I wish it was summer.

[Dk Law]

Hello, I am bringing you a sun team because 1) I am not too familiar with sun teams and wanted to try build one and 2) I really miss summer and wish I had a Ninetales with me so I could bring out the sun whenever I please. I'm not sure as to how I got this team, so I can't show you the team building process. I've used this team 3 times on PO under my testing alt and I won all three battles, but I know the higher rank I go up, the tougher the teams will be so any critique will be more welcome to make this team a contender for the metagame we have today. On to the team.

Donphan (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
Well the first thing you need when building a sun team has to be a spinner since Ninetales will get suffer a lot from switching in if its a weather war. Objective when its a weather war is to keep your weather poke alive as long as possible and Donphan is the best spinner that can compliment that. Since Starmie and Tentacruel water stabs are nerf under sun, they won't be as beneficial as Donphan. Forretress is an alternative but Donphan having Ice Shard is definitely a plus to take out Dragonites or such. I put all evs in HP and Defense because Donphan can tank hits from physically offensive pokes and I must be sure to keep him alive incase opponent rocker/spiker is still alive.

Ninetales (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 120 SDef / 136 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Toxic
- Flamethrower
- Protect
I really wish I had a Ninetales, its too cold outside. I don't think there is any point is saying why I have Ninetales on this team so I'll skip to the moveset/evs. I got this set from one of the sets on Smogon and it actually works. Sub allows it to block any status which will allow Ninetales to live longer. I tried Sub and 3 attacks but it wasn't working out as I wish it was. Then I switch it to the set I saw and it actually does work. Especially when I sub on a switch to another weather poke, then I can poison /protect to make its survivabilty lesser.

Infernape @ Choice Band
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd
IVs: 0 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Flare Blitz
- U-Turn
- Stone Edge
I switched TR Victini with CB Nape because one thing this team was lacking was speed. Using Venusaur as a defensive poke lacks a bit of offensive power and Nape provides that. STAB Close Combat covers the weakness to Heatrans and can easily OHKO. There are still a few options I can use instead of Nape but so far, it's been doing okay.

Venusaur (M) @ Black Sludge
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 100 SDef / 12 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Protect
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Looking at the first three pokes, a grass type is needed to resist Water pokes. Even under the sun, they still wouldn't like taking those hit and Venusaur is the best pokemon imo to take this spot. I used an offensive Saur before but it seems like people know there way around Venusaur and how to take it out so I change it to a defensive sub seed variant. This pokemon knows how to stop a sweep like a pro. In the few battles that I've had, I stopped a +3 BU Conkeldurr from taking out a single pokemon on my team. The evs I spread gives Venusaur 261 even defenses and the 12 evs in speed still allows it to outspeed a max speed Jolteon. Scarfs won't be much trouble if I already have a sub up. HP Fire is there mainly to hit other Grass pokes that aren't affected my leech seed.

Dragonite (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- ExtremeSpeed
- Earthquake
We now have our second sweeper. One thing that I saw with the pokes I had, if I were up against another sun team, i don't think I would be able to win so I chose Dragonite. It does a really good job at tanking sun teams and setting up. I don't think I need to say anything else about Dragonite because I'm sure that everyone knows how good it can be after a DD. I switched Fire Punch with Earthquake because of two pokemon, Heatran and Jirachi. Fire Punch in the sun is enough to KO Jirachi but not enough if its raining and I must make sure not be get any status on Dragonite or Infernape.

Blissey @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Flamethrower
- Wish
- Protect
- Seismic Toss
I use to have Porygon2 in this slot but Blissey massive amount of HP and the way 5th gen wish passing works really helps this team survive and gives me a better chance to winning. It also is great for tanking hits from Latios and Tornadus who are faster than all of my pokes if it isn't sunny.
​

Final comments. The thought behind this team is pretty simple. Use Ninetales/Venusaur to weaken my opponent teams then whenever I see an oppurtunity for either Infernape or Dragonite to come in, try to sweep. If not, use one to do a lot of damage to dent my opponent team then if my other sweeper is clear to bring it, do so and finish up the game. Hope you guys enjoyed it, and once again, any small information you can give me to make this team a real contender is appreciated.

