[RMT] - "Team YAST"

"Team Yet Another Sandstorm Team"

This team is used both on Shoddy, and on my actual HeartGold game. It's *generally* the same, but with some minor tweaks between the two. Or so, there *should* be some minor tweaks, they just haven't been made, yet.

"Constructing the crew"
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While making the team, I didn't have thoughts of Shoddy in my mind, I was making it solely for the purposes of playing against local players. This has a big impact of how I developed my team.

1) First off, I decided I wanted to play a weather based team. I weighed the pros and cons of each type of weather and decided making a successful Sandstorm team would probably be the easiest. This in mind, a stall team peaked my interest, so of the two most common leads I picked Hippowdon!

2) Well that was easy! I had already picked up a Stealth Rock user and a prime physical wall for my team. Next up I wanted a secondary physical wall, as well as more entry hazards. Forretress quickly got my eye!

3) All was looking well, I had two impressive walls, 2 kinds of entry hazards, and a permanent Sandstorm was taken care of. But it was missing something, a special wall. I was deciding between Tentacruel and Blissey, both were hit by SS. Blissey was at first a stronger wall all together, but then I decided that the Jellyfish had something I wanted, Toxic Spikes and another Rapid Spin user. Oh boy!

4) Oh yeah, I was getting pretty pumped. Ready to stall out some kids, right? Well I knew I wasn't going to have 6 walls and wait for my opponent to drop his DS out of fatigue. I knew I had to dish out some dmg somehow, and i've always loved Scyther, I was quite pleased when I learned about Scizor's prowess. So he was quickly tacked onto my team!

5) With Scizor in the ranks I started to notice that anything carrying flamethrower was going to destroy my combo of having 2 4x weaknesses to Fire. Sure I had Tentacruel, but I had bigger Jellyfish to fry. And so I brought in an all-time favorite. It helped my choice in that he wasn't OU and I wanted to be a bit more unique and not "Yet another Sandstorm Team".

6) Rhyperior was up and rockin'. Taking an Ice Beam from a Swampert on that Rhyperior without even breaking the Substitute made me giddy! But there was still room for a 6th Pokemon. Like I even needed one at this point? But I may as well, and I needed a handy dandy Choice Scarfin' revenge killer! Garchomp I chosse you!


The perfect team, I was ready to roll out and crack skulls.

No, complete lie, not true at all. Tentacruel and Rhyperior weren't working, I had but one leftovers in-game and crippled these two by giving my only one to Hippowdon. This wasn't going to work at all, for a lot of reasons. I switched out the Squid for a Blissey as a Special Wall that could sustain itself well without the presence of leftovers and Rhyperior for a Tyranitar, keeping my ability to deal with my Fire weakness and giving me a second source of Sandstorm.



This was a bit better, but ultimately I took Blissey out fairly quick and brought in a Dual Screen Bronzong, then removed Forretress for Skarmory.
I was just about to hit up Shoddy when I hit a bump in the road, Garchomp. Damnit Garchomp, why are you so cool? I took him out and threw in an Empoleon.
And this is what i'm left with!

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Team Yet Another Sandstorm Team!



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@Leftovers
"Distribute"
252 HP / 168 Def / 88 SpD
Impish [+Def, -SpA]
~ Earthquake
~ Stealth Rock
~ Slack Off
~ Roar

The Hippo lead, sets up Stealth Rocks and gets Sandstorm rockin'. Usually forced to switch quite early after setting up SR and SS. That's not to say that's all Hippowdon accomplishes, though. I'll normally make multiple more appearances mid-late game shuffling around the opposing team once other entry hazards from Skarmory have been laid down while Slacking Off (lulz) dmg I take to get off the Roars. I've taken out whole teams Roaring them in and out with Spikes and SR down, good Distribute, ya' done good.

