So this is my first post on Smogon and my first RMT. I have made several teams and this is by far my best. Despite being the "best" team I've made, I'm sure there are plenty of flaws that I am blind to. So please, sit back, relax, and critique to your hearts content.
A Quick Look:
So my first thought in creating this team was what route would I take. So after much thought I decided upon a balanced sandstorm team. Which then led me to my next big choice. Who to use; Hippowdon or Tyranitar?
Hippowdon (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SpD
Nature: Impish
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
...I chose Hippowdon. One reason I chose him was because he isn't used as much as his rival Sand Stream user Ttar, and I'm a fan of underdogs and black horses, he also has better physical bulk, which I felt would be more useful. Hippowdon is responsible for providing eternal Sandstorm and setting up Stealth Rock. Besides support he also serves as my check to many physical attackers, namely Excadrill and Gliscor.
After choosing a lead, I needed someone who could provide some offensive power to my team. But who? There are a plethora of pokemon who can effectively abuse Sandstorm and rip through opponents teams. But in my mind, one pokemon stood out among the rest...
Terrakion (-) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EV's: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Nature: Jolly
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- X-Scissor
I can't lie, ever since I saw this guy in the 5th generation Pokedex on Serebii he became a Pokemon I just had to use. I mean, his Pokedex entry says he can break through castle walls, so its simple to think that he shouldn't have any issue ripping through enemy teams. His attack is phenomonal, and out of the 3 musketeers he is by far the most well rounded. Not to mention he gets a Special Defense boost while in the sand. He is my revenge killer and sweeper. Close Combat and Stone Edge do ridiculous amounts of damage. The last two moves are just kinda fillers, but they have their merrits in certain, albeit uncommon, situations.
Well having a blazing fast sweeper is always appreciated. Yet at times I found myself yearning for more power. Even at the cost of speed. But what pokemon could take the role of powerhouse who doesn't need speed to smash through enemies?
Scizor (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP/252 Atk/8 Spd
Nature: Adamant
- Bug Bite
- Bullet Punch
- Pursuit
- Superpower
Ahhhh Scizor. There is so many things she can be tailored to do. But for me, I wanted her to be able to smash through enemies like they were wet toilet paper. The choice between Bug Bite and U-turn was difficult, but in the end, I felt the substansial difference in power was more than enough to justify using Bug Bite. She also serves as my Reuniclus counter, a Pokemon who would otherwise plague this team.
So now I had my Physically offensive core and a physical wall. But what about the special side of the spectrum? Who could possibly fill the gap between those worlds and complete my offensive core?
Heatran (F) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EV's: 4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spd
Nature: Modest
- Fire Blast
- HP Grass
- Earth Power
- Dark Pulse
Heatran, the fiery female on the team. She seemed to be an obvious choice for a special attacker on a sand storm team. Her Fire Blast incinerates anything that doesn't resist it. Earth Power is there for obvious reasons. Now the last to moves are where things get a little different. I found the HP Grass proved to be far more useful than HP Ice has been. But that leaves me totally walled by the Lati twins. But wait! My team already has Stealth Rock covered, so why double up on a move? Perfect, I'll put Dark Pulse on and smash the Lati twins for a surprise attack! I chose Modest nature for the power boost. Heatran has excellent synergy with with Scizor and helps to cover some of Hippowdon and Terrakion's weaknesses.
Now that I have a core, I felt I needed a surprise Pokemon. Someone who most teams aren't ready for. But they still needed to not be hindered by sand storm. But then a thought dawned upon: Why not have the pokemon not affected by ANY residual damage. With that two pokemon came to mind. Reuinclus and Sigilyph. Reuniclus was the Magic Gaurd Pokemon most ppl think of, and thus many teams have a counter prepared for it... But Sigilyph... now there is a rather uncommon sight...
Sigilyph (M) @ Flame Orb
Ability: Magic Gaurd
EV's: 252 HP/200 Def/56 Spd
Nature: Timid
- Roost
- Cosmic Power
- Stored Power
- Psycho Shift
... And that uncommon sight found a spot onto my team. Sigilyph serves as not only a surprise sweeper, but also a wall (esp to fighting types), and a status inflicter. Magic Gaurd ensures Sigilyph will only be hurt by attacks, and Cosmic Power ensures those attacks wont be doing much. And it isn't uncommon for my Sigilyph to nab 4+ Cosmic Powers in a game. Psycho shift crippled all enemy physical attacker (bar guts abusers), and Stored Power just makes for a riduclously powerful attack after 6 Cosmic Powers. And even if facing a Dark-type Pokemon, if Sigilyph has 6 CP and burns the opponent (not an uncommon scenerio), its easy to roost off the damage and watch as the burn slowly whittles away their HP.
And now, with 5 pokemon on my team, I took a step back. But what I saw didn't please me. I had 3 water weaknesses and no way to stop them. So right away the thought of a Storm Drain abuser came about. Now the two Storm Drain users were Cradily and Gastrodon. In the sand Cradily had superior bulk... but i gave me another nasty fighting weakness. So with that, I chose gastrodon as the Pokemon of the hour.
