ORAS OU Tears Falling - my 48!!!! post RMT #5 peak

Annyeonghaseyo! This is my rain team which I spammed on the ladder for a great deal of time, I'm making this RMT mostly because I'm bored of playing it.


Rain already has a predetermined structure, so a lot of the choices will be obvious.
A good framework for rain teams is the following:
Politoed/2 Swift Swimmers/Torn-T/Stealth Rocker/Filler

Some key threats to rain to consider are Ferrothorn for obvious reasons, and Mega Alakazam because it can trace swift swim and then becoming very menacing. I believe 2 is the correct number for Swift Swim. 1 isn't enough water spam, and if you use 3, you I feel like you leave yourself more open to threats that resist water more so than rain teams do already. This team doesn't actually have any hazard removal, but I don't think this is paramount for rain teams. Switching out into a hazard removal mon, then using defog uses up a lot of rain turns, it's probably better to just use those rain turns to try to wear the opposing team down. You can only crank out a certain number of rain turns with Politoed anyway, so it's best to try to make games with this team as short as possible.
The Team:


Teambuilding process:

So the first two picks were extremely obvious. Kingdra is probably the best Swift Swimmer in the tier, what separates it from the rest in my opinion is the slightly higher speed stat, which lets it revenge Jolly +1 Zard X where Swampert or Omastar can't. Water resists like Rotom-W irritate other Swift Swimmers, but Kingdra has another boon in being able to blast through it with Draco Meteor.

Often, Rain might want to use its mega slot to cover weaknesses, but Swampert is a very worthwhile investment. The electric immunity is huge, and it means it can't be prankster Twaved by Thundurus, so HO has even more trouble stopping it. It's bulky enough to shoulder priority attacks like Sucker Punch and Brave Bird too.

Torn-T is another rain staple. It revenges Keldeo, despite not being able to switch in, and destroys Venusaur, which would otherwise be annoying. Finally, Rain can struggle with bulkier builds, and Torn-T, with 100% accurate Hurricanes due to rain, is a powerful weapon against them.

Chesnaught might seem like an odd choice, but it is the Sub Salac BD set. This turns Ferrothorn on the opposing team from a problem into setup fodder, and Chesnaught is a fantastic win condition if the opposing team has a large number of water types. It can beat Adamant Bisharp 1v1 easily, and also, it can get big damage off on things like Azumarill or Rotom-W. While that last one might not be the optimal use of Chesnaught, it might be required so that your Swift Swimmers can sweep.

The last slot goes to Jirachi. This doesn't check Mega Alakazam that well, but with sp def investment, it can take 2 shadow balls, and para in return. It's also needed to set up rocks, and obviously it makes a good lati switch in.

The sets:

Politoed @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Encore
- Rain Dance
- Rest

This is mostly a standard Politoed. Scald is for STAB and because it's an amazing move to spam. Encore is absolutely essential on Politoed, because it prevents set up, and any Politoed that doesn't have this move becomes set up bait for so much. Rain Dance is an odd tech move, but it makes clipping your own rain turns by having to send in Politoed early not as awful, and it's also very useful in the event that your opponent tries to sack either a Hippo or a TTar to stop the rain. Finally, Rest will let this Politoed have maximum longevity, and lets you crank out the absolute maximum number of rain turns, because it is the only setter on this team. The speed is to outspeed uninvested Mega Scizor by 1 point, I found the spread here, http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/one-stormy-night-peak-7-1884-rating.3555180/, and it seemed pretty solid so I went with it.


Kingdra @ Choice Specs
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Draco Meteor

As I said before, Kingdra is one of the strongest Swift Swimmers in the game. I've decided to go for a specs set here because Life Orb wears itself down very quickly, and Kingdra's best moves are all special anyway. Hydro Pump can bust through teams, but Scald is an accurate alternative that obviously also gets burns. Draco Meteor is another obvious choice, and actually this is your best way of killing Rotom-W, which is quite problematic for the team. Ice Beam hits grass types that switch in on this, like Amoonguss, for big damage, and it also hits Mega Altaria. This plays an important role in revenge killing Charizard X, and also being a good Mega Scizor check. This is one of the key staples on rain for its unbelievable offensive power.


Swampert @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Superpower

I wanted to use Swampert on this rain team, and it's been a good investment. Not getting the Swift Swim boost on the first turn it is out is slightly annoying, but it has enough natural bulk to take hits well, even when uninvested, so this shouldn't be treated as a huge negative when considering using this. Swampert handles electric types well, Mega Manectric be able to pivot freely by double switching in on Politoed when the rain goes down and I'm forced back into it. It's not stopped by Prankster Thunder Wave either. This is a solid wincon, being able to switch up moves to hit the appropriate target. With Kingdra, if I want to use a water move to KO something, then a water resist like Latios can come in. However, this is not the case with Swampert, and provided the appropriate pokemon have been weakened first, this can clean up. It's for this reason that I generally use Kingdra as a breaker, then Swampert to clean up, although if the opposing team is particularly short on water resists, then obviously either sweeps well. As for the actual moves, two are obvious STAB choices, and Ice Punch is clearly needed as coverage, Latis, Garchomp, and grass types being the most prominent targets off the top of my head. As for the last slot, it's between Low Kick and Superpower. Initially, I went with Low Kick, but I've changed based on the following calculations:

252+ Atk Mega Swampert Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 88+ Def Ferrothorn: 135-159 (38.3 - 45.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Mega Swampert Superpower vs. 252 HP / 88+ Def Ferrothorn: 214-254 (60.7 - 72.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Mega Swampert Low Kick (100 BP) vs. 252 HP / 88+ Def Ferrothorn: 180-212 (51.1 - 60.2%) -- 89.1% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

As you can see, if you go for Earthquake on the switch, then Low Kick a Ferrothorn with that spread, then it will never KO. However, you actually have a pretty good chance to KO with Superpower. Considering Ferrothorn is the main target for the fighting move, I think this justifies the attack and defence drop from Superpower.


