Another Sandstorm team in OU.. It's a pretty standard sandstorm team that I've been using, I normally lean towards more offensive playing. I started off with Hippowdon and Excadrill as most sandstorm teams do, then decided to throw in Empoleon. He's a good meta-game steel along with being water, making him not destroyed by water and ice (which I suspected would be two main weaknesses, along with fighting). So then I added Gliscor to take on those horrible Gen V fighting-types. I noticed I was lacking a bit of bulk for a sandstorm team and saw how much Shuckle was used (succesfully, too) and he proved useful. Lastly, I tried running a switcheroo-scarf Cacturne and abuse sucker punch but it turns out he can't have focus punch, drain punch and have both seed bomb and switcheroo through breeding. So I decided with Breloom which was a pretty spontaneous decision.
First Glance:
In-Depth:
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Sand Stream
Nature: Careful (+SpD, -SpA)
Evs: 4 Def, 252 Hp, 252 SpD
-Stealth Rocks
-Roar
-Slack Off
-Yawn
Lead
My sandstormer, I chose him over ttar because of his survivability especially if I need him later on in the event of another weather team. He's not weak against every single pokemon and is able to effectively SR and scout. No damage on Hippo?! I originally started with EQ but I noticed that I never needed to use it because both Gliscor and Excadrill already carry it. Yawn is to set up for Breloom or Excadrill, for a forced switch or them taking the sleep. Not sure if maxing SpD was a good idea, takes a beating from some offensive lead Grass-types.
Excadrill @ Balloon
Sand Rush
Nature: Jolly (+Spd, -SpA)
Evs: 4 Hp, 252 Atk, 252 Spd
-Swords Dance
-Earthquake
-Rock Slide
-X-Scissor
Physical Sweeper
Along with sandstorm, Excadrill is unstoppable. He's the average Excadrill, max speed to not be outsped by other Jolly Excadrills. Not much to say here other than here for a powerful fast hit. Rapid spin could also be an option, but I normally aren't too scared of hazards due to my typing against SR and toxic spikes.
Empoleon @ Petaya Berry
Torrent
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
Evs: 12 Hp, 252 SpA, 244 Spd
-Agility
-Substitute
-Surf
-Ice beam
Meta Special Sweeper
SubPetaya Empoleon. He's amazing, with +6 speed he's able to outrun almost all his enemies. However, his subs are easily broken and usually leaves me at +4 speed which is fine I guess. Surf for dependable STAB, it has plenty of power after petaya and torrent's boosts. Ice beam is for a bit more coverage over Grass and Dragon-Types that my team sometimes have trouble with. Was also considering Psychic to defeat these stupid Gen V fightings. Grass has become only SE on Hippowdon and Gliscor carries Ice Fang which is a last resort.
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Poison Heal
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
Evs: 4 Def, 252 Atk, 252 Spd
-Fling
-Acrobatic
-Earthquake
-Ice Fang
Bulky Nuisance
Here's the trouble. It looks a lot better on paper, I find myself not using him to his full extent. I'm thinking of redo-ing his EV spread, I'm not good at EVs at all.. Thinking of making him bulkier and less like a sweep, seeing as how I already have my two. Also thinking of replacing Ice Fang with Protect, for recovering 12.5% (seeing as how he lost Roost) AND dealing 6.25% ss damage. Any suggestions on EV spread and different nature? I really like this guy nonetheless.
Shuckle @ Leftovers
Contrary
Nature: Impish (+Def, -SpA)
Evs: 252 Hp, 252 Def, 4 SpD
-Toxic
-Sand Tomb
-Rest
-Sleep Talk
Physical Stall
He sponges just about everything, he's Shuckle! This is a really strange build I made myself. Rest to sponge status conditions as well as restore all his health. I was debating between Encore and Sand Tomb, but chose Sand Tomb in the end because I can't rely on it when using Sleep Talk. Sand Tomb is extremely useful for my team. I'm able to trap pokemon and let my sweeps set up on them, Excadrill can sweep a whole team when setting up on a trapped Jolteon or Magnezone (oh, the irony!). A little voice in my head is telling me I might need to scrape him to add a more useful pokemon that would offer my team more coverage..
Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Poison Heal
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
Evs: 4 Hp, 252 Atk, 252 Spd
-Spore
-Focus Punch
-Seed Bomb
-Mach Punch
Glue?
