Those of us who've been playing for a while are no stranger to weather teams, especially if you've played in the BW2 metagame. While weather teams took a hit in Gen 6, Gamefreak has made an effort to promote interest in these types of teams for Gen 7. What comes from their efforts remain to be seen, but things are shaping up to be interesting for those interested in running weather teams.
In this thread, I'll be going over the weather setting Pokemon and asking readers for ideas on what Pokemon could be used with it.
Rain
When it comes to dedicated weather teams, rain is, without a doubt, the best. It provides an assortment of buffs for Pokmeon of many types that result in it becoming a very versatile team.
Rain teams rely on the Drizzle ability for their strategy. Previously in OU, players were limited to just Politoed, a Pokemon who lacked any sort of redeeming qualities and, for lack of a better term, was utterly generic outside of its ability. It was a stereotypical bulky water Pokemon that boasted tremendous power with Drizzle boosted Hydro Pumps, especially if buffed by a choice item. It also has an assortment of supporting moves, including Perish Song and Hypnosis that made it annoying.
Gen 7 sees another Drizzle Pokemon that is potentially more exciting: Pelipper, a Pokemon that has usually been forgotten. At first glance, it's difficult to see what makes Pelipper so good, but the options it provides to rain teams will allow it to, possibly, outdo Politoed's contributions to the playstyle. It boasts STAB Hurricane, which allows it to beat the Grass types that walled Politoed such as Amoonguss. Pelipper also has recovery in the form of Roost, which gives it the longevity that Politoed could only dream of. Pelipper's biggest tools, however, come in the form of support options. It has Knock Off, which cripples switchins. It also boasts U-Turn access, which provide switch advantage to rain teams. Overall, I'm struggling to come up with a reason to run Politoed unless you're into its exclusive support moves.
Sun
Sun has always had a rough go, because it's limited in what kind of tools can be ran due to lacking defensive options and supporting abilities that benefit from the style. However, there are options.
Ninetales was the first option for Drought teams, and, honestly, it's probably the worst. It's too weak and too frail, making it a total handicap for teams. Thankfully, there are better options.
Mega Charizard Y is the first alternative to Ninetales, and boasts statistical advantages in every way. Offensively, it is one of the strongest options in OU, and is very difficult to switch into. You can form decent cores around it too. However, it comes at two costs: a quad weakness to Stealth Rock, which limits the number of times it can come in to setup sun, and the use of a Mega slot, which limits teambuilding options for sun teams. With Rapid Spin or Defog support, you could make this work.
Gen 7 also gave Drought to Torkoal. As the best non-Mega sun user, Torkoal provides some unique options. As the slowest weather user, it will guarantee that it sets up weather against every other user. This can impact a lot of teams strategies, as your sun will be the last, and final, weather activated. It has some options offensively too, despite its meager attack stat due to Shell Smash. Finally, it also provides some role compaction options with Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin, though this puts a lot of stress on Torkoal to perform a lot of roles.
Sand
While Sand Stream is the most common weather ability seen in OU, it's not really used for the effect. The number of Pokemon that have much to gain from it are minimal compared to Rain or Sun teams, and the only Pokemon that gains from Sand is Excadrill as the other number of Sand Force and Sand Rush are small.
Tyranitar is the most well known sand user, and it is one of OU's best Pokemon. You really can't go wrong with using it, as the support and power it provides for your team is solid. The other well known option is Hippowdon, who trades in Tyranitar's offensive support for enhanced defensive options. Teams opting for a stall based strategy generally favor Hippowdon, as it has the bulk and recovery to last.
Gigalith is the newest member of the Sand Stream team and, unfortunately, it has little to offer when compared to the alternatives so it will likely find its place in the lower tiers. This opens up opportunities to run with other Sand Rush Pokemon like Sandslash and Stoutland.
Hail
Universally regarded as the weakest weather, Hail has always struggled to make a name for itself. It has no tools outside of Snow Cloak, which is generally banned under the evasion clause. Gen 7 provided two useful tools, Aurora Veil and Slush Rush, that may give Hail a chance to compete. Aurora Veil is exciting, as it combines Reflect and Light Screen into one move. However, it can only be used during a Hailstorm. This opens up an interesting option for hyper offensive teams, as they usually rely on dual screens to setup. The hail requirement limits the usefulness of the move. Slush Rush is the equivalent of Swift Swim for Hail, and is limited to just Alolan Sandslash and Beartic.
