By End Fashion
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Preface:
Every time I log into this forum I see an OU Rain Dance team of some sort - 90% of which consist of the same Pokemon or are slight variants of one another. Hail and Sandstorm stall teams are almost as common, not to mention standard teams (then there are the Trick Room teams, Baton Passers etc). However, one team type that I rarely see in OU is Sunny Day - the reasons for which I can understand.
Firstly, I have no clue as to what their niche is. Rain Dance is such a potent and complimentary move - it not only powers up speed for sweeping, but powers up STAB as well (what's more, Swift Swimmers tend to have better typing and more effective movepools). On the other hand, Sunny Day gives speed to poorly equipped Pokemon, whilst powering up rivals' STAB moves. What good is that? Sunny Day also falls short of being a stall team, as the Pokemon typically lack defensive bulk, have typing issues, and the weather support does not offer any residual damage.
This brings me to my ultimate question: What is the point of Sunny Day? Honestly, I can't say I've worked it out, but I've given a shot at a team anyway. To this point I've decided it is a midway point between Rain Dance and stall - it can work patiently to inflict status onto teams, and work to set up sweeps and pummel them.
One drawback of the setup is the reliability of some of the moves - moves such as Sleep Powder and Stun Spore are great (particularly Stun Spore's ability to hit all types, unlike Thunder Wave), but when they miss it can spell disaster. It can really be a knife-edge situation. However, when it all works to plan, the results can be magnificent. Rain Dance teams are very popular at the moment, and rightfully so. Their ability to crush teams at will is very inviting, and usually quite reliable. However without weather support, they can be quite frail and rather docile. I have found myself taking on RD teams with much more ease than with most other teams, which is nice :)
Anyway, on to the team...
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Lineup:
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Building:
This has been a long and arduous process, to say the least. Unlike most weather teams where you simply pick from a list of weather-friendly Pokemon, a Sunny Day team needs more general support and, in fact, I found myself neglecting all but two sun- or fire-enhanced Pokemon. Early models of the team included the usual suspects such as Shiftry and Exeggutor, as well as the likes of Rapidash and Arcanine who like to come in on fire attacks. The problem was a lack of synergy, the trouble it took to get the frail sweepers in, and their lack of performance once in. All too often with Exeggutor and Shiftry I would find myself falling short and wondering why I wasted a slot on my team for nothing. If Exeggutor had Earth Power in its arsenal, then it would be a real force. Unfortunately, it doesn't, meaning (as far as I'm concerned) I have to choose between HP [Ground] (steel, fire, electric types), or HP [Ice] (dragon, flying, grass) or HP [Fire] (steel, grass, bug) and not being able to have coverage of ground and ice - basically the STABs on offer are insufficient as far as I'm concerned and the HP selection fails to cover enough bases. Shiftry just lacks the power I want in a sweeper.
1. Lead
This was not a simple decision. I needed something fast and reliable, and I didn't really want a throw away item. My initial thought was Crobat, who works wonders for my Rain Dance team. I think he could have worked here, but I wanted something a bit different. I also tested Yanmega, Ambipom, Infenape, Smeargle, Uxie, Azelf and Arcanine, all of which had decent results. The premise was to use thier ability to sleep an opener (bar Infernape and Ambipom, who simply started inflicting damage and setting up rocks) and start to criple teams early. The problem was that this brought on sleep clause, and I wasn't too sure if the opener was worth wasting that clause on for most teams. I'd probably much prefer to either take it out, worry about my own setup, or just work around it with counters, paralysis etc. and keep the sleep for when I really need it. After lots of testing, I went to Jolteon. He is quick, takes out Crobat and usually Aerodactyl (unless they EQ, which most don't) and can baton pass out of counters to scout. He also fares well against ghosts, which Rotom does too but takes more damage from incoming Shadow Balls. Overall I am happy with him, as he also works as a good counter against Rain Dance, and his good synergy with Gyarados.
