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Recently found out this thread and thought to add a healthier version of kingambit that I frequently use. Many people hate kingambit for being easy to use/no skill but also face problem when team building because they don't want to put the mon they hate; this is where this tanky bisharp comes in. This set might be very similar to its sample one, but with different EV spread. This set focuses to make Bisharp a tanky sweeper which can come in late games or in defogs and intimidates. 1 or 2 swords dances makes this mon an absolute sweeper but in process it might use up the tera if all of its checks aren't eliminated, so it may be considered a tera hog in some situation. The HP EV spread utilizes the boost from its eviolite, making it able to tank neutral hits and super effective hits without tera while setting up, allowing it to strike back using sucker punch. It might not be the best mon to use, of course since its own evo is in this tier, but hey it does the necessary job without being forced to do so.
The EV spread is an estimate but it had at least enough speed to outrun max speed Timid Ghold. Any Ghold set gets 2HKOd by Tera Blast Fire, same goes for Corv and Kingambit. Its natural special bulk makes it annoying for a lot of the tier, especially Kyurem since it always lives Specs Draco and Recovers before the next one hits. It pairs well with Ting-Lu, which deals with Glowking and Ghold pre-tera.
Time to breathe new life into this thread! Rain has been hard to build since Archaludon's ban. That said, y'all know I'm part of the rain gang. I'll drop some of my flagship non-standardish sets to help fill in some holes on your rain squads:
Iron Treads @ Leftovers
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Volt Switch
IMO, best iteration of treads. Max bulk for being the GOAT wall of Raging Neck and Zapdos. Slow to pivot out of Zapdos. Only Tera for an emergency check to Kingambit. Otherwise, never Tera this.
252+ SpA Protosynthesis Raging Bolt Dragon Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Iron Treads: 93-110 (24.2 - 28.6%) -- possible 5HKO
0 SpA Zapdos Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Iron Treads: 64-76 (16.6 - 19.7%) -- possible 7HKO
Samurott-Hisui @ Choice Band
Ability: Sharpness
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 Atk / 80 Def / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Cutter
- Ceaseless Edge
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
GOAT breaker. Click Aqua Cutter = Big Damage. It's non-contact so it's lit. Single handedly dismantles fat squads and TR. Don't Tera if they have Kingambit.
252+ Atk Choice Band Sharpness Samurott-Hisui Aqua Cutter vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Kingambit in Rain: 318-375 (93.2 - 109.9%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Sharpness Tera Water Samurott-Hisui Aqua Cutter vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight in Rain: 348-410 (87.2 - 102.7%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Choice Band Sharpness Tera Water Samurott-Hisui Aqua Cutter vs. 80 HP / 0 Def Primarina in Rain: 318-375 (99 - 116.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Choice Band Sharpness Tera Water Samurott-Hisui Aqua Cutter vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Dondozo in Rain: 163-192 (32.3 - 38%) -- 96.6% chance to 3HKO
GOAT bird. Thundercane is so, so good. Beats/cripples Roaring Moon and Dragonite more often than not. It's here for Rillaboom and Fenris Wolf, though. Only Tera if Ogerpon-W has gotten out of hand. The low speed is for U-turn on Gliscor / Lando.
16 SpA Zapdos Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Ogerpon-Wellspring: 302-356 (100.3 - 118.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Thundurus-Therian @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Volt Absorb
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 248 HP / 28 SpD / 232 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder
- Psychic
- Volt Switch / Weather Ball / Tera Blast
- Nasty Plot
T-T has really good base stats yet a fucked up distribution (who needs all that SpA?). Bulk helps that somewhat. This mon is a good anti-lead into Glimm / Sam-H / Torkoal and foil to bulky Tera-Water users. Tera when your opponent has Raging Bolt and watch them forfeit.
0 SpA Thundurus-Therian Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Glimmora: 214-252 (69.7 - 82%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Glimmora Power Gem vs. 248 HP / 28 SpD Thundurus-Therian: 306-360 (84.7 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
The Gen 7 special. Solos balance lacking a faster Encore. Don't bother using TG vs. offense. Mystic Water helps a lot here.
