Blood on the sand: RMT!

JSteele

JSteele

Hi, who will Rate/ Fix my sandstorm team?

There are some pokemon and some moves that i consider totally cheap and i dont use them, since they are not creative and id rather lose than win with a cheap, broken team (call me a scrub or whatever, its just the way i see things) Thus, id never use stuff like Breloom, or SubProtect Gliscor.

Soooo, to the team!

#1


Tyranitar @Choice Scarf
Sand Stream
4 HP / 252 Att / 252 Sp
Jolly (-SpA, +Sp)

Stone Edge
Crunch
Superpower
Pursuit

For my weather inducer, i chose ScarfTar. His really high speed lets him kill several pokemon who dont see the scarf coming, and it gives a nice surprise factor. It is a very powerful revenge killer and im generally satisfied.
I really think hes pretty standard, so im not explaining anything :P

#2


Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Poison Heal
248 HP/ 184 Def / 76 Sp
Impish (-SpA, +Def)

Swords Dance
Taunt
Earthquake
Ice Fang

Standard Swords Dance Gliscor. Since I chose not to use SubProtect for the reasons posted above, I decided on swords Dance for my primary physical wall. His goal is to wall stuff like Conkeldurr, Terrakion, as well as Landorus without HP Ice, and it usually switches in when tyranitar is in trouble.
The EVs may seem weird, but their point is to outspeed the typical 72 Sp Gliscors, since i often get in a Gliscor VS Gliscor situation.
Swords Dance can be used when im not threatened by the opposing pokemon, and it can make Gliscor a potential physical sweeper.
Taunt is (obviously) an amazing move, and it helps kill chanseys, blisseys, ferrothorns, forretresses, Skarmories etc, or make em switch. Thus, i take advantage of the sweep to SD and boost my attack to great levels.
'Quake and Ice Fang are obvious choices and i feel i dont need to explain them.

#3


Reuniclus @Life Orb
Magic Guard
192 HP / 64 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet (-Spe, +SpA)

Trick Room
Psyshock
Focus Blast
Shadow Ball

Reuniclus is an amazing pokemon, as it can make a great late game sweeper with its trick room. Magic Guard is an incredible ability and it makes life orb even better than it already is.
The nature, EVs, item and moves are all pretty typical, so i dont think there is anything i need to explain.
My only concern is that i would really love to have some kind of recovery, but Life Orb is just too good to not use, and i cant fit in Recover in the set.
Reuniclus is also my best counter to opposing fighting types. Also, it kills tyranitar and heatran with Focus Blast, As well as Gengar and other ghosts with shadow ball.

#4


Virizion @ Leftovers
Justified
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid (-Att, +Spe)

Calm Mind
Giga Drain
Focus Blast
Hidden Power Ice

I decided to replace ferrothorn with Virizion, since he can boost and become a very powerful (and specially bulky) special sweeper. Fine coverage overall, with Giga Drain killing water, ground and rock types with a powerful STAB and providing healing, Focus Blast because fighting is the best attacking type in the world and HP Ice for dragons and fellow Grass types (though they are pretty rare)
Though its physical defense is pretty bad and it can leave it exposed to several physical attacks (as it has common weaknesses), its high speed, decent SpA and amazing special defense (especially after a boost) make it a pretty strong pokemon, whick deals with several problematic for my team pokemon. It makes a great defensive core with Gliscor, with the Bat being the physical wall and Virizion being the special wall.
Overall, it is one of the few pokemon that can both wall and sweep, and it is rather good for my team.

#5


Gyarados @ Leftovers
Intimidate
56 HP / 248 Att / 204 Spe
Adamant (-SpA, +Att)

Substitute
Dragon Dance
Waterfall
Stone Edge

Good ol' Gyarados, one of the most monstrous physical attackers ever since the 1st Generation

Immunity to Earthquake lets it switch in pretty easily, and, using its ability Intimidate, it can force switches. During the switch he can set a substitute and start Dragon Dancing, and, after one or two Dragon Dances it is pretty strong to beat up a lot of stuff, though it sometimes has to rely on the most hated move in the history of pokemon (aka Stone Edge) to hit pokemon resisting its waterfall.
However, he still has a Stealth Rock weakness which, along with the substitutes, can take his HP down fairly easily.
That is not really important though, as he is a great counter to Volcarona, which is a great threat for my team. Resisting both of its STABs and being immune to the occasional HP ground, it can threaten it and make it switch, even if it has already Quiver Danced.

