Terakion in the Rain

[-Sparky-]

At a glance​

Introduction

Let’s get this show on the road then shall we? Alright, I decided to build a team around the almighty Terakion because of its great STAB’s, move pool and stats. It was just screaming at me to make him the main guy. The concept of rain incorporated into this team not as a sweeping option but more of a support option as rain allows me to set up hazards, cover some weaknesses, counter other weather teams and wear away my opponent’s pokemon more efficiently which would hopefully create an opportunity to set up with my Terakion and sweep. Feel free to read through my team building process or not.


Team building

Well firstly I was going to have Terakion

I then wanted to cover Terakion’s weaknesses. At first I didn’t think that he had that many weaknesses but I was wrong. He had 6 weaknesses and I wanted a defensive core that would cover each other as well as covering Terakion. Ferrothorn and Jellicent came to mind as I was looking at Terakion’s weaknesses. They covered each other perfectly and covered 5 out 6 of Terakion’s weaknesses.

I was thinking for a while about how I am actually going to support Terakion. Covering his weaknesses wasn’t good enough, I needed hazards and a good defensive core to wear away my opponent’s pokemon and get a decent sweep with Terakion. The first thing that came to my mind was Toxic Spikes and the first pokemon that came to mind was Tentacruel.

I saw that Tentacruel’s DW ability was Rain Dish and luckily for me it was released so I could play in normal Wi-Fi OU. I really wanted to use it so I needed rain and what better pokemon for rain than Politoed?

Alright now I had 5 guys and Jellicent started looking out of place. I had another bulky Water type with better utility and decent recovery so I decided to take Jellicent out of the team. Now I saw that I had an outstanding weakness to physical sweepers and ground moves. I did a bit of research and found Zapdos. Zapdos was meant for this team. I saw it’s physically defensive set and high fived my own screen. It has great physical bulk, ground immunity, 100% accuracy Thunder and I have a spinner so it had to be on my team

Now I still got 5 guys and I’m thinking what to have. I realised that my team was pretty damn defensive at the moment so I wanted something that can take a hit or two and dish out some damage. Rotom-W is always a great option for almost all teams. With good bulk, great typing and good offensive options it’s no surprise how often I see this guy. He also can abuse the rain with Hydro Pump, so why not?

Closer look at the team

Politoed (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Scald
- Perish Song
- Toxic
- Protect

Politoed is on this team for Drizzle. Now Drizzle allows me to abuse moves such as Hydro Pump and Thunder, it also allows me to activate other abilities such as Rain Dish and covers some of my Pokémon’s weaknesses. Politoed isn’t exactly the most useful pokemon there is but it can be put to good use. The set that I use is very useful for my play style. Scald is my attacking option, it can do good damage in rain and the 30% burn is pretty handy. Perish Song is for certain wins when they only have 1 pokemon left and to phaze out boosting sweepers that threaten to sweep me. Protect allows me to stall a turn and gain an extra 6% from lefties and it also lets me scout the opponents pokemon to see if its choiced and to see what move it locks itself into. Toxic is just there to help stall out walls and other pokemon that avoid Toxic Spikes. Max HP/Def helps me tank physical hits well and hopefully Perish Song/Toxic them which could be game changing. I just gotta play right with this guy and keep my weather up in this weather dominate metagame.

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 228 Def / 32 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Roost
- Roar
- Thunder

Physically Defensive Zapdos is the first part of my core. I’m not really sure about this guy but he’s just gotta do. I’d normally bring him in after my Toxic Spikes have gone up so I can set up a Sub and stall away with Roost, phaze out threats with Roar and deal some good damage with Thunder. He can take a lot more hits than I excepted and Zapdos isn’t that common, and this set is even more uncommon so it’s great to catch my opponent my surprise. The Speed Ev’s are there to reach 244 Speed which can out speed Magnezone, Breloom, Gliscor, Rotom and Jirachi.

Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 112 HP / 252 SAtk / 144 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split

I hate this guy so much but I also love him. He’s a great addition to this team with his natural bulk taking a few hits and recovering his health with Pain Split and also dishing out big hits with Max Sp.Atk, STAB and the rain. The 144 Speed Ev’s also allow me to reach 244 Speed which will out speed what I mentioned above and hopefully speed creep the speed creepers. Standard moves are standard. I’m not sure about turning this thing fully offensive with a Scarf or Specs, thoughts?

