SM OU Lewd Rain - Bulky Offense

Joeyboy

Has got the gift of gab
is a Team Rater Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus

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Intro:
This team was built at the begining of the Arena Trap Suspect test. I got the impression that Stall was to be much weaker without Dugtrio so I figured the meta would tilt towards the offensive side of the spectrum. The metagame I'm most at home with is BW OU so as I took my first real steps into SM OU I clung to the familiar. The weather wars were something I knew a lot about and when I saw Drizzle+Swift Swim was legal I decided to build around that idea. If the metagame was going to be offensively inclined I believed Rain could win a lot of games on match-up alone. Ludicolo has always been my personal favorite SS abuser thanks to it's unique typing and wide coverage options so I paired him with OU superstar Mega-Swampert.

As I battled with my original Hyper Offensive Rain team I noticed how many absurdly powerful Pokemon call the Overused tier home. 'Mons that come in and you think, "Ok so who am I going to sack next?" I quickly understood why Bulky Offense is such a common archetype; you need a defensive skeleton that can help you maneuver your own threats into winning positions. The defensive core aims to keep the lid on your opponent's threats while maintaining momentum for your side.

The goal of the team was to capitalize on Rain's strengths while limiting its common weaknesses.

The 'Mons:

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Pelipper @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 24 Def / 228 SpD / 8 Spe
Calm Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Scald
- U-turn​
Set Details:
When I first saw that Pelipper got Drizzle I thought I had gone to heaven. A Rain setter with reliable recovery, Defog and U-Turn! Rains going to be way too strong! Turns out the power creep of everything else keeps Pelipper in line. Honestly the only thing the bird brings to the team is Rain. Which don't get me wrong is crucial but it can sometimes feel like dead weight.

The 8 Speed EVs let you outspeed Min Conkeldurr. I have used a more offensive variant since Pelipper's defensive utility is niche at best but a third of my team relies of the rain this bird brings. That being the case I went for the bulkier set. Also, Defog is always handy.

Offensive Variant:​
Pelipper @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 28 HP / 252 SpA / 228 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Hurricane
- Knock Off
- U-turn


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Magearna @ Assault Vest
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 208 SpD / 48 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fleur Cannon
- Flash Cannon
- Focus Blast
- Volt Switch​
Set Details:
The first part of my defensive backbone Magearna helps patch up weaknesses to many Special Attackers. As I built the team I decided I wanted a strong, flexible, core that would give me breathing room in the early and mid game. Magearna and Landorus-T form a "catch-all" net that lets me pivot in my stronger threats without risking them. Between the two of them they check a vast amount of the metagame.

Magearna's set is pretty standard. The speed EV's put it ahead of no investment Tyranitar and more importantly Mantine. Mantine can be tricky to deal with for my rain sweepers so getting in a sneaky Volt Switch can really help break it. Magearna is your first line of defense against threats like Tapu Lele, Latios, and Greninja. She keeps them from opening up the team and hopefully sets them up to be defeated by our offensive 'mons.

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Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 240 HP / 184 Def / 36 SpA / 48 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn​
Set Details:
Landorus-T, allow with Magearna, does so much for the team. Besides setting up the ubiquitous Rocks he is the physical half of our "catch-all" defensive core. Landorus-T was added for it's ability to handle Pokemon like Zygarde, Mawile, Garchomp, and Pinsir. While keeping the physical half of the metagame at bay he continues our Volt-Turn engine.

In particular he has a habit of bringing in Pokemon weak to Ludicolo so thanks to U-Turn we get serious offensive momentum without Ludicolo being put into harms way. EV's guarantee a 2hko on Offensive Zygardes with HP Ice and outspeed Neutral Max Magearna. 240 HP gives us a Leftovers number and the rest is put into bulk.

