Monotype Showdown Water team.

[Tyeh]

Preface: My apologies if I’ve done something wrong in the creation process for this thread. As you can probably tell, I’m new here.

Introduction

As per the title, this team is a monotype water team. I saw a swiftswim base team pop up in UU a couple weeks ago, and I decided to try altering it to fit into monotype. There is no clear “purpose” (e.g set up and sweep) to this team, instead I try to play somewhat defensively with my picks before ultimately relying on one or two mons with large offensive potential to push the game in my favour. I’ve been playing Showdown during school for the best part of a year, however I only got into team building recently with a friend of mine. This is my first monotype team, so please don’t tear me to shreds over any glaring weaknesses etc.

Note: I went with the suggested EV spreads, so some could probably do with some changing,

I’ve currently played 13 games with this team. 11 wins and 2 losses, putting me at around 1.2k ELO. I’d like to get some experienced opinions on the team before taking things any further as I’m inexperienced when it comes to Monotype.


The team

Pelipper @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD (man, I need to max speed)
Modest Nature
- Defog
- U-turn
- Hurricane
- Scald

Pelipper is the backbone of the team, summoning rain upon entry which subsequently doubles the speed stat of M Swampert, Kingdra And Mantine. Pelipper is a frail mon in terms of SpD and its 4x weakness to electric, so I built this set as support. U turn is the primary move within the set, with hurricane being equipped to 2HKO Araquanid leads before coming back in later to defog. Pelipper has two functions within the team; the first being to summon rain and the latter being to defog entry hazards so that kingdra comes in with its sash intact. I find that Pelipper is a great defogger as most opponents realise that it’s scarfed once I use U turn on the first turn, so they don’t predict the unorthodox scarfed defog.

Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Superpower
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock

Swampert is the mega within the time, and the primary powerhouse alongside kingdra. I typically switch into resisted attacks before putting down rocks and going back into toxapex/mantine, only to bring swampert back in later to spam waterfall in the rain. I’m yet to use superpower so I’m considering switching it out for outrage (but I’m hesitant to do so as I have enough on the team to deal with dragons), and earthquake is my primary way of taking out toxapex. It’s also worth mentioning that the rocks are great for dealing with Volcarona, which is often sent in against Swampert due to it carrying giga drain. Rocks + a swift swim waterfall will be more than enough to KO any would-be quiver dance -giga drain attempt.

Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic
- Scald

Primary staller, used to slow the game down when things aren’t going my way as I’m typically very hot headed. Toxapex allows me to scout opponents movesets whilst also going for burns with scald, or to simply spam toxic and recover before switching out with the help of regenerator. Toxapex serves as my main grass resistor within the team, and can slowly chip grass types down with toxic damage over the course of a game.

Mantine @ Leftovers
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Roost
- Scald
- Ice Beam

Mantine is a staller on the team alongside Toxapex, and swift swim allows it to poison almost any foe before they can get a hit in, and roost allows me to comfortably regain health up until the end of drizzle. The foe has typically switched at this point, but if they haven’t they’ll be taking heavy poison damage and I’ll switch into Toxapex in an attempt to wall some more. I’m definitely putting air slash on Mantine, but I’m not sure whether it would be worth it in the end due to Mantine not having serene grace. An issue with Mantine is that it, like Pelipper, carries a 4x weakness to electric. This is tolerable during the early rounds, however losing Swampert to chip from switching into it from Pelipper/Mantine can ultimately cripple my team and result in an instant loss when facing off against electric monotype teams.

Kingdra @ Focus Sash
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Iron Head
- Waterfall
- Outrage

Physical powerhouse and the only mon on my team who can set up. The sash on Kingdra is so that it can always get 1 dragon dance up on the opponent, which is especially useful if they’re a dragon type as you can eat a draco before locking into outrage. Waterfall and iron head both have a flinch chance, with waterfall getting stab and iron head being good against the fairies which are often thrown at Kingdra in a sorry attempt to wall it (e.g mega altaria)

Blastoise @ Leftovers
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roar
- Aura Sphere
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam

Blastoise fills a missing space in my team, that being space for a mon with roar. Blastoise is bulky and gets great recovery in the rain due to ability + lefties, however I’m considering switching it out in favour for swift swim/ rain dish Ludicolo. I find myself not using Blastoise much now, but previously I used him to roar out anyone who set up on my hazard cloyster. However, I replaced Cloyster with Toxapex (who carries haze), and I don’t have many problems with people substituting on Toxapex (or at all), so I’m not sure if Blastoise is needed on my team. Ice moves feel somewhat repetitive albeit necessary at this point.

