Warrior of The Sun

[Silent Storm]

Introduction​

Hi, this is the newest team I have, which is sun based. The idea behind this team is to utilize Lucario in a sun environment, as Lucario in rain and sand has been done to death in my opinion, and I don't feel there is much room to add some of my own ideas into the mix. While this team does look fairly standard at glance, I feel the idea behind using Lucario in this setting is wacky enough, so I don't have to add many twists here. The team is fairly offensive I think, with my dual dancers with priority and Venusaur, with Gliscor and Heatran forming a solid defensive core. I have had this team sitting around since late april / early may (maybe even earlier), and have given it to a few good battlers which all have told me that it's solid. Thanks for viewing.

Team Overview

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In-Depth Look
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[a]1[/a]

Ninetales @ Leftovers
Ability: Drought
EVs: 248 HP / 84 SDef / 180 Spe
Nature: Timid [+Spe, -Atk]
` Hidden Power [Fighting]
` Roar
` Fire Blast
` Will-O-Wisp
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Comments & Suggestions:
To be perfectly honest here, don't think this is a very good Pokémon. Only reason I use Ninetales is to WoW Tyranitar, Roar Volcaronas that try and set up as well as Dragonite and keep sun on the field. Apart from that, I am not a fan of this Pokémon. I chose to use the rather unreliable Fire Blast over Flamethrower as I don't quite hit 200 SAtk with this spread, and with Fire Blast boosted by STAB and Sun, Ninetales is a threat so things like Reuniclus can't freely come in and set-up on Ninetales. Hidden Power [Fighting] is reserved for things such as Heatran and Tyranitar should I gain the advantage of cutting his attack with WoW and I am in sun. I went with timid as I like Ninetales having some sort of speed.

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[a]2[/a]

Venusaur @ Life Orb
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Nature: Timid [+SAtk, -Atk]
` Sleep Powder
` Hidden Power [Fire]
` Energy Ball
` Sludge Bomb
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Comments & Suggestions:
There isn't much I can say about Venusaur. I somewhat prefer using this over Liligant and it has been a solid Sun abuser for this team. Instead of Modest, I went with Timid and somewhat supplemented the loss in power by using Life Orb instead of leftovers, allowing me to have a speedy special attacker when Sun is in effect. Sleep Powder allows me to stop threats to my time in their tracks, while Energy Ball and Hidden Power [Fire] gives me good coverage along with Sludge Bomb. Two things I've considered is Hidden Power [Ice] and Sunny Day over Sludge Bomb, so I can still gain the weather advantage should Ninetales die early, while Hidden Power [Ice] makes Venusaur a rather effective dragon revenge killer. Only deal with HP Ice is that Skarmory has more opportunities to set up on my team but coming in on Venusaur, but Sunny Day does sound like a nice alternative to Sludge Bomb. Along with Ninetales, Venusaur acts as the glue for this team. Venusaur opens up opportunities for Lucario to sweep by taking out the bulky water Pokémon and threatening dragon-types, as well as take ground attacks. I still want to try using Modest with leftovers, but I prefer the speed Venusaur has right now.

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[a]3[/a]

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 36 Def / 220 Spd
Nature: Impish [+Def, -SAtk]
` Earthquake
` Toxic
` Substitute
` Taunt
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Comments & Suggestions:
Gliscor acts as something which can switch into ground moves as well as be a decent physical wall for my team. The set I am using now is designed to outspeed other Lucarios and taking them out with Earthquake. I would have preferred something more defensive so I could have something that could switch into and deal with Terrakion better, but it was either that or having something faster which can prevent set ups (and Lucario pretty much deals with Terrakions that try to set up on it anyway). Substitute is the set I have found to work better for this team, and have been juggling between Protect and Taunt. Protect allows me to stall with Toxic easier, but Taunt has been good in stopping slower sweepers and Gliscors from setting up and being annoying. I still want to go with Protect on this kind of set, but right now Taunt has been working fine for me so I won't change it (unless there is a glaring weakness I have overlooked).

