ORAS LC Indelible♥~: Revolutionizing LC Sand Balance

eren · Oct 11, 2015

Thanks Brick Small. for the music. If you dont like it, blame him. Also s/o to Diogo for teaching me minimal portugese I know

Thanks to PDC for introducing me to them :]

Hi guys, it's slurmz b_n. While I do have a team archive, I feel this team team deserves its own RMT because it's one of my favorite builds and one of the few I initially made by myself. However, I feel like the build is missing something, and if you wish to suggest something go ahead, but I'll be very picky. I love this build because it utilitizes sand, which is a very underused and very unprepared for archetype in this meta in my opinion. It has ways to circumvent other play styles, such as the ubiquitous webs and bare HO through hazard removal and pure speed if played correctly. So I hope you enjoy reading my terrible writing and enjoy the team as well.

I was extremely bored one day, and decided I wanted to build a team around an underrated threat that I hadnt used before. I chose Larvitar to begin.

Immediately I realized I needed a good fighting check, water check, and ground check. Something to help paralyze stuff and encore to allow for free set up was an added bonus. Cotonee fit the bill to a tee.

After this, I wanted something who could clean up offense, be a secondary fighting check, and spam more knock off. Abra was chosen.

After this, I wanted a good fighting type that checked Pawniard and also took advantage of Ferroseed. Timburr was chosen.

Here is where I got kind of stuck for a while, I tried things from Fletchling to Diglett to Gastly to Vullaby in these last two slots. However, I settled on Stunky for its ability to remove hazards and trap abra and gastly and hippopotas for the its ability to check many threats to the team such as Fletchling, Pawniard, and Ponyta. It also sets up stealth rocks and provides a SpD boost to Larvitar.

After some testing, the team was very sub optimal and lost to many common things. Larvitar let me down very much as it never was able to set up on anything, it also wasnt very strong, even after a DD. Thanks to user Tahu, we completely reworked the team by replacing Larvitar with SD Rush Drilbur, Timburr with Croagunk, and Stunky with Evio Archen.

And by recommendation of Corporal Levi Pawniard replaced Abra.

And dark pits where our eyes once did shine
We're dying inside
We're burning alive

Drilbur, while not the initial thing I built around, became the star of the show quite quickly. While under sand, Drilbur pressures almost all builds with a strong STAB, good coverage, and a set up move. It specifically pressures builds reliant on Pumpkaboo as their sole ground resist, as a +2 Shadow Claw does a a ton to Pumpkaboo, making it fairly easier to win with even Hippo. However, Drilbur is quite frail, and I have considered running Eviolite over Life Orb, but I lose a ton of power with this. All in all, Sand Rush is extremely good.

My paper wings
arrayed in flames to brave the test

Cottonee was chosen as the select fighting type check, water type check, and as a good pivot mom to allow for free set up, and to help prevent set up in itself. It helps pressure builds by clicking Knock Off and being able to bluff encore, which provides momentous amounts of momentum. I chose to maximize its bulk with its spread and nature, as well as having Giga drain for a bit of recovery.

The foundation of belief and paradigm thought
That intrinsic relief at all that’s been wrought

Neither Snover nor Amaura are especially common, but you still have a lot of trouble against them. They can come in on the revenge-kill against a good portion of your team, and are able to 2HKO just about everything. This can be fixed by adding a Steel-type on your team. You mentioned that Abra is mostly to check Fighting-types and use Knock Off; however, Croagunk, Cottonee, and Hippopotas should together be more than enough to deal with them, allowing you to use Pawniard over Abra. Pawniard makes Amaura/Snover think twice before clicking Hyper Voice/Blizzard, and has much more powerful Knock Offs than Abra; it can also act as a back-up check to Zigzagoon and Fletchling, and is probably a better Abra check than Abra itself.

Time is stopping.
People are dieing,
and I am crying.

Croagunk is my main Pawniard check, it also helps with water spam and such. It spams more Knock Off and can potentially kill Abra, a potent, threat with Sucker Punch. Croagunk is also my secondary smasher check.