2. Sunny Day user
Well, it is a Sunny Day team, so I figured I'd better include something that can use it to their advantage. Jumpluff sticks out for it's immense speed and ability to inflict status. More detail is given later on, but just to give an example of how annoying he can be, this Jumpluff set (with Encore) can take out a Curselax (that said, anything it can outpace is going to have trouble as long as Sleep Powder hits).
3. Bringing the fire
Sunny Day boosts fire attacks, so a fire type would be expected. Trouble was, I don't particularly like using fire types with the prevalence of EQ and other nasties that resist it. A number of Pokemon were in this role, namely Heatran, Rapidash and Arcanine. In a UU team, Rapidash would be great, and it even performed well in this team thanks to Wide Lens and Megahorn, but again it fell short sometimes and got tired from repeated switch-ins if hazards were out. Flash Fire struck me as a cool move since I was going to be using a cohort of grass-type Pokes, and in the sun this would make Heatran a massive force. In fact, I will likely revisit Heatran in the future now that I am more comfortable with the tram as a whole, but for now I have chosen Rotom, who seems completely left-field given the above rationale. Basically, Sunny Day makes Overblaze act as if it were STAB, and he offers good fighting and explosion resistance. Furthermore, he brings Thunder Wave to slow stuff down, and can bring out the sun to hamper other weathers. Basically, a Rotom forme finds its way onto nearly any team I make anyway.
4. Defending
Up to this point I had no real defense. Thick Fat immediately came to mind, so I went down that path. I saw opposing Heatrans as a real threat to my own team, and found that Snorlax can come into him with relative ease. Heatran is most likely to hit my team with a Fire Blast or something, which Snorlax takes like a champ and counters with EQ. However, I saw this (along with any specailly-based opponent) as a great opportunity to set up with Curses and push offensively. Without going into too much more detail, Snorlax has become one of the most impressive Pokemon on the team, if not the real workhorse.
5. Status update
Tangrowth had been in my team since the early conceptions basially because it possessed a sun-enhanced ability. His role has changed a lot over the course of the team - from sweeper to status enducer to go-to guy. Now he basically acts to come into the big physical threats and topple them with status and/or attack.
6. Filling the gap
I honestly had no idea what to do here. Do I go for more status? Do I cover defensive holes? Support? Rapid Spin? I'd had so many different pokemon on this team that I was getting headaches just thinking about it. I figured I needed something Intimidating (literally) and a physical threat. Too often I was walled by Blissey, especially if Snorlax had fallen. I thought of Scizor and Lucario, but I'm a little iffy having so much fire weakness in my team with little to cover it. I figured Salamence would be good here as he can use the fire for his attacks, take some hits, Intimidate, and sweep from a broad spectrum. So, with that said, I went with Gyarados, since I despise Samence on principle.
7. Amending
If you read the following posts, you will see a lot of support for the Heatran switch. However, I really like Rotom on this team, and he was who I was going to switch out. It was suggested that Jumpluff should go, and after some soul searching, I decided that it was the best option. Heatran comes in to take Jumpluff's position. I lose status and annoyance (as well as a friend), but gain a poweful new tool.
Finally It was suggested that I should use a sturdier Sunny Day user, and get Stealth Rock onto my team. I tried Aerodactyl for this early on in the team building process, but he basically became a suicide lead and hurt the synergy of the team. Uxie is sturdy and its weaknesses can be covered by others in the team. I also get the sleeping option back, which I lost when I changed Jumpluff out of the team.
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Team Analysis:
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk) / Relaxed (+Def, -Spe)
- Stealth Rock
- Sunny Day
- U-Turn / Psychic
- Yawn
Replacement lead for Jolteon. Uxie sacrifices any likelihood of avoiding Taunt and hence is not ensured a successful setup. However I think I have enough options in the team now to work around this, and to be threatening even without the sun gleaming down on my team. What I do get is another status inducer (Yawn is wonderful) and a sturdy Sunny Day user.
Top 10 OU Leads, June 2009:
- Metagross: Metagross can't 3HKO with Meteor Mash unless it gets an attack boost. Use this to set up rocks, Yawn, and go to Rotom. I'd predict Metagross to either Explode through the Yawn, switch out, or take it. I'll switch in Rotom and try a Thunder Wave against the incoming Pokemon, or take any hit that Metagross throws which will not hurt the Ghost much, if at all.
