Hihi all! I plan on posting two teams here, so please examine both before you leave this section XD. The reason this is called a Semi Rain dance team is that while it appreciates RD, it doesn't require it to function properly. Lead Bronzong@Macho Brace Brave 252 HP, 252 Attack, 4 Defense 0 Speed IV's Heatproof Gyro Ball Earthquake Stealth Rock Explosion Rotom W@Damp Rock Modest 252 HP, 252 Sp.attack Rain Dance Hydro Pump Thunder Will O Wisp Kingdra@Life Orb Naive 252 Attack, 252 Sp.attack, 4 Speed Swift Swim Rain Dance Hydro Pump Draco Meteor Waterfall Jirachi@Choice Scarf Timid 252 Sp.attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP Psychic Thunder HP Ice Grass Knot Celebi@Leftovers Calm 252 HP, 252 Sp.defense Grass Knot Psychic Leech Seed Heal Bell Swampert@Leftovers Impish 252 HP, 252 Attack Earthquake Waterfall Roar Protect Analysis: Hippowdon;This guy is a really nice lead. He's really good at beating Azelf and Aerodactyl leads, and can beat Infernape, Heatran and Metagross in a pinch. He always gets down rocks for me, which is just awesome. Heatproof sounds odd, but it all comes down to suprise factor; most Zongs carry Levitate, so it's a bold opponent who decides to test the water by throwing an EQ out there! If I attack first, I beat Nape, Heatran, and Azelf. Since most of these guys will set up rocks or Taunt, this works nicely ^^. This guy goes boom on Pert, so he's no trouble. It does struggle with Hippowdon and the rare Rotom leads, but other than that, a really nice lead. EV's are for bulk and power, with Macho Brace to ensure I KO Gengar, Zelf and Aero. One other thing is that most people will switch Gyra in on this thing, only to have it go boom in their face, which always KO'es, even after Intimidate. All in all, a really cool lead. Rotom-W;Awesome Pokemon, such a beast. It takes hits really well, and man, can it dish the pain. Thunder and Hydro Pump give awesome coverage, and I normally wreck Tyranitar on the switch with WoW. If I get the RD as it switches in, Hydro Pump will easily 1HKO. The lack of Shadow Ball is a bit limiting, if I'm honest, and it is one of the reasons Celebi gives me such a hard time. But other than that, this guy provides multiple useful resistances, and can both support its team and deal out pain. Damp Rock is there to give it longer Rain Dance. Kingdra;This guy is the primary offensive force on my team, and, if I'm honest, the only way I can muscle past Blissey. Hydro Pump and Draco Meteor bring about destruction, wrecking almost everything, and decimating offensive teams. Waterfall is there for Blissey, and also as my fallback after using Draco Meteor. With max attack EV's and a Life Orb, including the rain, it is an excellent failsafe move. This guy 1HKO's Scizor, Heatran, Gengar, all but the bulkiest Rotom forms, Breloom, Starmie... the list goes on and on and on. I really like this guy, and he is a staple of my team. I wanted some insurace from Gyra and Mence, whilst utilizing something that would benefit from Rain Dance. It came down to either this guy or Scizor, and while using this guy makes Blissey and Celebi nightmares, I am very pleased with his prowess. Psychic is a suprisingly powerful STAB attack, and makes short work of Infernape, Machamp, Breloom, etc. Thunder has perfect accuracy in the rain, and a phenomonal 60% chance of paralyzing my opponent, which is bloody fantastic. This means that cocky Heatran switch ins are rendered useless, along with opposing Jirachi's, etc. HP Ice wrecks the Dragons and Gliscor. Grass Knot makes short work of confident Swampert switch ins, and can 2HKO offensive Tyranitar. I am currently debating whether or not to run Healing Wish instead of Grass Knot, which would allow Kingdra to sweep twice, or restore a wall to full health. Overall, while odd looking, this is my insurace against some of the metagames top sets, and is a staple of my team. Celebi;A real weak spot in my team. I've always liked Celebi, and managed to use it quite effectively, but this one is just a waste of a team space. Anyway, it sponges Water and Grass type attacks, can beat Starmie in a pinch, and it my teams valuable form of status recovery, which it desperately needs. Leech Seed is to annoy the shit out of Blissey, though I may go back to using Recover. Heal Bell is the real selling point of this set, and helps my team out immensely. In short, a mediocre cleric with useful resistances. I am open for suggestions here. Swampert;I don't normally run Swampert, but I needed a Tyranitar counter, so there we are. I made the foolish mistake of trying to immitate a Roar and Protect set I ran with great success on Suicune and Vaporeon. It doesn't seem to work for Swampert, as it just takes too much damage to be used effectively. This guy takes more damage than he should, and can't hit as hard as I'd like. In fairness, he does an excellent job of keeping Tyranitar and Scizor in Check, and provides key resistances for my team, but to be honest, he and Celebi are both shaky foundations for this team. Considering they are supposed to be part of my defensive core, this is a serious flaw. Overview; despite obvious problems, this team is really very effective. Celebi and Blissey give me huge problems, but other than that, I am very pleased with what this team has achieved.
That Kingdra is a monster, i use it sometimes, Hydro Pump + Rain Dance + Life Orb = pure destruction, with something like...120 base power + 60 STAB + 60 for the rain= 240 + 30% Life Orb = 312 of Power, if i didn't wrote anything foolish (that would be pretty normal xD). About Celebi, if you need a cleric, why don't use Togekiss? He is bulky enough to be a cleric, a support for your team, he can make other pokèmons flinch frequently, he can Baton Pass (don't know if you need it xD), with a set like Wish/Heal Bell/Air Slash, and i don't know the last move, maybe Thunder Wave or something else you find useful, he can provide great support to your team, and he is immune to Earthquake. You can also avoid Shadow Ball coming by choice Gengar and Rotom forms(watch out from Thunderbolt or Discharge). About the rest of the team, Scarfrachi is always a pain to be against and that moveset is nice, with good coverage, even if i don't like choice sets very much :/. I always hated Swampert, but i don't know what can replace him :|. Rotom forms are always great walls, their Ghost-Electric type combined with resistance to Earthquake, and good defensive stats. Maybe one of this days i will try this team (if you let me :$) to see the pros and cons
Luck>Skill, of course you may test this team-I would be flattered. Thank you also for your poignant remarks; Togekiss is one of my favourites, and I shall definetly test it. I also hate Swampy, but hell, it's as good a T-tar counter as any, I suppose. Thanks for the advice, and I look forward to battling you on PO!