Tokyo Tom
Somewhere between psychotic and iconic
introduction
Hey guys. I'm Tokyo Tom, and for my 100th post I'm bringing you a nice and powerful [IN MY OPINION] Rain HO team. I built this team in the very late stages of BW2 OU (I only started to get competitive on PO in fall 2013), mainly to combat the [EG] stall that was overpopulating the ladder, and it's been probably my most-used team in BW since. I finally got around to posting it here as BW is p. much over save certain Smogon tours, so I thought I might as well see what you guys can do for this team.
Sticking true with probably the only style I can play, this is an HO team focused on overloading opponents with powerful water moves. I also took a liking to Moltres in OU, so I thought I'd base the team around that, as I feel it's really underappreciated (I also love the legendary birds). I also unwittingly fulfilled Item Clause, so I guess you can use it there too haha.
If you care about these sorts of things, this team peaked at #2 on PO, then instead of exiting a channel during a battle I exited the server and I just downward tilted from there. This team also went undefeated against users like Sogeking, CTC, and Shake during my IDM tryouts which lead to my acceptance, something CTC probably regrets atm but we'll skip over that. Finally, this team has gone 2-0 when I used it in this year's POWC, so you could say I have confidence in it.
Anyway, here we go:
the team at a glance
You'll usually lead with Jirachi or 'Toed, depending on the situation. If there's no opposing weather, get up rain as soon as you can, since most of the 'Mons on the team absolutely depend on it for accuracy (Moltres) and damage output (Starmie, Keldeo).
a closer look
Keldeo @
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Surf
- Secret Sword
"Hit the bong I hit the ceiling, hit the drink I hit the floor
If they show 'em in the buildin to the crowd then let me know."
This is the classic Scarf Keldeo. It's overused, but only because it's so effective. Sitting at a great speed tier of 108, Scarf Keldeo has the ability to outrun and OHKO or 2HKO pretty much any HO 'Mon in the game with its Rain-boosted STAB. HPump secures firm OHKOs on threats like YacheChomp with SR, and Jolteon and CB Scizor without it. Surf is the more reliable option, and still cleanly OHKOs stuff like Volc, Lucario, and Gengar. Secret Sword adds coverage and smacks Blissey and Chansey around on their lower defenses. Finally, HP Ice rounds out the set by providing coverage on Dragons, like Lati@s, Salamence, and Dragonite. Keldeo acts as an effective cleaner for the team late-game, as well as throwing around some HPumps mid-game to soften resists up.
Politoed @
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 216 SAtk / 140 Spd / 152 HP
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
"Yo 6ix's shit is crazy right? Remember when we used to be in Lenny's basement n' shit? Now where we at?
The Come Up."
This is a pretty underrated variant of Politoed imo. My main issue with the defensive set is that it's complete set-up fodder, even with Encore and Perish Song, and usually ends up as dead weight on offensive teams. On the flipside, ScarfToed is very prone to being pursuit trapped by Tyranitar, and SpexToed is slow and very easy to play around. This set aims to fix most of the issues brought up by 'Toed. Firstly, the Expert Belt allows me to bluff a Choice item, and powers up my Hydro Pump against the three prominent weather starters more than Splash Plate. EBelt also allows me to smack Ttar coming in to Pursuit a "choiced Ice Beam" hard. Ice Beam adds coverage on Grass- and Dragon- types, while
RED FLAME @
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 176 SAtk / 200 Spd / 12 Def / 120 HP
Modest Nature
- Hurricane
- U-turn
- Sleep Talk
- Fire Blast
"Various listeners wishing us death,
Don't give a damn, I'm reppin' Young Sinatra till my last breath"
The centerpiece of the team, Specs Moltres accomplishes several huge feats. First, it provides a good check to dangerous set-up sweepers such as SD Scizor, Breloom, Conkeldurr, Volcarona, and Toxicroak. Secondly, it can counter Sun teams with its powerful STAB Fire Blast, being able to beat 'Mons like Venusaur without being trapped by Dugtrio. Third, it can absorb sleep from Amoonguss and Breloom and hammer away at them with both its SE STAB attacks, or grab momentum with U-Turn. Finally, Moltres acts as a solid cleaner for the team, easily OHKOing most of the metagame with a +2 STAB Hurricane. Moltres and Keldeo both share similar checks as well, in bulky water-types and Sp. Defensive Jirachi. With the team's strategy of overloading, Moltres and Keldeo (and Starmie as well) can wear down these Pokemon to the point where any one of them can clean easily. The moveset is pretty standard, and U-Turn is there just to grab momentum on Ttar on the switch. Moltres is one of the rare Choiced 'Mons that uses its main attacks more than U-Turn/Volt Switch. The EVs buffer it out against physical hits from the likes of Scizor, 'Loom, and Toxicroak, and there is enough speed to creep on Jolly 'Loom and Standard Washtom. The rest is thrown into Sp. Atk to grab a jump point and improve Moltres's massive damage output.
