~ Playing with Water ~
Introduction:
So, I've always loved playing in the water. Rain is awesome, and the best thing: you only get a small cold after it. If you play if fire, you get burned, and that's bad for sure. Pools are really cool. You swim and swim and swim. And you have fun and fun and fun. The ocean is the winner, though. Playing in the sea is so nice that I always try to make my family go to the beach on weakends, but it's not a very nice idea.
This team consists on abusing the rainny weather using offensive oriented pokémon. It's probably the most effective rain team I've ever built, and it has been working incredibly well. There are several ways of exploring the rain, and this is what I try to show here. You can abuse reduced weakness to fire, power up to water, accuracy boosts and even traits that make your pokémon a serious threat. So my objective was making an offensive team that could destroy common threats at the OU metagame.
PS: I like some 4th Gen sprites, so that's why I'm posting some of them.
V1.
So I wanted to make something different. What would be different in a rain team? Well, I had lots and lots of choices, but I decided to start with Volcarona. The thing is: even though Volcarona is a fire type, he can still be a great counter to common threats to rain teams. And another nice thing is that he can sweep during sunny weather, and so I wouldn't have to worry so much about Ninetales.
To the sets!
Politoed @ Choice Specs
Trait: Drizzle
EV's: 240 HP / 252 SAtk / 16 Spe
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]
. Politoed is a beast. So, what can I tell about him? Well, this is the set that I use on all of my rain teams with the exception of the rain stall (which I don't like too much). He can defeat many threats like Terrakion and Conkeldurr with ease, and still take lots of moves. Just amazing. Essencial for the team, of course.
. EV's and moves. I run the following EV's to allow me outspeed certain threats while still getting enough bulk to resist even a Specs Rotom-W's Volt Switch. So I get bulk, speed (enough) and power. Pure power. Double STAB Hydro Pump is so amazing that can destroy even pokémon that resist it under rain. Ice Beam takes out Grass types on the switch, who would otherwise cause trouble. Hidden Power [Grass] can destroy Gastrodon and other Water types with ease and Focus Blast is able to 2HKO Ferrothorn.
Latios @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EV's: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Thunder
- Trick
. Latios is a boss. He has such a lunatic power that he can take out 36% of Ferrothorn's full HP with one Draco Meteor. This is simply incredible, since Ferrothorn resists this move and he has very nice bulk. Latios can achieve so many different results, from OHKOing Scizor with a Surf to OHKOing Latias with a -2 Draco Meteor. He gets pumped by Specs + Rain, and this is a hell of a combo.
. EV's and moves. So, about the moves. I'm nut sure why I'm running Thunder is this set. It helps me abuse rain but that's all, so I'm up to suggestions. Trick is awesome. It can cripple walls on the switch, and it's the most reliable way to ruin Chansey and Blissey. While it may seem Psyshock is better, Trick will let them down until the end of the match, while Psyshock would be at least a 3HKO. When people see a Draco Meteor incoming, they sacrifice or the switch to a (very efficient) wall. Surf gets a boost in rain, and it hits Steel types harder than anything on Latios movepool.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EV's: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Thunder
- Energy Ball
. Jirachi is the MVP. This set belongs to a trainer called MAVERICKv8. I thank him a lot for letting me use it, because it doesn't have almost no counters. I used to run him with Water Pulse, but I was completely walled by Gastrodon and Quagsire, and they are becoming more and more popular. So he designed this set to provide the same coverage, but with a move that can take out those threats. Why do I use it? Because it's a nice way to abuse rain and it's an incredible. Yes, that's all.
. EV's and moves. I run 252 EV's in HP to resist Seismic Toss and Night Shade. This is useful as hell, since I can Substitute on a status move and then setup twice. 252 EV's in Speed let me outspeed a huge part of the OU metagame, and the 4 EV's in Defense are only not to waste them. Thunder provides me incredible coverage, defeating pokémon that could be problematic for the team and abusing rain. As I said before, Energy Ball counters Grounds the same way, but it makes me able to hit Gastrodon and Quagsire, who would completely ruin him.
Toxicroak @ Life Orb
Trait: Dry Skin
EV's: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Cross Chop
- Ice Punch
- Sucker Punch
. Toxicroak is the abuser. I think there's no other pokémon that can abuse rain as Toxicroak does. With his ability Dry Skin he can recover the damage taken from Life Orb, and that's why I'm not running Leftovers. He also has enough EV's to outspeed and KO standart Gliscor, which is amazing, since it would completely wall me otherwise. The Adamant nature may seem a bad choice, since with Jolly I'd be able to attack before Adamant Lucario and some other threats. But the power boosted from Adamant is much more necessary than the one boosted from Jolly, so I'm running it because of this.
