Team Desert Storm

Team Desert Storm

(18:58:29) *** Your rank in Standard LC is 4/809 [1249 points / 12 battles]!
^ This alt is currently undefeated.

Introduction:

Hi everyone! After hitting #1 on the ladder with this team before said ladder reset, I also peaked #4 afterwards (I definitely could hit #1 again, but I’m just too lazy to actually ladder a lot). This team was an incredible success for me, being able to handle an incredible variety of threats while still being able to dish out damage in incredible amounts. I consider this team to be my best BW LC team, and third best team I’ve ever made (behind my two Dppt teams, of course). I consider this team to be a bulky offense team, simply because, for the first time in my career, no one on this team carries Life Orb! My team focuses on sandstorm, and more importantly, an endgame sweep for Drilbur, the highlight of this team. I decided to make a sandstorm team instead of a “standard” bulky offense team simply because of Chinchou. Chinchou is, without a doubt, one of the top two Pokemon in the metagame, with the other being Mienfoo, and with a Sandstorm team, I can play around it a lot more easily.

Also, if you’ve been paying close attention to my LC RMTs, you’ll realize that this is the third weather team I’ve had major success with (Team Stormy Soldiers being the first, and Setting in the West being the second). Yes, my next best team will be a Hail team. Just saying.

At a glance:



Teambuilding:

First, I needed a Pokemon that could kick up a sandstorm whenever it was sent into the battlefield, and since Hippopotas is the only Pokemon capable of doing so, I decided to go with it.


Next, I needed abusers – Pokemon that could make the most of Sandstorm while still being able to function well alongside Hippopotas, a solid physical tank. Lileep was a must, being immune to Water-type attacks as well as being able to boost its defenses via Stockpile.


Now, I needed a sweeper - someone that could use Sandstorm to its advantage, either by Sand Rush, Sand Force, or Sand Veil. Drilbur was my favorite by far, seeing as it was already battle-tested and could sweep through teams.


Ok – the core’s done. Now I need checks to other Pokemon that can stop Sandstorm or can just sweep in general. Scraggy is a huge threat, so I need a stable check for it that can tank its attacks. I’m not a big fan of Vullaby, so I decided to go with Timburr, a bulky Pokemon that can beat Scraggy without much trouble while also being a decent status absorber.


I think I have most of my bases covered at this point, but Mienfoo can still give me trouble if Timburr goes down early for whatever reason. Knock Off could get annoying as well, so I need a Pokemon that won’t mind losing its held item. Gastly does this very well, and it doesn’t mind losing its Eviolite if it gets hit by Knock Off. Having an immunity to Fighting-type attacks is also great, and SubNosis can be a real bitch as well to unprepared teams.


Finally, I needed a Pokemon that could act as a wallbreaker – a Pokemon that could do a lot of damage in as quick a time as possible. My team is physically-based at this point, but since I didn’t want Staryu or Chinchou on this team, I decided to go with another physical attacker – Taillow.


Okay - Gastly was a fail idea. It just had no place on this team, and was too weak to take hits from Timburr. I still wanted a Ghost-type, but I needed something more capable of tanking hits. I decided to go with Frillish because it has a lot of bulk, a good support movepool, and was a great fit for this team.

Through the Microscope:


Hippopotas (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 100 Atk / 212 Def / 180 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Earthquake
- Crunch

This is a pretty common Hippopotas set, having Stealth Rock, Earthquake, and Slack Off. Crunch is important so I can get a KO on Gastly, which can’t come close to KOing me back with Sludge Bomb or Shadow Ball. I will almost always lead with Hippopotas, just because it will set up Sandstorm automatically via Sand Stream, setting the pace for the rest of the match. The only case where I won’t is when my opponent has Dwebble, in which case I start off with Gastly, who can put it to sleep with Hypnosis or 2HKO non-Eviolite variants with Sludge Bomb then Shadow Ball (so Oran Berry doesn’t trigger and make me mad). I’m not exactly sure what the 100 EVs in attack do, but it obviously must be important if they’re there.


Drilbur (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 236 Atk / 36 Def / 212 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance
- Protect

Drilbur is this team’s MVP, and for good reason, too. After a Swords Dance, it can inflict a huge amount of damage to teams, despite not having extra power from Life Orb. I decided to go with Eviolite just because it could take an extra hit, so a Mienfoo’s or Scraggy’s Hi Jump Kick will not OHKO, and I can get a Swords Dance in and sweep. Protect is there for Fake Out and Fake Out only, since it gets really annoying at times. Also, it allows me to scout for priority attacks and whatnot so I can send in the appropriate counter. Earthquake and Rock Slide are the chosen attacks because they get incredible coverage together, resisted by Bronzor and Baltoy in standard LC, both of which are quite uncommon. It’s a good thing that the former doesn’t have any access to recovery, because it turns out that this team is actually quite weak to it.


