Stallish Sandstorm

CactuarJoe

is an Artist Alumnus
I've never done a RMT before, but I feel like I've taken this team about as far as I can by myself, so I'd like some opinions on it. It is a WiFi team, so the metagame's a little different from what I hear about Shoddy Battle - fewer Garchomps, fewer Legendaries just generally, more people trying bizarre things. Hell, just the other day I played a match against someone using a Baton Pass Gorebyss.

Anyway. This team has some obvious deficiencies that I'm not sure how to rectify. For example, I have trouble with MixApe, and Heracross can be a problem if Hippowdon is already down and out. Another thing; Rapid Spin blocker? Should I get one? I've already got one Pokemon that doesn't resist Sandstorm, and being that this is a stall-heavy team, I don't like the idea of having two. Would it be worthwhile anyway?

1. Hippowdon @Leftovers
Impish, Sandstream
252 HP, 252 Def, 6 Atk
-Earthquake
-Ice Fang
-Slack Off
-Roar
The lead, and one of my best physical tanks. The main problem I have with Hippowdon is the number of mixed leads I come up against, or rather the number of Pokemon people use as leads that could be mixed. Every time I see a bloody Salamence or Lucario, I feel like I'm throwing the dice. Would it be better to lead with a Tyranitar, and use a different Pokemon for a primary physical tank?

2. Forretress @Leftovers
Relaxed, Sturdy
252 HP, 252 Def, 6 Sp Def
-Earthquake
-Explosion
-Spikes
-Rapid Spin
The secondary physical tank, and Spiker. I've been thinking about dropping Rapid Spin for Toxic Spikes, since most of my party doesn't give a crap one way or the other what entry hazards are down on my side. And I've got no one else to lay Toxic Spikes, soooo...? I'm also considering dropping Earthquake for Gyro Ball, but they seem so similar that I'm at a bit of a loss which one would be better.

3. Empoleon @Leftovers
Calm, Torrent
252 HP, 252 Sp Def, 6 Def
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Roar
-Stealth Rock
My primary special tank, and my Stealth Rock user. Roar used to be Grass Knot, but I found I was having too much difficulty with Calm Mind Slowbro and Suicune. Celebi, my secondary special tank, pretty much craps on both of those anyway, so I figured GK would be a more acceptable loss than Ice Beam.

4. Celebi @Leftovers
Calm, Natural Cure
252 HP, 252 Sp Def, 6 Def
-Grass Knot
-Recover
-Leech Seed
-Calm Mind
Status absorber and secondary special tank, Celebi covers a number of weaknesses in my team and stalls like an absolute bastard. It pairs up wonderfully with both Empoleon and Heatran, covering all of their weaknesses. My main issue with this Celebi is that I can't find one with useful IVs to save my face, so it doesn't take hits quite as well as I'd like on the physical side (it's Def IV is, er, 3. Yeah, I know). Aside from that, though, it's a godsend to this team.

5. Garchomp @BrightPowder
Jolly, Sand Veil
252 Atk, 252 Spd, 6 Def
-Earthquake
-Dragon Claw
-Substitute
-Swords Dance
If I were to ditch any Pokemon, it'd probably be this one. Sand Veil/Sub Garchomp is hideously unreliable, can't take out Bronzong, et cetra, et cetra. The main reason it's still here is that, in a last ditch balls-to-the-wall please god let it miss situation, it can and has saved my bacon.

6. Heatran @Choice Scarf
Modest, Flash Fire
252 Sp Atk, 252 Spd, 6 Atk
-Fire Blast
-Earth Power
-Hidden Power Ice
-Explosion
Revenge-kills Heracross and Infernape, but only if they haven't figured out I'm Scarf'd yet. A risky counter to things this team is weak to, but it's the one that seems to fit best. I'd welcome suggestions for other Pokemon to use, though.
 
The only real reason that Hippowdon is worth considering as a lead is for setting up Stealth Rock asap (and for SS I suppose) - otherwise, it loses/is forced out by a whole lot of other leads. Assuming you're saving Garchomp for a late-game sweep, as you should, you don't need Sandstorm up on turn one, so Hippowdon doesn't really need to lead.

