The concept itself is nothing new. Mixing Sand Support with Sun Offence has proven to be a very effect strategy. Mainly because the two main weather setters (Char-y, TTar), and their respective weather abusers (Venu, Drill) are able to take care of each other's checks/counters to some degree while also adding valuable and much needed support for the team.
Much like how a Water team basically requires Politoad in order to function effectively, a Sun/Sand team has 4 (IMO) required pokemon. Though you could possibly run it differently, the most effective core I've seen is Charizard-Y/Venusaur & Tyranitar/Excadrill.
Though I don't personally have much experience with this archetype (Sand/Sun) I thought I'd give it my best shot and hope the more experienced players here can tell me what I'm doing wrong
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Solar Power
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Focus Blast
- Roost
I chose Mega Charizard Y for it's Drought ability and thus, giving Chlorophyll Venusaur the sun it needs to become a fast sweeper. Under sun Fire Blast OHKOes or 2HKOes nearly all Pokemon that don't resist it as well heavily denting those that do. Solar Beam doesn't require an extra turn to charge thanks to the sun, and it hits Water-types such as Azumarill, Suicune, Slowking, Slowbro, and Manaphy for great damage. Focus Blast rounds off Mega Charizard's coverage, targeting Tyranitar and Heatran. Roost keeps Mega Charizard Y healthy and somewhat mitigates Stealth Rock damage.
Maximum Sp.A & Spe investment is used to hit as hard and as fast as possible. Timid allows Mega Charizard Y to Speed tie with other positive-natured base 100 Speed Pokemon, namely Manaphy, as well as Jolly Excadrill outside of sand and maximum Speed Kyurem-B
Venusaur @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 40 Atk / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
Mild Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Earthquake / Hidden Power Fire / Sunny Day
- Growth / Sleep Powder
Venusaur is amazing. Checking/countering the likes of Azumarill, Rotom-W, Keldeo, Fairies, Some Fighting types, ect. He's proven to be an extremely valuable asset to the team.
My problem is I don't know what I should or how I should run him in Sun. Giga Drain and Sludge bomb are perfect. They do what they need to do and they do it effectively. Earthquake is mainly for Heatran and the surprise factor. Growth for a possible sweep while under Sun. I've been considering running HP fire the the likes of Scizor/Ferrothorn. But I don't think I have many real switch in options for Heatran besides latias, and Char-Y can for the most part deal with Scizor/Ferrothorn. Sleep Powder was another option I was considering. But I don't know the true usefulness of it
The EV's I'm not 100% sure are optimized but someone somewhere mentioned to me that I don't need max speed on Venusaur and I should take 40 out and put it somewhere else. Tbh I have no real clue what to do here. All I do know is that Max Sp.a with a positive nature are recommended.
Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Ice Beam / Fire Blast / Thunder Wave / Roar / Earthquake
I went with Support Tyranitar for the utility of Stealth Rock and setting up Sand For Excadrill. Tyranitar makes for a great Stealth Rocker due to its ability to threaten most Defog users. Pursuit traps Latios and Latias, which allows Stealth Rock to stay on their side of the field for the remainder of the match. Stone Edge is a secondary STAB move that lets Tyranitar KO Zapdos, Mandibuzz, Kyurem-B, and Talonflame. Ice Beam KOes Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Gliscor.
Fire Blast was an option I was considering to OHKO Ferrothorn and Scizor. But the threats that Ice Beam Covers seem more important. Thunder Wave was also considered to cripple an offensive threat such as Mega Gardevoir. Roar was a possibility to be used to prevent Pokemon such as Azumarill and Keldeo from setting up on Tyranitar. Earthquake allows Tyranitar the ability to check Heatran.
The given HP and Defense EVs allow Tyranitar to survive an Earthquake from +1 Dragonite and KO back with Ice Beam, assuming Multiscale is not intact. They also allow Tyranitar to take two +1 Dragon Claws from Mega Charizard X after Stealth Rock damage. The rest of the EVs are tossed into Special Defense to help Tyranitar take special attacks better, such as Latios's Draco Meteor and Heatran's Fire Blast.