@Lum Berry
"Vivacious"
248 HP / 88 Atk / 172 Spe
Adamant [+Atk, -SpA]
~ Baton Pass
~ Swords Dance
~ Roost
~ Bullet Punch

Baton Passing Scizor, I took Lum Berry not so much to avoid status, but because this team doubles as my in-game team where I don't have access to more than 1 Leftovers. This set really needs some revising, as my only Pokemon who truely benefits from being Baton Passed Swords Dance is my Tyranitar. I realized that as i'm typing this... That's pretty bad. I should probably look into Agility instead, yes? But he's legit cool factor!

@Leftovers
"Vigilance"
252 HP / 64 Atk / 192 Def
Impish [+Def, -SpA]
~ Spikes
~ Brave Bird
~ Roost
~ Whirlwind

Replaced Forretress by suggestion, and am diggin' it. Except that I don't have a Rapid Spinner anymore. I like the switch from Toxic Spikes (What I used with Forretress) to regular Spikes, along with the reliable recovery found in Roost. My team seems to be shifting from the Defensively oriented team I was originally trying to aim for to a more offensive team, which compliments the change to Spikes.
Also rockin' that Leftovers since I obtained a second leftovers in-game.

@Choice Scarf
"Initiative"
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly [+Spe, -SpA]
~ Stone Edge
~ Pursuit
~ Crunch
~ Earthquake

I used to run a Mixtar set on Tyranitar, but I really wasn't getting much out of it. Decided to try out a Choice Scarf set to outspeed and KO certain threats and see how that works with Baton Passing Scizor. Also, Pursuit makes me happy in pants.

@Light Clay
"Restrict"
252 HP / 152 Atk / 8 Def / 96 SpD
Relaxed [+Def, -Spe]
~ Reflect
~ Light Screen
~ Gyro Ball
~ Explosion

I like the support gained from long-term screens, helps me make switches / setup. Bronzong doesn't seem to do too much, but i'm probably just doing it wrong. I basically bring this guy in to take Special Attacks since my SpD is lacking elsewhere, he never shows up to setup screen more than twice in a given game as I normally explode by the second time I screen and get a free switch-in.

@Petaya Berry
"Invalid"
24 Def / 252 SpA / 232 Spe
Modest [+SpA, -Atk]
~ Agility
~ Substitute
~ Surf
~ Grass Knot

Because I heard this set takes skill.
I took Grass Knot over Ice Beam due to the excessively hard time I have dealing with Water types. I enjoy this because it's easy to do and is just OP enough to win the game for me when I was completely outplayed, which is a lot of the time.
This is a Penguin.

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@Choice Band / Choice Scarf (Depends on my mood)
"Calamity"
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly [+Spe, -SpA]
~ Outrage
~ Stone Edge
~ Earthquake
~ Dragon Claw

lolGarchomp. Not used on Shoddy because he's Uber (obviously). I use this guy in-game exclusively. "lol baton pass a swords dance and sweep", pretty much. The only reason I even list Garchomp is because I want to work him into my in-game without removing Empoleon, and i'm too dumb to do it myself.

Currently in-game Garchomp is occupying Bronzong's spot. Not exactly the smartest thing since I have no real dedicated Special Wall. But tbh, Bronzong really wasn't carrying his weight in-game, maybe I just got shitty IVs or something. He does his job well on Shoddy *shrug*. Also the whole Scizor / Bronzong / Skarmory throwing a big ass "Fire fucks up my team" banner on my head wasn't helping his cause in keeping him.

Oh Hi, this is my short rate, having a headache..

this is team weak to both Lucario, Nasty Plot Ape as well as Mixape, which can KO everything once they set-up.

Having Scizor, Forrestress and Bronzong is redundant for this team, Empoleon works better with Spikes > Toxic Spikes. Skarmory can do a better Job in Spikes than Forrestress because he stop's Gyarados from Sweeping. Use the standard Skarmory set, its cool. Or if you want a better Toxic Spiker, Tentacruel can do that better, because of resistance to Fire, High SpD, a Counter to Infernape and Lucario.

Thats all i got, short rate..

Good Luck!

