Okay, I have been playing with this team for quite a while now, and I am still not 100% happy with it, but I am at a bit of a loss as to what to do now.
Firstly i started with Hippowdon. I wanted a sandstormer and something that could wall a lot of damage. He also acted as my lead, with Stealth Rock.
Then, I added Rhyperior. This pokemon has LOTS of synergy with sandstorm and is often overlooked due to its low resistances.
I then added Snorlax, for stalling and toxic, and to act as a special wall.
I then chose Scizor as a sweeper. Choice banded Scizor is one of the most overused (but rightly so) pokemon, and is INCREDIBLY powerful.
As the team was currently a bit weak to water, I decided to add a Bulky water to soak up a bit of the water that would be used against the team. With this in mind I chose Gyarados. The water moves would also allow me to counter a big threat to the team, Infernape.
As a special Sweeper, I then chose Gengar, who had Thunderbolt to help take out one of the biggest threats to the team, Gyarados.
After playing around with the Team a lot, I decided that snorlax was a bit of dead weight, and switched him for Gliscor, who gains excellent synergy with his Sand Veil ability. He also acts as an excellent wall/toxic staller.
I decided that I had too much physical power on my team, and I had a few problems with Skarmory, so I added Magnezone instead of Scizor, who could also take on the Water Counters to my Team.
Then I decided to use Tyranitar over Gengar, using the Tyraniboah set, to counter Blissey, and as a secondary sandstormer.
So that's my team at the moment. Everyone has excellent synergy with sandstorm, but I still think it needs some work. Rhyperior and Gliscor are at the moment the best in the team, I have had 5-0 gliscar sweeps and 5-0 Rhyperior sweeps.
Analysis of the Team.
Hippowdon@Leftovers
Impish
EVs -> 236HP/24 Atk/ 192 Def/ 58 SDef
Earthquake
Ice Fang
Slack Off
Stealth Rock
Earthquake is just generic STAB attack. Ice fang is for covering flyers, who are immune to Earthquake, and for revenging DD dragonite. Slack Off is for recovery and Stealth Rock is just for a generic entry hazard, which only takes one turn to set up, which is a bonus. The Sand Stream ability is the core of this team, as every Pokemon in the team benefits in some way from sandstorm. The residual damage also adds up :). Even though Hippowdon has GREAT def and HP, he has not so great speed and unfortunately not so much special defence, which, coupled with his weakness to some common types means that he is quite easy to counter. However, he has a rather good base attack, meaning that for a wall he hits quite hard. The EVs just help give him a bit of survivability.
Rhyperior@Leftovers
Adamant
Solid Rock
132HP/192 Atk/168 Spe/16 SDef
Stone Edge
Substitute
Swords Dance
Earthquake
Rhyperior is a great sweeper. While he has a few cruical weaknesses, under a sandstorm and coupled with his EVs he can take super effective hits like a champ. His substitute can often take 2 hits under a sandstorm, which allows him to get a free swords dance under his belt, which raises his attack to gargantuan levels, which means he can usually get off several reliable OHKOs. Earthquake and stone edge are great STAB moves, which can cover a whole variety of pokemon types.. Even though he is UU, I believe that is deserving of a spot on this team, especially as he has great synergy with sandstorm. Solid Rock coupled with the Special Defence boost from the sandstorm means that very little can OHKO him.
Gliscor@Leftovers
Jolly
Sand Veil
252HP/ 4 Def/ 252 Speed
Earthquake
Roost
Taunt
Toxic
Gliscor is a great toxic staller, and is also an amazing counter to many Baton passing teams with taunt. He also counters Lucario. He has great synergy with Sand Storm due to his Sand Veil ability, and is able to very effectively toxic stall, thanks to Roost. STAB Earthquake and toxic together allow him to take on the majority of pokes with ease. Roost also turns him into a ground type poke, making his 4x ice weakness only 2x. This guy has turned games totally around for me. This guy really saves the team against stall, and he can prevent Blissey using status effects by using Taunt. Although his main job is as a wall, he acts as a great sweeper, and with his Speed EVs and nature, can often get the first hit in.
