Rock / Water
HP: 60 / Atk: 115 / Def: 105 / SpA: 65 / SpD: 70 / Spe: 80
Kabutops @ Life Orb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly or Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
Classification: Swift Swim Sweeper
Description: Kabutops is the premier physical Rain Sweeper of RU. No unresisted Pokemon would enjoy taking its Rain-enhanced Waterfall, which now surpasses the power of its mighty Stone Edge. There are many reasons why Kabutops is number 1 physical sweeper in the rain. It has a fantastic dual STAB coverage with its Rock-typing. Those that resist its Waterfall often fears a O-2HKO from Stone Edge. Water and Rock offense are only resisted by a select-few mons, such as Ferroseed and Poliwrath, supplementing Kabutops with a powerful weapon to break through various Water resists. Secondly, Kabutops has Speed and a powerful priority Aqua Jet; bringing down Kabutops with priority or revenge killers often prove to be a difficult feat even when the downpour stops. Thirdly its decent physical bulk and access to Swords Dance grants Kabutops the sheer power to render most walls useless, giving other swift swimmers access to the holes in the team's defense.
Usually Kabutops can be sent while raining and spam Waterfalls and bring something down. A well-timed Swords Dance or Stone Edge on the switch can often put an end to the opponent's main Water resistance; this usually paves way for Kabutops's uninterrupted sweep until the storm calms. Kabutops perform both early-game wallbreaker and mid- to late-game Rain Sweeper fantastically, it's almost unfair. Which role Kabutops assume depends on what is displayed on team preview. Any physical walls that can halt Kabutops in its tracks? Let your Special or Mixed Rain sweepers do the wall-breaking and bring in Kabutops later to clean. No counter to Kabutops? Bring in Kabutops at every safe opportunity!
Shortcomings: However, Kabutops is not perfect even while raining. Water and Rock are great offensive combination, but not flawless. Pokemon like Poliwrath and Ferroseed can resists both dual STABs and neuter Kabutops with Circle Throw and Thunder Wave, respectively. In addition, Tangrowth and the less common Alomomola resist Kabutops's powerful Waterfall and can survive a +2 Stone Edge with their raw physical bulk. Fortunately, the list of counters ends there for Kabutops.
Pairing Kabutops with a wallbreaker (with an emphasis in breaking down physical walls) are recommended to help overcome these obstacle. For instance, Swords Dance Qwilfish, Sword Dance Samurott and Belly Drum Poliwrath can soften up physical walls for Kabutops. Alternatively overloading on Special Rain sweepers, particularly Ludicolo with Focus Blast can assault the opposing team from the special side, maybe even forcing them to sac physical walls to preserve their Special walls. Nidoqueen is an interesting special sweeper that can pulverize Kabutop's counter with Thunder, Sludge Wave, and Focus Blast. Entry hazards go a long way in netting KOs for Kabutops.
Other Options: Kabutops may forego Stone Edge for a more situational coverage option. It can opt for Superpower to destroy Ferroseed, which commonly pesters Rain teams. X-Scissor provides a more reliable way to eliminate Grass- and Psychic-types, namely Slowking. Adamant or Jolly is a tough decision. Adamant provides noticeable increase in power to net some useful KOs, but Jolly makes sure Kabutops isn't counter-swept by an opposing Timid Ludicolo, Scarf Galvantula, or Swift Swim Kabutops.
Author: Pocket
Water / Grass
HP: 80 / Atk: 70 / Def: 70 / SpA: 90 / SpD: 100 / Spe: 70
Ludicolo @ Life Orb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Modest Nature
- Surf
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Giga Drain
Classification: Swift Swim Sweeper
Description: When you think of "Rain Sweeper" Ludicolo jumps to mind immediately. This thing is literally the most powerful special swift swim sweeper in RU. The power of a Rain-boosted Hydro Pump is a force that rocks teams, crushes them, smashes them and then leaves them there to be drenched by the rain. Seriously, this thing is a monster. Surf is an option if you think miss chances are bad, but it only rocks and crushes, instead of Hydro Pump's rocking, crushing and smashing (That's Phazon terms for it doing less damage). Ice Beam gets some sweet coverage, smacking the Grass Types that resist Hydro Pump for some nice damage, even though bulkier Grass pokes like Roselia can live the unSTAB Ice Beam.
What sets Ludicolo apart from the pack of other special sweepers, is its Grass-typing, offering STAB Giga Drain to even score 2HKOs on some Slowking and easily Lanturn. This strong advantage makes Ludicolo a mainstay for most competitive rain teams.
Shortcomings: One of the best parts about Ludicolo is its very low amount of shortcomings, assuming it is in the rain. However, the shortcomings are there. Ludicolo is fast, but not fast enough, as faster Swift Swimmer such as Kabutops, Seismitoad, and Qwilfish may threaten to counter-sweep you. Unburden users, such as Hitmonlee and Sceptile, and even Scarf Galvantula and faster scarfers beat Ludicolo to the punch during the downpour.