Starmie @
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin
- Thunder
"Got punchlines like prom with the, world on my palm
I knew that we would blow up cause bitch, we be the bomb."
Any team with a 'Mon 4x weak to SR would most likely benefit from a spinner. Starmie is the best in the business in terms of offensive spinners, being able to OHKO or 2HKO every spin-blocker in the game with Analytic and the right move. For those of you that don't know what Analytic does, it's essentially a Life Orb boost to Starmie's attacks if it goes last, including if the opponent switches something in. This allows Starmie to consistently push large amounts of damage onto Ferrothorn on the switch, wearing it down quickly. Rain support eases prediction a little more, as Thunder grabs the 2HKO on Jellicent even without Analytic, while Surf cleanly OHKOs Gengar without having to resort to the worse coverage of Psyshock or the shaky accuracy of Hydro Miss. Starmie's good speed and versatility allow it to be a decent recipient of Baton Pass as well, being able to clean teams with its reliable, Rain-boosted STAB Surf. Ice Beam is for more coverage on Dragons and Grass types that resist Starmie's STAB and Thunder, and also provides a handy tool to revenge kill Spex Latios, doing upwards of 70% iirc.
Celebi @
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 240 HP / 220 SDef / 36 Spd / 12 SAtk
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Nasty Plot
- Recover
- Baton Pass
"Yes I chose to pop charts, I'm doing the crime,
And that just means I'm fuckin' dope to you and your mom."
Celebi is the glue to the team, being able to stand against powerful Electric- and Water-type assaults. Celebi also supports the team by absorbing status with Natural Cure, which allows it to go up against dangerous defensive threats like Rotom-W and Jellicent. Celebi's most important role, however, is setting up Nasty Plot and Baton Passing it to any of the powerful special sweepers on the team. This is made easier with the synergy Grass, Fire, and Water have together, so Celebi can pass its boost(s) to Keldeo or Moltres on predicted Dark-, Fire-, and Bug- attacks. The set speaks for itself, with Recover for longevity over a second attacking option. The HP gives Celebi a leftovers number at 401, and the speed allows it to beat any non-scarfed Tyranitar attempting to land a powerful Crunch before Celebi switches out. Lots of investment in Sp. Def allows me to take tons of punishment (important since my own rain can be used against me), and the small Sp. Atk investment adds to Celebi's offensive power, allowing it to do some decent damage at +2.
Jirachi @
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 40 HP / 68 Atk / 176 SAtk / 224 Spd
Mild Nature
- Iron Head
- Icy Wind
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder
"Mama told me don't let these peasants throw rocks at the king."
Suggested by Moonclawz, Jirachi patches up most of the holes on this team (namely, a steel type and source of Paralysis) while retaining the utility of Stealth Rock. Originally Terrakion, Jirachi was added to the team to make matchups vs. DragMag and Flying 'Mons easier. Although it can't shut down HO leads w/ Taunt, Jirachi can limit Skarmory to one layer of hazards and still beat common leads like Sashtar, Garchomp, and Landorus-T with the appropriate move. Shuca Berry makes this even better, allowing Jirachi to lure certain Ground types and better check Dragons w/ EQ like Dragonite and Salamence. The speed EVs let me outspeed Adamant Kyurem-B w/ a little creep, and the HP allows me to live three LO Draco Meteors from Latios (a little unnecessary but hey, it's there). The Sp. Atk allows me to grab a jump point and the rest of the EVs are dumped into Atk to increase Iron Head's damage output.
conclusion & mini threatlist
So, there's the team, hope you enjoy using it. It plays even more offensively than most HO teams, lacking both a Steel type and an Electric immunity. The idea is to use your 'Mons extremely aggressively and put massive amounts of pressure on your opponent's resists, overloading them. Don't hesitate to sack 'Mons if that means you can get others in for free.
Not the best match, but this is an example of how the team plays - it all leads up to the Moltres clean-up.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen5ou-79423149
Again, not the best match (got really lucky w/ the predicts), but this one shows Keldeo doing some work:
http://pastebin.com/S6f1uk7W
Vs. Sun:
http://pastebin.com/D9txVnc0
EDIT: Thanks to Moonclawz's suggestion, I opted for a mixed
shoutouts & importable
This one goes out to my big dogs Moony and Riles, definitely two of my best friends in Competitive 'Mons, and they've both helped me a lot through the last half year.
Thanks to col49 for showing me the ropes of HO and helping me build this team in its primary stages.
Thanks to Valentine for all the help thus far as I entered the Smogon community. I owe you a lot man.
Cheers to the IDM fam for all the support.
Shoutout to Smogon's Thirteen, past and present. (MCBarrett, CZ., sugarhigh, ben gay, Kid Buu, The DragonKnight, fingerscrossed, Nog, EnerG218, Zamrock), my friend Bear for innovating sets like Anal Starmie, Special Attacking Keldeo and Drizzle Politoed, and everyone else I'm forgetting that I really shouldn't.
That's it, thanks for reading. Cheers!
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