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[a]4[/a]

Lucario @ Life Orb
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Nature: Adamant [+Atk, -SAtk]
` Swords Dance
` Close Combat
` Bullet Punch
` ExtremeSpeed
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Comments & Suggestions:
The Lucario set of choice here is Dual Priority as I didn't like that Terrakion could come in and set-up / end a Lucario sweep easily after something else had fainted. Dual Priority also allows me to hit Scarf Tar and Gengar, both of which also stop a Lucario sweep easily. When I was lacking in team ideas, I wanted to make a Lucario team but didn't want to go with either rain or sand as those are common and boring choices. I've always been able to use sun without much problems, and I thought why not combine my favourite sweeper with a weather condition I can use and see what happens. Lucario, surprisingly, works well in this weather environment. I don't care that it doesn't solve his fire weakness as it's dying to most fire attacks anyway. As a sweeper, I've found Lucario to pair up well with Venusaur and Dragonite, with Venusaur being able to put things to sleep and Dragon types normally pairing well with steel types offensively and defensively.

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[a]5[/a]

Heatran @ Leftovers
Trait Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 8 Def / 248 SDef
Nature: Calm [+SDef, -Atk]
` Lava Plume
` Toxic
` Stealth Rock
` Roar
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Comments & Suggestions:
Heatran is my answer to special threats such as Latios and Latias, as well as my Stealth Rock user. Heatran was an obvious choice for me as he works fairly well in Sun and covers a lot of threats, allowing for a Lucario sweep. I use Toxic on this set to catch bulky waters which could prove problematic to this team while Roar is a good phazing move. While I would prefer to use something like Fire Blast or Flamethrower, I have found Lava Plume to be the ideal choice, especially against users stuck in Outrage.

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[a]6[/a]

Dragonite @ Choice Band
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Nature: Adamant [+Atk, -SAtk]
` Earthquake
` Outrage
` ExtremeSpeed
` Fire Punch
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Comments & Suggestions:
Dragonite is my probably the best Dragon I could use for this team. Before using Dragonite alltogether, I had Scarf Salamence over here, which while decent, didn't feel right on this team and I wanted another strong Pokémon with priority, so I replaced him. Dragonite was running the standard Dragon Dance set before CB, but I didn't like how weak ExtremeSpeed was without a boost, so I went with Choice Band, which made him an excellent revenge killer for the team overall. While Dragon Dance does prove to be a good sweeper in sun, Choice Band has always been superior for me due to it's immediate power. Stealth Rock is needed for this set to perform at it's best, as now things such as Mence and anything else weak to rocks falls easily, allowing for a smooth sweep with Lucario.

Export to Text

Ninetales (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drought
EVs: 248 HP / 80 SDef / 180 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Roar
- Fire Blast
- Will-O-Wisp

Venusaur (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Sleep Powder
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Energy Ball
- Sludge Bomb

Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 36 Def / 220 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Substitute
- Taunt

Lucario (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Bullet Punch
- ExtremeSpeed

Heatran (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 8 Def / 248 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
- Roar

Dragonite (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- ExtremeSpeed
- Fire Punch

Thanks for viewing. Without Crunch, Reuniclus is harder to deal with (which is why I am using Blast of Tales but it's still annoying), and I still think there is something that gives this team hell which I have overlooked. I also wanted to get this team out there so I can get to work on other teams.

I will probably get a threat list done soon.

 

[heinz25]

pretty cool team, but since you have no spinner, opponents are free to set up hazards like spikes and stealth rock, and in saying that, mixed dragons may gave you a little trouble. One dragon comes to mind, and that dragon is salamence. How would you counter a salamence like this, once stealth rock is up? You could try putting it to sleep with Venusaur but if it misses what then? You could also go for Sludge bomb and get in some damage and try to finish it off with Lucario's priority moves once it is weakened enough.

Salamence
Nature: Naive/Rash (naive nature outspeeds your whole team bar venusaur under sun)
Item: Life Orb/Expert Belt
64 Atk / 192 SpA / 252 Spe

~ Draco Meteor
~ Outrage
~ Fire Blast
~ Earthquake

 

[Dracule Mihawk]

Hey Silent Storm, great sun team you have here with a nice twist with the use of lucario. This team covers threats very well, However, I think some small changes could be made to improve this team even more.

First off I would suggest the change of Black Sludge over Life Orb due to the fact Venasaur is your only real safe switch in to rain, and it needs all the recovery it can get. Ninetales will not be able take to take repeated hits from rain abusers and therefore Venasaur is your most likely answer to rain teams. The 6% recovery per turn gives Venasaur some sort of recovery while it keeps on switching into water moves. If you want, Sunny Day can be used over Sleep Powder so you can run Solarbeam, which makes up for the power loss, and having a back up sun inducer will ease the pressure on tales.

