Team at a Glance
Just your typical rain team ran with Mega Swampert. Nothing special other than fun shenanigans from Liepard.
Team Building Process
At first I wanted to make a team revolving around the amazing synergy betweenTornadus-I and Mega Swampert.
From there I went to another good old favorite of mine, Uxie. To set up Rain Dance, Stealth Rock, and U-turn
Next step was choosing the sweepers which was a simple task. I wanted an extra hitter to go along with Mega Swampert and Kabutops was the easy choice. At first glance I wondered why no one was using Seismitoad and then I looked at it's physical movepool...NO PHYSICAL WATER MOVE!?!?!
This was my first test of the team and did pretty well until I got to the higher ladder and started playing against players who were smarter than the average bear. So I did some readjustments.
I changed some sets around as well. I originally had kabutops with rapid spin changed that to Sword Dance. Swampert with rain dance but I immediately changed that to Power up Punch because limited Rain and without a way to boost its stats. I added Liepard because I love Priority Rain. + it has U-turn to really get the benefits of an easy switch in. This team did well for awhile and sometimes I switch back to this team but I found this teams biggest weakenss. Sticky Web!! I have nothing to stop Galvantula from setting up Sticky Web nor getting rid of it. It's rare to run into one, but when I do I'm already at a huge disadvantage. Rapid spinning puts a strain on the fast paced hyper offense of rain teams so I had to go with a defog user. I wanted the combination of Defog/U-turn/Rain Dance. Surprisingly there are quite alot of options for this.
I went with Crobat because it provides great defensive synergy with rain sweepers and is fast! So it can get a guarenteed Rain set up. Sadly had to replace it with tornadus. O and I got tired of Suicune switching into Swampert so I changed Uxie to celebi. Does the same exact thing but gets a free switch in to Suicine and a great status absorber
___________________________________________________________________
The Rain Team!!
Swampert @ Swampertite
EVs: 252 Atk/ 4 Def/ 252 Spe
Ability: Damp
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Ice Punch
- Earthquake
- Power-Up Punch
Description:
My Favorite Rain Sweeper! Bulky as hell, hits hard, and after a +1 from Power up Punch nearly everything is screwed. I play recklessly with this pokemon. Sometimes I'll risk the scald from Suicune. I lead with Swampert because I hate not getting the speed boost from rain on the switch from U-turn. So unless they lead with something that immediately threatens swampert out, I tend to keep swampert in to take the hit. This pairs well with Kabutops as not alot of teams can take on two powerful rain sweepers. And the synergy from the rest of the team is amazing.
Crobat@ Damp Rock
EVs: 252 HP/ 4 Def/ 252 Spe
Ability: Infiltrator
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Rain Dance
- Defog
Description:
One of the fastest pokemon in this metagame. This is used as a defensive pivot for my team. I didn't want to add roost because of rain's fast pace nature, this lives long enough to do what it needs to do. Unless Sticky Web is used I'm in no rush to get rid of hazards. But it is the best insurance against it. It pairs very well with swampert switching into 2 of it's biggest counters. Celebi and Chestnaught.
Crobat@ Damp Rock
EVs: 252 HP/ 4 Def/ 252 Spe
Ability: Natural Cure
Timid Nature
- Giga Drain
- U-turn
- Rain Dance
- Stealth Rock
Description:
Another defensive pivot. Celebi's role is to take scalds from Suicune, Set up Stealth Rock, and Rain. Thank goodness Zygarde is banned because Celebi was set up bait against Zygarde. I kept switching around between Jirachi, Uxie, and Cresselia. But Celebi fits with better synergy. Giga drain also allows it have a little more survivability. Wish I can say more but you get the gist of it's purpose on this team.
Kabutops @ Life Orb
EVs: 252 Atk/ 4 Def/ 252 Spe
Ability: Swift Swim
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Jet
- Sword Dance
Description:
The next rain sweeper. It is faster and hits harder than M-Swampert and comes with a priority move. However with much lighter bulk, meaning setting up Sword Dance is very situational. Also Stone Edge’s shaky accuracy can spell the game. Aqua Jet is very handy against the likes of infernape and honchkrow who threaten a damaged kabutops. I tend to bring kabutops in late game when Swampert punches some holes through the team. As stated earlier, not a lot of teams can handle two powerful physical rain sweepers. Last note, Kabutops can sweep on its own without rain.
