Introduction
Hello Smogon! I present to you my newest team that has brought me great success, my NU Sunny Day team. This team went an amazing 29-2 (i would have tested more, but it is hard to find an NU battler nowadays) when i was play testing it. However, it is not really that impressive because most (not all) NU players slap a team of the 6 strongest pokemon together and call it a team (around half of the teams i faced had a choice banded rampardos...). Yet, i am still very proud of this team because it had good success against anyone i faced. So one day, I was lurking around smogon, stalking battles, when i came across a user who used an incredibly successful sunny day team in the OU tier. After watching a couple more of his/her battles, i immediately set out to create my own team. I knew that sunny day teams used pokemon with the ability chlorophyl as their main sweepers, so i went to smogon.com to find out which pokemon could use this ability successfully. After a quick click on the chlorophyl ability, i found that 8/9 pokemon with the ability were in the NU tier! I made up my mind then to create a NU sunny day to the best of my ability, and this is the end result:
Team Building
I knew that i needed at least two chlorophyl users (one physical and one special), so i chose exeggutor and shiftry as my main two sweepers.
Next, i needed a lead, and a sunny day user. After some careful consideration, i chose jumpluff as my lead.
after reviewing my team, i noticed that i have 3 fire weaknesses, 3 flying weaknesses, and 3 ice weaknesses. I now needed to find 3 support pokemon to counter the use of 3 grass pokemon. I chose entei and quagsire to help support my team.
Now, all i needed was a third and finally sunny day user that wasn't grass or fire, and had considerable bulk. I chose lickilicky to fill this last spot because it had everything that i needed to complete this team.
After a bit more playtesting, i realized that entei wasn't really helping much on this team. A friend, sandslashPWNS then recommended a sub petaya typhlosion set over entei. So, after testing that set, i quickly switched out entei permanently.
Then, i knew the time had come to replace lickilicky. It just wasnt doing as great as i expected it would do. It was basically a suicide sunny day setter. I had debating miltank for a while, but i didnt like its lack of explosion or knock off, but after Kenshiro gave me the details why it as better, i immediately made the switch
At a Glance:
A closer Look:
Hello Smogon! I present to you my newest team that has brought me great success, my NU Sunny Day team. This team went an amazing 29-2 (i would have tested more, but it is hard to find an NU battler nowadays) when i was play testing it. However, it is not really that impressive because most (not all) NU players slap a team of the 6 strongest pokemon together and call it a team (around half of the teams i faced had a choice banded rampardos...). Yet, i am still very proud of this team because it had good success against anyone i faced. So one day, I was lurking around smogon, stalking battles, when i came across a user who used an incredibly successful sunny day team in the OU tier. After watching a couple more of his/her battles, i immediately set out to create my own team. I knew that sunny day teams used pokemon with the ability chlorophyl as their main sweepers, so i went to smogon.com to find out which pokemon could use this ability successfully. After a quick click on the chlorophyl ability, i found that 8/9 pokemon with the ability were in the NU tier! I made up my mind then to create a NU sunny day to the best of my ability, and this is the end result:
Team Building
I knew that i needed at least two chlorophyl users (one physical and one special), so i chose exeggutor and shiftry as my main two sweepers.
Next, i needed a lead, and a sunny day user. After some careful consideration, i chose jumpluff as my lead.
after reviewing my team, i noticed that i have 3 fire weaknesses, 3 flying weaknesses, and 3 ice weaknesses. I now needed to find 3 support pokemon to counter the use of 3 grass pokemon. I chose entei and quagsire to help support my team.
Now, all i needed was a third and finally sunny day user that wasn't grass or fire, and had considerable bulk. I chose lickilicky to fill this last spot because it had everything that i needed to complete this team.
After a bit more playtesting, i realized that entei wasn't really helping much on this team. A friend, sandslashPWNS then recommended a sub petaya typhlosion set over entei. So, after testing that set, i quickly switched out entei permanently.
Then, i knew the time had come to replace lickilicky. It just wasnt doing as great as i expected it would do. It was basically a suicide sunny day setter. I had debating miltank for a while, but i didnt like its lack of explosion or knock off, but after Kenshiro gave me the details why it as better, i immediately made the switch
At a Glance:
A closer Look:
Jumpluff@Heat Rock
Ability: Chlorophyl
Nature: Jolly
Ev's: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Sunny Day
- Aromatherapy
- Sleep Powder
- U-Turn
Analysis: In my opinion, jumpluff is the best sunny day user in the game, and it is also one of the fastest. I NU, only 4 other pokemon out speed it, and only 3/4 normally carry taunt. This pokemon usually starts off the match with a sleep powder, rendering the other pokemon useless for the time being. Then, as they switch or burn a turn of sleep, i use sunny day. This brings me to around a 700 speed stat meaning nothing outruns me. U-turn allows me to get some damage on the opponent, and switch into one of my sweepers, so it is always a win-win situation. Most people classify lead-puff as a suicide lead because of its terrible defenses and HP. That is not the case here. As you can see, its last move is aromatherapy, which heals all status's off of my pokemon. What good is it having a paralyzed shiftry, or a a poisoned LO exeggutor? Thats why i save my jumpluff at all costs, and id much rather have a non sun user like lickilicky die before jumpluff.
Ev's and Nature: Nothing particularly interesting about these ev's. 252 speed ev's and jolly nature for max speed, which is key to setting up sun. 252 HP is for longevity, as i don't really need them in attack or either defenses.
