Ground Team

moe1216

Hey everybody. My friends are hosting an "Elite Four" style tournament and I want to build a competetive ground team to go against them. It's a round robin format and the others picked water, ice, dark, and rock. I built these guys based off of their teams so I understand if they are odd or out there. Constructive criticism is welcome and I hope to hear from many ground specialists.



Solid Rock Tank
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Camerupt (Male)
Type: Fire/Ground
Ability: Solid Rock
Nature: Modest
Item: Leftovers/Lum Berry
Ev Value: 228 HP / 72 SpA / 208 SpD

Move set:
Flamethrower
Earth Power
Protect
Toxic

Ah, Ice types. The bane of my team. This guy was made to beat my friend who uses Ice types. He was raised to put his special attack and defense to good use mixed with solid rock. FT and EP are for STAB while Protect and Toxic are to wear down bulkier pokemon while leftovers heals me.

FYI: This guy was the absolute most annoying pokemon to ever get! I went through thirty eggs and three other Camerupt before I got this guy!

Modest Wall
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Claydol
Type: Ground/Psychic
Nature: Modest
Ability: Levitate
Item: Quick Claw
Ev Value: 148 HP / 252 SpA / 108 Spe

Move set:
Psychic
Earth Power
Ice Beam
Shadow Ball

Claydol is built to deal out special damage while taking hits. Quick Claw is useful as it has saved its butt many times when dealing with tough pokemon. EP and Psychic are for STAB while the othe two are for type coverage.

I'm rather reluctant to use him, because even though it's won many battles I don't feel confident using it, because I feel I'm not using Claydol to the best of its abilities, so Claydol is one I need the most help with.

Bringer of the Sand
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Hippowdon (Male)
Type; Ground
Nature: Impish
Ability: Sand Stream
Item: Leftovers
Ev Value: 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 SpD

Move set:
Earthquake
Stealth Rock
Toxic
Protect

If I had to say anyone I wouldn't want to go into battle without besides Garchomp it's Hippowdon. I built him to bring out two important things: Sand Storm and Stealth Rock; both aiming to wear down future opponents. His defenses were invested in to keep him on the field while he also dealt toxic and protected himself. I didn't use slackoff, because my opponents use special attacks the most and slack off might not cut it. With this set, he's built to beat his opponents with "Patience."

Powerhouse Wall
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Rhyperior
Type: Rock/Ground
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Solid Rock
Item: Leftovers
Ev Value: 244 HP / 16 Atk / 248 SpD

Move set:
Earthquake
Megahorn
Stone Edge
Protect

I was skeptical using this guy, but when I remembered the spd boost from Sand Storm, I built this guy to support Hippowdon by being the power while Hippo's the defense against my Dark type opponent. With the SS, his defense reaches nearly 300 and his 336 attack is a big welcome. EQ and SE are for STAB and Megahorn is for insurance. Last, protect is to continue abuse of Toxic from Camerupt or Hippowdon, while healing.

1st Jack of All Trades
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Flygon (Male)
Type: Ground/Dragon
Nature:Adamant
Ability: Levitate
Item: Choice Scarf
Ev Values: 252 Atk/252 Spe

Move set:
Outrage
U-Turn
Earthquake
Stone Edge

Flygon is someone who caught me by surprise. He can hit like Garchomp, take some hits for Hippowdon if Sand Storm is lost and I need to switch, and can even scout. A true Jack of all trades in my book. Outrage and Earthquake are for STAB and SE is for Ice types while U-Turn is for Scouting.

2nd Jack of All Trades
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Gliscor (Male)
Type: Earth/ Flying
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Sand Veil
Item: Focus Sash
Ev Value: 252 Atk/ 252 Spe

Move set:
Earthquake
Aerial Ace
U-Turn
Stone Edge

Gliscor is a nice mix of Flygon and Dugtrio (see below). He's got Flygon's power and versatility with some of Dugtrio's speed in the mix (297 speed on this guy). He's mainly made to work as support for Hippowdon if Sand Storm is removed, but can also sweep using STAB EQ and AA while using SE to scare away Ice types and U-Turn to scout or to protect itself. I also used Sand veil to take advantage of the Sand Storm.

Speedster in the Sand
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Dugtrio (Male)
Type:Ground
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Sand Veil
Item: Focus Sash
Ev Value: 252 Atk/ 252 Spe

Move set:
Earthquake
Stone Edge
Aerial Ace/Sucker Punch
Protect

Dugtrio's title speaks for him. A whopping 352 speed makes him my fastest pokemon. His purpose is to get rid of those annoying fake outs that would ruin the focus sash while taking care of any bulky pokeomon who survived the others. The focus sash is to keep him in the battle for one last one before going down. I went with Sand Veil because my opponents won't be using pokemon who will see Dugtrio as a threat and hopefully to get that 20% evasion boost.

Sweeper from the Swamp
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Swampert (male)
Type: Water/Ground
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Torrent
Item: Life Orb
Ev Value: 252 Atk/ 252 Spe

Move set:
Earthquake
Waterfall
Ice Punch
Stone Edge

This guy was made to counter my water-using opponent. I invested in speed attack since his team focuses on slow, but bulky sweepers. I used EQ and WF for stab while IP and SE for type coverage. I gave him the Life Orb to get that extra bit of damage in while slowly activating Torrent for one last glorious move before going out with a bang.

The Ace
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Garchomp (Male)
Type: Ground/Dragon
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Sand Veil
Item: Choice Scarf
Ev Value: 252 Atk/ 252 Spe

Move set:
Outrage
Earthquake
Fire Fang
Crunch

Garchomp here is my strongest and most reliable pokemon, hence my ace.
I focused on his speed to make him outpace other pokemon and with the Choice Scarf reaches a speed of 483 with 353 attack. He has OR and EQ for STAB and FF for Ice Types and Crunch for annoying Froslass' and Starmies.

