Hello and today I've got myself another HO team. It is a Sand team I guess, in that it employs Sand Rush Excadrill as a key offensive threat. But the rest of the team focuses more on providing offensive partners to Excadrill instead of stressing sandstorm synergy.
Team at a Glance
Set Details
Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance / Rapid Spin
Ah, Excadrill, the face of sand offense. Excadrill is simply a must on a sand offense team. Period. Earthquake and Iron Head are its STABs. Rock Slide forms the pseudo Quake-Edge coverage with Earthquake to hit the likes of Mega Charizard-Y, Talonflame, Thundurus... anything that flies. I'm really torn on the last move though. Swords Dance allows Excadrill to sweep much easier, and pressures its checks and counters a lot more so they can be broken through by a teammate. However, Rapid Spin is still valuable despite Excadrill being frail and the move costing momentum, because there is a member on this team that's 2x weak to Stealth Rock. Someone please convince me one way or another whether that member's SR weakness justifies Rapid Spin over SD.
Lopunny @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick
- Return
- Power-Up Punch
Mega Lopunny actually synergizes with Excadrill pretty well IMO. Power-Up Punch is a part of Lopunny's standard repertoire, but this actually serves as a decent lure set to heavily damage things like Hippowdon, Rotom-Wash and Slowbro for Excadrill to break through. Fake Out helps Lopunny safely Mega Evolve and does chip damage. By revealing Fake Out in this set, we give the opponent a false sense of predictability, so that they're more willing to send in their physical walls to sponge the predicted Fake Out, only to get hit by PUP on the switch and suddenly find themselves in big trouble. High Jump Kick and Return are its standard, powerful, unresisted STABs. With Mega Lopunny's blazing speed, it can often find itself cleaning up weakened teams with these two STAB moves outside of sand.
Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
Azumarill is one of best offensive Fighting type checks, which is valuable since we have quite a few team members weak to it. Azumarill enjoys Mega Lopunny luring in and weakening Rotom-Wash and Mega Venusaur (+1 Return can usually 2HKO). Furthermore, Mega Lopunny can also dispose of Ferrothorn, one of CB Azumarill's hardest checks. But more importantly, it's the follow-up that will switch in to things like Hippowdon, Gliscor and Slowbro after they've taken damage from either one of the first two, to force them out before they can use a recovery move. The set itself is standard. I feel Knock Off is a better move in general on Azumarill, because it's low risk, as things that resist Dark don't really want to switch in on Azumarill, and Knock Off does decent damage to most things while removing their items (removing Leftovers is a great way of pressuring checks so that they get worn down more easily). Last but not least, Azumarill can also find itself sweeping occasionally with CB boosted Aqua Jet.
Entei @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Extreme Speed
- Stone Edge
- Bulldoze
So we have three Pokemon that's checked by bulky Water types and physical walls. Let's add another! The point of the team isn't to have an answer to every single threat in the meta. Instead, they serve to pressure and weaken those common checks they share, so that one of them might eventually break through. I really hate Entei for robbing Ho-Oh (my favorite Ubers Pokemon) of its signature move, but there is no denying that it's a significant buff. Entei baits out those bulky Waters and those physically defensive Hippowdons and Garchomps, and spreads burn on them, so that they get worn down much more easily. Because of the ridiculous burn chance, Sacred Fire is a pretty safe move for Entei to spam. Extreme Speed is also a fantastic move that could use a bit more distribution. It's a great move for Entei to bypass its mediocre speed tier in order to revenge kill or even clean up. Stone Edge hits Fire types that can switch into Sacred Fire without a fear of getting burned. Bulldoze hits Heatran (Entei doesn't learn EQ rip).
Chesnaught @ Leftovers
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Drain Punch
- Spikes
- Wood Hammer
We do still need something to switch in and break those bulky Waters though. Also, wearing down common checks can be done a lot easier if we have entry hazard support. Finally, the whole thing thus far is a little Ground weak. This is where Chesnaught comes in. It can come in on a multitude of physical attackers (especially a few that really trouble sand teams, namely Breloom, Azumarill and Keldeo) and set up Spikes. Leech Seed synergizes almost perfectly with Spikes, as it forces switches, which means more entry hazard damage and more free turns to set up more layers of Spikes. Drain Punch is a decently powerful STAB move that helps Chesnaught stay healthy. Wood Hammer is the move to hit bulky Water types hard, and it makes Chesnaught less passive than otherwise it'd be if using Spiky Shield. The overall goal of Chesnaught is to be annoying, force residue damage on the opposing team so that our offensive attackers can break them more easily.
Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Ice Beam
Finally, before we forget, let's add sand to our sand team. Tyranitar supports Excadrill immensely in providing sand for Sand Rush. It also supports it by luring in Landorus-T and Gliscor, and seriously damaging both with Ice Beam. Stealth Rock is a must on pretty much every team, and Tyranitar is a great user as it beats all common Defoggers. Stone Edge and its Rock typing allows it to check birds, such as Talonflame, Thundurus and Zapdos. Pursuit traps the Lati twins, and their removal is great news to Mega Lopunny, Entei and Chesnaught.