. EV's and moves. I'm running the basic Swords Dance set. Cross Chop is the best option, since it hits hard and Drain Punch is illegal. Ice Punch can easily OHKO Landorus and it takes out almost all of Gliscor's sets. Sucker Punch is amazing. It has priority and it defeats almost all psychics with ease. It is the perfect move and complets a very nice coverage with the other ones. There's one thing that walls him completely, though: Hippowdon. But anyway, it's still the best rain abuser of the OU metagame.
Virizion @ Life Orb
Trait: Justified
EV's: 104 Atk / 152 SAtk / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature (+Spe, -Def)
- Work Up
- Giga Drain
- Close Combat
- Hidden Power [Ice]
. Virizion is the counter. It may seem odd that I'm running a mixed set with Virizion, but the reason is quite simple: I wanted to check both Blissey / Chansey and Rotom-W at the same time, and Virizion is the perfect one to realize this objective. After one boost, he can OHKO all three, and he can also outspeed common pokémon with its musketeer Speed.
. EV's and moves. I run the basics. Work Up is the boosting move, and it's totally necessary because Virizion's Attack and Special Attack are bad to say the best of it. So Work Up is a must. But with Virizion's great Special Defense it's pretty easy to setup. I tested Substitute with Work Up, CC and Giga Drain, but it didn't quite achieved my objective. Hidden Power [Ice] can severely hurt Dragons, and while HP [Fire] may seem the best option to counter Scizor and Ferrothorn, it's really lame using Fire types in rain. So I run hidden Power [Ice], which makes me able to take out Dragons easily. Giga Drain is the secondary STAB and deals with threats. He's lovely, yes he is.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Trait: Techniciam
EV's: 140 HP / 252 Atk / 100 SDef / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Pursuit
. Scizor is the monster. This pokémon can defeat so many threats that it makes me go nuts. He can easily OHKO Terrakion and Tyranitar variants with Bullet Punch, and scout with U-turn, and resist a +2 Hidden Power [Fire] from Celebi, and trap Latios, and do many more! This little guy has a nice reason for being the first on the usage statistics, and I love him.
. EV's and Moves. I could be running Quick Attack to counter Rotom-W in a better way, but I don't really need it. Bullet Punch is already a priority and if I see a Rotom-W, I can simply switch to Virizion, that counters him completely. Scizor has a very nice coverage with this set, and I know it may seem odd that I'm running 8 Speed, but I want to outspeed other Scizors. It might be bad for 1x1 on full HP, but if their HP is a little bit lower than full, it will be a must. 140 HP and 100 SDef can make me resist Hidden Power [Fire] from Celebi +2 under rain, and this is nice. The EV's also maximize its Attack so it can reach sky high levels with Choice Band. He's nice, he completes the team.
Conclusion
This team is probably one of the best rain abusers I've built. It's very offensive, and sometimes it relies on Jirachi's ability to sweep like a monster, but it's great. So I guess I achieved my goal. I'd like to build a team that works nicely abusing rainny weather, and this one is proving to be the one. But I still have problems defeating stalls and defensive teams, that's why I'm posting it here. Raters gonna rate?
Introduction:
So, I've always loved playing in the water. Rain is awesome, and the best thing: you only get a small cold after it. If you play if fire, you get burned, and that's bad for sure. Pools are really cool. You swim and swim and swim. And you have fun and fun and fun. The ocean is the winner, though. Playing in the sea is so nice that I always try to make my family go to the beach on weakends, but it's not a very nice idea.
This team consists on abusing the rainny weather using offensive oriented pokémon. It's probably the most effective rain team I've ever built, and it has been working incredibly well. There are several ways of exploring the rain, and this is what I try to show here. You can abuse reduced weakness to fire, power up to water, accuracy boosts and even traits that make your pokémon a serious threat. So my objective was making an offensive team that could destroy common threats at the OU metagame.
PS: I like some 4th Gen sprites, so that's why I'm posting some of them.
V1.
So I wanted to make something different. What would be different in a rain team? Well, I had lots and lots of choices, but I decided to start with Volcarona. The thing is: even though Volcarona is a fire type, he can still be a great counter to common threats to rain teams. And another nice thing is that he can sweep during sunny weather, and so I wouldn't have to worry so much about Ninetales.
V2.
After putting Volcarona and Toed, I decided I'd like to give a try on SubCM Jirachi to complete my Special Attackers side. SubCM Jirachi with Thunder + Water Pulse under rain is a serious threat if it's allowed to setup. After one Calm Mind it can destroy several unprepared teams. That was exactly what I was needing.