I have several others, but these are the nine I have so far and I doubt you guys want to read any more.
 
Yeah. They let me pick 9. six to use and three for the bench to switch between matches. The others have nine as well. I'm thinking of switching Claydol for Mamoswine though.
 
Snow Sweeper
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Mamoswine (Male)
Type: Ice/Ground
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Oblivious
Item: Life Orb
Ev Value: 252 Atk/ 4 Def/ 252 Spe

Move set:
Earthqauke
Superpower
Ice Shard
Stone Edge

Claydol's possible replacement. 370 atk and 253 spe for quick and hard hitting. EQ for STAB and IS for STAB and priority. Superpower for bulky pokemon and SE for coverage.
 
If they allow you to use Garchomp (he's uber) I suggest a slightly different moveset. Scarf works well but since Garchomp already outspeeds alot of pokemon you could use a set to abuse Sand Veil. I suggest the moves: Earthquake / Dragon Claw / Sword Dance / Substitute with the EV set you are using now. Leftovers or Bright Powder make fine hold items.

I also think Quagsire would make a fine pokemon for your team because of his immuntity to Water type attacks. His Water Absorb ability will really help your team. I think it would be best to use him over Swampert typewise. The Curse set could work or you could go either offensive or the defensive way with him, it's up to you.
 
That's brilliant! I thought there wasn't much to Quagsire, but you're right. With Water Absorb, my water opponent would be cancelled out like that, though I really don't want to quit using Swampert, because he's a strong fighter. What if I switched Dugtrio for Quagsire? I'm going to build Quagsire now.

Also, you're right about Garchomp. He already outspeeds the others, but I tried the sand veil strategy and it bit me in the end (curse you sand veil!). I went with the Uber line up, because two of the others use Weavile, another uses Wailord with a Choice Scarf, and the last one is going to use an Aerodactyl with a Jolly nature. So you see it's not out of preference, it's more out of necessity and security.
 
Well since you are disliking Claydol you put Quagsire over him instead.
Also, Weaville will most likely have Ice Shard so if you have a Choice Scarf or not it doesn't matter. Scarf Wailord can be handled by predicting and Aerodactyl can do much to Garchomp (unless it uses Ice Fang) and can be revenge killed by Mamoswine with ease.
 
moe1216 said:
Quick Question. Why is it so beneficial to have high hp?
Click to expand...

Uhm, so you take less damage from moves as Seismic Toss, Night Shade, Dragon Rage, etc. lol.
High HP also lets you take hit on both side of the spectrum so you don't have to maximize Defense and be weak on the special side.
 
I knew the first part, but whenever I fought high hp pokemon like blissey or snorlax i KO'ed them in one move. It kind of left me wondering the point, if you know what I mean, because I always thought high hp was nothing without good defenses, though now that I see my hippowdon and rhyperior taking so much special damage yet barely losing any health I am starting to see the benefits.
 
The Sponge
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Quagsire (Male)
Type: Water/Ground
Nature: Impish
Ability: Water Absorb
Item: Leftovers
Ev Value: 252 Hp/ 4 Atk/ 252 Def

Move Set:
Earthquake
Ice Punch
Recover
Yawn

Dugtrio's replacement. I made Quagsire to force switches or to just make opponent's fall asleep while he heals himself. He's also made to absorb (hence his title) water attacks aimed at my ground types, like Hippowdon, Rhyperior, and Gliscor. He has EQ for STAB, IP for coverage, and Recover and Yawn for Stalling.
 
That Quagsire looks good enough.
I just saw something that you could also improve, your Gliscor is carrying Focus Sash. That's a waste on something with that good defenses and no spinner in the team. so I suggest Yache Berry instead. You could also go for a more offensive approach with Life Orb and Roost instead of U-turn (to heal up from recoil damage).
 
Good point. I alays felt that Gliscor was a strong defense pokemon and the Yache berry would help alot against Weavile. I like the Life Orb idea too and I'll give it a try.
 
I am the Dark type user participating in the Elite Four Challenge. None of us in it really use legendaries anymore. But having been on the receiving end of this team, I can say it is quite the hard nut to crack.
 
Also, what about the idea of building a Sassy steelix? It's a powerful defensive wall and can learn curse. What do you guys think?
 
Sponge's Sword
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Donphan (Male)
Type: Ground
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Sturdy
Item: Choice Scarf/ Choice Band
Ev Value: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe

Move Set:
Earthquake
Seed Bomb
Ice Shard
Superpower

Camerupt's replacement, Donphan came about from sheer boredom and the desire to raise more ground types. I looked at the possible sets for him and saw three things catch my eye: IS, SB, and SP. I thought "Wow! This guy is awesome!" (opinion). I trained him with speed in mind while giving him an attack raising IV just to make sure his attack isn't neglected. EQ is for STAB and is his best move, while the other three are to come in and take apart any pokemon too bulky for Quagsire (see above) to take down after using Yawn. Choice Band is the better of the items though I use the Scarf more insurance when it comes to his weaknesses. If anyone has any tips much appreciated.

@Delko. Thank you for the Quagsire idea. I used it in several battles and it just wrecks the opposing teams. Much appreciated.

Team so far:
1. Garchomp
2. Hippowdon
3. Rhyperior
4. Swampert
5. Flygon
6. Gliscor
7. Mamoswine
8. Quagsire
9. Donphan
 
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