Offensive Sandstorm Team

[NothingPersonal]

OH MY GOODNESS, THIS IS WAY TL;DR
I know this team needs quite a lot of work, it is mostly composed of sweepers, so offence is kind of the only thing keeping this team going :/ I have done pretty well with this team, I would have to say it's my most successful. I've tried rainy day and sunny day teams, but I didn't have much luck with them, although they were decent, I guess. This team was meant to take advantage of the new amazing ability sand rush, while equipping nearly each pokemon with swords dance to make them speedy and offensive at the same time. Now, I know weather teams 'are too mainstream', but 90% of all teams are weather teams, so you might as well stop being a hipster and go with the flow.

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Hippowdon (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Fang

This is what starts up the sandstorm. It's bulky defensive EV spread helps it protect against any physical attacks. It sets up stealth rock, then dishes out whatever it can while getting some major healing from slack off. I'm thinking of using roar over ice fang, but with prankster users + taunt out there, it's safer using ice fang.

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Gliscor (M) @ Flight Gem
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Acrobatics
- Earthquake
- Substitute
Pretty simple, use swords dance when you can, then sweep like there's no tomorrow. Acrobatics is extremely powerful with flight gem, the first time it hits, it will pretty much KO anything in it's path. It is still pretty powerful without it because after getting rid of the item, the power increases. Earthquake is a nice STAB addition to the set. I rarely use substitute though, I'm thinking of having it replaced for more coverage.

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Stoutland (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Return
- Crunch
- Fire Fang
- Ice Fang
Choice band + Sand Rush is a complete menace. It gives stoutland the power and speed to sweep through nearly anything. I don't even know why smogon put it in RU, it is a useful pokemon on this team. I feel like getting locked into one move is a bit dangerous, but the power is overwhelming. Since Stoutland is supposedly in RU, people never seem to expect an astounding stoutland sweep :P

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Scizor (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Brick Break
- Bug Bite
Doesn't really get anything from sandstorm other than an immunity. However, it is still an incredible pokemon to use. Swords dance whenever you can, and then hit it with everything you have. Bullet punch and bug bite get incredibly a tad bit more powerful from technician, while brick break gets rid of the ever so annoying ferrothorn. Not much of a reason for scizor to be here, it's just a great pokemon.

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Excadrill (M) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- X-Scissor
Yet another pokemon with swords dance :P So yeah, same as above, use swords dance, hit it with everything have. Earthquake is a nice STAB.

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Tyranitar (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Aqua Tail
My back-up sand streamer. Something that rain dance/sunny day teams don't have access to. Dragon dance when you can, and then watch as your opponent cries over a Speedy and destructive tyranitar.

So yeah, that's the team, tell me where I can make improvements(and maybe some suggestions for other pokemon other than sweepers :P )​

 

[champagnepapi]

Hey. This is a nice team, but I feel like some improvements can be made.

Hippowdon would probably do better with the following EVs, which allows it to take on threats like Mixed Dragonite, Rain Man Jirachi and Heatran, while also possessing great Physical Bulk.

Hippowdon @ Leftovers
252 HP/152 Def/104 SDef
Impish Nature
Trait: Sand Stream
-Stealth Rock
-Ice Fang
-Earthquake
-Slack Off

I think Gliscor is a bit redundant with Hippowdon, I think you could use Choice Band Bronzong over it, it's a great backup wall and beats threats like Reuniclus and Latias with ease, not to mention it hits like a truck.

Bronzong @ Choice Band
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Attack / 4 Def ; 0 IV in Speed
Brave Nature (+Attack, -Speed)
- Gyro Ball
- Trick
- Zen Headbutt
- Earthquake

That being said, I think Rotom-W would be a suitable replacement for Stoutland, since only 1 Sand Rush abuser is truly needed, and a Water Resist would help this team a lot. Rotom-W is also great for dismantling rain teams.

Rotom-W @ Leftovers
112 HP/252 SpA/144 Speed
Modest Nature
Levitate
-Hydro Pump
-Thunderbolt/Volt Switch
-Will O Wisp
-Pain Split

Finally, I think Scrafty is a better option over Tyranitar, because as long as you play smart, you won't lose the weather battle and Scrafty is by far a better Dragon Dancer, with better typing, too.

Scrafty @ Lum Berry
4 HP/252 Atk/252 Speed
Jolly Nature
Moxie
-Drain Punch/Hi Jump Kick
-Crunch
-Dragon Dance
-Ice Punch

Good luck!

 

[Actionhero112]

Losing gliscor means his sand loses the valuable fighting resist. while bronzong can check some fighting threats, its not like it can come in on fighting type moves all day.

Thought I do agree. Running a sand team without a water switch in or a scald switch in is bad news bears.

I mean anything with will o wisp just wrecked your first team. =.=
Physical attacks are great and all, but special needs love too. stalltran could help out.