Tornadus-Therian @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 76 Atk / 180 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Hurricane
- Superpower
- U-turn
- Taunt

Tornadus-T is a fantastic pokemon to use on Rain, and really you have to justify not using it rather than the other way around, because of how it beats grass types and gets heavy hits off on the opposing team. This does key functions like revenge Keldeo, and handle Serperior. I prefer using Superpower due to its accuracy. The attack investment is to OHKO Excadrill, and it makes U-turn hit slightly harder. As for the last slot, you're faced between Knock Off and Taunt. I have found Taunt to be the best choice in the last slot. It stops opposing pokemon from recovering, setting up rocks, or spreading status that this team doesn't like. This makes Taunt typically a superior choice to Knock Off when facing bulky builds. Tornadus is a fantastic breaker, and doesn't actually need the additional coverage now that its main STAB becomes reliable under rain.


Chesnaught @ Salac Berry
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 12 HP / 244 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Belly Drum
- Drain Punch
- Seed Bomb
- Substitute

This is probably the most unusual choice on the team, it's not nearly as gimmicky as it first seems. Granted, if the opponent has a Talonflame, or a Tornadus-T of their own, this isn't doing much, so there will be matchups in which your best choice is to sack it. However, I'm massively underselling this. This a fantastic alternative wincon. If you're against a team with plenty of water resists, then for some rain teams, that's it. However, with this Chesnaught, you still have a way out of this bad scenario, the game is not over yet. This also crucially turns Ferrothorn from a defensive threat into straight set up fodder, the importance of which can't be understated. Jolly Chesnaught outspeeds Adamant Bisharp, and thus it is my best way of handling it if it ever gets to +2. As I mentioned before, it can also be used to get good damage on Rotom-W and Azumarill, which the team needs. Often, people have played around this pokemon incorrectly and just straight up lost because of that. Not everyone expects this set on Chesnaught, although sadly the surprise factor will be gone after I make this RMT. The EVs are so that its HP stat is divisible by 4, so a Sub+BD activates the Salac Berry.


Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 140 SpD / 116 Spe
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- Thunder Wave
- Stealth Rock
- Healing Wish

Jirachi fills a number of key roles on the team. It sets rocks, stops a Mega Alakazam that has traced Swift Swim from sweeping, and is a good Lati switch in. This Jirachi is my best way of handling Clefable and defensive DD Altaria too. Two of the moveslots absolutely can't change, those being Iron Head for STAB, and Stealth Rock because otherwise the team lacks it. Thunder Wave is the best option for the third slot I believe, this is because it means Clefable can't be annoying with a T Wave of its own, and fish for paras, because Bold takes less than 50% from an Iron Head:
0 Atk Jirachi Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 152-180 (38.5 - 45.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

This leaves only the last slot up for debate, Healing Wish. I've chosen it because U-Turn is very weak. Healing Wish is a very useful move. Some common situations in which Healing Wish is definitely preferred is when Swampert is low, and Healing Wish can bring it back up so priority moves don't KO it anymore. Also, due to this team lacking Hazard removal, Tornadus-T's Regenerator will be used to break even with rocks, rather than actually recovering health, if you know what I am saying. It's only recovering a net total of 8%, which will just be used up with life orb turns. Therefore, it will still get worn down when facing bulky teams. However, with Jirachi, you can give your best breaker some new life, which might be enough to overwhelm them, this scenario is main selling point of Healing Wish. U-Turn does have key advantages, mostly because it stops Jirachi from being a momentum sink, but the big one is that it stops it from being trapped by Magnezone. Sadly, Jirachi does kill momentum and burn rain turns somewhat, but it's the best fit for the team, and due to Thunder Wave being what it is, I don't believe it gives out as many free turns to the opponent as a standard Ferrothorn set does. The EVs let it creep Jolly Bisharp by a few points, so that it can go for Twave on that, or set up rocks before it dies, and on anything else that likes to hit this benchmark.

Weaknesses:
I have very limited ways of killing this pokemon.
Regular more so than mega, actually. It can come in on Swampert very easily, and start setting up subs and DDing.
I have no switch ins to this thing, I think that's understandable when its power is boosted even further under my own rain. Torn-T can revenge.

Obviously, this team won't like facing ones that have a lot of water resists. There are certain combinations that won't leave you with much of a chance.
+
+
That's basically game over already. It's a rain team, if the opponent has piled on the water resists, and has a good way of beating +1 Chesnaught, there's not a lot I can do about that.


Replays:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-296127025
I feel like this match demonstrates well what I was talking about before when I said that Kingdra can weaken water resists for Swampert to sweep.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-296170133
Just an example of me breaking through a fat team effectively, showing that this team can hold its own against more than just standard HO.

I'm not really interested in spamming loads of replays, but those two are just where the teams works exactly as intended and are a good demonstration of its capabilities.

Politoed @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Encore
- Rain Dance
- Rest

Kingdra @ Choice Specs
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Draco Meteor

Swampert @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Superpower

Tornadus-Therian @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 76 Atk / 180 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Hurricane
- Superpower
- U-turn
- Taunt

Chesnaught @ Salac Berry
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 12 HP / 244 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Belly Drum
- Drain Punch
- Seed Bomb
- Substitute

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 140 SpD / 116 Spe
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- Thunder Wave
- Stealth Rock
- Healing Wish


Shoutouts to Shaka Brah, fleggumfl, Genesis7, c0mp, Ary, jacob the entirety of KIS, the room which has transcended reality, any elite and unstoppable showdown users who I might have forgotten, and in particular Concerned Citizen.
 
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