The Annual Drizzle

[Delko]

The Annual Drizzle​

Hello everyone,

Harsha asked for another RMT, so here's one ;)
Nah, just kidding. With the WCOP starting again, the participants will start focusing on making new teams to use. This is the team I used last year, but the maniac that I am kept updating and using it. This is probably one of my most solid teams and I used it a lot, but as I said earlier, new teams need to be made for this year's World Cup, so I might as well resign this one. I hope you like this RMT, and if you have any questions, suggestions or comments, feel free to post them and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Enjoy!

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Andraste (Politoed) (F) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Perish Song
- Toxic

Politoed is the only useable Rain inducer so it's pretty obvious to be used in this team. I went with Choice Scarf because I appreciate it's revenge-killing and late-game sweeping capabilities, especially in later stages of the battle when everything on my opponent's team is weakened and/or hazards are up. Surf is preferred over Hydro Pump for accuracy issues but it's also funny that for some reason people don't always realize it's Scarfed when they don't see Hydro Pump, so they sack multiple pokes before they find out. Ice Beam is useful for hitting Dragons and Grass-types that resist my Rain-boosted STAB move. Perish Song deals with Baton Pass teams (or similar stuff like SmashPassers) and can be used to give one of my pokes a free turn. And Toxic might seem weird on a Scarfer but it's my best option against Gastrodon and Jellicent who are just a pain in the ass for this team. The EVs are pretty standard, hit as hard as possible as fast as possible. Timid over Modest because I like to revenge kill +1 Dragonite and stuff.

Paris (Jirachi) @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Thunder
- Iron Head
- Wish
- Stealth Rock

Jirachi is part one of my defensive core, while Gliscor takes on the physical attackers, Jirachi is here to deal with the special ones. In the Rain the Fire weakness is removed as well, meaning Jirachi can switch into Fire Blasts without much effort too. Other then that Jirachi also sets up Stealth Rock and provides the team with Wish support. Thunder not only has a 60% chance to paralyze, but since Jirachi also lures out the likes of Skarmory and Jellicent, I can hit those hard and potentially take them out, which makes it easier for Toxicroak to sweep. Last but not least there is Iron Head, and although it can be considered a "dick strategy", paraflinching has saved my ass on multiple occasions. Max HP and SDef allows Jirachi to shrug of alot of special attacks, Sassy nature is used over the suggested Careful one because I didn't want to lower the power of either Thunder nor Iron Head. Besides, when I paralyze the opponent, Jirachi is faster anyway.

Grafton (Gliscor) (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 176 Def / 88 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Taunt
- Protect
- U-turn
- Earthquake

A somewhat weird Gliscor set but it works. Where Jirachi takes on special threats, Gliscor handles the physical powerhouses in the tier. Taunt is extremely useful when facing stall but it also completely shuts down Ferrothorn, who can also a pretty big annoyance for this team to handle. Earthquake is a strong STAB move and pretty much obligatory on any decent Gliscor set and Protect adds to both scouting and providing an additional turn of Poison Heal recovery. U-turn gives me switch advantage, and although that doesn't seem too significant, having hazard damage rack up on my opponent will take its toll eventually. It also helps getting one of my pokes in safely against a faster oponent. Since it's pretty popular right now, U-turn Gliscor and Volt Switch Forretress give me a VoltTurn combination of my own, hehe. As far as the EVs go, 244 give maximum Poison Heal recovery, 176 Def EVs hits a defensive point and the little extra Speed allows me to outspeed things that aim to barely outspeed the standard Gliscor.

