Ok guys so I've been playing pokemon for forever and I've had many mock battles between local friends and what not. Over the years and within the last few years we have discovered all the different formulas that go into making a solid team -- and now that we have made that discovery our metagame is stepping up. I want to get into more online battles myself so I'm trying to make as solid a team as possible.
Before any more suggestions like this are made, no I don't want Heatran. I don't want to erase a file just to get him (I already caught him) and Arcanine has just as good coverage from his movepool if I wanted to make him a sweeper...which I might just do. And his stats aren't absolutely terrible...the only issue is the typing and honestly I can overlook this flaw.
Before I jot down everyone I'm wanting to use, note that I have done a lil researching on Sun Teams at competitions and lots of them have more than a couple shared weaknesses so that's why I've only slightly thrown that rule out the window for more sun abuse. However if I can mitigate that problem any advice is appreciated.
Without further ado, here's what I've formulated so far:
Ninetales
Nature: Timid
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 Speed
Item: Air Balloon
Moves:
Will-o-the Wisp
Sunny Day
Flamethrower
Hypnosis
I swapped to a defensive set after switching my battle strategy. Hypnosis I feel is a must so I can, thanks to the new sleep mechs, effectively remove a pokemon from the game temporarily. Will-o-the-Wisp can also mitigate its weakness to Tyranitar. Fire Blast I may end up switching to if Flamethrower doesn't cut it.
Scizor
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Technician
EVs: 88 Hp / 252 Atk / 164 Speed
Item: Flying Gem // Life Orb
Moves:
Acrobatics
Superpower
Bullet Punch
Swords Dance
After much deliberation, I decided to use him in place of Starmie. No Rapid Spin, true. But in its place he checks everything I need checked. Tyranitar and every dragon type be damned (along with most of OU tier) he gets rid of MANY threats after a Swords Dance in many cases in one hit. Also he grants an immunity to poison should it make a presence. SubToxic can be very annoying and he's my reply to that as well. I can also switch to Arcanine should a fire type move be of worrying.
Dragonite
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Multi-Scale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Sp. Def / 252 Speed
Item: Lum Berry
Moves:
Dragon Dance
Outrage
Fire Punch
Earthquake
This set allows Dragonite to turn into an absolute rape train. Multi-Scale, if Stealth Rock is spun out by Starmie, allows a pseudo-guarantee use of Dragon Dance, making him almost impossible to switch into. Earthquake deals with sun's ultimate threat of Heatran and Fire Punch boosted by dance and the sun gets rid of Metagross which otherwise would wall Dragonite. Outrage is for sheer power though if the lack of ability to switch moves bothers me at some point I can also sacrifice EQ coverage and use Dragon Claw with Extreme Speed to kill off anything that does not resist the two.
Donphan
Nature: Impish
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Speed
Item: Leftovers
Moves:
Rapid Spin
Stealth Rock
Earthquake
Ice Shard
After taking Starmie out a second time, I see now that Donphan is a very reliable spinner and Stealth Rocker. His stats offensively don't even require the necessary training in evs to hit hard either...not to mention priority Ice Shard to mitigate his speed. He acts as yet another check to Tyranitar and things like that. Landorus-T and the f*cking Heatran (I believe Donphan's bulk hp should be able to allow him to kill Heatran after soaking a hit) to boot. I originally chose Starmie to face off drizzle teams but honestly between Scizor, Venusaur and Arcanine (oddly enough) I can still handle them. Another neat little niche he has too is that he can be sent out if Trick Room is a threat. At that point he will outspeed Reuniclus provided it isn't carrying anything like an Iron Ball or Lagging Tail and then proceed to 2HKO it.
Now for the sun abusers:
Arcanine
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 200 Speed / 48 HP / 4 Sp. Def
Item: Expert Belt // Choice Band
Moves:
Will-o-the-Wisp // Crunch
Flare Blitz
Wild Charge
Close Combat
I switched to an offensive set to more gear to the nature of this team. Keep stacking on the offense! More sweepers equals walls will go down with one of them, and this set boons this strategy. This set grant near perfect coverage and is nothing to shake a stick at. Expert Belt is an obvious choice in this regard as the Jolly nature and ev spread should get him to outspeed at least half of the metagame. For everything else, Will-o-the-Wisp cripples physical attackers such as Tyranitar and Terrakion that threaten him and will afterwards allow him to continue hitting hard. Crunch may be used in place of Will-o-the-Wisp if I decide on an Expert Belt set.
Venusaur
Nature: Timid
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 72 HP / 4 Def / 252 Sp. Atk / 180 Speed
Item:Life Orb // Black Sludge if Item Clause is on
Moves:
Sleep Powder
Growth
Giga Drain
Sludge Bomb // Hidden Power Whatever
This is it guys. One of the most threatening pokemon in the sun, Venusaur. With Chlorophyll it is nigh impossible to outspeed this bugger, and after a Growth boost his Special Attack SOARS to near 600. Attack coverage is pretty good even if something is resisted, because like I already mentioned, 600 Sp. Atk lol. Giga Drain also mitigates Life Orb. Sludge Bomb is a maybe depending on the steel type presence in people in my metagame.
OVERVIEW
The goal of this team build is to not only shine in the sun, but to also have checks for many pokemon in the OU meta. Drizzle and Sand Stream teams are my rivals and both have a huge advantage over a sun team which isn't properly equipped. Scizor and Dragonite both serve this purpose perfectly. Venusaur can get out of hand very fast if done properly and Arcanine serves to protect my Fire-Type weaknesses while also filling the role of a revenge killer with a possible Extreme-Speed after the opposing pokemon has been weakened.
Before any other suggestions like this are made, no to the Heatran. I understand he has better typing and can check an opposing sun team by himself. But I am not willing right now to go and delete a file just to get one with perfect IVs and Nature. Arcanine's stats and move-pool grant just as many possibilities.
This is the 4th version of the team. I feel like it's almost done now! The only true problem is my shared weaknesses in my opinion. Everything else looks amazing. I have certain checks to certain weather teams and ways to gain tempo. But all in all, that's only my opinion. What do you guys think?
RUNNER-UPS
Hydreigon
Nature: Naive
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 Sp. Atk / 252 Speed
Item: Expert Belt
Moves:
Draco Meteor
Fire Blast
U-Turn
Superpower
Hydreigon's type coverage is nigh perfect, which makes him a prime user for Expert Belt. Fire Blast is obviously ran for sun boostage and sheer power. The main reason I chose Hydreigon is that he is very hard to switch into in most circumstances. One wrong switch can cause someone a game and Hydreigon's coverage is sure to cause some trip-ups. Also he is my lead. If I don't like the match-up at the start, U-Turn into a counter. I could also U-Turn into Dugtrio to trap another weather carrier before I ever send out Ninetales. Since he is my lead I have considered Taunt in this set to stop other trap leads or just simply annoying Baton Passer leads.
I swapped him for Dragonite for the sole purpose of Multi-Scale. Also swapping like this reduces the shared weaknesses on my team some. But all in all he is still amazing and I will still use him when I feel like it.
Dugtrio
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Speed
Item: Focus Sash
Moves:
Earthquake
Reversal
Stealth Rock
Stone Edge
A check to Heatran whether he has Air Balloon or not. Also checks Tyranitar, Terrakion, and after Stealth Rock set-up Focus Sash will in most cases activate making Reversal high power -- then being more powerful than STAB Earthquake. This can also deal a humungous amount of damage to Drizzle Politoed. He can also be switched into after my lead Hydreigon uses his U-Turn, most likely locking in another weather team's weather carrier before I ever send out Ninetales.
I will probably swap Starmie out for him if I swap in Hydreigon for the strategy listed above. That's about it lol. I love Dugtrio and he is cool and all, but I feel he only has one niche. And I dislike that the omni-present Stealth Rock breaks his sash.
Starmie
Nature: Timid
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Sp. Atk / 4 Sp. Def / 252 Speed
Item: Choice Specs
Moves:
Psyshock
Ice Beam
Thunderbolt
Rapid Spin
I've had this set on here before. Starmie was even on the very first version of my team and the Choice lock into Rapid Spin was pointed out. But after much deliberation I have decided that it's not so bad. Sure, I'll be locked into it if Starmie stays out. Yeah, that might give up a little tempo but at the same time this allows Dragonite to switch in with Multi-Scale in-tact later on, and also allows Starmie to shine after the entry hazard pokemon has been dealt with. Starmie is also very important to checking rain teams as well as with Choice Specs he will 2HKO the specially defensive Jellicent. That in itself means that in most cases Starmie can revenge kill many of the popular rain team candidates. Tyranitar could pose a huge threat as well, though if he gets sent out odds are he will try landing a dark-type move which Scizor can easily switch to and start tearing holes in him.
