I've only started playing a few months ago and even less with 5th gen. I've have developed a dream world rain team to some modest success and I wish to have it rated.
I appreciate any tips, criticism and suggestions and will consider them when I adjust my team.
Lead: Politoad @ Leftovers
EVs: 252 SpA /4 SpD /252 Spd
Nature: Timid
Ability: Drizzle
Boil Over
Ice Beam
Toxic
Focus Blast
Let me explain. First I made Politoed more like a sweeper so it could kill more things. Running a Timid nature gives him a respectable 262 speed. It’s not amazing but most people envision Politoed as a wall for special attacks. Boil Over is obviously first choice backed with STAB, rain boost and a 30% chance to burn to boot. Ice beam is for dragons like Salamence who want to DD expecting a switch. It does nothing for Multiscale Dragonite though. Toxic is for breaking through walls though alot of them are steel anyway and it does nothing. Last is Focus Blast, it makes Ttar (tyranitar) think twice before ruining drizzle, not to mention they are common sand team leads too. It does damage to Natterei but only a meager 3HKO while Natterei can devastate with a clean OHKO with Power Whip.
2: Blastiose @ Leftovers
EVs: 4 HP /252 Def /252 SpD
Nature: Bold
Ability: Rain Dish
Rapid Spin
Toxic
Protect
Surf
Thanks to Dream World, Blastoise gets a great ability in Rain Dish that helps him keep tanking like the overgrown turtle he is. Rain Dish and neutrality to SR are a plus. With him now recover 1/8 of his health each turn and stalling with Protect, a recovery move isn't that much of an issue. Toxic ensures my opponent is suffering a poisonous HP drain. Rapid Spin is great to clear all sorts of messy entry hazards that can damage the longevity of my pokemon. Surf is a great STAB attack even without EV investment, it still hits hard in the rain. Pokemon with weaknesses to water and don't have sufficient SpD will find themselves KOed by it. I was thinking about investing in HP instead of Defenses but I got lazy so I chose Defenses without calculating which would give Blastoise more bulk. With him I can switch to most attacks with out an issue and stall. It’s hard not to compare Blastoise to Tentacruel; they both have bulk, Rapid Spin and Rain Dish. Tentacreul has the advantage of extra typing and toxic spikes though I find Blastoise can switch into to physical hits much more easily and does not have a cursed EQ weakness.
3: Kingdra @ Chesto Berry
EVs: 144 HP /160 Atk/ 40 SpD /164 Spd
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Swift Swim
Dragon Dance
Rest
Outrage
Waterfall
Here’s the ChestoRest Kingdra, with rain its speed rockets sky high. I could have lowered investment on speed because of Swift Swim but I wanted it to function well without rain as well. Surprisingly bulky, I don’t find much issues switching in Kingdra to a neutral or resisted attack and begin to DD. Any status can be taken care of via Rest though it more dangerous the second time as the Chesto berry will be used up. Waterfall is obviously STAB and can deal massive damage to even the most defensive Pokemon with rain boost. After a few DD and even Pokemon with resistance will find it hard to stay alive. This thing can sweep entire teams off their feet if given the chance and support and with things like Natterei who could wall Kingdra cleared away it will have no problems ripping through teams. Not much else to be said.
4: Cresselia @ Choice Scarf
EVs: 252 HP/ 252 Def/ 4 SpD
Nature: Bold
Ability: Levitate
Trick
Light Screen
Reflect
Thunder Wave
WTF?! Trick! Cresselia was never fast enough to pull off Trick but she’s bulky enough. Most people expect the standard support Cresselia or some sort of variant of some kind. The only real reason I have trick is a lack of ways to kill Natterei. It’s really counters my rain team well and fire moves lose power during the rain. It works great on Natterei since it will probably SR or leech seed over and over. Most Natterei also holds Leftovers which is a big plus to Cresselia. While Natterei repeats over and over or (more likely) switches, Cresselia can set up Dual Screens and Thunder Wave oncoming sweepers like Sazandora looking to wipe Cresselia with Dark moves. Lunar Dance was another option I used to bring a weakened sweeper back to full health however in the end I thought it was more important to cripple foe sweepers as lunar dance can only be used once and sacrifices Cresselia. I find Cresselia great for supporting my Pokemon when they are weak and cushioning their blows. It means Armaldo can take a hit and SD and prepare to sweep teams on the next turn. Though she can’t attack on her own, Cresselia can bolster my team’s defenses; cripple opposing teams Pokemon and pretty much make the rest of my team a living hell for my opponent.
