ORAS OU General Sand Offense (1540)

[Numerator]

I've been away for a long time, and I'm still getting used to the metagame. I wanted to build a team around my favorite gen 4 Pokemon, Tyranitar. This is what I have so far. I'm hovering around 1540 on Pokemon Showdown with this team.​

Sand Offense

Overview
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Polkatar (Tyranitar) (F) @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Fire Punch
- Stone Edge
- Crunch

Barbara (Ferrothorn) @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball

Brobro (Slowbro) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpA
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Fire Blast
- Psyshock
- Ice Beam

Mexcadrill (Excadrill) @ Life Orb
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
- Rock Slide

FREEBIRD (Talonflame) @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Swords Dance
- Roost

( >'-' )> (Clefable) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SpD
Calm Nature
- Moonblast
- Fire Blast
- Calm Mind
- Soft-Boiled

The Core

Tyranitar

Tyranitar is the basis of this team. Mega TTar is great for checking special threats, especially Lati@s. I occasionally get a chance to sweep. Dragon dance is saved for the late game. Usually, I just force things out and dent the switch-in with crunch or stone edge. Adding more defensive EV's could be helpful to set up more often.


Ferrothorn

Oh, Ferrothorn. Is there any team that you don't fit on? Of course not. This bad boy has saved my butt countless times, and is the most reliable Rotom-W check out there. Ferrothorn is specced for special defense to better check Lati@s, Rotom, and other threats like Garchomp that pack HP fire for coverage. Ferrothorn covers Tyranitars water weakness and Slowbro's electric weakness. Leftovers and leech seed are used to stay healthy.


Slowbro

Assault vest Slowbro is a monster. It can stop Keldeo, Garchomp and Talonflame all day long. Fire blast kills some Ferrothorn variants, but not all. Scald and psyshock are obligatory, and ice beam is there for Garchomp and Landorus. There's no need for leftovers or status moves, because I rarely stay in for more than one turn anyway.

The Support

Excadrill

Excadrill's primary goal is to keep rocks off the field for Talonflame. With life orb, it can also destroy pesky switch-ins like Ferrothorn and force Sableye to recover. I chose Exca over other hazard removers because it destroys Clefable. I chose Mold Breaker over Sand Rush because this team isn't actually focused on keeping sand up. Catching Rotom-W on the switch is more common than actually sweeping.


Clefable

I haven't had much success with this new addition yet. I think a more offensive set might work better on this team, but I'm still getting a feel for. Fire blast is used over t-wave to kill Ferrothorn and Excadrill, who ruin my day otherwise.


The Win Condition

Talonflame

Here it is, the best dedicated sweeper in OU. If I can keep Talonflame healthy and get a swords dance off, it's gg. Unfortunately, rocks are everywhere and every Garchomp carries rocky helmet. Talonflame also stops nuisances like Breloom and Keldeo, which can punch holes in my team. Adamant is better for sweeping in my experience, but I might switch to Jolly to Thunderus and Tornadus more consistently.

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Threats

-Keldeo: This jerk can come in and set up on four out of six team members. Substitute variants wreck my team pretty hard. I should probably run psyshock on Slowbro for Keldeo.
-Mega Sableye: It just refuses to die. I rarely get caught setting up hazards on magic bouncers, but my current hazard setters can't break it anyway. I've been meaning to switch to mold breaker Excadrill, but this Mon will still be a pain.
-Clefable: If I lose my checks, it's gg.
-Landorus-T: I have a hard time catching Landorus when it spams u-turn. I try to keep rocks up to limit its switch-ins, but I always lose momentum when this guy comes out.
-Stall: I don't mean any particular stall Pokemon, but stall teams in general. I always end up getting worn down and losing the Mons I need to break the enemy walls.

 

[GotR]

Hey Numerator, it's been a while since I've seen a Mega-TTar team so it's really good to see some.

I'd like to recommend a couple of quick and easy set changes that should help your team a bit. I would recommend running Fire Punch > Earthquake on TTar as it provides better coverage against Ferrothorn and Scizor, as well at changing to a Jolly Nature to outspeed Weavile, Tornadus-T, and Alakazam after a Dragon Dance.

I would also recommend using an Assault Vest Excadrill because it lets you invest EVs in Atk and use an Adamant nature (maximising Excadrill's offensive power) while also giving Excadrill more special bulk. Stealth Rock is unnecessary on Excadrill because it's already on Ferrothorn, so I would also use Rock Slide > Stealth Rock - this helps gives Excadrill much better coverage in tandem with Earthquake and Iron Head, especially against Flying mons such as Torn-T and Talonflame.

Finally I would recommend using Trick > Thunderbolt and an EV spread of 248 HP/252 Def/8 Spe on Rotom-W. Trick is essential on the Scarf Rotom-W set because it lets you cripple a defensively oriented mon on the opponent's team, giving you a better match up against stall. Further, Rotom is not used for its offensive presence, but more to gain momentum with Volt Switch and cripple attackers with Will-O-Wisp, and the given EV spread helps it achieve this goal for longer.