Team at a Glance
Set Details
Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance / Rapid Spin
Ah, Excadrill, the face of sand offense. Excadrill is simply a must on a sand offense team. Period. Earthquake and Iron Head are its STABs. Rock Slide forms the pseudo Quake-Edge coverage with Earthquake to hit the likes of Mega Charizard-Y, Talonflame, Thundurus... anything that flies. I'm really torn on the last move though. Swords Dance allows Excadrill to sweep much easier, and pressures its checks and counters a lot more so they can be broken through by a teammate. However, Rapid Spin is still valuable despite Excadrill being frail and the move costing momentum, because there is a member on this team that's 2x weak to Stealth Rock. Someone please convince me one way or another whether that member's SR weakness justifies Rapid Spin over SD.
Lopunny @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick
- Return
- Power-Up Punch
Mega Lopunny actually synergizes with Excadrill pretty well IMO. Power-Up Punch is a part of Lopunny's standard repertoire, but this actually serves as a decent lure set to heavily damage things like Hippowdon, Rotom-Wash and Slowbro for Excadrill to break through. Fake Out helps Lopunny safely Mega Evolve and does chip damage. By revealing Fake Out in this set, we give the opponent a false sense of predictability, so that they're more willing to send in their physical walls to sponge the predicted Fake Out, only to get hit by PUP on the switch and suddenly find themselves in big trouble. High Jump Kick and Return are its standard, powerful, unresisted STABs. With Mega Lopunny's blazing speed, it can often find itself cleaning up weakened teams with these two STAB moves outside of sand.
Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
Azumarill is one of best offensive Fighting type checks, which is valuable since we have quite a few team members weak to it. Azumarill enjoys Mega Lopunny luring in and weakening Rotom-Wash and Mega Venusaur (+1 Return can usually 2HKO). Furthermore, Mega Lopunny can also dispose of Ferrothorn, one of CB Azumarill's hardest checks. But more importantly, it's the follow-up that will switch in to things like Hippowdon, Gliscor and Slowbro after they've taken damage from either one of the first two, to force them out before they can use a recovery move. The set itself is standard. I feel Knock Off is a better move in general on Azumarill, because it's low risk, as things that resist Dark don't really want to switch in on Azumarill, and Knock Off does decent damage to most things while removing their items (removing Leftovers is a great way of pressuring checks so that they get worn down more easily). Last but not least, Azumarill can also find itself sweeping occasionally with CB boosted Aqua Jet.
Entei @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Extreme Speed
- Stone Edge
- Bulldoze
So we have three Pokemon that's checked by bulky Water types and physical walls. Let's add another! The point of the team isn't to have an answer to every single threat in the meta. Instead, they serve to pressure and weaken those common checks they share, so that one of them might eventually break through. I really hate Entei for robbing Ho-Oh (my favorite Ubers Pokemon) of its signature move, but there is no denying that it's a significant buff. Entei baits out those bulky Waters and those physically defensive Hippowdons and Garchomps, and spreads burn on them, so that they get worn down much more easily. Because of the ridiculous burn chance, Sacred Fire is a pretty safe move for Entei to spam. Extreme Speed is also a fantastic move that could use a bit more distribution. It's a great move for Entei to bypass its mediocre speed tier in order to revenge kill or even clean up. Stone Edge hits Fire types that can switch into Sacred Fire without a fear of getting burned. Bulldoze hits Heatran (Entei doesn't learn EQ rip).
Chesnaught @ Leftovers
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Drain Punch
- Spikes
- Wood Hammer
We do still need something to switch in and break those bulky Waters though. Also, wearing down common checks can be done a lot easier if we have entry hazard support. Finally, the whole thing thus far is a little Ground weak. This is where Chesnaught comes in. It can come in on a multitude of physical attackers (especially a few that really trouble sand teams, namely Breloom, Azumarill and Keldeo) and set up Spikes. Leech Seed synergizes almost perfectly with Spikes, as it forces switches, which means more entry hazard damage and more free turns to set up more layers of Spikes. Drain Punch is a decently powerful STAB move that helps Chesnaught stay healthy. Wood Hammer is the move to hit bulky Water types hard, and it makes Chesnaught less passive than otherwise it'd be if using Spiky Shield. The overall goal of Chesnaught is to be annoying, force residue damage on the opposing team so that our offensive attackers can break them more easily.
Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Ice Beam
Finally, before we forget, let's add sand to our sand team. Tyranitar supports Excadrill immensely in providing sand for Sand Rush. It also supports it by luring in Landorus-T and Gliscor, and seriously damaging both with Ice Beam. Stealth Rock is a must on pretty much every team, and Tyranitar is a great user as it beats all common Defoggers. Stone Edge and its Rock typing allows it to check birds, such as Talonflame, Thundurus and Zapdos. Pursuit traps the Lati twins, and their removal is great news to Mega Lopunny, Entei and Chesnaught.
Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin
Lopunny @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick
- Return
- Power-Up Punch
Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
Entei @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Extreme Speed
- Stone Edge
- Bulldoze
Chesnaught @ Leftovers
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Drain Punch
- Wood Hammer
Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Ice Beam
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin
Lopunny @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick
- Return
- Power-Up Punch
Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
Entei @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Extreme Speed
- Stone Edge
- Bulldoze
Chesnaught @ Leftovers
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Drain Punch
- Wood Hammer
Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Ice Beam