[Intro]
Hey guys, G NuBz here with probably my best laddering team. It was made to try to get to 1500 Cre so I can vote on Drizzle / Manaphy. Right now, I'm in the mid 1200s (Edit: that was on the Dream World ladder, I'm working on Standard right now), and I'm kind of stuck there, so I really need some help with this. This has definitly been one of my most successful team, but since I know I'm abusing Manaphy, I don't really count as that great of a team (for me). I was on a pretty big streak at one point, but then eventually lost to Critical Hit hax. On another note, I chose the title as This is the New Sh*t because if Drizzle doesn't get banned, it's pretty much the future of Gen V. In Gen IV, Rain Dance teams were never impressive, and with the dawn of a new Generation, Rain is "the New Sh*t".
[Team Building Process]
To start off, like I said before, I'm going to be abusing Manaphy to try to get 1500.
Manaphy goes great with rain, and I needed something to get permanent rain, and the only Pokemon that could do that is Politoed.
Now I needed another Rain abuser, so I went with arguably the best Swift Swim user, Kingdra.
Ok, so I pretty much have the core of the team together, and I wanted an attacking lead that could work well with the rest of the team. Enter Genosekuto.
I got 4 members of the team together, and I'm still missing Stealth Rocks, I was going to use Gliscor but Gligar with an Evolution's Stone's defenses were too good to pass up.
Finally, I needed something to add some extra type coverage, and Fire types in Rain don't work very well; so I went with Grass, and Jarooda seems to be the best Grass type in Dream World.
So it turns out, I can't vote if I get to 1500 in Dream World, so I had to make some changes to get it to standard OU. Genosekuto is an unreleased event, so he had to go, and Nattorei fit perfectly in his place.
Now comes the problem of Perversity Jarooda. After a rate from Heist, and battling a couple Birijion while testing, I saw how powerful it could be, and best of all, it didn't require Dream World.
Gligar's Attack wasn't cutting it. So why not just evolve it? Enter Gliscor.
[In-Depth]
To start off, like I said before, I'm going to be abusing Manaphy to try to get 1500.
Manaphy goes great with rain, and I needed something to get permanent rain, and the only Pokemon that could do that is Politoed.
Now I needed another Rain abuser, so I went with arguably the best Swift Swim user, Kingdra.
Ok, so I pretty much have the core of the team together, and I wanted an attacking lead that could work well with the rest of the team. Enter Genosekuto.
I got 4 members of the team together, and I'm still missing Stealth Rocks, I was going to use Gliscor but Gligar with an Evolution's Stone's defenses were too good to pass up.
Finally, I needed something to add some extra type coverage, and Fire types in Rain don't work very well; so I went with Grass, and Jarooda seems to be the best Grass type in Dream World.
So it turns out, I can't vote if I get to 1500 in Dream World, so I had to make some changes to get it to standard OU. Genosekuto is an unreleased event, so he had to go, and Nattorei fit perfectly in his place.
Now comes the problem of Perversity Jarooda. After a rate from Heist, and battling a couple Birijion while testing, I saw how powerful it could be, and best of all, it didn't require Dream World.
Gligar's Attack wasn't cutting it. So why not just evolve it? Enter Gliscor.
[In-Depth]
Genosekuto @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Download
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature (+Spd, -Def)
- U-turn
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
Genosekuto has a counter for almost every lead in the game. With the Bolt-Beam combo, along with some extra coverage using Flamethrower and U-Turn, Genosekuto hits everything in the game for neutral damage, and a good portion of Pokemon for Super Effective damage. After a Download boost, Genosekuto usually gets a 2HKO, and occasionally an OHKO. Normally, it would OHKO most things anyway, but in Gen V, a lot more leads are bulky than Suicide / Frail leads. Even so, Genosekuto 2HKOs them after a Download boost. But I know Genosekuto won't be able to OHKO, and it's a Fire Type, I'll U-Turn out to keep Genosekuto as a Revenge Killer later in the game, especially when Rain isn't up. Also, Genosekuto counters all weather starters: Abomasnow doesn't have a chance against 4x Super Effective Flamethrower; Defensive Hippowdons are 2HKO'd (I think) by Ice Beam; and Politoed is 2HKO'd by Thunderbolt, 3HKO'd if it's Specially defensive; Ninetails is the only one that could be a problem, so I usually U-Turn out to Politoed since my set is pretty bulky.
