Claydol is my nigga
Introduction
This is a balanced Rain team made by me and IFM (he did most of the work, but whatever, lol) made during my time when I was his tutee in Round 54 of Battling 101 in Smogon and when Thundurus and Excadrill was still around. This team has gone through a decent amount of changes as you'll see because Excadrill and Thundurus eventually got banned in Smogon and Thundurus getting the boot in Pokemon Online server too. Some of the teams achievements include IFM's few victories in Pokemon Online's POCL, Smogon Tour Season 11 (Forgot exactly which ones), Smogon Tournament 8, though it was disappointing as he got knocked out the first round; and winning the Gauntlet. Though, nothing major, I peaked 1512 in the Pokemon Online server with it and considering that I'm not very good, I think it's quite decent; though I didn't only use this team while laddering. It's a very solid team with no huge weaknesses and it's been a pleasure making this team and going through with it in its life.
The team's story
I first wanted to make a team with Substitute Dragon Dance Gyarados and Substitute Calm Mind Jirachi after seeing both of their great potential to easily sweep through teams and be plain good in general. Politoed was added due to rain helping both of them tremendously.
I then added a Ferrothorn because of the great utility it provides. It sets up Stealth Rock and wall threats that would otherwise sweep this team such as Specs Latios and other stuff I can't remember.
IFM then suggested Tentacruel for a few reasons. First off, it sets up Toxic Spikes which helps Jirachi by letting it defeat Blissey and Chansey and other threats. It also helped with the weather war because all of the weather summoners are weak to it. Secondly, it could rapid spin. Spinning allowed Gyarados to switch in more freely and helped out with stall in general. This would would also get swept by Volcarona if Tentacruel was around (I use Toxic on it).
Gliscor was later added because of Excadrill and to help with physcial attackers. That was about it...
Later that day (or sometime after the day the team was finished) IFM made a variation of this team. He added Claydol as the Excadrill counter, Stealth Rocker, and Rapid Spinner, and it got the job done like no one else. It also had the added bonus of countering other Gliscors and being a perfect counter to Terrakions (unless it's Life Orb with X-Scissors...). Roserade was picked over for Ferrothorn and Tentacruel for many reasons. In first version of the team, Rotom-w was an absolute menace to the team. It could Volt Switch all it wants and Trick whenever it wants to. It also hampered my Gyarados's and Jirachi's sweep, which was very infuriating. Roserade, however, ended this dilemma. It could pretty much take anything from Rotom-w and set up Toxic Spikes all day and Sleep Power on whatever. It could also soak up Hydro Pump and other special attacks with relative ease. It's also very original and actually effective which made me happy. Not to mention, Claydol is an awesome mon. Although the changes brought by IFM was good, there was one problem: Dragons. Because Jirachi won't be taking Outrages and Draco Meteor anytime soon, Scizor was brought to the team. With its quadruple fire weakness made more manageable with Rain and a specially defensive spread allowing it to take Draco Meteors all day and natural defene being high making it able to take on Outrages, Scizor was a great fit. On top of that, Scizor was a full stop to both Calm Mind and Trick Room Reuniclus, both of which was a great pain for us. Scizor is also an excellent weapon against Sand teams as it's able to revenge kill Landorus and take on Tyranitars; though, Fire Blast will hurt if not KO. All in all, this was a very solid team and I liked it. I also think this is where the team's name came from, lol.
With the metagame changing after Excadrills ban, the team needed adjustments. Because Rain and Sun will obviously become more popular (thought sun still is underused, lol) the team needed to adapt to the top threats. Starmie was chosen over Tentacruel as it can revenge kill Tornadus and unlike Tentacruel, if it has low HP, it can still spin right before it dies due to its amazing speed or recover. Thunder was also an added bonus for the team allowing it to beat Jellicent bar Shadow Ball or Energy Ball (...I know) variants. Gliscor, again, answered the call, allowing the team to handle Terrakion, who obviously will become more used after Excadrill's ban. Gliscor, Mew and Slowbro are the few Pokemon viable in OU that can take on anything Choice Band Terrakion throws at it, but Gliscor was given prime choice for it's wonderful electric immunity and lack of certain weaknesses such as Pursuit weakness, status, and better resistances. As a plus, it could also check Excadrill, which is helpful when laddering on PO server. Finally, Chansey, a new face in the team, was added. It sets up status which can be very helpful in many situations and beats many special sweepers / attackers most notably Volcarona and most sun sweepers (Heatran, Venusaur, etc.) It also gives the team the ever important Stealth Rock limiting the opponent's switches and helps our two main sweepers. This is also the team you'll see today.
