Rain Stall
Rain stall is a very uncommon playstyle, but it can be very effective in the right hands. The basic idea is to utilize Pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Tentacruel to their fullest potential with the benefits that rain gives them. For example, in Ferrothorn's case, the decreased power of Fire-type attacks gives it greater staying power, which in turn grants it more opportunities to set up hazards and wall threats with Leech Seed. Rain stall teams are by their namesake very defensive, so be sure to bear this in mind when building one.
Rain! (Politoed) @ Leftovers
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 156 Def / 64 SpA / 40 Spe
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Scald
- Toxic
- Protect
- Perish Song
Politoed often leads the team due to its Drizzle ability, which activates rain upon entering the field. For a rain stall team, Politoed is essential for the permanent rain, which improves the stalling abilities of the Pokemon chosen. The set is defensive to maximize Politoed's durability and ability to keep rain up. The defensive EVs give it enough physical bulk to survive Haxorus's Choice Band-boosted Outrage, letting Politoed safely use Toxic on it, and enabling the team to efficiently combat Dragon-based offense teams. The Special Attack EVs give Politoed a better chance of OHKOing Gliscor and Landorus with Scald. Toxic combines with the Speed investment to let Politoed outrun and hit Jellicent before it is Taunted, which in turn lets the team force it out—or KO it—and spin away hazards. Perish Song acts as a check to Baton Pass teams and serves a back-up check to other stat-boosters.
Sushi (Tentacruel) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Toxic Spikes
- Scald
- Protect
- Rapid Spin
With Drizzle support, Tentacruel becomes one of the scariest forces of a rain stall team. With both Rain Dish and Black Sludge providing recovery and Protect letting it safely recover even more health, Tentacruel can heal off residual damage quickly. Tentacruel provides valuable Toxic Spikes support, which greatly helps its team win the weather war. Toxic Spikes are generally useful for stalling too, putting defensive pressure on stallbreakers trying to break through the team. Tentacruel is also an ideal user of Rapid Spin due to its ability to remain healthy easily, beat common hazard setters, namely Forretress and Skarmory, and spin easily against teams lacking Jellicent.
Rain Dogs (Quagsire) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 10 SpD
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spe)
- Toxic
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Recover
Quagsire is a very rarely seen Pokemon; in fact, it had made its home in the NU tier during the time this team was made. However, its niche ability, Unaware, easily separates it from any other physical wall available. Pokemon such as Landorus, Toxicroak, and Dragonite have the power and coverage to break through the rest of the team with Attack boosts; however, none of their popular offensive sets can 2HKO Quagsire. In fact, this holds true for almost any non-Grass-type boosting sweeper; as they will rarely be able to 2HKO it, Quagsire's presence provides the team with a safety net. Toxic and Scald let it spread damaging status, while Recover enables it to outstall its burned or poisoned foes. Finally, Earthquake provides another reliable STAB move with which to hit Toxicroak.
Old Times (Dragonite) @ Leftovers
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 HP / 108 SpA / 148 SpD
Calm Nature (+SpD, -Atk)
- Hurricane
- Thunder
- Roost
- Dragon Tail
This variant of Dragonite takes advantage of the rain very well while helping the team defensively. Pokemon such as Celebi and Virizion, which rain stall teams would normally be hard-pressed to directly take out, don't take Hurricane too well. Thunder provides a way to heavily damage Jellicent without relying on Toxic. With Multiscale and Roost, Dragonite is capable of taking extremely powerful hits multiple times; for example, Choice Specs Latios can't 2HKO a full health Dragonite with Draco Meteor. Lastly, Dragon Tail lets Dragonite force out dangerous boosters that Chansey can't beat, such as Reuniclus, early on; it also helps immensely against Baton Pass chains, because it is extremely hard for them to avoid being phazed while taking Hurricanes and Thunders.
JoyToy (Chansey) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SpD
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Toxic
- Seismic Toss
- Softboiled
- Wish
Chansey is the premier special wall of the team, easily sponging the most powerful special hits in the game while not being overly bothered by status thanks to Natural Cure. It is chosen over Blissey in this team because of its incredible ability to take physical hits too—for instance, mixed Salamence can't 2HKO it with Outrage! The vast majority of special attackers are easily beaten with a combination of Toxic, Seismic Toss, and Softboiled, while Wish provides a massive amount of recovery for the rest of the team—it will almost always bring each member back to full health when successfully passed.
BS (Ferrothorn) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spe)
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
Ferrothorn is the main entry hazard stacker of the team, and for good reason. Grass / Steel typing combined with excellent mixed defenses let it easily survive many hits under rain, giving it plenty of time to set hazards up. It is also capable of functioning as a pseudo-spinblocker, as Iron Barbs and Rocky Helmet do over 29% to any Pokemon using a contact move on Ferrothorn. This is also especially useful for wearing down Pokemon using U-turn; the combination of entry hazards, Iron Barbs, and Rocky Helmet quickly whittles down the foe's health, breaking down common VoltTurn chains. Power Whip and Gyro Ball are two powerful STAB moves that let Ferrothorn fight back against Pokemon it is capable of walling, particularly bulky Water-types and Dragon-type foes, which can't bring down Ferrothorn with Fire-type attacks as effectively in rain.
This is not a team I myself created, any and all credit goes to yee and ginganinja.
