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-   -   RMT Rainecho's Sandstorm Team (https://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=309841)

Rainecho October 10th, 2013 10:02 AM

Rainecho's Sandstorm Team
 
Hello and welcome to my discussion thread. Here I'll share with you my Sandstorm Team which I recently made, hoping to receive help on getting better. This is not my first team made, but I have never experienced fighting a competitive team. Before we even start I would like to thank you for using your precious time on my thread.

Sandstorm Team Introduction
Let me introduce you my sandstorm team. This sandstorm team is based on flinching, critical hitting and tricking. Our team members will be Hippowdon, Rampardos, Skarmory, Nidoking, Bisharp and Kabutops.
The main goal is to mess with the opponent's team. It'll be sure a great team against Rain Dance Teams, but not that good versus Sunny Day Teams. Take note that Sandstorm is tricky and as far as I know it doesn't power up any move, but just deal damage which is totally different than weather teams. Sandstorm Teams are quite rare and I think they are good to try.

Team Members and Plans

Hippowdon
Abillity: Sand Stream
Item: Leftovers
Stats: 4 HP/252 Def/252 Sp.Def
Moveset:
Bulldoze
Rest
Toxic
Yawn

Hippowdon is the sandstorm bringer. Toxic is here to mess with, Yawn to force leaving and may result in breaking plans. Rest will be used to get HP back and Bulldoze to lower opponent's speed and then strike with another party Pokemon.


Rampardos
Abillity: Mold Breaker
Item: Leftovers
Stats: 252 HP/4 Atk./252 Spe
Moveset:
Zen Headbutt
Ice Beam
Thunderbolt
Substitute

And then we have this crazy Rampardos. I always liked it for its TM randomness and I guess it's here where I put it in battle. Zen Headbutt to flinch and mess with other Rock types, Ice Beam for any Grass or Flying and Thunderbolt for Water. Then we have Substitute which is going to help if someone is preparing a sweep.



Skarmory
Abillity: Weak Armor
Item: Leftovers
Stats: 252 Atk/252 Sp.Atk/4 Def
Moveset:
Spikes
Steel Wing
Guard Swap
Air Slash


And we have a special Skarmory. We have Spikes which are probably going to be used after Hippowdon. Pay attention to the abillity: Weak Armor. Weak Armor will lower its Defence and rise its Speed if it's attacked. And this is where Steel Wing and Guard Swap is based. Steel Wing will sure get the Defence back, but in-case of any dangerous, sweeping or just dealing some serious damage. Then just for the flinch we have Air Slash.



Nidoking
Abillity: Poison Point
Item: Life Orb
Stats: 252 Atk/252 Sp.Def/4 Spe
Moveset:
Poison Jab
Venoshock
Brick Break
Roar

Okay. Nidoking has Poison Point and that's the reason why I haven't gave it Def EV stat.
Poison Jab will try to give Poison and Venoshock will be doubled if so. Then we have Brick Break, one of my favorite moves. It will completely destroy any...rare Reflect/Screen users or just the common Blisseys. Then,we have Roar a really terrifying and...trolling move. >_>



Bisharp
Abillity: Pressure
Item: Leftovers
Stats: 252 HP/252 Def/4 Sp.Def
Moveset:
Swords Dance
Night Slash
Iron Head
Taunt

Bisharp is for the Psychic types. It will sure trick any other type losing double PP each turn (Pressure...). Got some defence stats in case of Fighting Pokemon. Swords Dance, I don't usually have time to sweep so I never did a successful one, but I'll try. Night Slash is going to be our crit split! Then Iron Head to flinch and wynaut using Taunt to mess with weak non-effective hitting foes? Like Blisseys for example. (Yes I hate Blisseys. -3-)



Kabutops
Abillity: Battle Armor
Item: Leftovers
Stats: 252 HP/252 Spe/4 Sp.Atk
Moveset:
Hidden Power (Grass)
Night Slash
Ancient Power
Smack Down

And our last and final member, Kabutops! Its abillity is Battle Armor which means full protection from random annoying critical hits! And that's why we have Night Slash, to crit them back! Then, Ancient Power to get stats and Smack Down for any Bouncing,Flying or Levitating Pokemon.


Epilogue
So, this is my sandstorm team. I haven't made it already, so I am open for any suggestions and changes that you have. I'll post any changes I make to my team to keep you tuned on the look of it. Of course, full credit to the main idea giver etc. You may also post any mistakes I made or any improvements I have to do. Now, I would like to thank you again for your time spent on this. :D

PlatinumDude October 10th, 2013 9:17 PM

Just saying, not everything in a Sand team has to be Rock, Ground or Steel. This stacks up weaknesses to Water, Grass, Ground and Fighting moves and these are relatively common in OU.

Even though Bulldoze's side effect comes in handy at times, its low base power makes it not worth using. Also, Hippowdon learns Slack Off as a reliable means of recovery, so there's ABSOLUTELY no need to bother with Rest, which leaves Hippowdon as a sitting duck for two turns:
-Stealth Rock
-Earthquake
-Slack Off
-Ice Fang/Toxic
Nature: Impish/Careful
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SDef or 252 HP/4 Def/252 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream

Rampardos is terrible in OU. Despite the Special Defense boost it gains in Sandstorm, its low Speed, low defenses and many common weaknesses hinder it on the battlefield. Lack of STAB hurts here as well. Terrakion has the base Speed to abuse its high Attack with (though it's weaker than Rampardos):
-Stone Edge
-Close Combat
-X-Scissor
-Sacred Sword/Rock Slide/Quick Attack
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Item: Choice Scarf/Choice Band

or
-Swords Dance
-Rock Polish
-Close Combat
-Stone Edge
Nature: Jolly/Adamant
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Air Balloon

or
-Stealth Rock
-Taunt/Swords Dance
-Close Combat
-Stone Edge
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk/4 SDef/252 Spe
Item: Focus Sash

or
-Substitute
-Swords Dance
-Close Combat
-Stone Edge
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Rock Gem/Salac Berry

Weak Armor wastes away Skarmory's defensive capabilities. While you can transfer the Defense drops with Guard Swap, Skarmory isn't fast enough to do so, even after some Weak Armor boosts with your current spread. Air Slash works off of Skarmory's weak Special Attack, so don't even bother with it. Please stick to Skarmory's MAIN strength, which is to act as a physical roadblock, or as a suicide hazard setter in conjunction with Custap Berry:
-Spikes
-Whirlwind
-Roost
-Brave Bird/Taunt
Nature: Impish/Careful
EVs: 224 HP/252 Def/32 SDef or 224 HP/32 Def/252 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy

or
-Spikes
-Stealth Rock
-Taunt
-Brave Bird
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy

*sigh* Nidoking gained Sheer Force in the Dream World. It SHOULD take advantage of the ability whenever possible, as it makes it more powerful than it already is. Venoshock is too situational and you're not likely to poison anything with Poison Point before Nidoking goes down. Also, Nidoking isn't that good in OU because its average Speed holds it back. Garchomp provides the power and Speed that this team needs alongside Terrakion:
-Stealth Rock
-Outrage/Dragon Claw
-Earthquake
-Fire Blast/Swords Dance
Nature: Naive/Jolly
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Item: Rocky Helmet/Focus Sash

or
-Swords Dance
-Outrage/Dragon Claw
-Earthquake
-Aqua Tail/Fire Fang
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Item: Yache Berry/Lum Berry

or
-Outrage
-Earthquake
-Fire Blast/Stone Edge
-Dragon Claw/Dual Chop
Nature: Naive/Jolly
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Item: Choice Scarf

or
-Outrage
-Earthquake
-Fire Fang/Aqua Tail
-Dragon Claw/Dual Chop
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe

Bisharp is viable in OU, but it needs more support than you currently have to work effectively. In its place, I'd suggest something like Alakazam or Reuniclus as both have the Magic Guard ability, which makes them immune to sandstorm:

Alakazam:
-Psychic/Psyshock
-Focus Blast
-Signal Beam/Shadow Ball
-Substitute/Hidden Power (Fire/Ice)
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard

Reuniclus:
-Trick Room
-Psychic/Psyshock
-Shadow Ball/Hidden Power (Fire)
-Focus Blast
Nature: Quiet
EVs: 192 HP/64 Def/252 SAtk
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard

or
-Calm Mind
-Psychic/Psyshock
-Focus Blast
-Recover
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SDef
Item: Leftovers/Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard

Kabutops' Special Attack is mediocre, so this takes Hidden Power and AncientPower out of the equation. Smack Down is way too situational, and you're better off hitting Fliers and Levitators with Stone Edge anyways. Night Slash is situational as well. It should stick to Rapid Spinning, but this is done better by Starmie, due to its excellent coverage and high Speed. In case you didn't know, Rapid Spin clears your field of entry hazards and Leech Seed, and this is very useful:
-Hydro Pump/Surf
-Ice Beam
-Thunderbolt/Psyshock
-Rapid Spin
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SAtk/4 SDef/252 Spe
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure

or
-Scald
-Rapid Spin
-Psyshock/Ice Beam/Thunderbolt
-Recover
Nature: Timid
EVs: 248 HP/32 Def/4 SAtk/224 Spe
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure

If you want to keep Kabutops, be my guest, but please change up the moves:
-Stone Edge
-Aqua Jet
-Rapid Spin
-Swords Dance/Low Kick
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Lum Berry
Ability: Weak Armor/Swift Swim
(Stone Edge is your main STAB attack, despite the shaky accuracy. Aqua Jet allows Kabutops to pick off weakened opponents. I already explained Rapid Spin. Last slot goes to either Swords Dance, which cranks up Kabutops' power further, or Low Kick, to hit Ferrothorn and other heavy Steels hard)

Other options to help deal with the weaknesses I mentioned include Celebi and Latias. They resist those moves:

Celebi:
-Giga Drain/Psychic
-Recover
-Baton Pass/U-turn
-Perish Song/Thunder Wave/Stealth Rock
Nature: Calm
EVs: 252 HP/236 SDef/20 Spe
Item: Leftovers

or
-Leaf Storm
-Earth Power/Psychic/Hidden Power (Fire)
-Thunder Wave/U-turn
-Recover
Nature: Modest
EVs: 60 HP/252 SAtk/196 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Leftovers

or
-Nasty Plot
-Giga Drain
-Earth Power/Hidden Power (Fire)
-Psychic/Recover/Hidden Power (Ice)
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Leftovers/Life Orb

or
-Leaf Storm
-Hidden Power (Fire/Ice)
-Earth Power/Psychic
-U-turn/Trick
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 HP/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Choice Scarf

Latias:
-Draco Meteor
-Psyshock
-Surf/Hidden Power (Fire)
-Recover
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 HP/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb

or
-Calm Mind
-Dragon Pulse
-Recover
-Substitute/Hidden Power (Fire)/Psyshock
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 HP/4 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Leftovers

Rainecho October 10th, 2013 11:32 PM

Okay I'll keep that team in mind. Thanks for your help and your suggestions. ^_^


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