Politoed (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Perish Song
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Politoed is pretty much a necessity for a rain team unless you're going to have Rain Dancers in your team for sweeps, which is kind of meh. Anyways, Politoed's rain gives pretty much every mon in this team exepct for Gliscor and maybe Chansey an adavantage. Unlike Ninetales and Tyranitar, Politoed doesn't get 2HKO'd by Dugtrio which is really nice. There isn't anything much to say about this mon, lol. I generally try to save Politoed whenever I'm facing another weather inducer that's not Politoed
as without Rain, this team would really be bad or something. Politoed is not only useful for it's ability to set up rain, however. With a Choice Scarf equiped, I can now revenge kill threat who would otherwise be of a major annoyance such as Dragonite (who lives Ice Beam under 100% HP anyway) and Volcarona if it hasn't accumulated enough boosts. It revenges a whole lot of other stuff too...
Okay, I'll stop saying the obvious and go on the the EVs and moveset.
EV and Moveset Explanation
IFM uses Modest along with Hydro Pump, but I like to run Timid so I can outspeed max speed Adamant Dragonite which is extremely useful in some situations. I also use Surf because it have perfect accuracy and hits hard anyways. It also KOs frail mons such as Gengar so the extra power isn't always needed; though, I do admit Hydro Pump is better in some situations. But then again, I hate losing games when Hydro Pump misses on Excadrill... Also, I use HP Grass in place of Focus Blast because Focus Blast's real use is hitting Ferrothorn, but I just go to Jirachi and set up so it's useless. Hitting Gastrodon and Rotom-w for major damage is more important, in my opinion.
The EVs are standard, really. No explanation needed, I hope
Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 188 Def / 76 Spd
Impish Nature
- Ice Fang
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- Protect
Gliscor comes back from D/P/Pt OU to continue to wall Fighting types that plague the BW OU tier. Gliscor helps me against Pokemon that this team would otherwise have great problems with such as the aforementioned Fighting types as Gyarados doesn't have Intimidate on it most of the time. It is also my physical defensive mon and I usually play it safe because if it's in a very low HP, many of OU will probably sweep me with greater ease. Not only does it wall many mons, it also gives this team many useful resistances. Although Gyarados and Starmie also has a Fighting Resistance, neither would want to go up against Mienshado, Conkeldurr, or Terrakion in fear of their coverage moves, but Gliscor doesn't give and walls them straight out (besides Mienshao's HP Ice or something). And Electric immunity is also nice. It stops Rotom-w from keep on Volt Switching, but if it outpredicts me and HP Ice or Hydro Pumps the Gliscor, it would be very depressing indeed. Pretty much Gliscor keeps balance in the team and is a very standard Pokemon and does a good job at what it needs to do.
EVs and Moveset Explanation
We both use similar spread expect that I get paranoid about many things and use 76 speed. 76 speed hits 245, which out speeds 244 and is a common benchmark for slower Pokemon. It can also revenge kill Tentacruel if Gliscor is faster than it, but most Tentacruel seems to run 246 so Gliscor isn't my usual answer to Tentacruel. 244 HP hits 352 HP, a leftover number. And since Gliscor isn't affected by Sandstorm and since hail is very rare, it's good.
I personally like to use Toxic over Swords Dance because I'm more of a staller player than IFM, I guess. Swords Dance also barely ever sweeps a team either so I don't really use it; I'm facing a very stallish team, but with Rotom-a's ghost typing gone and many new threats making stall unable to cover the threats in 6 Pokemon, I pretty much never face it. I only use Facade whenever I feel Rotom-w is getting very popular, but I generally Toxic them and they're screwed so it's kind of useless, lol.