Importable Team

Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Superpower
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock

Pelipper @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Defog
- U-turn
- Hurricane
- Ice Beam

Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic
- Scald

Mantine @ Leftovers
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Roost
- Scald
- Ice Beam

Kingdra @ Focus Sash
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Iron Head
- Waterfall
- Outrage

Blastoise @ Leftovers
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roar
- Aura Sphere
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam

Current notable issues with my team:

Tapu Bulu can 3 short Toxapex with horn leech and 1/2 shot everything else on my team. It also outspeeds Pelipper even with the scarf. I’m considering recruiting Ludicolo as opposed to Blastoise in an attempt to counter this issue, however a megahorn cripple me so Bulu would still be a prominent issue.

Blastoise often has no job, and ends up becoming switch-in fodder to a giga drain. Blastoise is currently a B-tech Toxapex within the team and has no clear purpose apart from roar, not really sure what to do with it.

This team can be crippled by fire teams, specifically slow torkoal which makes drought trigger after drizzle AND mega charizard Y drought + solarbeam. Thankfully, SB isn’t much of an issue as you can switch Pelipper back in to force your opponent to charge for another turn, discouraging them from using it.

Thanks for reading this, hope I didn’t make too much of a mess.

 

[Eien]

Hey there! Always glad to see a someone trying out Monotype. Most rain teams tend to be hyper offense and don't use walls, but it's definitely possible to have a defensive Pokemon here and there if they are good as pivots. I think with a couple changes to which Pokemon are used and some refining of sets, you could go pretty far with this team! I read a lot of your comments, and you really do understand your team's weak points. These suggestions should help you solve those problems, and I addressed the issues you accurately identified.

First, Mantine just really doesn't fit on this team. While Toxapex is also a wall, its ability Regenerator makes it a great defensive pivot that even this team can appreciate. Mantine, though, will suck out all your momentum whenever it comes in. Instead, I think it would be much better if you had another offensive Pokemon instead, which would be able to help you with some of the matchups your team struggles with currently. Rather than Toxic poisoning walls, this team would prefer to just break them down with sheer power. For that reason, I would suggest Choice Specs Keldeo over Mantine. Keldeo is a much-needed teammate for beating Normal teams, which carry Chansey and Porygon2 that you basically can't get through right now. Choice Specs-boosted Secret Sword is almost crushing and is also a great help against Steel teams by beating Ferrothorn. Keldeo can also pack Hidden Power Electric to handle opposing Mantine, which is another wall your team has a really hard time beating.

Blastoise is the other Pokemon that I think should be changed. You noted yourself that Blastoise often doesn't do anything useful. That's a sure sign it's time to drop it and try something new. Haze Toxapex is more than enough for beating out setup sweepers, like Volcarona and Porygon-Z, most of the time, as Blastoise isn't bulky enough to Roar the threats that Toxapex can't handle. I would suggest Greninja, which is probably the best Water-type Pokemon in Monotype. For your current team, you really struggle with beating Poison even with Mega Swampert's help. You also aren't using a Z-Move. As a result, I would suggest using Poison killer Greninja instead of Blastoise, which is Groundium Z paired with Dig along with Extrasensory, which is perfect coverage for beating Poison teams. Tectonic Rage is able to always OHKO Alolan Muk, which would otherwise be able to easily switch into Greninja's Extrasensory. Your final two coverage moves will often depend on what your team is weak against. Ice Beam is generally chosen to help with Dragon-types. For this team, I think you would benefit a lot from having Rock Slide, which is able to take out Mega Charizard Y, which would otherwise be a huge pain for you because Drought removes your rain. Rock Slide + Ice Beam is just generally fantastic coverage for breaking Flying teams too, since that coverage hits the entire team for huge damage.

Now for your existing Pokemon, I think most of the sets could use a tune up. Pelipper can go two directions here. I personally think you should keep the moves the same but just switch Choice Scarf to Choice Specs. Pelipper is just a tad too slow to effectively use Choice Scarf, and Choice Specs will let you actually deal real damage with your STAB attacks, notably able to hit both Toxapex and Mega Venusaur. And of course, put those HP EVs into Speed! You really want to have Pelipper be fast enough to actually outspeed Mega Venusaur and other Pokemon like Azumarill.