#6


Heatran @ Air Balloon
Flash Fire
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid (-Att, +Spe)

Fire Blast
Earth Power
Stealth Rock
HP Ice

I believe it is a fact that Heatran is really good pokemon, and Air Balloon just makes it even better.
He is my only stealth rocker, and he is very precious.
As much as i like Fire Blast, i believe that Magma Storm could be given a chance, since the trapping effect and the damage can be very handy.

What do you think???

Threat list:

Volcarona: My lack of a spinblocker lets volcarona come in pretty easily and, after a quiver dance, sweep my team. Tyranitar, Virizion, Gliscor and Reuniclus all fall prey to its boosted STAB attacks, while Heatran dies to the occasional HP Ground. My only counter is Gyarados, but its HP is almost always pretty low late-game, due to SR and Substitutes. Also, Waterfall doesnt OHKO in the sun, so i have to rely on the most unreliable move ever (aka Stone Edge)

HP Ice Landorus: The greatest threat to a sandstorm team is obviously a sandstorm pokemon. He OHKOs Tytanitar, Gliscor, Reuniclus, Heatran (if balloon is broken) and Gyarados, using EQ, HP Ice, U-Turn, EQ, Stone Edge respectively. Thankfully, Virizion can usually kill him using HP Ice, but 1 counter is not enough.

Rotom-W: Rotom w is an amazing pokemon, and it always troubles my team A LOT. Again, virizion is the only true counter, and, once it is dead, all my team can be easily swept. Tyranitar, Heatran, Gyarados and Gliscor die rather easily, while reuniclus can harm it a bit before dying.

Scizor: It is one of the most used OU pokemon, and my team has a pretty thin chance of beating him. Tyranitar and Heatran die to superpower (heatran as long as Fire Blast misses, which is very common when it comes to the worst possible moments), Virizion and Reuniclus die to U-Turn since they can't really hurt him. Gliscor can usually hold his ground (no pun intended) and start swords dancing, and gyarados resists his moves. Nonetheless, he is still a MAJOR threat.

Perish Song Politoed: VERY deadly, as he can perish song Virizion, Gyarados and Reuniclus, the 3 pokemon it cant hit super effectively. He can take a hit from them and stall with protect to either kill em or force a switch.

Jirachi: The Hax Pokemon. Only Gliscor and Heatran can hit it super effectively, and enev they cant be sure to kill it, as it will often paraflinch them.

Mienshao: As long as it knows U-Turn and HP Ice it can harm most of my pokemon, and take advantage of Regenerator to stay fit. A VERY underrated Pokemon. It would be a lot easier to hndle if i had a nice ghost pokemon to make it miss its HJKs.

Starmie: Chanced are, when Starmie comes out, it WILL kill one of my pokemon, before being revenge-crunched by T-Tar, because nothing can switch in without fear. Heatran and Tyranitar fear Hydro Pump, Gliscor fears Hydro Pump AND Ice Beam, Gyarados fears Thunderbolt, Reuniclus fears powerful neutral STAB Hydro Pumps and Virizion fears Ice Beam. One of the best pokemon ever, without a doubt.

Infernape: Typically, a mixed infernape knowing CC, U-Turn and Overheat will pose great threat to my team, and only Gyarados can kill him quite reliably. All the others fear super-effective hits or just powerful overheats (gliscor)

Breloom: This is, along with Jirachi and some other stuff, the only OU pokemon that i consider broken and id never use em just for that. When Breloom comes out, it WILL kill a pokemon, as nothing can switch in wothout fearing a spore, especially if its early game and Gliscors Toxic Orb hasnt activated. After He puts one of my pokemon to sleep, he will start his substitutes and beat a lot of stuff. My greatest hopes against it are a mid to late game Gliscor, and Reuniclus as long as it wakes up early.

Scrafty: a dragon dance set can be deadly if i dont taunt him in his tracks. Drain Punch and Crunch can hit (at least neutrally) everything, and if it is DD boosted, it becomes pretty tough to beat.