Taillow (M) @ Flame Orb
Trait: Guts
EVs: 236 Atk / 36 Def / 236 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Facade
- Protect
- Quick Attack

Taillow is up next, and I absolutely love having this little birdie around. Brave Bird is a great move to have against Fighting-types, and Protect allows it to perform better against Mienfoo’s Fake Outs. Not only that, but Protect allows Taillow’s Flame Orb to activate, pumping up the power of its attacks due to Guts and super-charging the potency of Facade, its most dangerous attacks. Quick Attack gives this team some much-needed priority, which is absolutely necessary to revenge kill weakened threats, such as Sucker Punch Houndour. The EVs on this set obviously are designed to get Taillow to 19 Speed and maximize its Attack.

Originally, I had a Choice Scarf Taillow as the moveset, with Brave Bird, U-turn, Frustration (fuk Return) and Pursuit, but I realized that it wasn’t very strong and it wasn’t doing as much damage as I had imagined it could do. For that reason alone, I switched it to GutsOrb for increased damage at the cost of a check to DD Scraggy. That’s why I use one of the Pokemon described later (Timburr).


Lileep (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Storm Drain
EVs: 68 HP / 220 Def / 220 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Recover
- Stockpile

I just wanted to say that I love Lileep, simply because its EVs go to 508 and I don’t have to factor in any drops from Hidden Power Fire because I don’t touch Special Attack or Speed. This set acts as my designated sponge, a Pokemon that can take attacks from a variety of Pokemon and still come out on top. For example, Mienfoo cannot 2HKO this variant with Drain Punch, and only does around 40% to it. Stockpile lets Lileep boost its defenses further, and in the sandstorm, it’s almost impossible to KO outside of Toxic. Storm Drain is also a plus, since it gets a nifty immunity to Water-type attacks as well as a Special Attack bonus if it does get hit by one. This is my number-one counter to Chinchou and I’m absolutely in love with it.


Frillish (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 156 HP / 116 Def / 236 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Scald
- Recover
- Shadow Ball
- Toxic

Lileep was just the Pokemon that I needed to fill in the void that Gastly once had. Because it has more bulk than Gastly, it can tank hits a lot easier than the other Ghost. In addition, Frillish isn't necessarily Lileep bait for one reason - it has Toxic. With Toxic, any Lileep thinking they can simply switch in and KO with Energy Ball or set up with Stockpile is in for a big surprise. Shadow Ball is for Slowpoke and STAB, while Scald is great for spreading burns to potential Mienfoo and prevents Houndour from switching in with impunity. Recover is another awesome move to have, something Gastly could only wish it had. With Recover, I can heal off damage from mispredictions and the like. The EVs might seem a little unorthodox, but they're for hitting the Eviolite numbers. This set, in my opinion, was exactly what I needed in order for this team to reach its maximum potential.

Timburr (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Guts
EVs: 156 HP / 36 Atk / 156 Def / 156 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Payback
- Toxic

Ending this team is Timburr, a Pokemon that can also tank a lot of hits while providing me with my only solid and reliable check to Scraggy, a Pokemon that was listed as suspect twice, and obviously has a lot of power in its ill-fitting pouch. I think that Bulk Up would be a better option over Toxic, simply because I saw another user use it against my Sandstorm team and beat me (mehhhh). I kept Toxic, though, since it’s quite reliable against Lileep and will cripple Slowpoke if I catch it on the switch. It should also be noted that Toxic Timburr is my brainchild – remember that. Drain Punch is its most reliable STAB, and Mach Punch gets cool priority. Though Taillow is very inclined to switch into this set, even if I use Toxic against it, Stealth Rock and Mach Punch, combined with two turns of Toxic damage, in addition to Brave Bird recoil, will KO Taillow. Cool fact! Payback is for Ghost-types, namely Gastly, that think they can switch into Drain Punch and set up. Timburr is also, unfortunately, my only check to Snover, a Pokemon that I should have prepared more for but didn’t after changing Taillow’s moveset. Everything’s a trade-off it seems.

Conclusion:

The purpose of this team was to epitomize Sandstorm and how potent it can be in the hands of a skilled player, and with three accounts in the top 10 on Smogon’s Pokemon Online server, I definitely believe that I’ve proved this team’s point quite well. Sandstorm can be very dangerous, and if your team doesn’t have Snover and Timburr on it, I’ve already marked down a victory for myself. This team doesn’t lose very easily, which is why I’ve gotten so high on the ladder.

