Alright, so having played the new black and white metagame for quite awhile now, I have naturally abused weather to its fullest extent, creating multiple rain teams and sandstorm teams and sun teams. Every weather team seems to be either hyper offense or sand stall. But what about the forgotten Rain Stall? It is a perfectly viable option with Drizzle still in play, and I think that if Swift Swim is banned, Rain Stall will become more prominent. I have been testing a rain stall team and it is a very fun yet different way to approach the metagame. So far I have managed to peak at around 1200 with a rain stall team, but I just started to test a few days ago.
Here are the most viable abusers in rain stall:
Vaporeon
Abilities: Water Absorb/Hydration
Notable moves: Boiling Water, Toxic, Acid Armor, Baton Pass, Rest, Ice Beam, Aqua Ring, Roar
If you laugh when you see a Vaporeon without Water Absorb, I assume you haven't played against a Hydration Vaporeon in the rain. With the right ev spread, Vaporeon can gain immense bulk, and has Acid Armor to boost it further. Instant status and full health recovery due to a combo of rest+hydration makes it even more annoying to take down. Roar provides phazing and can get rid of any unfavorable match ups as well as getting rid of stat boosters. It can also baton pass any boosts or even aqua ring (although it should be noted that baton pass is illegal with hydration because all dw event vaporeon are male). Seriously, if rain is up, fear this cute, blue sea dog.
Tentacruel
Abilities: Clear Body/Liquid Ooze/Rain Dish
Notable moves: Boiling Water, Toxic Spikes, Rapid Spin, Ice Beam, Knock Off, Venom Shock, Evil Eye
Tentacruel has gained a great new ability to abuse in the rain in the form of Rain Dish. Rain Dish heals 1/16th of its health every turn in the rain, which, along with leftovers/black sludge heals a decent amount of hp each turn. Even better is that Tentacruel is very bulky and can abuse that extra healing while taking some hits. Not to mention it can also spin away spikes and stealth rock along with absorbing toxic spikes that can really hinder the usefulness of your team.
Ludicolo
Abilities: Swift Swim/Rain Dish/Own Tempo (lol)
Notable Moves: Leech Seed, Giga Drain, Boiling Water, Ice Beam, Protect, Substitute, Toxic
Most people who encounter Ludicolo see the swift swim, life orb sweeper variant. However, Subseed Ludicolo is very viable in the rain, especially with Rain Dish. Toxic can also be used to wear opponents down. Protect or Giga Drain can be used for additional recovery. A very real threat in the rain (although it should be noted that without rain, Ludicolo fails).
Parasect
Abilities: Effect Spore/Dry Skin/Damp (...)
Notable moves: Spore, Substitute, Leech Seed, Protect, X-scissor, Giga Drain
Parasect in the rain is one of the most, if not THE most annoying thing to face in the rain. Spore is a 100% accurate sleep moving, essentially allowing for Parasect to get up a free Leech Seed or Substitute on the switch in. Protect can be used for even more stalling. X-scissor and Giga Drain provide some STAB so that it is not complete taunt and set up bait. Leftovers combined with leech seed and dry skin can recover insane amounts of help, making it nearly impossible to kill. Underestimate this very real threat at your demise...
Toxicroak
Abilities: Anticipation/Dry Skin/Poison Skin
Notable moves: Substitute, Swords Dance, Bulk Up, Drain Punch, Focus Punch, Sucker Punch, Payback, Stone Edge, Ice Punch, Nasty Plot, Vacuum Wave, Dark Pulse, Hidden Power Ice, Sludge Bomb
Toxicroak is rarely ever seen out of rain due to its amazing ability, Dry Skin. Its seemingly average stats can be boosted and it can actually be quite bulky, especially after a few bulk ups. In addition, it's typing provides numerous resistances including fighting, bug (4x), grass, dark, rock, poison, along with an immunity to water thanks to Dry Skin and the ability to absorb Toxic Spikes, the bane of stall. It can also hit pretty hard with STAB Drain Punch, which also gives it another form of recovery, making it even harder to take down.
Some offensive threats usable in Rain Stall who make use of rain include: Toxicroak, Ludicolo, Dragonite and perhaps some more like Kingdra and Kabutops, although they don't really fit the theme of stall.
