Sand Combat

[ace combat]

Introduction:

While this is not the first team that I have made this is the first RMT that I have posted onsite. With this team I have risen to the top 25 on smogon and I am continuing to rise. The goal of this team is to spread paralysis and then proceed to sweep with Gliscor or Landorus. While this may seem like the standard sand team it uses the unorthodox Sand Veil Gliscor as a primary sweeper. The main problem that is preventing me from laddering up faster with this team is failure to abuse paralysis hax with substitute. Enjoy

The Team:

Tyranitar (M) @ Chople Berry
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 176 SAtk / 80 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Pursuit
- Fire Blast
- Rock Slide

Tyranitar gives the team the most important thing: Sand Storm support. I use him to take all of the crap that his other teammates wouldn’t like to take such as a Breloom’s spore or toxic poison. He is also the secondary special wall for this team and is able to prevent Pokémon like Latios and Latias from firing powerful Draco Meteors on Jirachi and then switching out. I run Fire Blast over Superpower as my team really doesn’t have trouble taking out of the Tyranitars as everyone of his teammates can beat opposing Tyranitars except for Skarmory who can wall most physical variants anyway.



Landorus (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

Landorus is all about POWER. HE is the wall breaker of this team and can easily 2HKO even the most defensive of Pokémon such as Skarmony with a Swords Dance along with Sand Storm support. Whenever I bring him in I tend to Substitute to scout the switch in. Depending what the switch in is I can proceed to either Swords Dance to sweep or attack and then switch to the appropriate Pokémon. Substitute is also important so that he can avoid status from the opponent. He really appreciates paralysis support from either Rotom-W or Jirachi as he is otherwise unable to execute a clean sweep.



Skarmory (F) @ Shed Shell
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
IVs: 20 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Spikes
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Brave Bird

Skarmory is the physical wall of the team. He is able to go toe to toe with some of the most powerful physical attackers and proceed to set up Spikes which both Gliscor and Landorus love. He is also one of the very few Pokémon capable of handling the uncommon sweeper Gliscor. He also provides the team with phasing support in order to handle Pokémon like Quagsire should it get a couple of stockpiles under its belt. I use Brave Bird over Taunt as I feel it is important to not just be able to phase threats, but rather be able to KO them in return. The reason why I have only 20 Speed IVs is because then I can switch into a CB Scizor’s Superpower and proceed to roost instead of being knocked out as I found that was really annoying for my team, and Wobbuffet is really rare anyways. I use Shed Shell on him as I do not want Magnezone to be able to trap both Skarmory and Jirachi.



Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 108 HP / 252 SAtk / 148 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Thunder Wave
- Pain Split

Rotom-W is a blessing to this team as it gives it the all important water type resistances while having the electric typing to zap opposing water types. It is also the team member that is anti-rain as its electric typing enables it to OHKO opposing water types. In fact he is the only team member that is able to switch into a Choice Specs Politoed Hydro Pump and then proceed to either retaliate with thunderbolt, paralyze the switch in, or heal himself with Pain Split so that he can take yet another Hydro Pump, with the third option being the most common choice. He also gives paralysis support to further help Gliscor and Landorus. The reason why I don’t run Will-O-Wisp is because this team isn’t really weak to Swords Dance Scizor and I really don’t have a preference of burn or paralysis on Ferrothorn. You really don’t want him to take much damage as he is the only member that can handle some threats such as Infernape, so it another Pokémon can handle a that he can take out I usually switch to them.



Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 212 SDef / 44 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Iron Head
- Body Slam
- Wish
- Protect

Jirachi is the primary special wall for this team. He is also the main Pokémon that spreads paralysis. Along with Rotom-W, the only thing that the two of them can’t paralyze is Poison Heal Gliscor. He is also able to pass massive 202 Hp wishes to the rest of the team. He is the only Pokémon on this team that can handle prominent special threats such as Thundurus. Together with Tyranitar they are able to cover most special attackers. He also has amazing synergy with Gliscor and Landorus as they are able to switch into ground attacks aimed at him along with electric attacks and proceed to set up. He is also able to switch into the ice type attacks that are aimed at them. He is also the only Pokémon on this team that is capable of beating Pokémon like offensive Deoxys-S. He is also able to beat most trick room team by stalling them out with Wish and Protect.[/FONT]




Gliscor (F) @ Flight Gem
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
- Acrobatics

Gliscor is the primary sweeper of this team and just loves the paralysis support that Jirachi and Rotom-W give him. With Flight Gem and Acrobatics he is able to OHKO some of the bulkiest opponents even if they resist the combination if he has a Swords Dance under his belt. Flight Gem is really key as it gives him the power to beat some of his would be counters. He just loves to lure in and set up on Pokémon such as Rotom-W as Rotom-W only has a 64% chance to hit him when using Hydro Pump meaning that Gliscor can substitute until Rotom-W misses and Gliscor can retaliate with a +2 Acrobatics for the OHKO. The best way to use him is to paralyze a Pokémon and with either Jirachi or Rotom-W and proceed to substitute for a miss and then Swords Dance. If he does not get a miss by the time he is at 50% of his health, switch back to Jirachi to wish him back to full heath. In other words, don’t get greedy with him.

Threat List:

Offensive:

Abamasnow: This thing isn’t commonly seen but my first switch in is Jirachi. The only annoying things that they can do to him are either Earthquake or Leech Seed. Fortunately Iron Head takes him out quickly along with Stealth Rock.

Arcanine: This is really just an inferior version of Darmanitan. I usually just switch to Rotom-W to take him out. Also Landorus outspeeds him and OHKOs him with Earthquake.