Savannah (Forretress) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Gyro Ball
- Spikes
- Volt Switch
- Rapid Spin

Initially this was Specs Rotom-W, but Forretress offered more team support in Rapid Spin and hazard support. And as an secondary Steel type I'm also less prone to Outrage-spammers. Spikes and Rapid Spin are obvious moves and pretty much the main reason I use Forretress. Volt Switch is a good move to get one of my other guys in safely and as previously mentioned, forms a VoltTurn combination with Gliscor. But it's also useful for stuff like Gyarados, hitting the relatively hard. Gyro Ball is the 4th move and even with minimum offensive investement, it's still useful against pokes as Double Dance Terrakion, Scarf Landorus or various Dragon Dancers. Forretress is my main pivot switch or pokemon I use for fodder (whether this means sleep, death, ...). Unfortunately Forretress lacks a decent recovery move but this can be solved with Jirachi's Wish support. The EVs are yet again straight forward, but they maximize Forretress physical defense so it can take a buttload of hits while setting up or spinning.

Saratoga (Latios) (M) @ Expert Belt
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Psyshock
- Thunder / Energy Ball
- Surf
- Draco Meteor

I actually don't see a lot of Expert Belt Latios anymore these days, but the ability to fake a Choice Item still catches of people of guard which is pretty fun. The moveset is kinda standard but then again also obvious. With both SR and Spikes up, Latios become a dangerous pokemon to switch into. Rain boosted Surf or STAB Draco Meteor are no laughing matter and Psyshock is useful for Breloom, Virizion, Venusaur etc or special walls such as Blissey. Thunder isn't that common on Latios but it hits various Bulky Waters very hard, and those tend to be annoying for this team. It's also useful for Bounce Gyarados as Thunder actually hits on the turn they "bounce up", which people seem to forget. Sometimes I also use Energy Ball, just because Gastrodon can be such a dick, but it doesn't hit other bulky waters such as Jellicent hard enough unfortunately. Standard EVs, max speed and power for optimized sweeping capabilities.

Bellerophon (Toxicroak) (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Dry Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Ice Punch
- Cross Chop
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch

While this set was popularized last year, it's actually pretty scarce now. Which is unfortunate as "Mynicroak" is still one beast of a set. It's a brilliant pokemon to have when facing Rain teams as they usually struggle against it a lot. The idea as simple as it is obvious, set up a Sword Dance and start sweeping. Hopefully it's checks and counters are down or weakened enough so nothing can stand in its way. Cross Chop is the best possible alternative to Drain Punch, which is unfortunately illegal combined with Ice Punch, and although the lowered accuracy sucks sometimes, it is a powerful move nonetheless. Ice Punch hits stuff that is immune or resists the Fighting STAB and Sucker Punch is priority move that can also be used to take out a threatening pokemon. Life Orb is used to boost Toxicroak's attack even more, and with Rain Dish the recoil is nullified anyway (Toxicroak even get's 2,5% back). The EVs makes sure Toxicroak hits as hard as possible and the Speed lets it outspeed a surprising amount of pokemon such as Dragonite and Gliscor.

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Importable

Andraste (Politoed) (F) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Perish Song
- Toxic

Paris (Jirachi) @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Thunder
- Iron Head
- Wish
- Stealth Rock

Grafton (Gliscor) (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 176 Def / 88 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Taunt
- Protect
- U-turn
- Earthquake

Savannah (Forretress) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Gyro Ball
- Spikes
- Volt Switch
- Rapid Spin

Saratoga (Latios) (M) @ Expert Belt
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Psyshock
- Thunder
- Surf
- Draco Meteor

Bellerophon (Toxicroak) (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Dry Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Ice Punch
- Cross Chop
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch

 

[Rwhite84]

Luvdisc for toxicroak! I like the creativity of this team, ice punch croak for the gliscor lure, Anyway to make this post usefull i think that you should go with energy ball over thunder since gastrodon other wise can give you a bit of a struggle if toed gets removed

 

[Lavos]

Great solid team etc., I played around with your older version for a while and it was pretty solid, only thing I preferred was Stealth Rock > Spikes on Forretress and Protect > Stealth Rock on Jirachi as I've found that Latios can 3HKO Rachi with Rain-boosted Surf, therefore if you switch in and it Surfs, you Wish next turn, then you can safely Protect without worrying about dying. It also helps scout moves that opponents are Choice-locked into - for example, Banded Terrak switches in on 50% Rachi, you can Protect instead of blindly switching into Latios/Toxicroak to get hammered by Stone Edge/EQ respectively. This team really doesn't need the sSpikes, and I've found that I usually can only get up one or two layers before Forry has to switch out/dies.