+3 252 SpA Mystic Water Manaphy Surf vs. 252 HP / 240+ SpD Slowking-Galar in Rain: 375-442 (95.1 - 112.1%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
+3 252 SpA Mystic Water Manaphy Surf vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Iron Crown in Rain: 343-405 (106.8 - 126.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Idk why this girl is not on the VR. Good sweeper that is immune to contact effects (special swift swim is great). Use her if weak to Zama. Tera Dragon deserves a mention to troll Thunderclap and Grassy Glide. IMO the power boost of Water is still better.
252 SpA Choice Specs Tera Water Basculegion-F Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Zamazenta in Rain: 398-470 (102.5 - 121.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Basculegion-F Surf vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Zamazenta in Rain: 246-289 (63.4 - 74.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Zamazenta Crunch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Basculegion-F: 192-226 (50.3 - 59.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
This mon is good this gen due to lack of Slowbro/king and Pex. This always beats Kingambit and revenge kills Kyurem from full. Also a good lead matchup vs. Glimm / Sam-H. Vacuum Wave is lowkey nifty.
252 SpA Life Orb Keldeo Secret Sword vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Kyurem: 398-468 (101.7 - 119.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Keldeo Secret Sword vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Samurott-Hisui: 437-515 (136.1 - 160.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Keldeo Vacuum Wave vs. 212 HP / 0 SpD Kingambit: 395-468 (100.2 - 118.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252 SpA Life Orb Tera Water Keldeo Surf vs. 252 HP / 240+ SpD Slowking-Galar in Rain: 390-460 (98.9 - 116.7%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Keldeo Vacuum Wave vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Roaring Moon: 172-203 (49 - 57.8%) -- 93.8% chance to 2HKO
Fun to watch opponents underestimate this thing. Tera Ghost is usable for trolling Dragonite. Again, I favor the power boost.
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Tera Water Golduck Surf vs. 252 HP / 240+ SpD Slowking-Galar in Rain: 419-494 (106.3 - 125.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Tera Water Golduck Surf vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Alomomola in Rain: 573-675 (107.3 - 126.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Tera Water Golduck Surf vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Kyurem in Rain: 335-395 (85.6 - 101%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Golduck Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Multiscale Dragonite: 411-486 (127.2 - 150.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Golduck Vacuum Wave vs. 212 HP / 0 SpD Kingambit: 421-499 (106.8 - 126.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Meme set that turned out to be fine. If you can sneak in a Dragon Dance, things can get out of hand quick. Flip Turn back to your pokeball if you can't kill what is in front of you. Tera Dragon is an option for Glide / Thunderclap and to buff Scale Shot but you kind of don't need it.
252+ Atk Kingdra Scale Shot (4 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Kyurem: 320-384 (81.8 - 98.2%) -- approx. 2HKO
+1 252+ Atk Kingdra Scale Shot (4 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Ogerpon-Wellspring: 252-300 (83.7 - 99.6%) -- approx. 81.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Kingdra Scale Shot (4 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragapult: 368-440 (116 - 138.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Kingdra Scale Shot (4 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Roaring Moon: 392-464 (111.6 - 132.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Kingdra Scale Shot (4 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Multiscale Dragonite: 399-469 (123.5 - 145.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Kingdra Liquidation vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Great Tusk in Rain: 438-516 (100.9 - 118.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Kingdra Liquidation vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Iron Valiant in Rain: 303-357 (104.4 - 123.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Kingdra Liquidation vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Darkrai in Rain: 303-357 (107.8 - 127%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Kingdra Scale Shot (4 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Meowscarada: 292-348 (99.6 - 118.7%) -- approx. 87.5% chance to OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Tera Water Kingdra Liquidation vs. 252 HP / 16 Def Slowking-Galar in Rain: 434-512 (110.1 - 129.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
EDIT: adding this Dragapult. I am not a fan of Tera Blast in general so I don't use it much. But it did give some teams problems.
Scares Kyurem away and can rip through offense if you get one DD off. It's nice as a DDer because it naturally resists Glide & Thunderclap. You have to commit to the Tera, though. Worth a shot if you don't mind that part.
