Riders on the (Sand) Storm
Hello everyone, Tavo here with my first RMT ever. I decided to do one of this team because out of all the sand teams I have built, I believe this one is the best. I have done this RMT with the hope of getting some suggestions to make it better so it can show its true power to stomp other teams.
Team Building Process
When I started building this team, I decided to center it on Gliscor. This Pokémon has a great stat in its defense, but it can also excel as an offensive threat. So taking this on acount, I decided to use a set with Sand Veil, seeing it can have a more offensive approach than other sets, and the ability is simply great. That is why I also had Tyranitar from the start, to invoke a the sand that the ability needs to work.
Since I already had a Pokémon that could attack on the Physical side, I decided to add one that could take on the special side, and my choice was Lucario. Taking advantage of its great SpA stat I thought it would be a great addition to my team. It synched up well with Gliscor, so I thought it was going to be a great addition to my team.
Next I decided that a revenge-killer would benefit my team a lot, and the first Mon I thought of was Jirachi. With a Choice Scarf it has great potential as a revenge-killer, managing to defeat various Pokémon that can rip the team apart.
After having the offensive side of my team complete, I decide to add Blissey as special wall. I thought it would be a great member of the team, giving tremendous wishes that could completely heal the members of the team while walling the special threats that could destroy them.
Then I decided to add Jellicent as the pokemon on the last slot. It has a good synergy with my main sweeper (Gliscor) and is a really good Pokémon overall. Its main objective is to inflict status with either Toxic or Scald, as well as nullifying the damage from water and fighting type moves that would otherwise end my two sweepers.
After some tests I found out that Lucario didn't really helped my team. It was easily getting knocked out and it didn't had many good chances to set up and sweep, so I decided to use a different Mon as my special sweeper. That is where this beast known as Heatran comes into my team. With its sweeping capabilities it gave a really necessary boost to my team on the offensive side.
After some thought I decided that Blissey didn't quite fit in the team, even if her ability as a Wish-passer was something my team could use. In her place I decided to add Ferrothorn, who makes an incredible defensive core in company of Jellicent. Its role in the team is to set up Spikes after Tyranitar has set up Stealth Rock, so my sweepers have an easier time doing their job. The addition of Ferrothorn to the team gave Jellicent a new task as a Spin-blocker.
And that is the current team.
Inside the team
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Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
Evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
~ Stone Edge
~ Crunch
~ Pursuit
~ Superpower
Well since this is a Sand team, Tyranitar is a key component on it. I use it as a lead 90% of the time, and the other 10% I use any other of the members of the team, depending the team I am facing. At first I had chosen a set that I could use to set up Stealth Rock, but then BKC suggested the Choice Scarf set so I decided to give it a shot. It actually helped my team a lot. With this set it can take on Psychic and Ghost types, as well as revenging Chlorophyll users that otherwise my team would have a hard time handling.
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Gliscor @ Flying Gem
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
~ Swords Dance
~ Acrobatics
~ Earthquake
~ Substitute
The star of the show. Gliscor is an amazing Pokémon, and Sand Veil is an amazing ability for it. 20% more evasion during sandstorm is quite good, since you can use it to set up and start attacking everything that moves! Acrobatics is the main move here, with Stealth Rock up and with just the boost of the Flying Gem and also with STAB it can OHKO almost everything in the OU tier. Substitute is a great move, and it can make it easier for me to set up Swords Dance, especially with the evasion boost obtained from Sand Veil. Earthquake is a really smooth and powerful move that benefits from STAB, and can hit Steel types that would otherwise stop Gliscor.
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Hetran @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
~ Fire Blast
~ Earth Power
~ Hidden Power [Ice]
~ Stealth Rock
Heatran, what a tremendous beast. It is one of those Pokémon that can be used in many ways, and all are really effective. For this team, an offensive set was the choice. As suggested by Motagua I changed Heatran's nature to Timid, so I could take on other Heatran that have a Timid Nature. Also, after changing Heatran's nature to Timid I decided to give it a Life Orb so it could still have a good offensive power. Fire Blast is the main move here, hitting Pokémon like Scizor and Foretress for super effective damage, while hitting others really hard. Earth Power is to hit other Heatran, while Hidden Power Ice hits Dragon types and Ground types like Gliscor or Landorus.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
Evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Nature: Careful (+SpD,-SpA)
~ Iron Head
~ Body Slam
~ Wish
~ U-turn
Jirachi is a pretty awesome Pokémon, and alongside Gliscor it is the star of the team. With its ability, Iron Head is a quite deadly move, having a really high flinch rate and gaining a boost in power from STAB. Body Slam is also a great move that has a high chance of paralyzing the foe thanks to Serene Grace. With Wish I can make my team last longer, healing the members when needed, or I can use it to heal Jirachi. U-turn is there to keep the momentum on my side.
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Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Nature: Relaxed (+Def,-Spe)
~ Spikes
~ Leech Seed
~ Thunder Wave
~ Power Whip
Ferrothorn is a Pokémon that I almost never use, but when I do, I use it and exploit it to the maximum. Its great typing makes it almost unstopable, with just weaknesses to Fire and Fighting, both of which are handled by Heatran and Jellicent. Talking about Jellicent, with it it makes up an awesome defensive core, each covering the weaknesses of the other. Its objective is to paralize, then set up Spikes and then it can do whatever it wants form there. It is my counter to water types like Rotom-W and Gastrodon.