 

[doughboy]

Well since you don't have a rate I guess I'll give you one. Taking a glance at this team, I can see that you don't have many switchin's to strong water type attacks (ie rain teams) and Mamoswine. If you find Mamoswine on a sand team you might be in big trouble

Therefore we are going to replace the two weakest members of your team, Victini and Porygon-2. In Victini's place, put in Choice Band Infernape. Choice Band Infernape is an even harder hitter than Victini and has much better coverage. If its outside the sun it can still hit hard with a choice band close combat. Lastly it can scout with U-turn giving switch initiative and he can deal with Mamoswine well. In Porygon-2 place, I'm going to suggest Blissey. Blissey can provide Wish support to both Donphan and Dragonite. She's great at absorbing special water attacks and can utilize the sun with a boosted Flamethrower. Good luck.

Sets

Infernape (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge

Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Flamethrower
- Wish
- Protect
- Seismic Toss

 

[Dk Law]

Well since you don't have a rate I guess I'll give you one. Taking a glance at this team, I can see that you don't have many switchin's to strong water type attacks (ie rain teams) and Mamoswine. If you find Mamoswine on a sand team you might be in big trouble

Therefore we are going to replace the two weakest members of your team, Victini and Porygon-2. In Victini's place, put in Choice Band Infernape. Choice Band Infernape is an even harder hitter than Victini and has much better coverage. If its outside the sun it can still hit hard with a choice band close combat. Lastly it can scout with U-turn giving switch initiative and he can deal with Mamoswine well. In Porygon-2 place, I'm going to suggest Blissey. Blissey can provide Wish support to both Donphan and Dragonite. She's great at absorbing special water attacks and can utilize the sun with a boosted Flamethrower. Good luck.

Sets

Infernape (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge

Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Flamethrower
- Wish
- Protect
- Seismic Toss

I never factored in Mamoswine, I guess its OU now for a reason. I'll definitely try out Nape. Keeping up the momentum with U-turn would be a plus. I'm not really a fan of Blissey but wish passing to keep pokemon alive more longer will give me a better chance to winning.

Thanks for the rate :)

 

[Lady Alex]

Right now it seems like you might sometimes struggle with Heatran. If the sun is up, you don't have anything that can safely switch in on it Victini will usually fail to 2hko it with brick break. To remedy that you could consider sacrificing extremespeed on dragonite for earthquake. The loss of priority hurts, but heatran is a very common switch in for dragonite, and earthquake would give you the opportunity to quickly get rid of it.

If you choose to replace victini with infernape, I would use life orb instead of choice band since band nape will force you to play a risky game of prediction with heatran.

 

[verbatim]

If you're looking into replacing Victini, you may also want to consider Scarf Darmanitan instead of or alongside Infernape.

Darmanitan (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Rock Slide
- Superpower

With a Scarf and the mentioned ev's, Darmanitan out-speeds every single (assuming no speed boosts) pokemon in the OU metagame and hits harder than Victini's V-Create with Flare Blitz.

 

[Rotom-Cut]

If you're looking into replacing Victini, you may also want to consider Scarf Darmanitan instead of or alongside Infernape.

Darmanitan (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Rock Slide
- Superpower

With a Scarf and the mentioned ev's, Darmanitan out-speeds every single (assuming no speed boosts) pokemon in the OU metagame and hits harder than Victini's V-Create with Flare Blitz.

I fully agree ScarfDarmanitan is about or better than Victini. Sheer Force just helps it along the way and you can U-Turn out whenever your in trouble.

 

[pwnage77]

@ThePillsburyDoughBoy: No, Victini in the sun with V-create and Choice Band is the 2nd hardest hitting Fire-type out there, losing to only Choice Band Sheer Force Darmanitan. Victini is still stronger than Ape.

