Sandstorm Team (4th Gen)

EDIT: well I copied and pasted this from Microsoft word, with Pictures, so I tried, but the links are all there, so you can find them :)

Well, this is my first team ever but I gave it a hell of a lot of thought after I realised that sandstorm teams aren't as easy to put together as they look, but at least you've got a limited list of pokes to choose from.

Hippowdon, Forretress, Swampert, Tyranitar, Gliscor, Lucario



HIPPOWDON

Stealth Rock Lead @ Leftovers
Ability: Sandstream
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off Ice Fang
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang Crunch
Nature: Impish
EVs: 240HP/164Def/104SpD

This beast is what lays down some stealthy pointed rocks and who owns those who aren't ready for him. I've used Crunch in the last moveslot because I kept getting absolutely trolled by Gengar Leads who'd taunt me and then Earthquake would do sack all, nor would Ice Fang. Crunch actually gives him surprisingly good coverage against peeps who switch into him. Once He's set up SR then he's expendable really, he's probably able to take down another poke but his role is primarily to wap out some pointed stones and to kill a few other leads. I had Slack Off in there but as I was primarily walled by taunt, it made no difference as to whether I could heal myself if a problem poke came along it would either KO me or I could switch, so Slack Off was dropped for Ice Fang.

Problems; well Breloom is an obvious problem as Ice Fang doesn’t do as much damage as would be preferable plus it can spore me instantly, therefore shutting me down, luckily however if I can get Breloom dealt with I can set up Stealth Rock with Swampert. Unfortunately, Breloom mauls the only poke I’ve got who can OHKO it :(

Synergy; well basically his 3 moves give him good coverage against common leads and most pokes as Ice Fang and Crunch aren’t too common on him and give him a surprise advantage but for anything that doesn’t fall for the mistake of setting up against him because he’s just got earthquake, he can switch to Lucario for water types and grass types, but for Grass/Fighting retarded jumping mushrooms well, lets hope I can just not die…

EVs; just the standard defensive spread, makes sure he’s not too mauled by special attacks, but then again the only special attacks that are gonna come his way will be grass/water/ice which will do damage regardless. I might do some calculations see if I can make it so Grass Knot doesn’t OHKO him.

Forretress

http://serebii.net/pokedex-bw/205.shtml
Defensive Wall @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
- Gyro Ball
- Explosion
- Rapid Spin
- Spikes Counter
Nature: Relaxed
EVs: 252HP/112Atk/144Def
This is my mighty defensive wall, who again, unfortunately is an absolute victim to a Breloom doing the rounds with my team. As you can see I had spikes on this kid as an additional entry hazard but with SR up already and the fact that people can switch out to something that can do a hell of a lot of damage to Tress then spikes isn’t very useful. For those pokes that come and switch in, it’s far more useful to have counter. I was recently sweeped by a Machamp that had been roided up by a Ninjask (SD and Speed Boost) it came to Tress, used dynamic punch and thanks to Sturdy now acting like a Focus Band then it took down the Machamp with a counter. All in all it’s a fairly standard Forretress that can clear the field for my team, maybe do some damage on its own, block a physical sweeper and if need be annihilate something as a last sweet drop of revenge with Explosion

Problems; umm, as it’s a Physical wall, a strong, hell a mediocre special fire attack can really mess it up because of its typing. Anything that resists steel I suppose walls it, but I’m not too bothered if somebody walls my Tress thinking it’s my primary physical attacker.

Synergy; basically it can soak up earthquakes quite well, and earthquakes can fuck my team up, but other than that, it just kind of walls anything that my other pokes can’t handle, unfortunately because a lot of my Pokémon are similarly typed (to avoid sandstorm damage), if a Pokémon can take down my team it can probably take down the Tress. I’m thinking I might change him to a Skarmory as Skarmory can also fill in the role that Swampert takes with the stall.

EVs; The increased attack may seem a little odd but it’s so that Gyro Ball isn’t pitifully weak, and that rapid spin does a little more than scratch, but basically his Defence stat is very high and so didn’t need more investment. I might try him with a more defensive set up, but I think he functions quite well like this.
IVs; Umm Speed 0 just to make sure that Gyro Ball has a higher base power, but yeah max everything else, that applies to everyone else unless specified.

