Introduction
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Team Building Process
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I started off with a simple core of Genesect and Latios. I knew that they were effective from previous experience and knew that they were a great centrepiece for any offensive team. I went with fairly standard sets in Choice Specs Latios and Choice Scarf Genesect. One offers raw power and they other blazing speed.
I wanted to test out Tyranitar. I've never been a fan of Tyranitar, but the sheer abundance made me rather curious as to whether all the hye was really deserved. While he was a great weather inducer, I found him to be average in every category, yet not excelling at any particular objective. However his great bulk and resistances cant be overlooked making Tyranitar one of the best weather sources.
With Sand teams came Sand abusers, and every team tends to carry one. Excadrill was your stereotypical, cliché sand abuser. Once again I never saw the qualities that Excadrill brought as being unique nor prodigious. He just offers a great way to clean up late game. But there was no other that could do it like Excadrill.
Fighting types in general were a pain for my team, more so than Dragons. Fighting types are starting to overtake Dragons as the superior offensive type, due to the versatility Fighting types offered. They were able to bring pure power, great revenge killing and even late game cleaning. I knew that if I wasn't well prepared for the possibility of the opponent running two Fighting types I would have troubles. With that Reuniclus joined the party as Fighting check as well as a momentum changer.
I needed someone who could bring in Pokemon which Reuniclus could use to set up. He also needed someone else with good synergy who could switch into Trick Room incase Reuniclus fainted. There was no partner better for Reuniclus than Conkeldurr. He also offered me a valuable way of dealing with Jolly natured Excadrill's which put the hurting on my team. He also gave me a Fighting type, which I have discussed as the offesnive typing of generation 5.
Team At A Glance
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In Depth Analysis
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Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Download
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- U-turn
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
Genesect has been blessed with countless abusable gifts. His great movepool, typing and base statistic distribution makes him a behemoth when coupled with the right team mates. He strikes hard with a 120 base attack off both wings coupled with the stellar ability, Download. Download allows Genesect to turn those 2HKO’s into clean OHKO’s which is important for Genesect’s longevity. His typing offers a much needed Sandstorm resistance, an imperative Dragon resistance and finally an immunity to Toxic. However his bothersome speed statistic of 99 does really only give him one option, which has kind of made Genesect predictable. In a generation I dare say dominated by speed Genesect’s falls below par. His mediocre defences also give him a hard time to continually sponge attacks, especially from the omnipresent Dragons.
Genesect works in tandem with Latios to create a pressure core, constantly forcing the opponent to switch out as I fire off powerful moves. His moveset shouldn’t come as any surprise. Genesect’s function on this team is to scout an opponent’s team as well as revenge killing weakened off threats. Sometimes he is able to clean up late game, but I usually leave that to Excadrill. U-Turn offers Genesect his only means of a STAB or physical move. Paired with a trio of Flamethrower, Ice Beam and Thunderbolt he is able to pseudo-phaze the opponent, fearing a super-effective attack completely dominating them. However with great power comes great responsibility. Firing off the wrong attack could put you under pressure which is the opposite of what you want to achieve. For example Choice locked Thunderbolt gives Garchomp the perfect chance to get behind a Substitute, Ice Beam allows for Shell Smash Cloyster to set up with imputy and Flamethrower gives Heatran the ability to tear through a team with a Balloon and Flame Charge. The moral at the end of the day is to analyse the opponents team and not be overzealous with a move which they can use to turn the pressure on you. The choice of nature ensures maximum speed and but at the cost of giving opposing Genesect’s a Special Attack boost. Seeing as how Genesect isn’t surviving a Flamethrower from opposing Genesect’s with or without a boost I thought I would leave my fate in the hands of a speed tie and therefore would be superior if he could tank priority hits such as Mach Punch, Sucker Punch and Extremespeed with more ease, no matter how insignificant it may seem.
Latios (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Trick
Latios’ amazing 130 special attack and his formidable 110 speed statistic makes him one of the most frightening Pokemon in the OU metagame. With one of the best offensive typings and movepool Latios has a plethora of possible sets to abuse from the standard Choice Specs to the obscure Dragon Dance set. His typing, while offering amazing resistances to common attacks, gives him one of the worst possible weaknesses to Dark types. More specifically the move Pursuit, which when used by Scizor or Tyranitar, leaves me with the option to linger in the presence of the aforementioned or switch and die. However if played properly Latios has the ability to decimate teams.
