Sweet Dreams

Who am I to disagree? This team has taken me places, and might very well be the last team I make in a while. It works like a machine in that all of the Pokemon have a purpose on the team and support each other in one way or another which is what true synergy is. It's not just in the Pokemon's typing, but also its ability and stats how one can capitalize on each small move to create an even bigger construction and ultimately a grand plan. The way this team shows its synergy is through its heavy hitter to take the beginning of the match by storm, two hazards layers/phazers to weaken the core further, three status inducers to spread disease among the ranks of the opposition, and its final sweeper abusing the privileges granted to it by the other members to the fullest through its ability, power, coverage, and typing.

You guys might be asking why I'm posting this RMT now. This is probably the greatest team I have built quality-wise, and I really feel like it can go further than I have taken it. Secondly, the top of the DW ladder is really concentrated right now (pretty much a war between me and Kidogo who is the only one that can consistently beat this team with some luck -.-). I've peaked at 1517 which is #3 now and have been #1 numerous times throughout my ladder run with two different alts, Pokmi and [RS]Pokmi. I'm ending my run here because I simply don't have enough time. I won't have access to PO for weeks and will probably be starting school by the time I do.

I wrote quite a lot for this RMT so for your convenience and the sake of organization I broke this RMT into 3 parts: The Introduction, The RMT, and The Game Plan. It's really recommended you read the whole RMT to get a clear picture of how I play with the team and why every member is on the team. The Game Plan in particular is really important as I didn't want to jumble everything into the RMT's descriptions for each Pokemon. So without further interruption, here's Sweet Dreams.

Part II: Sweet Dreams


Tyranitar () |
Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk | 4 SDef | 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
- Pursuit
Lo and behold the monster tyrant that overtakes the battlefield the instant it steps foot onto the arena. Tyranitar has an incredible amount of power when holding the Choice Band which is why I am using it other than for its ability. I'm using such an offensive spread simply because I need one and nothing more. I need something that can 2KO Skarmory and Gliscor for Garchomp so it doesn't have to get its hands dirty with them. Choice Band Tyranitar does just that while putting immense pressure on opposing weather teams. Even opposing sand teams feel the heat as Choice Band Tyranitar can swiftly OHKO the ever common Chople Berry Tyranitar in an instant using Superpower. The Speed EVs let me outspeed Skarmory so it can't stall me out of Stone Edge PP with Roost. I use an Adamant nature because this Tyranitar is all about power and nothing more. It also functions as a powerful trapper if the occasion requires one.


Slowbro () |
Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP | 252 Def | 4 SAtk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Slack Off
- Thunder Wave
- Scald
- Ice Beam
Part one of my defensive core is composed of Slowbro and Amoonguss. The two cover each other's weaknesses perfectly and Regenerator is icing on the cake. I use this core to help prepare for a Garchomp sweep. Their main job is to spread paralysis around the opposing team which is quite a simple task when you have two of the best walls in the game. Slowbro covers the physical side of the spectrum which was my whole plan from the beginning. It also brought to the table a neat beginning to a bulky FGW core I was seeming to fit into the team. Scald is used to get the burn chance and Ice Beam is for Garchomps that carry Fire Blast for my Skarmory. Together with Skarmory I have the physical side of the attacking spectrum covered really well as most of the attackers that beat Skarmory (Terrakion, Mienshao, Lucario, etc.) have issues with Slowbro and most of the attackers Slowbro has problems with (LO Excadrill, Sub SD chomp, and Sub SD Gliscor, etc.) are all covered by Skarmory.


Amoonguss () |
Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP | 4 Def | 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Giga Drain
- Clear Smog
- Spore
- Stun Spore
I have fallen in love with this mushroom. It's like the boss of all mushrooms. It walls Breloom, puts things to sleep, and spreads paralysis all while erasing stat boosts and recovering its HP without a recovery move. But wait, there's more! It sucks up Toxic Spikes like a vacuum leaving almost no vulnerability in the armor that it creates for the team alongside Slowbro and Heatran. Max Special Defense is to better handle LO Keldeo that carry HP Ice and for other Rain threats in general. It really gives Rain teams a hard time since they don't have much that can break through it. Even Specstoed is only doing ~55% with a predicted Ice Beam and that's easily recovered with Regenerator on a quick switch to Tyranitar or Heatran.


Heatran () |
Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP | 4 Def | 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
Heatran was the best addition to the team having been added for several reasons. With Heatbug I get a Stealth Rock user, a phazer, and a status inducer all in one package. It also counters threats to the Regenerator core, like Genesect, rather well only taking ~30% from its boosted Thunderbolt meaning I can switch in on it quite a lot as most are choiced and like to U-turn. Heatran also rounds out my FGW core perfectly as it can take special Dragons like Latios and Latias head on in the sand (though I have Tyranitar for a more immediate solution). Roar on Heatran is almost mandatory as it racks up Spikes damage on foes like Terrakion and Tyranitar that like to switch in on it. It also keeps me from being Chandelure set up material.


