Another boring generic team

[iSkittles]

Hey guys, this is my first RMT, so be gentle. I'll try not to look like a complete moron while I display my team and thought process behind building it. Anyho, before you say "lol this team sux" it's gotten me as high as 1450 (peaked at 23 iirc) on the PO server. (which is where I mainly battle) It mostly has issues against other stall teams, hail, and Deo - D, so I figured this would be the best place to fix all the glaring problems.

Team at a glance:

H.H. Hippo ~ (Hippopotas) (F) @ Eviolite
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- Slack Off

Well, I can't have a sand team without this little girl, soo that's why she's here. Blah Blah you know what she does, walls physical attacks and sets up rocks. I have been thinking about replacing either Toxic or Earthquake with Roar since I very rarely even attack with her though. :L

Seed U Later (Ferroseed) (F) @ Eviolite
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Protect
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Gyro Ball

This little bugger is my number 1 switch in to anything lacking fighting and fire moves. She sets up Spikes and Leeches health. I put protect on her for scouting purposes and Gyro Ball to rip chunks out of everything that doesn't resist the hit. Even with its low base attack and no investment, Gyro Ball is hitting things like offensive Celebi for 30% or more which is nothing to sneeze at.

L.A. Noir ~ (Dusknoir) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
- Seismic Toss
- Shadow Sneak

There's almost no reason not to run Spikes in UU with all the excellent Spikers available so of course I'd need a spin blocker to keep them on the field. I picked Noir over Clops because the lack of leftovers recovery combined with Sandstorm and its low HP stat really whittled it down quickly. It's obvious what this set is for, so I won't waste time explaining it.

Dat Bat ~ (Crobat) (F) @ Black Sludge
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 232 HP / 56 Def / 76 SDef / 144 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Taunt
- Super Fang
- Roost
- Brave Bird

Well, looking at my team, I could see that I was pretty freaking stall weak myself, so I slapped on this stall breaking Crobat to help with this problem. Taunt is for stopping those nasty Twaves and other walls from setting up hazards, and Super Fang is to take a meaty chunk out of their HP. BB is stab and Roost is much needed to recover off all that damage. I used to have Aerodactyl in this spot, but it sucked shit and was dead weight most of the time so I kicked it to the curb.

Shrt n Stout (Stoutland) (F) @ Choice Band
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Wild Charge
- Crunch
- Retaliate
- Return

What kind of sand team would this be without Stoutland? This little pup is for late game clean up and revenging all in one. Retaliate hits harder than Return if something's been KO'd and Crunch is for those smug asshole ghosts that think the can switch in willy nilly. Wild Charge hits bulky waters and Registeel harder than any of the other moves here. But she's stopped cold by the all too common Rhyperior. ):

Fairy Tail (Clefable) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Protect
- Toxic
- Wish
- Heal Bell

This little baby is suuuuuch Taunt bait I know. ): But she's the team's cleric that's immune to entry hazards, unlike Chansey's fat ass. Not much to say really, she passes wishes and Toxic stalls. I did try out Clefairy over Clefable for a while, but the lack of lefties really hurt her in the long run.

So anyways, that's my boring sand team. I got tired of being wrecked by Xatu and other defensive things so I figured you guys would be able to help me out. I figure it's more of a team issue than skill, although I do have my days where I play like crap.

 

[Red M]

Good team, I'd just suggest maybe taking Retaliate off of Stoutland and putting Fire Fang in its place, for coverage against Ferroseed and whatnot.

 

[iSkittles]

Would the power loss from Retaliate really be justified by replacing it with Fire Fang? I mean most steel types I switch out of. :s

 

[GTS]

Would the power loss from Retaliate really be justified by replacing it with Fire Fang? I mean most steel types I switch out of. :s

In my experience with Stouts, Fire Fang is always better, you can clean up easier that way. You'll almost never need both Normal STABs cuz he hits like a truck anyway.

 

[iSkittles]

Alright, I'll give it a try since it couldn't hurt that much.

 

[Eternal]

The biggest problem I see with this team is that is has a very hard time coming in on Fire-type Pokemon like Arcanine and Victini, while Donphan also easily stops your entry hazard support and harms your Dusknoir a lot from Earthquake + Sandstorm damage. Not only, you also lack a spinner for your stall-like Sandstorm team. I would really like to suggest replacing Crobat since it looks like the most useless Pokemon in the team being weak to Stealth Rock and Sandstorm. Replacing Crobat for Blastoise will allow you to do so many things. Here's the Blastoise set:

Blastoise @ Leftovers -- Torrent
Nature: Bold - EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Rapid Spin
- Scald

This physically defensive Blastoise will make a great check for your weakness to Fire-type Pokemon. Not only that, it will allow you to use Blastoise as a spinner, which your team lacks. And what's better is that it also benefits from your Clefable's Heal Bell as it can recover Blastoise's sleep. Rest Talking is also a great way to keep Blastoise alive for efficiently spinning away entry hazards. The 30% chance to burn with Scald all so useful too. This thing should really patch up your team's weaknesses.

Good luck!

 

[iSkittles]

The biggest problem I see with this team is that is has a very hard time coming in on Fire-type Pokemon like Arcanine and Victini, while Donphan also easily stops your entry hazard support and harms your Dusknoir a lot from Earthquake + Sandstorm damage. Not only, you also lack a spinner for your stall-like Sandstorm team. I would really like to suggest replacing Crobat since it looks like the most useless Pokemon in the team being weak to Stealth Rock and Sandstorm. Replacing Crobat for Blastoise will allow you to do so many things. Here's the Blastoise set:

Blastoise @ Leftovers -- Torrent
Nature: Bold - EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Rapid Spin
- Scald

This physically defensive Blastoise will make a great check for your weakness to Fire-type Pokemon. Not only that, it will allow you to use Blastoise as a spinner, which your team lacks. And what's better is that it also benefits from your Clefable's Heal Bell as it can recover Blastoise's sleep. Rest Talking is also a great way to keep Blastoise alive for efficiently spinning away entry hazards. The 30% chance to burn with Scald all so useful too. This thing should really patch up your team's weaknesses.

Good luck!

Thanks for the rate! But how do I deal with things like max speed Deo - D? It taunts all my slow pokemon while setting up Spikes and recovers off any damage I manage to do to it. ): I'll def try out this Blastoise set though. :)

 

[Eternal]

Thanks for the rate! But how do I deal with things like max speed Deo - D? It taunts all my slow pokemon while setting up Spikes and recovers off any damage I manage to do to it. ): I'll def try out this Blastoise set though. :)

There is a cool solution to that problem. Instead of using Dusknoir as your spin blocker, you can use a Mismagius. Unlike Dusknoir, Mismagius has speed and power to handle Deoxys-D. It can Taunt supporters like Deoxys and can also WoW like Duskoir, but being allows you to do it more efficiently. You should lose a little bulk, but I definitely suggest going with this over Dusknoir as the benefactors are worth it. Here's the set you should use:

Mismagius @ Leftovers -- Levitate
Nature: Timid - EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
- Pain Split
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt

 

[iSkittles]

Thanks! I was looking at Missy as a solution, but I wasn't sure if she was bulky enough. But the set you posted seems to patch up my speed problem as well. Also you seem to be the only one interested in helping out my silly team, so I extra appreciate all the help!

 

[Eternal]

Yea, no problem.

 

[haunter]

If you're going to replace both Dusknoir and Crobat then I see that you're gonna have troubles with Azelf. After it gets a NP it can ohko your whole team but you can play around it with SS and Stoutland.

I really suggest that you replace toxic with roar on Hippopotas. You have a pretty huge weakness to double dance Rhyperior and SD Cobalion so roaring them out on their set up move could save you from a sweep. Roar also prevents Hippo from becoming set up fodder for the likes of sub-roost Moltres and sub-plot Mismagius. Speaking of the latter, it can be a massive pain for this team considering that it has many opportunities to set up. A possible fix would be giving Clefable encore over protect.

Also, I don't think that max Spe is necessary on Mismagius, 216 Spe EVs will ensure that you'll beat base 100 Pkm, so you can move the remaining EVs into Def or Spa. You could also try subsitute over pain split for better stall breaking capabilities.

Hope this helps.

 

[Eternal]

If you're going to replace both Dusknoir and Crobat then I see that you're gonna have troubles with Azelf. After it gets a NP it can ohko your whole team but you can play around it with SS and Stoutland.

I really suggest that you replace toxic with roar on Hippopotas. You have a pretty huge weakness to double dance Rhyperior and SD Cobalion so roaring them out on their set up move could save you from a sweep. Roar also prevents Hippo from becoming set up fodder for the likes of sub-roost Moltres and sub-plot Mismagius. Speaking of the latter, it can be a massive pain for this team considering that it has many opportunities to set up. A possible fix would be giving Clefable encore over protect.

Also, I don't think that max Spe is necessary on Mismagius, 216 Spe EVs will ensure that you'll beat base 100 Pkm, so you can move the remaining EVs into Def or Spa. You could also try subsitute over pain split for better stall breaking capabilities.

Hope this helps.

I second giving Hippopotas Roar over Toxic and 216 Speed EVs on Mismagius. But, Substitute does have its flaws when using it in Sandstorm, as Mismagius does get crippled by sand damage and would be unable to recover back anything after using Substitute. Taunt will already allow you stop status attackers like Chansey.

I would also like to mention an optional change for this team that could actually be very helpful. A Choice Band Snorlax set. Choice Band Snorlax will allow you to defeat opposing Ghost-types like Mismagius or Froslass with Pursuit and allow you to freely Rapid Spin with Blastoise. It will also lessen your team's weakness to Azelf as well as provide you with something powerful to 2HKO things like Milotic. The problem is that there isn't really a viable replacement for it, and the most plausible replacement would probably be Ferroseed. Since you don't want to increase your weakness to Fighting-types or lose any of the other support your team provides you with. Clefable's Wish support helps greatly with Snorlax's great bulk and inability to recover. Heal Bell would allow your fearlessly destroy bulky threats without the fear of getting statused. Here's the Choice Band Snorlax set:

Snorlax @ Choice Band -- Thick Fat
Nature: Adamant - EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
- Pursuit
- Crunch / Earthquake
- Body Slam (unlike Frustration, Body Slam provides a 30% chance of paralysis when you don't really need the extra power. It's also really helpful when you're being PP-stalled out by something like Deoxys-D.)
- Frustration (a bit stronger than Body Slam, which helps a lot at 2HKOing bulky Pokemon like Milotic, Slowbro, bulky Celebi/Zapdos, etc.)

I've used this set with a lot of success on the ladder and have peaked #1 on the UU ladder in the past with a similar team with this set. I recommend trying it out. Good luck!