I did some damage calcs(assume the weather is sunny and adamant nature with max attack):
(Victini) LO V-create vs 252/252 +Def Ferrothorn: 354.5%~417.0%
(Infernape not in Blaze range) Choice Band Flare Blitz vs 252/252 +Def Ferrothorn: 279.5%~330.7%


sorry I had to torture Ferrothorn

other calcs

(Victini) Choice Band V-create vs 252/252 +Def Ferrothorn: 409.1%~481.8%
(Darmanitan + Sheer Force) CB Flare Blitz vs 252/252 +Def Ferrothorn: 446.6%~526.1%

@Dk Law: I suggest you replace Porygon2 with a Blissey/Chansey since you rely on your Donphan too much for Rapid Spin. Also, your Venusaur could run Energy Ball rather than HP Fire seeing how this team has serious problems with Rain Teams. Blissey/Chansey also has a quite good synergy with Venusaur as Venusaur resists Blissey's/Chansey's only weakness. Also, Blissey/Chansey happens to have Natural Cure to heal Toxic, the one and only status that walls hate.

Blissey/Chansey

Blissey@Leftovers/Chansey@Eviolite
Ability:Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP/ 252 Def/ 4 SpD
Nature: Bold
Moves:
~ Wish
~ Protect / Softboiled
~ Seismic Toss / Flamethrower
~ Toxic

You also have trouble with Heatran seeing that your Dragonite doesn't have Earthquake. You could go for Choice Scarf Terrakion or Choice Scarf Landorus as they can kill Heatran with Close Combat and Earthquake respectively. They also provide a good way around Rain teams. Though I recommend Landorus more. The explanations will be with the sets:

Terrakion

Terrakion@Choice Scarf
Ability:Justified
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 Atk/ 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly
Moves:
~ Close Combat
~ Stone Edge
~ X-Scissor
~ Rock Slide / Sacred Sword

The stated set is standard. Close Combat is a very powerful STAB with 100% accuracy and you won't mind the defense drops as Choice users are usually hit and run Pokemon meaning the drops are cancelled out. Stone Edge rounds up the coverage hitting Flying-types that resist Close Combat also a good way to hit Ghost- and Psychic-types. X-scissor is just a filler to hit Psychic-types harder than Stone Edge can and has a reliable accuracy. The last move is totally up to you. Rock Slide is to revenge kill something without having defense drops pf Close Combat or the shaky accuracy of Stone Edge and the Flinching chance is a good bonus should the Pokemon survive the hit. Sacred Sword works the same way except instead of Flinching, it has more BP and it's like a pseudo-Unaware meaning that it will ignore Defense Boosts. It is faster than Landorus and can seriously threaten Pokemon in both Rain and Sand teams.

or

Landorus

Landorus@Choice Scarf
Ability:Sand Force
EVs: 252 Atk/ 4 SpA/ 252 Spe
Nature: Naive/Jolly
~ Earthquake
~ Stone Edge / Rock Slide
~ U-turn
~ Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Fire / Hammer Arm

The set is also standard but I added Hidden Power Fire for a reliable way to kill Skarmory. Earthquake and Stone Edge are for general coverage and the Sand Force boost is a good thing to keep in mind. The main advantage of Landorus is that Sand Force Boosted Earthquake is as Strong as STAB Close Combat and it doesn't have defense drops + it has more PP. SF Stone Edge has 130 BP just missing out 20 BP from a STAB Stone Edge. Landorus lacks 6 points of attack that Terrakion has but has a very good bulk and typing making it a good Blissey/Chansey partner. Also, it can switch in on Earthquakes aimed at you main sweeper, Victini. They happen to have good synergy as well missing out only Water-type moves that Venusaur can take all day. It also has U-turn so you can scout switch ins and so that you have a way to keep your offensive momentum in case it could be broken anytime. Late game, you can sweep with this Landorus (in case Victini dies) and you can also use this to soften up walls that Victini can't OHKO with V-create.

Overall:

Hide

Blissey/Chansey > P2
pros: Has Wish and high HP. Can also take status then switch out. Blissey also has Leftovers to negate Sandstorm damage.
cons: P2 has better physical bulk.

Terrakion/Landorus > D-nite
pros: They are faster and don't need to set up. A reliable way to kill Heatran and other Weather inducers without resorting to Outrage that locks you into it.
cons: Dragonite will have more attack after a Dragon Dance.