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Tapu Koko @ Electrium Z
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Wild Charge
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Taunt
- U-turn​
Set Details:
Tapu Koko has quickly become one of my all time favorite Pokemon. It has an absurd Speed tier and backs it up with some scary offensive power. Electrium Z is such an easy set to use because it turns Koko into a nuke who can check most offensive Pokemon. You need an immunity or a seriously bulky resist to not lose something to Gigavolt Havoc. While not defensive in nature it does slot into our Magearna+Landorus-T core; where Magearna checks a wide variety of Pokemon with it's Sp. Def, Landorus-T with it's Def, Tapu Koko checks Pokemon with it's Spd and Atk without worrying about setting up. Koko also finishes our Volt-Turn engine.

Tapu Koko serves as the main mid-game wall breaker of the team while remaining useful at all points of the game. I rely heavily on Tapu Koko's wallbreaking in match-ups against bulkier teams but its just as helpful against offense where it outspeeds most of the unboosted meta. Mega-Pinsir would be a nightmare to face if it weren't for Koko's resistance to Flying and he

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Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Superpower​
Set Details:
Mega-Swampert does so much for Rain teams. Not only is it offensively terrifying but it's typing helps it check many problematic pokemon, most Notably Tapu Koko and Zapdos. Having an immunity to Electric baked right in makes Swampert close to an auto-include on most competitive Rain teams. The moves are all fairly standard, I wanted it to have as much coverage as possible. The team was built around the two Swift Swimmers so I wanted to make sure that they would be stopped by the fewest things possible. Too many teams rely almost solely on Ferrothorn to stop Rain and find themselves at a lose when both my Swimmers easily 2hko it.

The EVs/Nature are important, not just to give Swampert as much offensive presence as possible but because +Spe +2 Swampert sits just two points ahead of Scarf Kartana. Scarf Kartana is a common threat can can quickly snowball on a weakened offensive team so giving it the smallest amount of breathing room possible is a must.

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Ludicolo @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast​
Set Details:
While not actually the focal point of the team he is the member that over-performs the most often. A lot of common teams just get swept late game by this dude's coverage. The first thing that drew me to Lud was the fact that he doesn't mind one of Rain's usual nightmares, Ferrothorn. He stops Ferro from spamming Leech Seed and cleanly 2hkos even the bulkiest variants. EV spread is, again, fairly straight forward but important. Sharing the same base Speed as Swampert I found he needs to run the +Spe nature to outrun Scarf Kartana in the rain. Letting Kartana outspeed us opens up the door to too many loses.

Swampert and Ludicolo act as the classic "Water-spam" duo softening up the opponent's core so that the next one can finish the job. Ludicolo also provides some helpful resistances to the team, most notably the 4x Water resist. He's my go to stop against opposing Ash-Greninjas who could otherwise sweep with Water Shuriken.


Major Threatlist:
Greninja-Ash : Super dangerous. When you see a potential Ash-Gren in team preview make a mental note to keep Ludicolo healthy(otherwise Water Shuriken will mope you up) and try to ensure Gren can't get a kill early. The unfortunate side effect of our rain is that Specs Hydro Pumps are next to impossible to switch into. Will almost always have to be offensively checked.

Kyurem-B : Realistically this thing is going to get at least one kill. Depending on it's move set different Pokemon can handle it but you'll usually have to sack something in order to take it out.

Volcarona : With the right move set this 'mon can be a serious pain. When you see it in team preview remember to play carefully with Magearna as it gives Volc an easy set up target. If you do think Volc will have an opportunity to set up play in a way to ensure Rain is on the field. Otherwise your Swift Swimmer's can't Revenge Volc and if you have to switch Pelipper in just for the Rain you're gunna have a bad time.

Venusaur (Mega) : One of the reasons this team hasn't been performing as well as it used to is the rise in Venusaur usage. Most bulky Grass-types get worn down by my sweeper's coverage but Venusaur can all but shrug off the damage. I had a version of the team with Tornadus-T over Tapu Koko just to help with this 'mon but I found TornT was worse in almost every other match-up.

