I decided to try making a generic sand team for this generation, because I've been wanting to use some of the sandstorm abusers that I've seen used before, namely Mega Garchomp and Sand Rush Garchomp. The team isn't exactly struggling to perform well, but I'm still testing it out on the ladder and I want to know what can be improved upon. Changes that are suggested and subsequently implemented will be indicated by the customary red text. Without further ado, here's the team.
Hippowdon (M) @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Def / 172 SDef
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Whirlwind
I decided to use Hippowdon as my Sand Streamer, because its access to reliable recovery presented a way to keep it alive other than using a Wish passer. The main offensive Pokemon of this team rely heavily on sand support to perform well, so Hippowdon's ability to stick around while summoning sand as well as serving as a bulky Pokemon that can phaze was very attractive to me. Smooth Rock is a very helpful item for Hippowdon, especially because of how good it is later in a game. Sand can still be up even after Hippowdon has fainted, allowing Excadrill or Garchomp to clean up the rest of the opponent's team. Note: I'm also running Stealth Rock on my Ferrothorn. Should I get rid of the move on Hippowdon or Ferrothorn, or keep it on both? Let me know.
Excadrill @ Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Rock Slide
- Iron Head
Sand Rush Excadrill is the late-game sweeper of my team. With its speed doubled in the sand, it can easily exterminate weakened enemies with its power and coverage. It also serves as this team's only form of hazard removal. If I should add Defog to my Latios for extra utility and hazard removal, let me know. Excadrill's role on this team is pretty self-explanatory, so I'll leave it at that.
Garchomp @ Garchompite
Ability: Rough Skin
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 76 Atk / 252 SAtk / 180 Spd
Rash Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Fire Blast
- Draco Meteor
The most criminally underrated Pokemon on this team is Mega Garchomp. The only real drawback to its Mega Evolution is a drop in speed, which isn't that important against the defensive Pokemon that this set is designed to eviscerate so that Excadrill and Latios can come in and destroy whatever's left. Its moves allow it to tear apart common switch-ins, and its power in the sand is ridiculous. This is one of the strongest wallbreakers introduced in recent times, rivaling only Kyurem-Black in its ability to dismantle defensive cores.
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
- Thunder Wave
- Stealth Rock
Ferrothorn is the primary hazard setter on this team. It's pretty adept at getting hazards down, as well as using Thunder Wave on fast threats that try to set up on it. The combination of using both Thunder Wave and Leech Seed on a sweeper is both annoying and potentially crippling, and Ferrothorn does it well. However, Ferrothorn is primarily here to switch into the Water and Ice-types that harm all three of the Ground-types on my team.
Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Fire
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
Latios is a pretty good late-game cleaner, though I'm considering using it for Defog Support as well. Overall, it's strong and fast with good coverage and has decent synergy with my other Pokemon. The biggest issue is its Ice weakness, making it an occasional liability because so many other Pokemon on my team share this weakness.
Edit: Extra 4 EVs switched from HP to Defense to minimize LO recoil. Hidden Power Fire replaces Roost on this moveset to hit stuff like Scizor and Ferrothorn.
Azumarill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
- Waterfall
Replacing Rotom-Wash, AV Azumarill is a Pokemon with a number of helpful traits. Hippowdon, my primary wall, lacks special defense, and Azumarill can switch into most Water and Ice-type moves without many problems (with the exception of Scald). It also forms a Dragon/Steel/Fairy core with Garchomp/Latios and Ferrothorn, and they all have decent synergy together. This Pokemon was added because I saw my threatlist and realized that Azumarill could deal with Greninja and other threats better than Rotom.
Finally, this team is doing pretty well so far. It applies lots of offensive pressure right from the start, and can overwhelm other offensive Pokemon before they get the chance to take advantage of the weaknesses of this team. Speaking of which, weaknesses are the department that I feel that this team struggles in. Certain Pokemon, such as Mamoswine and Air Balloon Heatran, are major nuisances to the team that are very hard to beat adeptly. I'd appreciate constructive criticism that would help me iron out the defensive flaws of this team, which are currently more significant than the list of Pokemon that I fail to beat offensively. Thanks in advance.
Threat List (Work In Progress):
Greninja is one of the most annoying Pokemon in all of OU, possessing the coverage to obliterate every single Pokemon on my team. Depending on whether or not it runs HP Fire or Grass, Ferrothorn or Rotom-Wash can attempt to stop it, but it can still hit them for neutral damage with Dark Pulse, which also has an annoying flinch chance. It's also possible for Sand Rush Excadrill to beat Greninja, but it's really hard to set up sand and switch successfully into Exca while Greninja is around.
Air Balloon Heatran is a complete nuisance to this team. All of the powerful Ground-type attacks that my team relies on do nothing to it, and Heatran can just switch out to common teammates like Mega Venusaur or Quagsire when confronted with Rotom-Wash. I can try to hax it with Excadrill's flinch moves, but if this iffy pseudostrategy doesn't work, I lose my main cleaner. I really like Heatran, but it's hard for my team to get past it.