Skarmory sounds like a grand idea. I like that, I like it alot. Though it'll take me awhile to get him setup in-game, I think i'll get to working on that change.
I've used Tentacruel before, and I didn't like him very much. He's a pretty cool bro, though.

Updated for changes. Team is now listed with updates, and added a Team Building section. The Team Building is currently incomplete, I was rushed and have to roll out for awhile, but i'll finish it when I return.

Hey I got your message. One common misconception about 4th generation sandstorm is that is has to have every member immune to sandstorm (I blame that guide on sandstorm teams). Really that guide teaches you that throwing together 6 rock/steel/ground types onto a team is good, and that is simply not the case, as they share too many weaknesses and really lack a cohesive strategy (I see a fusing of stall and offense on the same team, which is not good). So I'm going to suggest a lot of changes.

Firstly, this team's type chart is pretty bad, you have 3 Pokemon weak to Fire and only 1 resist, Tyranitar, who isn't even a good heatran / infernape check (shuca berry, earth power, close combat, mach punch etc.) Fire types are a huge problem. Water types of any variety are apt to cause problems, as DD Gyarados, LO Starmie and CM Suicune absolutely barrel through the team. Don't forget that you have 2 Pokemon weak to Fighting and no resists- SD Lucario is somewhat covered but things like Lead Machamp and the already mentioned Infernape cause you no end of trouble.

I think a good idea for the team would be to use a RestTalk Gyarados over your very useless Scizor. He's excellent on stall teams, especially with hazards support as he can just shuffle the opposition to no end. He also gives you a great check to Infernape, Heatran, SD Lucario and Lead Machamp, to an extent.

This team also has a dreadful weakness to water. A Pokemon I would suggest would be a Roserade over Skarmory, a bulky set with both Toxic Spikes AND Spikes. Empoleon appreciates both, and Roserade is a great check-ish to Starmie and most electric types with a special defensive set. It can still set up the hazards you need.


Okay, that's all the advice I have for you, hope this all helps.

Smith said:

One common misconception about 4th generation sandstorm is that is has to have every member immune to sandstorm (I blame that guide on sandstorm teams). Really that guide teaches you that throwing together 6 rock/steel/ground types onto a team is good

Click to expand...

You hit it dead on, that's the exact article I read through dozens of times when first trying to figure out what to do.

I never thought of using RestTalk Gyarados, i'm glad you suggested this. I've seen one of those in action and it was painful to watch the player attempt to kill it.
What kind of Roserade set did you have in mind?

Thanks for the rate, i've got some stuff to work on now.

Agreeing with Smith however you really need a spin blocker regardless if you want to have a stall team or a spike stack team. I know that the Rotom Forms are bot useable on Wi-fi (unless you use an AR code) so this limits you options a bit ingame. However for Shoddy I would really suggest a Rotom over Bronzong. You can still abuse Duel Screens with Rotom however, I feel that its better off running Either a Charge Beam set (if you run Toxic Spikes) or the standard spin blocker set. I am also pretty much agreeing with everything Smith said. As far as In-game ghosts go then I guess Dusknoir will help you in this regard since you can still do similar things that Rotom can.

Have a Nice Day!

Hi Unsanctified, thanks for the avatar compliment! ^^

So this looks like a pretty cool sandstorm-based team. I'll just make a few suggestions where I see fit; hope they turn out well for you!

Notable Problems

• Infernape

As far as offensive threats go, Infernape is probably among the ones of most concern. The combination of STAB Fire and Fighting moves sweeps through a lot of your team, and extra coverage moves such as Grass Knot can be used to hit Hippowdon. Scarf Tyranitar can check some variants of Infernape, but it needs to be careful of those that run Mach Punch.

• Offensive Suicune

Another notable offensive threat, Suicune has enough bulk to set up on and sweep through a significant portion of your team. Neither of your phazers particularly likes taking strong specially-based attacks, and even Bronzong's Explosion won't KO it.

