Sunny Delight (Gen 5 OU sun team)

[Redsnake]

Hey everyone, I recently put this team together a couple of days ago and have achieved some success. However, I know there is definitely room to improve and I'm not happy with a lot of things, and so I'd appreciate all criticism and suggestions.

------------------Team Building Process----------------------

The inspiration for this team was Flame Charge Heatran. With his fantastic typing he could easily switch in to get the speed of a scarf set, without getting locked in.

Looking through Heatran's moveset I found it wasn't the BEST for getting a hard enough hit on every threat. So, I decided to make this team into a sun team to make his Fire Blasts plow through everything that doesn't resist it. Thus, Ninetails was added.

I felt that one Chlorophyll Pokemon wasn't enough and three was too many, so I decided on two. In my first iteration, I had Lilligant to come in, Sleep Powder, and get an assured Quiver Dance on the switch. For my physical attacker I used Shiftry, who could get an assured Growth with a Focus Sash, then abuse Sucker Punch.

However, neither of these were performing to my expectations. Lilligant was far too frail for my tastes, so to replace her as a special attacked I chose Venusaur. Shiftry seemed too gimmicky and was almost always priority killed, and I didn't want to have two boosting Chlorophyllers. He was replaced with Sawbuck as a physical attacker who didn't have to boost.

The next slot was just common sense to me. Victini's V-create reaches an astounding 405 BP in the sun, and off a max 328 attack, hits like an absolute truck.

Finally, I wanted another physical attacker instead of a wall to keep up the momentum of this team. I play on PO and not the Smogon server, so I chose Blaziken as my last member, to abuse the reason he is banned on Smogon, Speed Boost, as well as powered up Flare Blitzs'.

Ninetales (M) @ Chesto Berry Trait: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Rest
- Will-O-Wisp
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Fighting]

Oh Ninetails, the reason Sun teams are so much more popular in OU. Not my favorite Pokemon, but I tried to pick the moveset I thought would let her live the longest to keep up Drought. My lead, I went with a Chesto-rest set to give Ninetails some longevity and to have synergy with Sawbuck. Her above average speed lets my get a WoW in on slower physical attackers, and her decent bulk allows her to take a hit or two. Fire Blast does pretty good damage under the Sun and is for double STAB. Honestly the last slot I had no idea what to use. HP fighting was originally for Ttar, but not when it doesn't even two hit KO. I've really only used it to break balloons on Heatran switch-ins, although it has done that well, allowing my Heatran to come in and kill it.


Possible Changes: New EVs, different Moveset, anything really. It has performed adequately for being one of the worst weather inducers, but if there is a better moveset choice I'm not very attached to this one.

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Sawsbuck (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Horn Leech
- Double-Edge
- Jump Kick
- Aromatherapy

Sawsbuck is a very overlooked Chlorophyll user in my opinion. With a base 100 attack stat as well as two fairly good STABS, he is a great revenge killer under the Sun. Double-Edge hits very hard with Life Orb, STAB, and 120 BP, and is often my move of choice. Horn Leech is secondary STAB as well as to heal some of the Life Orb and Double-Edge damage. Jump Kick for steels that resist my other two moves. Aromatherapy is an amazing move Sawbuck was blessed with, allowing him to use his speed to almost assuredly clear the team of status that would otherwise destroy any of my members.


Possible Changes: Not much I think. He's done a very good job for me, but if someone thinks that there is a better Chlorophyll user, I'll be glad to try it.
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Blaziken (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Speed Boost
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Protect
- Hi Jump Kick
- Flare Blitz

I'm not exactly sure whether Speed Boost Blaziken is illegal on Smogon, but I have a feeling it is. That being said this is a Dream World team for the PO server and it is legal there, so please don't get caught up in the legality. Otherwise, standard but effective Blaziken set. I can switch in on a stat-booster who thinks I'm going to Protect, and take it out with a Flare Blitz instead of having it sweep my team. Also my only good counter to opposing Blazikens if Victini is low on health, although the match-up is more of a mind game than anything.


Possible Changes: Probably my most open slot to change, as well as he's performed.
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Heatran (M) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 56 HP / 252 SAtk / 200 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Fire Blast
- Flame Charge
- Earth Power

Flame Charge Heatran is the reason I made this team. The idea is with Heatran's amazing typing as well as Air Balloon taking away his main weakness, to switch in on a Fire or Ground attack that it can absorb, or just something he resists, Flame Charge once or twice (I was surprised how many people let me do it more than once), and proceed to sweep everything a lot of things except bulky Waters. Fire Blast for STAB, Earth Power for other Fires, and HP Ice for dragons. While the EVs are somewhat arbitrary, he hits a speed of about 388 after one Flame Charge.