Ludicolo is fairly bulky, but strong priority moves from CB Entei or Spiritomb can calm Ludicolo's storm sweep prematurely.
Also, Ferroseed and Roselia can tank a hit from Ludicolo no problem, and paralyze it (In Ferro's case) or kill it outright (In Roselia's case). In addition, the Great Wall Cresselia can easily take a hit and fire off a T-Wave to cripple Ludicolo forever. Other specially defensive things such as Cryogonal, Clefable, Munchlax, or even Slowking can cause an issue, as all of them can survive a hit.
Partners that aid Ludicolo in taking these out include Kabutops and Qwilfish, with Qwilfish getting off fast taunts and Kabutops just plain dismantling anything that isn't Ferroseed. Hell, an unboosted Stone Edge from Kabutops OHKOes Roselia after SR. You can even give Kabutops Superpower, in an attempt to stop Ferroseed from walling it. Also, Magneton can handle the aforementioned Ferroseed easily, and can even set up Subs and Charge Beams if it is that particular set. This permits Magneton to cause damage from behind its Substitute with boosted SpA. Escavalier can also slam things with CB Megahorns, as none of the defensive threats listed above enjoy taking a Banded Megahorn.
Other Options: Focus Blast is an option to hit Ferroseed hardest in rain and Clefable and Cryogonal outside of rain. But, then again, Escavalier and Kabutops with Superpower can crush both of these without too many problems.
Rain Dance is an option, but in the turn it takes Ludicolo to set up, there is a risk of being swiftly eliminated. You can use this, but it is a risk. Either option ends up sacrificing one of its Water-type moves, which hinders its overall effectiveness in wallbreaking and sweeping under rain.
Lanturn, Uxie, and Cresselia are great partners to Ludicolo, as they offer great bulk to reliably summon rain and have means to switch in Ludicolo safely and immediately begin its surge. Both summoners have access to Heal Bell, which allows Ludicolo to play a little bit recklessly in order to throw the extra crucial hit in. Cresselia deserves a special mention for its utility in Lunar Dance, effectively granting Ludicolo a second life to start a rampage anew.
Timid Nature allows Ludicolo to not fall prey to the common Scarf Galvantula, which is a significant threat to rain teams. Timid Nature is also convenient for being faster than Modest Nidoqueen and Adamant Kabutops outside of rain.
Author: Phazon00
Water / Rock
HP: 70 / Atk: 60 / Def: 125 / SpA: 115 / SpD: 70 / Spe: 55
Omastar @ White Herb / Life Orb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid or Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump / Surf
- Shell Smash
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power Grass
Classification: Swift Swim Sweeper
Description: The heavens open up. The rain begins to bucket down. The dancing pinata starts to tear opposing teams to mincemeat. A fossilized shellfish crushes all resistance by the opposing team of weaklings. However, this is only the beginning. For the true terror was about to come. What starts out as a small spiral Pokemon becomes a horrifying monster once it sheds the shell that holds it back. Once that cumbersome thing is gone, it's time to go to town. Such a terrifying beast of beastness is known under one single name - Omastar.
Something that commands such an awesome intro (admit it- it was awesome) must be good, right! And believe me- it is. While Kabutops and Ludicolo are the most common Swift Swimmers, Omastar has one major advantage- Shell Smash. Shell Smash is quite a terrifying move, as it doubles both Omastar's Special Attack and it's speed. Once it sets up that, I'd start panicking. Firstly, it becomes nearly impossible to outspeed (only thing in the tier that outspeeds this is 252+ Scarfed Accelgor) and nearly impossible to survive a Rain-boosted Water move. If you don't believe me, take a look at this-
+2 Timid Omastar Hydro Pump on 252 HP / 56 SDef+ Cresselia in Rain -
84-98% 75% chance to OHKO after SR.
Even the mighty lunar forretress's defense falls down at the hand of Omastar. Ice Beam complements Hydro Pump nicely, giving good coverage on Grass types like Sceptile or Tangrowth. It also hits Druddigon, which is a problem for some rain teams. HP Grass completes the coverage, hitting Kabutops, Quagsire and other Water-types for super effective. Ferroseed is still a problem, but that thing is rarely seen, and Gyro Balls won't do much to a base 125 Def.
Shortcomings: Omastar, sadly, is not perfect. This is a problem that is remedied by Shell Smash and Swift Swim, but Omastar is slow. Even in rain, Scarf Rotom and faster Scarfers can outspeed it and take it out with SE STABs, even when you run Timid. Even worse, it is also outsped by opposing Swift Swimmers, such as Ludicolo, which slams it with a Giga Drain. For a sweeper, being so slow can be a problem, especially in the fast-moving RU metagame. However, once a Shell Smash goes up, Omastar goes up to a godtier speed, and with a base 125 defense, it isn't too hard to set up. The speed problem is fixed after that.