Cloyster: If a cloyster Shell Smashes, it can become one of the deadliest pokemon, due to high attack, speed, great coverage and a very high defense (if White Herb is used). Nothing in my team can revenge kill it safely, as i dont have priority attacks.

Jellicent: A team without no Electric attacks and only one grass attack has great trouble in killing it. I love my tar though, as he can kill it quite reliably with crunch.

Gastrodon: It can recover any damage it takes from any of my pokemon barring Vririzion, and burn my physical attackers.

Slowbro: Same as with Jellicent, plus he can Calm Mind and become one hell of a tank.

Metagross: A metagross with Agility and Ice Punch can strike hard most of my pokemon, as he outspeeds Gliscor and Heatran, the only two pokemon who can hit it supereffectively.

Vaporeon: Hydration is a BROKEN ability in rain, and it makes Vap bery tough to beat, as it can always Roar my Virizion away.
 
just a few quick things:

- T-Tar can get Ice Punch (from Pt, SS, and GH I believe). I still suggest Pursuit since you'll most likely be switching out anyway as they switch to their counter. Pursuit also ensures you can kill Lati@s or something weakened that may not like to face off against T-Tar and try to Switch Out.

- I personally like Lefties on Ferro since, other than Leech Seed, he has no way to regain HP. Also, the Standard EV Spread of 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD with a Relaxed Nature gives him better Bulk (Always max out HP before any Def).

- I suggest Double Priority SD Luke as he is VERY deadly. It takes his non-impressive Speed out of the equation and let's him OHKO many things after 1 SD regardless of Speed, Scarfs, or DD's.

- Stealth Rocks > Taunt on Heatran seems like it would help you out more since he does cause switches like crazy and your Team currently lacks Rocks. Stick to Fire Blast, Magma Storm has terrible Accuracy and is not worth it lol. Also, since you mention you have Heatran in-game, he more than likely does NOT Have HP Ice with a Base 70 Power... if the Base Power turns out to be no where near 70, it's pretty much gonna be useless.


Hopefully I've given you some things to think about :D
 
first of all, thanks for answering. :)

I dont have access to gen 4 moves as i already mentioned, and thats why i cant get ice punch and im stuck with the fang. I will consider pursuit anyway, though it will be a pain in the ass to make breed for a new TTar with pursuit and try again to find good ivs, then ev train and level him up.... :P

I may use the Leftovers on Ferro, they sound pretty appealing, though the damage from helmet was pretty good as well. The EV spread seems very appealing, but im iffy when it comes to relaxed nature, as i feel that it leaves SpD a bit uninvested and i need some special walling potential :/ The good news is that i dont have him yet, so i wont be re-breeding, ill just be breeding for the first time.

Luke sounds good, i may actually try him. However i do a problem with the SD set: Vacuum Wave has A LOT better coverage than Bullet Punch (though extremespeed sounds pretty amazing). And i still have the problem that im gonna have to re-breed and re-raise him :/ Do you consider the SD set so much better?

I cant have rocks on heatran. A friend of mine can get me a heatran in Black, with the desired IVs. This means that i cant get him back to Gen4 and teach him the rocks. It also means that i CAN have HP Ice with 70 power.

Thanks again for answering, and id love it if someone could give me some more advice.
 
Well one of us could possibly get you a Tyranitar with 4th gen moves, not sure if it'd work, but I'd be willing to try later. Though, on the Heatran point, Stealth Rock is an extremely useful utility move and shouldn't be overlooked. Beyond that, I really can't give much advice, except that 3 of your Pokemon can be taken down with a super-effective Earthquake. Heatran can't be 1hkoed by it because of Air Balloon (iirc), but just keep it in mind. I'm not very good at giving advice yet, I'm pretty new to the competitive scene.
 
I dont really mind Earthquake, since i can predict it accurately and switch to gliscor or heatran (with the balloon intact)

The thing that really plagues me is that 4 of my pokemon can be killed by Close Combat, and that a Volcarona with just 1 quiver dance can destroy everything barring Heatran.

It would be nice if someone gave me a Tyranitar with gen 4 moves, but the one i currently use has decent IVs as well... (well, at least attack and speed are over 25 :P)

I know perfectly well how good SR is, but i have no means of getting it on my heatran.