Ludicolo @ Life Orb
EVs: 252 SpAtk/ 4 HP/ 252 Spe
Ability: Swift Swim
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam
- Surf
Description:
The special Sweeper. This pokemon is one of my favorite of the special rain sweepers. It gets a free switch into Suicune(though scald burns are still annoying) and threaten with Giga Drain. Giga Drain is amazing because it allows him to heal off life orb damage. Surf and hydro pump seem redudant, but Ludicolo has a free moveslot to use up. Hydro Miss can make anyone rage. So Surf is there for the OHKO when you dont need the power from Hydro Pump.
Liepard @ Damp Rock
EVs: 252 HP/ 4 Def/ 252 Spe
Ability:Prankster
Jolly Nature
- Thunder Wave
- U-turn
- Rain Dance
- Encore
Description:
MVP of my team. I love Liepard after using it! Gets a guarenteed last ditch Rain Dance, encore and thunder wave support. U-turn is if I have the opponent locked into a support move from Encore, making a great play on that end. Liepards role is unique and crucial if I'm ever in a tough spot and need a momentum gainer. It's fraility is a mixed blessing, as it can get killed and rain gets a larger number of terms.
Conclusion:
I'll finish and edit this when I get home
Threat List:
- Not threatening.
- Choice Scarf variation outspeeds entire team. But can't really do much damage to swampert nor Kabutops.
- Since this is on EVERY team, I changed my pixie to celebi. My team can wear it down, but if it sets up i'm pretty screwed.
-
- Very Threatening. Very tough to break because it has recover. Giga Drain to damage my sweepers. But all of my support have U-turn to heavily damage Celebi.
Very Threatening as choice scarf outspeeds Ludicolo and swampertt in rain. It can OHKO Ludicolo and heavily damage Swampert. Although Celebi and Crobat can switch in most of the time.
A Rank
\
A- Rank
B Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are good in the UnderUsed metagame. These Pokemon have more notable flaws than those above them that affect how they function in the tier. They can all still function very well given the right team support, but they have numerous flaws that minimize their impact on the tier.
B+ Rank
B Rank
Mega Abomasnow
Amoonguss
B- Rank
Bronzong
Feraligatr
C Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that have small niches in the UnderUsed metagame, but have numerous notable flaws that prevent them from being effective the majority of the time. Pokemon in the C tier require extensive support to be effective. Pokemon from this rank tend to face a lot of competition with the more commonly used Pokemon, or their niches aren't all too useful for the current metagame.
Aerodactyl
D rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are still in the UnderUsed tier, but are, simply put, ineffective in this meta.
Scrafty
[Hide/]
I'll edit this as well. This is just a rough draft
Just your typical rain team ran with Mega Swampert. Nothing special other than fun shenanigans from Liepard.
Team Building Process
At first I wanted to make a team revolving around the amazing synergy betweenTornadus-I and Mega Swampert.
From there I went to another good old favorite of mine, Uxie. To set up Rain Dance, Stealth Rock, and U-turn
Next step was choosing the sweepers which was a simple task. I wanted an extra hitter to go along with Mega Swampert and Kabutops was the easy choice. At first glance I wondered why no one was using Seismitoad and then I looked at it's physical movepool...NO PHYSICAL WATER MOVE!?!?!
This was my first test of the team and did pretty well until I got to the higher ladder and started playing against players who were smarter than the average bear. So I did some readjustments.
I changed some sets around as well. I originally had kabutops with rapid spin changed that to Sword Dance. Swampert with rain dance but I immediately changed that to Power up Punch because limited Rain and without a way to boost its stats. I added Liepard because I love Priority Rain. + it has U-turn to really get the benefits of an easy switch in. This team did well for awhile and sometimes I switch back to this team but I found this teams biggest weakenss. Sticky Web!! I have nothing to stop Galvantula from setting up Sticky Web nor getting rid of it. It's rare to run into one, but when I do I'm already at a huge disadvantage. Rapid spinning puts a strain on the fast paced hyper offense of rain teams so I had to go with a defog user. I wanted the combination of Defog/U-turn/Rain Dance. Surprisingly there are quite alot of options for this.
I went with Crobat because it provides great defensive synergy with rain sweepers and is fast! So it can get a guarenteed Rain set up. Sadly had to replace it with tornadus. O and I got tired of Suicune switching into Swampert so I changed Uxie to celebi. Does the same exact thing but gets a free switch in to Suicine and a great status absorber
___________________________________________________________________
The Rain Team!!