Abomasnow was the first Snow Warning user and it's the worst. It's too slow, has too many weaknesses, and is lacking in offenses for the team. Even as a Mega Evolution, it fails to bring enough new to the table to warrant use over other Megas.
Aurorus is the second Snow Warning Pokemon and it shares the same weaknesses that make Abomasnow a liability, but also struggles with a lack of offensive coverage. Don't bother with this one.
Vanilluxe got Snow Warning in Gen 7, and may prove to be helpful for hail teams. It's stronger than both Aurorus and Abomasnow, has similar bulk without as many weaknesses. However, Vanilluxe's biggest issue, by far, is an incredibly narrow movepool. Consisting of nearly just Ice and Normal moves, it isn't able to be an offensive Pokemon that Hail needs. It's speed tier, while better than Abomasnow and Aurorus, is still too slow for viability.
So at this point, it's easy to see why Hail has struggled to make a splash in competitive, as its users have many issues that limit their viability. However, there is a Snow Warning Pokemon that is capable of, possibly singlehandedly, pushing Hail into the competitive scene. Angry with Mega Charizard Y usurping its role as a Drought user, Ninetales fled to Alolan mountains and gained the Ice and Fairy types. It is the fastest weather user period, across all weathers, at 109 speed. It also boasts the STABs to beat the other weather users, as Moonblast and Freeze Dry beat all weather users outside of Gigalith and the Drought Pokemon. It also boasts Aurora Veil, which makes it the only Pokemon able to setup the move on the first turn (every other user will need Hail up instead). You get some solid support options as well, with Hypnosis, Encore and SubDisable, though finding the moveslot for these options will require some thought.
So, this concludes my thoughts on the use of weather in Gen 7 OU. I'm curious what you guys think: will new weather users allow for weather to return (or, Hail's case, enter) the ranks of OU. What Pokemon are you thinking of running in weather teams?
Also, a note on manual weather moves: these are generally not advised as they can halt your momentum. It's usually a waste of a turn and is why bulkier weather users are recommended.
In this thread, I'll be going over the weather setting Pokemon and asking readers for ideas on what Pokemon could be used with it.
Rain
When it comes to dedicated weather teams, rain is, without a doubt, the best. It provides an assortment of buffs for Pokmeon of many types that result in it becoming a very versatile team.
Rain teams rely on the Drizzle ability for their strategy. Previously in OU, players were limited to just Politoed, a Pokemon who lacked any sort of redeeming qualities and, for lack of a better term, was utterly generic outside of its ability. It was a stereotypical bulky water Pokemon that boasted tremendous power with Drizzle boosted Hydro Pumps, especially if buffed by a choice item. It also has an assortment of supporting moves, including Perish Song and Hypnosis that made it annoying.
Gen 7 sees another Drizzle Pokemon that is potentially more exciting: Pelipper, a Pokemon that has usually been forgotten. At first glance, it's difficult to see what makes Pelipper so good, but the options it provides to rain teams will allow it to, possibly, outdo Politoed's contributions to the playstyle. It boasts STAB Hurricane, which allows it to beat the Grass types that walled Politoed such as Amoonguss. Pelipper also has recovery in the form of Roost, which gives it the longevity that Politoed could only dream of. Pelipper's biggest tools, however, come in the form of support options. It has Knock Off, which cripples switchins. It also boasts U-Turn access, which provide switch advantage to rain teams. Overall, I'm struggling to come up with a reason to run Politoed unless you're into its exclusive support moves.
Sun
Sun has always had a rough go, because it's limited in what kind of tools can be ran due to lacking defensive options and supporting abilities that benefit from the style. However, there are options.
Ninetales was the first option for Drought teams, and, honestly, it's probably the worst. It's too weak and too frail, making it a total handicap for teams. Thankfully, there are better options.
