With the new mechanics, weather has a completely new dynamic in Ubers. Instead of their being a sidelines fight over control of the battle conditions, permanent weather only lasts a mere 5 turns. (or 8 if user holds an extension rock like Smooth Rock) How will this affect teams in ubers? Will this be the end of Excadrill? Will that in turn kill off sand itself or Tyranitar and Hippowdon be strong enough to save themselves? Feel free to discuss any speculation concerning sand in this thread.
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- Thread starter MMII
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Im pretty sure both will remain up here because both of them are excellent pokemon.
Excadrill is certainly still good. He has respectable stats, a strong movepool, a new resistance, and 2 solid abilities. There will probably be less Sand Rush, but he's a good Spinner option if your team relies on hazards.
Tyranitar is less useful as team support now, but is still a decent mon on his own. He can set up hazards, counter some dangerous threats, or serve as a DD sweeper with his new Mega form.
One of the main advantage that Hippowdon had over Groundceus and Groudon was his ability to provide sand support for his team. I rarely saw Hippowdon in BW, and his usage will probably fall even more in this gen, since dedicated sand teams are even harder to pull off.
Garchomps most sand-reliant set, SubSwords is now almost unusable. 1 turn to switch in, and two for SubDance leaves Chomp with only 2 turns with Veil. It also got a significant nerf in the form of Fairy types, which can put a stop to any Outrage spam. Scarfchomp is still a pretty strong revenge killer.
While none of these pokemon are awful now, theyre certainly weaker, and will most likely consequently see a decline in usage.
Tyranitar is less useful as team support now, but is still a decent mon on his own. He can set up hazards, counter some dangerous threats, or serve as a DD sweeper with his new Mega form.
One of the main advantage that Hippowdon had over Groundceus and Groudon was his ability to provide sand support for his team. I rarely saw Hippowdon in BW, and his usage will probably fall even more in this gen, since dedicated sand teams are even harder to pull off.
Garchomps most sand-reliant set, SubSwords is now almost unusable. 1 turn to switch in, and two for SubDance leaves Chomp with only 2 turns with Veil. It also got a significant nerf in the form of Fairy types, which can put a stop to any Outrage spam. Scarfchomp is still a pretty strong revenge killer.
While none of these pokemon are awful now, theyre certainly weaker, and will most likely consequently see a decline in usage.
You are forgetting about Megas. Mega Tyranitar is a beast and a much-sought after Defensie Dark type and Ho-Oh check. Mega Garchomp meanwhile I'm not quite sure of his viability but his lowered 92 Speed is still enough to beat the majority of Ubers.
On the subject of Mega-Garchomp, I prefer regular Chomp mainly due to that trolly base speed. With Life Orb you hit harder than Mega-Chomp outside of san an get the bonus of outspeeding Palkia. While Mega Chomp has some good bulk the use of a Mega slot and the speed drop just isn't worth it.
I finally got a chance to play and I've been using a Hippowdon sand stall, Hippowdon works well since there still are some threats that bulky ground types can take care of. Some examples are Ekiller, Ho-Oh (I've seen a lot of Sp.Def/ Bulky Ho-Oh on the ladder) and Groudon so yeah I think it's viable, as for Tyranitar and Excadrill, I haven't had the chance to test them.
Hippo is great, I have been using it a lot in various teams. It's a good alternative Ho-oh check with reliable recovery, sets SR too.
As for Tyranitar, its mega forme is really viable due to much higher stats, it is a good Yveltal check- one of the best to be honest. Unfortunately it is still slow, doesn't have reliable recovery and its typing is a mixed bag when it comes to using its high physical bulk.
As for Tyranitar, its mega forme is really viable due to much higher stats, it is a good Yveltal check- one of the best to be honest. Unfortunately it is still slow, doesn't have reliable recovery and its typing is a mixed bag when it comes to using its high physical bulk.
Well, Tyranitar has never had a viable recovery move and it used to carry a berry in most cases (chople/lum) and still rekd
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