My First Rain Team Attempt

[Mosiea]

Here is my first ever rain team I've created. Wanted to run it by you guys first, before I start using it for some suggestions or help for it. I am pretty new to Pokemon.

Team Lead:

Frogger (Politoed) (F) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Scald
- Focus Blast
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Ground]

Sent out first to introduce rain. It is SO important to keep him alive to keep rain for this whole team to sweep. I chose Specs for Politoed so I could also do some damage while being a good counter to Pokemon like Scizor and Dragonite, while also being able to check Ferrothorn with Focus Blast.

King Of The Skies (Tornadus-T) (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SAtk
Lonely Nature (+Atk, -Def)
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave

Tornadus is one of my favorite 5th gen. Pokemon. I equip it with Life Orb because as dealing 100% accurate STAB Hurricanes all day it can U-turn out and restore some HP with its amazing new trait Regenerator. I also added Heat Wave to him because for some Ice threats to him.

Zeus's Lighting Bolt (Thundurus-T) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunder Wave
- Thunder
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Nasty Plot

This thing can cripple teams with a T-wave( Wishing could use Prankster) and then Nasty Plot up and proceed to sweep with Thunder that hits all the time and HP Ice to take down Dragons and other Thundurus.

Bad Ass Frog (Toxicroak) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Drain Punch
- Substitute
- Sucker Punch

I decided to use Toxicroak as one its Traits Dry Skin and a Leftovers with a Drain Punch can keep this thing alive all day. Most people use Bulk Up on this set but I would like to try to use Swords Dance to try to set up a sweep quicker behind a Sub.

#1 Stoner (Bronzong) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Explosion

My favorite Stoner! He can take hits alll day and cripple teams woth Toxic while setting up rocks and then Exploding when he is no longer for this world. Also I use Relaxed Nature on him so his Gyro Balls can be more effective.

Eragon (Dragonite) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4HP
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Fire Punch
- ExtremeSpeed
- Outrage
- Dragon Dance

Last, but not least Eragon (Dragonite). With Multiscale it will always be able to get a Dragon Dance up and start destroying teams like no other.

Please help me with this team as im new to Smogen.

Here is also to import the team to try it out!

Frogger (Politoed) (F) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Scald
- Focus Blast
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]

King Of The Skies (Tornadus-T) (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature (+Spd, -Def)
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Hurricane
- Taunt

Zeus's Lighting Bolt (Thundurus-T) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Focus Blast
- Thunder
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Volt Switch

Bad Ass Frog (Toxicroak) (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Sucker Punch

#1 Stoner (Bronzong) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 8 Def / 248 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Explosion

Eragon (Dragonite) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 172 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Fire Punch
- ExtremeSpeed
- Outrage
- Dragon Dance

 

[PDC]

Hi, cool team.

It is very nice to see that Bronzong and Toxicroak, two very underrated Pokemon, are getting some use in this team. Bronzong fits a unique niche which many people don't see. It is a gift in the metagame and it is really cool to see somebody else trying it out. Toxicroak is also a pretty nice Poke on rain and partners very well with Tornadus. However you have a few problems with your team. You should really take out Hidden Power Ground for Hidden Power Grass. Hidden Power Grass is a very useful move on Specs Politoed. It can easily eliminate Gastrodon and weaken Rotom-W for Tornadus - T later n in the game. Ground offers you no real extra coverage and is redundent. Most of the things hit by HP Ground are smashed by Scald and Ice Beam. I also suggest changing Tornadus - T to a Hasty Nature instead of Lonely. Tornadus - T needs the gift of speed to be effective. And having that much is really something you should be abusing. Wasting all that speed is not really worth a slightly stronger Superpower. Hasty still gives you neutral power and gives you that speed advanatage that Lonely wouldn't. You can still eliminate Blissey this way with some prior damage. You should also change up EVs to 252 Spe / 252 SAtk / 4 Def to maximize it's speed. Like I said, Tornadus - T should be focused on speed and special attack. While Superpower is a nifty move, it does not warrant a full on offensive spread like that. You need to maximize it's ability to revenge kill fast offensive threats,many doing that will cause you to lose many games. Like my previous points you should definitely change up Tornadus - T to fit the role it plays. You could also even try Taunt over Heat Wave, which often is redundent on him in rain. Taunt cures your need for a dedicated Rapid Spinner and helps greatly against Deoxys - D teams. They don't even see it coming, meaning you can disable them early on and U - Turn right back out to regain momentum.

