I Make it Rain on Them....

[Conan Edogawa415]

Hey, here is a Rain Dance team I have ben working on. I haven't tested it yet but I want to make sure it is worth putting together by getting some Smogon opinions. I had a weakness/resistance table off marriland but i couldnt get it to stay on this team page.

Quick View of the Team

The Team

Crobat @ Leftovers
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 HP/4 Atk/252 Speed
Jolly nature (+Spd, -Sp.Atk)
- Rain Dance
- Roost
- U-Turn/Taunt
- Hypnosis

I like lead Crobat on the other Rain Dance teams I have made as it gives you a nice quick lead pokemon with options to put the opponent to sleep, set up a much needed rain dance, option to also taunt other pokemon that like to set up a stealth rock on you, or just U-Turn out to scout and see what they had up front. I also like roost on my Crobat as I like to make my Crobat leads bulky to take a hit and have a put a better use to Roost.

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP/80 SpA/176 Spe
Timid nature (+Speed, -Atk)
- Rain Dance
- U-Turn
- Wish
- Thunder

Jirachi gives Rain Dance teams great support by setting up a Rain Dance, an amazing wish passer, has thunder which wont miss, and can scout. Is there a better fit on a Rain Dance team than Jirachi?

Kabutops @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 24 HP/252 Attack/236 Speed
Adamant nature (+Atk, -Sp.Atk)
- Swords Dance
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor

Kabutops, where shall I start here. Swift Swim on a Pokemon with this good of an attack with the ability to carry Swords Dance is just so good it has to be fatning ^^

Kingdra @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk/240 Sp.Atk/16 Speed
Lonely nature (+Atk, -Def)
- Rain Dance
- Waterfall
- Draco Meteor
- Hydro Pump

The most dangerous pokemon on this team. Mix Kingdra is a real force to reckon with, as I have put him on my regular teams and hes really put a hurting on my opponent. Out of all Kingdra's sets this has to be my favorite.

Ludicolo @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 40 HP/10 Def/252 Sp.Atk/208 Speed
Modest nature (+Sp.Atk, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power Electric 69
- Grass Knot
- Ice Beam

Ludicolo serves as my special attacker and he has a nice special defense as well. He tends to be really helpful on rain dance teams as he can also switch in on electric attacks and after the rain gets set up hes set to sweep. With HP Electric it really helps with a Gyarados problem I may have.

Dugtrio @ Choice Band
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 40 HP/252 Atk/216 Speed
Jolly nature (+Speed, Sp.Atk)
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Sucker Punch
- Aerial Ace

Banded Dugtrio is a great out to many pokemon who think they are gonna just switch out at ease. He makes them stay in, and then just destroys them. Is a scarf better to kill scarf-tran?

 

[EspyJoel]

Hi, alright firstly I feel you need more rain dancers it seems like half the team want to go on a rain dance team and the other half just want to do something themselves.

I'll first go onto Agiligross, not the best pokemon for a RD team, I feel it would be better to have a rain supporter here, either Bronzong or Jirachi since they still have the same typing but can support the rain sweepers better. Here are the two sets:

Jirachi@Damp Rock ¦ Serene Grace
Timid ¦ 252HP/176Spd/80SAtk
Wish/Rain Dance/Stealth Rock/Thunder

Can provide invaluable Wish support to your team while also setting up RD and taking advatage of it with a 100% accurate Thunder. Stealth Rocks are needed on a RD team and so take up the other slot. It reaches 308Spd outspeeding even Jolly Lucario who can be a bit of a pest to RD teams with its ExtremeSpeeds and that outside of the rain all RD sweepers are outsped.

or

Bronzong@Damp Rock ¦ Levitate
Impish ¦ 252HP/128Atk/128Def
Rain Dance/Stealth Rock/Reflect/Explosion

Bulkier than Jirachi but less offensive and you lose Wish support. It sets up Rain Dance and Stealth Rock but can also provide Reflect support. Explosion takes the last slot as it can blow holes in teams and get a RD sweeper in easily afterwards just watch for ghosts and Protect as its quite obvious.

Next on Kingdra use a Naughty nature as it is minus SDef meaning you minimise damage from priority moves which are mostly physical. Ludicolo is better at setting up RD than Kingdra I therefore suggest making Kingdra have HP Electric and Ludicolo have Rain Dance.

On Ludicolo Surf is preferred over Hydro Pump as the accuracy really is needed but its up to you. The EV spread preferably should be 60HP/196Spd/252SAtk as this gives more bulk while reaching 225Sd outspeeding +1 neutral natured base 100s in the rain.

Now with Kabutops it would be better to make it a SDer as with Swift Swim it can get doubled speed anyway. I suggest to change the ability to Swift Swim and change Rock Polish to Swords Dance. In the last slot X-Scissor is the best option as I see Celebi being a pain for your team. As for the EV spread I suggest using a Jolly nature with 84HP/252Atk/172Spd as this reaches 263Spd before rain and in the rain outspeeds Timid CS Latias/Gengar who could be a bit of trouble for your team.

As for your lead Crobat, the moves should probably be Taunt/Rain Dance/Roost/U-turn as Hypnosis is risky with its 60% accuracy but if you want to risk it then you'll have to drop Taunt as U-turn is so useful for scouting. Also the item should be Damp Rock as 8 turns of rain are necessary.

