Yo, what's up? I'm back with posting some RMT's. Miss me? Yeah, you probably don't. Anyway, I noticed I still had this old Sand team from the Tornadus-T era laying around (Bandtar/Forry/DDMence/Scarf Landorus/ChestoRest Rotom-W/LO Latias). I knew this Sand team had done a lot of work for me in the past, so I decided to make some improvements for the current metagame. I had built the original incarnation of the team before I posted my most recent RMT, Mind Games.
However... That had some problems. The most notable of those was that it had a grand total of three Ice weaknesses: Salamence, Landorus, and Latias. Salamence and Landorus were both 4x weak so getting rid of one of those was the first priority. After re-testing the team, I noticed Landorus was doing the least work (surprisingly enough), so I decided to pick a different Choice Scarf user, which ended up being Jirachi. I also decided to replace my ChestoRest Rotom-W (which only helped me in the Tornadus-T era) with an Expert Belt Keldeo. Some testing later, and the team is still kickin' ass.
[youtube]NvaJIgEesxg[/youtube]
Tyranitar (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 180 HP / 252 Atk / 76 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Superpower
Bandtar is by far my favorite Tyranitar set. Unlike the Stealth Rock set, it doesn't hit like a little girl, and it hits way harder than the Choice Scarf set. POWERRRRRRR!!!! Tyranitar is mostly here for the Pursuit trapping rather than for its weather, although canceling out other weather is a nice added bonus. That added bonus is part of the reason why I chose Tyranitar over other Pursuit users like Scizor and Weavile, but I also felt like Tyranitar had better synergy with my team, especially considering trapping Jellicent would greatly help Forretress. Wanna spin with Forretress and Jellicent is ruining your day? Just have Tyranitar trap that bitch. Oh well, I hope we can Reconcile our friendship, Jellicent. Did that Choice Politoed lock itself into Ice Beam? Now my Tyranitar can trap and eliminate their weather, allowing my team to Encircle their team. It also serves as a nice wallbreaker. What do Skarmory, Blissey, Chansey, Politoed, Gliscor, and Ferrothorn have in common? They don't wanna switch in on Bandtar! Especially if Rocks are up.
Forretress (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Volt Switch
- Gyro Ball
My spinner of choice. I wanted Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin on the same Pokemon, but I didn't think Donphan was the best choice. So, I had to set my personal hatred of Forretress aside and use it. When I first used this team, I was surprised; Forretress was actually good on it! Its slow Volt Switch has been very helpful with getting Salamence, Latias, and Keldeo in safely, while it's also been an excellent Outrage sponge. +1 Salamence locked into Outrage? Fuck its shit up with Gyro Ball. Need to take care of that boosted Dragonite and Jirachi is down? Forretress can help you out. That best De-fame those damn Dragons. Overall, I used to think Forretress was a bad Pokemon, but this team showed me otherwise.
Salamence (F) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
The almighty Dragon Dance + Lum Berry + Moxie Salamence. So, I know you have a question: Why am I using this over Dragonite? Well... I have a couple of reasons for that. First off, I have always had greater success with Salamence than I have with Dragonite for whatever reason. Secondly, I am addicted to the Moxie snowball effect
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Fire Punch
- U-turn
- Ice Punch
ScarfRachi! I swear, I absolutely love this thing. You know that Drone known as Kyurem-B that seems to love spamming those Outrages? Well, Jirachi can use Iron Head to handle it... Well, sorta, I dunno. Other than that, there's A Condemned Club of Pokemon that Jirachi can easily revenge kill, including, but most certainly not limited to Scizor, Dragonite, Lucario, and Garchomp. While it can't switch in, it can also revenge kill Mamoswine if I absolutely need it to, which certainly helps Salamence. And if I know something will switch out, well, that's what U-turn is for!
Keldeo-Resolute @ Expert Belt
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Bug]
- Icy Wind
Oh boy, I love this thing. Celebi came in and thinks you're Choiced? HP Bug and it's dead. Then I can proceed to make all the Scathing comments I want. I'm kidding, guys, I just wanted to throw in another song reference. Even if my enemy expects the surprise factor, well, it's still a Keldeo so it's still really good. Keldeo can also take advantage of enemy rain with its Hydro Pump... Let's see how you like it when I spam Hydro Pump against YOU, rain teams! Keldeo, who is also walled by Jellicent, also greatly appreciates Tyranitar's support. I was considering a Calm Mind set, but I really like Choice bluffing.
Latias (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Surf
- Recover
Somehow, LO Latias still manages to find its way onto a lot of my teams like it's some kind of Spiritual Impulse of mine. Well, to be fair, Latias is a good Pokemon. Latias helps me check opposing Keldeo and just lasts all day thanks to Recover. Who gives a fuck if I lose 6% of my health every turn (16% if Latias attacks)? Just Recover away! Need to kill Terrakions? Latias can help! Don't like that Swords Dance Garchomp? Latias helps there too. Latias is my go-to Keldeo check, and to this day it still greatly helps me against Keldeo.
---
So that's the team for you. It does have some noteworthy weaknesses (such as to opposing Salamence and, to a certain extent, Choice Scarf Garchomp), but it's worked incredibly well for me. Any advice is greatly appreciated (though I would like to keep Salamence on the team if possible).
(I only got 11 out of 12 songs off of A New Disease Is Born. Fuck it. I can't figure out how to fit in the title song.)
Importable:
Code:
Tyranitar (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 180 HP / 252 Atk / 76 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Superpower
Forretress (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Volt Switch
- Gyro Ball
Salamence (F) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Fire Punch
- U-turn
- Ice Punch
Keldeo-Resolute @ Expert Belt
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Bug]
- Icy Wind
Latias (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Surf
- Recover
