“I hate sand, it’s rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere.” -Most people after they get beaten by my team. Is it good? Maybe. Is it viable? Possibly.
Thorn (Ferrothorn) @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Leech Seed
- Body Press
- Knock Off
- Gyro Ball
Ferrothorn in general is a great Pokémon for how it’s defensive typing allows it stall against most opponents/force a switch, with Iron Barbs giving Urishifu-Rapid Strike a hard time. Sandstorm doesn’t affect Ferrothorn, so it already has several turns where it’s doing good chip damage. With Leech seed for sustain alongside it’s leftovers, Body Press to deal some damage, knock off for general utility, and Gyro ball to hit hard against opposing fairies, Ferrothorn is a key staller on my team.
Hippo (Hippowdon) @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Slack Off
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Roar
!1!!111!!1 I’m not using Tyranitar as a sand-setter?! Yep, it’s true. Hippowdon is generally sen much less often in OU, which means many don’t know about its deceptively high attack and bulk. While Tyranitar has rock typing and gets that doubled special defence (as a result of sand), Hippowdon comes with the benefit of not being weak to everyone and their mother. With Slack Off to heal up, Earthquake to kill anything that isn’t a Landorus-Therian, Rock Slide to somewhat deal with Landorus-Therian, and Roar just in case, Hippowdon is a key component to the team.
Drill (Excadrill) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
- Rock Slide
You love him, you hate him, you still can’t believe he’s in UU, it’s Excadrill! He’s a sweeper, and a good one at that. Experimenting with Air Balloon (Expert Belt was the previous pick) to be immune to what would be a Ground-Weakness (and usually the reason he dies), His Sand Rush makes him the fastest Pokémon in the tier, and a complete killing machine. Earthquake is a primary STAB move, Iron Head takes out Fairy types, Swords Dance allows him to reach monstrous levels of power, and Rock slide is to cope with Landorus-Therian.
Sparks (Dracozolt) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 148 Atk / 176 SpA / 184 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Bolt Beak
- Draco Meteor
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
You’re probably wondering to yourself why I have more than one sweeper. If you are, that’s perfectly fine. If Excadrill runs into trouble (aka the Pokémon out would one-shot him if he switched in, and it isn’t Landorus-Therian, God I hate that Pokémon), Dracozolt can take his place if he goes down, or vice versa. Bolt Beak has extremely large amounts of power in combo with Sand Rush, Draco Meteor is here to stuff Dragapult, Earthquake is just that good, and Fire Blast kills that Ferrothorn standing in their way.
Chomper (Garchomp) @ Leftovers
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Crunch
- Dragon Claw
I don’t really remember why Garchomp was placed on my team, but it has its moments. Leftovers are also somewhat there as a placeholder. Swords Dance boosts Attack, Earthquake is just obligatory on my team at this point, Crunch can take out the occasional Psychic type, and Dragon Claw was for a STAB Dragon Attack.
Oh, that guy. (Kommo-o) @ Throat Spray
Ability: Soundproof
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Clangorous Soul
- Clanging Scales
- Aura Sphere
- Flash Cannon
Anyone who’s looked at Kommo-o for any amount of time would believe what I’ve done with it to be downright insane. Yet, there’s a good reason to running this set. Surprise factor. In OU, many people run vastly different types of Pokémon, but generally the defined meta means the same Pokémon are going be used. Not many are going to assume Kommo-o is there for what he’s actually meant for. A Clangorous Soul use is enough to bring Kommo-o to lightning speeds, with stupid amounts of Special Attack to hit hard with the STAB signature move Clanging Scales, Aura Sphere smashes through what would have been a good check with either Blissey or any Steel Type, and Flash Cannon turns what would have been a Fairy type that would dominate you into just another murder.
As a bit of proof, here are a few games where they did well.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1696771805
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1696814185
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1696818858
All right, before we finish, I want to give a shoutout to SteeneeMallow2. Their Balanced Sand team forms the hollow of my team, and I’d never, ever come up with the idea to use Kommo-o Special Attack.
