So I was sitting in class the other day and decided to make a team based around a Rain-abusing Dragonite (this wasn’t my most exciting class). I tried it a little on PO and started fooling around with it, making little adjustments here and there. It’s done alright, nothing truly ladder-breaking.
Politoed@Choice Specs
Modest
Drizzle
EVs: 252 SpA, 4 SpD, 252 Spe
Moves:
-Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Focus Blast
-HP Grass
I needed Rain, I needed Politoed. Politoed isn’t really much on its own apart from setting up Rain, but the Specs set allows it to utilize its decent Base 90 SpA and dual STAB with Rain to punch holes in tons of stuff. I like this set because if the opponent isn’t careful enough, something is probably going to die to this thing. Hydro Pump is ridiculously powerful, OHKOing and 2HKOing pretty much everything that isn’t immune or resistant to it. Ice Beam and Focus Blast are just nice to have, hitting Pokemon like Dragons and Ferrothorn harder. HP Grass is pretty much just for Gastrodon, who otherwise has an easy time switching into Politoed.
Dragonite@Lum Berry
Adamant
Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk, 212 Spe, 44 HP
Moves:
-Dragon Dance
-Outrage
-Earthquake
-Thunder
I used to have a Rain abuser set here, but I missed the power of the Dragon Dance set. After fooling around a bit, I ended up with this. Pretty much LumDD with Rain support to keep Sandstorm at bay. This set is really fun to use. Outrage and Earthquake are standard, and Thunder gives me a method of removing Skarmory without having to use a weakened Fire attack. Adamant and 0 Atk EVs with Thunder may seem weird, but Thunder is literally just for Skarmory (Outrage/Earthquake hits pretty much everything else harder). I found that Skarm would not be OHKO’d by Thunder without serious SpA investment, so I had to settle for a 2HKO. The current spread/nature still gets that 2HKO, and it lets me preserve Dragonite’s bulk. The Spe EVs also allow me to outspeed max speed Dugtio and Alakazam after once Dragon Dance, and Scarf Landorus after two. Easily one of the most reliable and successful sweepers I’ve ever used, and he really appreciates the trapping utility of Magnezone and Dugtrio, as well as Memento support. (Seriously, what OHKO’s a Multiscale Dragonite after Memento?)
On a side note, Thunder also lets me have a method of getting past Balloon Tran and Skarmory while being able to safely run Outrage, something other DD variants cannot do. After all, if I run Fire Punch/Blast for Skarm, I have to run the weaker Dragon Claw to get past Tran, while if I run Extremespeed to get past Tran, I'm walled easily by Skarm.
Dugtrio@Life Orb
Jolly
Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spe, 4 Def
Moves:
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-Sucker Punch
-Memento
This thing is so much fun to use, and very valuable in weather wars. Earthquake destroys Ninetales and weakened Politoed/Tyranitar. Stone Edge lets me hit a few other things hard, even the occasional Abomasnow. Sucker Punch…I don’t use it much, but it’s nice for killing Alakazam or Scarf Latios when they switch in. Memento is the star of this set, letting me get a free set up for Dragonite, Draco Meteor for Latios, Rapid Spin for Starmie, or whatever else I need without risking the health of one of my Pokemon. I have tried a few other options here, namely a Sash set with Reversal. However, I definitely missed the power of the Life Orb. I also tried Stealth Rock over the rarely-used Sucker Punch, but setting up Stealth Rock with Dugtrio is usually a suicide mission. In that case, I’d rather throw off a Memento. Scizor usually kills sets like this when it switches in, threatening with Bullet Punch or Pursuit if I switch, but I can use this to my advantage. If it Pursuits, I get Memento off and Dragonite gets a free setup. If it Bullet Punches, Dugtrio dies, but Magnezone gets to waltz in and set up on it.
Magnezone@Leftovers
Timid
Magnet Pull
EVs: 236 HP, 20 SpA, 252 Spe
Moves:
-Substitute
-Charge Beam
-Thunder
-HP Ice
Magnezone may seem redundant with Dugtrio, but there are some things (Skarmory, Scizor, and Ferrothorn for starters) that I might want removed that Dugtrio can’t kill but that Magnezone can not only take out, but can use to set up with Charge Beam. If I can come in safely on a weak Steel type, my favorites being Ferrothorn and Choice-locked Scizor, I’m probably goint to kill at least two Pokemon, if not more. The set hardly need to be explained, but Thunder in the Rain is a nice little boost. Most sets tend to run fewer speed EVs, but max speed gives me a little insurance against neutral Politoed, Breloom, and Cloyster. The HP EVs give me enough bulk so that CB Scizor can only 3HKO my Subs with Bullet Punch, which isn’t too hard to lure out with Dugtrio. The effectiveness of this set is incredible, and it makes me wonder sometimes why people ever run Substitute Magnezone without Charge Beam.
