National Dex My Sand Team

[Luigamer]

I want to try some weather team and i start with a sand team


Hippowdon @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Slack Off

For a sand team I need a sand setter and I chose Hippowdon for is incredibly bulk and generally is my lead for the set is Stealth Rock for azard EQ for main stab Toxic for break some wallbreaker and Slack Off is recovery EV is max HP and max Def for maximize is bulk


Excadrill @ Steelium Z
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head

Now i need a sand abuser and Excadrill is perfect for this job the set is SD z-steel with EQ and Iron Head for stab and rapid spin for azard control and for speed if the sand is gone EV maximixe the damage and the speed



Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Def / 240 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Sludge Bomb

Sand generally struggle with rain and a grass type like Tangrowth help with that i chose the AV set for deal with pokemon like Manaphy or Greninja and is have enought bulk for check Swamper-Mega the set is Giga Drain for stab+recovery Knock Off for utility EQ for deal with Heatran and Sludge Bomb for poison effect EV is for living 2 ice punch for Swamper Mega


Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 12 SpA / 56 SpD / 192 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Scald
- Taunt
- Defog

Now i need someone with defog and i chose Tapu Fini for deal better with Heatran and it also helps Excadrill or Tangrowth to prevent possible status for the set Taunt is for stop settup Scald for burn pokemon like Corvinight or Landorus and Moonblast si for stab EV is for outspeed and 2HKO modest Heatran the other EV are for maximizing is special bulk


Clefable @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Thunderbolt
- Soft-Boiled

Now i need something more offensive i chose Clefable for magic guard synergies well with sand and clefable is a good win condition the set is Life Orb Calm Mind set with Moonblast for stab Thunderbolt for deal with Toxapex and Soft-Boiled for recovery EV is for maximize is fisical bulk


Charizard-Mega-X @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Roost
- Earthquake

For the last one i need something for deal with steel type like M-Scizor and fire type like Volcarona so i chose Charizard-X to also have a good wallbreaker and some speed control the set is DD set with Flare Blitz for stab Roost for recovery Flare Blitz recoil and EQ for deal with Heatran EV is for maximize is damage and speed

 

[adem]

Hi Luigamer , unfortunately Sand in NatDex right now is in a bit of a tough spot, and most Sand teams are much more Balance based rather than offensive like you have here. So i’ll edit your team to reflect the current meta, while keeping in some of your Pokemon to reflect the original team.



Right now, just looking at the team I see some redundancies (Tangrowth, Clefable, and Tapu Fini), and Pokemon which dont fit on Sand structures (Hippowdon, MCX).

Major Changes

>

Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Stone Edge

Hippowdon is quite franky, bad on sand, as it offers 0 needed defensive utility that isnt shared with Excadrill, and is fairly passive for these structures. Mega Tyranitar in comparison provides a very useful Fire resist, is a much better Stealth Rocker, in conjunction with a water resist checks Ash Greninja, as well as threatens Zapdos, which is an issue for Excadrill. This is the given analysis set, feel free to potentially make it bulkier for Heatran.

>

Reuniclus @ Psychium Z
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 196 Def / 60 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Thunder / Focus Blast
- Stored Power

Reuniclus is the second part of the CM Spam core that makes up a large majority of the current Sand builds nowadays, as well as also providing extremely good defensive utility for the team, mainly being a fighting resist that consistently checks Mega Medicham, which u fortunately Life Orb Clefable is unable to. Furthermore, it also eases up the stall MU a ton, making it much much easier. Thunder + S Power lets you muscle through fatter builds, and cheese through stuff with Thunder Paras.

>

Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 164 Def / 96 Spe
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Roost
- Iron Defense
- Body Press

Skarmory in this team provides a solid Grass resist as well as a Mega Mawile check defensively, which makes life much easier for sand. Spikes are also key for Sand, as they wear quickly wear down the likes of opposing Tyranitar, Weavile, Ferrothorn, Heatran, and Mega Scizor which annoy your CM-ers. ID Press allows you to beat Mega Mawile, as well as check stuff like SD Rillaboom, and opposing Excadrill.

Minor Changes



Excadrill @ Steelium Z > Leftovers
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature > Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head

Excadrill doesnt need the extra damage in this Metagame, and being able to revenge the likes of boosted Mega Gyarados and Gyarados, as well as avoid being revenge killed by Scarf Protean Greninja is honestly worth it. Since the Z Move is taken, leftovers here provides much needed extra longevity to check the likes of Tapu Koko, Calm Mind Clefable, and Tapu Lele better.



Clefable @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Thunderbolt > Thunder
- Soft-Boiled

Thunder is much, much better on Calm Mind Clefable because it appreciates the much more extra damage and the increased paralysis chance, letting it beat the likes of Heatran more efficiently. It can afford missing due to its bulky and overall longevity, so it doesnt really mind the increased miss chance.

Potential Changes

>

Toxapex @ Shed Shell / Waterium Z
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 240 SpD / 20 Spe
Careful Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Knock Off
- Haze
- Recover

This Toxapex set can make the Heatran MU much, much easier, as well as TSpikes helping break down stuff like Mega Tyranitar and Tapu Fini based teams in the long run. Tangrowth does deal with CM Fini and Kartana a bit better, so honestly its preference at the end of the day.

Heres the finished team, I hope you like it. Sand is one of my favourite teamstyles of all time, and is one I like to see people experiment with.


Here are some example Sand / MTar teams that have been working well in the meta, and hopefully are helpful to you when learning the meta, as well as proving some other options.

https://pokepast.es/e28ed21723528b38
https://pokepast.es/08087e3a1a1240cd
https://pokepast.es/85972c0ad1c12d0b

 

[Luigamer]

skarmory is not better this ev( bold 252 Hp 80 Def 176 Spe) for outspeed magnezone and avoid trapping?

 

[adem]

skarmory is not better this ev( bold 252 Hp 80 Def 176 Spe) for outspeed magnezone and avoid trapping?

Hi, honestly Magmezone is just something you need to outplay, running a spread like that makes you easily overwhelmed by stuff like Mega Mawile and Mega Lopunny. Here is a replay where the extra damage Mega Mawile would have done would have meant a loss for me:

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nationaldex-1475621411-xj7kdtrz4hmbg589h4u18xsyfgp0nhdpw

Also, Magnezone is extremely easy to wear down here with Spikes + repeated pressure with Calm Mind Clefable, so while it is annoying, it is definutely doable. Forcing yourself to run NaSkarm (fast Skarmory) to deal with Magnezone, especially since it is extremely inconsistent as you cant OHKO Magnezone with a boosted Body Press.