Teambuilding in PU: Weather

Teambuilding Strategy

Rain is a pretty simple style to build. First add a Volbeat. This thing is pretty much essential on any Rain team with Prankster weather setting, a slow U-turn, and solid bulk. Next you'll want a lead setter, something to start the game with that ideally can set both Stealth Rock and Rain. Relicanth is the normal go-to thanks to Sturdy being ideal for a lead to guarantee at least one attack. Then you just need a few rain sweepers and a resist slot and you're good to go! Most rain sweepers rely on Swift Swim to run through offensive teams, with staples being Golduck, Armaldo, Beartic, and Floatzel, but you'll commonly find Electric-types like Zebstrika or Electrode thanks to them getting 100% accurate Thunders. Zebstrika also has an immunity to Electric-type moves via Lightningrod, as most Pokémon on Rain teams are Water-type. One of the Rain sweepers will typically carry Rain Dance as a filler slot just in case both auto-setters go down. For the last slot, you may have noticed that these Pokémon don't have much defensive synergy, and Grass- and Water-types in particular run through the team. The last slot is typically filled by a Grass-type like Roselia thanks to their solid bulk, but this is the slot with the most room for creativity and exploration, with the main factor in common simply being an Electric resist. In addition, a wallbreaker such as Dodrio or Stoutland can occupy the last slot to weaken checks so the sweepers have more run to run free.

Teambuilding Skeleton

• Volbeat + Relicanth + Special Sweeper + Special Sweeper + Physical Sweeper + Filler

Effective Pokémon

• Volbeat (M) @ Damp Rock
• Ability: Prankster
• EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
• Relaxed Nature
• IVs: 0 Spe
• - Rain Dance
• - Encore
• - Thunder Wave
• - U-turn

Volbeat is a very important Pokémon for Rain teams as it offers priority Rain Dance via Prankster, as well as Thunder Wave support and slow pivoting. It is almost a necessity on Rain teams because of that, and should be kept alive so you can get off a late-game Rain Dance. Volbeat is the biggest supporter on Rain teams.

• Relicanth @ Damp Rock
• Ability: Sturdy
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Rain Dance
• - Head Smash
• - Stealth Rock
• - Yawn / Waterfall

Relicanth is another rain setter, although it takes the role of a lead setter. Its access to Stealth Rock and Sturdy makes it the top choice for a lead on rain teams, and its access to Head Smash and Yawn can force opposing Pokémon out and cause free switches into one of your sweepers.

• Floatzel @ Life Orb
• Ability: Swift Swim
• EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Timid Nature
• - Hydro Pump
• - Ice Beam
• - Hidden Power Grass
• - Surf / Focus Blast

• / Floatzel @ Life Orb / Choice Band
• Ability: Swift Swim
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Waterfall
• - Ice Punch
• - Aqua Jet
• - Return

Floatzel is already one of the fastest Pokémon in the tier, and under rain, it becomes even faster. It is also able to run both special and physical sets because of its solid mixed offenses and great offensive movepool, which can make it hard for opposing players to know which Pokémon to switch in. Overall, Floatzel is very solid on rain teams and is insanely fast with the Swift Swim boost.

• Golduck @ Life Orb
• Ability: Swift Swim
• EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Modest Nature
• - Rain Dance / Focus Blast
• - Hydro Pump
• - Ice Beam
• - Psyshock

Golduck is a very impactful special Swift Swim sweeper that finds its niche over Floatzel in its superior Special Attack stat. In addition, its access to Psyshock allows it to have an easier time against Roselia. However, Golduck is quite slow without the Swift Swim boost, whereas Floatzel is very fast even without it.

• Armaldo @ Life Orb
• Ability: Swift Swim
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Adamant Nature
• - Swords Dance
• - Stone Edge
• - Earthquake
• - Aqua Jet / X-Scissor

Armaldo is a pretty cool physical rain sweeper, sporting a base 125 Attack stat as well as access to Swords Dance, Stone Edge, Earthquake, and rain-boosted priority in Aqua Jet. X-Scissor is also an option to take on Grass-types, although Armaldo's other moves generally get the job done. Unlike the mono-Water-type rain sweepers, Armaldo is a decent check to Grass-types.