Smooth Rock is to maximizes the duration of sand for Excadrill.
Excadrill @ Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin
Earthquake and Iron Head are Excadrill's STAB moves, sporting high power and fantastic coverage. Iron Head has a useful chance to flinch and hits most non-grounded foes, such as Latios, Landorus-T, and Gengar, for a high amount of damage. Rock Slide is Excadrill's best coverage move, hitting Flying-types such as Thundurus, Talonflame, and Mega Pinsir super effectively. It is also Excadrill's best option against Rotom-W and Skarmory. Rapid Spin is for removing entry hazards, especially Stealth Rock.
Maximum Atk and Spe investment with an Adamant nature allows Excadrill to hit as hard and fast as possible. I optioned for Air Balloon instead of Life Orb to gain free switches into Choice-locked Ground-types and improve Excadrill's matchup against opposing Ground-types.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Moonlight / Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave / Flamethrower
With two team members having a glaring fighting weakness, and the rest of the team having a hard time against Mega Gallade, I went with the best choice I could think of to handle the matter. This is also with the added benefit of being a possible win condition.
Calm Mind boosts Clefable’s Special Attack and Special Defense stat, making it both powerful and bulky. Moonblast is Clefable's obligatory STAB move and hits extremely hard after just a few Calm Mind boosts. Moonlight gives Clefable much-needed longevity on the field. Especially under sun. Enabling it to check threats with much more ease. Sand does hampers the amount of recovery though so I may change it for Sold-Boiled. Thunder Wave can cripple many of Clefable's checks, including Heatran, Talonflame, Mega Scizor, Mega Venusaur, and Mega Metagross. Alternatively, Flamethrower deals with the Steel-types that resist Moonblast, such as Scizor and Excadrill. I'm tending to lean more toward Thunder Wave after testing.
Leftovers increases Clefable's longevity and allows it to check many Pokemon much better. The given Special Defense and HP investment along with a Calm nature allow Clefable to, most of the time, avoid the 2HKO from Mild Life Orb Kyurem-B's Ice Beam, Thundurus's Thunderbolt, Mega Diancie's Moonblast, and Mega Manectric's Thunderbolt. The given Defense and HP investment allow Clefable to avoid the 2HKO from Jolly Mega Lopunny's Return, Latios's Psyshock, and Jolly Mega Gyarados's Waterfall, as well as the OHKO from Choice Band Scizor's Bullet Punch.
Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Thunderbolt
- Healing Wish
Latias covers many of the teams weaknesses. Namely Water, Fighting, Earthquake, and Psychic. I chose Latias over Latios for the extra bulk, and healing wish support. Though I would like to use Latios over Latias. I personally feel that the added support and switch-in opportunities offered by Latias are worth more than Latios' added offensive pressure.
Draco Meteor is a powerful STAB move that deals heavy damage to many offensive Pokemon such as Thundurus, Mega Pinsir, Mega Gallade, and Mega Manectric. Psyshock is a secondary STAB move that targets specially bulky Pokemon such as Chansey, Sylveon, and Azumarill, as well as Fighting- and Poison-types such as Keldeo, Breloom, Conkeldurr, Gengar, Mega Venusaur, and Amoonguss. With Excadrill acting as hazard removal I chose Thunderbolt over Defog to hit bulky Water- and Flying-types such as Azumarill, Suicune, Skarmory, and Mandibuzz. Thunderbolt also retains coverage on Keldeo, one of the most important Pokemon Latias is used to check. Healing Wish revives a weakened weather inducer, giving it a second chance to set up Sand/Sun.
A Timid nature and maximum Spe investment is used to outspeed base 108 Speed Pokemon such as Keldeo and Terrakion and tie with opposing base 110 Speed Pokemon such as Mega Gallade, Latios, Latias, and Gengar. The given EV spread lets Latias avoid the 2HKO from Life Orb Thundurus's Hidden Power Ice without Stealth Rock damage and also hits a Life Orb number.
