>>53473744Yes, the power level difference between Drizzle and manual Rain Dance is massive. Occasionally Rain teams will slap Rain Dance on one of their Swift Swimmers as well or something, but that's about it.
To make it really easy to internalize, imagine if they gave a shitmon like Sandaconda an ability where every time it switches in, it uses Earthquake. Doesn't use a turn or anything, just slaps Earthquake out for free. Suddenly Sandaconda jumps from something only worth considering in the depths of Smogons PU to something that can quickly overwhelm OU and VGC, being able to throw out Earthquakes for completely free with zero risk, being able to switch in and switch out, and build teams around utilizing this free Earthquake to its absolute maximum.
This is what the Drizzle/Drought setters functionally do. They're shitmons, but using a move for free when they enter as their ability. Not giving your opponent a turn to respond or really any opportunity for counterplay is massively better than using a better Pokemon but allowing your opponent to more easily play around you. It also helps that weather abilities buff their user as well, Pelipper gets a lot out of sure-hit Hurricanes and boosted Water moves.
