HEAVY RAIN Mk.II
Team at a glance-
Hi all!
It's been some time since I got on PS. I started with OU, played Ubers for a short time, went back to OU, and now I have again left it, concluding that it is pretty much a broken tier. I mean, with all the sun teams, that are practically impossible to beat with weatherless teams, and even if you run a weather team, you have to engage in those weather wars and dumbstuff, so I decided that (at least for me) Ubers is the real place.
Of course, since I've played Ubers before, I have a decent idea of what it's like. Though this time, I thought that I've improved my team building skills a bit, and now I am sure about what playstyle suits me the best, so I hoped that this time I should be better off against the most powerful Pokes in existence.
Team building process-
The playstyle I was talking about earlier, is something like this - right on the line that separates stall and offense. Pokes powerful enough to take some hits, and hit hard in return, along with a couple of support Pokes and a few strong wallbreakers/sweeper (maybe Bulky Offense is what I'm talking about?).
The first thing I had in mind was to make a rain team, not only because rain is my favourite season, but Kyogre is just awesome.
So here he is. The big blue whale. Last time, I was using ScarfOgre, but this time, for a change, I decided to try out the physically defensive mono-attacker set.
As I read on the Smogon page, I started thinking about Ogre's teammates. I've talked about it in detail later, but in short, this is what I came up with.
This also completes my Water/Dragon/Steel Core. Kyogre, Zekrom and Scizor not only resist every type in the game except Fighting and Ground, they also have amazing synergy with each other.
I still have three more team slots, so I started looking at other random stuff.
Palkia is, IMO, the best rain abuser in Ubers (apart from maybe SpecsOgre and Manaphy). This means it can easily serve as my team's main sweeper.
Just the prescence of this guy helps me breathe easy against stall teams. Darkrai is very aptly described as the bane of stall teams, as if I play well, Darkrai can literally 6-0 stall teams. Thanks to Dark Void and Nasty Plot, setting up is relatively easy, and so is sweeping.
Still, there is one Poke that gives me nightmares. And that is the dreaded Extreme Killer Arceus. Considering that it is quite easily the single best sweeper (IMO) in the game, it shouldn't be surprising that I had to turn to the single best defensive Poke in the game to counter it.
This is the only thing that can survive a +2 LO Shadow Claw, and with Will-o-Wisp and Roar, can easily save my day from being ruined by some random EK Arceus.
Now, time to talk in a bit more detail-
Kyogre @Leftovers
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SpDef
Nature: Bold (+Def,-Attk)
Rest
Sleep Talk
Calm Mind
Scald
Definitely the most important Poke in my team. Though it has problems with certain Pokes, being able to act as an amazing mixed wall (being able to beat Deo-A leads one-on-one) and my status absorber, as well as a great sweeper after sufficient setup, this Kyogre has often pulled me out of grim situations. Since physically defensive Kyogres aren't the most common things, it's always fun to switch into Ho-oh, and have fun as even Brave Bird does 30-35%, a move so powerful it could normally create problems for other Kyogre sets. I can say this as I've previously used ScarfOgre, and ther have been many occasions when I switched Kyogre into Ho-oh, hoping to stop it, only to eat a Brave Bird in the face.
Other than that, not much to say, except that this set functions really well as a mixed wall at any stage of the game, is literally invulnerable to status, and once certain threats are removed, it can sweep as well.
Scizor @Choice Band
Ability:Technician
EVs: 248 HP/252 Attk/8 SpDef
Nature: Adamant (+Attk,-SpAttk)
Bullet Punch
U-turn
Pursuit
Superpower
Scizor is my first choice to take on Kyogre's threats, most importantly Latias.
All of its moves hit extremely hard, and have their purpose. Bullet Punch is a strong priority move, and the ability to OHKO Kyurem-B/W is really handy.
Pursuit can easily trap Latias, even Mewtwo and weakened Giratina-A/O.
U-turn is good to maintain momentum, and also hits Grass Arceus really hard, which is another advantage. Superpower can easily catch Dialga and Arceus formes weak to it off-guard. As far as synergy goes, Scizor is my main switch in to many Grass attacks aimed at Kyogre, as well as my main Dragon-resist.