Thundurus - T is honestly too slow in this game to pull of a Nasty Plot set in an effective way. Even with Thunder Wave you are not reliably able to prevent from being revenged. This is why you should switch him to a Choice Scarf set so that you now gain a speedy revenge killer. Being able to revenge Salamence, Dragonite, Starmie, and Gengar gives you some clear advantages. Choice Scarf fits his profile very nicely. The string Special Attack means you will never be left with a weak move, while Volt Switch gains momentum. This is something you team will definitely appreciate more than anything else out of Thundurus - T. Changing Thunder Wave and Nasty Plot for Focus Blast and Volt Switch gives the set what it needs. Another set shift I would suggest is changing up the layout on your Toxicroak to a full fledged Swords Dance Sweeper. Using Ice Punch over Substitute and a Life Orb over Leftovers gives you an all out sweeping machine. Toxicroak is very scary for most rain offense teams today and can result in heavy damage. Ice Punch allows you to pass Gliscor and slower dragons with ease, being able to break up stall easily. This gives you a strong partner for Tornadus - T, breaking up special walls like Chansey and Blissey, while also doing it's part in killing Jirachi.

Finally, I would change up Bronzong's EV spread to one of 252 HP / 8 Def / 248 SDef Sassy 0 Spe IV to maximize it's specially defensive capabilities. Being your only dragon resist you need something to take strong Draco Meteors and Hurricanes from the likes of Tornadus - T and Latios. Bronzong can abuse this spread to the fullest in this metagame and is a great choice for your team.

Good luck!

 

[Mosiea]

And PDC I have tried your changes today and they were great! Thank you so much currently right now I have only lost 1 match and that was because of some unfortunate haxs.

 

[Mosiea]

Bumb

 

[Pocket]

Interesting team, Mosiea; I actually quite like your TWave Thundurus-T set, since Pokemon like Lati@s will be screwed by it, and paralysis is simply a good utility move to abuse in general. Toxicroak is also a cool way for checking Keldeo with an offensive team :d.

DDNite seems out of place, though. Rain nerfs Fire Punch, allowing Dragonite to be Skarm and Jirachi bait. This team does not support DDNite well, lacking any Rapid Spin support and the means to keep Rocks off the field.

I suggest replacing DDNite that fits this team much more comfortably, Scarf Keldeo. Scarf Keldeo is a much more useful and deadly Scarfer than Thundurus-T, so you can leave Thundurus-T in paralyzing mons and sweeping with Nasty Plot. Thundurus-T, for instance, cant check QD Volcarona effectively, where as Keldeo's Water STAB OHKOs +1 Volcarona in the Rain. Unlike DDNite, Scarf Keldeo fully abuses the downpour, easily sweeping through weakened teams with Rain-boosted Surfs and Hydro Pumps. Scarf prevents non-choiced Latias / Latios, Starmie, or Tornadus-T from easily revenge-killing Keldeo.

Scarf Keldeo

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

Surf and Hydro Pump both serves different purpose. Surf lets you sweep teams without worrying about misses, while Hydro Pump help Keldeo overwhelm handful of Water resists. Secret Sword severely maims Blissey, Chansey, and Ferrothorn that may switch in to absorb its Water moves. HP Ice comes handy in revenge-killing dragons.

Scarf Keldeo does make Jellicent a much more annoying threat to face, but hopefully, you can play around it. If you find this troubling, you may want to add Specs Gothitelle over Thundurus-T to easily displace Jellicent, thanks to Shadow Tag. Specs Gothitelle also helps against weather wars, as well as crippling other special walls, such as Gastrodon, Blissey, and Ferrothorn to an extent.

