Yo! I've been tinkering around with this team for the past month or so on the ladder, and decided to finally put it up on the RMT to show you guys what a successful Balanced Sandstorm team should look like. It's based around a DDance haxorus sweep coming in after something on my team gets taken out. I honestly just added haxorus, and it seems to work out great right now! Here is the Team Building Proccess!
Team Building Process:
Okay, so i decided to start off with Tyranitar because my other Sand Team was getting very old, and i wanted to create a new one. I decided to use the Special Defense set since it could pretty much take every special hit with ease, and it could help win weather wars since all of the other major weather inducers were normally special attackers. I then looked at Tyranitar's weakness' and saw that celebi could take all of them but bug with ease, and Tyranitar could take Celebi's weaknesses to fire, ghost, dark, flying, and ice types. I decided to go with a more defensive Nasty Plot set that would also outspeed Adamant Lucario in the team that i have right now.
Next, i saw a massive weakness to terrakion and conkeldurr already with this core, so i decided to throw in the standard gliscor set, which can easily wall any fighting type pokemon, as well as giving tyranitar more resistances to his 4x weakness of fighting. Gliscor's weaknesses were easily covered by both Tyranitar with Ice and Celebi with water, although two of the pokemon so far were weak to both of them, which leads me to my next pokemon of choice [No Pun intended]
Okay, so i decided to add a scarf Rotom-Wash to this equation, because of its synergy with the rest of the team. It covers Celebi's weaknesses to fire, ice, and flying, it covers Tyranitar's weakness to ground and water, and it covers both of Gliscor's reasons. It also gives me a way to beat Choice band and Dragon Dance Dragonite with Hidden Power ice while i am scarfed. also, Rotom-Wash only has one weakness, which is covered by Celebi, so it is a perfect addition to my team. It also helps me force switches, and keep my Offensive momentum with Volt Switch. Finally, Rotom-W helps me check Rain teams very well when partnered with Celebi. At this point though, my team is looking pretty weak to sun teams, so guess who comes in now?
You guessed it, Heatran! Sorry for no moving sprite, but Heatran is just perfect against sun teams. He fears nothing bar Dugtrio Earthquake Venusaur, and Sawsbuck, where the latter two are rare, and Dugtrio you just have to play around to be honest. Heatran also works as a backup special wall for tyranitar. Heatran has superb defensive and offensive typing, as well as an awesome ability in Flash Fire, which makes my Lava Plume gain a boost everytime i get hit by a Fire Type attack or status. All of heatran's weakness' are covered by Celebi, and he has other ground type immunities in the name of Rotom-Wash and Gliscor. He shares similar weaknesses to Tyranitar, which were easily taken care of earlier in this process. I just added tornadus in here as a filler. It was the Bulk Up set that agemmonon used if you are curious.
Okay, so now i decided to ask a few friends for help. All of them said that i was pretty weak to CB nite, which i saw, and immediately took action by replacing Gliscor with Skarmory. I honestly like skarmory better since it can also set up spikes, while being able to wall the same stuff gliscor can, and being able to have a better recovery move in Roost IMO. Skarmory can also phaze threats away and stop threats from setting up such as DDance Dragonite. Finally, i decided to replace Tornadus with my own dragon, a Lum Berry Dragon Dance Haxorus. Haxorus also helps against Choice Band Dragonite, as it can come in after i fodder something out and OHKO with Outrage since Multiscale would be negated by stealth rocks/Sandstorm.
AT A CLOSER LOOK:
Black Santa (Tyranitar) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Superpower
- Crunch
- Rock Slide
So this is pretty much your standard Special Defense Tyranitar set with one notable change, which is Rock Slide over the normal Fire Blast or Ice Beam. The reason for this is to catch many volcarona off guard, and being able to OHKO. The rest of the set, EVs, and Nature are pretty standard for a special defense Tyranitar. I run Superpower over Pursuit to fight against other Tyranitar/Terrakion switch ins thinking they're safe/Heatran. Also, many smart battlers tend to think that all Tyranitar run Pursuit, so they will normally stay in while i Crunch for massive damage against the Lati's/Gengar. Honestly, i think this set is the best set for any Tyranitar, as it also helps to win weather wars against politoed and Ninetales, who are more often than not Specially based attackers.
