Introduction:
I've been an avid competitive battler since 4th Gen, and have noticed that 5th Gen's metagame is much different than 4th Gen for one key reason: weather wars. I have played in this metagame, and I have to say, I love the OU metagame for it. I built a Rain team, with Rain being my favourite weather, and tested it, but not having much success with it, opted to go with my second favourite weather instead: Sun. I had much more success with this Sun team, but still found myself with a key problem: a weakness to other weather teams. Unable to figure out how to change it, I came here, hoping you guys can help improve my Sun Team. So, without further ado, the team.
Team Building process:
So, where did I start? Obviously, when you start with a weather team, you want the instigator. Therefore, the first choice was Ninetales.
Next, I wanted two excellent sweepers in the Sun. Looking at the variety of sweepers I could choose from, I knew I wanted a Chlorophyll sweeper, and after considering several options such as Venusaur or Victreebell, I decided to go with Sawsbuck, and excellent physical Chlorophyll sweeper as well as a unique typing, earned a spot on this team.
My second sweeper was to be a Fire type, and after considering options such as Arcanine and Victini, I decided to use Infernape for his excellent type coverage and ability to run a few different sets.
Next, I wanted some Pokemon who was able to take hits and support the team. Looking at my options, I considered things such as Jellicent, Slowbro and Ferrothorn. However, in the end, I opted to go with the other Slow evolution in the form of Slowking. I opted for him over his counterpart because they have the same general bulk with the right investment, and Slowking has a very intriguing option in the form of Dragon Tail.
For my second Pokemon with the ability to take hits, I looked back over my options again, eliminating some that clashed with Slowking. After a lot of deliberating, I thought a Steel type would be best to round out the defensive core of my team, and deciding that Ferrothorn was too vulnerable in the Sun, opted for a 4th Gen favourite in the form of Skarmory, who attributes to great physical bulk and a good support movepool.
For my last slot, I decided I wanted another attacker that can help with type coverage and overall attacking prowess. After a bit of deliberation, I decided that a Dragon would be most beneficial to the team, and after considering others such as Salamence, Dragonite, or Hydreigon, I chose Flygon. With a great Dual STAB and good attacking stats, Flygon seemed like the best choice to fill my last slot.
V1:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
V2:
Not being able to get Skarmory as often as I would like to take hits, I began looking at other options, and when biaj suggested Deoxys-D, I figured I'd give it a go. I've found that I can get it in much more often than I could with Skarmory, and my team has actually gotten a significant amount of more wins than the iteration with Skarmory on it, so it earned a spot on my team.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
V3:
After a few more suggestions, Ferrothorn was mentioned, so I decided to try it in place of Deoxys-D. After trying it out, it somewhat worked, but still failed on the team, so I eventually went back to Deoxys-D.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
V4:
After a bit more testing, I decided that Infernape wasn't doing what I needed it to, so I decided to replace it with another Special-based Fire-type. Immediately, Chandelure came to mind. With the highest non-legendary Special Attack stat in the game, coupled with a great Offensive typing in the form of Fire and Ghost, I knew Chandelure could deal some massive damage. After testing, I found that I was right, and so it earned a permanent spot on my team in place of Infernape.
With the addition of Chandelure, however, I found that my team's type synergy was thrown off, so I was forced to make another replacement. In the end, I decided that Deoxys-D, who replaced Ferrothorn to make a comeback, would be the one that would have to go. After some deliberation, I looked at several Pokemon, but I thought once again that a Steel would benefit the team. After looking over options such as Forretress or Steelix, and even looking at previous members in the form of Ferrothorn and Skarmory, I opted to go with Escavalier for it's quite good stats as well as a nasty Choice Band set that can punch huge holes in teams, and this is exactly what it did. This is the current rendition of the team.
Team At a Glance:
In-Depth:
Apollo the Ninetales@Leftovers
Quiet nature
252HP/164 SpA/92 SpD
0 Spe IV
Drought
-Substitute
-Toxic
-SolarBeam
-Flamethrower
Ninetales is what sets the whole team up with Sun. Hypnosis and Will-o-Wisp provide the team with some much-needed status, allowing Ninetales to put threats to sleep or cripple physical attackers. Flamethrower is the STAB and provides good damage while under the sun. I opted to go with Energy Ball over SolarBeam to work better in the opposing weathers in the form of Sand and Rain, while still providing Ninetales with a Grass attack to deal with the opposing weathers somewhat.