5: Armaldo @ Life Orb
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 Atk/ 252 Spd
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Swift Swim
Sword Dance
Stone Edge
X-Scissors
Earthquake
Dream World has really given some Pokemon a second chance to shine in competitive battling. Armaldo is a good example. Maxing out speed and running a Jolly nature ensures that Armaldo can outspeed a good portion of the metagame and terrorize teams with its almighty attack. Though not as powerful as Garchomp’s, 125 base Attack is nothing to scoff at. Stone Edge and X-Scissors make good STAB hits while Earthquake makes for decent type coverage as well as revenge killing electric types. It can sometimes be surprising when even without Dual screen support it can take weak neutral hits and with Reflect, Rock slide doesn’t kill it most of the time. Of course not having entry hazard support hurts Armaldo’s sweeping prowess but only the most defensive Pokemon can withstand a SD boosted neutral hit. Even though it loses speed against sand teams, it gets a SpD boost which helps with longevity.
6: Parasect @ Leftovers
EVs: 4 Atk/ 252 Def/ 252 SpD
Nature: Impish
Ability: Dry Skin
Spore
Stun Spore
Leech Seed
X-Scissors
Who would ever think Parasect would be on an OU team? Ever? Well here it is. Normally, Parasect has too many weaknesses, too slow and mediocre defense that prevent it from rising from the NU. With rain support and given bulk, Parasect can be somewhat bulky not to mention dual screen support from Cresselia helps things along. Dry Skin gives Parasect ¼ it’s HP with Leftovers, 1/16. The key is avoiding switching into thing that can 2HKO or has fire or flying moves. Gliscor is an absolute nightmare for this guy preventing status with Toxic Orb and threatening with STAB flying moves. Switch into something like Swampert on EQ or on a water attack (watch for Ice beam) and Spore it or the oncoming counter. Once the foe’s Pokemon is asleep, the rest lies in prediction. I can Leech seed stuff for even more health or if I predict a switch to a sweeper, Stun Spore can destroy it. Surprising to say, I’ve even taken out Pokemon with X-Scissors before (mostly things like Latios and Latias). Support is very crucial for Parasect to work. SR weakness sucks but thanks to Blastoise, that usually isn’t a problem. Of course Blastoise sponges Fire move like nothing even less with rain as well as neutrality to flying moves. I EVed my Parasect the same way as I did with Blastoise but I never really calculated whether HP investment or Defense investment will give Parasect more bulk. Even more surprising is that if Parasect manages to avoid Spore (via someone else is asleep) then it can take Breloom with ease. Focus Punch is resisted by Parasect as well as Seed Bomb, health recovered by the end of the turn and Parasect proceeds to breaking all of Breloom’s substitutes. Focus Punch from 252 Atk EV Breloom Adamant Nature does max 51% unless you include SR or CH (Critical Hit). Before I used Parasect, Breloom would come in and slap my team silly.
Some weaknesses I found:
Toxic Spikes: I can clear them with Blastoise but he doesn’t like his bulk jeopardized by poison.
Natterei: I’ve probably mentioned about somewhere above. Natterei’s insane defense mean I can’t hit with DD Kingdra, I’ll probably lose more HP with Iron Barbs and Power Whip, Armaldo dies to Gyro Ball and hates Thunder Wave and the only thing Parasect can due against it is block Leech Seed and Spore it. Really the only way I can deal with it is through Trick Choice Scarf Cresselia.
Azumarill: Aqua Jet stops an Armaldo sweep dead in its tracks. Waterfall hits anything neutral to it hard. Return, Ice Punch and Superpower hurts all my other team members pretty hard. The good thing is almost all Azumarill are Choice Band (some are SubPunchers). If I can predict correctly and if the right Pokemon is alive, I can outpredict it and force a switch or kill it.
Scizor: Stops Armaldo with Bullet Punch and can hurt the rest of my team with SD, U-Turn or Superpower. Though I can tank his physical blows with Blastoise and threaten with Surf, he’ll already U-Turn out to an appropriate counter. I can switch into Politoed on Bullet Punch and Boil Over him before he U-Turns.
Multi-Scale Dragonite: Means Ice Beam, Stone Edge and Outrage won’t do much on the first round and Dragon Claw kills all my team members who can hurt him in one hit. However, he can be revenge killed on the second hit and if Kingdra has enough DD, it can beat down Dragonite, Multi-scale or not.
Gyarados: A pain when it switches in and DD and if it has enough DDs it can outspeed Armaldo, though it can’t switch into Armaldo as it OHKO 100% even with Intimidate if it’s offensive DD (Defensive variants take 80-90%). I can try Toxic stall with Blastoise though with Gyarados’ massive attack, it’s risky. Cresselia can Thunder Wave, Reflect and stuff but Taunt can screw her over.
I tried this set many times adjusting and tweaking along the way and found that really for the most part that I’ve only lost with this team because of misprediction, CH or an unlucky status like being frozen by Ice Beam by Vaporeon. There may be still holes so that’s why I’ve posted this team to have someone to inspect this team for any weakness and give tips on EV distribution. Thank you if you decide to rate my team no matter how small or brief the ideas. Thanks.
