This is my first RMT so forgive me if I miss anything. In short my team is an OU sandstorm team.
Lead:
Tyranitar@Focus Sash
Ability: Sand Stream
Nature: Sassy
240 HP / 36 Att / 48 Def / 184 SpD
~ Counter
~ Taunt
~ Fire Punch
~ Crunch
I lead with Tyranitar to get the sandstorm going (obviously that's an important part of any sandstorm team). It also deals well with other leads like Azelf (1HKO if they don't use reflect, 2HKO if they do, and sandstorm takes care of any sashes) or Ninjask (fire punch breaks any substitutes preventing any swords dances from getting passed). It also deals with Abomasnow, taking any damage it might deal while hitting back with 4x super effective fire punch. Counter and taunt are a bit gimmicky though and not terribly reliable. I find counter most helpful if I switch out before my sash breaks and come back for late game revenge counters, which get me some important KO's against fighting types and Scizor. This of course only works if I can either survive the hit or there are no entry hazards to break my sash, which leads to my next pokemon...
Rapid Spinner:
Claydol@Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Bold
252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpA
~ Rapid Spin
~ Stealth Rock
~ Earth Power
~ Shadow Ball
It's important for me to clear any entry hazards if I want my Tyranitar to revenge counter, but even more important that I clear any toxic spikes for my Cradily (featured later). Claydol's immunity to spikes and toxic spikes with a resistance to stealth rock makes it a natural choice for the job. I can also score a few surprise KO's with shadow ball if I know my opponent is going to switch in a spin blocker. To a lesser extent it can help if I'm struggling against steels like Metagross, Lucario or Heatran, though it's usually not my first choice against them.
Dancer:
Gliscor@Yache Berry
Ability: Hyper Cutter
Nature: Impish
252 HP / 40 Att / 216 Spe
~ Swords Dance
~ Stone Edge
~ Earthquake
~ Roost
I tried using Leftovers, and while they are helpful, I find that being able to survive most ice attacks and come back with a potential KO is a lot more helpful, and really throws off a lot of oppenents who expected a switch. Gliscor plays an important roll in taking out steels with earthquake and countering fighting types with his flying resistance. Unfortunately he's not quite sturdy enough to switch into a lot of threats so he usually ends up coming in after one of my other pokemon has been KO'd and dancing on the switch. That style has a lot of potential too, but it is still easily walled by most water types like Milotic or Suicune while also easily whirlwinded out by Skarmory.
Steel Killer:
Magnezone@Focus Sash
Ability: Magnet Pull
Nature: Modest
172 HP / 84 Spe / 252 SpA
~ Subsitute
~ Magnet Rise
~ Thunderbolt
~ Hidden Power (Grass)
I found I was having a lot of trouble with Waters (read Suicune) and Scizor so I figured I'd try killing two birds with one stone in Magnezone. In practice the results are somewhat mixed. It definitely helps with Skarmoys without shed shells, banded Scizors who don't U-turn, and some waters. When it doesn't work so well is put up against calm mind/rest Suicune, and it definitely fears the likes of Heatran or anything faster with earthquake unless Magnezone has a substiute up. Also Scizors U-Turning on my switch happens a bit too often for my liking.
Bullet Puncher:
Scizor@Choice Band
Ability: Technician
Nature: Adamant
248 HP / 252 Att / 8 Def
~ Bullet Punch
~ U-Turn
~ Super Power
~ Pursuit
Scizor's bullet punch has bailed me out of countless battles. It takes care of just about any weakened pokemon that's not steel, and for those pesky steels, super power is usually enough to KO them. It definitely fears any kind of fire pokemon (especially Heatran who resists bullet punch and is faster) but between Claydol and Gliscor I can usually deal with those threats without too much trouble. Overall Scizor's main purpose is just to give some extra attacking power to my team and sweep up any pokemon who are close to KO'd but not quite there yet.
Catch All:
Cradily@Leftovers
Ability: Suction Cups
Nature: Careful
252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
~ Rock Slide
~ Protect
~ Recover
~ Toxic
This is definitely one of my favorite pokemon. Cradily is excellent at stalling out almost anything that isn't steel, poison or has a subsitute. With it's typing and defenses Cradily can survive almost any attack thrown at it. Toxic and sandstorm work to wear down any non-steel, and alternating recover and protect make Cradily a hard pokemon to KO. Scizor is by far Cradily's biggest threat and one of the reasons I have Magnezone on my team (though U-turns from Scizor leave my Magnezone wide open). Another annoying opponent is, somewhat surprisingly, Gengar. With his poison typing Cradily can't poison him, and even with Cradily's high special defence, focus blasts hurt a lot when they hit. Toxic spikes are another thing that Cradily really doesn't like so as mentioned above, Claydol really helps there. Cradily is an integral part of my team and works surpsingly well against a wide range of OU threats from Swampert to Dragonite.
This team is mostly defensive and hinges a lot on Cradily's ability to deal with most pokemon, while trying to deal with other pokemon that either threaten to KO (Metagross, Machamp, Scizor, Lucario, Breloom, etc) or out-stall (rest Suicune mostly) Cradily. While it's not exactly the kind of play I had in mind when making the team, it's kind of how my play has shifted. If anyone has any suggestions on how I could maybe get a bit more offensive or how I could deal with some common problem pokemon (Jirachi, CM Suicune, Gengar and *especially* sub-punch Breloom) I'd also appreciate it.