Starmie @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Def / 224 Spd
Timid Nature
- Recover
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Thunder
Starmie is a very solid Pokemon in a Rain team as it provides many great utilities and is able to performs many different jobs. IFM chose Starmie over Tentacruel because it has much more speed enabling it to revenge kill mon such as Terrakion, Tornadus, etc. where as Tentacruel would just get destroyed. It is also able to take on Jellicent, something Tentacruel wasn't able to do, so Starmie also got points on that. Starmie is also able to 2HKO Gengars so pretty much nothing is able to spin block me exepct for the very rare Spiritomb. I also like it because it isn't as weak to Landorus unlike Tentacruel and can Rapid Spin when its on low HP because it's so fast. Recover is yet another big selling point for Starmie. Anyways, Starmie's main goal in this team is to Rapid Spin hazards, most notably Stealth Rock. It's very annoying for Gyarados due to the fact that it chips away 25% of its health and generally greatly affects his ability to sweep. Other hazards such as Toxic Spikes and Spikes are almost as equally as annoying on different Pokemon (Jirachi hates spikes and Chansey hates both of them). Beyond that, Starmie is pretty much fodder for most of my matches with it and is used for scouting different Pokemon unless there is a very important Pokemon Starmie needs to check.
EVs and Moveset Explanation
Scald is for burning random physical attackers and sometimes helps against special ones so you can chip away its health, Thunder for other water types and gets decent coverage alongside Scald. Rapid Spin is the main point of Starmie, and Recover for getting health back and is useful for stalling if the need arises. 252 HP enables Starmie to take hits most efficently and 224 Speed lets you outspeed max speed non HP Ice Tornadus and the rest were dumped to attack because that's what Starmie generally takes.
Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 152 HP / 252 Def / 104 SDef
Bold Nature
- Softboiled
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
Chansey is probably the best special wall in the game, so using it on this balanced team would make sense. Chansey walls almost all special attackers like the champ it is and I think it even survives Close Combats from random Fighting mons, lol. On a more important note, Chansey fills in the needs of the team such as the call for Stealth Rock. Stealth Rock is a move that pretty much all teams should have and this one is no execption. Although Chansey doesn't give me any real resistances, its ability to wall such a great number of Pokemon had it easily given a spot in this team who needs resists when you don't take over 20%? Chansey is usually my first Pokemon I go to when I foresee an electric me because most Pokemon who has them can KO Gliscor unless its Magnezone. Those things never use HP Ice anymore. However, Rotom-w can be a pain because it generally tricks a scarf at me and it's quite annoying. Atleast it's better than losing a Pokemon...
EVs and Moveset Explanation
I honestly don't know what the spread I'm using really does for me, but it definitely looks more original than those 4/ 252 /252 EV spread. 152 gives and odd number which is what I'm looking for so that you won't lose as much HP because of entry hazards, status, leech seed, weather, etc. 252 Def gives Chansey the ability to tank weak physical hits from Tyranitar which is, for some reason, a common switch in for Chansey. The rest went into SDef so I can wall Volcarona in the sun and other over powering special sweepers with ease. Not to mention there's no other good use out of the extra EVs. Seismic Toss is pretty much the only attack Chansey can use and won't make it a complete fodder to certain Pokemon. Softboiled is quite obvious and so is Stealth Rock. I use Toxic, but if you're a noob like IFM, you might want to use Thunderwave. Atleast it won't make you too weak to Gengar which is nice, but Toxic stalling is for more advanced players like me 8).
