SS OU POWER DOWNPOUR - Life Orb Barraskewda Rain (ft. Zapdos) | 1600+ Still Climbing

[Vroxxz]

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. Introduction
2. Team + Description
3. Team usage tips
4. Threat List
5. Shoutouts
6. Other Teams
7. Outro & Conclusion

1. INTRODUCTION

Sup guys, today I'm back with another team, and this one is one of my favorite playstyles: rain. I absolutely love rain mainly for the fact that we have Barraskewda, who outspeeds everything except Scarf Regieleki which I've never seen in a competitive scene. It abuses everything with its moveset. Currently I'm at the highest the team reached which is 1600 ELO. This team is very offensive, as we only have Pelipper as a passive defensive mon, since Lando and Ferro can deal damage. Let's get into the team!

2. TEAM + DESCRIPTION






Pelipper @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Scald
- U-turn

Role / General Tips: Pelipper is our Rain setter and also our Defogger. It's main role is to set rain and then pivot out using U-turn. You don't want to bring it in too often when rocks are up, as it will get severely chipped and the team isn't really weak to rocks anyways.
Item: Damp Rock to increase rain turns as much as possible.
Moves: These are the normal moves, Defog to clear hazards and screens, Roost for reliable recovery and longetivity, Scald for damage output and the lucky burn chance, and U-turn for mandatory pivoting.
EVs & Nature: Bold nature with max HP and Def help it be pretty bulky and take on some physical attackers.
Other Options: If you don't really use Defog much, and don't care about hazards, you can run Toxic or Hurricane on the first moveslot.



Barraskewda @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Liquidation
- Close Combat
- Flip Turn
- Crunch

Role / General Tips: Barraskewda is the team's main breaker and also speed control and revenge killer.
Item: I'm running Life Orb over Band, cause it helps in endgame scenarios where Skewda means everything and if it locks into a move, it can't win. However, Life Orb is flexible.
Moves: Liquidation is the most spammable move, and it hits very hard even if the opposing poke resists it. Flip Turn is for pivoting and you'll be clicking that most of the time. Close Combat is there for Steels such as Ferrothorn and Kartana, and Crunch is for mandatory for Dragapult and the Slowtwins.
EVs & Nature: Maximum attack & speed and Adamant since it outruns everything in rain anyways, so no use of Jolly.
Other Options: Band can also be used instead of Orb.

Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Relaxed Nature
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Knock Off
- Body Press

Role / General Tips: Ferrothorn serves as a hazard setter, a Kartana switch in, a Weavile switch in, Lele switxh in, and a Rillaboom switch in. Don’t let Ferrothorn die if you need it to answer one of these pokemon. Setting spikes isn't that important, so don't focus on that too much. If there is one of the four mons I mentioned before, don't trade against other Ferrothorns. You usually want to preserve Ferrothorn against rain MUs.
Item: Rocky Helmet helps Ferrothorn deal more damage to Kartana, Rillaboom, Weavile, Barraskewda, and Urshifu-Rapid-Strike. Also, Ferrothorn will likely get Knocked Off, so it will at least do some damage as it loses its item.
Moves: Spikes are good for residual chip and pressure. Body Press lets Ferrothorn OHKO Weavile and Bisharp, and deal significant damage to Kartana. Knock Off is important to remove items on those who rely on it such as Heatran and other Ferrothorn. Leech Seed helps Ferrothorn regain health, and it allows Ferrothorn to force Corviknight out.
EVs & Nature: Impish nature with max Defense for walling Physical attackers and 8 Spe EVs to outrun other Ferrothorn.
Other Options: Protect or Gyro Ball can be used instead of Spikes. Gyro Ball is especially good since the team has trouble against Lele.
Notable Calcs:

252 Atk Life Orb Kartana Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 105-125 (29.8 - 35.5%) -- 27.5% chance to 3HKO

252 Atk Kartana Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 150-178 (42.6 - 50.5%) -- 2.3% chance to 2HKO

252 Atk Weavile Triple Axel (40 BP) (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 111-135 (31.5 - 38.3%) -- approx. 93.9% chance to 3HKO

0 Atk Ferrothorn Gyro Ball (150 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Lele: 390-458 (138.7 - 162.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO



Zapdos @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Static
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder
- Hurricane
- Weather Ball
- Roost