Swampert

http://serebii.net/pokedex-bw/205.shtml
Bulky Water @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
- Aqua Tail
- Outrage
Nature: Impish
EVs 252HP/48Atk/208 SpD

Well, a wise user of Smogon (I say that because I can’t remember who) wrote “No Team is Complete without a Bulky water,” and which better to pick for a team that is easily mauled by grass Pokémon? Yes, that’s it, Swampert… I know, I know but it’s a solid defensive Pokémon nevertheless and succeeds at doing its job, stalling a little more and racking up a bit of extra residual damage from SR, I’ve got Stealth Rock on this Poke, simply because If Hippowdon gets Taunt and it’s a Pokémon that Hippowdon doesn’t cover for 2x damage then there needs to be some switching, and basically this is the best kid for putting it up when the Don can’t. For its 2 attacking moves they may seem like odd choices, but well, Waterfall isn’t as powerful and with just a drop of 10 in accuracy, the accuracy issue is negligible, and since he doesn’t get much use with aqua tail it’s not too necessary it just gives a better STAB imo. Outrage is the strangest on this set, but this really wreaks havoc on Dragonites that think that it’s cool to set up on a Swampert because waterfall won’t do anything to it.

Synergy; ahaha for a team that is mauled by Breloom, well this guy doesn’t really help. And for threats towards the team if they’ve boosted, often he’s not strong enough to resist, nor fast enough to roar away the boost, but for pokes that aren’t boosted, or have a mauling grass type move well he does his job as a Bulky Water pretty well. If a Grass Type comes along then Forretress and Lucario can take it on the chin and Lucario can beat back. Obviously with a Breloom, they’re screwed, but this fact has been covered enough.

Problems;… do you need it spelt out? 4x Grass Weakness, but obviously that’s why the switch button was invented.

EVs: Since both the Defence Stats are the same then I thought that maybe a more specially bulky variant could make up my special wall (don’t worry in the team analysis, I’ll go over this Naivety) Other than that, Attack EVs so that it’s not pathetic, I might switch it around to give it a bit more oomph though.

Tyranitar

http://serebii.net/pokedex-bw/248.shtml
Sweeper @ Choice Band
Ability: Sandstream
- Aqua Tail
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4HP/252Atk/252Spe

Tyranitar, the god of Gen II has always been a favourite of mine, and there is no better sweeper for a Sandstorm Team. Unfortunately, he is limited by his 4x Weakness to Fighting, and his, fairly shocking 60 Base Speed, with too many weaknesses to back up his bulkiness. I’ve got a good way of countering this though and that’s the point of my next Pokémon, Gliscor. This is one of the guys I was a little stuck on, being my first team I know that these moves Suck Ass haha, but I included his 2 STABs and Earthquake. Aqua Tail!?!?!?! I’m not sure what to do with that so any suggestions are very welcome J

Synergy; well if there’s any fear of a Bullet Punch or Vacuum Wave then Forretress or Swampert could soak them up (respectively) Hopefully he’ll be fast enough to outrun most threats, and he’ll be OHKOing most of the game with STAB Crunch and Choice Band with his great attack.

Problems; hmm, if wrongly predicted, bullet punch and Vacuum wave with kill him, unless a Shuckle uses it but otherwise you’re screwed if someone has this that you don’t expect. Scizor, created as the anti-TTar I guess still will run rings around him before mashing him up. Bullet Punch is a standard on Scizor so I’m running away no doubt about it. Breloom… *sigh. And anything with a Base Speed more than 120 (plus Jolly) that has a Fighting Type move.

EVs; Standard Sweeper set, I’m not sure whether to have Adamant instead of Jolly but I’m worried that might place me behind a few peeps that I want to be beating.
Gliscor

http://serebii.net/pokedex-bw/472.shtml
Baton Passer @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Veil
- Baton Pass
- Rock Polish
- Earthquake
- Night Slash
Nature: Jolly
EVs 252HP/4Def/252Spe

Gliscor is the centrepiece of this team I suppose, very bulky, due to the investment, and a very good Rock Polish passer (to TTar). He’s got a good Base Attack so that his attacking moves actually do some damage, and with the massive speed investment, he outruns people enough to (with the right conditions) do a little sweep himself, until it comes time to baton pass to Tyranitar. I’m very fond of this Gliscor and he is the one thing on this team that I wouldn’t change. The Sand Veil also grants him an extra lifeline when he’s setting up Rock Polish. The Evasion Bonus has been a Life Saver in some matches.

Synergy: Well Lucario, who is an important member of the team, often has an Earthquake or 5 aimed at him so Gliscor, really soaks them up.

Problems; ICE, Hail Teams could mess this guy up like nobody’s business; fortunately they’re a rare and infrequent occurrence that are quickly shut down by Lucario who has Ice types covered. Ice Beam on unexpected owners are deadly however and once this guy’s gone, I’ve not got a decisive sweep, unless Lucario has a lot of Luck(ario (sorry haha))

EVs; the Speed is so that he can hopefully get in a rock polish before most peeps have attacked him, or switch in on an Earthquake the worst thing is to switch in and be down past 50% health so I’ve added the HP and Defence to make him as bulky as possible, the only thing that lets this guy down is his lacklustre HP, at 75 it hinders his defensive capabilities significantly, luckily in the right situations this guy can take hits better than Swampert due to his good typing.

