SV OU Raikou Balance (peak #69, 1845)

OatIsHere · Sep 19, 2025

Hello, this is my first RMT ever so suggestions and feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Paste: https://pokepast.es/756f8d44f8c0a7f2 :Raikou:

has been my favorite mon for a long time ever since I started playing mons back in gen 3, it had such a good competitive career back in GSC where it was one of the premier mons due to its excellent offensive electric typing with HP Ice for grounds like :Golem:

and

. However ever since gen 4 where powercreep became too much for the poor guy & ever since its been a lower tier mon, often overshadowed by its fellow electric legendary :Zapdos:

.

Gen 9 has been extremely rough if not the roughest gen ever for :Raikou:

at least in an OU context , the addition of several new ground types such as :Ting-Lu:

,

,

and

have been extremely tough with the latter having water absorb as well fully countering the combination of Scald+tbolt or Volt Switch. Gen 9 also curb stomped Raikou with the addition of :Raging Bolt:

a new past paradox form of :Raikou:

with a secondary dragon typing and the access to protosynthesis and the priority of thunderclap.

However I wanted to make :Raikou:

work in OU (or at the very least usable), so here’s the full introduction and breakdown of the team….
At First The Team Started Out with :Raikou:

a simple HStack Team with the fundamentals such as Hazards with :Clefable:

and

, a Spin Blocker in :Pecharunt:

and a Knock Off User in :Gliscor:

, it honestly was an alright team that got and worked in the 1700's decently. The :Darkrai:

set was Nasty Plot, Taunt, Sludge Bomb and Dark Pulse and with Tera Ghost easily 6-0'ed stall with Scald from :Raikou:

burning

.
However the team struggled against several archetypes, notably Hyper Offense as well as mons like :Kyurem:

and

, therefore I dropped :Darkrai:

for

and thus the creation of this team was born….

Rai Charles (Raikou) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Ice
EVs: 16 HP / 252 SpA / 240 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Aura Sphere
- Scald
- Tera Blast

The main star of the show :Raikou:

, I believe is a highly underappreciated mon. It has a rather interesting movepool with the standard Volt Switch to get the jump on and doing quite a hefty chunk to neutral mons such as :Weezing-Galar:

and

as well as electric weak mons such as :Primarina:

etc. A simple max Spatt and almost max speed which allows Raikou to outspeed :Serperior:

.

It also has access to Aura Sphere, easily OHKO’ing no bulk :Kingambit:

and

as well as doing decent damage to :Darkrai:

and

Scald is a really strong move which due to its cut distribution at the start of Gen 9 is now a really sought out move. Ogerpon-Wellspring, a seemingly counter to the move, gets hit with big damage from :Raikou:

Volt Switch and Scald can easily fish for burns on mons like :Clodsire:

and the rare but annoying :Garchomp:

. Also a mid-ground play on mons like :Iron Treads:

and

who think they can switch into Volt Switch.

Finally the 4th moveslot is rounded out with Tera Blast Ice, with max investment it OHKOs :Great Tusk:

and Spdef

which can actually break through some fat teams with the help of Volt Switching on :Blissey:

and

as well as Scald burning :Clodsire:

allowing easier breaking with :Hydrapple:

allowing it to survive several EQ’s with minimal damage taken.

Pressure on :Raikou:

was also a nice bonus, helping diminish PP from low PP moves such as :Cinderace:

Pyro Ball and :Pecharunt:

Malignant Chain which can help sweepers such as :Hydrapple:

and

to sweep in the endgame.
Overall Raikou did what it needed to do to break, it has a quite good speed tier outspeeding things like :Ogerpon-Wellspring:

and

and was overall just a good mon to use.

Calcs:
252 SpA Tera Ice Raikou Tera Blast (80 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Great Tusk: 398-470 (107.2 - 126.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Tera Ice Raikou Tera Blast (80 BP) vs. 244 HP / 252+ SpD Gliscor: 412-492 (117 - 139.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Raikou Volt Switch vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Neutralizing Gas Weezing-Galar: 141-166 (42.2 - 49.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Raikou Volt Switch vs. 224 HP / 0 SpD Cinderace: 135-159 (37.8 - 44.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Raikou Volt Switch vs. 80 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Primarina: 126-150 (39.2 - 46.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Raikou Scald vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Iron Treads: 214-252 (66.6 - 78.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

:SV/Slowking-Galar:

The Chillionaire (Slowking-Galar) (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 248 HP / 156 Def / 104 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Future Sight
- Chilly Reception
- Sludge Bomb
- Thunder Wave

:Slowking-Galar:

was one of the three mons to fit into the breaking core of the team. Its strong Future Sight support allowed it to pressure fat mons like :Gliscor:

and

allowing for :Raikou and :Samurott-Hisui:

to break. Chilly Reception for pivoting allowed it to get the rest of the mons freely with a safe opportunity for attacking as well as an advantage against the weather setters :Ninetales:

and

, also gives a nice chilly-volt core with :Raikou:

.

