INTRODUCTION:
Yo smogon! It's been a while since I've played pokemon and I really love this game it's been a while since I've played I sure missed out on a lot. When I discovered smogon it was the early days of Diamond/Pearl and I was just a little kid learning to play competitively, learning to EV Train, learning about IVs and all that. Watching wifi battles on youtube and reading about great teams here on smogon inspired me as a kid and since then I've always wanted to make great teams and play good. The last time that I played was ORAS both competitively and for fun. I loved mega evolution it was one of my favorite mechanics that pokemon released. I was shocked on how the mechanics changed. EV Training pokemon was super easy compared to Diamond/Pearl days. But I couldn't continue playing because from time to time some shit had to be done with my life. And just last year I bought a switch and played Sword/Shield for the first time but the series were about to end because SV was about to come out. I was able to get a taste of the new pokemons and new moves I wanted to catch up and I also enjoyed Sword/Shield. I like Dynamax but I like mega a lot more. And now, when SV was about to be released I wanted to be able to play and keep up with this generation starting from Day 1. Now we have Tera which by far I think is one of the best gimmicks that they have released. I really love tera it gives battling a different feel. So I bought SV and finished the game and wanted to make a team so I can battle my friends and also battle on discord. So I made an account on Showdown so I can experiment battling with different teams and good players. I would love to play on the switch but on showdown I play with my phone and it has no 20 minute timer and battling is faster.
TEAM BUILDING PROCESS:
So I made this team and I wanted it to be better that's why I'm posting it here so I can get help from the pros. I feel it's already solid but also feel that it still lacks something because around 1800 when faced with great teams behind a good player I find it hard to breakthrough out of that ELO I'm stuck on 1700-1800 but the team can handle some of it if played really well. I know there isn't a perfect team so there is a team out there that is meant to own your team but maybe it's just that when I win I'm playing good and if I lose I'm playing really bad. I want you guys to try this team out and if there is room for improvement I'll be sure to consider that.
I actually started with Floatzel and that was the first reason that I made a rain team. It gained a new move Wave Crash and you know put it on a rain team and slap a band on it and you know something will be hurtin. But the reason I chose Barraskewda over Floatzel is that this is faster and hits harder with Liquidation. Though the power from Tera Water Wave Crash under rain hurts, I still find myself sometimes wanting to click Liquidation because it has no drawbacks.
Next dudes that I added were these two. During the time of Black/White I enjoyed using Amoonguss/Tangrowth paired with Slowbro making a double regenerator core. Great Tusk is a physical tank and provides the support that we need.
I added Kingambit to the team to handle Dragapult and Gholdengo and it also functions sometimes as a late game cleaner. The Steel/Dark typing is so good coupled with its great bulk makes it a really solid addition to the team. Though I feel he can be replaced with something that could provide momentum.
The last slot was pretty hard and I'm still thinking about it right now. I tried many pokemons for this slot but Chien-Pao's presence here gave the team some offensive pressure. I don't know I really feel like the needs some pokemon that needs to provide momentum especially when faced with pokemon that U-turn out and Volt Switch. If I can't spin out the hazards the team gets worn down really quickly.
Pelipper (M) @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
- Surf
- Hurricane
- U-turn
- Roost
Of course you can't have a rain team without a rain setter. I gave the EV's to HP and SpA because I don't think that he needs to outspeed anyone but if there is I would be glad to know. Didn't give it some defense EV's cus I think he's better off firing powerful Surf's and Hurricane's under the rain and giving the team some momentum with U-turn after threatening a pokemon. You can lead with this to get the rain going at the start of the match then find a way to get in Barraskewda but I've been seeing a lot of Rotom-W lately so I've been leading with Amoonguss instead. The nature and evs help to chip Rotom-W with Surf everytime it switches in till it gets to a range where Barraskewda or Pao can take the K.O. Tera Flying cause sometimes I use Pelipper against Tera Grass Volc if positioned well enough. Would be open to try some changes here.
Barraskewda @ Choice Band
Ability: Swift Swim
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Liquidation
- Psychic Fangs
- Close Combat
- Aqua Jet
This dude when I first was able to witness the power of Banded Tera Water Liquidation under the rain I was really impressed on how much it does. Even resisted hits can't safely switch in to this. If I get this dude to a great position where I can K.O. the opposing pokemon he either sacs the one that he has or he has to sac the next dude. Even without Tera it still hits hard under the rain. The reason I also chose this over Floatzel is when rain isn't up it is still very impressive with 123 base Atk and136 Spe. But due to many teams carrying Rotom-W and water absorb users it's really hard to just click Liquidation. I rarely press other moves besides Liquidation unless the opponent has Clodsire. When they carry a Clodsire I always try to test if it has Water Absorb or Unaware so I'll know if I just have to chip their wall so Barraskewda can position in and just fire of Liquidations. The other problem that this dude faces is Dondozo and other bulky pokemon that will suddenly tera to a water type then fireback a K.O. since we have tissue paper defense or use this as a set up bait like Hatterene its almost always GG. But that's what I like about tera the unpredictability.
