Need help proofing my team - n00b OU SS team.

[Nicholas Hewitt]

So, I'm Nick, and my experience in competitive battling is very limited. I've been playing Pokemon since Red, so about 13/14 years now, and started playing the Frontier, EV training and the like a few years back. I've also lurked on here for about a year.

I downloaded PO this afternoon, and assumed some of the knowledge I may have picked up could have potentially helped me, and seeing as I've been pretty easily crushed in all my matches, someone recommended I post an RMT. So, here it is; Smogonites, please aid me in my cause of not getting destroyed as easily. :/

I decided to start off with a Sandstorm team, seeing as it was something I wanted to try out when I started seeing some DW abilities as they first leaked. Plus, I'd seen it as pretty successful, and who doesn't like to win?

Without further ado, here it is:

Claydol @ Mental Herb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Magic Coat
- Light Screen

I decided to use Claydol as my lead. I'm not really sure why, I've never used him and thought he might be worth a look, and since I hadn't really seen anyone using him, I sort of hoped there'd be some surprise value in him.

Nidoking (M) @ Choice Scarf Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power

My special sweeper. Great movepool, nice boost with Sheer Force, what's not to love?

Tyranitar (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spd)
- Earthquake
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Superpower

My sandstorm starter. Went with brave nature as I've seen it on other weather starters, in case I come up against a Ninetails or Politoed or something. Went with the CB set, as it's what I have in-game.

Cradily (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Def / 120 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Energy Ball
- Recover
- Toxic
- Protect

Storm Drain was what really brought Cradily out for me. I assumed an SS team would have a pretty big water weakness, and that he could potentially do something about it. I went with Energy Ball over Giga Drain, as the option of Recover seemed nicer to me, but I'm already thinking about scrapping him entirely, despite the unique appeal he provides.

Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 96 Def / 120 SDef / 48 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Acrobatics
- Protect
- Fling
- Earthquake

Orbscor, all there is to it, really.

Excadrill (M) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- X-Scissor
- Rock Slide

And of course, the sweeper. Personally, I like Chomp better as an SS sweeper, but I felt my team was really lacking in speed, so I threw him in.

So far, I've noticed an Ice weakness, the fact that I can't really do anything to Steels, and that Ferrothorn annoys the hell out of me. All of this leads me to the idea of picking up a Heatran, and maybe putting him over Cradily?

As I've already said, I'm really new to this, so feel free to tear it apart from top to bottom. Any help is appreciated, and thanks in advance?

 

[Creatxre]

You may want to consider making your thread a bit longer or it may be locked. I wouldn't mind giving this a proper rate if it was well formated. Sorry to sound like an ass but you may want to put more time and effort into it first.

 

[haunter]

3. Have some actual words in your post beyond your six Pokemon and their moves. Not following this makes your post quite boring to read and rate. All Pokemon should have a good reason for being in your team anyway, so why not post that reason? If you are having trouble with this one, start by giving an explanation for each team member. Why are they there? What role do they serve? How do you get them in? Then, give an explanation of how you would open with the team and how you would go about using it. All of these things help people rate your team and allow us to offer more helpful advice.

This does not mean add one sentence saying "Standard x" or "all-around awesome" after each Pokemon. If you put thought into making the team, you can put thought into posting it.

Take a look at the RMT archive to see what kind of descriptions we are looking for. PM me the fixed descriptions and I'll unlock this thread.