6th Gen New team - sandstorm types - help?

[TheyCallMeBriar]

So I have pokemon y and I wanted to put together a cool team, I settled on a steel/rock/ground team. This is what I'm currently using, any advice on how to make it a bit more competitive?

Tyranitar:
Rock slide, Stone Edge, Earthquake, Dragon Dance

Aerodactyl:
Fly, Agility, Ancient Power, Crunch

Lucario:
Power-Up Punch, Aura Sphere, Dragon Pulse, Flash Cannon

Empoleon:
Grass Knot, Ice Beam, Flash Cannon, Scald

Metagross:
Meteor Mash, Bullet Punch, Hammer Arm, Zen Headbutt

Garchomp:
Dragon Rush, Dragon Claw, Shadow Claw, Earthquake

I'm thinking about swapping Aerodactyl out for Aggron one my Aggron is completely trained and I have is mega stone, Garchomp and Lucario have mega stones, not sure what items I should give everybody else. All help is appreciated!

 

[Hiatus]

To me, the team seems quite solid thus far! Does your Tyranitar have Sand Stream, by the way? This would help by hurting our opponent every turn while having no effect on any of our team members and whatnot, giving us a slight advantage.

 

[TheyCallMeBriar]

It does indeed, tyranitar is actually what inspired the whole idea, I got tired of hurting my own team so I adapted because I love tyranitar haha.

 

[Nah]

You'll wanna see if you can fit in Pokemon that benefit from the sandstorm Tyranitar brings, like ones with Sand Rush, Sand Force, or Sand Veil.

Power-Up Punch doesn't really work well with the rest of Lucario's moves, since they're specially based, while PUP boosts Attack. You can either replace those 3 moves with physical ones, or change PUP to some other special attack.

Dragon Rush's accuracy will probably be a problem for you eventually. If you just want a stronger Dragon STAB than Dragon Claw, there's Outrage. But there's other (and potentially more useful options) like Stone Edge, Fire Blast, Stealth Rock, Swords Dance, etc. Though sometimes I wonder if Dragon Rush+Hone Claws would work fine too.

 

[Elysieum]

Consider the usefulness of Heliolisk (Sand Veil) and Stoutland (Sand Rush). Both are non-Ground/Rock/Steel types that may offer interesting coverage for your team. Additionally, Kabutops could fit nicely and bring some physical Water potency.

 

[The_Awesome_Pikachu]

You can also use Sand Rush Excadrill.

 

[TheyCallMeBriar]

I've gotten to play test a little bit and Aerodactyl just doesn't seem to work on the team for whatever reason so I swapped it out with stoutland and that didn't go over to well either, I don't yet have helioisk but I'm gonna give it a shot. And I honestly have no idea how I overlooked excadrill I'll have to give it a shot as well. I feel like part of my problem is also my lack of knowledge when it comes to appropriate items and nature's for each pokemon and I've had some trouble coming up with good movements. All this advice is very much appreciated though, all this testing is giving me better ideas of what works with this team, I'm thinking about maybe a hail team next ������

You'll wanna see if you can fit in Pokemon that benefit from the sandstorm Tyranitar brings, like ones with Sand Rush, Sand Force, or Sand Veil.

Power-Up Punch doesn't really work well with the rest of Lucario's moves, since they're specially based, while PUP boosts Attack. You can either replace those 3 moves with physical ones, or change PUP to some other special attack.

Dragon Rush's accuracy will probably be a problem for you eventually. If you just want a stronger Dragon STAB than Dragon Claw, there's Outrage. But there's other (and potentially more useful options) like Stone Edge, Fire Blast, Stealth Rock, Swords Dance, etc. Though sometimes I wonder if Dragon Rush+Hone Claws would work fine too.

I also replaced PUP on Lucario with Hp ice and that has made a world of difference so thank you very much for that! Though I'm still figuring out what works best with Garchomp.

 

[Nah]

I've gotten to play test a little bit and Aerodactyl just doesn't seem to work on the team for whatever reason so I swapped it out with stoutland and that didn't go over to well either, I don't yet have helioisk but I'm gonna give it a shot. And I honestly have no idea how I overlooked excadrill I'll have to give it a shot as well. I feel like part of my problem is also my lack of knowledge when it comes to appropriate items and nature's for each pokemon and I've had some trouble coming up with good movements. All this advice is very much appreciated though, all this testing is giving me better ideas of what works with this team, I'm thinking about maybe a hail team next ������



I also replaced PUP on Lucario with Hp ice and that has made a world of difference so thank you very much for that! Though I'm still figuring out what works best with Garchomp.

If you're looking for natures to use, Tyranitar will want Jolly, Metagross as Adamant (unless you use its Mega, then go Jolly), Lucario as Timid, and Empoleon with Modest. Those ones work best with your current set ups for them. Garchomp depends on much you're going to use its Mega and with sand. Non-Mega Garchomp is best with Jolly, but Mega Garchomp can run a few different ones depending on the moveset. In addition to Jolly, Adamant, Naive, and Naughty (and potentially Lonely or Hasty) work as well.

Also....I'd kind of advise against a hail team. Hail has always been kind of an ass weather condition, even back in Gen 5 when weather teams were dominant.