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Tier Shift Rain!

PeterTheHegemon

Exciting title right?

Anyway, I'm not very good at competitive battling, but the Tier Shift format intrigues me, so I've been fiddling around with it. I pretty much decided on rain randomly.. haha.

I've been having mixed success with this team, but I'll talk about that more at the end. I'll try to explain what I'm trying to accomplish with each Pokemon I guess. Again, not very good at this.


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The Drizzle! (Politoed) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Focus Blast
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]

So obviously this is the standard for bringing rain onto the field.

I chose bulkyspecs because with the power it provides, if your opponent leaves their weather lead in, Politoed will most likely OHKO it.

HP Grass rips Whiscash a new butthole, among other water/ground types

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So High Right Now (Parasect) @ Leftovers
Trait: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Careful Nature
- Aromatherapy
- Leech Seed
- Spore
- X-Scissor


I really like Parasect! In the rain with leftovers it heals so much already, and with leech seed it just gets insane. This combined with the incredibly accurate spore, he's just so super annoying.

I have him functioning as support with Aromatherapy.

Uncertain about the EVs, I just went with the suggestions on Showdown.

Cons with him is that he's so incredibly slow and even with maxed out special defense EVs he dies so easily to Fire/Flying attacks. That and a weakness to SR.

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Colonic (Blastoise) @ Leftovers
Trait: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 Atk
- Roar
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Toxic

With 2 pokemon weak to SR, a spinner is absolutely necessary. Blastoise is a champ at taking hits and with Rain dish he can heal back damage rather quickly.

I chose this set to deal with people trying to set up boosts. Blastoise can usually take neutral hits from a once or twice boosted pokemon then phase them out with Roar.


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Azelf @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Thunder
- Psyshock

Azelf was suggested below and I'm currently testing it out. It sets up hazards, is pretty fast and has awesome offenses.

It can't really take a hit though.

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Thunderbolt Me (Swanna) @ Life Orb
Trait: Hydration
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Roost
- Surf
- Ice Beam

My special attacker. Hurricane is just so fantastic and Swanna tears holes in so many things.




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Starbucks (Cinccino) @ Choice Band
Trait: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Seed
- Rock Blast
- Tail Slap
- U-turn

The heavy hitter. Fast and deadly, this thing is fun to use.

It has trouble when people switch into ferrothorn or Rough skin pokemon (Or rough skin pokemon WITH rocky helmet. Yep that happened to me.)

It also can't take a hit at all.


Conclusion:

Mostly what I've been having trouble with is fast, hard hitting pokemon. Scarfed Sawk and Stoutland in sand in particular.

Ferrothorn is also a bit of an annoyance considering the reduced effectiveness of fire.

There is also a distinct lack of entry hazards that I would like to fix. Something with rocks or spikes to replace Rotom maybe?

Any advice you guys could give would be great.
 
You're going to want to replace Rotom-Mow with something that hits harder and faster with better neutral coverage.
I'm not sure if it can outspeed Stoutland... But Scarf Latios should be able to handle every fast threat that worries you. It also resists Sawk's STAB.

You're team also screams a need for hazard support. Parasect and Swanna will force a lot of switches and Blastoise is phazing/rapid spinning.

Another suggestion instead of Latios is finding room for Lando-T. It shrugs off physical attacks, sets up SR, has a baller attack stat, and good typing to synergize with rain.
 
As far as your choices on hidden powers I think hp grass would be better over hp electric because of Gastrodon/Quagsire switch ins. I personally use the exact same sets with hp grass and no one expects it when he 2HKOs Gastrodon and specially defensive Quagsire. Also, you mentioned that Ferrothorn is a problem. However, I ran the calcs and he is 2HKO'd by hurricane, in fact most walls that are not pink blobs are 2HKO'd by hurricane so I think a better option over hidden power is Ice beam for the super effective damage on pokes like Latias or Xatu, and nabbing a kill on Dragonite after he switches in on stealth rocks.
Politoed:

252+ SpA Choice Specs Politoed Hidden Power Grass vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Gastrodon: 320-380 (75.11 - 89.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Choice Specs Politoed Hidden Power Grass vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Quagsire: 368-436 (93.4 - 110.65%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO

Swanna:

252 SpA Life Orb Swanna Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Ferrothorn: 305-360 (86.64 - 102.27%) -- 18.75% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Swanna Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Latias: 361-426 (99.17 - 117.03%) -- 93.75% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Swanna Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 240+ SpD Xatu: 411-486 (123.05 - 145.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Swanna Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Dragonite: 296-354 (76.68 - 91.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
Speaking of which, SR support is something your team needs a little bit of. Looking for a pokemon to replace rotom-mow that could still take advantage of thunder and set up stealth rocks at the same time I crossed paths with Azelf. Azelf has a blistering 115 speed stat coupled with a 125 special attack/attack stat, plus with once hazards are set up she can start whittling down opposing pokes with the combination of a STAB Psychic/Psyshock or a perfect accuracy Thunder.
Azelf_BW.gif

Azelf @ Life Orb/Leftovers/Focus Sash
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Thunder
- Psychic/Psyshock

The choice between Psychic or Psyshock is up to you, but I suggest Psyshock just because it would be attacking on the physical spectrum and giving you another option to hit hard there (You have four special attackers and two physical). As far as the item it all depends on how you want to use her. Life orb for power, leftovers for survivability, and focus sash to lead with and guarantee you get your hazards up
Other then the basic suggestions I like the look of your team and hope you do well.
Suggestion Summary:
HP Electric--> HP Grass

HP Ground--> Ice Beam

Rotom-Mow--> Azelf


Good Luck! :)
 
spikea said:
As far as your choices on hidden powers I think hp grass would be better over hp electric because of Gastrodon/Quagsire switch ins. I personally use the exact same sets with hp grass and no one expects it when he 2HKOs Gastrodon and specially defensive Quagsire. Also, you mentioned that Ferrothorn is a problem. However, I ran the calcs and he is 2HKO'd by hurricane, in fact most walls that are not pink blobs are 2HKO'd by hurricane so I think a better option over hidden power is Ice beam for the super effective damage on pokes like Latias or Xatu, and nabbing a kill on Dragonite after he switches in on stealth rocks.
Politoed:

252+ SpA Choice Specs Politoed Hidden Power Grass vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Gastrodon: 320-380 (75.11 - 89.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Choice Specs Politoed Hidden Power Grass vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Quagsire: 368-436 (93.4 - 110.65%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO

Swanna:

252 SpA Life Orb Swanna Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Ferrothorn: 305-360 (86.64 - 102.27%) -- 18.75% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Swanna Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Latias: 361-426 (99.17 - 117.03%) -- 93.75% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Swanna Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 240+ SpD Xatu: 411-486 (123.05 - 145.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Swanna Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Dragonite: 296-354 (76.68 - 91.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
Speaking of which, SR support is something your team needs a little bit of. Looking for a pokemon to replace rotom-mow that could still take advantage of thunder and set up stealth rocks at the same time I crossed paths with Azelf. Azelf has a blistering 115 speed stat coupled with a 125 special attack/attack stat, plus with once hazards are set up she can start whittling down opposing pokes with the combination of a STAB Psychic/Psyshock or a perfect accuracy Thunder.
Azelf_BW.gif

Azelf @ Life Orb/Leftovers/Focus Sash
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Thunder
- Psychic/Psyshock

The choice between Psychic or Psyshock is up to you, but I suggest Psyshock just because it would be attacking on the physical spectrum and giving you another option to hit hard there (You have four special attackers and two physical). As far as the item it all depends on how you want to use her. Life orb for power, leftovers for survivability, and focus sash to lead with and guarantee you get your hazards up
Other then the basic suggestions I like the look of your team and hope you do well.
Suggestion Summary:
HP Electric--> HP Grass

HP Ground--> Ice Beam

Rotom-Mow--> Azelf


Good Luck! :)
Click to expand...

Thank you for your thoughts! I'm trying out everything to see what works for me.
 
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