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 96 SAtk / 160 Spd
Modest Nature
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Thunder
- Water Pulse / Psyshock
The first sweeper of the sweeping duo. Jirachi has always been a great Pokemon and my favorite Pokemon of all time. It's been here ever since ADV and all the way through DP to DPPt and comes back to BW OU to continue to annoying players! Instead of going the traditional route of last generation and use Substitute + Thunder Wave / Body Slam and flinch people all day, I find that this set it more annoying. Jirachi absolutely destroys stall as their primary answer to Calm Minders is Chansey, but with Thunder paralysis and Psyshock and 101 substitute, I usually come out top. I also like this Jirachi because unless Reuniclus bypasses paralysis and Focus Blast misses, I almost always win the Calm Mind war too as Focus Blast's terrible 8 PP and 70% accuracy won't last throughout the game. Jirachi is also my psuedo Trick Room Reuniclus check, though, it will be taken a ton of damage from Focus Blast. Not only is it incredibily easy to sweep with it, it's also able to find the right time to get in easily. With it's amazing 7 resists and 1 immunity with just 2 weakness in which one of them is nullified because of Rain, it seems clear on why Jirachi is such an excellent sweeper. Ferrothorn being a pain to this team, Jirachi easily takes advantage of this and sets up on it, unless it has bulldoze. It also provides the team with the only Rock resister in my team, which can be quite handy sometimes.
EVs and Moveset Explanation
160 Speed EVs lets you outspeed Jolly Excadrill in non-sand conditions. 252 HP for 101 Substitutes, and the rest on SpA for more damage and Modest to further help it. Wish over Substitute can be an interesting option. Wish provides the team with a way to heal themselves which can be important for Mons such as Politoed for keeping up Rain, and Gyarados for sweeping and is good in general, especially how Wish is going to heal them over 60%. It also gives Jirachi a way of healing itself, too. However, this means that Ferrothorn is going to be a major headache and you wont get to block critical hits and status. I usually decide when to use it depending on whats popular and such. The choice of Psyshock and Water Pulse is also quite difficult. Psyshock takes on Toxicroak and other Calm Minders most notably Latias. On the other hand, Water Pulse lets you not get walled by Gliscor and Tyranitar. IFM always uses Water Pulse because he can't win games without the confusion hax it gives, which is nice since you have Thunder for paralysis creating the infamous "Para-Fusion" strategy.
Gyarados (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Bounce
This is the Pokemon that inspired me to created this team. I first saw this unique Gyarados set in the Smogon University server when I was witnessing a user there utilizing it. The raw power and coverage this set has is absolutely amazing. Even Skarmory will have a hard time walling him because +1 Waterfall can 3HKO (even 2HKO!) it and the possiblity of flinch is also very scary for it. Pretty much the only things that scare me are scarfers that are faster than it and can OHKO it, Ferrothorn when on good HP, and Empoleon. People taking advantage of Bounce's 2 turn requirement is also annoying. The thing that really makes it good is the fact that once you're under Substitute, Rotom-w isn't all that bad. Because it doesn't have Thunderbolt most of the time and it's Volt Switch, you can keep on Substituting and Dragon Dancing until you're at +2 where you can probably KO Rotom-w if you had Stealth Rock up. Some Pokemon where it soley relies on status to beat Gyarados is also in for trouble as Substitute negates status and you can keep on Dragon Dancing. Most common Pokemon is Gastrodon. Many people just slap those things on their teams and think that Rain is covered, but in reality, many things can take down Gastrodon and Gyarados is one of them. Gyarados isn't just a late game sweeper. It's useful resistances and immunity can also have it come in early game and easily give me advantage. All in all, Gyarados is a great sweeper and really made playing Pokemon fun!
EVs and Moveset Explanation
184 Speed hits 244, outspeeding Tyranitar. I might run some more for non Scarf Rotom-w's and other 244ers. Then maxing attack for most damage output possible, and the rest goes in HP. Both Intimidate and Moxie are both excellent abilities. Intimidate gives you a pseudo Fighting type, Excadrill check where as Moxie makes your opponent think twice before letting one of their Pokemon faint. Can't really choose a "better" ability.
Conclusion
This team has really been fun to use and has been much better than I thought it would be. Anyways, I hope you had fun reading this RMT!
