Not by Darude. [OU Sandstorm Team]

[Lightning Storm]

Alright, I looked at some websites for building good pokemon teams, and I think this team's a winner. It didn't start out as a sandstorm team, it just became one after I realized I had Aerodactyl, Heatran, and Rhyperior, (all of which are at least unaffected by sandstorm). So I added a T-tar lead, and things seem to be going well.

Tyranitar (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 240 HP/36 Atk/48 Def/184 SDef
Careful nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Taunt
- Counter
- Fire Punch
- Crunch
My lead pokemon. Sets up sand stream for the rest of the team, and then either takes care of the opponent's lead, or hightails it out of there to sandstorm another day. I immediately leave when facing other weather teams. T-tar is my ONLY method of getting up sandstorm, so I need to make him last. My team CAN survive without sandstorm, but Its also useful against a kingdra gone wild.

Forretress (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP/112 Atk/144 Def
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Gyro Ball
- Toxic Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion

My entry-hazard-setter-upper, and sort-of-wall. Once he's out, he sets up toxic spikes twice. skipping this if his time is limited, or my opponent is using lots of steel types. Then, he sets up Stealth rock, or explodes if he's low on health. Gyro ball if I've set up my hazards, and have no reason to explode.


Rhyperior (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 192 HP/160 Atk/156 SDef
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Stone Edge
- Fire Punch
- Earthquake
- Megahorn

I'm considering taking this guy of my team. He hasn't done much, and he gets KOed really easily. I'm willing to take replacement suggestions. Anyway, send him out, choose a SE (or at least a Non-NVE), and continue until someone dies.

Aerodactyl (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 HP/4 Def/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Rest
- Roar
- Whirlwind
- Sleep Talk

My gimmicky set. This guy's job is to rest, than sleep talk to continuely Roar/Whirlwind over and over and over again, outspeeding the opponent. Don't send this guy out until the hazards are up. With stealth rock and toxic spikes, I can poison and damage their entire team without much damage to myself. I HAVE TO REMEMBER TO REST AGAIN AFTER 2 TURNS! I HAVE LOST GAMES DUE TO SLEEP TALKING 3 TIMES IN A ROW. I SUCK.

Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 132 HP/156 Def/220 Spd
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin
- Thunderbolt
- Recover

Rapid spinner and special sweeper. Pretty basic. It does take damage from sandstorm, but It's worth it to have such a good pokemon. Leftovers nullifies it anyway, so it's not that bad. Ice beam and Thunder bolt to hit my team's counters.

Heatran (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Earth Power
- Flamethrower
- Taunt
- Explosion

My scizor-killer. Flamethrower OHKOs scizor no problem, and helps against most other steel types as well. Usually the switch in for forretress. I love it when people send out a fire resistant/ground weak pokemon. Taunt to take care of stallers, and explosion for when I'm feeling down. =[

Anyway, that's my team. I don't really have a main strategy. I just play things by ear, switch out when I have to. I'm worried that my team seems very water weak, so rain teams really hurt. I've beaten the 2 I've faced, but I'm still worried about them. I have no problem with replacing any of these pokemon (except for maybe aerodactyl. I loves his set so much). I'm all ears.

EDIT: After reviewing my team's weaknesses and resistances, I have discovered that I am infact weak to water, and also to steel. Fortunately, Heatran covers my steel weakness pretty well, taking only 1/4 damage from steel, and sporting a STAB flamethrower. I'm still wary about water types though.

 

[Bloo]

Alright, one thing I immediately noticed is that your team has significant problems dealing with Swords Dance Lucario. After a Swords Dance, Lucario basically OHKOes your entire team, seeing as most of your team is weak to Lucario's main STAB attack of Close Combat. With or without a Swords Dance, Lucario can cause major damage. A boosted Close Combat after a Swords Dance will OHKO your Heatran, Tyranitar, Serodactyl, Rhyperior, Foretress, while ExtremeSpeed makes quick work of Starmie. What can your Pokemon do against Lucario? Nothing. Your Aerodactly lacks Earthquake, meaning it cannot hurt Lucario at all. You may say you'll just Roar it away, however, remember that Roar has a negative priority, meaning Lucario will Close Combat you before you can do anything with Aerodactyl. You may also say that Tyranitar has Focus Sash, however, Tyranitar's Focus Sash will most likely be negated by Stealth Rock the next time Tyranitar comes in. Stealth Rock is usually set up at the start of the match so it is more than likely that your Focus Sash will be gone due to said Stealth Rock. Rhyperior does not stand a chance against a Swords Dance boosted Close Combat, nor does Heatran, and Foretress. Your Foretress is lacking Earthquake, meaning it cannot hurt Lucario at all. Lucario outspeeds your Heatran, allowing it to Close Combat for an OHKO. You may think you can fool your opponent into thinking you are holding Choice Scarf, however, I am pretty sure you will reveal that Heatran does not have a Choice Scarf because your Heatran has Life Orb, meaning that once you attack, your opponent will know you do not have Choice Scarf because of the recoil damage taken from Life Orb. Your Starmie cannot OHKO Lucario with ThunderBolt, meaning it will ExtremeSpeed you to death, then sweep your team!