Santa's Elf (Celebi) @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 180 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Nasty Plot
- Giga Drain
- Recover
- Hidden Power [Fire]
So Celebi is back this generation with a vengeance thanks to Nasty Plot, which multiplies your Special Attacking stat by two after one boost. The EVs im running allow me to outspeed Adamant Lucario, but also maintain maximum bulk for more longetivity. Honestly, there is no need to run any Special Attack investment because you will boost it very high with Nasty Plot. My moveset and Nature are pretty standard from this point. I run Giga Drain for STAB and an amazing recovery move against pokemon that are weak to grass. Recover is so that i have a reliable recovery move, so that i can have better longitivity, and Hidden Power Fire is to wreck Ferrothorn and Scizor, which are very common these days in BW OU. Celebi also forms an amazing core with Tyranitar and Heatran separately.
Fenix (Skarmory) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Spikes
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Brave Bird
Skarmory is back again this generation, receiving a very nice boost to his ability Sturdy, allowing it to survive any hit at Full Hit Points. The EV's, nature, and moveset are all standard, and are crucial for my haxorus sweep late game, and to prevent myself from being swept by fighting and dragon types. Spikes is very important, as it helps wear down the opponent's team from my Rotom-Wash constantly forcing switches with Rocks and Three layers of spikes on the field. Roost is there so that i may get a reliable recovery move to get my sturdy back and to help my usefulness. Whirlwind is very important to stop an opponent's sweep, so that they will be forced to switch out to a random pokemon. Brave Bird is the final move so that i can hit fighting types for decent damage, and to stop myself from becoming taunt bait.
Kenmore (Rotom-W) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Trick
Rotom-Wash is just amazing this gen. He has great defensive typing now, being only weak to grass, and his stats allow him to run a plethora of movesets. I decided to run the Choice Scarf Set with Hidden Power Ice so that i can check the #1 used pokemon at the moment, even at +1. Volt Switch and Hydro Pump are my STAB moves, and Volt Switch helps me keep my offensive momentum and force switches. Rotom-Wash also assists my Celebi in checking rain teams so that my Tyranitar may have the dominating weather. Trick is in the final moveslot, so that if i need to, i can cripple a sweeper or a wall that i am having difficulty with.
EP (Heatran) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power
- Toxic
- Protect
Heatran is my main check to sun teams, and does a really good job at walling most of the threats that people run on their sun teams. This Heatran is the standard special defense set, without Stealth Rocks, so i figured that Earth Power would be a good replacement so that i can hit other Heatrans/Pokemon with Flash Fire. Heatran is also a backup to Tyranitar on the special defense side, and can take a lot of special hits well. The EV's, Nature, and moveset from there are rather standard. Lava Plume is used over Flamethrower or Fire Blast so that i can get that 30% burn chance, similar to scald, but with a fire type attack. Toxic is so that i can wear down threats on my team, and protect helps me scout pokemon and to aid in Toxic Stalling.
Rawr (Haxorus) (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Dual Chop
So finally, we have Haxorus, who is just an amazing Dragon Dance Sweeper. His role is to come in when i need him to get rid of a specific threat, or to finish a team off. The EVs and Nature allow Haxorus to get up to 322 speed, which is very good in a generation full of speedy pokemon. I have Lum Berry so that i dont get stopped by something stupid like Prankster pokemon. The moveset is quite standard also, with Outrage and Earthquake + Moldbreaker being an amazing combination. Dual Chop is just for filler honestly, so suggestions for the final moveslot would be very welcome. Honestly, if you haven't tried out a haxorus yet, you really should.