After a major team overhaul, I decided to change Ninetale's move set. The nature and 0 speed IVs makes Ninetales slower than the common forms of both Politoed and Tyranitar, ensuring Sun gets up if both are sent in. For this reason, I opted to go for SolarBeam over Energy Ball. Substitute is good for surviving a bit longer as well as scouting my opponent. Toxic is used to cripple Bulky Waters that commonly switch into Ninetales and puts them on a timer. Flamethrower is a good STAB attack and quite powerful under the sun.
Bambi the Sawsbuck@Life Orb
Adamant nature
136 HP/252 Atk/116 Spe
Chlorophyll
-Jump Kick
-Horn Leech
-Return
-Swords Dance
Sawsbuck is an excellent sweeper under the Sun, and is very dangerous after a Swords Dance. The moves provided give it good coverage. Jump Kick allows it to hit Steels which would otherwise wall Sawsbuck. Horn Leech provides Sawsbuck with an excellent STAB and decent recovery. Return is a powerful STAB attack that does good damage to those that don't resist it, and Swords Dance makes Sawsbuck even more dangerous by improving it's attacking power. I
Candles the Chandelure@Choice Specs
Timid nature
4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spe
Flash Fire
-Overheat
-Shadow Ball
-Energy Ball
-Psychic/HP Fighting
After I decided to change Infernape for Chandelure, I looked for some sets that had some great attacking power behind them. After seeing Chandelure's Choice Specs set, I knew that was the one I wanted. Overheat is Chandelure's main attack, as it does massive damage coming from a base 145 Special Attack stat with STAB and a Sun boost, and it does a lot of damage to almost anything that switches in. Shadow Ball is a good secondary STAB, allowing it to hit Jellicent and Reuniclus for Super Effective damage. Energy Ball allows it to hit Water-types that would otherwise give Chandelure some problems. For the last slot, I have used both Psychic and HP Fighting, and am unsure which one works better. I currently run Psychic for hitting Fighting-types, but HP Fighting hits the likes of Tyranitar and Heatran.
Poseidon the Slowking@Leftovers
Relaxed nature
252 HP/252 Def/ 4SpA
Regenerate
-Psychic
-Ice Beam
-Slack Off
-Dragon Tail
Slowking is a great asset to the team, providing it with some much-needed bulk. The EVs give Slowking great overall bulk, and allows it to take some powerful hits. Psychic provides Slowking with a STAB that doesn't get weakened by the Sun, Ice Beam provides some coverage for the team, Slack Off is your standard recovery and Dragon Tail is to shuffle my opponent's team around a bit.
Lancelot the Escavalier@Choice Band
Adamant nature
248 HP/252 Atk/4 SpD/4 Spe
Shell Armour
-Megahorn
-Iron Head
-Pursuit
-Reversal
Escavalier may seem to be a peculiar choice on a Sun team at first, but it's not like you're going to keep Escavalier in on a Fire attack anyway, so I figured I'd use him. I chose him because he has great defensive stats, allowing him to take hits, as well as dish out some major damage. That, and he's always been one of my favourite Gen 5 designs. Anyways, Choice Band Escavalier is exceptional at breaking walls and dishing some hurt onto the opposing team. Megahorn is my main attack, providing Escavalier with a very strong STAB attack that does a lot of damage to a lot of things, especially with a base 135 base attack stat along with STAB and a Choice Band. Iron Head is there as a secondary STAB, and allows it to hit Rock-types for Super Effective damage. Pursuit is handy for when I predict a switch, giving whatever switches out some good damage on it. Reversal is the fourth and final move, and to be honest I haven't really used it. It is there to add some coverage as well as some good damage when Escavalier is low on HP.
Flygon@Life Orb
Jolly nature
4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Levitate
-Outrage
-Earthquake
-Roost
-U-Turn
While originally Flygon had a Choice Band, recent team changes opted me to change the set a bit. Flygon is now a Life Orb variant, and I removed Fire Punch for Roost. IT still does basically the same as it did when it had the Choice Band, dishing out some powerful physical attacks, only Flygon is no longer locked into one move and can Roost off any damage it takes from Life Orb or otherwise. Outrage is still Flygon's primary attack, hitting anything bar Steels hard. Earthquake is a great secondary STAB and can hit the aforementioned Steels for Super Effective damage. U-turn allows Flygon to act as a scout when I need it to and Roost allows Flygon the ability to recover off the Life Orb damage it takes.
Well, that's my team. As I said, I have some big problems with opposing weather teams and often find it hard to get Skarmory in to lay down some Spikes, so I am looking for advice on how to change it to better counter opposing weather teams as well as provide better coverage overall. I am not afraid of using obscure or lower-tiered Pokemon so don't be afraid to suggest them. Anyways, happy rating, and any help is appreciated.