Kingdra : Similar situation as Ash-Greninja but worse because it outspeeds everything on my team. Thankfully most people run Specs so the combo of Magearna and Ludicolo often keep it in check. But Z-Water/Dragon Kingdra is a huge threat on paper, thankfully I've never faced one with this team..


Common Threatlist:

Outro:
This has been my most commonly used team in the last few weeks and is a lot of fun to play. Thanks to the generous amount of momentum based moves you end up in the driver's seat more often than not. But recently the team hasn't been performing as well as it once did. The top of the ladder is seeing a rise in bulkier, more Stall oriented teams. This team can struggle to break truly fat teams because Landorus-T and Magearna lose a lot of their intended utility. They are on the team to check offensive Pokemon so the match-up against Stall can sometimes feel like an automatic 4-6 situation. Overall though I'm happy with the team and it's helped me learn this new metagame! Hope you enjoyed reading and remember, don't play passively! You might have some defensive Pokemon but you want to utilize them to set up your own offensive threats!

May all your Focus Blasts be hits!


Import:
Pelipper @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 24 Def / 228 SpD / 8 Spe
Calm Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Scald
- U-turn

Magearna @ Assault Vest
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 208 SpD / 48 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fleur Cannon
- Flash Cannon
- Focus Blast
- Volt Switch​

Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 240 HP / 184 Def / 36 SpA / 48 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn

Tapu Koko @ Electrium Z
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Wild Charge
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Taunt
- U-turn

Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Superpower

Ludicolo @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast
 
Last edited:

Gross Sweep

Plan Ahead
is a CAP Contributoris a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnus
Hey Joeyboy really cool team, and really nice to hear that you're getting back into mons. As a former rater I'm sure you're aware rain is one of the toughest styles to rate as it is so formulaic. However, there are a few things with the team I noticed that could be talked about, and possibly tweaked a bit.

First thing I'll address is Ludicolo. I usually don't love Ludicolo in OU as other options like Kingdra and Ash Greninja exist, but I kind of like the way you built with it so I wont try and remove it. More just interested in hearing as to if you experimented with other swift swimmers at first before settling on Ludi, as it's a cool option that's refreshing to see.

Now let's get into some of the possible changes:

  • On Pelipper I would suggest trying out a Bold Nature as it allows Peli to eat one SSSS from offensive Lando-T if Jolly - also is a role vs adamant. I feel it's worth considering as it's pretty common for Lando-T to run Jolly at this point to beat Mew who are out Creeping Adamant Zygarde (the analysis spread). This comes with the fact I'm not sure what a calm nature does for you, but if there is an important reason for it, then feel free to ignore this. Also the significance of this calc is that Lando might try to SSSS, catch you by surprise with an OHKO and shut down your rain, which would be bad.
252 Atk Landorus-Therian Supersonic Skystrike (175 BP) vs. 248 HP / 24+ Def Pelipper: 274-324 (84.8 - 100.3%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Landorus-Therian Supersonic Skystrike (175 BP) vs. 248 HP / 24+ Def Pelipper: 301-355 (93.1 - 109.9%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO​

  • I also have another small change for the team being Iron Head > Flash Cannon on Magearna. Right now you're method to stopping SG Magearna is getting up rain and using Pert to scoop the KO, along with using your AV Magearna to wear it down. The only issue with this is rain has to be up, so if peli goes down you're in a bad spot trying to use pert. While you still have AV Mage you're in trouble if you face double dance sets with SG + CM. Iron Head helps you keep it in check even if it starts boosting.
0- Atk Magearna Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Magearna: 67-79 (22.2 - 26.2%) -- 8% chance to 4HKO

0 SpA Magearna Flash Cannon vs. +1 0 HP / 4 SpD Magearna: 64-76 (21.2 - 25.2%) -- 0% chance to 4HKO

0 SpA Magearna Flash Cannon vs. +2 0 HP / 4 SpD Magearna: 49-58 (16.2 - 19.2%) -- possible 6HKO​

Basically you come in as it Shift Gears, then it sets up Calm Minds in front of you freely boosting past you, opposed to Iron head that does consistent damage even as it sets up (even with negative nature it does more damage than neutral nature Flash Cannon vs +1 Mage).

