Murderous Puppets

[Professor Palutena]

Murderous Puppets
Peaked at 1684 on Pokemon Showdown

Introduction
BW2 is an interesting metagame, to say the least. The easiest way to define it, in my opinion, would be offensive. Due to Pokemon like Terrakion, Keldeo and Tornadus-T, going on the defense is very difficult to do, because of the massive firepower we have in this new metagame.

Then there’s also rain, which isn’t a new addition to BW2 by any means. In my opinion, rain is one of the most hated playstyles in the metagame. At every corner, they want Drizzle gone, or they want a Keldeo suspect test, or something else.

Murderous Puppets combines both of these very successful factors in BW2 to create the most successful team I’ve ever built. This is a rain offense team. I used this team on the Suspect testing ladder, and it performed very well there (though I missed the voting requirements, which was unfortunate). Now that Genesect has left the building, I’m bringing my puppets out for a new show on the brand new ladder.


The Team

Politoed (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 Def
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Toxic
- Protect

This is a slight take on my old favorite Politoed set, the 3 Attacks set. Focusing on both bulk and offense at the same time, 3 Attacks Politoed really met my needs for flexibility. My one problem with the set was that the third attack (usually Hidden Power Electric or Focus Blast) hardly ever got used. So I got rid of it for a second supporting move. This was really only a positive change, because I got rid of something useless and created something useful.

A Water-type move and Ice Beam are standard on pretty much every Politoed variant. This set prefers Scald due to the burn chances, and a rain boosted Scald is more potent that one may think, coming from a max special attack Politoed. Ice Beam gets some coverage on those pesky Grass-types, or it would if Politoed stayed in on Breloom (hint: it doesn’t unless it’s absorbing Spore). Ice Beam is instead for those Dragon-type Pokemon that lurk all over OU, including Salamence, Dragonite and Garchomp, all of which get OHKOed by Ice Beam (in Dragonite’s case, it’s after Stealth Rock damage, but you probably knew that already). Most people, for some reason, tend to switch in their Dragon-type thinking of Politoed as set up fodder, only to have lost one of their keystones due to a lack of prediction (it’s a Politoed, of course it’s going to Ice Beam your Dragon-type since it survives your Outrage unboosted). Toxic and Protect capture Politoed’s defensive role on the team, which is weakening threats for a quick finish later. Protect also gets the bonus of getting more Leftovers recovery.

Keldeo (Keldeo-R) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Timid Nature
- Surf
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Keldeo really shines in a Genesect-less environment, due to how weak it was to the Rock Polish set. Without Genesect around, Keldeo has a brand new lease on life with the OU’s strongest Hydro Pump. Keldeo’s best set is easily the choice scarf, due to the simple ease it has in sweeping teams. Keldeo’s movepool may be obnoxiously narrow on the special side, but it has all the tools it needs. Once midgame hits, it’s incredibly easy to simply click Surf and watch things die. The only things that really threaten you are Jellicent, Tentacruel, Toxicroak, Celebi, Latias and Latios. Everything else gets broken down from the pony’s tidal storm.

Running two Water moves may seem redundant at first glance, but it isn’t compromising my coverage because this is all Keldeo gets. Might as well get both sides of the accuracy vs. Power in the moveset and not spend time debating with myself over which one to use. Secret Sword sets Keldeo apart from other rain sweepers due to the ability to go mixed without sacrificing any offense. I can guarantee you that Keldeo would not be so high in OU if it didn’t have Secret Sword. Hidden Power Ice is really just a filler move. A super effective Hidden Power hits harder than a resisted Surf, and barely harder than a resisted Hydro Pump, so it’s the definition of a situational move.

Tornadus-Therian (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
- Hurricane
- Superpower
- Sleep Talk
- U-turn

Really, how can you not expect to see this guy on a rain team? Tornadus-T uses its excellent speed tier and powerful attacks to poke holes. Pretty much everything on Keldeo’s counter list fears Tornadus-T, unless they have a Choice Scarf to outspeed. In a Genesect-less environment, Tornadus-T is absolutely incredible as it loses what was arguably its best offensive counter. Obviously you should be able to see the benefits of this.

Tornadus-T is really simple to use; it’s the definition of an autopilot Pokemon. Most of the time you just click Hurricane and watch stuff die. It’s a hard move to switch into. Even if you can sponge it, you may end up confused which can make retaliation a risky business. Superpower gets some nice coverage with Hurricane, and is useful for hitting a predicted Tyranitar or Scarf Terrakion coming in. Sleep Talk gives me a Spore absorber for enemy Brelooms, and Breloom won’t stay in anyways because Sleep Talk is so common on Tornadus-T and the risk of Hurricane is bonechilling for them. U-Turn makes Tornadus-T an offensive pivot for the team, which helps ease prediction. It’s really handy.

Terrakion @ Focus Sash
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Swords Dance

Hey guys it’s another narrow minded sweeper in OU! And guess what, this one is really difficult to take hits from. I take back what I said about Keldeo’s movepool being tiny, because Terrakion’s is even smaller! That’s okay though, because it really doesn’t care. Close Combat and Stone Edge hit pretty much everything in OU for neutral. Might as well make it a Swords Dance set to hit incredibly hard with a solid speed tier in the process. Oh and I should probably put Stealth Rock on it too because nothing else on the team either learns the move or uses it on their chosen set. That’s really Terrakion in a nutshell.