Role / General Tips: Zapdos is our special wallbreaker. It is currently really good in the meta as an offensive threat. You have to keep in mind that Zapdos isn't defensive, so you can't let it take a strong hit from a strong attacker.
Item: Heavy-Duty Boots are mandatory so that Zapdos isn't constantly chipped down by hazards.
Moves: Roost is for recovery. Hurricane and Thunder are useful STAB, and Weather Ball allows you to hit certain mons like Heatran for supereffective damage.
EVs & Nature: Timid with Max speed and special attack deals the most damage while outspeeding Specs Lele and Band/Pads Urshifu.
Other Options: I highly recommend this set.



Kartana @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Knock Off
- Sacred Sword
- Smart Strike

Role / General Tips: Kartana is our breaker, speed control, knocker, and CM Clef & Fini answer.
Item: Scarf provides excellent late game advantage, being able to steamroll through teams when they don't have an answer.
Moves: Classic moves.
EVs & Nature: Normal EVs for an attacker, and Jolly instead of Adamant to outspeed Scarf Lele, Scarf Urshifu, etc.
Other Options: No other options. This is literally the best one lol.


Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Toxic

Role / General Tips: Lando is a special sponge, and a soft check to Dragapult and Blacephalon. It acts as a rocker and a pivot.
Item: Leftovers is Lando's only recovery option.
Moves: This is the classic set.
EVs & Nature: Max SpD and HP for the most bulk possible.
Other Options: I recommend running this set.

3. TEAM USAGE TIPS
1. You usually need Ferrothorn against rain. If Ferrothorn dies, you could try going Barraskewda and speed tie. Pelipper also walls Skewda.
2. Ferrothorn needs to be preserved against teams with Rillaboom and Tapu Lele.
3. Killing a Dragapult or Tapu Lele GREATLY benefits the team in the long run, so don't think twice.
4. Play aggressively with this team as this is a very offensive team, and you want to deal as much damage as possible before rain wears out.
5. Keep Pelipper alive against weather wars, and don't try switching the weather a lot when there is rocks up, cause Pelipper is very fragile to it, so you usually want to keep it till endgame, then switch up the weather and clean up with Skewda or Zapdos.
6. Be patient with yourself, learning a new team can be difficult. :)

4. THREAT LIST

Volcanion is difficult to take on defensively. The team has trouble switching in as it hits everything for over 50% other than Pelipper, and when rain is up, it does a heck ton with Steam Eruption.



Tapu Lele clicks Psychic and wins. The only option is trying to venge kill with Skewda or Kartana, or going Ferrothorn.

&

They click Shadow Ball and win. We have no switch ins. Only option is to sack something and revenge kill, or go Lando, if its healthy.



I mean...it's this versus rain :(
Keep Ferro healthy, and Intimidate with Lando.



This may not seem like a big threat, but it comes in and spams Freeze-Dry, which HURTS.

5. SHOUTOUTS

Shoutout to Pinkacross as usual for the RMT layout.

6. OTHER TEAMS


GALARIAN SLOWBRO BALANCE (ft. Kommo-o & Hydreigon, Triple Steel Core)
https://www.smogon.com/forums/threa...-kommo-o-hydreigon-triple-steel-core.3699967/


SPECS HEATRAN + CM TAPU-FINI BULKY OFFENSE (ft. 3 Choice Items)
https://www.smogon.com/forums/threa...fini-bulky-offense-ft-3-choice-items.3699149/


VOLCANION BALANCE/BULKY OFFENSE (ft. Offensive Regieleki) 1400+ ELO
https://www.smogon.com/forums/threa...ense-ft-offensive-regieleki-1400-elo.3697897/


REGIROCK+TANGROWTH+TORNADUS-T BALANCE (ft. Dual Hazards Nihilego & Regenerator Core)
https://www.smogon.com/forums/threa...al-hazards-nihilego-regenerator-core.3696529/

7. OUTRO

Thanks to all those who made it this far! I'm still trying to make this team better and trying to peak with it, so please let me know if you have any suggestions!