• Beartic @ Life Orb
• Ability: Swift Swim
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Adamant Nature
• - Icicle Crash
• - Superpower
• - Aqua Jet
• - Swords Dance

Beartic is another solid physical rain sweeper, sporting a unique Ice typing that makes it a really solid check to Grass-types. As with Armaldo, it has access to both Swords Dance and Aqua Jet, although it has a lower base 110 base Attack. In addition, Beartic gets weakened very quickly because of its bad defensive typing, low defensive stats, and a reliance on Life Orb.

Sample Team

Teambuilding Strategy

Sun has had a pretty rough run since Victreebel was banned. Like with rain, you'll want to start with Volbeat and another manual setter, with the common options being Carbink, Golem, and the occasional Onix, once again thanks to the combination of Sturdy and Stealth Rock. The next two to three slots belong to your Chlorophyll sweepers. Leafeon is typically a given thanks to its great Attack stat and access to Swords Dance, although Sawsbuck has a secondary Normal STAB type that could be pretty useful. As a special sweeper to replace Victreebel your best bet is Weepinbell, which sees a bit of a Speed and power decrease but still manages to be pretty threatening with Grass / Fire / Poison coverage and Sleep Powder. Finally, depending on how many teamslots you've got left, some Fire- and Flying-checks are sorely needed. Rapidash is fairly common, as it also gets to take advantage of the sun with boosted Flare Blitzes, and fast Electric-types also fit nicely as blanket checks to any fast enemies that can sweep the team once the sun goes down.

Teambuilding Skeleton

• Volbeat + Onix / Golem + Sweeper + Sweeper + Sweeper or Fire Check / Flying Check + Fire Check / Flying Check

Effective Pokémon

• Volbeat (M) @ Heat Rock
• Ability: Prankster
• EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
• Relaxed Nature
• IVs: 0 Spe
• - Sunny Day
• - Encore
• - Thunder Wave
• - U-turn

As on rain teams, Volbeat fills the role of a priority setter and supporter with Prankster. It is the best option and is a necessity as well for any viable sun team. The rest is pretty self explanatory.

• Golem @ Heat Rock
• Ability: Sturdy
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Sunny Day
• - Stealth Rock
• - Explosion
• - Earthquake / Stone Edge

Golem is a solid option for sun teams as a lead setter, which is very comparable to Relicanth on rain teams. It faces competition from Onix and Carbink, but it stands out thanks to its superior offensive presence.

• Onix @ Heat Rock
• Ability: Sturdy
• EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Stealth Rock
• - Taunt
• - Sunny Day
• - Explosion

Onix is another option on sun teams as a lead setter, and it has a much higher Speed stat than Golem and access to Taunt, although it's easier to take out because of how frail it is. It also has access to Stealth Rock and Explosion.

• Carbink @ Heat Rock
• Ability: Sturdy
• EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Sunny Day
• - Stealth Rock
• - Explosion
• - Magic Coat

Carbink is the last viable option as a sun setter with access to Stealth Rock, and it is more of a middle ground between Golem and Onix. While it's not as fast an Onix and doesn't have the more reliable Taunt, it has more bulk and access to the still usable Magic Coat, whereas it has fewer weaknesses than Golem and is faster than it, although it lacks offensive presence.

• Sawsbuck @ Life Orb
• Ability: Chlorophyll
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Swords Dance
• - Horn Leech
• - Double-Edge
• - Jump Kick / Megahorn

Sawsbuck is a really solid physical sun sweeper that utilizes its dual STAB combination and coverage to take on many threats. Its main niche over other physical sweepers is its secondary STAB type, which allows it to take on opposing Pokémon more easily. With a Swords Dance up, Sawsbuck can only be taken on by priority or the bulkiest of walls, such as Tangela, which still dies to Megahorn, and Gourgeist-XL. Sawsbuck can weaken opposing Pokémon for its teammates or clean late-game.