Also, an importable for people interested:
Introduction
This is a balanced Rain team made by me and IFM (he did most of the work, but whatever, lol) made during my time when I was his tutee in Round 54 of Battling 101 in Smogon and when Thundurus and Excadrill was still around. This team has gone through a decent amount of changes as you'll see because Excadrill and Thundurus eventually got banned in Smogon and Thundurus getting the boot in Pokemon Online server too. Some of the teams achievements include IFM's few victories in Pokemon Online's POCL, Smogon Tour Season 11 (Forgot exactly which ones), Smogon Tournament 8, though it was disappointing as he got knocked out the first round; and winning the Gauntlet. Though, nothing major, I peaked 1512 in the Pokemon Online server with it and considering that I'm not very good, I think it's quite decent; though I didn't only use this team while laddering. It's a very solid team with no huge weaknesses and it's been a pleasure making this team and going through with it in its life.
The team's story
I first wanted to make a team with Substitute Dragon Dance Gyarados and Substitute Calm Mind Jirachi after seeing both of their great potential to easily sweep through teams and be plain good in general. Politoed was added due to rain helping both of them tremendously.
I then added a Ferrothorn because of the great utility it provides. It sets up Stealth Rock and wall threats that would otherwise sweep this team such as Specs Latios and other stuff I can't remember.
IFM then suggested Tentacruel for a few reasons. First off, it sets up Toxic Spikes which helps Jirachi by letting it defeat Blissey and Chansey and other threats. It also helped with the weather war because all of the weather summoners are weak to it. Secondly, it could rapid spin. Spinning allowed Gyarados to switch in more freely and helped out with stall in general. This would would also get swept by Volcarona if Tentacruel was around (I use Toxic on it).
Gliscor was later added because of Excadrill and to help with physcial attackers. That was about it...
Later that day (or sometime after the day the team was finished) IFM made a variation of this team. He added Claydol as the Excadrill counter, Stealth Rocker, and Rapid Spinner, and it got the job done like no one else. It also had the added bonus of countering other Gliscors and being a perfect counter to Terrakions (unless it's Life Orb with X-Scissors...). Roserade was picked over for Ferrothorn and Tentacruel for many reasons. In first version of the team, Rotom-w was an absolute menace to the team. It could Volt Switch all it wants and Trick whenever it wants to. It also hampered my Gyarados's and Jirachi's sweep, which was very infuriating. Roserade, however, ended this dilemma. It could pretty much take anything from Rotom-w and set up Toxic Spikes all day and Sleep Power on whatever. It could also soak up Hydro Pump and other special attacks with relative ease. It's also very original and actually effective which made me happy. Not to mention, Claydol is an awesome mon. Although the changes brought by IFM was good, there was one problem: Dragons. Because Jirachi won't be taking Outrages and Draco Meteor anytime soon, Scizor was brought to the team. With its quadruple fire weakness made more manageable with Rain and a specially defensive spread allowing it to take Draco Meteors all day and natural defene being high making it able to take on Outrages, Scizor was a great fit. On top of that, Scizor was a full stop to both Calm Mind and Trick Room Reuniclus, both of which was a great pain for us. Scizor is also an excellent weapon against Sand teams as it's able to revenge kill Landorus and take on Tyranitars; though, Fire Blast will hurt if not KO. All in all, this was a very solid team and I liked it. I also think this is where the team's name came from, lol.
With the metagame changing after Excadrills ban, the team needed adjustments. Because Rain and Sun will obviously become more popular (thought sun still is underused, lol) the team needed to adapt to the top threats. Starmie was chosen over Tentacruel as it can revenge kill Tornadus and unlike Tentacruel, if it has low HP, it can still spin right before it dies due to its amazing speed or recover. Thunder was also an added bonus for the team allowing it to beat Jellicent bar Shadow Ball or Energy Ball (...I know) variants. Gliscor, again, answered the call, allowing the team to handle Terrakion, who obviously will become more used after Excadrill's ban. Gliscor, Mew and Slowbro are the few Pokemon viable in OU that can take on anything Choice Band Terrakion throws at it, but Gliscor was given prime choice for it's wonderful electric immunity and lack of certain weaknesses such as Pursuit weakness, status, and better resistances. As a plus, it could also check Excadrill, which is helpful when laddering on PO server. Finally, Chansey, a new face in the team, was added. It sets up status which can be very helpful in many situations and beats many special sweepers / attackers most notably Volcarona and most sun sweepers (Heatran, Venusaur, etc.) It also gives the team the ever important Stealth Rock limiting the opponent's switches and helps our two main sweepers. This is also the team you'll see today.