I've been an avid competitive battler since 4th Gen, and have noticed that 5th Gen's metagame is much different than 4th Gen for one key reason: weather wars. I have played in this metagame, and I have to say, I love the OU metagame for it. I built a Rain team, with Rain being my favourite weather, and tested it, but not having much success with it, opted to go with my second favourite weather instead: Sun. I had much more success with this Sun team, but still found myself with a key problem: a weakness to other weather teams. Unable to figure out how to change it, I came here, hoping you guys can help improve my Sun Team. So, without further ado, the team.
Team Building process:
So, where did I start? Obviously, when you start with a weather team, you want the instigator. Therefore, the first choice was Ninetales.
Next, I wanted two excellent sweepers in the Sun. Looking at the variety of sweepers I could choose from, I knew I wanted a Chlorophyll sweeper, and after considering several options such as Venusaur or Victreebell, I decided to go with Sawsbuck, and excellent physical Chlorophyll sweeper as well as a unique typing, earned a spot on this team.
My second sweeper was to be a Fire type, and after considering options such as Arcanine and Victini, I decided to use Infernape for his excellent type coverage and ability to run a few different sets.
Next, I wanted some Pokemon who was able to take hits and support the team. Looking at my options, I considered things such as Jellicent, Slowbro and Ferrothorn. However, in the end, I opted to go with the other Slow evolution in the form of Slowking. I opted for him over his counterpart because they have the same general bulk with the right investment, and Slowking has a very intriguing option in the form of Dragon Tail.
For my second Pokemon with the ability to take hits, I looked back over my options again, eliminating some that clashed with Slowking. After a lot of deliberating, I thought a Steel type would be best to round out the defensive core of my team, and deciding that Ferrothorn was too vulnerable in the Sun, opted for a 4th Gen favourite in the form of Skarmory, who attributes to great physical bulk and a good support movepool.
For my last slot, I decided I wanted another attacker that can help with type coverage and overall attacking prowess. After a bit of deliberation, I decided that a Dragon would be most beneficial to the team, and after considering others such as Salamence, Dragonite, or Hydreigon, I chose Flygon. With a great Dual STAB and good attacking stats, Flygon seemed like the best choice to fill my last slot.
V1:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
V2:
Not being able to get Skarmory as often as I would like to take hits, I began looking at other options, and when biaj suggested Deoxys-D, I figured I'd give it a go. I've found that I can get it in much more often than I could with Skarmory, and my team has actually gotten a significant amount of more wins than the iteration with Skarmory on it, so it earned a spot on my team.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
V3:
After a few more suggestions, Ferrothorn was mentioned, so I decided to try it in place of Deoxys-D. After trying it out, it somewhat worked, but still failed on the team, so I eventually went back to Deoxys-D.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
V4:
After a bit more testing, I decided that Infernape wasn't doing what I needed it to, so I decided to replace it with another Special-based Fire-type. Immediately, Chandelure came to mind. With the highest non-legendary Special Attack stat in the game, coupled with a great Offensive typing in the form of Fire and Ghost, I knew Chandelure could deal some massive damage. After testing, I found that I was right, and so it earned a permanent spot on my team in place of Infernape.
With the addition of Chandelure, however, I found that my team's type synergy was thrown off, so I was forced to make another replacement. In the end, I decided that Deoxys-D, who replaced Ferrothorn to make a comeback, would be the one that would have to go. After some deliberation, I looked at several Pokemon, but I thought once again that a Steel would benefit the team. After looking over options such as Forretress or Steelix, and even looking at previous members in the form of Ferrothorn and Skarmory, I opted to go with Escavalier for it's quite good stats as well as a nasty Choice Band set that can punch huge holes in teams, and this is exactly what it did. This is the current rendition of the team.
Team At a Glance:
In-Depth:
Apollo the Ninetales@Leftovers
Quiet nature
252HP/164 SpA/92 SpD
0 Spe IV
Drought
-Substitute
-Toxic
-SolarBeam
-Flamethrower
Ninetales is what sets the whole team up with Sun. Hypnosis and Will-o-Wisp provide the team with some much-needed status, allowing Ninetales to put threats to sleep or cripple physical attackers. Flamethrower is the STAB and provides good damage while under the sun. I opted to go with Energy Ball over SolarBeam to work better in the opposing weathers in the form of Sand and Rain, while still providing Ninetales with a Grass attack to deal with the opposing weathers somewhat.