A right so many deny,
With sterns of cursed
Stone brains and stone hearts
Of stone bodied beings
Of a stone age.

Archen is my main Fletchling check, and fire type spam check as well. It helps pivot and provide free switch ins for abra and drilbur. Finally, Archen is my form of hazard removal in the form of defog.

EVs changed to survive 2 hits from Sash Abra and able to U-turn out.

What do you see in our eyes
At the shrieking iron and flame
Hurled through still heavens?

Hippo is my sand setter, utility rocks mon, and main check to many threats such as Pawniard, etc. It can whirlwind threats and also has great recovery in Slack Off, allowing it those check particular threats throughout the match.

EVs changed to survive 2 Flash cannons from non-analytic Magnemite

Sorry for the lackluster descriptions, I was really tired after spending so much time on the asthetics. Thank you for reading, and feel free to rate, etc.

The foundation of belief and paradigm thought
That intrinsic relief at all that’s been wrought

Abra was chosen to help clean up offense with its blistering speed and good coverage it also spams Knock Off, an invaluable move that cteams Tazz. It also helps pressure more balance builds with the aforementioned move, then able to spam its powerful moves thereafter. Its also my main abra check lol.

planta sórdida (Cottonee) (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Prankster
Level: 5
EVs: 196 HP / 196 Def / 116 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Knock Off
- Encore
- Stun Spore
- Giga Drain

troca de paradigma (Pawniard) (M) @ Berry Juice
Ability: Defiant
Level: 5
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 76 Atk / 36 Def / 196 SpD / 196 Spe
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Thunder Wave

trincheiras (Hippopotas) (M) @ Eviolite
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 5
EVs: 132 HP / 20 Atk / 212 Def / 100 SpD / 20 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind

dentro do poço (Drilbur) (M) @ Eviolite
Ability: Sand Rush
Level: 5
EVs: 60 HP / 236 Atk / 212 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Shadow Claw

marca de Jesus (Croagunk) (M) @ Eviolite
Ability: Dry Skin
Level: 5
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 52 HP / 188 Atk / 116 Def / 116 SpD / 36 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Gunk Shot
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch

cerca de pierda (Archen) (M) @ Eviolite
Ability: Defeatist
Level: 5
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 76 HP / 156 Def / 236 SpD / 36 Spe
Impish Nature
- Defog
- Rock Slide
- Roost
- U-turn

MZ · Oct 11, 2015

almost read this but the formatting got to me. better luck next time

eren · Oct 11, 2015

Megazard said:
almost read this but the formatting got to me. better luck next time

SoRry but it looks fine here, ive received several complaints so ill probably change it lmao.

E: how it looks to me
http://i.imgur.com/SyzB7sN.jpg

Corporal Levi · Oct 11, 2015

Hello Slurmz, pretty cool team but I've got a few quick suggestions

Neither Snover nor Amaura are especially common, but you still have a lot of trouble against them. They can come in on the revenge-kill against a good portion of your team, and are able to 2HKO just about everything. This can be fixed by adding a Steel-type on your team. You mentioned that Abra is mostly to check Fighting-types and use Knock Off; however, Croagunk, Cottonee, and Hippopotas should together be more than enough to deal with them, allowing you to use Pawniard over Abra. Pawniard makes Amaura/Snover think twice before clicking Hyper Voice/Blizzard, and has much more powerful Knock Offs than Abra; it can also act as a back-up check to Zigzagoon and Fletchling, and is probably a better Abra check than Abra itself.