Hope this helps your team, and enjoy battling!

 

[Omegasization]

allright ill start with something other then the actuall team rate first.

You broke a rule, you need AT least 3 lines of text per each pokemon and you do not have that.

In these three lines you should go in dept on WHY you are using those specific pokemon and why you are running those sets

 

[Numerator]

I thought it was three sentences. I'll go back and clean up the OP once I test some changes to the team.

 

[GotR]

The 3 line thing is a guideline really, it's basically just saying you should talk about each pokemon's role in the team. Sure, you could do with a little more, but your team is pretty self explanatory anyway and most people will be able to figure it out.

 

[Perennial]

agreeing with Jolly and Fire Punch on mega Tyranitar. killing common obstacles to a Tyranitar sweep like Scizor and Ferrothorn is very useful and you'd definitely prefer being faster than pokémon like Weavile and Tornadus-T since they can threaten to outrun and kill otherwise. coverage wise Earthquake doesn't cover anything you won't already be hitting between Crunch and Fire Punch, like mega Metagross, Jirachi and Bisharp, making the move unnecessary.

your Slowbro needs Psyshock. Keldeo, especially SubCM variants, are problematic. Psyshock provides a quick fix and removes a large weakness. personally, I would use it over Fire Blast. between Talonflame and the newly suggested Fire Punch Tyranitar, Fire Blast becomes redudant since you already have enough coverage on the pokémon it targets.

the Excadrill you are using seems misguided. a main reason to use Sand Rush Excadrill is for her offensive capabilities. you already have a good defensive backbone between Slowbro and Ferrothorn, who already has SR. as such, there is no need to assign Excadrill a defensive/SR setter role. it's redundant and you would be better off making her more offensive. to give you some perspective, in sand your current Excadrill is slower than threats like +1 Charizard-X, +1 Jolly mega Gyarados, mega Alakazam and several others outside of sand too. these are all threats Sand Rush Excadrill is known for being faster than and you would appreciate the speed advantage over them.

Hide

Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin

Air Balloon is an option over Life Orb if you prefer the temporary ground immunity, while Swords Dance is also viable over Rock Slide if you prefer added breaking power over rock coverage.

a big problem for your team is Rotom-W. Ferrothorn isn't a reliable answer because Rotom-W will simply burn her with WoW and Volt Switch away, coming back later to annoy the remainder of your team since nothing likes taking on her attacks or status. in my opinion, you can afford replacing Rotom-W. with Excadrill becoming faster and taking on the revenge killer role the need for Scarf Rotom-W decreases. threats Rotom-W handles, like Talonflame and Excadrill, are already covered nicely by Slowbro. I would recommend trying Clefable instead, who provides several benefits explained below.

Hide

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SpD
Calm Nature
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Calm Mind
- Thunder Wave

a premier win condition able to bypass many of its checks with paralysis. this gives you a good answer to Rotom-W while providing an answer to Sableye, an issue you mentioned in your threat list. furthermore, Clefable gives your team a status absorber, which you will appreciate very much since your team in general dislikes burns and poisons.

Other things to consider:

CM Slowbro - with paralysis on Clefable, you can experiment with CM on Slowbro over Thunder Wave for an added win condition and ability to go 1 on 1 with things like CM Suicune, who can be troublesome.

Power Whip and EV change on Ferrothorn - buffing up Ferrothorn's physical defenses to take on Excadrill and Landorus-T better. 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD with Relaxed is good and provides a balanced mix of defenses, letting you take hits more effectively. also contemplate Power Whip over Spikes. laying SR and Spikes is a lot of responsibility for Ferrothorn and you might gain more mileage by giving her a move capable of hitting threatening waters like Manaphy.

Jolly Talonflame - although Adamant is perfectly viable, you can consider Jolly to be faster than Thundurus-I and Raikou and kill them with Flare Blitz before they kill you. 88 HP / 252 Atk / 168 Spe would be the spread with Jolly.

good job with the team, gave you a like!

 

[Numerator]

I updated the OP with changes to the team. I replaced Rotom-W with Clefable, changed Exca to an offensive spinner, changed Slowbro to assault vest Bro and tweaked some movesets.

Clefable hasn't accomplished much in the few games I've used it in. VestBro is awesome, LO Exca is alright. I have never used fire punch, ever. I might switch back to earthquake to hit Keldeo harder on the switch.

Possibilities for future revisions:

• Change Clefable's set. I need more immediate power, because there are too many things that can force it out, like Landorus-T. I think a bulky Lati might work, but I'll reserve judgement.
• Make TTar bulkier. Maximum offense is good, but I want more chances to set up. Having a cleric on the team would also be very helpful.
• Change Slowbro's EV's. I feel like I'm not maximizing its potential. I'll probably move some defense EV's into SpD and SpA.

Any suggestions on the changes I want to make? Is there an existing bulky TTar set that would fit my team?

PS: is there a list of important speed benchmarks in the meta-game somewhere?