Azumarill: I rarely see Azumarill at all. I usually just take him out with Rotom-W or if he uses Aqua Jet I can set up Spikes with Skarmory.

Bisharp: Bisharp can’t really do much at all to this team. If I see him I usually just switch to Skarmory to set up Spikes and after he has gotten boosts I Whirlwind him away. Both Gliscor and Landorus can also take him out with ease.

Breloom: If he comes in on Rotom-W I usually just switch to Tyranitar to take the Spore. Then I switch back to Skarmory to wear him down with Brave Bird. If he comes in on Gliscor he is great set up bait as I can Substitute and then set up Swords Dance and hit him with a 4x super effective Acrobatics.

Celebi: Celebi is a major threat to this team if it has the Nasty Plot set. It can easily switch in on Rotom-W or Landorus and proceed to set up. You also tend to only see him much if you are high on the ladder. The best way to handle him is with Jirachi. If he has Earth Power I can then paralyze him with Jirachi and then switch to Gliscor to set up.

Chandelure: This is really a UU threat. He really doesn’t have the stuff for OU. That said I can beat him by switching to Tyranitar and the trapping him with Pursuit. I can also OHKO him with Gliscor and Landorus as he is too slow to really do anything.

Cloyster: He has a really hard time setting up against this team. Tyranitar can OHKO him with Fire Blast. Rotom-W can fry him with thunderbolt. Skarmory can whirlwind him away. Jirachi is probably the best switch in if he comes in on Gliscor. Jirachi can beat him with paralysis and Iron Head flinches. If you ask me there is a good reason his usage is falling.

Conkeldurr: Skarmory handles him well as he can just easily whirlwind him away. I can also switch to Landorus as he acts like a less defensive, more offensive Poison Heal Gliscor. Gliscor can also easily OHKO him with a Flying Gem boosted Acrobatics.

Darminatan: Under the sun this thing hits like a truck. I can choose either Rotom-W or Tyranitar, whoever I need less. Rotom is probably better as he is less useful against sun teams. If he is Life Orb I can revenge him with Landorus.

Deoxys-S: My first switch in is Jirachi as he is the only one who can handle Deoxys-S. If he is paired with Magnezone I then switch directly to Landorus and set up substitute.

Dragonite: My first switch in to Dragonite is usually Skarmory to scout its moveset. Thankfully he is weak to Stealth Rock so I can whirlwind it away. He also doesn’t like to take a Thunder Wave or Body Slam as without Lum Berry as that really puts a halt to its sweep. Landorus also outspeeds and OHKO’s with Stone Edge after Stealth Rock damage. Tyranitar can use Ice Beam.

Dugtrio: Dugtrio is usually seen on sun teams to trap Tyranitar. I usually switch in Skarmory to set up Spikes against it or Landorus to outright OHKO it. I try to avoid switching in Jirachi and Tyranitar at any cost. Thankfully this team has a ridiculous four levitators on it.

Espeon: Jirachi handles Espeon very well as it can easily paralyze it with Body Slam. All it really tends to do is set up Light Screen and Reflect. All it does for me is wall Skarmory and prevents Tyranitar from setting up Stealth Rocks, otherwise it can’t do much. Occasionally you will see it on a baton pass team but then it is usually better to break that team up with Landorus.

Excadrill: Both Skarmory and Rotom-W handle this threat very well. Skarmory can Whirlwind it away while Rotom can hit it with a super effective Hydro Pump. Landorus and Gliscor handle it well if its Air Balloon is popped.

Gengar: Jirachi is the best switch in because it doesn’t take much damage from its attacks. If it is a Sub Disable variant I can protect on the Disable. Rotom-W can also take it out in an emergency.

Gliscor: Rotom-W is the best switch in to Gliscor as it can easily OHKO it with a Hydro Pump. Against the rare Sand Veil sweeper variants Skarmory is the best switch in to phase it away.

Gorybyss: You hardly ever see a set of these that is not Shell Smash and Baton Pass. My first switch in is usually Jirachi to paralyze him and hope for Iron Head hax. My other option is to switch in Rotom-W to fry him with a thunderbolt.

Gyarados: Gyarados is fairly easy to handle with Thunderbolt from Rotom-W or a Body Slam from Jirachi. Landorus can also OHKO him with a boosted Stone Edge even after factoring in Intimidate. Against variants without Taunt Skarmory can also Whirlwind him away. At +2 a Gliscor Acrobatics also OHKO’s Gyarados.

Haxsorus: Haxsorus is easily handled by Skarmory no matter what the variant is. It is easy to set up Spikes on him as he cannot do much in return. He also has a terrible speed tier so Landorus can beat every variant besides Choice Scarf.

Heatran: All offensive Heatran is handled by Tyranitar as Tyranitar can Pursuit it to pop its Air Balloon and then set up Stealth Rocks. If it has Earth Power I can then switch to Landorus to finish it off with an Earthquake. The defensive variants are handled well by Rotom-W and both Landorus and Gliscor can OHKO it with a powerful Earthquake.

Hydreigon: Jirachi is you best answer for Hydreigon as it resists Draco Meteor and most variants that you see are either Choice Scarf or Choice Specs. Fire Blast can do decent Damage to it but it will not OHKO. Tyranitar also does a decent job checking it. The best thing to do is to force it to use Draco Meteor.

Infernape: Infernape can really dent this team if Rotom-W is gone. He is OHKOed by a Hydro Pump fortunately. If they run the rare non speed boosting nature Landorus can OHKO it with Earthquake.

