Gen 8 Stay Off The Hook! (SS OU Rain Sample Team)

ausma

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"Don't get cooked... Stay off the hook!"


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Introduction

Howdy
, all! For those of you who do not know, my name is ausma; I'm an avid OU player and forum moderator who has been playing Pokemon competitively for the past decade or so (yes, I was like, 9). I've had a really crazy progression on this site for the past year or so now, going from a mere metagame thread poster to a major contributor to the tier. It's been an absolute blast, and I'm hoping to further my work and contributions going forward.

In any case, for those of you who aren't aware: I have a rain team which I provided for the Sample Teams thread. I've seen a lot of people talk about it in the varying PS lobbies, so I figured to not only break it down for those who were curious about some of my decisions, but also use this as an opportunity to celebrate my 400th post!

Without a further ado...

Ready?
GO!

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Teambuilding Process



Building rain teams is a simultaneously very simple, yet weirdly testing task. Amidst all of them, they employ this main core of Pelipper + Barraskewda + Ferrothorn, and this team is no different. Pelipper is the quintessential rain setter of those available, primed with a solid defensive typing to give it great type synergy with Ferrothorn and create a doable defensive backbone. Likewise, I put Ferrothorn on this team immediately, too. Barraskewda is also absolutely bonkers on rain and has one of the most spammable attacks in the tier and an unparalleled speed tier under rain; so, I opted to put it on.



To give Ferrothorn room to afford Spikes, I knew I wanted a good offensive Stealth Rock setter, and Seismitoad was my Pokemon of choice. Not only does it provide an invaluable Electric-type immunity for rain teams, but it can very effectively abuse the rain with Swift Swim, and finds quite a few powerful Stealth Rock setting opportunities thanks to its good defensive typing and ability to force switches.

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Originally, Zapdos was my air mon of choice. In most cases, it definitely works well. It's sound enough on its own, but I didn't really like that it more or less necessitated HDB and wasn't really much of a Knock Off switch-in, which I currently lacked any kind of a switch-in to. Although it certainly was fine at first, I felt like I needed a bit more special firepower and a less Knock-Off vulnerable Pokemon given the threat of Kartana and Rillaboom.



Tapu Koko is a super fun Pokemon; nothing more, nothing less. It not only can serve solidly as an offensive pivot, but it also has a great speed tier and a Knock Off resistance, which I particularly liked on this team given that anything soaking a Knock Off with anything else was rather undesirable. Plus, its Dazzling Gleam was incredibly crispy and is a satisfying way to smash obnoxious threats like Latios or Garchomp.



With Tapu Koko donning the role of my Electric-type, I needed a Ground-type immunity that abused the rain and did a solid job checking Kartana/Rillaboom in a pinch. Thankfully, Nasty Plot Tornadus-T was a perfect fit. Not only does it have an immensely spammable Hurricane, but it is also a fantastic recipient of momentum from Tapu Koko/Pelipper/Barraskewda.

With that being said, obviously, this team has gone through some natural changes over time, such as with EVs and moveslots as the metagame evolved. This much is a given; however, the fundamental structure of the team has remained the same and remains consistent despite the change the metagame has undergone.

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Breakdown

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:ss/pelipper:

Fly Octo Fly (Pelipper) @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Defog
- Roost
- U-turn


Pelipper is the heart and soul of the team, allowing for it to operate with any degree of consistency in the first place. Its ability to autoset rain and launch a slow pivot with U-turn allows for it to consistently not only set rain, but get abusers in safely and quickly. Most of this set is dedicated toward facilitating my abusers and reinforcing Ferrothorn defensively, taking pressure off of it to check things like Landorus-T and Excadrill and focus more on handling special wallbreakers like Tapu Lele.

Roost is a given, letting it consistently check these Pokemon and remain healthy to reliably get up rain and switch into Stealth Rock if need be. Defog is on this set as an emergency removal option, however, the team is more pressed to overwhelm the opponent with hazards than it is taking hazards itself. However, it's there in case I run into a Webs or Screens offense. Sometimes, it's also for an opposing hazard stacking team if opposing hazards are dishing out too much pressure and I am somehow more pressed to remove hazards than I am to keep my own up.