Much like how a Water team basically requires Politoad in order to function effectively, a Sun/Sand team has 4 (IMO) required pokemon. Though you could possibly run it differently, the most effective core I've seen is Charizard-Y/Venusaur & Tyranitar/Excadrill.
Though I don't personally have much experience with this archetype (Sand/Sun) I thought I'd give it my best shot and hope the more experienced players here can tell me what I'm doing wrong
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Solar Power
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Focus Blast
- Roost
I chose Mega Charizard Y for it's Drought ability and thus, giving Chlorophyll Venusaur the sun it needs to become a fast sweeper. Under sun Fire Blast OHKOes or 2HKOes nearly all Pokemon that don't resist it as well heavily denting those that do. Solar Beam doesn't require an extra turn to charge thanks to the sun, and it hits Water-types such as Azumarill, Suicune, Slowking, Slowbro, and Manaphy for great damage. Focus Blast rounds off Mega Charizard's coverage, targeting Tyranitar and Heatran. Roost keeps Mega Charizard Y healthy and somewhat mitigates Stealth Rock damage.
Maximum Sp.A & Spe investment is used to hit as hard and as fast as possible. Timid allows Mega Charizard Y to Speed tie with other positive-natured base 100 Speed Pokemon, namely Manaphy, as well as Jolly Excadrill outside of sand and maximum Speed Kyurem-B
Venusaur @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 40 Atk / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
Mild Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Earthquake / Hidden Power Fire / Sunny Day
- Growth / Sleep Powder
Venusaur is amazing. Checking/countering the likes of Azumarill, Rotom-W, Keldeo, Fairies, Some Fighting types, ect. He's proven to be an extremely valuable asset to the team.
My problem is I don't know what I should or how I should run him in Sun. Giga Drain and Sludge bomb are perfect. They do what they need to do and they do it effectively. Earthquake is mainly for Heatran and the surprise factor. Growth for a possible sweep while under Sun. I've been considering running HP fire the the likes of Scizor/Ferrothorn. But I don't think I have many real switch in options for Heatran besides latias, and Char-Y can for the most part deal with Scizor/Ferrothorn. Sleep Powder was another option I was considering. But I don't know the true usefulness of it
The EV's I'm not 100% sure are optimized but someone somewhere mentioned to me that I don't need max speed on Venusaur and I should take 40 out and put it somewhere else. Tbh I have no real clue what to do here. All I do know is that Max Sp.a with a positive nature are recommended.
Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Ice Beam / Fire Blast / Thunder Wave / Roar / Earthquake
I went with Support Tyranitar for the utility of Stealth Rock and setting up Sand For Excadrill. Tyranitar makes for a great Stealth Rocker due to its ability to threaten most Defog users. Pursuit traps Latios and Latias, which allows Stealth Rock to stay on their side of the field for the remainder of the match. Stone Edge is a secondary STAB move that lets Tyranitar KO Zapdos, Mandibuzz, Kyurem-B, and Talonflame. Ice Beam KOes Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Gliscor.
Fire Blast was an option I was considering to OHKO Ferrothorn and Scizor. But the threats that Ice Beam Covers seem more important. Thunder Wave was also considered to cripple an offensive threat such as Mega Gardevoir. Roar was a possibility to be used to prevent Pokemon such as Azumarill and Keldeo from setting up on Tyranitar. Earthquake allows Tyranitar the ability to check Heatran.
The given HP and Defense EVs allow Tyranitar to survive an Earthquake from +1 Dragonite and KO back with Ice Beam, assuming Multiscale is not intact. They also allow Tyranitar to take two +1 Dragon Claws from Mega Charizard X after Stealth Rock damage. The rest of the EVs are tossed into Special Defense to help Tyranitar take special attacks better, such as Latios's Draco Meteor and Heatran's Fire Blast.