Jirachi: The most common variant of Jirachi you will see is the Specially Defensive variant. For those I switch to Skarmory to absorb the paralysis as he really doesn’t mind it much. Once I get Landorus in I can OHKO it with an Earthquake.

Kingdra: You only see Kingdra on the rare Rain Dance team as with the Drizzle plus Swift Swim Clause it became really rare. I can wall physical variants with Skarmory and I handle the special variants with Jirachi. Rotom-W also fares well against it as it only fears a Draco Meteor.

Kyurem: Despite Kyurem’s incredible stats what holds it back is it’s move pool and typing. It is Stealth Rock weak limiting its longevity despite its HP stat. It is also usually only seen on a hail teams. Jirachi is probably the best check to it alive as it resists both stabs and is only hit super effectively by Hidden Power Fire which won’t even 2HKO him, and he can either paralyze him or badly hurt him with a Iron Head.

Landorus: Landorus is best handled by either Rotom-W or Skarmory with the second being the primary switch in. Rotom-W can outright OHKO it while Skarmory can phase it away with a Whirlwind.

Latias: Latias is just a less offensive variant of Latios. The most common set you will see is a Substitute Calm Mind set. Jirachi can break the Substitutes with Iron Head and proceed to paralyze him with Body Slam. It is just important to predict the Substitutes as Body Slam will not break his Substitutes. I can also paralyze him with an unexpected Thunder Wave from Rotom-W.

Latios: The most common variant of Latios is the Choice Specs set where my first switch in is Jirachi as he cannot 2HKO him with anything. If he uses trick he also looses most of his fire power and it is still easy to take him out with Tyranitar. I can also paralyze him with an unexpected Thunder Wave from Rotom-W.

Magnezone: The only thing that Magnezone threatens on this team is to trap and kill Jirachi. What I usually do is lure him out with Skarmory and then once Magnezone switches in I switch to Landorus to absorb the thunderbolt and Substitute to OHKO the next switch in. Then I switch in Skarmory in again and then switch back to Landorus to absorb the second thunderbolt. I then Substitute again but this time they usually stay in because they have learned their lesson. Then I can proceed to OHKO with Earthquake so that I can safely bring in Jirachi.

Mamoswine: Most Mamoswines this generation are a Leftovers with Stealth Rock, Earthquake and Ice Shard. My first switch in is usually Skarmory as he can lay down Spikes on those variants very easily. Otherwise I switch to Rotom-W for the outright OHKO with Hydro Pump.

Metagross: Metagross has become uncommon in BW OU. Rotom-W is the best way to handle him as he 4x resists his Meteor Mash. Gliscor and Landorus also trample him with their powerful Super Effective Earthquakes.

Mew: You hardly ever see Mew this generation. The most common set is the Taunt with Will-O-Wisp and Recover. I usually beat him with a +2 Earthquake from Landorus by Substituting in on the Will-O-Wisp and Swords Dancing and OHKOing with Earthquake. I can also use Jirachi on the offensive variants but Jirachi hates paralyzing itself with Synchronize. Rotom-W also deals heavy damage to it with Hydro Pump and Thunderbolt.

Mienshao: Mienshao has the ability to deal heavy damage to this team if it comes in on Tyranitar or Rotom-W. I usually switch in Skarmory or Landorus. If it is Skarmory I Roost off the damage, and if it is Landorus I then switch to Jirachi to take the Hidden Power Ice. From there Jirachi can Protect and Wish against the High Jump Kicks with Mienshao taking heavy damage whenever it misses a High Jump Kick.

Nindoking: Nindoking is a rare Pokémon because of its bad speed tier. I usually send in Jirachi or Tyranitar to scout its set. If it is Life Orb I force it to use Earth Power by switching to Tyranitar so that I can send in Landorus to OHKO it. Rotom-W also beats it pretty handily. Jirachi can paralyze it and Tyranitar can use Ice Beam.

Ninetails: Whenever I see this thing I usually put Landorus first in my team. Landorus can Substitute first against the Will-O-Wisp and then wipe it out with Earthquake. Tyranitar can also come in on this thing and set up Stealth Rocks to limit its life as it is Stealth Rocks weak.

Politoed: Politoed is handled by Rotom-W no matter what variant it is. Rotom-W can OHKO it with a Thunderbolt, cripple it with Thunder Wave, or heal itself with Pain Split. It is vital to keep Rotom-W alive to handle this threat.

Reuniclus: All variants of him are handled well by Jirachi. Against Trick Room variants Jirachi can stall it out with Wish and Protect and against Calm Mind Variants I can paralyze it with Body Slam and then it is great set up bait for Gliscor.

Rotom-W: Rotom-W is a threat depending on what set it has. Against Choice sets I can paralyze it with Jirachi or Rotom-W. If it is the standard set I force it to use Thunderbolt and then I switch to Gliscor as I can set up on it as its Hydro Pump becomes 64% accurate and I have a good chance of sweeping after I eliminate it. If it is paralyzed it is the ultimate set up bait for Gliscor.

Salamence: Salamence just doesn’t have what it takes to cover every threat that it needs to in today’s current metagame. He doesn’t like anything on this team. Tyranitar OHKO’s with Ice Beam, Rotom and Jirachi paralyze it, Skarmory phases it, Landorus outspeeds and OHKO’s and Gliscor can OHKO if it is at +2 (I don’t see why it wouldn’t be if Salamence switches in).

