Moves for Countering Weather Effects in Cobblemon

Weather effects like rain, sun, sandstorm, and hail are powerful tools that can boost specific types, activate abilities, and give teams a tactical edge. When faced with a weather-based strategy, it’s essential to have moves that can counteract or disrupt these effects, allowing you to regain control and weaken the opponent’s team. In this guide, we’ll explore the best moves for countering weather effects in Cobblemon, along with strategic tips on how to use them effectively.

1. Weather-Canceling Moves

The most direct way to counter weather effects is by canceling them entirely. Moves like Rain Dance, Sunny Day, Sandstorm, and Hail can override the current weather condition by setting up a new one. For instance, using Sunny Dayto cancel Rain Dance immediately disrupts your opponent’s rain-based team.

Key Moves to Cancel Weather:

• Rain Dance: Replaces any other weather with rain, boosting Water-type moves and activating Swift Swim while weakening Fire moves.
• Sunny Day: Replaces any other weather with sun, boosting Fire-type moves, activating Chlorophyll, and enhancing moves like Solar Beam.
• Sandstorm: Sets up a sandstorm that boosts Rock-types’ Special Defense and damages non-Rock, Ground, and Steel-types.
• Hail: Replaces other weather with hail, which damages all non-Ice-type Cobblemon each turn.

Strategic Use:

• Use Rain Dance or Sunny Day to cancel opposing weather setups and disrupt their strategy. This is especially useful when your team benefits from the new weather effect you set.
• Consider pairing weather-canceling moves with Cobblemon that gain benefits from these weather conditions, such as Kingdra with Rain Dance or Venusaur with Sunny Day.

2. Cloud Nine and Air Lock Abilities

Some Cobblemon have abilities like Cloud Nine or Air Lock that negate all weather effects simply by being on the battlefield. These abilities prevent any active weather from impacting the battle, making them an excellent choice for countering weather-reliant teams without needing to set up an alternate weather condition.

Key Cobblemon with Cloud Nine or Air Lock:

• Altaria (Dragon/Flying): With Cloud Nine, Altaria can nullify weather effects and focus on its Dragon-type and Flying-type moves without worry.
• Rayquaza (Dragon/Flying): Rayquaza’s Air Lock ability works similarly, shutting down all weather effects, which is especially useful in double battles where multiple Cobblemon might rely on weather conditions.

Strategic Use:

• Switch in a Cobblemon with Cloud Nine or Air Lock to immediately shut down any weather effects without changing the existing battlefield conditions.
• Altaria or Rayquaza are great choices if you want a consistent weather counter that doesn’t depend on moves or timing.

3. Defog and Rapid Spin for Weather Hazards

In some cases, weather teams rely heavily on entry hazards to maximize their strategy. While Defog and Rapid Spindon’t cancel weather directly, they can be instrumental in clearing hazards like Stealth Rock or Spikes that weather-based teams often use to maintain control.

Key Moves to Clear Hazards:

• Defog: Removes all hazards from the field, making it ideal for teams that need a clean slate without taking chip damage.
• Rapid Spin: Clears entry hazards from your side and boosts the user’s Speed by one stage, allowing for both hazard control and Speed advantage.

Strategic Use:

• Use Defog with Flying-types like Corviknight to remove hazards and gain control of the field against weather-based teams.
• Rapid Spin works well with offensive Cobblemon like Excadrill that can remove hazards and continue to pressure the opponent.

4. Moves to Mitigate Weather Effects

In some cases, you may want to keep your strategy going without directly canceling weather. Moves that mitigate weather damage or effects can keep your Cobblemon healthy and allow them to continue attacking without major setbacks.

Key Moves:

• Protect: Protects your Cobblemon from damage for one turn, including residual weather damage from sandstorm or hail.
• Substitute: Blocks indirect damage from weather while setting up a defensive shield against incoming moves.

Strategic Use:

• Use Protect or Substitute to stall for time, allowing weather to expire naturally without taking extra damage. This is especially useful if the opponent has limited weather turns left.
• Pair these moves with bulkier Cobblemon that can handle direct attacks while weather effects are active.

5. Weather-Dependent Moves to Turn the Tables

Certain moves become even more powerful when used under specific weather conditions, allowing you to turn your opponent’s own weather strategy against them. By using these moves strategically, you can leverage your opponent’s weather setup to your advantage.

Key Moves:

• Solar Beam: Normally requires a charge turn but activates instantly under sunny weather, dealing high Grass-type damage.
• Thunder: Has perfect accuracy in rain, allowing you to capitalize on your opponent’s rain-based team with powerful Electric-type attacks.
• Blizzard: Has perfect accuracy in hail, making it ideal for countering opponents using hail teams.

Strategic Use:

• Use Solar Beam under sun to deliver high damage to Water, Ground, and Rock-type opponents, often found on rain and sandstorm teams.
• Thunder is an excellent choice against rain teams, letting you strike consistently without worrying about accuracy.
• If facing a hail team, consider using Blizzard to guarantee accuracy and punish Ice-type Cobblemon.

Top Cobblemon for Countering Weather

Here are some versatile Cobblemon that excel at countering weather-based strategies:

1. Togekiss (Fairy/Flying)

• Moves: Thunder Wave, Protect, Air Slash
• Ability: Serene Grace
• Strategy: Togekiss can paralyze opponents with Thunder Wave, and its bulk allows it to stall with Protect until weather effects expire.

2. Excadrill (Ground/Steel)

• Moves: Rapid Spin, Earthquake, Iron Head
• Ability: Mold Breaker
• Strategy: Excadrill can clear hazards with Rapid Spin and continue applying pressure, especially useful against sandstorm teams.

3. Kingdra (Water/Dragon)

• Moves: Hydro Pump, Draco Meteor, Ice Beam
• Ability: Swift Swim
• Strategy: Kingdra is great in rain and can turn the tables with high-power Water moves, especially if it’s faster in rain due to Swift Swim.

4. Altaria (Dragon/Flying)

• Moves: Dragon Pulse, Flamethrower, Roost
• Ability: Cloud Nine
• Strategy: Altaria can nullify weather with Cloud Nine and heal with Roost, staying in battle to control the weather indefinitely.

5. Ninetales (Fire) – with Drought ability

• Moves: Sunny Day, Flamethrower, Solar Beam
• Ability: Drought
• Strategy: Ninetales can set up sun to counteract opposing rain teams and power up Solar Beam and Flamethrower.

Conclusion

Mastering the use of moves and abilities to counter weather effects can make a massive difference in Cobblemon battles, especially when facing teams that rely on rain, sun, sandstorm, or hail. Whether you’re canceling weather with Sunny Day, disrupting hazards with Defog, or leveraging Cloud Nine to nullify weather effects, understanding how to counter weather will give you a strategic edge. By incorporating these moves into your Cobblemon team, you’ll be ready to take control and adapt to any battlefield.