As you noted, Superpower really doesn't do that much for Mega Swampert. If you go with my Keldeo suggestion, there's even less use for it. You should give Sludge Wave over Superpower a try. Yes, it is a special attack. However, it is needed for beating Tapu Bulu, which is one of the Pokemon you correctly pointed out as a huge threat to your team. You don't need to change your EVs, as after Stealth Rock, Sludge Wave always OHKOes it even with an Adamant nature.

The main use for Toxapex on this team would be to have Toxic Spikes, which should definitely replace Toxic. Toxic Spikes lets you cripple many teams and makes sweeping much easier, as walls will have a much harder time stopping your wallbreakers. Toxic is a bit nice for crippling Flying-types, but the important Pokemon you need to beat generally don't fear Toxic from Toxapex, so it's replaceable here.

For Kingdra, you should definitely use a Choice Specs sweeper set. Kingdra in the rain with Choice Specs deals an insane amount of damage off of Hydro Pump. For example, take a look at this calc:
252+ SpA Choice Specs Kingdra Surf vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Tapu Bulu in Rain: 153-180 (54.4 - 64%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Kingdra Surf vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Azumarill in Rain: 176-207 (51.4 - 60.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Tapu Bulu can't even switch in safely even on Surf and Azumarill is OHKOed after Z-Belly Drum. Kingdra's special attacks are generally just better either way. Draco Meteor doesn't lock Kingdra into play like Outrage does, Hydro Pump and Surf both have higher Base Power than Waterfall, and Ice Beam outdamages Iron Head on Tapu Bulu, the primary Fairy-type you're concerned with here. This will generally make Kingdra much more capable of sweeping too because it doesn't need to preserve a Focus Sash to set up and still do honestly quite mediocre damage like the physical set you have right now does..

I hope this helps. Even though there were a lot of changes, you should notice how often the changes are about things you were able to see as issues. Good luck with the team!

new team

Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Sludge Wave
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock

Pelipper @ Choice Specs
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Defog
- U-turn
- Hurricane
- Ice Beam

Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic Spikes
- Scald

Keldeo @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Electric]

Kingdra @ Choice Specs
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Ice Beam

Greninja @ Groundium Z
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Dig
- Extrasensory
- Ice Beam
- Rock Slide

As a final note, the Kingdra currently uses a Timid nature. You'll notice the calcs I posted above were for Modest. Currently, Naganadel is allowed in Monotype, and a +1 Naganadel outspeeds Modest Kingdra in the rain. Timid is needed to outspeed and revenge kill it. However, if Naganadel is banned, you should definitely change Kingdra to Modest for the greater power, which is needed to barely achieve the KOs I listed.

 

[Tyeh]

Hey there! Always glad to see a someone trying out Monotype. Most rain teams tend to be hyper offense and don't use walls, but it's definitely possible to have a defensive Pokemon here and there if they are good as pivots. I think with a couple changes to which Pokemon are used and some refining of sets, you could go pretty far with this team! I read a lot of your comments, and you really do understand your team's weak points. These suggestions should help you solve those problems, and I addressed the issues you accurately identified.

First, Mantine just really doesn't fit on this team. While Toxapex is also a wall, its ability Regenerator makes it a great defensive pivot that even this team can appreciate. Mantine, though, will suck out all your momentum whenever it comes in. Instead, I think it would be much better if you had another offensive Pokemon instead, which would be able to help you with some of the matchups your team struggles with currently. Rather than Toxic poisoning walls, this team would prefer to just break them down with sheer power. For that reason, I would suggest Choice Specs Keldeo over Mantine. Keldeo is a much-needed teammate for beating Normal teams, which carry Chansey and Porygon2 that you basically can't get through right now. Choice Specs-boosted Secret Sword is almost crushing and is also a great help against Steel teams by beating Ferrothorn. Keldeo can also pack Hidden Power Electric to handle opposing Mantine, which is another wall your team has a really hard time beating.

