Rate my Sandstorm Team!

Aelsorm · Feb 17th, 2013, 3:03:50 AM

Hi there,
I decided to build my sand team. I would say it isn't bad, but it seems it needs some changes...

First I decided to run T-tar, another ability-opener of sandstorm is only Hippowdon, but I don't like him so much, also T-tar gets nice boost to Sp.Def thanks to his rock-type and sandstorm.

Then I choosed Garchomp, it is awesome Pokémon and he was uber for a long time, but now, he's not! He outruns everything under 102 Base Speed (Landorus, Salamence, Hydreigon), which is awesome...

Then came Jellicent to join my party. He's cool, he can take fighting and water attacks instead of T-tar and his Taunt and Wisp are extremely useful.

My next choice was Tentacruel. I choosed him because he has access to Rapid Spin and Toxic Spikes aren't also bad. Also, like Jellicent, Tentacruel can take fighting and water attacks instead of T-tar and grass attacks are normal damage.

Then I decided to run Lucario. I like to have at least one prio-attacker in my team, in this team it is Lucario. He has really cool attack and access to Swords Dance, what makes him stronger.

Finally I decided to choose some Special Attacker. Gengar would be also good, but I like Alakazam for that Speed, which outruns Starmie. It can help in many situations.

My team wasn't bad, but I decided to make it better and I would say, Slowbro works perfectly. Only bad think I see here is he don't have access to Taunt and also the main thing - he isn't immune to Rapid Spin.
But he has awesome ability making him good defender and in combination with his awesome stats he is great.

Tyranitar @Choice Band
Sandstream
Careful 252 HP 76 Atk 180 Sp.Def
-Crunch
-Pursuit
-Superpower
-Stealth Rock
Crunch is here because it is his main STAB, it can hit so hard. Pursuit for Ninetaleses and Politoeds, when they're cowardly running.
Superpower is for his family (another T-tars) and also for welcome Blissey and Ferrothorn.
Stealth Rock is here, because I don't have any other chance to set up Stealth Rock, so it's T-tar's job.

Garchomp @Choice Scarf
Sand Veil/Rough Skin
Jolly 4 HP 252 Atk 252 Spe
-Outrage
-Dragon Claw
-Stone Edge/Fire Fang
-Earthquake
Choice Scarf instead of Choice Band, it can be surprise for opponent and it can kill many Pokémon, where opponent thinks, they will be faster.
Non-Scarfed Starmie, +1 DD Dragonite, Terrakion, Alakazam, Salamence, Gengar... they're all gonna to die, because they're slowlier than Garchomp.
Outrage is his strongest move, but it locks him in using it, so there's also Dragon Claw, when I suggest opponent will switch to Steel-type Pokémon or something like that.
Stone Edge is there for Volcanrona and others, but I would say Fire Fang would be also good, I am not sure, but I expect you will say Stone Edge is better.
Earthquake is his another STAB, also powerful!

Forretress @Leftovers
Sturdy
Bold 252 HP 252 Def 4 Sp.Def
-Stealth Rock
-Spikes
-Rapid Spin
-Volt Switch

Celebi @Leftovers
Natural Cure
Bold 252 HP 252 Def 4 Sp.Def
-Giga Drain
-Psychic
-Recover
-Thunder Wave

Lucario @Life Orb
Inner Focus
Adamant 4 HP 252 Atk 252 Spe
-Swords Dance
-Close Combat
-Extreme Speed
-Crunch
I wasn't sure about Lucario, Scizor and Kabutops can be great as well, but who is the best? Lucario is almost everytimes killed by OHKO, but he is so powerful, Close Combat can for example take down Skarmory!
So, Swords Dance is here for unusual cases, when I can use it and survive.
Close Combat is his strongest STAB, which reaches awesome 180 base power after STAB boost.
Extreme Speed is useful priority move with average 80 base power, so it's great move, it can take down almost every sweeper, who doesn't resist it.
Crunch is here for bulky ghost Pokés. Bullet Punch might be better, but then can Jellicent easily stop me. In this way can Gengar stop me, but I can still switch without losing game.

Alakazam Life Orb/Focus Sash
Magic Guard
Timid 4 HP 252 Sp. Atk 252 Spe
-Psychic
-Shadow Ball
-Energy Ball
-Focus Blast
Here is my Alakazam, I think Life Orb is better than Focus Sash, but I might be wrong. He doesn't get recoil damage thanks to Magic Guard, which is awesome. Magic Guard also prevents Spikes and Stealth Rocks from hurting Alakazam.
Psychic is here as his main STAB and strongest move. There was Substite over Shadow Ball, but I find out Shadow Ball is better, it can be useful against for example Starmie or other Alakazam.
Energy Ball is here for Water and Ground types, it is usualy unpredicted and pretty awesome.
Focus Blast is here for steel Pokémon, who resist all other Alakazam's moves.

I hope you enjoyed my team, so please rate it!
Thanks

hobohawk · Feb 17th, 2013, 9:07:11 AM

This is great sand team so far but it could do with a few improvements. First off, I think most of the team is really solid but on Tentacruel, Rain Dish is actually better as it helps counter rain teams more effectively. You lose that Liquid Ooze, but to be honest, Liquid Ooze is to situational.

