Sonic Rainboom


Introduction

I'm not a big fan of the BW OU metagame. Still, I always make sure to play the most competitively relevant tier. Although I usually play with Sand or Clear Skies, I decided to give Rain a try with this team. After choosing Rain as a team archetype, I included some bulky offensive team members to help provide support.

In my opinion, competent players should never use all standards. As a result, I've made sure to differentiate somewhat from the status quo. Unusual sets are always good to include, but sometimes the small details end up making big differences as well.


In-Depth


[box]Politoed @ Chesto Berry
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Scald
- Toxic
- Protect
- Rest
[/box]
Politoed is an obligatory member on Rain teams, of course. I initially opted to go Scarfed, but I ended up settling on this bulky set for its extra longevity. The key difference between this ChestoRest set and the standard bulky Politoed is that I won't have to worry as much about getting hit by a status ailment (Toxic is particularly annoying). Max Defense really helps out against physical attackers like Gliscor, making it easier for me to keep Rain up.

Scald for obligatory STAB, which still manages to hit pretty hard in Rain. Toxic cripples Gastrodon and Jellicent on the switch so that they can't stay in very long. Protect allows me to scout for attacks and plan accordingly. Finally, Rest works alongside Chesto Berry to essentially give Politoed a second life.


[box]Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 176 Def / 88 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Protect
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang[/box]
Gliscor is one of the most useful Pokémon to run on a Rain team. It does a fairly solid job of checking most physical threats, and can function pretty offensively as well. I’m using extra Speed EVs to speed creep Jirachi / Rotom / other Gliscor and any other threats that center around the common 244 Speed mark. I’ll probably add more eventually to update for opposing speed creepers, but 88 has been enough for now.

While I usually use Taunt, Protect has had really good results during testing. It's especially useful against more powerful physical attackers like CB Terrakion, allowing me to gain an extra turn of Poison Heal recovery. I also don't have to worry as much about getting flinched by Excadrill. Although Taunt was useful for preventing opposing hazards from being set up, Starmie's Rapid Spin already helps to eliminate them.


[box]Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Wish
- Iron Head
- Thunder[/box]
I really would’ve liked to run SubCM Rain Abuser Jirachi here, but it would have left me with some unpleasant weaknesses to Reuniclus and Virizion. Delko’s Jirachi combines the utility of the specially defensive set with the power of Thunder. This is a solid defensive set thanks to its high bulk investment, but it also has some use offensively.

Stealth Rock was given to Jirachi to take some pressure off of Ferrothorn. Wish keeps Jirachi and its teammates healthy over the long run, which can be useful in longer matches. Iron Head gives Jirachi a way to hit Tyranitar and check threats like Reuniclus and Virizion, particularly if they’ve been paralyzed beforehand.


[box]Starmie @ Life Orb
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Surf
- Grass Knot
- Rapid Spin
- Recover[/box]
This is a pretty weird set, but it happens to be one of the most useful members on the team. Most Rain teams are pretty unhappy to face Gastrodon, particularly if Ferrothorn gets burned. Seeing as Gastrodon is gaining popularity fast and opposing Ferrothorn remain as omnipresent as ever, I needed a set that could help against both. I’ve been packing Rapid Spin users on all my teams lately, and Starmie is a great fit for this one. It also happens to hit pretty hard with Rain and Life Orb - boosted Surfs.

I chose Surf for its reliability in this case. It still manages to hit pretty hard thanks to the Life Orb. A Rain-boosted Surf OHKOes Thundurus 100% of the time, meaning Starmie can function as a solid check. Grass Knot is crucial on this set, netting 2HKOes on the likes of Gastrodon and Jellicent. With these two out of the way, the team has a lot easier of a time sweeping. Rapid Spin is invaluable for clearing hazards, making it easier for the team to switch out. Thundurus really appreciates not having to switch into Stealth Rock. Recover keeps Starmie alive longer, which is absolutely necessary in most matches.


[box]Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 60 Def / 196 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip[/box]
Ferrothorn is another staple on Rain teams, setting up easily once its Fire weakness has been alleviated. I like Blue Star’s spread best. It survives two Earthquakes from CB Haxorus and retains plenty of special bulk. Hazards are extremely useful for a team like this, as they limit opposing switches and make it easier for my own team members to sweep. Ferrothorn also provides me with a useful secondary switch into Latios and Latias, should I choose not to send in Jirachi.