Rain stall is a very uncommon playstyle, but it can be very effective in the right hands. The basic idea is to utilize Pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Tentacruel to their fullest potential with the benefits that rain gives them. For example, in Ferrothorn's case, the decreased power of Fire-type attacks gives it greater staying power, which in turn grants it more opportunities to set up hazards and wall threats with Leech Seed. Rain stall teams are by their namesake very defensive, so be sure to bear this in mind when building one.
Rain! (Politoed) @ Leftovers
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 156 Def / 64 SpA / 40 Spe
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Scald
- Toxic
- Protect
- Perish Song
Politoed often leads the team due to its Drizzle ability, which activates rain upon entering the field. For a rain stall team, Politoed is essential for the permanent rain, which improves the stalling abilities of the Pokemon chosen. The set is defensive to maximize Politoed's durability and ability to keep rain up. The defensive EVs give it enough physical bulk to survive Haxorus's Choice Band-boosted Outrage, letting Politoed safely use Toxic on it, and enabling the team to efficiently combat Dragon-based offense teams. The Special Attack EVs give Politoed a better chance of OHKOing Gliscor and Landorus with Scald. Toxic combines with the Speed investment to let Politoed outrun and hit Jellicent before it is Taunted, which in turn lets the team force it out—or KO it—and spin away hazards. Perish Song acts as a check to Baton Pass teams and serves a back-up check to other stat-boosters.
Sushi (Tentacruel) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Toxic Spikes
- Scald
- Protect
- Rapid Spin
With Drizzle support, Tentacruel becomes one of the scariest forces of a rain stall team. With both Rain Dish and Black Sludge providing recovery and Protect letting it safely recover even more health, Tentacruel can heal off residual damage quickly. Tentacruel provides valuable Toxic Spikes support, which greatly helps its team win the weather war. Toxic Spikes are generally useful for stalling too, putting defensive pressure on stallbreakers trying to break through the team. Tentacruel is also an ideal user of Rapid Spin due to its ability to remain healthy easily, beat common hazard setters, namely Forretress and Skarmory, and spin easily against teams lacking Jellicent.
Rain Dogs (Quagsire) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 10 SpD
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spe)
- Toxic
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Recover
Quagsire is a very rarely seen Pokemon; in fact, it had made its home in the NU tier during the time this team was made. However, its niche ability, Unaware, easily separates it from any other physical wall available. Pokemon such as Landorus, Toxicroak, and Dragonite have the power and coverage to break through the rest of the team with Attack boosts; however, none of their popular offensive sets can 2HKO Quagsire. In fact, this holds true for almost any non-Grass-type boosting sweeper; as they will rarely be able to 2HKO it, Quagsire's presence provides the team with a safety net. Toxic and Scald let it spread damaging status, while Recover enables it to outstall its burned or poisoned foes. Finally, Earthquake provides another reliable STAB move with which to hit Toxicroak.
Old Times (Dragonite) @ Leftovers
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 HP / 108 SpA / 148 SpD
Calm Nature (+SpD, -Atk)
- Hurricane
- Thunder
- Roost
- Dragon Tail
This variant of Dragonite takes advantage of the rain very well while helping the team defensively. Pokemon such as Celebi and Virizion, which rain stall teams would normally be hard-pressed to directly take out, don't take Hurricane too well. Thunder provides a way to heavily damage Jellicent without relying on Toxic. With Multiscale and Roost, Dragonite is capable of taking extremely powerful hits multiple times; for example, Choice Specs Latios can't 2HKO a full health Dragonite with Draco Meteor. Lastly, Dragon Tail lets Dragonite force out dangerous boosters that Chansey can't beat, such as Reuniclus, early on; it also helps immensely against Baton Pass chains, because it is extremely hard for them to avoid being phazed while taking Hurricanes and Thunders.
JoyToy (Chansey) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SpD
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Toxic
- Seismic Toss
- Softboiled
- Wish
Chansey is the premier special wall of the team, easily sponging the most powerful special hits in the game while not being overly bothered by status thanks to Natural Cure. It is chosen over Blissey in this team because of its incredible ability to take physical hits too—for instance, mixed Salamence can't 2HKO it with Outrage! The vast majority of special attackers are easily beaten with a combination of Toxic, Seismic Toss, and Softboiled, while Wish provides a massive amount of recovery for the rest of the team—it will almost always bring each member back to full health when successfully passed.
BS (Ferrothorn) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spe)
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
Ferrothorn is the main entry hazard stacker of the team, and for good reason. Grass / Steel typing combined with excellent mixed defenses let it easily survive many hits under rain, giving it plenty of time to set hazards up. It is also capable of functioning as a pseudo-spinblocker, as Iron Barbs and Rocky Helmet do over 29% to any Pokemon using a contact move on Ferrothorn. This is also especially useful for wearing down Pokemon using U-turn; the combination of entry hazards, Iron Barbs, and Rocky Helmet quickly whittles down the foe's health, breaking down common VoltTurn chains. Power Whip and Gyro Ball are two powerful STAB moves that let Ferrothorn fight back against Pokemon it is capable of walling, particularly bulky Water-types and Dragon-type foes, which can't bring down Ferrothorn with Fire-type attacks as effectively in rain.
This is not a team I myself created, any and all credit goes to yee and ginganinja.
