Hello all, and welcome to my first RMT here on the Friendcode Forums! (Don't worry, I'm no Serebii noob ;P) This is my attempt at what is, actually, a surprisingly hard type of team to build, because you need Water types for steels and they are hurt by Sandstorm so you need blah blah blah, seriously, its been hard to build V1 of this team.
Well, lets talk about how this team came together.
After being destroyed by one of these on my last team, I decided to make a Sandstorm team involving it.
Then I needed two pokemon that could cover Cradily's weaknesses and still be bulky, hit hard, and have a resist to Sandstorm. Swampert and Heatran fit the bill to perfection, and also creates a Grass/Fire/Water defensive core.
Since this was a stall team, I knew Spikes and Toxic Spikes would be essential to this teams success, and who better than Forretress to put BOTH of them up, before Exploding into oblivion.
I needed a lead that could set up permanent Sandstorm and Stealth Rock, while being able to phaze away pokemon. Only one possible pokemon, Hippowdon, could be used here, as its overall bulk is put to much better use on a stall team that the Tyrant would.
Now came my biggest problem. I needed a swift and reliable counter to ScarfTran and MixApe, but could also remove the opponents entry hazards with Rapid Spin. I finally settled on Starmie, but replacing Life Orb for Leftovers, to further increase its survivability.
It was then decided that I replace Swampert for a Bulky Gyarados, as it had access to taunt and allowed me to take all the fighting attacks aimed at my team, and maybe set-up abd atempt a sweep. Starmie was replaced by Rotom-F, as it too could take Fighting, Grass, and several other types on with athority, and provide my team with support through screens and status.
Heres some pro's and con's to the team before I go "In-Depth" on it.
PRO'S
- Has all entry hazards
- Has several resists to entry hazards and Sandstorm
- Has a Rapid Spinner
- Has Both kind of walls and both kinds of sweepers.
- Has a check to Infernape and Heatran
- Has a Taunt user
- Overall, the team is slow
- Relys on Entry Hazards to have an effect
- Some Pokemon are set-up fodder
- Taunt wrecks some strategy
And now for the "In-depth" on each Pokemon.
Changes are in Bold
The Lead
Hippowdon (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP/170 Def/88 SDef
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Slack Off
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
Hippowdon gets sandstorm going for cradily, which is vital, and helps a bit against other weather teams. Stealth Rock asap, if I suspect my opponent to have Taunt, I either Earthquake or switch. Slack Off is for recovery, and Roar is to phaze. She is amazing late game when I have spikes and/or Toxic Spikes down, as he can just roar to her heart's content. The EV's give her bulkyness on both sides of the spectrum.
The Spinning Spiker
Forretress @ Leftovers/Shed Shell
Ability: Sturdy
IVs: 0 Spd
EVs: 252 HP/52 Atk/206 Def
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Payback
- Rapid Spin
Now this is just a brilliant Pokemon to set up both kinds of Spikes. His overall bulk and brilliant stalling ability makes him an excellent pokemon for this team. He can set up both kinds of spikes, then either attack with Rapid Spin to remove entry hazards, or can deal out some Super-effective damage on the spin blockers/Ghosts that think they can switch in on him. Otherwise, if I suspect a fire type move coming at Forretress, I switch to Heatran for a boost, and potential sweep.
The Sandstorm Wall
Cradily @ Leftovers
Ability: Suction Cups
EVs: 252 HP/6 Def/252 SDef
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Curse
- Rock Slide
The king of the Sand Castle. In Sandstorm, he is almost impossible to OHKO with a Special Attack, and when the same goes for the Physical side after its used a Curse or two as well. It can absorb status and continue to Attack and/or raise its mediocre defense and attack with Curse while sleeping, and is unstoppable after it has enough boosts under its belt. Only problem is, that this thing is both set-up fodder, and ruined my taunt. But I only reveal this late game if possible, when all of its counters are eliminated. This thing cause soooo many switches, so it works great with entry hazards.
The Bulky Water
Gyarados @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 156HP/72Atk/96Def/184Spe
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SpAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Taunt
- Waterfall
- Roar
Bulky Gyarados is a brilliant addition to this team. His overall defence's and ability allow him to soak up physical hits, and with Taunt, he can beat all the pokemon that think they can set up on it, and use Dragon Dance to atempt a sweep. Waterfall is for powerful STAB, and Roar is for when the opponent has either taunted me, or for when I just want to rack up damage for Spikes and Stealth Rock.
The Fire type that's always Cold
Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252SpAtk/252Spe/6SpDef
Naive nature (+Spe, -SpDef)
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Explosion
- Hidden Power Grass 70
Always cold...'cus he wears a scarf...oh, lame joke ftw. This is my standard ScarfTran. He's basically essential to the survival of this team, as it holds up the Grass/Fire/Water core, and also takes all Fire (aimed at Forretress) and Grass (aimed at the rest) moves, before attempting to revenge kill al the pokemon that have been worn down my poison and Entry Hazards. HP Grass is for Water Types and Swampert, and Explosion lets him go out with a bang. Not much else to say really, other than he is a beast late game.
The Spin-Blocking Spirit
Rotom-A @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252HP/120Def/136SpDef
Bold nature(+Def -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Blizzard
- Shadow Ball
- Light Screen
Here is my saving grace against all the pesky Water, Fighting and Ground types that try to ruin my day. He has excellent coverage and a great bulk, allowing him to be a great Spin-Blocker. This is my own unique take on the standard Sleep-talk set, using the same EV's, but 3 attacking moves and One of the screens for support. He really is better than Starmie at keeping Infernape, Dragonite and several bulky waters and Fighting types in check. I've decided to keep blizzard for a powerful STAB move that is useful on the variety of dragons and Grass types in OU, and Light Screen over Reflect as Most of my team have a high enough defence, and could use the added support to set up, or even sweep. Thank you Rhadfii for suggesting him to me.
Well, thats the team. I'm open to all criticism as long as it isn't mean or stupid. I've found this team to be very successful in the current OU metagame, and with some minor changes, I am sure it can be the best Sandstorm stall team there ever was, ever is, or ever will be.
Thanks for your time. :)
PS. I'm actually surprised no one has tried to tell me Cradily is rubbish, its NU for a reason, balh blah blah. It is an absolute horror to face when set-up. And I've had to remove the "Old Team members" section due to the text limit.
