Alright to open up I’m using your basic balanced sand team. It’s pretty generic outside one mon, but it has been pretty effective. The only thing I struggle with is a need for a replacement for Bisharp. My team covers pretty much everything else, and Bisharp doesn’t bring anything to the table, but I’m willing to make any changes necessary.
The Team:
Hippowdown (F) @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind
- Slack Off
Pretty basic set. Earthquake for stab damage, stealth rock for hazards, whirlwind to drag in targets or remove set up sweepers, and slack off for recovery. I’m running smooth rock to bolster Excadrill’s sweeping/cleaning potential, and keeps the chip damage up for longer. I’ve run this set with some special ev investments, but max def and max hp have more of a reward. I’ve also run toxic over whirlwind for mons like Seismitoad, but most walls don’t care about toxic other than your unusual Mandibuzz
Excadrill (M) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
- Swords Dance
Another generic sand team member. Adamant allows me to do more damage against Hydreigon and Dragapult that think they can take a hit, while jolly does improve matchups with opposing drill, I’ve opted for air balloon to do that while keeping the adamant boost. Rapid spin is used over rock slide to remove hazards, while giving a speed boost to keep the momentum going after sand goes away, but it means I’m easier to be walled by Corviknight.
Ferrothorn (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Knock Off
- Leech Seed
- Protect
In this set I’m running pro/seed to give me more recovery and allow me to check move choice on item users. Knock off is used over body press to remove pesky items, and gyro ball helps counter Clefable. I’m running hazards on hippowdon, and am relying on drill for hazard removal, so spikes has been swapped out. Max def and hp allow me to tank band vish easily, while giving me a better matchup against Zeraora.
Clefable (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Teleport
- Wish
- Protect
The last generic sand abuser. Magic Guard allows me to easily stay in sand, ignore status’s, and reliable wish pass. Teleport is used over options like thunder wave and flamethrower to get recovery in on my sweepers, and gives me a slow pivot as well. Protect and wish are pretty self explanatory. I’m running max special def to check specs Kyurem, Hydreigon, and Dragapult special variant.
Bisharp (M) @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
This is where I need help. This mon was put in the team for 2 reasons. 1. It counter Dragapult and pressures defoggers. And 2. it doesn’t get damaged in sand, and is a decent cleaner. However, my other mons do his job just as well, and the common fogger Corviknight almost always run body press at this point. I’ve tried many things, but this has the most success (but still isn’t that effective).
Primarina (F) @ Metronome
Ability: Torrent
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 124 SpA / 136 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Moonblast
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
Now for the last mon on my team, we have the oddball. This thing is TERRIFYING. I have been cleaned by sub and spec variants, and it’s one of the best mons on this team. It is an offensive counter to Conkelldur, Hydreigon, Dragapult special variant, but it also counters walls like powerwhipless Ferrothorn, non haze Toxapex, Seismitoad, and Corviknight. Metronome allows me to spam stabs with no drawbacks, and gives me more output against Clefable. I chose this over leftovers because of wish support, and metronome has been more successful. The speed evs are to outspeed max invested Conkeldurr as well, but with Clefable you could run max special.
The Team:
Hippowdown (F) @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind
- Slack Off
Pretty basic set. Earthquake for stab damage, stealth rock for hazards, whirlwind to drag in targets or remove set up sweepers, and slack off for recovery. I’m running smooth rock to bolster Excadrill’s sweeping/cleaning potential, and keeps the chip damage up for longer. I’ve run this set with some special ev investments, but max def and max hp have more of a reward. I’ve also run toxic over whirlwind for mons like Seismitoad, but most walls don’t care about toxic other than your unusual Mandibuzz
Excadrill (M) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
- Swords Dance
Another generic sand team member. Adamant allows me to do more damage against Hydreigon and Dragapult that think they can take a hit, while jolly does improve matchups with opposing drill, I’ve opted for air balloon to do that while keeping the adamant boost. Rapid spin is used over rock slide to remove hazards, while giving a speed boost to keep the momentum going after sand goes away, but it means I’m easier to be walled by Corviknight.
Ferrothorn (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Knock Off
- Leech Seed
- Protect
In this set I’m running pro/seed to give me more recovery and allow me to check move choice on item users. Knock off is used over body press to remove pesky items, and gyro ball helps counter Clefable. I’m running hazards on hippowdon, and am relying on drill for hazard removal, so spikes has been swapped out. Max def and hp allow me to tank band vish easily, while giving me a better matchup against Zeraora.
Clefable (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Teleport
- Wish
- Protect
The last generic sand abuser. Magic Guard allows me to easily stay in sand, ignore status’s, and reliable wish pass. Teleport is used over options like thunder wave and flamethrower to get recovery in on my sweepers, and gives me a slow pivot as well. Protect and wish are pretty self explanatory. I’m running max special def to check specs Kyurem, Hydreigon, and Dragapult special variant.
Bisharp (M) @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
This is where I need help. This mon was put in the team for 2 reasons. 1. It counter Dragapult and pressures defoggers. And 2. it doesn’t get damaged in sand, and is a decent cleaner. However, my other mons do his job just as well, and the common fogger Corviknight almost always run body press at this point. I’ve tried many things, but this has the most success (but still isn’t that effective).
Primarina (F) @ Metronome
Ability: Torrent
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 124 SpA / 136 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Moonblast
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
Now for the last mon on my team, we have the oddball. This thing is TERRIFYING. I have been cleaned by sub and spec variants, and it’s one of the best mons on this team. It is an offensive counter to Conkelldur, Hydreigon, Dragapult special variant, but it also counters walls like powerwhipless Ferrothorn, non haze Toxapex, Seismitoad, and Corviknight. Metronome allows me to spam stabs with no drawbacks, and gives me more output against Clefable. I chose this over leftovers because of wish support, and metronome has been more successful. The speed evs are to outspeed max invested Conkeldurr as well, but with Clefable you could run max special.
Hippowdon (F) @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind
- Slack Off
Excadrill (M) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
- Swords Dance
Ferrothorn (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Knock Off
- Leech Seed
- Protect
Clefable (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Teleport
- Wish
- Protect
Bisharp (M) @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
Primarina (F) @ Metronome
Ability: Torrent
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 124 SpA / 136 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Moonblast
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
Ability: Sand Stream
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind
- Slack Off
Excadrill (M) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
- Swords Dance
Ferrothorn (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Knock Off
- Leech Seed
- Protect
Clefable (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Teleport
- Wish
- Protect
Bisharp (M) @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
Primarina (F) @ Metronome
Ability: Torrent
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 124 SpA / 136 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Moonblast
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
Threats
I don’t necessarily have a true counter to Cinderace, nor suicide leads like Mew. With rapid spin, common ghost types can easily switch in, and I provide no threat to them unless sand is up. Bisharp is in theory supposed to help avoid this, but doesn’t help in the long run. A minor threat is Dracovish. Now, I have Ferrothorn, but that doesn’t help me when it’s dead. If that happens, I suddenly have one option, sack Hippo, and revenge kill with Drill. Unfortunately that is not too effective.
To counteract this, I was planning to swap bisharp with a fast mon like Cinderace, which still loses to Dracovish, but helps with hazards. This didn’t help, because bulky waters already have my team struggling. The second idea was to swap bisharp for a scarf user like Hydreigon, but then I had Clefable walling most of my team, and nothing outside of Drill to check it, and when paired with Corviknight, became painful. Any suggestions would be amazing, but this is just my thought process.
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