SM Doubles OU What should I change to make this rain team better?

[Diamond_Knight8]

I use this team in doubles OU.

Swampert (Swampert-Mega) (M) @ Swampertite
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Protect

This big guy is the core of my team, dishing out punnishment to any team unprepared for his earthquake spam and waterfall STAB. A little backstory, Swampert was my first starter and to this day is still my favorite pokemon out of them all, so I love using his mega for battling. Anyways, I usually send him out with Pelipper for easy sweeps. Max attack and speed allow for swift swim to let him out-speed most things. I spam earthquake a lot, making Pelipper a good match up for constant spamming. Waterfall is a great STAB, and can take down anything I can't hit with earthquake, usually used if Pelipper faints early or I switch to someone who can't avoid earthquake's damage. Ice punch gives great coverage for when grass, dragon, or flying types switch in, and can one-shot Mega Salamance and Mega Sceptile, but I have found it to be unreliable against certain bulkier grass types in terms of getting rid of them before being one shot by a grass move. Protect is for those situations where a grass type (or Mega Charizard-Y) is about to one shot me, and I can keep Swampert from fainting and attack with Peliper or whoever's switched in. Overall, as long as I can deal with grass moves, Mega Swampert can be a real threat to a lot of teams if used correctly.

Pelipper (Pelipper) (M) @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hurricane
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
- Tailwind

The obvious matchup for Mega Swampert, avoiding earthquake damage and supporting with damp rock drizzle. He'll lead with Mega Swampert unless another weather user like tyranitar or alolan ninetails are present. Hurricane helps deal with grass types that Swampert can't one shot, which is great for keeping Swampert alive. Ice beam I've found to be very usefull as well, most people don't seem to expect it and will send dragons out like mega salamance, which ko'd in one hit. Hydro pump isn't bad, but when it misses due to 80% accuracy it wastes a move that could've helped out more, so I don't use it that often. Tailwind can be used on the first turn to support the whole team with reliable speed for a few turns, and I've found it to be usefull when countering other weather teams to keep swampert's speed up. In short, Peliper is an essencial partner to Swampert in this team, and is underestimated sometimes, only giving it an advantage.

Gardevoir (Gardevoir) (F) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Telepathy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Trick Room
- Healing Wish

An unexpected choice for a rain team, Gardevoir seems like it doesn't belong here. With maxed HP and Special attack, it can take special hits and dish out decent psychic and fairy STAB moves. Partners well with swampert I use it to bring some variety to the team, but I would switch it out for a better option if given one. Psyshock for both STAB and being determined by defense instead of special defense. Moonblast for fairy STAB and anti-dragon attacks. Trick room to be used to counter opponent's trick room, as if left up will destroy my team. Healing wish I use after Gardevoir's hp is less than 50%, usually to fully heal Swampert or other low HP team members and suprise opponents who usually don't expect it, and it's saved me from losses multiple times. I do like using Gardevoir, but if there's someone else I should use instead I'd be open to it.

Kingdra (Kingdra) (M) @ Waterium Z
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
- Muddy Water
- Protect

The counterpart to Mega Swampert, Kingdra is my special sweeper with a z-move to use in an emergency and maxed special attack and speed for sweeping. I'll switch out peliper for Kingdra if electric types threaten it, making it a good partner for swampert during rain, as they can both move first with swift swim. Ice beam I use to deal with grass and dragons, just like with pelipper. Hydro pump can help with it's high damage, but does miss enough to get annoying. Muddy water is great for lowering accuracy and hitting both opponents. Protect I use the same way I do with swampert, keeping Kingdra alive when threatened to have my second pokemon deal with the threat if possible. An amazing addition to this rain team, I don't think I'll switch it out for something else.

Scizor (Scizor) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Aerial Ace

A good addition to the team, but someone I'd be willing to switch for a better addition. Bulky HP and maxed attack make Scizor a shield to switch in and resist moves that would've ko'd one of my team members, then retaliate with a variety of moves. Choice band boosts scizor's already high attack even higher, allowing it to deal some great damage. Bullet punch is an obvious choice, as it can balance out scizor's already low speed for a priority steel move, and is boosted by technician to have a base power of 60, making dealing with tricky fairy types much easier. U-turn can let scizor switch out after dealing high damage to psychic types and dark types alike, often letting Pelipper set up rain if facing another weather team. Superpower lets scizor deal with steel types like ferrothorn that can really make it difficult for my team. Aerial Ace for coverage against grass types, and with a boosted base power of 90 could potentially one-shot grass types. I like using scizor, and I think he's a great addition to the team, but I could switch him out for a better option if necessary.

Aegislash (Aegislash) (M) @ Spooky Plate
Ability: Stance Change
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- King's Shield
- Shadow Sneak
- Sacred Sword
- Swords Dance

Last but certainly not least, Aegislash is a powerful addition to the team, though I'd switch him out for a better option if there is one. Max attack and HP let him take hits and stay in the fight while sweeping with spooky plate boosted shadow sneak after a sword dance or 2. King's shield is required for using aegislash, and I use it after using swords dance once to catch physical attackers off guard and punish them, since they usually expect another swords dance. Shadow sneak with priority +1 can help sweep after a sword dance or two. Sacred sword I use to deal with bulkier opponents and punish stat increases by ignoring them. Swords dance is used sparingly, usually only once, twice if possible, as after once Aegislash will usually have taken some damage and wouldn't be worth risking getting ko'd over attacking. I like using him, he's not exactly the best for a rain team but can help significantly when used correctly.