Exeggutor@Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyl
Nature: Mild
Ev's: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Solar Beam
- Hidden Power Fire
- Psychic
- Explosion
Analysis: My first of two sunny day sweepers. This pokemon is extremely deadly in the sun when combining doubled speed with a base special attack stat of 125. The objective behind this pokemon is simple. After jumpluff sets up sunny day, i normally U-turn into this pokemon. After that, its hit as hard as you can with solar beam, hidden power, and psychic, until my HP gets low. Then, i explode, finishing my sweep with a bang. Solar beam is the obvious STAB move with a base 120 power and no charge in the sun. Hidden Power fire hits almost every poke that resists solar beam, and it gets a boost in the sun. Psychic is my secondary STAB move, and is used to provide complete coverage against any pokemon in NU.(those 3 moves are only resisted by latias in OU). Finally, explosion is used when my HP gets down to low enough point where exeggutor isnt really that useful. It is also used on the last turn of sun, so i get a free switch to either of my sunny day users.
Ev's and Nature: The ev's are quite simple; max special attack. I do not need to put any ev's into speed because in the sun, i out run literally anything in NU. Mild nature was chosen over modest so that explosion does more damage, while still keeping the special attack maxed.
Shiftry@Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyl
Nature: Adamant
Ev's: 4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Swords Dance
- Seed Bomb
- Sucker Punch
- Rock Slide
Analysis: My second sunny day sweeper in the form of SD shiftry. Seeing as how most experienced players would immediately bring in their special wall to counter sunny day teams, i decided that i needed a physical sweeper to partner with exeggutor. Shiftry was decided over victreebel (who does have a higher attack stat of 105 compared to 100) because of its access to rock slide. Rock slide allows me to counter fire types that always switch into shiftry and to take down articuno. Articuno can be a pain if it has special attack ev's invested into it Ice beam really weakens exeggutor and shiftry, who both carry LO, leaving them virtually useless. But rock slide takes care of articuno no problem with it being a OHKO 100% of the time. Seed bomb and sucker punch are there as dual STAB moves, and provide awesome coverage. A thing that i really like about this set is that no one sees it coming. Physical sweepers are not normally seen in the sun (other than tangrowth and the occasional tropius), so i almost always get a free SD up, allowing me to sweep.
Ev's and Nature: Adamant nature + 252 atk ev's = max attack + SD = sweep. 252 speed ev's are there to make me even faster...(no shit)
Typhlosion@Salac Berry
Nature: Timid
Ability: Blaze
Ev's: 12 HP / 252 SpA / 240 Spe
Moveset:
- Sunny Day
- Substitute
- Flamethrower
- Solar Beam
Analysis: Typhlosion is a beast. It has the potential to sweep teams, and it sets up sun, making it an amazing pokemon for this team. This was originally a sub petaya set, but i then i realized that out speeding pokes was better than over powering them, especially sub CM espeon. Substitute allows me to get to my salac berry, allowing me to out speed any non-scarfed pokemon or electrode (i think). It also allows me to absorb hits from any slower pokemon that would otherwise do more damage than substitute would. I picked flamethrower over fire blast because i didnt like the accuracy, and if i missed after my berry has been activated, then there would be no point in having this poke. Also, a sun blaze boosted flamethrower is powerful enough. Solar beam is to make use of the sun, and it allows me to hit politoed and slowking hard (always a 2KO).
Ev's and Nature: 12 Hp ev's allows salac berry and blaze to be activated after 3 subs (2 after SR). The rest are just maxing out its two main catagories, SpA and Spe. I went with timid nature because i like having more speed over power and in case i dont get the speed boost, i can still out speed stuff.
Quagsire@Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Nature: Impish
Ev's: 252 HP / 64 Atk / 194 Def
Moveset:
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Toxic
- Encore
Analysis: Quagsire is the physical tank / supporter of this team. I needed a pokemon that resisted fire type moves, and was considerable bulky, so i chose quagsire as it fit the role nicely. Earthquake hits probopass hard (normally a 3KO) and all fire types fairly well. Ice punch is rarely used, and only hits the uncommon dodrio. Toxic and encore are really the only two moves that i use on this set. Toxic really helps when an opponent isnt OHKO'd by one of my sweepers, and encore allows a safe switch into really any of my pokemon. Quagesire and entei really work well together, and almost resist all of each other's weakness's.
Ev's and Nature: 64 atk is used to give that earthquake and extra boost against the fairly bulky magmortar. 252 HP along with 194 Def and impish nature make quagsire very difficult to take down from the physical side.
Miltank@Heat Rock
Ability: Thick Fat
Nature: Careful
Ev's: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SpD
Moveset:
- Sunny Day
- Body Slam
- Stealth Rocks
- Milk Drink
Analysis: My special sponge on the team. It also allows me to absorb fire and ice attacks that are directed towards my sweepers because of its ability, thick fat, and then heal it off with milk drink. This is really good because it allows my sweepers to stay healthy and not receive any other damage other than LO damage.
Ev's and Nature: I wanted lickilicky to be my special wall, so i went with careful nature over the suggested impish nature. Plus, i also gave it 184 SpD ev's to make it even more specially bulky. Also, any good wall almost always has 252 HP, and it was recommended on smogon, so it went with it. The 72 leftover ev's were placed in defense so it could survive physical hits more.
Closing Remarks:
This team has brought me tremendous success in the NU environment, and it has made me a lot more interested in playing NU more. As i stated in the Introduction, this team went 24-1 in the time that i tested it. It was very difficult to find a good NU battler, and most of my wins ended up being 6 or 5-0. That being said, i will not take away any credit that this team deserves as i still needed to beat the noobs in the match.
A Final Glance:
