Rainy Days

[Eatthepear]

Hey guys! Time for an RMT! This one is a manual rain team focused on using powerful Swift Swimmers in conjunction with bulky rain setters.
The Team At A Glance:

In Depth:

Kingdra @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Mild Nature
- Waterfall
- Hydro Pump
- Draco Meteor
- Ice Beam

This thing is a monster. There’s a reason why Kingdra (well, Swift Swim) got banned when it is used with Drizzle in Gen 5. Hydro Pump hits extremely hard, even to the point of having a small chance to 2HKO Specially Defensive Florges in the rain:

252+ SpA Life Orb Kingdra Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 252 + SpD Florges in Rain: 165-195 (45.8 – 54.1%) – 5.1% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Waterfall deals with Specially Defensive Florges, 2HKOing it. It also enables me to revenge kill with an accurate move.

4 Atk Life Orb Kingdra Waterfall vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Florges in Rain: 222-263 (61.6 – 73%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Draco Meteor is for a useful Dragon STAB, and Ice Beam is for revenge killing and is also Kingdra’s strongest option against something like a Celebi.

Celebi @ Damp Rock
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Def
Careful Nature
- Rain Dance
- Recover
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn

Celebi acts as rain inducer number 1. It can reliably set up rain against many pokemon in the tier, and the rain enables it to mitigate its fire weakness. Rain Dance is obviously a staple, but the other moves are not. Recover is helpful, as it can heal up a hurt Celebi. Stealth Rock supports the team, as otherwise this team has no hazards. U-Turn is to bring in a Swift Swimmer and also provide defensive momentum.

Omastar (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Modest Nature
- Shell Smash
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]

Win condition time! Omastar is my second Swift Swimmer, acting both as a revenge killer, Scarf Darmanitan check, and a win condition. Shell Smash Rain boosted Hydro Pump OHKOes most pokemon that don’t resist it, and those that do are heavily dented. Ice Beam and HP Grass are for coverage purposes. Most people even switch in their Quagsire/Gastrodon only to be killed by a HP Grass.

Umbreon (M) @ Damp Rock
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Def
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rain Dance
- Protect
- Wish
- Foul Play

This thing is my secondary rain setter. Umbreon is incredibly bulky, and it is that bulk that enables it to continuously set up rain. Protect + Wish is for reliable healing, and Foul Play is so Umbreon doesn’t become set up bait. I can also use this thing as a decent pivot, even though it is lacking in resists. The Dark and Ghost resist are quite useful though.

Tornadus (M) @ Damp Rock
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Grass Knot
- Taunt
- Hurricane
- Rain Dance

My final Rain Dance setter! This is one spot that continuously switches, as one moment it’s Tornadus-Therian, the other it’s regular Tornadus. Prankster combined with Rain Dance and Taunt make this thing very useful, and Hurricane coming off of Base 125 Special Attack is nothing to scoff at. Grass Knot is for surprising bulky Water/Ground types.

Escavalier @ Assault Vest
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Megahorn
- Iron Head
- Knock Off
- Drill Run

Now, I know this thing looks weird on a rain team. But it works decently well, and synergizes with my team. An Assault Vest enables it to take weak Special Attacks, even taking HP Fires in the rain. The moves are standard, Megahorn and Iron Head for STAB, Knock Off and Drill Run as coverage moves/utility. This thing has netted me some surprising wins, and I don't think I'm replacing it any time soon.

Hope you enjoyed the RMT! Please leave any advice you have for me in the replies!

P.S. The 0 Attack IVs on random pokemon are to minimize Confusion and Foul Play Pokemon.

 

[Blast]

Hi there, cool team. Though something that seems a bit out of place here is Umbreon--I know you want a bulky backbone to fall back on but honestly Umbreon loses far too much momentum for this team because it can't pivot in its teammates safely (I guess you could use Baton Pass somewhere, but that's way too much 4MSS). If you're looking for a slow bulky rain setter than I suggest using Mega Ampharos, as its greater power and most importantly STAB Volt Switch allows you to set up rain, bring in stuff safely, and still provide satisfactory bulk to set up. Its typing is also useful for checking stuff like Chandelure and Mega Houndoom (similar to Umbreon) as well as other things like Tornadus-T who you could struggle against otherwise.

As for other weaknesses, CM users and SubCoil Zygarde can be a bit troublesome if they manage to set up, so an option to help with this is to use Perish Song over Rain Dance on Celebi with Leftovers > Damp Rock. This allows you to force them out as well as grab some momentum with U-turn. Of course you do lose a rain setter so something you can do to make up for that is to use Rain Dance on Kingdra over either Ice Beam or Waterfall (don't use Damp Rock though, the power drop isn't worth it). This allows Kingdra to be more self-sufficent, relying less on its teammates to set up rain for it, as well as a bit of extra support if it dies mid-sweep.

Also Tornadus-T probably fits a ~bit~ better on this team thanks to Regenerator, since it can switch in, set up, and Regenerate so it can last throughout the match. You should also use U-turn > Taunt on it because the lack of Prankster makes Taunt less useful, and it can U-turn teammates in on predicted switches.

Suggested changes

Ampharos @ Ampharosite
Ability: Static
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Rain Dance
- Volt Switch
- Thunder / Thunderbolt
- Dragon Pulse

Celebi: Rain Dance --> Perish Song, Damp Rock --> Leftovers

Kingdra: Ice Beam or Waterfall --> Rain Dance

Tornadus --> Tornadus-T, Taunt --> U-turn

 

[Eatthepear]

There is a problem with those changes though, as according to the Guide to BW Rain Article (On Smogon), it is good to have 3 pokemon that can set up rain: "having at least half your team able to set up Rain Dance is a nice benchmark", quoted from the article.
My team right now has 3. If I take out Tornadus, Celebi, and Umbreon and add Kingdra and Mega-Amphy, I have 2 rain inducers, not to mention both of them set only 5 turn rain.
So in that case, I think I'm going to change Celebi, keep Kingdra as it is (I really need that extra moveslot) and follow along with the other changes. This'll balance out my team some more. By the way, thanks for the input! I never would've thought to use Mega Ampharos on a rain team before.