Before any more suggestions like this are made, no I don't want Heatran. I don't want to erase a file just to get him (I already caught him) and Arcanine has just as good coverage from his movepool if I wanted to make him a sweeper...which I might just do. And his stats aren't absolutely terrible...the only issue is the typing and honestly I can overlook this flaw.
Before I jot down everyone I'm wanting to use, note that I have done a lil researching on Sun Teams at competitions and lots of them have more than a couple shared weaknesses so that's why I've only slightly thrown that rule out the window for more sun abuse. However if I can mitigate that problem any advice is appreciated.
Without further ado, here's what I've formulated so far:
Ninetales
Nature: Timid
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 Speed
Item: Air Balloon
Moves:
Will-o-the Wisp
Sunny Day
Flamethrower
Hypnosis
I swapped to a defensive set after switching my battle strategy. Hypnosis I feel is a must so I can, thanks to the new sleep mechs, effectively remove a pokemon from the game temporarily. Will-o-the-Wisp can also mitigate its weakness to Tyranitar. Fire Blast I may end up switching to if Flamethrower doesn't cut it.
Scizor
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Technician
EVs: 88 Hp / 252 Atk / 164 Speed
Item: Flying Gem // Life Orb
Moves:
Acrobatics
Superpower
Bullet Punch
Swords Dance
After much deliberation, I decided to use him in place of Starmie. No Rapid Spin, true. But in its place he checks everything I need checked. Tyranitar and every dragon type be damned (along with most of OU tier) he gets rid of MANY threats after a Swords Dance in many cases in one hit. Also he grants an immunity to poison should it make a presence. SubToxic can be very annoying and he's my reply to that as well. I can also switch to Arcanine should a fire type move be of worrying.
Dragonite
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Multi-Scale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Sp. Def / 252 Speed
Item: Lum Berry
Moves:
Dragon Dance
Outrage
Fire Punch
Earthquake
This set allows Dragonite to turn into an absolute rape train. Multi-Scale, if Stealth Rock is spun out by Starmie, allows a pseudo-guarantee use of Dragon Dance, making him almost impossible to switch into. Earthquake deals with sun's ultimate threat of Heatran and Fire Punch boosted by dance and the sun gets rid of Metagross which otherwise would wall Dragonite. Outrage is for sheer power though if the lack of ability to switch moves bothers me at some point I can also sacrifice EQ coverage and use Dragon Claw with Extreme Speed to kill off anything that does not resist the two.
Donphan
Nature: Impish
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Speed
Item: Leftovers
Moves:
Rapid Spin
Stealth Rock
Earthquake
Ice Shard
After taking Starmie out a second time, I see now that Donphan is a very reliable spinner and Stealth Rocker. His stats offensively don't even require the necessary training in evs to hit hard either...not to mention priority Ice Shard to mitigate his speed. He acts as yet another check to Tyranitar and things like that. Landorus-T and the f*cking Heatran (I believe Donphan's bulk hp should be able to allow him to kill Heatran after soaking a hit) to boot. I originally chose Starmie to face off drizzle teams but honestly between Scizor, Venusaur and Arcanine (oddly enough) I can still handle them. Another neat little niche he has too is that he can be sent out if Trick Room is a threat. At that point he will outspeed Reuniclus provided it isn't carrying anything like an Iron Ball or Lagging Tail and then proceed to 2HKO it.
Now for the sun abusers:
Arcanine
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 200 Speed / 48 HP / 4 Sp. Def
Item: Expert Belt // Choice Band
Moves:
Will-o-the-Wisp // Crunch
Flare Blitz
Wild Charge
Close Combat
I switched to an offensive set to more gear to the nature of this team. Keep stacking on the offense! More sweepers equals walls will go down with one of them, and this set boons this strategy. This set grant near perfect coverage and is nothing to shake a stick at. Expert Belt is an obvious choice in this regard as the Jolly nature and ev spread should get him to outspeed at least half of the metagame. For everything else, Will-o-the-Wisp cripples physical attackers such as Tyranitar and Terrakion that threaten him and will afterwards allow him to continue hitting hard. Crunch may be used in place of Will-o-the-Wisp if I decide on an Expert Belt set.
