VGC [REG I] The Storms of Change

"...They Fan The Flames... Scattering Ashes To The Wind..."

Wanted to try a rain team as an introduction to VGC reg I. I really like weather teams but this team is basically stopped by Terapagos, Koraidon, and Rillaboom. I'm probably gonna make a new team, but I had fun playing it at a local VG event, so that's why I'm posting here.

Pokepaste link

Teambuilding Process

:kyogre: :miraidon: - The two restricted mons, picked out for their ability to set weather and terrain.

:kyogre: :miraidon: :urshifu-rapid-strike: :iron-hands: - Some Pokemon I picked to compliment the two restricteds. Shifu for its Aqua Jet and ability to pierce through Protect, and ZA HANDO because I figured it would tank special moves well. Boy, was I right. That thing is FAT. Also, Drain Punch gives it some much-needed recovery.

:kyogre: :miraidon: :urshifu-rapid-strike: :iron-hands: :tornadus: :ogerpon-wellspring: - The final two members of the team, picked for Prankster Tailwind, Rain Dance, and Taunt, and redirection utility through Follow Me. I was originally going to use something else instead of Ogerpon-W, but I ended up settling with her instead.


The Sets
(Moves/Tera types/items in bold are changes I'm thinking about)
(All EVs are standard, at least from previous regulations)
:sv/kyogre:
Kyogre @ Leftovers
Ability: Drizzle
Level: 50
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 100 SpA / 12 SpD / 12 Spe
Modest Nature
- Water Spout / Hydro Pump
- Origin Pulse / Hydro Pump
- Thunder
- Ice Beam

The primary rain setter on this team and powerhouse of Water-type moves that hit multiple targets. I'm going to admit, Wide Guard from :zamazenta-crowned: does put a stop to this set, so I figured I'd replace either Water Spout or Origin Pulse with it. I will most likely be replacing Water Spout due to the fact that it requires high HP to reach its full potential. Thunder and Ice Beam provide BoltBeam coverage. Tera Grass is a defensive Tera type for :kyogre:, although other Pokemon on my team benefit more from Terastallization.

:sv/tornadus:
Tornadus @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Tera Type: Steel / Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 4 SpA / 44 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
- Bleakwind Storm
- Tailwind
- Rain Dance
- Taunt

The secondary rain setter, Tailwind setter, and Taunter of the team, ;tornadus: is my means of Speed Control. I was told that I needed some sort of Speed control. so I figured I'd run this mon more often, even though I see it as kind of a weak link bulk-wise. Prankster provides priority to the latter three moves, allowing :tornadus: and the rest of the team to potentially move before the likes of :calyrex-shadow:, which is otherwise a threat. Terastallization is almost never used, as again, other Pokemon on this team can benefit more from it. However, I am thinking about going from Steel to Dark here.

:sv/miraidon:
mcnabb (Miraidon) @ Covert Cloak / Choice Specs
Ability: Hadron Engine
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 44 HP / 4 Def / 244 SpA / 12 SpD / 204 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Electro Drift
- Dazzling Gleam
- U-turn / Volt Switch

...Don't ask about the nickname. I'm not sure why Sandwich Lizard has it. I got him from a trade for filling my Pokedex, and now he is a battler for this team. To be honest, I'm thinking about replacing :miraidon: and :iron-hands:, although the latter has bought me some valuable time. Tera Fairy is run for ditto matchups against opposing :miraidon:, especially if another teammate has Terastallized on the opponent's team already. Dazzling Gleam is nice, but I'm noticing that a lot of Pokemon in the tier seem to tank it well, such as :terapagos:. I went Cloak over Specs for personal preference because I don't like being locked into a move that could potentially cause a problem for my team, but I'm willing to give it a shot. U-turn is run over Volt Switch for the purpose of switching out against Ground-types.

:sv/ogerpon-wellspring:
Susanoo (Ogerpon-Wellspring) (F) @ Wellspring Mask
Ability: Water Absorb
Level: 50
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 212 HP / 84 Atk / 12 Def / 12 SPd / 188 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Ivy Cudgel
- Horn Leech
- Follow Me
- Spiky Shield

I was originally going to pick a different Pokemon over :ogerpon-wellspring:, but I can't remember whether it was :barraskewda: or something else. Anyway, :ogerpon-wellspring: is my redirector. Ivy Cudgel is STAB, as is Horn Leech, but Horn Leech gives recovery while Ivy Cudgel has OHKOed a Terapagos after Terastallization on one occasion. Spiky Shield is residue damage against attackers who make contact, but both :urshifu: Formes may give me trouble.

:sv/urshifu-rapid-strike:
Urshifu-Rapid-Strike @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unseen Fist
Level: 50
Tera Type: Water / Ghost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Surging Strikes
- Close Combat
- Aqua Jet
- Detect / Coaching / Helping Hand / Rock Tomb

Glass Cannon Shifu. Tera Water was chosen to maximize Surging Strikes and Aqua Jet's damage. I am considering Tera Ghost to block Fake Out and allow :urshifu-rapid-strike: to become immune to STAB Fighting-type moves from :zamazenta-crowned: . I may replace Detect with something like Coaching, Helping Hand, or Rock Tomb; Coaching and Helping Hand to boost teammates' damage, and Rock Tomb for Speed control. Looking at the recent Reg I analysis uploaded after I participated in the event, I will most likely be changing this Pokemon's EVs, Tera Type, and final move.