Absolutely do bring an anti-spin Pokemon for stall-ish teams - not a whole lot of teams use spinners, but having several turns of setup ruined by one turn of the opponents can really hurt your stalling efforts. A Rest-talk Spiritomb could fit well on this team, and helps against quite a few threats (Lucario, Azelf, Starmie) and gives you a sleep absorber in addition to a Fighting immunity, which are both immensely useful. Toxic Spikes is generally a lot more useful than Spikes for stall teams, so I would say yes on putting that on Forry, whether it's over Spin or Spikes.

To be honest, I'd say that it'd be best to replace both Empoleon and Celebi with Blissey. It covers more special threats than both Empoleon and Celebi put together (Heatran could give Empoleon problems easily), and is a great boon to stall teams in general. That gives you an extra slot to use, where you could stick Spiritomb or whatever else you needed. You're left without a SR user, though, so I'd stick it on Hippo or even Forry (personally, I don't find myself using phazers much, but to each his own). If you keep it on Heatran, you could even put it on him instead of Explosion or HP Ice.

Anyways, if you want a late-game sweeper for stall teams, Suicune (Surf/Roar/CM/Rest or Ice Beam or HP Elec) is a great choice - with Roar, you can abuse Spikes/SR quite a bit, and it's very hard to take down. SD Lucario is also a worthy choice - it benefits a lot from Spikes and SR, has several 4x resists that commonly come on choiced attackers, and having a priority move on hand is always useful if you do make the mistake of letting something set up too much. Anyways, it'd be a good idea to put a Gyara counter somewhere in an empty slot, since you don't have a true one as it is and removing Celebi means you definitely don't have one.
 
Hmm..I'd rather use Stealth Rock on the Hippowdon lead, as you're not going to be looking to Roar many things out on turn one.

As for Forretress, I don't get why'd you want to blow it up. There are teams that are based on repeatedly setting up the ground hazards, so it's best to keep him alive for as long as possible. You should most definitely have Toxic Spikes on it, and Spikes if you feel if can pull all of those off. If not, then a 2 attack, Rapid Spin+Toxic Spikes set will hold up fine.

Empoleon isn't as useful as it would appear. I'd so much rather use Vaporeon here. Vaporeon will deal with most all fire type threats (barring Ninetales but seriously), and provide a constant Wish for your whole team, such as Forretress who might have to switch in into the already set Spikes to spin them away. Vaporeon also doubles back as a Gyarados counter as well.

As for Celebi, we must change it up for a more defensive one. I'd run like max HP, and then get it to personality boost all the way to like 290-300, get it to 245 speed, then dump the rest into Special Defense. I'll also run like Recover/Grass Knot/Leech Seed with any last move as a decent filler, whether it's Reflect, Psychic, or U-Turn.

For your last 2 Pokes, let's try to combine them into one role. I'd much rather just use a ScarfGarchomp, who still revenge kills most things that you'd count Heatran to, except its faster and stronger, and can still get lucky regardless.

With the team now as Hippowdon/Forretress/Vaporeon/Celebi/Garchomp, you might have some issues with a MixMamoswine, although with TS+Vap+Hip, you'll do fine, but it's still good to maybe get in an immunity to ground, just for easier switch ins here and there. Cresselia comes to mind as a multipurpose wall. Bronzong can also be used solely to stop Garchomp and Mamoswine, or we can get more offensive with Gyarados, who would help out with Lucario a lot.
 
I like the idea of Sleep Talk Spiritomb. I don't face many Azelfs, but the ability to deal with Lucario and Starmie is a definite boon. I think I'll take Aero's advice and put a ScarfChomp together - that'll let me drop Heatran and slip Spiritomb in without any problems. The only issue with Sleep Talk Spiritomb is that there's little chance of being able to get Hidden Power Fighting. I'm thinking about maybe using Will o Wisp in the second slot a'la Giratina. It wouldn't work well with Toxic Spikes, though, so I'm a bit unsure how useful it'd be. Unfortunately, his other options are limited.

I'm not terribly sure about Vaporeon or Blissey on this team, but I can definitely see advantages to them both, so I'll give 'em a shot.
 
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