Volcarona @ Leftovers
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 160 HP / 252 SAtk / 96 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Quiver Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Fire Blast
- Hurricane
I must admit I was skeptical about Volcarona in Rain, but I'm really glad I tried this set. Even with its Fire STAB nullified, Volcarona still dishes out plenty of damage against the likes of Skarmory and Ferrothorn. More importantly, Hurricane provides an unexpected method of dealing with some of the major threats to Rain teams. I'll personally be using this a lot from now on.
Volcarona is surprisingly good on Rain teams. The fire moth's main advantage is checking threats that normally give Rain-based teams trouble. Hurricane is a great way of hitting threats like Toxicroak, while Volcarona's typing allows it to switch into Celebi and CM Virizion. Volcarona can also easily set up on Ferrothorn, a particularly annoying threat to face in Rain.
This set utilizes the bulky ChestoRest EVs, along with Hurricane in the last slot. Quiver Dance is an excellent boosting move that makes Volcarona immediately threatening. Bug Buzz and Fire Blast provide powerful STABs to take advantage of the moth's unique typing. While Fiery Dance is the primary option on the standard sets, Fire Blast's power is needed to overcome the nullifying effect of Rain. Hurricane is an unusual move that allows Volcarona to take out a number of threats, including Conkeldurr in addition to the Pokémon listed above.
A spinner is needed to make the best use of Volcarona. Fortunately, Tentacruel and Starmie are both very capable and particularly viable in Rain. Since this set plays an offensive support role in addition to sweeping, it can fit fairly well on most Rain teams. Give it a try; you may be surprised.