Sawsbuck: Sawsbuck is another threat that you will only see on sun teams. Thankfully Skarmory can easily defeat it my phasing it, setting up Spikes or badly hurting it with a Brave Bird.

Scizor: Scizor is a common threat in the BW metagame that is most commonly running a Choice Band set. Skarmory is the best way to handle it cannot dent the metal bird. Jirachi also can take a Choice Band U-Turn with it receiving only about 54% damage and in turn paralyze it.

Scrafty: Scrafty is another powerful fighting type introduced in the BW metagame. The most common set that you will see is the Dragon Dance. It doesn’t really matter though as all sets are easily handled by Skarmory as he can phase it or retaliate with Brave Bird.

Sharpedo: Sharpedo tends to be a late game cleaner on some rain teams. For the mixed variants Jirachi handles them very well, while for the physical variants Skarmory handles them very well. If one comes in on my Landorus I Substitute while he Protects giving me the advantage. Fortunately he is very frail.

Starmie: The first thing that I switch to is Jirachi was he can easily beat any set. The only way that Starmie is threatening is in the rain firing off rain boosted Hydro Pumps. Rotom-W can also handle it in an emergency with a Thunderbolt.

Terrakion: Terrakion is hindered by its inability to set up easily. Rotom-W can paralyze it, and then fire off a Hydro Pump. Jirachi can paralyze it and finish it off with Iron Head. Landorus can fire off a powerful Earthquake for the OHKO. If it comes in on Tyranitar I have to switch in to Skarmory to phase it away. Gliscor can also finish it off with an Earthquake and has only a ^4% chance to be hit with Stone Edge.

Thundurus: Thundurus is a huge threat to this team. It is important to have control of the weather so that it cannot fire off over powered Thunders. Jirachi is my first switch in as it cannot OHKO it even after a Nasty Plot. I can then proceed to paralyze it with Body Slam. Once it is paralyzed, if it is Sand Storm, as crazy as it sounds, I can then switch to Gliscor for no damage. I can then Substitute for the miss and proceed to set up on it.

Tornadus: Jirachi is probably the best check to Tornadus in the metagame. It takes little damage from a Hurricane, and cannot 2HKO it with anything else. I can also use Rotom-W in an emergency to check it as a STABed Thunderbolt will usually OHKO it. If it is a rare Bulk Up Acrobatics variant I can beat it with Skarmory as it cannot do anything in return as Skarmory sets up Spikes.

Toxicroak: The only Pokémon that Toxicroak threatens on this team is Tyranitar, and then it loses its all so important Drizzle support. Skarmory is probably the best counter as it can take anything that he throws at it and proceeds to set up Spikes of OKHO it with a Brave Bird.

Tyranitar: The only real reason that people use Tyranitar is for Sand Stream support. The only Pokémon that can’t take out Tyranitar is Tyranitar. That being said my first switch in is Jirachi as he cannot do anything to really threaten him besides use the rare Earthquake which you will only see on Dragon Dance variants which Skarmory handles well along with Rotom-W as Skarmany can phase it while Rotom-W can paralyze it and fire off a Hydro Pump.

Venusaur: Venusaur is a threat that you will only see on sun teams. Therefore having control of the weather will greatly weaken it as a Growth only gives it +1 in each attacking stats. Then I tend to switch to Jirachi to paralyze it. Out of the sun Landorus can revenge kill it. You only need to watch out for Sleep Powder.

Virizion: Virizion mainly comes in three variants, Calm Mind, Swords Dance and a rare Light Screen and Reflect. My first switch in is Skarmory in care if it is a Swords Dance variant. If it is not I then switch to Jirachi as he can handle the Calm Mind Variant much more easily than Skarmory can handle the Swords Dance variant. For the screen support variant Jirachi also handles it well.

Volcarona: This is a dangerous threat as with one turn of set it can easily sweep my entire team. Thankfully it has a 4x weakness to Stealth Rocks the Limit its life span. Both of my sweepers can also easily OHKO Volcarona with the appropriate move. As long as I keep the offensive momentum up Volcarona is very easy to handle.

Whimsicott: Whimscott is rarely seen now mostly because people have realized it is so easy to handle. The only thing it can do is come in on Rotom-W and Leech Seed. As long as I have Landorus and Gliscor under a Substitute he can’t stop my sweepers at all.

Zoroark: Zoroark is more of a novelty item than anything. In theory he is cool and all but in practice he sucks. His ability may seem cool at first but he is really easy to handle as it is easy to predict whether it is Zoroark or not. In the rare event that you predict wrong he could possibly threaten to OHKO an important team mate. I usually take him out with Jirachi.

Defensive:

Blissey: The only thing that Blissey dare comes in on is Rotom-W. I usually switch to Skarmory to scout the status. If it is Toxic I switch to Jirachi and if it is Thunder Wave I switch to Landorus. He isn’t too hard to handle as most of my Pokémon are physical.

Bronzong: Either Jirachi or Rotom-W can handle this threat with the latter being the better choice. He cannot 2hko Jirachi at all while Jirachi can paralyze him and Rotom-W can paralyze him or fire off a Hydro Pump. Tyranitar also has Fire Blast to beat him down with.

Chansey: Chansey is just a more physically defensive variant of Blissey that dies more easily to residual damage and doesn’t last long with the combination of Spikes, Stealth Rock and Sand Storm. I can use it for set up bait with Landorus or Gliscor or take it out with Jirachi.

Deoxys-D: I really don’t know why you would use this thing if there is Mew. He doesn’t like paralysis and is easily taken out by Jirachi. I can also use him as set up bait for Gliscor or Landorus.