In conclusion, I like using this team but I think I could change it up to make it better. I'll change whatever I need to so this ok team can be great in doubles.

Thanks for your advice in advance!

 

[Yuichi]

Hi Dragon_Knight8! I feel that you are right track with the Swampert+Pelipper+Kingdra rain core, however the rest of the team does seem a little rough on the edges. As such, allow me to propose a few changes to the team below.

At first glance:
The team itself seems to have a problem against Grass-Types, in particular Ferrothorn and Kartana, while having no reliable ways to answer Bulky Water-Types such as Suicune and Tapu Fini. You also have no reliable Trick Room checks, meaning that against Trick Room teams your only way out is to try to stall out the Trick Room turns, making it an incredibly tough matchup.

Major changes:
To start off, I have decided to remove the last three members of the team, mainly because they do not synergize well defensively and offensively with the rest of the team, while providing little that can ease the team with the above mentioned matchups.

With that being out of the way, we now have three slots to try and fix the Grass and Water Type matchup, along with the Trick Room matchup.

The four Island Guardians are almost mandatory on any DOU team, allowing their teammates to benefit from their respective terrains and reset opposing terrains. As such, the first Pokemon that I wanted to put in the remaining three slots was an Island Guardian, which the team currently lacks.

I felt that Tapu Koko would be the right choice on this team, as it provides valuable electric coverage allowing you to deal with Bulky Water Types effectively, while also benefiting from the rain, allowing it to spam terrain boosted Thunders freely on the field. I had also briefly considered placing Tapu Bulu on this team, since it benefits from the Rain quite a bit as well, although I feel that you would appreciate Tapu Koko more as Grassy Terrain halves Earthquake's power and dampens Swampert's offensive capabilities, however this can be overcome by changing Earthquake on Swampert to Stomping Tantrum.

Click me!

Tapu Koko @ Life Orb
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder
- Grass Knot
- Dazzling Gleam
- Protect

• Standard 252/252 LO set, with Modest since Tapu Koko no longer need to go for M Gengar ties
• Grass Knot is chosen over Volt Switch on this Tapu Koko set in order to hit the occasional Gastrodon, which otherwise walls the rest of the team

OR

Tapu Bulu @ Figy Berry
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 56 Atk / 116 SpD / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Superpower
- Taunt
- Protect

• Standard Tapu Bulu spread, with Taunt to help check Trick Room and stop various utility moves

On the fifth slot, I wanted something that could reliably deal damage to Grass Types in rain, while also acting as a second Water check. Kyurem-B is the perfect Pokemon that fits both of these criteria, being able to deal consistent damage with its Ice STAB and Fusion Bolt. I opted for a bulkier AV Kyurem-B set here, as I felt you would be switching him in to soak up Grass and Water Type moves pretty often, although you could opt for a more offensive LO variant instead.

Click me!!

Kyurem-Black @ Assault Vest
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 120 HP / 120 Def / 116 SpA / 72 SpD / 80 Spe
Brave Nature
- Fusion Bolt
- Ice Beam
- Icy Wind
- Earth Power

• Standard moves, hits all the offensive and speed benchmarks in Kyu-B analysis
• Lives +1 252 Ada Zyg's Tectonic Rage / Iron Head from M Metagross
• Lives 2 Tapu Fini's Moonblasts, 2HKOs 99% of Tapu Fini variants with Fusion Bolt

Lastly, I decided that Bulky Support Volcarona would be the perfect filler for the sixth slot, providing you with a secondary Grass Type check and also checking opposing Trick Room setters with Whirlwind. It can also help redirect super effective moves such as Thunderbolt and Moonblasts away from the rest of the team, allowing its teammates to perform to their fullest potential.

Click me!!!

Volcarona @ Wiki Berry
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 240 HP / 168 Def / 56 SpA / 44 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Rage Powder
- Whirlwind
- Protect

• Live Zen Headbutt from M Metagross in Psychic Terrain
• Outspeed Scarf Genesect in Tailwind
• Odd HP in case of Stealth Rocks

With all the major stuff settled, lets move on to the more minor stuffs.

Minor changes:

Ice Beam -> Protect on Pelipper

Protect is extremely valuable here as it allows you to preserve Pelipper and scout for your opponents' moves. Keeping Pelipper healthy is also extremely important as half of the team requires Pelipper to be alive to function effectively. Now that you have Kyurem-B on the team, Ice coverage also is not as useful as before on Pelipper.

Ice Beam -> Draco Meteor on Kingdra

Now that you have a more reliable Grass Type check, Ice Beam is not as valuable now and only hit a handful of Pokemon for slightly higher damage than Kingdra's Water STABs in rain. Changing Ice Beam to Draco Meteor here allows you to OHKO Kommo-Os before set up and non AV Kyurem-Bs, which the rest of the team may struggle with.

Earthquake -> Stomping Tantrum on Swampert (only if you decide to go with Tapu Bulu on the fourth slot)

As mentioned above, Tapu Bulu's Grassy Terrain halves Earthquake's damage output, making it rather counterproductive, as such it is good to replace Earthquake with Stomping Tantrum here so that you will still be able to hit foes with the same damage output, although you'll have to give up the spread damage provided by Earthquake in the process. This can both be a blessing and a curse, as you do not hit your partner in the process of using Swampert's Ground STAB, but at the cost of having a spread move.



That will be all from me as of now, feel free to drop a reply if you need clarifications. Hope this helped and good luck with the team!

Sorry for the wall of text btw, ill try to make it more aesthetically pleasing the next time