NU Sun Team (my first team)

[GiygasReborn]

Hey there! This is my first Sun Team that i have created after multiple battles and plenty of research. This is my first team and i am quite new to the competitive side of Pokemon (and this site). Suggestions/tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! :D

My Two Leads:

Volbeat w/ Heat Rock
Prankster
Impish
252 HP/252 Def/4 SpD

Sunny Day
Encore
Thunder Wave
Confuse Ray/Moonlight (unsure about this one, feel something could be better)

Volbeat's Prankster makes it a great Sunny Day user with Heat Rock. Encore forces switches on those pesky Stealth Rock users/subbers/weather inducers. Thunder Wave helps my sweepers while (since I am leaning towards Moonlight atm) Moonlight gives Volbeat longevity. The Ev spread (to my knowledge) helps against the many physical leads in NU.

Regirock w/Heat Rock
Clear Body
Careful
252 HP/252 SpD/4 Def

Sunny Day
Stealth Rock
Stone Edge
Toxic (also think there is something better, maybe Fire Punch?)

Regirock is my other lead and makes a great wall. His typing doesnt help against the common ground leads like Golem/etc but his bulk, STAB from Stone Edge, and his ability to Stealth Rock help the sweepers, well, sweep! I have been switching between Thunder Wave and Toxic and haven't found a sweet spot as of yet for the last slot.

Support:

Wartortle w/Eviolite
Torrent
Bold
252 HP/252 Def/4 SpD

Rapid Spin
Yawn
Haze
Scald

It may seem weird that i have a water type in my group but there are not many good spinners in NU and I need one for all the stealth rocks that get put out (and destroy my Charizard D:). But Wartortle gives the best balanced bulk of the spinners in this tier thanks to Eviolite. Since Wartortle is susceptible to being set-up fodder, i have Haze and Yawn to force switches and prevent boosts. I have Scald because it prevents taunt switches and 30% burn can help... sometimes.


Finally, The Sweepers:

Exeggutor w/Life Orb
Chlorophyll
Modest
252 SpA/252 Spe/4 HP

SolarBeam
Psychic
HP Fire
Sleep Powder (any other suggestions?)

Probably my favourite sweeper. With sunny day up, his massive SpA along with STAB Solarbeam and HP Fire in the Sun hits hard. STAB Psychic helps with typing and Sleep Powder is for threats/switches.

Victreebel w/Life Orb
Chlorophyll
Careful
252 Atk/252 Spe/4 HP

Power Whip
Sucker Punch
Sleep Powder
Growth

My physical sweeper, I am unsure about this one. I needed a physical sweeper (Victreebels SpA side looks better) and many people said Victreebel is beast in the sun. I haven't had much success with this guy, maybe i am playing him wrong (maybe Leafeon would fit the physical sweeper better?). Anyways, Power Whip for STAB and Sucker Punch for first hits and Psychics (the rare Ghost-types). Sleep Powder for set-up for Growth.

Charizard w/Choice Specs (hard choice between Specs/Scarf)
Solar Power
Timid
252 SpA/252 Spe/4 HP

Fire Blast
SolarBeam
Dragon Pulse
HP Rock

When this guy comes out, it is usually late in the match. Specs Charizard with Solar Power in the Sun 2HKOes everything in the tier with its STAB moves.
As long as stealth rocks aren't on the field and the suns up, this guy runs through at least 3 Pokemon. Fire Blast and SolarBeam are for obvious STABS and boosted by the sun while HP Rock takes down Flareon. Dragon Pulse does decent neutral damage to anything and was mostly filler.

Stuff I have trouble with...
Stealth rocks (obvious)
Status Ailments (Paralysis and Toxic for the most part)
Life Orb recoil
Substitutes (sometimes, maybe i need a roar/whirlwind)
Sadly i haven't seen many weather teams so i cannot judge which one hurts me the most

So maybe I could get some help on removing these or at least partially dealing with these problems.

Well there it is, my Sun Team :D. Hopefully it is half decent!