So, what can we do the remedy this Lucario problem? I know you like your Aerodactyl, however, I suggest you replace him for a Gyarados. Seriously, Aerodactyl is not a good user of Roar or even an effective user of Rest+Sleep Talk. Aerodactyl is not sturdy enough to be taking hits from strong sweepers such as the aforementioned Lucario, in addition to Salamence, Infernape, Gyarados, etc. Many sweepers in OU like the Pokemon I have listed, will kill your Aerodactyl before you even have a chance to Roar them away. Their attacks will do enough damage to most likely OHKO Aerodactly since Aerodactyl is not so bulky, meaning that you will not be able to heal off the damage. Gyarados on the other hand makes an excellent candidate for a Pokemon being able to shuffle your opponents team, while being able to take hits like a champion! You mentioned you like shuffling your opponents team once you managed to set up all the entry hazards so I suggest using Gyarados with Leftovers, Roar, Waterfall, Rest, Sleep Talk, 252 HP/100 Spd/156 SDef, Careful Nature. This Gyarados is extremely hard to take down due to its amazing durability and natural bulkiness. With Intimidate, Gyarados becaus even more of a pain to take down.With Intimidate + Careful and the investment in Special defense EV's, Gyarados can take hits from the Special and Physical side of the spectrum, making Gyarados an excellent shuffler. Gyarados takes care of threats such as Swampert, Scizor, and most importantly, Lucario and Infernape, two big threats to your team. Once Gyarados is low enough on health, simply use Rest to heal any damage taken, and then Sleep Talk so Gyarados is not defenseless while sleeping. Gyarados provides your team with a much needed Fighting resist in addition to an additional Water resist, making it much more effective than Aerodactyl.

Now I want to address your problem against Bulky Waters such as Swampert, Suicune, Vaporeon, etc. The way your team is right now, you have no way to beat a Suicune using Calm Mind. After a Calm Mind, Suicune will severly dent the majority of your team since Surf kills of Aerodactly, Heatran, Tyranitar, and Rhyperior. Your Starmie can hurt it with ThunderBolt, however, after a few Calm Minds, Suicune wlll take abysmal damage from it. Same goes with Swampert. Any version of Swampert will give your team a hard time since Earthquake/Surf cover your entire team. A Grass type such as Celebi over Rhyperior can help your team alot. Celebi has excellent synergy with Heatran since they resist each others weakness' perfectly, If you decide to use the Gyarados I suggested, Gyarados+Heatran+Celebi is an excellent combination. Celebi will greatly help you against Bulky Waters since Celebi's STAB Grass Knot will help fend them off. I suggest you use Grass Knot, Recover, Perish Song, Thunder Wave, 252 HP, 220 Defense, 36 Speed, Bold Nature, Leftovers. Celebi provides Thunder Wave support for your team since most of it is slow. Once something like Infernape switches in and eats a Thunder Wave, your team wil have a much bettre time dealing with them. Grass Knot is there fir STAB while Perish Song allows you to fend of any stat uppers tha giuve your team a hard time such as Suicune. Recover is for healing obviously. The EV's maximize Celebi's overall durability, allowing it to take a myriad of hits. 36 Speed EV's allow you to outrun Jolly Tyranitar, meaning you can Grass Knot it before it hurts you with Crunch.

I suggest you change your Forretress' set to Payback, Spikes, Rapid Spin, Toxic Spikes, with 252 HP, 252 Special Defense, 4 Attack. I suggested this for a couple of reasons. Firstly with Rapid Spin on Forretress, you now have room for Surf on your Starmie. Starmie needs a STAB move in the form of Surf if you need it to counter Infernape, which right now, it fails to do. So most certainly use Surf over Rapid Spin now that I suggested Rapid Spin on Forretress. With that EV spread on Forretress, you are now able to take on the Ghost types that switch-in to block you from using Rapid Spin. Payback gets a big hit on Rotom and Gengar. You can even beat Gengar because the Special Defense EV's allows you to take any Focus Blast' it sends at you, while you strike back hard with Payback. You can even beat Rotom that are not carrying Overheat or Will-O-Wisp too! I think that Forretress set will benefit you the most, so I suggest using it!

