INTRO:
Hello, Smogon, this is my third RMT post here, and is also an update from my last RMT. I would say that this team has gathered a bit more success on Shoddy Battle than the last one, and over half the team has been updated. I also have two rules with myself concerning which Pokemon I choose, and I would appreciate it if you guys would take that into consideration with your rates.
-NO LEGENDARIES. Seriously, why would you? Some of them are so cheap they disgust me. Choice Scarfed Jirachi with Iron Head? That's no fun for either player (Me because it's so annoying, and the user because it's so bland). I don't even use legendaries for in-game purposes. Bottom line, they're no fun.
-NO SCIZOR. Could ANYTHING be any more used to the point that it is bland and dull? Almost EVERYWHERE I look, I see another Scizor. I breathe a sigh of relief when it's a Swords Dance version, as those aren't used as much. But still, it's also no fun.
This was the original team that was not posted at Smogon:
After several updates, this was the team posted at Smogon in my last RMT:
And now,(drum roll please), after even more updates, without further ado, here are The Sand Warriors!
At a Glance:
In Depth:
The StarFish Anti-Lead
Starmie@Life Orb (Twinkle)
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP, 252 Sp. Attack, 252 Speed
Nature: Timid
-Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Thunderbolt
-Rapid Spin
Description:
Metagross has been changed to Starmie for the anti-lead against common Stealth-Rockers. Attack, then Rapid Spin to get rid of the 1HP left from Focus Sash, also getting rid of Stealth Rock, Spikes, etc. that might threaten Lucario (as he has a Focus Sash). The only problem this gives me is 3 weaknesses to Bug and loss of Stealth Rock. If somebody can give me advice on this (unless SR really isn't needed), then say so.
In Depth:
The StarFish Anti-Lead
Starmie@Life Orb (Twinkle)
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP, 252 Sp. Attack, 252 Speed
Nature: Timid
-Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Thunderbolt
-Rapid Spin
Description:
Metagross has been changed to Starmie for the anti-lead against common Stealth-Rockers. Attack, then Rapid Spin to get rid of the 1HP left from Focus Sash, also getting rid of Stealth Rock, Spikes, etc. that might threaten Lucario (as he has a Focus Sash). The only problem this gives me is 3 weaknesses to Bug and loss of Stealth Rock. If somebody can give me advice on this (unless SR really isn't needed), then say so.
Starmie is named Twinkle because it is a star. Duh.
Synergy:
Electric goes to Hippowdon, Rotom-c, and Cradily.
Grass goes to Lucario.
Dark goes to Lucario.
Bug goes to Lucario, Rotom-c, and Gyarados.
Ghost goes to Lucario.
The Steel Jackal
Lucario(F)@Focus Sash (Anubis)
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Attack, 4 Defense, 252 Speed
Nature: Adamant
-Close Combat
-Extremespeed
-Ice Punch
-Swords Dance
Description:
Lucario....is....AWESOME! It looks awesome, it battles awesome, and has an awesome movepool! I knew from the start it would be on my team. First I Swords Dance to double my attack, then attack away! It is just awesome. Close Combat is a 100 accuracy, base 120 power move, at the cost of Defense and Sp. Defense, which is no problem. Extremespeed is for priority, and Ice Punch is chosen over Crunch for a surprise for Gliscor and bothersome Dragons. You're probably thinking: What? Focus Sash over Life Orb? What is he thinking? Well, Focus Sash has saved my @ss so many times, I can't count them. My opponent's always like: Hahaha! I can kill this thang without blinking! But, no, it's got..FOCUS SASH! Nooooo! I'm dooooomed! So you see, Focus Sash works better for me than Life Orb, and I'm not changing that.
Lucario is named Anubis because it looks a lot like the Egyptian god Anubis, who had the head of a jackal.
Synergy:
Ground goes to Gyarados and Rotom-c.
Fire goes to Gyarados and Starmie.
Fighting goes to Gyarados, Starmie, and Rotom-c.