Also, any advice is welcome, im new to competitive as well, so tell me what you think :)
 
JSteele said:
Guys who knows how i can change my thread title?
Click to expand...

Haven't a clue on that, sorry. Keep watching my post, I'll edit it with any additional edits I can. And if I find my DPPt, I'll give you my Heatran, I think it has good IVs. If not I can get you a new one, as I don't like Heatran, mostly because it's popular (predictable reason). You could possibly use Latias as a defensive pivot like I do. I'll link it to you down below. Also, if you aren't using Pokemon Online for battle sims, I'd recommend you start. It's great for testing teams against people who actually know what they're doing and it's quite fun.

Latias (F) @ Soul Dew Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Dragon Pulse
- Recover
 
Nibiria said:
Haven't a clue on that, sorry. Keep watching my post, I'll edit it with any additional edits I can. And if I find my DPPt, I'll give you my Heatran, I think it has good IVs. If not I can get you a new one, as I don't like Heatran, mostly because it's popular (predictable reason). You could possibly use Latias as a defensive pivot like I do. I'll link it to you down below. Also, if you aren't using Pokemon Online for battle sims, I'd recommend you start. It's great for testing teams against people who actually know what they're doing and it's quite fun.

Latias (F) @ Soul Dew Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Dragon Pulse
- Recover
Click to expand...

I dont really like Lati@s, i believe they are both too broken for OU and id rather not use them. Also, isnt Soul Dew banned?

Of course i play POL and its pretty good, but i wanna have a good team IRL as well :)

If Your Heatran is Timid/Modest and has good IVs and you are willing to give it to me ill be really grateful!
 
Just looking at this, I notice a few scary weaknesses. Ground types, especially hp ice landorus will destroy this team once ferrothorn is taken down. You have nothing that can truly handle ground type pokemon once gliscor and/or ferrothorn are dead. Another problem is that rotom-w has a field day with this team, especially the choice scarf version. It can outspeed every single thing on your team, and the only pokemon that aren't hurt by his moves much are crippled by trick. Due to this, I think this team could greatly benefit from replacing ferrothorn with this team member: Calm Mind virizion. His great special defense, which is further boosted by calm mind, will help you take special hits decently well, while he can help destroy ground types. Unlike ferrothorn, he is resistant to ground, meaning you won't have much trouble with stuff like landorus. He will also combat rotom-w better, as he doesn't mind switching in on trick (even though it will stop his sweep, he will make a decent cleaner and be able to dish out some damage, as he will most likely be the fastest pokemon on the field if he gets tricked a scarf), and does not fear will-o-wisp, due to running a special set. In addition, he is a great check to rain teams as long as tornadus and toxicroak aren't running around.

The set should look something like this:
640.gif

Set: calm mind
EVs: 252 Sp. Atk / 252 Speed / 4 HP
item: leftovers | Nature: Timid
Moves
-giga drain
-focus blast
-hidden power ice
-calm mind

This will help cover up your team's weaknesses to bulky waters in general, as well as ground types.

In order to fix your volcarona weakness, I suggest the totally awesome water type, Gyarados!

Here is the set I would recommend:
130.gif

Item: Leftovers | Nature: Adamant | EVs: 56 HP / 248 Atk / 204 Speed
Moveset
~ Substitute
~ Dragon Dance
~ Waterfall
~ Bounce / Stone Edge

This is a set taken straight from the smogon analysis. It is a very effective set that rips apart unprepared teams. In fact, with all the brand new threats around, everyone forgets about gyarados. (trust me, I know from experience. *shudders*)
Gyarados resists both of volcarona's STABs, meaning he can usually switch in and then threaten with waterfall. On top of that, he can take advantage of politoed's drizzle, allowing him to hit rain teams without a really good water resist hard. Another cool thing is that he can maim sun teams due to the fact his waterfall still hurts in sun and he is not weak to grass. He also has somewhat decent synergy with virizion, as virizion hits his main weaknesses super effectively. Gyarados is generally threatening to virizion's main problems, as they generally have weaker physical defense.

Gyarados, Heatran, and Virizion form a very potent fire/water/grass core capable of handling many threats and dealing out damage. Reuniclus, Tyranitar, and Virizion also form a fighting/psychic/dark core. These are two important cores in the game that are very effective against a variety of threats.