Lead Matchup
Azelf - U-Turn for Super Effective damage to anything really and get the kill.Abamasnow - Flamethrower.
Hippowdon - Start using Ice Beam, if it has Slack Off, switch to Kingdra or Jarooda and get the kill.
Politoed - Thunderbolt until it uses Hypnosis or switches out into a Ground type.
Genosekuto - Flamethrower, and hope it's Modest or I win a Speed tie.
Ninetails - U-Turn out to Politoed to set up rain, then go to Kingdra for the kill.
Erufuun - Keep using Flamethrower, it usually does about 50% on the Leech Seed, then it won't get too many Substitutes up after that.
Tyranitar - U-Turn for Super Effective damage, then go to pretty much everything for a kill.
Nattorei - Flamethrower usually 2HKOs.
Gliscor / Gligar - Ice Beam.
Nattorei (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 96 Atk / 160 SDef
IVs: 0 Spd
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
- Protect
Nattorei is a tank to start with, and in the rain, it loses its 4x Fire weakness, and brings it to 2x which isn't much considering Nattorei's great defenses. Stealth Rock was needed on this team after Gligar was changed to AcroFling Gliscor. The combination of Leftovers, Leech Seed, and Protect allow Nattorei to get a good portion of its HP back in just a few turns. Gyro Ball also gets a great amount of power for when Nattorei needs to do some damage or it gets taunted. With a Nature that reduces Speed, 0 Speed IVs, and only 20 base Speed, Gyro Ball can do a ton of damage, especially to Hyper Offensive teams. Nattorei is also the pokemon I go to in a tough spot, since I usually don't like to bring out Manaphy until late game, Nattorei pretty much covers the rest of these teams weaknesses; and the team covers Nattorei's weaknesses. Nattorei has saved me countless times while testing, especially when I'm about to lose Kingdra after I just had a Special Attack drop from Draco Meteor. At that point, most people send in a Latios / Garchomp to take me out, and I'd hate to have any other member of the team taking that. When Nattorei does come in on Latios or Garchomp, Gyro Ball can usually 2HKO them, which helps a lot in the long run. Before Nattorei got onto this team, I'd have to Revenge Kill one of them with Kingdra.
Politoed (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 200 HP / 200 Def / 108 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Hypnosis
- Encore -- Previously Perish Song
- Boil Over
- Ice Beam
Politoed makes this team what it is. It provides Rain which allows Manaphy to take down pretty much everything. Politoed usually goes for Hypnosis first, then for some reason, a lot of people will stay in while their Pokemon is asleep this Generation, so I go to Manaphy and set up a Tail Glow, unless of course, it's a Nattorei which does about 75% with Power Whip. Encore is used to stop the opponent from setting up, or if it does start setting up, I get a free switch to take them out. It works the same was as Perish Song for Baton Pass teams, they get stuck on Baton Pass or Swords Dance or whatever, and I get a free switch to get the kill. Boil Over is just to do some damage if I get taunted, and the same for Ice Beam which comes in handy when a Flying type comes in. The EVs are set for as much bulk as possible, giving Politoed 371 HP / 259 Def / 263 SpD. Politoed usually doesn't go down unless he gets 3HKO'd, which doesn't happen a lot since the threat is usually put to sleep after 1 hit. I only let Politoed go down by foddering it off if I know they don't have a weather starter, or their weather starter is already taken out.
