Perish Rain Team Battle Spot Doubles

[ArcherUN2]

This is my first attempt on building a Perish Trap team I’ve never done this type of team before.  All of your input will  be much appreciated
Gengar @ Gengarite 
Ability: Levitate 
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe 
Timid Nature                 
- Shadow Ball 
- Disable 
- Protect 
- Perish Song
 
Every Parish Trap team needs a Gengar on it.  When Gengar Mega evolves it obtains the ability Shadow tag which means that the opponents pokemon are unable to switch out as long as Gengar is in field of play [1] Disable, since Gengar is a Shadow Tag user what better move to have on him then disable.  If I could predict a Pokemon who is Choiced and trap them in a struggle then that Pokemon will be an easy KO.  [2] Protect, since Perish song relies on stall there’s no better move to use then Portect.  Protect will buy Gengar an extra turn. [3] Perish Song, every Gengar needs this move the nice thing about this move is I could bring it late game and finish off the last 2 Pokemon or have Gengar use it at the start.  [4] Shadow Ball, I needed move that could deal with other mega Gengars, this move will also give me the ability to use it on Psychic and other Ghost Pokemon as well.  I’m still playing around with the Evs on this set so for now I just chose the recommended Evs by Showdown. 
 
Smeargle @ Focus Sash 
Ability: Moody 
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe 
Timid Nature 
- Dark Void 
- Follow Me 
- Ice Beam 
- Quick Guard
 
At this slot I originally had an Amoonguss with regenerator and eject button on it but I realized that with that Amoonguss would make my team look a lot like Wolf Glick’s Perish Trap team.  I wanted a team that I could call my own that’s when I found Smeargle.  This is a fun Smeargle set when I was testing it out on Showdown it caused 20 rage quits and 5 sweeps.  [1] Dark Void works really complements Gengar’s Shadow tag ability really well.  It also makes my life easier that I could freely do what I want to the opponents Pokemon. [2] I know that Smeargle is a frail Pokemon but I needed a move to draw attention away from Mega Gengar that’s were Follow me comes into play.  Follow me will also protect my Gengar from taunting Prankster Pokemon like Tornadus. [3] Since my Smeargle always gets taunt I needed an attack move so its not shut down.  That why Ice Beam is there.  Even though it doesn’t have the strongest attack if I get an attack boost from moody it might make things easier to take down dragons and flying types.  [4] I don’t have a lot of pokemon to deal with Talonflame’s Gale Wings Brave Bird Quick Guard is there to help support my other Pokemon as well as protect them from priority moves. 
 
Politoed @ Leftovers 
Ability: Drizzle 
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD 
Modest Nature 
- Perish Song 
- Ice Beam 
- Hydro Pump 
- Scald
 
Since Drought Charizard Y and Tyranitar Sand Streem teams are still running strong I need a Pokemon to offset those weather conditions that’s why I have Politoed.  Not only can Politoed learn Perish Song I could use a Pokemon that could use Swift Swim so I’m not reliant on making sure Perish Song is in play.  I normally run Choice Band on my Politoeds but since I needed a Pokemon that could freely set up Perish song if needed I decided to go with leftovers as my item. [1] Perish Song I didn’t want Gengar to be the only Pokemon to be able to set up Perish song and long as I have a second Shadow tagger Perish song will have the same effect.  [2] Ice Beam,  Politode can still out speed a lot of dragon types Ice Beam wont OHKO all dragons but it should still be in good range to 2 or 3 OH those pokemon. [3] Hydro Pump OHKOs most fire types like Charizard Y and Talonflame as well.  [4] Scald Since I am running a Perish Trap team I needed a move that could give out burn damage so I’m not heavily relying on one Pokemon to status the opponents.
 
Ludicolo @ Assault Vest 
Ability: Swift Swim 
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe 
Mild Nature 
- Fake Out 
- Hydro Pump 
- Scald 
- Giga Drain
 
Since I don’t want to be heavily reliant on perish song and I already have a Politode on my team then there’s no better Pokemon then Ludicolo.  Its swift swim ability makes Ludicolo one of the fastest Pokemon in the game and Assault Vest just makes it one of the Bulkiest Pokemon in the game. [1] Fake out gives a Pokemon a 100% chance to flinch causing a one on one situation for my other Pokemon. [2] Hydro Pump is there for stab damages with the swift swim ability up I out speed Mega Charizard Y and countless other Pokemon that my hurt my team. [3] Scald I want a move that does a lot of damage and still gets it off very fast.  Scald has no problem 1HKO threats like Talonflame or other fire types.  [4] Giga Drain Since I don’t have much to deal with grass Pokemon Giga drain helps me out there
 
