[RMT] Unorthodox Sandstorm Team [RMT]

[Elite_Trainer_U]

Introduction​

Well as the title says this is a rather unique sandstorm team as I only have one pokemon that truely benefits from the sand. And yes, that pokemon is excadrill. I prefer to think of my team as an offensively inclined sandstorm team. This is not to say I don't use walls, it's just that my walls pack a punch! Anyhow, this is my first standard team and as a result there may be blatant flaws in my team. Feel free to point them out and suggest ways to fix them. One last thing, do NOT recommend pokemon that have zero attack and can't do anything offensively. That's not my playing style and I refuse to use any of these kind of pokemon. Without further ado...​

The Team​

Hippowdon (M) @ Leftovers​

Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 152 Def / 104 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Fang

Ah Hippowdon. My lone sandstreamer and an essential part of my team. His EVs make him a pain to take down without SE attacks. His first three moves are standard. Earthquake as his main STAB, slack off to allow longetivity, and SR to support my team. The last move on Hippowdon is always a wildcard. I chose to use ice fang because of the immense number of dragons running around this meta. I use Hippowdon over Tyranitar for his bulk, Ttar's nasty 4x weakness to fighting is a real turn off.

Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Taunt
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang

Gliscor is without a doubt the most underrated pokemon ever. Now this a wall that packs a punch (or is that bite...)! EVs provide bulk and the speed EVs let it outspeed other bulkier gliscor. Taunt renders nattorei and other suppot pokemon useless. Then after a taunt, I usually get a free swords dance! And in the case of nattoreri, the opponent usually stays in, allowing me to reach +4 with minimal damage! EQ is standard STAB. Ice Fang provides coverage much like it does on Hippowdon.

Excadrill (Doryuuzu) (M) @ Balloon
Trait: Sand Throw
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- X-Scissor

Honestly, does this guy require an explanation? Everything about this set is standard. EVs and nature allow it to meet max speed. Balloon gives it the advantage over LO excadrills. His first three moves are standard so they require no explanation. X-Scissor gives me coverage over Latias, something my team finds annoying. The only other thing worth mentioning is that I try to keep Excadrill out of the fight as long as possisble. This way all of his counters would be out of the game and he can net me a victory.

Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 124 HP / 252 SAtk / 132 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Thunder Wave

Now we're getting to the newer members of my team. The EVs provide some nice bulk and some AWESOME special attack. This guy can take a hit and hit like a truck. Thunderbolt and Hydro Pump are two standard STABs that deal massive damage. Hidden power fire is there for scizor and ferrothorn so I can either one or two hit KO them. HP fire is vital because it is my lone fire attack on this team. I have replaced pain split with thunder wave because it helps me cripple opposing sweepers.

Reuniclus (Rankurusu) (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 36 SDef / 4 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball

My second special sweeper. He is mainly used to compliment Rotom-W. To be honest I have no idea what I'm doing with the EVs and nature. I want to run something bulky but I don't want Reuniclus to lose his offensive prowess. All I know for fact is that the 4 speed evs are staying so I'll outspeed other Reuniclus. I'm not sure about his moveset either. His attacks are there for STAB and coverage. Recover is meh, because he's 2HKO'd by a lot, so I never get a good chance to use it. This is the pokemon I need the most help with.

Ferrothorn (Nattorei) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 20 Def / 236 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Curse
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip

Thanks to Toast for recommending this! Ferrothorn is my all purpose check. It can take Draco Meteors from Latios and shrug them off with ease. If I don't know what my opponent is going to do, I usually go to ferrothorn. His EVs and nature give him reliable bulk and give him the strongest gyro ball possible. Leech seed and gyro ball are fairly standard on ferrothorn. I also opted for power whip just for the coverage. Curse is a bit of a wild card. If my opponenet no longer can threaten my ferrothorn I curse up and just wall everything into oblivion. He pairs well with gliscor and rotom-w to take fighting and fire attacks. I don't really think that I need to change him as of now.