Ferrothorn: I really don’t know why they theorymoned a Choice Band variant because no one ever uses it. The only set that you will see is a support set. Tyranitar can take him out with Fire Blast, and Jirachi or Rotom-W can paralyze him so that he is great set up bait for Gliscor.

Forretress: I really treat this the same as Ferrothorn as this team really doesn’t fear Toxic Spikes except for the fact that Rotom-W can beat him and he is easier to set up on. The only annoying thing that he can do is use Rapid Spin.

Hippowdon: This physical wall really can’t wall much on this team as Landorus can 2HKO him at +2 and Gliscor can 2HKO him at +4. He is also weak to Tyranitar’s Ice Beam along with Rotom-W’s Hydro Pump that can OHKO.

Jellicent: I have no idea why this thing is so popular. He really isn’t that physically defensive as a +2 Landorus easily OHKO’s him no matter what weather. Rotom-W is my first switch is as he can easily OHKO and he cannot do anything in return except the rare Toxic.

Porygon2: The only reason I think that anybody should use it is on a sun team because those teams usually are really lacking in a defensive core. I can paralyze it with Body Slam from Jirachi and flinch it to death, or I can use it as set up bait for Gliscor.

Quagsire: Quagsire is a real nuisance to this as it puts both Landorus’s and Gliscor’s sweep to a complete halt. The best set they can run is Stockpile with Scald and Earthquake. The only reason the moderators won’t QC this set is probably because they are just as annoyed with it as I am. If they are a specially defensive variant Landorus is able to 2HKO them with Sand Storm support. If it is raining Rotom-W able to 2HKO it with Hydro Pump. If they get too many Stockpiles Skarmory can Whirlwind it out. It is all a matter of stalling it out though. With Spikes support it makes Landorus’s time much easier.

Skarmory: The best switch in to Skarmory is Rotom-W as he can OHKO it no matter what. Landorus is also capable of 2HKOing Skarmory so it will fall as long as you keep the offensive momentum up. If I paralyze him he is a lot less reliable.

Tentacruel: The only thing that Tentacruel can do against this team is Rapid Spin. My primary switch in is Rotom-W as he can easily 2HKO Tentacruel. Both Landorus and Gliscor are easily able to OHKO Tentacruel with their powerful Earthquakes.

Vaporeon: Vaporeon is just another bulky water that Rotom-W can 2HKO with ease. The only status that you need to watch out for is Toxic poison. Otherwise at +2 Landorus can easily 2HKO him.

Wobbuffet: Wobbuffet really can’t do much to this team as each team members is fully capable of stalling it out. It usually comes in on one of my sweepers so I Substitute before I do anything, like I always do anyway.

Xatu: Xatu really can’t do anything to this team other than prevent Stealth Rocks and Spikes from going up. My best switch in is Rotom-W to zap the tiny little bird. Jirachi can also paralyze it and flinch it to death. After paralysis it is great set up bait for Gliscor.

Conclusion:

Thank you for staying with me for this far and I am open to suggestions if you feel that they can improve this team. As I have said this team has not reached its peak yet and I am continuing to ladder up with this team. I might change it a bit if I find it necessary. I hope you enjoyed it.

Export to Text:

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Tyranitar (M) @ Chople Berry
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 176 SAtk / 80 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Pursuit
- Fire Blast
- Rock Slide


Landorus (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

Skarmory (F) @ Shed Shell
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Spikes
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Brave Bird


Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 108 HP / 252 SAtk / 148 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Thunder Wave
- Pain Split


Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 212 SDef / 44 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Iron Head
- Body Slam
- Wish
- Protect


Gliscor (F) @ Flight Gem
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
- Acrobatics

I bet this is the longest first post anybody has ever made.

[alpha1094]

I'm liking the team. One thing I'd suggest is getting a Poison Heal Gliscor instead of one with Sand Veil. Since you want to use Substitute, having Poison Heal means that you can regain HP to recreate broken subs. However, that would mean Acrobatics would be rendered useless, so go with whichever you see fit. Both can work well.

Also the font formatting you tried isn't working.

[ace combat]

I have Jirachi to heal Gliscor and without Sand Veil it is harder to get a substitute up. The Sand Veil Gliscor is also a Rotom-W lure which means once Rotom-W is elimanated Landorus has a much easier time sweeping. Also I have fixed the font formatting.

[KyogreBlue]

As far as I can see, this team is pretty solid. I wouldn't have two pokemons 4x weak to ice though. Gliscor and landorous does basically the same thing on your team, so take one of them out. I would suggest a choice scarf heatran to replace one of them. You have two pokemons weak to fire that can draw fire attacks for Heatran. Plus you don't have a revenge killer.

[ShakeItUp]

Hey there. Cool team.

First off, a Lum Berry Thundurus can basically destroy your entire team. Volcarona is also a major problem for you. To fix both of these issues, replace Landorus, who is the most replaceable member of your team, with a Specially Defensive Quagsire.

Quagsire @ Leftovers
Trait: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature
- Toxic
- Recover
- Earthquake
- Scald

Toxic can poison common switch-ins such as Rotom-W, while Scald and Earthquake serve as your STAB moves. Quagsire is the best counter for Thundurus, LO versions only being able to 3HKO Quagsire with Focus Blast. Quagsire also forms a very good core with Jirachi.

