Sun Team

[King Jackal]

Hi guys! I'm very new here, and I'd like for this sun team I made a few days ago to be rated, since I've always played sand teams in the past and this is my first foray into sun teams. Thanks in advance! I'm going to copy my team below from Pokemon Showdown:

Tails (Ninetales) @ Chesto Berry
Trait: Drought
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SDef
- Rest
- SolarBeam
- Will-O-Wisp
- Sunny Day

Ninetales is simply for setting up sun. It plays the Rest-Chesto combo for longevity, Solar Beam to maybe be able to hit the water types, Will-O-Wisp to burn physical opponents and Sunny Day in case the enemy switches in another weather inducer. To be honest, Ninetales rarely do more than setting up the sun (I can't think of any other uses at this point).

Esper (Espeon) @ Light Clay
Trait: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Reflect
- Calm Mind
- Baton Pass
- Light Screen

Espeon is often my lead, and plays the dual screener + baton passer. Firstly, it bulks itself with Calm Mind and then set up the screens before using baton pass, normally to Volcarona to set up a sweep. The ability Magic Bounce is very important since I do not want Stealth Rock to be set up when I pass to Volcarona. Personally, the biggest problem with Espeon is how it lacks a healing component, since I opted for Light Clay instead of Leftovers. I'm still not sure about this though, so comments?

Inferno (Infernape) @ Life Orb
Trait: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Mach Punch
- Flare Blitz
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance

While Espeon is a pretty good Calm Mind-er, If I face an early Cloyster also setting up, there is no way that my Espeon can set itself up better than Cloyster. This is where Infernape comes in, with a Mach Punch to skip the speed with its priority and, possibly, one-hitting Cloyster especially after a few Shell Smashes that cripples its defenses. Other than that, Infernape can also sweep when needed, running Swords Dance and Close Combat plus Flare Blitz. Also provides a check for Heatran, possibly the biggest problem to Volcarona with a massive resistance to Volcarona's attacks.

Dinosaur (Venusaur) @ Life Orb
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Growth
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Giga Drain
- Sleep Powder

Venusaur is the typical sun abuser, sporting incredible speed when it is sunny. Growth also takes a boost during sun and sleep powder will help sleep other pokemons that poses a threat to Venusaur, such as a Volcaronaon the enemy team.

Volcano (Volcarona) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 52 Spd
Bold Nature
- Bug Buzz
- Fiery Dance
- Quiver Dance
- Morning Sun

The true star of the team, Bug Buzz and Fiery Dance after a couple of Quiver Dances will cripple many Pokemons and the Morning Sun will help in its longevity.

Starmie...? (Starmie) @ Life Orb
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Recover

Starmie exists for 2 main purposes: to counter other weathers and to pose as that occasional rapid spinner in case Espeon dies and the enemy sets up some entry hazards. Bolt Beam is, as usual, a very reliable combo and Recover to round it all off so that Starmie can not only cure status (via Natural Cure), but also recover its life.

Thanks for reading all the way, and since I'm new, I hope that I have successfully relayed the idea behind the team and made clear the ideas behind each member. Please rate the team since, while somewhat at my wits' end, I know this team can be much more efficient with help from the community!

 

[scorpdestroyer]

Hello and welcome to Smogon!

Firstly, I notice right off the bat that your team is extremely weak to Dragons, especially Lati@s as well as Dragonite. The Lati twins can come in on all your Pokemon since you have nothing to threaten them apart from Starmie, and set up Calm Mind all over you. Similarly, Dragonite can come in and set up Dragon Dances and proceed to sweep your team, especially since you have no Stealth Rock abuser and Multiscale will prevent the OHKO from Starmie's Ice Beam. To solve this problem, I suggest running U-Turn on Infernape over Swords Dance, and a Choice Band. With U-Turn, Infernape can act as a scout as well as threaten Latias without a sub. Lfe Orb doesn't really work well with Flare Blitz due to the recoil and Infernape being as frail as a leaf. To solve your Dragonite problem, I suggest running Life Orb Mamoswine over Espeon. While Espeon can certainly support the team very well, I feel that Mamoswine's ability to set up rocks and revenge dangerous dragons (and check Heatran) can prove to be invaluable. Plus, your Volcarona can already set up Quiver Dances on its own. Finally, I suggest Mixed Venusaur with Earthquake over your current one. This allows you to comfortably KO Heatran who would otherwise be troublesome, and Volcarona takes care of Skarmory anyway.

Good luck with the team, hope I helped!

 

[King Jackal]

Wow, during my testing I rarely did meet any dragons (for some odd reasons). The Infernape idea sounds fantastic, but to be honest I'm not really sold on the idea of Mamoswine in my team, since the Espeon, at least thus far, has really helped my team defensively and is the most important component to my team currently. I'll still test out the Mamoswine though! Mixed Venusaur with Earthquake is a good idea that I will definitely test out. Thanks for the help and comment!