SM PU Miss Volbeat's Sunny Patch Kids

[Snapblock]

I've always liked the low-risk high-reward nature of weather teams. You really only have to use your choice of weather setting move once or twice to secure a sweep and with the right mons, it's practically a cake walk.
I also really like PU. It's full of Pokemon that you wouldn't really see anywhere else including Exeggutor and Victreebel, who make for incredibly strong special sweepers under sun.

So let's get right into it!
​

Glowjob (Volbeat) @ Heat Rock
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Sunny Day
- U-turn
- Defog
- Encore
​

​

​

My first sun setter is Volbeat, though this spot originally belonged to Liepard. Volbeat's Prankster means that it will (Almost) always be able to set up sun before getting killed.
While not having Liepard's Prankster immunity or access to Taunt, Volbeat makes up for it by actually being able to live most attacks as well as having a much better defensive typing giving it resistance to Fighting, Ground and Grass, with Regirock making up for all of it's weaknesses. Defog is helpful for a team that doesn't really have much bulk outside of Regirock, so prefers to be at the most HP possible. Encore, whilst being predictable, can punish set up Pokemon like Carracosta, Omastar, Turtonator and Clefairy. U-turn, along with 0 Speed IVs, allows Volbeat to pivot into the sweepers without them taking an attack, which they often can't.

Volbeat's main weakness is it's passiveness, meaning that Taunt shuts it down almost completely (especially Prankster Taunts coming from Liepard or Sableye, as they outspeed Sunny Day and force a switch). It also has trouble later in the battle, because U-Turn is practically useless for damage coming from Volbeat's pitiful attack stat.

Rockman (Regirock) @ Heat Rock
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Sunny Day
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
- Stone Edge
​

​

​

The team's second sun setter is none other than Regirock. With the second highest Defense in PU (Right after Shuckle) and a decent Special Defense, as well as Sturdy ensuring that it can take at least one hit, Regirock is great at getting the sun up and then doing some major damage.
Stealth Rock is great at bypassing Focus Sash, specifically on Pokemon like Leavanny and Butterfree which can be major problems for a mainly Grass team if they aren't OHKO'd. Stone Edge can do some big damage to Pokemon if Regirock is caught in a situation where it can't switch into a sweeper. Explosion is a sort of last resort, taking out less bulky pokemon whilst Regirock is on low HP and putting some good damage on the more bulky ones.

Regirock doesn't benefit from sun and has no good ways of pivoting, meaning that it can waste valuable sun turns taking hits from Pokemon that the team struggles to switch into (Namely Skuntank and A-Persian). It also doesn't have any recovery outside of Drain Punch, meaning it can often only get sun up once before Exploding.

Palmtree Panic (Exeggutor) @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Solar Beam
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Sunny Day
​

​

​

Exeggutor is the first sweeper, and quite a potent one at that. After a Chlorophyll boost, Exeggutor outspeeds everything unscarfed other than Ninjask and Electrode. It's massive 125 base Special Attack makes it incredibly scary to a good majority of the meta, and it's coverage is great.
Solar Beam is it's main STAB, with it's 120 base power it is capable of OHKOing most Pokemon that don't resist it. Psyshock may seem like a better choice, as it can hit Special Defense tanks like Eelektross and Regice, but unfortunately:

252+ SpA Life Orb Exeggutor Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 224+ Def Weezing: 237-281 (70.9 - 84.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery

Which is a problem, as Weezing poses a big threat to the entire team, being able to take their attacks comfortably and retaliate with it's own often Super Effective attacks. Psychic, on the other hand OHKOs Weezing, which means that having it is important.

252+ SpA Life Orb Exeggutor Psychic vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Weezing: 549-647 (164.3 - 193.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Hidden Power Fire hits Pokemon that resist Exeggutor's STABs, and gets sun boosted, which is helpful. Sunny Day can not only benefit Exeggutor if the sun ends before it can take out a major threat, but it can be used to benefit the rest of the team if Volbeat and Regirock have been KO'd.

Exeggutor often struggles outside of sun, as it's Solar Beams take a turn to charge and it's Speed is brought down to a level where most Pokemon outspeed it. It has basically no way of hitting Dark types, especially Skuntank and is also weak to Sucker Punch, meaning Absol and Skuntank can basically ignore the Chlorophyll boost and KO it.