Smooth Rock is to maximizes the duration of sand for Excadrill.
Excadrill @ Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin
Earthquake and Iron Head are Excadrill's STAB moves, sporting high power and fantastic coverage. Iron Head has a useful chance to flinch and hits most non-grounded foes, such as Latios, Landorus-T, and Gengar, for a high amount of damage. Rock Slide is Excadrill's best coverage move, hitting Flying-types such as Thundurus, Talonflame, and Mega Pinsir super effectively. It is also Excadrill's best option against Rotom-W and Skarmory. Rapid Spin is for removing entry hazards, especially Stealth Rock.
Maximum Atk and Spe investment with an Adamant nature allows Excadrill to hit as hard and fast as possible. I optioned for Air Balloon instead of Life Orb to gain free switches into Choice-locked Ground-types and improve Excadrill's matchup against opposing Ground-types.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Moonlight / Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave / Flamethrower
With two team members having a glaring fighting weakness, and the rest of the team having a hard time against Mega Gallade, I went with the best choice I could think of to handle the matter. This is also with the added benefit of being a possible win condition.
Calm Mind boosts Clefable’s Special Attack and Special Defense stat, making it both powerful and bulky. Moonblast is Clefable's obligatory STAB move and hits extremely hard after just a few Calm Mind boosts. Moonlight gives Clefable much-needed longevity on the field. Especially under sun. Enabling it to check threats with much more ease. Sand does hampers the amount of recovery though so I may change it for Sold-Boiled. Thunder Wave can cripple many of Clefable's checks, including Heatran, Talonflame, Mega Scizor, Mega Venusaur, and Mega Metagross. Alternatively, Flamethrower deals with the Steel-types that resist Moonblast, such as Scizor and Excadrill. I'm tending to lean more toward Thunder Wave after testing.
Leftovers increases Clefable's longevity and allows it to check many Pokemon much better. The given Special Defense and HP investment along with a Calm nature allow Clefable to, most of the time, avoid the 2HKO from Mild Life Orb Kyurem-B's Ice Beam, Thundurus's Thunderbolt, Mega Diancie's Moonblast, and Mega Manectric's Thunderbolt. The given Defense and HP investment allow Clefable to avoid the 2HKO from Jolly Mega Lopunny's Return, Latios's Psyshock, and Jolly Mega Gyarados's Waterfall, as well as the OHKO from Choice Band Scizor's Bullet Punch.
Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Thunderbolt
- Healing Wish
Latias covers many of the teams weaknesses. Namely Water, Fighting, Earthquake, and Psychic. I chose Latias over Latios for the extra bulk, and healing wish support. Though I would like to use Latios over Latias. I personally feel that the added support and switch-in opportunities offered by Latias are worth more than Latios' added offensive pressure.
Draco Meteor is a powerful STAB move that deals heavy damage to many offensive Pokemon such as Thundurus, Mega Pinsir, Mega Gallade, and Mega Manectric. Psyshock is a secondary STAB move that targets specially bulky Pokemon such as Chansey, Sylveon, and Azumarill, as well as Fighting- and Poison-types such as Keldeo, Breloom, Conkeldurr, Gengar, Mega Venusaur, and Amoonguss. With Excadrill acting as hazard removal I chose Thunderbolt over Defog to hit bulky Water- and Flying-types such as Azumarill, Suicune, Skarmory, and Mandibuzz. Thunderbolt also retains coverage on Keldeo, one of the most important Pokemon Latias is used to check. Healing Wish revives a weakened weather inducer, giving it a second chance to set up Sand/Sun.
A Timid nature and maximum Spe investment is used to outspeed base 108 Speed Pokemon such as Keldeo and Terrakion and tie with opposing base 110 Speed Pokemon such as Mega Gallade, Latios, Latias, and Gengar. The given EV spread lets Latias avoid the 2HKO from Life Orb Thundurus's Hidden Power Ice without Stealth Rock damage and also hits a Life Orb number.
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