- Azelf: Stealth Rock, Yawn, Rotom.
- Jirachi: Try to Yawn it out. Rotom takes Iron Head and U-Turn easily, and threatens with Overheat. However, I'd be inclined to Thunder Wave either the switch in or Jirachi if it stays in to flinch hax.
- Swampert: Switch to Tangrowth. Stun the counter or mudfish.
- Aerodactyl: Set up and switch.
- Infernape: Won't last too long against Uxie. Psychic it, and set up.
- Hippowdon: Annoying since I have to get Sunny Day up for preservation sake. Stealth Rock, then to Tangrowth. Throw out a Stun Spore to the counter or Hippowdon.
- Bronzong: Set up and switch to Rotom.
- Ninjask: Switch to Gyarados and Taunt. Ninjask will either Protect or Sub on the first move. Baton Passing an Intimidate isn't too great either.
- Tyranitar: Same as Hippowdon, but a little more threatening. Gyarados is my safest bet to cut its attack, and he'll likely switch into a Crunch, which is the biggest threat. Tangrowth can come it, and Fire Punch (the most threatening move against him) will only do about 24.26% on average, assuming the standard set.
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Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Atk/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Earth Power
- Explosion
- Solarbeam
- Fire Blast
Heatran adds some more firepower to the team, receiving massive boosts to his STAB Fire Blast through Sunny Day and Flash Fire. He pairs up incredibly well with Tangrowth, where the walking weed invites fire moves to enhance my steel volcano. Solarbeam has no charge time in the sun, and with water attacks cut down to neutral damage, Heatran can take on those opposing water types also. Finally, he fills some defensive holes on both sides of the spectrum.
Threats:
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Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/168 Def/88 Spd
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Overheat
- Sunny Day
As explained above, Rotom is my fire user, paralysis inducer, fighting absorber and all around cool dude (well, not really). Rotom hurts the likes of Scizor and Metagross, along with Lucario provided he isn't able to Crunch.
Threats:
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Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 168 HP/120 Def/220 SDef
Careful nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Curse
- Rest
- Crunch
- Earthquake / Body Slam
Snorlax is coming in on Blissey every time. Blissey used to wall this team to death, but if Snorlax is active I fare much better. Come in and take a Flamethrower or status, and try a Curse or Rest it off. Same goes for any special user or non-attacker. Fire and Ice moves are obviously ideal, and I won't doubt for one second that powerful special moves can greatly harm Snorlax, but for the most part he can take them well and start to build on his defense. Most physical threats can be delegated to either Tangrowth, Rotom or Gyarados.
Threats:
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Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 HP/228 Def/28 Spd
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Stun Spore
- Sunny Day
- Power Whip
- Knock Off / HP [Ice] / HP [Fire]
As mentioned above, Tangrowth has filled multiple roles in the team to date. He was initially intended to be a mixed sweeper, but holes in his movepool, and mediocre attack stats (by OU standards) coupled with a lack of weather-aided STAB made him far less effective than intended. He then became a double-powder user, but I didn't like this too much either. You can only have one opponent asleep at a time, so this basically made one of the move slots useless should someone be asleep. Jumpluff relies on sleep far more than Tangrowth, so I figured I could use that slot for something else. Tangrowth's defensive capabilities are phenomenal, and the major threats (ie. special fire and ice moves) are absorbed by Snorlax and Heatran.
I'm considering changing Chlorophyll to Leaf Guard to allow for more status absorption in the sun, improving my chances against stall teams.
Threats:
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Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 156 HP/108 Atk/100 Def/144 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Taunt
- Dragon Dance
- Ice Fang / Stone Edge
- Waterfall
I have always underestimated Gyarados in the wake of the new generation dragons (namely Salamence and Kingdra). However, he fills such an excellent niche in this team both defensively and offensivey. Intimidate is an ability that I never fully appreciated, until I started looking at how much damage it saved. I don't really have much to say about him other than I am very impressed by his abilities and I am glad that I have found a suitable spot for him on one of my teams.
Threats:
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