Thorn (Ferrothorn) @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Leech Seed
- Body Press
- Knock Off
- Gyro Ball
Ferrothorn in general is a great Pokémon for how it’s defensive typing allows it stall against most opponents/force a switch, with Iron Barbs giving Urishifu-Rapid Strike a hard time. Sandstorm doesn’t affect Ferrothorn, so it already has several turns where it’s doing good chip damage. With Leech seed for sustain alongside it’s leftovers, Body Press to deal some damage, knock off for general utility, and Gyro ball to hit hard against opposing fairies, Ferrothorn is a key staller on my team.
Hippo (Hippowdon) @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Slack Off
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Roar
!1!!111!!1 I’m not using Tyranitar as a sand-setter?! Yep, it’s true. Hippowdon is generally sen much less often in OU, which means many don’t know about its deceptively high attack and bulk. While Tyranitar has rock typing and gets that doubled special defence (as a result of sand), Hippowdon comes with the benefit of not being weak to everyone and their mother. With Slack Off to heal up, Earthquake to kill anything that isn’t a Landorus-Therian, Rock Slide to somewhat deal with Landorus-Therian, and Roar just in case, Hippowdon is a key component to the team.
Drill (Excadrill) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
- Rock Slide
You love him, you hate him, you still can’t believe he’s in UU, it’s Excadrill! He’s a sweeper, and a good one at that. Experimenting with Air Balloon (Expert Belt was the previous pick) to be immune to what would be a Ground-Weakness (and usually the reason he dies), His Sand Rush makes him the fastest Pokémon in the tier, and a complete killing machine. Earthquake is a primary STAB move, Iron Head takes out Fairy types, Swords Dance allows him to reach monstrous levels of power, and Rock slide is to cope with Landorus-Therian.
Sparks (Dracozolt) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 148 Atk / 176 SpA / 184 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Bolt Beak
- Draco Meteor
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
You’re probably wondering to yourself why I have more than one sweeper. If you are, that’s perfectly fine. If Excadrill runs into trouble (aka the Pokémon out would one-shot him if he switched in, and it isn’t Landorus-Therian, God I hate that Pokémon), Dracozolt can take his place if he goes down, or vice versa. Bolt Beak has extremely large amounts of power in combo with Sand Rush, Draco Meteor is here to stuff Dragapult, Earthquake is just that good, and Fire Blast kills that Ferrothorn standing in their way.
Chomper (Garchomp) @ Leftovers
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Crunch
- Dragon Claw
I don’t really remember why Garchomp was placed on my team, but it has its moments. Leftovers are also somewhat there as a placeholder. Swords Dance boosts Attack, Earthquake is just obligatory on my team at this point, Crunch can take out the occasional Psychic type, and Dragon Claw was for a STAB Dragon Attack.
Oh, that guy. (Kommo-o) @ Throat Spray
Ability: Soundproof
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Clangorous Soul
- Clanging Scales
- Aura Sphere
- Flash Cannon
Anyone who’s looked at Kommo-o for any amount of time would believe what I’ve done with it to be downright insane. Yet, there’s a good reason to running this set. Surprise factor. In OU, many people run vastly different types of Pokémon, but generally the defined meta means the same Pokémon are going be used. Not many are going to assume Kommo-o is there for what he’s actually meant for. A Clangorous Soul use is enough to bring Kommo-o to lightning speeds, with stupid amounts of Special Attack to hit hard with the STAB signature move Clanging Scales, Aura Sphere smashes through what would have been a good check with either Blissey or any Steel Type, and Flash Cannon turns what would have been a Fairy type that would dominate you into just another murder.
As a bit of proof, here are a few games where they did well.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1696771805
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1696814185
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1696818858
All right, before we finish, I want to give a shoutout to SteeneeMallow2. Their Balanced Sand team forms the hollow of my team, and I’d never, ever come up with the idea to use Kommo-o Special Attack.