Great Tusk @ Rocky Helmet/Leftovers
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 228 HP / 240 Def / 40 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Knock Off
Tusk's job here is to clear out hazards and setup our own. This thing is so bulky physically that if you see a physical attacker just send in this guy. If you have Rocky Helmet be careful because Tusk will be worn out quickly. Running leftovers will give us a little bit of sustainability throughout the game but Rocky Helmet will also provide us some chip damage and usually the item will be knocked off so you're better of getting chip damage on that rather than just losing your leftovers. Tera Water because sometimes when Tusk is already chipped the opposing Pao thinks that he can get a K.O. with his ice move then you tera into water and play mind games.
View attachment 486709
Amoonguss @ Black Sludge
Ability: Effect Spore
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 204 HP / 188 Def / 20 SpA / 96 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spore
- Grass Knot
- Sludge Bomb
- Foul Play
Although it looks like Barraskewda is the star of the team, I find myself using Amoonguss a lot of my games and he's doing really really good. I feel like he is the realy MVP of the team cause it gets so much help from him. Amoonguss provides a lot of support for the team checking a lot of threats and pivoting a lot. I wish Tusk had regenerator too. Grass Knot is used instead of Giga Drain so we can deal a lot of damage to Dozo and Garg. Sludge Bomb hits fairy types and Grass types. I used to have Clear Smog over Foul Play but after a lot of games I chose Foul Play so were not useless in front of Gholdengo. Foul Play also allows us to hit Dnite if it gets a dragon dance which is also a very big threat to the team. I added a little bit of bulk on the special side and a 20 on SpA so it can sting Dozo, Garg and opposing Amoonguss that would trade Sludge Bomb's against us. I'm actually thinking if 44 Spe to outspeed Garg to 2HKO with Grass Knot is worth it so it can't recover but I don't know. Yea Amoonguss MVP. If you'd like to run Rocky Helmet on Amoonguss to get a little more chip that's fine too.
Kingambit @ Leftovers
Ability: Defiant
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 112 HP / 252 Atk / 144 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Kowtow Cleave
- Sucker Punch
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
There were a lot of dudes on this slot but after playing the team for awhile I find that without Kingambit, Gholdengo and Dragapult just easily runs through the team. The typing and bulk of Gambit really helps and it gives important resistances to the team. Gambit can also be a late game cleaner with Swords Dance and his ability. Although Unaware users are still a problem. Tera Flying to score a surprise K.O. on Pao on the Sacred Sword but you can change the tera type to Fire if you want him to battle Volc and would still get same results with Pao. The thing that I like with Flying though is that you can dodge some EQ's and if it's late game already you can just clean it up after a couple of boosts. Lefties is a must for sustainability as I tend to use Kingambit as a pivot sometimes.
Chien-Pao @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Sword of Ruin
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Ice Spinner
- Sacred Sword
- Sucker Punch
I also tried a lot of pokemon here for this slot but Pao is the one that performed really well with the team. It gave the team extra damage and speed control. I wish this thing had U-turn. But I don't know maybe I just don't know how to use other pokemons maybe there are better options cause I feel like the team really needs something that creates momentum. If I remember correctly I added Pao because I kept getting swept by Dnite so Pao eases that a little bit and after playing a couple of games with Pao on the team it gave the team some damage that helps the team breakthrough some pokemon. Sucker Punch over Ice Shard so you can hit over other priorty moves. Tera Steel to tank Extremespeed if Dnite already got a couple of boosts then hit back with Sacred Sword. I would be willing to consider a good suggestion.
The team performs good against some teams but there are some pokemon that are really problematic to face against. It's hard to face against the Unaware users especially Dozo since the only thing that I can use to take it out is Pelipper and Amoonguss with Grass Knot which gets worn out quickly especially if hazards aren't taken care of. Dnite is also a problem if gets a couple of boosts and Amoonguss is already at a health which it can't take a boosted Extremespeed then it's pretty much GG. Rotom-W is also a problem because it provides good momentum. Gholdgengo is also annoying to face because it switches in freely on Amoonguss although we have Kingambit for that it can still be very annoying for the team. Garg can also be annoying but it's manageable. Opposing Chien Pao can also be problematic for the team due to Sucker Punch. And of course, Toxapex. So that's pretty much the team. I would be willing to try out your suggestions so I can improve my team. I'll try to update my post with replays I haven't saved some of it on my PC yet.