Now, if you switch to that Forretress set, you are lacking a Pokemon to set up Stealth Rock for your team. Let me fix that. Use Stealth Rock over Taunt on Heatran and give it a Choice Scarf. A Heatran with a Choice Scarf will be immensely useful for this team, because now, you have extra insurance against the likes of Infernape and said Lucario. You outspeed both of them with Choice Scarf, then you can OHKO both with Earth Power. Stealth Rock is a great move on Heatran due to Heatran's ability to force switches. You simply bring this in to bluff a revenge kill on Scizor or something of the like, and Stealth Rock as they switch in fear of Flamethrower. So Heatran's set should look like this: Stealth Rock, Flamethrower, Earth Power, Explosion/Hidden Power Grass. The choice between Explosion is up to your personal preference, however, I will list the befits of each for you. Explosion allows you to get rid of incoming Blissey or Bulky Waters that like to switch into your Heatran. Your team has quite a problem with Bulky Waters, specifically Swampert, so Hidden Power Grass can aid in getting a nice hit on them.

 

[Lightning Storm]

tl;dr

I am, of course, joking.

Wow. Thank you for the VERY detailed response! I'll just go over some of your ideas.

Hello!

Alright, one thing I immediately noticed is that your team has significant problems dealing with Swords Dance Lucario. After a Swords Dance, Lucario basically OHKOes your entire team, seeing as most of your team is weak to Lucario's main STAB attack of Close Combat. With or without a Swords Dance, Lucario can cause major damage. A boosted Close Combat after a Swords Dance will OHKO your Heatran, Tyranitar, Serodactyl, Rhyperior, Foretress, while ExtremeSpeed makes quick work of Starmie. What can your Pokemon do against Lucario? Nothing.

Wow. That seems like a bit of a problem. I haven't faced any lucario yet, but that's no reason to ignore the issue.

Your Aerodactly lacks Earthquake, meaning it cannot hurt Lucario at all. You may say you'll just Roar it away, however, remember that Roar has a negative priority, meaning Lucario will Close Combat you before you can do anything with Aerodactyl.

Technically, My aerodactyl uses rest, and then sleep talk, allowing roar or whirlwind to be used without the negative priority, but it won't help me if I'm OHKO'd!

You may also say that Tyranitar has Focus Sash, however, Tyranitar's Focus Sash will most likely be negated by Stealth Rock the next time Tyranitar comes in. Stealth Rock is usually set up at the start of the match so it is more than likely that your Focus Sash will be gone due to said Stealth Rock. Rhyperior does not stand a chance against a Swords Dance boosted Close Combat, nor does Heatran, and Foretress. Your Foretress is lacking Earthquake, meaning it cannot hurt Lucario at all. Lucario outspeeds your Heatran, allowing it to Close Combat for an OHKO. You may think you can fool your opponent into thinking you are holding Choice Scarf, however, I am pretty sure you will reveal that Heatran does not have a Choice Scarf because your Heatran has Life Orb, meaning that once you attack, your opponent will know you do not have Choice Scarf because of the recoil damage taken from Life Orb. Your Starmie cannot OHKO Lucario with ThunderBolt, meaning it will ExtremeSpeed you to death, then sweep your team!

Again, this is an issue.

So, what can we do the remedy this Lucario problem? I know you like your Aerodactyl, however, I suggest you replace him for a Gyarados. Seriously, Aerodactyl is not a good user of Roar or even an effective user of Rest+Sleep Talk. Aerodactyl is not sturdy enough to be taking hits from strong sweepers such as the aforementioned Lucario, in addition to Salamence, Infernape, Gyarados, etc. Many sweepers in OU like the Pokemon I have listed, will kill your Aerodactyl before you even have a chance to Roar them away. Their attacks will do enough damage to most likely OHKO Aerodactly since Aerodactyl is not so bulky, meaning that you will not be able to heal off the damage. Gyarados on the other hand makes an excellent candidate for a Pokemon being able to shuffle your opponents team, while being able to take hits like a champion! You mentioned you like shuffling your opponents team once you managed to set up all the entry hazards so I suggest using Gyarados with Leftovers, Roar, Waterfall, Rest, Sleep Talk, 252 HP/100 Spd/156 SDef, Careful Nature. This Gyarados is extremely hard to take down due to its amazing durability and natural bulkiness. With Intimidate, Gyarados becaus even more of a pain to take down.With Intimidate + Careful and the investment in Special defense EV's, Gyarados can take hits from the Special and Physical side of the spectrum, making Gyarados an excellent shuffler. Gyarados takes care of threats such as Swampert, Scizor, and most importantly, Lucario and Infernape, two big threats to your team. Once Gyarados is low enough on health, simply use Rest to heal any damage taken, and then Sleep Talk so Gyarados is not defenseless while sleeping. Gyarados provides your team with a much needed Fighting resist in addition to an additional Water resist, making it much more effective than Aerodactyl.