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:ss/barraskewda:

Now or Never! (Barraskewda) @ Choice Band
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Liquidation
- Flip Turn
- Aqua Jet
- Close Combat


Barraskewda is a devastating rain abuser, adorned with an absurd attacking stat and base speed, along with rain and Swift Swim to both reinforce its power and outspeed literally the entire metagame with ease. Most of its set options are perfectly geared toward barraging the foe, using rain and forced switches to its advantage.

The two main moves of this set, Liquidation and Flip Turn, allow for it to cleave through the tier's neutral targets or pivot against a Liquidation resist respectively. The latter is particularly good for forcing progress against something like Toxapex or Tangrowth and getting in my Tornadus-T or Ferrothorn to prepare for a cleaner endgame through either Knock Off or hazard stacking. It's also just a great revenge killer outright. Close Combat is meant for blowing away Ferrothorn in a pinch, and Aqua Jet is utilized for a last resort priority option if all else fails.

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:ss/ferrothorn:

Fest Zest (Ferrothorn) @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spikes
- Knock Off
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed


Ferrothorn does Ferrothorn things. As stated before, it is a fantastic defensive partner in tandem with Pelipper, forming great type synergy and also providing a solid option against terrifying wallbreakers like Kyurem and Tapu Lele.

Knock Off and Spikes are its main draws, the former being a fantastic way of forcing progress/removing HDB, and the latter allowing forced switches to become more dangerous for the opponent to make over time. Most Ferrothorn tend to run Power Whip to threaten Slowking/Fini, but I'm a fan of Gyro Ball here to make Ferrothorn more effective at immediately punishing Kyurem and Tapu Lele. Body Press/Power Whip are also options if you so choose, too. Overall, it's a great defensive proponent that puts a major stop to rain's greater threats, while providing quite a bit of utility to reinforce the team's offensive prowess over the course of the game.


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:ss/seismitoad:

Muck Warfare (Seismitoad) @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Scald
- Sludge Wave / Focus Blast


If there's anything on this squad that's spicy, it's probably Seismitoad. I find Seismitoad to be an underrated rain abuser, not only forming a great hazard stacking core with Ferrothorn that also provides a very valuable Electric-type immunity, but also being a very capable wallbreaker with rain, Ground-type STAB, and coverage options.

Stealth Rock is a given, letting it set the hazard well on forced switches into things like Ferrothorn. A lot of Seismitoad tend to run Weather Ball or Hydro Pump, but I personally fancy Scald as a fantastic way to incredibly limit any of its switch-ins, including Ferrothorn, with the nasty threat of a burn, while packing a heavy punch off of rain boosts and a Life Orb. Earth Power is Seismitoad's complementary STAB; however, Sludge Wave is a bit more of an interesting option, albeit one that's interchangeable. I've discovered that Focus Blast is just as solid, doing a good job at smacking Hydreigon, Ferrothorn, and Kyurem. Sludge Wave, however, is neat for smoking gutsy Rillaboom, Clefable, and Tapu Fini, which are all more pertinent threats in my eyes given that my team has options to check the former 3. Though, I suppose that's more subjective; both work fine in my experience, so I slashed them.

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:ss/tapu-koko:

Ebb & Flow (Tapu Koko) @ Choice Specs / Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder
- Volt Switch / U-turn
- Dazzling Gleam
- Grass Knot / Roost


Tapu Koko is a beast, and an utterly awesome one at that. It has proven to be a great form of speed control in the current metagame, notably being a decent check to Zeraora and a fantastic stop to Zapdos/Tornadus-T. It's for that reason that Tapu Koko works well here with both a Choice Specs set and a Heavy-Duty Boots set. Both work to a great effect, however ultimately I feel in a vacuum I prefer HDB, letting Tapu Koko reliably answer dangerous threats like Tornadus-T, Zapdos, and to a degree Zeraora that give this team an incredibly difficult time otherwise. However, the sample team currently has Choice Specs marked down, and it certainly works well, so I would do well to slash it.

Tapu Koko works fantastically as an offensive pivot, piercing strong holes into the opponent while providing me a good way to combat the aforementioned threats. It's a great abuser of Barraskewda's Flip Turn, which lets it come in well against things like Slowbro and Toxapex which can reliably answer Barraskewda otherwise. Given rain offense is all about maintaining momentum, Tapu Koko does well to abuse that, while also being a great momentum sparker and hazard abuser in of itself.

