Whirlpool of Destruction (Peaked #20 @ 1414)

[blunder]

Ranking

EDIT: ^ Actually ranked 20 @ 1414 points and I will upload the picture tomorrow morning

Hey guys, I believe this is my Fifth RMT here at Smogon and probably my most successful one as well. When Starting out DW OU, I really was only interested in using my favorite mons, (Contrary Serp, TechLoom, Shadow Tag Chandelure etc.) This team was really only created because at the time I wanted to make a team, everyone and their grandma was using Taylor's Sand Team. After a while I decided counter teaming that would just be stupid so instead I tried Sun, which failed horribly and switched to rain to abuse threats such as Manaphy and Keldeo. This team has been very good for me, but has become a bit boring.

So since this team was to rain based, I needed Politoed. The Bulky set was good, but it really wasn't cutting it. I decided to run a Choice Specs Set just to wreck opposing weather teams quickly and just dominate anything that switched in.

So on every single gimmicky team in DW OU, I used Breloom just because it was such a monster. This thing really protects me from Genesect as a Plus 2 Mach Punch will easily finish it off even without SR. The power of this thing is really unrivaled so I chose it. Just a Standard set of Spore / Swords Dance / Bullet Seed / Mach Punch was used.

Thundurus has always been my favorite pokemon and probably will always be. This thing is literally the King of the Rain. I decided not to run a Nasty Plot Set because I already have 3 Set up Sweepers so I decided to run a set with Thunder Wave for support.

Keldeo is pretty awesome in the Rain as well since its Hydro Pump pretty much kills everything. It's kinda like a Special Terrakion that loses to Lati@s, but it's still pretty awesome. Instead of Calm Mind or Choice Specs I decided to just run a 4 attack Life Orb set which was surprisingly effective and didn't disappoint me.

Ok, so since I was using rain I might as well slap a Ferrothorn on there and get me some Stealth Rocks. This used to be a Forretress, but using Forry got me 6-0ed by Manaphy more times than I can remember. I do Miss Forry's Rapid Spin and maybe Thundurus cant switch in as much, but Ferrothorn kinda Stops Genesect too. Genesect is barely ever going to go for a Flamethrower in the rain while I have like 3 Resistances to it as it is. Ice Beam after a Sp Atk boost still does pathetic damage, and U-turn does like ~30% or so so it can just rack up Iron barbs along with SR.

If they ever decide to ban something in DW OU like they did Blaziken, and I have a say in it, I am rooting for Manaphy. This thing is literally THE best late game sweeper in the tier. After I take out the opposing teams Ferrothorn and CB Dragonite I can pretty much just switch in Manaphy and go from there. I chose an extremely Defensively Bulky Calm Mind set that runs extremely little speed Evs, because I already have a fast team and I like Manaphy's natural bulk. This thing is so clutch endgame when a dude brings out his Serperior ready to sweep as it can even take an unboosted Leaf Storm at full health and do like 60% with Ice Beam to where Ferro Takes it out with Gyro Ball.

So yeah thats the teambuilding I guess. Let's go get into the guys in depth

Politoed (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast

Standard Specs Toed. I really don't have much to say other than this thing literally wrecks everything. Surf is used If I don't feel like missing late game, and the fact that no one ever uses Gastrodon or Jellicent means that HP Grass isn't really beneficial. I have considered using Perish songs to end late game guys like Manaphy, but never really decided on using it. Hydro Pump is because I want to kill everything and Ice Beam for Grass types or Dragons that want to switch in. Focus Blast is the least reliable move and I will probably switch that to Perish Song because I never use it unless I really really want to take on Ferrothorn, but Hydro Pump already 2HKOs so it doesn't really matter.

Breloom (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Mach Punch
- Bullet Seed
- Spore


The Boss himself. The set really is standard and probably the one on-site. Swords Dance to boost Attack to extremely high levels. Mach Punch for priority because Breloom is slow. Bullet Seed as dual stab and to take on slower, bulkier threats. Spore is Spore. Put an enemy to sleep and then set up. I used to run Lefties but Life Orb helps with lots of KOs like Genesect at Plus 2. I can also 2HKO Skarm at Plus 2 as well which is cool. The only reason I run Jolly over Adamant is because the bulky Manaphy set commonly runs enough Speed Evs to Outspeed Adamant Max Speed Breloom.

