Enter Sandman (Peaked 1881)

Kobrizzle

Kobrizzle

I have been using this team for over three generations and managed to do well with it no matter how many new convoluted pokemon come out.

Building Process:


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I begin with a simple Tyranitar. This opens up my team to utilizing sand, not to mention it is one of my favorite pokemon.

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Next I needed a Wall Breaker, someone that breaks all the steels and fairies Tyranitar hates. I chose Nidoking due to his fairy resistances and ability to absorb toxic, toxic spikes and thunder wave.


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I now needed something to combat waters, most notable rotom W. So I chose celebi (the greates rotom counter I know) whose main job its to eliminate bulky waters which otherwise pose a big threat to my team.Also its worth to note that celebi and nidoking together break virutally any wall not named Mandibuzz.

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Celebi isn't enough to deal with the waters, so I chose Mega Blastoise with rapid spin support to help celebi out. He also contributes a ridiculous array of atks to destroy some of the most annoying threats (Aegislash/Mandibuzz).

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Tyranitar, while a specially defensive juggernaut, lacks in defense. Therefore I chose Skarmory as my phaser and to to provide defensive support, not to mention it fits well with the sand theme.
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Finally, its obvious that my team is slow. So naturally I would need a speedy pokemon to help revenge kill any unfinished business. So I chose gengar, who conveniently acts as a spin blocker as well (Though that was not the main driving force).

Well here is the team:



Sandman (Tyranitar) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Atk / 56 Def / 56 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
- Crunch
- Ice Punch

Tyraniboah has always been one of my favorite sets, and it is still lethal in this generation. Max hp evs are so that a sub can tank a seismic toss from chansey/blissey, but all the other ev's are pretty arbitrary. He is bulky enough to get the job done so I opted for more atk. He loves to set up on stuff like lati@s, that thunder mega evolution thing, celebi. Sub mindgames Aegislash so hard, while icepunch is there specifically for when garchomp switches in on my sub. He's a beast but Im not adamant on him; I am also considering an assault vest set.

Dragon's Fire (Nidoking) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 SAtk
Naughty Nature
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam
- Poison Jab
- Earthquake

This is my favorite set because of the raw surprise factor. I switch into ferrothorn and use poison jab, and virtually anything that comes out dies. Sometimes I just launch fireblast, not afraid of heatran because I outpace and ko virutally every set with eq. Rotom would force me to swtich, but poison jab is a 2hko after stealth rock. He has great synergy with Tyranitar against Aegislash because Ttar can step into shadowball and nidoking can step into knights shield or sacred sword without any worries and ko with eq. Togekiss, clefable, and the fairy ev all die in one hit from poison jab. When nidoking is out against a fairy, something almost always dies because steels who safely switch into poison jab will just get outpaced and koed with Fire Blast or EQ

Lies (Skarmory) (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Shiny: Yes
- Stealth Rock
- Roost
- Brave Bird
- Whirlwind

Pretty Standard Skarmory, yet he is invaluable. He is needed to step into all the dragons, and scizors, and the infernal mega pinsir who is an animal. He also does a good job against bisharp, being able to phase it out and preventing a sweep. He does pretty well against mega mawile too if it lacks a +2 and fire fang. He also lays down stealth rock for much needed support. I opted against defog because I have that luxury with Blastoise, and all of these moves are absolutely needed.

Neverland (Celebi) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 220 HP / 36 Spd
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Earth Power
- Psychic
- U-turn

Celebi freely switches into rotom and inflicts sever damage with psychic (since no rotom would stay in) on opposing swtich ins. Im looking at you Talonflame. Earth power is needed to make sure I'm not setup bait for the degenerate Bisharp. It also catches Aegislash off guard if he thinks I will switch into ttar and uses Sacred Sword. So this is an offensive set with some serious bulk due to AV. I opted to go this way because I need the extra damage and coverage to ko bisharp, while maintaining the ability to tank enough hits from rotom. U-turn is just a support move that assault vest allows.

War (Blastoise) (M) @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Torrent
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Aura Sphere
- Dark Pulse
- Scald
- Rapid Spin

Blastoise is an absolute monster. He switches into heatran beautifully and threatens to ko with scald AND aura sphere. Its worth a note that Aura sphere deals 40ish percent to rotom. The real beauty of this set is that it can beautifully counter Mandibuzz. Knock off does nothing, Foul play does nothing. If he gets hit by scald its over because after that he will roost and get koed by Aura Sphere. Happens every time. Rapid spin support is key because it gets rid of the accursed sticky web. Also dark pulse destroys literally any spin blocker in ou. Its beautiful.

Enter Night (Gengar) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Icy Wind
- Thunderbolt
- Trick

Finally, surprise surprise, Choice scarf Gengar. I chose this because I hate Dragon Dance sweepts. He out paces all dragons and gyaradoses after one dance and ko's them with icy win and thunderbolt respectively. Thunderbolt also sort of helps against the stupid +3 Manaphy who is ridiculous. I get a mini heart attack every time i see that. I also lol and gengar spin blocking starmie then koing it with shadowball. Its always fun.

Heres and importable version:

Sandman (Tyranitar) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Atk / 56 Def / 56 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
- Crunch
- Ice Punch

Dragon's Fire (Nidoking) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 SAtk
Naughty Nature
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam
- Poison Jab
- Earthquake

Lies (Skarmory) (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Shiny: Yes
- Stealth Rock
- Roost
- Brave Bird
- Whirlwind

Neverland (Celebi) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 220 HP / 36 Spd
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Earth Power
- Psychic
- U-turn

War (Blastoise) (M) @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Torrent
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Aura Sphere
- Dark Pulse
- Scald
- Rapid Spin

Enter Night (Gengar) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Icy Wind
- Thunderbolt
- Trick

If you haven't guessed, The Nicknames are key points of Metallica's song Enter Sandman. I wonder how many of you got that before reading this.
 
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Damn, this team is sweet. Going to try it out right now. Do you think you can get away with a more conventional set on Tyranitar? Such as another Assault Vest one?

EDIT: Actually, I didn't notice you were considering an AV. Here's the set I used on a previous team:

Tyranitar (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 6 Atk / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake

Despite minimal investment in Attack, he still OHKOs Latios and other frail sweepers with Pursuit, and even more with Stealth Rock up.
 
Alright, after some testing I've found that this team has a lot of trouble against Scizor, especially the Choice Band variant paired with Rotom-W. Nothing is a safe switch once Skarm goes down, especially since Rotom destroys Skarm. In fact, I'd say VoltTurn teams give this team a lot of trouble in general.

What were your experiences getting to 1794? Maybe I'm just playing it wrong.
 
my mistake, it actually is Sheer force, I just wrote it incorrectly here.

@ Ace Trainer - it was a rough one, I went through a lot of failing but it goes to show that the only thing that makes a team good is learning how to use it, and it took me a while. Yes, you have to keep skarmory alive, so roost as often as possible. Rocky helmet definitely helps against choice band scizor since it really cant afford to come in on SR and hit the helmet all the time. Celebi cleanly switches into rotom, but if he voltturns out, scizors back, only to get nailed by skarmory. If skarmory should die and scizor is out. Nidoking/Blastoise can come in and land a ko to anything by anticipating a swtich. If rotom is at 45%, feel free to ko with poison jab, since he will outpace it and ko it right away. If he switches into a steel (such as scizor) simply fireblast and he quits.

With regards to the ttar set, one reason why I opted against AV is because my team lacks a set up sweeper. But its not my style to run DD ttar because between bullet punch and aqua jet it will die to frequently. Also i love subbing on a garchomp switch and then koing with ice punch. Usually Something dies when ttar switches into something that cant deal more than 25% (Chansey/Blissey/ Latias/ That thunder dog thing)
 
its probably not very good. I lost a lot before I actually learned the team. But going from 1500 to 1800 it was about a loss every five games

I think their best song is Master of the Puppets, though my favorite is Unforgiven II. I just think enter sandman fits the theme more here
 
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true but remember gengar is a revenge killer garchomp especially scarf chomp never makes it out with 100%. Skarmory switches in on outrange/claw, dealing damage due to rocky helm. Then I roost. if he fireblasts it never ohkos and i gain the bulk of my hp back. Then i simple switch to blastoise and thats a loosing matchup for him. Gengar is the finisher not the check
 
Any reason not to use Landorus-I over Nidoking? I get that it lacks the Fairy resist and can't run Fire Blast or Ice Beam, but I doubt Nidoking is really something you want to take a hit with considering it's fairly subpar bulk - even against a resisted fairy hit. Beyond that Landorus has much better attack stats for a mixed set, the same ability to spam Sheer Force boosted Life Orb recoil free moves (well, on moves that have a secondary effect), similar (slightly better) bulk and a much nicer base speed. I'd also argue the typing is better - having just two weakness which Nidoking has in the first place, yet at the same time lacking that pesky ground weakness. I get that Nidoking is nice to absorb Toxic Spikes, but they aren't very common in the first place and they only effect Celebi (not really with Natural Cure), Blastoise and TTar on your team.

Something to think about anyway.
 
You bring up a great point about Landorus-I. Nidoking fairs very well against moonblast and hyper voice, taking about 30-40% from clefable, sylveon and togekiss. which isnt a problem since poison jab will ohko each of them. Sludge wave from landorus only does a bit more than half to each of them. Nidoking also combats klefki much better. They both can step into thunder wave. Now you are proposing that he is mixed, so which would be the physical attack? Im presuming you will have EQ over Earth power. With that, Landorus will only have one attack to ohko klefki: Focus Blast. Nidoking will have fire blast, a more reliable options. Nidoking also has more physical potential since his physical stab move (Poison Jab) is Sheer force boosted, while landorus' isnt. Fairies are a big problem for this team. If nidoking and skarm are dead, I will have no answers. Subbing landorus in for nidoking will only hurt my ability to kill fairies.

Nidoking was chosen very carefully. His role is to destroy particular walls. The extra bulk isn't needed because of his ability to outpace and ohko those walls. He is also very fortunate to have a partner like celebi to threaten all of the walls that nidoking cannot do against such as bulky waters (even though rotom wash cannot step into a jab and then take another one immediately after)
 
This team cannot beat baton pass. And I'm talking about baton pass played right. Meaning no perish song (mr mime) is there a tactic to beat it?? I'm thinking of haze on gengar or blastoise but idk what to drop aura sphere or trick or thunderbolt. Idk what to do cause I need answers
 
Kobrizzle said:
This team cannot beat baton pass. And I'm talking about baton pass played right. Meaning no perish song (mr mime) is there a tactic to beat it?? I'm thinking of haze on gengar or blastoise but idk what to drop aura sphere or trick or thunderbolt. Idk what to do cause I need answers
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He does have whirlwind on Skarmory to end a pass chain, what more could he need?
 
Whirlwind means nothing as long as espeon exists. Priority taunt means I have to drop something and I'd rather not mess with the balance of the team just because of one stupid team. Dragon tail means nothing with sub.
 
Im aware of what dragon tail does. Fact remains if you are unwilling to adapt to what is becoming more and more meta, you deserve to flounder.
 
I don't know how it happened, but the team I am trying to make in my Y version is just crushing every baton pass team that comes in my way! I tested this team on P.O.
Here's some ideas to stop BP teams (feel free to rate too)
http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/celebi-in-the-fields-need-help.3501691/#post-5292864
I usually lead with celebi vs. scolipede. Future sight on the sub/protect (never tries to hit me lol). Then I switch to pretty much anyone that can break a scolipede sub, usually mamoswine. 3rd turn: I one-two punch it with an attack+future sight. Even if it baton passes...
1. Celebi can future sight, and has spore immunity
2. Mamoswine has icicle spear to try and break through subs, though it only helps sometimes
3. Zoroark has SNATCH to steal everthying these sad teams try to think of except spore and baton pass, he also has stored power immunity. It doesn't even matter who I illusion. Tentacruel is best, because they just might BP into espeon just to see a dark pulse tentacruel.
4. Speaking of tentacruel, it has Haze.

The only 2 members of the team can't restrain BP, but even then, sylveon could get a yawn off, and mega Aerodactly has SR and good power.
The point is you can and will find a way to beat BP teams. This team was made to be not standard, and it has a very positive W:L ratio even against non baton pass teams.
EDIT: still am trying to make the team in Y. only mamoswine and zoroark are done. Help would be appreciated :)
 
Nice team, I love unconventional teams. My only concern is wouldn't celebi be set up bait for huge threats like scizor bisharp aegislash etc. They can all shrug off future sight and leaf storm which is why I opted for a more offensive one.

Yea the strategy is awsome but very team unique. I just need to find the strategy for me. Im thinking of opening up with skarmory and start whirwinding from the start since it bypasses protect now so that they never get their speed boost
 
also I have no answers to a core of Chansey, Unaware Quagsire, Mega Venusaur and Skarmory. Ttar kills chansey, but it is walled by Skarm Quagsire and mega Vensaur. Celebi handles Quagsire but is walled by Chansey and Skarmory. I am literally trapped in this matchup. I need to find a way to cripple one of them (thats not status because heal bell). Knock off comes to mind, but Mega Venusaur Shrugs it off. How do you guys handle these teams?

Also Kyruem B and Mega Charizard Y are the most problematic offensive forces for this team
 
Sableye can singlehandedly destroy that defensive core, and could act as a replacement for Gengar, but then again you might not want to bank on priority Will-o-wisp to stop Dragon sweeps. Reuniclus easily cleans through that core with Psychic/Shadow Ball, but you may need to save it for a last-mon sweep if you get repeatedly phased as it tries to Calm Mind. Nothing in that core can tank repeated Dragon Claws/Outrages from Choice Band Kyurem B bar Skarmory, which in turn loses to Bolt Strike. There are probably others but those are the most obvious answers I can think of.

Dealing with Kyurem B on a defensive team is mainly a matter of prediction and revenge killing it efficiently. Unfortunately you don't have any hard hitting super effective moves with which to choose from, so you're probably going to lose at least 1-2 Pokemon before Kyurem goes down. If you want a hard counter try Ferrothorn, but you'd probably have to give up Celebi to use it. You might try adding Focus Blast on Gengar instead of Thunderbolt to deal significant damage to it, though you'd need Stealth Rock up to get a OHKO. At full health, Tyranitar can tank any hit and potentially hit back hard with Stone Edge if you decided to use the move.

Charizard-Y is hard-walled by Chansey and sometimes Heatran (barring the occasional EQ set), which unfortunately you don't have access to. Your best bet with your current team is to wait until it comes out, switch into Tyranitar to get the sand up, and then threaten something with a Focus Punch. Solarbeam really shouldn't be a problem at that point due to the charge turn and special defense boost.
 
thats what ive been doing. What do you think of ditto over gengar. destroys dragons AND kyurem. I cant think of the limitations at the moment if i lose gengar but im sure there are many. In regards to stopping the core, what do you think of nasty plot celebi. I know Chansey walls it, but i can always just keep nasty plotting against it. What can it do?
 
I think you could go with a fully Physical Nidoking with Fire Punch and Ice Punch. I think it'd have more damage output with its boosted Attack.
 
right, damage imput is one thing, but i also have to consider the defenses of the walls that i want to break. Ice punch may be stronger than ice beam, but ice punch doesnt ohko gliscor because of its high defensive stat vs his low special defensive stat.
 
Hello there! Sweet sand team here. Two things though though.

One, I think you're better off running Special Nidoking over Mixed. Earthquake loves the STAB and Life Orb boost, but it isn't boosted by Sheer Force. I know you're trying to mix stuff up, but King wouldn't appreciate the LO recoil (EQ is one of your primary STABs but recieves LO recoil) as it will be dismantled quicker by faster pokes and priority (CB Azu OHKOs with Aqua Jet ~90% of the time, so after 1 EQ, CB Azu is sure to OHKO you). If you decide to stick with your MixKing set, I suggest you run Hasty / Naive over Naughty. Nidoking desperately needs all the Speed he can get as base 85 Speed isn't something to flaunt about.

And two, your Skarmory doesn't have stats in the importable version lol.

Nidoking @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 HP / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam
Good luck with your team!
 
I've been working with nidoking for years now and the truth of the matter is he is completely outclassed as a sweeper. If i opted to go with your set, i might as well go with Landorus I who is much quicker, stronger and more durable. That is why, nidoking must shine using a set he can do best of all: a wall breaking mixed set. Since his targets are walls, they are often slow, meaning he does not need much speed. In fact in gen 4 i had a similar set to destroy skarmbliss, which had some SAtk investment to secure ko's to skarmory with fire blast. After he got sheer force, those ev's were no longer needed so they were pumped into speed, which may give the illusion that he is a sweeper. This is not the case. He just doesnt need the sp atk investment because he freely kills anything he needs to with fire blast and ice beam. The special set, while much stronger, cannot solve the problems my build was designed to solve. It does not ohko sylveon, clefable, togekiss. Poison jab does. I also dont mind the lo damage because of how rarely i use EQ (since poison jab is stronger). Eq is there for Heatran, which Earth power does not Ohko.

Skarmory (are there ideal EVs for this cause i just put em in where i see fit) is fixed and Currently #60 at 1820 which is my peak. Gotta take it to the top.

Currently testing Assault Vest Tyranitar and Nasty Plot Celebi
 
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