Latios@Choice Specs
Timid
Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA, 252 Spe, 4 HP
Moves:
-Draco Meteor
-Surf
-Psyshock
-Trick
Latios is probably the most expendable member of my team, but it still does an excellent job of just destroying everything. Once Magnezone and/or Dugtrio remove all Steels, very little stands in the way of Latios’s Specs Draco Meteors. Psyshock give me a little something to use against Blissey. It’s not a guaranteed 2HKO, but it’s pretty reliable. Trick also gives me a little something to use against Blissey, as well as Evolite Chansey and Ferrothorn. I chose Surf over Thunder, both of which are pretty powerful and useful in the Rain, because I prefer to be walled by the rare Empoleon than Magnezone. Surf in the Rain is also very powerful against a number of opponents such as Jirachi and Skarmory who might otherwise tank Latios with ease.
Starmie@Life Orb
Timid
Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA, 252 Spe, 4 HP
Moves:
-Hydro Pump
-Thunder
-Rapid Spin
-Recover
Starmie may look like a casual offensive Rain spinner that I just threw on here, but…well, that’s actually about it. It really does have a very important job on this team: protecting Dragonite from Stealth Rock. With a Life Orb and the power of Hydro Pump and Thunder, Starmie pretty much doesn’t get spin blocked. Its good collection of resistances is also useful for gaining an opportunity for a quick Recover. I considered Tentacruel and Forretress for this part, but neither offer the same offensive pressure that Starmie does. It’s not uncommon for Starmie to knock out a couple of Pokemon outside of its spinning job with the fantastic Water/Electric coverage.
Well, that’s about it. This was really a just-for-fun team gone serious (sorta), so I know it’s weak to quite a few things. If Salamence or Dragonite set up, they have a shot at completely destroying me. I’d also have more trouble with Blissey if I didn’t have Latios. Heck, Blissey is the main reason that I’m not using LO Vaporeon over Latios. At any rate (see what I did there?), have at it!
Politoed@Choice Specs
Modest
Drizzle
EVs: 252 SpA, 4 SpD, 252 Spe
Moves:
-Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Focus Blast
-HP Grass
I needed Rain, I needed Politoed. Politoed isn’t really much on its own apart from setting up Rain, but the Specs set allows it to utilize its decent Base 90 SpA and dual STAB with Rain to punch holes in tons of stuff. I like this set because if the opponent isn’t careful enough, something is probably going to die to this thing. Hydro Pump is ridiculously powerful, OHKOing and 2HKOing pretty much everything that isn’t immune or resistant to it. Ice Beam and Focus Blast are just nice to have, hitting Pokemon like Dragons and Ferrothorn harder. HP Grass is pretty much just for Gastrodon, who otherwise has an easy time switching into Politoed.
Dragonite@Lum Berry
Adamant
Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk, 212 Spe, 44 HP
Moves:
-Dragon Dance
-Outrage
-Earthquake
-Thunder
I used to have a Rain abuser set here, but I missed the power of the Dragon Dance set. After fooling around a bit, I ended up with this. Pretty much LumDD with Rain support to keep Sandstorm at bay. This set is really fun to use. Outrage and Earthquake are standard, and Thunder gives me a method of removing Skarmory without having to use a weakened Fire attack. Adamant and 0 Atk EVs with Thunder may seem weird, but Thunder is literally just for Skarmory (Outrage/Earthquake hits pretty much everything else harder). I found that Skarm would not be OHKO’d by Thunder without serious SpA investment, so I had to settle for a 2HKO. The current spread/nature still gets that 2HKO, and it lets me preserve Dragonite’s bulk. The Spe EVs also allow me to outspeed max speed Dugtio and Alakazam after once Dragon Dance, and Scarf Landorus after two. Easily one of the most reliable and successful sweepers I’ve ever used, and he really appreciates the trapping utility of Magnezone and Dugtrio, as well as Memento support. (Seriously, what OHKO’s a Multiscale Dragonite after Memento?)