252+ Atk Dragapult Dragon Darts (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Kyurem: 372-444 (95.1 - 113.5%) -- approx. 68.8% chance to OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Dragapult Dragon Darts (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Ogerpon-Wellspring: 294-348 (97.6 - 115.6%) -- approx. 81.3% chance to OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Dragapult Dragon Darts (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Darkrai: 278-330 (98.9 - 117.4%) -- approx. 93.8% chance to OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Dragapult Dragon Darts (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Meowscarada: 342-404 (116.7 - 137.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Dragapult Dragon Darts (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Multiscale Dragonite: 399-471 (123.5 - 145.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Tera Water Dragapult Tera Blast (80 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Great Tusk in Rain: 482-570 (111 - 131.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Tera Water Dragapult Tera Blast (80 BP) vs. 244 HP / 36 Def Gliscor in Rain: 492-578 (139.7 - 164.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Tera Water Dragapult Tera Blast (80 BP) vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Landorus-Therian in Rain: 482-570 (126.1 - 149.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Tera Water Dragapult Tera Blast (80 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight in Rain: 213-252 (53.3 - 63.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
4 SpA Dragapult Thunder vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Corviknight: 180-214 (45.1 - 53.6%) -- 36.3% chance to 2HKO
4 SpA Dragapult Thunder vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Alomomola: 294-348 (55 - 65.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
4 SpA Dragapult Thunder vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Dondozo: 226-266 (44.8 - 52.7%) -- 25.8% chance to 2HKO
I'm testing more mons and sets but these are the most consistent and useful for now. Happy Rainin'
Time to breathe new life into this thread! Rain has been hard to build since Archaludon's ban. That said, y'all know I'm part of the rain gang. I'll drop some of my flagship non-standardish sets to help fill in some holes on your rain squads: View attachment 684297
Iron Treads @ Leftovers
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Volt Switch
IMO, best iteration of treads. Max bulk for being the GOAT wall of Raging Neck and Zapdos. Slow to pivot out of Zapdos. Only Tera for an emergency check to Kingambit. Otherwise, never Tera this.
252+ SpA Protosynthesis Raging Bolt Dragon Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Iron Treads: 93-110 (24.2 - 28.6%) -- possible 5HKO
0 SpA Zapdos Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Iron Treads: 64-76 (16.6 - 19.7%) -- possible 7HKO
View attachment 684298
Samurott-Hisui @ Choice Band
Ability: Sharpness
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 Atk / 80 Def / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Cutter
- Ceaseless Edge
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
GOAT breaker. Click Aqua Cutter = Big Damage. It's non-contact so it's lit. Single handedly dismantles fat squads and TR. Don't Tera if they have Kingambit.
252+ Atk Choice Band Sharpness Samurott-Hisui Aqua Cutter vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Kingambit in Rain: 318-375 (93.2 - 109.9%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Sharpness Tera Water Samurott-Hisui Aqua Cutter vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight in Rain: 348-410 (87.2 - 102.7%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Choice Band Sharpness Tera Water Samurott-Hisui Aqua Cutter vs. 80 HP / 0 Def Primarina in Rain: 318-375 (99 - 116.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Choice Band Sharpness Tera Water Samurott-Hisui Aqua Cutter vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Dondozo in Rain: 163-192 (32.3 - 38%) -- 96.6% chance to 3HKO
GOAT bird. Thundercane is so, so good. Beats/cripples Roaring Moon and Dragonite more often than not. It's here for Rillaboom and Fenris Wolf, though. Only Tera if Ogerpon-W has gotten out of hand. The low speed is for U-turn on Gliscor / Lando.
16 SpA Zapdos Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Ogerpon-Wellspring: 302-356 (100.3 - 118.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
T-T has really good base stats yet a fucked up distribution (who needs all that SpA?). Bulk helps that somewhat. This mon is a good anti-lead into Glimm / Sam-H / Torkoal and foil to bulky Tera-Water users. Tera when your opponent has Raging Bolt and watch them forfeit.
0 SpA Thundurus-Therian Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Glimmora: 214-252 (69.7 - 82%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Glimmora Power Gem vs. 248 HP / 28 SpD Thundurus-Therian: 306-360 (84.7 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
The Gen 7 special. Solos balance lacking a faster Encore. Don't bother using TG vs. offense. Mystic Water helps a lot here.