Not much else to say, since you all know the purpose of Scizor on my team, tell me if there is any other Poke for the job. Though I highly doubt there is, as nothing packs a strong priority move, the ability to trap Psychics and a momentum-grabbing move with decent (?) coverage.
Zekrom @Choice Scarf
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 160 HP/252 Attk/96 Spe
Nature: Jolly (+Spe,-SpAttk)
Bolt Strike
Outrage
Focus Blast
Volt Switch
At first glance, this set might seem somewhat odd. Zekrom is my main choice to remove dragons from the equation that would otherwise threaten Kyogre.
Outrage and Bolt Strike are the obvious STABS, Focus Blast is a good way to deal with Ferrothorn and Dialga. Also, with Volt Switch, Zekrom forms a little VoltTurn core with Scizor, as both cover up each other's weaknesses really well. The Speed EVs are to outrun max speed Timid Mewtwo. Attack is maximized, and the rest is put in HP for added bulk, which is handy to soften up ESpeeds from Rayquaza and Arceus.
Palkia @Expert Belt
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 100 Attk/156 SpAttk/252 Spe
Nature: Hasty (+Spe,-Def)
Substitute
Focus Punch
Spacial Rend
Hydro Pump
Palkia is one of those Pokemon that has often helped me against random Ferrothorns and Blisseys. Once the opponent's Scarfer is down, and Palkia is behind a sub, it can easily sweep. Expert belt is really nice to bluff a Scarf early on, then proceed to set up a sub and smack that Ferrothorn that just came in with Focus Punch.
Darkrai @Leftovers
Ability: Bad Dreams
EVs: 252 SpAttk/252 Spe/4 HP
Nature: Timid (+Spe,-Attk)
Dark Void
Substitute
Nasty Plot
Dark Pulse
As I said early on, as long as Darkrai is alive, I have no reason to think I am going to lose against a stall team. The combination of Dark Void and Nasty Plot make setup extremely easy, and Substitute is really good to prevent status and revenge killing attempts. Darkrai is also really good at shutting down the opponent's leads early on in the game, to disrupt their strategy and give me the upper hand.
Giratina @Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SpDef
Nature: Bold (+Def,-Attk)
Magic Coat
Will-o-Wisp
Substitute
Roar
Now, what can I say about the Poke with the best bulk in the game? 504 HP. 372 Defense. Good Luck. Still, Giratina is somewhat frailer on the special side, as random Dragon Pulses and Draco Meteors still do massive damage. I chose a physically defensive set mainly to counter EK Arceus. Come in on Swords Dance, take a Shadow Claw, WoW it, and Roar it out. You took massive damage in the process, but now one of the main threats is out of the way, as after a burn, Scizor won't take exactly heavy damage from any of Arceus's moves (even the coverage move of choice - EQ/Brick Break) and OHKO with Superpower. Other than that, Substitute is also a nice move to have for protection against status. It also allows me to scout for switch ins, and thus gives me a free turn against them to WoW or Roar them out.
That's my team. Now onto some other important stuff-
1) Firstly, I want you guys to tell me WHERE DO I PUT STEALTH ROCK ON MY TEAM ?? Yes, just like last time, I totally forgot to have a Poke that sets up SR. Right now, I'm heavily reliant on Giratina's Magic Coat and pray that the opponent is using a Groudon/Deo-S lead so I can get SR up early.
Sometimes I think Dialga can be a good Poke, as it can set up SR while maintaining a strong offensive prescence. But again, the question is where do I fit him on my team.
2) Secondly, it's regarding Zekrom and Palkia's sets. I want one of them to be my revenge killer and the other, more of a setup sweeper/stallbreaker. This means that for Zekrom, it'll be the SubHone Claws, while for Palkia it'll be the Blissey Boxer set (lol that name). I'm absolutely confused as to which Poke will do what. I have used Scarf Palkia and Sub Zekrom in the past. At the time of posting this RMT, I was using Scarf Zekrom and Sub Palkia. I tell you, there is a good chance I'll switch the sets in a few hours to test them again.
So, please help.
I have probably explained how my team works and the purpose of each Poke, so tell me if there is anyone better for the job. I will be sticking to this team most likely, as it's got me my highest rating points ever (seriously) - 1542 the last time I checked. I'm doing this through an iPad, so I'm not sure how can I put a screenshot of it here, but nevermind.
All help is appreciated. Thanks,
Salamence97
