Hello Smogon, this is my first post.
I wanted to build a sand team because I find them to be fun. I also wanted a team that looked very standard, but had a few surprises that can catch people off guard. In order to do this I started with the sand staples Tyranitar and Excadrill. I added Thundurus because I feel like its a threat that most players have forgotten about. With these three pokes, it was obvious that bulkier things like Ferrothorn and Lando-T would give me a very hard time. Because of this I added specs Keldeo due to its ability to break through bulkier mons. I also wanted pokemon that could set up and sweep in the late game. That's where I added rock polish Metagross and DD Dragonite because of there typing synergy with the team.
Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
- Stone Edge
This is mandatory on sand because it has Sand Stream. It has synergy with excadrill because it sets up sand for it to sweep. I run crunch over pursuit for reliability, rocks because they secure KO's (especially in combo with sand), stone edge for talonflame, and roar. I hate it when t-tar gets set up on, most people mitigate this problem with t-wave. However, i already had t-wave on thundurus, so i replaced this with roar. Roar has turned out to be even more reliable than t-wave because it goes through subs and if needed i can phaze (which is even more effective due to rocks+sand). Smooth rock because I want sand to go up as long as possible.
Excadrill @ Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
Excadrill is the classic sweeper of the team. Running dual STAB + rock slide for edge-quake. Iron head also deals with clefable quite nicely. Spin is almost a must due to dragonite and thundurus being on my team. Air balloon because otherwise my ground weakness would be a bit too much, although I am debating on life orb for power.
Thundurus (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Nasty Plot
- Thunder Wave
Thundurus provides a way for me to break walls. It destroys mega bro, deals with crocune very effectively, rips azumarill to shreds, and is a decent bird check. Priority t-wave goes great in combo with excadrill's iron head. Nasty Plot is not often expected, and can catch people by surprise. Debating whether to go with focus blast or HP ice, but i'll keep it HP ice for now so I can have bolt-beam coverage
Keldeo @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Secret Sword
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Icy Wind
Keldeo is only here because it is a pokemon a can click a move and expect pokemon to die. Scald for reliability, Hydro pump for power, Secret Sword for fighting STAB. Chose icy wind for a fouth slot, but the only pokemon its really used against is latios/latias. Honestly there is no need to predict around the latis because metagross can simply set up on them.
Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 68 HP / 252 Atk / 188 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Polish
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Earthquake
Metagross-mega is a great sweeper. Main set up fodder are the lati twins, as they are on every other team and can only do damage to metagross if they have HP fire. Even then HP fire does only 50-55 percent from a life orb latios. Meteor Mash OHKO's after rocks. Ev'd to be able to outspeed Jolly excadrill after a rock polish.
Dragonite @ Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
Dragonite can tear through teams after getting up a DD. It has fantastic and powerful priority. Lum berry over Weakness policy to prevent status. It has defensive synnergy with metagross as well as drill, if that matters in sand offence. However, sand definitely clashes with its multiscale, not sure if dragonite is still the best choice.
I wanted to build a sand team because I find them to be fun. I also wanted a team that looked very standard, but had a few surprises that can catch people off guard. In order to do this I started with the sand staples Tyranitar and Excadrill. I added Thundurus because I feel like its a threat that most players have forgotten about. With these three pokes, it was obvious that bulkier things like Ferrothorn and Lando-T would give me a very hard time. Because of this I added specs Keldeo due to its ability to break through bulkier mons. I also wanted pokemon that could set up and sweep in the late game. That's where I added rock polish Metagross and DD Dragonite because of there typing synergy with the team.
Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
- Stone Edge
This is mandatory on sand because it has Sand Stream. It has synergy with excadrill because it sets up sand for it to sweep. I run crunch over pursuit for reliability, rocks because they secure KO's (especially in combo with sand), stone edge for talonflame, and roar. I hate it when t-tar gets set up on, most people mitigate this problem with t-wave. However, i already had t-wave on thundurus, so i replaced this with roar. Roar has turned out to be even more reliable than t-wave because it goes through subs and if needed i can phaze (which is even more effective due to rocks+sand). Smooth rock because I want sand to go up as long as possible.
Excadrill @ Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
Excadrill is the classic sweeper of the team. Running dual STAB + rock slide for edge-quake. Iron head also deals with clefable quite nicely. Spin is almost a must due to dragonite and thundurus being on my team. Air balloon because otherwise my ground weakness would be a bit too much, although I am debating on life orb for power.
Thundurus (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Nasty Plot
- Thunder Wave
Thundurus provides a way for me to break walls. It destroys mega bro, deals with crocune very effectively, rips azumarill to shreds, and is a decent bird check. Priority t-wave goes great in combo with excadrill's iron head. Nasty Plot is not often expected, and can catch people by surprise. Debating whether to go with focus blast or HP ice, but i'll keep it HP ice for now so I can have bolt-beam coverage
Keldeo @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Secret Sword
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Icy Wind
Keldeo is only here because it is a pokemon a can click a move and expect pokemon to die. Scald for reliability, Hydro pump for power, Secret Sword for fighting STAB. Chose icy wind for a fouth slot, but the only pokemon its really used against is latios/latias. Honestly there is no need to predict around the latis because metagross can simply set up on them.
Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 68 HP / 252 Atk / 188 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Polish
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Earthquake
Metagross-mega is a great sweeper. Main set up fodder are the lati twins, as they are on every other team and can only do damage to metagross if they have HP fire. Even then HP fire does only 50-55 percent from a life orb latios. Meteor Mash OHKO's after rocks. Ev'd to be able to outspeed Jolly excadrill after a rock polish.
Dragonite @ Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
Dragonite can tear through teams after getting up a DD. It has fantastic and powerful priority. Lum berry over Weakness policy to prevent status. It has defensive synnergy with metagross as well as drill, if that matters in sand offence. However, sand definitely clashes with its multiscale, not sure if dragonite is still the best choice.
