Okay, here goes :)
I've loved weather teams since day one, and after trying sandstorm for a while and achieving some mediocre results, I decided I'd try something new. I was also looking for a team to compliment the new Chesto Rest Kingdra set, which I was wanting to try out.
Lead:
Bold Jirachi @ Damp Rock
252HP/80Def/176SpD
Rain Dance
Thunder
Stealth Rock
Zen Headbutt
My lead had to do several things - reliably getting stealth rock and rain dance up being the two most important, and I was hovering between this and Azelf. While Azelf is the faster pokemon, it does not have as much bulk as Jirachi does, and therefore it is a bit harder to use Azelf as a mid game rain replenisher. Jirachi has decent speed which allows it to generally get in first, and even if it doesnt hit first, it can usually survive anything that gets thrown at it. Thunder is its main attacking ability. I chose it as it could take down Gyarados, who could cause huge problems to the team, and also with Jirachi's Serene Grace it has a pretty decent chance of paralyzing the enemy. Zen Headbutt is for those annoying Machamp and Roserade leads, and for flinchhax yay.
Adamant Technician Scizor @ Damp Rock
252 HP/44 Atk/216 SpD
Bullet Punch
Roost
U-Turn
Rain Dance
Meh, I'm not sure about him. While his only weakness is reduced by the rain, I still find myself being OHKOd by fire, even with this bulky EV spread. He's Okay at getting rain dance up and bullet punch is great, and U-Turn is useful for celebi, and roost gives him decent stalling ability, but overall I don't know if he's really pulling his weight. Immunity to toxic spikes is a BIG plus. Any Suggestions here would be welcome.
Bold Zapdos @ Damp Rock
252 HP/220 Def/36 Spe
Rain Dance
Thunder
Roost
U-Turn
Much the same job as Scizor, but does it better. This guy is very fast and also able to take hits relatively well. His weaknesses are actually not so bad, as I rarely get OHKOd on this poke. He works really well as a mid game rain replenisher but he can also hold his own as a sweeper, and can also take out Gyarados. U-Turn is for general scouting and roost is for healing up, and also removing the flying type for one turn, which can be really useful. I originally had Rotom-Washingmachine in this spot, but I didn't think that it was fast enough or able to take a beating.
Adamant Swift Swim Kingdra @ Chesto Berry
144 HP/ 160Atk /164Spe / 42 SpD
Dragon Dance
Rest
Outrage
Waterfall
OU raindance teams HAVE To have this guy haha. This set was what gave me the idea for the team in the first place. The idea is to dragon dance till near death, rest up then hit the opponent with anything you have. When allowed to set up, this thing can rip through teams like crazy. Double Speed in rain is also a plus. I have used to switch this guy in on roserade leads to absorb sleep, but it wasnt working too well. I think the EVs might still need a bit of work, so any tips there would be welcome. I'm also not sure if this set is actually the best for a rain dance team, and was wondering if there might be a better rain set. I have tried a few sets but this seems to have fared better, but I'm sure I'm missing something something glaringly obvious.
Adamant Swift Swim Kabutops @ Life Orb
72HP/252 Atk/ 184 Spe
Aqua Jet
Swords Dance
Waterfall
Stone Edge
This is my secondary physical sweeper. I'm not really sure that this guy is that great. He is rarely able to set up, is often OHKOd, has pretty terrible resistances, and since I have 2 pokes with strong lightning attacks, stone edge isn't so useful as I don't have a glaring Gyarados weakness any more. I have tried Qwilfish and Omastar in this spot, and to be fair none of them have fared much better. I'm seriously considering trying Qwilfish again, for Explode and toxic spikes immunity, if anyone could help me there i would be much appreciated. Life Orb was chosen over Choice Band, as I didn't appreciate being locked into one move, and I wanted a stats boosting move.
Swift Swim Modest Ludicolo @ Life Orb
60 HP/196Spe/252 SpA
Energy Ball
Ice Beam
Surf
Leech Seed
This guy is the COOLEST pokemon ever, and luckily, on a rain dance team he is CRAZY, even though he is UU. This guy has singlehandedly won games for me. Leech seed allows me to outstall blissey, Energy Ball is for OHKOs on Vappy, who usually walls me, and Surf is my main attack, Ice Beam is for annoying Celebis, and I've never failed to OHKO. Life orb was chosen over specs, so that I am not locked into a moveset. I did try the physical Ludicolo set with swords dance and seed bomb and all that jazz, but I honestly didn't think it worked that well - although there was a surprise factor, I didn't think it was game changing. If you could have two of one Poke then I'd have this guy with a physical set replacing Kabutops, as Ludi is actually deceptively bulky, with excellent typing IMO.
Thanks for reading, suggestions more than welcome :).