After putting Volcarona and Toed, I decided I'd like to give a try on SubCM Jirachi to complete my Special Attackers side. SubCM Jirachi with Thunder + Water Pulse under rain is a serious threat if it's allowed to setup. After one Calm Mind it can destroy several unprepared teams. That was exactly what I was needing.
V3.
If you don't understand how could I have a team with three pokés, I'm just saying the ones that I really focused one, because actually posting all of them would be a pain. Moving on, I decided to put the old but gold rain pokémon: Scizor and Toxicroak. Croak is a monster with its Swords Dance set and Scizor is a great bulky offensive counter to many pokémon that would otherwise make my head go nuts to defeat them.
If you don't understand how could I have a team with three pokés, I'm just saying the ones that I really focused one, because actually posting all of them would be a pain. Moving on, I decided to put the old but gold rain pokémon: Scizor and Toxicroak. Croak is a monster with its Swords Dance set and Scizor is a great bulky offensive counter to many pokémon that would otherwise make my head go nuts to defeat them.
V4.
So, after lots and lots of losts, I decided to make some chnages. Those changes consisted on taking out Volcarona because Scizor was already doing almost everything that he was and Ninetales wasn't quite that big threat. So after making lots and lots of switches (including not very used mons like Ludicolo, Electivire and even Togekiss) I achieved the last edition of the team, which is making me happy and it's very succesful.
So, after lots and lots of losts, I decided to make some chnages. Those changes consisted on taking out Volcarona because Scizor was already doing almost everything that he was and Ninetales wasn't quite that big threat. So after making lots and lots of switches (including not very used mons like Ludicolo, Electivire and even Togekiss) I achieved the last edition of the team, which is making me happy and it's very succesful.
To the sets!
Politoed @ Choice Specs
Trait: Drizzle
EV's: 240 HP / 252 SAtk / 16 Spe
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]
. Politoed is a beast. So, what can I tell about him? Well, this is the set that I use on all of my rain teams with the exception of the rain stall (which I don't like too much). He can defeat many threats like Terrakion and Conkeldurr with ease, and still take lots of moves. Just amazing. Essencial for the team, of course.
. EV's and moves. I run the following EV's to allow me outspeed certain threats while still getting enough bulk to resist even a Specs Rotom-W's Volt Switch. So I get bulk, speed (enough) and power. Pure power. Double STAB Hydro Pump is so amazing that can destroy even pokémon that resist it under rain. Ice Beam takes out Grass types on the switch, who would otherwise cause trouble. Hidden Power [Grass] can destroy Gastrodon and other Water types with ease and Focus Blast is able to 2HKO Ferrothorn.
Latios @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EV's: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Thunder
- Trick
. Latios is a boss. He has such a lunatic power that he can take out 36% of Ferrothorn's full HP with one Draco Meteor. This is simply incredible, since Ferrothorn resists this move and he has very nice bulk. Latios can achieve so many different results, from OHKOing Scizor with a Surf to OHKOing Latias with a -2 Draco Meteor. He gets pumped by Specs + Rain, and this is a hell of a combo.
. EV's and moves. So, about the moves. I'm nut sure why I'm running Thunder is this set. It helps me abuse rain but that's all, so I'm up to suggestions. Trick is awesome. It can cripple walls on the switch, and it's the most reliable way to ruin Chansey and Blissey. While it may seem Psyshock is better, Trick will let them down until the end of the match, while Psyshock would be at least a 3HKO. When people see a Draco Meteor incoming, they sacrifice or the switch to a (very efficient) wall. Surf gets a boost in rain, and it hits Steel types harder than anything on Latios movepool.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EV's: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Thunder
- Energy Ball
. Jirachi is the MVP. This set belongs to a trainer called MAVERICKv8. I thank him a lot for letting me use it, because it doesn't have almost no counters. I used to run him with Water Pulse, but I was completely walled by Gastrodon and Quagsire, and they are becoming more and more popular. So he designed this set to provide the same coverage, but with a move that can take out those threats. Why do I use it? Because it's a nice way to abuse rain and it's an incredible. Yes, that's all.
. EV's and moves. I run 252 EV's in HP to resist Seismic Toss and Night Shade. This is useful as hell, since I can Substitute on a status move and then setup twice. 252 EV's in Speed let me outspeed a huge part of the OU metagame, and the 4 EV's in Defense are only not to waste them. Thunder provides me incredible coverage, defeating pokémon that could be problematic for the team and abusing rain. As I said before, Energy Ball counters Grounds the same way, but it makes me able to hit Gastrodon and Quagsire, who would completely ruin him.