Possible Changes: Nothing at all, except maybe the EVs or Nature.
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Victini @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Victory Star
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 Def

Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- V-create
- U-turn
- Zen Headbutt
- Wild Charge

Victini is really only for V-Create. With 405 BP off a base 100 attack, it destroys anything that doesn't resist it, and some that do. Scarf was a no-brainer as I need this thing to be fast. Even after a V-create, it still has a speed of 298, which is enough to get off another on a lot of Pokemon. Zen Headbutt is for other STAB, U-turn for some extra damage or to soak a Ground attack aimed at Heatran, and Wild Charge for Waters.


Possible Changes: The V-creates are the only thing tying me to this Pokemon, and while they are great, I'm open to other options.
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Venusaur (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Chlorophyll
p, li { white-space: pre-wrap; } EVs: 72 HP / 76 Atk / 108 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature (+Spd, -Def)
- SolarBeam
- Earthquake
- Sludge Bomb
- Growth

The least satisfying member of my team. He was orginally running with 0 speed to give him more bulk and power, but was outsped by any scarfer, and that made me completely change his EVs. Now 568 speed under the Sun, I spread the rest of EVs to give him some bulk while allowing Growth to benefit both Attack and Special Attack. However, these are also very arbitrary and have no real reasoning.



Possible Changes: I know Venusaur can be very good, but I feel my EVs and Moveset could be better. Please help me on this one.



I really enjoy this team and I feel it supports Heatran quite well, but there are a lot of things I need help with. My EVs were mostly chose without much thought towards the numbers, and any input into those would be greatly appreciated.


Problems:


Breloom - He's a huge threat to everything except Victini, and I have to sacrifice someone to Spore to get Victini in safely, as I can't risk getting her put to sleep.


I have no Focus Sashes, no Hazards, and no Spinner, which really hurts on a team with so many SR weak Pokemon. Deoxys-S leads are annoying as they get their assured 2 layers, even 3 if Fire Blast misses. Also, while I can generally keep up momentum, I have no walls at all.
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[Paradoxus]

First and foremost, Blaziken is banned in OU. Since their is waaay to many Fire types, I suggest replacing that Blaziken with ScarfRaptor, to revenge Breloom, your biggest threat. And then replace a Choice Band over Scarf on Victini, that will do crazy power.But then you have 2 normal types, which makes your team even weaker to Breloom, so replace that moose with Conkeldurr, as I found your team lacks priority.

 

[BTzz]

You don't have a reliable ground resist/immunity once Heatrans baloons pops. You don't even have any deffensive back bone. It's just a Ninetales and 5 sweepers. I recommend Cresselia over Victini or Blaziken (if you use Cres over Blaziken you team is smogon legal). You could use a CM set or possibly a Dual screening set. Your choice.

GL

 

[Guitar]

Since Blaziken is considered Uber now, try going for something with levitate that resists fire :)

 

[K´Genesis]

First of all, you lack defensive options. Against a Sun team, the offensive momentum can shift at any given time and you should devise a counter-strategy to reclaim control(especially of the weather). Therefore:

- Choose one Fire type and one Chlorophyller. It's more than enough for offensive power, if you're playing a Sun team correctly. Ninetales is hours-concours and your other three mons should be taking care of: spinning(and possibly leaving hazards), defense and U-turn. My suggestions:

Heatran @Balloon
Nature: Timid(+Spe/-Atk); 252 S.Atk, 252 Spe, 4 Atk
Ability: Flash Fire

- Fire Blast
- Flame Charge
- Dragon Pulse
- Earth Power

Why Dragon Pulse over HP Ice, you might ask?
Two reasons: You don't lose Speed IVs and will at least always speed tie with other Heatrans in a Balloon stand-out, allowing you to beat theirs if they have HP Ice. Also, Gliscor dies to a Fire Blast under the Sun, leaving only Dragonite as HP Ice's primary target. Dragon Pulse hits him hard enough and allows you to beat Kingdra as well, so DP gives you better coverage. But it's really personal preference, just saying that so you can see the technical reasons behind this choice.