Spikes is self-explanatory, seeing as this set’s goal is to lay down hazards. Thunder Wave catches a lot of faster threats on the switch, making it easier for Ferrothorn’s teammates to deal with them. Leech Seed is the closest thing Ferrothorn has to a recovery move, but it provides a nice amount of healing in conjunction with Leftovers. Finally, Power Whip hits opposing Water-types and Tyranitar for considerable damage.


[box]Latias @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Dragon Pulse
- Roar
- Roost
[/box]
Latias was added to patch up some weaknesses to Rotom-W and Celebi. It works particularly well against Sun and opposing Rain, often gaining multiple opportunities to set up. Other than walling certain special attackers, Latias is capable of boosting up and sweeping, or abusing entry hazards with Roar. If I predict correctly, I can eventually wear down common switch-ins like Tyarnitar and Ferrothorn.

Calm Mind takes advantage of Latias' considerable special bulk and allows for potential late-game sweeps. Dragon Pulse provides stable STAB and has good neutral coverage. Roar works well with the entry hazards Latias' teammates provides and also allows me to phaze away some troublesome stat boosters. Roost is a solid recovery move that helps Latias abuse its stat boosting ability. I've considered a SubCM set here as well, but I like to have both Roar and Roost.


Conclusion

I'm sure this team has some problems, which is why I posted here. I don't plan to use this in any tournaments, but it seems pretty solid overall. Still, it's a work in progress and I hope to improve it. Thanks for the read!
 
Hi Fal, this team has a ton of trouble with Rotom-W, since Ferrothorn won't enjoy being burned on the switch. The best way to fix this without screwing up your synergy is to run Facade over Ice Fang on Gliscor, as you'll find the washing machine switching in on him most often. The first time you send Gliscor in, Facade to rack up some damage on the switch and the next time Rotom comes in, it's in +2 Facade range; since you're faster than most variants, this means that you just need to hit it on one switch before it's gone. Facade also hits non-flying dragon types harder than Ice Fang does.

The other thing I'd like to see is a bulkier Politoed set. You've got Starmie as a check to most things that Scarftoed beats, so it's a bit redundant; a more defensive set extends your longevity, making it easier to win weather wars, and it leaves you less prone to trapping by CB Tyranitar. Tar is the reason why this set is invested fully in physical defense, but it also helps immensely versus Gliscor.

Politoed @ Leftovers | Bold | 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Scald | Toxic | Protect | Perish Song

Good luck!
 
Not much i can say about this team.
It seems very good to me , most weaknesses seem to be covered at a first look.
On starmie i dont know if grassknot is the best second attack you can choose , maybe choose for Tbolt/Ice Beam instead but i can understand why u like grass knot (defenatly with swamper/gastrodon/seismitoad/quagsire showing up more and more)
 

IronBullet

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Hey :)

This is a very solid rain team. You have most of the metagame covered, and you don't have any eye opening weaknesses. Rotom-W with WoW can be a bit troublesome for your team since nothing can switch in without taking a hard hit or being severely crippled. A Gastrodon would actually fit rather well on your team since it is pretty much a full stop to Rotom and checks almost all of an opposing rain team by itself. It also gives you that lovely Water immunity which would be a big boost to your team since none of your three water resists actually enjoy taking boosted Water attacks. The problem is it's hard to replace any member of your team since it will just open up a weakness to something that you had covered previously. Thundurus is easily the most replaceable member since it doesn't perform an actual role on your team other than sweeping, which your team can be successful without. If you feel that you will really miss Thundurus' ability to simply smash through everything then keep it, but Gastrodon would make your defensive core practically unbreakable.

I actually prefer Protect over Taunt on Gliscor for the sole purpose of being a life saver against sand sweepers. A single Protect can easily put you out of the 2HKO range of a CB Terrakion or SD Excadrill, and can end up being the deciding factor in a match. I don't really feel like you need Taunt, since hazards don't really bother you while you have Starmie. Protect is also an immense help against choice users, and is in general very frustrating for most offensive teams. Lastly, move those HP EVs on Thundurus into one of your defenses if you decide to keep it. Great team and good luck!
 
Thanks for the rates. I don't remember having too many issues with Rotom-W, but it definitely looks a bit problematic on paper. I centered the team around Thundurus, but it's pretty useless defensively. Sometimes I've used Latios or Roar Latias in its place to help, although both weren't nearly as good at sweeping. Still, I'll give all the suggestions a try.
 