Kingdra (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Surf
Kingdra is arguably the best Swift Swim user in the game. A Choice Specs Draco Meteor takes out just about every switch in. If I know the opponent is going to switch into Nattorei (which is very common), I'll go for a Hydro Pump which does over 50% to a Defensive Nattorei. If the Nattorei is Specially defensive, it gets a 3HKO which I usually end up switching out since I can't risk losing Kingdra because of a miss, or he / she decided to attack instead of using Thunder Wave or Spikes. Ice Beam hits Flying types which are a lot more common with the addition of Borutorosu, Randorosu, and even Gliscor is used more. Overall, Ice Beam and Hydro Pump hit Ground types that have become a lot more common this generation thanks to Sand Throw / Sand Power. Surf is for when I need a reliable STAB move for a late game clean up or when Hydro Pump is running out of PP. I usually go with Hydro Pump in the beginning of the game, but Surf is for later in the game when I can't afford to miss. Anyways, Kingdra acts as my Revenge Killer, and my only one after Genosekuto was replaced. This is where Nattorei comes in, whenever something comes in to take out Kingdra, Nattorei can always take the hit.
Manaphy @ Life Orb
Trait: Hydration
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Tail Glow
- Rest
- Surf
- Ice Beam
Manaphy should be Ubers in my opinion, especially with Tail Glow. It can't be out-stalled, since Rain heals any status, and it sets up a Tail Glow which brings Manaphy to 748 Special Attack which even OHKOs a Politoed with Surf after Stealth Rock damage (most of the time). Tail Glow definitely got the biggest boost the generation, but it wouldn't have been very noticeable if it wasn't for Manaphy. Rest allows Manaphy to recover all the damage it took from Life Orb, and just whatever else it took in the process of a sweep. It's also pretty useful for scouting to see if I outspeed the foe, and I know it won't kill me on the first hit. If I'm faster, I'll take it out with a Surf or Ice Beam, whatever's Super Effective. If I'm slower, I'll fodder something off and Revenge kill it with Genosekuto or Kingdra. Surf in the rain at +3 OHKOs pretty much everything, and the things it doesn't OHKO usually can't do a lot of damage to Manaphy, so I'll set up another Tail Glow and take it out. This usually happens when Blissey / Chansey comes in and tries to out stall me. At +6, Surf does about 58% to Blissey in the Rain, which allows for an easy 2HKO and most carry Wish over Softboiled, so it's not to hard to accomplish. Ice Beam is just for Flying types and Grass types that threaten Manaphy, or that Surf may not be Super Effective against.
Gligar (M) @ Evolution Stone
Trait: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Roost
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
This is the set I had the most trouble with when making it. Basically I took Gliscor's Lead set and used that. I'd really like some suggestions on the EVs and moves, since it doesn't do as much damage as I'd like it to. Anyways, on to the description. Gligar's Defense along with an Evolution Stone boost puts it to 369, which walls almost any Physical attacker. Even Gligar's Special Defense reaches a respectable 251, walling some of the weaker Special attackers. Roost is for when I actually need to wall someone, and I need some extra HP to continue walling a Life Orb attacker. Earthquake is just for some damage, when Stealth Rocks are already set up or I get taunted. It doesn't do much damage though, like I said before it should do a lot more than it does. Stealth Rock helps a lot on this team, since most things are only OHKO'd after that 12.5% damage it does. U-Turn is for things like Tyranitar; while Gligar does wall it pretty well, Earthquake isn't doing much to it with only 186 Atk and Tyarnitar's defense. Like I said before, I really need some help with this one.
Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Atk / 28 Def / 28 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Fling
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Acrobat
Gliscor is my Fighting type counter. Roobushin used to rip me apart after 1 or 2 Bulk Ups, and if it was Specially Defensive, my only hope is for Kingdra to take it out with a Draco Meteor after having to sacrifice something. After using Protect to get Poison Heal to activate, I go for the Fling to double Acrobat's power. While it does activate Guts for Roobushin, I get Acrobat to 110 Base Power, plus STAB and Super Effective which does a ton of damage. Earthquake makes Gliscor my Tyranitar / Doryuuzu counter when they have Sand Storm up. If Doryuuzu is carrying a Balloon, I can always go for the Acrobat to get rid of it, but usually its not from taking a hit from something else. After that, 1 Earthquake and it's gone. The EVs on this set seem a little random though. I made a combination of a couple sets on this one. The 252 HP is pretty standard on Gliscor, so that one was obvious. The Attack was from me, not really from any set at all. I needed it to do some damage to counter the things I needed it to, and 200 seemed like a good number. 28 Defense just for being able to survive that extra hit from Tyranitar / Doryuuzu. I took the Speed from Heist's set, since the things it was outrunning were usually walling me, and I didn't need that much Speed to counter the things I wanted to.