Conclusion​

Well, there's my team. I've been fairly successful, breaking the top 200 on the beta server on PO, but that's not good enough. I feel that I can get this team to the top ten if I don't get haxed out or make dumb plays. No particular offensive pokemon causes me griefs now that Blaziken is banned, but scizor can be a pain. I think I need to put another fire attack somewhere. Defensively, only full out stall team bug me, but that's only if they are REALLY good. Gliscor can stop most right in their tracks. Other weather teams used to cause me troubles, but with the incorporation of Rotom and Ferrothorn it's not as bad. Another thing I don't like are my weaknesses to water. I feel as if that needs to be eliminated ASAP. All in all, I feel that this is a very strong team that can be made better. Rate away!​

 

[Elite_Trainer_U]

[insert rate here]

 

[evan1o1]

definitely make reuniculus more bulky. take away the modest and replace it with sassy or something. distribute EVS between HP, Def, And sDef, with the most emphasis on HP and def. Then once he comes out, calm mind up and it will be an absolute force. offensively and defensively. also, swap life orb for leftovers. switch shadow ball out for calm mind. its one of my most hated pokes.

 

[Elite_Trainer_U]

Hmm I could play around with the EVs and nature a bit. I think I should make reuniclus more like gliscor though. How does this set sound: CM, recover, shadow ball, psychic?

 

[ToastTyrant13]

Introduction​

Well as the title says this is a rather unique sandstorm team as I only have one pokemon that truely benefits from the sand. And yes, that pokemon is excadrill. I prefer to think of my team as an offensively inclined sandstorm team. This is not to say I don't use walls, it's just that my walls pack a punch! Anyhow, this is my first standard team and as a result there may be blatant flaws in my team. Feel free to point them out and suggest ways to fix them. One last thing, do NOT recommend pokemon that have zero attack and can't do anything offensively. That's not my playing style and I refuse to use any of these kind of pokemon. Without further ado...​

Walls that pack a punch? Like Donphan and Nattorei? I like! :D

The Team​

Hippowdon (M) @ Leftovers​

Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 152 Def / 104 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Fang

Ah Hippowdon. My lone sandstreamer and an essential part of my team. His EVs make him a pain to take down without SE attacks. His first three moves are standard. Earthquake as his main STAB, slack off to allow longetivity, and SR to support my team. The last move on Hippowdon is always a wildcard. I chose to use ice fang because of the immense number of dragons running around this meta. I use Hippowdon over Tyranitar for his bulk, Ttar's nasty 4x weakness to fighting is a real turn off.
Exact same reason that I run him over T-Tar. Not much to say except to guard this thing with your life. Politoeds a serious female dog. XD

Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Taunt
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang

Gliscor is without a doubt the most underrated (<--?)pokemon ever. Now this a wall that packs a punch (or is that bite...)! EVs provide bulk and the speed EVs let it outspeed other bulkier gliscor. Taunt renders nattorei and other suppot pokemon useless. Then after a taunt, I usually get a free swords dance! And in the case of nattoreri, the opponent usually stays in, allowing me to reach +4 with minimal damage! EQ is standard STAB. Ice Fang provides coverage much like it does on Hippowdon.
I love the way you think. This may be the first time as a rater wher I might not have to do too much! Although I still love it. :p LEt's hope your intelligence flows through your whole RMT.
Excadrill (Doryuuzu) (M) @ Balloon
Trait: Sand Throw
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- X-Scissor


Honestly, does this guy require an explanation? Everything about this set is standard. EVs and nature allow it to meet max speed. Balloon gives it the advantage over LO excadrills. His first three moves are standard so they require no explanation. X-Scissor gives me coverage over Latias, something my team finds annoying. The only other thing worth mentioning is that I try to keep Excadrill out of the fight as long as possisble. This way all of his counters would be out of the game and he can net me a victory.
Almost the same as mine! Kudos to you Koopo. One major change that you should consider is Adamaant over Jolly. As I have recently found, and has the recent Smogcast has emphasized, is that the extra Attack is EXTREMELY potent when considering how much of a speed gain you have in the sand. Even with 550 Speed, since you should always have sand up anyays, your still capable of outspeeding Scarf'd Latios, Latias, Gengar, and Starmie (the fastest beeing Starmie at 540, close but so far from outspeeding still :p ) The only thing you would lose out on outspeeding is opposing Doryuuzu, but because of the likelihood of still having your balloon, you should be well covered.
Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 124 HP / 252 SAtk / 132 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Pain Split

