Edit: Scroll past the first part of this post to see the updated section
Also, yes, I know that Mesprit is now in RU now. The tournaments were done when he was still in NU
Hello everyone, today, I’m here to present an unusual experiment that I’m currently in the midst of. At Pokemon Showdown!, I host tournaments frequently to the users. These tournaments are designed to challenge the participants and force them to try new strategies rather than rely on the old tried and true methods. One of the tournaments I held was on March 21st, 2012 and was called the NU Perm Weather Starter Tournament. Here are the rules:
This tournament was inspired by Ninetales and Politoed. In the days of Diamond and Pearl, they were banished the NU lot, with many trainers not even giving them a second glance. But their Dream World abilities boosted them into OU where they remain top choice pokemon to this day. My aim was to recreate that scenario and give a NU pokemon that chance to shine.
There are two reasons for me wanting to try such a thing out. One, as I mentioned before, this new strategy forces the user to break boundaries and try something new with their now special NU pokemon. Two, I wanted to see if there was an NU pokemon that was not only equal in terms of reliability compared to Politoed and Ninetales (and a lesser extent towards the other weather starting pokemon) but perhaps surpass them in it as well.
14 users participated in this tournament. I have seen some interesting teams and a lot of good choices for an NU pokemon with a perm weather starting ability. Here are the ones that stuck out to me in terms of creativity and how well the team did overall.
Note: Yes, I know that it takes an experienced battler to make a good team win battles. However, that’s why I looked at the other teams that did not do so well and considered their NU pokemon as well. It should also be noted that I wasn’t able to get all the teams as some of the participants deleted their teams shortly after.
Sand Stream
Only two participants used Sand Stream as their choice for weather. And both of them used The highly defensive pokemon of Shuckle.
This was a good choice of a pokemon IMO. The already highly defensive pokemon gets a 50% boost to its sky high Special Defense stats. It seemed to act like a replacement for Hippowdon only with a lot higher defense but a lot poor attack and no Roar. The lack of a roar was what seemed to hurt Shuckle as he couldn’t phase out his opponents. The Shuckles were also taken down by being toxic/burn or by getting 25% damage every time it went into the field with Stealth Rock Present.
Drought
Surprisingly, none of the users pick a pokemon to use Drought with (and if they did it was probably deleted before I could get to them).
Drizzle
One of the more popular weathers in the Tournament was the use of Drizzle. Here are the ones that stood out to me.
Floatzel was one of the entries with a set seen here:
Floatzel @ Choice Band
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk
Jolly Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Ice Punch
- Crunch
This is actually based off the first set on Smogon with the obvious exception of no more Swift Swim. Floatzel actually runs this set well. Though he no longer gets his boost of speed in the rain, he gets a boost in his attack power thanks to the rain making Aqua Jet with a boosted power of now 135!
One surprising NU pokemon with Drizzle was Mesprit! This team actually went pretty far in the tournament.
Mesprit @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Calm Nature
- U-turn
- Toxic
- Psychic
- Rain Dance
This set reminds me of the Ninetales Sunny Day set and blends a defensive set with an offensive set as well. It works well as a weather lead and once set up, it can U-Turn out to another pokemon that might resist the opponent’s attacking move. It can use Rain Dance when other weather pokemon are thrown out and use Toxic to hit rather stubborn pokemon (like the aforementioned Shuckle). Though Mesprit doesn’t have a water-type move to back it up, it can still be useful to its fellow water-loving teammates.
Finally, and my favorite, was the use of Swanna.
Aquack (Swanna) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 10 HP / 252 SAtk / 248 Spd
Modest Nature
- Surf
- Hurricane
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Hurricane, need I say more? The use of Hurricane puts Swanna at a spot that makes Politoed green with envy (even though he’s already green..so…nevermind…I’ll shut up…). It’s an undeniable threat, throw out Swanna, make it rain and unleash the fury of a STAB Hurricane. Unfortunately, Swanna’s Special Attack is okay with a power of 87 which was why the user maximized his Special Attack along with giving it a modest nature. Swanna also suffers in the fact that Surf is its strongest move along with a rather minimum movepool to select from.
Snow Warning
Finally, Snow Warning. Of all the weather abilities, Snow Warning was probably the most popular to choose from due to the rather, *cough*, lackluster Abomasnow. It’s also one of the more exploitable abilities to use as well with a lot of ice-type pokemon in the NU tier. Glaceon and Articuno were ones that were used but the one that I’ll talk about is actually the one that was on the team that won the tournament.
