Hello all. Before I post any of my Pokemon and what I'm attempting to do with this team, please know that if anything seems shotty I have been out of competitive Pokemon for a little while. Don't confuse that with "can't play competitive for shit", as I'm no slouch. I know how it works and what I should be going for, I'm just a bit rusty :3 So please, tell me my crippling flaws with my team if you see any, though I tried my best to describe what I see and think might be the best for my team (also I did take a good look at the Rise and Shine: Sun Guide before building my team, in order to get a better structure.)
If you're somehow not familiar with SunSweeping, let me just tell you the best I can. The entire basis of the team goes like this - get Ninetales, and attempt to power my way through with speed and hard hitting moves by use of Chlorophyll and Fire-type Pokemon. I tried my best to go for both a mix of Special and regular Attacking moves, though Special is much more prevalent in this team. I don't know how else to describe it, so let me just show you my current build.
Ninetales (female) @ Leftovers, Sunny Day lead
Drought
136 HP/252 SA/120 Spe
Modest (+SA -Atk)
-Sunny Day
-Fire Blast
-Solar Beam
-Will-O-Wisp
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out Ninetales role. Lead with Ninetales, get permanent sun, maybe take something out, and switch out to a better sweeper. It has Sunny Day in case the opponent has a weather inducing move of it's own.
Venusaur (female) @ Life Orb, Special Sweeper
Chlorophyll
2 Atk IV/30 SA IV/30 Spe IV
4 HP/252 SA/252 Spe
Modest (+SA -Atk)
-Growth
-Giga Drain
-Hidden Power Fire
-Sleep Powder
Venusaur is my special sweeper. With Chlorophyll, it gets an amazing base stat speed capable of outrunning just about anything. Growth here is used in order to give it a boost to its Special Attack, effectively doubling that as well. I opted for Sleeper Powder instead of Sludge Bomb in order to take down or at least get a free switch on foes that could resist my moveset (Heatran comes to mind).
Sawsbuck (male) @ Life Orb, Physical Sweeper
Chlrophyll
112 HP/248 Atk/148 Spe
Adament (+Atk -SA)
-Swords Dance
-Leech Horn
-Return
-Jump Kick
Sawsbuck is my Physical sweeper. It is basically the opposite of Venusaur, and its role is basically the same, just for physical attacks. Jump Kick is chosen over Nature Power in order to better take care of Heatran and give it slightly better coverage against foes like Skarmory.
Heatran (female) @ Leftovers, Tormentor/Staller
Flash Fire
244 HP/44 SpD/220 Spe
Calm (+SpD -Atk)
-Substitute
-Protect
-Lava Plume
-Torment
Heatran's role basically comes down to stalling. I would have used another staller if it weren't for Lava Plume. I opted for the DPPl set because of how annoying it is. It's rather standard in that regard, it's used for added bulk and little more, as even a 2x boosted Lava Plume won't be taking a whole lot down anytime soon.
Hydreigon (male) @ Life Orb, Cheap-bastardly Mixed Attacker
Levitate
4 HP/252 SA/252 Spe
Mild (+SA -Def)
-Fire Blast
-Draco Meteor
-Superpower
-Roost
Fuck Hydreigon. It's main role as a mixed attacker is unmatched, as it gets great stats and a greater move pool. It has little that can counter it (even the Smogon entry says so) and just makes for an all around Pokemon. Fire Blast isn't even the main reason I have it - that's just a bonus. Seriously, fuck this guy.
Infernape (male) @ Expert Belt, Mixed SunAttacker
Blaze
148 Atk/108 SA/252 Spe
Naive (+Spe -SpD)
-Heatwave/Fire Blast/Flamethrower
-Flare Blitz
-Close Combat
-Solarbeam
Infernapes main role is to be a mixed sweeper under the sun, effectively multiplying its Fire-type moves by 2 in terms of damage. There weren't any Smogon sets for a SunSweeper Infernape, so making the EV spread and nature was a little annoying. I opted for more EV's in Attack because more Pokemon seem to be having more and more bulk (plus Tyranitar doesn't appreciate a 4x weakness to Close Combat). I opted to lower Special Defense for more Speed with Naive, as my of Infernapes counters are physical (though as a glass cannon it would get taken down easily regardless). Blaze was chosen over Pure Fist because without any way to recover (more on that in a bit), I can at least get some potential damage boost from Flare Blitz recoil and any possible entry hazards. As a mixed attacker, I needed two fire moves to take advantage of. Currently it's Heat Wave for an absurd 280 base power in the sun, though it requires more switching out because of the Special Attack loss. Flare Blitz and Superpower are standard, as they offer the best power with the best downsides. I opted for Solarbeam to take abuse of it's effect under the sun, and in order to get more damage on Gastrodon and Swampert. Finally, I chose for it to use a Expert Belt rather than a Life Orb. This is because without any recovery, it needs to take as little damage as possible to survive. Although not diverse, there's a few Pokemon who will not appreciate its moveset with an Expert Belt (it also may allude the opponent into thinking I have a Choice set).
Checks and Counters:
Other Pokemon that summon weather effects, obviously. Politoed is the best counter, as it ruins both Infernape and Ninetales, as well as making Heatran a bit harder to use. Tyranitar can cause some problems as well, though Infernape makes a good counter. Besides weather effects, any Pokemon faster than any of mine could easily cause problems, as sweepers aren't known for there defense. Venusaur and Sawsbuck should be alright under the sun, but the main worry relies on Infernape and Ninetales, as an Alakazam or most Dragon-types could ruin them.