Ferrothorn (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip

Everyone knows what a pain Ferrothorn is in rain, it has great defensives and typing and can set up hazards so I thought why not have him. As I said Ferrothorn is my first line of hazards with Spikes. My team isn’t running SR because I couldn’t find a spot for it, should I switch Spikes for SR or even have both? Another reason for Spikes is if I ever get trapped by a Magnezone I can set up 3 layers. The Ev’s give me good Special bulk for taking hits from Dragons such as Lati@s more easily. I put a bit in Defensive just so I don’t get fully slapped by Earthquakes and such. I normally play cautiously with Ferrothorn because he is pretty important and I don’t like him getting screwed early on.

Tentacruel (M) @ Black Sludge
Trait: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Def / 120 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Toxic Spikes
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Knock Off

My Jellicent replacement and third part of my core. ZapdosFerrothornTentacruel in the rain make a pretty formidable core. When I saw this had Rain Dish I just knew I had to have it in the rain. I wasn’t sure about the Ev’s so I put Max HP and put enough in Defensive to take a hit but also to sponge Special hits well. Toxic Spikes is the main move as it helps me stall out better and benefit my Terakion in its quest for sweeping. I’ve never used Tentacruel but I’ve always admired it from afar so I wasn’t sure about the moves. Scald for STAB and 30% burn rate is just impossible to resist. Knock Off is incredibly useful im surprised I don’t see it more often. It knocks off items such as Eviolite, LO and Choice items which helps me in the long run quite a lot. Rapid Spin was obvious so I don’t get screwed each time I switch in. I gave him Black Sludge just in case I get tricked they get hurt instead of recovering health which has to be helpful. Just like Ferrothorn I play cautiously with Tentacruel because Toxic Spikes and Rapid Spin support are pretty useful plus i’ve never used it before and I don’t want to overdo its walling capacities. Thankfully, in the rain Tentacruel recovers quite a bit of health each turn. Any suggestions about the Ev's or moves?

Terrakion @ Life Orb
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Rock Polish
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor

The main event, Terakion. This is what it all boils down to. I decided to use Rock Polish Adamant LO because even without the Rock Polish I can still hit very hard. But after the Rock Polish I can clean up teams late game with ease. I chose X-Scissor over Earthquake because I think STAB CC is better than Earthquake plus X-Scissor allows me hit Lati@s, Reuniclus, Celebi and others for Super Effective damage

Conclusion

So that's my team. It's alright atm but im sure it can be better. Im not sure about some of the Ev spreads and moves on some pokemon so if anyone could help it would be much appreciated, thanks.

 

[Iconic]

You have nothing to beat Excadrill, even when sand isn't up. He's faster than everything on your team bar Terrakion, and after a Swords Dance, you're looking at being straight up swept, especially if you can't keep rain up for long enough. Landorus is also a big problem, especially if they're Naive, since they'll outpace Terrakion and OHKO him with Earthquake. A simple fix to this would be to run Bronzong over Zapdos, since it will give you an excellent counter to the aforementioned sand sweepers. Your team also lacks Stealth Rock, which is really important if you want Terrakion to have any hope of beating Gliscor.

Bronzong @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Atk / 80 Def / 92 SpD
Sassy nature (+SpD, -Spe)
- Stealth Rock
- Hidden Power Ice
- Earthquake
- Gyro Ball

This change would open you up a lot to Choice Band Scizor's U-turn, as well as Breloom to an extent. A good remedy to this would be to give Tentacruel a physically defensive spread. With a spread of 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 Speed and a Bold nature, you'll have no problem coming in on repeated U-turns, as it will barely do any damage after Leftovers and Rain Dish. I would also give Tentacruel Ice Beam over Knock Off because this will help a lot against Breloom, who won't be able to 2HKO you with Seed Bomb.