Despite its excellent Special Attack and set-up move, there exists in RU defensive titans that can halt Omastar's rampage. The most notorious one being Slowking. It can absorb +2 Hidden Power Grass with plenty of health to spare, and can finish off Omastar with Rain-boosted Scald. Omastar also struggles with Lanturn and Ferroseed, although to a lesser degree, since they both lack Regenerator. In fact, +2 Modest Hidden Power Grass and Hydro Pump coming from an Omastar equipped with Life Orb actually OHKOs the standard Lanturn after SR and max HP Ferroseed without SR, respectively. Specially-defensive Druddigon resists Water and possess enough bulk to take Ice Beam before a Shell Smash boost, and phazes with Dragon Tail or paralyzes with Glare. However, Druddigon can be easily worn down.
Nidoqueen and Rotom-C are excellent partners for Omastar to destroy these walls. Nidoqueen serves as an excellent lure for Slowking, inflicting major damage with Thunder. Lanturn and Ferroseed are also damaged beyond repair after stomaching a super-effective Earth Power and Focus Blast, respectively. Rotom-C annihilates Slowking and Lanturn with both of its STAB offense, however, must Volt Switch out of Ferroseed. Both Rotom-C and Nidoqueen can soften up Druddigon's thick hide for Omastar to penetrate.
Other Options: Omastar can run Earth Power over HP Grass, but the Grass coverage should not be foregone for something like Ground. Stick to the above moveset for a sweeper set.
Author: Phazon00
Water / Fighting
HP: 90 / Atk: 85 / Def: 95 / SpA: 70 / SpD: 90 / Spe: 70
Poliwrath @ Leftovers
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Brick Break
- Waterfall
- Ice Punch
Classification: Swift Swim Sweeper
Description: Poliwrath in general is a relatively rare pokemon on rain teams, and at first this looks like a very gimmicky set. However, Poliwrath can actually utilise it to great effect by virtue of it's typing and stats. Poliwrath resists Stealth Rock, and many different types, such as Water, Fire, Bug and Dark. This allows it to set-up on quite a few common pokes, such as Drapion and various choice locked Pokemon. Once you have set-up a Belly Drum, you outspeed pretty much everything on offensive teams, and can tear through common defensive cores. Things like Lanturn and Cresselia are easily 1HKO'd. And here comes the biggest problem in dealing with Poliwrath. Normally, you can revenge kill a sweeper with priority, but not so Poliwrath. Poliwrath resists or is at least neutral to common priority moves, so things like Absol are unable to deal with it as they would with ordinary rain sweepers like Ludicolo. Poliwrath can simply smash straight through it thanks to Brick Break(just for fun, Brick Break does more than 400% to Absol).
Shortcomings: Even at +6, Poliwrath can't 1HKO everything. Things like defensive Slowking and Qwilfish can take a hit, and either take Poliwrath out with Psychic or paralyze him with Thunder Wave. Quagsire can also stop Poliwrath's sweep thanks to Unaware, and Tangrowth can survive even a +6 Ice Punch from Poliwrath, but only if it goes fully defensive. To fix this issue, pairing Poliwrath up with Ludicolo is a great idea, as Ludicolo's Giga Drain can quickly weaken these mons enough, or outright 1HKO them. Whimsicott can also Encore Belly Drum, or Stun Spore him. Once again, Ludicolo is a nice answer to Whimsicott, as its grass typing means that it doesn't take leech seed damage. Stealth Rock is also very helpful for Poliwrath to get some key KO's, and a layer of spikes on top of this secures the 1HKO on Tangrowth and Slowking.
Other options: Return can be used over Ice Punch, as it seals the 1HKO on Qwilfish and Slowking after SR damage. However, this means that you lose out on Ice Punch, thus missing out on the conditional OHKO. Substitute is a nice option to avoid status from things like Qwilfish, and a SubSalac set allows Poliwrath to outspeed base 112's outside of rain with an Adamant nature, and base 125's with a Jolly nature. A Jolly nature can be used if you go with a SubSalac set, to outspeed Swellow even outside of rain, however you do lose out on a lot of power. For example, with an Adamant nature, there is a good chance that you can 1HKO both Slowking and Tangrowth with Waterfall and Ice Punch respectively after SR damage.