+3 252 SpA Mystic Water Manaphy Surf vs. 252 HP / 240+ SpD Slowking-Galar in Rain: 375-442 (95.1 - 112.1%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
+3 252 SpA Mystic Water Manaphy Surf vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Iron Crown in Rain: 343-405 (106.8 - 126.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Idk why this girl is not on the VR. Good sweeper that is immune to contact effects (special swift swim is great). Use her if weak to Zama. Tera Dragon deserves a mention to troll Thunderclap and Grassy Glide. IMO the power boost of Water is still better.
252 SpA Choice Specs Tera Water Basculegion-F Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Zamazenta in Rain: 398-470 (102.5 - 121.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Basculegion-F Surf vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Zamazenta in Rain: 246-289 (63.4 - 74.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Zamazenta Crunch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Basculegion-F: 192-226 (50.3 - 59.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
This mon is good this gen due to lack of Slowbro/king and Pex. This always beats Kingambit and revenge kills Kyurem from full. Also a good lead matchup vs. Glimm / Sam-H. Vacuum Wave is lowkey nifty.
252 SpA Life Orb Keldeo Secret Sword vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Kyurem: 398-468 (101.7 - 119.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Keldeo Secret Sword vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Samurott-Hisui: 437-515 (136.1 - 160.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Keldeo Vacuum Wave vs. 212 HP / 0 SpD Kingambit: 395-468 (100.2 - 118.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252 SpA Life Orb Tera Water Keldeo Surf vs. 252 HP / 240+ SpD Slowking-Galar in Rain: 390-460 (98.9 - 116.7%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Keldeo Vacuum Wave vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Roaring Moon: 172-203 (49 - 57.8%) -- 93.8% chance to 2HKO
Fun to watch opponents underestimate this thing. Tera Ghost is usable for trolling Dragonite. Again, I favor the power boost.
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Tera Water Golduck Surf vs. 252 HP / 240+ SpD Slowking-Galar in Rain: 419-494 (106.3 - 125.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Tera Water Golduck Surf vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Alomomola in Rain: 573-675 (107.3 - 126.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Tera Water Golduck Surf vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Kyurem in Rain: 335-395 (85.6 - 101%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Golduck Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Multiscale Dragonite: 411-486 (127.2 - 150.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Golduck Vacuum Wave vs. 212 HP / 0 SpD Kingambit: 421-499 (106.8 - 126.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Meme set that turned out to be fine. If you can sneak in a Dragon Dance, things can get out of hand quick. Flip Turn back to your pokeball if you can't kill what is in front of you. Tera Dragon is an option for Glide / Thunderclap and to buff Scale Shot but you kind of don't need it.
252+ Atk Kingdra Scale Shot (4 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Kyurem: 320-384 (81.8 - 98.2%) -- approx. 2HKO
+1 252+ Atk Kingdra Scale Shot (4 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Ogerpon-Wellspring: 252-300 (83.7 - 99.6%) -- approx. 81.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Kingdra Scale Shot (4 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragapult: 368-440 (116 - 138.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Kingdra Scale Shot (4 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Roaring Moon: 392-464 (111.6 - 132.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Kingdra Scale Shot (4 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Multiscale Dragonite: 399-469 (123.5 - 145.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Kingdra Liquidation vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Great Tusk in Rain: 438-516 (100.9 - 118.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Kingdra Liquidation vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Iron Valiant in Rain: 303-357 (104.4 - 123.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Kingdra Liquidation vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Darkrai in Rain: 303-357 (107.8 - 127%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Kingdra Scale Shot (4 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Meowscarada: 292-348 (99.6 - 118.7%) -- approx. 87.5% chance to OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Tera Water Kingdra Liquidation vs. 252 HP / 16 Def Slowking-Galar in Rain: 434-512 (110.1 - 129.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
EDIT: adding this Dragapult. I am not a fan of Tera Blast in general so I don't use it much. But it did give some teams problems. View attachment 684413
Dragapult @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Clear Body
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Dragon Darts
- Tera Blast
- Dragon Dance
- Thunder
Scares Kyurem away and can rip through offense if you get one DD off. It's nice as a DDer because it naturally resists Glide & Thunderclap. You have to commit to the Tera, though. Worth a shot if you don't mind that part.