Now we're getting to the newer members of my team. The EVs provide some nice bulk and some AWESOME special attack. This guy can take a hit and hit like a truck. Thunderbolt and Hydro Pump are two standard STABs that deal massive damage. Hidden power fire is there for scizor and ferrothorn so I can either one or two hit KO them. HP fire is vital because it is my lone fire attack on this team. His final move, pain split, is a filler. It's not very reliable and I would like to replace with another attack. Suggestions?
If your looking for a good offensive attack, Shadow Ball's the way to go. Being able to hit the likes of Gengar, Reuniclus, and Latios/as is great. If you are looking for a more supportive option, Thunder Wave is the way to go. Seeing how your only speed is really Doryuuzu and Virizion, the crippling effect of it will really help your team.

Reuniclus (Rankurusu) (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Recover
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast


My second special sweeper. He is mainly used to compliment Rotom-W. To be honest I have no idea what I'm doing with the EVs and nature. I want to run something bulky but I don't want Reuniclus to lose his offensive prowess. All I know for fact is that the 4 speed evs are staying so I'll outspeed other Reuniclus. I'm not sure about his moveset either. His attacks are there for STAB and coverage. Recover is meh, because he's 2HKO'd by a lot, so I never get a good chance to use it. This is the pokemon I need the most help with.
Being bulky, maintaining recovery, and remaining offensive prowess is always a hard thing to do. Maybe not hard, but sometimes a bit of a challenge. To be honest, well, I'll explain after Virizion.

Virizion (Birijion) @ Leftovers
Trait: Justice Heart
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Holy Sword
- Leaf Blade
- Stone Edge

The strongest and weakest link to my team. Sometimes he saves my life (looks at rain dance teams), and sometimes he's death fodder (looks at sun teams). Against normal teams, however, he is excellent. I can usually get a swords dance off if I have a favorable match up. He also pairs well with Reuniclus because if I sense a dark type attack coming, I switch him in and get the free boost! His set is a standard physical set. Swords dance to set up, leaf blade and holy sword for STAB. I'm considering dropping holy sword for close combat but I don't like dropping my defense. Stone edge is my ace in the hole against whatever I may need it for. If I needed to add a member of my team, Virizion would probably go.
I'm not sure what to say about this, as I literally have no experience with or against him. The idea of it sounds good, but the below average Attack as a Physical Sweeper is a bit depressing, especially if it has to rely on Justice Heart and Swords Dance.

Conclusion​

Well, there's my team. I've been fairly successful, breaking the top 200 on the beta server on PO, but that's not good enough. I feel that I can get this team to the top ten if I don't get haxed out or make dumb plays. No particular offensive pokemon causes me griefs now that Blaziken is banned, but scizor can be a pain. I think I need to put another fire attack somewhere. Defensively, only full out stall team bug me, but that's only if they are REALLY good. Gliscor can stop most right in their tracks. Other weather teams used to cause me troubles, but with the incorporation of Rotom and Virizion it's not as bad. Another thing I don't like are my weaknesses to ice and water. I feel as if those need to be eliminated ASAP. All in all, I feel that this is a very strong team that can be made better. Rate away!​

P.S. Does anyone know where I can get some good sprites?​

Well, I like the direction your heading in. But Virizion and Rankurusu really sound like something better is out there to help your team.

A very good combination I've found, albeit a bit softer on the defensive side, is Gengar + Terrakion. Gengar is a wonderful Special Attacker, while Terrakion is a great Phys sweeper that can obliterate all four styles of weather teams. Well, rain's a bit more of a challenge, but that's why you have to use your head. May I suggest...

