Hey guys,
Its been a while since I've made a new team but with the International tournament coming up I need a doubles worthy team. My idea for a sand team actually came from having success with a mini one in the battle subway. Now dont get me wrong, I've been comp battling for awhile so I know the difference between the two. The two main things I need help with are: 1. The second half of my team, after only having to worry about three for the subway, I need to make sure the others have good synergy with the originals. 2. Making the changes to the movesets so they fit for doubles.
Team at a glance:
In Detail:
Latios @ Dragon Gem
Trait: Levitate
EVs 4 HP/252 SpA/252 Speed
Timid
Draco Meteor
Psychic
Surf
Thunderbolt
Latios serves well as a lead with dragon gem +Draco Meteor OHKOing most Pokemon who dont resist it. Psychic is used for STAB when I dont want to be forced out after a DM, it hits a vareity of pokemon for at least neutral damage. Surf and Thunderbolt are for coverage; surf is the only real way it has to hit steels and thunderbolt is for Gyrados. Timid nature boosts Latios's special attack and dragon gem makes DM extremely deadly.
Tyranitar@ Focus Sash
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Speed
Adamant
Dragon Dance
Rock Slide
Crunch
Fire Punch
Tyranitar is the most important member of this team as Sand Stream allows me to set up sand needed to form the combo with Excadrill and produce the main effect of this team. Dragon Dance allows for set up and T-tar to outspeed many of its main threats. Rock Slide is his most powerful STAB attack and hits both opponents in doubles. Crunch is for Psychics and is a more accurate STAB than rock slide. Fire Punch is to counter Steel and Grass types that would otherwise wall this set. Adamant nature increases Tyranitar's attack and using a focus sash guarantees that Sand Stream will kick in.
Excadrill@ Air Balloon
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Speed
Adamant
Swords Dance
Rock Slide
Earthquake
X-Scissor
Excadrill is unstoppable in a sand storm and has ridiculously high attack after a swords dance. STAB Earthquake provides great coverage and along with rock slide hits both opponents but is more accurate. X-scissor is there for coverage to hit dark types hard. The Air Balloon eliminates Excadrill's Ground weakness.
Scizor@ Leftovers
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 HP/40 Atk/216 SpD
Adamant
Swords Dance
Bullet Punch
Bug Bite
Roost
Scizor is arguably one of the best Sand Sweepers there is, capable of wrecking havoc after just one swords dance. It gets priority STAB from Bullet Punch, the power of which is doubled by technician. Bug Bite provides Scizor another powerful STAB move and has the potential to cripple Resters and pokemon like dragons and shell smashers that rely on Lum Berries to cure their status side effects. Roost allows Scizor to self heal. The use of Leftovers increases Scizor's longevity without costing a turn.
Tentacruel@ Black Sludge
Trait: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP/236 Def/20 Speed
Bold
Rapid Spin
Toxic
Hydro Pump
Protect
Two of the most important Pokemon on my team (Excadrill and Scizor) are weak to fire attacks, What better way to solve this then to check with a water type that can fill multiple roles? Rapid Spin is the most important move as it allows me to spin away hazards that could cripple Latios on the after DM switch and also break T-Tar's Sash. Toxic allows Tentacruel to spread status through out the opposing team. I chose Hydro Pump over Scald because it was more powerful on a sand team. Protect allows me to recover more health with Black Sludge and rack up toxic damage. I decided to go with Rain Dish for Tentacruel's ability in an effort to use rain against rain teams.
Celebi@ Life Orb
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP/236 SpD/20 Speed
Calm
Giga Drain
Recover
U-Turn
Perish Song
Another huge weakness for this team is water so I decided to use Celebi for its good bulk and Grass typing to counter this. Giga Drain is the primary STAB and provides recovery from Life Orb damage. Recover allows Celebi to stay in longer. U-turn is used to escape unfavorable match ups and deal damage before exiting to take advantage of Natural Cure. Perish Song is there to deal with set up pokemon such as subs or CM abusers as well as a surprise for those expecting me to carry Thunder Wave.
Thanks for your time.