Thunder-Wave was really valuable speed control and helped slow down massive threats to the team such as :Deoxys-Speed:

and scarf mons like :Enamorus:

.

The EV’s in defense allow :Slowking-Galar:

to survive two crunches from max attack :Zamazenta:

which is quite a threat with 4 attacks while still taking little from :Enamorus:

non specs Earth Power as well as special attacks from :Iron Crown:

and CM

Tera Dark allows :Slowking-Galar:

to resist

dark pulse as well as fully blank :Deoxys-Speed:

Psycho Boost:

Calcs:
-252 Atk Zamazenta Crunch vs. 248 HP / 156 Def Slowking-Galar: 166-196 (42.2 - 49.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
-252 SpA Enamorus Earth Power vs. 248 HP / 104+ SpD Slowking-Galar: 154-182 (39.1 - 46.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
-252 SpA Kyurem Earth Power vs. 248 HP / 104+ SpD Slowking-Galar: 150-178 (38.1 - 45.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
-252+ SpA Hydrapple Earth Power vs. 248 HP / 104+ SpD Slowking-Galar: 156-184 (39.6 - 46.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
-252+ SpA Primarina Surf vs. 248 HP / 104+ SpD Slowking-Galar: 121-144 (30.7 - 36.6%) -- 64.9% chance to 3HKO
-252 SpA Quark Drive Iron Moth Fiery Dance vs. 248 HP / 104+ SpD Slowking-Galar: 136-162 (34.6 - 41.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+1 252+ SpA Quark Drive Iron Valiant Shadow Ball vs. 248 HP / 104+ SpD Slowking-Galar: 270-318 (68.7 - 80.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

:SV/Samurott-Hisui:

Die Sekiro (Samurott-Hisui) (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Sharpness
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Ceaseless Edge
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Razor Shell

:Samurott-Hisui:

is the third mon of the breaking core, its solid offenses with Ceaseless Edge consistently setting hazards on mons such as :Hatterene:

as well as being a solid Knock Off user which can pressure knock absorbers like :Corviknight:

and

with defense drops from Razor Shell.

Sucker Punch is required for the priority of the team, helping out with dark weak sweepers such as :Deoxys-Speed:

and

and neutral mons like :Dragonite:

and

with prediction. Also its natural defensive typing is valuable for resisting STAB’s from :Kingambit:

and

as well.

Tera Fire on :Samurott-Hisui:

is valuable for having a wisp immunity against mons like :Cinderace:

and

which is essential since there is no fire/wisp immunity. It also helps resist the Moonblasts from mons like :Iron Valiant:

and

as a nice bonus.

A change that could be implemented is having Assault Vest instead of Heavy Duty Boots as a nice secondary special wall to the team as a dark resist as well as a better fire/water/ghost resist against several mons. Could be considered as there is a spinner in :Iron Treads:

. However, the hazard immunity with HDB is valuable in the H-stack MU as often treads are unable to spin on mons like :Sinistcha:

and Tera Ghost :Pecharunt:

. Black Glasses is also another idea.

:SV/Iron Treads:

Treadmill Tungsten (Iron Treads) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 64 HP / 252 Atk / 192 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Spinner
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock

:Iron Treads:

fills a very valuable role on this balance team as the ground type of the team which is crucial for having an electric immunity to Volt Switch on :Zapdos:

and being a natural check to :Raging Bolt:

. It is also the steel type of the team giving the team a poison immunity which is nice for Toxic mons such as :Slowking Galar:

and sometimes :Mandibuzz:

. Heavy Duty Boots is chosen as :Iron Treads:

health is often crucial for specs :Raging Bolt:

and

however something like Clear Amulet or Leftovers wouldn’t be bad as well.

It is also the Stealth Rocker and Removal of the team helping against Hazard Mons such as :Clefable:

and providing chip on hazard weak mons such as :Ogerpon Wellspring:

and

. The Speed EV’s allow :Iron Treads:

to outspeed max speed :Iron Crown:

and

with the rest in Attack and some in HP to deal more damage to :Gliscor:

and

. Moreover it provides a dragon resistance which is helpful against the Draco Meteor’s from :Raging Bolt:

and the rare CB Outrages from :Dragonite:

.

Tera Fairy is helpful for emergency fighting and dark resistances for mons like :Darkrai:

and Focus Blast :Deoxys Speed:

and

.

Overall :Iron Treads:

was crucial role compression and was a valuable mon on the team.

:SV/Hydrapple:

TalkingHeads (Hydrapple) (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 164 HP / 252 SpA / 92 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Fickle Beam
- Giga Drain
- Earth Power

:Hydrapple:

was honestly the second most surprising mon that fully shocked me. It has amazing resistances to ground attacks from :Iron Treads:

and

, water attacks from :Ogerpon-Wellspring:

and

and grass attacks from :Ogerpon-Wellspring:

and

. It also has great immediate power with Fickle Beams chance to DOUBLE in power allowing massive damage on :Tornadus-Therian:

and big damage against resists like :Scizor:

and

. Its natural bulk also allows :Hydrapple:

to survive super effective attacks such as :Ogerpon-Wellspring:

play rough and :Great Tusk:

ice spinner.