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:ss/tornadus-therian:

Color Pulse (Tornadus-Therian) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Hurricane
- Focus Blast
- U-turn / Knock Off


In my eyes, Tornadus-T is the strongest Pokemon in the current OU metagame, though that's not really much of a common take. Tornadus-T's main issue is its accuracy, which, in rain, is completely removed on its main STAB. With access to Knock Off and Nasty Plot, Tornadus-T is an incredibly fierce special wallbreaker that not only butters up its checks well, but also is a phenomenal hazard abuser. Even so, its access to Regenerator in tandem with HDB let it serve some defensive utility as well, utilizing these in with its defensive typing to ease some pressure off of Ferrothorn, and then forcing progress. It also takes great advantage of Barraskewda/Koko's momentum options.

Focus Blast is my coverage move of choice, obliterating Tyranitar and Heatran which have no qualms otherwise swapping into its Hurricane. Both U-turn and Knock Off are slashed here, the former because it's on the sample, but the latter I feel is considerably better for its ability to force progress and throttle potential checks. Tornadus-T doesn't really gain momentum against anything in the tier barring Aegislash, Tapu Koko, and Zapdos, which Knock Off punishes anyway. Tornadus-T does Tornadus-T things; it's powerful, reliable, and a phenomenal wallbreaking proponent of the team.


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Threatlist

:ss/kyurem:

Kyurem's rising use is a gigantic pain for rain, and this team is no exception. Although it has SpDef Ferrothorn and Tapu Koko to alleviate the pressure just a bit, this team has a really difficult time actually switching into this thing, especially when hazards and other proponents like Tapu Lele are in the equation to overwhelm my counterplay. Opposing Kyurem forces this team to play with even more aggression and extreme caution, lest I lose a potential wincon. Given that this is a more offensively inclined team by nature, wallbreakers like Kyurem that consistently force sacks are a pain.

:ss/rillaboom::ss/kartana:

These both belong together because they both apply a similar form of pressure. Their Knock Offs are a pain to switch into, and their ability to seize the game if my Tornadus-T/Ferrothorn is too chipped down can be very bad. Similarly to Kyurem, when these two Pokemon are in the equation, I'm forced to play much more cautiously, even if I have a game plan against them.

:ss/zeraora:

Zeraora is a rising threat that annoys this team. Although I have Tapu Koko to alleviate some of the pressure, its natural speed tier, access to Knock Off/CC, and pivoting abilities can be pretty hard to deal with if Tapu Koko is pressured at all prior. Seismitoad is fineish, I guess? It's kind of an answer if it's healthy, but since it's a more offensive variant, especially with Life Orb chip Seismitoad can be run down pretty quickly.

:ss/ferrothorn:

I have adequate counterplay for sure, but that doesn't mean Ferrothorn is a walk in the park. Its Spikes stacking and Knock Off spam is pretty painful to deal with, and I have to rely on outmuscling it with predictions or using Knock Off to wear it down to beat it consistently.

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A lot has happened in the past year, and I won't deny that things have been incredibly hard. However, along the way, I made some friends and connections that I am absolutely beyond happy to have, and have the opportunity to keep maintaining. Really quickly, I'd like to make some shoutouts to some people in particular.

what is below we will have to see....
Lilburr - I don't know where I would be without you; you were there from the beginning, willing to push me up and get me to take that extra step to speak my mind and get out there. I know you've been going through a lot lately, but I've always valued you as one of my closest friends and I appreciate you so much queen. Always here for you <3

Eve - I know you've seen me at some really poor lows, but you're also a friend I value a lot. You're insanely fun, smart, and really relaxing to be around and do stuff with. You deserve a lot more praise and love than you think you deserve.

lydian - Literally one of the sweetest people I've ever met. Absolutely love talking to you; thank you for having been so supportive and a great friend to be around and talk to. Also super proud of how much you've grown and discovered about yourself in such a short time, too.