Lead:
Tyranitar@Focus Sash
Ability: Sand Stream
Nature: Sassy
240 HP / 36 Att / 48 Def / 184 SpD
~ Counter
~ Taunt
~ Fire Punch
~ Crunch
I lead with Tyranitar to get the sandstorm going (obviously that's an important part of any sandstorm team). It also deals well with other leads like Azelf (1HKO if they don't use reflect, 2HKO if they do, and sandstorm takes care of any sashes) or Ninjask (fire punch breaks any substitutes preventing any swords dances from getting passed). It also deals with Abomasnow, taking any damage it might deal while hitting back with 4x super effective fire punch. Counter and taunt are a bit gimmicky though and not terribly reliable. I find counter most helpful if I switch out before my sash breaks and come back for late game revenge counters, which get me some important KO's against fighting types and Scizor. This of course only works if I can either survive the hit or there are no entry hazards to break my sash, which leads to my next pokemon...
Rapid Spinner:
Claydol@Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Bold
252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpA
~ Rapid Spin
~ Stealth Rock
~ Earth Power
~ Shadow Ball
It's important for me to clear any entry hazards if I want my Tyranitar to revenge counter, but even more important that I clear any toxic spikes for my Cradily (featured later). Claydol's immunity to spikes and toxic spikes with a resistance to stealth rock makes it a natural choice for the job. I can also score a few surprise KO's with shadow ball if I know my opponent is going to switch in a spin blocker. To a lesser extent it can help if I'm struggling against steels like Metagross, Lucario or Heatran, though it's usually not my first choice against them.
Dancer:
Gliscor@Yache Berry
Ability: Hyper Cutter
Nature: Impish
252 HP / 40 Att / 216 Spe
~ Swords Dance
~ Stone Edge
~ Earthquake
~ Roost
I tried using Leftovers, and while they are helpful, I find that being able to survive most ice attacks and come back with a potential KO is a lot more helpful, and really throws off a lot of oppenents who expected a switch. Gliscor plays an important roll in taking out steels with earthquake and countering fighting types with his flying resistance. Unfortunately he's not quite sturdy enough to switch into a lot of threats so he usually ends up coming in after one of my other pokemon has been KO'd and dancing on the switch. That style has a lot of potential too, but it is still easily walled by most water types like Milotic or Suicune while also easily whirlwinded out by Skarmory.
Steel Killer:
Magnezone@Focus Sash
Ability: Magnet Pull
Nature: Modest
172 HP / 84 Spe / 252 SpA
~ Subsitute
~ Magnet Rise
~ Thunderbolt
~ Hidden Power (Grass)
I found I was having a lot of trouble with Waters (read Suicune) and Scizor so I figured I'd try killing two birds with one stone in Magnezone. In practice the results are somewhat mixed. It definitely helps with Skarmoys without shed shells, banded Scizors who don't U-turn, and some waters. When it doesn't work so well is put up against calm mind/rest Suicune, and it definitely fears the likes of Heatran or anything faster with earthquake unless Magnezone has a substiute up. Also Scizors U-Turning on my switch happens a bit too often for my liking.
Bullet Puncher:
Scizor@Choice Band
Ability: Technician
Nature: Adamant
248 HP / 252 Att / 8 Def
~ Bullet Punch
~ U-Turn
~ Super Power
~ Pursuit
Scizor's bullet punch has bailed me out of countless battles. It takes care of just about any weakened pokemon that's not steel, and for those pesky steels, super power is usually enough to KO them. It definitely fears any kind of fire pokemon (especially Heatran who resists bullet punch and is faster) but between Claydol and Gliscor I can usually deal with those threats without too much trouble. Overall Scizor's main purpose is just to give some extra attacking power to my team and sweep up any pokemon who are close to KO'd but not quite there yet.
Catch All:
Cradily@Leftovers
Ability: Suction Cups
Nature: Careful
252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
~ Rock Slide
~ Protect
~ Recover
~ Toxic
This is definitely one of my favorite pokemon. Cradily is excellent at stalling out almost anything that isn't steel, poison or has a subsitute. With it's typing and defenses Cradily can survive almost any attack thrown at it. Toxic and sandstorm work to wear down any non-steel, and alternating recover and protect make Cradily a hard pokemon to KO. Scizor is by far Cradily's biggest threat and one of the reasons I have Magnezone on my team (though U-turns from Scizor leave my Magnezone wide open). Another annoying opponent is, somewhat surprisingly, Gengar. With his poison typing Cradily can't poison him, and even with Cradily's high special defence, focus blasts hurt a lot when they hit. Toxic spikes are another thing that Cradily really doesn't like so as mentioned above, Claydol really helps there. Cradily is an integral part of my team and works surpsingly well against a wide range of OU threats from Swampert to Dragonite.
This team is mostly defensive and hinges a lot on Cradily's ability to deal with most pokemon, while trying to deal with other pokemon that either threaten to KO (Metagross, Machamp, Scizor, Lucario, Breloom, etc) or out-stall (rest Suicune mostly) Cradily. While it's not exactly the kind of play I had in mind when making the team, it's kind of how my play has shifted. If anyone has any suggestions on how I could maybe get a bit more offensive or how I could deal with some common problem pokemon (Jirachi, CM Suicune, Gengar and *especially* sub-punch Breloom) I'd also appreciate it.