STABX4
Its been a while since I've made a new team but with the International tournament coming up I need a doubles worthy team. My idea for a sand team actually came from having success with a mini one in the battle subway. Now dont get me wrong, I've been comp battling for awhile so I know the difference between the two. The two main things I need help with are: 1. The second half of my team, after only having to worry about three for the subway, I need to make sure the others have good synergy with the originals. 2. Making the changes to the movesets so they fit for doubles.
Team at a glance:
In Detail:
Latios @ Dragon Gem
Trait: Levitate
EVs 4 HP/252 SpA/252 Speed
Timid
Draco Meteor
Psychic
Surf
Thunderbolt
Latios serves well as a lead with dragon gem +Draco Meteor OHKOing most Pokemon who dont resist it. Psychic is used for STAB when I dont want to be forced out after a DM, it hits a vareity of pokemon for at least neutral damage. Surf and Thunderbolt are for coverage; surf is the only real way it has to hit steels and thunderbolt is for Gyrados. Timid nature boosts Latios's special attack and dragon gem makes DM extremely deadly.
Tyranitar@ Focus Sash
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Speed
Adamant
Dragon Dance
Rock Slide
Crunch
Fire Punch
Tyranitar is the most important member of this team as Sand Stream allows me to set up sand needed to form the combo with Excadrill and produce the main effect of this team. Dragon Dance allows for set up and T-tar to outspeed many of its main threats. Rock Slide is his most powerful STAB attack and hits both opponents in doubles. Crunch is for Psychics and is a more accurate STAB than rock slide. Fire Punch is to counter Steel and Grass types that would otherwise wall this set. Adamant nature increases Tyranitar's attack and using a focus sash guarantees that Sand Stream will kick in.
Excadrill@ Air Balloon
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Speed
Adamant
Swords Dance
Rock Slide
Earthquake
X-Scissor
Excadrill is unstoppable in a sand storm and has ridiculously high attack after a swords dance. STAB Earthquake provides great coverage and along with rock slide hits both opponents but is more accurate. X-scissor is there for coverage to hit dark types hard. The Air Balloon eliminates Excadrill's Ground weakness.
Scizor@ Leftovers
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 HP/40 Atk/216 SpD
Adamant
Swords Dance
Bullet Punch
Bug Bite
Roost
Scizor is arguably one of the best Sand Sweepers there is, capable of wrecking havoc after just one swords dance. It gets priority STAB from Bullet Punch, the power of which is doubled by technician. Bug Bite provides Scizor another powerful STAB move and has the potential to cripple Resters and pokemon like dragons and shell smashers that rely on Lum Berries to cure their status side effects. Roost allows Scizor to self heal. The use of Leftovers increases Scizor's longevity without costing a turn.
Tentacruel@ Black Sludge
Trait: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP/236 Def/20 Speed
Bold
Rapid Spin
Toxic
Hydro Pump
Protect
Two of the most important Pokemon on my team (Excadrill and Scizor) are weak to fire attacks, What better way to solve this then to check with a water type that can fill multiple roles? Rapid Spin is the most important move as it allows me to spin away hazards that could cripple Latios on the after DM switch and also break T-Tar's Sash. Toxic allows Tentacruel to spread status through out the opposing team. I chose Hydro Pump over Scald because it was more powerful on a sand team. Protect allows me to recover more health with Black Sludge and rack up toxic damage. I decided to go with Rain Dish for Tentacruel's ability in an effort to use rain against rain teams.
Celebi@ Life Orb
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP/236 SpD/20 Speed
Calm
Giga Drain
Recover
U-Turn
Perish Song
Another huge weakness for this team is water so I decided to use Celebi for its good bulk and Grass typing to counter this. Giga Drain is the primary STAB and provides recovery from Life Orb damage. Recover allows Celebi to stay in longer. U-turn is used to escape unfavorable match ups and deal damage before exiting to take advantage of Natural Cure. Perish Song is there to deal with set up pokemon such as subs or CM abusers as well as a surprise for those expecting me to carry Thunder Wave.
Thanks for your time.
STABX4