Chloe - You're a really really sweet young lady and an absolute blast to be around. I know I bully you a lot but you're a really great friend and insanely sweet, but jesus christ go to your kennel I'm sick of complimenting you.

lei - You deserve the fuckin' world holy shit. You're insanely talented and insanely sweet and I absolutely love being around you and talking to you. <3

Hematite - Can we get an "underrated user" in the chat? Nah but for real though, legitimately you're one of the most insightful people on this entire site. I wasn't expecting to befriend you, much less through a Pet Mod, but seriously I love you a lot chief you're epic as hell and I value your insight like no else.

inkbug - Literally a top 3 artist tbh? You're so god damn talented ajdlfk;jsaflksdjfasdf but seriously you're also very talented at being a very cool chill dude. Love talking to you a lot and I'll always be here for you :'0

Collette - I know a lot has happened, but you're valid and I do value you a lot as a friend!! You're a lot more insightful and chill to be around than you give yourself credit for girl.

gum - queen you're a queen. I need an excuse to build, play, and talk to you more. You're really dope.

The Dutch Plumberjack - I know we only really started talking like a month ago, but I think the fact we've been talking nearly every day serves as a testament that holy shit I love your company. I'm super proud of the strides you're taking and I hope we can keep talking!

emma - Girl, give yourself more credit. You're a super sweet gal and I know things have been super hard for you but you're a super hard worker and I'm really proud of you. Keep it up!

Kaiju Bunny - I said it once and I'll say it again: you. are. valid. Seriously though you're super fun to talk to and super talented holy crap.

Finchinator - can we petition to ban finchinator from smogon.com - nah in all seriousness though the dedication you have to your work and craft is insanely inspiring. It's been really cool getting to know you the past few months and I hope we can continue to keep working together in the future!

Katy - i have said it once and i'll say it again: YOU MATTERRRRRR seriously katy you're really sweet, kindhearted, and super passionate and i love seeing everything you do. It's been great getting to talk to you a lot too!

joey the goon - you're a foolish fool but you're THE foolish fool. known you for a good while and you're fucking dope. thanks for helping me with my calculus homework g ily

Violettes - idk when you'll see this but honey i love you so much. seriously i don't know where i'd be without you. you've been literally the light of my life the past 6 months and ls;jfalkejfaweilfjasdlf thank you for everything.

kjdaas - can we get a "cute and valid young lady and super talented tour director" in the chat?

if i forgot to mention you i'm really sorry!!!! but you know who you are and i'm beyond grateful for all of the support you guys have given me. never stop being amazing <3

THANK YOU FOR READING!! :D
 
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AM

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Hm pretty standard rain build for SS these days not going to be a whole lot to change without stripping apart structure and making synergy kind of worse all around. I think when people slash stuff they're not too confident in what they want if you were to just ask me in real time, and even if the move itself is inconsistent, you're going to need Focus Blast on Toad because the text alone doesnt convey how problematic these non Urshifu Rains have in dealing with Kyurem, sub variants in general, and Ferrothorn. Sludge is nice for CM Clef, Bulu, catching Rilla on switch but that's kind of where it stops and the former good positioning threatens it while the other two will always be an issue for rains no matter its structure.

Koko can get away with either or you'll just have to pick which matchup is worse for you Zeraora or Zapdos. Longevity in roost is very underrated but the high octane nature of this team doesn't necessarily mandate it, Specs Grass Knot is good for catching opposing sand setters (this should always be on a threat list for rain due to the stalemate nature of these matchups), and honestly non Specs Koko is actually pretty weak people just dont notice it until they're in front of fat.

Fortunately some of the other threats are not a huge deal with Rain and good positioning of Barra/Toad and you made the right builder choice in Damp Rock > over HDB to alleviate those issues so at its core this is a pretty well put together team. Nice job.
 

Red Raven

I COULD BE BANNED!
Funny thing is, this is almost exactly like my first rain team when I started playing ss ou upon crown tundra's release. The only difference is I used Swampert over Seismitoed because bulk and its new flip turn

That being said, I'm pretty sure that anyone looking to create their own rain team would probably take some sort of inspiration from this one so I'll add one very important note that wasn't mentioned, always have a hurricane user. You absolutely need a hurricane user, even if its Moltres, otherwise your rain team is gonna be flawed. Hurricane user's main job is to offensively check Rillaboom, which is rain's public enemy number one. Ferrothorn cannot take on Rillaboom especially swords dance + fighting move while Barraskewda is just a glide to death while Pelipper would struggle to switch in if stealth rocks are up, and it horribly dies to wood hammer

All in all, I like this team. I'm not sure how good rain is atm but this kind of rain team brings a lot of consistent results when played correctly. This is a very good rain team for those who are new to the play style
 

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