This is obviously a good team, but rain teams structured this way will always have problems with the same certain Pokes. Rotom-W is one as mentioned, but I find when I use similarly built teams that Celebi is the #1 problem. Pretty much all Nasty Plot variants will trouble you in some way: NP + 3 attacks can hit Thundurus with Psychic, and NP + Recover can brush off attacks from everything on your team bar Thundurus. Specially defensive variants and ones that run Earth Power are becoming increasingly popular which obviously isn't a good thing. Latios or Latias would indeed be a good choice to slot somewhere on your team. You could even run one of them in Starmie's place, seeing as you have Politoed to check Thundurus. Calm Mind Latias can beat Celebi one-on-one, although you could always run some funky LO Latios with Hidden Power Bug somewhere. Lots of options here, nothing crucial because obviously you can play around Celebi with Thundurus, but it wouldn't hurt to have a surefire way of dealing with it.

You could always run a specially defensive Calm Mind + Wish Jirachi if you want a more offensive presence on your team. Virizion will be hard pressed to get by you anyways even if you use a physical spread especially if you're spamming Thunder left and right. Other than that there's not much to change. Nice work dude.
 
Hi Faladran

Excellent Rain team you have here, well done ^^

This might seem like a weird suggestion but if you are having problems with Rotom-W you could try out Hidden Power [Grass] instead of Grass Knot on Starmie. Both Rotom-W as Gastrodon will 2HKO'ed (Hidden Power does more damage then Grass Knot since both are pretty light). You'll loose out on 2HKO'ing Jellicent but Jellicent is not problem for your team so that doesn't matter to much.
Another thing you can do about Rotom-W is running Facade on Gliscor so you can do some reliable damage to it. Talking about Gliscor, I second the suggestion of Protect, if you do this you might also want to try out a slightly different EV spread, 244 HP / 176 Def / 88 Spe will give you maximum Poison Heal recovery and the extra speed comes in handy to outspeed those 244 speed pokemon.

Iconic is right about the Nasty Plot Celebi problem. Without changing a pokemon (since this team is build around Thunderus I don't want to suggest to replace him) you could try out Hypnosis instead of Toxic on Politoed. While not being able to stop Celebi since it has Natural Cure, it could give you a couple of free turns to counter-attack by setting up with Thunderus or Gliscor. Hypnosis can also catch Ferrothorn, who is a common Politoed check, on the switch, as well as stopping various other sweepers that might cause you some problems.

Hope this helped and good luck with the team!
 
Ok, I edited some changes into the OP. The team's quite a bit more defensive now, but it's been extremely solid in playtesting.

Politoed now has a bulkier set to keep Rain up more reliably. I also added in Latias to help out against Rotom-W and Celebi. I'll probably miss Thundurus' sweeping prowess, but I don't necessarily need it when I have hazards.
 

Trinitrotoluene

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Faladran posted a team! You've rated my teams in the past and given me really good advice, so I figure that I owe you plenty. I hope rating this team will suffice as a thank you for all the help you've given. First off, Lucario seems like a very large threat and a problem for this team to face should it be packing Ice Punch over Crunch to hit Gliscor. However, it doesn't have many set-up opportunities because everyone carries a move that can cripple it and the fact that you're laying hazards that will cut short its sweep when combined with Life Orb. The only Pokemon I can see Lucario setting up on without too much difficulty is Politoed (Scald only does 37.59% - 44.68% in the rain), and even that can be avoided by a lucky burn from Scald. Now, to make some nitpicks.

Politoed: Perish Song should be used over Protect. I don't see much utility in Protect.

Gliscor: Speed creep. Nothing else can be said.

Jirachi: Thunder's cool to use in the rain to nail Jellicent, but I'd suggest using Body Slam to paralyze Grounds switching in. It might help minimize the threat of Landorus and Excadrill should the sand be up and they switch in.

Starmie: I'd have to second the use of Hidden Power [Grass] over Grass Knot to nail Rotom-W and lighter Grass-type mons. Other than that, I can't say much else.

Ferrothorn: OLD standard fare, saw that spread in mtr's Ferrothorn analysis. It's cool to see it being used again.

Latias: Nice set. You should try out Refresh over Roar in order to break stall down even further and hold an immunity to entry hazards.

Nice team, and good luck.
 
I don't see many problems with this team, but I would take HP Grass over Grass Knot on Starmie because it hits Gastrodon and most water pokemon in general harder. You could try running water pulse on your Jirachi, because with confusion and flinchax, your opponent statistically has a 110% chance of being immobilized, and water pulse isn't too weak of an attack under the rain. Even though you wont be able to phaze, I suggest running another attacking move on Latias, preferably one who hits steels hard, because as of now it's walled by steel types.