People I have sorted through and tried (but not out of the picture!)
Liepard
Flareon
Torkoal
Rapidash
Leafeon
Grumpig
Miltank
Sawk

 

[Shouting]

Hi there! Since I have a great deal of experinece with NU sun although I haven't played NU recently, I can offer some assistance.

This is a pretty good team but there can be some changes to make it better.

First of all, Charizard (and by an extention, Wartortle) are the weak links of the team. Charizard just isn't very good in NU with it's Stealth Rock weakness. This would be manageable if you were using a decent spinner, but unfortunately Wartortle is not a good spinner, even more so in Sun. Since Sun is an extremely offensive playstyle, you can't slow done to let something like Wartortle in to Spin hazards that could just be blocked by pretty much any ghost type. So, I would replace Charizard with another fire type, preferably one that has flash fire, because Boosted Fire attacks really do a number on your team, as Regirock does not have recovery and it will eventually fall to 2 or 3 boosted fire attacks. To fix this, you can use Rapidash if you want Flash Fire, or Simisear who has awesome coverage. Rapdidash is faster and can break through Regice quite easily as it can actually survive most special fire attacks in the sun and hit back hard with STAB Ice Beam. It is also a touch faster than Charizard and Simisear and therefore most of the tier. Simisear has really good coverage and not much can aviod being 2HKO'd by it at worst in the sun. The choice is up to you.

I also can not stress enough that Victreebel needs a special set. There is next to no reason why Victreebel should be running physical moves in NU because they are really unnecessary. Victreebel has higher special attack and better special coverage moves. With Life Orb and a special set, Victreebel OHKO's or 2HKO's 95% of the tier even without a growth boost while outspeeding most of it. Also, it has a Careful nature which really doesn't help it at all (not sure if this is just a typo.)

Volbeat is good, but I would try a different moveset, namely Sunny day / Encore / Roost / U-turn. U-turn is awesome for keeping momentum and getting in your Sun sweepers in for free, as they cannot switch into really anything but resisted hits, or come in after something has died. Since most pokemon will switch out after being locked into an undesirable move, you can U-turn to a sweeper that has an advantage over the switch in without taking any damage or status.

A huge weakness I see with your current team is Skuntank, which either walls or revenges your sweepers with ease. To fix this, I would suggest replacing Exeggutor with Sawsbuck. With access to Nature Power, Sawsbuck can bypass Sucker Punches from Skuntank and hit it super effectively with Earthquake. It is also incredibly fast under the Sun, and outspeeds pretty much any common scarfed pokemon in the tier, so it can easily clean up after Victreebel dies. It increases your weakness to ghost types such as Haunter and Driftblim, but Driftblim isn't all that common and can be still be outsped if it still has it's flying gem. Since you really don't need Wartortle anymore, I would replace it with Liepard who can troll Haunter and Kadabra with it's 106 Base speed and encore them or simply KO with Foul Play. It also has priority Sun, similar to Volbeat and can beat the Ghost types that Sawsbuck has difficulty with.

Next, although this is just preference, I would test out Golem over Regirock since is packs more of a punch and has Sturdy, making sure Stealth Rock goes up as a lead. It also partners well with Volbeat as it can encore the grass, fighting, ground, and water type moves that people use to take golem out and start you out with incredible momentum. This is just preference of course.

Here are some sets I've mentioned:

Sets

Sawsbuck (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Horn Leech
- Nature Power
- Double-Edge

Liepard (F) @ Heat Rock
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Encore
- Thunder Wave
- Sunny Day
- Foul Play

Victreebel (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Growth / Sleep Powder / Giga Drain
- Weather Ball
- SolarBeam
- Sludge Bomb

Simisear (F) @ Charcoal / Expert Belt
Trait: Gluttony
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- SolarBeam
- Flamethrower
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Rapidash (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature
~ Flare Blitz
~ Drill Run
~ SolarBeam
~ Morning Sun

Golem (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 200 HP / 252 Atk / 56 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Rock Blast
- Explosion / Sunny Day / Sucker Punch

 

[WhiteDMist]

Ok, for a first team this is pretty good! Normally I would send newer players over to Battling 101, and it wouldn't hurt you to go there either. That being said, I'll see what I can do with your team.

