Other Metagames Rainbois Fortemons [Top 10, 1400+]

[Tøp Tier]

RAINBOIS (For Fortemons OMOTM)

Fortemons, the brand new OM that debuted this month, seemed like a really fun challenge to build in. Any team that wanted to make it seemed it would have to prepare for powerful priority spam, as well as tons of Tapu Lele counterspam. The first Pokemon I messed around with was Crawdaunt with Aqua Jet in the item slot to drop Adaptability-boosted hits at +1 priority. I ended up building an antimeta Mono-Water team around it that I played around with for a while, but I hit a ceiling pretty quickly and ended up putting in some non-waters. I passed the team to Pokeaim, who used it in one of his videos, and after a couple more adjustments broke the 1400 I was aiming for. I know the meta's still barely started developing, but at the moment anyone looking for a fun antimeta team might consider giving it a shot.

Yay a Pokeaim Feature

Teambuilding Process

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Crawdaunt was the base to my team. Firing off priority Adaptability Crabhammers and Crunches plus coverage OHKO's or 2HKO's more or less the entire meta, minus the three anti priority Pokemon.

Bruxish was my first choice for anti priority in Dazzling in part because I knew I was working on a rain team, but also for its higher speed than Tsareena. I didn't want to use Tapu Lele because its Psychic Terrain would hinder my own Crawdaunt.

The rain duo is here to do what the rain duo does. Pelipper is extra cool in this meta with U-turn on everything. Swampert is especially good because things just generally aren't bulky in this meta, as it encourages using offensive moves so much.

The idea originally being a Mono Water team, I went with Tapu Fini and Cloyster as my final two at first. Fini was a Whirlpool trapper whose more important role was getting rid of Psychic Terrain for Crawdaunt, and Cloyster was a Shell Smash sweeper with Frost Breath in its item slot for guaranteed crits. Fini ended up being way too passive though, and Lele could always just reset terrain, while Cloyster just struggled severely to find chances to set up.

I decided to replace Tapu Fini with Perish Trap Azumarill because Sap Sipper ended up being very useful in dealing with Tsareena, Serperior, and Ferrothorn. Its utility beyond absorbing Grass moves was very small though. Ferrothorn was a pick to better take on Tapu Lele, Tapu Koko, and Zeraora, all which gave the team trouble.

Finally, I replaced Azumarill with Magearna to deal with the threat Tapu Lele still posed to my team. I went a the regular Assault Vest set rather than the popular Fortemons Volt Switch set just to better handle Lele.

The Team

Crawdaunt @ aquajet
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Crabhammer
- Crunch
- Superpower
- Toxic
Crawdaunt is one of the two primary win conditions on this team. Crabhammer + Crunch OHKO's just about everything that is a thing, and Superpower picks up what's left. Toxic is probably the most important thing on this set as a priority attacker, and something I feel really any good priority attacker in this tier should have, because catching Tapu Lele or either of the priority-immune Pokemon on a switch starts to wear them down and open up the door for a later sweep with Crawdaunt.

Bruxish @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Dazzling
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Psychic Fangs
- Crunch/Ice Fang
- Poison Fang
- Aqua Jet
Since Crawdaunt isn't exactly the fastest priority user, Bruxish is important to deal with other priority users. The ability to wall essentially any pokemon with a priority move in its item slot indefinetely, especially some Tsareena, Metagross, Infernape, and all Extreme Speed users, is huge. That is, unless they carry Toxic, but the current meta doesn't really have that. Its Choice Scarf lets it outspeed most other non priority users, namely non-Scarf Tapu Lele. Psychic Fangs hits hard with STAB, especially if opposing Tapu Lele has set Psychic Terrain. Crunch and Ice Fang both aid coverage, Crunch hitting opposing Bruxish, Ice Fang hitting Ice and Grass types. Poison Fang is great for hitting Tapu Lele, as well as wearing down things that would otherwise switch in freely on Bruxish, such as Greninja. Finally, Aqua Jet allows it to pick off weakened foes, hitting first guaranteed thanks to Priority + Dazzling.

Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Punch
Swampert is the second primary win condition on this team. It hits incredibly hard under rain, and as long as it watches out for strong priority, can outspeed and defeat most pokemon. It should watch out for Celesteela and Ferrothorn, who can live its attacks and fire back with Grass type attacks, but generally it does very well. Waterfall is powerful STAB under rain, Earthquake hits some Pokemon like Ferrothorn, Alolan Muk, and Toxapex harder, and Ice Punch catches Grass types on the switch in as well as picks off weakened ones. Stealth Rocks are great for chipping at the opponent as this Pokemon and Crawdaunt maintain pressure, especially in a meta where so few healing items are used. Ground typing also lets Swampert aid its team against Tapu Koko and Zeraora, though Ferrothorn is generally a safer switch in to Tapu Koko until you're sure they dont have Grass Knot.

Pelipper @ uturn
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Hurricane
- Defog
- Roost
Pelipper isn't much special, it just sets rain and gets out, dealing decent damage and fishing for status with Scald and Hurricane. Defog lets it serve as the team's hazard contol, and Roost provides sustainability.

Magearna @ Assault Vest
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flash Cannon
- Fleur Cannon
- Focus Blast
- Volt Switch
Magearna, more than anything, helps the team beat Tapu Lele and open up a path for Crawdaunt, as well as some smaller threats, namely Serperior and Tsareena. It's Assault Vest lets it better take HP Fires and Focus Blasts, and it can fire back with Flash Cannon. Fleur Cannon deals a big chunk to near any Pokemon it hits, especially Pangoro, whose Mold Breaker priority can give the rest of the team trouble, Focus Blast is for Ferrothorn, and Volt Switch lets it serve as a defensive pivot while dealing decent damage to pokemon like Greninja and Tornadus.

Ferrothorn @ gigadrain
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Spikes
- Protect/Curse
Ferrothorn serves defensively to help with the anti-priority Pokemon Crawdaunt needs out of its way, beating HP Fire Lele under rain, Tsareena with proper Protect predictions, and Bruxish always. Power Whip and Gyro Ball let it hit hard and heal up at once thanks to the Giga Drain in its item slot. Spikes aid in pressuring down the opposing team. Finally, Protect helps scout, take on High Jump Kick Tsareena, and stall out turns of Poison or Psychic Terrain, though Curse is an alternative option to allow it to serve as a sort of wallbreaker.

Threats:

Strong priority attacks that go through Dazzling can be a big problem, though Pelipper and Magearna tend to be able to take it on.

The U-turn mechanic on Pelipper's Hurricane can actually make it difficult to stop Araquanid from getting Webs up, and if it can't quickly come back in to get rid of them, things can become difficult.

Sturdy + guaranteed Paralysis is garbage. Please ban for being dumb.

EV's (Get it): I don't really know how to defensively EV things, I just click Smogon's reccomended spreads. Better spreads would be appreciated.

Replays:

The current version:

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7fortemons-830280384

Older versions:

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7fortemons-830254267

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7fortemons-829978996

Importable

Crawdaunt @ aquajet
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Crabhammer
- Crunch
- Superpower
- Toxic

Bruxish @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Dazzling
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Psychic Fangs
- Crunch
- Poison Fang
- Aqua Jet

Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Punch

Pelipper @ uturn
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Hurricane
- Defog
- Roost

Magearna @ Assault Vest
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flash Cannon
- Fleur Cannon
- Focus Blast
- Volt Switch

Ferrothorn @ gigadrain
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Spikes
- Protect