Sea of Fire - An OU Sun Team
Hi everyone! For those who don't know me, I'm an OU moderator on Showdown! - stop by and chat! Anyway, I'm here with one of my most successful teams. I wanted to make a Sun team that would also do relatively well against Rain. My teambuilding style is "no cool gimmick, no team" and thankfully this team has turned out to be pretty enjoyable. Admittedly, I'm too lazy to ladder, but I've played many battles against fellow people in the OU chat and this team's done really well - feel free to try it out if you want! But before you try it out, you have to have a team to try first, right? Here we go!
Teambuilding Process
Again, I wanted to make a Sun team that could deal with Rain better, so clearly Ninetales is mandatory. They can't use a Swift Swimmer, but I can, so I really wanted to try out Kingdra with HP Fire that could both hit hard in the Sun and cause destruction in the Rain.
Now I need some firepower in the sun. My playstyle is pretty offensive, and Venusaur and Volcarona are both deadly in the Sun, so why not? These are both win conditions in their own ways, so now I just need some support and glue.
As with most Sun teams, I need a spinner, especially since I have Ninetales and Volcarona, and to an extent LO Venusaur and Kingdra. Anyway, I felt like Starmie pairs well with Volcarona and Venusaur, and Starmie is the best offensive spinner, which I really liked. At this point I know I have all special attackers, so that's why I have Psyshock on Starmie and mixed Venusaur.
Finally, to glue the whole team together, I wanted a supporting Steel-type who could set up Rocks, since I didn't have hazards at this point, and sponge Dragon spam. I chose Jirachi because it also has Wish, which all of my current Pokemon really appreciate. This team was fine for a while, but improvements were definitely possible.
Jirachi was doing okay, but not quite as well as I'd liked, so I tried Ferrothorn which would have pretty much the same role. Ferrothorn sponges hits so well and does fantastic against Rain. I have a couple resists to both Fire and Fighting, so Ferrothorn does an awesome job of support. You know the deal.
Unfortunately, although Swift Swim and 4x resistances to Water and Fire are really nice, Kingdra just wasn't pulling its weight. I needed something that could still answer to Heatran (and Fire-types in general) that also could deal with the pink blobs and Rain. Keldeo hit the mark perfectly. And this is where the team is today!
The Team
Ninetales @ Leftovers
Trait: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Power Swap
- Will-O-Wisp
- Sunny Day
I like to have a neat and at least somewhat effective gimmick on all of my teams, and this is it. The Overheat + Power Swap combo is totally unexpected and pretty cool, as it allows me to get off a nice chunk of health off and cripple incoming Starmie, Lati@s, etc. What's also great is that Power Swap goes through Substitute, so I can get SubCM Latias to -2 SpA and myself to +1 and stuff like that. Clearly Ninetales is still not a very good Pokemon, but this Ninetales can still put in a bit of work and actually isn't that dead weight a lot of the time. I kinda felt like Roar and Power Swap were kinda redundant, and on a somewhat offensive Ninetales I didn't want Protect, so I went with Will-o-Wisp and Sunny Day, both of which are crucial. Will-o-Wisp helps check physical attackers, and my offensive team likes the residual damage. Politoed switch-ins are painfully obvious, and Sunny Day really helps swing things back into my favor, since Politoed otherwise destroys Ninetales. I went for max Speed because all 4 of my moves appreciate being able to be used before things like Kyurem-B and a bunch of other things in that Speed range and below. Ninetales is the MVP, so I need bulk more than I need a little more power on Overheat obviously, so that's where the rest of the investment went.
Keldeo @ Expert Belt
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SDef
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind
- Hidden Power [Bug]
Keldeo was chosen because it helps tremendously against rain and Chansey/Blissey and Heatran, who otherwise somewhat wall my main sweepers. This is the standard set, but it's really all I need, since Keldeo occupies a good Speed tier, has respectable power, and has nice synergy with the rest of my team. I don't have a Scarfer, and Keldeo is obviously the #1 candidate, but I opted for Expert Belt because even though I recognize the importance of a Scarfer, my team struggles with momentum already, which Scarf Keldeo is even more counterproductive towards. Also, Venusaur in the sun is more than fast enough, and Volcarona can boost its Speed, so with that and Starmie, I think I value the ability to switch moves more than Speed.