Manaphy is a complete beast. It has the power and the bulk to tear my team apart while taking hits from my faster Pokemon like a champion. If Ferrothorn is out of the picture, Manaphy can sweep my whole team without many issues.
Hippowdon (M) @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Def / 172 SDef
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Whirlwind
I decided to use Hippowdon as my Sand Streamer, because its access to reliable recovery presented a way to keep it alive other than using a Wish passer. The main offensive Pokemon of this team rely heavily on sand support to perform well, so Hippowdon's ability to stick around while summoning sand as well as serving as a bulky Pokemon that can phaze was very attractive to me. Smooth Rock is a very helpful item for Hippowdon, especially because of how good it is later in a game. Sand can still be up even after Hippowdon has fainted, allowing Excadrill or Garchomp to clean up the rest of the opponent's team. Note: I'm also running Stealth Rock on my Ferrothorn. Should I get rid of the move on Hippowdon or Ferrothorn, or keep it on both? Let me know.
Excadrill @ Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Rock Slide
- Iron Head
Sand Rush Excadrill is the late-game sweeper of my team. With its speed doubled in the sand, it can easily exterminate weakened enemies with its power and coverage. It also serves as this team's only form of hazard removal. If I should add Defog to my Latios for extra utility and hazard removal, let me know. Excadrill's role on this team is pretty self-explanatory, so I'll leave it at that.
Garchomp @ Garchompite
Ability: Rough Skin
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 76 Atk / 252 SAtk / 180 Spd
Rash Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Fire Blast
- Draco Meteor
The most criminally underrated Pokemon on this team is Mega Garchomp. The only real drawback to its Mega Evolution is a drop in speed, which isn't that important against the defensive Pokemon that this set is designed to eviscerate so that Excadrill and Latios can come in and destroy whatever's left. Its moves allow it to tear apart common switch-ins, and its power in the sand is ridiculous. This is one of the strongest wallbreakers introduced in recent times, rivaling only Kyurem-Black in its ability to dismantle defensive cores.
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
- Thunder Wave
- Stealth Rock
Ferrothorn is the primary hazard setter on this team. It's pretty adept at getting hazards down, as well as using Thunder Wave on fast threats that try to set up on it. The combination of using both Thunder Wave and Leech Seed on a sweeper is both annoying and potentially crippling, and Ferrothorn does it well. However, Ferrothorn is primarily here to switch into the Water and Ice-types that harm all three of the Ground-types on my team.
Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Fire
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
Latios is a pretty good late-game cleaner, though I'm considering using it for Defog Support as well. Overall, it's strong and fast with good coverage and has decent synergy with my other Pokemon. The biggest issue is its Ice weakness, making it an occasional liability because so many other Pokemon on my team share this weakness.
Edit: Extra 4 EVs switched from HP to Defense to minimize LO recoil. Hidden Power Fire replaces Roost on this moveset to hit stuff like Scizor and Ferrothorn.
Azumarill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
- Waterfall
Replacing Rotom-Wash, AV Azumarill is a Pokemon with a number of helpful traits. Hippowdon, my primary wall, lacks special defense, and Azumarill can switch into most Water and Ice-type moves without many problems (with the exception of Scald). It also forms a Dragon/Steel/Fairy core with Garchomp/Latios and Ferrothorn, and they all have decent synergy together. This Pokemon was added because I saw my threatlist and realized that Azumarill could deal with Greninja and other threats better than Rotom.
Finally, this team is doing pretty well so far. It applies lots of offensive pressure right from the start, and can overwhelm other offensive Pokemon before they get the chance to take advantage of the weaknesses of this team. Speaking of which, weaknesses are the department that I feel that this team struggles in. Certain Pokemon, such as Mamoswine and Air Balloon Heatran, are major nuisances to the team that are very hard to beat adeptly. I'd appreciate constructive criticism that would help me iron out the defensive flaws of this team, which are currently more significant than the list of Pokemon that I fail to beat offensively. Thanks in advance.
Threat List (Work In Progress):
Greninja is one of the most annoying Pokemon in all of OU, possessing the coverage to obliterate every single Pokemon on my team. Depending on whether or not it runs HP Fire or Grass, Ferrothorn or Rotom-Wash can attempt to stop it, but it can still hit them for neutral damage with Dark Pulse, which also has an annoying flinch chance. It's also possible for Sand Rush Excadrill to beat Greninja, but it's really hard to set up sand and switch successfully into Exca while Greninja is around.
Air Balloon Heatran is a complete nuisance to this team. All of the powerful Ground-type attacks that my team relies on do nothing to it, and Heatran can just switch out to common teammates like Mega Venusaur or Quagsire when confronted with Rotom-Wash. I can try to hax it with Excadrill's flinch moves, but if this iffy pseudostrategy doesn't work, I lose my main cleaner. I really like Heatran, but it's hard for my team to get past it.
Manaphy is a complete beast. It has the power and the bulk to tear my team apart while taking hits from my faster Pokemon like a champion. If Ferrothorn is out of the picture, Manaphy can sweep my whole team without many issues.
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