Oh Deer (Sawsbuck-Autumn) @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Double-Edge
- Horn Leech
- Jump Kick
​

​

​

Sawsbuck is my main answer to the Dark types that Exeggutor can't hit. It's the fastest Pokemon (Under sun) on the team, and has a pretty good Attack stat.
Initially, I used Leafeon as my physical sweeper; but then I started getting 6-0ed by Drampa. My answer to this is Fightinium-Z Sawsbuck, capable of OHKOing Drampa, as well as being able to do damage to certain other threats like bulky Ice Types and A-Persian.

Calcs

252 Atk Sawsbuck Jump Kick vs. 136 HP / 0 Def Drampa: 208-246 (62.8 - 74.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Sawsbuck All-Out Pummeling (180 BP) vs. 136 HP / 0 Def Drampa: 374-442 (112.9 - 133.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Double Edge is just what the type suggests: Normal, it's just STAB that can do some good damage. Horn Leech can be used for recovery, and hits water types hard. Swords Dance can be pivotal, as it lets Sawsbuck KO bulky Pokemon without wasting it's Z Crystal.

Sawsbuck's frail stats means that setting up a Swords Dance can be difficult, and without it Pokemon with high Defense can wall it easily. Missing Jump Kick can also be unfortunate, and will often lead to Sawsbuck getting taken out.

Piranha Plant (Victreebel) @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Solar Beam
- Sludge Bomb
- Weather Ball
- Growth
​

​

​

Victreebel is not only a great sweeper with access to the 100 base power Weather Ball, but also isn't hit super effectively by Poison moves, meaning that it can confidently take on Haunter and Skuntank. A lot of what makes Exeggutor great also applies to Victreebel, so these descriptions may be slightly shorter.
Solar Beam is still great 120 base STAB. Sludge Bomb hits Fairy types like Clefairy and Silvally-Fairy for big damage. Weather Ball is a huge step up from HP Fire, and can easily take out Pokemon that resist Victreebel's STABS. Growth gives Victreebel X2 stat boosts in both Attack and Special Attack, making it even more threatening.

Victreebel has issues taking out Mesprit, which is unfortunate as it is an S-Rank and seen on most teams. It also suffers from the same problem that Sawsbuck has, where it is too frail to reliably set up a Growth unless the opponent switches out.

Iblis (Rapidash) @ Charcoal
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Wild Charge
- Drill Run
- Morning Sun
​

​

​

Rapidash is the final member of the team and it's job is to stop the Grass types from getting hit by Fire attacks, as well as deal some big damage with Flare Blitz.
Flare Blitz boosted by both sun and Charcoal is a force to be reckoned with. Wild Charge can hit Water types that resist Flare Blitz like Omastar, Carracosta and Jellicent. Drill Run helps with Fire and Rock types. Morning Sun recovers 2/3rds of Rapidash's HP which is useful considering the amount of recoil that Radidash is taking.

Rapidash struggles to do damage to Pokemon that resist Flare Blitz but that's really it's only main problem.

Thanks for reading through that mess! I hope I've been doing everything right, as this is my first post!

Known Issues:

​

Abomasnow/Aurorus - Being able to set up Hail on a switch in is incredibly annoying and almost impossible to stop. This means that until the hail setter is taken out, It's pretty hard to take advantage of Sun. I can't really see a way to stop this, besides using Torkoal. (This also applies on a much smaller scale to Politoed and Hippotatas)
Skuntank/Alolan Persian - Skuntank is hard to deal with because of it's shortage of weaknesses, as well as it's ability to resist the STAB of all of my sweepers. Whilst Alolan Persian can be hit with Jump Kick, it's just to bulky for it's own good.
Priority (Mostly Sucker Punch) - Priortiy can negate the speed gained by Chlorophyll can hits the frail sweepers for big damage.

Importable

Importable

Glowjob (Volbeat) @ Heat Rock
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Sunny Day
- U-turn
- Defog
- Encore

Rockman (Regirock) @ Heat Rock
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Sunny Day
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
- Stone Edge

Palmtree Panic (Exeggutor) @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Solar Beam
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Sunny Day

Oh Deer (Sawsbuck-Autumn) @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Double-Edge
- Horn Leech
- Jump Kick

Piranha Plant (Victreebel) @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Solar Beam
- Sludge Bomb
- Weather Ball
- Growth

Iblis (Rapidash) @ Charcoal
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Wild Charge
- Drill Run
- Morning Sun
[\hide]

 

[PTF]

Hi Snapblock. Nice team that you have there and good observations of what the known issues are for your team.

