I've taken a lot of comments on-board regarding this team, and it's now performing very solidly; however, I'm still aiming to streamline and improve certain aspects of how it performs. Its previous iteration is here, but I have utilized a lot of the comments there, and wasn't sure if bumping it would be a social faux pas.
NINETALES @ Leftovers
Timid Nature
252 HP / 120 SpDef / 136 Spe
Ability: DROUGHT
- Fire Blast
- Protect
- Sunny Day
- Will-o-Wisp
I was originally running Ninetales as more of a sweeper than anything else, which didn't work nearly as well as planned. This set was suggested to me, and I've run it since with much more success, though I did end up switching her Defence EVs out with more Special bulk; I found that the amount of physical hits she took would generally kill her anyway, so they ended up being mostly wasted. The Sunny Day set is actually incredibly tricky, particularly in the common Poli vs. Tales situation; being able to chuck up a fast Sunny Day and take a relatively weak Scald to her amazing special defence often shifts momentum in your favor; without the rain boost, Poli will eventually need to either Toxic her or switch out to fight another day. Will-o-Wisp helps her massively when folks switch in what's more often than not a physical scarf, as well. This, combined with Protect, gives her fantastic survivability and scouting options.
VICTREEBEL @ Life Orb
Modest Nature
252 SpAtt/252 Speed
Ability: CHLOROPHYLL
- Giga Drain
- Growth
- Sludge Bomb
- Weather Ball
This guy remains mostly unchanged from my first sun team. Before you ask: yes, I've tested Venusaur instead of Victreebel, and have found that Victreebel's major strength over the flower-dino is Weather Ball. A base 100 pseudo-STAB, even before a Growth boost, is an absolute wrecking ball, particularly for people who don't expect it. By comparison, Venusaur rather NEEDS the growth boost to sweep, while Victreebel can pick off some unsuspecting Steel types, and even take down a lot of neutrally-affected 'mons too, until it has a legitimate opening to Growth and gain the extra coverage. It is for this reason that I prefer Victreebel over Venusaur, though I suppose it does come down to individual tastes. As always, Heatran ruins Victreebel's day, but that's rather unavoidable, and I counter him with my Scarf users anyway.
JUMPLUFF @ Flying Gem
Adamant Nature
252 Att/252 Speed
Ability: CHLOROPHYLL
- Acrobatics
- Sleep Powder
- Seed Bomb
- Swords Dance
Jumpluff is my new favorite Pokemon, hands down. This baby has performed so well in so many battles; once there are no Steel types or Ice Sharders, Jumpluff essentially has total supremacy. The general theory of play is to come in when Sun is up, Sleep something, Swords Dance up on the switchover, (maybe swords dance again if you're feeling lucky and he's left his sleeper in), and proceed to massacre everything with your blinding speed and surprisingly potent Acrobatics. That's kind of the ultimate purpose of this Jumpluff, however, he performs some surprisingly utilitarian functions as well, being able to switch in very comfortably on a lot of common Water moves in the rain, and if they're not also running Ice Beam, you don't even need the sun to utilize Jumpluff's already quite impressive speed. Ice Shard is obviously death, and Heatran/Jirachi both wall this set a fair bit, but other than those three theats, this 'mon is here to stay.
TERRAKION @ Choice Scarf
Jolly Nature
252Att/252Spe
Ability: JUSTIFIED
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake (?)
- X-Scissor (??)
I was a bit reluctant to use Terrakion at first, but god, he's indispensable. So many times, he's come in and saved my ass with his ridiculously powerful, super fast STABs. Heatran runs from him, Hydregion flees...he's fantastic. I do however, find that his two coverage moves simply don't get used; their comparatively low strengths and mostly useless coverage just means he's basically a two-move beast apart from the occasional Earthquake. I think I've used X-Scissor like, twice, and it's generally been a bad idea. I'd appreciate any input into this moveset to give it a little more versatility; I've been wondering if Sacred Sword might be an option, though I still see very little reason to use it over Close Combat. Maybe a Hidden Power Ice for the multiple 4x weaknesses like the Gliscors and the Garchomps who Terrakion has a fair bit of trouble with normally? Is that a viable option?
DONPHAN @ Leftovers
Impish Nature
252HP/252Def/4Att
Ability: STURDY
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
Donphan's been a solid addition to my team. (one might even call him a Sturdy addition, haw haw) He makes a fantastic Stealth Rock lead, and actually packs a fair bit of a punch offensively too, despite ostensibly playing one of the biggest support roles on my entire team. Ice Shard helps massively with his versatility, giving him a sort of dragon hunter role a lot of the time (he's also my only real counter to the occasional joker who thinks it'd be just hilarious to Ditto my boosted Jumpluff and roll me.) He also helps massively with a lot of the Steel types that the rest of my team hates, particularly Heatran. Great survivability, just all out a good team player. Not too much to say here.