Garchomp () |
Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Atk | 4 Def | 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
Garchomp is my cleaner and final gambit in most cases. Once my team is weakened sufficiently in an attempt to spread as much hazards damage and paralysis as possible I'll send in this guy to set up on a paralyzed Pokemon giving the opponent little to no hope of hurting him behind a Substitute in the sand. Swords Dance boosts his power to obscene levels and allows him to quickly finish off the opposition with just his STABs. I use Dragon Claw over Outrage because the Confusion is a huge draw back in my eyes and is really unnecessary extra power when I already have Earthquake to deal with almost everything that isn't floating. Usually, all I need to do to sweep with him is paralyze their revenge killer (usually Genesect) and kill/weaken/paralyze their Skarmory. If neither is possible I'll take the stalling route of phazing with my hazard layers, Skarmory and Heatran while attacking with my undying Regenerators.


Skarmory () |
Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP | 252 Def | 4 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
- Roost
Skarmory was the final addition to the team and the most welcome one. I originally had a Chandelure in this spot until I realized just how weak I was to Excadrill. So I replaced it with Skarmory and oh boy was I shocked by how seamlessly it fit into the team. It was the perfect fit to the puzzle. It sets up Spikes and provides a solution to a problem the team was having. The Shed Shell was a troll move on my part. I wanted to be able to set up hazards reliably with this guy so luring in Chandelures only to switch out to Heatran and get my Stealth Rocks up was imperative on my part. I also wanted to make sure my only reliable Garchomp counter doesn't go down in flames so easily and I'd say in this metagame Shed Shell is worth it over the extra 6% you gain back each turn from Leftovers. The defensive spread maximizes his defensive potential and prevents the 2KO from +2 Adamant LO Excadrill's Rock Slide.

Part III: The Game Plan
For your convenience, I made a simple diagram of my overall goal. It's divided into three groups.

The first group consists of Tyranitar, Slowbro, and Amoonguss. I almost always start out with Tyranitar and try to finish with Garchomp. However, the plan is flexible enough in structure that I can also switch to my hazards users if the need arises. The most common example is that the opponent leads with a Genesect. Slowbro and Amoonguss can't really switch in on it safely so I'd go straight to Heatran in the hopes I'd get up Stealth Rocks early or face a Terrakion/Tyranitar/Landorus, etc. Thankfully, my Slowbro or Skarmory can handle the aforementioned threats. In short, the first part of the match will usually consist of me switching between Tyranitar, Slowbro, and Amoonguss to weaken the opposition with Sandstorm and spread paralysis. It's the reason this team hasn't lost to a lot of good Rain team yet. Choice Band Tyranitar is one of the few variants Politoed can't really switch into safely. That makes keeping Sandstorm up really easy. Amoonguss will usually cripple two Pokemon. One with Spore and another with Stun Spore. This traps the opponent in that it forces them to sacrifice the weather inducer or risk crippling the whole team. If I put Politoed to sleep, it's easy picking with Pursuit. If I paralyze it, something is eating a CB Stone Edge. That kind of offensive pressure is what makes the combination so lethal to weather teams in general making Sandstorm the only "threat" this team really needs to prepare for. Regenerator is an enormous boon for a core such as this one as it practically makes the two walls "immortal". They're not really vulnerable to hazards because of the ability and Toxic Spikes is a liability for the opponent since Amoonguss is on the team and that would mean wasted turns.

The second group consists of Skarmory and Heatran. Once Slowbro and Amoonguss have paralyzed enough of the opposing team and Tyranitar has trapped what it needs to (usually the latis and Chandelure), I'd send these two in and spam hazards with Roar and Whirlwind. They also serve as utility counters to Pokemon like Genesect and Excadrill that may force me to send them out early, and in the process allow me to get some hazards in early. The battle could very well end at this stage, too, since Heatran and Skarmory wall a significant portion of the metagame and can phaze out threats racking up hazards damage along the way.

Garchomp is the finale, the main course. Once I send it out, there's usually no way the opponent can possibly win. It fishes for Substitutes on the paralyzed or occasionally sleeping Pokemon and then sets up a Swords Dance. Sometimes, the core does such a great job of weakening the opposition, Garchomp doesn't even need a Swords Dance to sweep. Anyway, Garchomp is perfect for the role of sweeper on this team for a number of reasons. A paralyzed opponent only has a 60% chance to hit Garchomp's Substitute each turn. That gives Garchomp tons of set up opportunities on opponents that would normally have no problem with him like Ferrothorn and even Bronzong. Secondly, he gets almost perfect neutral coverage with just his STABs. If there is one Pokemon it absolutely hates, it's Skarmory. But, if I can land a paralysis on it, even Skarmory is looking at the chance of a defeat at the hands of this monster if not by Tyranitar.

In all, I've had a lot of fun building this team and taking the ladder by storm with it. It really was a fun experience, and I'd like to share this with the rest of Smogon so here it is. :)