Pokémon Rate My Team
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Hello, so I'm not new to competitive play, my main is a Trick Room team which is quite effective and fun. However, I decided to switch it up and make a Rain Team. Could I get some advice on my team? I have worries facing off against Pokes in the meta game such as Ferrothorn. My Tornadus can Taunt and then Hurricane it into oblivion but I'm worried I may not win that match up one day. I'm also worried about the Tapu's terrain fields, since I have two Prankster Pokemon I believe Lele will counter me hard since she negates priority, would Koko be viable on my team? I also use a Scizor with a ridiculous Bullet Punch. This thing is a monster, I get a Swords Dance up and have a field day. I've even survived a Flamethrower with him in the rain! I love the synergy I have, Levitate Latias works great with Klefki and Scizor's fire weakness works well with Kingdra, takes little to no damage on the switch. Please, rate my team!

Tornadus

Nature: Lonely (couldn't pick)

Ability: Prankster

Item: Damp Rock

EV's; 252 Spatk, 252 Spd

Hurricane

Rain Dance

Taunt

U-Turn

Tornadus is my go to lead, I absolutely love the priority 8-turn Rain Dance. Besides that his Taunt is quite effective as a lead and I usually use it as a first move to counter the opponent. Hurricane hits hard and is great for those Grass type sI run into, U-turn is there for a pivot move and is my least favorite of his move set.

Kingdra

Nature: Modest

Ability: Swift Swim

Item: Dragonium Z (Need advice, this or Waterium Z Hydro Pump? I get a free Draco Meteor Nuke and I feel the water Z-move is predictable.)

EV's; 252 Spatk, 252 Spd

Muddy Water

Ice Beam

Draco Meteor

Clear Smog (great for any set up Mons I'm facing)

Kingdra is obviously my Special Sweeper and is effective at switching in on fire type moves for Scizor. I'm enjoying the Dragonium Z as a free Draco but something about it feels wrong. Any recommendations on an item or move changes? I feel Kingdra goes well with Swamperts weaknesses.

Scizor

Nature: Brave

Ability: Technician

Item: Iron Plate

EV's; 252 HP, 252 Atk

Bullet Punch

U-Turn(If I switched this to Bug Bite would it be better for walls like Tangrowth?)

Swords Dance

Roost

Scizor is great at taking hits for my team, more of a bulky Scizor set but if it gets to set up it hits hard and has swept many times. Would anybody recommend making him more bulky EV-wise since my team lacks a physical tank?

Klefki

Nature: Jolly

Ability: Prankster

Item: Leftovers

EV's; 252 HP, 252 SpDf

Play Rough

Thunder Wave

Rain Dance

Spikes

Another lead that I rarely use, good for spped control (Thunder Wave) but only if the opposing team got a tailwind off which doesn't happen because of Taunt-Tornadus. I feel the fairy-steel mon is good for Latias and Kingdra since they're weak to fairy. A good special tank and good for setting spikes, kinda want Taunt on him but I wouldn't know what to swap out. Any advice?

Latias

Nature: Naughty (couldn't pick)

Ability: Levitate

Item: Choice Scarf

EV's; 252 Spatk, 252 Spd

Psychic

Draco Meteor

Healing Wish

Defog

Latias is the cleric and healer of the team. Gets rid of any hazards and can even do some damage. I feel off not making it more bulky but I couldn't find a set anywhere recommending it. Perhaps it's bulky enough? Healing wish is incredible for any damaged Pokes and Draco Meteor hits hard. I love having Levitate for Klefki and Psychic for those poison and fighting types.

Swampert

Nature: Adamant

Ability:Torrent

Item Swamperite

EV's; 252 Atk, 252 Spd

Superpower

Rock Slide (trade for Ice Punch)

Earthquake

Waterfall

Finally we have the bread for the butter, Swampert is a terrifying physical sweeper and can punch holes in walls. The electric immunity is crucial for any rain team and paired with Scizor and Tornadus, no grass type is gonna be a threat unless your name is Ferrothorn. Should I swap out Rock Slide for Ice Punch? I feel it would be good for those grass mons and dragons.

Side Note: I want to be unique and not like every other predictable OU team, thank you all! Love this community.

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Thank you for approving this, tried at Smogon and got harassed by a Moderator. You guys are friendly and I always use your breeding moves over Bulbapedia haha, thanks again! :)

1 Answer

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Rain teams generally need better sustain than only two Pokemon that know Rain Dance. You'll likely need to add Politoed to fully capitalise off Swift Swim. Alternatively, a case can be made to run Rain Dance on Swampert instead of Superpower, which is less important coverage as it hits much the same targets as Earthquake.

Most of the natures here are poor choices. For offensive Pokemon that aren't dedicated wallbreakers or running bulk, the preferred nature is usually one that increases Speed and decreases an unused offensive stat. In Tornadus' case, I would select Hasty as its Electric and Ice weaknesses tend to come in the form of special attacks. Timid is also fine as U-Turn is not used for the damage output. Klefki on the other hand does not need Jolly.

Be careful avoiding what you term as 'predictable'. Strategies rise in popularity and awareness because they are good. The correct way to capitalise on predictability is to bring counters to the popular strategies on your team, not necessarily to avoid using those same strategies yourself. With that said, your sets are mostly quite standard, with Latias being the most precarious.

Minor details:

  • The Water Z-Move would edge out the Dragon one, as it receives the rain boost to compensate for being the weaker offensive typing. Again, predictability isn't a large factor in this decision making. (Avoiding Specs here is its own way of going against the meta really.)
  • Clear Smog is very situational. You already win any set-up vs. set-up 1v1 by using your Z-Move, so I'd run Hydro Pump for a strong attack without a SpA drop. Also, Surf > Muddy Water because you should click Hydro Pump whenever you're willing to risk accuracy.
  • Bug Bite would be better for walls, but U-Turn is better for momentum which can allow you to use Rain Dance more often. I would say stick with the latter.
  • Yes, use Ice Punch over Rock Slide. Ice is a better offensive typing than Rock, and allows you to respond to Grass. It also won't miss.
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Thank you very much, this was extremely helpful! I'll be sure to make the changes to Kingdra.
Also, I couldn't choose the nature for Tornadus as it was traded, same with Latias. Do you think my team has enough bulk? I was considering going more hyper offensive with KoKo since LeLe's terrain counters both pranksters and Scizor's Bullet Punch.
However, this would give me an even bigger weakness to Ferrothorn. Thank you!