One Last Look:

Team Desert Storm

Black is not a threat
Orange can be a threat
Red is a threat

Charmander said:

Little Cup Threat List

Offensive Threats

Chinchou — Lileep takes nothing from it; Drilbur obviously revenge kills it. If running Eviolite and only 52 Defense EVs, Facade with Taillow is an OHKO.

Clamperl — A little hard to play around. If it's Eviolite Lileep can survive an Ice Beam at +2; if it's DST then Drilbur OHKOes with Earthquake.

Darumaka — Drilbur KOes with Earthquake, Hippopotas can take a couple hits and KO with Earthquake as well.

Doduo — Drilbur revenge kills with Rock Slide and might even be able to Swords Dance on it; Hippopotas tanks Brave Birds like a champ and can stall it out. Lileep can Stockpile on its first Brave Bird, and obviously beats Return/Frustration.

Dratini — Dragon Dance is the most common variant, so Timburr fares well if it doesn't get Flinched; Hippopotas does well if it locks itself into Outrage.

Drilbur — Timburr can tank an Earthquake at +2 and KO back with Drain Punch + Mach Punch. Lileep beats it if it lacks Brick Break, and Hippopotas fares well against it.

Elekid — Drilbur beats it easily, Hippo beats it even with HP Grass or Ice (or Water for that reason)

Houndour — Timburr KOes with Mach Punch iirc; Lileep can set up in its face as LO/SS recoil racks up

Magnemite — Drilbur and Hippo, and Lileep too without Flash Cannon.

Meowth — Gastly to take the Fake Out, then back to Hippo.

Mienfoo — Knock Off is annoying, I'll give it that much. Timburr can Toxic it and Lileep is not 2HKOed by Drain Punch but I like Gastly better because of Hypnosis. Taillow also revenges it if it lacks Scarf.

Ponyta — Hippopotas can stave off Flare Blitzes and KO with Earthquake.

Porygon — WHAT IS PORYGON, ANYWAYS? Timburr beats it, and so does Lileep.

Scraggy— Timburr unfortunately is my only solid check. Drilbur beats it at +1 since it lives Hi Jump Kick (barely) but if it gets to +2 I could be in trouble. Thankfully I won't allow it; Taillow obviously beats unboosted variants.

Snover — Choice Scarf variants are incredibly tough to play around. I have to hope that Stealth Rock is up and that I can get it down to like 30% with Mach Punch, so it only gets 1 more switch-in. If I don't remove it ASAP then it's going to be a LONG match. Neither Lileep nor Gastly is OHKOed and can KO back with HP Fire / Sludge Bomb.

Stunky — People still use Stunky? Hippopotas beats it, and so does Timburr and Drilbur.

Taillow — Not a real threat, since Lileep can Stockpile in its face and Hippopotas is never 2HKOed (minus crits and GutsOrb Facade).

Timburr — The other big threat to this team. If it gets more than 1 Bulk Up in, then I'm done for. Gastly fares well against it but still loses to Payback unfortunately. At least from there I can go into Drilbur for the KO.

Vullaby — Does nothing to this team. I mean, Gastly can sleep it then Drilbur can come in and KO with Rock Slide after I get a couple of Swords Dances in. Lileep tanks Brave Birds; so does Hippo.

Wynaut — It can always take out something; I know that. It's usually Lileep so after Lileep goes down Gastly can sleep it and KO with Shadow Ball.


Defensive Threats

Bronzor — Thankfully, no one uses Bronzor. The ones that do usually get beat by Lileep, especially if they lack Toxic. The ones that do have it give Timburr a convenient Attack boost.

Cottonee — Not a threat; no one uses it. Taillow beats it easily though.

Dwebble — Gastly can take 5 Rock Blasts and 2HKO with Shadow Ball against standard Oran variants. It still wins against Eviolite variants but is only a 3HKO.

Ferroseed — Timburr and Lileep.

Frillish — Lileep if it lacks Toxic; Taillow is good with Brave Bird and Gastly can go in for the revenge.

Hippopotas — Lileep is a hard counter if it lacks Roar and Toxic.

Lileep — Timburr. Brave Bird is also a 2HKO.

Munchlax — Timburr.

Mienfoo — See offensive variant above.

Nosepass — does nothing to this team.

Porygon — See offensive variant above.

Shelmet — Gastly, Taillow, even Drilbur.

Slowpoke — Lileep if it doesn't have Toxic; if it does, Gastly sleeps it and 2HKOes with Shadow Ball.

Tentacool — Taillow and Drilbur; Gastly sleeps it.

