switch against 6 member...for this reason in battle you must pay attention because if you use Earthquake whit CBDragonite,Secret Sword whit ScarfKeldeo,Thunderbolt/Signal Beam Gothitelle and others are outspeed ,Thundurus-T will destroy your team and successive you will be forced to locked Keldeo in Surf/Hydro Pump...i think that is so annoying.
So my suggestion are:
Ferrothorn>Jirachi because whit him you'll sponge electric spam better...obviously Thundurus-T isn't the only reason infact Rotom-W,Gastrodon,Jellicent,Phisical Dragon spam were a problem because Jirachi is so weak to Earthquake and whit a little predict you losed entire match...
This Ferrothorn need of Chesto Berry infact your team is very weak against Will-O-Wisp and Scald spam for this reason i think is the best choice.
Also Ferrothorn+Tentacruel=one of the best core in the game for a lot of reasons
the set:

Ferrothorn (F) @ Chesto Berry
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Power Whip
- Stealth Rock
- Rest
- Gyro Ball
Now a little nitpick,you must put Protect>Giga Drain on Tentacruel because is very useful how recovery move and for scouting Band/Scarf pokemons..Giga Drain don't have a good utility in this case and is filler.
Good luck whit your team!! :)

I actually don't have many problems with Thundurus-T since I have Keldeo who can outspeed and KO. The only set I do have trouble with is the Agility set. But Jirachi can usually take attacks coming from an Agility Thundurus-t and Dragonite can usually KO if Multiscale is still intact. Thank you very much for the tip, though!