Run Will-O-Wisp over Thunder Wave on Rotom-W, as the burn support canreally help, especially since Gliscor is more of a sweeper than a wall. Quagsire +Jirachi can take care of the special attackers that you would normally paralyze regardless. This will also stop Rotom-W from being complete setup fodder against Ferrothorn. Also, run Volt Switch over Thunderbolt, as the switch advantage you gain is extremely helpful. The power drop isnt too noticeable anyway.

Overall, solid team. Good luck.

[AB2]

Thundurus is a pretty huge problem to this team as well as drizzle in general. After a nasty plot, pretty much everything on this team is easily one shotted bar Jirachi who takes serious damage and most nasty plot Thundurus carry lum berry anyways so it won't have trouble getting past it. An easy fix to this would be to run rapid spin Excadrill over Landorus. Although Landorus is a great wall breaker in a sandstorm, Excadrill provides you with much more utility such as being able to rapid spin spikes away which can be a huge problem to this team as Skarmory and Ferrothorn get quite a few opportunities to set up hazards. Also, it will be able to work as a great revenge killer to threats such as Terrakion, Volcarona, and Thundurus which is extremely helpful to this team. Excadrill should run swords dance / earthquake / rock slide / rapid spin, adamant, air balloon, and maximum attack and speed to be effective.

As for the drizzle weakness itself, I'd try running an extra water resist so that you at least have something to sponge hits from common drizzle team members such as Politoed. This is why Latios would work pretty well over Skarmory. Although Skarmory gives you good spikes support, Latios gives you a second water resist which is essential when going up against drizzle teams, more defensive versions in particular. Latios also gives you another good fighting resist so that you can check threats such as Conkeldurr and Infernape much more easily. Latios is also a pretty nice wall breaker which can help this team quite a lot especially since it helps you check drizzle teams with Rotom-W. Latios would be very effective running a set of draco meteor / surf / hidden power [fire] / recover, timid nature, life orb, and maximum special attack and speed.

As for some smaller changes, I would run a bulkier Tyranitar spread. At the moment, your set is 2HKOed by surf from specs Latios which obviously isn't very optimal at all. Also, a chople berry would work excellently on Tyranitar so that you could check threats such as Reuniclus, Gengar, and Thundurus to an extent. As for the ev spread, I would simply run a spread of 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpDef with a moveset of stealth rock / crunch / rock slide / pursuit which allows you to trap and ko Latios a bit more easily. With the loss of Skarmory you have trouble taking on substitute + 3 attacks Landorus. I'd simply bulk up Rotom-W's spread in order to sponge hits much better. Also, volt switch is a great option over thunderbolt so that you can lure in 'mons such as Celebi and Latios in order to easily trap them with Tyranitar. 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe with a bold nature and will-o-wisp over thunder wave as MasterofOz stated which would work really great on Rotom-W in order to take hits from Landorus very easily.

This is a nice team that you have here. Good Luck.

[ace combat]

I need Landorus as he is my wall breaker on this team and specially defensive quagsire won't really help my team at all. I also don't really need to bulk up Rotom-W any becuase I have Skarmory to take the hardest of physical hits. While I originally had Will-O-Wisp on Rotom-W I found the more paralysis support is better than the burn support. Also the only reason that I would have Tyranitar take on Latios is really if Latios just KOed Jirachi. I really havent found a need for a revenge killer much because of all the bulky mons that I have on this team. I also really like the Spikes support that Skarmony gives and rain isn't giving me too much trouble. The only thing that I am considering is running Toxic on Tyranitar to handle Quagsire better.

Edit: Tyranitar also takes most of the fire attacks for me along with Rotom-W

[jle1076]

You do realize a scarfed modest chandelure can ohko landorus and if they predict correctly, 2hko your ttar.

[ShakeItUp]

acecombat, you need to change Landorus, otherwise Thundurus will basically 6-0 you. It can just switch in on something like Skarmory and set up a free Nasty Plot . Then if you bring out Jirachi, they get another Nasty Plot while you Body Slam them; Lum Berry activates, and then they have a +4 Thundurus that can OHKO everything on your team and outspeed all of them...
Same goes for Volcarona, who gets a free setup on Tyranitar and proceeds to ohko your entire team. You have no spin blocker, and literally every team with Volcarona has a rapid spinner.

[ace combat]

If Chandular 2HKO my Tyranitar with Hidden Power Fighting then I can revenge them with my Landorus. If they OHKO my Landorus I can revenge it with my Tyranitar. I really havent ever had a Thundurus sweep me. You just have to play smart around them. As for Volcanera he is usually on sun teams. all I need to do is keep the momentum up with Landorus so that he cant sweep my team. I also haven't had any real problems with him.

Edit: If you are wondering why I have Landorus and Gliscor on the same team it is because they are exposed to have the same counters. That way they help eachother elimante them for eachother. It is similar to 4th Generation Ubers where you run Salamence and Raquaza on the same team.

[ace combat]

I don't mean to bump this but I would also like to add the final note that it is very important to command the opponents team with Landorus as he really has the power to force many switches.

[ace combat]

I have been testing out a offensive Poisen Heal Gliscor that uses Facade over acrobatics, but I have found it largly inferior to the sand veil Gliscor because of the loss of power. It also doesn't have the pure hax of Sand Veil.

[Rishidafishi]

Ice Fang>Acrobatics Otherwise your gliscor is completely walled by skarmory

[Aeromence]

you could always use scarf landorus

[Rofellos]

I quite like this team and I agree with playing smart over replacing members.also thank god someone hasn't forgotten sand veil gliscor. But maybe scarf landorus with hp ice might not be such a huge change.