This is just the tip of the iceberg for rain stall. It has so much potential in the current metagame because it is very different than sand stall. This isn't the complete list of rain stall abusers, but its just a few major ones that I could think of, and that I use on my teams. Drizzletoed is an obvious requirement for rain stall to work, as rain dance lasts a maximum of 8 turns (damp rock).
So here it is, rain stall. What do you guys think? Is it viable? Opinions, opinions!
Here are the most viable abusers in rain stall:
Vaporeon
Abilities: Water Absorb/Hydration
Notable moves: Boiling Water, Toxic, Acid Armor, Baton Pass, Rest, Ice Beam, Aqua Ring, Roar
If you laugh when you see a Vaporeon without Water Absorb, I assume you haven't played against a Hydration Vaporeon in the rain. With the right ev spread, Vaporeon can gain immense bulk, and has Acid Armor to boost it further. Instant status and full health recovery due to a combo of rest+hydration makes it even more annoying to take down. Roar provides phazing and can get rid of any unfavorable match ups as well as getting rid of stat boosters. It can also baton pass any boosts or even aqua ring (although it should be noted that baton pass is illegal with hydration because all dw event vaporeon are male). Seriously, if rain is up, fear this cute, blue sea dog.
Tentacruel
Abilities: Clear Body/Liquid Ooze/Rain Dish
Notable moves: Boiling Water, Toxic Spikes, Rapid Spin, Ice Beam, Knock Off, Venom Shock, Evil Eye
Tentacruel has gained a great new ability to abuse in the rain in the form of Rain Dish. Rain Dish heals 1/16th of its health every turn in the rain, which, along with leftovers/black sludge heals a decent amount of hp each turn. Even better is that Tentacruel is very bulky and can abuse that extra healing while taking some hits. Not to mention it can also spin away spikes and stealth rock along with absorbing toxic spikes that can really hinder the usefulness of your team.
Ludicolo
Abilities: Swift Swim/Rain Dish/Own Tempo (lol)
Notable Moves: Leech Seed, Giga Drain, Boiling Water, Ice Beam, Protect, Substitute, Toxic
Most people who encounter Ludicolo see the swift swim, life orb sweeper variant. However, Subseed Ludicolo is very viable in the rain, especially with Rain Dish. Toxic can also be used to wear opponents down. Protect or Giga Drain can be used for additional recovery. A very real threat in the rain (although it should be noted that without rain, Ludicolo fails).
Parasect
Abilities: Effect Spore/Dry Skin/Damp (...)
Notable moves: Spore, Substitute, Leech Seed, Protect, X-scissor, Giga Drain
Parasect in the rain is one of the most, if not THE most annoying thing to face in the rain. Spore is a 100% accurate sleep moving, essentially allowing for Parasect to get up a free Leech Seed or Substitute on the switch in. Protect can be used for even more stalling. X-scissor and Giga Drain provide some STAB so that it is not complete taunt and set up bait. Leftovers combined with leech seed and dry skin can recover insane amounts of help, making it nearly impossible to kill. Underestimate this very real threat at your demise...
Toxicroak
Abilities: Anticipation/Dry Skin/Poison Skin
Notable moves: Substitute, Swords Dance, Bulk Up, Drain Punch, Focus Punch, Sucker Punch, Payback, Stone Edge, Ice Punch, Nasty Plot, Vacuum Wave, Dark Pulse, Hidden Power Ice, Sludge Bomb
Toxicroak is rarely ever seen out of rain due to its amazing ability, Dry Skin. Its seemingly average stats can be boosted and it can actually be quite bulky, especially after a few bulk ups. In addition, it's typing provides numerous resistances including fighting, bug (4x), grass, dark, rock, poison, along with an immunity to water thanks to Dry Skin and the ability to absorb Toxic Spikes, the bane of stall. It can also hit pretty hard with STAB Drain Punch, which also gives it another form of recovery, making it even harder to take down.
Some offensive threats usable in Rain Stall who make use of rain include: Toxicroak, Ludicolo, Dragonite and perhaps some more like Kingdra and Kabutops, although they don't really fit the theme of stall.
This is just the tip of the iceberg for rain stall. It has so much potential in the current metagame because it is very different than sand stall. This isn't the complete list of rain stall abusers, but its just a few major ones that I could think of, and that I use on my teams. Drizzletoed is an obvious requirement for rain stall to work, as rain dance lasts a maximum of 8 turns (damp rock).
So here it is, rain stall. What do you guys think? Is it viable? Opinions, opinions!