Pawniard @ Berry Juice
Ability: Defiant
Level: 5
EVs: 76 Atk / 36 Def / 196 SpD / 196 Spe
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Thunder Wave

Other than that, I just have a few spread fixes:
Changing Hippopotas's spread to 132 HP / 20 Atk / 212 Def / 100 SpD / 20 Spe allows it to avoid the 2HKO from non-Analytic Magnemite's Flash Cannon, as well as hitting an Eviolite number for nicer rolls in general. Although the addition of Specially Defensive Berry Juice Pawniard will help as well, you don't actually miss out on that much with the spread change, as Slack Off still heals the same amount, and the only notable loss, being 2HKOed by Adamant Choice Scarf Mienfoo's High Jump Kick after Stealth Rock, is remedied by the presence of Sand Rush Drilbur, Cottonee, and Croagunk.
Changing Croagunk's nature to Adamant will help it get better rolls in general because 16 Atk usually hits nicer numbers than 15,while not hindering its bulk significantly because it still hits an Eviolite number.
If you're worried about Abra, you can change Archen to a defensive variant, with a spread of 76 HP / 156 Def / 236 SpD / 36 Spe with an Impish nature. This gives it the bulk to avoid the 2HKO from Focus Sash Abra's Psychic after Stealth Rock in the sand or from full health without sand. A defensive spread also lets it switch into Life Orb Vulpix more easily, which can be pretty annoying for your team. Since you're not running Earthquake, running a fast spread to outspeed Pawniard doesn't help that much, anyways, and a slower U-turn is always nice.

That's it for now. Good luck!

eren · Oct 11, 2015

Corporal Levi said:
Hello Slurmz, pretty cool team but I've got a few quick suggestions

Neither Snover nor Amaura are especially common, but you still have a lot of trouble against them. They can come in on the revenge-kill against a good portion of your team, and are able to 2HKO just about everything. This can be fixed by adding a Steel-type on your team. You mentioned that Abra is mostly to check Fighting-types and use Knock Off; however, Croagunk, Cottonee, and Hippopotas should together be more than enough to deal with them, allowing you to use Pawniard over Abra. Pawniard makes Amaura/Snover think twice before clicking Hyper Voice/Blizzard, and has much more powerful Knock Offs than Abra; it can also act as a back-up check to Zigzagoon and Fletchling, and is probably a better Abra check than Abra itself.

Pawniard @ Berry Juice
Ability: Defiant
Level: 5
EVs: 76 Atk / 36 Def / 196 SpD / 196 Spe
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Thunder Wave

Other than that, I just have a few spread fixes:
Changing Hippopotas's spread to 132 HP / 20 Atk / 212 Def / 100 SpD / 20 Spe allows it to avoid the 2HKO from non-Analytic Magnemite's Flash Cannon, as well as hitting an Eviolite number for nicer rolls in general. Although the addition of Specially Defensive Berry Juice Pawniard will help as well, you don't actually miss out on that much with the spread change, as Slack Off still heals the same amount, and the only notable loss, being 2HKOed by Adamant Choice Scarf Mienfoo's High Jump Kick after Stealth Rock, is remedied by the presence of Sand Rush Drilbur, Cottonee, and Croagunk.
Changing Croagunk's nature to Adamant will help it get better rolls in general because 16 Atk usually hits nicer numbers than 15,while not hindering its bulk significantly because it still hits an Eviolite number.
If you're worried about Abra, you can change Archen to a defensive variant, with a spread of 76 HP / 156 Def / 236 SpD / 36 Spe with an Impish nature. This gives it the bulk to avoid the 2HKO from Focus Sash Abra's Psychic after Stealth Rock in the sand or from full health without sand. A defensive spread also lets it switch into Life Orb Vulpix more easily, which can be pretty annoying for your team. Since you're not running Earthquake, running a fast spread to outspeed Pawniard doesn't help that much, anyways, and a slower U-turn is always nice.

That's it for now. Good luck!

YES, thats exactly what I missing. I was running adamant Gunk but idk why but I changed it. Ill take all the changes.thank you b_n

Oma · Oct 11, 2015

Hello slurmz, nice to see sand outside of bwlc. There are a few issues with this team but they're not too hard to fix.

-First off seconding Levi for all of the EV changes, Hippo and Chen need the bulk while Gunk needs the Atk. Like Levi Said you're not running EQ for Pawn or Acro for Foo so Archen really doesn't need the speed.