Regice @ Chesto Berry
Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 248 HP / 10 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Rest
- Seismic Toss
- Blizzard
Once the Hail-lover now the Hail-starter, Regice took the tournament by force due to its stats and support from its teammates. On first glance, this set of moves looks like it could have been on a Blissey with the exception of Rest for Softboiled. This set works well as once thrown in, Blizzard is now 100% accurate. If the opponent resists Blizzard or has used Calm Mind then use Seismic Toss on them. Thunder Wave them to slow them down and Rest when needed to go back to full health. I myself would have used Toxic in place of Thunder Wave to chip away health faster but that’s my IMO.
Next Tournament and Thoughts so Far
Even though this tournament has ended it does not mean the experiment has. Sometime this week I will host another NU Perm Weather Starter Tournament on Pokemon Showdown!. If you are interested in participating in it, send me a message via my account on Smogon and I can give you more details about it.
After I host that tournament, I will do another post of a brief analysis of the top teams in that tournament. From there, I hope to do a comparison between the best NU Perm Weather Starter pokemon with their official counterparts of Politoed, Ninetales and such. Thanks for reading!
~LibraSnakes13
Thank you to Champpp23, brkman692, Leader Jasmine, baby kupo, Closet, Ryusazaki, Test @ll Day, le Umby, Jiodi, Techniloom. aweshucks, MJB, Vain and finale for participating in this tournament.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello everyone! Sorry for the wait as I have been busy lately. Here are the results for the 2nd tournament, the 3rd one will be updated in a few days.
Snow Warning
Unlike in the last tournament, there wasn’t as much participants using Snow Warning as their perm weather ability. Regice was once again one of the pokemon used but unlike last time, he did not do so well. A pokemon that did do well was a surprising one indeed.
Shiva (Tauros) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 Spd / 4 HP / 252 Atk
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Return
- Rock Slide
- Iron Head
This set is odd for more reasons than one. First and most obvious reason is that Tauros is not an Ice-type, second, the participant, for whatever reason, decided not to incorporate Blizzard into Tauros’ arsenal and favored a physical attacking set instead (which makes sense due to Taruos’ abysmally low special attack stat). However, with that said, it should be noted that Abomasnow was also included in the participant’s team meaning that he could easily switch back and forth and keep the Hail going. Also, Tauros is not weak to Stealth Rock damage and does not have a plethora of weaknesses unlike its counterpart. However, both of them are weak to the plethora of fighting moves that plague the OU tier.
Drizzle
Drizzle saw the use of Miltank as a potential good weather starter. Though this team unfortunately didn’t go far in the tournament, I had the pleasure to battle this team myself to see what it was like. The result was quite annoying for me as Miltank proved to be harder to kill than I thought.
Miltank @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Def
Careful Nature
- Milk Drink
- Heal Bell
- Body Slam
- Toxic
First off, the rather slow nature of Miltank means that if two weather starters were thrown out at the same time, she would probably get the rain started. Milk Drink is a reliable recovery method as Miltank can switch in to a lot of threats, take damage and then heal herself. Heal Bell is of course useful while STAB Body Slam and Toxic give a chance to inflict a status on the opponent and wear them down. However, like her male counterpart, the plethora of Fighting-type pokemon in the OU tier (along with Superpower Scizor and others) makes her a frail target if she faces these threats.
Jumpluff was also used in the tournament though it didn’t do well. Mesprit was also used but more on him and his team later.
Carracosta @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Shell Smash
- Stone Edge
Like Miltank, Carracosta’s somewhat slow nature helps him win one-on-one weather battles. His moves can also be a big threat against Sun, Rain and Hail teams as well. Immunity to Sandstorm along with a boost in Special Defense in the weather can also serve as a good counter towards those teams. STAB Aqua Jet can help him revenge kill while Shell Smash can help set himself up for a potential sweep with Waterfall and Stone Edge.
Drought
Unlike the last tournament, there were a high amount of Drought users this time around. Some that were used were Magmortar, Zweilous and even Alomomola (which was basically used for the lolz). One somewhat successful pokemon was Cradily.