252+ Atk Dragapult Dragon Darts (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Kyurem: 372-444 (95.1 - 113.5%) -- approx. 68.8% chance to OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Dragapult Dragon Darts (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Ogerpon-Wellspring: 294-348 (97.6 - 115.6%) -- approx. 81.3% chance to OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Dragapult Dragon Darts (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Darkrai: 278-330 (98.9 - 117.4%) -- approx. 93.8% chance to OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Dragapult Dragon Darts (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Meowscarada: 342-404 (116.7 - 137.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Dragapult Dragon Darts (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Multiscale Dragonite: 399-471 (123.5 - 145.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Tera Water Dragapult Tera Blast (80 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Great Tusk in Rain: 482-570 (111 - 131.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Tera Water Dragapult Tera Blast (80 BP) vs. 244 HP / 36 Def Gliscor in Rain: 492-578 (139.7 - 164.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Tera Water Dragapult Tera Blast (80 BP) vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Landorus-Therian in Rain: 482-570 (126.1 - 149.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Tera Water Dragapult Tera Blast (80 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight in Rain: 213-252 (53.3 - 63.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
4 SpA Dragapult Thunder vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Corviknight: 180-214 (45.1 - 53.6%) -- 36.3% chance to 2HKO
4 SpA Dragapult Thunder vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Alomomola: 294-348 (55 - 65.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
4 SpA Dragapult Thunder vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Dondozo: 226-266 (44.8 - 52.7%) -- 25.8% chance to 2HKO
I'm testing more mons and sets but these are the most consistent and useful for now. Happy Rainin'
Thanks so much for this, honestly the kyurem unban borderline killed my motivation to have another go at rain again, as if figuring out the remaining few slots for it wasn't already hard enough. How do you even deal with it coming in and mindlessly spamming freeze dry on the majority of mons? Especially if it's substitute protect it just seems horrible without like, av iron crown or something. Which is a shame, since I'd just figured out a real gem for the playstyle which was frankly incredible (even if the rest of the team/my plays could be better overall, I was still just messing around with things). For the time being I suppose I can put this here while figuring out such matters at a later time.
To prevent the above from just being a one liner and to keep things not only on topic for the thread, but also still relevant to rain, I present:
Volcanion @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Steam Eruption
- Fire Spin
- Earth Power
- Taunt
While this set is -technically- nothing new, it's actually astounding how much it helps out your average rain team, trapping and forcefully removing several problematic mons, including but not limited to and much more. In return, rain boosts steam eruption's power to impressive levels even without a boosting item, letting it serve as a strong general wallbreaking weapon while even letting you power through fatter mons like blissey faster, removing the need for tera ghost. Which is a very good thing because even if it were not for the aforementioned matchup, tera ground is the real crux of this set; giving a stab boost to earth power so it can kill its intended targets faster, buying you a turn against the electric types looking to take you out first (watch out as hurricane still 2hkos even uninvested, and you can't even pray for a miss while in rain; steam eruption handily 2hkos it though) (it's also worth noting that your otherwise newfound water weakness is made irrelevant due to water absorb, and you now even resist rocks so you don't need boots as much after all!), and even stopping random twaves/nuzzles from crippling you. Which leads me to the next point:
Avoid letting this get statused at all costs if possible especially when it needs to perform its fat dismantling duties; getting poisoned (either type) is obviously pretty detrimental especially vs protect mons, but even paralysis can really suck as you not only become slower than the targets you're meant to take on, but losing out on turns can be devastating for a slow mon with no reliable recovery, especially on a playstyle with a timer like rain. As for the fat matchup in general, this set turns stall from a near autoloss for rain to a near autoWIN instead; the ability to "lure" and remove from the game is just that valuable. On the matchup vs said mon, the sequence of plays is: fire spin as they bring the blob in->steam eruption FIRST->taunt (at about half hp is when players will try to softboiled, thus getting the most value out of the move)->steam eruption->either steam eruption again or earth power if you believe its hp is low enough to get picked off; you do have to be mindful of the move's pp after all. For reference: 252+ SpA Volcanion Steam Eruption vs. 4 HP / 252+ SpD Blissey in Rain: 172-204 (26.3 - 31.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after poison damage (poison dmg=fire spin).
