The Super Sand Stormers - An OU Sandstorm RMT
I had been wanting to make a successful weather team for a long time. I experimented with several styles in different tiers, and, again, I have come back to an OU sandstorm team. But this one is actually good! :) It has elements of both offense and stall. Enjoy!
That's all!
Some things of note:
1. *GASP* No Scizor! No revenge killer! No legendaries! *GASP*
Yes, none of the above. It's no big deal. I can usually play around everything without using a revenge killer.
2. *snicker* Haha, n00b. You make nicknames!
Oh, haha. :)
3. Weak points...? Major concerns...?
So far, I haven't encounter anything of major concern except Breloom. Help on that?
4. Success...? Or not...?
This team has been very successful, winning maybe 90% of my matches.
Rate/hate away!
The Sandstorm Soldiers
I had been wanting to make a successful weather team for a long time. I experimented with several styles in different tiers, and, again, I have come back to an OU sandstorm team. But this one is actually good! :) It has elements of both offense and stall. Enjoy!
Team Building:
Any sandstorm team must have a Sand Streamer, right? So it was either Hippowdon or Tyranitar. I chose Hippowdon because it's bulkier, and I wanted to try something different (Tyranitar is WAY OU :P).
Since I now have a physical wall, I need something to tank special hits. I had tried Cradily before with some decent success, and with HG/SS giving it Curse, in it goes.
Okay. I had previously not wanted to play stall, but I decided to try it out. Since stall wants and hates entry hazards, Forretress fits the job with Rapid Spin and all 3 entry hazards.
Now I needed a spin blocker, so it was either Rotom-a or Dusknoir. I liked Dusknoir better, as it tanks hits equally well, has a more powerful Pain Split, and is overall cooler :P
Now, I still don't like full stall (too slow and boring :) ) so I need some firepower. Looking over my weaknesses, I saw I need resistances to Fire, Ghost, and Dark. Empoleon resists the latter two, and is a powerful special attacker.
Okey-doke, I see that stall might be a problem, and I need a good physical attacker. I also need a resistance to Fire and Ground. What other than Gyarados?
Hippowdon (SandHorse) @Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP, 168 Def, 88 Sp Def
-Stealth Rock
-Roar
-Slack Off
-Earthquake
Hippowdon is a beast of a physical wall. It can take almost any physical hit thrown at it, and with a gigantic HP, special attacks are not the absolute bane of Hippowdon (except Grass Knot). This helps the team by setting up permanent sandstorm, setting up SR, and being awesomely good at walling physically. Stealth Rock is necessary to break Sashes and limit switch-ins from Salamence and the such. Roar is for phazing stat-boosters. Slack Off for instant 50% recovery, and Earthquake as STAB.
Cradily (Paleo) @ Leftovers
Ability: Suction Cups
Nature: Careful
EVs: 252 HP, 96 Def, 160 Sp. Def
-Curse
-Rock Slide
-Earthquake
-Recover
HG/SS vastly improved Cradily with the addition of Curse. Now its less-than-stellar Defense can be boosted, and with Sandstorm, its already good Sp Defense is boosted by 50%, making it a special tank boosting its Attack and Defense to great levels. Suction Cups prevents Whirlwind and Roar, making phazing useless. After a good number of Curses, which it can easily do, it will be surviving a bunch of physical hits. The EVs are from the analysis, with Def and Sp Def switched, since Sp Def won't be boosted. Curse and Recover are givens, and Rock Slide + Earthquake provide great coverage.