Blastoise is the other Pokemon that I think should be changed. You noted yourself that Blastoise often doesn't do anything useful. That's a sure sign it's time to drop it and try something new. Haze Toxapex is more than enough for beating out setup sweepers, like Volcarona and Porygon-Z, most of the time, as Blastoise isn't bulky enough to Roar the threats that Toxapex can't handle. I would suggest Greninja, which is probably the best Water-type Pokemon in Monotype. For your current team, you really struggle with beating Poison even with Mega Swampert's help. You also aren't using a Z-Move. As a result, I would suggest using Poison killer Greninja instead of Blastoise, which is Groundium Z paired with Dig along with Extrasensory, which is perfect coverage for beating Poison teams. Tectonic Rage is able to always OHKO Alolan Muk, which would otherwise be able to easily switch into Greninja's Extrasensory. Your final two coverage moves will often depend on what your team is weak against. Ice Beam is generally chosen to help with Dragon-types. For this team, I think you would benefit a lot from having Rock Slide, which is able to take out Mega Charizard Y, which would otherwise be a huge pain for you because Drought removes your rain. Rock Slide + Ice Beam is just generally fantastic coverage for breaking Flying teams too, since that coverage hits the entire team for huge damage.

Now for your existing Pokemon, I think most of the sets could use a tune up. Pelipper can go two directions here. I personally think you should keep the moves the same but just switch Choice Scarf to Choice Specs. Pelipper is just a tad too slow to effectively use Choice Scarf, and Choice Specs will let you actually deal real damage with your STAB attacks, notably able to hit both Toxapex and Mega Venusaur. And of course, put those HP EVs into Speed! You really want to have Pelipper be fast enough to actually outspeed Mega Venusaur and other Pokemon like Azumarill.

As you noted, Superpower really doesn't do that much for Mega Swampert. If you go with my Keldeo suggestion, there's even less use for it. You should give Sludge Wave over Superpower a try. Yes, it is a special attack. However, it is needed for beating Tapu Bulu, which is one of the Pokemon you correctly pointed out as a huge threat to your team. You don't need to change your EVs, as after Stealth Rock, Sludge Wave always OHKOes it even with an Adamant nature.

The main use for Toxapex on this team would be to have Toxic Spikes, which should definitely replace Toxic. Toxic Spikes lets you cripple many teams and makes sweeping much easier, as walls will have a much harder time stopping your wallbreakers. Toxic is a bit nice for crippling Flying-types, but the important Pokemon you need to beat generally don't fear Toxic from Toxapex, so it's replaceable here.

For Kingdra, you should definitely use a Choice Specs sweeper set. Kingdra in the rain with Choice Specs deals an insane amount of damage off of Hydro Pump. For example, take a look at this calc:
252+ SpA Choice Specs Kingdra Surf vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Tapu Bulu in Rain: 153-180 (54.4 - 64%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Kingdra Surf vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Azumarill in Rain: 176-207 (51.4 - 60.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Tapu Bulu can't even switch in safely even on Surf and Azumarill is OHKOed after Z-Belly Drum. Kingdra's special attacks are generally just better either way. Draco Meteor doesn't lock Kingdra into play like Outrage does, Hydro Pump and Surf both have higher Base Power than Waterfall, and Ice Beam outdamages Iron Head on Tapu Bulu, the primary Fairy-type you're concerned with here. This will generally make Kingdra much more capable of sweeping too because it doesn't need to preserve a Focus Sash to set up and still do honestly quite mediocre damage like the physical set you have right now does..

I hope this helps. Even though there were a lot of changes, you should notice how often the changes are about things you were able to see as issues. Good luck with the team!

new team

Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Sludge Wave
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock

Pelipper @ Choice Specs
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Defog
- U-turn
- Hurricane
- Ice Beam

Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic Spikes
- Scald

Keldeo @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Electric]

Kingdra @ Choice Specs
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Ice Beam

Greninja @ Groundium Z
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Dig
- Extrasensory
- Ice Beam
- Rock Slide

As a final note, the Kingdra currently uses a Timid nature. You'll notice the calcs I posted above were for Modest. Currently, Naganadel is allowed in Monotype, and a +1 Naganadel outspeeds Modest Kingdra in the rain. Timid is needed to outspeed and revenge kill it. However, if Naganadel is banned, you should definitely change Kingdra to Modest for the greater power, which is needed to barely achieve the KOs I listed.

Thanks for the detailed feedback. I’ve started running your version of the team on a friends account and have had only success with it thus far.

Greninja is already putting in work, with it being a pivotal member of the team and great with the protean ability ( https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotypesuspecttest-675792863 ), and although Keldeo hasn’t come in use yet, I can see scenarios where a HP Electric scarf would be very useful. Every member of my team now has a clear place and use, so I’ll probably only make minor changes from here. Either that or I’ll create a variation of this team and see if I can make Ludicolo work.