Politoed (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Perish Song
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Politoed is pretty much a necessity for a rain team unless you're going to have Rain Dancers in your team for sweeps, which is kind of meh. Anyways, Politoed's rain gives pretty much every mon in this team exepct for Gliscor and maybe Chansey an adavantage. Unlike Ninetales and Tyranitar, Politoed doesn't get 2HKO'd by Dugtrio which is really nice. There isn't anything much to say about this mon, lol. I generally try to save Politoed whenever I'm facing another weather inducer that's not Politoed
as without Rain, this team would really be bad or something. Politoed is not only useful for it's ability to set up rain, however. With a Choice Scarf equiped, I can now revenge kill threat who would otherwise be of a major annoyance such as Dragonite (who lives Ice Beam under 100% HP anyway) and Volcarona if it hasn't accumulated enough boosts. It revenges a whole lot of other stuff too...
Okay, I'll stop saying the obvious and go on the the EVs and moveset.
EV and Moveset Explanation
IFM uses Modest along with Hydro Pump, but I like to run Timid so I can outspeed max speed Adamant Dragonite which is extremely useful in some situations. I also use Surf because it have perfect accuracy and hits hard anyways. It also KOs frail mons such as Gengar so the extra power isn't always needed; though, I do admit Hydro Pump is better in some situations. But then again, I hate losing games when Hydro Pump misses on Excadrill... Also, I use HP Grass in place of Focus Blast because Focus Blast's real use is hitting Ferrothorn, but I just go to Jirachi and set up so it's useless. Hitting Gastrodon and Rotom-w for major damage is more important, in my opinion.
The EVs are standard, really. No explanation needed, I hope
Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 188 Def / 76 Spd
Impish Nature
- Ice Fang
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- Protect
Gliscor comes back from D/P/Pt OU to continue to wall Fighting types that plague the BW OU tier. Gliscor helps me against Pokemon that this team would otherwise have great problems with such as the aforementioned Fighting types as Gyarados doesn't have Intimidate on it most of the time. It is also my physical defensive mon and I usually play it safe because if it's in a very low HP, many of OU will probably sweep me with greater ease. Not only does it wall many mons, it also gives this team many useful resistances. Although Gyarados and Starmie also has a Fighting Resistance, neither would want to go up against Mienshado, Conkeldurr, or Terrakion in fear of their coverage moves, but Gliscor doesn't give and walls them straight out (besides Mienshao's HP Ice or something). And Electric immunity is also nice. It stops Rotom-w from keep on Volt Switching, but if it outpredicts me and HP Ice or Hydro Pumps the Gliscor, it would be very depressing indeed. Pretty much Gliscor keeps balance in the team and is a very standard Pokemon and does a good job at what it needs to do.
EVs and Moveset Explanation
We both use similar spread expect that I get paranoid about many things and use 76 speed. 76 speed hits 245, which out speeds 244 and is a common benchmark for slower Pokemon. It can also revenge kill Tentacruel if Gliscor is faster than it, but most Tentacruel seems to run 246 so Gliscor isn't my usual answer to Tentacruel. 244 HP hits 352 HP, a leftover number. And since Gliscor isn't affected by Sandstorm and since hail is very rare, it's good.
I personally like to use Toxic over Swords Dance because I'm more of a staller player than IFM, I guess. Swords Dance also barely ever sweeps a team either so I don't really use it; I'm facing a very stallish team, but with Rotom-a's ghost typing gone and many new threats making stall unable to cover the threats in 6 Pokemon, I pretty much never face it. I only use Facade whenever I feel Rotom-w is getting very popular, but I generally Toxic them and they're screwed so it's kind of useless, lol.