Cradily @ Leftovers
Trait: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Seed Bomb
- Recover
- Rock Slide
The success of Cradily can be seen in its reliable bulk, use of Recovery, Stealth Rock for support and finally a STAB in Seed Bomb and Rock Slide. The abysmal speed, though useful against other weather starters, can hurt it big time by making it susceptible towards fighting moves. Also, the lack of resistances (normal and electric) means that Cradily may have a hard time trying to stay alive if it switches into an attacking move. His low speed also means he’ll most likely be susceptible to another attacking move before it can use Recover.
Rapidash @ Life Orb
Trait: Drought
EVs: 252 Atk / 6 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Flare Blitz
- Morning Sun
- Wild Charge
Venusaur @ Life Orb
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 66 HP / 252 SAtk / 192 Spd
Modest Nature
- Growth
- SolarBeam
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Volcarona @ Leftovers
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 248 HP / 10 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Substitute
- Bug Buzz
- Fiery Dance
Chandelure @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 6 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Serious Nature
- Overheat
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
Kingdra @ Leftovers
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 78 HP / 252 Atk / 180 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Substitute
- Outrage
Cloyster @ Focus Sash
Trait: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk / 46 SAtk / 212 Spd
Naive Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Rock Blast
- Shell Smash
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
This team actually made it to the finals, because of which, I decided to incorporate Rapidash and her fellow teammates as well. When I saw how well this team was doing I was surprised mainly for the fact that Rapidash is a fire-type pokemon and is thus weak to Stealth Rock. However, after interviewing the trainer my questions have been answered.
The trainer usually starts his team with Cloyster or Kingdra in order to weaken the opponent’s weather starters. Kingdra would also be able to abuse Drizzle if the opponent happened to lead with it. After the opponent’s weather starter has been taken care of, the trainer would then throw in Rapidash. Though Rapidash’s Flare Blitz, Wild Charge and Life Orb gives it much recoil damage, Morning Sun allows it a speedy recovery and make it ready to hit again. Volcarona and Venusaur served as the standard Drought abusers while Chandelure served as a block against Jellicent’s Will-o-Wisp.
However, despite the success of the team, it wasn’t prepared to take on the champion of the tournament which used a Sandstorm team.
Sand Stream
Most of the users who decided to use a Sandstorm team went out the first round if not the second. These teams included Rampardos while two others used Regirock. Despite these failures, the team that won it all was one that used Regirock.
Regirock @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SDef / 252 Atk
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Drain Punch
- Stone Edge
Ferrothorn @ Choice Band
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 Atk / 8 SDef / 248 HP
Brave Nature
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
- Bulldoze
- Explosion
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Fire Punch
- Ice Punch
- Trick
Latios @ Light Clay
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Timid Nature
- Dragon Pulse
- Light Screen
- Memento
- Reflect
Landorus @ Expert Belt
Trait: Sand Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
- Rock Polish
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Terrakion @ Life Orb
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Rock Polish
- Stone Edge
Regirock was a good model on what a perm weather starter should be. The presence of a pseudo-recovery move, Stealth Rock, a boost in Special Defense every time it switched in, reliable bulk to switch into an attacking move, lack of Stealth Rock weakness and three good attacking moves gives it a wide range of options and support for its team. Once Sandstorm was in place, Latios would be thrown out to use either Light Screen or Reflect. From there, the other pokemon can be used in order to set itself up, revenge kill or just sweep the rest of the game in general. What’s interesting to note was the use of Ferrothorn as a lead attacker and not your standard support moveset (which can bypass other pokemon that use taunt). One downside to this team is the lack of a Rapid Spinner along with a Pseudo-Hazer. If a pokemon sets itself up in time (whether that be through Dragon Dance or Calm Mind) the pokemon on this team will have a hard time trying to deal with it.
It’s interesting to note that the four semi-finalists for this tournament each had a different weather starting ability (Tauros: Snow Warning, Rapidash: Drought, Regirock: Sand Stream, Mesprit: Drizzle).
Anyways, that’s the summary for the 2nd tournament! I’ll update the third tournament and my analysis with it next time!
