Rain Team Heliolisk

Heliolisk is a new Pokémon introduced in Pokémon X and Y. It has decent Speed and Special Attack, but what makes it truly unique are its Abilities. All three of its Abilities are associated with weather. However, Heliolisk functions best in the rain.

The Dry Skin Ability heals Heliolisk in the rain, which counteracts the damage from the Life Orb. Rain also ensures that Thunder will hit, and boosts Surf’s power by 50%. Focus Blast, Dark Pulse, and Grass Knot offer type coverage, and Volt Switch gives you “switch advantage” over your opponent.

Strategy

Lead with the Pokémon that sets up rain, either by ability (like a Politoed) or with Rain Dance. If this is a double battle, you can also send out Heliolisk, but you don’t have to. Once the rain is set up, send out Heliolisk when you think you have the chance. Heliolisk’s Defenses and HP are pretty low, so it can’t take a hit very well, so try and switch when you predict your opponent to use a stat boosting move or switch out their own Pokémon.

Once Heliolisk is out, use the move that you think would do the most damage to your opponent. Remember that Thunder has STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus), so it is boosted 50%, and Surf is boosted 50% by the Rain. If you are running Volt Switch on Heliolisk, you can use that to escape sticky situations. You can also switch in Heliolisk to take a Water-type attack, since Dry Skin neutralizes the damage, and instead heals Heliolisk.

Things to Watch Out For

1. Sun Teams. These teams revolve around the use of Sunny Day. They could potentially counter your rain, so be careful. If your opponent has a bunch of Fire-type Pokémon and a Ninetails or a Charizard, chances are they are using a Sun Team.
2. Choice Scarfed or Fast Sweepers. Heliolisk is fast, but not excessively so. Many common Pokémon can outspeed it, and could potentially 1-hit-KO before you can even attack. If you fear that Heliolisk might faint, switch it for a more defensive Pokémon.
3. Ground-types. These Pokémon are immune to Thunder, so if your opponent has a Ground-type on their team, be wary that they might switch in to take the Thunder, so you might want to use a different move.

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