The sore thumb of the team. Originally I was planning on using Cacturne, but now he sucks AND adds to my fighting weakness.. Breloom covers my Water, Grass, and somewhat Ice weaknesses. Spore is a godsent, forces switches and gives me a free punch and gives them a incapitated pokemon. I've debated long and hard on the last move, Leech Seed for the recovery, Drain Punch also for recovery, or Mach Punch for my teams ONLY priority. Haven't used this guy much and am open to suggestions.
Help!
First Glance:
In-Depth:
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Sand Stream
Nature: Careful (+SpD, -SpA)
Evs: 4 Def, 252 Hp, 252 SpD
-Stealth Rocks
-Roar
-Slack Off
-Yawn
Lead
My sandstormer, I chose him over ttar because of his survivability especially if I need him later on in the event of another weather team. He's not weak against every single pokemon and is able to effectively SR and scout. No damage on Hippo?! I originally started with EQ but I noticed that I never needed to use it because both Gliscor and Excadrill already carry it. Yawn is to set up for Breloom or Excadrill, for a forced switch or them taking the sleep. Not sure if maxing SpD was a good idea, takes a beating from some offensive lead Grass-types.
Excadrill @ Balloon
Sand Rush
Nature: Jolly (+Spd, -SpA)
Evs: 4 Hp, 252 Atk, 252 Spd
-Swords Dance
-Earthquake
-Rock Slide
-X-Scissor
Physical Sweeper
Along with sandstorm, Excadrill is unstoppable. He's the average Excadrill, max speed to not be outsped by other Jolly Excadrills. Not much to say here other than here for a powerful fast hit. Rapid spin could also be an option, but I normally aren't too scared of hazards due to my typing against SR and toxic spikes.
Empoleon @ Petaya Berry
Torrent
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
Evs: 12 Hp, 252 SpA, 244 Spd
-Agility
-Substitute
-Surf
-Ice beam
Meta Special Sweeper
SubPetaya Empoleon. He's amazing, with +6 speed he's able to outrun almost all his enemies. However, his subs are easily broken and usually leaves me at +4 speed which is fine I guess. Surf for dependable STAB, it has plenty of power after petaya and torrent's boosts. Ice beam is for a bit more coverage over Grass and Dragon-Types that my team sometimes have trouble with. Was also considering Psychic to defeat these stupid Gen V fightings. Grass has become only SE on Hippowdon and Gliscor carries Ice Fang which is a last resort.
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Poison Heal
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
Evs: 4 Def, 252 Atk, 252 Spd
-Fling
-Acrobatic
-Earthquake
-Ice Fang
Bulky Nuisance
Here's the trouble. It looks a lot better on paper, I find myself not using him to his full extent. I'm thinking of redo-ing his EV spread, I'm not good at EVs at all.. Thinking of making him bulkier and less like a sweep, seeing as how I already have my two. Also thinking of replacing Ice Fang with Protect, for recovering 12.5% (seeing as how he lost Roost) AND dealing 6.25% ss damage. Any suggestions on EV spread and different nature? I really like this guy nonetheless.
Shuckle @ Leftovers
Contrary
Nature: Impish (+Def, -SpA)
Evs: 252 Hp, 252 Def, 4 SpD
-Toxic
-Sand Tomb
-Rest
-Sleep Talk
Physical Stall
He sponges just about everything, he's Shuckle! This is a really strange build I made myself. Rest to sponge status conditions as well as restore all his health. I was debating between Encore and Sand Tomb, but chose Sand Tomb in the end because I can't rely on it when using Sleep Talk. Sand Tomb is extremely useful for my team. I'm able to trap pokemon and let my sweeps set up on them, Excadrill can sweep a whole team when setting up on a trapped Jolteon or Magnezone (oh, the irony!). A little voice in my head is telling me I might need to scrape him to add a more useful pokemon that would offer my team more coverage..
Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Poison Heal
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
Evs: 4 Hp, 252 Atk, 252 Spd
-Spore
-Focus Punch
-Seed Bomb
-Mach Punch
Glue?
The sore thumb of the team. Originally I was planning on using Cacturne, but now he sucks AND adds to my fighting weakness.. Breloom covers my Water, Grass, and somewhat Ice weaknesses. Spore is a godsent, forces switches and gives me a free punch and gives them a incapitated pokemon. I've debated long and hard on the last move, Leech Seed for the recovery, Drain Punch also for recovery, or Mach Punch for my teams ONLY priority. Haven't used this guy much and am open to suggestions.
Help!
- Definately a more effective and creative Ev spread..
- Some team rearrangements covering Water, Fighting and Ice weakness
- Possibly revising Shuckle?
- Creating a more well-rounded team, both use-wise and not being a clump of Grounds and Steels.
- Basically any suggest and comments will be appreciated!