Latios is the counterpart to Genesect, which doesn’t only work offensively but also defensively. They are renowned for continuously forcing switches, and with the help of Tyranitar’s Stealth Rocks and Sandstorm is able to wither away the opponent. Once again his set is nothing out of the ordinary. Draco Meteor is Latios’ forte when it comes to attacking. It inflicts copious amounts of damage to every single Pokemon excluding Steels and Chansey/Blissey. Surf gives this offensive duo a reliable way to check the powerful Fire types with ease. It also give Latios the opportunity to abuse a pseudo-STAB under Rain, seeing as how Hidden Power is made useless. Hidden Power Fire hurts all Steel Pokemon who always tend to be physically inclined. Hidden Power under the Sun gives an oxymoronic situation, with Fire boosted to a STAB and Surf nullified. This makes Latios a prime candidate against Sun and Rain teams, plowing through the majority of abusers. It's also helpful that he offers resistances to Fire, Grass, Water and Thunder, principal attacking types for both Sun and Rain teams. Trick allows Latios to cripple walls which in the process renders there chance of walling. It is especially helpful against the like of Eviolite Chansey/Dusclops. Once again Latios needs to be played with some level of caution. Some will deliberately switch in two Pokemon frail to Dragon moves to get Latios at -4 only to switch in Thundurus and Nasty Plot with ease. Others with abuse the fact that you will Trick and give you a Toxic Orb/Choice Scarf. Unfortunately Latios loses the ability to speed tie with base 110’s due to the crippling effect Hidden Power Fire gives. Fortuitously most base 110’s run a Hidden Power which does hinder their speed. Nonetheless Latios still retains a hasty speed statistic which makes him not only the fastest Dragon’s but also one of the most agile current threats.
Tyranitar (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Atk / 180 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Crunch
- Fire Blast
- Superpower
Tyranitar is well known for having devastating offensive power as well its impressive defensive prowess. Coupled with a colossal movepool he can fulfil a multitude of roles from support to all out offense. However the imperative aspect he offers is his automatic summoning of Sand. Sand not only allows fellow team mates to function the way they need to, but also gives Tyranitar that 1.5x boost to its special defence, making him the special wall he is renowned for being. Like all good Pokemon Tyranitar comes with his hindering qualities. The most noticeable is his abysmal speed, which is a fundamental quality for most attacking Pokemon. The second is the crippling 4x weakness to Fighting moves as well as the introduction of a smorgasbord of brute fighters. However Tyranitar has still found its niche this generation as one of the most reliable weather inducers.
Tyranitar’s existence is vital for Excadrill to clean up the opponent’s team late game, once all counters are gone. His appalling speed could be seen as a grace or a hinderance. On one hand he is unable to even outrun Skarmory to ensure a 2HKO. However on the other hand his speed ensures that Sand will be up and not Rain or Sun. Tyranitar is a pivotal piece on the team playing many tasks to ensure my team has an easier time applying pressure. The first and foremost is Stealth Rocks. This limits the amount of times the opponent is able to switch and in turn makes the opposition play a more erratic game. Fearing to switch out to many times and instead trying to play a hyper offensive style, which is very different to those not accustomed to it, means that the opponent is unnecessarily sacking their Pokemon. You may think I’m over exaggerating but you’ll notice how hesitant the opponent becomes to constantly switch. Tyranitar also plays the part of tearing apart defensive cores. He handles the infamous Chansey / Skarmory / Slowbro core as well as the new and improved Jellicent / Ferrothorn combination. These basic cores prove problems for most teams, and if unable to break these cores teams will find themselves losing momentum. Having lost momentum it is really hard to regain it. Luckily with Tyranitar on this team he is able to crush these cores with ease and pass on the flow of momentum for the rest of my team to abuse.
