Theorymon
Long Live Super Mario Maker! 2015-2024
The Lost Art of Ubers Multi-Weather
A common assumption among many players today is that using multiple weather starters on a team doesn't really work out. This makes perfect sense if you play OU this gen, because after all, stuff like Ninetales aren't used for anything but their kick ass ability. But believe it or not, this was not always a commonly held belief! If you look at ye olde Generation 4 stats from August 2010, you may notice something that seems pretty shocking!
In Kyogre's teammate stats... Groudon is the 4th most common teammate! And even more shocking, Kyogre is Groudon's most common teammate! This may seem like a bizzare combo, but multiweather was actually fairly common last gen. It was a strategy that, instead of playing to a particular weathers strengths, was much more about using clever switching to screw with other weather teams, and to use the constant weather changing as a way to gain momentum in your favor. As a bonus, this strategy also benefited from the fact that Groudon, Kyogre, and Tyranitar were pretty awesome Pokemon!
Of course, that was last gen. If you look at the most recent Uber stats for this gen, Multiweather seems to have lost a lot of its luster, as according to the Metagame Analysis, Multiweather was only seen around 7% of the time in February.
While it may be a new (okay its almost 3 years old now give me a break) gen, I really wonder just how harsh BW and B2W2 really were to Multi-Weather... Sure, Team Preview is sorta a butt, but from my experience from the last few months of 2012, I'm not so sure that Muli-Weather truly deserves to be a lost art!
So here's the deal: below here are the two most prominent examples of Multi-Weather duos. You'll notice that I skimp over a LOT of key details, and even leave some more obscure but viable duos out! But I did that on purpose, because I want to encourage some discussion and thinking here.
This thread doesn't have a grand goal or purpose, we are just going to discuss stuff like how gen 5 changed this strategy, new variants you might think of, Pokemon who work well with this strategy, the best set combinations for the duos, and other stuff you want to mention. So just read the purposely vague descriptions of the two prominent duos, and say what is on your mind about Multi-Weather!
Duo 1:
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Unlike the lameness of Politoed + Ninetales, Kyogre and Groudon actually help each other out! Beyond the usual "use clever switches and weather changing to bring the momentum in your favor" tactic, Groudon takes those nasty Electric-type attacks aimed at Kyogre, while Kyogre laughs at feeble Ice and Fire-type attacks. Just be careful, they both share a grass weakness! Additionally, Groudon can fill in as your Stealth Rocker, and both Pokemon can support the other with a handy Thunder Wave. While Groudon's claim to fame is that strong Earthquake, you can put a fire move on it to help a bit against Ferrothorn. Also, there is one particular teammate that can work nicely with these two: good old dual weather Palkia! With both Fire Blast and STAB Surf, Palkia can often benefit from either weather! Just watch out though, if you use Thunder over Outrage, Ho-Oh is gonna be a pain in the sun.
Duo 2
Like Kyogre + Groudon, Tyranitar and Kyogre actually have some nice synergy with each other! With the awesomeness of Sandy Rocks, Specially Defensive Tyranitar takes most Thunders like a static shock from a rug. In return, Kyogre can take on annoying Water moves, and if you got balls, you can predict a Groudon switch in and make the sunny dinosaur think twice about staying in! You can also use Choice Band Tyranitar with Pursuit, as you can do stuff like deal a nice amount of damage to locked in Scarf Palkia, and even trap Latias, who often don't cary Grass Knot! You can try to trap Latios, but be careful, that thing carries Grass Knot quite a bit more often than Latias. Additionally, Kyogre can use the power of Thunder Wave to REALLY make Latias and Latios pray for mercy vs Tyranitar!
Duo 3
Hippo + Kyogre make for a really awesome defensive combo. Similarly to lousy's post above, running a specially defensive Kyogre alongside a physically defensive Hippo allows for two great tanks. The benefit of Hippo > Groudon is it's reliable recovery and sandstream. Although sun can hinder mons, sandstream forces mons like Arceus to have a harder time switching in due to potential SR and Spikes + the 6% of health it will lose. Ferro and Skarm both make for excellent partners to this combo due to their ability to work well in both weathers and lay their hazard of choice. Forretress can also work but I generally feel like you'll be getting more benefit from the former two due to their weaknesses. Poppy's team is a really good example of a Kyogre + Hippo core in case you wanted to check it out but are unsure where to start. by Faint