Magnezone@Choice Scarf
Naive
Magnet Pull
32 Atk/ 226 Spe/ 252 SAtk
Explosion
Flash Cannon
Hidden Power [Fire]
Thunderbolt
This guy is my Steel killer. His main job is trapping and killing problematic Steel types, especially Skarmory and Scizor. Considering that Steel is very common at the moment, this Magnezone is invaluable. Hidden Power Fire is for Scizor and Skarmory. With Choice Scarf and his EVs and nature he can outspeed a LOT of stuff. He can also revenge kill very well. Thunderbolt is STAB, and can easily counter Gyarados, while Flash Cannon is very good against Tyranitar. Max SAtk allows me to OHKO a lot of things, and the speed allows me to outspeed Lucario and Infernape. While the heavily defensive steel types sometimes give this team some trouble, this guy is perfect for this team.
Gyarados@Leftovers
Adamant
252 HP/252 Spe/4 Def
Bounce
Dragon Dance
Stone Edge
Waterfall
Well what can I say. One of the most powerful and overused pokemon in the OU tier, a great sweeper and a great bulky water. Bounce is good for Machamp, and it's great fun when you bounce on an explosion and avoid all damage altogether. Waterfall is for STAB, stone edge is for flying type coverage, and with a few DDs under his belt, this guy is CRAZY and can destroy the enemy team. He is also great against Infernape and Scizor, which is great when Magnezone is gone. The Speed allows him to strike first the majority of times, and the HP EVs make him an absolute tank. Bounce also causes switches, which means SR hits more often. In addition, Bounce allows Leftover Recovery while in mid air.
Tyranitar@Leftovers
Quiet
252 HP/52 Atk/176 SAtk / 28 Spe
Substitute
Focus Punch
Dark Pulse
Thunderbolt
Ah yes, a smogon set - Tyraniboah. I wanted a reliable counter to blissey, and I didn't wanted another Strong sweeper. Tyranitar is dangerous no matter what, and the Speed EVs allow me to outspeed Blissey, so that I can get the substitute in before it hits me. Thunderbolt is to counter Bulky waters, who are a big threat to this team. Tyranitar is also a secondary Sandstormer. This poke also has a great synergy with Sandstorm. He is great versus enemy stall teams. This guy can hit hard, and take special hits like an absolute beast. Definetely a solid threat, and a powerful asset to the team. Not much really to say here, but as tyranitar also often causes a lot of switches, he helps the stealth rock damage add up.
Any help would be appreciated.
Firstly i started with Hippowdon. I wanted a sandstormer and something that could wall a lot of damage. He also acted as my lead, with Stealth Rock.
Then, I added Rhyperior. This pokemon has LOTS of synergy with sandstorm and is often overlooked due to its low resistances.
I then added Snorlax, for stalling and toxic, and to act as a special wall.
I then chose Scizor as a sweeper. Choice banded Scizor is one of the most overused (but rightly so) pokemon, and is INCREDIBLY powerful.
As the team was currently a bit weak to water, I decided to add a Bulky water to soak up a bit of the water that would be used against the team. With this in mind I chose Gyarados. The water moves would also allow me to counter a big threat to the team, Infernape.
As a special Sweeper, I then chose Gengar, who had Thunderbolt to help take out one of the biggest threats to the team, Gyarados.
After playing around with the Team a lot, I decided that snorlax was a bit of dead weight, and switched him for Gliscor, who gains excellent synergy with his Sand Veil ability. He also acts as an excellent wall/toxic staller.
I decided that I had too much physical power on my team, and I had a few problems with Skarmory, so I added Magnezone instead of Scizor, who could also take on the Water Counters to my Team.
Then I decided to use Tyranitar over Gengar, using the Tyraniboah set, to counter Blissey, and as a secondary sandstormer.
So that's my team at the moment. Everyone has excellent synergy with sandstorm, but I still think it needs some work. Rhyperior and Gliscor are at the moment the best in the team, I have had 5-0 gliscar sweeps and 5-0 Rhyperior sweeps.
Analysis of the Team.
Hippowdon@Leftovers
Impish
EVs -> 236HP/24 Atk/ 192 Def/ 58 SDef
Earthquake
Ice Fang
Slack Off
Stealth Rock
Earthquake is just generic STAB attack. Ice fang is for covering flyers, who are immune to Earthquake, and for revenging DD dragonite. Slack Off is for recovery and Stealth Rock is just for a generic entry hazard, which only takes one turn to set up, which is a bonus. The Sand Stream ability is the core of this team, as every Pokemon in the team benefits in some way from sandstorm. The residual damage also adds up :). Even though Hippowdon has GREAT def and HP, he has not so great speed and unfortunately not so much special defence, which, coupled with his weakness to some common types means that he is quite easy to counter. However, he has a rather good base attack, meaning that for a wall he hits quite hard. The EVs just help give him a bit of survivability.
