A Rainy Team

[Asrodrig]

Rain, rain; it's here to stay. Read and rate my team today!

Politoed: The Weatherman
*smogon.com link removed*
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Nature: Bold (+Def; -Atk)
- Scald
- Encore
- Hypnosis
- Focus Blast
Brings the rain, and then forces the opponent to switch by either burning it with Scald, putting it to sleep, or locking it into a set-up move with Encore. Focus Blast is mostly just for coverage, and in case Abomasnow or Tyranitar try to change the weather.

Toxicroak: Frogs love the rain
*smogon.com link removed*
Item: Black Sludge
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def
Nature: Adamant (+Atk; -SpA)
- Substitute
- Bulk Up
- Payback
- Drain Punch
I go for Black Sludge in case I'm playing with Item Clause, or in case my Item gets swapped. With healing from that, plus the rain, plus Drain Punch, I should be able to set up Substitutes at will. Not sure if I should keep Bulk Up or trade it in for another attack to extend my not-so-stellar coverage.

Skarmory: Hope he doesn't rust
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Item: Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spe
Nature: Impish (+Def; -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Drill Peck
Basic Defensive Skarmory. I prefer Stealth Rock to Spikes because it'll hurt Abomasnow and Ninetales more if they try to come in and switch the weather. I also like Drill Peck over Brave Bird because I'm not a fan of the recoil, even with Roost.

Starmie: The Spinning Star
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Item: Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid (+Spe; -Atk)
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Thunder
My solution to entry hazards. Keep in mind that Thunder has 100% accuracy in the rain.

Ludicolo: A lilypad for my wet pets
*smogon.com link removed*
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SpD
Nature: Bold (+Def; -Atk)
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Scald
- Toxic
Another abuser of Substitute under favorable weather conditions. Toxic and Scald might also force a switch, thereby racking up more damage thanks to Skarmory's Stealth Rocks.

Kingdra: Bringin' the pain in the rain
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Item: Lum Berry
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 92 Atk / 252 SpA / 164 Spe
Nature: Mild (+SpA; -Def)
- Rain Dance
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Outrage
My emergency Rain Dancer in case Politoed falls and the weather is shot. Lum Berry ensures that I can use Outrage at least once without having to worry about the resulting confusion.

 

[Hikamaru]

Your team is looking good but I have to tell you about Starmie.

Your Starmie has a Timid nature, right? Well, Rapid Spin is physical-based and Starmie is more special-based plus it will hit less due to the lowered Attack. I recommend giving it Psychic so it has a STAB move. Also, Scald is OK if you want to burn the opponent but I recommend Surf for extra power.

Everything else looks fine although Calm would be the best nature for a Politoed but Bold is OK.

On Kingdra, Outrage is a bit risky cos it can confuse you. Kingdra is more of a special attacker so I recommend Dragon Pulse because it still hits hard but you're not risking confusion. Plus, your Kingdra's nature raises Sp. Atk so you want to give it Special attacks.

That's something I had to point out.

 

[PlatinumDude]

Use Sucker Punch over Payback on Toxicroak. It's a bit fast to use Payback effectively and the ability to catch attacking opponents off-guard can pay off. Just so you know, if Trickers take your Black Sludge, then they have something else to use against you.

Use Surf or Hydro Pump over Scald on Starmie. It's more of a sweeper rather than a supporter, and Scald is better suited to support Pokemon, IMO.

IIRC, Swift Swim + Drizzle is banned competitively (unless you're going Wi-Fi). Use Rotom-W instead of Kingdra:
-Thunder/Volt Switch
-Hydro Pump
-Hidden Power (Ice)
-Trick
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 HP/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Choice Specs/Choice Scarf

or
-Thunder/Volt Switch
-Hydro Pump
-Will-o-Wisp
-Pain Split
Nature: Modest
EVs: 112 HP/252 SAtk/144 Spe
Item: Leftovers

 

[Ho-Oh]

Your team is looking good but I have to tell you about Starmie.

Your Starmie has a Timid nature, right? Well, Rapid Spin is physical-based and Starmie is more special-based plus it will hit less due to the lowered Attack. I recommend giving it Psychic so it has a STAB move. Also, Scald is OK if you want to burn the opponent but I recommend Surf for extra power.

Everything else looks fine although Calm would be the best nature for a Politoed but Bold is OK.

On Kingdra, Outrage is a bit risky cos it can confuse you. Kingdra is more of a special attacker so I recommend Dragon Pulse because it still hits hard but you're not risking confusion. Plus, your Kingdra's nature raises Sp. Atk so you want to give it Special attacks.

That's something I had to point out.

Just stopping by to say that Rapid Spin isn't put there to hurt the opponents, it's there to get rid of entry hazards (because competitively there's no viable use for it other than spinning ;x) while Psychic doesn't really help it coverage wise due to its other STAB being able to take out fighting types anyways. And also Lum berry is there to prevent the confusion @ Outrage, but yeah agreed with the Dragon Pulse point.

On the alternative to what PlatDude said, you could always go with the Sniper Kingdra set (which is allowed with Drizzle), which would still enjoy the rain despite the fact its speed isn't boosted.

Kingdra@Choice Specs
Sniper
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid / Modest
- Draco Meteor
- Hydro Pump / Surf
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power Electric / Surf

It won't have rain dance, but nor would Rotom-W, so yeah. :(

 

[Asrodrig]

Thanks for the suggestions; I'll definitely keep Kingdra (or at least, change him to a Pokemon without Swift Swim) before I get a Rotom, since I don't have Platinum, and also because Rotom looks dumb. Though I also tend to avoid using Hidden Power, since I don't know how to get the right one. Originally, I just picked Kingdra since he has fairly good stats all around, and only one weakness. Sniper is a bit of a gamble, since even with Scope Lens, critical hits aren't all that common.
What do you guys think of adding another physical sweeper to the list instead, like Gyarados?

 

[PlatinumDude]

Thanks for the suggestions; I'll definitely keep Kingdra (or at least, change him to a Pokemon without Swift Swim) before I get a Rotom, since I don't have Platinum, and also because Rotom looks dumb. Though I also tend to avoid using Hidden Power, since I don't know how to get the right one. Originally, I just picked Kingdra since he has fairly good stats all around, and only one weakness. Sniper is a bit of a gamble, since even with Scope Lens, critical hits aren't all that common.
What do you guys think of adding another physical sweeper to the list instead, like Gyarados?

You can get Rotom from an in-game trade in B/W, then breed it with Ditto for the right Hidden Power.

As for Gyarados, I suppose it's an acceptable alternative:
-Rest
-Sleep Talk
-Waterfall
-Dragon Tail/Roar
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate

or
-Dragon Dance
-Waterfall
-Stone Edge
-Earthquake/Bounce
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Lum Berry/Leftovers

or
-Dragon Dance
-Waterfall
-Stone Edge/Bounce
-Taunt
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 156 HP/72 Atk/96 Def/184 Spe
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate

or
-Substitute
-Dragon Dance
-Waterfall
-Bounce/Stone Edge
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 56 HP/248 Atk/204 Spe
Item: Leftovers

or
-Waterfall
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-Ice Fang
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Moxie

(wow, Gyarados sure does have a lot of good sets going for it, but pick the one that suits you best)