I appreciate any tips, criticism and suggestions and will consider them when I adjust my team.
Lead: Politoad @ Leftovers
EVs: 252 SpA /4 SpD /252 Spd
Nature: Timid
Ability: Drizzle
Boil Over
Ice Beam
Toxic
Focus Blast
Let me explain. First I made Politoed more like a sweeper so it could kill more things. Running a Timid nature gives him a respectable 262 speed. It’s not amazing but most people envision Politoed as a wall for special attacks. Boil Over is obviously first choice backed with STAB, rain boost and a 30% chance to burn to boot. Ice beam is for dragons like Salamence who want to DD expecting a switch. It does nothing for Multiscale Dragonite though. Toxic is for breaking through walls though alot of them are steel anyway and it does nothing. Last is Focus Blast, it makes Ttar (tyranitar) think twice before ruining drizzle, not to mention they are common sand team leads too. It does damage to Natterei but only a meager 3HKO while Natterei can devastate with a clean OHKO with Power Whip.
2: Blastiose @ Leftovers
EVs: 4 HP /252 Def /252 SpD
Nature: Bold
Ability: Rain Dish
Rapid Spin
Toxic
Protect
Surf
Thanks to Dream World, Blastoise gets a great ability in Rain Dish that helps him keep tanking like the overgrown turtle he is. Rain Dish and neutrality to SR are a plus. With him now recover 1/8 of his health each turn and stalling with Protect, a recovery move isn't that much of an issue. Toxic ensures my opponent is suffering a poisonous HP drain. Rapid Spin is great to clear all sorts of messy entry hazards that can damage the longevity of my pokemon. Surf is a great STAB attack even without EV investment, it still hits hard in the rain. Pokemon with weaknesses to water and don't have sufficient SpD will find themselves KOed by it. I was thinking about investing in HP instead of Defenses but I got lazy so I chose Defenses without calculating which would give Blastoise more bulk. With him I can switch to most attacks with out an issue and stall. It’s hard not to compare Blastoise to Tentacruel; they both have bulk, Rapid Spin and Rain Dish. Tentacreul has the advantage of extra typing and toxic spikes though I find Blastoise can switch into to physical hits much more easily and does not have a cursed EQ weakness.
3: Kingdra @ Chesto Berry
EVs: 144 HP /160 Atk/ 40 SpD /164 Spd
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Swift Swim
Dragon Dance
Rest
Outrage
Waterfall
Here’s the ChestoRest Kingdra, with rain its speed rockets sky high. I could have lowered investment on speed because of Swift Swim but I wanted it to function well without rain as well. Surprisingly bulky, I don’t find much issues switching in Kingdra to a neutral or resisted attack and begin to DD. Any status can be taken care of via Rest though it more dangerous the second time as the Chesto berry will be used up. Waterfall is obviously STAB and can deal massive damage to even the most defensive Pokemon with rain boost. After a few DD and even Pokemon with resistance will find it hard to stay alive. This thing can sweep entire teams off their feet if given the chance and support and with things like Natterei who could wall Kingdra cleared away it will have no problems ripping through teams. Not much else to be said.
4: Cresselia @ Choice Scarf
EVs: 252 HP/ 252 Def/ 4 SpD
Nature: Bold
Ability: Levitate
Trick
Light Screen
Reflect
Thunder Wave
WTF?! Trick! Cresselia was never fast enough to pull off Trick but she’s bulky enough. Most people expect the standard support Cresselia or some sort of variant of some kind. The only real reason I have trick is a lack of ways to kill Natterei. It’s really counters my rain team well and fire moves lose power during the rain. It works great on Natterei since it will probably SR or leech seed over and over. Most Natterei also holds Leftovers which is a big plus to Cresselia. While Natterei repeats over and over or (more likely) switches, Cresselia can set up Dual Screens and Thunder Wave oncoming sweepers like Sazandora looking to wipe Cresselia with Dark moves. Lunar Dance was another option I used to bring a weakened sweeper back to full health however in the end I thought it was more important to cripple foe sweepers as lunar dance can only be used once and sacrifices Cresselia. I find Cresselia great for supporting my Pokemon when they are weak and cushioning their blows. It means Armaldo can take a hit and SD and prepare to sweep teams on the next turn. Though she can’t attack on her own, Cresselia can bolster my team’s defenses; cripple opposing teams Pokemon and pretty much make the rest of my team a living hell for my opponent.