Reuniclus (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 192 HP / 64 Def / 252 SAtk
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
- Trick Room
- Recover
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
Reuniclus superb special attack and acceptable defences may seem perfect but when attached to a lacklustre speed statistic one may see Reuniclus as unappealing. However Reuniclus is the dark knight and has proven itself a threat to all teams unprepared. While Calm Mind sets are seemingly the epitome of Reuniclus it can’t be ignored that Trick Room sets work just as well. While most are prepared for Calm Mind variants many are actually ill capable of handling a Trick Room set. Reuniclus has pretty good synergy with Conkeldurr and because of this he is able to also switch into Trick Room and destroy threats to Reuniclus inflicting some major damage. Tyranitar can also abuse it but I prefer to keep him in tip top condition just in case a weather war breaks out. Reuniclus shares the same dire weakness to Pursuit which can be a bane, especially since I’m not running Focus Blast for Tyranitar or Scizor. Luckily he isn’t OHKO’ed by either so so he might get the chance to Trick Room and Recover after his counter has been removed.
With speed being such a centralised factor this generation Trick Room is able to inflict 5 turns of hell to opposing teams. The closest thing most people will carry to abuse Trick Room is Nattorei who is asking to get a fist full from Reuniclus’ partner in crime. Being so ill-equiped the opponent must choose which Pokemon to sacrifice and will inevitably pry open glaring weaknesses in their team for which I can abuse. With Recover and decent defences Reuniclus is an absolute beast under Trick Room. He is rarely OHKO’ed by any move which means that he can just Recover what was lost. With maxed out special attack and a Life Orb Reuniclus can fire off STAB Psychic’s left, right and centre. Shadow Ball was chosen over Focus Blast simply because Conkeldurr would handle the Dark types that tried to switch into Reuniclus. Psychic and Shadow Ball, while not having as great coverage as Psychic/Shadow Ball + Focus Blast still offers decent coverage to which Reuniclus can abuse. Many teams actually tend to forget that Psychic was such a dominant force in generation 1. The reason that Psychic was so overpowering in generation 1 was the same reason I find it overpowering now, there aren’t very many resistors or shall we say many abusable resistors. Also with the abundance of Fighting Pokemon coming to the front Reuniclus finds plenty of opportunities to switch in and set up a Trick Room.
Conkeldurr (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Guts
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bulk Up
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
- Stone Edge
Conkeldurr is known for that killer attack statistic, period. Without it Conkeldurr wouldn’t see as much usage as it has. With generation 5 came the almighty Fighting types. Fighting now has the same status as Dragons as the feared, all teams carrying at least one Dragon and Fighting resist. The fact that Fighting types are weak to uncommon types (Flying + Psychic) makes it insanely difficult to take down, especially if they’re carrying a form of recovery in their arsenal. Conkeldurr was also blessed with Guts which makes him the perfect candidate to switch into Scald from bulky Waters and wreak havoc. Conkeldurr still has its troubles with Flying as Psychic types seeing as how he has to rely on the shaky accuracy of Stone Edge to handle them and also the fact it only comes with 8 PP. However luckily for him most Psychic and Flying Pokemon (with the exception of Sigilyph) tend to be rather fragile and easy to handle.
The only thing that Conkeldurr lacks is speed which it more than makes up for under Reuniclus’ Trick Room. Not only will he get the Bulk Up first but he won’t have to use Mach Punch seeing as how Drain Punch will almost certainly go first. I still keep Mach Punch around though simply because Conkeldurr doesn’t require Trick Room to sweep an entire team. With Mach Punch as priority, Conkeldurr can still OHKO some of the fastest threats in the game. However it is Jolly Excadrill which I need him to handle. Seeing as I’m running Adamant Life Orb I need his Mach Punch to prevent an opposing Excadrill sweep. Drain Punch offers a form of recovery and hits hard considering the pros that come with it. Being slow comes in handy in this situation because he is able to steal back any HP that a fellow Drain Punch’er / Giga Drain’er has stolen. Stone Edge giving him great coverage as well as a good chance for a critical hit. While it has shakier accuracy and can cost you games I believe you really have to trust it is going to hit. If you have no faith in Conkeldurr, Conkeldurr will have no faith in you. Payback’s coverage with Drain Punch really is overrated, and if it didn’t have to amount off PP it did then it would clearly be an inferior choice. It doesn’t hit any ghost harder (except maybe Golurk) than Stone Edge would. We all know and fear Terrakion’s STAB moves but not so much Scrafty’s. While he is performing under Trick Room I chose not to give him a negative speed nature. This is simply due to his speed not being as awful as the likes of Reuniclus as well as the fact he doesn’t need Trick Room to sweep. He actually sits at around the same speed statistic as Tyranitar.
