I've been using this team for quite a while so far, and I've grown extremely fond of it. However, it's far from perfect, and I have alot of trouble with specific counters. Despite it's flaws, it's served me well thus far and my complaints are minimal as of yet, but I'm always open for suggestions and critiquing. So, here's my team.
At a glance...
Azelf with Focus Sash
Levitate
252 HP/252 Speed/4 Defense
Jolly Nature. +Speed, -Special Attack
- Explosion
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Rain Dance
One of the first things that you might notice is that my lead doesn't have Damp Rock to lengthen the duration of Rain Dance. More times than not, I usually don't set up RD with Azelf (Unless I'm given the chance, of course), and I use it more as a suicide lead. Azelf outspeeds most leads I've encountered so far except for, most namely, Aerodactyl and Ninjask (Two most encountered leads thus far). More often than not, I'd set up stealth rock before rain dance and then explode to hopefully get a kill and safely bring in...
Bronzong with Leftovers/Damp Rock (Undecided)
Heatproof
252 HP/128 Defense/128 Attack
Adamant Nature. +Attack, -Special Attack
- Explosion
- Gyro Ball
- Hypnosis
- Rain Dance
I was iffy about bringing Bronzong into my team, but since then, I haven't regretted it. Bronzong is my main Rain Dance user, hence the Damp Rock. He's a decent wall with his naturally high defense and special defense stats, and coupled with the adamant nature and the EV spread, Gyro Ball hits some of the quicker pokemon quite hard. He's not a natural born offensive threat, seeming as how he's mostly used for a quick rain dance, hope for a hypnosis, and either attack with gyro ball or explode (Depends on what I'm facing). Exploding is nice to safely bring in the meat of the order. The stage is set, the rain is pouring down, and the mighty sweepers step into the arena...
Kingdra with Life Orb
Swift Swim
226 Speed/226 Special Attack/56 HP
Modest Nature. +Special Attack, -Attack
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Pulse
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power Electric
Kingdra is an absolute monster in the rain. I've dismantled entire teams using Kingdra alone. Maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point. With the EV spread and swift swim, Kingdra is mighty fast in the rain, but since he's special attack oriented, he's easily walled by say, a Blissey. I've thought about switching out one of the dragon typed moves for something else. In the rain, Hydro Pump OHKOs quite a few common pokemon (Scizor, Lucario...etc). Hidden Power Electric is for dispatching the possible flying or water counters that pop up. Draco Meteor/Dragon Pulse are used mostly out of the rain or against other dragon types. But Kingdra can't sweep a team alone, he'd need some help from...
Ludicolo with Life Orb
Swift Swim
252 Speed/252 Special Attack/4 HP
Modest Nature. +Special Attack, -Attack
- Grass Knot
- Ice Beam
- Surf
- Hydro Pump
Much like Kingdra, Ludicolo is another excellent sweeper in the rain. His set-up is quite similar to Kingdra's, aside from the moveset. Grass Knot is mainly for other water counters. It works exceptionally well against rock and ground types, but that would be the least of someone's worry if they bring in a rock/ground against Ludicolo. Ice Beam works well against grass counters, but what I love about it is how well it works against dragon types that oppose Ludi. I'm not sure what I want to do about Surf, though. It's good for the situations where I need a 100% guaranteed hit with a water move that Hydro Pump can't promise me, but I can also fit a move with equal usefulness.
Zapdos with Damp Rock
Pressure
248 HP/52 Defense/208 Special Defense
Sassy Nature. +Special Defense, -Speed
- U-Turn
- Rain Dance
- Roost
- Thunder
Zapdos is probably the most controversial pokemon I'm playing with. The direction I want to take him with is still blurry to me, but I currently use him for a late game rain dancer, and somewhat of a wall. While Thunder is very useful in the rain against DD Gyrados and some steel types (Again, most noticeable are Lucario and Scizor, it would be nice to give Zapdos a bit more offensive capabilities. What I love about Zapdos is his survivability with what he has. Despite not being the strongest or the fastest pokemon on the team (I originally knew I wouldn't make him a main sweeper), it's incredibly easy to swap Zapdos in and get a quick rain dance if Bronzong is dead or failed to get one off. Pressure is an extremely useful ability coupled with roost. On multiple occasions, I've walled certain pokemon while using roost and the occasional thunder/RD combo to do some damage while whittling the opposing pokemon's PP down. If you paid attention, you would notice so far, mostly all of my team is special attack based, and that's where this guy comes in. If you haven't seen this coming by now, shame on you.
Dugtrio with Choice Band
Arena Trap
252 Speed/252 Attack/4 HP
Adamant Nature. +Attack, -Special Attack
- Aerial Ace
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Sucker Punch
I brought in Dugtrio with mainly one thing in mind. To basically kill anything that eats up special attacks, and so far, he's excelled at that job. Infernape, Blissey, Tyranitar, Scizor, and Lucario are a sample of a list of foes that most commonly die by Dugtrio's hands (Heads? I don't know what's underground). Dugtrio is a huge asset to my team, which heavily lacks attack support, which Dugtrio definitely brings to the table. Without Dugtrio, my team is easy prey to special attack walls. amongst others. Dugtrio is handled with extreme care, and is rarely just switched in (A main reason why Zapdos has U-Turn). He outspeeds most of the counters Dugtrio is brought in this team to kill. I gave him a somewhat versatile moveset, but I'll be honest here. Earthquake sees the most action out of the other three attacks the most.