Starmie @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Def / 224 Spd
Timid Nature
- Recover
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Thunder
Starmie is a very solid Pokemon in a Rain team as it provides many great utilities and is able to performs many different jobs. IFM chose Starmie over Tentacruel because it has much more speed enabling it to revenge kill mon such as Terrakion, Tornadus, etc. where as Tentacruel would just get destroyed. It is also able to take on Jellicent, something Tentacruel wasn't able to do, so Starmie also got points on that. Starmie is also able to 2HKO Gengars so pretty much nothing is able to spin block me exepct for the very rare Spiritomb. I also like it because it isn't as weak to Landorus unlike Tentacruel and can Rapid Spin when its on low HP because it's so fast. Recover is yet another big selling point for Starmie. Anyways, Starmie's main goal in this team is to Rapid Spin hazards, most notably Stealth Rock. It's very annoying for Gyarados due to the fact that it chips away 25% of its health and generally greatly affects his ability to sweep. Other hazards such as Toxic Spikes and Spikes are almost as equally as annoying on different Pokemon (Jirachi hates spikes and Chansey hates both of them). Beyond that, Starmie is pretty much fodder for most of my matches with it and is used for scouting different Pokemon unless there is a very important Pokemon Starmie needs to check.
EVs and Moveset Explanation
Scald is for burning random physical attackers and sometimes helps against special ones so you can chip away its health, Thunder for other water types and gets decent coverage alongside Scald. Rapid Spin is the main point of Starmie, and Recover for getting health back and is useful for stalling if the need arises. 252 HP enables Starmie to take hits most efficently and 224 Speed lets you outspeed max speed non HP Ice Tornadus and the rest were dumped to attack because that's what Starmie generally takes.
Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 152 HP / 252 Def / 104 SDef
Bold Nature
- Softboiled
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
Chansey is probably the best special wall in the game, so using it on this balanced team would make sense. Chansey walls almost all special attackers like the champ it is and I think it even survives Close Combats from random Fighting mons, lol. On a more important note, Chansey fills in the needs of the team such as the call for Stealth Rock. Stealth Rock is a move that pretty much all teams should have and this one is no execption. Although Chansey doesn't give me any real resistances, its ability to wall such a great number of Pokemon had it easily given a spot in this team who needs resists when you don't take over 20%? Chansey is usually my first Pokemon I go to when I foresee an electric me because most Pokemon who has them can KO Gliscor unless its Magnezone. Those things never use HP Ice anymore. However, Rotom-w can be a pain because it generally tricks a scarf at me and it's quite annoying. Atleast it's better than losing a Pokemon...
EVs and Moveset Explanation
I honestly don't know what the spread I'm using really does for me, but it definitely looks more original than those 4/ 252 /252 EV spread. 152 gives and odd number which is what I'm looking for so that you won't lose as much HP because of entry hazards, status, leech seed, weather, etc. 252 Def gives Chansey the ability to tank weak physical hits from Tyranitar which is, for some reason, a common switch in for Chansey. The rest went into SDef so I can wall Volcarona in the sun and other over powering special sweepers with ease. Not to mention there's no other good use out of the extra EVs. Seismic Toss is pretty much the only attack Chansey can use and won't make it a complete fodder to certain Pokemon. Softboiled is quite obvious and so is Stealth Rock. I use Toxic, but if you're a noob like IFM, you might want to use Thunderwave. Atleast it won't make you too weak to Gengar which is nice, but Toxic stalling is for more advanced players like me 8).
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 96 SAtk / 160 Spd
Modest Nature
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Thunder
- Water Pulse / Psyshock
The first sweeper of the sweeping duo. Jirachi has always been a great Pokemon and my favorite Pokemon of all time. It's been here ever since ADV and all the way through DP to DPPt and comes back to BW OU to continue to annoying players! Instead of going the traditional route of last generation and use Substitute + Thunder Wave / Body Slam and flinch people all day, I find that this set it more annoying. Jirachi absolutely destroys stall as their primary answer to Calm Minders is Chansey, but with Thunder paralysis and Psyshock and 101 substitute, I usually come out top. I also like this Jirachi because unless Reuniclus bypasses paralysis and Focus Blast misses, I almost always win the Calm Mind war too as Focus Blast's terrible 8 PP and 70% accuracy won't last throughout the game. Jirachi is also my psuedo Trick Room Reuniclus check, though, it will be taken a ton of damage from Focus Blast. Not only is it incredibily easy to sweep with it, it's also able to find the right time to get in easily. With it's amazing 7 resists and 1 immunity with just 2 weakness in which one of them is nullified because of Rain, it seems clear on why Jirachi is such an excellent sweeper. Ferrothorn being a pain to this team, Jirachi easily takes advantage of this and sets up on it, unless it has bulldoze. It also provides the team with the only Rock resister in my team, which can be quite handy sometimes.