Staraptor @ Life Orb 
Ability: Intimidate 
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def 
Impish Nature 
- Roost 
- Toxic 
- Close Combat 
- Heat Wave
 
Staraptor always gets over shadowed by Talonflame.  Gale Wings Brave Bird Talonflame is always the norm on Battle Spot, pushing Staraptor out of the spot light.  But looking at Staraptors move pool I’m surprised that its not seeing more play.  It has Itimidate so it drops the opponents attack by 1 stage.  Yes it doesn’t have the Speed like Talonflame but the key to Staraptor is it has a strong attack which makes an item like life orb complement Staraptor significantly.  [1] Roost I want to build a stall Staraptor since Staraptor is causing the opponent to drop one attack stage Roost will make it harder to take down. [2] Toxic  Since I’m running a Parish Trap team I wanted a stall move theres no better move for that then Toxic. [3] Close Combat, everyone seems to forget that Staraptor has access to Close Combat.  With how high Staraptor’s attack is it could out speed  OHKO a Mega Kangaskang.  [4] Heat Wave, Most People would put Brave Bird in this slot but I found that Starapter has access to Heat Wave.  Heat Wave will help out a lot dealing with steel type Pokemon and Grass Pokemon as well. 
 
Gothitelle @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Shadow Tag 
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD 
Modest Nature 
IVs: 0 Spe 
- Calm Mind 
- Rest 
- Taunt 
- Psychic
 
No perish team would be complete without a second Shadow Tag user.  Gothitell will also give me the ability to not heavily rely on Gengar.  I wanted this Pokemon to be a pain to deal with and make it last as long as possible that’s why I have a Chesto Berry on it.  [1] Calm Mind, Gothitell is already a tank on its Special Defense.  When I’m setting up Calm Minds the opponent will have a tough decision on who to attack. [2] Rest,  I want the opponent to focus on this Pokemon since its going to take a lot of damage I want a move to restore it to full. [3] Taunt, I needed a Pokemon that could shut down prankster Pokemon as well as other Perish trap teams. [4] Psychic Since Gothitelle is setting up calm mind there’s no better move to complement it the Psychic.

[Marcusube]

Your team is pretty good as it is.

Honestly, just run Mental Herb Smeargle if the Taunt thing is that big of an issue. Not many people head on attack it without either using Mega Kangaskhan or double targeting it. Also, King's Shield is a better option over Ice Beam as it cripples physical attackers, preventing them from possibly OHKOing Smeargle the following turn. I also suggest running Crafty Shield over Quick Guard on Smeargle because people are actually opting for status moves that disregard Quick Guard's protection (like not using Prankster Taunt but instead a normal Taunt). King's Shield more than not hinders Talonflame's damage output plus Crafty Shield blocks Talonflame's Taunt (which I've been seeing a lot on the ladder). Don't forget that Crafty Shield also stops Will-o-Wisp, Twave, Dark Void and all those other status moves so it works out better in the end in my opinion.

Wolfe Glicke's Politoed set works out better in the long run. Firstly, to pull off Perish, you need to have Protect to burn a turn. Scald does Hydro Pump's job plus Charizard can't retaliate in the rain under Shadow Tag. It is rendered useless. The idea of Perish is to KO the opposition with Perish so Ice Beam is pretty redundant here plus it doesn't even OHKO Salamence (the defensive Politoed set WHICH YOU SHOULD BE RUNNING).

Honestly, scrap Ludicolo for something that can take out powerful attackers (Kangaskhan, Salamence, Hydreigon, Metagross, Terrakion etc.) because these guys stop Perish Song with ease by just overpowering your team. Either that or you can run Whimsicott/Liepard/Sableye to support Gengar better but it is good to have a more stable offensive backbone than to make yourself reliant on Ludicolo who basically needs rain to be useful.

Staraptor cannot pull off Toxic stall. It simply lacks the bulk. Moreover, defensive Staraptor isn't even a viable set. I'd suggest running a Choice Scarf Reckless variant with Double Edge, Close Combat, Brave Bird and either Final Gambit or U-turn. Heat Wave literally does nothing because Staraptor lacks the stats required to run any form of special attacks. By the way, Close Combat from Staraptor doesn't OHKO Mega Kang so keep that in mind.

Again, Wolfe Glicke's set works best for Gothitelle. You won't be getting many openings to set up plus Gothitelle's job is to prolong Perish Song by supporting its team mates (mainly Politoed). If Perish Song is up and you're trying to pull of a Calm Mind set up, it'd be pointless because you have to switch out the turn Perish Song ends. Gothitelle is Taunt bait so you are very unlikely to get a Taunt off in any situation.

Not a bad team in general