The counters
Dugtrio makes this guy shiver in his non-existent boots. I'm fairly sure a well placed Hydro Pump from either Kingdra or Ludicolo in the rain should OHKO this dude. He's a threat if given a chance, but I'm always sure he won't be given one.
Dugtrio again. Not that much of a problem if Dugtrio hasn't seen any action in the battle yet. A safe switch-in is imperative, however.
I've seen this guy a few times, and luckily he was switched in while Kingdra was in. Hidden Power Electric fried this fish (dogfish?) soon enough.
This guy has been trouble in some cases, and easily dispatched in others. Ludicolo has STAB Grass Knot which puts a decent dent in Empy. If that fails, Dugtrio can always pop in after Ludicolo falls for a quick CB Earthquake to finish him off.
The bane of my team. This guy is a pain in the ass to put down. A naturally high special defense makes my two main sweepers nearly obsolete, which levitate takes Dugtrio mostly out of the picture. In past experiences, I've taken a gamble with Bronzong. Cross my fingers, toss a Hypnosis and hope it lands. If I'm lucky, Gyro Ball puts Latias down before it wakes up. Hopefully.
A moderately high threat. Zapdos has U-Turn, but Zapdos doesn't do much damage. In some cases, I've tossed Ludicolo out there to hit Celebi with an Ice Beam or two, or Kingdra to attack with a STAB Draco Meteor/Dragon Pulse.
This guy is quick. Really quick. Quicker than Dugtrio, even, but I use Duggy to counter Jolteon anyway. Jolt's pretty low base defense sets it up to be (very satisfyingly) OHKO'd by CB Earthquake.
Lucario has a wide enough movepool to do some decent damage against my two sweepers. Again, like Jolteon, Lucario has a pretty low base defense. However, unlike Jolteon, Dugtrio outspeeds him by a fair amount. A well placed Earthquake should put this one to bed.
Another slow one. Bullet Punch hurts. It hurts alot. Then again, so does an Earthquake or a STAB Hydro Pump in the rain.
I don't think I'm missing any prominent counters that have given me trouble in the past, so that should be it. Thanks for reading. Any critiquing and opinions are welcome. Also, thank you to the awesome guy that helped me put this team together, you know who you are. Without your help, I'd still be picking the main six.
At a glance...
Azelf with Focus Sash
Levitate
252 HP/252 Speed/4 Defense
Jolly Nature. +Speed, -Special Attack
- Explosion
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Rain Dance
One of the first things that you might notice is that my lead doesn't have Damp Rock to lengthen the duration of Rain Dance. More times than not, I usually don't set up RD with Azelf (Unless I'm given the chance, of course), and I use it more as a suicide lead. Azelf outspeeds most leads I've encountered so far except for, most namely, Aerodactyl and Ninjask (Two most encountered leads thus far). More often than not, I'd set up stealth rock before rain dance and then explode to hopefully get a kill and safely bring in...
Bronzong with Leftovers/Damp Rock (Undecided)
Heatproof
252 HP/128 Defense/128 Attack
Adamant Nature. +Attack, -Special Attack
- Explosion
- Gyro Ball
- Hypnosis
- Rain Dance
I was iffy about bringing Bronzong into my team, but since then, I haven't regretted it. Bronzong is my main Rain Dance user, hence the Damp Rock. He's a decent wall with his naturally high defense and special defense stats, and coupled with the adamant nature and the EV spread, Gyro Ball hits some of the quicker pokemon quite hard. He's not a natural born offensive threat, seeming as how he's mostly used for a quick rain dance, hope for a hypnosis, and either attack with gyro ball or explode (Depends on what I'm facing). Exploding is nice to safely bring in the meat of the order. The stage is set, the rain is pouring down, and the mighty sweepers step into the arena...
Kingdra with Life Orb
Swift Swim
226 Speed/226 Special Attack/56 HP
Modest Nature. +Special Attack, -Attack
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Pulse
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power Electric
Kingdra is an absolute monster in the rain. I've dismantled entire teams using Kingdra alone. Maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point. With the EV spread and swift swim, Kingdra is mighty fast in the rain, but since he's special attack oriented, he's easily walled by say, a Blissey. I've thought about switching out one of the dragon typed moves for something else. In the rain, Hydro Pump OHKOs quite a few common pokemon (Scizor, Lucario...etc). Hidden Power Electric is for dispatching the possible flying or water counters that pop up. Draco Meteor/Dragon Pulse are used mostly out of the rain or against other dragon types. But Kingdra can't sweep a team alone, he'd need some help from...
