Sun team

[BobbysPants]

So I have begun to get into competitive online battling and decided to build a sun team. It has had mixed results and I feel that I have done something wrong and I just don't know it yet. I know it can't all be my noobish playing so I decided to create an account here and get the team analyzed. So with that out of the way, on to the team.

Ninetales @ leftovers
Timid, 252 HP/92 SpDef/164 Speed
Will-o-wisp / Flamethrower / Substitute / Solar beam
Since she brings sun to negate her water weakness, she is only weak to ground and rock which are both primarily physical attacks. She can still dent physical attackers with burn and is surprisingly dangerous behind a sub. Solar beam is actually quite deadly when she has a sub up, even if another weather inducer comes in. Turn 1 they switch and she charges, turn 2 they break sub and it goes off and I can still switch out. This strategy has the bonus of being unexpected. Unfortunately she has fallen behind a bit with her little surprise so I am considering changing it to perhaps HP fighting, or maybe changing the entire set.

Arcanine @ life orb
Jolly, 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Speed
Extreme speed / Flare blitz / Close combat / Wild charge
There will be instances where offense is needed and the ability to absorb boosted fire attacks is a bonus. This provides surprising coverage and a fairly powerful priority move to help shift momentum back to my side when needed. He performs wonderfully anytime I can get him in relatively safely.

Forretress @ leftovers
Bold, 252 HP/176 Def/80 SpDef
Spikes / Toxic spikes / Rapid spin / Volt change
A true physical wall and lure for Arcanine to come in. With the fire dog known to be on the team my opponent may be less inclined to fire off a boosted 4x effective fire move. He is a second scout with volt change, but his hazards and rapid spin are really why he is here. Thanks to sturdy he should be able to fire off a final rapid spin or additional layer of entry hazards. I am having a bit of trouble with him, he doesn't seem to last anywhere near as long as I want him to. Hazards have really hurt this team so I'm considering something that can spin a bit more reliably.

Venusaur @ life orb
Modest, 4 HP/252 SpAtk/252 Speed
IVs = 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
Growth / Energy ball / HP fire / Sludge bomb
The most devastating sweeper under sun, he is actually rather bulky as well with 80/83/100 defenses. Arcanine and this guy form the offensive core of the team due to their excellent synergy both offensively and defensively. Even without a growth boost he has been performing well. Sludge bomb is a great attack and most people don't seem to expect it. I originally had a Jumpluff so I went with it over sleep powder, but even after the Jumpluff left the team I liked sludge bomb so much I kept it.

Swampert @ leftovers
Relaxed, 252 HP/216 Def/52 SpDef
Stealth rocks / Roar / Ice beam / EQ
I was going to go with Conkeldurr (more on that later) for added priority, but I realized that I didn’t have any stealth rocks on this team yet. The pert offers a lot more to the team than just that however. Ice beam decimates dragons and I have seen many accounts of the power of phasing moves. Plus he makes a great lead against all other weather teams. Another top performer of this team, this guy pretty much carries me defensively. While I don't think he needs to be replaced, I am open to suggestions.

Conkeldurr @ leftovers
Adamant, 252 HP/252 Atk/6 SpDef
Bulk up / Drain punch / Mach punch / Payback
I originally had a Jumpluff but it wasn’t really pulling its weight, so I decided to go with a Conkeldurr to help absorb status and bring a strong priority move and whatnot. He definitely pulls his weight and I’m very impressed with how powerful guts really is. The combo of him and Swampert is actually really good against many sand teams. Against Tyranitar he draws Gliscor like nobodies business so I usually do a double switch to Swampert who doesn't care about anything they normally pack.



I'm actually not sure what a threat list for this team would be because every time I have been beaten it feels like it was more because the other guy outplayed me than had something I really struggle with. As I said I am new, but not really terrible as this team has won most of the close games I have had. I do feel like my coverage is lacking and some moves seem unnecessary, such as solar beam on my ninetales or toxic spikes on forretress. So, comments and criticisms are welcome as this is my first attempt at a full 6 man team and there has to be something I can improve on.