Author: Silvershadow234
Water / Ground
HP: 105 / Atk: 85 / Def: 75 / S. Atk: 85 / S. Def: 75 / Speed: 74
Seismitoad @ Life Orb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Surf
Classification: Swift Swim Sweeper
Description: Seismitoad seems like an odd pick for a Swift Swimmer. If this is your main sweeper, one might ask "Why are you not using Kabutops or Omastar for Swift Swim sweeping?" The answer lies in several things. The first answer is Seismitoad's distinct typing. Water / Ground only has one quadruple weakness of Grass-type attacks, while otherwise being immune to the Electric-type attacks that plague many other Swift Swim sweepers. In particular its Thunder Wave immunity, which cripples all other Swift Swimmers, is a great boon to Seismitoad. The second answer is Seismitoad's stats. It is generally faster than most other Swift Swimmers, while also having adequate bulk and a really good HP stat to boot; while its stats are not as offensively-oriented, its bulk is sufficient for survival of attacks other Swift Swimmers might not stomach.
Although some Pokemon like Gorebyss and Omastar lack in a powerful coverage moves, Seismitoad does not experience this problem, thanks to its access to STAB Earth Power. Although Ground / Water does not provide exceptional coverage, it does allow Seismitoad to hit Lanturn extra harder than Rain Sweepers without a useful dual STAB. Combine Earth Power with Sludge Wave, and Seismitoad finds itself with an odd but nonetheless effective offensive coverage.
Otherwise, for the above perks, its an effective Rain spammer as any other Swift Swimmer, with access to a devastating Hydro Pump and an accurate Surf. Although its Special Attack is a bit lackluster, giving it a Modest Nature and Life Orb provide sufficient power behind its special artillery.
Seismitoad's STAB already makes a potent combination of powerful attacks, and Sludge Wave is for most Grassers that try to stand in Toad's way (although some argue Sludge Bomb is better due to the additional percentage chance to Poison opposing walls despite losing 5 Base Power in the process). It can also set up its own Rain Dance, but Surf is the preferred move; Hydro Pump's limited PP and accuracy do make Surf often needed just in case.
Shortcomings: Although, Seismitoad's typing maybe a blessing, it is also a curse. Due to its Ground-typing, it is neutral to Water-type moves. Thus, Rain Dance offense may backfire if the opponent is packing a faster Swift Swimmer, such as Kabutops or Floatzel, or if the opponent's bulky Water-type, such as Slowking or Feraligatr, is bulky enough to retaliate.
Like most Rain abusers Seismitoad is deathly afraid of Grass-types and is easily worn out. Thankfully, just a little bit of chip damage from SR puts offensive Grass-types into Sludge Wave KO range. At perfect health, though, Pokemon like Sceptile can survive a wave of sludge and drain Seismitoad's entire life! Due to Life Orb's 10% recoil after each damage move, Seismitoad is put on a timer, and other residual damage from entry hazards and poison would further shorten its time. Either have Seismitoad on reserve for late-game cleaning or pack additional Rain abusers to clean the floor after Seismitoad bites the dust.
However, Seismitoad is not without obstacles. Slowking walls the trifecta of Water / Ground / Poison attacks and does not take much from even Grass Knot. Ferroseed, an albeit rarer Pokemon to find and use properly in RU, is in a similar boat - Seismitoad finds it inadvisable to run anything other than Drain Punch to try and counter Ferroseed, and the preferred natures of Seismitoad make this gimmicky. Neutrality to Sludge Wave and Earth Power is also adequate enough for some Grass / Poison dual-types to check Seismitoad, notably Amoonguss and Roserade.
The things that wall Seismitoad can all be handled with support from a physical attacker. A physical attacker, such as Gallade, Braviary, and Escavalier, can effectively deal with those threats, while Seismitoad deals with everything else. Otherwise, Whimsicott is also a solid option as priority Taunt, Toxic and/or Stun Spore, thanks to Prankster, shuts down those threats. It can also set up on Ferroseed thanks to the immunity to Leech Seed.
Stealth Rock support also turns some 2HKOs into OHKOs. Pokemon like Crustle, Steelix, Rhydon, Uxie, etc. are effective at providing SR hazards. If additional hazards are required, Scolipede, Qwilfish, and Omastar can provide Spikes and Toxic Spikes to make Seismitoad's attacks harder to survive against.
Other Options: Grass Knot is to Seismitoad in RU as Energy Ball is to Jellicent in OU. While it does not really help you against Slowking, it does allow you to kill other Bulky Waters not named Lanturn and Qwilfish, at a faster rate. That said, Water / Ground / Poison is enough offensive coverage for the most part. Sludge Bomb is a nifty option over Sludge Wave for that 30% poison rate, but the minor power drop actually notably lowers its chances in knocking out offensive Grass-types after SR. The difference in power notwithstanding, one could also run a Timid nature to try and outspeed base 75 and 80 Pokemon during clear skies and Scarf Galvantula during a downpour.
Author: /B/utterfree
- Phazon00 - 8 points
- Yonko7 - 8 points
- Pocket - 8 points
- Silvershadow234 - 4 points