Venusaur @ Life Orb
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 82 Atk / 252 SAtk / 176 Spd
Naive Nature
- Growth
- Giga Drain
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
We all know Venusaur is pretty much the best Chlorophyll sweeper, but along with that, I also have a FWG thing going on so far. I don't have a trapper for Heatran and I have a lot of special attackers, so I went with mixed Venusaur. The surprise factor is really nice, because nearly nobody expects EQ and HP Ice. HP Ice provides the best coverage with EQ and it also works out nicely because this Venusaur is EVd to outspeed Scarf Latios, the fastest common Scarfer. It's really important that I keep Venusaur safe because often I can hit 4 or 5 of my opponent's Pokemon super effectively with this coverage. With a little bit of weakening on my opponent's end and a safe Growth, Venusaur can easily clean up.
Volcarona @ Leftovers
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Bug Buzz
- Fiery Dance
- Quiver Dance
- Roost
After using this team, Volcarona has seriously made an impression on me as a huge threat that should not be underestimated. The number of things this can set up on is incredible and it consistently puts in an insane amount of work. As much as I would like coverage, the bulk, typing, and Roost allow me to switch in easily and just set up with impunity sometimes. Volcarona is a great answer to Latias, who normally gives Sun teams trouble, counters things like Scizor, and beats many things 1v1. Volcarona is a pretty useful pivot at times and even though I have no offensive investment, it's still lethal after just one and especially two Quiver Dances. If you haven't tried bulky Volcarona in the Sun, you definitely have my recommendation.
Starmie @ Life Orb
Trait: Analytic
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Thunderbolt
Back when I was a noob I didn't understand why Starmie was OU because it's Special Attack isn't very high...good times. Anyway, obviously the reason I chose Starmie over anything else for this slot was due to its ability to Spin, but I often find myself using Starmie for its secondary purpose; a fast, potent attacker. Psyshock was chosen because my offenses are unbalanced in favor of the special side, and I wasn't feeling Hydro Pump for a Sun team unless your movepool is so bad that you don't have any other good options KELDEO! But seriously, Water-moves are still important, but I already have Keldeo, and Starmie has more than enough other good options. HP Fire is great since it's not that common and things like Ferrothorn and Jirachi think they can just wall me. For the final slot I had to choose between bolt and beam, but I already have two Ice attacks (albeit not that strong ones, but you know) and no Electric-type attacks for things like Gyarados and other bulky waters. Starmie's Speed is awesome and allows it to be a crucial part of the offense as it outspeeds nearly everything.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 204 SDef
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock
- Power Whip
- Thunder Wave
Ferrothorn is as much of a defensive threat as my other teammates are offensively. Ferrothorn's defensive typing, especially the Steel part, greatly helps its purpose on this team as a hit absorber, notably from Dragons, as I don't have much else that wants to take a Draco or Outrage. I don't have any other hazards, so Ferrothorn fits the bill perfectly. I feel that Stealth Rock is a much better choice over Spikes in this scenario, especially since even if my Rocks are up, I can still troll around with Leech Seed and Thunder Wave on the free turns I might get. Speaking of which, Leech Seed is absolutely essential, as Ferrothorn needs as much recovery as it can get, and the rest of my team does too. Due to the offensive nature of my team, Thunder Wave is appreciated, and also helps alleviate my lack of a Scarfer. Since I have Thunder Wave, I have Power Whip as my STAB, which even uninvested does a good chunk and further increases Ferrothorn's utility against Rain. (side note if you use twave then gyro ball becomes weaker so don't have gyro ball and twave on the same set cuz i still see that pls don't it's bad thx)
Threat List
Even though it's the biggest threat I've kept in mind while making this team, the fact that I don't have a trapper makes Heatran a nearly inevitable problem. Keldeo does fine against it, and Volcarona actually beats offensive variants 1v1 even in the Sun (assuming volc is at full health and not switching in), but its defensive typing and boosted STAB is really annoying.
Like with Heatran, opposing Volcarona work so well in the Sun and I don't really have much to answer to them besides Keldeo. I guess Ninetales can troll a bit with Power Swap and Starmie can hit hard with Psyshock if it's unboosted, but if I had a Terrakion this would be so much easier. But then again I would have a bunch of other problems if I sacrificed one of my members for Terrakion. Oh well.