Sounds great! I'll switch him out immediately!

Now I want to adress your problem against Bulky Waters such as Swampert, Suicune, Vaporeon, etc. The way your team is right now, you have no way to beat a Suicune using Calm Mind. After a Calm Mind, Suicune will severly dent the majority of your team since Surf kills of Aerodactly, Heatran, Tyranitar, and Rhyperior. Your Starmie can hurt it with ThunderBolt, however, after a few Calm Minds, Suicune wlll take abysmal damage from it. Same goes with Swampert. Any version of Swampert will give your team a hard time since Earthquake/Surf cover your entire team. A Grass type such as Celebi over Rhyperior can help your team alot. Celebi has excellent synergy with Heatran since they resist each others weakness' perfectly, If you decide to use the Gyarados I suggested, Gyarados+Heatran+Celebi is an excellent combination. Celebi will greatly help you against Bulky Waters since Celebi's STAB Grass Knot will help fend them off. I suggest you use Grass Knot, Recover, Perish Song, Thunder Wave, 252 HP, 220 Defense, 36 Speed, Bold Nature, Leftovers. Celebi provides Thunder Wave support for your team since most of it is slow. Once something like Infernape switches in and eats a Thunder Wave, your team wil have a much bettre time dealing with them. Grass Knot is there fir STAB while Perish Song allows you to fend of any stat uppers tha giuve your team a hard time such as Suicune. Reciver is for healing obviously. The EV's maximize Celebi's overall durability, allowing it to take a myriad of hits. 36 Speed EV's allow you to outrun Jolly Tyranitar, meaning you can Grass Knot it before it hurts you with Crunch.

I suggest you change your Forretress' set to Payback, Spikes, Rapid Spin, Toxic Spikes, with 252 HP, 252 Special Defense, 4 Attack. I suggested this for a couple of reasons. Firstly with Rapid Spin on Forretress, you now have room for Surf on your Starmie. Starmie needs a STAB move in the form of Surf if you need it to counter Infernape, which right now, it fails to do. So most certainly use Surf over Rapid Spin now that I suggested Rapid Spin on Forretress. With that EV spread on Forretress, you are now able to take on the Ghost types that switch-in to block you from using Rapid SPin. Payback gets a big hit on Rotom and Gengar. You can even beat Gengar because the Special Defense EV's allows you totake any Focus Blast' it sends at you, while you strike back hard with Payback. You can even beat Rotom that are not carrying Overheat or Will-O-Wisp too! I think that Forretress set will benefit you the most, so I suggest using it!

Now, if you switch to that Forretress set, you are lacking a Pokemon to set up Stealth Rock for your team. Let me fix that. Use Stealth Rock over Taunt on Heatran and give it a Choice Scarf. A Heatran with a Choice Scarf will be immensely useful for this team, because now, you have extra insurance against the likes of Infernape and said Lucario. You outspeed both of them with Choice Scarf, then you can OHKO both with Earth Power. Stealth Rock is a great move on Heatran due to Heatran's ability to force switches. You simply bring this in to bluff a revenge kill on Scizor or something of the like, and Stealth Rock as they switch in fear of Flamethrower. So Heatran's set should look like this: Stealth Rock, Flamethrower, Earth Power, Explosion/Hidden Power Grass. The choice between Explosion is up to your personal preference, however, I will list the befits of each for you. Explosion allows you to get rid of incoming Blissey or Bulky Waters that like to switch into your Heatran. Your team has quite a problem with Bulky Waters, specifically Swampert, so Hidden Power Grass can aid in getting a nice hit on them.

Good Luck!

All of it sounds good! I'd like to keep heatran the way he is for now though. I really like the taunt set, and Life Orb is unpredictable. If there is an item that doesn't give itself away with tell-tale recoil damage, but still allows me to switch moves, I'd be very happy to learn of it. Perhaps Expert Belt?

With Aerodactyl and Rhyperior gone, my team has very little reason to keep Tyranitar. I'd like to replace him with something that will tie the whole to team together, because it feels a bit like I'm using 6 OU pokemon with no central strategy. I'd like a lead that unifies my whole team! Any suggestions?

Again, thank you VERY much for the advice!

(I'm keeping my team the way it is in the first post until I get a chance to test out the newer version, in case it doesn't work. I'll get a chance this evening most likely.)