Forretress (Dizzy) @ Shed Shell
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Relaxed
EVs: 252 HP, 112 Att, 144 Def
IVs: 0 Spe
-Toxic Spikes
-Rapid Spin
-Gyro Ball
-Earthquake
Forretress takes physical hits pretty darn well, and has a bunch of resistances to help him, too. Rapid Spin is a given, to get rid of bothersome entry hazards that threaten my team. Gyro Ball is powered up due to Forretress's abysmal speed, and Earthquake is a good move that OHKOs Magnezone thanks to 112 Attack, even though I don't fear it thanks to Shed Shell. Toxic Spikes are chosen over Spikes because they help Empoleon sweep and they wear down many offensive Pokemon, which always helps :)
Dusknoir (Buster) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP, 28 Attack, 224 Defense
-Will-o-Wisp
-Pain Split
-Earthquake
-Ice Punch
Dusknoir is another great tank that takes hits, spreads burn status, and hits back. Being a Ghost, it blocks Rapid Spin which threatens to get rid of my precious, precious entry hazards. Will-o-Wisp is to help wear things down, and to catch physical attackers who hope to Pursuit. Pain Split is insanely powerful thanks to Dusknoir's low HP, which isn't a problem due to his base 135 Defenses. Earthquake + Ice Punch provides the best coverage out of his moves. Take THAT Rotom! :)
Empoleon (HappyFeet)@ Petaya Berry
Ability: Torrent
Nature: Modest
EVs: 12 HP, 12 Defense, 252 Sp Attack, 232 Speed
-Agility
-Substitute
-Surf
-Ice Beam
Empoleon provides a nice offensive edge to the team, which it would otherwise lack. The idea, which I'm sure all of you are aware of, is to bring it in on a resistance, which isn't hard to do considering all the Scizor running rampant, Agility on the switch, Substitute until Petaya Berry and Torrent kick in, and begin to sweep. This thing hits surprisingly hard after it works out. Surf + Ice Beam provide pretty good coverage together, and it doesn't have to run Grass Knot due to Toxic Spikes from Forretress. It will even survive a Scizor's Bullet Punch at 18 percent and KO back with Surf. That's cool.
Gyarados (BigBadDawg)@Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 156 HP, 72 Attack, 96 Def, 184 Spe
-Dragon Dance
-Taunt
-Waterfall
-Stone Edge
Here is my answer to opposing stall teams (well, my team is only half-stall, but whatever). Taunt ruins anything trying to Whirlwind, Spikes up, or Roost (I'm looking at you Skarmory). It also stops T-waves, Softboiled's, and Toxic (Now I'm looking at you, Blissey). Finding time to Dragon Dance isn't hard if I take advantage of the switches I cause (muhaha). Waterfall is for obvious physical STAB. Stone Edge might be a surprising choice, but it works pretty darn well. Like Ice Fang, it hits Dragon/Flyings for super-effective damage, but unlike Ice Fang or Return it also hits opposing Gyarados super-effectively! The accuracy is no biggie, considering Gyarados's bulk, so I can pull off a sweep perfectly (sometimes :) ).
Any sandstorm team must have a Sand Streamer, right? So it was either Hippowdon or Tyranitar. I chose Hippowdon because it's bulkier, and I wanted to try something different (Tyranitar is WAY OU :P).
Since I now have a physical wall, I need something to tank special hits. I had tried Cradily before with some decent success, and with HG/SS giving it Curse, in it goes.
Okay. I had previously not wanted to play stall, but I decided to try it out. Since stall wants and hates entry hazards, Forretress fits the job with Rapid Spin and all 3 entry hazards.
Now I needed a spin blocker, so it was either Rotom-a or Dusknoir. I liked Dusknoir better, as it tanks hits equally well, has a more powerful Pain Split, and is overall cooler :P
Now, I still don't like full stall (too slow and boring :) ) so I need some firepower. Looking over my weaknesses, I saw I need resistances to Fire, Ghost, and Dark. Empoleon resists the latter two, and is a powerful special attacker.
Okey-doke, I see that stall might be a problem, and I need a good physical attacker. I also need a resistance to Fire and Ground. What other than Gyarados?
In Depth:
Hippowdon (SandHorse) @Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP, 168 Def, 88 Sp Def
-Stealth Rock
-Roar
-Slack Off
-Earthquake
Hippowdon is a beast of a physical wall. It can take almost any physical hit thrown at it, and with a gigantic HP, special attacks are not the absolute bane of Hippowdon (except Grass Knot). This helps the team by setting up permanent sandstorm, setting up SR, and being awesomely good at walling physically. Stealth Rock is necessary to break Sashes and limit switch-ins from Salamence and the such. Roar is for phazing stat-boosters. Slack Off for instant 50% recovery, and Earthquake as STAB.