Speaking of steels, If your gliscor is down, magnezone becomes a big problem, being able to switch into both of your steels (Who both carry all NVE attacks against it ATM), setting up a sub, charge beaming until it reaches +6, and then slaughtering your steel, while also carrying SE attacks against politoed + starmie and walling Latias.

Speaking of gliscor going down, if you gliscor does go down, you weak to some of the biggest offensive threats around like conkeldurr, who can payback your starmie and latias, and drain punch everything else. If you can find some free space, a Intimidate Gyarados could be added as insurance.

Gyarados @ Leftovers
Impish Nature
4 SpD / 252 HP / 252 Def

-Substitute
-Dragon Tail
-Thunder Wave
-Waterfall/Taunt

If you do decide to take gyra, you can take roar off of latias and replace it with an attacking move because gyra carries dragon tail.
 
First I think you should alter your Politoed set to.....

Scald | protect | refresh | toxic.

this helps you outright beat Gastrodon. Now you can free up your moveslot on starmie for the useful psyshock. Which hits virision and can help break through blissey which otherwise would give you tremendous problems expecially if it has ice beam and toxic. Pretty good team overall. Oh yeah to beat SD toxicroak just get your speed on gliscor to 270.
 
Hey fally! Not the most original team in the world but incredibly solid with these new changes (oh also I see you finally decided to name a team after bronies). There are still a couple of things that trouble you. BU Conkeldurr is a huge pain in the ass to deal with- he sets up very easily on Ferrothorn and you have no real way of dealing with him. Your best option is to get him to low health and pound away at him with Rain boosted Starmie Surfs or to try and flinch him with Jirachi. He actually beats Gliscor one on one with Drain Punch and without you having Taunt. Something that can beat you a lot easier is Mynisicroak- I'm not sure if you've heard of this set but SD / Cross Chop / Sucker Punch / Ice Punch with a Life Orb is really hard for you to stop. Literally your best option is to try to get into sucker punch mindgames with Latias and Roar, and he sets up 100% on Politoed.

First off, I agree that Perish Song would be better over Protect on Politoed. You don't have Leftovers so really I think the usefulness is probably limited. Perish Song prevents set up by annoying mons (aka Toxicroak) and is great in last-pokemon scenarios, like against a Reuniclus or Sigilyph or something that you otherwise can't deal with (even though Gliscor mostly stops Sigilyph from raping you).

Also on Starmie try fitting in Psychic somewhere- probably over Recover or Grass Knot. Psychic is really useful for knocking out most fighting types, and also keeps the otherwise incredibly troublesome Virizion from setting up on you (especially SD variants with hp ice, yuck). The 100% accuracy might even hopefully compel you into using Hydro Pump over Surf but that's always just a matter of preference.

That's really all I have, it's hard to change much without ruining the synergy of this team. Good luck!
 
Hey there. This is a very solid rain team :)

Like Smith said though, Bulk up Conkelldur can be a pain, and Mynicroak completely destroys you, ohkoing your entire team after a Swords Dance (+2 Cross Chop ohkoes Jirachi).

To fix the Conkelldur issue, run Taunt over Protect on Gliscor. Taunt allows you to beat Conkelldur 1 on 1 pretty easily, and can also stop pokemon such as Skarmory from phazing you away.

Now, the Toxicroak issue is much harder to fix. However, the thing that it can set up on without worry is Politoed. Option 1 is to run Perish Song over Protect, as you don't have Leftovers, but Rest instead, so Protect isn't as necessary. However, the problem with this option is that it will just delay Toxicroak, rather than kill it. Now, the next option may seem much worse, but in reality, can save you from losing a lot of games. By putting Psychic over Protect on Politoed, you can kill Toxicroak quite easily, as Politoed can survive an unboosted Cross Chop; no one expects Psychic to begin with. Starmie is also set up fodder, but people are a lot less likely to try and set up with Toxicroak on a Starmie due to the sheer power of an LO Thunder that most Starmie's carry. it would probably be better to run Psychic on Politoed for this reason, and because Starmie gets destroyed by an unboosted Sucker Punch regardless. Also, every move on your Starmie is very crucial to your team, compared to Protect on Politoed.

Good luck.
 