Mega Charizard Y is the first alternative to Ninetales, and boasts statistical advantages in every way. Offensively, it is one of the strongest options in OU, and is very difficult to switch into. You can form decent cores around it too. However, it comes at two costs: a quad weakness to Stealth Rock, which limits the number of times it can come in to setup sun, and the use of a Mega slot, which limits teambuilding options for sun teams. With Rapid Spin or Defog support, you could make this work.
Gen 7 also gave Drought to Torkoal. As the best non-Mega sun user, Torkoal provides some unique options. As the slowest weather user, it will guarantee that it sets up weather against every other user. This can impact a lot of teams strategies, as your sun will be the last, and final, weather activated. It has some options offensively too, despite its meager attack stat due to Shell Smash. Finally, it also provides some role compaction options with Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin, though this puts a lot of stress on Torkoal to perform a lot of roles.
Sand
While Sand Stream is the most common weather ability seen in OU, it's not really used for the effect. The number of Pokemon that have much to gain from it are minimal compared to Rain or Sun teams, and the only Pokemon that gains from Sand is Excadrill as the other number of Sand Force and Sand Rush are small.
Tyranitar is the most well known sand user, and it is one of OU's best Pokemon. You really can't go wrong with using it, as the support and power it provides for your team is solid. The other well known option is Hippowdon, who trades in Tyranitar's offensive support for enhanced defensive options. Teams opting for a stall based strategy generally favor Hippowdon, as it has the bulk and recovery to last.
Gigalith is the newest member of the Sand Stream team and, unfortunately, it has little to offer when compared to the alternatives so it will likely find its place in the lower tiers. This opens up opportunities to run with other Sand Rush Pokemon like Sandslash and Stoutland.
Hail
Universally regarded as the weakest weather, Hail has always struggled to make a name for itself. It has no tools outside of Snow Cloak, which is generally banned under the evasion clause. Gen 7 provided two useful tools, Aurora Veil and Slush Rush, that may give Hail a chance to compete. Aurora Veil is exciting, as it combines Reflect and Light Screen into one move. However, it can only be used during a Hailstorm. This opens up an interesting option for hyper offensive teams, as they usually rely on dual screens to setup. The hail requirement limits the usefulness of the move. Slush Rush is the equivalent of Swift Swim for Hail, and is limited to just Alolan Sandslash and Beartic.
Abomasnow was the first Snow Warning user and it's the worst. It's too slow, has too many weaknesses, and is lacking in offenses for the team. Even as a Mega Evolution, it fails to bring enough new to the table to warrant use over other Megas.
Aurorus is the second Snow Warning Pokemon and it shares the same weaknesses that make Abomasnow a liability, but also struggles with a lack of offensive coverage. Don't bother with this one.
Vanilluxe got Snow Warning in Gen 7, and may prove to be helpful for hail teams. It's stronger than both Aurorus and Abomasnow, has similar bulk without as many weaknesses. However, Vanilluxe's biggest issue, by far, is an incredibly narrow movepool. Consisting of nearly just Ice and Normal moves, it isn't able to be an offensive Pokemon that Hail needs. It's speed tier, while better than Abomasnow and Aurorus, is still too slow for viability.
So at this point, it's easy to see why Hail has struggled to make a splash in competitive, as its users have many issues that limit their viability. However, there is a Snow Warning Pokemon that is capable of, possibly singlehandedly, pushing Hail into the competitive scene. Angry with Mega Charizard Y usurping its role as a Drought user, Ninetales fled to Alolan mountains and gained the Ice and Fairy types. It is the fastest weather user period, across all weathers, at 109 speed. It also boasts the STABs to beat the other weather users, as Moonblast and Freeze Dry beat all weather users outside of Gigalith and the Drought Pokemon. It also boasts Aurora Veil, which makes it the only Pokemon able to setup the move on the first turn (every other user will need Hail up instead). You get some solid support options as well, with Hypnosis, Encore and SubDisable, though finding the moveslot for these options will require some thought.
So, this concludes my thoughts on the use of weather in Gen 7 OU. I'm curious what you guys think: will new weather users allow for weather to return (or, Hail's case, enter) the ranks of OU. What Pokemon are you thinking of running in weather teams?
Also, a note on manual weather moves: these are generally not advised as they can halt your momentum. It's usually a waste of a turn and is why bulkier weather users are recommended.
