approved by alexwolf
Rain in OU
An Introduction:
Rain was a top threat last generation, with Politoed summoning permanent Rain for many powerful Pokemon such as Keldeo, Tornadus, and Toxicroak improving greatly in Rain. However, this Generation Rain was nerfed greatly and now only lasts for five turns. However, this is not all bad, as with the coming of a new Generation, Tornadus-T was unbanned and Swift Swim + Drizzle is now legal! Rain no longer has to compete with Sun, as Sun isn't as prominent as last Generation, and it is much easier to win the weather war; although Mega Charizard Y does cause a hassle. However, Tyranitar and Hipowdown are both very common, and they summon Sandstorm to get rid of precious Rain, but it still can be set up again. Abomasnow is almost non-existent, but it still is used some. Rain is a very creative playstyle and is a very effective if properly used. It can catch a lot of things off guard and severely weakens Fire-types such as Talonflame and Charizard. Rain is still as powerful as last Generation, it just isn't as easy to set up this Generation as it was last Generation.
Effects of Rain:
Rain causes the following effects:
Politoed gets the first mention because it is the sole Drizzle Pokemon allowed in OU. Politoed doesn't really have a niche outside of Drizzle, but it is a very huge niche. Politoed has a lot of sets, from Perish Song, to Choice Specs, to Damp Rock. Politoed has decent Special Defense, but everywhere else it is pretty lacking. However, under Rain, it has a mean Scald that can Burn and cripple many Pokemon. It can make up for the lack of power with Choice Specs, with a Hydro Pump that can dent a lot of things. Politoed makes a great Rain setter all around, as it can support its team, be a wall, or just be an offensive sweeper, all sets are pretty good, honestly. The main advantage of using Politoed is that it instantly summons Rain Dance, so it can just switch in and have it activated, it can even run Rain Dance itself to put a full stop to Mega Charizard Y, as it can survive a Solar Beam and set up Rain Dance, or come in on the Solar Beam and cripple it. Politoed, does, however, have a few weak points. It lacks recovery of any sort and it is often overwhelmed by many Pokemon. It also stacks weaknesses with common Rain Pokemon. Despite these flaws, Politoed is a very valuable Pokemon to Rain teams and can be very helpful.
Deoxys-Speed is a fantastic Rain setter. I'll admit, I put it on here thanks to Jukain's post about Rain Dance Deoxys-Speed found here. After a bit of testing, I can say that Deoxys-Speed is a fantastic addition to Rain Teams. It doesn't stack weaknesses with any common Rain Pokemon and has a lot of tools to work with. I particularly like the set Jukain posted, as Taunt is invaluable to ensure that you can safely set up Rain without being Taunted. Rain Pokemon also do not appreciate any hazards, and Taunt + Magic Coat greatly help with this. Deoxys-Speed can also set up Stealth Rock to aid in wearing down the opposition, as many Rain Pokemon cause switches and it is fantastic to rack up damage. Deoxys-Speed can also afford to run Psycho Boost, a very powerful move that can leave a large dent in Charizard or it can run Superpower, which OHKOes Tyranitar, a very huge threat to Rain teams. Deoxys-Speed is a fantastic addition to Rain teams, and I highly suggest and recommend trying it out sometime!
Tornadus, a Pokemon with a powerful Hurricane and a priority Rain Dance is almost a necessity on Rain teams. Tornadus truly shines on Rain teams. It can set up Rain Dance with ease and has a Prankster Taunt to further aid its team. It isn't a slouch offensively either, it has a very powerful Hurricane that can severely dent anything that doesn't resist it. As everyone knows, Flying STAB is one of the best STABs in the metagame currently, and Tornadus can certainly take advantage of this. It also has many other options such as U-turn to ensure a safe switch in and Knock Off, Superpower, and even Heat Wave to hurt Steel-types outside of Rain. Tornadus is practically the King of set Rain, and is a Pokemon that should be considered first when constructing a Rain team.