Excadrill (M) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Frustration
Excadrill is a staple on any sand team, and I can’t disagree with that. In sandstorm with an Adamant nature he sees himself hitting attack and speed levels of 405 and 550 respectively. With his overwhelming speed statistic I thought that I wouldn’t see any threats besides fellow Jolly Excadrill’s, whom Conkeldurr handles pretty well. He is able to break through his so called “counters” with this set and cleans up late game pretty well. He relies largely on Tyranitar to be around so that he can do what he is known for doing. Unfortunately Excadrill wasn’t awarded a vast movepool, which left him with his only moves being STAB moves. Also his typing left him with weaknesses to various weaknesses to commonly used priority attacks, such as Mach Punch and Aqua Jet. Finally his feeble defences mean that he isn’t going to take any hits easily, especially with the brute force Pokemon where blessed with this generation. However Excadrill has still found its way to being the King of Sand, and with due reason.
Excadrill was given one of the best stat-upping moves in the game in Swords Dance. +2 to Excadrill’s attack will usually mean game over, and with my set will almost always mean game over. Earthquake is a mandatory STAB for Excadrill as his shallow movepool doesn’t offer much outside of it. However Excadrill was still able to form the revered QuakeSlide combination with Rock Slide. While Rock Slide’s BP may not be as daunting as Earthquakes it does provide a reliable duo for Earthquake. Rock Slide’s chance of flinching can also be quite game changing and revolutionary. However it’s best not to leave it up to the flinch to save you. Frustration was chosen to hit hard sitting at a comfortable 102 BP. X-Scissor didn’t offer anything to me to OHKO besides the fragile Psychic’s. I also found the numerous resistors of Bug gave me really only 3 moves to work with. Sand Rush is the glue of this set, allowing him to hit a speed statistic of over 550. Without this Excadrill would be outpaced by the common base 100’s which is rather crippling in his attempts to sweep an entire team. That is why it is so crucial that Tyranitar is still around when Excadrill is performing his duties to this team. As I already said speed is a fundamental quality which teams must have otherwise they’ll find themselves falling behind and losing momentum.
Threats
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It's ironic how the Pokemon that finishes games for my team can also be the Pokemon that finishes games for my opponent. Jolly Excadrill can OHKO all Pokemon on my team with just Earthquake/Rock Slide excluding Conkeldurr who requires near full HP and Latios who also requires an untampered HP level. When playing against fellow Sand teams I preserve Conkeldurr no matter what, but sometimes it's futile. This guy is the reason that I consider running Jolly on my own Excadrill, just to stand a better chance against him.
Importable
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Final Glance
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Hello
Now before I give you an introduction into this team I have to warn you it is very lengthy. It’s sitting at more than 3000 words, so it might not be every ones cup of tea. If it really is just too much of a task to read I suggest reading the second paragraph under each Pokemon, because it contains the vital strategic information necessary for this team to function properly.
I present you with my latest successful team, a Sand team. It’s no surprise Sand is seen everywhere, it works. Sand got a major enhancement with new abilities, moves and abusers. Sand has probably been offered some of the best new sweepers in the form of Excadrill and Landorus. Sand and Sand Rush is identical to Rain + Swift Swim, yet somehow isn’t seen as much as a threat. I find it quite ironic that with Sand having more powerful abilities and Pokemon that it isn’t as feared as Rain. Tyranitar has consistently found itself in the top 3 most used Pokemon, which shows the extent of Sand teams that are present.
However this team functions as a team of pairs rather than a Sandstorm team. I experimented and hypothesised with some well known Pokemon to find some great cores to swing momentum and pressure in my hands. However this team can rely on one another to function well, which I find crucial in the dire moments. Some fast, some slow, some strong and some fast. In the end its main aim is to get me in a winning position and not let the opponent develop any sense of momentum.
Players are starting to equip themselves with the armour they need from certain dominant threats and in that way it has settled the metagame down. However while they think they are all set for the threat, they aren’t prepared for certain ostracized sets which I exploit in this team.
Now before I give you an introduction into this team I have to warn you it is very lengthy. It’s sitting at more than 3000 words, so it might not be every ones cup of tea. If it really is just too much of a task to read I suggest reading the second paragraph under each Pokemon, because it contains the vital strategic information necessary for this team to function properly.