That's my suggestion, think about it I guess. Other than that, yeah, we all know it's a great team :D

 

[Mylo Xyloto]

Great solid team etc., I played around with your older version for a while and it was pretty solid, only thing I preferred was Stealth Rock > Spikes on Forretress and Protect > Stealth Rock on Jirachi as I've found that Latios can 3HKO Rachi with Rain-boosted Surf, therefore if you switch in and it Surfs, you Wish next turn, then you can safely Protect without worrying about dying. It also helps scout moves that opponents are Choice-locked into - for example, Banded Terrak switches in on 50% Rachi, you can Protect instead of blindly switching into Latios/Toxicroak to get hammered by Stone Edge/EQ respectively. This team really doesn't need the sSpikes, and I've found that I usually can only get up one or two layers before Forry has to switch out/dies.

That's my suggestion, think about it I guess. Other than that, yeah, we all know it's a great team :D

Agreeing with above and *steals team* Thanks :)

 

[DaveScottMustaine]

As you say, Latios is a very dangerous Pokemon, but you can turn it to a revenge killer sweeper, CS allows you to sweep EVERYTHING. This set is what you need.

Latios (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Psyshock

HP Fire, yes, HP Fire. Look at your actual movepool, how you deal with Steel-Types Pokes? Thunder is good, but you can sweep Water-Types with the rain abuser Jirachi. So Hidden Power fix perfectly on your Latios, and CS too.

 

[peng]

Hey Delko,

You seem to have a pretty large weakness to Ice Punch Lucario and (ironically) Toxicroak, who get pretty easy set-up against Forretress, and in Toxicroak's case, Politoed. Luckily these aren't particularly common but both can quite easily run through large portions of your team with Stealth Rock up. Perish Song is your only saving grace, and even then it only keeps them at bay for a few more turns.

The easiest fix would be to go with a faster Gliscor EV spread; 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 Spd Impish puts Gliscor at 280 Speed, enough to outrun all adamant Lucario and Toxicroak. However, this comes at the cost of losing bulk that would prove useful versus the likes of Terrakion.

I don't really have much time for a full rate, but if I see anything else when I re-read this later I'll edit them in here.

Good luck!

 

[labarith]

I really don't understand this team. As far as O can telll, your team uses weather for:
a. Pumping surf
b. stopping other weather
c. hindering fire from killing your 2 steel types.
d. Toxicroak's dry skin. :/

I know SS is banned w/ drizzle in OU (which is still epically stupid), but there's got to be some other use for rain in your team IMO to justify it.

 

[Bluewind]

In my opinion go with Specs Rotom-W to patch up the Gyarados weakness; cool team good luck.

Also for winged-fuck's sake it's standard SD Croak not Mynicroak

 

[Gymdude]

Hi Delko. Great team you have here.

If you aren't opting for Energy Ball on Latios, you could try HP [Grass] on Politoed as well, instead of Perish Song or Toxic. Regarding Jirachi, what is the benefit of using those extra SpD EVs when you could outspeed and KO Ttar while still being able to sponge special attacks using the standard set? If you want more special buffer, couldn't you just go with WishPass Blissey? Also, without Rotom-W, the team loses some of its offensive pressure which I think the team lacks. Maybe not; whatever works for you.

Anyway, the rest of the team looks great. Fantastic synergy. Good luck.

 

[Cloud9.]

Delko<3
i can see a major weakness to BU breloom - only your toad and latios can revenge it.
I don't know how you work around it, but one way to fix this is to make your politoad specs, or give Latios Psychic instead of Psyshock; up to you weather you want to change it or not.
Solid team man, well done. Once again a very enjoyable RMT :)

 

[Delko]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions !

I liked the Rotom-W version to, but I went with Forretress instead because Dragon spammers were super annoying (for me it even seems that 50% of the teams I encounter use Scarf Salamence). And of course Spikes and Rapid Spin are cool ;)

Choice Specs on Latios is cool, I agree with that, but I don't want to let it become set-up fodder (or Pursuit fodder). With Expert Belt I get so many surprise kills, and late-game the fact that it's slightly weaker doesn't even matter. And btw, HP Fire on a Rain team isn't that effective. Rain boosted Surf hits most Steel-types harder anyway.

HP Grass is surprisingly weak on ScarfToed, so in my personal experience you're better off Toxic'ing Jellicent and Gastrodon rather then trying to kill them with HP Grass.

I actually might run a bit more speed on Gliscor for Toxicroak and Lucario. Good idea! The main idea is to keep momentum up and not let them set-up.

About the BU Breloom weakness, it's not so bad actually. I just go to Gliscor to Taunt it and then either Latios or Toxicroak can beat it.

The Standard Gyarados (Sub/ Taunt, DD, Waterfall, Bounce) is still beaten by a well played Latios. And otherwise I still have forretress to take a hit or 2. I agree the Rain boost it gets make it somewhat threatening, but it should be covered.

 

[Harsha]

Heya bud,

Really solid team -- I think you could make it better with a few moveset tweaks though! While on paper it would seem as though you are weak to +1 Dragons, you only need to bait them and send out one of your Steel-types to soak up their Outrage. However, something to take note of is that Jirachi and Forretress will both not be able to do this multiple times. For this reason, take Hidden Power Ice over Gyro Ball out for a spin, as this allows you to straight-up beat Dragon-types. While you lose some insurance against Terrakion, you've got Gliscor to cover that threat up, so it's not a big deal. With this change, you'd probably have to change your EV spread to 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 SpA to guarantee 2HKOs on Salamence, Landorus, Gliscor, and Dragonite without Multiscale.

As for other threats, it seems as though Ferrothorn would be tough to handle, as only Toxicroak can beat it, but if you are able to get Toxicroak in at the right time you should be fine. Not too much to say; good team Delko! Hope I helped :)

 

[DaveScottMustaine]

I've tested it, and you are seriously lack special walls...

 

[Ricky Horror]

How do you handle Ferrothorn after Toxi dies? Looks like it can tank all your team for abit that is.

 

[Delko]

Hi

HP Ice looks good, but Gyro Ball 2HKO's those threats as well but also brings a more reliable way of checking the likes of Haxorus, Alakazam, Terrakion, etc.

Even though Toxicroak seems as my only way for dealing with Ferrothorn, I hardly try this anyway, since Thunder Wave will cripple Toxicroak to no end and Gyro Ball does a big chunk. A +0 Cross Chop doesn't even OHKO Ferrothorn, not to mention it misses quite often in those situations. Instead I use Gliscor to beat Ferrothorn, something in which he succeeds every time.

Thanks for your reactions everyone !

 

[Motagua]

Hey Delko, nice to see one of your very original teams again <3. This team is a really solid one and although some potential threats like Ferrothorn or Latios might cause trouble, I think this team can handle them with the proper skill. I agree with the SD Lucario weakness and Toxicroak (ironically), as if both carry Ice Punch, they can easily destroy your whole team.

I agree with PenguinX´s suggestion of using a faster Gliscor spread of 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 Speed as it will allow you to outspeed both threats and KO with Earthquake. CB Stone Edge from Terrakion does 50.28% - 59.32%. Yes, this is a 2HKO but don´t forget that Gliscor has Poison Heal which restores 12.5% of your HP meaning that you just have to Protect once to avoid the 2HKO on Gliscor even after switching into SR. Of course, this doesn´t mean you can always rely on this set to counter Terrakion, but with prediction, Terrakion shouldn´t be troubling you a lot.

 

[Delko]

Yeah it's true, Terrakion isn't a real threat as everything on my team can kill it (it's switching in that's the only problem) ;)
And yeah, Ferrothorn can be annoying but Gliscor deals with him just fine.
I'll go with more speed on Gliscor then, thanks !

 

[Delko]

Alright, bump.