Team: Eye of the Storm

I was recently approached by kingdaddydmac, who had two requests for me. The first was to help him start up ProjectMoshPit, the new Machinima Pokémon channel. The second was to build him a couple of new teams so he could start battling again. I finished one of the teams pretty fast, and talked it over with him on the first day. It was a Rain team, so it was pretty easy to build and I got to include some anti-metagame sets from here that he'd never seen before.

Dave also wanted a Clear Skies team. I personally love good non-weather teams, but they're harder to build and take more effort. After several days of brainstorming and test battles, I finally came up with something that could hold its own against opposing weather teams.

---

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Toxic

Heatran's still a great Pokémon, but it's not at the top of the usage stats like it used to be. One thing about Clear Skies is that you don't have Tyranitar for Stealth Rock. I also don't find Ferrothorn that great outside of Rain, so my choices were a bit limited. Heatran is probably the best option for the role: he sets up Stealth Rock, provides really useful Fire coverage and manages to hit hard as well.

I tried a number of movesets before settling on this one. Dave was very clear about the fact that he liked offensive teams, so I made sure not to use any really defensive sets. The moveset is more something you'd find on a specially defensive set, though; obligatory Stealth Rock, Flamethrower for reliablity (I haven't needed the extra power of Fire Blast), Earth Power for other Heatran and Toxic to hit bulky Waters like Jellicent and Gastrodon. The latter also gives me something to actually use on Volcarona.

Slowbro @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Scald
- Psychic
- Flamethrower
- Slack Off

One thing I definitely wanted to share was my obsession with Slowbro. Few sets are as underrated and genuinely good as the 3 Attacks one I shared on this site. Slowbro walls Terrakion, Conkeldurr, Landorus, and even Excadrill, thanks to its great bulk and Regenerator. In a lot of matches, Slowbro actually stays at full health because of it switching in and out to take on physical threats.

Scald is a great STAB with a 30% burn rate - perfect for a physical wall. Psychic is what allows this set to take on Conkeldurr so well, and is Slowbro's most powerful move. Flamethrower 2HKOes Ferrothorn, meaning I can often predict on the switch and prevent any hazards; it helps that few people expect Slowbro and even fewer expect it to use Fire moves. Slowbro has pretty much the perfect Speed stat - it's slower than Conkeldurr, meaning Payback's damage is halved, but faster than Ferrothorn. Slack Off is great for extra recovery, even though Regenerator does a lot of healing itself. Slowbro's awesome all around. Go away, Gliscor.

Roserade @ Leftovers

Trait: Natural Cure

EVs: 252 HP / 140 SDef / 116 Spd

Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)

- Leaf Storm

- Sleep Powder

- Toxic Spikes

- Rest

Roserade was added in over Celebi because the original team had a big problem with Toxic Spikes. It still does a good job of countering bulky Waters, but it also provides some useful utility along with its offensive moves.

Leaf Storm is used over Giga Drain for the extra immediate power. The main reason I opted for Toxic Spikes was so I could use Sleep Powder, which has helped to catch some threats on the switch (as well as stuff like Ferrothorn in Rain). Toxic Spikes are also pretty good in this metagame, crippling all the weather starters and some important cores as well. HP Fire would have been nice for Ferrothorn and Scizor, but I needed Rest for the extra reliability against Rain.

Jirachi @ Leftovers

Trait: Serene Grace 

EVs: 252 HP / 220 SDef / 36 Spd 

Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk) 

- Wish 

- Body Slam 

- Iron Head 

- Fire Punch

With the addition of Gliscor over Scizor, I only had one Steel-type left. This meant that I needed to go with a bulkier Jirachi set to take on Latios / Latias, so the only choice I had was to roll with a specially defensive set.

A more defensively-oriented EV spread and Wish give Jirachi good survivability. Body Slam is generally preferred on this set to potentially paralyze incoming Ground switch-ins. Iron Head + paralysis gives opponents only a 30% chance to move and helps for taking down special attackers. I chose Fire Punch instead of Protect because I like a more offensive pace with this set. It also helps for 2HKOing the likes of Scizor and Ferrothorn.

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb

Trait: Poison Heal

EVs: 244 HP / 176 Def / 88 Spd

Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)

- Swords Dance

- Earthquake

- Ice Fang

- Taunt

Gliscor was added on to help Slowbro out with certain physical attackers, namely LO Excadrill. This is a really standard set, but it's probably the best option in terms of balancing between offense and defense.

Not really much to say about the moveset. I chose Ice Fang over Facade to handle Dragonite more easily, and because I'm not too weak to Rotom-W. Taunt is a lot more useful than Protect here, since I'm vulnerable to entry hazards and Slowbro helps to cover the physical threats that Gliscor can't handle. Even though I don't use Swords Dance too often, Gliscor can actually sweep past some weakened teams in a pinch.

Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- X-Scissor

And finally we have Terrakion, one of the most underrated OU choices around. I like the Choice Band set a lot, but I needed a Scarf on this one so it could revenge kill some specific threats. Scarf Terrakion doesn't hit as hard, but it's great for cleaning up weakned teams late-game and patching up any lingering weaknesses.

Close Combat is what I use for late-game cleaning; it still does a lot of damage with Terrakion's Base 129 Attack. It also can be used to check threats like Scrafty and other Terrakion. Stone Edge is for Volcarona and Dragonite, which I don't want to get too many boosts in. Earthquake doesn't provide much more coverage, but it's helpful for actually doing something against things like Toxicroak. X-Scissor is an emergency move for weakened Reuniclus, Latias and Latios (although Jirachi and Scizor cover those threats pretty well together), as well as Celebi.

 I had some pretty great results with this team during test battles. I didn't ladder enough to get a significant ranking, but I played against some good battlers to measure its performance (Ojama raged pretty hard after his 0-4. Sorry man). I think this team does best against Sand, but I still feel a bit pressured against weather in general. It's probably just psychological. Either way, I hope Dave finds the team as satisfactory as I did.

Sample Battle

Core: Skarmory / Gastrodon / Heatran

Weather basically defines the current BW OU metagame. Whether you like it or not, you'll need some way to deal with all the standard weather archetypes. But that doesn't mean you need to abuse weather yourself. Clear Skies has been shown to be a powerful team style, as long as you include appropriate checks and counters.

Skarmory / Gastrodon / Heatran is an excellent anti-weather core. Team Tabloo is the best example of what this combination is capable of. The three are capable of performing well against Sand, Rain and Sun teams, respectively. However, each individual member of the core is useful at combating at least two of the three weather types, meaning no member's role is too situational.

---

Skarmory @ Leftovers

Trait: Sturdy

EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 Spd

Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)

- Brave Bird / Taunt

- Spikes

- Roost

- Whirlwind

Gastrodon @ Leftovers

Trait: Storm Drain

EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef

Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)

- Earth Power

- Ice Beam / Scald

- Toxic

- Recover

Heatran @ Leftovers

Trait: Flash Fire

EVs: 252 HP / 248 SDef / 8 Spd

Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)

- Stealth Rock

- Lava Plume

- Toxic

- Roar

---

Skarmory has always been one of the best physical walls in the game. With access to Spikes and Whirlwind, Skarmory is invaluable as an entry hazard provider. The current metagame is favorable for Skarmory, who can find frequent opportunities to set up or start phazing. Notable threats like Scrafty, Conkeldurr and Excadrill can all be handled by the steel phoenix. Brave Bird breaks Air Balloons and gives Skarmory a 120 BP STAB to work with, but Taunt can be used to shut down other entry hazard users, such as Ferrothorn. 

Despite its RU status, Gastrodon is one of the most valuable Pokémon around. Thanks to Storm Drain and its high Special Defense, it single-handedly walls many Rain sweepers. Burns from the likes of Rotom-W are simply shrugged off with Recover and Leftovers. +2 Thundurus deals only 63.38% - 74.65% with Focus Blast, meaning Gastrodon can function as a solid check to it. Earth Power is Gastrodon's most powerful move, hitting most opponents for good damage. Ice Beam gives Gastrodon a way to eliminate Dragons, but Scald can 
  be helpful for the STAB and potential burns it provides.

Heatran rounds out the core with Stealth Rock and some much-needed Fire coverage. In a metagame full of Steel-type entry hazard users, Heatran can be a very valuable addition to any team. With Lava Plume, Heatran makes life difficult for physical switch-ins like Tyranitar. A 30% burn rate is relatively high in Pokémon, meaning most physical attackers can be crippled by switching in. Toxic gives Heatran something to use against Volcarona, provided it manages to survive being phazed through Stealth Rock damage. Heatran's access to Roar gives the core an excellent second phazer that can take advantage of the switches it forces.

Although this core is solid on its own, it has issues with a few common threats. Late-game Excadrill can be particularly dangerous. If Skarmory is eliminated, weakened, or flinched enough by Rock Slide, the other two members will be swept after a Swords Dance. For this reason, an additional physical wall or powerful priority user is recommended.

Since this core is highly dependent on entry hazards, a spin blocker is also necessary. Gengar performs well in an offensive role, while Jellicent is pretty much the only choice for more defensive players. While both are capable Ghosts, Gengar has the advantage of flawless coverage backed by high Speed and Special Attack stats. When paired with hazard support, Gengar has the potential to sweep teams. Having a Ghost-type also provides a valuable Fighting immunity, which is invaluable against more powerful attackers like Choice Band Terrakion.

Overall, the Skarmory / Gastrodon / Heatran core is a solid combination to use against any type of team. It doesn't require much extra support and can cover a lot of threats on its own. Although weather controls the BW OU metagame, it doesn't have to control your team choices.