S*** where's my umberella? (UU raindance team)

[Proodle.]

UU Rain Dance Team​

Hey, this is my first rain dance team, and my first UU team, so a whole plethora of new experiences.
Please feel free to criticise as much as you want, and we shall begin. :)

Electrode @ Damp Rock
Ability: Static
EV's: 252 Atk/28 Sp. A/ 228 Spd
Hasty (+Spd - Def)
- Rain Dance
- Taunt
- Thunder
- Explosion

The standard set up for electrode, he sets up Rain before anything else, can taunt if i think the opponent will set-up anything, and then either explodes or hits them with Thunder, depending on what the opponent has in, overall, a really nice lead for my team, and usually takes out one poke.

Gorebyss @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EV's: 36 HP/ 252 Sp. A/ 220 Spd
Modest (+ Sp. A - Atk)
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Psychic
- HP electric

Wow, what a pokemon, i really do like Gorebyss, it looks amazing, and it is, amazing. A Life Orbed STAB RD Surf from this hurts pretty much everything.
With Swift Swim it can out-speed most of UU, Shadow Ball is there to hit the psychic's that swarm around UU, and Psychic is there to kick the stuffing out of any fighting/poison types. Ice beam is to take care of Altaria, and other flying/grass pokes.
Gorebyss is my favourite poke, and though he has stiff competition from the likes of Omastar, i do prefer Gorebyss because of Shadow Ball and Psychic.

Roserade @ Damp Rock
Ability: Natural Cure
EV's: 4 HP/ 252 Sp. A/ 252 Spd
Nature: Timid (+Spd -Atk)
- Rain Dance
- Sludge Bomb
- Leaf Storm
- Sleep Powder

Roserade is another vital Rain Dancer, and can usually hit something with Sleep Powder. She supports the team by switching in on the bulky water types that attempt to absorb a nice Surf, but instead get hit by a STAB Leaf Storm. Weather Ball or Sludge Bomb is a big questions, as Weather Ball gives Roserade a surprise Water attack against Fire types, but Sludge Bomb is helpful for other Grass types.
Roserade is meant to just switch in quickly, then switch out again, so the Sp. A drop from Leaf Storm isn't that big a worry.

Floatzel @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EV's: 4 Hp/ 252 Atk/ 252 Spd
Nature: Adamant
- Waterfall
- Ice Punch
- Brick Break
- Crunch

Another swift swimmer, this thing can out speed anything in the rain, coupled with a pretty high Attack, and a STAB rain-boosted Waterfall is pretty powerful, Brick Break is for steel/dark/normals, Crunch destroys Ghosts/Psychics and Ice Punch can destroy the ever-threatening grass types (roserade), and can also kill flyers.
Thanks to Pikachu25 for the idea. :)

Kabutops @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EV's: 72 HP/ 252 Atk/ 184 Spd
Nature: Adamant (+Atk -Sp.A)
- Swords Dance
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor

A standard SD Kabutops really, with Rain up, he can out-speed most things, hence why Aqua-Jet isn't in this set. He Swords Dances on the switch, and proceeds to sweep. Aqua Tail and Stone Edge are both their for STAB and some serious pain, X-Scissor is their to take care of any grass pokes that dare to show their leafy little faces.

Uxie @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EV's: 252 HP/ 252 Def/ 4 Sp.D
Nature: Calm
- Rain Dance
- U-Turn
- Stealth Rock
- Psychic
The replacement for Articuno.
He's another Rain Dancer, and can set up Rocks. Psychic is there for STAB, and just for another damaging move. U-Turn is to scout moves, and for some damage.
Thank you too Fuzznip for this. :)
​

 

[jonsterz]

Hi, a weakness in your team is EQ during weather break...
I suggest a claydol to replace roserade, it will take an EQ for latern and kabutops AND absorb the electric attacks, build it as :
Claydol @ Damp Rock
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Explosion
- Rain Dance
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock

and you are right about articuno, highly vulnerable to SR, and has not much use, it doesn't utilise swift swim, you might as well use another swift swimmer with rain dance if you are so worried about losing it. I have 2 pokes for that -

Qwilfish (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Aqua Tail
- Explosion
- Poison Jab
- Rain Dance

Pretty good sweepage from this poke, highest speed, will outspeed almost everything, it takes away toxic spikes, which hammers down most water types. It kills grass counters like celebi and ludicolo with poison jab, explodes to finish off as well :)

Ludicolo (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Grass Knot
- Ice Beam
- Rain Dance
- Surf

ludicolo is amazing at sweeping, it neutralises electric and grass, with swift swim outspeeds all at 472, with amazing coverage, otherwise STAB RD boosted surf will be 2HKO on most pokes.

 

[Fuzznip]

Hello there! Welcome to Smogon! I have received your pm, so I'll do whatever I can to help you out! I'll look at each of your Pokemon individually first and give you ideas on what movesets you should choose.

Electrode

No problems with this guy, looks good to me.

Gorebyss

A few problems with Gorebyss. Its moveset needs a little reworking. Shadow Ball and Psychic are poor options to use on Gorebyss because they receive no STAB, and the Pokemon you are using it on will fall under an KO with Surf. So, I suggest you try the following moveset:

Gorebyss @ Life Orb | Modest nature
36 HP / 252 SpA / 220 Spe
~Surf
~Ice Beam
~Hidden Power Electric
~Rain Dance

This is also Gorebyss really needs to sweep like a charm under the rain. Not only that, but with Pokemon like Chansey trying to stall out Rain Dance turns by using Wish + Protect, you can always set it up again so you have the rain up at all times. Although, if you really hate having another Rain Dance user, then Psychic deserves a spot so you can OHKO Croagunk that would cause slight trouble with Gorebyss.