Bronzong is a great Rain Dance setter! Under Rain Dance, Bronzong loses its weakness to Fire. It also has the bulk to set up Rain Dance many times throughout the match and has the typing to do so. Its typing is a key reason to use Bronzong, as it has many resistances that Rain teams appreciate such as Grass- and Fairy-type resistances. Bronzong can also set up Dual Screens, Stealth Rock, all the way to Trick Room! It also carries Explosion, which it can use for a guaranteed safe switch in to a Rain sweeper, it also severely cripples anything that doesn't resist Normal. Sadly, Bronzong is worse off this Generation with the prevalence of Knock Off and Aegislash. But, these reasons are no reason not to try out Bronzong - as it is a great asset to Rain teams!
Volbeat gets a special mention due to its plethora of moves to abuse Prankster with, along with Rain Dance. It can run Encore to trap Pokemon into set up moves, Thunder Wave to cripple Scarf users, and even Tail Glow + Baton Pass sets to bring in a sweeper to absolutely wreck shit. However, Volbeat is complete Taunt bait if it doesn't carry Substitute, and it doesn't have the bulk to set up Rain Dance very often, but it can be helpful at last minute if need be. However, Volbeat shouldn't be considered unless you're taking advantage of Thunder Wave or Encore, or even the Baton Pass set, but that set isn't great and it is very hard to set up and take advantage of; although the rewards if it works is devastating.
Swift Swim Sweepers:
Kabutops is freaking scary under Rain. It has access to Swords Dance, which under Rain gives you a Pokemon with 518 Speed and 722 Attack with an Adamant nature. This means it outspeeds base 107 Scarfers, which kinda sucks because you miss out on Terrakion and Keldeo, but you can run Jolly to outspeed Base 122 Scarfers, but yeah don't do that. Kabutops also gets great neutral coverage with its STABs alone, and it also has access to Knock Off as a nice coverage move. Just to show the brute power of Kabutops, it has a 81.3% to OHKO 252/252+ Mega Venusaur after Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes with Stone Edge, and it does 73 - 86.8% to it. Yeah, I think you get the jist. It is very powerful, and it can even run Aqua Jet to kill off Talonflame, which can severely dent Kabutops surprisingly. Kabutops is one of the best Swift Swim sweepers that you should consider running on Offensive Rain teams!
Choice Specs Kingdra is an absolute monster under Rain, and it can severely dent anything with Hydro Pump, even 2HKO'ing Azumarill, meaning one of the usual counters to Kingdra cannot even safely switch into it. Kingdra also doesn't stack weaknesses, as it doesn't have a weakness to common Grass- and Electric-types moves that normally cause trouble to Rain teams. It also has a powerful Draco Meteor to hurt many Dragon-types that resist Water-type moves. Kingdra also has solid bulk, so it can live a few hits. Kingdra is a very threatening sweeper under the Rain that fits well on most Rain teams!
Ludicolo is perhaps the most threatening Swift Swim sweepers, as it has great typing, and very powerful STABs, backed up by Ice Beam to nail Dragon-types. It can even set up Rain Dance to aid its team. Ludicolo is essential thanks to its Grass-type and the ability to smash through Specially Defensive Water-types that wall Kingdra and the likes. It also is very interesting and looks cool lol. Ludicolo is backed up by a decent Special Defense that allow it to take on a few hits. However, Ludicolo is Talonflame weak, and that leaves it not able to take full advantage of its amazing coverage and power. However, this can be patched up by a teammate and should not be disregarded, as Ludicolo is a very potent sweeper that should be used and tried out!
Rain Sweepers without Swift Swim:
Please, please, please, if you're using a Rain team, run Keldeo. Specs Keldeo can plow through pretty much anything in the Rain, it even 2HKOes its prime counter: Mega Venusaur. Pretty much the only things willing to stomach a Hydro Pump is Jellicent, which isn't very good this Gen. Even though it plows down Chansey with Secert Sword, just for the record, it can 2HKO Chansey after Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes, which is very impressive. Just to go off of raw numbers, Hydro Pump has an effective 247 Base Power under Rain, and Choice Specs amplifies it to a shattering 370 power, which is just 5 base power less than a STAB Explosion. Seriously, don't even think about not running Keldeo on your Rain team, it can't even be classified as a Rain team without Keldeo on it.