 

[Smashburn]

Looks good Vroxx, the only problem I see is a hole against Buzzwole (and other non-linear mixed coverage attackers). Nothing stays in on it and your options are to either overwhelm it with Barraskewda or threaten it with Zapdos. Maybe make Aerial Ace an optional change on Kartana? It also helps you manage the Monkey and Bulu. Of course, that change would be accompanied by Gyro Ball on Ferrothorn (which happens to be a better option in front of Ninetales-A).

It's not mandatory, but I think it would help those matchups a little bit.

Some other set changes:


EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe

This would give you a slower U-Turn in front of opposing Pelipper and Corviknight which annoy Landorus.


EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
IVs: 23 Spe (24 Spe)

This one is more optional. It gets more momentum in front of opposing Landorus while still outspeeding Crawdaunt. You still might want to be faster in some cases so 24 Spe IVs are there as well.

You could try to catch offense and balance breakers like Nidoking or Volcanion off guard by running an offensive set as well.

Overall cool team!

[EDIT]

Maybe add a pokepaste to the RMT.

 

[RaikouLover]

This is a cool team. However, you are going to have trouble vs. bulkier builds. May as well click ex vs. fat. You have no wall breakers at all.

I don’t like telling people to change their mons. However, there are many wall breakers suitable on rain. A few examples: Volcanion, Crawdaunt, Thundurus-Therian, Tornadus-Therian, Tapu Lele, Keldeo, Urshifu-R, Moltres-Galar, Omastar

 

[Vroxxz]

Looks good Vroxx, the only problem I see is a hole against Buzzwole (and other non-linear mixed coverage attackers). Nothing stays in on it and your options are to either overwhelm it with Barraskewda or threaten it with Zapdos. Maybe make Aerial Ace an optional change on Kartana? It also helps you manage the Monkey and Bulu. Of course, that change would be accompanied by Gyro Ball on Ferrothorn (which happens to be a better option in front of Ninetales-A).

It's not mandatory, but I think it would help those matchups a little bit.

Some other set changes:


EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe

This would give you a slower U-Turn in front of opposing Pelipper and Corviknight which annoy Landorus.


EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
IVs: 23 Spe (24 Spe)

This one is more optional. It gets more momentum in front of opposing Landorus while still outspeeding Crawdaunt. You still might want to be faster in some cases so 24 Spe IVs are there as well.

You could try to catch offense and balance breakers like Nidoking or Volcanion off guard by running an offensive set as well.

Overall cool team!

[EDIT]

Maybe add a pokepaste to the RMT.

Thank you for replying! I think the slow U-turn on Pelipper benefits the team, however, on Landorus-T I don't like running a slow U-turn since I'm running Toxic. If I'm slower, the opposing Lando can U-turn out before I click Toxic, so I like to have speed at normal on Lando sets with Toxic. Honestly, Buzzwole doesn't seem like a big threat to the team. I can easily go Zapdos and shrug off any hit. (Although Ice Punch does a lot, I can Roost, and it won't be supereffective since I land after roost) I outspeed and OHKO Buzzwole with Zapdos, so I think I'm fine. Also, Pelipper walls Buzz, as long it doesn't have Thunder Punch, which I see very rarely.

This is a cool team. However, you are going to have trouble vs. bulkier builds. May as well click ex vs. fat. You have no wall breakers at all.

I don’t like telling people to change their mons. However, there are many wall breakers suitable on rain. A few examples: Volcanion, Crawdaunt, Thundurus-Therian, Tornadus-Therian, Tapu Lele, Keldeo, Urshifu-R, Moltres-Galar, Omastar

Thanks for the reply. I don't feel like I have trouble against Stall or BO, cause I have Zapdos, Kartana, and Barraskewda which are all really strong hitters, especially Liquidation on Skewda. Nothing wants to stay in on that except Fini, Ferro, or Pex, and since I'm Orb and not Band, I just flip turn out and pressure with Zapdos or Kartana. However, if I do have any trouble I'll keep this in mind and try out some of these mons. Thanks!

 

[Smashburn]

Thank you for replying! I think the slow U-turn on Pelipper benefits the team, however, on Landorus-T I don't like running a slow U-turn since I'm running Toxic. If I'm slower, the opposing Lando can U-turn out before I click Toxic, so I like to have speed at normal on Lando sets with Toxic. Honestly, Buzzwole doesn't seem like a big threat to the team. I can easily go Zapdos and shrug off any hit. (Although Ice Punch does a lot, I can Roost, and it won't be supereffective since I land after roost) I outspeed and OHKO Buzzwole with Zapdos, so I think I'm fine. Also, Pelipper walls Buzz, as long it doesn't have Thunder Punch, which I see very rarely.

Agreed, a slower Pelipper is more beneficial and the Landorus set is more arbitrary, so do what you will. However, I am still a little concerned about the coverage dilemma. Because, assuming your opponent isn't a bot, it's not as simple as just Roosting.

Assuming you're clicking Roost in front of Buzzwole after an Ice Punch, which risks your momentum.

168+ Atk Buzzwole Ice Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Zapdos: 204-242 (63.5 - 75.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

You then have to fear Close Combat or Earthquake for a KO which makes Roosting a 50/50, and none of your resistances are reasonably switching in unless Buzzwole is choice locked.

168+ Atk Buzzwole Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Zapdos: 244-288 (76 - 89.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
168+ Atk Buzzwole Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Zapdos: 272-320 (84.7 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Thunder Punch is especially problematic because nothing reasonably switches in on it a majority of the time, but even if it doesn't have Thunder Punch, once rocks are up the defensive utility of Pelipper becomes relatively limited (at which point you are dancing around Buzzwole and stalling rain turns).

168+ Atk Buzzwole Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Pelipper: 77-91 (23.8 - 28.1%) -- 89.3% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock

Granted these calcs are including more offensive sets, but you'll rarely see fat buzzwole apart from stall because it sucks.

 

[LudwigFrog]

Hey Vroxx, I see you back with another team. Not to shabby overall but I have a few things id like to fix.

Minor Changes:

Stealth Rock -> Defog
I don't think having Pelipper be the only defogger is a good idea, this is because it's role is to bring in the rain, and pivot out. Forcing it to take rocks, then clear them, and be forced to take the damage when coming back in limits it's opportunities to bring in rain.


Spikes -> Stealth Rock
Since Lando is dropping rocks, Id like to give Ferro rocks instead.
Personally for Ferro I like running Gyro or PW to help with Fini. Id personally drop BP for Gyro so you can still hit Weavile. It makes some matchups harder, but I will fix those in a minute. While changing, you can make Ferrothorn slower with 0 speed ivs, and Relaxed Nature


Life Orb -> Choice Band
Life Orb Skewda hits hard, but I think it's problematic in how Barraskewda has to take recoil, when it usually only clicks 2 moves. Not only that, but Skewda should not be taking recoil when using it's pivot move (Flip Turn). Band hits harder and not taking recoil makes it harder for Pokémon like Weavile to kill you under rain.

Major Changes:

Kartana is a great Pokémon, but it doesn't really benefit from rain, and doesn't help rain very much in dealing with their weaknesses.
My next change is a weird pick, but a surprisingly strong one on rain
->
Kommo O is an off meta pick, but I think it's shockingly good in rain. It has Bulletproof to help with Shadow Ball, beats Rillaboom and Kartana, as well as beating Ferrothorn, Bisharp etc. I also like how rain helps beat it's checks, like Slowbro (Zapdos) or Landorus (Heavy Water Moves).

Kommo-o @ Leftovers
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Close Combat
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
This set is excellent on rain in my opinion. It helps a lot with Ghosts, and can setup and threaten annoyances for rain, like Dragonite, or Dragapult. EQ helps beat Toxapex, and other two are stabs. The other fairy types outside of Tapu Fini and Clefable have trouble countering this set. Tapu Lele only needs a bit of damage to die to +1 EQ, and Koko loses if Kommo O is at +1.
If the offensive set is not your cup of tea, you can always try this.

Kommo-o @ Leftovers
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Body Press
- Flamethrower
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
This set aids in walling Kartana, Bisharp etc. If you run this set, maybe you might want to consider an offensive Pelipper set with Specs.

Pelipper @ Choice Specs
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 24 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 228 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Weather Ball
- Surf
- Hurricane
- Roost
Also when running the defensive set, you open up spikes on Ferrothorn once again.


That's all my feedback for now, hope you enjoy the changes, new paste here.
Offensive Kommo: https://pokepast.es/d880fd74f7e35d57
Defensive Kommo: https://pokepast.es/2fcd434b5b0459b3