Special thanks to: Bernard, f0kus10, themarchhare, aweshucks, Ryusazaki, baby kupo, Snuffie, Varis, MJB, Imanalt, Leo-Wolf, V4, Robot, Jiodi, Drying Pan and jas61292
Also, yes, I know that Mesprit is now in RU now. The tournaments were done when he was still in NU
Hello everyone, today, I’m here to present an unusual experiment that I’m currently in the midst of. At Pokemon Showdown!, I host tournaments frequently to the users. These tournaments are designed to challenge the participants and force them to try new strategies rather than rely on the old tried and true methods. One of the tournaments I held was on March 21st, 2012 and was called the NU Perm Weather Starter Tournament. Here are the rules:
Obviously, the changing of the ability meant that typical battles would not do. Instead, the participants played in the Hackmon Tier. A tier where users can change and alter pokemon and give them moves/abilities that are illegal for them to have (see verbatim’s post for more details).Take an NU pokemon (with the exception of REGIGIGAS AND SLAKING) and give them one of the four permanent weather abilities (Sand Stream, Snow Warning, Drizzle and Drought).
All other stats, moves, etc. for that pokemon will be kept the same. The five other pokemon’ stats, abilities, moves, etc. will also remain the same.
The tournament can only have OU pokemon and down.
This tournament was inspired by Ninetales and Politoed. In the days of Diamond and Pearl, they were banished the NU lot, with many trainers not even giving them a second glance. But their Dream World abilities boosted them into OU where they remain top choice pokemon to this day. My aim was to recreate that scenario and give a NU pokemon that chance to shine.
There are two reasons for me wanting to try such a thing out. One, as I mentioned before, this new strategy forces the user to break boundaries and try something new with their now special NU pokemon. Two, I wanted to see if there was an NU pokemon that was not only equal in terms of reliability compared to Politoed and Ninetales (and a lesser extent towards the other weather starting pokemon) but perhaps surpass them in it as well.
14 users participated in this tournament. I have seen some interesting teams and a lot of good choices for an NU pokemon with a perm weather starting ability. Here are the ones that stuck out to me in terms of creativity and how well the team did overall.
Note: Yes, I know that it takes an experienced battler to make a good team win battles. However, that’s why I looked at the other teams that did not do so well and considered their NU pokemon as well. It should also be noted that I wasn’t able to get all the teams as some of the participants deleted their teams shortly after.
Sand Stream
Only two participants used Sand Stream as their choice for weather. And both of them used The highly defensive pokemon of Shuckle.
This was a good choice of a pokemon IMO. The already highly defensive pokemon gets a 50% boost to its sky high Special Defense stats. It seemed to act like a replacement for Hippowdon only with a lot higher defense but a lot poor attack and no Roar. The lack of a roar was what seemed to hurt Shuckle as he couldn’t phase out his opponents. The Shuckles were also taken down by being toxic/burn or by getting 25% damage every time it went into the field with Stealth Rock Present.
Drought
Surprisingly, none of the users pick a pokemon to use Drought with (and if they did it was probably deleted before I could get to them).
Drizzle
One of the more popular weathers in the Tournament was the use of Drizzle. Here are the ones that stood out to me.
Floatzel was one of the entries with a set seen here:
Floatzel @ Choice Band
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk
Jolly Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Ice Punch
- Crunch
This is actually based off the first set on Smogon with the obvious exception of no more Swift Swim. Floatzel actually runs this set well. Though he no longer gets his boost of speed in the rain, he gets a boost in his attack power thanks to the rain making Aqua Jet with a boosted power of now 135!
One surprising NU pokemon with Drizzle was Mesprit! This team actually went pretty far in the tournament.
Mesprit @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Calm Nature
- U-turn
- Toxic
- Psychic
- Rain Dance
This set reminds me of the Ninetales Sunny Day set and blends a defensive set with an offensive set as well. It works well as a weather lead and once set up, it can U-Turn out to another pokemon that might resist the opponent’s attacking move. It can use Rain Dance when other weather pokemon are thrown out and use Toxic to hit rather stubborn pokemon (like the aforementioned Shuckle). Though Mesprit doesn’t have a water-type move to back it up, it can still be useful to its fellow water-loving teammates.
Finally, and my favorite, was the use of Swanna.
Aquack (Swanna) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 10 HP / 252 SAtk / 248 Spd
Modest Nature
- Surf
- Hurricane
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Hurricane, need I say more? The use of Hurricane puts Swanna at a spot that makes Politoed green with envy (even though he’s already green..so…nevermind…I’ll shut up…). It’s an undeniable threat, throw out Swanna, make it rain and unleash the fury of a STAB Hurricane. Unfortunately, Swanna’s Special Attack is okay with a power of 87 which was why the user maximized his Special Attack along with giving it a modest nature. Swanna also suffers in the fact that Surf is its strongest move along with a rather minimum movepool to select from.
