For the sake of those who will read on, I have made other teams under the guide of my friend, who helped me build them. That being said, this is the first team I built on my own without his eye, and I'd like competitive input. You have been warned.
Sunny Day team
Preface: I was told that Sunny Day teams were far inferior to other weather teams, to which I said "I'll find a way"
First I'll list the pokemon and their roles, then a short summary of how the team is supposed to work, followed by the issues I can't figure out.
Lead: Bronzong @ Heat Rock
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP, 124 Def, 132 SpD
Nature: Sassy
Moves:
- Stealth Rock
- Sunny Day
- Earthquake
- Explosion
Bronzong covers a lot of roles in this team, because unless the opponent leads Fire, there isn't a chance in hell SR won't get off. SR is usually followed up by SD and a shift. Earthquake is a nice surprise, as Bronzong is one of two on my team who can use SD. Since the other is Celebi, EQ is a nice surprise for any Heatrans, Empoleons, and other primary threats. Explosion is added just in case I need help obliterating something.
Second: Hariyama @ Choice Band
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk, 126 Def, 130 SpD
Nature: Adamant
Moves:
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Stone Edge
Hariyama takes care of just about everything my other pokemon are weak to. Any fire type will get demolished by at least one move here, as will flying, dragon, and also the Normal threats from Bliss and Clefable, amongst others. Defenses are raised to give Hariyama more staying power, but pretty much everything else runs by itself. Also functions as the "weather changer" killer, e.g. Tyranitar and Abomasnow. Unless I play a bad match, this guy's usually the last to go.
Third: Tangrowth @ Leftovers
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk, 4 Def, 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly
Moves:
- Swords Dance
- Power Whip
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
The most dangerous member on my team if SD is up. Thanks to Chlorophyll, Tangrowth can outspeed (and kill, with earthquake) even a max speed Heatran. Rock Slide gives cover against flying types, earthquake against just about anything on the ground, power whip as a massive STAB attack, and swords dance to punish a switch.
Fourth: Infernape @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 64 Atk, 192 Spe, 252 SpA
Nature: Naive
Moves:
- Close Combat
- Hidden Power: Ice
- Fire Blast
- Solarbeam
Infernape works WONDERS for baiting purposes on this team, especially with SD up. Assuming SD is in place, proper prediction will shut down threats from Grass, Ice, Dragon, Water, Flying, Steel, Ground, Fighting, and Dark. Since several of those types counter Ape, the opponent thinks twice about who to switch in on an active SD.
Fifth: Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 236 HP, 78 Spe, 200 SpA
Nature: Timid
Moves:
- Thunder Wave
- Solarbeam
- Sunny Day
- Recover
Celebi is the odd man out of the group, functioning primarily as a pokemon capable of getting Sunny Day out and surviving, either to hit with a Solarbeam or paralyze the incoming Fire-type.
Sixth: Ninetales @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Spe, 252 SpA, 4 SpD
Nature: Timid
Moves:
- Hypnosis
- Nasty Plot
- Flamethrower
- Solarbeam
Ninetales' function is to punish. Awesomely enough, it can punish just about anything. Bringing it in as a revenge killer against any steel types (especially Scizor) turns into a Hypno-trap for the incoming water-type, getting free set-ups for Nasty Plot. Also, bringing it in on a fire-type move in the middle of a Sunny Day turns into a lethal combo once Nasty Plot goes up.
Ideal Team Strategy:
- Bronzong gets out SR and SD, then switches out.
- Ideal switch-ins are Tangrowth, who has 6 turns to wreak havoc with its newfound speed, and Infernape.
- In the event the weather changes, Hariyama's job is to murder the offender, then Bronzong comes in for the set-up again. In the event Bronzong is incapacitated, Celebi fills the role.
- By bringing Tangrowth or Infernape in, I can see the biggest threats to me team, and can take them out with any one of a variety of cover moves.
- Once the hard counters are out of the way, SD is set up once more, and Ninetales comes in to sweep what she can.
- The leftovers are attended to by the rest of my team.
Issues and problems:
- Obvious problems against S-Rock and T-Spikes. I was considering switching in a Starmie for Celebi to give additional coverage as well as rapid spin defense, but that leaves only one Sunny Day user on the team. I'm hesitant to do that.
- Bronzong originally had Hypnosis instead of Earthquake, but that left its only attack move as Explosion. I wasn't sure about that, but if it turns out I'm an idiot for changing that, please let me know.
- Typing. Two of the members of my team are Fire-Type, and three members are weak to fire. Although the movesets cover threats, an unexpected threat has decimated my entire team before. Again, Starmie would help.
- Solarbeam. While with SD up, Solarbeam works its magic dealing with almost every threat to Infernape and the Kyuubi (ninetales), if for any reason it gets shut down, I can find myself in a lethal position.
- On that note, two of my pokemon rely on Sunny Day for the vast majority of their strength (Tangrowth and Ninetales). While this is understandable in a weather-based team, my back-up options are limited to Hariyama, Celebi, and Bronzong. Unfortunately, the latter two only have one attack.
In summary, I feel I've covered the bases for a lot of the threats I'm bound to face, both offensive and defensive. These include Heatran, Lucario, Swampert, Gyarados, Scizor, Blissey, Clefable, and Empoleon. However, something about the team just isn't clicking. Perhaps the Starmie addition would help, but I'd like more feedback about the team before I make that drastic of a change.