[ace combat]

I don't really want to use Scarf Landorus as then I would not have a wall breaker and then my team truely would be walled by Skarmory, as Skarmory is a common switch in to Landorus.

[BKC]

Rock Slide > Ice Beam on Tyranitar, with a Chople Berry as the held item. Now you can deal with two of your biggest problems, Volcarona and Thundurus. Volc's +1 Bug Buzz doesn't KO your current set but it also completely walls you; with Rock Slide, you can actually kill it. Chople cuts the power of Thundurus's Focus Blast so Lum Berry sets that break past Jirachi won't 6-0 you. Rock Slide is also the better choice in this situation because Ice Beam doesn't always KO, even after Stealth Rock damage.

You'll definitely need another water resist if you want to stop Drizzle teams. Why not use Ferrothorn over Skarmory? You've got Rotom-W and Gliscor as great physical walls, so Skarm's defense presence won't be missed. Ferro keeps Spikes but adds a water resist and takes some pressure off Jirachi to take special hits. Leech Seed is also solid psuedo-recovery for the rest of your team. If you make this change, definitely go with what AB2 suggested and make Rotom alot more defensive so you can take on HP Ice Landorus. Also, seconding the Volt Switch suggestion; it abuses spikes and makes trapping certain threats alot easier for Tyranitar.

Good luck with the team.

[ace combat]

BKC I think that you additions have a lot of merit. Ihave always thought of running something over ice beam on tyranitar such as Toxic to help me beat pokemon like Quagsire. I do think that Rock Slide could be very useful but in order to be certain I would have to run more testing. The only thing is that I have never had really a problem with rain teams. As long as I have Landorus to hit hard and Rotom-W to counter most pokemon over drizzle I do fine. I guess that my playstyle tends to be Anti-Drizzle as in order to keep drizzle in check you need to command your powerhouse Landorus for this team to be really effective. Thanks for your additions.

[ace combat]

This team has been having trouble with theams that utilize rotom volt changing and scizor u-turing teams. They really dont tend to be bad as long as they dont use Landorus.

[ace combat]

Hax has been hitting me prettey bad recently I I now changed tyranitar to chople berry with rock slide because I am getting really bad luck with thundurus like never missing with thunder in the sand and criticaling Jirachi

[ace combat]

I have now done a massive Update of my team. Now have spirits for threatlist and raised Rotom-W's speed to 245 as I have recently been finding his current set to be a little slower then other Rotom-Ws.

[ace combat]

Ok I am going to bump this. I have had twice the views but still no more comments. I would really like your thoughts if you have any on this team!

[Rewer]

Hi acecombat

This is a quite solid sand team. An issue I see when looking at your team is: except for Rotom-W, you dont have another switch for water-type, making difficult to play around rain-based teams. For example, a Starmie can fire off Hydro Pumps or Thunders wearing down Rotom because he's your only switch for rain attacks. The same goes to specs toad. First, you need to make your Rotom to take hits from rain better. Don't try to make him offensive, he should be one of your defensive part. That being said, I suggest change your Rotom EVs spread to EVs: 252 HP / 96 Def / 160 SDef and Calm Nature. This allows him to take hits from rain alot better. I also suggest giving it a Volt Switch over Thunderbolt, luring in Latios and then ttar traps and kill it. Just predict it right, volt switch the latios and send in ttar. It also helps against Celebi, for example.

As long you like the idea of Landorus + Gliscor paired up toghether sucessfully breaking walls, you may consider something: This is Pokémon Black/White. It's impossible to not have a pretty big weakness to something. Between these two there's excadrill, thanks to his ability, he's able to revenge kill the majority of the OU and it's able to pull out a sweep. I'd just replace Gliscor for Excadrill for the need of a revenge killer for Thundurus, Volcarona, Celebi, and alot of that stuff. If you really like Gliscor, you could replace Landorus as well and keep Gliscor. Here's the set:

...

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Excadrill @ Air Baloon
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -Sp.Atk)
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- X-Scissor / Rapid Spin
- Swords Dance

The thing between spinning and revenge killing Celebi is optional. However, X-Scissor helps your team better, since it helps exca in taking out zong, wich is pretty troublesome for your Landorus. It also revenge kills Celebi wich can be a strong threat against your team.

Now as said before you lack a secondary water resist for your team, wich we can see with the drizzle problem. Your team is also weak to Virizion and also Rotom-W wich your best switch to it is your on and it's not a real counter at all... well, Jirachi seems a bit redundant with skarmory on the team. That being said, I suggest you run Latios over Jirachi. It takes out Rotom-W, Virizion, Conkeldurr and more who can cause problems with your team. I'd also use a specs variant, to break through walls better and also losing 16% everytime he attacks is not cool. I'd rather be a hit'n'run pokémon than die fast. Heres the Latios set:

...

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Latios @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock / Surf
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Trick

Latios can be a potent wall breaker along with Landorus. It 'attracts' Bronzong and fires off a hidden power fire in his face, and opens up space for Landorus. It also works as a secondary water resist, so you don't overwork Rotom-W against drizzle teams. It also does very well against sun teams except if they have heatran, but switching on latios means the baloon will poop and then 3/6 of the team can kill it. Psyshock allows to hit special walls like Blissey and Gastrodon for better damage and Surf allows to hit Heatran. The other stuff like Gliscor gets slammed by Draco Meteor anyways.

As a minor change, I suggest you change Tyranitar EV Spread to 252 HP / 64 SAtk / 196 SDef. Gives you more bulky on the special defense side. Also you should add Crunch over Pursuit. With Crunch, it beats Reuniclus, who can cause trouble for this team. And with that low Atk you're not even scratching something using pursuit if they stay win. They're likely to stay in fearing pursuit so crunch might be better.