Snow Warning
Finally, Snow Warning. Of all the weather abilities, Snow Warning was probably the most popular to choose from due to the rather, *cough*, lackluster Abomasnow. It’s also one of the more exploitable abilities to use as well with a lot of ice-type pokemon in the NU tier. Glaceon and Articuno were ones that were used but the one that I’ll talk about is actually the one that was on the team that won the tournament.
Regice @ Chesto Berry
Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 248 HP / 10 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Rest
- Seismic Toss
- Blizzard
Once the Hail-lover now the Hail-starter, Regice took the tournament by force due to its stats and support from its teammates. On first glance, this set of moves looks like it could have been on a Blissey with the exception of Rest for Softboiled. This set works well as once thrown in, Blizzard is now 100% accurate. If the opponent resists Blizzard or has used Calm Mind then use Seismic Toss on them. Thunder Wave them to slow them down and Rest when needed to go back to full health. I myself would have used Toxic in place of Thunder Wave to chip away health faster but that’s my IMO.
Next Tournament and Thoughts so Far
Even though this tournament has ended it does not mean the experiment has. Sometime this week I will host another NU Perm Weather Starter Tournament on Pokemon Showdown!. If you are interested in participating in it, send me a message via my account on Smogon and I can give you more details about it.
After I host that tournament, I will do another post of a brief analysis of the top teams in that tournament. From there, I hope to do a comparison between the best NU Perm Weather Starter pokemon with their official counterparts of Politoed, Ninetales and such. Thanks for reading!
~LibraSnakes13
Thank you to Champpp23, brkman692, Leader Jasmine, baby kupo, Closet, Ryusazaki, Test @ll Day, le Umby, Jiodi, Techniloom. aweshucks, MJB, Vain and finale for participating in this tournament.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello everyone! Sorry for the wait as I have been busy lately. Here are the results for the 2nd tournament, the 3rd one will be updated in a few days.
Snow Warning
Unlike in the last tournament, there wasn’t as much participants using Snow Warning as their perm weather ability. Regice was once again one of the pokemon used but unlike last time, he did not do so well. A pokemon that did do well was a surprising one indeed.
Shiva (Tauros) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 Spd / 4 HP / 252 Atk
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Return
- Rock Slide
- Iron Head
This set is odd for more reasons than one. First and most obvious reason is that Tauros is not an Ice-type, second, the participant, for whatever reason, decided not to incorporate Blizzard into Tauros’ arsenal and favored a physical attacking set instead (which makes sense due to Taruos’ abysmally low special attack stat). However, with that said, it should be noted that Abomasnow was also included in the participant’s team meaning that he could easily switch back and forth and keep the Hail going. Also, Tauros is not weak to Stealth Rock damage and does not have a plethora of weaknesses unlike its counterpart. However, both of them are weak to the plethora of fighting moves that plague the OU tier.
Drizzle
Drizzle saw the use of Miltank as a potential good weather starter. Though this team unfortunately didn’t go far in the tournament, I had the pleasure to battle this team myself to see what it was like. The result was quite annoying for me as Miltank proved to be harder to kill than I thought.
Miltank @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Def
Careful Nature
- Milk Drink
- Heal Bell
- Body Slam
- Toxic
First off, the rather slow nature of Miltank means that if two weather starters were thrown out at the same time, she would probably get the rain started. Milk Drink is a reliable recovery method as Miltank can switch in to a lot of threats, take damage and then heal herself. Heal Bell is of course useful while STAB Body Slam and Toxic give a chance to inflict a status on the opponent and wear them down. However, like her male counterpart, the plethora of Fighting-type pokemon in the OU tier (along with Superpower Scizor and others) makes her a frail target if she faces these threats.
Jumpluff was also used in the tournament though it didn’t do well. Mesprit was also used but more on him and his team later.
Carracosta @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Shell Smash
- Stone Edge
Like Miltank, Carracosta’s somewhat slow nature helps him win one-on-one weather battles. His moves can also be a big threat against Sun, Rain and Hail teams as well. Immunity to Sandstorm along with a boost in Special Defense in the weather can also serve as a good counter towards those teams. STAB Aqua Jet can help him revenge kill while Shell Smash can help set himself up for a potential sweep with Waterfall and Stone Edge.
Drought
Unlike the last tournament, there were a high amount of Drought users this time around. Some that were used were Magmortar, Zweilous and even Alomomola (which was basically used for the lolz). One somewhat successful pokemon was Cradily.