Sun teams in general are pretty set in their roster: Sun setters and Sun sweepers, with an occasional back-up plan. This team should really try and stick to that because that abuses Sun turns the best. Wartortle becomes out of place immediately because of that, since wasting precious Sun turns switching in and Rapid Spinning (or trying to if they have a Ghost) breaks all the momentum you've built up. If you want to maintain offensive pressure while still preventing Stealth Rocks, I highly recommend Choice Band Sawk in the turtle's place. With Mold Breaker and an Adamant nature, Sawk has immediate offensive presence and can scare away many of the common hazard setters in the tier.

I feel like Victreebel doesn't really pull its weight with a physical set on your team. I think that Swords Dance Sawsbuck would be an excellent replacement because of its amazing Speed, ability to boost up +2 outside of Sun, equal Attack, and Nature Power handling Skuntank easily. You do become more vulnerable to Toxic Spikes without Victreebel, but those are rare and pretty easy to ignore. Besides, the goal of your team is to rip through your opponent's team as fast as you can, so prolonged battles are bad for you either way. The faster the battle, the less damage T-Spikes can do.

Exeggutor would prefer a Timid Nature to outspeed Scarf Rotom-A in the Sun. More importantly, you may want to fit Sunny Day somewhere on its moveset, prefereably over HP Fire or Sleep Powder. A self-sustaining Sun sweeper means that you don't have to switch out after the Sun fades, preserving the offensive pressure you worked so hard to build up.

Volbeat wants an EV spread of 248 HP/252 Def/8 SpD simply to be able to switch in on Rocks 4 times. For its last move, replace Confuse Ray/Moonlight with U-turn. Recovery wastes Sun turns while Confuse Ray is unreliable and easily removed. A slow U-turn allows you to bring in your relatively frail Sun sweepers for free, since Volbeat would take the damage instead. This is an irreplaceable advantage that you MUST add in order to bring out the most from your team.

Regirock would prefer an Adamant nature as well as moving all its Special Defense EVs into Attack. Also, giving it Drain Punch over Toxic gives it a semi-reliable form of recovery that makes up for the lower Special Defense. Truthfully, you want Regirock to set up Rocks, Sun, and then die quickly so that you can bring in your Sun sweepers for free. The higher offensive power with these suggestions would let Regirock do as much damage as it can in a turn, which is usually what it has left after setting up.

Finally, Charizard is a great powerhouse in the Sun. Specs is a scary thing to face, but is also unecessary. You may be able to rip thrugh the entire tier, but you'll die pretty quickly with all the residual damage and priority in the tier. the standard Sunny Day Charizard is still very powerful, but it has reliable recovery to last quite a long time. More importantly, it has a useable Solarbeam, which can't be interrupted by a sudden weather change/negation. Move the HP Ev into Defense, and you've got yourself a powerful addition to your already powerful team.

Changes:

Volbeat: U-turn>Confuse Ray
Regirock: Offensive Drain Punch>Defensive Toxic
Exeggutor: Timid>Modest
Optional: Sunny Day>HP Fire
Charizard: Sunny Day>Specs
Sawk>Wartortle
Sawsbuck>Victreebel

Sets

Charizard @ Leftovers
Trait: Solar Power
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Sunny Day
- Roost
- Fire Blast
- Solarbeam

Sawk @ Choice Band
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Knock Off

Sawsbuck @ Life Orb
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Horn Leech
- Double Edge
- Nature Power

These changes should maximize the power and efficiency of your team. Good luck with your future here in competetive Pokemon. Welcome to Smogon!