DARMANITAN @ Choice Scarf
Jolly Nature
252Att/252Spe
Ability: SHEER FORCE
- Flare Blitz
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
- U-Turn
This dude hits like a goddamn meteor. I always found that my sixth member of the party has changed around a fair bit, but currently I'm pretty happy with Darmanitan. I'm always looking for more Sun synergy, so I can't really go past that STAB, Sun boosted, Sheer Force boosted Flare Blitz off a base 140 Attack, alongside respectable boosted speed. That's just, everything I wanted in an attack, really. Rock Slide and Superpower are there for coverage, and U-Turn's there for scouting and misdirection, I'll often switch out to Jumpluff if an Earthquake or water attack is likely.
So, that's the team. At the moment, to get to the higher ranks, I have a couple of significant issues, one of which is the Ice type; while I've got some good coverage, a lot of the time, so do most things with Ice moves. I've been having a great deal of trouble with Cloyster lately, particularly when he switches in on my Jumpluff; a lot of the time if you attempt to muscle through it, he'll just Ice Shard me, and the other half of the time when I predict Ice Shard and switch, he'll Shell Smash up on the free turn and make life absolute hell. Heatran's always been a problem for my Chlorophyll sweepers, but I now have a good deal of Ground and Fighting firepower to take him out; there will be some occasions where I'm down to something like Victreebel or Ninetales against him and it's just impossible, however. That really comes more down to playing better than team choices, I feel.
I am very attached to my Sun Sweepers, but I do switch them out and try out different things if they're recommended to me; I've simply found that Victreebel's raw Special power and Jumpluff's speed give me a lot of versatility and just seem to be more effective. Ninetales is my Sun and also my special wall on occasion; she's integral to the team. Donphan's great at what he does and is quite a versatile threat, but I would be willing and indeed, quite interested, to try out some more Rapid Spinners and see what they're like. Terrakion and Darmanitan are the muscle, mostly; they work, but if anyone has any better ideas, I'd gladly take them on board. Thank you all in advance.
EDIT: I am considering switching Victreebel out for a Mixed Shiftry. I feel that would offer a fair bit of coverage, and finally use Growth to its full potential. Nature Power would deal happily with Heatran even unboosted, Giga Drain would still rock, and Sucker Punch could add a bit of priority and deal with the Lati@s, which haven't really given me too much trouble recently, though they have in the past. It also has a lot of interesting options including Leaf Storm, Focus Blast, Low Kick and Explosion, which coming off a Growth boost or so, would be /metal as all shit/. Victreebel has always felt a little superfluous coverage-wise, considering Ninetales and Darmanitan do his niche job a lot better anyway, though I do appreciate the fact that he can absorb Toxic and take down a lot of dragons with Sludge Bomb. Thoughts?
NINETALES @ Leftovers
Timid Nature
252 HP / 120 SpDef / 136 Spe
Ability: DROUGHT
- Fire Blast
- Protect
- Sunny Day
- Will-o-Wisp
I was originally running Ninetales as more of a sweeper than anything else, which didn't work nearly as well as planned. This set was suggested to me, and I've run it since with much more success, though I did end up switching her Defence EVs out with more Special bulk; I found that the amount of physical hits she took would generally kill her anyway, so they ended up being mostly wasted. The Sunny Day set is actually incredibly tricky, particularly in the common Poli vs. Tales situation; being able to chuck up a fast Sunny Day and take a relatively weak Scald to her amazing special defence often shifts momentum in your favor; without the rain boost, Poli will eventually need to either Toxic her or switch out to fight another day. Will-o-Wisp helps her massively when folks switch in what's more often than not a physical scarf, as well. This, combined with Protect, gives her fantastic survivability and scouting options.
VICTREEBEL @ Life Orb
Modest Nature
252 SpAtt/252 Speed
Ability: CHLOROPHYLL
- Giga Drain
- Growth
- Sludge Bomb
- Weather Ball
This guy remains mostly unchanged from my first sun team. Before you ask: yes, I've tested Venusaur instead of Victreebel, and have found that Victreebel's major strength over the flower-dino is Weather Ball. A base 100 pseudo-STAB, even before a Growth boost, is an absolute wrecking ball, particularly for people who don't expect it. By comparison, Venusaur rather NEEDS the growth boost to sweep, while Victreebel can pick off some unsuspecting Steel types, and even take down a lot of neutrally-affected 'mons too, until it has a legitimate opening to Growth and gain the extra coverage. It is for this reason that I prefer Victreebel over Venusaur, though I suppose it does come down to individual tastes. As always, Heatran ruins Victreebel's day, but that's rather unavoidable, and I counter him with my Scarf users anyway.