Well, there it is. It's disappointing that I couldn't find a spot for Volcanora, though maybe you could point out something I could get rid of for it. I'm sure I must be overlooking something, though in recent battles this team has just wrecked havoc on the other person and their Pokemon. Please tell me anything that could potentially ruin my setup or help out my Pokemon, as I would appreciate it greatly :3 Thanks.
If you're somehow not familiar with SunSweeping, let me just tell you the best I can. The entire basis of the team goes like this - get Ninetales, and attempt to power my way through with speed and hard hitting moves by use of Chlorophyll and Fire-type Pokemon. I tried my best to go for both a mix of Special and regular Attacking moves, though Special is much more prevalent in this team. I don't know how else to describe it, so let me just show you my current build.
Ninetales (female) @ Leftovers, Sunny Day lead
Drought
136 HP/252 SA/120 Spe
Modest (+SA -Atk)
-Sunny Day
-Fire Blast
-Solar Beam
-Will-O-Wisp
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out Ninetales role. Lead with Ninetales, get permanent sun, maybe take something out, and switch out to a better sweeper. It has Sunny Day in case the opponent has a weather inducing move of it's own.
Venusaur (female) @ Life Orb, Special Sweeper
Chlorophyll
2 Atk IV/30 SA IV/30 Spe IV
4 HP/252 SA/252 Spe
Modest (+SA -Atk)
-Growth
-Giga Drain
-Hidden Power Fire
-Sleep Powder
Venusaur is my special sweeper. With Chlorophyll, it gets an amazing base stat speed capable of outrunning just about anything. Growth here is used in order to give it a boost to its Special Attack, effectively doubling that as well. I opted for Sleeper Powder instead of Sludge Bomb in order to take down or at least get a free switch on foes that could resist my moveset (Heatran comes to mind).
Sawsbuck (male) @ Life Orb, Physical Sweeper
Chlrophyll
112 HP/248 Atk/148 Spe
Adament (+Atk -SA)
-Swords Dance
-Leech Horn
-Return
-Jump Kick
Sawsbuck is my Physical sweeper. It is basically the opposite of Venusaur, and its role is basically the same, just for physical attacks. Jump Kick is chosen over Nature Power in order to better take care of Heatran and give it slightly better coverage against foes like Skarmory.
Heatran (female) @ Leftovers, Tormentor/Staller
Flash Fire
244 HP/44 SpD/220 Spe
Calm (+SpD -Atk)
-Substitute
-Protect
-Lava Plume
-Torment
Heatran's role basically comes down to stalling. I would have used another staller if it weren't for Lava Plume. I opted for the DPPl set because of how annoying it is. It's rather standard in that regard, it's used for added bulk and little more, as even a 2x boosted Lava Plume won't be taking a whole lot down anytime soon.
Hydreigon (male) @ Life Orb, Cheap-bastardly Mixed Attacker
Levitate
4 HP/252 SA/252 Spe
Mild (+SA -Def)
-Fire Blast
-Draco Meteor
-Superpower
-Roost
Fuck Hydreigon. It's main role as a mixed attacker is unmatched, as it gets great stats and a greater move pool. It has little that can counter it (even the Smogon entry says so) and just makes for an all around Pokemon. Fire Blast isn't even the main reason I have it - that's just a bonus. Seriously, fuck this guy.
Infernape (male) @ Expert Belt, Mixed SunAttacker
Blaze
148 Atk/108 SA/252 Spe
Naive (+Spe -SpD)
-Heatwave/Fire Blast/Flamethrower
-Flare Blitz
-Close Combat
-Solarbeam
Infernapes main role is to be a mixed sweeper under the sun, effectively multiplying its Fire-type moves by 2 in terms of damage. There weren't any Smogon sets for a SunSweeper Infernape, so making the EV spread and nature was a little annoying. I opted for more EV's in Attack because more Pokemon seem to be having more and more bulk (plus Tyranitar doesn't appreciate a 4x weakness to Close Combat). I opted to lower Special Defense for more Speed with Naive, as my of Infernapes counters are physical (though as a glass cannon it would get taken down easily regardless). Blaze was chosen over Pure Fist because without any way to recover (more on that in a bit), I can at least get some potential damage boost from Flare Blitz recoil and any possible entry hazards. As a mixed attacker, I needed two fire moves to take advantage of. Currently it's Heat Wave for an absurd 280 base power in the sun, though it requires more switching out because of the Special Attack loss. Flare Blitz and Superpower are standard, as they offer the best power with the best downsides. I opted for Solarbeam to take abuse of it's effect under the sun, and in order to get more damage on Gastrodon and Swampert. Finally, I chose for it to use a Expert Belt rather than a Life Orb. This is because without any recovery, it needs to take as little damage as possible to survive. Although not diverse, there's a few Pokemon who will not appreciate its moveset with an Expert Belt (it also may allude the opponent into thinking I have a Choice set).
Checks and Counters:
Other Pokemon that summon weather effects, obviously. Politoed is the best counter, as it ruins both Infernape and Ninetales, as well as making Heatran a bit harder to use. Tyranitar can cause some problems as well, though Infernape makes a good counter. Besides weather effects, any Pokemon faster than any of mine could easily cause problems, as sweepers aren't known for there defense. Venusaur and Sawsbuck should be alright under the sun, but the main worry relies on Infernape and Ninetales, as an Alakazam or most Dragon-types could ruin them.
Well, there it is. It's disappointing that I couldn't find a spot for Volcanora, though maybe you could point out something I could get rid of for it. I'm sure I must be overlooking something, though in recent battles this team has just wrecked havoc on the other person and their Pokemon. Please tell me anything that could potentially ruin my setup or help out my Pokemon, as I would appreciate it greatly :3 Thanks.