I also advise you to run Fire Blast over Superpower on Tyranitar as you can hit Ferrothorn, Forretress, Breloom, and Scizor with it. And on Garchomp, it's the same thing, you probably should run Fire Blast over Stone Edge/Fire Fang. The reason being, with no Special Attack investment, you deal more damage to Skarmory.

Other than those nitpicky decisions, this is an extremely solid team, although you may have problems with offensive Rain teams.

Garchomp: Stone Edge ----> Fire Blast
Tyranitar: Superpower -----> Fire Blast
Tentacruel: Liquid Ooze ----> Rain Dish

Mosquiton · Feb 17th, 2013, 9:19:21 AM

Hi there, nice team here!

I see in your team a great weakness to sheerlandorus that can clean your team if he use rock polish, but doing some quick changes in your defensive core you can resolve this problem.
I'm talking to insert Celebi > Slowbro with a particular set anti-volturn, in this way be able to obtain an excellent check of SheerLando and the possibility to hit Scizor and rotomw which are the principal members of volturn chain but also to have the perfect counter of Breloom that he might give you some trouble since you don't have any resistor to his stab and Alakazam has defenses too low to counter him.
At this point you haven't solid physical defenders so I want to advise another change that will help you deal with the DragMag being a solid steel type.
I'm talking about to insert Forretress > Tentacruel.
With this change, however, will keep the spinner in the team acquiring a steel type that guarant to gain one of the best counter for Kyurem-Black 'cause he use substitute thanks to DragonClaw and FusionBolt can make a 2hko to all your members.
Forretress also has access to stealth rock, giving it to him would allow you to change the set of Tyranitar in ChoiceBand that allows you to increase the power of the team with the possibility of pursuit the Lati@s becoming a Pokémon with excellent ability to walbreaking thanks to his powerful stab enhanced by the band.
The set is the standard: Crunch and Pursuit are the mainstabs combo to hit lati@s, celebi, jellicent, Slowbro & stuff, StoneEdge is to hit the flying, while Superpower is to hit Heatran and ferrothorn.

Sets:

...

Aelsorm · Feb 18th, 2013, 3:36:39 PM

Okay, thank you both!

Feb 17th, 2013, 3:03:50 AM	#1
Aelsorm Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 32	Rate my Sandstorm Team! Hi there, I decided to build my sand team. I would say it isn't bad, but it seems it needs some changes... First I decided to run T-tar, another ability-opener of sandstorm is only Hippowdon, but I don't like him so much, also T-tar gets nice boost to Sp.Def thanks to his rock-type and sandstorm. Then I choosed Garchomp, it is awesome Pokémon and he was uber for a long time, but now, he's not! He outruns everything under 102 Base Speed (Landorus, Salamence, Hydreigon), which is awesome... Then came Jellicent to join my party. He's cool, he can take fighting and water attacks instead of T-tar and his Taunt and Wisp are extremely useful. My next choice was Tentacruel. I choosed him because he has access to Rapid Spin and Toxic Spikes aren't also bad. Also, like Jellicent, Tentacruel can take fighting and water attacks instead of T-tar and grass attacks are normal damage. Then I decided to run Lucario. I like to have at least one prio-attacker in my team, in this team it is Lucario. He has really cool attack and access to Swords Dance, what makes him stronger. Finally I decided to choose some Special Attacker. Gengar would be also good, but I like Alakazam for that Speed, which outruns Starmie. It can help in many situations. My team wasn't bad, but I decided to make it better and I would say, Slowbro works perfectly. Only bad think I see here is he don't have access to Taunt and also the main thing - he isn't immune to Rapid Spin. But he has awesome ability making him good defender and in combination with his awesome stats he is great. Tyranitar @Choice Band Sandstream Careful 252 HP 76 Atk 180 Sp.Def -Crunch -Pursuit -Superpower -Stealth Rock Crunch is here because it is his main STAB, it can hit so hard. Pursuit for Ninetaleses and Politoeds, when they're cowardly running. Superpower is for his family (another T-tars) and also for welcome Blissey and Ferrothorn. Stealth Rock is here, because I don't have any other chance to set up Stealth Rock, so it's T-tar's job. Garchomp @Choice Scarf Sand Veil/Rough Skin Jolly 4 HP 252 Atk 252 Spe -Outrage -Dragon Claw -Stone Edge/Fire Fang -Earthquake Choice Scarf instead of Choice Band, it can be surprise for opponent and it can kill many Pokémon, where opponent thinks, they will be faster. Non-Scarfed Starmie, +1 DD Dragonite, Terrakion, Alakazam, Salamence, Gengar... they're all gonna to die, because they're slowlier than Garchomp. Outrage is his strongest move, but it locks him in using it, so there's also Dragon Claw, when I suggest opponent will switch to Steel-type Pokémon or something like that. Stone Edge is there for Volcanrona and others, but I would say Fire Fang would be also good, I am not sure, but I expect you will say Stone Edge is better. Earthquake is his another STAB, also powerful! Forretress @Leftovers Sturdy Bold 252 HP 252 Def 4 Sp.Def -Stealth Rock -Spikes -Rapid Spin -Volt Switch Celebi @Leftovers Natural Cure Bold 252 HP 252 Def 4 Sp.Def -Giga Drain -Psychic -Recover -Thunder Wave Lucario @Life Orb Inner Focus Adamant 4 HP 252 Atk 252 Spe -Swords Dance -Close Combat -Extreme Speed -Crunch I wasn't sure about Lucario, Scizor and Kabutops can be great as well, but who is the best? Lucario is almost everytimes killed by OHKO, but he is so powerful, Close Combat can for example take down Skarmory! So, Swords Dance is here for unusual cases, when I can use it and survive. Close Combat is his strongest STAB, which reaches awesome 180 base power after STAB boost. Extreme Speed is useful priority move with average 80 base power, so it's great move, it can take down almost every sweeper, who doesn't resist it. Crunch is here for bulky ghost Pokés. Bullet Punch might be better, but then can Jellicent easily stop me. In this way can Gengar stop me, but I can still switch without losing game. Alakazam Life Orb/Focus Sash Magic Guard Timid 4 HP 252 Sp. Atk 252 Spe -Psychic -Shadow Ball -Energy Ball -Focus Blast Here is my Alakazam, I think Life Orb is better than Focus Sash, but I might be wrong. He doesn't get recoil damage thanks to Magic Guard, which is awesome. Magic Guard also prevents Spikes and Stealth Rocks from hurting Alakazam. Psychic is here as his main STAB and strongest move. There was Substite over Shadow Ball, but I find out Shadow Ball is better, it can be useful against for example Starmie or other Alakazam. Energy Ball is here for Water and Ground types, it is usualy unpredicted and pretty awesome. Focus Blast is here for steel Pokémon, who resist all other Alakazam's moves. I hope you enjoyed my team, so please rate it! Thanks Last edited by Aelsorm; Apr 6th, 2013 at 5:06:13 AM.

