SM Doubles OU Solid Rain team

[Jackbot]

I've been trying to build a decent team around Pelipper + Kindra, and this is what I've got. I peaked 52nd with 1625 points on the Showdown! ladder, which I think is pretty good considering my much lower standards.

So, this is not an all-out rain team, it only uses Kingdra as a late game sweeper, while Pelipper serves as a general utilty tool. And this is why I think it's reasonably solid, it doesn't entirely rely on the rain in order to work.

​

Pelipper @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Hurricane
- Scald
- U-turn
- Protect ​

Drizzle on Pelipper is great. It gives it an awesome double STAB, countering many pesky pokemon like Volcarona, Venusaur, Landorus-T, and allows it to switch into threats like Mega Charizard Y.
With that being said, it's not really an outstanding Pokemon on its own. It mainly serves as a set up for Kingdra.
The set is pretty simple. Max HP and Special Attack to increase its bulk while also dealing as much damage as it can pull off. Hurricane and Scald are obvious STAB moves; U-turn is useful to bait switches, and it can help bring Kingdra in safely. Protect is obvious in Doubles.

Kingdra @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Muddy Water
- Draco Meteor
- Hydro Pump
- Protect
​

The late game sweeper. Swift Swim doubles its speed so it basically outspeeds everything on the meta. It also serves as a good revenge killer, and can KO dangerous Pokemon like Mega Salamence.
Maximize Sp. Atk and Speed, with Modest nature since you don't need all that speed, while you need to do as much damage as possible. Muddy Water is the Water-type move you'll use the most, since it's the most accurate and it hits adjacent pokemon, with the added bonus of sometimes lowering the accuracy. Draco Meteor is a desperate but strong move, it can take out fast Dragons but you then need to switch out. Hydro Pump is there if you need a single target, max damage move.

Gengar @ Gengarite
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Protect
- Disable​

I love Gengar. It's fast and hits hard; and its Poison STAB move is so valuable in this meta. I use this as a counter to the Tapu brothers, Metagross and Jirachi, and generally as a good revenge killer.
Maximizing Speed is important because it can outspeed many key Pokemon (mainly when in non-mega form), and it can tie with Tapu Koko. Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb are for STAB. I've seen myself use Disable more than I ever expected; it's actually very useful when coupled with such a high speed, since it can almost act as a Fake Out on later turns.

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- King's Shield
- Flash Cannon
- Wide Guard ​

Good old reliable Aegislash. So reliable in fact that I think it's a bit broken, but maybe it's just me. This seems redundant with Gengar in the same team, but I think you never have enough counters to fairies; it also walls Psychic types, which is something that Gengar can't do. Also, it generally serves a different purpose than Gengar, since this can actually be used to switch into something.
This is the typical special attack set for Aegislash; it hits hard with its double STAB, while King's Shield takes you back to the defensive stance. Wide Guard is amazing on Aegislash: it protects your team from Earthquakes and Heat Waves, which are very typical ways to KO Aegislash, and are generally very common moves in doubles.

Scrafty @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Super Fang ​

This guy might seem a bit weird, but it's actually good in this meta. I've seen SO many Trick Room teams, that I decided I wanted a direct counter to them. With Assault Vest and Intimidate, it becomes incredibly good at taking hits, so it's easy for Scrafty to stick around, and it's generally a great utility Pokemon along with Fake Out.
Simply maximize HP and Atk. Fake out is naturally a great move in double. Knock Off severely damages annoying Pokemon like Oranguru, and Psychic types in general that can set up Trick Room. Drain Punch is a good STAB move that helps Scrafty stick around even longer; I also realized that fighting-type moves are also quite precious in this meta, since they're quite a rare sight nowadays. Super Fang... I haven't used it many times, it is very situational, so much in fact that I might replace it with something like Ice Punch.

Tapu Bulu @ Life Orb
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
- Protect ​

I'm not sure if this set is really optimal, but I'm rolling with it and I'm quite happy with the results. This mostly serves as a wall breaker, that can also switch into Electric and Ground-type moves. Its ability is also really valuable for this team: first, because it reduces the strength of Earthquake, saving a lot of damage to Gengar and Aegislash; also, because it will negate the effect of other common terrain effects.
I personally like to maximize its speed, although I'm not 100% sure this is correct. Wood Hammer is a great STAB move, and coupled with Life Orb and Grassy Sourge it can score some nasty OHKOs on neutral hits. Rock Slide has good coverage and hits both opponents; Superpower hits many Steel-type Pokemon that would otherwise wall Tapu Bulu.


So, in conclusion, I don't think this team needs a whole lot of replacements in terms of what Pokemon to use, since it's been fairly successful on the ladder, but it could use some minor tweaks. Let me know what you think, I'll update if I make some changes.

 

[Test Bot #]

For the most part it's a nice team, Jackbot!