5: Armaldo @ Life Orb
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 Atk/ 252 Spd
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Swift Swim
Sword Dance
Stone Edge
X-Scissors
Earthquake
Dream World has really given some Pokemon a second chance to shine in competitive battling. Armaldo is a good example. Maxing out speed and running a Jolly nature ensures that Armaldo can outspeed a good portion of the metagame and terrorize teams with its almighty attack. Though not as powerful as Garchomp’s, 125 base Attack is nothing to scoff at. Stone Edge and X-Scissors make good STAB hits while Earthquake makes for decent type coverage as well as revenge killing electric types. It can sometimes be surprising when even without Dual screen support it can take weak neutral hits and with Reflect, Rock slide doesn’t kill it most of the time. Of course not having entry hazard support hurts Armaldo’s sweeping prowess but only the most defensive Pokemon can withstand a SD boosted neutral hit. Even though it loses speed against sand teams, it gets a SpD boost which helps with longevity.
6: Parasect @ Leftovers
EVs: 4 Atk/ 252 Def/ 252 SpD
Nature: Impish
Ability: Dry Skin
Spore
Stun Spore
Leech Seed
X-Scissors
Who would ever think Parasect would be on an OU team? Ever? Well here it is. Normally, Parasect has too many weaknesses, too slow and mediocre defense that prevent it from rising from the NU. With rain support and given bulk, Parasect can be somewhat bulky not to mention dual screen support from Cresselia helps things along. Dry Skin gives Parasect ¼ it’s HP with Leftovers, 1/16. The key is avoiding switching into thing that can 2HKO or has fire or flying moves. Gliscor is an absolute nightmare for this guy preventing status with Toxic Orb and threatening with STAB flying moves. Switch into something like Swampert on EQ or on a water attack (watch for Ice beam) and Spore it or the oncoming counter. Once the foe’s Pokemon is asleep, the rest lies in prediction. I can Leech seed stuff for even more health or if I predict a switch to a sweeper, Stun Spore can destroy it. Surprising to say, I’ve even taken out Pokemon with X-Scissors before (mostly things like Latios and Latias). Support is very crucial for Parasect to work. SR weakness sucks but thanks to Blastoise, that usually isn’t a problem. Of course Blastoise sponges Fire move like nothing even less with rain as well as neutrality to flying moves. I EVed my Parasect the same way as I did with Blastoise but I never really calculated whether HP investment or Defense investment will give Parasect more bulk. Even more surprising is that if Parasect manages to avoid Spore (via someone else is asleep) then it can take Breloom with ease. Focus Punch is resisted by Parasect as well as Seed Bomb, health recovered by the end of the turn and Parasect proceeds to breaking all of Breloom’s substitutes. Focus Punch from 252 Atk EV Breloom Adamant Nature does max 51% unless you include SR or CH (Critical Hit). Before I used Parasect, Breloom would come in and slap my team silly.
Some weaknesses I found:
Toxic Spikes: I can clear them with Blastoise but he doesn’t like his bulk jeopardized by poison.
Natterei: I’ve probably mentioned about somewhere above. Natterei’s insane defense mean I can’t hit with DD Kingdra, I’ll probably lose more HP with Iron Barbs and Power Whip, Armaldo dies to Gyro Ball and hates Thunder Wave and the only thing Parasect can due against it is block Leech Seed and Spore it. Really the only way I can deal with it is through Trick Choice Scarf Cresselia.
Azumarill: Aqua Jet stops an Armaldo sweep dead in its tracks. Waterfall hits anything neutral to it hard. Return, Ice Punch and Superpower hurts all my other team members pretty hard. The good thing is almost all Azumarill are Choice Band (some are SubPunchers). If I can predict correctly and if the right Pokemon is alive, I can outpredict it and force a switch or kill it.
Scizor: Stops Armaldo with Bullet Punch and can hurt the rest of my team with SD, U-Turn or Superpower. Though I can tank his physical blows with Blastoise and threaten with Surf, he’ll already U-Turn out to an appropriate counter. I can switch into Politoed on Bullet Punch and Boil Over him before he U-Turns.
Multi-Scale Dragonite: Means Ice Beam, Stone Edge and Outrage won’t do much on the first round and Dragon Claw kills all my team members who can hurt him in one hit. However, he can be revenge killed on the second hit and if Kingdra has enough DD, it can beat down Dragonite, Multi-scale or not.
Gyarados: A pain when it switches in and DD and if it has enough DDs it can outspeed Armaldo, though it can’t switch into Armaldo as it OHKO 100% even with Intimidate if it’s offensive DD (Defensive variants take 80-90%). I can try Toxic stall with Blastoise though with Gyarados’ massive attack, it’s risky. Cresselia can Thunder Wave, Reflect and stuff but Taunt can screw her over.
I tried this set many times adjusting and tweaking along the way and found that really for the most part that I’ve only lost with this team because of misprediction, CH or an unlucky status like being frozen by Ice Beam by Vaporeon. There may be still holes so that’s why I’ve posted this team to have someone to inspect this team for any weakness and give tips on EV distribution. Thank you if you decide to rate my team no matter how small or brief the ideas. Thanks.