So that's my RMT. I'll reserve the next post for a threatlist that i'll put up in an hour or 2
Team Building Process:
Okay, so i decided to start off with Tyranitar because my other Sand Team was getting very old, and i wanted to create a new one. I decided to use the Special Defense set since it could pretty much take every special hit with ease, and it could help win weather wars since all of the other major weather inducers were normally special attackers. I then looked at Tyranitar's weakness' and saw that celebi could take all of them but bug with ease, and Tyranitar could take Celebi's weaknesses to fire, ghost, dark, flying, and ice types. I decided to go with a more defensive Nasty Plot set that would also outspeed Adamant Lucario in the team that i have right now.
Next, i saw a massive weakness to terrakion and conkeldurr already with this core, so i decided to throw in the standard gliscor set, which can easily wall any fighting type pokemon, as well as giving tyranitar more resistances to his 4x weakness of fighting. Gliscor's weaknesses were easily covered by both Tyranitar with Ice and Celebi with water, although two of the pokemon so far were weak to both of them, which leads me to my next pokemon of choice [No Pun intended]
Okay, so i decided to add a scarf Rotom-Wash to this equation, because of its synergy with the rest of the team. It covers Celebi's weaknesses to fire, ice, and flying, it covers Tyranitar's weakness to ground and water, and it covers both of Gliscor's reasons. It also gives me a way to beat Choice band and Dragon Dance Dragonite with Hidden Power ice while i am scarfed. also, Rotom-Wash only has one weakness, which is covered by Celebi, so it is a perfect addition to my team. It also helps me force switches, and keep my Offensive momentum with Volt Switch. Finally, Rotom-W helps me check Rain teams very well when partnered with Celebi. At this point though, my team is looking pretty weak to sun teams, so guess who comes in now?
You guessed it, Heatran! Sorry for no moving sprite, but Heatran is just perfect against sun teams. He fears nothing bar Dugtrio Earthquake Venusaur, and Sawsbuck, where the latter two are rare, and Dugtrio you just have to play around to be honest. Heatran also works as a backup special wall for tyranitar. Heatran has superb defensive and offensive typing, as well as an awesome ability in Flash Fire, which makes my Lava Plume gain a boost everytime i get hit by a Fire Type attack or status. All of heatran's weakness' are covered by Celebi, and he has other ground type immunities in the name of Rotom-Wash and Gliscor. He shares similar weaknesses to Tyranitar, which were easily taken care of earlier in this process. I just added tornadus in here as a filler. It was the Bulk Up set that agemmonon used if you are curious.
Okay, so now i decided to ask a few friends for help. All of them said that i was pretty weak to CB nite, which i saw, and immediately took action by replacing Gliscor with Skarmory. I honestly like skarmory better since it can also set up spikes, while being able to wall the same stuff gliscor can, and being able to have a better recovery move in Roost IMO. Skarmory can also phaze threats away and stop threats from setting up such as DDance Dragonite. Finally, i decided to replace Tornadus with my own dragon, a Lum Berry Dragon Dance Haxorus. Haxorus also helps against Choice Band Dragonite, as it can come in after i fodder something out and OHKO with Outrage since Multiscale would be negated by stealth rocks/Sandstorm.
AT A CLOSER LOOK:
Black Santa (Tyranitar) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Superpower
- Crunch
- Rock Slide
So this is pretty much your standard Special Defense Tyranitar set with one notable change, which is Rock Slide over the normal Fire Blast or Ice Beam. The reason for this is to catch many volcarona off guard, and being able to OHKO. The rest of the set, EVs, and Nature are pretty standard for a special defense Tyranitar. I run Superpower over Pursuit to fight against other Tyranitar/Terrakion switch ins thinking they're safe/Heatran. Also, many smart battlers tend to think that all Tyranitar run Pursuit, so they will normally stay in while i Crunch for massive damage against the Lati's/Gengar. Honestly, i think this set is the best set for any Tyranitar, as it also helps to win weather wars against politoed and Ninetales, who are more often than not Specially based attackers.