That's all I had on the team as far as a rate went. I mentioned before that it can be hard to change rain teams, just by their nature, but hopefully these suggestions can help you if only by a little bit. Hope you continue to have fun with the team!
 

Joeyboy

Has got the gift of gab
is a Team Rater Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Hey Joeyboy really cool team, and really nice to hear that you're getting back into mons. As a former rater I'm sure you're aware rain is one of the toughest styles to rate as it is so formulaic. However, there are a few things with the team I noticed that could be talked about, and possibly tweaked a bit.

First thing I'll address is Ludicolo. I usually don't love Ludicolo in OU as other options like Kingdra and Ash Greninja exist, but I kind of like the way you built with it so I wont try and remove it. More just interested in hearing as to if you experimented with other swift swimmers at first before settling on Ludi, as it's a cool option that's refreshing to see.

Now let's get into some of the possible changes:

  • On Pelipper I would suggest trying out a Bold Nature as it allows Peli to eat one SSSS from offensive Lando-T if Jolly - also is a role vs adamant. I feel it's worth considering as it's pretty common for Lando-T to run Jolly at this point to beat Mew who are out Creeping Adamant Zygarde (the analysis spread). This comes with the fact I'm not sure what a calm nature does for you, but if there is an important reason for it, then feel free to ignore this. Also the significance of this calc is that Lando might try to SSSS, catch you by surprise with an OHKO and shut down your rain, which would be bad.
252 Atk Landorus-Therian Supersonic Skystrike (175 BP) vs. 248 HP / 24+ Def Pelipper: 274-324 (84.8 - 100.3%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Landorus-Therian Supersonic Skystrike (175 BP) vs. 248 HP / 24+ Def Pelipper: 301-355 (93.1 - 109.9%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO​

  • I also have another small change for the team being Iron Head > Flash Cannon on Magearna. Right now you're method to stopping SG Magearna is getting up rain and using Pert to scoop the KO, along with using your AV Magearna to wear it down. The only issue with this is rain has to be up, so if peli goes down you're in a bad spot trying to use pert. While you still have AV Mage you're in trouble if you face double dance sets with SG + CM. Iron Head helps you keep it in check even if it starts boosting.
0- Atk Magearna Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Magearna: 67-79 (22.2 - 26.2%) -- 8% chance to 4HKO

0 SpA Magearna Flash Cannon vs. +1 0 HP / 4 SpD Magearna: 64-76 (21.2 - 25.2%) -- 0% chance to 4HKO

0 SpA Magearna Flash Cannon vs. +2 0 HP / 4 SpD Magearna: 49-58 (16.2 - 19.2%) -- possible 6HKO​

Basically you come in as it Shift Gears, then it sets up Calm Minds in front of you freely boosting past you, opposed to Iron head that does consistent damage even as it sets up (even with negative nature it does more damage than neutral nature Flash Cannon vs +1 Mage).

That's all I had on the team as far as a rate went. I mentioned before that it can be hard to change rain teams, just by their nature, but hopefully these suggestions can help you if only by a little bit. Hope you continue to have fun with the team!
Excellent changes! Iron Head in particular is something that went right over my head during building. The SpDef nature on Pelipper was simply to help tank Hydro Pumps and etc but I like the break point a Bold nature would let it reach.

I chose Ludicolo because I believe it already does close to everything Kingdra does(speedy with powerful Hydro Pumps) but trades some (mostly superfluous) speed and a tiny amount of power to not give Ferrothorn an easy switch-in. Mostly I chose it for it's flexibility and coverage. It still outspeeds most of the metagame in Rain and has fewer, imo, checks and counters. The final, albeit minor, upside to Lud is that it could run a more defensive set utilizing Rain Dish; couple that with the fact it's rare on ladder and there's a chance my opponent's could misplay around it.
 

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