• Leafeon @ Life Orb
• Ability: Chlorophyll
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Swords Dance
• - Leaf Blade
• - Knock Off
• - Double-Edge

Leafeon is another good physical Chlorophyll user, and it is very reminiscent of Sawsbuck. It has a niche in Knock Off and a higher base Attack, although it lacks coverage and a secondary STAB move.

• Weepinbell @ Life Orb
• Ability: Chlorophyll
• EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Modest Nature
• - Sleep Powder
• - Sludge Bomb
• - Solar Beam
• - Weather Ball

As mentioned in the overview, Victreebel was banned from PU for being too good under sun. However, Weepinbell stepped up in its spot and filled its role effectively, albeit a bit worse. Its access to Sleep Powder and Weather Ball as well as an effective STAB move in Sludge Bomb makes it very effective against opposing teams.

Sample Team

Teambuilding Strategy

Unlike rain and sun, sand is pretty cut and dry, without much variety. It is limited to using Hippopotas as its only setter, which is not the bulkiest Pokémon, and Stoutland as its only sweeper, although it can hit very hard. However, sand also has the positive effect of inflicting residual damage, which helps break down Pokémon and gives Stoutland an easier time sweeping. It also gives Rock-types an 1.5x Special Defense boost. Overcoat and Magic Guard users such as Vullaby and Kadabra also get some usage, since they are immune to the effects of sand. Entry hazard stacking is very good in combination with sand teams, as it helps break down walls faster and gives Stoutland an easier time sweeping in the process. A Monferno switch-in such as Vullaby is important, as it threatens Stoutland with Mach Punch. The main difference of sand from other weathers is how it's less constricted and doesn't really have a set way to be run. Since there is only one setter and one sweeper, the rest of the spots are really up to the user. However, sand still needs to keep up an offensive nature, so Pokémon such as offensive Politoed, Grumpig, and Roselia are preferred over their defensive sets, while Pokémon such as Choice Scarf Rotom-F are useful to offer momentum and help break opposing walls.

Teambuilding Skeleton

• Hippopotas + Stoutland + Grass and Water check + Magic Guard / Overcoat / Sand-immune Pokémon + Filler + Filler

Effective Pokémon

• / Hippopotas @ Eviolite / Smooth Rock
• Ability: Sand Stream
• EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
• Impish Nature
• - Stealth Rock
• - Slack Off
• - Earthquake
• - Whirlwind

Hippopotas is necessary if you want a sand team, as it's the only usable Pokémon with access to Sand Stream. It has access to Stealth Rock and Whirlwind, which allow it to be a decent supporter. The item on Hippopotas is up to the user, as it's rather frail without an Eviolite but less effective at providing support if it's not carrying Smooth Rock.

• / Stoutland @ Life Orb / Choice Band
• Ability: Sand Rush
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Adamant Nature
• - Return
• - Crunch
• - Superpower
• - Facade / Play Rough / Retaliate

Stoutland is the only viable sand sweeper and is the main reason to run sand teams in the first place. Its amazing coverage and Attack stat allow it to break through opposing teams in conjunction with the Speed boost provided by sand.

• Vullaby (F) @ Eviolite
• Ability: Overcoat
• EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
• Impish Nature
• - Roost
• - Defog
• - Foul Play
• - U-turn

Vullaby is a really solid Pokémon on sand teams, supported by Overcoat, as it can remove Spikes and other entry hazards and check some of the largest threats to sand teams, including Monferno. Vullaby also has access to slow U-turn, which can allow it to pivot into Hippopotas to set sand up or into Stoutland to take advantage of sand.

Sample Team

Unfortunately, Hail does not give any Pokémon Speed boosts to turn them into major threats. This just makes it a minor annoyance rather than able to provide any notable team support. Additionally, since Aurorus moved up to NU, Snover is the only potential hail setter for teams, which comes with seven weaknesses and a base 40 Speed. While it can provide fully accurate Blizzards for Rotom-F and deal a little bit of chip damage, that's about all hail can accomplish.