Roserade

I'm just going to help you out a bit with Roserade's moveset. I'm pretty sure you are using Roserade to take on the Electric- and Grass-type attacks that are aimed on your sweeper. Since you're having trouble deciding which move to choose, I recommend going with Sludge Bomb. Since Roserade will be switching into Grass-type Pokemon, Sludge Bomb allows it to OHKO the Pokemon so it can't interfere with your sweeping.

Lanturn

Alrighty, just a slight change with Lanturn. Instead of using the set you have, I suggest you try out the set Legacy Raider has made. It's a very good set and can help you out a lot against sturdy walls. It also has a shot at causing the dreaded parafusion combo. The set looks like this:

Lanturn @ Leftovers l Calm
40 HP / 216 SpA / 252 SpD
~Rain Dance
~Surf / Hydro Pump
~Thunder
~Ice Beam / Confuse Ray

With this set, Lanturn has much more offensive power and can put the hurt in many Pokemon. It can easily set up Rain Dance because of its excellent resistances and overall bulk. Surf and Hydro Pump is up to you, if you want Lanturn to be more reliable, or if you want Lanturn to be a little more risky but very powerful. Thunder is self-explanatory, while Ice Beam and Confuse Ray is another thing that's up to you. Ice Beam gives you the chance at hitting Grass-types hard, while Confuse Ray works well in conjunction with Thunder due to the fact that Thunder has a 30% chance to paralyze.

Kabutops

One slight fix for Kabutops. Instead of using Aqua Tail, I suggest you try using Waterfall instead for a couple of reasons. The biggest reason is that Waterfall has a shot at flinching the enemy, which can be extremely beneficial to Kabutops in getting 2HKOs without being touched. Another reason is that Aqua Tail has a good shot at missing, and with Kabutops' frail defenses, it can't really afford a miss at all.

Articuno

Now I understand that you are willing to remove Articuno, so I have a really good suggestion you should look into; Uxie. The set:

Uxie @ Leftovers | Relaxed
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
~Stealth Rock
~Rain Dance
~U-turn
~Thunderbolt / Psychic

Uxie is an excellent Pokemon to have on a Rain Dance team for a number of reasons. First of all, it has the chance to set up Stealth Rock which can help your team immensely in getting many more KOs on certain Pokemon, and it will just aid your whole team in general. Due to its fantastic overall bulk, it can switch in multiple times and set up the Rain when needed. Not only that, but your team is really lacking a good Pokemon with high Defense, so that just makes Uxie more of a great option. As an added bonus, it is immune to Ground-type attacks which can severely hurt your team, as all of them take neutral or super effective damage towards it. It also has U-turn, and because it's relatively slow, your sweepers can switch in safely. Psychic and Thunderbolt are there for attacking options, so it's up to you to decide which one you like more. I definitely think this would be a worthy option, as you really need a Stealth Rock user.


Hope I helped and good luck!

 

[pikachu25]

I usually do OU rain, but I have dabbled in UU and will try to help you out some.

Electrode: For a UU rain team, I love him. I have used Ambipom to some success here as well, as Fake Out/Rain Dance/U-Turn/Taunt is very useful. It is also more unexpected than Electrode, and doesn't scream "I'm rain!" However, Electrode is regarded as the best "set rain and explode" pokemon out there, and for good reason.

Gorebyss: If you keep her, I would use HP Electric to help with water types, as Psychic doesn't have great type coverage. I would actually recommend Ludicolo here over her, as he is much faster, and has enough power to rip teams apart. My favorite set so far is this:

Ludicolo @ Life Orb
Swift Swim
Modest
32 HP/4 Def/252 SpA/220 Spe
Surf
Energy Ball/Grass Knot
Ice Beam
HP of choice/Rain Dance

This guy is awesome. 32 HP is a LO number, max SpA is a given, 220 Spe lets you outrun timid scarf Roserade, and 4 Def is EV left over. Surf is powerful STAB in rain, Energy Ball/Grass Knot is secondary STAB, Ice Beam hits grasses/flyers, and a HP can be used to help with a specific team weakness. Ludicolo also has some natural bulk, so Rain Dance can be used to support the team (and himself).

Roserade: I have never used her myself, but the set looks good on paper and I have heard many success stories with it. If you go with Ludicolo, use Weather Ball, as Ice Beam will handle grasses. If not, it would be nice to be able to kill grass-type switch ins (if there are any- do grasses switch in to Roserade in UU?).

Lanturn: If you have three damp rockers already, you do not need rain dance on Lanturn. If he has helped you out, that is great, but if he is mostly dead weight on an offensive team like this, consider putting a swift swimmer in over him, or maybe a faster Thunder abuser.

Kabutops: Waterfall over Aqua Tail. 100% accuracy and flinch chance make it the superior option by far, especially in UU.

Articuno: Either go with the Claydol set that jonsterz suggested, or use an Uxie with Rain Dance/Stealth Rock/U-Turn/Yawn or Filler. EDIT: Fuzznip beat me to this!

Overall, nice team!