Badly Balanced Balance
Importable
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Defog
Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 220 SpD / 36 Spe
Calm Nature
- Heal Bell
- Leaf Storm
- Synthesis
- U-turn
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Whirlwind
Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
EVs: 248 HP / 152 SpA / 108 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Solar Beam
- Roost
- Focus Blast
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Flamethrower
- Calm Mind
Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Defog
Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 220 SpD / 36 Spe
Calm Nature
- Heal Bell
- Leaf Storm
- Synthesis
- U-turn
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Whirlwind
Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
EVs: 248 HP / 152 SpA / 108 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Solar Beam
- Roost
- Focus Blast
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Flamethrower
- Calm Mind
Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance
Analysis
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Defog
As I started out with the more defensive side of this team, Rotom was the first Pokemon I added, as it's one I not only find very reliable, but also fills quite a few vital roles. Defog is mandatory on a team running Zard Y, WoW allows it to cripple any inbound physical 'mons that might want to switch in on Rotom (Kartana, Kyurem-B and Landorus to name a few), Volt Switch allows Rotom to work as a bulky pivot and Hydro Pump prevents it from being a sitting duck against ground types like Lando and Gliscor. Unfortunately, Rotom is seriously hurt by lack of reliable recovery, and is usually the first to get KO'd.
Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 220 SpD / 36 Spe
Calm Nature
- Heal Bell
- Leaf Storm
- Synthesis
- U-turn
Next up was Celebi, an UU Pokémon that covers Rotom's flaws quite well. Heal Bell mitigates the team's weakness to Toxic, Synthesis allows it to heal off massive hits if the sun is up, and U-Turn once again allows it to pivot. It's 4x weakness to bug is unfortunate, as staying in on an U-turn can really cripple it against Pokemon it'd usually try and hit hard with Leaf Storm (Greninja comes to mind).
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Whirlwind
With two specially defensive Pokémon, I needed a physical wall to patch up the other side of the spectrum. With an absolutely bog-standard set, Hippowdon eats almost any physical attack coming its way, set up rocks and phases out the incoming counter before healing up with Slack Off. The sheer number of Pokémon this counters is incredible, Landorus, Zygarde, Tapu Koko and Hoopa-U to name a few. It's also one of the few things that can handle setup sweepers relatively well with Whirlwind and that incredible bulk.
Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
EVs: 248 HP / 152 SpA / 108 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Solar Beam
- Roost
- Focus Blast
With three defensive/support Pokémon, I needed something that could immediately put pressure on the opponent. The EV spread is a bit unusual but it's served me well in the past and definitely works with the fatter nature of this team. HP is at 248 to maximize bulk while not being divisible by 8 (to reduce rocks damage by 1%), the speed is one point above max speed base 70's and the rest is in SpA. The extra bulk gives it some much needed longevity and reduces some of the pressure on switching into resisted attacks, and the only matchups that are really affected by the loss of speed can be walled by Hippowdon.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Flamethrower
- Calm Mind
Next up is Clefable, a decent special attacker that's far more self-sufficient than Zard. Moonblast and Softboiled are standard, while Calm Mind and Flamethrower are for the switches. Flamethrower OHKOs Ferrothorn and Scizor under the sun and seriously dents other steel types, while Calm Mind increases its uninvested bulk against inbound special attackers.
Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance
In the last slot I needed to slot in both a physical sweeper and some form of speed control, and since I already had Hippowdown, why not use Sand Rush Drill? Excadrill functions as a potent lategame sweeper in sand against offensive teams and as a wallbreaker against slower teams. Adamant over Jolly since there's not much that needs outspeeding even outside of sand and Drill benefits from all the power it can get.
Strengths and Weaknesses
- Very good at wearing down balanced and bulky offensive teams down with residual damage from rocks, sandstorm and good prediction.
- Easily handles Hyper Offense teams that can't break through Hippowdon or get outplayed in trying to do so.
- Somewhat good at preserving momentum in practice thanks to U-Turn/Volt Switch and Charizard/Clefable working as bulky pivots.
- Absolutely destroys your standard Swampert/Pelipper/Koko/Ferro rain team, as well as any veil offense teams thanks to two weather inducers.
- Very resistant to Tspikes and status in general thanks to Heal Bell and plenty of flying/status-immune 'mons.
- A few wallbreakers, most notably Mega Medicham tear through the entire team like butter.
- Rotom is a very important part of the defensive backbone (Charizard needs defog and Hippo needs an ice resist) yet is one of the most susceptible to getting KO'd due to a lack of recovery and the sheer number of hits it needs to take.
- Clefable doesn't hit nor take hits as well as I'd expect, and I'm not exactly sure what to do with the set(or slot even).
- Excadrill's endgame sweeps don't always succeed, especially if the omnipresent Landorus (which is easy to wall but hard to KO) gets an intimidate in. (LO -> Band maybe?)
So yeah, that's my team. I'd appreciate feedback and suggestions, especially with the why things need changing.