Cradily (Paleo) @ Leftovers
Ability: Suction Cups
Nature: Careful
EVs: 252 HP, 96 Def, 160 Sp. Def
-Curse
-Rock Slide
-Earthquake
-Recover
HG/SS vastly improved Cradily with the addition of Curse. Now its less-than-stellar Defense can be boosted, and with Sandstorm, its already good Sp Defense is boosted by 50%, making it a special tank boosting its Attack and Defense to great levels. Suction Cups prevents Whirlwind and Roar, making phazing useless. After a good number of Curses, which it can easily do, it will be surviving a bunch of physical hits. The EVs are from the analysis, with Def and Sp Def switched, since Sp Def won't be boosted. Curse and Recover are givens, and Rock Slide + Earthquake provide great coverage.
Forretress (Dizzy) @ Shed Shell
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Relaxed
EVs: 252 HP, 112 Att, 144 Def
IVs: 0 Spe
-Toxic Spikes
-Rapid Spin
-Gyro Ball
-Earthquake
Forretress takes physical hits pretty darn well, and has a bunch of resistances to help him, too. Rapid Spin is a given, to get rid of bothersome entry hazards that threaten my team. Gyro Ball is powered up due to Forretress's abysmal speed, and Earthquake is a good move that OHKOs Magnezone thanks to 112 Attack, even though I don't fear it thanks to Shed Shell. Toxic Spikes are chosen over Spikes because they help Empoleon sweep and they wear down many offensive Pokemon, which always helps :)
Dusknoir (Buster) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP, 28 Attack, 224 Defense
-Will-o-Wisp
-Pain Split
-Earthquake
-Ice Punch
Dusknoir is another great tank that takes hits, spreads burn status, and hits back. Being a Ghost, it blocks Rapid Spin which threatens to get rid of my precious, precious entry hazards. Will-o-Wisp is to help wear things down, and to catch physical attackers who hope to Pursuit. Pain Split is insanely powerful thanks to Dusknoir's low HP, which isn't a problem due to his base 135 Defenses. Earthquake + Ice Punch provides the best coverage out of his moves. Take THAT Rotom! :)
Empoleon (HappyFeet)@ Petaya Berry
Ability: Torrent
Nature: Modest
EVs: 12 HP, 12 Defense, 252 Sp Attack, 232 Speed
-Agility
-Substitute
-Surf
-Ice Beam
Empoleon provides a nice offensive edge to the team, which it would otherwise lack. The idea, which I'm sure all of you are aware of, is to bring it in on a resistance, which isn't hard to do considering all the Scizor running rampant, Agility on the switch, Substitute until Petaya Berry and Torrent kick in, and begin to sweep. This thing hits surprisingly hard after it works out. Surf + Ice Beam provide pretty good coverage together, and it doesn't have to run Grass Knot due to Toxic Spikes from Forretress. It will even survive a Scizor's Bullet Punch at 18 percent and KO back with Surf. That's cool.
Gyarados (BigBadDawg)@Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 156 HP, 72 Attack, 96 Def, 184 Spe
-Dragon Dance
-Taunt
-Waterfall
-Stone Edge
Here is my answer to opposing stall teams (well, my team is only half-stall, but whatever). Taunt ruins anything trying to Whirlwind, Spikes up, or Roost (I'm looking at you Skarmory). It also stops T-waves, Softboiled's, and Toxic (Now I'm looking at you, Blissey). Finding time to Dragon Dance isn't hard if I take advantage of the switches I cause (muhaha). Waterfall is for obvious physical STAB. Stone Edge might be a surprising choice, but it works pretty darn well. Like Ice Fang, it hits Dragon/Flyings for super-effective damage, but unlike Ice Fang or Return it also hits opposing Gyarados super-effectively! The accuracy is no biggie, considering Gyarados's bulk, so I can pull off a sweep perfectly (sometimes :) ).
That's all!
Some things of note:
1. *GASP* No Scizor! No revenge killer! No legendaries! *GASP*
Yes, none of the above. It's no big deal. I can usually play around everything without using a revenge killer.
2. *snicker* Haha, n00b. You make nicknames!
Oh, haha. :)
3. Weak points...? Major concerns...?
So far, I haven't encounter anything of major concern except Breloom. Help on that?
4. Success...? Or not...?
This team has been very successful, winning maybe 90% of my matches.
Final Glance:
Rate/hate away!