The first thing I noticed is that Aegislash is sort of redundant in this team. This is because Pelipper has access to Wide Guard and to a lesser extent, no team really needs two Ghost-types. Giving the extra slot to say... Thundurus is much better. After all, Thundurus is another Water-types check, Celesteela check, and a Zard (Sun) check. It's access to Prankster Rain Dance is quite nice against a Zard that is either Mega Evolving in that turn or is switching into Rain. You also wouldn't have to depend on Pelipper every time that Rain ends. Another thing that I noticed is that your team has no real Trick Room checks. (What does Scrafty do against Oranguru + Fairy?) Giving Gengar-Mega the move Taunt and Tapu Bulu the item Grassium Z will significantly help you against such threats. Other little things that you may want to change but isn't completely necessary is that you can give Pelipper the move Tailwind; your own Tailwind is quite resourceful in case the opposing team has their own Tailwind user (Ex. Suicune). You said that your Pelipper is not that outstanding. Now, it's quite resourceful!

importable

Gengar-Mega @ Gengarite
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Taunt
- Protect

Pelipper @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 224 HP / 156 SpD / 128 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Wide Guard
- Tailwind
- Protect

Kingdra @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Muddy Water
- Draco Meteor
- Ice Beam
- Protect

Tapu Bulu @ Grassium Z
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Superpower
- Stone Edge
- Protect

Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Rain Dance
- Protect

The last thing I want to talk about is Scrafty. Although Scrafty is useful for its Intimidate + Fake Out, it is basically useless if Tapu Lele is around, Scarfed or not. You don't really have any mons that can switch into Tapu Lele either. For that reasons, I believe that you should definitely have a Steel-type or a Psychic-type of your own. (I know you had Aegislash...) In my opinion, Heatran can do ample amount of jobs for your team. It is another Zard check, Steel-types check, and Tapus check; just make sure to eliminate some of them before setting up Rain. Wide Guard Pelipper and Tapu Bulu's Grassy Surge provides plenty of safety against Earthquakes, too. You can go for a Substitute set, but I like the idea of using Stealth Rocks better; it pressures Zard hard and Mence to an extent. In the end, whatever changes you make is completely up to you. GL HF~

importable

Heatran @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 24 HP / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock
- Protect

 

[Jackbot]

For the most part it's a nice team, Jackbot!

The first thing I noticed is that Aegislash is sort of redundant in this team. This is because Pelipper has access to Wide Guard and to a lesser extent, no team really needs two Ghost-types. Giving the extra slot to say... Thundurus is much better. After all, Thundurus is another Water-types check, Celesteela check, and a Zard (Sun) check. It's access to Prankster Rain Dance is quite nice against a Zard that is either Mega Evolving in that turn or is switching into Rain. You also wouldn't have to depend on Pelipper every time that Rain ends. Another thing that I noticed is that your team has no real Trick Room checks. (What does Scrafty do against Oranguru + Fairy?) Giving Gengar-Mega the move Taunt and Tapu Bulu the item Grassium Z will significantly help you against such threats. Other little things that you may want to change but isn't completely necessary is that you can give Pelipper the move Tailwind; your own Tailwind is quite resourceful in case the opposing team has their own Tailwind user (Ex. Suicune). You said that your Pelipper is not that outstanding. Now, it's quite resourceful!

importable

Gengar-Mega @ Gengarite
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Taunt
- Protect

Pelipper @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 224 HP / 156 SpD / 128 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Wide Guard
- Tailwind
- Protect

Kingdra @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Muddy Water
- Draco Meteor
- Ice Beam
- Protect

Tapu Bulu @ Grassium Z
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Superpower
- Stone Edge
- Protect

Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Rain Dance
- Protect

The last thing I want to talk about is Scrafty. Although Scrafty is useful for its Intimidate + Fake Out, it is basically useless if Tapu Lele is around, Scarfed or not. You don't really have any mons that can switch into Tapu Lele either. For that reasons, I believe that you should definitely have a Steel-type or a Psychic-type of your own. (I know you had Aegislash...) In my opinion, Heatran can do ample amount of jobs for your team. It is another Zard check, Steel-types check, and Tapus check; just make sure to eliminate some of them before setting up Rain. Wide Guard Pelipper and Tapu Bulu's Grassy Surge provides plenty of safety against Earthquakes, too. You can go for a Substitute set, but I like the idea of using Stealth Rocks better; it pressures Zard hard and Mence to an extent. In the end, whatever changes you make is completely up to you. GL HF~

importable

Heatran @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 24 HP / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock
- Protect

Thanks a lot for the reply! Here's a few things I'd like to point out.

Scrafty doesn't really counter Oranguru or Trick Room users, since Knock Off isn't powerful enough to OHKO Oranguru / Mega Slowbro etc... However, it enjoys Trick Room quite a lot, since it's very slow, bulky, and generally tends to stick around, so having Trick Room up isn't too big of a deal for my team thanks to Scrafty. But yeah, I'm very much willing to replace it if there are better options. Also, I don't really like Taunt on Gengar, since most Oranguru's use Mental Herb to prevent being taunted.