Vullaby — see offensive variant above.

Click to expand...

I'm just seeing 2 issues here: Snover and Brave Birds. You have literally no safe switch-in for them, which means that they can OHKO something everytime they come. You could consider Scarf Magnemite, who 4x Resists flying and their typical moves, while also resisting Snover's STABs, but that's just an opinion. But awesome team coma!

Blue_Star said:

I'm just seeing 2 issues here: Snover and Brave Birds. You have literally no safe switch-in for them, which means that they can OHKO something everytime they come. You could consider Scarf Magnemite, who 4x Resists flying and their typical moves, while also resisting Snover's STABs, but that's just an opinion. But awesome team coma!

Click to expand...

Lileep could offer as a safe switch in, but Tailow w/ Life orb (Brave Bird) does 13-16 damage to lileep. If Scarfed, it only does 10-13 damage, assuming standard smogon sets. While lileep can take the damage, it does not force a switch out. But you can use recover and survive until the recoil, or orbs takes its toll. Overall, this really looks like a solid team, I just see problems with opposing Sand teams.

I just don't like how that tailow gets to take so much damage every turn due to weather. It's survivability is pretty low on this team...
Staryu could als pose a problem, if the set runs Ice Beam.
Other then that, nothing else comes to mind. I like how this team closely correlates to my Sandstorm OU team also, Me having DW Cradily, Excadrill, and Conkeldurr.

I actually suggest having Yamask on this team over gastly. namely being so that you can get rid of abilities, spead burns and take hits. Or even frilish also offers another alternative which could act as a secondary pokemon to absorb water type attacks, and as well offer reliable recovery in sand, due to recover and higher base HP. I just don't think gastly is a proper choice.

If you really want gastly, I suggest Tbolt over sludgebomb, so you can effectively hit water type pokemon such as staryu, wailmer as well as flying types such as opposing Tailow, and more notebly Vullaby.

Vullaby with overcoat can pretty much wall nearly your entire team, Knocking off your items, and roosting of damage and stalling Timburr's moves with roost.

I guess thats my own two cents on looking a your team. I personally think it's solid, but you can never make a team to beat all teams...

lmk how this team goes over PO!

Snover is really a huge issue for your team, especially Scarf Snover. It's honestly not particularly hard to keep Hippopotas from laying down SR with Taunt.... anything, and from there the Snover user is really at an advantage for the rest of the match. Timburr can come in like once, but after that you are pretty much screwed! Gastly can take a Blizzard at full health, but with prior damage from Substitute and weather and possible SR, it's really unlikely that it will be anywhere near 100% (and even then, Snover can just switch out...).

I really hate to say it, but after looking over the team several times, I keep coming to the conclusion that Taillow is the Pokemon to replace. I would say that Eviolite Pawniard or Eviolite Houndour (both with Pursuit) would be ideal replacements, as they are able to limit Snover's presence even more than SR can. You could also try some variant of Magnemite (probably Scarf like Blue Star suggested), although I don't think it will be able to tank Blizzards as well as Pawniard or Houndour. If I had to choose between Houndour and Pawniard, I would probably try Pawniard first, for the following reasons: Higher Attack, immune to SS, resists SR, and also resists Brave Bird/Frustration, allowing it to check the birds as well (although Hippo works there fine I think).

Just my 2 cents. This is a great team though, and I think that Drilbur set is really effective.

Team updated to its 1.2 version. (I don't want to talk about version 1.1)

comatthew6 said:

Subnosis Gastly – a staple since the last generation, and now that Misdreavus is gone, I can finally bring this DEINOSAUR back to life. Substitute is an absolutely clutch move to have, being able to stay up against a U-turn from Mienfoo, or a Sucker Punch from Croagunk or Houndour. Hypnosis is a bitch when it misses, but it is very relieving when it connects. It’s my go-to move after I get a Substitute up, and it is also great against slower Pokemon. Shadow Ball is an obvious STAB attack, massacring the Pokemon that don’t resist it and are not named Lileep. Sludge Bomb actually hits a lot of Pokemon for more damage than Shadow Ball, but it doesn’t get the same kind of coverage that Hidden Power Fighting does. It pains me to see an enemy Pawniard or Ferroseed come in after I put one of their teammates to sleep, but like any good battler, I have other Pokemon that do the job better.
[/HIDE]

Click to expand...

Too bad it turned out to suck :c

Looks like a really great team as shown by your success.

I wish I could offer more constructive feedback but you seem to have covered your bases really well.

Eviolite appears to be quite the dominating item in Little Cup at the moment, all of the teams I see over-use it at the moment.