Jarooda (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Perversity
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Leaf Storm
This Jarooda SubSeed set can force a lot of switches, when it comes in at the right time. The Substitute and Leech Seed combination allows Jarooda to get to +6 SpA fairly easily. Leaf Storm is a must on Jarooda, thanks to Perversity. Jarooda easily gets to about 1000 SpA against walls that don't pHaze. After that, the other team is pretty much swept until Life Orb damage kills me. That's the one problem I have with this set, while Life Orb helps a lot to get some OHKO's, it dies way to fast. Usually, I can get the Substitute but not the Leech seed which just kills Jarooda a lot faster. Normally, I would be able to get it up, but since Nattorei is so common, Leech Seed doesn't work. This is where Hidden Power [Fighting] comes in. I would use Hidden Power [Fire], but the Rain makes it almost useless. Hidden Power [Fighting] still does a pretty decent amount since Jarooda is almost never below +2. Another problem I have with this set is the lack of Special Attack. Right now, with a Timid Nature, it only has 248 Special Attack, so the first attack I use isn't going to do much. I'd like to run Modest, but having Timid brings Jarooda to 356 Speed, outrunning most of OU. Like I said with the Gligar set, help me out on this one.
Birijion @ Leftovers
Trait: Justice Heart
EVs: 40 Atk / 252 SAtk / 216 Spd
Hasty Nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Calm Mind
- Close Combat -- Previously Focus Blast
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Birijion is my counter to Nattorei, and other Drizzle teams. The EVs came from Heist, who was very helpful when making changes to this team to get it out of Dream World. Right now, the EVs are set to outrun Garchomp, but I will lose to other Birijion if I'm not at +1 Special Defense. I won't switch in my Birijion on other ones, but if they decide to come in on me, I'm almost always +1. Calm Mind is so I can have a backup set-up sweeper, if Manaphy goes down early for some weird reason. Close Combat makes Birijion my Nattorei counter, and deals with Blissey too. I used to have Focus Blast on this set, but another full Special Attacker wasn't helping me and neither was 70%. I recently had a battle where it missed 5 times in a row against a Nattorie. I know that's a bit extreme, but you get the point. Giga Drain basically allows Birijion to become a Special Attacking Roobushin. Calm Mind is Birijion's Bulk Up, except for Special Attacks. Giga Drain is Birijion's Drain Punch, which does around 70% to Manaphy before +1. Thanks to Birijion and Nattorei, Manaphy isn't much of a problem. Hidden Power [Ice] is for hitting Flying types that resist both STAB Attacks, giving this set a lot of coverage. The Leftovers if for recovering some much needed HP after taking a hit or two. When Birijion does come in, it doesn't switch out for a while since it has a counter for most Pokemon.
[Conclusion]
Overall, this team has proved to be one of my best. I just want to say a couple things about change to this team. On Manaphy, I'm not going to be changing it to a Calm Mind set, I really like the results I've been getting with Tail Glow. However, I am fine with changing the EVs to add some extra bulk, since Nattorei's Power Whip does about 74%. As for Kingdra, I'm thinking about changing it to Choice Banded Kabutops or a Physical Kingdra since, I have only 1 Physical attacker on this team and thats Gligar who might as well be a Special Attacker since it doesn't do much of anything aside from stall and set up Stealth Rocks. I definitely don't want to change the Politoed set at all, since they have been working great (other than changing Perish Song to Encore of course). Nattorei has been a great addition to this team, allowing it to have some much needed defensive bulk. The same with Birijion, who becomes my secondary sweeper, if Manaphy goes down early in the game, which while that is rare, does happen. I'd like some more power on Gliscor though, but I don't really want to change it to a Swords Dance set, help me out on this one. Also, I really need another physical attacker, I'm thinking Kabutops or changing Birijion to a Swords Dance set instead of Calm Mind. Let me know, and with that Love it, Hate it, Rate it.