I used to run Zapdos on this team, which covers a fairly similar role to Thundurus, and had Tailwind on his own. I ended up scrapping it because it was generally under-performing, there are surprisingly few Water types in this meta, Tailwind is useless against Trick Room teams, and could already use Pelipper to counter Zard Y; so I put Aegislash to help me counter Tapu Lele, most notably. Although maybe Thundurus does a better job than Zapdos, so either way I'm going to try it out.

Regarding Pelipper, I actually ran a set with Wide Guard for a long time, but I didn't like it. In this meta, there are mostly four attacks that hit multiple Pokemon: Earthquake, Heat Wave, Rock Slide, Dazzling Gleam. Pelipper already resists EQ and Heat Wave, which are by far the most dangerous ones; Dazzling Gleam doesn't do that much damage, and Rock Slide is pretty much never used as a STAB move, so you rarely see these moves used against your Pelipper. But if I do end up replacing Aegislash, I'll give it another go. I also used to run Tailwind on it as well, but I wanted to try U-turn to see how it worked. I might just use it again.

Oh and I just put Ice Beam on my Kingdra, it seems much better.

Heatran is really, really interesting, I mean, I already use Aegislash to switch into Tapu Lele, but Heatran gets the job done as well, while also checking Zard Y. Doesn't really synergize with the rain, but oh well. Definetely liking this one.

I actually used to run Grassium-Z on Tapu Bulu, but I swapped it for Life Orb, since, along with Grassy Terrain, Wood Hammer already OHKOs anything that doesn't resist it. So I'd rather boost my other moves as well.

Anyway, thanks again for the reply, I'm certainly going to experiment with these ideas.

 

[Test Bot #]

Thanks a lot for the reply! Here's a few things I'd like to point out.

Scrafty doesn't really counter Oranguru or Trick Room users, since Knock Off isn't powerful enough to OHKO Oranguru / Mega Slowbro etc... However, it enjoys Trick Room quite a lot, since it's very slow, bulky, and generally tends to stick around, so having Trick Room up isn't too big of a deal for my team thanks to Scrafty. But yeah, I'm very much willing to replace it if there are better options. Also, I don't really like Taunt on Gengar, since most Oranguru's use Mental Herb to prevent being taunted.

I used to run Zapdos on this team, which covers a fairly similar role to Thundurus, and had Tailwind on his own. I ended up scrapping it because it was generally under-performing, there are surprisingly few Water types in this meta, Tailwind is useless against Trick Room teams, and could already use Pelipper to counter Zard Y; so I put Aegislash to help me counter Tapu Lele, most notably. Although maybe Thundurus does a better job than Zapdos, so either way I'm going to try it out.

Regarding Pelipper, I actually ran a set with Wide Guard for a long time, but I didn't like it. In this meta, there are mostly four attacks that hit multiple Pokemon: Earthquake, Heat Wave, Rock Slide, Dazzling Gleam. Pelipper already resists EQ and Heat Wave, which are by far the most dangerous ones; Dazzling Gleam doesn't do that much damage, and Rock Slide is pretty much never used as a STAB move, so you rarely see these moves used against your Pelipper. But if I do end up replacing Aegislash, I'll give it another go. I also used to run Tailwind on it as well, but I wanted to try U-turn to see how it worked. I might just use it again.

Oh and I just put Ice Beam on my Kingdra, it seems much better.

Heatran is really, really interesting, I mean, I already use Aegislash to switch into Tapu Lele, but Heatran gets the job done as well, while also checking Zard Y. Doesn't really synergize with the rain, but oh well. Definetely liking this one.

I actually used to run Grassium-Z on Tapu Bulu, but I swapped it for Life Orb, since, along with Grassy Terrain, Wood Hammer already OHKOs anything that doesn't resist it. So I'd rather boost my other moves as well.

Anyway, thanks again for the reply, I'm certainly going to experiment with these ideas.

Taunt is not only for Oranguru, but meant for TR users in general. But yeah, Oranguru is the only mon that really used Mental Herb. Taunt also stops opposing TW, Wide Guard, etc. It's a move that is much more resourceful than you think. And obviously TW is useless against TR, but the main reason to having your own is because mons like Mega Mence + Jirachi or Deoxys-A + Suicune can easily set up against Rain. Also, your assumption that there are few Water-types in this meta is wrong. Out of my head, I know that Rain, Volcanion, Milotic, Suicune, Azuramill, Gastrodon, Rotom-W, etc. are frequently used.

I'm also quite aware of spread moves. You seem to mention that spread moves are ineffective against Pelipper, but Wide Guard isn't meant to support it more than it should support its partners. And I agree, Fire in Rain is awkward, but a Rain team that doesn't check Ferrothorn is a failed Rain team. You can also probably use Electrium Z on Thundurus, too, if you don't want Bulu to use its Z-move. Having a Z-move available is not necessary, but just good practice.