Swampert @ Swampertite
EVs: 252 Atk/ 4 Def/ 252 Spe
Ability: Damp
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Ice Punch
- Earthquake
- Power-Up Punch
Description:
My Favorite Rain Sweeper! Bulky as hell, hits hard, and after a +1 from Power up Punch nearly everything is screwed. I play recklessly with this pokemon. Sometimes I'll risk the scald from Suicune. I lead with Swampert because I hate not getting the speed boost from rain on the switch from U-turn. So unless they lead with something that immediately threatens swampert out, I tend to keep swampert in to take the hit. This pairs well with Kabutops as not alot of teams can take on two powerful rain sweepers. And the synergy from the rest of the team is amazing.
Crobat@ Damp Rock
EVs: 252 HP/ 4 Def/ 252 Spe
Ability: Infiltrator
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Rain Dance
- Defog
Description:
One of the fastest pokemon in this metagame. This is used as a defensive pivot for my team. I didn't want to add roost because of rain's fast pace nature, this lives long enough to do what it needs to do. Unless Sticky Web is used I'm in no rush to get rid of hazards. But it is the best insurance against it. It pairs very well with swampert switching into 2 of it's biggest counters. Celebi and Chestnaught.
Crobat@ Damp Rock
EVs: 252 HP/ 4 Def/ 252 Spe
Ability: Natural Cure
Timid Nature
- Giga Drain
- U-turn
- Rain Dance
- Stealth Rock
Description:
Another defensive pivot. Celebi's role is to take scalds from Suicune, Set up Stealth Rock, and Rain. Thank goodness Zygarde is banned because Celebi was set up bait against Zygarde. I kept switching around between Jirachi, Uxie, and Cresselia. But Celebi fits with better synergy. Giga drain also allows it have a little more survivability. Wish I can say more but you get the gist of it's purpose on this team.
Kabutops @ Life Orb
EVs: 252 Atk/ 4 Def/ 252 Spe
Ability: Swift Swim
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Jet
- Sword Dance
Description:
The next rain sweeper. It is faster and hits harder than M-Swampert and comes with a priority move. However with much lighter bulk, meaning setting up Sword Dance is very situational. Also Stone Edge’s shaky accuracy can spell the game. Aqua Jet is very handy against the likes of infernape and honchkrow who threaten a damaged kabutops. I tend to bring kabutops in late game when Swampert punches some holes through the team. As stated earlier, not a lot of teams can handle two powerful physical rain sweepers. Last note, Kabutops can sweep on its own without rain.
Ludicolo @ Life Orb
EVs: 252 SpAtk/ 4 HP/ 252 Spe
Ability: Swift Swim
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam
- Surf
Description:
The special Sweeper. This pokemon is one of my favorite of the special rain sweepers. It gets a free switch into Suicune(though scald burns are still annoying) and threaten with Giga Drain. Giga Drain is amazing because it allows him to heal off life orb damage. Surf and hydro pump seem redudant, but Ludicolo has a free moveslot to use up. Hydro Miss can make anyone rage. So Surf is there for the OHKO when you dont need the power from Hydro Pump.
Liepard @ Damp Rock
EVs: 252 HP/ 4 Def/ 252 Spe
Ability:Prankster
Jolly Nature
- Thunder Wave
- U-turn
- Rain Dance
- Encore
Description:
MVP of my team. I love Liepard after using it! Gets a guarenteed last ditch Rain Dance, encore and thunder wave support. U-turn is if I have the opponent locked into a support move from Encore, making a great play on that end. Liepards role is unique and crucial if I'm ever in a tough spot and need a momentum gainer. It's fraility is a mixed blessing, as it can get killed and rain gets a larger number of terms.
Conclusion:
I'll finish and edit this when I get home
Threat List:
A Rank
A- Rank
B Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are good in the UnderUsed metagame. These Pokemon have more notable flaws than those above them that affect how they function in the tier. They can all still function very well given the right team support, but they have numerous flaws that minimize their impact on the tier.
B+ Rank
B Rank
B- Rank
C Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that have small niches in the UnderUsed metagame, but have numerous notable flaws that prevent them from being effective the majority of the time. Pokemon in the C tier require extensive support to be effective. Pokemon from this rank tend to face a lot of competition with the more commonly used Pokemon, or their niches aren't all too useful for the current metagame.
D rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are still in the UnderUsed tier, but are, simply put, ineffective in this meta.
[Hide/]
I'll edit this as well. This is just a rough draft
Last edited:
