My interest in competitive battling has been rekindled and I have decided to work on a weather team. I picked rain, but all weather teams are interesting to me at the moment. I have been tweaking and adjusting my rain team over the past few weeks on Pokemon Online, and am quite happy with the results I've been achieving. With that said there's of course holes in the team, since I still consider myself inexperienced in comparison with many. Here is the team:
Politoed @ Leftovers
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Protect
- Toxic
- Perish Song
I make a bulky Politoed my standard lead to set up rain unless I'm against another weather team. In such a case I will sometimes use a different lead based on my deduction of who my opponent will lead with (Ferrothorn or Volcarona see the lead the most when Politoed doesn't). I chose a bulky Politoed because I felt I didn't need another special attacker. Toxic cripples opponents that Politoed otherwise wouldn't be able to dent, Scald is a good STAB that can burn, perish song stops Pokemon from setting up, and rest gives him a "2nd life" and frees up leftovers to go to Ferrothorn (if using 1 item clause).
Toxicroak @ Black Sludge
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Atk / 112 SpD / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
-Drain Punch
-Sucker Punch
-Bulk Up
-Substitute
I have been having loads of fun with Toxicroak in the rain. This bulky style is quite hard to kill if allowed any bulk ups with drain punch, sludge, and dry skin. Ice punch gives awesome coverage against several switch ins (such as gliscor and dragonite). Toxicroak is my main wall breaker, and he does it well in the rain. The 12 speed EVs are to outspeed Rotom-W.
Volcarona @ Life Orb
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 Spe / 252 SpA / 4 spD
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Bug Buzz/Fiery Dance
- Quiver Dance
- Hurricane
Having a volcarona seems to raise an eyebrow every now and then, but I am very much enjoying him on my team. If timed properly I can utilize Volcarona against sun teams (especially against guys like Venusaur) before I even bother setting up rain. Volcarona is still dangerous to steel types such as opposing Ferrothorn in the rain with quiver dance, and hurricane is excellent in the rain against switch ins expecting a fire move, or against opposing sun team volcaronas. The addition of Giga drain has also been enjoyed, as it gives my Volcarona a useful attack against waters, grounds, and rock.
Starmie @ Expert Belt (or Life Orb if allowed 2)
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 SpD
Timid Nature
-Thunder
-Ice Beam
-Hydro Pump
-Rapid Spin
This is a very standard Starmie to my understanding. I was very excited to be able to utilize Starmie properly, as he was a major part of my RBY and GSC teams. Hydro pump hits like a truck in rain, and who wouldn't love 100% thunder in the rain? I have played with using recover instead of spin and using another spinner on the team (such as Tentacruel), but this is where I'm at right now. Natural cure helps with spinning quite a bit, but would also help with recover.
Metagross @ Life Orb
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 hp
Jolly Nature
-Agility
-Zen Headbutt
-Earthquake
-Ice Punch/Hammer Arm
My latest change to the team was to replace Scizor with Metagross, so I'm still testing the waters with this one. At first I thought Scizor to be superior on the team but to my surprise Metagross has been working well. CB metagross hits very hard and, although I already have a steel and a psychic, he offers good coverage with this set. Bullet punch, while weaker than Scizor's Technician'ed punch,allows him to act as a damage dealer and a quasi revenge killer when added to pursuit. Bullet punch also takes advantage of his poor speed (although going back to meteor mash is something I've considered for the brute power). A benefit I see to using Metagross over Scizor is that Torandus doesn't pose as much of a threat in the rain.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 52 Def / 204 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Leech Seed
-Stealth Rock
-Power Whip
-Thunder Wave
I've liked this guy since I first met him. He seems to fit very well on a rain team as a supporter. For a long time I had gyro ball instead of Thunder Wave, but now that Scizor/Metagross will be on my team I prefer to give him the extra crippling ability. I have also tried spikes AND stealth rock, but entry hazards aren't really my thing I suppose (although I still love having atleast SR). Having a grass is very beneficial (especially against Gastrodon!), and Ferrothorn is an excellent choice on a rain team. Leech seed paired with leftovers can make him very difficult to get rid of, especially if I deal with his usual counters beforehand. Seeding or paralyzing an expected switch in is lots of fun as well.
I am still toying with changes on PO, but somewhat feel I have hit a plateau and am going around in circles and would benefit from the advice of experienced competitive battlers. There are a few holes or possible things I would like to change on my team, but am unsure how to fix/change them without being too detrimental to my current setup. They include:
-I feel I may not be utilizing my rain as much as possible, and have considered trying to fit a Tentacruel (can spin so my Starmie can recover, can add extra entry hazards) or Vaporeon (wish would be nice, baton pass acid armor sounds nice, and hydration with rest just sounds excellent) on the team. However, I do feel that each of the members on my team has a good niche and am hesitant to remove anyone.
-I seem to have problems with a few moves/Pokemon, such as Earthquake (it doesn't wreck my team but I don't have immunities or resistances to it). Tornadus can also give me problems in the rain, but replacing Scizor with Metagross has helped out with that. I also have minor problems with Rotom-W, Eelektross, Latios, and Jirachi but overall I believe I'm doing quite well.
-I'm trying to think of a way to jam a few guys on my team but as I mentioned and we all know, it's impossible to have everything we want on a 6 Pokemon team. As I mentioned Tentacruel and Vaporeon look enticing, and I've even considered a Cloyster to take out Dragonites with multiscale, spin, and lay spikes. I've also considered Lapras, Gyarados, a dragon (Latios most likely, but Hydreigon with surf may work) and Jolteon. I also love magic bounce espeon; it takes more prediction to use properly but magic bounce can really screw up status/entry hazard attempts. I used to run a team without a spinner at all and just used espeon as a switch in but SR is so detrimental to Volcarona I feel safer with a spinner.
Thanks for reading my first RMT post here at Serebii! I'll continue to edit the post with any suggested changes I like or things I forgot to mention in the descriptions
Politoed @ Leftovers
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Protect
- Toxic
- Perish Song
I make a bulky Politoed my standard lead to set up rain unless I'm against another weather team. In such a case I will sometimes use a different lead based on my deduction of who my opponent will lead with (Ferrothorn or Volcarona see the lead the most when Politoed doesn't). I chose a bulky Politoed because I felt I didn't need another special attacker. Toxic cripples opponents that Politoed otherwise wouldn't be able to dent, Scald is a good STAB that can burn, perish song stops Pokemon from setting up, and rest gives him a "2nd life" and frees up leftovers to go to Ferrothorn (if using 1 item clause).
Toxicroak @ Black Sludge
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Atk / 112 SpD / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
-Drain Punch
-Sucker Punch
-Bulk Up
-Substitute
I have been having loads of fun with Toxicroak in the rain. This bulky style is quite hard to kill if allowed any bulk ups with drain punch, sludge, and dry skin. Ice punch gives awesome coverage against several switch ins (such as gliscor and dragonite). Toxicroak is my main wall breaker, and he does it well in the rain. The 12 speed EVs are to outspeed Rotom-W.
Volcarona @ Life Orb
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 Spe / 252 SpA / 4 spD
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Bug Buzz/Fiery Dance
- Quiver Dance
- Hurricane
Having a volcarona seems to raise an eyebrow every now and then, but I am very much enjoying him on my team. If timed properly I can utilize Volcarona against sun teams (especially against guys like Venusaur) before I even bother setting up rain. Volcarona is still dangerous to steel types such as opposing Ferrothorn in the rain with quiver dance, and hurricane is excellent in the rain against switch ins expecting a fire move, or against opposing sun team volcaronas. The addition of Giga drain has also been enjoyed, as it gives my Volcarona a useful attack against waters, grounds, and rock.
Starmie @ Expert Belt (or Life Orb if allowed 2)
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 SpD
Timid Nature
-Thunder
-Ice Beam
-Hydro Pump
-Rapid Spin
This is a very standard Starmie to my understanding. I was very excited to be able to utilize Starmie properly, as he was a major part of my RBY and GSC teams. Hydro pump hits like a truck in rain, and who wouldn't love 100% thunder in the rain? I have played with using recover instead of spin and using another spinner on the team (such as Tentacruel), but this is where I'm at right now. Natural cure helps with spinning quite a bit, but would also help with recover.
Metagross @ Life Orb
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 hp
Jolly Nature
-Agility
-Zen Headbutt
-Earthquake
-Ice Punch/Hammer Arm
My latest change to the team was to replace Scizor with Metagross, so I'm still testing the waters with this one. At first I thought Scizor to be superior on the team but to my surprise Metagross has been working well. CB metagross hits very hard and, although I already have a steel and a psychic, he offers good coverage with this set. Bullet punch, while weaker than Scizor's Technician'ed punch,allows him to act as a damage dealer and a quasi revenge killer when added to pursuit. Bullet punch also takes advantage of his poor speed (although going back to meteor mash is something I've considered for the brute power). A benefit I see to using Metagross over Scizor is that Torandus doesn't pose as much of a threat in the rain.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 52 Def / 204 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Leech Seed
-Stealth Rock
-Power Whip
-Thunder Wave
I've liked this guy since I first met him. He seems to fit very well on a rain team as a supporter. For a long time I had gyro ball instead of Thunder Wave, but now that Scizor/Metagross will be on my team I prefer to give him the extra crippling ability. I have also tried spikes AND stealth rock, but entry hazards aren't really my thing I suppose (although I still love having atleast SR). Having a grass is very beneficial (especially against Gastrodon!), and Ferrothorn is an excellent choice on a rain team. Leech seed paired with leftovers can make him very difficult to get rid of, especially if I deal with his usual counters beforehand. Seeding or paralyzing an expected switch in is lots of fun as well.
I am still toying with changes on PO, but somewhat feel I have hit a plateau and am going around in circles and would benefit from the advice of experienced competitive battlers. There are a few holes or possible things I would like to change on my team, but am unsure how to fix/change them without being too detrimental to my current setup. They include:
-I feel I may not be utilizing my rain as much as possible, and have considered trying to fit a Tentacruel (can spin so my Starmie can recover, can add extra entry hazards) or Vaporeon (wish would be nice, baton pass acid armor sounds nice, and hydration with rest just sounds excellent) on the team. However, I do feel that each of the members on my team has a good niche and am hesitant to remove anyone.
-I seem to have problems with a few moves/Pokemon, such as Earthquake (it doesn't wreck my team but I don't have immunities or resistances to it). Tornadus can also give me problems in the rain, but replacing Scizor with Metagross has helped out with that. I also have minor problems with Rotom-W, Eelektross, Latios, and Jirachi but overall I believe I'm doing quite well.
-I'm trying to think of a way to jam a few guys on my team but as I mentioned and we all know, it's impossible to have everything we want on a 6 Pokemon team. As I mentioned Tentacruel and Vaporeon look enticing, and I've even considered a Cloyster to take out Dragonites with multiscale, spin, and lay spikes. I've also considered Lapras, Gyarados, a dragon (Latios most likely, but Hydreigon with surf may work) and Jolteon. I also love magic bounce espeon; it takes more prediction to use properly but magic bounce can really screw up status/entry hazard attempts. I used to run a team without a spinner at all and just used espeon as a switch in but SR is so detrimental to Volcarona I feel safer with a spinner.
Thanks for reading my first RMT post here at Serebii! I'll continue to edit the post with any suggested changes I like or things I forgot to mention in the descriptions
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