Other notable calcs:
252+ SpA Tera Ground Volcanion Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Raging Bolt: 356-422 (91 - 107.9%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Volcanion Earth Power vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Toxapex: 122-144 (40.2 - 47.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO (you don't need to tera vs this)
252+ SpA Volcanion Earth Power vs. 248 HP / 196+ SpD Assault Vest Goodra-Hisui: 80-96 (22 - 26.4%) -- 12.5% chance to 4HKO (ok you might need to tera vs this, but with this much investment it can't hit back that hard, right? Watch out for dragon tail tho)
252+ SpA Volcanion Steam Eruption vs. 20 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Alomomola in Rain: 113-133 (23.7 - 27.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after poison damage (WATCH OUT FOR MIRROR COAT)
252+ SpA Volcanion Earth Power vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Clodsire: 156-184 (33.6 - 39.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Tera Ground Volcanion Earth Power vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Clodsire: 234-276 (50.5 - 59.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (ideally you might not need to tera if you get every single turn right. However: 0 Atk Clodsire Earthquake vs. 4 HP / 4 Def Volcanion: 146-174 (48.3 - 57.6%) -- 48.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery this is very concerning and makes the matchup really shaky especially if you don't fire spin the clodsire switchin to start chipping it down already; depending on how much remaining hp you need for the mon after the exchange/whether the mon is needed to contribute later in the match, committing to tera might be worth it regardless)
This set isn't perfect however; there's quite a few mons the set fails to cover/effectively remove. Which is where the following set comes in as an alternative:
What this set loses the ability to take out the aforementioned targets with earth power, it makes up for it with the inclusion of tera poison+poison moves instead; this allows the mon to instead eliminate basically all the fat grasses that wall the above set ( can be beaten by the above set as well, but moonblast spam really hurts especially with too many spatk drops). Your poison stab of choice is up in the air: sludge bomb is better if you're feeling lucky with fishing for poison, while sludge wave eliminates the you might encounter once every 100 games without needing to exhaust too much steam eruption pp/taunt mindgames. Tera poison also lets it counter by resisting both of its stabs and not being weak to play rough, or any coverage for that matter aside from zen headbutt/stomping tantrum but LOL while absorbing tspikes as a neat bonus (if you commit to tera early enough). I've not personally used this set as I believe the above to be much more effective in general/against a wider, more important range of targets, but I felt it'd be a waste not to acknowledge the potential of this set as well. It ultimately depends on the rest of your team I suppose, but fat grasses can already be covered by a rain team's hurricane users. As well as the following mon/set....
Goodra-Hisui (F) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sap Sipper
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 176 HP / 252 SpA / 80 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Flash Cannon
- Thunder
- Acid Spray/Weather Ball/Hydro Pump
Rain teams really hate switching into various specs draco mons, as outright immunities are hard to fit (aside from which while good on its own, has a tough time justifying itself over the bevy of other choices opened up by the rain) and most resists can get blown up by coverage or simply worn down over time. Opposing and other threats can also be a pain to switch into especially over longer periods of time. is no but it can still take on the mantle of taking on a variety of water, grass and electric type threats for the playstyle, while being able to switch into specs dracos at least twice (and one more time if you commit to tera fairy).
Of course, the mon is also able to threaten back respectable damage with its own draco, particularly since most fairies fear stab flash cannon on the switch (while fears thunder instead). While on the last slot, hydro pump (or weather ball depending on your fear of missing) lets the mon threaten ground types on the switch much more effectively, acid spray is an option to let the mon exert additional pressure/threaten to wallbreak by getting a "nasty plot" boost despite the av, threatening switches much more effectively and letting it actually power through something like that would just roost off the draco damage. Other options could include body press as a desperate attempt to threaten to at least some extent, but the bulkier variants are barely even 2hkoed and most other potential targets of the move take way too little from it as is.