Cradily @ Leftovers
Trait: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Seed Bomb
- Recover
- Rock Slide
The success of Cradily can be seen in its reliable bulk, use of Recovery, Stealth Rock for support and finally a STAB in Seed Bomb and Rock Slide. The abysmal speed, though useful against other weather starters, can hurt it big time by making it susceptible towards fighting moves. Also, the lack of resistances (normal and electric) means that Cradily may have a hard time trying to stay alive if it switches into an attacking move. His low speed also means he’ll most likely be susceptible to another attacking move before it can use Recover.
Rapidash @ Life Orb
Trait: Drought
EVs: 252 Atk / 6 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Flare Blitz
- Morning Sun
- Wild Charge
Venusaur @ Life Orb
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 66 HP / 252 SAtk / 192 Spd
Modest Nature
- Growth
- SolarBeam
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Volcarona @ Leftovers
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 248 HP / 10 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Substitute
- Bug Buzz
- Fiery Dance
Chandelure @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 6 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Serious Nature
- Overheat
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
Kingdra @ Leftovers
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 78 HP / 252 Atk / 180 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Substitute
- Outrage
Cloyster @ Focus Sash
Trait: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk / 46 SAtk / 212 Spd
Naive Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Rock Blast
- Shell Smash
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
This team actually made it to the finals, because of which, I decided to incorporate Rapidash and her fellow teammates as well. When I saw how well this team was doing I was surprised mainly for the fact that Rapidash is a fire-type pokemon and is thus weak to Stealth Rock. However, after interviewing the trainer my questions have been answered.
The trainer usually starts his team with Cloyster or Kingdra in order to weaken the opponent’s weather starters. Kingdra would also be able to abuse Drizzle if the opponent happened to lead with it. After the opponent’s weather starter has been taken care of, the trainer would then throw in Rapidash. Though Rapidash’s Flare Blitz, Wild Charge and Life Orb gives it much recoil damage, Morning Sun allows it a speedy recovery and make it ready to hit again. Volcarona and Venusaur served as the standard Drought abusers while Chandelure served as a block against Jellicent’s Will-o-Wisp.
However, despite the success of the team, it wasn’t prepared to take on the champion of the tournament which used a Sandstorm team.
Sand Stream
Most of the users who decided to use a Sandstorm team went out the first round if not the second. These teams included Rampardos while two others used Regirock. Despite these failures, the team that won it all was one that used Regirock.
Regirock @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SDef / 252 Atk
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Drain Punch
- Stone Edge
Ferrothorn @ Choice Band
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 Atk / 8 SDef / 248 HP
Brave Nature
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
- Bulldoze
- Explosion
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Fire Punch
- Ice Punch
- Trick
Latios @ Light Clay
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Timid Nature
- Dragon Pulse
- Light Screen
- Memento
- Reflect
Landorus @ Expert Belt
Trait: Sand Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
- Rock Polish
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Terrakion @ Life Orb
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Rock Polish
- Stone Edge
Regirock was a good model on what a perm weather starter should be. The presence of a pseudo-recovery move, Stealth Rock, a boost in Special Defense every time it switched in, reliable bulk to switch into an attacking move, lack of Stealth Rock weakness and three good attacking moves gives it a wide range of options and support for its team. Once Sandstorm was in place, Latios would be thrown out to use either Light Screen or Reflect. From there, the other pokemon can be used in order to set itself up, revenge kill or just sweep the rest of the game in general. What’s interesting to note was the use of Ferrothorn as a lead attacker and not your standard support moveset (which can bypass other pokemon that use taunt). One downside to this team is the lack of a Rapid Spinner along with a Pseudo-Hazer. If a pokemon sets itself up in time (whether that be through Dragon Dance or Calm Mind) the pokemon on this team will have a hard time trying to deal with it.
It’s interesting to note that the four semi-finalists for this tournament each had a different weather starting ability (Tauros: Snow Warning, Rapidash: Drought, Regirock: Sand Stream, Mesprit: Drizzle).
Anyways, that’s the summary for the 2nd tournament! I’ll update the third tournament and my analysis with it next time!
Special thanks to: Bernard, f0kus10, themarchhare, aweshucks, Ryusazaki, baby kupo, Snuffie, Varis, MJB, Imanalt, Leo-Wolf, V4, Robot, Jiodi, Drying Pan and jas61292