@ Expert Belt
Levitate
Timid - 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
~Shadow Ball
~Focus Blast
~Thunderbolt
~Hidden Power (Ice)

Gengar has to have the record for most diverse and powerful sweeper. Expert Belt is a perfect item that works similarly to Life Orb with his great coverage, but doesn't rob HP (moreso with Sandstorm, so it's a plus). Shadow Ball and Focus Blast are his signature buds that provide near perfect coverage. Thunderbolt allows you to destroy the likes of bulky waters, Gyarados, Politoed(I guess it's kinda bulky), etc. HP Ice provides absolutely great...er coverage with T-Bolt, which allows you to crush Gliscor, Landlos, Voltolos, Hippowdon, Donphan, and dragons with ease. If your scared and confronted with T-Tar or the likes, go ahead and switch to...

@ Pasho Berry
Justice Heart
Jolly - 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
~Rock Polish
~Swords Dance
~Stone Edge
~Close Combat

Good grief, this thing is scary, scaryscaryscary. In the Sand, Terrakion gets boosted to 300-ish Special Defense, paired with respectable Defense to make it a rather bulky and resistant sweeper. Pasho Berry is also a blessing that wrcks rain teams hopes of stopping you. Because of this, his offensive stats, and his movepool, he's able to pull of an extremely dangerous and quick DoubleDance set. See that the opponent's running bulky offense or stall? Swords Dance! What, he's running speedy offense? Rock Polish! Wanna be an arse? BOTH! Paired with this immense power and STAB, Stone Edge+Close Combat is a great offensive combo (although Rock Slide could be used to ensure more accurate and safer sweeps, in exchange for power). Stone Edge beats on Dragonite, Salamence, Gyarados, Urugamosu, Ninetails, and anything that doesn't resist it. Close Combat is an even scarier move that wrecks anything that doesn't resist it and has alot of defensive strength. The only possible things that can efficiently break this toy are Gliscor, Roobushin, and Azumarill, but Gengar laughs at them all day with a smily grin. Oh! Sorry to cut thing short, but it's dinner time!

~ToastTyrant13

Real quick edit:http://www.arkeis.com/animatedsprites.html

Great sprites like I used above.

 

[Elite_Trainer_U]

Let's see here:

Excadrill: To be honest, the debate between jolly and adamant is completely situational, so in my opinion, it doesn't really matter which nature I use. I'm just going to stick with jolly because I've used it from the start.

Rotom-W: Thunder wave was a good call. That's definetely replacing pain split.

Reuniclus/Gengar: I can see myself running a gengar but it can't take a hit so it would have to be a revenge killer. I like his set but 110 base speed isn't what it used to be. I'm contemplating about scarfing it but I'd need to test that out.

Virizion/Terrakion: I've used that Terrakion set before but it has horrible synergy with the rest of my team. 4 water weaknesses? Gotta say no to that.

Something I've realized is that I don't have a pokemon that can reliably take draco meteors. For this reason I think I need a steel type to tank the hit. Suggestions?

 

[ToastTyrant13]

Oh my, Terrkion does provide a problem. My bad. Well, if it's Draco Metors you want to take, I could suggest...

@ Leftovers
Iron Barbs
Sassy - 252 HP / 20 Def / 236 SpD
31 / 31 / 31 / 31 / 31 / 0
~Curse
~Leech Seed
~Gyro Ball
~Protect / Power Whip

I've found this huy to be an awesome tank and a wonderful wall. The Special investment allows him to take Draco Meteors, as well as strong Water, Ghost, Grass type attacks aimed at your Hippowdon, Excadrill, Gliscor and Reuniclus / Gengar. His defense is still nice and stable, at 303, while Curse can be an amazing tool to wall the other side of the spectrum. Leech Seed is a way to force switches, cause extra damage with the Sand, and recover loads of HP with Leftovers. Gyro Ball becomes an insanely powerful move that even hits other Steel types hard. The last set determines if you want a more defensive or offensive set. Protect allows for more HP recovery, stalling on SS and Leech Seed samage, and safer scouting / switches. Power Whip, however, can hit bulky waters, Hippowdon, and Terrakion for really nice damage.