The speed evs let it outrun most uninvested bulky mons to take them out first in a pinch, maximum spatk lets it threaten as much damage as possible for general purposes, and the rest is put into hp. Tera fairy flips its fighting weakness upside down while also giving it an immunity to dragon, letting it punish choiced dragon moves even if its hp gets too low. Sap sipper is actually really important, not only for taking 0 damage from any incoming grass type attack (especially after tera) but most importantly to completely and utterly shut down by preventing it from healing back ANY hp, including from strength sap due to the latter being a grass type move. The mon can't even be hit by stun spore in a pinch, and with acid spray you can further punish any cm attempts from it (as well as mons like ). So yeah, the possibility of electro shot-less coming back down remains but a pipe dream even now, but at least we have something that can somewhat replicate it to some extent.
(Disclaimer: I've not actually used the mon in recent rain teams at all, however not acknowledging its strengths would be a mistake, considering how much it has to offer at least on paper. This is mostly due to being difficult to fit it alongside enough other options to cover the rest of the meta, while also being somewhat challenging to cover the many weaknesses of the mon; that said, physdef makes for a solid backbone alongside it, switching into ground/fighting moves while hoodra comes in on rock/special ice moves, and they both add extra anti grass insurance which is always nice. You may struggle to fit in enough additional speed control afterwards though (1 swift swimmer isn't always enough vs most offenses/HOs these days), but well, that's up to each builder's individual skill level to figure out!)
As a last bonus, I'll go over the following mon really quickly because, while it was actually pretty solid during DLC1 I feel that this meta's a bit too high powered for the mon to shine, but it'd be a disservice not to include it regardless:
Toxicroak (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Dry Skin
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 244 HP / 212 Def / 52 Spe
Impish Nature
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Bulk Up
- Taunt
Acts as a check to , a general all-purpose tank/utility mon with knock/strong passive recovery/tspikes absorption, and even a potential wincon. The lack of a poison move can suck, but most fairies are unlikely to come in right away on you anyway, and you really need the rest of your moves to maximize the set effectiveness vs the rest of the meta. While this is outdone by 99% of the time, this is the ONE 1% where this mon is superior at the role, primarily due to the strong passive healing granted by the rain as well as the immunity to the rain boosted water type moves. Tera dark flips the script vs stored power while absorbing future sight and retaining your dark resistance. The speed evs outrun max speed jolly while the hp evs make your hp divisible by 16 for maximum passive recovery, and the rest of put into defense to take resisted hits better since the mon needs every ounce of help possible in that regard.
But yeah, if there's more ways for rain to take on and (aside from the ones mentioned above) that'd be great. Thanks for reading!
Slither Wing @ Booster Energy
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 200 HP / 56 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 11 Atk
- Close Combat
- Acrobatics
- Flare Blitz
- Bulk Up
If you miss Timid Kartana, here's a way worse but fun sweeper Slither Wing! It comes in on the Grounds, clicks Bulk Up, then clicks until it dies. Booster Speed lets it outspeed the unboosted metagame. Acro pairs nicely with CC and hits Tusk and Zama, while Flare Blitz is your strongest option into Balloon Ghold, Zapdos, and Lando. Tera Fire blocks burn attempts, flips the fairy matchup, and provides extra firepower to get through Bulky Ghold and Lando.
Slither Wing has a neat defensive typing that lets it check Tusk, Lando, Darkrai, Zama, and Gambit, as well as physical Val lacking Spirit Break. It's bulk lets it getaway with dumb stuff like living Valiant Moonblast and Moth Fiery Dance at full (it actually can't OHKO either at +1 so you'll probably need to tera anyways but it's worth something ig).
The real weakness of this set is how weak it is with no boosts and even at +1 sometimes. Moltres completely walls, Zap shrugs off Flare Blitz with no Tera, Lando takes the Flare Blitz and then Taunts, etc. Regardless, I think it's a fun option and can potentially catch opponents off guard. Worst case scenario, it's a Tusk switchin or it revenges like an Oger or something. Putting this out there so maybe someone can put it to better use.
Helmet Gambit with the standard bulky EV spread is extremely handy for circumventing its two most common checks, Great Tusk and Zamazenta.