Terakion or Landorus

T pros: faster and can check Rain Teams better with a higher Attack stat
T cons: its STABs are unreliable at some situations and it can't go mixed with a certain Hidden Power

L pros: can check Sand Teams better. Has a very good typing and not just better defensive stats, but also offensive as it can go mixed.
L cons: slower and can't check Ferrothorn in the rain.

 

[Dk Law]

Right now it seems like you might sometimes struggle with Heatran. If the sun is up, you don't have anything that can safely switch in on it Victini will usually fail to 2hko it with brick break. To remedy that you could consider sacrificing extremespeed on dragonite for earthquake. The loss of priority hurts, but heatran is a very common switch in for dragonite, and earthquake would give you the opportunity to quickly get rid of it.

If you choose to replace victini with infernape, I would use life orb instead of choice band since band nape will force you to play a risky game of prediction with heatran.

I changed Fire Punch to EQ instead and it's been doing okay so far. The part where you said Heatran is a common switch is true and it can hurt this team a bit, so taking it out with the unexpected EQ is great.

I've been doing okay with CB Nape but it would help to be able to switch up moves time to time.

If you're looking into replacing Victini, you may also want to consider Scarf Darmanitan instead of or alongside Infernape.

Darmanitan (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Rock Slide
- Superpower

With a Scarf and the mentioned ev's, Darmanitan out-speeds every single (assuming no speed boosts) pokemon in the OU metagame and hits harder than Victini's V-Create with Flare Blitz.

I forgot about the raw power Darmanitan has, I definitely will try it out some games. I have Nape atm, but Darmanitan power is so much stronger.

Cut for size.

Thanks for the calcs lol.
I actually did switch P2 for Blissey when DoughBoy recommended it. And I switched up Fire Punch for EQ on Dragonite too lol. I should edit my post a bit. I see your point for Terrakion and Landorus but then I would add more weaknesses to water type. I could still try them out, they might still work out.

Thanks for the rates guys!

 

[pwnage77]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fat pwnage77
Cut for size.

Thanks for the calcs lol.
I actually did switch P2 for Blissey when DoughBoy recommended it. And I switched up Fire Punch for EQ on Dragonite too lol. I should edit my post a bit. I see your point for Terrakion and Landorus but then I would add more weaknesses to water type. I could still try them out, they might still work out.

Thanks for the rates guys!

Well under the sun, all Water-type moves are halved in base power. Basically saying, Terrakion or Landorus would be taking normal damage and since they are Scarfed, the only thing that would most likely hit them is Aqua Jet unless their target survives. In easier terms, STAB Hydro Pump(neutral) from Starmie would be (180/2) or 90 base power then after super effective, it becomes 180 again. So it is the same as neutral damage without the sun or rain.

Also, Fire Punch is still a solid choice on D-nite since it will have pseudo-STAB under the sun. I'm just saying. Infernape still has the STAB Flare Blitz. Another, correct your post as Infernape has 0 Spe IVs.

 

[AyoGabos]

One thing I've noticed is that you have no way of phazing pokemon that try and set-up on you, which could be potentially fatal. One thing to prevent this is the following Ninetales set:

Ninetales @Leftovers
Trait: Drought
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpD / 252 Spd
Calm Nature (+SpD, -Atk)
-Overheat
-Substitute
-Power Swap
-Will-O-Wisp

For special sweepers that try and set up, use Overheat and then Powerswap to transfer your -2 SAtk to the opponent. This has saved me countless times from Baton Passers, Quiver Dancing Volcarona, or Calm Mind users. For physical sweepers, hit them with a Will-O-Wisp to cripple their attack. Substitute is very helpful as well.

This is obviously just a suggestion, but just know this set has saved me on numerous occasions.

The rest of the team looks awesome. Great job!

 

[RyanJavery]

I noticed the strong trouble you have in the weather war. You might want to test a Sunny Day Version of Ninetails instead ala


Ninetales @Leftovers
Trait: Drought
EVs: 128 HP / 252 SpA / 20 SpD / 108 Spd
Modest Nature (+SpA, -Atk)
-Flamethrower/Fireblast
-SolarBeam
-Sunny Day
-Will-O-Wisp

This set gives you a huge edge over other weather starters which from my perspective is the idea behind using Ninetails.