The Hippopotamus who Somehow Gets a Sandstorm Going, Which Makes No Sense Whatsoever, but You Don't Question it Because it's A Fictional Creature that Appears in Video Games
Hippowdon(M)@Leftovers (Sand Horse)
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP, 168 Defense, 88 Sp. Defense
Nature: Impish
-Earthquake
-Roar
-Stone Edge
-Slack Off
Description:
My physical wall. It works wonders in absorbing physical attacks. An Electivire's Ice Punch doesn't even do 20% on me. Earthquake is for STAB, Stone Edge is for flying foes, Roar is for phazing purposes, and Slack Off for instant recovery. I'm proud to say that this takes on Choice Banded Scizor fairly well, taking only about 20%-30% from a Bullet Punch. So I just Earthquake, heal, Earthquake, heal, rinse and repeat. I chose this over Tyranitar because it adds to the defensive core of the team, and is less used than Tyranitar, which makes this team less bland from the standard Metagross and Lucario, even though this is still the most common Hippowdon set. The reason this is third instead of first is because of opposing weather teams. I kill off their Abomasnow, then interrupt hail with some sand. Kingdra wreaking havoc among my team? Interrupt the rain with some sand. Exeggutor Solarbeaming the shittake mushrooms out of my team? Interrupt the sunshine with some sand. It's simple.
Hippos are nicknamed the "water horse." Since Hippowdon is not very affiliated with water, "Sand Horse" fits better.
Synergy:
Water goes to Gyarados and Starmie.
Ice goes to Starmie and Lucario.
Grass goes to Lucario.
The Big, Scary Fish
Gyarados(M)@Leftovers (GoFish)
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 156 HP, 108 Attack, 100 Defense, 144 Speed
Nature: Adamant
-Waterfall
-Dragon Dance
-Stone Edge
-Taunt
Description:
Gyarados has been changed into the bulky version to help against stall teams. Item has been changed to Leftovers. I'm sure all of you know this. Taunt is for Phazers, set-up sweepers, etc., Dragon Dance up, and attempt a sweep with Waterfall and Stone Edge.
Go Fish is a card game, as you probably know. So, Go Fish!
Synergy:
Rock goes to Lucario, Metagross, and Hippowdon.
Electric goes to Hippowdon, Rotom-c, and Cradily
The Prehistoric Plant
Cradily(M)@Lum Berry (Paleo)
Ability: Suction Cups
EVs: 252 HP, 160 Defense, 96 Sp. Defense
Nature: Careful
-Rock Slide
-Earthquake
-Recover
-Swords Dance
Description:
Cradily, Cradily, Cradily. Always underestimated. Very usable in OU, yet condemned to the life of an NU Pokemon. All because of its movepool and its typing. *tsk,tsk,tsk* Seriously, this needs to be at least an UU Pokemon. It's not that bad! In fact, because of the 50% Sp. Defense boost from the sandstorm, it functions very well as a Special Wall! Recover is a given for recovery, Rock Slide and Earthquake are for attacking options, and Swords Dance...well, I need to explain that choice. Usually, people go with Toxic, or even Confuse Ray. But, the offensive version works so well (I've tried it)! The thing is, it's so frail! One U-Turn from Scizor will kill it, but using this version, it won't! The problem is, its Attack is only 198. Hmmm... how about using the offensive set on the defensive EVs? Brilliant! After one Swords Dance, its reaches a decent 396 Attack. After another, it reaches a pretty good 594 Attack. After a third one, it skyrockets to 792! Dropping Confuse Ray, as I had Confuse Ray originally, is not much of a problem. Lum Berry is chosen over Leftovers because getting status is the bane of Cradily. The opponent goes: Harharhar! I will use Will-o-Wisp or Thunder Wave to render it useless! Harharhar! Oh no! It's got Lum Berry! Oh no! It KOed me with Rock Slide! Nooooooo! So you can see why I have this as it is.
Paleo means "prehistoric", which is what Cradily is.
Synergy:
Fighting goes to Gyarados, Starmie, and Rotom-c.
Ice goes to Starmie and Lucario.
Bug goes to Lucario, Rotom-c, and Gyarados.
Steel goes to Starmie, Lucario, and Gyarados.
The Really Fast Lawnmower
Rotom-c(F)@Choice Scarf Vroom
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP, 252 Sp. Attack, 252 Speed
Nature: Modest
-Trick
-Shadow Ball
-Thunderbolt
-Leaf Storm
Description:
Rotom-c provides much of the same synergy as Gardevoir did, so I'm replacing Gardevoir with this. It is a generic Choiced Rotom that outspeeds many non-Scarfed Pokemon and hits with its 3 pretty strong special moves. It also tricks things onto defensive Pokemon like Skarmory and Blissey, rendering them pretty much useless.
The 'c' in Rotom-c stands for either cut or car, I can't remember which. Anyway, it is a lawnmower that goes VROOM!
Synergy:
Dark goes to Lucario.