Any help you can offer is much appreciated!
Thanks!
Sunny Day team
Preface: I was told that Sunny Day teams were far inferior to other weather teams, to which I said "I'll find a way"
First I'll list the pokemon and their roles, then a short summary of how the team is supposed to work, followed by the issues I can't figure out.
Lead: Bronzong @ Heat Rock
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP, 124 Def, 132 SpD
Nature: Sassy
Moves:
- Stealth Rock
- Sunny Day
- Earthquake
- Explosion
Bronzong covers a lot of roles in this team, because unless the opponent leads Fire, there isn't a chance in hell SR won't get off. SR is usually followed up by SD and a shift. Earthquake is a nice surprise, as Bronzong is one of two on my team who can use SD. Since the other is Celebi, EQ is a nice surprise for any Heatrans, Empoleons, and other primary threats. Explosion is added just in case I need help obliterating something.
Second: Hariyama @ Choice Band
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk, 126 Def, 130 SpD
Nature: Adamant
Moves:
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Stone Edge
Hariyama takes care of just about everything my other pokemon are weak to. Any fire type will get demolished by at least one move here, as will flying, dragon, and also the Normal threats from Bliss and Clefable, amongst others. Defenses are raised to give Hariyama more staying power, but pretty much everything else runs by itself. Also functions as the "weather changer" killer, e.g. Tyranitar and Abomasnow. Unless I play a bad match, this guy's usually the last to go.
Third: Tangrowth @ Leftovers
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk, 4 Def, 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly
Moves:
- Swords Dance
- Power Whip
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
The most dangerous member on my team if SD is up. Thanks to Chlorophyll, Tangrowth can outspeed (and kill, with earthquake) even a max speed Heatran. Rock Slide gives cover against flying types, earthquake against just about anything on the ground, power whip as a massive STAB attack, and swords dance to punish a switch.
Fourth: Infernape @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 64 Atk, 192 Spe, 252 SpA
Nature: Naive
Moves:
- Close Combat
- Hidden Power: Ice
- Fire Blast
- Solarbeam
Infernape works WONDERS for baiting purposes on this team, especially with SD up. Assuming SD is in place, proper prediction will shut down threats from Grass, Ice, Dragon, Water, Flying, Steel, Ground, Fighting, and Dark. Since several of those types counter Ape, the opponent thinks twice about who to switch in on an active SD.
Fifth: Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 236 HP, 78 Spe, 200 SpA
Nature: Timid
Moves:
- Thunder Wave
- Solarbeam
- Sunny Day
- Recover
Celebi is the odd man out of the group, functioning primarily as a pokemon capable of getting Sunny Day out and surviving, either to hit with a Solarbeam or paralyze the incoming Fire-type.
Sixth: Ninetales @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Spe, 252 SpA, 4 SpD
Nature: Timid
Moves:
- Hypnosis
- Nasty Plot
- Flamethrower
- Solarbeam
Ninetales' function is to punish. Awesomely enough, it can punish just about anything. Bringing it in as a revenge killer against any steel types (especially Scizor) turns into a Hypno-trap for the incoming water-type, getting free set-ups for Nasty Plot. Also, bringing it in on a fire-type move in the middle of a Sunny Day turns into a lethal combo once Nasty Plot goes up.
Ideal Team Strategy:
- Bronzong gets out SR and SD, then switches out.
- Ideal switch-ins are Tangrowth, who has 6 turns to wreak havoc with its newfound speed, and Infernape.
- In the event the weather changes, Hariyama's job is to murder the offender, then Bronzong comes in for the set-up again. In the event Bronzong is incapacitated, Celebi fills the role.
- By bringing Tangrowth or Infernape in, I can see the biggest threats to me team, and can take them out with any one of a variety of cover moves.
- Once the hard counters are out of the way, SD is set up once more, and Ninetales comes in to sweep what she can.
- The leftovers are attended to by the rest of my team.
Issues and problems:
- Obvious problems against S-Rock and T-Spikes. I was considering switching in a Starmie for Celebi to give additional coverage as well as rapid spin defense, but that leaves only one Sunny Day user on the team. I'm hesitant to do that.
- Bronzong originally had Hypnosis instead of Earthquake, but that left its only attack move as Explosion. I wasn't sure about that, but if it turns out I'm an idiot for changing that, please let me know.
- Typing. Two of the members of my team are Fire-Type, and three members are weak to fire. Although the movesets cover threats, an unexpected threat has decimated my entire team before. Again, Starmie would help.
- Solarbeam. While with SD up, Solarbeam works its magic dealing with almost every threat to Infernape and the Kyuubi (ninetales), if for any reason it gets shut down, I can find myself in a lethal position.
- On that note, two of my pokemon rely on Sunny Day for the vast majority of their strength (Tangrowth and Ninetales). While this is understandable in a weather-based team, my back-up options are limited to Hariyama, Celebi, and Bronzong. Unfortunately, the latter two only have one attack.
In summary, I feel I've covered the bases for a lot of the threats I'm bound to face, both offensive and defensive. These include Heatran, Lucario, Swampert, Gyarados, Scizor, Blissey, Clefable, and Empoleon. However, something about the team just isn't clicking. Perhaps the Starmie addition would help, but I'd like more feedback about the team before I make that drastic of a change.
Any help you can offer is much appreciated!
Thanks!