My team has a little trouble with momentum at times, so VoltTurn could be annoying. Also, my team really loathes all status asides from Ferrothorn as paralysis/sleep fodder since I don't have a cleric and there's so much residual damage.
Importable
Thanks for taking the time to read my RMT! Hopefully you've enjoyed my team and you're welcome to give it a go. Thanks to the people in the OU PS! chat for helping me tweak and test my team. The importable can be found here: http://pastebin.com/usns2jnA
Hi everyone! For those who don't know me, I'm an OU moderator on Showdown! - stop by and chat! Anyway, I'm here with one of my most successful teams. I wanted to make a Sun team that would also do relatively well against Rain. My teambuilding style is "no cool gimmick, no team" and thankfully this team has turned out to be pretty enjoyable. Admittedly, I'm too lazy to ladder, but I've played many battles against fellow people in the OU chat and this team's done really well - feel free to try it out if you want! But before you try it out, you have to have a team to try first, right? Here we go!
Teambuilding Process
Again, I wanted to make a Sun team that could deal with Rain better, so clearly Ninetales is mandatory. They can't use a Swift Swimmer, but I can, so I really wanted to try out Kingdra with HP Fire that could both hit hard in the Sun and cause destruction in the Rain.
Now I need some firepower in the sun. My playstyle is pretty offensive, and Venusaur and Volcarona are both deadly in the Sun, so why not? These are both win conditions in their own ways, so now I just need some support and glue.
As with most Sun teams, I need a spinner, especially since I have Ninetales and Volcarona, and to an extent LO Venusaur and Kingdra. Anyway, I felt like Starmie pairs well with Volcarona and Venusaur, and Starmie is the best offensive spinner, which I really liked. At this point I know I have all special attackers, so that's why I have Psyshock on Starmie and mixed Venusaur.
Finally, to glue the whole team together, I wanted a supporting Steel-type who could set up Rocks, since I didn't have hazards at this point, and sponge Dragon spam. I chose Jirachi because it also has Wish, which all of my current Pokemon really appreciate. This team was fine for a while, but improvements were definitely possible.
Jirachi was doing okay, but not quite as well as I'd liked, so I tried Ferrothorn which would have pretty much the same role. Ferrothorn sponges hits so well and does fantastic against Rain. I have a couple resists to both Fire and Fighting, so Ferrothorn does an awesome job of support. You know the deal.
Unfortunately, although Swift Swim and 4x resistances to Water and Fire are really nice, Kingdra just wasn't pulling its weight. I needed something that could still answer to Heatran (and Fire-types in general) that also could deal with the pink blobs and Rain. Keldeo hit the mark perfectly. And this is where the team is today!
The Team
Ninetales @ Leftovers
Trait: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Power Swap
- Will-O-Wisp
- Sunny Day
I like to have a neat and at least somewhat effective gimmick on all of my teams, and this is it. The Overheat + Power Swap combo is totally unexpected and pretty cool, as it allows me to get off a nice chunk of health off and cripple incoming Starmie, Lati@s, etc. What's also great is that Power Swap goes through Substitute, so I can get SubCM Latias to -2 SpA and myself to +1 and stuff like that. Clearly Ninetales is still not a very good Pokemon, but this Ninetales can still put in a bit of work and actually isn't that dead weight a lot of the time. I kinda felt like Roar and Power Swap were kinda redundant, and on a somewhat offensive Ninetales I didn't want Protect, so I went with Will-o-Wisp and Sunny Day, both of which are crucial. Will-o-Wisp helps check physical attackers, and my offensive team likes the residual damage. Politoed switch-ins are painfully obvious, and Sunny Day really helps swing things back into my favor, since Politoed otherwise destroys Ninetales. I went for max Speed because all 4 of my moves appreciate being able to be used before things like Kyurem-B and a bunch of other things in that Speed range and below. Ninetales is the MVP, so I need bulk more than I need a little more power on Overheat obviously, so that's where the rest of the investment went.
Keldeo @ Expert Belt
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SDef
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind
- Hidden Power [Bug]
Keldeo was chosen because it helps tremendously against rain and Chansey/Blissey and Heatran, who otherwise somewhat wall my main sweepers. This is the standard set, but it's really all I need, since Keldeo occupies a good Speed tier, has respectable power, and has nice synergy with the rest of my team. I don't have a Scarfer, and Keldeo is obviously the #1 candidate, but I opted for Expert Belt because even though I recognize the importance of a Scarfer, my team struggles with momentum already, which Scarf Keldeo is even more counterproductive towards. Also, Venusaur in the sun is more than fast enough, and Volcarona can boost its Speed, so with that and Starmie, I think I value the ability to switch moves more than Speed.
Venusaur @ Life Orb
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 82 Atk / 252 SAtk / 176 Spd
Naive Nature
- Growth
- Giga Drain
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
We all know Venusaur is pretty much the best Chlorophyll sweeper, but along with that, I also have a FWG thing going on so far. I don't have a trapper for Heatran and I have a lot of special attackers, so I went with mixed Venusaur. The surprise factor is really nice, because nearly nobody expects EQ and HP Ice. HP Ice provides the best coverage with EQ and it also works out nicely because this Venusaur is EVd to outspeed Scarf Latios, the fastest common Scarfer. It's really important that I keep Venusaur safe because often I can hit 4 or 5 of my opponent's Pokemon super effectively with this coverage. With a little bit of weakening on my opponent's end and a safe Growth, Venusaur can easily clean up.
Volcarona @ Leftovers
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Bug Buzz
- Fiery Dance
- Quiver Dance
- Roost
After using this team, Volcarona has seriously made an impression on me as a huge threat that should not be underestimated. The number of things this can set up on is incredible and it consistently puts in an insane amount of work. As much as I would like coverage, the bulk, typing, and Roost allow me to switch in easily and just set up with impunity sometimes. Volcarona is a great answer to Latias, who normally gives Sun teams trouble, counters things like Scizor, and beats many things 1v1. Volcarona is a pretty useful pivot at times and even though I have no offensive investment, it's still lethal after just one and especially two Quiver Dances. If you haven't tried bulky Volcarona in the Sun, you definitely have my recommendation.
Starmie @ Life Orb
Trait: Analytic
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Thunderbolt
Back when I was a noob I didn't understand why Starmie was OU because it's Special Attack isn't very high...good times. Anyway, obviously the reason I chose Starmie over anything else for this slot was due to its ability to Spin, but I often find myself using Starmie for its secondary purpose; a fast, potent attacker. Psyshock was chosen because my offenses are unbalanced in favor of the special side, and I wasn't feeling Hydro Pump for a Sun team unless your movepool is so bad that you don't have any other good options KELDEO! But seriously, Water-moves are still important, but I already have Keldeo, and Starmie has more than enough other good options. HP Fire is great since it's not that common and things like Ferrothorn and Jirachi think they can just wall me. For the final slot I had to choose between bolt and beam, but I already have two Ice attacks (albeit not that strong ones, but you know) and no Electric-type attacks for things like Gyarados and other bulky waters. Starmie's Speed is awesome and allows it to be a crucial part of the offense as it outspeeds nearly everything.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 204 SDef
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock
- Power Whip
- Thunder Wave
Ferrothorn is as much of a defensive threat as my other teammates are offensively. Ferrothorn's defensive typing, especially the Steel part, greatly helps its purpose on this team as a hit absorber, notably from Dragons, as I don't have much else that wants to take a Draco or Outrage. I don't have any other hazards, so Ferrothorn fits the bill perfectly. I feel that Stealth Rock is a much better choice over Spikes in this scenario, especially since even if my Rocks are up, I can still troll around with Leech Seed and Thunder Wave on the free turns I might get. Speaking of which, Leech Seed is absolutely essential, as Ferrothorn needs as much recovery as it can get, and the rest of my team does too. Due to the offensive nature of my team, Thunder Wave is appreciated, and also helps alleviate my lack of a Scarfer. Since I have Thunder Wave, I have Power Whip as my STAB, which even uninvested does a good chunk and further increases Ferrothorn's utility against Rain. (side note if you use twave then gyro ball becomes weaker so don't have gyro ball and twave on the same set cuz i still see that pls don't it's bad thx)
Threat List
My team has a little trouble with momentum at times, so VoltTurn could be annoying. Also, my team really loathes all status asides from Ferrothorn as paralysis/sleep fodder since I don't have a cleric and there's so much residual damage.
Importable
Thanks for taking the time to read my RMT! Hopefully you've enjoyed my team and you're welcome to give it a go. Thanks to the people in the OU PS! chat for helping me tweak and test my team. The importable can be found here: http://pastebin.com/usns2jnA
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