Ghost goes to Lucario.
Team Building Process[SIZE]
I knew that I wanted a sandstorm team. Tyranitar or Hippowdon? Hippowdon, as explained above.
With a part of the defensive core, I put a member of the offensive core in.
The defensive core only had the physical wall, so I put a special wall that could also dish out hits.
These three I am not willing to change.
Hmm...I had a Fighting and Ice weakness. Gardevoir was put in for support, Fighting resist, and high Sp. Defense for Ice attacks.
Now I needed a lead and some more resists, specifically, Fire, Water, and Ground.
There you go.
Final Words:
So, there it is. The Sand Warriors. Keep in mind my two rules, and try to suggest more unconventional sets with new Pokemon. They make things more fun for everybody. I will stop blabbing in a bit to let you guys rate. Of my team, I have 4 OU, 3 of which are very common, and 2 NU, which is, in my opinion, a very healthy mix that is not too predictable but still effective. I only have 1 SR-weak Pokemon and 3 resists to SR. 1 is unaffected by Spikes and 3 are unaffected by Toxic Spikes. No type is unresisted and no type is effective on over 2 of my Pokemon. Try to keep that synergy. All right, I'll shut up now. Rate away, please!
Final Glance:
Yes, all of these sprites were male sprites, even though not all of them are male. Does anybody care? I thought not. :)
Lucario(F)@Focus Sash (Anubis)
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Attack, 4 Defense, 252 Speed
Nature: Adamant
-Close Combat
-Extremespeed
-Ice Punch
-Swords Dance
Description:
Lucario....is....AWESOME! It looks awesome, it battles awesome, and has an awesome movepool! I knew from the start it would be on my team. First I Swords Dance to double my attack, then attack away! It is just awesome. Close Combat is a 100 accuracy, base 120 power move, at the cost of Defense and Sp. Defense, which is no problem. Extremespeed is for priority, and Ice Punch is chosen over Crunch for a surprise for Gliscor and bothersome Dragons. You're probably thinking: What? Focus Sash over Life Orb? What is he thinking? Well, Focus Sash has saved my @ss so many times, I can't count them. My opponent's always like: Hahaha! I can kill this thang without blinking! But, no, it's got..FOCUS SASH! Nooooo! I'm dooooomed! So you see, Focus Sash works better for me than Life Orb, and I'm not changing that.
Lucario is named Anubis because it looks a lot like the Egyptian god Anubis, who had the head of a jackal.
Synergy:
Ground goes to Gyarados and Rotom-c.
Fire goes to Gyarados and Starmie.
Fighting goes to Gyarados, Starmie, and Rotom-c.
The Hippopotamus who Somehow Gets a Sandstorm Going, Which Makes No Sense Whatsoever, but You Don't Question it Because it's A Fictional Creature that Appears in Video Games
Hippowdon(M)@Leftovers (Sand Horse)
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP, 168 Defense, 88 Sp. Defense
Nature: Impish
-Earthquake
-Roar
-Stone Edge
-Slack Off
Description:
My physical wall. It works wonders in absorbing physical attacks. An Electivire's Ice Punch doesn't even do 20% on me. Earthquake is for STAB, Stone Edge is for flying foes, Roar is for phazing purposes, and Slack Off for instant recovery. I'm proud to say that this takes on Choice Banded Scizor fairly well, taking only about 20%-30% from a Bullet Punch. So I just Earthquake, heal, Earthquake, heal, rinse and repeat. I chose this over Tyranitar because it adds to the defensive core of the team, and is less used than Tyranitar, which makes this team less bland from the standard Metagross and Lucario, even though this is still the most common Hippowdon set. The reason this is third instead of first is because of opposing weather teams. I kill off their Abomasnow, then interrupt hail with some sand. Kingdra wreaking havoc among my team? Interrupt the rain with some sand. Exeggutor Solarbeaming the shittake mushrooms out of my team? Interrupt the sunshine with some sand. It's simple.
Hippos are nicknamed the "water horse." Since Hippowdon is not very affiliated with water, "Sand Horse" fits better.
Synergy:
Water goes to Gyarados and Starmie.
Ice goes to Starmie and Lucario.
Grass goes to Lucario.
The Big, Scary Fish
Gyarados(M)@Leftovers (GoFish)
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 156 HP, 108 Attack, 100 Defense, 144 Speed
Nature: Adamant
-Waterfall
-Dragon Dance
-Stone Edge
-Taunt
Description:
Gyarados has been changed into the bulky version to help against stall teams. Item has been changed to Leftovers. I'm sure all of you know this. Taunt is for Phazers, set-up sweepers, etc., Dragon Dance up, and attempt a sweep with Waterfall and Stone Edge.