• Stall

With a number of bulky phazers and the use of entry hazards, you have a lot of major offensive threats covered to some extent. However, competent stall teams can be troublesome to play against, as many stall cores such as the much-overused Skarmbliss wall a significant portion of your team.

• Lack of a spinblocker

There's not much to elaborate on here, and others have mentioned this as well, but a Ghost-type is absolutely necessary on any team utilizing entry hazards, as you'll need a way to stop opposing Rapid Spinners from removing your Spikes and Stealth Rock.

Suggestions

• Replace Scizor

After looking through your team, I feel that Scizor is probably the most out of place in terms of retaining the team's more stallish theme. Despite the pure "coolness factor" of Baton Passing Scizor, I think that something such as a Passho Heatran would work well in its place:

Heatran (M) @ Passho Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
Mild nature (+SpA, -Def)
EVs: 36 HP/252 SpA/220 Spe
- Explosion
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power Grass

Since your only resistance to Water is Empoleon, who also happens to be your late-game sweeper, this clears up a few of your problems. PasshoTran can even survive a LO Starmie's Hydro Pump, allowing it to explode on just about any Water-type. Heatran also has the added benefit of luring out Blissey, which could stop Empoleon from sweeping, and using Explosion to take it out. Hidden Power Grass can be used against Swampert, but you could also switch in Skarmory, as it walls and sets up on just about any Ground type. Since PasshoTran takes out a lot of Water-types, it would be a good idea to use Ice Beam instead of Grass Knot on Empoleon if you decide to add it to your team.

• Replace Bronzong

Now, I generally like to make as few total replacements to the team as possible, as it often ends up throwing off the overall theme and synergy, but a spinblocker is absolutely necessary. Since you're already using a Scarfer, I think that a Choice Specs Rotom-W would be great on your team:

Rotom-w @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 SpD
Timid nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Hydro Pump
- Trick

With Choice Specs and some entry hazards, Rotom hits for a surprising amount of damage, often 2HKO'ing many solid switch-ins like Tyranitar with one of its attacks. The cool thing about this set is that you can both block spin and maintain an offensive threat. Rounding out the moveset is Trick, which is just a great move overall for crippling stall teams and bulky stat-uppers.

Good luck with your team!

Okay I am incredibly embarrassed that I did not even notice he lacked a spin blocker, yes take the above suggestions in this capacity.

Smith said:

A Pokemon I would suggest would be a Roserade over Skarmory, a bulky set with both Toxic Spikes AND Spikes. Empoleon appreciates both, and Roserade is a great check-ish to Starmie and most electric types with a special defensive set. It can still set up the hazards you need.

Click to expand...

Would this set be something you had in mind for a Roserade of that role:
Roserade @Leftovers
Calm
Natural Cure
252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SpD
~ Spikes
~ Leech Seed
~ Energy Ball
~ Toxic Spikes

And for my spinblocker if i'm going to be using Dusknoir (i'll still probably use Rotom on Shoddy, but for my in-game purposes) would I use the standard Tank build?

Dusknoir @Leftovers
Impish
252 HP / 28 Atk / 228 Def
~ Will-O-Wisp
~ Pain Split
~ Fire Punch
~ ThunderPunch

Hello I got your PM

Anyways, your scizor is really useless IMO. Switch it out to a heatran set like this:

Heatran @ Passacho Berry
EV's: 4 Hp 252 Sp.Atk 252 Spe
Nature: Timid/Modest
Ability: Flash Fire
Moves:

Fire Blast
Earth Power
Dragon Pulse/Explosion
Toxic

OR

if you are going to be abusing t-spikes then use a choice scarf roserade lead because people don't assume you are using a sandstorm team. If you are going to use scarf roserade lead, then I would suggest a torment tran instead to take advantage of the t-spikes and sandstorm.

Another thing, switch Bronzong to Rotom-H:

Rotom-H @ Leftovers
EV's: 252 Hp 168 Def 88 Spe
Nature: Bold
Ability: Levitate
Moves:

Thunderbolt
Shadow Ball
Pain Split
Reflect/Will-o-Wisp

Good Luck!