Lucario

http://serebii.net/pokedex-bw/448.shtml
Special Attacker @ Leftovers
Ability: Steadfast or Heart of Justice
- Aura Sphere
- Dark Pulse
- Dragon Pulse
- Psychic
Nature: Modest
EVs 4HP/252Spe/252SpA

The Special Attacker, who is one of my favourite Pokémon. Ever since I played on Super Smash Bros. Brawl, I realised what an actual Beast this guy is! Shame he’s slow and that his Special movepool isn’t as good as his Physical movepool (but they gave him more Special Attack) Anyway, back to why he’s here… He stops the team being walled by Physical monstrosities. He’s also got good coverage plus he’s the only person on the team with a move that can stop a Breloom; Psychic. Unfortunately, unless he receives a Rock Polish boost beforehand, he’s not going to be touching any Breloom, anytime soon. Even then, on the switch in, a Close combat intended for Gliscor will end up destroying him.

Synergy; because of his Defensive typing he can be used as a switch in to most threats to the team and can take them down with his STAB Aura Sphere or a more appropriate move depending on the Pokémon that’s threatening.

Problems; EQ. Two letters that make Lucario run off and cry. CC, see previous sentence. All in all though, other than Close Combat and Earthquake, not much really touches him. Steel type attacks do next to no damage, dark moves don’t scratch him and if 5th Gen ability is allowed then he’ll even take an attack boost but because he’s got no Physical moves, that’s not useful. I’m considering changing the EVs and giving him Earthquake but Earthquake doesn’t cover much extra, just another Lucario really.

EVs Basic set up. He’s got a Modest boost, as he’s at a lower Speed tier anyway so better to go for extra oomph, plus he’s got typing good enough to take a hit or two as long as the hit isn’t a 100/100 Physical Ground Move (A.K.A TM 26)

Team Overview:

This team has performed with moderate success; obviously I created it having not considered Breloom but there are a few changes I’ve been considering. I’m thinking of putting either a Heatran or a Magnezone in there. I considered a Mamoswine, but there’s not really much he could do that the others couldn’t and his typing leaves him weak to a lot of Pokémon that threaten the team already. Any Tips on whether Magnezone or Heatran would help. I’m already thinking that they should replace Lucario.

I’m new to this so I do apologise if this team sucks ass but any guidance whatsoever would be appreciated. Thank You.

GlassAbsol
 

Lamppost

I put the milk in first
is a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
good team just a few suggestions:

1. for hippo just try this moveset:
-roar
-earthquake
-slack off
-stealth rock
Hippowdon is far from expendable after he set up rocks, he can phaze out threats that might switch in and can take a +2 earthquake from dory and K0 it right back with eq.
Although you are screwed if a azelf or anothe levitate pokemon taunts you. Alll you have to do is switch out. Hippowdon can be really handy with phazing and really helps your team vs. dory.

2. On your forretress swap explosion out for toxic spikes. Explosion got a huge nerf this gen and isn't what it once was. And a little toxic spikes never hurts, right?

3. third and last thing, you might want to try a nasty plot set on lucario:
Lucario@Life Orb
4HP/252spA/252Spe
timid/modest(your pick)
-Nasty plot
-Vacuum Wave
-Aura sphere
-shadow ball
This set gives you near perfect coverage and is really easy to set up. A lot of times when people see lucario and you have time to set up the will go into their swords dance variant counter and you get the nasty plot up and proceed to sweep. This is best used late game and make sure that his counters are gone.

Good luck, hope i helped a little
 
This is a 4th Gen team so, while the above suggestions are valid, they dont mean anything in 4th Gen. So, while im sorry to say, complete ignore that.

Well, not completely. Use that Hippowdown set Lampost offered, its really fun to use.
For Tyranitar, if you want to switch out Aqua Tail, Pursuit is your other option. Send it on Psychic or Ghost type and either way there screwed since if they switch they die, and if they dont switch they also die.
Lucario could use Life Orb or Choice Specs over Leftovers. Id go with whichever one you like more, since the Life Orb recoil is annoying while the inability to switch moves is also annoying, for me the recoil is the lesser of the two evils.
 
i suggest you using flygon instead of tyranitar; classical scarf set.
Tyranitar is pretty slow and is weak to grass like 2 of your other pokemon (swampert,hippowdon)
Plus, flygon is good at scouting with its u-turn.
 
Hi, this seems like a pretty good semi stall team, but I think there are some ways to improve it.

1). Change Tyranitar's set to Choice Scarf. Generally, Hippowdon leads such as the one you pack will be stopped cold by Azelf leads, who can Taunt you and stop your rocks from getting set up. If you pack ScarfTar, you can get in on the Taunt, break their Focus Sash with the sandstorm and kill them off with Crunch before they can set up their own SR. This also provides a solid check to Mixed Dragonite, who can cause your team some trouble with its type coverage and power, and a solid Trick absorber who can eliminate Scarfed Rotom-A, giving your Forretress a clear path to Spin.