Nasty Plot allows Hydrapple to put on some serious pressure and with the Speed EV’s to outspeed :Blissey:

it allows

to put on serious pressure on Stall teams. :Clodsire:

usually isn't an issue due to :Raikou:

often Scald burning it in the process.

Tera Poison allows :Hydrapple:

to turn into a fairy/poison/fighting resist which is also valuable for the toxic immunity against staples such as :Weezing-Galar:

and the aforementioned :Clodsire:

Overall

was a fantastic mon who I think has a great OU niche and I think should be HIGHLY recommended as a pick on teams. I wouldn’t be surprised if it rose to OU.

Calcs:
-252+ SpA Hydrapple Fickle Beam vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 297-349 (77.5 - 91.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
-252+ SpA Hydrapple Fickle Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Tornadus-Therian: 295-348 (98.6 - 116.3%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
-252+ SpA Hydrapple Fickle Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 327-385 (85.6 - 100.7%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
-252+ SpA Hydrapple Fickle Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 327-385 (85.6 - 100.7%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
-252 Atk Great Tusk Ice Spinner vs. 164 HP / 0 Def Hydrapple: 324-384 (82.2 - 97.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
-252 Atk Wellspring Mask Ogerpon-Wellspring Play Rough vs. 164 HP / 0 Def Hydrapple: 206-244 (52.2 - 61.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

:SV/Zamazenta:

Fighting Master (Zamazenta) @ Leftovers
Ability: Dauntless Shield
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 88 Def / 172 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Defense
- Body Press
- Crunch
- Substitute

:Zamazenta:

is the speed control of the team, outpacing several fast mons like :Darkrai:

and

. It gives the team a defensive mon, severely helping out against the Hyper Offense MU as well as a check to many sweepers like :Kyurem:

and

ID Press allows :Zamazenta:

to be a threatening late game sweeper which with Substitute allows :Zamazenta:

to freely set up on :Garganacl:

as well as with Tera Fire :Clefable:

and Wisp-Hex :Dragapult:

. The Speed EV’s allow :Zamazenta:

to outspeed +1 :Dragonite:

alongside

and

. Crunch is also useful against the several fighting resistances and immunities two hit KO’ing :Slowking-Galar:

and with Substitute can actually PP stall :Pecharunt:

out of Malignant Chains and :Weezing-Galar:

out of Sludge Bombs/Strange Steams.

- NP Deo-S is a really tricky mon to handle in the current metagame and this team is no exception, :Samurott-Hisui:

gets OHKO’d by Focus Blast and Sucker Punch can be resisted by Tera Fighting. Prediction is necessary or a forced tera on either :Slowking-Galar:

or

. A prediction Crunch with :Zamazenta:

is also nice against :Deoxys-Speed:

- Great Tusk is a little bit challenging to deal with as the only ground resist is :Hydrapple:

which takes massive damage from Ice Spinner, however :Zamazenta:

does check :Great Tusk:

to some degree and :Hydrapple:

can survive an Ice Spinner and OHKO with Giga Drain

:Kyurem:

- Sub Sets can be problematic as they can get past :Slowking-Galar:

with Tera Ground, usually :Zamazenta:

is needed to force it out but tera from :Hydrapple:

fixes the

issue to some extent. ( :Kyurem:

will always be a pain in the ass when making balance icl)

Water and Fire types also present some issue as the resist :Samurott-Hisui:

has quite weak special bulk, usually its fine as most of the aforementioned fire/water types are handled by :Samurott-Hisui:

and

.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2442999919-1n7jam30b38sumxymgv7pir1k4jfkajpw -Stall :Blissey:

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2443003823-kdbps6g9p9649tb84w4wcp2xens8vompw -Bulky Balance with :Lokix:

and

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2443020970-iu7riuerybwv6uh0jh90ntcisrif7cypw -Bulky Balance with :Deoxys-Speed:

and

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2443559185-7f06y16lp5qk6sdev6bjl0vsjt8ikybpw -Balance with :Ogerpon:

and

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2443566502 -Bulky Offense :Ogerpon-Wellspring:

Credits to Lycopoky for helping me with the RMT process as well as Pinkacross for his videos for laddering and team building for more beginner/intermediate players. Without them I would’ve never ever started this process of RMT making which I am very grateful for.

Any advice on the team of the RMT would be appreciated as well as feedback from all opinions. I've never posted about a team that I've made myself to other people so this is all quite new to me haha.
As of right now I am currently in the 1800’s still laddering with the team, changes will mostly likely be inevitable as the metagame progresses so I hope :Raikou:

will prevail on.
Thanks for checking this team out! If you decide to try out the team, best of luck!

SV OU Raikou Balance (peak #69, 1845)

OatIsHere

Attachments