-Your team right now is really weak to Abra and Gastly, and as Levi mentioned it also doesn't like Snover or Amaura. To blanket check these mons, I would recommend using Ferroseed>Cottonee. Between Abra, Hippo, and Croagunk you have enough fighting checks, and Hippo checks Ground-types if Ferro can't afford to. By using Ferroseed, you keep a Shell Smash check and second Corphish check while gaining an actual Abra switch-in (even the bulky Archen is crippled because of Defeatist, and then you lose your Defogger) and a way to beat Ice-types. This also means you don't have to run Sp. Def BJ Pawn!

Ferroseed @ Eviolite
Level: 5
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 84 HP / 36 Atk / 188 Def / 148 SpD / 36 Spe
Careful Nature
- Leech Seed
- Bullet Seed
- Iron Head
- Thunder Wave

-Since Knock Off is only good on Sash Abra to hit Porygon, you really dont want it on LO because that 2HKOes Pory anyway. Using Substitute>Knock Off on Abra lets you abuse switch-ins, dodge status, and play around Sucker Punch.

Alright that's all I have for this team, good luck with it and stick around in LC!

Fiend · Oct 11, 2015

Spritzee over Cottonee provides your team with both a fighting resist that doesn't get worn down easily and a better blanket check to the metagame. The 4th move is a free slot, Aromatherapy being overall more synergetic with your team though Calm Mind can work, as might rarer options such as Psychic. Spritzee also makes a much better Abra check in a pinch, while allowing hippo to not have to take so many hits all game.

Spritzee @ Eviolite
Ability: Aroma Veil
Level: 5
EVs: 212 HP / 196 Def / 12 SpA / 76 SpD / 12 Spe
Bold Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Moonblast
- Aromatherapy

Because of this, Honedge > Archen is a much more apt substitution as it not only completely ruins Abra and Fletchling, it wallbreaks for your team via type advantage, and it cannot be trapped by Gothita. The Sword also switches into both Snover and Amaura fairly comfortably, and can Pursuit trap them while threatening them out with Iron Head. Shadow Sneak also provides means of revenging or forcing Gastly out allowing you to better deal with it in the long game. It's possible to lure in Pawniard and OHKO it for your team then heal back up later with Wish.

Honedge @ Eviolite (you can use Berry Juice you want extra recovery)
Ability: No Guard
Level: 5
EVs: 156 HP / 36 Atk / 116 Def / 140 SpD / 52 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Pursuit
- Sacred Sword
- Shadow Sneak

If you look at the team now, it still maintains some rather irksome holes, such as being bothered by Sun, Foongus making one of your very valuable members sleep fodder, Gastly getting free KOes, and newly being very weak to ground. Forutanly, Chespin covers all of these while also hard countering many Water Spam cores. Chespin > Abra creates a 3rd wall for your opponent to have to bust through making your matchup versus offense actually better (most offense has more than 4 ways to deal with Abra making it still only pressure in the late game and not sweep!). Chespin also soft checks Pawniard and removes Larvesta on the switch for better team synergy.

Chespin @ Eviolite
Ability: Bulletproof
Level: 5
EVs: 68 HP / 28 Atk / 156 Def / 236 SpD
Impish Nature
- Seed Bomb
- Synthesis
- Drain Punch / Spikes
- Rock Tomb

With the addition of Honedge and Spritzee and Chespin, Croagunk's utility as a Fairy+Fighting check and water immunity is reduced making switching it out for a better Pawniard counter viable. This does open you up to a larger weakness to water types in general. Timburr can somewhat function as a weaker water check but more duable Pawniard check while Mienfoo can help with being outright more powerful with HJK and having Taunt. Hippo's presence makes this somewhat unnecessary though you should still consider it. Additionally, with Spritzee+Honedge, if you feel weak to Overheat Fletchling, Thunderbolt is a viable 4th move to run on Spritzee.

Cheers!

ORAS LC Indelible♥~: Revolutionizing LC Sand Balance

eren

je suis d'ailleurs

MZ

Never more than twelve

eren

je suis d'ailleurs

Corporal Levi

ninjadog of the decade

eren

je suis d'ailleurs

Oma

Fiend

someguy