Good Luck!

[OMGTFBBQQ]

What are you expecting out of this? You place your RMT up to get rated and make it better, yet you disregard valid comments from some great rates all because you are too naive as to how your team struggles with some threats. There is no doubt in my mind that your team is extremely Thundurus weak. Heck a simple and might I add staple core of Politoed, Ferrothorn and Thundurus will make your life hell. Ferrothorn can switch in on half your team set up a layer of Spikes and switch. Politoed's constant Rain while not affecting you too much, is not idyllic, and I doubt you would switch Landorus into a Scald, Ice Beam , Hydro Pump + theres a chance it could be physically defensive/scarfed etc. Thundurus finds plenty of opportunities to switch into Skarmory aswell, meaning he can either just hit you really hard or set up a +2. Support would usually help them handle the rest of your team, although I will admit Landorus may be a bit hard to get on top of. However once Spikes are up Your team will evidently fight a gruesome battle to get Sand up. Rain no doubt will have the type advantage, meaning you will be forced to switch alot. Enough pressure could mean switching in Jirachi to take a hit and then continuing to switch out, meaning she takes 25% from Spikes and say another 10% from a Draco Meteor or whatever. Once your team has beeen weakened and whether you win the weather war or not, Thundurus could easily sweep you late game. Coming in on Skarmory, only a fool would leave him in without Sturdy in tact, and even then why would you waste Skarmory to just phaze him. Thundurus will always just repeatedly switch in causing great trouble. Sooner or later he will just Tbolt your ass.

Wanna see something scary??

...

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Detailed Result:
252 SpAtk Life Orb Thundurus Focus Blast vs 252 HP/80 SpDef Chople Berry Tyranitar: 69.31% - 81.68%
2 hits to KO

Detailed Result:
252 +2 SpAtk Life Orb Thundurus Thunderbolt vs 252 HP/212 SpDef Jirachi: 79.46% - 93.56%
2 hits to KO

He doesn't even need +2 to handle your TTar. And don't say that TTar will be at full health, because he won't be. For Jirachi however +2 is required, and if he only has Thunderbolt, he can still easily 2HKO. Don't even get me started about Thunder, though if you win the weather war I will argee that those are easier to handle. Now my suggestion would be to run a Specially Defensive Gastrodon over Rotom-W. Rotom-W's main role is to trouble Rain teams no? Well Gastordon does an amazing job at this. A water immunity never hurts aswell and luckily for you he is probably the hardest counter of Thundurus besides Specially Defensive Quagsire. Other then that its a good team, but believe it or not you do have problems.

GL

[ace combat]

OMGTFBBQ: Ok calm down. First off your damage calculator is wrong. A Life Orb Focus Blast from Thunderus only deals 46.04%-54.46% to Tyranitar. You forgot to account for sandstorm's 50% boost to special defense because Tyranitar is a Rock type. That means that with Life Orb, and at +2 it has only a 37.688% chance to OHKO if you include Focus Blast's accuracy if he is at full health. Also I wouldn't send Tryanitar in as my first switch in if it was Sandstorm, having Chople Berry Tyranitar is more of insurance that a Lum Berry Thunderus will not sweep me. Also the reason why I phase Thunderus with Skarmory without Sturdy intact is because only a fool would do it because it is unpredictable, because they usually don't realize that the only thing that Skarmory can really do to Rain teams is set up Spikes. This is because Rain teams are primarly Special. Yes you will see the occasional Toxicroak, but Landorus and Gliscor can handle him just as well as Skarmory. And don't argue that Thunderus will be repeatly be switching in. It is Stealth Rock weak and it is affected by Sand Storm along with Life Orb that severly shortens his life span. The reason that people think that Thunderus is broken is because he can almost always, without fail, kill at least one pokemon. You will very rarely see a Thunderus will sweep through an entire team. That is why players are ok with Thunderus being weak to Stealth Rock, affected by Sand Storm, and having Life Orb. Also Rotom-W's main job is to counter bulky water types. Yes Gastrodon can do this to an extent, but it usually will end up being Toxiced and then dieing quickly, as the only thing he can do back to bulky waters is also just use Toxic. Also Rotom-W gives the team paralysis support and an offensive momentum that Gastrodon can not give. Since I can be setting up Spikes support as well as he would if he has Ferrothorn he can only switch in just as many times as I would. Therefore they are really only a threat if they have rapid spin support which is not too common on a rain team.

Rewer: I do like the idea of a specially defensive Rotom-W that I will test out. I also don't really need Volt Switch over Thunderbolt to trap and kill Latios as if I feel that he is going to come it I will use Thunder Wave which renders him almost completely useless so players usually sack him. I have played A LOT with Excadrill (probably close to two thousand battles) and have found him completely overrated as his counters are way too common in this metagame. I also do not have too much trouble with zong as he can't take out a single member of my core (he can't even 2HKO Jirachi with Earthquake. This team is not weak at all to Virizon as Jirachi laughs as the Special Attacking Variants, while Skarmory laughs at the Physically attacking variants. The other thing is that I am also not a really big fan of Latios as he is another pokemon that is overrated and his counters are way too common, along with the fact that he does not provide either wish or paralysis support. I also really need to have Pursuit over Crunch as if I want to hit something hard I use Rock Slide, but if I want to trap I use Pursuit. I have often thought of making that change but then the next battle will prove to me just how valuable Pursuit is.

Also more comments please!