 

[ium]

volbeat / regirock / wartortle / exeggutor / victreebel / charizard

as with most offensive sun teams, there aren't many outstanding problems that this team has although a few things can give you trouble. opposing weather teams, notably rain, can be a bit of a nuisance since nothing can switch in safely and will be outsped if sun isn't up.

for this reason, i would use life orb gardevoir over wartortle. if opposing teams set up rain, gardevoir can act as an effective revenge killer against weakened swift swim pokemon by tracing their ability to outspeed and KO. gardevoir also acts as another check to sawk which can potentially punch a few holes in your team. the other important thing that gardevoir can do is lure out other psychic-types or skuntank and take them out with a destiny bond. this can help clear the way for your other sweepers who may dislike having to deal with such pokemon. wartortle isn't really necessary because sun teams are meant to play offensively and not waste any sunny day turns at all. wartortle is also rather weak, especially since scald will do less in the sun, and will allow any pokemon to get a substitute easily, which will ruin your team's momentum.

i think you should try out a special set on victreebel, because STAB sludge bomb and a boosted weather ball are actually quite potent in NU. exeggutor already has sleep powder, so i think having it on victreebel is a bit overkill and could be focused on its coverage options instead. as for charizard, using a choice item isn't really the best idea, because being locked into the wrong move means having to switch out and waste sun turns while the opponent could take advantage of the switch to gain momentum back. using a choice item also means that charizard will be worn down by stealth rock much more easily. charizard can use a sunny day set so that it can be a self-sustaining sweeper that can set up sun by itself again instead of wasting time to switch out to volbeat or regirock. fire/grass coverage is all that is necessary because nothing in the tier escapes a 2HKO from solar power fire blast. roost can be useful if you need to recover some of charizard's hp.

as for other minor changes, volbeat can use u-turn in the last slot. a slow u-turn helps with both momentum and getting your sweepers in immediately and safely after using sunny day. regirock should have a spread of 252 hp / 252 atk with an adamant nature so that it can still have some offensive presence while being extremely bulky; i really don't see a reason for the special defense EVs unless there is a specific reason that can be pointed out. regirock should also have drain punch over toxic because it needs something to hit other rock- and steel-types; toxic would normally be okay to use, but regirock can't really afford to use any support options when it needs to use up a slot for sunny day. a timid nature is also useful on exeggutor because it will otherwise miss out on outspeeding stuff like choice scarf rotom-a.

lastly, this is a matter of preference, but exeggutor can use psyshock over psychic if you want to hit lickilicky and regice harder (especially since your team is really biased towards the special attacking end).

summary:
u-turn confuse ray volbeat / adamant, 252 atk, drain punch careful, 252 sdef, toxic regirock / life orb gardevoir wartortle / psyshock* psychic timid modest exeggutor / special physical victreebel / subroost choice specs charizard
* optional

sets

Gardevoir @ Life Orb
Trait: Trace
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Destiny Bond

Victreebel @ Life Orb
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Sludge Bomb
- Giga Drain
- Weather Ball
- Growth

Charizard @ Leftovers
Trait: Solar Power
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- SolarBeam
- Sunny Day
- Roost

 

[Bluwing]

Hey GiygasReborn, and welcome to the NU Community ! :)
You've got a really nice sun team here, but I do see something that should be changed and that will help your team out. First off is Volbeat's set, Volbeat want's to use a slow U-Turn so it can bring in your sun sweepers much easier so you don't have to rely on predicting which should be avoided by all cost. Also Regirock should run Drain Punch over Toxic as that benefits your team a lot more as your Volbeat already has Thunder Wave, Regirock should also run the offensive spread as Regirock has good enough bulk from before of. Wartortle is the one pokemon that seems way out off place, water type pokemon just doesn't fit in in sun teams, and spinning really isn't that necessary because your going maintain a huge offensive pressure on your opponent's team, so running Choice Band Sawk will help your team wearing the opposing team down with extremly strong Close Combat's, Sawk can also prevent Stealth Rock from beeing setup as Mold Breaker denies Sturdy to work which will help Charizard out a lot. Exeggutor should run Timid Nature as it's crucial for your team that Exeggutor outspeeds Rotom-S/F. My last suggestion will be swapping Victreebel for Swords Dance Sawsbuck, this will help you out more as Sawsbuck has a recovery move in Horn Leech, and also hits harder with STAB Return, and also has Nature Power to prevent Sucker Punch from the likes off Skuntank also hitting it SE.

Changes:

U-Turn --> Confuse Ray

Drain Punch + 252 HP | 252 Atk | 4 SDef (Adamant) --> Old Set

Choice Band Sawk --> Wartortle

Timid --> Modest

Swords Dance Sawsbuck --> Victreebel