On a side note, Thunder also lets me have a method of getting past Balloon Tran and Skarmory while being able to safely run Outrage, something other DD variants cannot do. After all, if I run Fire Punch/Blast for Skarm, I have to run the weaker Dragon Claw to get past Tran, while if I run Extremespeed to get past Tran, I'm walled easily by Skarm.
Dugtrio@Life Orb
Jolly
Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spe, 4 Def
Moves:
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-Sucker Punch
-Memento
This thing is so much fun to use, and very valuable in weather wars. Earthquake destroys Ninetales and weakened Politoed/Tyranitar. Stone Edge lets me hit a few other things hard, even the occasional Abomasnow. Sucker Punch…I don’t use it much, but it’s nice for killing Alakazam or Scarf Latios when they switch in. Memento is the star of this set, letting me get a free set up for Dragonite, Draco Meteor for Latios, Rapid Spin for Starmie, or whatever else I need without risking the health of one of my Pokemon. I have tried a few other options here, namely a Sash set with Reversal. However, I definitely missed the power of the Life Orb. I also tried Stealth Rock over the rarely-used Sucker Punch, but setting up Stealth Rock with Dugtrio is usually a suicide mission. In that case, I’d rather throw off a Memento. Scizor usually kills sets like this when it switches in, threatening with Bullet Punch or Pursuit if I switch, but I can use this to my advantage. If it Pursuits, I get Memento off and Dragonite gets a free setup. If it Bullet Punches, Dugtrio dies, but Magnezone gets to waltz in and set up on it.
Magnezone@Leftovers
Timid
Magnet Pull
EVs: 236 HP, 20 SpA, 252 Spe
Moves:
-Substitute
-Charge Beam
-Thunder
-HP Ice
Magnezone may seem redundant with Dugtrio, but there are some things (Skarmory, Scizor, and Ferrothorn for starters) that I might want removed that Dugtrio can’t kill but that Magnezone can not only take out, but can use to set up with Charge Beam. If I can come in safely on a weak Steel type, my favorites being Ferrothorn and Choice-locked Scizor, I’m probably goint to kill at least two Pokemon, if not more. The set hardly need to be explained, but Thunder in the Rain is a nice little boost. Most sets tend to run fewer speed EVs, but max speed gives me a little insurance against neutral Politoed, Breloom, and Cloyster. The HP EVs give me enough bulk so that CB Scizor can only 3HKO my Subs with Bullet Punch, which isn’t too hard to lure out with Dugtrio. The effectiveness of this set is incredible, and it makes me wonder sometimes why people ever run Substitute Magnezone without Charge Beam.
Latios@Choice Specs
Timid
Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA, 252 Spe, 4 HP
Moves:
-Draco Meteor
-Surf
-Psyshock
-Trick
Latios is probably the most expendable member of my team, but it still does an excellent job of just destroying everything. Once Magnezone and/or Dugtrio remove all Steels, very little stands in the way of Latios’s Specs Draco Meteors. Psyshock give me a little something to use against Blissey. It’s not a guaranteed 2HKO, but it’s pretty reliable. Trick also gives me a little something to use against Blissey, as well as Evolite Chansey and Ferrothorn. I chose Surf over Thunder, both of which are pretty powerful and useful in the Rain, because I prefer to be walled by the rare Empoleon than Magnezone. Surf in the Rain is also very powerful against a number of opponents such as Jirachi and Skarmory who might otherwise tank Latios with ease.
Starmie@Life Orb
Timid
Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA, 252 Spe, 4 HP
Moves:
-Hydro Pump
-Thunder
-Rapid Spin
-Recover
Starmie may look like a casual offensive Rain spinner that I just threw on here, but…well, that’s actually about it. It really does have a very important job on this team: protecting Dragonite from Stealth Rock. With a Life Orb and the power of Hydro Pump and Thunder, Starmie pretty much doesn’t get spin blocked. Its good collection of resistances is also useful for gaining an opportunity for a quick Recover. I considered Tentacruel and Forretress for this part, but neither offer the same offensive pressure that Starmie does. It’s not uncommon for Starmie to knock out a couple of Pokemon outside of its spinning job with the fantastic Water/Electric coverage.
Well, that’s about it. This was really a just-for-fun team gone serious (sorta), so I know it’s weak to quite a few things. If Salamence or Dragonite set up, they have a shot at completely destroying me. I’d also have more trouble with Blissey if I didn’t have Latios. Heck, Blissey is the main reason that I’m not using LO Vaporeon over Latios. At any rate (see what I did there?), have at it!
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