Tornadus-Therian is so powerful, in fact, it was so powerful it was banned to Ubers last Generation. Torndaus-T has STAB Hurricane that never misses in Rain, and it has Regenerator to keep itself healthy, and as Rain teams are usually switching, it is very helpful. Torndaus-T does stack weaknesses with other Rain Pokemon, Electric-type, but it does resist Grass-types. Tornadus-T is an essential to Rain teams and is a very great Pokemon to set up and sweep under Rain!
Other Things and Pokemon to Consider:
**Note: These are all usable and good, I just didn't feel the need to include them into the main sweepers due to various reasons, thus they will be shorter than above!**
Hurricane
Hurricane is a powerful move in Rain, but the only usable STAB Pokemon are Tornadus and Dragonite, and Dragonite has better sets. Volcarona is very usable, but sadly its Fire Blast is crippled in the Rain, and thus is difficult to use, Moltres as well. Noivern is another great Hurricane user, as it brings nice resistances to Grass to the table, but it isn't very powerful unless backed by Choice Specs or Life Orb.
Other Rain Dance Setters:
There are of course a lot more Rain Dance setters! Some great ones include Uxie - who has great bulk, speed, and access to Dual Screens, along with U-Turn to keep up momentum, and also Goodra - who has a niche of gaining reliable recovery in Rain, thanks to Hydration. There a lot more, and you should try some new ones out!
Thunder
Thunder is a powerful move in Rain, as it never misses. Some Pokemon to consider are Thundurus, Mega Manectric, Magneszone, Zapdos, and Raikou.
Grass-, Bug-, and Steel-types:
Grass-types are really good under Rain, as they lose their weakness to Fire, however they also lose Synthesis. Some great Grass-types are Ferrothorn, Breloom, and Gourgeist! However they do lose their Resistance to Water-type moves, but it usually isn't a big issue. Bug-types are in the same boat, however they do not resist Water, but gain a weakness to them. However they're still very usable! Some great Bug-types are Scizor, Forretress, and Heracross! Steel-types are fantastic in Rain, as they synergize well and lose weakness to Fire! Some fantastic Steel-types are Magnezone, Aegislash, and Escavalier!
Toxicroak
Toxicroak isn't really what it was last Generation, but it is ok this generation! It has reliable recovery under rain and can set up Swords Dance nicely!
Other Water-types
Some great Water-types that can make use of their amped up STABs are Mega Gyarados, Goryebess (who also has Swift Swim!), Starmie, Azumarill (whose Banded Aqua Jet and Waterfall are very powerful), and Crawdaunt, whose Crabhammer can shatter worlds.
Ender of Rain (Counters):
Other Weather
Other weathers all will put an end to Rain. However, all the instant weather setters are weak to Water, bar the uncommon Abomasnow. After your Rain setters are gone, then you lose the weather war, which is very negative, as many Pokemon are most useful in Rain and lose that.
Using Rain:
Rain should be used with balance. Do not have one setter, then five sweeper. Try to make a mix somewhere like two dedicated setter, one setter / sweeper, two sweepers, and a Pokemon meant to work in and out of Rain.
Conclusion:
This little itty bitty tutorial is nothing compared to the amazing article written by yee and ginganinja which you can find here. Be sure to read that and this! I hope you enjoyed this and you are inspired to go construct a Rain team!
P.S. If I left out any Pokemon you want me to mention, I'll test them out and write about them~!