I present you with my latest successful team, a Sand team. It’s no surprise Sand is seen everywhere, it works. Sand got a major enhancement with new abilities, moves and abusers. Sand has probably been offered some of the best new sweepers in the form of Excadrill and Landorus. Sand and Sand Rush is identical to Rain + Swift Swim, yet somehow isn’t seen as much as a threat. I find it quite ironic that with Sand having more powerful abilities and Pokemon that it isn’t as feared as Rain. Tyranitar has consistently found itself in the top 3 most used Pokemon, which shows the extent of Sand teams that are present.
However this team functions as a team of pairs rather than a Sandstorm team. I experimented and hypothesised with some well known Pokemon to find some great cores to swing momentum and pressure in my hands. However this team can rely on one another to function well, which I find crucial in the dire moments. Some fast, some slow, some strong and some fast. In the end its main aim is to get me in a winning position and not let the opponent develop any sense of momentum.
Players are starting to equip themselves with the armour they need from certain dominant threats and in that way it has settled the metagame down. However while they think they are all set for the threat, they aren’t prepared for certain ostracized sets which I exploit in this team.
Team Building Process
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I started off with a simple core of Genesect and Latios. I knew that they were effective from previous experience and knew that they were a great centrepiece for any offensive team. I went with fairly standard sets in Choice Specs Latios and Choice Scarf Genesect. One offers raw power and they other blazing speed.
I wanted to test out Tyranitar. I've never been a fan of Tyranitar, but the sheer abundance made me rather curious as to whether all the hye was really deserved. While he was a great weather inducer, I found him to be average in every category, yet not excelling at any particular objective. However his great bulk and resistances cant be overlooked making Tyranitar one of the best weather sources.
With Sand teams came Sand abusers, and every team tends to carry one. Excadrill was your stereotypical, cliché sand abuser. Once again I never saw the qualities that Excadrill brought as being unique nor prodigious. He just offers a great way to clean up late game. But there was no other that could do it like Excadrill.
Fighting types in general were a pain for my team, more so than Dragons. Fighting types are starting to overtake Dragons as the superior offensive type, due to the versatility Fighting types offered. They were able to bring pure power, great revenge killing and even late game cleaning. I knew that if I wasn't well prepared for the possibility of the opponent running two Fighting types I would have troubles. With that Reuniclus joined the party as Fighting check as well as a momentum changer.
I needed someone who could bring in Pokemon which Reuniclus could use to set up. He also needed someone else with good synergy who could switch into Trick Room incase Reuniclus fainted. There was no partner better for Reuniclus than Conkeldurr. He also offered me a valuable way of dealing with Jolly natured Excadrill's which put the hurting on my team. He also gave me a Fighting type, which I have discussed as the offesnive typing of generation 5.
Team At A Glance
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In Depth Analysis
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Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Download
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- U-turn
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
Genesect has been blessed with countless abusable gifts. His great movepool, typing and base statistic distribution makes him a behemoth when coupled with the right team mates. He strikes hard with a 120 base attack off both wings coupled with the stellar ability, Download. Download allows Genesect to turn those 2HKO’s into clean OHKO’s which is important for Genesect’s longevity. His typing offers a much needed Sandstorm resistance, an imperative Dragon resistance and finally an immunity to Toxic. However his bothersome speed statistic of 99 does really only give him one option, which has kind of made Genesect predictable. In a generation I dare say dominated by speed Genesect’s falls below par. His mediocre defences also give him a hard time to continually sponge attacks, especially from the omnipresent Dragons.
Genesect works in tandem with Latios to create a pressure core, constantly forcing the opponent to switch out as I fire off powerful moves. His moveset shouldn’t come as any surprise. Genesect’s function on this team is to scout an opponent’s team as well as revenge killing weakened off threats. Sometimes he is able to clean up late game, but I usually leave that to Excadrill. U-Turn offers Genesect his only means of a STAB or physical move. Paired with a trio of Flamethrower, Ice Beam and Thunderbolt he is able to pseudo-phaze the opponent, fearing a super-effective attack completely dominating them. However with great power comes great responsibility. Firing off the wrong attack could put you under pressure which is the opposite of what you want to achieve. For example Choice locked Thunderbolt gives Garchomp the perfect chance to get behind a Substitute, Ice Beam allows for Shell Smash Cloyster to set up with imputy and Flamethrower gives Heatran the ability to tear through a team with a Balloon and Flame Charge. The moral at the end of the day is to analyse the opponents team and not be overzealous with a move which they can use to turn the pressure on you. The choice of nature ensures maximum speed and but at the cost of giving opposing Genesect’s a Special Attack boost. Seeing as how Genesect isn’t surviving a Flamethrower from opposing Genesect’s with or without a boost I thought I would leave my fate in the hands of a speed tie and therefore would be superior if he could tank priority hits such as Mach Punch, Sucker Punch and Extremespeed with more ease, no matter how insignificant it may seem.
