Tricky Sand, A Mixed Team

[Fungal Paranoia]

Hey, I'm new to the forum here and I am looking for some constructive criticism on a Team I have made up. This is the first time doing this so be gentle.

The team I set up is a mix of OU/UU/NU pokemon that benefit from both Sandstorm and Trick Room. I focused on making it a fun bulky/offensive team with a surprise here and there to throw off my opponent. I would like some advice on what I can improve on and what I did well if possible.

Tricky Sand

For my first slot I've been debating what to lead with I have a couple of Pokemon that can lead and both use different strategies but both work together as well.

Dusknoir
Impish, Pressure, & Leftovers
EVs - 252 HP 252 Def 4 SpD
Moves
- Trick Room
- Will-O-Whisp
- Pain-Split
- Shadow Punch

I've mainly focused on Leading with Dusknoir to set up Trick Room off the bat but I've tested against others and it seems a bit slow and Taunt really stalls him. Pretty much Set up Trick Room and switch or Whisp then switch.

Bronzong
Brave, Levitate, & Life Orb
EVs - 252 HP 252 Atk 4 SpD
Moves
- Trick Room
- Gyro Ball
-Earthquake
- Explosion

Bronzong is the offensive TR user, I really wanted slow bulk users for TR and I think Bronzong fits the job. Pretty obvious either use TR that is set up to use Gyro Ball and hit with Earthquake when I can.

Sandslash
Adamant, Sandveil, & Brightpowder
EVs - 252 HP 252 Atk 4 Def
Moves
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- NightSlash
- Stealth Rock

Sandslash is here to act mainly as a Spinner because SR can get annoying but also serve as a decent sweeper with good coverage. He benefits both in Sandstorm and with TR so I thought he was a the perfect option as well as you don't see him played often.

Cacturne
Quiet, Sandveil, & Bright Powder
EVs - 252 Atk 252 SpAtk 4 HP
Moves
- Dark Pulse
-Sucker Punch
-Focus Blast
- Needle Arm

Cacturne one of the secret weapons of the team, I've always been intrigued of Cacturne when I first played Ruby, but he never quite found a good niche there. I considered a lot about him. Both his SpAtk/Atk boast a wonderful 115 Stat and he has great type coverage. I chose Needle Arm over Seed Bomb mainly because of the flinch bonus. Sucker Punch is obvious for stab and priority with or without TR up. He greatly benefits from TR as well as Sandstorm making his frail defences become more avoidable.

Hippowdown
Impish, Sandstream, & Leftovers
EVs - 252 HP 152 Def 104 SpD
Moves
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Fang

Hippowdown is basically the generic stall/sandstream set up but I kept T-Fang there to cover flying/water types (mainly Gyarados). I'm debating to either lead with Hippowdown to start with Sandstorm up or keep Dusknoir there to start with TR?

Tyranitar
Quiet, Sandstream, & Expert Belt
EVs - 252 SpA 200 Hp 56 Atk
Moves
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam
- Dark Pulse
- Brick Break/Stone Edge/Super Power

T-Tar is my heavy hitter, though he is really OU I think a more SpA base is more surprising and could throw off many people. I chose Expert belt so I don't get stuck with a Choiced Move. The last move slot is bugging me immensely, but I do not know what fits the best.


That is pretty much my Team, I didn't want something overly competitive so I went with a more fun approach with some pokemon not often used. I really haven't played much Competitive recently due to Internet Issues, but I'm really looking to see if anyone can help me try out my team to let me practice with them as well as try different strategies. I'm still quite new to this but from what I can tell the biggest threats are if my TR is knocked out or if really bulky water/grass types comes in.

Thank you in advance. :)

Oh if anyone can tell me how or where to find sprites to upload because I'm assuming this will look very newby/bland. Much obliged :]
​

​

​

 

[SOMALIA]

Hi there Fungal, creative team you got yourself there. I'm not too experienced with trick room but I'll try my best.

I'm not sure about leading with Dusknoir since the majority of leads nowadays carry taunt and render you useless, also it is great to get of entry hazards as early as possible to remove opponent's sashes and guarantee some OHKo's. I, therefore recommend you lead of with Hippodown. Thunder fang seems ok on Hippodown but you might prefer maybe Protect or roar in it's slot. Protect can help save your Hippodown from suicudial leads such as Metagross and Non taunt Azelf. Roar can scout your opponent's team plus rack up significant damage with both stealth rock and sandstorm damage.

Sandslash basically is Hippodown no.2 with the same typing but you probably use him to spin away entry hazards. Try using a pokemon of different typing perhaps. Options include Pokemon such as Forretress, Hitmontop and Starmie(although he might not be the best candidate for trick room team).

Opt to change for Forretress for now, you now have something to spin away entry hazards that can take grass attacks aimed at Hippodown as well as put layers yourself. Now toxic spikes might be the best option here seeing as it would put great pressure on the opponent and make sweeping easier for you,

Forretress@Leftovers
- Rapid Spin
- Payback
- Toxic Spikes
- Gyro Ball/Earthquake/Spikes
252HP/58DEF/200SP.DEF
relaxed


Bronzong is a great pokemon to trick room but doesn't help your team with it's weakness to LO Infernape and Dragonite. Cressila can trick room as well as taker hits from the mentioned pokemon like a champ.

Cressila@Leftovers/
- Rest
- Trick Room
- Psychic
- Ice Beam/ Sleep Talk
110HP/180DEF/70SP.ATT/150SP.DEF
Bold

Tyranitar can work well but if you feel he isn't contributing much try out Curse Cradily. It's special defense is superb thanks to sand storm as well as it has curse.

Cradily@Leftovers
-Seed Bomb
-Rock slide
-Curse
-Recover
252HP/24ATT/74DEF/164SP.DEF putting you at exactly 400 sp.def in sandstorm
Careful

Anyhow seeing as this is your first you doing this, nice job and good luck. Also add more sentences to your explanations of your team members. Talk about how they play their role in the team and the synergy they create and what threats they cover for fellow team members.^^

How to find sprites:

1) go to google.com
2) search in images 'hippodown', it is better to find a sprite that is 80 by 80 so go to advanced options and choose exactly 80 by 80
3) Right click on the picture and choose open image in in a new tab
4) copy the link in the address bar
5)post it here and put

at the end of the link(no space).

 

[Fungal Paranoia]

Thanks Somalia, I thought the exact same thing about Hippowdown leading just due to Taunt. I considered Foretress but I don't like pokemon with 4x weakness often and the team is more based on Fun/Strategy then it is competitive. I would have added more to my sentences, but I haven't tried my team out on anyone and I am looking for someone to test it against. For the 3 spinners you mentioned I considered majority of em and most don't benefit from Trick Room or Sandstorm. Cradily is an interesting option never considered it, I may try it, depends how T-Tar works.

I think I am going to leave Bronzong mainly since I don't like to use any Legendary type pokemon and Bronzong resists more then Cresselia. Main reason for Bronzong is that Gyro Ball remains at 150 BP? While being faster then the opponent in TR :]