I've loved weather teams since day one, and after trying sandstorm for a while and achieving some mediocre results, I decided I'd try something new. I was also looking for a team to compliment the new Chesto Rest Kingdra set, which I was wanting to try out.
Lead:
Bold Jirachi @ Damp Rock
252HP/80Def/176SpD
Rain Dance
Thunder
Stealth Rock
Zen Headbutt
My lead had to do several things - reliably getting stealth rock and rain dance up being the two most important, and I was hovering between this and Azelf. While Azelf is the faster pokemon, it does not have as much bulk as Jirachi does, and therefore it is a bit harder to use Azelf as a mid game rain replenisher. Jirachi has decent speed which allows it to generally get in first, and even if it doesnt hit first, it can usually survive anything that gets thrown at it. Thunder is its main attacking ability. I chose it as it could take down Gyarados, who could cause huge problems to the team, and also with Jirachi's Serene Grace it has a pretty decent chance of paralyzing the enemy. Zen Headbutt is for those annoying Machamp and Roserade leads, and for flinchhax yay.
Adamant Technician Scizor @ Damp Rock
252 HP/44 Atk/216 SpD
Bullet Punch
Roost
U-Turn
Rain Dance
Meh, I'm not sure about him. While his only weakness is reduced by the rain, I still find myself being OHKOd by fire, even with this bulky EV spread. He's Okay at getting rain dance up and bullet punch is great, and U-Turn is useful for celebi, and roost gives him decent stalling ability, but overall I don't know if he's really pulling his weight. Immunity to toxic spikes is a BIG plus. Any Suggestions here would be welcome.
Bold Zapdos @ Damp Rock
252 HP/220 Def/36 Spe
Rain Dance
Thunder
Roost
U-Turn
Much the same job as Scizor, but does it better. This guy is very fast and also able to take hits relatively well. His weaknesses are actually not so bad, as I rarely get OHKOd on this poke. He works really well as a mid game rain replenisher but he can also hold his own as a sweeper, and can also take out Gyarados. U-Turn is for general scouting and roost is for healing up, and also removing the flying type for one turn, which can be really useful. I originally had Rotom-Washingmachine in this spot, but I didn't think that it was fast enough or able to take a beating.
Adamant Swift Swim Kingdra @ Chesto Berry
144 HP/ 160Atk /164Spe / 42 SpD
Dragon Dance
Rest
Outrage
Waterfall
OU raindance teams HAVE To have this guy haha. This set was what gave me the idea for the team in the first place. The idea is to dragon dance till near death, rest up then hit the opponent with anything you have. When allowed to set up, this thing can rip through teams like crazy. Double Speed in rain is also a plus. I have used to switch this guy in on roserade leads to absorb sleep, but it wasnt working too well. I think the EVs might still need a bit of work, so any tips there would be welcome. I'm also not sure if this set is actually the best for a rain dance team, and was wondering if there might be a better rain set. I have tried a few sets but this seems to have fared better, but I'm sure I'm missing something something glaringly obvious.
Adamant Swift Swim Kabutops @ Life Orb
72HP/252 Atk/ 184 Spe
Aqua Jet
Swords Dance
Waterfall
Stone Edge
This is my secondary physical sweeper. I'm not really sure that this guy is that great. He is rarely able to set up, is often OHKOd, has pretty terrible resistances, and since I have 2 pokes with strong lightning attacks, stone edge isn't so useful as I don't have a glaring Gyarados weakness any more. I have tried Qwilfish and Omastar in this spot, and to be fair none of them have fared much better. I'm seriously considering trying Qwilfish again, for Explode and toxic spikes immunity, if anyone could help me there i would be much appreciated. Life Orb was chosen over Choice Band, as I didn't appreciate being locked into one move, and I wanted a stats boosting move.
Swift Swim Modest Ludicolo @ Life Orb
60 HP/196Spe/252 SpA
Energy Ball
Ice Beam
Surf
Leech Seed
This guy is the COOLEST pokemon ever, and luckily, on a rain dance team he is CRAZY, even though he is UU. This guy has singlehandedly won games for me. Leech seed allows me to outstall blissey, Energy Ball is for OHKOs on Vappy, who usually walls me, and Surf is my main attack, Ice Beam is for annoying Celebis, and I've never failed to OHKO. Life orb was chosen over specs, so that I am not locked into a moveset. I did try the physical Ludicolo set with swords dance and seed bomb and all that jazz, but I honestly didn't think it worked that well - although there was a surprise factor, I didn't think it was game changing. If you could have two of one Poke then I'd have this guy with a physical set replacing Kabutops, as Ludi is actually deceptively bulky, with excellent typing IMO.
Thanks for reading, suggestions more than welcome :).