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Jellicent @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spe
Nature: Bold (+Def,-Atk)
~ Scald
~ Toxic
~ Recover
~ Taunt
And last but not least, Jellicent is the second half of my team's defensive core. Paired up with Ferrothorn, they can take on almost everything. I decide tu run Scald on Jellicent due to its chance of inflicting a burn, and also to run Toxic instead of Will-o-wisp, since with toxic the damage taken each turn increases and I can already inflict a burn with Scald. Recover's purpose is obvious: Regain lost HP and make Jellicent last longer. And finally there is Taunt. With the given Speed EVs Jellicent can outspeed many defensive Pokémon like Vaporeon and Blissey and Taunt them to prevent any wishpassing or recovery of some sort.
Some Closing Words
Ok so that was my team. I hope that you guys liked it and if you have any suggestions, comments or constructive criticism be sure to put it here. I hope that with your help I can make the team more solid so I can ladder and reach the top. From my part that is all, thank you all for reading through the RMT.
Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
Evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
~ Stone Edge
~ Crunch
~ Pursuit
~ Superpower
Well since this is a Sand team, Tyranitar is a key component on it. I use it as a lead 90% of the time, and the other 10% I use any other of the members of the team, depending the team I am facing. At first I had chosen a set that I could use to set up Stealth Rock, but then BKC suggested the Choice Scarf set so I decided to give it a shot. It actually helped my team a lot. With this set it can take on Psychic and Ghost types, as well as revenging Chlorophyll users that otherwise my team would have a hard time handling.
Gliscor @ Flying Gem
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
~ Swords Dance
~ Acrobatics
~ Earthquake
~ Substitute
The star of the show. Gliscor is an amazing Pokémon, and Sand Veil is an amazing ability for it. 20% more evasion during sandstorm is quite good, since you can use it to set up and start attacking everything that moves! Acrobatics is the main move here, with Stealth Rock up and with just the boost of the Flying Gem and also with STAB it can OHKO almost everything in the OU tier. Substitute is a great move, and it can make it easier for me to set up Swords Dance, especially with the evasion boost obtained from Sand Veil. Earthquake is a really smooth and powerful move that benefits from STAB, and can hit Steel types that would otherwise stop Gliscor.
Hetran @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
~ Fire Blast
~ Earth Power
~ Hidden Power [Ice]
~ Stealth Rock
Heatran, what a tremendous beast. It is one of those Pokémon that can be used in many ways, and all are really effective. For this team, an offensive set was the choice. As suggested by Motagua I changed Heatran's nature to Timid, so I could take on other Heatran that have a Timid Nature. Also, after changing Heatran's nature to Timid I decided to give it a Life Orb so it could still have a good offensive power. Fire Blast is the main move here, hitting Pokémon like Scizor and Foretress for super effective damage, while hitting others really hard. Earth Power is to hit other Heatran, while Hidden Power Ice hits Dragon types and Ground types like Gliscor or Landorus.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
Evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Nature: Careful (+SpD,-SpA)
~ Iron Head
~ Body Slam
~ Wish
~ U-turn
Jirachi is a pretty awesome Pokémon, and alongside Gliscor it is the star of the team. With its ability, Iron Head is a quite deadly move, having a really high flinch rate and gaining a boost in power from STAB. Body Slam is also a great move that has a high chance of paralyzing the foe thanks to Serene Grace. With Wish I can make my team last longer, healing the members when needed, or I can use it to heal Jirachi. U-turn is there to keep the momentum on my side.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Nature: Relaxed (+Def,-Spe)
~ Spikes
~ Leech Seed
~ Thunder Wave
~ Power Whip
Ferrothorn is a Pokémon that I almost never use, but when I do, I use it and exploit it to the maximum. Its great typing makes it almost unstopable, with just weaknesses to Fire and Fighting, both of which are handled by Heatran and Jellicent. Talking about Jellicent, with it it makes up an awesome defensive core, each covering the weaknesses of the other. Its objective is to paralize, then set up Spikes and then it can do whatever it wants form there. It is my counter to water types like Rotom-W and Gastrodon.
Jellicent @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spe
Nature: Bold (+Def,-Atk)
~ Scald
~ Toxic
~ Recover
~ Taunt
And last but not least, Jellicent is the second half of my team's defensive core. Paired up with Ferrothorn, they can take on almost everything. I decide tu run Scald on Jellicent due to its chance of inflicting a burn, and also to run Toxic instead of Will-o-wisp, since with toxic the damage taken each turn increases and I can already inflict a burn with Scald. Recover's purpose is obvious: Regain lost HP and make Jellicent last longer. And finally there is Taunt. With the given Speed EVs Jellicent can outspeed many defensive Pokémon like Vaporeon and Blissey and Taunt them to prevent any wishpassing or recovery of some sort.
Some Closing Words
Ok so that was my team. I hope that you guys liked it and if you have any suggestions, comments or constructive criticism be sure to put it here. I hope that with your help I can make the team more solid so I can ladder and reach the top. From my part that is all, thank you all for reading through the RMT.
Importable
Want to test the team? Well then here it is:
Importable Team
Code:
Tyranitar (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Superpower
Gliscor (M) @ Flying Gem
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Acrobatics
- Earthquake
- Substitute
Heatran (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stealth Rock
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SDef / 32 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Iron Head
- Body Slam
- Wish
- U-turn
Ferrothorn (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Thunder Wave
- Power Whip
Jellicent (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Scald
- Toxic
- Recover
- Taunt