:sv/iron-hands:
Iron Hands @ Assault Vest
Ability: Quark Drive
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 60 HP / 156 Atk / 20 Def / 252 SpD / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
- Wild Charge
- Heavy Slam

ZA HANDO! AV :iron-hands: is just too damn fat. It can stomach :terapagos:'s and :calyrex-shadow:'s Tera Starstorm and Astral Barrage, respectively. Tera Fighting maximizes Drain Punch's damage and healing output, but Ghost-types like the aforementioned :calyrex-shadow: and :flutter-mane: are troublesome. Thank goodness I have Heavy Slam! Fake Out is for the first turn, while Wild Charge nukes opposing Water-types that this team might struggle against. Drain Punch also synergizes well with Wild Charge to make up for the recoil damage. The given EV spread boosts :iron-hands:' Attack under Electric Terrain.

Threats
:koraidon: / any other sun setter - Any sun team wrecks this team unless I can KO the other weather setter and keep rain up. :koraidon: does have to be wary about :miraidon: Terastallizing and using Dazzling Gleam. If I can bait :koraidon: out while :miraidon: is out, maybe I could beat it. Until then, this thing is a threat.

:terapagos: - :iron-hands: may be FAT, but so is :terapagos:. Notably, its Terastal form nullifies both weather and terrain, which shuts this team down. As long as it is on the field, it is a theat, although it must be wary of Close Combat from :urshifu-rapid-strike: and Drain Punch from :iron-hands:.

:calyrex-shadow: / :calyrex-ice: This thing sucks to play against. :calyrex-shadow: is fast and outspeeds my team without Tailwind, and :calyrex-ice: can set Trick Room. However, :iron-hands: is my Trick Room control...

:rillaboom: - Grassy Surge my beloathed. It replaces Electric Terrain and cancels out Quark Drive. Ugh. I hate this monkey.

And more that I can't think off off the top of my head.
 
Heyo Lunaflare ! Pretty cool team and nice write up! Kyogre + Miraidon is certainly an underrepresented combination that can do well in many circumstances, although has struggles that you mentioned before. Some changes that I think should be made:

:kyogre:
  • Protect > Thunder; Thunder is a very medicore move IMoO unless you use Assault Vest, which I assume you won't be using. Protect is invaluable to protect Kyogre from Fake Out but alao helps position against Trick Room and Sun.
  • DON'T USE HYDRO PUMP ON THIS TEAM! Ok, I'm exaggerating a little bit, but Kyogre here would benefit much further from just using Water Spout and Origin Pulse, especially since Miraidon can significantly punish most Wide Guard users for using said move. You also have Urshifu-R and Fake Out from Iron Hands to stop them too.
  • Mystic Water > Leftovers; I really don't think any Kyogre should use Leftovers unless they are a Calm Mind set, which you aren't. Also, what do the EVs do?
:Tornadus:
  • Looks good!
:miraidon:
  • Choice Specs is better here for sure
  • Volt Switch > U-turn; There are very few Ground-types Miraidon actually has to worry about, so just use Volt Switch.
:ogerpon-wellspring:
  • Seriously, what is this guy doing here? Ogerpon-W is very niche and I personally don't recommend it, especially since your team is already pretty anit-Urshifu. Definitely don't use Barraskweda, I'd probably replace this Pokemon with something like Chien-Pao, which can help out against Koraidon and Rillaboom with strong Icicle Crashes and beats out both Calyrex formes with the usage of Sucker Punch and Crunch.
:Urshifu-rapid-strike:
  • Adamant > Jolly; Much better, lets you OHKO Calyrex-S with Surging Strikes when under Rain. You also have TW support with Tornadus so the speed isn't AA necessary.
  • Stellar > Water; Way better right now, boosting Close Combat is invaluable in some matchups, you can hit harder into Miraidon, Kyogre, and Terapagos.
:Iron hands:
  • Tera Water > Tera Fighting; Better into Koraidon, Calyrex-I, Kyogre, Urshifu-R. Tera Fighting also just doesn't make too much sense, especially since Drain Punch under terrain does enough already.
  • Low Kick > Heavy Slam; Very strong attack, notably hits Calyrex-I and Koraidon but also Rillaboom. Heavy Slam is pretty removable, especially since Wild Charge already hits hard into Calyrex-S and Flutter Mane
New Paste: https://pokepast.es/b76ccafe5e8100c0
Do note that if you want to run Sash Chien-Pao then you can run Scarf Urshifu-R.


glhf trainer!
 
You might want to put covert cloak on your tornadus because its very vulnerable to getting faked out and leaving your kyogre exposed without tailwind (or rain if they stop it)
 
You might want to put covert cloak on your tornadus because its very vulnerable to getting faked out and leaving your kyogre exposed without tailwind (or rain if they stop it)
In that case Tornadus and its partner will just Protect/Switch. Tornadus can also just use Tera Ghost to easily get around Fake Out.
 
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