Latios (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Trick
Latios’ amazing 130 special attack and his formidable 110 speed statistic makes him one of the most frightening Pokemon in the OU metagame. With one of the best offensive typings and movepool Latios has a plethora of possible sets to abuse from the standard Choice Specs to the obscure Dragon Dance set. His typing, while offering amazing resistances to common attacks, gives him one of the worst possible weaknesses to Dark types. More specifically the move Pursuit, which when used by Scizor or Tyranitar, leaves me with the option to linger in the presence of the aforementioned or switch and die. However if played properly Latios has the ability to decimate teams.
Latios is the counterpart to Genesect, which doesn’t only work offensively but also defensively. They are renowned for continuously forcing switches, and with the help of Tyranitar’s Stealth Rocks and Sandstorm is able to wither away the opponent. Once again his set is nothing out of the ordinary. Draco Meteor is Latios’ forte when it comes to attacking. It inflicts copious amounts of damage to every single Pokemon excluding Steels and Chansey/Blissey. Surf gives this offensive duo a reliable way to check the powerful Fire types with ease. It also give Latios the opportunity to abuse a pseudo-STAB under Rain, seeing as how Hidden Power is made useless. Hidden Power Fire hurts all Steel Pokemon who always tend to be physically inclined. Hidden Power under the Sun gives an oxymoronic situation, with Fire boosted to a STAB and Surf nullified. This makes Latios a prime candidate against Sun and Rain teams, plowing through the majority of abusers. It's also helpful that he offers resistances to Fire, Grass, Water and Thunder, principal attacking types for both Sun and Rain teams. Trick allows Latios to cripple walls which in the process renders there chance of walling. It is especially helpful against the like of Eviolite Chansey/Dusclops. Once again Latios needs to be played with some level of caution. Some will deliberately switch in two Pokemon frail to Dragon moves to get Latios at -4 only to switch in Thundurus and Nasty Plot with ease. Others with abuse the fact that you will Trick and give you a Toxic Orb/Choice Scarf. Unfortunately Latios loses the ability to speed tie with base 110’s due to the crippling effect Hidden Power Fire gives. Fortuitously most base 110’s run a Hidden Power which does hinder their speed. Nonetheless Latios still retains a hasty speed statistic which makes him not only the fastest Dragon’s but also one of the most agile current threats.
Tyranitar (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Atk / 180 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Crunch
- Fire Blast
- Superpower
Tyranitar is well known for having devastating offensive power as well its impressive defensive prowess. Coupled with a colossal movepool he can fulfil a multitude of roles from support to all out offense. However the imperative aspect he offers is his automatic summoning of Sand. Sand not only allows fellow team mates to function the way they need to, but also gives Tyranitar that 1.5x boost to its special defence, making him the special wall he is renowned for being. Like all good Pokemon Tyranitar comes with his hindering qualities. The most noticeable is his abysmal speed, which is a fundamental quality for most attacking Pokemon. The second is the crippling 4x weakness to Fighting moves as well as the introduction of a smorgasbord of brute fighters. However Tyranitar has still found its niche this generation as one of the most reliable weather inducers.
Tyranitar’s existence is vital for Excadrill to clean up the opponent’s team late game, once all counters are gone. His appalling speed could be seen as a grace or a hinderance. On one hand he is unable to even outrun Skarmory to ensure a 2HKO. However on the other hand his speed ensures that Sand will be up and not Rain or Sun. Tyranitar is a pivotal piece on the team playing many tasks to ensure my team has an easier time applying pressure. The first and foremost is Stealth Rocks. This limits the amount of times the opponent is able to switch and in turn makes the opposition play a more erratic game. Fearing to switch out to many times and instead trying to play a hyper offensive style, which is very different to those not accustomed to it, means that the opponent is unnecessarily sacking their Pokemon. You may think I’m over exaggerating but you’ll notice how hesitant the opponent becomes to constantly switch. Tyranitar also plays the part of tearing apart defensive cores. He handles the infamous Chansey / Skarmory / Slowbro core as well as the new and improved Jellicent / Ferrothorn combination. These basic cores prove problems for most teams, and if unable to break these cores teams will find themselves losing momentum. Having lost momentum it is really hard to regain it. Luckily with Tyranitar on this team he is able to crush these cores with ease and pass on the flow of momentum for the rest of my team to abuse.