Rain was a top threat last generation, with Politoed summoning permanent Rain for many powerful Pokemon such as Keldeo, Tornadus, and Toxicroak improving greatly in Rain. However, this Generation Rain was nerfed greatly and now only lasts for five turns. However, this is not all bad, as with the coming of a new Generation, Tornadus-T was unbanned and Swift Swim + Drizzle is now legal! Rain no longer has to compete with Sun, as Sun isn't as prominent as last Generation, and it is much easier to win the weather war; although Mega Charizard Y does cause a hassle. However, Tyranitar and Hipowdown are both very common, and they summon Sandstorm to get rid of precious Rain, but it still can be set up again. Abomasnow is almost non-existent, but it still is used some. Rain is a very creative playstyle and is a very effective if properly used. It can catch a lot of things off guard and severely weakens Fire-types such as Talonflame and Charizard. Rain is still as powerful as last Generation, it just isn't as easy to set up this Generation as it was last Generation.
Effects of Rain:
Rain causes the following effects:
- Water-type moves power is increased 50%
- Thunder and Hurricane now have -% accuracy (they always hit, no matter what)
- Dry Skin, Hydration, Swift Swim, and Rain Dish are activated.
- Weather Ball is now Water-type
Castform turns into a Water-type- Fire-type moves power is decreased by 50%
- Moonlight, Synthesis, and Morning Sun only recover 25%, versus 50%
Politoed gets the first mention because it is the sole Drizzle Pokemon allowed in OU. Politoed doesn't really have a niche outside of Drizzle, but it is a very huge niche. Politoed has a lot of sets, from Perish Song, to Choice Specs, to Damp Rock. Politoed has decent Special Defense, but everywhere else it is pretty lacking. However, under Rain, it has a mean Scald that can Burn and cripple many Pokemon. It can make up for the lack of power with Choice Specs, with a Hydro Pump that can dent a lot of things. Politoed makes a great Rain setter all around, as it can support its team, be a wall, or just be an offensive sweeper, all sets are pretty good, honestly. The main advantage of using Politoed is that it instantly summons Rain Dance, so it can just switch in and have it activated, it can even run Rain Dance itself to put a full stop to Mega Charizard Y, as it can survive a Solar Beam and set up Rain Dance, or come in on the Solar Beam and cripple it. Politoed, does, however, have a few weak points. It lacks recovery of any sort and it is often overwhelmed by many Pokemon. It also stacks weaknesses with common Rain Pokemon. Despite these flaws, Politoed is a very valuable Pokemon to Rain teams and can be very helpful.
Deoxys-Speed is a fantastic Rain setter. I'll admit, I put it on here thanks to Jukain's post about Rain Dance Deoxys-Speed found here. After a bit of testing, I can say that Deoxys-Speed is a fantastic addition to Rain Teams. It doesn't stack weaknesses with any common Rain Pokemon and has a lot of tools to work with. I particularly like the set Jukain posted, as Taunt is invaluable to ensure that you can safely set up Rain without being Taunted. Rain Pokemon also do not appreciate any hazards, and Taunt + Magic Coat greatly help with this. Deoxys-Speed can also set up Stealth Rock to aid in wearing down the opposition, as many Rain Pokemon cause switches and it is fantastic to rack up damage. Deoxys-Speed can also afford to run Psycho Boost, a very powerful move that can leave a large dent in Charizard or it can run Superpower, which OHKOes Tyranitar, a very huge threat to Rain teams. Deoxys-Speed is a fantastic addition to Rain teams, and I highly suggest and recommend trying it out sometime!
Tornadus, a Pokemon with a powerful Hurricane and a priority Rain Dance is almost a necessity on Rain teams. Tornadus truly shines on Rain teams. It can set up Rain Dance with ease and has a Prankster Taunt to further aid its team. It isn't a slouch offensively either, it has a very powerful Hurricane that can severely dent anything that doesn't resist it. As everyone knows, Flying STAB is one of the best STABs in the metagame currently, and Tornadus can certainly take advantage of this. It also has many other options such as U-turn to ensure a safe switch in and Knock Off, Superpower, and even Heat Wave to hurt Steel-types outside of Rain. Tornadus is practically the King of set Rain, and is a Pokemon that should be considered first when constructing a Rain team.