Next, I would suggest the use of Crunch over Bullet Punch, this way Reuniclus is less of a hassle for this team, because as of now the Calm Mind variant seems to be a pain for your team,if rocks are up Dragonite cannot effectively check Reuniclus. Bullet Punch should not be missed too much, Gliscor handles most variants of Terrakion and scarf Terrakion is outsped by Venasaur in the sun.

This is a nitpick, but run 244 HP on Gliscor, this allows optimum Poison Heal recovery, and the other 8 Evs can be thrown into Def.

The lack of a spinner on this team is quite bold, but honestly it can be hard to run a sun team without a reliable spinner, but I will not suggest one due to your preference of not wanting a spinner.

Next, what do those speed Evs on Ninetales really outspeed? I suggest 120 Evs to be put in speed outspeed all non-Choice Scarf variants of Politoed and Tyranitar. Timid nature is not really needed, and the remaining Ev's can be put in to SDef with a Calm nature to make Ninetales a pseudo special wall, and take incoming attacks better.

Finally, the problem outlined by heinz25 can be somewhat mitigated with the use of a Offensive balloon tran, but honestly mixmence does not seem to much of a problem for this team and can be played around. Mence is not really a issue, with priority from Lucario and Dragonite, and the Venasaur under the Sun Mence is not that much of a problem.

Good team Silent Storm, and sorry if I have made any mistakes, this is my first team rate.

 

[blunder]

Looking at your team, Mamoswine has a field day being able to OHKO every Poke on your team. To cover up such a large weakness, I would really change Dragonite. CB Dragonite is wonderful for sun teams but IMO you are not giving it enough support. You also lack a spinner on this team and Ninetales as Dragonite are weak to rocks and 4 of your members are weak to spikes. I would reccomend Standard Dual Screen Espeon with Reflect / Light Screen / Psychic / Morning Sun. Espeon can still check fighting types, albeit not as well as Gliscor and can set up dual screens to aid Venusaur and Lucario in setting up. I would also reccomend Choice Band Scizor over Dragonite. While Scizor may seem odd on a sun team, it provides you with priority as well as a backup Tyranitar check. Hope you like these suggestions and feel free to ask any questions regarding them. Good Luck!

 

[San_Pellegrino]

Hey,

A lot of people have mentioned problems with mamoswine, mixed dragons and entry hazards, and I think those are valid points. They have a lot of hit and run potential to weaken your team, and with the fragile nature of many of your pokemon (none have recovery options bar leftovers), any letup in prediction (i.e. loss of momentum) can cause a lot of unnecessary and unwanted consequences to the HP of your mons. I think Forretress is generally a good response to many of the problems presented, that doesn't lose momentum on a team like this. While I will agree that bulky waters can be slighty hard to break for your team, the main ones are usually Jellicent, Tentacreul and Rotom-w, all of which are handled nicely by Venusaur. With a set of Spikes | Gyro Ball | Volt Switch | Rapid Spin, EVs of 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SpDef, a Relaxed nature, and lefties, Forretress adds another hazard to be used in aiding some priority Lucario/Dragonite sweep in the endgame, while volt switch allows you some space to terminate an opposing rapid spinner that comes in on it. For those reasons, I think it would be in your benefit to put Forretress over Gliscor - who looks useless to me on paper.

Additionally, Ninetales should be running 140 Speed EVs to reach 300 Spe and beat netural natured base 100s, which gives you extra EVs to boost SpAtk or any other stat. It can also be using HP Ground since Heatran is a much larger problem to your team (with my changes) now in comparison to Tyranitar. An option to beat Dragonite and mixmence that some top rated battlers I know use is a defensive Heatran like yours, with 8 Evs in Speed instead of Def to beat cb and bulky scizor and with Stealth Rock | Lava Plume | Roar | HP Ice and the item Air Balloon. It feigns an offensive spread, which can be useful in some cases.

cool team

 

[Silent Storm]

Thanks for the rates, I'll consider what has been said.

 

[destinyunknown]

Hey Silent Storm,

This team looks pretty good, and I absolutely support San Pellegrino's suggestions as they cover most of the threats your team has problems dealing with. However, I think you should try Crunch over Bullet Punch in Lucario, as your team seems a bit weak to some Psychic-type pokemon like Reuniclus or Slowbro. Just a little suggestion, as your team is pretty good already!

 

[Warped Worlds]

Cool team. A nitpick you could try is Fire Blast > Lava Plume on Heatran and Protect > Roar.

Fire Blast would hit Volcarona much harder taking away need for Roar. While Protect is good for scouting and free leftovers recovery is crucial. Fire Blast also makes it harder for Reuniclus to set up.