Table of Contents:
- Introduction
- Team Building
- The Team in Depth
- Politoed
- Tornadus-T
- Dugtrio
- Jirahi
- Ferrothorn
- Tentacruel
- Last Look
- Importable
Hello Smogoners and welcome to my RMT. i absolutely love cold and icy weather, with that gust of wind that sends shivers down your spine. Hence i thought, hell; why not make a rain team? So I began with Politoed and Tornadus-T, an infamous duo capable of producing 100% accurate hurricanes and some nasty wet weather. Thus, my aim was to construct a team that could support Nadus and ultimately set up his game-winning sweeps. I'd love some constructive criticism! The team is slightly old, and I believe Nadus may be banned now? And please note that this is therefore a retiring team. None the less, I play on the PO Server, so the tiers and what not may differentiate somewhat. Without further ado, lets get on to the team!
I think I began pretty much where every rain team does, with Politoed and Tornadus-T. As the weather inducer, Politoed brings permanent rain to the field, supplying Nadus with 100% accurate hurricanes.
Next to join the team was Dugtrio. Heatran, Ninetails Tyranitar and Magnezone were intimidating threats, and Trio checks them beautifully. His trapping and countering capabilities are amazing, and he's earned his spot on the team. Trio also pairs with Politoed nicely, if I'm feeling a PerishTrap.
Genesect became my scarfed revenge killer, and he was one hell of an asset! His synergy with Nadus and Trio was also quite strategic, allowing me to check a lot of common threats; such as mamoswine and bulky water types.
Entry hazards spelled doom for my team; specially rocks. A spinner was an absolute must. With acess to rapid spin and a range of entry hazards, forretress joined the team. Rain also suppliments forretress, weaking it's 4x weakness to fire-based attacks.
Toxicroak was effectively my backup sweeper, if for some reason Nadus was absent. He also had the ability to soak up opposing water attacks; which nicely restored hp.
Then that heartbreaking day came when Genesect moved to Ubers... I was forced to rethink and find a new revenge killer. Jirachi was my next choice, with decent speed and access to U-Turn and ice punch. He too was able to gain momentum and fend off troublesome dragon types.
My team seemed a bit broken, and was not functioning very well. I chose to implement the defensive ferrocruel core, as the two have outstanding synergy and cover each other's weaknesses. Ferrothorn is also able to aid Nadus with hazard support, like Forretress once did. And lastly, Tentacruel is now the designated spinner; who surprisingly packs a punch!
First we have the most important pokemon on the team; Politoed. He's the one who summons the rain and he helps tremendously during my matches. The weather in play can easily decide the outcome of a match, so keeping rain up is a must. Therefore the standard defensive Politoed has the most survivability, which allows it to supply rain the longest. Scald is it's most reliable STAB attack, especially in the rain. Politoed is a competent special attacker thanks to Drizzle, but the only thing it needs to do in order to support its team is survive. To this end, a defensive Politoed can be a valuable asset, with access to some of the most infuriating support moves in the game. Scald is the worst of them all; with water types being granted the ability to deal decent damage and burn opposing switch-ins with one move. The 30% burnhax chance can help wither down walls and setup pokes. Toxic is mostly for predicted switches, which crippples the enemy's incoming counter. Then with the use of protect, it can often be stalled, and forcibly switched out. It also give Politoed a chance to recover some all important HP. Perish Song rounds off the set and can be used as a phazing move, or in conjunction with dugtio, as a "Perish-Trap" strategy. Perish Song is also useful to crush those pesky Baton Pass chains.
The king of the rain; Tornadus-T. This is the pokemon that my team was built around. Thus, the rest of the team aims to support it by weakening possible counters and providing a downpour of rain. A support of Stealth rocks on the field can often allow Nadus to ohko a switch in. Now this set attempts to increase Tornadus-T's offensive capabilities so that it can more easily break down walls on stall teams. Unlike most Choice item users, thanks to its effective immunity to hazards, Tornadus-T can switch in and out as it pleases, without having to worry about the recoil from hazard damage stacking. Thanks to regeneration, it can take a hit or two when neccessary. Choice Specs were chosen for the reliability of easy kills, with the bonus of a lot more longevity. Hurricane is the move you'll be spamming all game. U-Turn is to keep the team's momentum, and also counters may be trapped with dugtrio. Focus blast is purely for greater coverage, and benefits from the increase in SAtk. Chansey and Blissey often succumb to this move. And lastly, Sleep Talk is to leave Breloom and Smeargle users in dismay as Tornadus rips their team apart in his sleep.
Dugtrio's main purpose on the team is to trap opposing weather inducers and to check the team's large electrical weakness. Tyranitar and Ninetails are easily eliminated by Dugtrio, and ultimately he ensures that my rain stays is play. Dugtrio also has the vital role in clearing a clean sweep for Tornadus. Although there are not many opportunities, Focus Sash will guarentee Stealth Rock if I see fit. A full-powered Reversal is Dugtrio's strongest move even after factoring in Earthquake's STAB boost, and its main use is to shut down Tyranitar and Terrakion as well as deal a nice amount of damage to a variety of common threats. Earthquake is Dugtrio's most powerful STAB move and its strongest choice when at full HP. Its main use is to defeat Ninetales and Heatran, but it is also works well against Jirachi. Stone Edge is a great coverage move that defeats Volcarona and deals nice damage to Flying-types, which avoid Arena Trap.
My Scarfed Jirachi is a speedy revenge killer. It acts to check and neutralise pesky dragon types. despite my whole team generally being annoying, Rachi's increased added effect rate can be bothersome. U-Turn is for scouting and switching to a counter, or even trapping with trio. Ice punch is the crux of this set that seeks to eliminate dragon types. It also has the added bonus of possibly freezing the opponent; allowing Nadus to come in and hurricane like there's no tomorrow. Zen headbutt also exists to check another common threat in the OU Metagame; Gengar. As soon as SubGengar sets up on me, I've effectively lost the match. Spore abusing Breloom is also punished by Zen Headbutt, and will serve as a ohko. Finally, Iron head further enrages my opponent, as most of the time Jirachi will outspeed the opponent and cause it to flinch.
ferrothorn serves as my mixed wall and often shuts down many threats. He seeks to cripple my oppent's mons and set up Nadus. Power whip takes care of opposing bulky waters who whould otherwise benefit from my rain. It mixes nicely with Gyro ball, as both serve as STAB moves with near perfect coverage. Ferrothorn's poor speed also heightens the power of Gyro ball. Finally Thunder wave and Leech seed serve as annoying and stalling moves. I can cripple an opponent with Thunderwave, Leech seed him and often stall it to death. The combination of Leftovers and Leech seed allow Ferrothorn to regain a large amount of HP at the end of each turn.
The second part to my defensive core is Tentacruel. This set absolutely excels at spinning. Unlike other users of Rapid Spin, Tentacruel is able to absorb Toxic Spikes, facilitating its work as a spinner. Tentacruel isn't limited to spinning either—it can spread status and stall out many threats. I run toxic to allow Tentacruel to consistently defeat spinblockers in the rain; such as jellicent. Scald is the best STAB move that Tentacruel can run. It has the same power under rain as a Hydro Pump outside of rain and has a 30% chance to burn the target, discouraging Pokemon such as Gyarados and Dragonite from switching in, even though they resist the move. lastly, Protect and substitute allow Tentacruel to stall for more Leftovers + Rain Dish recovery.
Code:
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