Rhyperior@Leftovers
Adamant
Solid Rock
132HP/192 Atk/168 Spe/16 SDef
Stone Edge
Substitute
Swords Dance
Earthquake
Rhyperior is a great sweeper. While he has a few cruical weaknesses, under a sandstorm and coupled with his EVs he can take super effective hits like a champ. His substitute can often take 2 hits under a sandstorm, which allows him to get a free swords dance under his belt, which raises his attack to gargantuan levels, which means he can usually get off several reliable OHKOs. Earthquake and stone edge are great STAB moves, which can cover a whole variety of pokemon types.. Even though he is UU, I believe that is deserving of a spot on this team, especially as he has great synergy with sandstorm. Solid Rock coupled with the Special Defence boost from the sandstorm means that very little can OHKO him.
Gliscor@Leftovers
Jolly
Sand Veil
252HP/ 4 Def/ 252 Speed
Earthquake
Roost
Taunt
Toxic
Gliscor is a great toxic staller, and is also an amazing counter to many Baton passing teams with taunt. He also counters Lucario. He has great synergy with Sand Storm due to his Sand Veil ability, and is able to very effectively toxic stall, thanks to Roost. STAB Earthquake and toxic together allow him to take on the majority of pokes with ease. Roost also turns him into a ground type poke, making his 4x ice weakness only 2x. This guy has turned games totally around for me. This guy really saves the team against stall, and he can prevent Blissey using status effects by using Taunt. Although his main job is as a wall, he acts as a great sweeper, and with his Speed EVs and nature, can often get the first hit in.
Magnezone@Choice Scarf
Naive
Magnet Pull
32 Atk/ 226 Spe/ 252 SAtk
Explosion
Flash Cannon
Hidden Power [Fire]
Thunderbolt
This guy is my Steel killer. His main job is trapping and killing problematic Steel types, especially Skarmory and Scizor. Considering that Steel is very common at the moment, this Magnezone is invaluable. Hidden Power Fire is for Scizor and Skarmory. With Choice Scarf and his EVs and nature he can outspeed a LOT of stuff. He can also revenge kill very well. Thunderbolt is STAB, and can easily counter Gyarados, while Flash Cannon is very good against Tyranitar. Max SAtk allows me to OHKO a lot of things, and the speed allows me to outspeed Lucario and Infernape. While the heavily defensive steel types sometimes give this team some trouble, this guy is perfect for this team.
Gyarados@Leftovers
Adamant
252 HP/252 Spe/4 Def
Bounce
Dragon Dance
Stone Edge
Waterfall
Well what can I say. One of the most powerful and overused pokemon in the OU tier, a great sweeper and a great bulky water. Bounce is good for Machamp, and it's great fun when you bounce on an explosion and avoid all damage altogether. Waterfall is for STAB, stone edge is for flying type coverage, and with a few DDs under his belt, this guy is CRAZY and can destroy the enemy team. He is also great against Infernape and Scizor, which is great when Magnezone is gone. The Speed allows him to strike first the majority of times, and the HP EVs make him an absolute tank. Bounce also causes switches, which means SR hits more often. In addition, Bounce allows Leftover Recovery while in mid air.
Tyranitar@Leftovers
Quiet
252 HP/52 Atk/176 SAtk / 28 Spe
Substitute
Focus Punch
Dark Pulse
Thunderbolt
Ah yes, a smogon set - Tyraniboah. I wanted a reliable counter to blissey, and I didn't wanted another Strong sweeper. Tyranitar is dangerous no matter what, and the Speed EVs allow me to outspeed Blissey, so that I can get the substitute in before it hits me. Thunderbolt is to counter Bulky waters, who are a big threat to this team. Tyranitar is also a secondary Sandstormer. This poke also has a great synergy with Sandstorm. He is great versus enemy stall teams. This guy can hit hard, and take special hits like an absolute beast. Definetely a solid threat, and a powerful asset to the team. Not much really to say here, but as tyranitar also often causes a lot of switches, he helps the stealth rock damage add up.
Any help would be appreciated.