JUMPLUFF @ Flying Gem
Adamant Nature
252 Att/252 Speed
Ability: CHLOROPHYLL
- Acrobatics
- Sleep Powder
- Seed Bomb
- Swords Dance
Jumpluff is my new favorite Pokemon, hands down. This baby has performed so well in so many battles; once there are no Steel types or Ice Sharders, Jumpluff essentially has total supremacy. The general theory of play is to come in when Sun is up, Sleep something, Swords Dance up on the switchover, (maybe swords dance again if you're feeling lucky and he's left his sleeper in), and proceed to massacre everything with your blinding speed and surprisingly potent Acrobatics. That's kind of the ultimate purpose of this Jumpluff, however, he performs some surprisingly utilitarian functions as well, being able to switch in very comfortably on a lot of common Water moves in the rain, and if they're not also running Ice Beam, you don't even need the sun to utilize Jumpluff's already quite impressive speed. Ice Shard is obviously death, and Heatran/Jirachi both wall this set a fair bit, but other than those three theats, this 'mon is here to stay.
TERRAKION @ Choice Scarf
Jolly Nature
252Att/252Spe
Ability: JUSTIFIED
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake (?)
- X-Scissor (??)
I was a bit reluctant to use Terrakion at first, but god, he's indispensable. So many times, he's come in and saved my ass with his ridiculously powerful, super fast STABs. Heatran runs from him, Hydregion flees...he's fantastic. I do however, find that his two coverage moves simply don't get used; their comparatively low strengths and mostly useless coverage just means he's basically a two-move beast apart from the occasional Earthquake. I think I've used X-Scissor like, twice, and it's generally been a bad idea. I'd appreciate any input into this moveset to give it a little more versatility; I've been wondering if Sacred Sword might be an option, though I still see very little reason to use it over Close Combat. Maybe a Hidden Power Ice for the multiple 4x weaknesses like the Gliscors and the Garchomps who Terrakion has a fair bit of trouble with normally? Is that a viable option?
DONPHAN @ Leftovers
Impish Nature
252HP/252Def/4Att
Ability: STURDY
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
Donphan's been a solid addition to my team. (one might even call him a Sturdy addition, haw haw) He makes a fantastic Stealth Rock lead, and actually packs a fair bit of a punch offensively too, despite ostensibly playing one of the biggest support roles on my entire team. Ice Shard helps massively with his versatility, giving him a sort of dragon hunter role a lot of the time (he's also my only real counter to the occasional joker who thinks it'd be just hilarious to Ditto my boosted Jumpluff and roll me.) He also helps massively with a lot of the Steel types that the rest of my team hates, particularly Heatran. Great survivability, just all out a good team player. Not too much to say here.
DARMANITAN @ Choice Scarf
Jolly Nature
252Att/252Spe
Ability: SHEER FORCE
- Flare Blitz
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
- U-Turn
This dude hits like a goddamn meteor. I always found that my sixth member of the party has changed around a fair bit, but currently I'm pretty happy with Darmanitan. I'm always looking for more Sun synergy, so I can't really go past that STAB, Sun boosted, Sheer Force boosted Flare Blitz off a base 140 Attack, alongside respectable boosted speed. That's just, everything I wanted in an attack, really. Rock Slide and Superpower are there for coverage, and U-Turn's there for scouting and misdirection, I'll often switch out to Jumpluff if an Earthquake or water attack is likely.
So, that's the team. At the moment, to get to the higher ranks, I have a couple of significant issues, one of which is the Ice type; while I've got some good coverage, a lot of the time, so do most things with Ice moves. I've been having a great deal of trouble with Cloyster lately, particularly when he switches in on my Jumpluff; a lot of the time if you attempt to muscle through it, he'll just Ice Shard me, and the other half of the time when I predict Ice Shard and switch, he'll Shell Smash up on the free turn and make life absolute hell. Heatran's always been a problem for my Chlorophyll sweepers, but I now have a good deal of Ground and Fighting firepower to take him out; there will be some occasions where I'm down to something like Victreebel or Ninetales against him and it's just impossible, however. That really comes more down to playing better than team choices, I feel.
I am very attached to my Sun Sweepers, but I do switch them out and try out different things if they're recommended to me; I've simply found that Victreebel's raw Special power and Jumpluff's speed give me a lot of versatility and just seem to be more effective. Ninetales is my Sun and also my special wall on occasion; she's integral to the team. Donphan's great at what he does and is quite a versatile threat, but I would be willing and indeed, quite interested, to try out some more Rapid Spinners and see what they're like. Terrakion and Darmanitan are the muscle, mostly; they work, but if anyone has any better ideas, I'd gladly take them on board. Thank you all in advance.
EDIT: I am considering switching Victreebel out for a Mixed Shiftry. I feel that would offer a fair bit of coverage, and finally use Growth to its full potential. Nature Power would deal happily with Heatran even unboosted, Giga Drain would still rock, and Sucker Punch could add a bit of priority and deal with the Lati@s, which haven't really given me too much trouble recently, though they have in the past. It also has a lot of interesting options including Leaf Storm, Focus Blast, Low Kick and Explosion, which coming off a Growth boost or so, would be /metal as all shit/. Victreebel has always felt a little superfluous coverage-wise, considering Ninetales and Darmanitan do his niche job a lot better anyway, though I do appreciate the fact that he can absorb Toxic and take down a lot of dragons with Sludge Bomb. Thoughts?