Ludicolo with Life Orb
Swift Swim
252 Speed/252 Special Attack/4 HP
Modest Nature. +Special Attack, -Attack
- Grass Knot
- Ice Beam
- Surf
- Hydro Pump
Much like Kingdra, Ludicolo is another excellent sweeper in the rain. His set-up is quite similar to Kingdra's, aside from the moveset. Grass Knot is mainly for other water counters. It works exceptionally well against rock and ground types, but that would be the least of someone's worry if they bring in a rock/ground against Ludicolo. Ice Beam works well against grass counters, but what I love about it is how well it works against dragon types that oppose Ludi. I'm not sure what I want to do about Surf, though. It's good for the situations where I need a 100% guaranteed hit with a water move that Hydro Pump can't promise me, but I can also fit a move with equal usefulness.
Zapdos with Damp Rock
Pressure
248 HP/52 Defense/208 Special Defense
Sassy Nature. +Special Defense, -Speed
- U-Turn
- Rain Dance
- Roost
- Thunder
Zapdos is probably the most controversial pokemon I'm playing with. The direction I want to take him with is still blurry to me, but I currently use him for a late game rain dancer, and somewhat of a wall. While Thunder is very useful in the rain against DD Gyrados and some steel types (Again, most noticeable are Lucario and Scizor, it would be nice to give Zapdos a bit more offensive capabilities. What I love about Zapdos is his survivability with what he has. Despite not being the strongest or the fastest pokemon on the team (I originally knew I wouldn't make him a main sweeper), it's incredibly easy to swap Zapdos in and get a quick rain dance if Bronzong is dead or failed to get one off. Pressure is an extremely useful ability coupled with roost. On multiple occasions, I've walled certain pokemon while using roost and the occasional thunder/RD combo to do some damage while whittling the opposing pokemon's PP down. If you paid attention, you would notice so far, mostly all of my team is special attack based, and that's where this guy comes in. If you haven't seen this coming by now, shame on you.
Dugtrio with Choice Band
Arena Trap
252 Speed/252 Attack/4 HP
Adamant Nature. +Attack, -Special Attack
- Aerial Ace
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Sucker Punch
I brought in Dugtrio with mainly one thing in mind. To basically kill anything that eats up special attacks, and so far, he's excelled at that job. Infernape, Blissey, Tyranitar, Scizor, and Lucario are a sample of a list of foes that most commonly die by Dugtrio's hands (Heads? I don't know what's underground). Dugtrio is a huge asset to my team, which heavily lacks attack support, which Dugtrio definitely brings to the table. Without Dugtrio, my team is easy prey to special attack walls. amongst others. Dugtrio is handled with extreme care, and is rarely just switched in (A main reason why Zapdos has U-Turn). He outspeeds most of the counters Dugtrio is brought in this team to kill. I gave him a somewhat versatile moveset, but I'll be honest here. Earthquake sees the most action out of the other three attacks the most.
The counters
Dugtrio makes this guy shiver in his non-existent boots. I'm fairly sure a well placed Hydro Pump from either Kingdra or Ludicolo in the rain should OHKO this dude. He's a threat if given a chance, but I'm always sure he won't be given one.
Dugtrio again. Not that much of a problem if Dugtrio hasn't seen any action in the battle yet. A safe switch-in is imperative, however.
I've seen this guy a few times, and luckily he was switched in while Kingdra was in. Hidden Power Electric fried this fish (dogfish?) soon enough.
This guy has been trouble in some cases, and easily dispatched in others. Ludicolo has STAB Grass Knot which puts a decent dent in Empy. If that fails, Dugtrio can always pop in after Ludicolo falls for a quick CB Earthquake to finish him off.
The bane of my team. This guy is a pain in the ass to put down. A naturally high special defense makes my two main sweepers nearly obsolete, which levitate takes Dugtrio mostly out of the picture. In past experiences, I've taken a gamble with Bronzong. Cross my fingers, toss a Hypnosis and hope it lands. If I'm lucky, Gyro Ball puts Latias down before it wakes up. Hopefully.
A moderately high threat. Zapdos has U-Turn, but Zapdos doesn't do much damage. In some cases, I've tossed Ludicolo out there to hit Celebi with an Ice Beam or two, or Kingdra to attack with a STAB Draco Meteor/Dragon Pulse.
This guy is quick. Really quick. Quicker than Dugtrio, even, but I use Duggy to counter Jolteon anyway. Jolt's pretty low base defense sets it up to be (very satisfyingly) OHKO'd by CB Earthquake.
Lucario has a wide enough movepool to do some decent damage against my two sweepers. Again, like Jolteon, Lucario has a pretty low base defense. However, unlike Jolteon, Dugtrio outspeeds him by a fair amount. A well placed Earthquake should put this one to bed.
Another slow one. Bullet Punch hurts. It hurts alot. Then again, so does an Earthquake or a STAB Hydro Pump in the rain.
I don't think I'm missing any prominent counters that have given me trouble in the past, so that should be it. Thanks for reading. Any critiquing and opinions are welcome. Also, thank you to the awesome guy that helped me put this team together, you know who you are. Without your help, I'd still be picking the main six.