 

[Elite_Trainer_U]

Oh my, Terrkion does provide a problem. My bad. Well, if it's Draco Metors you want to take, I could suggest...

@ Leftovers
Iron Barbs
Sassy - 252 HP / 20 Def / 236 SpD
31 / 31 / 31 / 31 / 31 / 0
~Curse
~Leech Seed
~Gyro Ball
~Protect / Power Whip

I've found this huy to be an awesome tank and a wonderful wall. The Special investment allows him to take Draco Meteors, as well as strong Water, Ghost, Grass type attacks aimed at your Hippowdon, Excadrill, Gliscor and Reuniclus / Gengar. His defense is still nice and stable, at 303, while Curse can be an amazing tool to wall the other side of the spectrum. Leech Seed is a way to force switches, cause extra damage with the Sand, and recover loads of HP with Leftovers. Gyro Ball becomes an insanely powerful move that even hits other Steel types hard. The last set determines if you want a more defensive or offensive set. Protect allows for more HP recovery, stalling on SS and Leech Seed samage, and safer scouting / switches. Power Whip, however, can hit bulky waters, Hippowdon, and Terrakion for really nice damage.

Wow I'm liking that set a lot. Gengar just isn't doing it for me. It can't switch in to anything (other than a fighting attack but I have gliscor for that). I think ferrothorn is going to replace virizion just for synergy purposes. Now gliscor can take fighting attacks to relieve the pressure off ferrothorn but I think I need another fire resist because Rotom-W doesn't like switching in recklessly. I want a fighting type on my team but I'm not sure which one. It needs to be resistant to water and fire and the only one I can think of is Keldeo, which is not released yet. Or should I keep reuniclus?

Tl;dr: Should I keep reuniclus or switch it out for another fighting type pokemon?

 

[ToastTyrant13]

Wow I'm liking that set a lot. Gengar just isn't doing it for me. It can't switch in to anything (other than a fighting attack but I have gliscor for that). I think ferrothorn is going to replace virizion just for synergy purposes. Now gliscor can take fighting attacks to relieve the pressure off ferrothorn but I think I need another fire resist because Rotom-W doesn't like switching in recklessly. I want a fighting type on my team but I'm not sure which one. It needs to be resistant to water and fire and the only one I can think of is Keldeo, which is not released yet. Or should I keep reuniclus?

Tl;dr: Should I keep reuniclus or switch it out for another fighting type pokemon?

There's always Poliwrath. XD (Not really, in case that sounded true).

I'd say your team is quite solid at the moment. There's always the option of running a bulky water to screw Sand, Sun, and Rain teams if that fits your fancy. Wait...Rotom...nevermind. Well other than, I think your team is set! :D

I would keep Rankurusu, but if you really want a good figthing type that could benefit your team, Hitmontop and Gallade are your best options based on what you've got going on with the rest of your team. I could recommend a very good set for both, but only if you are truly willing to drop Rankurusu.

 

[Goldenballer]

you can get nice sprites from Smogon :D

 

[ToastTyrant13]

you can get nice sprites from Smogon :D

http://www.arkeis.com/animatedsprites.html

Makes Smogn sprites look like dirty Tomatoes.

Edit:Hey Goldenballer! Welcome to Smogon! I'm Toast, and I'm an experienced spriter, rater, critique, and battler. Nice to meet ya!

 

[Goldenballer]

http://www.arkeis.com/animatedsprites.html

Makes Smogn sprites look like dirty Tomatoes.

Edit:Hey Goldenballer! Welcome to Smogon! I'm Toast, and I'm an experienced spriter, rater, critique, and battler. Nice to meet ya!