EVs and Moveset Explanation
160 Speed EVs lets you outspeed Jolly Excadrill in non-sand conditions. 252 HP for 101 Substitutes, and the rest on SpA for more damage and Modest to further help it. Wish over Substitute can be an interesting option. Wish provides the team with a way to heal themselves which can be important for Mons such as Politoed for keeping up Rain, and Gyarados for sweeping and is good in general, especially how Wish is going to heal them over 60%. It also gives Jirachi a way of healing itself, too. However, this means that Ferrothorn is going to be a major headache and you wont get to block critical hits and status. I usually decide when to use it depending on whats popular and such. The choice of Psyshock and Water Pulse is also quite difficult. Psyshock takes on Toxicroak and other Calm Minders most notably Latias. On the other hand, Water Pulse lets you not get walled by Gliscor and Tyranitar. IFM always uses Water Pulse because he can't win games without the confusion hax it gives, which is nice since you have Thunder for paralysis creating the infamous "Para-Fusion" strategy.
Gyarados (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Bounce
This is the Pokemon that inspired me to created this team. I first saw this unique Gyarados set in the Smogon University server when I was witnessing a user there utilizing it. The raw power and coverage this set has is absolutely amazing. Even Skarmory will have a hard time walling him because +1 Waterfall can 3HKO (even 2HKO!) it and the possiblity of flinch is also very scary for it. Pretty much the only things that scare me are scarfers that are faster than it and can OHKO it, Ferrothorn when on good HP, and Empoleon. People taking advantage of Bounce's 2 turn requirement is also annoying. The thing that really makes it good is the fact that once you're under Substitute, Rotom-w isn't all that bad. Because it doesn't have Thunderbolt most of the time and it's Volt Switch, you can keep on Substituting and Dragon Dancing until you're at +2 where you can probably KO Rotom-w if you had Stealth Rock up. Some Pokemon where it soley relies on status to beat Gyarados is also in for trouble as Substitute negates status and you can keep on Dragon Dancing. Most common Pokemon is Gastrodon. Many people just slap those things on their teams and think that Rain is covered, but in reality, many things can take down Gastrodon and Gyarados is one of them. Gyarados isn't just a late game sweeper. It's useful resistances and immunity can also have it come in early game and easily give me advantage. All in all, Gyarados is a great sweeper and really made playing Pokemon fun!
EVs and Moveset Explanation
184 Speed hits 244, outspeeding Tyranitar. I might run some more for non Scarf Rotom-w's and other 244ers. Then maxing attack for most damage output possible, and the rest goes in HP. Both Intimidate and Moxie are both excellent abilities. Intimidate gives you a pseudo Fighting type, Excadrill check where as Moxie makes your opponent think twice before letting one of their Pokemon faint. Can't really choose a "better" ability.
Conclusion
This team has really been fun to use and has been much better than I thought it would be. Anyways, I hope you had fun reading this RMT!
Also, an importable for people interested:
Politoed (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Perish Song
Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 188 Def / 76 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Toxic
- Protect
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
Starmie @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 32 SAtk / 224 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Scald
- Thunder
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 152 HP / 252 Def / 104 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Seismic Toss
- Stealth Rock
- Softboiled
- Toxic
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 96 SAtk / 160 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Thunder
Gyarados (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Bounce
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Perish Song
Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 188 Def / 76 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Toxic
- Protect
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
Starmie @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 32 SAtk / 224 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Scald
- Thunder
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 152 HP / 252 Def / 104 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Seismic Toss
- Stealth Rock
- Softboiled
- Toxic
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 96 SAtk / 160 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Thunder
Gyarados (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Bounce