2). Include a spin blocker over Gliscor. Baton Pass Gliscor, while effective, is not the greatest of strategies because 1). you don't have dual screens to help it take hits while setting up and 2). you don't have Taunt to beat phazers. If you do choose to replace it (which I really recommend you do) your team seems to be centered around using entry hazards to weaken the opposing team for a Lucario sweep. An opposing Forretress or Starmie can destroy this whole strategy with a simple use of Rapid Spin. There are a variety of spin blockers to choose from, such as Dusknoir and Spiritomb, but I'd like to recommend a ResTalk Rotom-A, which serves as a solid spinblocker and good status absorber, which, along with the next suggestion I'll give, will help you with your Breloom problem.


Rotom-A @ Leftovers
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

This Rotom provides a good answer to Rapid Spin users such as Forretress and Starmie (be wary of LO Starmie with Hydro Pump, however, as it will 2HKO you). This will provide a good immediate switchin to Breloom that will inevitably come in on your Hippowdon. You switch this Rotom in to take the Spore, and then switch out to the Pokemon I want to suggest next. If this Breloom sets up a Substitute on your switchin, your 16 Speed EVs will let you outrun even max speed Loom and KO the Sub with Thunderbolt even through the resistance.

3). Replace Swampert with ResTalk Gyarados. Two Stealth Rock users on the same team is redundant, especially when you have something as reliable as Hippowdon to set it up and something as reliable as Rotom-A to prevent them from being spun away. Gyarados provides a reliable secondary physical wall and also has the ability to take on all forms of Infernape bar Swords Dance+ThunderPunch/Stone Edge variants, which are taken on by Hippowdon. This, along with the ResTalk Rotom-A I suggested, will deal with Breloom incredibly well. You go to Rotom to take the sleep, then send in Gyara for the Intimidate, taking next to nothing from Seed Bombs/Focus Punches (even the rare Stone Edge doesn't deal that much damage) and Roar it out, making it take more Spikes damage. Here is the set:


Gyarados @ Leftovers
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
- Waterfall
- Roar
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

The 248 HP EVs hit an odd number, letting you switch into Stealth Rock five times (although you most likely will Rest before you switch in five times, but better safe than sorry). Maximum Defense helps you take on foes such as Scizor and Lucario better, while the 8 SDef does have its uses against the likes of Heatran and Infernape. This Pokemon will also help deal with your slight trouble of killing Gliscor.

4). Change Forretress's set. Currently you have a heavily physically oriented EV spread. While this is not necessarily bad, a specially oriented spread tends to function better. An example of how solid it is: Physically Defensive Celebi's Hidden Power Fire does only 56.5% - 66.7%, while to the spread you currently have, it deals 85.9% - 101.7%, a nearly guaranteed KO after Stealth Rock damage. You can also set up a layer of Spikes or two against the likes of Vaporeon and defensive Suicune. The EV spread I had in mind was 248 HP / 252 SDef / 8 Def with a Careful nature. Allows for a Leftovers number, maximum special bulk and a bit of extra physical bulk as well. I'd also like to suggest dropping Gyro Ball for Payback, as this will weaken Rotom-A and Starmie switchins, helping Tyranitar pick them off with Pursuit, which it cannot do when they are at full health.

5). Change Lucario's set. Swords Dance Lucario is the most feared late-game sweeper in the metagame, and with Spikes, it becomes even better, being able to KO powerful physical walls such as CroCune and Hippowdon with a +2 Close Combat after several layers have been set up. The set you should be going for is as follows:


Lucario @ Life Orb
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Crunch
- ExtremeSpeed

Now you may notice that this Lucario is Jolly instead of Adamant. This is mainly because you lack many solid ways of beating offensive Suicune. With a Jolly nature, once you have accumulated some hazard damage on the Cune you can pick it off with CC. You also beat Timid non-Scarfed Rotom-A, such as Choice Specs versions (Scarfed variants are dealt with by Tyranitar) and kill them with Crunch, as well as the rare Jolly Mamoswine. All of these Pokemon stop Adamant Lucario's sweep but are defeated by the Jolly version. You also have the added bonus of usually outrunning other Lucario, who tend to be Adamant.
---
I hope I helped, good luck with the team.
 
I was Thinking today about how a Gyarados would be a good replacement for the Swampert, as that is the member of the team I'm least keen on. With Intimidate, the Sandstorm damage won't affect it too badly. Thanks for the Advice though for all who offered. My Exams are getting heavy at the moment so keep posting suggestions, I'll try to test them all out with the team and once i've worked out a team that functions well, I'll post it and give thanks where due :D
EDIT I tried the suggestions and It won't play nearly as well for me with the knew guys. I'll work on it a bit more though. Any More Suggestions? Thanks
 

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