Thundurus (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunder
- Focus Blast
- Thunder Wave
- Hidden Power Ice

So Thundurus is pretty cool. It's probably the least valuable member of my team though. I am really contemplating on switching it to Raikou for an electric immunity, but I am not sure so I'd really like input on that. Thunder for STAB and a hard hitting Attack. Focus Blast for Steels, Ttar, etc. HP Ice is for Dragons and Thunder Wave so that Breloom, Politoed, and Manaphy can either set up on the slowed down opponent or smash it with powerful attacks. This is especially helpful for Manaphy is the case of fast Special Attackers because it can set up and then take the Special Attack with relative ease.

Keldeo @ Life Orb
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Surf

Keldeo's set is pretty standardish I guess. I don't run Specs or CM again because I don't need it. Hydro Pump is for obvious STAB and with the Rain Boost and Life Orb, nothing can switch in. Secret Sword is secondary STAB which I barely ever use, but it's nice for hitting Ferrothorn even though it doesn't OHKO which is stupid. Surf is a nice option so I don't have to miss and can still Kill something. Hidden Power Ice is for Dragons again.

Ferrothorn (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 6 Def / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Stealth Rock

Ferrothorn is so Clutch. SO CLUTCH. I can usually always get up Stealth Rock Reliably and then go for Leech seeds or just start smashing the opponent with hits. I run Max Special Defense becuase it just helps in general with stuff like Genesect and Latios and other Hard Hitting Special Attackers. This thing is just so cool. I've seen it take 95% from a Flamethrower by a defensive Ninetales.. While in the Sun. Just Think about that for a minute...

Manaphy @ Leftovers
Trait: Hydration
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Surf
- Rest
- Ice Beam

Last But not least, comes Manaphy. As you can see by the Evs I run enough to outspeed Adamant Techloom and a lot of Defense Evs to take physical hits well. Calm Mind is to boost my modest Special Attack and Special Defense stat to intimidating levels, while Rest is to get back up to full HP and laugh at the opponent as they tried so hard to whittle it's HP Down. Ice Beam and Surf have relatively good coverage and the only foolproof counter to this thing is Ferrothorn.


So that's the team. Hope you guys enjoyed this little RMT and I would love to here some suggestions :]

Importable

Politoed (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast

Breloom (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Mach Punch
- Bullet Seed
- Spore

Manaphy @ Leftovers
Trait: Hydration
EVs: 252 HP / 242 Def / 16 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Surf
- Rest
- Ice Beam

Ferrothorn (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Stealth Rock

Thundurus (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 6 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunder
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast
- Thunder Wave

Keldeo @ Life Orb
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Surf

 

[Gimmick]

Wow. When I saw "Peaked #26 @ 1385," I didn't expect to see a very threatening team, but you surely proved me wrong. It seems you cover many many threats in Dream World, including Manaphy, Keldeo, Excadrill, and such likes. However, the first thing I noticed was a glaring weakness to SubCM Latias. You have several HP Ices running around, but being a weak non-STAB, it won't be able to break Substitutes after a few CMs. Politoed's Specs Ice Beam only does 39.01% - 46.15% to 252 HP Latias at +1, meaning it can continue to Calm Mind to set up on it. With Substitute, it's able to stall out Ferrothorn's 8 Gyro Balls, leaving it untouchable. Similarly, Keldeo's HP Ice only does 43% - 51% to an unboosted Latias, leaving it again, as setup fodder. (Hydro Pump in Rain does 41% - 48%). Thundurus's HP Ice only does 42 - 50%. A +1 Dragon Pulse has a 6.25% chance to OHKO Thundurus after Stealth Rock, meaning you won't get a chance to T-Wave Latias if it's behind a Sub. Manaphy could stall out Recovers and Substitutes with its bulk and for the fact that it wins the Calm Mind war, but there's always a possibility of critical hits. Latias essentially has a minimum of 12 Dragon Pulses to waste on Manaphy to have enough left to hit the rest of your team (assuming Ferrothorn is dead). I'm not going to do the math, but that definitely adds up to a good chance for a crit. Assuming Manaphy is dead, Latios can basically sweep your whole team if they play it correctly. To fix this, I would recommend using Genesect over Thundurus. You said that it was the least important member of your team (as it doesn't really provide much synergy with the rest, being your only fighting/flying resist yet unreliable). Genesect would prove you with an answer to easily killing Lati@s while also providing this rather offensive team with a Scarf. The extra speed and scouting capabilities would definitely speed the flow of this team and help to apply pressure. A Standard scarf set would be sufficient:

Genesect @ Choice Scarf Trait: Download
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- U-turn
- Ice Beam
- Thunder / Thunderbolt

- Bug Buzz / Flamethrower


I slashed the common Tbolt and Flamethrower for Thunder and Bug Buzz, which are really best used under Rain.


Other than that, the team looks extremely solid and covers a LOT of things. Congrats :]

 

[blunder]

Wow. When I saw "Peaked #26 @ 1385," I didn't expect to see a very threatening team, but you surely proved me wrong. It seems you cover many many threats in Dream World, including Manaphy, Keldeo, Excadrill, and such likes. However, the first thing I noticed was a glaring weakness to SubCM Latias. You have several HP Ices running around, but being a weak non-STAB, it won't be able to break Substitutes after a few CMs. Politoed's Specs Ice Beam only does 39.01% - 46.15% to 252 HP Latias at +1, meaning it can continue to Calm Mind to set up on it. With Substitute, it's able to stall out Ferrothorn's 8 Gyro Balls, leaving it untouchable. Similarly, Keldeo's HP Ice only does 43% - 51% to an unboosted Latias, leaving it again, as setup fodder. (Hydro Pump in Rain does 41% - 48%). Thundurus's HP Ice only does 42 - 50%. A +1 Dragon Pulse has a 6.25% chance to OHKO Thundurus after Stealth Rock, meaning you won't get a chance to T-Wave Latias if it's behind a Sub. Manaphy could stall out Recovers and Substitutes with its bulk and for the fact that it wins the Calm Mind war, but there's always a possibility of critical hits. Latias essentially has a minimum of 12 Dragon Pulses to waste on Manaphy to have enough left to hit the rest of your team (assuming Ferrothorn is dead). I'm not going to do the math, but that definitely adds up to a good chance for a crit. Assuming Manaphy is dead, Latios can basically sweep your whole team if they play it correctly. To fix this, I would recommend using Genesect over Thundurus. You said that it was the least important member of your team (as it doesn't really provide much synergy with the rest, being your only fighting/flying resist yet unreliable). Genesect would prove you with an answer to easily killing Lati@s while also providing this rather offensive team with a Scarf. The extra speed and scouting capabilities would definitely speed the flow of this team and help to apply pressure. A Standard scarf set would be sufficient:

Genesect @ Choice Scarf Trait: Download
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- U-turn
- Ice Beam
- Thunder / Thunderbolt

- Bug Buzz / Flamethrower


I slashed the common Tbolt and Flamethrower for Thunder and Bug Buzz, which are really best used under Rain.


Other than that, the team looks extremely solid and covers a LOT of things. Congrats :]

Actually I am at Rank 20 @ 1414 points xD. Thanks a lot for the suggestion. I have seen CM Latias and yeah it is a threat but I've only seen it used maybe twice. I will try out Genesect as it could be a great scooter and revenge killer with a scarf. I was also thinking of CB Dragonite, but since I lack a spinner I think I will just play aroud with Genesect. Thanks a lot for the compliments too man! :]

 

[Jimbon]

Hi Thunderblunder!