Against Tusk lacking CC, switching into iron head or SD now spells doom for Tusk, as you’re extremely likely to live headlong rush from full even against max atk Tusk and deal 95.5-109.7% with iron head into -1 def iron head with helmet chip, at zero allies fainted. SD and +2 iron head kills of course. Max hp tusk is actually even better since headlong rush does less and you can shore up the damage lost with a sucker punch next turn, amounting to a tiny bit over 100% total for iron head, -1 def iron head, helmet 1x, and -1 def sucker. No tera needed, although of course you can always walk away with more health if you do.
Against Zama, obviously you’re going to need tera to beat it, Gambit may be very strong but it is mortal. That said, helmet prevents it from beating you by boosting up its defenses and/or roaring you (although with hazards up roar is of course threatening)—0f iron head does 25% minimum to +1 def 252/88 Zama, and crunch on tera ghost needs to hit 13.2% odds or a defense drop just to 3HKO with crunch, and both of you setting up favors you against roarless Zama. Tera fairy requires +6 zama to roll to 2HKO with body press, heavy slam does jack shit too, and you resist crunch. Even against roar Zama, which of course may far surpass your boosts with its own, you put a lot of pressure on it just by threatening helmet chip every time it wants to attack and setup every time it lets you stay in without roaring. And of course when Gambit is most threatening (last mon) is exactly when it can’t be roared anyway.
It also can catch a lot of random uturns/flip turns from pult, mola, lando-t (provided reasonable assurance they won’t use a ground move), Corv, Meowscarada (who gets comically owned for taxel), Hamurott, and Rilla.
The best version of boots pivot raging bolt imo, and a natural fit on hazard stack. One of the main roadblocks to pivot bolt is its prediction reliance: clicking volt switch on the ground type switch-in or dragon pulse on the stay-in (or switch you’d prefer to pivot on) can easily lose your momentum. Additionally, while dragon pulse may be quite punishing to Tusk or Lando, there are several relevant ground types leveraging a more favorable typing or greater special bulk such as Treads, Clodsire, Gliscor, and Ting-Lu, which render pivot bolt a liability normally. Taunt is the usual 4th slot, while tera blast Ice/Fairy/Ground have all made appearances, but roar is my absolute favorite. Bolt’s natural bulk ensures there are many opportunities to click roar without immediate risk of losing your bolt, and with hazards up you can often quickly rack up chip on your checks (especially since Treads is rarely boots, Tusk fairly commonly absorbs knock, Lando is virtually never boots, Gliscor always takes rocks, and Ting Lu is either lefties or a reasonably common knock taker). Additionally by disincentivizing the direct switch-in (even from the really bulky grounds) you make it a lot more reasonable to click volt switch or tclap even against teams that have good checks. Even if they have a boots clodsire, they need boots everything-else to be comfortable coming in and getting roared out every time, which even stall does not do thanks to Gliscor, and since roar goes through protect you can prevent it from getting two turns of poison heal if you correctly read protect over toxic/pjab/knock. For all the variants of the bolt pivot set, I find this to be the most consistent one by far.
Finally, credit to NaxDuck for the original build and Pinkacross for the fixed build found here from his “fixing viewers’ teams” series, I’m only acting as a messenger on this one:
Gale Wings Talonflame is actually…kinda legit. Yes, it needs hazard support really badly. Yes, its surprise value is very important to its success and I can’t see it thriving in a meta that preps for it. That said, Hatterene almost singlehandedly prevents rocks from going up since Kleavor is trash, Tinkaton generally runs pickpocket, and most other rockers struggle to threaten Hatt sufficiently. Add in a Tusk or taunt Lando-T and avoid setting rocks against Cinderace teams and you’re pretty much set (which is why Hatt + Flying Spam teams have become one of my favorite teamstyles, but I digress). Wish/healing wish support, as in the original build, can allow you to sustain damage on Talonflame and restore gale wings later as well. In exchange, you get a priority dual wingbeat that is stronger than Dragonite’s espeed with the same item and tera status, with a multihit, and a single-use priority move that is 1.5x stronger in brave bird (restorable via wish/hw). The only stronger priority that does not depend on your opponent’s move is first impression, which while quite strong, is single use and can thus drain momentum. Add in an excellent speed tier alongside fire coverage and uturn, and the thing can actually be a massive threat. Pinka was taking names in 1900+ with this thing, and I can attest to the fact that I’ve been having a lot of fun and success with the team as well.