Like all rain stall teams, you're incredibly weak to Thundurus, especially Nasty Plot variants. If you want a decent check without changing much of your team, I'd recommend giving Rotom-W a Choice Scarf. You can use a Modest spread of 44 HP / 252 SpA / 224 Spe, which will put you faster than Jolteon, which is just about the fastest thing you need to beat. This also allows you to run Trick, which can be quite useful if you find yourself in a stall vs. stall game. Although it's a shaky check at best, Thundurus literally 6-0es you after a Nasty Plot unless it misses a Focus Blast, so you need to have at least something to check it.

 

[Rofellos]

I would personally recommend protect over gyro ball on ferrothorn. A lot of fire and hp fighting and fire moves will be aimed at him and having protect would give ferro more time to use leech seed, having protect will also make you feel easier about letting ferro hold his own and not worry about him so much.

 

[Porii Sames]

Do the above options and I don't think X-scissor is the best option for Terakion; basically all you're doing is hitting Celebi a bit harder since everything else is hit harder by STAB CC. Sub/SD/EQ could be better, but w/e.

 

[SoT]

Do you realize your team is swept by other SD Teraks? You could run a Gliscor over your Zapdos or Tentacruel. It'd help you out a bit more defensive against exca/tar who can kinda hurt this team to an extent, as well as other Teraks. With Zapdos you lose a useful resist but you also lose the SR weakness too which can be useful. With Tenta you lose spikes, but to be honest most mons are steal or levitate nowadays anyways. I would just try messing around with it in both of the slots and see if either or works.


Also how do you deal with Thundurus/Tornadus?

 

[-Sparky-]

You have nothing to beat Excadrill, even when sand isn't up. He's faster than everything on your team bar Terrakion, and after a Swords Dance, you're looking at being straight up swept, especially if you can't keep rain up for long enough. Landorus is also a big problem, especially if they're Naive, since they'll outpace Terrakion and OHKO him with Earthquake. A simple fix to this would be to run Bronzong over Zapdos, since it will give you an excellent counter to the aforementioned sand sweepers. Your team also lacks Stealth Rock, which is really important if you want Terrakion to have any hope of beating Gliscor.

Bronzong @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Atk / 80 Def / 92 SpD
Sassy nature (+SpD, -Spe)
- Stealth Rock
- Hidden Power Ice
- Earthquake
- Gyro Ball

This change would open you up a lot to Choice Band Scizor's U-turn, as well as Breloom to an extent. A good remedy to this would be to give Tentacruel a physically defensive spread. With a spread of 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 Speed and a Bold nature, you'll have no problem coming in on repeated U-turns, as it will barely do any damage after Leftovers and Rain Dish. I would also give Tentacruel Ice Beam over Knock Off because this will help a lot against Breloom, who won't be able to 2HKO you with Seed Bomb.

Like all rain stall teams, you're incredibly weak to Thundurus, especially Nasty Plot variants. If you want a decent check without changing much of your team, I'd recommend giving Rotom-W a Choice Scarf. You can use a Modest spread of 44 HP / 252 SpA / 224 Spe, which will put you faster than Jolteon, which is just about the fastest thing you need to beat. This also allows you to run Trick, which can be quite useful if you find yourself in a stall vs. stall game. Although it's a shaky check at best, Thundurus literally 6-0es you after a Nasty Plot unless it misses a Focus Blast, so you need to have at least something to check it.

Thanks a lot for the help, Zapdos didn't really "fit" in with the team, wereas Bronzong seems like a good option providing the same ground immunity and SR support which I couldn't seem to find a place for. I think I might tweak the Ev spread though to make it a little bit more physically bulky because I've also got Sassy Ferrothorn.
Interesting Tentacruel spread, I'll definently use it because I dont think mine is benefiting that much. I'm not sure about Ice Beam so I'll be testing it.
Thundurus is a huge problem for me so I'll change Rotom to a Choice Scarf variant. Volt Switch could benefit aswell

I would personally recommend protect over gyro ball on ferrothorn. A lot of fire and hp fighting and fire moves will be aimed at him and having protect would give ferro more time to use leech seed, having protect will also make you feel easier about letting ferro hold his own and not worry about him so much.

I've tried Protect on Ferrothorn loads of times before but it just doesn't seem to work for me. Plus, I think providing the right team support would benefit better, thanks anyways.

Do the above options and I don't think X-scissor is the best option for Terakion; basically all you're doing is hitting Celebi a bit harder since everything else is hit harder by STAB CC. Sub/SD/EQ could be better, but w/e.