Feb 17th, 2013, 9:19:21 AM	#3
Mosquiton Tette Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 126 Italy	Hi there, nice team here! I see in your team a great weakness to sheerlandorus that can clean your team if he use rock polish, but doing some quick changes in your defensive core you can resolve this problem. I'm talking to insert Celebi > Slowbro with a particular set anti-volturn, in this way be able to obtain an excellent check of SheerLando and the possibility to hit Scizor and rotomw which are the principal members of volturn chain but also to have the perfect counter of Breloom that he might give you some trouble since you don't have any resistor to his stab and Alakazam has defenses too low to counter him. At this point you haven't solid physical defenders so I want to advise another change that will help you deal with the DragMag being a solid steel type. I'm talking about to insert Forretress > Tentacruel. With this change, however, will keep the spinner in the team acquiring a steel type that guarant to gain one of the best counter for Kyurem-Black 'cause he use substitute thanks to DragonClaw and FusionBolt can make a 2hko to all your members. Forretress also has access to stealth rock, giving it to him would allow you to change the set of Tyranitar in ChoiceBand that allows you to increase the power of the team with the possibility of pursuit the Lati@s becoming a Pokémon with excellent ability to walbreaking thanks to his powerful stab enhanced by the band. The set is the standard: Crunch and Pursuit are the mainstabs combo to hit lati@s, celebi, jellicent, Slowbro & stuff, StoneEdge is to hit the flying, while Superpower is to hit Heatran and ferrothorn. Sets: ... >Celebi over Slowbro >Forretress over Tentacruel >CB Tyra Celebi @ Leftovers Trait: Natural Cure EVs: 240 HP / 248 SAtk / 20 Spd Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk) - Giga Drain - Recover - U-turn - Hidden Power [Fire] Forretress (M) @ Leftovers Trait: Sturdy EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd) - Gyro Ball - Stealth Rock - Rapid Spin - Volt Switch Tyranitar (M) @ Choice Band Trait: Sand Stream EVs: 180 HP / 252 Atk / 76 Spd Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Crunch - Pursuit - Stone Edge - Superpower __________________ PM or VM me for a OU Rate!

Feb 17th, 2013, 9:07:11 AM	#2
hobohawk Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 15	This is great sand team so far but it could do with a few improvements. First off, I think most of the team is really solid but on Tentacruel, Rain Dish is actually better as it helps counter rain teams more effectively. You lose that Liquid Ooze, but to be honest, Liquid Ooze is to situational. I also advise you to run Fire Blast over Superpower on Tyranitar as you can hit Ferrothorn, Forretress, Breloom, and Scizor with it. And on Garchomp, it's the same thing, you probably should run Fire Blast over Stone Edge/Fire Fang. The reason being, with no Special Attack investment, you deal more damage to Skarmory. Other than those nitpicky decisions, this is an extremely solid team, although you may have problems with offensive Rain teams. Garchomp: Stone Edge ----> Fire Blast Tyranitar: Superpower -----> Fire Blast Tentacruel: Liquid Ooze ----> Rain Dish

Feb 18th, 2013, 3:36:39 PM	#4
Aelsorm Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 32	Okay, thank you both!