 

[NothingPersonal]

Thanks for the help Karpman! I'll start fixing up my team right now ;)

 

[PokeLen]

Hi there, I don't want to make any drastic changes to your team (like switching too many Pokemon), but I'll try to help as much as I can.

First off, Gliscor is commonly used as a counter for Sandstorm teams. With that said, you can only have two Pokemon that can actually pack a punch on him. Hippowdon needs a 3HKO with Ice Fang to KO Gliscor. That is, if Gliscor doesn't use any Protect/Toxic Orb abuse. And by then, you're probably already Toxic'd, losing HP as you try to slowly kill Gliscor. Tyranitar is really your only other choice with Aqua Tail, and it does handle Gliscor quite well. However, if your Tyranitar is out of the game, you're going to have to play around Gliscor real well to kill him.

I also don't think you need two Sand Streamers. A good player will be able to keep his single sand streamer alive. But, because I said I didn't want to ruin the flow of your team, I suggest taking out either Hippowdon or Stoutland. I know a switch like this might seem so...mainstream but it is really effective. So, I'd switch Hippowdon or Stoutland for:

Landorus @ Life Orb
Trait: Sand Force
EVs: 4 SATK / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Rock Polish
- Hidden Power (Ice)

With this set, not only are you usually able to get in 1 Rock Polish on a good switch-in, but once you've done this, it's biggest counter (Gliscor) is easily taken down with Hidden Power (Ice). Although Stone Edge is usually a better bet on the Dragons, if you don't want to take the chance on it, and only need just a bit more to KO, then Hidden Power (Ice) is also a viable option there. Stone Edge and Earthquake provide great coverage. You have to watch out, though, because it is countered pretty easily by Bulky Waters, Skarmory, and Tangrowth. It's best to bring this out when you are pretty sure those counters are out of the way.

Another pretty big problem I see here is that you have no water counter. Two-thirds of your team are weak to water, and none are resistant. This is a huge problem. I understand this may be an offensive sandstorm team, but you need to be able to have switch-ins for those situations where there's no chance you can stay in on a Specs Hydro Pump Politoed.

There are several solutions to this problem. Because you have a Sandstorm team, the most obvious solutions that come to mind are either Gastrodon or Quagsire. Both of them do a very good job against Rain Teams, which are extremely common (I'm sure you know that). However, if you don't think the Electric and Water immunity is a necessity, and would rather have a booster on your team, Calm Mind Suicune is also a very good option. Because these are all walls (except Suicune), I'd suggest taking out Hippowdon for one of these. Here are the sets. From the information I've given you, you can decide what you really prefer.

Quagsire @ Leftovers
Trait: Unaware/Water Absorb
EVs: 4 SDef / 252 Def / 252 HP
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Scald
- Recover
- Yawn/Toxic
- Earthquake

The decision between Toxic/Yawn is what you feel Quagsire should do for your team. If you want it to be a phazer, Yawn forces switches pretty well. If you want it to slowly cripple your opponent while spamming Recover, then Toxic is the way to go. Now, Quagsire is special. With Unaware, the opponent's stat boosts will not be a problem. This will give you an easier time switching into Physical Boosters (and sometimes special) and phazing them away with Yawn, or crippling them with Toxic. Water Absorb gives you immunity to Water, instead of Neutral damage. Because you are a Sandstorm team, this seems like the most logical option, but it's up to you.

Gastrodon @ Leftovers
Trait: Storm Drain
EVs: 4 SAtk / 252 SDef / 252 HP
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam/Scald
- Toxic/Scald
- Recover

A somewhat obvious set. Storm Drain will gobble up any Water attack, and then receive a 1 Special Attack stat boost. Even though Gastrodon isn't exactly a monster at special sweeping, it will definitely be a great addition to its tanking abilities. It's Ground typing also allows it to switch-in to common Thunder users on Rain Teams such as Thundurus and Jirachi. Beware, some Thundurus sets carry Grass Knot. There is no straight counter to Thundurus because it has such a variety of moves. Just be cautious when switching into Thundurus with Gastrodon. Ice Beam is necessary for the case when Thundurus does NOT have Grass Knot. However, if you feel like Scald would be better for the STAB, and then Toxic for crippling Pokemon, then Ice Beam isn't necessary. But it's best to keep Ice Beam in the case of Latios/Latias.

Suicune @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure (If you play with DW abilities, then you have the choice of Water Absorb too)
EVs: 4 SDef / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Surf/Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power (Electric)

Pretty self-explanatory set. This guy fits more into your offensive pattern. Calm Mind as much as you need to, or as much as you can, and then use whichever move will do the most damage.

Just for clarification, the last three Pokemon sets I showed you were all there so you could pick ONE, not pick all three. I don't want you messing around trying to fit all three of these in there. I still highly recommend Landorus, and my own personal preference is Gastrodon, but you can test and see what works.