Toxicroak @ Life Orb
Trait: Dry Skin
EV's: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Cross Chop
- Ice Punch
- Sucker Punch
. Toxicroak is the abuser. I think there's no other pokémon that can abuse rain as Toxicroak does. With his ability Dry Skin he can recover the damage taken from Life Orb, and that's why I'm not running Leftovers. He also has enough EV's to outspeed and KO standart Gliscor, which is amazing, since it would completely wall me otherwise. The Adamant nature may seem a bad choice, since with Jolly I'd be able to attack before Adamant Lucario and some other threats. But the power boosted from Adamant is much more necessary than the one boosted from Jolly, so I'm running it because of this.
. EV's and moves. I'm running the basic Swords Dance set. Cross Chop is the best option, since it hits hard and Drain Punch is illegal. Ice Punch can easily OHKO Landorus and it takes out almost all of Gliscor's sets. Sucker Punch is amazing. It has priority and it defeats almost all psychics with ease. It is the perfect move and complets a very nice coverage with the other ones. There's one thing that walls him completely, though: Hippowdon. But anyway, it's still the best rain abuser of the OU metagame.
Virizion @ Life Orb
Trait: Justified
EV's: 104 Atk / 152 SAtk / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature (+Spe, -Def)
- Work Up
- Giga Drain
- Close Combat
- Hidden Power [Ice]
. Virizion is the counter. It may seem odd that I'm running a mixed set with Virizion, but the reason is quite simple: I wanted to check both Blissey / Chansey and Rotom-W at the same time, and Virizion is the perfect one to realize this objective. After one boost, he can OHKO all three, and he can also outspeed common pokémon with its musketeer Speed.
. EV's and moves. I run the basics. Work Up is the boosting move, and it's totally necessary because Virizion's Attack and Special Attack are bad to say the best of it. So Work Up is a must. But with Virizion's great Special Defense it's pretty easy to setup. I tested Substitute with Work Up, CC and Giga Drain, but it didn't quite achieved my objective. Hidden Power [Ice] can severely hurt Dragons, and while HP [Fire] may seem the best option to counter Scizor and Ferrothorn, it's really lame using Fire types in rain. So I run hidden Power [Ice], which makes me able to take out Dragons easily. Giga Drain is the secondary STAB and deals with threats. He's lovely, yes he is.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Trait: Techniciam
EV's: 140 HP / 252 Atk / 100 SDef / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Pursuit
. Scizor is the monster. This pokémon can defeat so many threats that it makes me go nuts. He can easily OHKO Terrakion and Tyranitar variants with Bullet Punch, and scout with U-turn, and resist a +2 Hidden Power [Fire] from Celebi, and trap Latios, and do many more! This little guy has a nice reason for being the first on the usage statistics, and I love him.
. EV's and Moves. I could be running Quick Attack to counter Rotom-W in a better way, but I don't really need it. Bullet Punch is already a priority and if I see a Rotom-W, I can simply switch to Virizion, that counters him completely. Scizor has a very nice coverage with this set, and I know it may seem odd that I'm running 8 Speed, but I want to outspeed other Scizors. It might be bad for 1x1 on full HP, but if their HP is a little bit lower than full, it will be a must. 140 HP and 100 SDef can make me resist Hidden Power [Fire] from Celebi +2 under rain, and this is nice. The EV's also maximize its Attack so it can reach sky high levels with Choice Band. He's nice, he completes the team.
Politoed (F) @ Choice Specs Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 240 HP / 252 SAtk / 16 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Focus Blast
Latios (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Thunder
- Trick
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Thunder
- Energy Ball
Scizor (F) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 148 HP / 252 Atk / 100 SDef / 8 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Pursuit
Virizion @ Life Orb
Trait: Justified
EVs: 104 Atk / 152 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Close Combat
- Giga Drain
- Work Up
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Toxicroak (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Dry Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Cross Chop
- Sucker Punch
- Ice Punch
EVs: 240 HP / 252 SAtk / 16 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Focus Blast
Latios (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Thunder
- Trick
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Thunder
- Energy Ball
Scizor (F) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 148 HP / 252 Atk / 100 SDef / 8 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Pursuit
Virizion @ Life Orb
Trait: Justified
EVs: 104 Atk / 152 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Close Combat
- Giga Drain
- Work Up
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Toxicroak (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Dry Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Cross Chop
- Sucker Punch
- Ice Punch
Conclusion
This team is probably one of the best rain abusers I've built. It's very offensive, and sometimes it relies on Jirachi's ability to sweep like a monster, but it's great. So I guess I achieved my goal. I'd like to build a team that works nicely abusing rainny weather, and this one is proving to be the one. But I still have problems defeating stalls and defensive teams, that's why I'm posting it here. Raters gonna rate?