Reuniclus (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 192 HP / 64 Def / 252 SAtk
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
- Trick Room
- Recover
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
Reuniclus superb special attack and acceptable defences may seem perfect but when attached to a lacklustre speed statistic one may see Reuniclus as unappealing. However Reuniclus is the dark knight and has proven itself a threat to all teams unprepared. While Calm Mind sets are seemingly the epitome of Reuniclus it can’t be ignored that Trick Room sets work just as well. While most are prepared for Calm Mind variants many are actually ill capable of handling a Trick Room set. Reuniclus has pretty good synergy with Conkeldurr and because of this he is able to also switch into Trick Room and destroy threats to Reuniclus inflicting some major damage. Tyranitar can also abuse it but I prefer to keep him in tip top condition just in case a weather war breaks out. Reuniclus shares the same dire weakness to Pursuit which can be a bane, especially since I’m not running Focus Blast for Tyranitar or Scizor. Luckily he isn’t OHKO’ed by either so so he might get the chance to Trick Room and Recover after his counter has been removed.
With speed being such a centralised factor this generation Trick Room is able to inflict 5 turns of hell to opposing teams. The closest thing most people will carry to abuse Trick Room is Nattorei who is asking to get a fist full from Reuniclus’ partner in crime. Being so ill-equiped the opponent must choose which Pokemon to sacrifice and will inevitably pry open glaring weaknesses in their team for which I can abuse. With Recover and decent defences Reuniclus is an absolute beast under Trick Room. He is rarely OHKO’ed by any move which means that he can just Recover what was lost. With maxed out special attack and a Life Orb Reuniclus can fire off STAB Psychic’s left, right and centre. Shadow Ball was chosen over Focus Blast simply because Conkeldurr would handle the Dark types that tried to switch into Reuniclus. Psychic and Shadow Ball, while not having as great coverage as Psychic/Shadow Ball + Focus Blast still offers decent coverage to which Reuniclus can abuse. Many teams actually tend to forget that Psychic was such a dominant force in generation 1. The reason that Psychic was so overpowering in generation 1 was the same reason I find it overpowering now, there aren’t very many resistors or shall we say many abusable resistors. Also with the abundance of Fighting Pokemon coming to the front Reuniclus finds plenty of opportunities to switch in and set up a Trick Room.
Conkeldurr (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Guts
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bulk Up
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
- Stone Edge
Conkeldurr is known for that killer attack statistic, period. Without it Conkeldurr wouldn’t see as much usage as it has. With generation 5 came the almighty Fighting types. Fighting now has the same status as Dragons as the feared, all teams carrying at least one Dragon and Fighting resist. The fact that Fighting types are weak to uncommon types (Flying + Psychic) makes it insanely difficult to take down, especially if they’re carrying a form of recovery in their arsenal. Conkeldurr was also blessed with Guts which makes him the perfect candidate to switch into Scald from bulky Waters and wreak havoc. Conkeldurr still has its troubles with Flying as Psychic types seeing as how he has to rely on the shaky accuracy of Stone Edge to handle them and also the fact it only comes with 8 PP. However luckily for him most Psychic and Flying Pokemon (with the exception of Sigilyph) tend to be rather fragile and easy to handle.