This is certainly a very offensive team you have here, I can see why it works well; applying a lot of pressure onto your opponent forcing them to make mistakes. One thing that stands out to me is the sheer offensive power of your team, Choice Specs Politoed, Life Orb Keldeo and Tail Glow Manaphy. The main problem I see with your team is the reliance on Politoed. From what I see, Sandstorm is the most common weather with Rain coming up second. Although it can hit hard, you already have Thundurus, Keldeo, Manaphy and Breloom to do this for you. What I would recommend to you is changing your Politoed set to a physically defensive variant.

Hide

Politoed (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Scald
- Protect
- Toxic
- Perish Song

This set does a whole lot more for your team imo. Politoed locked into Ice Beam / Hidden Power [Grass] grants free set up for your opponent, with such an offensive team there is a likelihood something is going to die. Defensive Politoed helps to check a lot of big Sandstorm threats, in particular Excadrill, Gliscor and Garchomp. Defensive Politoed also clears up your weakness to Sub Calm Mind Latias as Gimmick previously mentioned. Perish Song forces it out before it can set up, not letting it cause problems for your team. It also helps against Baton Pass teams who can find a free turn of set up against Ferrothorn or previously Choice Specs Politoed given that you have no phazers or hazards on this team.

I might have a look @ this later but it's 4am and I couldn't sleep lol.. Congrats on the team, hope I helped!

 

[blunder]

@Jimbon- Sounds like a great idea and I will try it out. On another note, I want a physical attacker Preferably a choice scarfed one. Any1 know any great scarfers?

 

[Jimbon]

As for physical sweepers, the two that stand out the most to me are Garchomp and Salamence. Garchomp helps you check the Sand teams that are much more common higher up the ladder, it gives you a lifeline in situations where you may have lost the weather war in which Thundurus and Manaphy rely on. Salamence on the other hand gives you an effective late game sweeper, combined with Ferrothorn's hazards Salamence easily finds itself getting one kill which after Moxie can lead to much more. Both of these are good choices and also maintain the decent synergy with the rest of your team, mainly down to personal preference:

Hide

Salamence (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
- Outrage
- Dragon Claw
- Brick Break
- Earthquake

Garchomp (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
- Outrage
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Aqua Tail / Fire Fang

 

[Kidogo]

Hey thunderblunder,

I've played this team a bunch and its pretty solid--the technique of "hit everything really hard till it's dead" is a fairly good one, and you pull it off very well. I do like the idea of salamence or garchomp to add more physical presence. If you go with garchomp, I have a couple possible suggestions for the set over scarf. Since garchomp works fantastically in sand, I might suggest a sub SD set, as it can basically take on most sand teams 1-on-1 and benefits a lot from the paralysis provided by thundurus. Alternatively, you could run stealth rocks over SD, as this would allow you to put spikes on ferrothorn, which would help immensely with winning the weather war as well as fitting remarkably with your team's offensive nature. In fact, SR could be used even on the scarf set, as garchomp really gets all the coverage it needs from its STABs.

A final option that really makes garchomp amazing is tailwind. With a tailwind boost, garchomp outspeeds and pretty much OHKOs everything on a sand team, especially with hazards support. A LO set with outrage, eq, aqua tail, and stone edge or dragon claw is very effective. Tornadus can provide tailwind support as well as being perfect for the team, benefiting from rain while providing a heavy offensive presence. Priority talwind is also amazing even if you opt against garchomp.

I might suggest changing breloom to adamant as the extra power is pretty nice. honestly, breloom probably shouldn't be staying in on manaphys, as you won't know the set and probably don't want to risk breloom on it.

Have you thought about shed shell on ferro? I know chandelure isn't as much of a problem for a rain team, but if it removes ferrothorn you could be in trouble against the many things it counters. This is accentuated by the fact that ferrothorn can't really do anything against chandelure even if rain is up and it thus can't OHKO it.

Anyway, this is mostly just PP. Great team here, hope my comments helped!

 

[blunder]

Thanks for the suggestions Jombon and Kidogo. I had tried Choice Scarf Garchomp and I am loving it's ability to counter dragons as well as quick threats. I can also have a nice electric immunity. Salamence was cool too but the SR weakness was annoying as I don't have a spinner