Specs Gothitelle

Gothitelle (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Shadow Tag
EVs: 168 HP / 40 Def / 252 SAtk / 48 Spd
Modest Nature
- Psyshock
- Thunderbolt
- Energy Ball
- Trick

Just enough Speed to be faster than minimum Speed Skarmory, and by extension Jellicent. Psyshock is useful for heavily maiming Blissey, Chansey, Ninetales, and Tentacruel. Thunderbolt is effective in eliminating Jellicent; Energy Ball does the same for Gastrodon and Hippowdon. Trick cripples special walls, such as Chansey, Blissey, and Ferrothorn. Other options over Energy Ball includes Signal Beam to remove Celebi

Since your team is highly weather-dependant, winning the weather war against opposing Sand and especially Sun teams are important. For this reason, I suggest replacing Heat Wave on Tornadus-T for Rain Dance. Being able to remove the opposing weather for your own, even for a few turns, is enough to shift the momentum back to your side, and disorient opposing weather-dependent teams. Rain Dance Tornadus-T is particularly helpful when facing Sun teams, which heavily neuters this team's offense (ie Toxicroak losing health due to Dry Skin, Therian's Thunder and Hurricane's accuracy dropping to 50%, and Keldeo and Politoed's STAB Water halved in firepower).

Also a minor nitpick, but your Toxicroak should have Max Speed, not Max HP. Being faster than threats like Gliscor, Dragonite, Breloom, and Gyarados are much more beneficial than the extra bulk, and will certainly help Toxicroak sweep better.

 

[imdgreatest]

if youre gonna put substitute on your toxicroak, might as well be a badass and get focus punch too.

 

[labarith]

Re: Politoed.
If the goal is to keep rain up, a few things:
1. Quiet > Modest, 0 speed, iron ball. "Win" weather set up speed tie.
2. Optional: Rain Dance. For when you absolutely, 100%, got-to-got-to have rain up for the next turn.

Re: Tornadus-T
1. Superpower's nice, but I don't like the overall hit to defense necessary for it > Focus Blast.
2. Also, HP Ice > Heatwave if you're doing rain. Trouncing flying/steel after you've lost the weather war is small reward.

Re: Thundurus-T
1. Berry > Leftovers. This isn't going to survive more than one or two hits.
2. Taunt > Nasty Plot? Again, I just don't see this getting a hit off, and if it does it surely isn't surviving against any number of fighting guys who come in and hit you with a stone edge, let alone the sheer number of ice beams that gastrodons are going to throw at you and your unprepared movepool.
2a. Rain Dance here wouldn't be a bad idea either.

Re: Bad Ass Frog
1. You're missing 4 EVs. Don't.

Re: Bronzong
1. At this point, it's remarkably clear that you've got a lot of slow guys on your team. Is this anti-trickroom tech, or are you just not worried about outspeeding your opponent?
2. Is the bell really the best Stealthrocker here>

Re: Dragonite
1. I don't see a rapid spinner on your team... meaning it will never be able to get a dragondance off.
2. Dude, how many of your guys are setup sweepers? 3 out of 6? That's absurd!

The metagame is rather clear; you need to worry about:
1. Stealth Rocks
2. Weather
3. Trick Room

Right now you're 0 for 3 as I see it.

Aside from that, you generally want to have your guys hit your opponent FIRST, which means caring about your guys's speed. Quite frankly, I don't see any of your guys actually doing that... meaning your opponent will always hit you first, and usually KO your guy timewalking.

 

[Mosiea]

Labarith I have made changes to the team and haven't updated to the website. I appreciate the thoughts I will update this tomorrow as my Internet has been down. Thanks much

 

[Mosiea]

Last bump.

 

[Yeezy D]

A wild Ice Shard appeared!
Half your team just got OHKO'd!

Alright, joking aside, you have way too many Pokemon with clashing types, (namely the two Therians and Dnite). And I recommend not using a considerably frail sweeper with no EV investments. You can't back this up by saying 'Regenerator gets its health back', because Regenerator doesn't work halfway through getting OHKO'd. Now I recommend going for a Special Attack variant of Tornadus, that way you can abandon Superpower and get yourself some speed.

As for the rest of the team, I don't think I feel entirely up to swapping half your team around at the moment as I am quite ill as of now. But you do need to consider changing a Therian to something not air-orientated. Apologies for the lack of thorough rating, but if you make a new thread and need some rates when I'm on a better day, I'll surely leave you a rate, because I love doing it. Just not now. :/