Go Fish is a card game, as you probably know. So, Go Fish!
Synergy:
Rock goes to Lucario, Metagross, and Hippowdon.
Electric goes to Hippowdon, Rotom-c, and Cradily
The Prehistoric Plant
Cradily(M)@Lum Berry (Paleo)
Ability: Suction Cups
EVs: 252 HP, 160 Defense, 96 Sp. Defense
Nature: Careful
-Rock Slide
-Earthquake
-Recover
-Swords Dance
Description:
Cradily, Cradily, Cradily. Always underestimated. Very usable in OU, yet condemned to the life of an NU Pokemon. All because of its movepool and its typing. *tsk,tsk,tsk* Seriously, this needs to be at least an UU Pokemon. It's not that bad! In fact, because of the 50% Sp. Defense boost from the sandstorm, it functions very well as a Special Wall! Recover is a given for recovery, Rock Slide and Earthquake are for attacking options, and Swords Dance...well, I need to explain that choice. Usually, people go with Toxic, or even Confuse Ray. But, the offensive version works so well (I've tried it)! The thing is, it's so frail! One U-Turn from Scizor will kill it, but using this version, it won't! The problem is, its Attack is only 198. Hmmm... how about using the offensive set on the defensive EVs? Brilliant! After one Swords Dance, its reaches a decent 396 Attack. After another, it reaches a pretty good 594 Attack. After a third one, it skyrockets to 792! Dropping Confuse Ray, as I had Confuse Ray originally, is not much of a problem. Lum Berry is chosen over Leftovers because getting status is the bane of Cradily. The opponent goes: Harharhar! I will use Will-o-Wisp or Thunder Wave to render it useless! Harharhar! Oh no! It's got Lum Berry! Oh no! It KOed me with Rock Slide! Nooooooo! So you can see why I have this as it is.
Paleo means "prehistoric", which is what Cradily is.
Synergy:
Fighting goes to Gyarados, Starmie, and Rotom-c.
Ice goes to Starmie and Lucario.
Bug goes to Lucario, Rotom-c, and Gyarados.
Steel goes to Starmie, Lucario, and Gyarados.
The Really Fast Lawnmower
Rotom-c(F)@Choice Scarf Vroom
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP, 252 Sp. Attack, 252 Speed
Nature: Modest
-Trick
-Shadow Ball
-Thunderbolt
-Leaf Storm
Description:
Rotom-c provides much of the same synergy as Gardevoir did, so I'm replacing Gardevoir with this. It is a generic Choiced Rotom that outspeeds many non-Scarfed Pokemon and hits with its 3 pretty strong special moves. It also tricks things onto defensive Pokemon like Skarmory and Blissey, rendering them pretty much useless.
The 'c' in Rotom-c stands for either cut or car, I can't remember which. Anyway, it is a lawnmower that goes VROOM!
Synergy:
Dark goes to Lucario.
Ghost goes to Lucario.
Team Building Process[SIZE]
I knew that I wanted a sandstorm team. Tyranitar or Hippowdon? Hippowdon, as explained above.
With a part of the defensive core, I put a member of the offensive core in.
The defensive core only had the physical wall, so I put a special wall that could also dish out hits.
These three I am not willing to change.
Hmm...I had a Fighting and Ice weakness. Gardevoir was put in for support, Fighting resist, and high Sp. Defense for Ice attacks.
Now I needed a lead and some more resists, specifically, Fire, Water, and Ground.
There you go.
Final Words:
So, there it is. The Sand Warriors. Keep in mind my two rules, and try to suggest more unconventional sets with new Pokemon. They make things more fun for everybody. I will stop blabbing in a bit to let you guys rate. Of my team, I have 4 OU, 3 of which are very common, and 2 NU, which is, in my opinion, a very healthy mix that is not too predictable but still effective. I only have 1 SR-weak Pokemon and 3 resists to SR. 1 is unaffected by Spikes and 3 are unaffected by Toxic Spikes. No type is unresisted and no type is effective on over 2 of my Pokemon. Try to keep that synergy. All right, I'll shut up now. Rate away, please!
Final Glance:
Yes, all of these sprites were male sprites, even though not all of them are male. Does anybody care? I thought not. :)
