SV OU Rain Is Pain

[NotDaProGamer]

Okay, so even if it can be argued that Rain is not the most dominant playstyle, it is sure common. So, let's beat it.

Importable


Slowking-Galar @ Heavy-Duty Boots/Icy Rock
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Def / 240 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Future Sight
- Chilly Reception
- Sludge Bomb
- Thunder Wave
Goofy King is here! Sporting annoying moves to cripple the enemy like Thunder Wave, the poison chance on Sludge Bomb (you'll be surprised how many poisons I have, though I am lucky) and the ever strong FuturePort loadout, with Chilly Reception being a great choice to change weather and to support our two hail attackers. Not much else to say, classic Glowking. My choice to give Icy Rock an honorable mention for sets is mentioned below in the Ninetales section.


Ninetales-Alola @ Icy Rock
Ability: Snow Warning
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Aurora Veil
- Encore
- Freeze-Dry
- Moonblast
God save our gracious veil, long live our noble veil...
Anyway, even if it is currently a UU mon, Veils from the Tales is always going to be helpful for some teams. Using mostly the normal sets, it is a fantastic disruptor and support. What else do I say? Oh right, WHY AM I USING ICY ROCK? This is a hail team, not a veil team. Most of my members need at max 2 turns of setup. Without my Icy Rock, Cetitan has much shorter lifespan, and Kyruem can't get that juicy defence boost. (You can use Abomasnow here, I experimented with it to underspeed Pelipper, otherwise obviously use Tales)

My Abomasnow Testing Set

Abomasnow @ Icy Rock
Ability: Snow Warning
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Aurora Veil
- Blizzard
- Leech Seed
- Protect

Ogerpon-Wellspring (F) @ Wellspring Mask
Ability: Water Absorb
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Ivy Cudgel
- Power Whip
- Stomping Tantrum
I've always thought Ogerpon was like Batman. Wearing a mask, misunderstood... but one of Batman's qualities is that he is versatile and has many gadgets. Ogerpon, also, has many things in its arsenal. So this is SD Ogerpon running Stomping Tantrum. I originally picked this out just for Archaludon, but the amount of times Power Whip has missed is infuriating, sooo... Yeah. Anyway, this is our team's resident Arch killer and CB Barraskewda punisher.


Cetitan @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Slush Rush
Tera Type: Fighting/Electric
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Belly Drum
- Ice Shard/Ice Spinner
- Earthquake
- Superpower/Tera Blast
Oh wow, he's back. Cetitan, the drummer, has appeared. You know Cetitan's plan-get in with Veil up, Belly Drum, go ham. EQ and Superpower are my coverage moves of choice, but you can run Tera Blast Electric for BoltBeam coverage. I use Ice Shard just so I don't have to switch it back out once hail ends, but Ice Spinner+Icy Rock works. Don't you dare run Ice Spinner with no Icy Rocks! 4 turns is not nearly enough to make it up.


Kyurem @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Freeze-Dry
- Draco Meteor
- Earth Power
Specs Blizzard. Okay, next!
Okay, but this is literally specs Kyruem with Ice Beam substituted for Blizzard, so uh... uh... uh... HERE! The writers of the top passage have put in a lot of detail, what else should I add?


Great Tusk @ Booster Energy
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Headlong Rush
- Rapid Spin
- Close Combat
3 of my members are ice types. Ice types take 25% from Stealth Rocks. Cetitan will die in one turn with rocks+3 layers of spikes+Belly Drum. So, spinner. Tusk here is also a wincon with Bulk Up under Veil, and therefore this set is a weird hybrid between utility and damage. Better people have said things about this mon, but we are here to refute people who said that Tusk fell off. No. Tusk is better than ever. Tera Steel for a water resistance that is crucial for an anti-rain team.

 

[Roller K]

I like the creative combo of Slowking + Ninetales! With the right team, it could give Snow some potential in OU. While I do not see Snow being reliable against teams, it could be fun to get the occasional Cetitan sweep. To help it succeed a little better, I have some suggestions for ways to improve the team. A Pokepaste of my suggestions is right below.

My version:

Changes:

1. > : Since you have the objective of beating rain/sun, you want a Pokemon that can easily switch into the setters/abusers and remove the weather condition. I am split about this change since having a grounded Poison is important against /, but I think the benefits outweigh the negatives for your team. 's defensive typing is nice into Rain; it resists Water, Fire, and Steel, all of which cause your team issues and can force a switch to the frail . On Rain, it pivots into ///. On Sun, it pivots into //. In general, it can temporarily check some of the major threats to your team while maintaining Chilly Reception. It has the added benefit of Scald > Sludge Bomb to pester physical attackers.

2. Substitute > Draco Meteor, Heavy-Duty Boots > Choice Specs, Tera Steel > Fairy on : Due to the extra turns of Snow provided by , does not need to worry about the limited turns to spam Blizzard and can instead utilize its boosted Defense stat with Substitute. Draco Meteor is not needed, as Ice + Ground coverage handles everything well enough. Tera Steel is nice for your team so you can have a reliable switch-in to and completely shut down once behind a Substitute. Heavy-Duty Boots will remove some of the worry of entry hazards, especially Toxic Spikes.

3. Ice Spinner > Superpower/Tera Blast, Tera Fire > Fighting/Electric on : Ice/Ground coverage is more than enough for OU, and you will be able to destroy absolutely everything at +6 besides (even standard is guaranteed OHKO'd after Stealth Rock!). Sometimes, it can be difficult to get off Belly Drum unscathed, plus has adapted to the current metagame with Focus Sash + Will-O-Wisp/Thunder Wave to handle hyper offense teams. To slightly combat this issue, I decided to make Tera Fire. It resists Fire and Steel, giving it more opportunity for setup, and it is immune to burn. The change should enable more sweeps.

4. Low Kick > Stomping Tantrum on : Minor change, but the base power of Low Kick is 120 into /, which will allow you to get off a lot more damage.

5. Notable EV Changes:
a. : I will post calc's of why this EV spread is great, but in general, the mixed defenses turn 2HKO moves into 3HKO moves, which will let you pivot in once on one hit, live a second hit, and Chilly Reception out.

Some of the main calculations

252+ Atk Choice Band Barraskewda Liquidation vs. 248 HP / 228+ Def Slowking in Rain: 140-165 (35.6 - 41.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252+ Atk Protosynthesis Gouging Fire Flare Blitz vs. 248 HP / 228+ Def Slowking in Sun: 164-193 (41.7 - 49.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 248 HP / 32 SpD Slowking in Sun: 166-196 (42.2 - 49.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

b. : Adamant > Jolly will let you deal more damage; usually, you're spamming Ice Shard, so you want the extra damage.
c. : Max SpDef > max HP works well for the Speed Booster + Bulk Up set, as you will be able to easily boost Defense while maintaining a sturdy Special Defense.

While I do not see this team being the most competitive in OU, I still admire the fun of it. Cetitan is an underexplored powerhouse, and it definitely can work in OU given the right support and matchup. I hope these changes help you!