Adding Terrakion gives my team one of OU’s best, if not the best, physical attackers in the game. Pokemon like Blissey who take Keldeo and Tornadus easily tremble in fear of Terrakion. As you’ve probably noticed by now, a lack of Genesect really helped out Terrakion, because it was no longer free health for the Rock Polish set. There’s really not much else to say about Terrakion. After a boost, you pretty much have to outspeed it to not get killed by it.

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 SAtk / 252 HP / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Thunder
- Psyshock

Woah, what’s a wimpy little Jirachi doing here on a team with some of OU’s most offensive Pokemon? Well Jirachi is more of a stallbreaker than anything else for the team. Without Genesect around, stall was pretty popular on the suspect ladder, and so I found adding a stallbreaker really helped. It’s also the same old Jirachi that takes on Latios and Reuniclus admirably. I find the SubCM set to be a bit underrated in online communities, with the Specially Defensive or Choice Scarf sets usually being preferred. But SubCM catches several off guard, and it usually only needs one turn to start tearing teams apart.

Obviously, a SubCM set requires both Substitute and Calm Mind. Calm Mind transforms Jirachi into the offensive juggernaut it is so capable of being. Substitute makes killing it much more difficult, especially from the special spectrum. Thunder is a fantastic move for coverage, hitting quite a few things in OU for neutral. Psyshock rounds up the set. I’m using it over Water Pulse because I would rather be walled by Krookodile than Gastrodon, and Psyshock also lets me win Calm Mind wars against Reuniclus and Latias, which is very helpful.

Latias (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Dragon Pulse
- Psyshock

The final teammate, and the one who’s usually saving me from time to time. Latias really benefits from a Genesect-less environment, because it’s no longer free momentum for the Genesect. The Calm Mind set also does an incredible job of checking some of OU’s incredible attackers, including Keldeo, Thundurus-T and Breloom. While it’s nowhere near as offensive as the rest of my team, Latias’ role is easily the hardest to replicate by a stronger Pokemon. Even Latios has troubles taking on Breloom and Thundurus-T. This is one of the more underrated Pokemon in OU, but it’s now getting a second chance to shine its light and get the usage it oh so deserves.

So Calm Mind makes Latias an offensive attacker, giving it amazing combat potential after a boost or two (which is really easy to get because of how many Pokemon it forces out). Recover keeps it around longer to wreck more things, and making it more of a pain to eliminate. Dragon Pulse is solid one move coverage, hitting quite a few targets for neutral damage. Psyshock makes another appearance here as Latias’ main weapon of beating Calm Mind Keldeo, who is otherwise a pretty annoying threat for the team.

Importable

Spoiler: For all ye team stealers

Politoed (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Toxic
- Protect

Keldeo (Keldeo-R) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Surf
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Tornadus-Therian (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
- Hurricane
- Superpower
- Sleep Talk
- U-turn

Terrakion @ Focus Sash
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Swords Dance

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 SAtk / 252 HP / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Thunder
- Psychic

Latias (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Dragon Pulse
- Psyshock

 

[One Approved]

Looks like your thread is
/me shades
One Approved (yyyeeeeeeaaaaaahhhhh)

I'll be back for a full rate in a bit. It looks solid, but dragons could be a bit of an issue. At least at first glance.

 

[Uralya]

You and I run three of the same sets and four of the same Pokemon. Something's off... XD

Nice build as always, Bippa. You are one of my favorite rain team creators. Off the bat, I'll say that Scarf Latios wrecks you a bit outside of Jirachi, and Jirachi can't do snuff back to it. What do you plan to do there? Also, the rare Scarf Latias. Your main sweepers all have problems with Sciztom, so you might want a disruptor for that combo. Maybe Breloom or Virizion? Just some observations.

I like the build of the team, but it of course isn't flawless. I'll keep in touch on this.

~AoH

 

[Chillarmy]

I'm not sure if I like two CMers that really don't have a ton of synergy. As AoH said, you may want to consider Virizion over Latias as Rachi is your only team member to reliably tank Hurricanes. It gives you a good way of dealing with Bulky Rotom (watch out for status, or be hipster and run a Lum Berry) and Volturn in general. Also, Virizion will help you with SubCM Jirachi, which your team somewhat struggles to deal with. I dunno, I'm kind of out of practice, but thought I'd give it a shot. The team looks good though!

 

[One Approved]

I agree that the two calm minders don't really have much synergy. Dragon-types in general could be rather problematic, Scarf Latios is just one example.

Forretress could be an interesting addition to the team. It doesn't help much with Latias/Latios, but it will help take hits from Dragonite, Haxorus, and DD Salamence. With Rain up, even +1 Fire Punch won't OHKO it. Forry can set up Toxic Spikes as well. This seems kind of odd and pointless, but it would actually benefit Jirachi greatly, some of the Pokémon that wall Jirachi (Such as Gastrodon) as well as all the other weather inducers which can indirectly hinder Jirachi's sweep, will all be worn town by Toxic Spikes. Ferrothorn can obviously also use Spikes, but Volt Switch too, so your team doesn't lose too much momentum when you switch it in. You can predict a switch out, and go to the appropriate counter.

You might also want to try either Scarf Terrakion or Scarf Tornadus-T, that way you'll have a fallback of a dragon gets to +1, and it will also help against non-scarfed Latias/Latios, as well as Scarfed ones that lock themselves into a move that isn't super-effective.