Wouldn't X-Scissor be more powerful on say a Reuniclus? Close Combat would be (120x1.5)/2=90 wereas X-Scissor 80x2=160 ?
Anyway, I think that Sub and Rock Polish would be harder than just Rock Polishing because I'd normally take a hit and Sub could just prolong the process as well as getting rid of a move which provides good coverage.

Do you realize your team is swept by other SD Teraks? You could run a Gliscor over your Zapdos or Tentacruel. It'd help you out a bit more defensive against exca/tar who can kinda hurt this team to an extent, as well as other Teraks. With Zapdos you lose a useful resist but you also lose the SR weakness too which can be useful. With Tenta you lose spikes, but to be honest most mons are steal or levitate nowadays anyways. I would just try messing around with it in both of the slots and see if either or works.


Also how do you deal with Thundurus/Tornadus?

I'm changing Zapdos for a Bronzong which would hopefully patch up some weaknesses. That's another problem that I found out whilst using Tentacruel, almost everything is immune to T-Spikes!! Like only 2 out of 6 pokemon on my foes team is actually affected so I might just do a bit more testing in Tentacruel's position.
I havent seen a Tornadus yet so I'm not sure how I'd react but with Thundurus it will sweep me late game so I have to be careful with my Rotom and Zapdos to try and knock it out. Thanks for the rate btw.

 

[monty1104]

I would personally recommend protect over gyro ball on ferrothorn. A lot of fire and hp fighting and fire moves will be aimed at him and having protect would give ferro more time to use leech seed, having protect will also make you feel easier about letting ferro hold his own and not worry about him so much.

I agree with this. IMO, you shouldnt use two attacking moves on Ferro. I always use Spikes and leech seed. On spDef Ferro (like yours) I go with the power whip and protect combo. But on Def Ferro, a combo I like is Curse and Gyroball. Raises attack and defense while lowering speed (which raises Gyro Balls BP). Running Gyroball, 0 speed IV's, relaxed nature is an insanely strong attack. Add in Curse and paralysis and you can get your speed as low as 10.

 

[-Tsunami-]

Your team seems to have a major problem with Thundurus. Once it gets up a nasty plot, which it can do on Tentacruel, Ferrothorn, or Politoed, your team is easily swept. Running Gastrodon over Tentacruel could help fix that weakness, as your team doesn't need rapid spin support that much, especially if you run Bronzong over Zapdos like Eternal suggested. It would also give you another solid counter to Rotom-W, and would stop your Ferrothorn from getting burned switching in to Rotom-W

Gastrodon (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Earth Power
- Surf / Scald
- Toxic
- Recover

 

[Porii Sames]

vs. Reuniclus, SEdge would only be 10 BP less than X-scissor, and having another boosting move in my opinion is much better than 10 BP against something (obviously unless it does something significant against it).

 

[Lucknade]

Why not Lightningrod on Zapdos? Just seems to be significantly better.

 

[dori]

Lightning Rod Zapdos isn't released yet.

Anyways you should go for a more stall-team build and then have Terrakion as a finisher.

Politoed, Tentacruel and Ferrothorn are all fine, as well as obviously Terrakion.

Although I would prefer Protect on Tentacruel for additional healing if you need it. What I think you should do is add in a Gliscor over that Zapdos for a start. It deals with Excadrill, Terrakion, and Conkeldurr, all threats that everyone else has mentioned.

Of course that doesn't cover the fact that Landorus is still annoying you, though you do have Rotom-W as a decent buffer. Of course you could always run that Bronzong here, but if you choose not to, then replace Spikes on Ferrothorn for Stealth Rock.

But if you don't choose either, I'd like to see something like Sharpedo or Azumarill here. The UU beasts can definitely take advantage of the Rain and abuse their high attacks. Both will also help you offensively against Reiunclus, which seems to be a little troublesome if things go weary.

 

[Evire]

As already mentioned, quite a big weakness to Excadrill, another thing I noticed that with
Zapdos gone, nothing is stopping CM Virizion setting up and sweeping you. Maybe try and fit SpDef Jirachi on your team? This will also stop Thundurus doing the same with Zapdos gone.