Santa's Elf (Celebi) @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 180 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Nasty Plot
- Giga Drain
- Recover
- Hidden Power [Fire]
So Celebi is back this generation with a vengeance thanks to Nasty Plot, which multiplies your Special Attacking stat by two after one boost. The EVs im running allow me to outspeed Adamant Lucario, but also maintain maximum bulk for more longetivity. Honestly, there is no need to run any Special Attack investment because you will boost it very high with Nasty Plot. My moveset and Nature are pretty standard from this point. I run Giga Drain for STAB and an amazing recovery move against pokemon that are weak to grass. Recover is so that i have a reliable recovery move, so that i can have better longitivity, and Hidden Power Fire is to wreck Ferrothorn and Scizor, which are very common these days in BW OU. Celebi also forms an amazing core with Tyranitar and Heatran separately.
Fenix (Skarmory) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Spikes
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Brave Bird
Skarmory is back again this generation, receiving a very nice boost to his ability Sturdy, allowing it to survive any hit at Full Hit Points. The EV's, nature, and moveset are all standard, and are crucial for my haxorus sweep late game, and to prevent myself from being swept by fighting and dragon types. Spikes is very important, as it helps wear down the opponent's team from my Rotom-Wash constantly forcing switches with Rocks and Three layers of spikes on the field. Roost is there so that i may get a reliable recovery move to get my sturdy back and to help my usefulness. Whirlwind is very important to stop an opponent's sweep, so that they will be forced to switch out to a random pokemon. Brave Bird is the final move so that i can hit fighting types for decent damage, and to stop myself from becoming taunt bait.
Kenmore (Rotom-W) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Trick
Rotom-Wash is just amazing this gen. He has great defensive typing now, being only weak to grass, and his stats allow him to run a plethora of movesets. I decided to run the Choice Scarf Set with Hidden Power Ice so that i can check the #1 used pokemon at the moment, even at +1. Volt Switch and Hydro Pump are my STAB moves, and Volt Switch helps me keep my offensive momentum and force switches. Rotom-Wash also assists my Celebi in checking rain teams so that my Tyranitar may have the dominating weather. Trick is in the final moveslot, so that if i need to, i can cripple a sweeper or a wall that i am having difficulty with.
EP (Heatran) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power
- Toxic
- Protect
Heatran is my main check to sun teams, and does a really good job at walling most of the threats that people run on their sun teams. This Heatran is the standard special defense set, without Stealth Rocks, so i figured that Earth Power would be a good replacement so that i can hit other Heatrans/Pokemon with Flash Fire. Heatran is also a backup to Tyranitar on the special defense side, and can take a lot of special hits well. The EV's, Nature, and moveset from there are rather standard. Lava Plume is used over Flamethrower or Fire Blast so that i can get that 30% burn chance, similar to scald, but with a fire type attack. Toxic is so that i can wear down threats on my team, and protect helps me scout pokemon and to aid in Toxic Stalling.
Rawr (Haxorus) (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Dual Chop
So finally, we have Haxorus, who is just an amazing Dragon Dance Sweeper. His role is to come in when i need him to get rid of a specific threat, or to finish a team off. The EVs and Nature allow Haxorus to get up to 322 speed, which is very good in a generation full of speedy pokemon. I have Lum Berry so that i dont get stopped by something stupid like Prankster pokemon. The moveset is quite standard also, with Outrage and Earthquake + Moldbreaker being an amazing combination. Dual Chop is just for filler honestly, so suggestions for the final moveslot would be very welcome. Honestly, if you haven't tried out a haxorus yet, you really should.
So that's my RMT. I'll reserve the next post for a threatlist that i'll put up in an hour or 2