Venusaur
Nature: Timid
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 72 HP / 4 Def / 252 Sp. Atk / 180 Speed
Item:Life Orb // Black Sludge if Item Clause is on
Moves:
Sleep Powder
Growth
Giga Drain
Sludge Bomb // Hidden Power Whatever
This is it guys. One of the most threatening pokemon in the sun, Venusaur. With Chlorophyll it is nigh impossible to outspeed this bugger, and after a Growth boost his Special Attack SOARS to near 600. Attack coverage is pretty good even if something is resisted, because like I already mentioned, 600 Sp. Atk lol. Giga Drain also mitigates Life Orb. Sludge Bomb is a maybe depending on the steel type presence in people in my metagame.
OVERVIEW
The goal of this team build is to not only shine in the sun, but to also have checks for many pokemon in the OU meta. Drizzle and Sand Stream teams are my rivals and both have a huge advantage over a sun team which isn't properly equipped. Scizor and Dragonite both serve this purpose perfectly. Venusaur can get out of hand very fast if done properly and Arcanine serves to protect my Fire-Type weaknesses while also filling the role of a revenge killer with a possible Extreme-Speed after the opposing pokemon has been weakened.
Before any other suggestions like this are made, no to the Heatran. I understand he has better typing and can check an opposing sun team by himself. But I am not willing right now to go and delete a file just to get one with perfect IVs and Nature. Arcanine's stats and move-pool grant just as many possibilities.
This is the 4th version of the team. I feel like it's almost done now! The only true problem is my shared weaknesses in my opinion. Everything else looks amazing. I have certain checks to certain weather teams and ways to gain tempo. But all in all, that's only my opinion. What do you guys think?
RUNNER-UPS
Hydreigon
Nature: Naive
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 Sp. Atk / 252 Speed
Item: Expert Belt
Moves:
Draco Meteor
Fire Blast
U-Turn
Superpower
Hydreigon's type coverage is nigh perfect, which makes him a prime user for Expert Belt. Fire Blast is obviously ran for sun boostage and sheer power. The main reason I chose Hydreigon is that he is very hard to switch into in most circumstances. One wrong switch can cause someone a game and Hydreigon's coverage is sure to cause some trip-ups. Also he is my lead. If I don't like the match-up at the start, U-Turn into a counter. I could also U-Turn into Dugtrio to trap another weather carrier before I ever send out Ninetales. Since he is my lead I have considered Taunt in this set to stop other trap leads or just simply annoying Baton Passer leads.
I swapped him for Dragonite for the sole purpose of Multi-Scale. Also swapping like this reduces the shared weaknesses on my team some. But all in all he is still amazing and I will still use him when I feel like it.
Dugtrio
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Speed
Item: Focus Sash
Moves:
Earthquake
Reversal
Stealth Rock
Stone Edge
A check to Heatran whether he has Air Balloon or not. Also checks Tyranitar, Terrakion, and after Stealth Rock set-up Focus Sash will in most cases activate making Reversal high power -- then being more powerful than STAB Earthquake. This can also deal a humungous amount of damage to Drizzle Politoed. He can also be switched into after my lead Hydreigon uses his U-Turn, most likely locking in another weather team's weather carrier before I ever send out Ninetales.
I will probably swap Starmie out for him if I swap in Hydreigon for the strategy listed above. That's about it lol. I love Dugtrio and he is cool and all, but I feel he only has one niche. And I dislike that the omni-present Stealth Rock breaks his sash.
Starmie
Nature: Timid
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Sp. Atk / 4 Sp. Def / 252 Speed
Item: Choice Specs
Moves:
Psyshock
Ice Beam
Thunderbolt
Rapid Spin
I've had this set on here before. Starmie was even on the very first version of my team and the Choice lock into Rapid Spin was pointed out. But after much deliberation I have decided that it's not so bad. Sure, I'll be locked into it if Starmie stays out. Yeah, that might give up a little tempo but at the same time this allows Dragonite to switch in with Multi-Scale in-tact later on, and also allows Starmie to shine after the entry hazard pokemon has been dealt with. Starmie is also very important to checking rain teams as well as with Choice Specs he will 2HKO the specially defensive Jellicent. That in itself means that in most cases Starmie can revenge kill many of the popular rain team candidates. Tyranitar could pose a huge threat as well, though if he gets sent out odds are he will try landing a dark-type move which Scizor can easily switch to and start tearing holes in him.
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