Nice to meet you Toast ! maybe be can battle sometime =)

 

[Elite_Trainer_U]

I updated the original post with Ferrothorn and Rotom-W. I also made a new Reuniclus set and I was wondering if it was better. I can't put up pictures yet because I'm at school and the filter is preventing me from accessing that website.

Sorry for the double post but thanks Toast for the sprites! If you're wondering, the Rotom-W sprite was broken so I just found something on the site to replace it.

Also, this is just me theorymonning, but since my team has little speed I was wondering if I should add Thunder Bro to this team. Now that would give me 3 ice weaknesses but I can always add a Tyranitar instead of Hippowdon to counter that worry. But again, that's just a thought that just occurred to me.

 

[ToastTyrant13]

Ah, but here's where we've got to use our heads.

Would you like....

3 Fighting Weaknesses replace Hippo with Tyranitar, Nattorei, Doryuuzu (Your Sand Streamer with great offensive stats, strongest wall, and only true means of speed+strong Physical offense)

or

3 Ice Weakness keepHippowdon over T-Tar (now with Volotlos as well), Voltolos, Gliscor. (Bulkier sand streamer with safer typing, speed and special offense, and great Physical tanking).

Now, the main reason I would go with 3 Ice weaks over 3 Fighting weaks is because the excess of powerful Fighting type moves and mons in contrast to the occasional(rare this Gen to be honest) Starmie, Mamoswine, and Swampert (not that rare, but still a bit uncommon). I'm not sure who you could effectively replace with Voltolos though. Perhaps if you either replaced Rankurusu, or replaced Rotom-W (which I suppose would lead you to need a new bulky water).

 

[Elite_Trainer_U]

Just for the lulz I tried out this set and it's actually pretty good as an anti-lead. I replaced reuniclus since it was my weakest link. Now I don't know the first thing about thundurus so I need some help.

Thundurus (Borutorosu) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Mischievous Heart
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Taunt
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast


Since he's an anti-lead, priority taunt is necessary. Tbolt and HP ice are standard on any set so obviously I have them on his set. The last set was a toss up between focus blast, twave, and hammer arm. Since I didn't have any fighting type attacks on my team I eliminated twave. Then I flipped a coin and picked focus blast. Does this set look good to you?

 

[LampShade0wns]

You know I feel like a real pain when I rate teams... ever noticed that this whole section of the forum is about searching for the negative? haha aside from that, this is a really good team. it has really good synergy and a good basis. I dont see too many weaknesses aside from situational problems which is how the game is played. The only weakness I see is NP Lucario who can pretty much decimate the team if it gets one in. Im not sure how to fix it without creating more weaknesses, i just thought id point it out in case you had some ideas. But i really cant find any glaring weakness, great job and good luck.

 

[yee]

This is not unique in any sense of the word! lol

On to making the team better.
Hippowdon and Gliscor seem like redudant coverage to me, two tanky ground types. Tyranitar's 4x weakness to Fighting really means absolutely nothing because you have a Gliscor on your team, who can counter the major fighting types. Use the even less unique Lead Tyranitar-

TTar @ Leftovers/Chesto Berry
Nature- Sassy
EVs- 252 HP, 80 spA, 176 spD
-Stealth Rock
-Crunch
-Pursuit
-Fire Blast/Ice Beam

Extremely predictable but gets the job done. Walls most special attackers that Ferrothorn can't and gets SR up for you. If Latios sees your Ferrothorn, it will naturally try to HP Fire it so if it hurts your Ferrothorn Tyranitar can Pursuit it and kill it.

The EVs on Reuniclus undermine its potential, natures boost stats by 10% and your defense is higher than your special defense, so just use a simple spread of Bold 252 HP, 252 def, 4 filler. This gives you way more stat points and makes it harder to kill because your defense is already high and your special defense gets boosted by Calm Mind.

Good Luck!