These pokemon should help make your team better. If you have a problem acquiring one of these pokemon, I'm sure a smogon member will be happy to help.

Hope this helps!
 
first of all, thanks for bothering to help!

Both Virizion and Gyarados are obviously amazing pokemon.

However, i do have some questions regarding them: They both have rather frail physical defense, and i get the feeling that im gonna miss the physical walling that ferrothorn and gliscor provide. I can deal with ferrothorn leaving, but i feel that gliscor is a very important team member... :/

Also, i was so sad when i realised that Virizion will have to use fucus Blast, since it cant learn other special fighting moves :'( It's just that i really hate the move, it seems to miss at the worst possible times! (even worse than stone edge!)
 
You don't have to necessarily remove those two, however it may come to that. Virizion is a great defensive pivot, so you can try it out on your team just for a bit and see how it goes. Its special defense is where it shines, so replace one of the walls with it, at least temporarily.
 
i may actually keep Gliscor and replace ferrothorn and lucario with virizion and gyarados. Then ill have both the great physical and the great special wall, as well as the coverage from gyarados :D

What do you think?
 
Hmmm...it could work. Ferrothorn is one of the best walls in the game, but Virizion is pretty amazing. Try it out on PO for a bit and see how it works!
 
I agree with the Virizion and Gyarados idea. Regarding your training problem, I would be willing to ev train and level up your pokemon if you could just breed them. PM me if you would like me too. I promise I won't keep them, but its ok if you dont trust me. Good Luck with the team!
 
i dont mind the ev train, the real pain is the breeding, especially since i want ivs :/

Thanks for your offer anyway :)
 
just to clarify on my previous post, gliscor can stay. (I just now thought of changing it out for landorus for a revenge killer/cleaner. That has most often been my strategy with sandstorm teams. Kill all ground resists, set hazards, clean with landorus, but gliscor would stay.) If you are concerned about gyarados's weak physical defense, then use intimidate over moxie. If you think gliscor and virizion make a potent defensive combo, use gliscor. If you really need a revenge killer/choice scarfer, use landorus and change gyarados to a more physically defensive spread with intimidate. The team after you use these changes should look like this:

-Tyranitar
-reuniclus
-gliscor/landorus
-virizion
-gyarados
-heatran
 
if you have imperfect ivs its best saying what they are so people can tweak evs to suit them (eg if you have an imperfect speed iv ttar its pointless running max speed)
 
Solid team you got there but this team might need to be slightly revamped considering most common pokemons like Landorus, Infernape and others pose serious issues with your team. My first suggestion is to replace Gyarados for Choice Scarf Salamence. Although it sounds weird, how is your team going to deal with opposing DD Gyarados considering that Tyranitar is easily outsped, including also Haxorus and Dragonite if Gliscor is weakened? Moxie Salamence offers inmediate power while being able to counter all of the after-mentioned threats including Volcarona. I believe that is also relieves some of your weaknesses against Infernape, Scrafty and Rotom-W.

Reuniclus´ job of becoming the late-game sweeper seems to be overloaded with Virizion and Gliscor looking to set-up. My suggestion is to replace him for Rapid Spin Starmie. Starmie has overall, fantastic synergy with Moxie Salamence and is able to remove Stealth Rock giving him plenty of chances to switch-in. Also, Starmie makes an excellent check to Rain teams and removing other dangerous hazards that could be troublesome with your team.

Use Leftovers on Virizion considering that it is your only counter to Volt-Turn and with Sand + LO, it will end up dying quickly while keeping in mind that Scizor always poses a threat with Bullet Punch. Overall solid team and I hope it helped. Below are the sets.
373.gif

Salamence (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Claw
121.gif


Starmie @ Life Orb
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Surf
- Recover
- Thunderbolt
- Rapid Spin
 
Good team.'I remember seeing some of these photos years ago in elementary school and having nightmares, so thanks for the many sleepless nights ahead ;) just another threat that can hit your team is terrakion, the only thing you have to block it is Gliscor and a lucky crit with stone edge is goin o suck.
Just a thought but great team over all 4 stars and contests for not using subproect Gliscor or ferrothorn :)
 
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