Introduction
Honestly, this team came about because there's nothing better to do on the UU ladder than dick around right now until Round 3 of suspect testing starts up. So, I figured I'd try out Sandstorm and see how viable it is in UU without Hippowdon and Tyranitar. Turns out, it's very viable. Shout-outs go to everyone in the UU Sandstorm thread, since I used tidbits from their posts and past experience with Sand teams to create my own. I'm currently at #17 under the name "Yuno what it is" on Smogon's Standard UU leaderboard (as of writing this), which is also my peak.
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Hippopotas @ Eviolite
Ability: Sand Stream
Nature: Impish (+Def, -Atk)
EVs: 252 HP | 252 Def | 4 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Roar
- Slack Off
Hippopotas is obviously a necessary part of any Sand team in UU, being that it's the only Pokemon that can set up perma-Sand. I went with a physically defensive set, rather than investing in Special Defense to take weaker Scalds and Ice Beams. The moveset is pretty standard, only I left behind Earthquake and any Attack EVs. Hippopotas isn't going to damage to anything with its weak Earthquake anyways.
Stoutland @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Rush
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Atk | 4 Def | 252 Spe
- Frustration
- Wild Charge
- Fire Fang
- Pursuit
The first part of the StoutLurk offensive core that's been hyped up in the Sand Discussion thread. With over 500 Speed and 400 Attack (with Choice Band factored in), Stoutland is an absolute monster for Sand Offense. Band Adamant STAB Frustration hits like a truck off of base 100 Attack. Pursuit turns Stoutland into a powerful pseudo-trapper, Fire Fang hits annoying Steel-types like Registeel, and Wild Charge removes bulky Water-types. Half of the time, I don't even use anything but Frustration and Pursuit because they work so perfectly together. Get Stoutland in on something that's sure to switch out (probably to a Ghost to take the predicted Frustration), Pursuit it for some decent damage, then switch out again. Immunity to Ghost-type attacks, which covers Golurk, while Golurk covers the Fighting-type weakness.
Golurk @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Fist
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 248 HP | 252 Atk | 8 Spe
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
- Shadow Punch
- Earthquake / Stone Edge
Golurk is the second part of the StoutLurk combination. SubPunch Golurk sets up on Toxic-less Hitmontop (even if they have Foresight, they need to spend a turn using it, allowing me to Sub up), Choice-locked Heracross, and just Fighting-types in general. It's a shame that Golurk doesn't have a better Ghost attack to abuse, since Shadow Punch kind of sucks, but STAB Earthquake is always nice. I'm debating on switching to Stone Edge however, to deal with Zapdos and other such annoying Flying-types, but then I lose the ability to hit Nidoqueen for anything more than peanuts. 8 Speed EVs to outspeed 4 Speed Golurk, because speed creep is fun. It's Ghost weakness is remedied by Stoutland (and Houndoom, if I want to risk it), Water absorbed by Gastrodon.
Houndoom @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
Nature: Hasty (+Spe, -Def)
EVs: 252 Atk | 4 SpA | 252 Spe
- Sucker Punch
- Crunch / HP Grass
- Pursuit
- Overheat
My true trapper and WoW + Taunt Mew counter. Houndoom works hard to remove all those pesky Ghost-types so that I can spam Frustration with Stoutland the entire match without consequence. Three Dark-type attacks is a bit excessive though, so I've been contemplating switching out Crunch for HP Grass, to smack Rhyperior with for a 2HKO in Sand. Overheat is because I'll probably be switching Houndoom in and out constantly, and I don't have any other Special Attacks, so the drop isn't that harmful. Been thinking about switching Life Orb to Blackglasses, since I'm mostly spamming Sucker Punch and Pursuit, along with the occasional Crunch, for the majority of the match and LO recoil + Sand + entry hazards adds up quick as fuck.
Gastrodon @ Life Orb
Ability: Storm Drain
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
EVs: 252 HP | 252 SpA | 4 Spe
- Surf
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam
- Recover
Specs suck, because I like changing moves with Gastrodon. LO isn't that bad, considering I can just Recover off the recoil, and Leftovers hits like a little bitch. Surf and Earth Power are your typical STAB attacks, with Ice Beam around for Grass switch-ins like Roserade and Celebi. No Speed investment, since there really isn't anything that Gastrodon can outspeed without a large portion of HP EVs being dumped into Speed. Storm Drain for the +1 boost and immunity, etc, etc. Recover isn't used that often, but helps out occasionally with LO recoil and entry hazards.
Sigilyph @ Flame Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
Nature: Calm (+SpD, -Atk)
EVs: 252 HP | 4 Def | 252 SpD
- Cosmic Power
- Roost
- Psycho Shift
- Stored Power
An unexpected late-game cleaner. Sigilyph is the motor of this team, in that it takes a while for it to get going, but once it starts, it rarely stops. Once the opposing team's Phazer (or Hazer) is removed, Sigilyph can really go to town. Heracross is a problem for Sigilyph before it manages a decent amount of boosts, with Stone Edge hitting for quite a bit of damage. Luckily, I can get Gastrodon in on it and set up a Substitute. Heal Bell Umbreon is also a problem for Sigilyph, but eventually it comes down to stalling out Heal Bell's PP until I can Psycho Shift a Burn (or Badly Poisoned status, if they used Toxic on me on the turn of shifting a Burn onto them) and just waste as much of their PP as possible. Sigilyph is a real team player, supporting with weakening physical sweepers, nullifying Ground attacks, taking status', and just generally being a cool as fuck Pokemon.
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