Broad Picture

Your team looks quite standard for a Sun team bar the Rapidash. Overall, you have the right mons necessary for a sun team to operate effectively. You have good setters - Volbeat and Regirock. You have good sun abusers - Victreebel, Exeggutor and Sawsbuck.

Any weather team will always struggle in PU against hail because Aurorus + Alolaslash are such a good core and hail is immediate upon switch. This is unlike sun and rain that require mons to use a move to set the weather.

Suggestions

Sunny Day Exeggutor > Sleep Power

set

Palmtree Panic (Exeggutor) @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Solar Beam
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Sunny Day Sleep Power

This simple change will allow you to put Skuntank to sleep and negates it's Sucker Punch when sun is up. It is also a very helpful move that allows you to further your sweep.

Rapidash > Turtonator

set

Turtonator @ Dragonium Z / White Herb
Ability: Shell Armor
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Shell Smash
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Pulse

As a fire type-mon, Turtonator is a better than Rapidash and can serve as a good sweeper late game. Unlike Rapidash, Turtonator has unresisted coverage with its Fire / Dragon typing and has access to Shell Smash that could come in handy for sweeping in the late game. Furthermore, it has good enough bulk to tank a hit and provides longevity on the field unlike Rapidash.

You could even try Leafeon over Sawsbuck. Even though this would not be the most necessary change, Leafeon provides that added bulk that you are looking. Alongside its higher attack and bulk stats, its typing does not make it weak to priority namely Mach Punch from Hitmonchan and Gurdurr.

Final comments

Sun teams are incredibly matchup based in the current PU meta. I recommend you keep Regirock alive to deal with Skuntank and don't use explosion too early. If Aurorus is present in the opposing team, keep up Stealth Rocks and the offensive pressure and ensure that it doesn't switch in for free, so as to weaken it and prevent it from coming in too often.

Good luck.

 

[ShuckleDeath]

Hello Snapblock,
Not a bad sun team attempt but I feel there are some more changes you can make to help overall consistency to the team.

Defog ---> Thunderwave

I feel the need for Defog on this team is quite minuscule, as you are going for damage as quickly as possible which should prevent Spikes from becoming out of control, and with Victreebel you are absorbing Toxic Spikes. Sun teams, in general, has a great matchup against stick web teams as you have the faster version of speed control. On top of that Volbeat is a lackluster user of Defog as it is actually able to be hard blocked by the common Skuntank. Thunderwave, however, gives you counter play to the biggest hard counter to weather teams, Choice Scarf Aurorus.

--->

set

Leafeon @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
Happiness: 0
EVs: 104 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 148 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Knock Off
- Frustration
- Swords Dance

Speed outpaces Choice Scarf Dugtrio-Alola in sun(not common but the fastest scarfer you will likely encounter) the rest is used for bulk as it is a waste to uses max jolly on sun sweeper Leafeon imo, more bulk also helps you set up an SD easier.

Exeggcutor is I feel a pretty weak sun abuser as it's speed is so low that common scarfers easily outpace it. Having a second physical threat also tends to be more consistent in the current metagame as our prominent wallbreakers are specially offensive meaning you have to play really well to get around things like Assult Vest Hitmonchan and Eelektross, Spdef Sandslash-Alola, Articuno, ect. Also, we have 4 common physical breakers, Stoutland, Kangaskhan, Dodrio, and Aggron, which all warrant physical walls that are weak to Grass meaning you will break through them easily. This set also lures in Skuntank which is clean OHKOd by +2 Frustration.

Growth ---> Sleep Powder

Sleep Powder just helps break through checks easier and is way more consistent than Growth. You also have other options on Victreebel like running less speed and some bulk. Also, you can add Hidden Power Fighting here to lure in Aurorus as it normal hard counters Victreebel in sun(Solarbeam has to Charge, Weatherball becomes Normal-type, resists Sludge Bomb).

Drill Run ---> High Horsepower

I have to disagree with changing this to anything else. The speed outside of sun and overall ability to check Sun checks is just a really great addition to this team. Rapidash has a better Ground-type move now, which I think was just an oversight.

Conclusion
I feel these changes give you much better consistency, and also gives you more counter play to Aurorus, including Choice Scarf sets.