I would have posted sprites along with this to make it look neater, but you need 15 posts to post URLs ;( Anyways...

I wish you luck with the team!

 

[Fairy]

I just want to toss in my two cents here. It might not be useful for this team, but it's at least something to consider. I don't think I'm going to say too much that hasn't already been mentioned.

Hippowdon (or Tyranitar. Your preference, really) is the only Sand Streamer you need. The territory occupied by Tyranitar/Hippowdon can be used by another Pokemon who can take exploit the Sand better, and take care of some of your teams threats. Any of the aforementioned Pokemon are worth testing. I also agree that Stoutland should be replaced. It's outclassed by Excadrill as a Sand Rush Sweeper, who you have already. The space can be filled up with any number of useful Pokemon. Rotom-W, as Karpman suggested, would be good to add a resistance to Water and an immunity to Ground. The only thing that worries me is the weakness to Grass that would bring about as Scizor is the only one who resist it. But I think you're pretty equipped to deal with that.

If you're not using Substitute on Gliscor, (which I don't actually recommend replacing as it can be invaluable when switching in and using Swords Dance) than take a shot with Roost? None of your Pokemon have any recovery moves so Roost might be something useful to try out. That being said, Jirachi might be a good replacement for someone. I know this is a heavy offense team, but it's at least something to consider. (Not to mention a Choice Band set being viable, but you'll be better off with Scizor on that front in my opinion.)

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Serene Grace
252 HP / 224 Special Defense / 32 Speed
Careful [+Special Defense; -Special Attack]
- Body Slam
- Iron Head
- Wish
- Protect / Fire Punch / U-Turn

I'm just throwing Jirachi out here to add a new dynamic to your team. It's probably nothing you haven't seen before. Besides allowing a 200 HP Wish and being able to switch into a Timid Choice Specs Latios' Draco Meteor and only take a 30% hit at HP, Jirachi does have it's uses offensively. Which are quite self explanatory in the aforementioned set. Thunder Wave is viable over Body Slam, but I prefer Body Slam because of the chance to Paralyze Ground Types and faster Taunt users. Not to mention Serene Graces' boost, which defies the laws of probability and knocks it up to a 60% chance. The same applies for Iron Head, granting a Flinch at the most inconvenient times. The last move is up to you, I like Protect for obvious reasons, but Fire Punch with get super effective hits on Ferrothorn and the likes. U-turn is also an option to pass Wish (if I remember correctly) to make up for Jirachi's pretty mediocre Speed. There are many reasons why Jirachi wouldn't work on this team, but there are plenty of reasons supporting it. Maybe try it out?

I second most of what everyone else has said so far.

Anyway, you've got a nice looking team, I really hope it works out for you!

 

[champagnepapi]

Losing gliscor means his sand loses the valuable fighting resist. while bronzong can check some fighting threats, its not like it can come in on fighting type moves all day.

Thought I do agree. Running a sand team without a water switch in or a scald switch in is bad news bears.

I mean anything with will o wisp just wrecked your first team. =.=
Physical attacks are great and all, but special needs love too. stalltran could help out.

Agreed, I may have overrated Hippowdon a bit. That being said, I think he should keep Gliscor, as well as Ttar, but with this set

Tyranitar @ Leftovers
252 HP/176 Atk/80 SpD
Brave Nature
-Fire Blast
-Stone Edge
-Stealth Rock
-Crunch/Pursuit

And then use Calm Mind Roar Latias, for better defense against rain and sun, it's actually an extremely underrated antiweather Pokemon, and also the ability to beat any Calm Mind sweeper with ease, not to mention another special attacker, to take a Will O Wisp for the team.

Latias @ Leftovers
EVs: 180 HP/60 Def/252 Spd/16 SDef
Timid Nature
-Roar
-Calm Mind
-Dragon Pulse
-Recover/Hidden Power Fire

 

[Vrai]

Sand Veil Gliscor uses Substitute to help abuse... Sand Veil. One of the biggest draws of SV 'Scor is that it powers through Rotom-W and nearly all common switch-ins to Gliscor. Skarmory and Bronzong are quite literally the only Pokemon that wall it 100%. Substitute is necessary to help ease prediction, too - if you came in to EQ something silly like um a low-health Forretress (and you don't want to lose your gem early!), and a Latios comes in, then you're kinda screwed and you're forced to switch out. But if you sub, you can OHKO with Acrobatics and they have a chance of missing with Surf.

I guess I'm just saying it's not really worth running a different move over Acrobatics unless the rest of your team is built around handling threats that can outspeed and OHKO Gliscor (things like Thundurus, Starmie, Scarf Politoed, Mamoswine, anything with an Ice-type move and a Scarf... a lot of things), which it's not.