Venusaur @Lum Berry/Life Orb
Trait: Chlorophyll
Nature: Naive(+Spd, -S.Def); 252 Atk, 252 Spe, 4 S.Atk
- Seed Bomb
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power(Fire)
- Growth

Right now, a mixed Venusaur will bring you much more fortune. Seed Bomb and Earthquake have decent coverage, taking down what it has to physically. HP Fire will net you important kills against Scizor, Skarmory and Ferrothorn, who love to switch in and try to stop your sweep, with little to no S.Atk investment. The EV spread ensures speed and mixed power, since that seems to be your biggest issue right now. As for the item, Lum Berry gives Venusaur more staying power(therefore another Growth, most of the time) against known status inducers, but Life Orb gives the extra boost for sweeping. I prefer Lum Berry since I like having Saur around for as long as I can, but suit yourself to your preference.


Now, having that power means nothing if Ninetales can't get it going. For that to happen, it needs to be able to take some hits, for emergency switch-ins. Also, it shouldn't be staying for long periods of time, even if it's not a weather war. Here's my take:

Ninetales @Chesto Berry
Nature: Calm(+S.Def/-Atk); 244 S.Def, 240 HP, 24 S.Atk
Ability: Drought

- Overheat
- Will 'o Wisp
- Roar
- Rest

Overheat is more reliable and more powerful than Fire Blast. Since you won't be sweeping with Tales, it's a more suitable choice. WoW cripples whatever tries to switch in. Roar supports the team against greedy boosters or accidentally Flash-Fired Heatrans(a major threat to opposing Sun teams) and it's always good to have someone to Roar stuff away, no matter what. Rest + Chesto gives it longevity. EVs ensure specially defensive bulk, allowing you to throw Tales into Toeds Scalds with much ease and it even takes Lati0s's Draco Meteors relatively well, if it has 100% HP.


For my final suggestion, do yourself a favor and sack Blaziken out so you can have real practice with this team on the Smogon server. Filling one(possibly two) slot for what you need, here's its replacement:

Scizor @Choice Band/Choice Scarf
Nature: Jolly(+Spe/-S.Atk) / Adamant(+Atk/-S.Atk); 252 Atk, 252 Spe, 4 HP
Ability: Technician

- U-Turn
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- Quick Attack/Bug Bite

Standard scouting Scizor to safely bring in Ninetales whenever needed, also putting weather inducers in a check state. The choice between Band and Scarf also determines its nature(Jolly for Band, Adamant for Scarf). If you choose Band, I recommend Quick Attack. Bug Bite, in Scarf's case. Scizor's typing gives it plenty of opportunities to switch in and Sun gives it a pseudo resistance to Water. It also packs a decent punch against whatever doesn't resist it.


Now, find something that resists Fire to tank opposing Sun threats and a spinner. You should be good to go once you do.

 

[Aberrant17]

First of all, I'd suggest some entry hazards to help with sweeping and discourage your opponent from switching freely. Heatran can easily run Stealth Rock, so your probably set.

Second: You need a Rapid Spinner. You can't run that many Fire-types on one team without Rapid Spin support, or you'll get wrecked. Here's the Rapid Spinner I currently run on my Sun team (also provides Stealth Rock support):

Donphan @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Impish (+Def, -Sp. Atk)
EVs: 252 HP, 188 Atk, 68 Def
Moves:
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock

Resists Rock, can lay up his own hazards, and benefits from Water being weakened in the Sun. Other candidates include Hitmontop, Claydol, Excadrill and others. Just make sure your Spinner's not weak to Stealth Rock itself (i.e. Torkoal, Cryogonal, Cloyster).

Third, I'd recommend a reliable Tyranitar counter. Fighting-types are the best options here (especially bulky ones) since they resist both of Ttar's STAB types, but Arena Trap Dugtrio can work too. I use the standard lead Machamp set from Gen IV. Not only will it scare away any Ttar, but it can 2HKO Politoed with Dynamic Punch. XD Here's the set:

Machamp @ Lum Berry
Ability: No Guard
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -Sp. Atk)
EVs: 240 HP, 248 Atk, 16 Sp. Def, 4 Speed
Moves:
- Dynamic Punch
- Stone Edge/Ice Punch
- Payback
- Bullet Punch

The disadvantage with Machamp is that it doesn't have access to Mach Punch or Vacuum Wave, two attacks that can be used to counter the Excadrill that are common on Sandstorm teams. Pokemon like Conkeldurr, Lucario, and Hitmontop have access to STAB Fighting-type priority moves, and would make great teammates to round out your type coverage.

Hope this helps.