November Rain [Gen 8 Rain Balance]

Hello, and welcome to my first RMT for Gen 8! It's still very early in the life of the metagame, but even now some trends are becoming apparent, and I think I've done enough messing around to be able to slap together a reasonably competent team. This team is inspired by and based on a Gen 7 Rain team built by an acquaintance of mine from another website, modified to be legal with and better suit the SwSh metagame, as well as deal with common threats such as Hawlucha and Gyarados.


Anyways, let's waste no time getting into it!

Let The Storm Descend Upon You
Pelipper @ Damp Rock
Bold - Drizzle
248 HP, 252 Def, 8 Sp. Def
-Scald
-Defog
-U-Turn
-Roost

"I'm smothered by a lucid nothing
I can't hear or touch or see
But I feel it
Though I can't believe it"

Physically defensive Pelipper is chosen as my mandatory Rain setter, as well as being a solid pivot and support Pokemon. I went with a simple max Defense max HP spread as I feel that's probably going to be the most effective in the current metagame, as it helps him check rampant physical attackers like Gyarados, Bisharp, and Excadrill, spreading Burns amongst them. I may optimize the spread a little in the future. Scald is chosen as our STAB move for its chance to Burn the aforementioned dangerous threats. Defog is our only means of hazard control. U-Turn allows us to pivot into a more dangerous attacker, while Roost keeps him healthy throughout the match.

Pelipper is very unlikely to Dynamax, as there's very little he checks in Dynamax form that isn't even more fearful of one of my other Pokemon.



Amaranth
Barraskewda @ Life Orb
Adamant - Swift Swim
252 Attack, 4 Defence, 252 Speed
-Liquidation
-Close Combat
-Psychic Fangs
-Bounce

"Caress the one - That never fading rain in
Your heart - To tears of snow-white sorrow
Caress the one - That's hiding amaranth
In a land - Of the daybreak"

Barraskewda is one of my favorite Pokemon from the new generation, and he's an absolute monster in the Rain. A blazing base 136 Speed means he can afford to run an Adamant nature to further augment his respectable base 123 Attack, and still outpace every single threat in the metagame while the Rain is up, and everything up to base 119s when it isn't. Liquidation is chosen as our primary Water STAB as its Defense drops can prove invaluable in messing with defensive answers such as Toxapex. Close Combat provides coverage against some bulkier Steel types, such as Ferrothorn, and additionally provides him with valuable Attack boosts if Dynamaxed. Psychic Fangs is used as coverage for Pokemon such as Toxapex, Venusaur, and Galarian Weezing. If Dynamaxed, it also sets up Psychic Terrain, which prevents opponents from bypassing his ridiculous Speed with priority moves. Finally, Bounce is mainly filler as he sadly doesn't get Ice Fang, but it does hit many Grass-types quite hard, and allows him to boost his Speed while Dynamaxed.

Barraskewda is a prime candidate for Dynamaxing. He makes great use of the doubled HP, boosting his otherwise frail bulk to a more respectable level. In addition, being able to set up his own Rain, boost his Attack and Speed, and set up Psychic Terrain are all valuable side effects of his Max Moves.



Unbreakable
Ferrothorn @ Chople Berry
Relaxed - Iron Barbs
252 HP, 208 Def, 56 Sp. Def
-Power Whip
-Leech Seed
-Thunder Wave
-Stealth Rock

"Worthless without time - We follow how it flies by
But we still keep believing in wide and comforting lies
When it's our turn - Together we stay stronger
We lay still and silent and watch how our world burns
For Eternity"

Ferrothorn is the glue that holds my team together. He checks several dangerous threats in a pinch, such as Gyarados and opposing Barraskewda. Power Whip decimates Barraskewda and allows him to chip down Gyarados, as well as being a generally powerful STAB to use on other opponents as well. Leech Seed and Thunder Wave are further options to whittle down and cripple dangerous opponents. Stealth Rock is an invaluable support move, and he is my only Pokemon capable of carrying it. I choose to run Chople Berry as it makes him a better check to Barraskewda, and allows him to paralyze or Leech Seed opposing Hawlucha in a pinch, if they don't already have too many boosts.

Ferrothorn isn't usually my Dynamax candidate, but I will Dynamax him defensively against certain opponents, such as Gyarados if it has too many Dragon Dances, or a dynamaxed Hawlucha if he is my answer to it.


No Rain
Gastrodon @ Leftovers
Bold - Storm Drain
252 HP, 252 Def, 8 Sp. Def
-Scald
-Earth Power
-Recover
-Toxic

"All I can say
Is that my life is pretty plain
I like watching the puddles gather rain"

Gastrodon forms a solid defensive core with Ferrothorn, and offers an Electric immunity that is crucial to my team, checking dangerous Electric-types like Toxtricity and Manectric. He also annoys opposing Rain teams, thanks to Storm Drain and his immunity to Thunder. This is a pretty simple set. Scald and Earth Power are my mandatory STAB moves. Recover keeps him healthy in order to check opponents throughout the match. I use Toxic on simulators as it lets him wear down bulkier threats, but obtaining a Gastrodon with Toxic proves difficult on my cart, so I use Ice Beam instead as coverage against Grass-type switchins.

Gastrodon is very rarely Dynamaxed, as he's primarily a defensive answer to many threats to Rain, as well as opposing Rain teams. He doesn't need his Dynamax form to accomplish this, and benefits very little from it.


The Book Of Shallows
Hawlucha @ Psychic Seed
Adamant - Unburden
96 HP, 252 Attack, 36 Sp. Def, 124 Speed
-Acrobatics
-High Jump Kick
-Swords Dance
-Roost

"Going with the pain - Numb the pain
We are common sense
Knock 'em down a peg - Make 'em beg
For deliverance"

Hawlucha was already a very dangerous threat in USUM, and Sword/Shield was very kind to him. Flying/Fighting is one of the best typings an offensive Dynamax Pokemon could possibly have, and Hawlucha makes perfect use of it, being able to boost his Attack and Speed while attacking at the same time, and appreciates the HP boost as well. Other than that, this is the flagship USUM set. The EV spread survives a Moonblast from Clefable and 2HKOs with Acrobatics.

Hawlucha is my second primary Dynamax candidate if I decide Barraskewda is unlikely to push through. Flying/Fighting STABs are insane for a Dynamax Pokemon, especially one as offensively oriented as Hawlucha.


Sacred Worlds
Indeedee-M @ Choice Scarf
Timid - Psychic Terrain
252 Sp. Atk, 4 Sp. Def, 252 Speed
-Psychic
-Dazzling Gleam
-Shadow Ball
-Healing Wish

"I'm bleeding - I'm fading - Here in my final hour
When long lost memories return
And a voice keeps calling
'All dead and gone'
It's out of hand - Life is in motion"

Indeedee-M fulfills Tapu Koko's old role of providing Terrain support to Hawlucha. Originally, I was trying to figure out a way to make this team work with Pincurchin, but after testing a few different builds I concluded that Pincurchin just sadly isn't viable in the current metagame and its only purpose on the team was to support Hawlucha. Indeedee-M isn't the most threatening Pokemon either, but it hits harder and faster than Pincurchin, and provides Healing Wish support. It also has a tendency to attract Steel-types that Hawlucha can usually set up on. Psychic is the main STAB attack. Dazzling Gleam hits opposing Dark types for some decent chip damage, and Indeedee-M is fortunate enough to have been introduced into a metagame where it doesn't need to fear Pursuit. Shadow Ball covers opposing Psychic types who might try to take advantage of his Psychic Terrain. Finally, Healing Wish can revitalize a teammate once Indeedee's usefulness has expired. The most valuable thing he offers to my team is Psychic Terrain, which activates Hawlucha's Psychic Seed, boosts Barraskewda's Psychic Fangs (letting him break Toxapex even without Dynamaxing), and protecting Hawlucha and Barraskewda from priority moves.

Indeedee will almost never be Dynamaxed, unless the opposing team happens to be extremely weak to Psychic, and their switch-ins have already been removed.


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Anyways, that's the team! It's still pretty early in the metagame, but some threats to watch out for include Weavile, who is quite a pain to switch into and can dispel the Rain by using Max Hailstorm, Gyarados, who is a threat to nearly any team (but whom this team can usually handle quite well, as long as it isn't allowed to grab too many Dragon Dance boosts), and opposing Grass-types such as Ferrothorn and Appletun, who are set-up bait for Hawlucha but can be a problem if Hawlucha isn't played sparingly. In addition, powerful Psychic-types must be respected but Ferrothorn can usually handle them.