 

[Elite_Trainer_U]

Lampshade0wns ~ Lol yea this forum always has the most negative nellies. I've never run into NP lucario so I'm not too concerned.

yee ~ I used Tyranitar and lost 5 straight matches. It just doesn't work for me so I'm sticking with Hippowdon. I will, however, change the EVs on reuniclus. I totally forgot that calm mind boost SP. D.

 

[Fredy1337]

Ferrothorn (Nattorei) (M) @ Rugged helmet
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 20 Def / 236 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- SpikesOr keep Curse
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip

with rugged helmet and iron barbs physical sweepers will think twice before attacking again especially if they are running life orb

spikes for extra entry hazards because why the hell not Spikes+stealth rock+ sandstorm+ Rugged helmet+iron barbs= unhappy opponent :D

leech seed + leftovers seems overkill to me anyways

just a suggestion ;3

 

[Elite_Trainer_U]

Fredy1337 ~ Hmm well not many people attack ferrothorn with physical attacks so rugged helmet wouldn't help very much. I'm definitely keeping lefties but maybe I'll throw spikes over leech seed because I don't use it very often.

 

[Elite_Trainer_U]

Well looking at my team again I realized that I have almost no speed outside of Excadrill. I also realized that latios wasn't banned. Then I put two and two together and made a specs latios set to put over reuniclus. Good or bad idea?

Latios (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
- Trick

 

[Elite_Trainer_U]

So should I use latios? Or another dragon? Or stick with reuniclus?

 

[farmingq]

I have been playing around with your team and have had great sucess with it.

I know you said you chose Hipo over Tyranitar due to it's bulk, but I just saw this set in another RTM that popped out to me:

Tyranitar (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 176 SAtk / 80 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam
- Pursuit


It does the job that Hipo does. It sets up the sand, sets up Stealth Rock, and has Ice beam to fight off those dragons. The reason why I like this Tyranitar over Hipo on this team is because so far I have had trouble fighting off the likes of Ferrothorns once Rotom dies and the Ghost pokemons that make food out of Reuniclus. Fire Blast would give me another Fire move gives me a greater coverage once Rotom goes down, which seems to happen often. He has proven to be very fragile when I use him on this team. The Pursuit would help deal with the likes of ghost type pokemons and psychic pokemons, specially Latios and Latias. I also personally would recommend not to fear fighting type moves that much. I have learned the best way to deal with them is to cripple them with Thunder Wave (unless they are a slow fighting type, like Conkuldurr) and then chip their health away using Reuniclus' psychic and the sandstorm.


With the addition of Tyranitar, I think Reuniclus can be kept in the team. Not only that, but in my battles with this team, Reuniclus has proven to be an asset to the team. Recover + Calm Mind rocks, specially with it's ability. It allows me to freely switch in if an opponent sets up Poison Spikes without the fear of it causing my Reuniclus to die. Also means I won't be affected by those leech seeds those Ferrothorns I face like to use. Physic gives me a needed coverage against Fighting type pokemon, and shadow ball helps me deal with some psychics as well.

I'm still a novice at competitive pokemon, just started a week or so ago, so take my post as you like :). Just wanted to post because this is a team that really interested me, and since I'm not experienced enough yet to make my own teams, is a team I have been using a lot these past few days. Hope that's fine with you.

 

[Elite_Trainer_U]

Wow thanks didn't know my team was good enough for anyone to use. That made my day :)

Well since everyone wants me to try TTar I suppose it won't hurt for more testing.

 

[foxkoby]

I've been testing your team also because it seems well balanced. Only difference and lack of is that I just returned to Pokemon a while ago and the only thing I haven't been able to find is a hippo with Stealth Rock and Slack off from Gen IV.

Also Gliscor, has the Poison Heal ability, I can't get my hands on that since DW has yet to be released. So right now I would like to go even on walls, 1 Physical the other Special, 2 Physical Sweepers and 2 Special Sweepers. I'm looking for a good Physical Sweeper of the Gen V since its the only game I have in hand. I do have a Garchomp but still struggling what set should I use.

Still, most important, nice team. Keep up the good work.