Bronzong is a great Rain Dance setter! Under Rain Dance, Bronzong loses its weakness to Fire. It also has the bulk to set up Rain Dance many times throughout the match and has the typing to do so. Its typing is a key reason to use Bronzong, as it has many resistances that Rain teams appreciate such as Grass- and Fairy-type resistances. Bronzong can also set up Dual Screens, Stealth Rock, all the way to Trick Room! It also carries Explosion, which it can use for a guaranteed safe switch in to a Rain sweeper, it also severely cripples anything that doesn't resist Normal. Sadly, Bronzong is worse off this Generation with the prevalence of Knock Off and Aegislash. But, these reasons are no reason not to try out Bronzong - as it is a great asset to Rain teams!
Volbeat gets a special mention due to its plethora of moves to abuse Prankster with, along with Rain Dance. It can run Encore to trap Pokemon into set up moves, Thunder Wave to cripple Scarf users, and even Tail Glow + Baton Pass sets to bring in a sweeper to absolutely wreck shit. However, Volbeat is complete Taunt bait if it doesn't carry Substitute, and it doesn't have the bulk to set up Rain Dance very often, but it can be helpful at last minute if need be. However, Volbeat shouldn't be considered unless you're taking advantage of Thunder Wave or Encore, or even the Baton Pass set, but that set isn't great and it is very hard to set up and take advantage of; although the rewards if it works is devastating.
Swift Swim Sweepers:
Kabutops is freaking scary under Rain. It has access to Swords Dance, which under Rain gives you a Pokemon with 518 Speed and 722 Attack with an Adamant nature. This means it outspeeds base 107 Scarfers, which kinda sucks because you miss out on Terrakion and Keldeo, but you can run Jolly to outspeed Base 122 Scarfers, but yeah don't do that. Kabutops also gets great neutral coverage with its STABs alone, and it also has access to Knock Off as a nice coverage move. Just to show the brute power of Kabutops, it has a 81.3% to OHKO 252/252+ Mega Venusaur after Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes with Stone Edge, and it does 73 - 86.8% to it. Yeah, I think you get the jist. It is very powerful, and it can even run Aqua Jet to kill off Talonflame, which can severely dent Kabutops surprisingly. Kabutops is one of the best Swift Swim sweepers that you should consider running on Offensive Rain teams!
Choice Specs Kingdra is an absolute monster under Rain, and it can severely dent anything with Hydro Pump, even 2HKO'ing Azumarill, meaning one of the usual counters to Kingdra cannot even safely switch into it. Kingdra also doesn't stack weaknesses, as it doesn't have a weakness to common Grass- and Electric-types moves that normally cause trouble to Rain teams. It also has a powerful Draco Meteor to hurt many Dragon-types that resist Water-type moves. Kingdra also has solid bulk, so it can live a few hits. Kingdra is a very threatening sweeper under the Rain that fits well on most Rain teams!
Ludicolo is perhaps the most threatening Swift Swim sweepers, as it has great typing, and very powerful STABs, backed up by Ice Beam to nail Dragon-types. It can even set up Rain Dance to aid its team. Ludicolo is essential thanks to its Grass-type and the ability to smash through Specially Defensive Water-types that wall Kingdra and the likes. It also is very interesting and looks cool lol. Ludicolo is backed up by a decent Special Defense that allow it to take on a few hits. However, Ludicolo is Talonflame weak, and that leaves it not able to take full advantage of its amazing coverage and power. However, this can be patched up by a teammate and should not be disregarded, as Ludicolo is a very potent sweeper that should be used and tried out!