After a major team overhaul, I decided to change Ninetale's move set. The nature and 0 speed IVs makes Ninetales slower than the common forms of both Politoed and Tyranitar, ensuring Sun gets up if both are sent in. For this reason, I opted to go for SolarBeam over Energy Ball. Substitute is good for surviving a bit longer as well as scouting my opponent. Toxic is used to cripple Bulky Waters that commonly switch into Ninetales and puts them on a timer. Flamethrower is a good STAB attack and quite powerful under the sun.
Bambi the Sawsbuck@Life Orb
Adamant nature
136 HP/252 Atk/116 Spe
Chlorophyll
-Jump Kick
-Horn Leech
-Return
-Swords Dance
Sawsbuck is an excellent sweeper under the Sun, and is very dangerous after a Swords Dance. The moves provided give it good coverage. Jump Kick allows it to hit Steels which would otherwise wall Sawsbuck. Horn Leech provides Sawsbuck with an excellent STAB and decent recovery. Return is a powerful STAB attack that does good damage to those that don't resist it, and Swords Dance makes Sawsbuck even more dangerous by improving it's attacking power. I
Candles the Chandelure@Choice Specs
Timid nature
4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spe
Flash Fire
-Overheat
-Shadow Ball
-Energy Ball
-Psychic/HP Fighting
After I decided to change Infernape for Chandelure, I looked for some sets that had some great attacking power behind them. After seeing Chandelure's Choice Specs set, I knew that was the one I wanted. Overheat is Chandelure's main attack, as it does massive damage coming from a base 145 Special Attack stat with STAB and a Sun boost, and it does a lot of damage to almost anything that switches in. Shadow Ball is a good secondary STAB, allowing it to hit Jellicent and Reuniclus for Super Effective damage. Energy Ball allows it to hit Water-types that would otherwise give Chandelure some problems. For the last slot, I have used both Psychic and HP Fighting, and am unsure which one works better. I currently run Psychic for hitting Fighting-types, but HP Fighting hits the likes of Tyranitar and Heatran.
Poseidon the Slowking@Leftovers
Relaxed nature
252 HP/252 Def/ 4SpA
Regenerate
-Psychic
-Ice Beam
-Slack Off
-Dragon Tail
Slowking is a great asset to the team, providing it with some much-needed bulk. The EVs give Slowking great overall bulk, and allows it to take some powerful hits. Psychic provides Slowking with a STAB that doesn't get weakened by the Sun, Ice Beam provides some coverage for the team, Slack Off is your standard recovery and Dragon Tail is to shuffle my opponent's team around a bit.
Lancelot the Escavalier@Choice Band
Adamant nature
248 HP/252 Atk/4 SpD/4 Spe
Shell Armour
-Megahorn
-Iron Head
-Pursuit
-Reversal
Escavalier may seem to be a peculiar choice on a Sun team at first, but it's not like you're going to keep Escavalier in on a Fire attack anyway, so I figured I'd use him. I chose him because he has great defensive stats, allowing him to take hits, as well as dish out some major damage. That, and he's always been one of my favourite Gen 5 designs. Anyways, Choice Band Escavalier is exceptional at breaking walls and dishing some hurt onto the opposing team. Megahorn is my main attack, providing Escavalier with a very strong STAB attack that does a lot of damage to a lot of things, especially with a base 135 base attack stat along with STAB and a Choice Band. Iron Head is there as a secondary STAB, and allows it to hit Rock-types for Super Effective damage. Pursuit is handy for when I predict a switch, giving whatever switches out some good damage on it. Reversal is the fourth and final move, and to be honest I haven't really used it. It is there to add some coverage as well as some good damage when Escavalier is low on HP.
Flygon@Life Orb
Jolly nature
4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Levitate
-Outrage
-Earthquake
-Roost
-U-Turn
While originally Flygon had a Choice Band, recent team changes opted me to change the set a bit. Flygon is now a Life Orb variant, and I removed Fire Punch for Roost. IT still does basically the same as it did when it had the Choice Band, dishing out some powerful physical attacks, only Flygon is no longer locked into one move and can Roost off any damage it takes from Life Orb or otherwise. Outrage is still Flygon's primary attack, hitting anything bar Steels hard. Earthquake is a great secondary STAB and can hit the aforementioned Steels for Super Effective damage. U-turn allows Flygon to act as a scout when I need it to and Roost allows Flygon the ability to recover off the Life Orb damage it takes.
Well, that's my team. As I said, I have some big problems with opposing weather teams and often find it hard to get Skarmory in to lay down some Spikes, so I am looking for advice on how to change it to better counter opposing weather teams as well as provide better coverage overall. I am not afraid of using obscure or lower-tiered Pokemon so don't be afraid to suggest them. Anyways, happy rating, and any help is appreciated.
