Desert Land - A Sandstorm team that needs some help

As I'm pretty new to the competitive scene, a Sandstorm team, to me, seemed like a good way to go for beginners. I've been casually running this on Shoddy with some decent success; I win a good deal more than I lose, but I still have a fundamental flaw I'd like to fix and maybe get some help with: Suicune shits all over this team. Every game I've lost so far was because Suicune showed up, so that's basically what I've come here to hopefully fix. Anyway, here's the team:

455.png

Hippowdon@Leftovers
~Earthquake
~Slack Off
~Stealth Rock
~Toxic

For future reference, all EVs are ripped directly from the main site analysis as I'm not confident enough to get super creative yet. This is my lead, and he serves the purpose of setting up SR at the beginning of the game. He obviously doesn't outspeed anything, but he's able to set up pretty consistently. EQ is there for STAB, Slack Off is there for tankage; Toxic here is iffy for me, because while it has been extremely useful in crippling things and forcing switches, I've on more than one occasion been faced with a flying-type sweeper with nothing to do but Toxic and try to out-stall it.

346.png

Cradily@Leftovers
~Mirror Coat
~Recover
~Rock Slide
~Toxic/Grass Knot

Part of the reason I have this guy on here is sorta for cool factor, but he's actually been a really reliable member of the team. The SpD boost it gets from Sandstorm does a lot to its credit. As I was typing this up actually, I thought of slapping Mirror Coat on here as a way to "counter" Suicune, as I've used a similar strategy over PBR Wi-Fi for some lulz. I have Toxic on Shoddy right now but I'm thinking that Grass Knot will end up being a better option since Hippo's already got it. This guy serves as a special wall and stall whore, both of which I think he does quite well.

248.png

Tyranitar@Choice Band
~Stone Edge
~Crunch
~Earthquake
~Pursuit/Aqua Tail

One of the most potent physical sweepers in the metagame ends up working with this team quite well. By now Sandstorm has already been raging, so he's pretty easy to switch in thanks to the SpD boost. The reason I'm shaky on Pursuit is that I'm not so confident in my prediction just yet - it's what I'm running now, but I think that maybe Aqua Tail may end up being the better choice.

398.png

Empoleon@Petaya Berry
~Agility
~Substitute
~Surf
~Ice Beam/Grass Knot

I was never much of an Empoleon fan before, and even when making this team I really just slapped him on here because I felt like I needed some special support... but the more I use this guy, the more that I'm convinced. This Empoleon is a fucking beast. I make it a habit not to whip this guy out until most of the game has run its course, but when he does make his appearance, it usually means the match is over (barring Suicune ): ). A late game SubPetaya sweep has saved my arse on more than one occasion.

Questionables

I kinda threw these Pokes on here mostly because they're personal favorites and they don't get clocked by Sandstorm, but the more I use this team the more I feel that they just don't fit in - here was where I was hoping to get some advice on replacing them, or tailoring their sets to better help this team.

212.png

Scizor@Life Orb
Swarm
~Swords Dance
~Bullet Punch
~Superpower
~U-Turn

I know this guy is a beast in the D/P/Pt metagame right now, but I have trouble switching him in and setting him up. It seems like everybody is running EQ ):

142.png

Aerodactly@Expert Belt
~Aqua Tail
~Earthquake
~Fire Fang
~Stone Edge

I've loved Aero since R/B/Y, but it just doesn't seem like he's cut out to be anything but a lead - at least not in the way I've been using him. Admittedly I'm not as shaky on this guy as I am about Scizor, because he's got some decent coverage and he's won me a match or two by doing a kind of hit-and-run maneuver with my walls. Still, he seems a bit out of place.

All in all, the object of this team is pretty simple, but effective: take out a third or more of the opponent's team with residual damage combined with powerful sweepers, open the gate for Empoleon when I'm sure he'll switch in on something he resists, and sweep away. The name, Desert Land... well, that's a reference to Super Mario Bros. 3 (the other best Nintendo franchise ever). I know this team could use a lot of work, but I wouldn't be here if I wasn't able to admit it.
 
What about throwing Magnezone on their to get rid of your Suicune problem? I don't have a lot of time to suggest an infallible set atm, but it has good special defense. I would say max its Sp. Attack, then split the remaining EV's between HP and Speed, or just dump everything into HP if you don't feel the need to make it outspeed anything. Maybe T-Bolt, HP: Ice, Sub/Magnet Rise, and Explosion/Sub/Tri Attack for its moveset? Idk, just a thought.
 
Thanks for the suggestion; I think that'll actually work really well even outside of being a Suicune counter, seeing as my team is predominantly physical attackers. I kind of hate Magnezone's aesthetics, at least compared to Magneton, but I know that's a mindset I need to get out of if I want to play comptetively, hehe ><
 
Haha, indeed you do. Magneton could work, too, it's just not quite as bulky. But either one should work well. And Magneton might work better if you need a little extra speed.
 
Back
Top