Two threats are going to cause alot of problems: SD Toxicroak with ice punch and Chesto rest Volcarona. Toxicroak can set up for free on half of your team and 6-0 every time unless cross chop misses. Volcarona can also net in 2 QDs, rest, and sweep with bug buzz. The quick way to fix the Toxicroak weak is to run 260 speed on Gliscor. This beats adamant 252 croak by 1 point and also most standard Rotom. Facade is better now that Garchomp is gone, but ice fang still works since you will usually outspeed every other Gliscor. You do lose alot of bulk, but with protect it should be fine. Volcarona also is difficult to deal with here so you might want to consider something like hurricane Dragonite over Latias. With spin support you can abuse multiscale. Latias is going to let ttar and scizor cause this team alot of problems and Dragonite can beat Celebi where rain ferro beats Rotom anyway. But that is more of an optional thing since Latias covers some important stuff.
 

Celestavian

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I tried to add a Luvdisc, but the button doesn't show up for me anymore.

This is an excellent example of a Thundurus-less rain team (even though it wasn't always like that) that still enjoys success. Everything I was going to say (especially about Celebi), has already been said, so I might as well leave my obligatory "this team is very great" and leave. Oh, and Rainbow Dash is the best one, just so you know.
 
Hey Fal,

Like practically everyone who rated this team has already said before, Perish Song over Protect on Politoed as it does have more moments and uses than Protect would on Politoed anyway.

Your team seems like it would be kind of weak to stall teams, so I would recommend to try out Taunt over Protect on your Gliscor, although it leaves you more vulnerable to the omnipresent Excadrill in sand teams, and may cost you the game due to two Rock Slide flinches in a row. But if you are the kind of person who really doesn't mind hax, then by all means go for it. Protect may be game-changing, but if I were to use this team I would use Taunt, but this is my opinion, and rather optional.

Really solid team though, I might try it out sometime if you don't mind. Good luck!
 

San_Pellegrino

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Hi Faladran!

This is a nice team you have here, but the majority of work has been finished by other Team raters, so these are mainly nitpicks. Perish Song should be considered over protect on Politoed since protect isn't doing much without leftovers. Fighting types and Conkeldurr especially can be problematic, the latter only checked by a your Gliscor at near full health. This is why I will suggest Psychic over Grass Knot or Recover (since you have Wish support from Jirachi) on Starmie. This will really help you out with the common Fight-Types in the metagame.

Another thing is that Politoed could use Hypnosis over Toxic to catch some dangerous sweepers off guard, but this is just a matter of personal preference.
 
your team is no longer stealth rock weak since you lost thundurus, so i don't see what starmie is doing that's beneficial that like tentacruel can't do better (spinning and stalling). tentacruel can get out tspikes and mess up gastrodon as well, and you already have ferrothorn to kill it without problems. this team has become more stall-focused than offensive anyway, and i think tentacruel is a better fit. sure starmie patches up a slight problem with sd gliscor, but you have latias as a surefire way to deal with that as well.
 

Ojama

Banned deucer.
Hi Faladran

Pretty nice Team there and very solid, I don't know what Pokemon can be exchanged by another. But I agree with Delko, and Hidden Power Grass is better instead of Grass Knot because it does more damage to Starmie and Gastrodon.

Then, change your Ferrothorn's spread for this one 252 Hp / 4 Def / 252 SDef with a Sassy Nature because you're pretty weak to Thundurus, and it helps against it.

Then, maybe change your Latias Set for this one Dragon Pulse / Recover / Toxic / Reflect, because with this Set you can easy kill and trapp Tyranitar and it helps against your Scizor weakness.

And last thing, change your Politoed's Set for this one Scald / Toxic / Protect / Perish Song.

GL with this Team bro.
 

Pocket

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I agree with Ojama's suggestions. I'd suggest Roar or Calm Mind over Toxic on Latias, though. Otherwise, Steel Types would use Latias as set-up bait, and if the opponent's Latias wins the speed-tie and sets up Substitute before you Toxic, she may possibly sweep. Hazards + Reflect should deal with Ttar fine imo.

I also agree with HP Grass on Starmie. Most of your monsters has ways to harm Jellicent, and with 1 layer of Spikes + SR, it wouldn't be too hard to 2HKO Jellicent with HP Grass either.

However, HP Grass would make it easier for Tyranitar to come in on Starmie. So ultimately, would you want Rotom-W to switch in easily on a Grass Knot or would you want Tyranitar to switch in easily on an HP Grass?
 
Do you really need T-wave on ferrothorn? You don't really have any great ways of dealing with sub latias right now. Drop t-wave for gyroball imo.
 

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