SM OU Sandstorm Team

[RicardoSilva7631]

Sandstorm is one of the third most used but with only 4 weather types that is a fqaint praise. It damages all pokémon that aren't Ground-, Rock- or Steel-type without protective abilities, dimishes Solar Beam's power and raises the Special Defense of Rock-type pokémon. I think Sandstorm teams are not as popular has Rain or Sunlight teams because of the lack of options to exploit having sand on everyone's eyes. However since I like challenges I decided to try to build one.

The t4eam functions reasonably well, but all hepl is welcome!

Hippowdon @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Slack Off
- Toxic
- Ice Fang
- Earthquake

Hippowdon is the first Sand Stream user of the team. Since its job is to set up the Sandstorm it needs to be able to come back repeatdly and Slack Off grants it some recovery. Rocky Helmet helps to dissuade the use of physical attacks and Toxic can be used in a stall game. Earthquake is its stab and Ice Fang is a coverage option.

Tyranitar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Fire Punch
- Ice Punch
- Crunch
- Stone Edge

Tyranitar is the second Sand Stream setter and since it does not benefit from a reliable recovery option I chose to endow him with an Assault Vest. This demands that every one of its moves be an offensive one. Stone Edge and Crunch are Stabs. Fire Punch is a counter against Steel-types and Ice Punch is a coverage option.

Cradily @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Protect
- Toxic
- Giga Drain

One of the weaknesses of the Ground-type is Water so this team needed a solution to this problem. Cradily, with its ability Storm Drain that nullifies Water-type attacks and its Rock-type that benenfits from sandstorms is the chosen solution. Since it has nexto to no attack options, it runs a stall moveset with Recover and Protect to defend itself, Toxic to cause damage and Giga Drain as a stab drain option. Leftovers help its recovery rate.

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Earth Power
- Magma Storm

Another weakness of the Ground type is the Grass and Ice-types. A fire-type is necessary for dealing with this weakness and since the Steel-type is immune to sandstorms, Heatran becomes an acceptable choice. Stealth Rock is the chosen entry hazard because I already have enough venom in this team and Taunt cancels the opponent's recovery. Earth Power is a coverage option and Magam Storm a stab move that traps the opponents.

Reuniclus @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast

Reuniclus is an odd choice for this team. I picked it because it is an unexpected pokémon and bring s diversity to this team and, with Magic Guard, it has nothing to fear from sandstorm. Recover and Leftovers guarantee its resilience and Thunder Wave helps cripple the opponent's speed. Shadow Ball and Focus Balst ensure coverage agaisnt most types.

Garchomp @ Garchompite
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fire Fang
- Poison Jab
- Earthquake
- Outrage

It is always nice to present your opponent with a Mega pokémon in order to properly display courtesy. Garchomp is the chosen Mega. Sand Force allows it to abuse the weather and with Earthquake as a stab it is almost certain it will cause some damage. Fire Fang is a counter against Ice-types, and Poison Jab is a surprise against Fairy-type pokémon. Outrage is a Dragon-type stab that must be used with caution.

 

[DKM]

Hey there, nice sand team. I like how you supported it by covering type weaknesses. Although one sand setter is all you really need and Cradily isn't really viable in OU.

Along with that the team struggles against Kartana, since Heatran and Cradily both fear Sacred Sword.

You also have no ground resist so strong ground types like Zygarde also pose a threat. I'll suggest some changes to hopefully improve the team.


Major Changes

> : The first main change I suggest is using AV Tangrowth over Cradily. This gives you a sturdy water resist and an answer to both Zygarde and Kartana. The moveset I'm recommending has both Grass Knot and HP Fire. Grass Knot does more to Zygarde than Giga Drain and HP Fire OHKOs Kartana while also doing alot to Scizor. Another benefit of having Tangrowth is Regenerator, which means you can switch in and then attack or switch out without needing a turn to heal which keeps momentum.

> : As I said you only really need one sand setter, which means Hippowdon isn't needed on the team. So I'm replacing it with Excadrill who is a great second sand abuser with Sand Rush. This also gives you speed control inside of sand which is something the team lacked. The set is a standard SD one with Steelium Z, Corkscrew Crash is a great way to weaken Landorus which makes it easier for Garchomp to break.

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Minor Changes

Swords Dance > Poison Jab, Dragon Claw > Outrage: Next I suggest changing Garchomp's set, firstly changing Poison Jab to SD which allows for much better breaking power. After one boost you easily OHKO Gastrodon, Clefable and Tapu Fini when sand is up. While anything that resists or is immune to ground is usually hit hard by Fire Fang or a Dragon move. You don't need Poison Jab since the only fairy type that can tank a +2 Earthquake well is Bulu who doesn't appreciate a Fire Fang. The next change is using Dragon Claw instead of Outrage, being locked into a Dragon type move is pretty risky and also not needed. A Dragon Claw should be enough to hit things like Tornadus, Zapdos and other dragons, who are the only things you wouldn't EQ or Fire Fang.

Calm Mind > Thunder Wave, Psychic > Focus Blast | Spread Change: Next I suggest you use Calm Mind on Reuniclus which allows it to become a bulky setup sweeper, which is much more threatening than Thunder Wave. Then I changed Focus Blast to Psychic, which is your best STAB attacking move. Losing Focus Blast might make Greninja more threatening though. As for the spread I suggest using Physically Defensive as Calm Mind boost SpDef anyway. PhysDef allows you to take on threats like Medicham, Lopunny and Hawlucha. The last thing to note is running 44 speed to outspeed Toxapex so you can hit them before they Haze.

Max HP > SpAtk, Timid > Modest: On Heatran you usually want to run Timid to outspeed Bulu and speed tie opposing Heatran. I also changed it to max HP to help switch into attacks from threats like Lele and Mawile better. Magma Storm still does a decent amount to most things and you can still act as a trapper.

> : Lastly I suggest using Banded Tyranitar instead of AV. The AV set is quite outdated and probably not worth using. The banded set can break through things like Unawware Clefable and Quagsire on stall so that Garchomp can sweep the rest of the team easily. You also have Pursuit which allows you to trap Hoopa-Unbound, who could punch holes in this team quite easily. The last moveslot will be Ice Punch which hits Landorus and Zygarde, but more importantly Gliscor who can be a threat with the SD set.


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Hopefully these changes make the team work more effectively overall. There are still some weaknesses, such as Specs or Fightinium Z Lele and SD Gliscor. Although neither of these should auto win and they should be manageable to an extent.

I hope you like the changes and good luck :]

Importable

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[Weirdo Moose]

Can I suggest using Gastrodon over Reuniclus? I understand why you would use Reuniclus because of the higher base stat total and its pretty unexpected, but Gastrodon could fit as a wall better due to not taking damage from Sandstorm, and it could even be worked as an attacker due to its Secondary Ability, Storm Drain and its Hidden Ability, Sand Force.

Edit: I forgot that Reuniclus has Magic Guard so Reuniclus would work better.

Double Edit: I noticed your team doesn't have a Defoger/Rapid Spinner so maybe try replacing Reuniclus with Skarmory/Gliscor since both are reliable Defogers while also having several other uses (Spikes/Whirlwind Skarmory, Toxic Heal Gliscor, e.t.c)