 

[Erectivier]

You said you don't like forretress as a rapid spinner, but you don't have many choices for a rapid spinner that can also deploy spikes. tentacruel can deploy tspikes and rapid spin, but you will have water moves strength lowered by the sun. But you also said you don't think you need toxic spikes, so your choices of rapid spinners are broedened. I would suggest a starmie ill pull from one of my rmt's:


Starmie @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Spd/ 58 SAtk
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Recover
- Rapid Spin
- Psyshock
Ice Beam/ thunder bolt/ power gem/ signal beam
My rapid spinner, this guy can take hits and send hits, then recover lost damage. Rapid spin is necessary on this team because i use a Arcanine and ninetails, who can’t live with rocks on the field. Natural cure provides a safe switch into status moves. I don’t have surf because of the power drop in sun. I picked psyshock over psychic to help stop evil blissey from walling me. ice beam provides good coverage, but tbolt works to

Another cool set that could work in place for your ninetails set is:
Ninetails @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Drought
Nature: Timid
Effort Values: 252 Sp.Attack/252 Spd/4 Hp[/FONT]
- Overheat
- Hidden Power Ice
-Will-O-Wisp
- Solar Beam
Designed as a revenge killer, this thing can take down most pokes easy. I usually swap this guy in after somebody dies, depending if rocks is on the field. Stab Overheat in the sun kills all pokes (except blissey/chansey/dusclops/shucle/cresslia, correct me if there are others) that don’t resist it. After getting a free kill, i will often just swap out. Also necessary for getting sun on the field.

 

[august]

Okay so in particular you don't really have anything to switch into strong Ground attacks. Absolutely nothing switches into Life Orb Excadrill, even Forretress who will get 3HKO'd. While Venusaur is a solid mon and gets the advantage of a Speed boost in the Sun, I can't help but think Celebi would be a better choice. Celebi is all around bulkier at 100/100/100 and can switch into Politoed better than anything else it appears (Specs Toed coming in on Ninetales is trouble as it 2HKOs everything), and Celebi gives you a mon that can lure Heatran easier with Earth Power. A fast Nasty Plot set will give you a solid jump on Rain teams, but you can also use a Recover set for longevity and run Stealth Rock on it and replace Swampert altogether, as it appears to me it does little outside of setting up Stealth Rock, switching into Tyranitar and getting battered with Sun boosted Fire-attacks.

Another thing I would suggest is running more Special Defense on Forretress. This allows you to come into Tentacruel easier (especially when you don't have the weather advantage but need to spin) and i don't really see what the Defense is doing for you outside of possibly Gyara, whom you shouldn't be reliably trying to counter with Forretress anyway.

Conkeldurr also seems a bit out of place, and although it does give you extra insurance against Excadrill / Tyranitar / Terrakion (although Excadrill and Terrakion cannot be switched into, merely revenge killed). In short, I suggest Gliscor over Swampert. Gliscor gives you a more reliable switch into Excadrill and Terrakion as well as being able to use Taunt effectively if you so choose or sweep late game with Swords Dance. In Conkeldurrs slot I suggest Volcarona. With a proper set up late game it is literally unstoppable. You have Ninetales for Sun support, Forretress for Rapid Spin / Toxic Spikes support, and if you choose to follow the Celebi suggestion, you will have an adequate Jellicent switch in and something that can lure Heatran. With all of these met, Volcarona is an excellent fit into your team. Quiver Dance will give you 607 SAtk, which, if it isn't enough already, is even more dangerous because Sun will boost STAB Fire attacks like Fiery Dance (which is a 50% chance to boost Special Attack as well).

Hope this helped!

 

[D-Nite FTW]

I suggest you change Ninetales' set to this: Overheat|Power Swap|Energy ball|Will-o-wisp. This is a set that is designed to cripple everything except physical sweepers with Guts. This set uses the -2 from Overheat with Power Swap to swap boosts and drops with the opponent, which means your opponent gets -2 and your stats become normal. Power Swao can also be used to cripple set-up sweepers. I suggest running a bulky set as Overheat doesn't need many EVs as a 140 base power move boosted by the sun can really hurt.
For Venusaur, trade Sludge Bomb for Sleep Powder. Sleep Powder gives you a free boost from Growth and Sludge Bomb doesn't provide any coverage.