As for the last slot I've usually found 3 support rain dancers are needed but if you are happy with only two proper support rain dancers and 3 pokemon who can set up RD then maybe Dugtrio would be better as it can trap and kill Tyranitars who are a real pain for RD teams as well as trapping Blissey who prevents Ludicolo from sweeping. As for the set use Adamant nature with Choice Band and Aerial Ace/Sucker Punch/Stone Edge/Earthquake.

However if your set on using Roserade then I feel you may want to drop HP Fire as if rain is still up which it often will be it won't do very much damage and HP Ground for Heatran and other steels or HP Ice for dragons would probably be better.

Anyway, hope this helps and good luck with the team, if you want any more help just ask and i'll help out more :)

 

[Conan Edogawa415]

i do like the idea of that jirachi so i will make that change. i meant to have damp rock on crobat to begin with lol. I wouldnt mind dropping roserade at all to be honest. and I really could drop roserade for dugtrio. that would be good.

 

[EspyJoel]

Oh yeah forgot a bit about Dugtrio EV spread should be 40HP/252Atk/216Spd. Also, you may want to consider Qwilfish over Kabutops as dropping Roserade loses someone to soak up Toxic Spikes so using Qwilfish would remedy that, here's the set:

Qwilfish@Life Orb ¦ Swift Swim
Adamant ¦ 28HP/252Atk/228Spd
Swords Dance/Poison Jab/Waterfall/Explosion
Reaches 263Spd outspeeding Timid CS Latias/Gengar, will soak up TS and is deadly after it gets a SD as Poison Jab will OHKO Celebi and Latias, Waterfall will badly hurt or KO anything that doesn't resist it, Swmapert takes around 85% so will have to be weakened. Explosion finishes it off and can create holes in teams, after a SD almost nothing can take an Explosion, just watch out for Protect and ghosts.

Thats all I can think of for now, if you have anything else you want to know, just ask, good luck with the team and hope this helps :)

 

[Conan Edogawa415]

I love kabutops but that qwilfish seems like something to consider

 

[Raistmagic]

I just don't really get why you're running a rock polish Kabutops in the rain. Doesn't that seem a little odd to you?

You can have automatic double speed or you can set up rock polish. Why not do what Joel suggested and change that to swords dance.

 

[Conan Edogawa415]

It has battle armor...

 

[EspyJoel]

wait is this a wi-fi team?

 

[Oddish On Fire]

I REALLY don't see why you have battle armor on Kabutops, as swift swim + Swords Dance is really quite a bit more beneficial. Plus, since the chance of getting a critical is only 6.25%, I don't see why you're so worried that using Battle Armor is necessary. With Swords Dance and Swift Swim, Kabutops will be a one turn setup monster, with + 2 Spe and Atk.

 

[Conan Edogawa415]

this is how i got it and yes this is a wifi team.

EDIT: Fixed Kabutops and now have a swift swim set.

 

[Conan Edogawa415]

I really think I need a replacement for sugtrio on this team as he really hasnt done much of anything. Thoughts on a good Dugtrio replacement?

 

[EspyJoel]

Hi, I'd suggest one of three pokemon for the last slot depending on what you like best, here they are:

Rotom-W@Damp Rock ¦ Levitate
Modest ¦ 252HP/4Def/252Spd
Rain Dance/Hydro Pump/Shadow Ball/Thunder

Gives you a nice electric resistance while being immune to normal, fighting and ground moves which are a bit of a pain for many rain dance team members. Its reliable at setting up RD, is bulky and yet can still hit powerfully with rain boosted Hydro Pumps and 100% accurate STAB boosted Thunders. Shadow Ball finishes off the set by dealing with Celebi and other Rotom-A's among others.

or

Jolteon@Damp Rock ¦ Volt Absorb
Timid ¦ 4HP/252Spd/252SAtk
Rain Dance/HP Grass/Shadow Ball/Thunder

Gives you an electric immunity which is very helpful on RD teams. It can set up a fast rain dance while abusing 100% accurate STAB Thunders. HP Grass deals with Swampert, Rhyperior, etc while Shadow Ball hits Celebi, Rotom-A's, etc. It doesn't have Rotom-W's bulkiness though but has more speed.

or

Porygon2@Damp Rock ¦ Trace
Bold ¦ 252HP/216Def/40SAtk
Rain Dance/Recover/Ice Beam/Thunderbolt

Deals with Gyarados, Salamence, Jolteon, Heatran, etc. It doesn't have the definite electric resistance or immunity though which can hurt it. Reliable at setting up Rain Dance. Ice Beam and Thunderbolt deal with many of the said pokemon while granting great coverage. Thunder isn't listed as rain won't always be up and that will hinder its tanking abilities.

Hope this helps and good luck with the team :)

EDIT:Also, just noticed you'll want Damp Rock on Crobat and Jirachi so they can set up 8 turns of rain as that really helps a RD team sweep.

 

[Conan Edogawa415]

well sadly rotom is out automatically as everyone I tend to play does not allow me to use it so that sucks. Jolteon seems obvious but that gives me a 3rd ground weakness. Porygon2 maybe. if you have any other suggestions let me know

 

[Conan Edogawa415]

I want to get qwilfish in here possibly would it be a decent fit to just dsrop dugtrio? also want to get electrode over crobat. just dont want to many ground/electric weaknesses

 

[OG Cupcake]

I say you keep Dugtrio due to its invaluble trait of trapping Tar and just drop Kabutops for Qwilfish. As of now you really don't have a 100% Vaporeon counter, due to him taking less than 50% from Grass Knot and him just being able to Protect+Switch on Jirachi's Thunder. Qwilfish can absorb Vaporeon's Toxic and set-up SDs while it Protects.