Rain Sweepers without Swift Swim:
Please, please, please, if you're using a Rain team, run Keldeo. Specs Keldeo can plow through pretty much anything in the Rain, it even 2HKOes its prime counter: Mega Venusaur. Pretty much the only things willing to stomach a Hydro Pump is Jellicent, which isn't very good this Gen. Even though it plows down Chansey with Secert Sword, just for the record, it can 2HKO Chansey after Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes, which is very impressive. Just to go off of raw numbers, Hydro Pump has an effective 247 Base Power under Rain, and Choice Specs amplifies it to a shattering 370 power, which is just 5 base power less than a STAB Explosion. Seriously, don't even think about not running Keldeo on your Rain team, it can't even be classified as a Rain team without Keldeo on it.
Tornadus-Therian is so powerful, in fact, it was so powerful it was banned to Ubers last Generation. Torndaus-T has STAB Hurricane that never misses in Rain, and it has Regenerator to keep itself healthy, and as Rain teams are usually switching, it is very helpful. Torndaus-T does stack weaknesses with other Rain Pokemon, Electric-type, but it does resist Grass-types. Tornadus-T is an essential to Rain teams and is a very great Pokemon to set up and sweep under Rain!
Other Things and Pokemon to Consider:
**Note: These are all usable and good, I just didn't feel the need to include them into the main sweepers due to various reasons, thus they will be shorter than above!**
Hurricane
Hurricane is a powerful move in Rain, but the only usable STAB Pokemon are Tornadus and Dragonite, and Dragonite has better sets. Volcarona is very usable, but sadly its Fire Blast is crippled in the Rain, and thus is difficult to use, Moltres as well. Noivern is another great Hurricane user, as it brings nice resistances to Grass to the table, but it isn't very powerful unless backed by Choice Specs or Life Orb.
Other Rain Dance Setters:
There are of course a lot more Rain Dance setters! Some great ones include Uxie - who has great bulk, speed, and access to Dual Screens, along with U-Turn to keep up momentum, and also Goodra - who has a niche of gaining reliable recovery in Rain, thanks to Hydration. There a lot more, and you should try some new ones out!
Thunder
Thunder is a powerful move in Rain, as it never misses. Some Pokemon to consider are Thundurus, Mega Manectric, Magneszone, Zapdos, and Raikou.
Grass-, Bug-, and Steel-types:
Grass-types are really good under Rain, as they lose their weakness to Fire, however they also lose Synthesis. Some great Grass-types are Ferrothorn, Breloom, and Gourgeist! However they do lose their Resistance to Water-type moves, but it usually isn't a big issue. Bug-types are in the same boat, however they do not resist Water, but gain a weakness to them. However they're still very usable! Some great Bug-types are Scizor, Forretress, and Heracross! Steel-types are fantastic in Rain, as they synergize well and lose weakness to Fire! Some fantastic Steel-types are Magnezone, Aegislash, and Escavalier!
Toxicroak
Toxicroak isn't really what it was last Generation, but it is ok this generation! It has reliable recovery under rain and can set up Swords Dance nicely!
Other Water-types
Some great Water-types that can make use of their amped up STABs are Mega Gyarados, Goryebess (who also has Swift Swim!), Starmie, Azumarill (whose Banded Aqua Jet and Waterfall are very powerful), and Crawdaunt, whose Crabhammer can shatter worlds.
Ender of Rain (Counters):
Other Weather
Other weathers all will put an end to Rain. However, all the instant weather setters are weak to Water, bar the uncommon Abomasnow. After your Rain setters are gone, then you lose the weather war, which is very negative, as many Pokemon are most useful in Rain and lose that.
Using Rain:
Rain should be used with balance. Do not have one setter, then five sweeper. Try to make a mix somewhere like two dedicated setter, one setter / sweeper, two sweepers, and a Pokemon meant to work in and out of Rain.
Conclusion:
This little itty bitty tutorial is nothing compared to the amazing article written by yee and ginganinja which you can find here. Be sure to read that and this! I hope you enjoyed this and you are inspired to go construct a Rain team!
P.S. If I left out any Pokemon you want me to mention, I'll test them out and write about them~!
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