The only thing that Conkeldurr lacks is speed which it more than makes up for under Reuniclus’ Trick Room. Not only will he get the Bulk Up first but he won’t have to use Mach Punch seeing as how Drain Punch will almost certainly go first. I still keep Mach Punch around though simply because Conkeldurr doesn’t require Trick Room to sweep an entire team. With Mach Punch as priority, Conkeldurr can still OHKO some of the fastest threats in the game. However it is Jolly Excadrill which I need him to handle. Seeing as I’m running Adamant Life Orb I need his Mach Punch to prevent an opposing Excadrill sweep. Drain Punch offers a form of recovery and hits hard considering the pros that come with it. Being slow comes in handy in this situation because he is able to steal back any HP that a fellow Drain Punch’er / Giga Drain’er has stolen. Stone Edge giving him great coverage as well as a good chance for a critical hit. While it has shakier accuracy and can cost you games I believe you really have to trust it is going to hit. If you have no faith in Conkeldurr, Conkeldurr will have no faith in you. Payback’s coverage with Drain Punch really is overrated, and if it didn’t have to amount off PP it did then it would clearly be an inferior choice. It doesn’t hit any ghost harder (except maybe Golurk) than Stone Edge would. We all know and fear Terrakion’s STAB moves but not so much Scrafty’s. While he is performing under Trick Room I chose not to give him a negative speed nature. This is simply due to his speed not being as awful as the likes of Reuniclus as well as the fact he doesn’t need Trick Room to sweep. He actually sits at around the same speed statistic as Tyranitar.
Excadrill (M) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Frustration
Excadrill is a staple on any sand team, and I can’t disagree with that. In sandstorm with an Adamant nature he sees himself hitting attack and speed levels of 405 and 550 respectively. With his overwhelming speed statistic I thought that I wouldn’t see any threats besides fellow Jolly Excadrill’s, whom Conkeldurr handles pretty well. He is able to break through his so called “counters” with this set and cleans up late game pretty well. He relies largely on Tyranitar to be around so that he can do what he is known for doing. Unfortunately Excadrill wasn’t awarded a vast movepool, which left him with his only moves being STAB moves. Also his typing left him with weaknesses to various weaknesses to commonly used priority attacks, such as Mach Punch and Aqua Jet. Finally his feeble defences mean that he isn’t going to take any hits easily, especially with the brute force Pokemon where blessed with this generation. However Excadrill has still found its way to being the King of Sand, and with due reason.
Excadrill was given one of the best stat-upping moves in the game in Swords Dance. +2 to Excadrill’s attack will usually mean game over, and with my set will almost always mean game over. Earthquake is a mandatory STAB for Excadrill as his shallow movepool doesn’t offer much outside of it. However Excadrill was still able to form the revered QuakeSlide combination with Rock Slide. While Rock Slide’s BP may not be as daunting as Earthquakes it does provide a reliable duo for Earthquake. Rock Slide’s chance of flinching can also be quite game changing and revolutionary. However it’s best not to leave it up to the flinch to save you. Frustration was chosen to hit hard sitting at a comfortable 102 BP. X-Scissor didn’t offer anything to me to OHKO besides the fragile Psychic’s. I also found the numerous resistors of Bug gave me really only 3 moves to work with. Sand Rush is the glue of this set, allowing him to hit a speed statistic of over 550. Without this Excadrill would be outpaced by the common base 100’s which is rather crippling in his attempts to sweep an entire team. That is why it is so crucial that Tyranitar is still around when Excadrill is performing his duties to this team. As I already said speed is a fundamental quality which teams must have otherwise they’ll find themselves falling behind and losing momentum.
Threats
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It's ironic how the Pokemon that finishes games for my team can also be the Pokemon that finishes games for my opponent. Jolly Excadrill can OHKO all Pokemon on my team with just Earthquake/Rock Slide excluding Conkeldurr who requires near full HP and Latios who also requires an untampered HP level. When playing against fellow Sand teams I preserve Conkeldurr no matter what, but sometimes it's futile. This guy is the reason that I consider running Jolly on my own Excadrill, just to stand a better chance against him.
Importable
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Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Download
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- U-turn
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
Latios (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Trick
Tyranitar (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Atk / 180 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Crunch
- Fire Blast
- Superpower
Reuniclus (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 192 HP / 64 Def / 252 SAtk
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
- Trick Room
- Recover
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
Conkeldurr (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Guts
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bulk Up
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
- Stone Edge
Excadrill (M) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Frustration
Trait: Download
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- U-turn
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
Latios (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Trick
Tyranitar (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Atk / 180 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Crunch
- Fire Blast
- Superpower
Reuniclus (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 192 HP / 64 Def / 252 SAtk
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
- Trick Room
- Recover
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
Conkeldurr (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Guts
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bulk Up
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
- Stone Edge
Excadrill (M) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Frustration
Final Glance
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