Gastrodon (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
EV's: 252 HP/4 SpA/252 SpD
Nature: Calm
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Toxic
- Recover
And here the sea slug is now!! East Sea was the obvious choice because it just looks so much better. But enough about asthetics. Gastrodon serves as my special wall. Capable of taking even a choice specs Draco Meteor from a Latios. He also is my only water immunity on the team. Once he gets a SpA boost he hits for decent damage. And toxic is there to cripple any walls who switch in.
Though I have many weaknesses covered, some pokemon still stand out amongst those who cause me grief. They are as follows:
Excadrill, Conkledurr, Gliscor, Any Drizzle teams, Skarmory, Blissey, Support Mew, and Jellicent.
So there you have it. My 6 shining stars. I know this team has some major issues, and that's why I have come to you to help me. So please, rip it apart and put it back together if you must. But any help is good help in this case. So really, thanks to whoever is reading this and I look forward to hearing what you have to say.
A Quick Look:
So my first thought in creating this team was what route would I take. So after much thought I decided upon a balanced sandstorm team. Which then led me to my next big choice. Who to use; Hippowdon or Tyranitar?
Hippowdon (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SpD
Nature: Impish
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
...I chose Hippowdon. One reason I chose him was because he isn't used as much as his rival Sand Stream user Ttar, and I'm a fan of underdogs and black horses, he also has better physical bulk, which I felt would be more useful. Hippowdon is responsible for providing eternal Sandstorm and setting up Stealth Rock. Besides support he also serves as my check to many physical attackers, namely Excadrill and Gliscor.
After choosing a lead, I needed someone who could provide some offensive power to my team. But who? There are a plethora of pokemon who can effectively abuse Sandstorm and rip through opponents teams. But in my mind, one pokemon stood out among the rest...
Terrakion (-) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EV's: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Nature: Jolly
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- X-Scissor
I can't lie, ever since I saw this guy in the 5th generation Pokedex on Serebii he became a Pokemon I just had to use. I mean, his Pokedex entry says he can break through castle walls, so its simple to think that he shouldn't have any issue ripping through enemy teams. His attack is phenomonal, and out of the 3 musketeers he is by far the most well rounded. Not to mention he gets a Special Defense boost while in the sand. He is my revenge killer and sweeper. Close Combat and Stone Edge do ridiculous amounts of damage. The last two moves are just kinda fillers, but they have their merrits in certain, albeit uncommon, situations.
Well having a blazing fast sweeper is always appreciated. Yet at times I found myself yearning for more power. Even at the cost of speed. But what pokemon could take the role of powerhouse who doesn't need speed to smash through enemies?
Scizor (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP/252 Atk/8 Spd
Nature: Adamant
- Bug Bite
- Bullet Punch
- Pursuit
- Superpower
Ahhhh Scizor. There is so many things she can be tailored to do. But for me, I wanted her to be able to smash through enemies like they were wet toilet paper. The choice between Bug Bite and U-turn was difficult, but in the end, I felt the substansial difference in power was more than enough to justify using Bug Bite. She also serves as my Reuniclus counter, a Pokemon who would otherwise plague this team.
So now I had my Physically offensive core and a physical wall. But what about the special side of the spectrum? Who could possibly fill the gap between those worlds and complete my offensive core?
Heatran (F) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EV's: 4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spd
Nature: Modest
- Fire Blast
- HP Grass
- Earth Power
- Dark Pulse
Heatran, the fiery female on the team. She seemed to be an obvious choice for a special attacker on a sand storm team. Her Fire Blast incinerates anything that doesn't resist it. Earth Power is there for obvious reasons. Now the last to moves are where things get a little different. I found the HP Grass proved to be far more useful than HP Ice has been. But that leaves me totally walled by the Lati twins. But wait! My team already has Stealth Rock covered, so why double up on a move? Perfect, I'll put Dark Pulse on and smash the Lati twins for a surprise attack! I chose Modest nature for the power boost. Heatran has excellent synergy with with Scizor and helps to cover some of Hippowdon and Terrakion's weaknesses.
Now that I have a core, I felt I needed a surprise Pokemon. Someone who most teams aren't ready for. But they still needed to not be hindered by sand storm. But then a thought dawned upon: Why not have the pokemon not affected by ANY residual damage. With that two pokemon came to mind. Reuinclus and Sigilyph. Reuniclus was the Magic Gaurd Pokemon most ppl think of, and thus many teams have a counter prepared for it... But Sigilyph... now there is a rather uncommon sight...
Sigilyph (M) @ Flame Orb
Ability: Magic Gaurd
EV's: 252 HP/200 Def/56 Spd
Nature: Timid
- Roost
- Cosmic Power
- Stored Power
- Psycho Shift
... And that uncommon sight found a spot onto my team. Sigilyph serves as not only a surprise sweeper, but also a wall (esp to fighting types), and a status inflicter. Magic Gaurd ensures Sigilyph will only be hurt by attacks, and Cosmic Power ensures those attacks wont be doing much. And it isn't uncommon for my Sigilyph to nab 4+ Cosmic Powers in a game. Psycho shift crippled all enemy physical attacker (bar guts abusers), and Stored Power just makes for a riduclously powerful attack after 6 Cosmic Powers. And even if facing a Dark-type Pokemon, if Sigilyph has 6 CP and burns the opponent (not an uncommon scenerio), its easy to roost off the damage and watch as the burn slowly whittles away their HP.
And now, with 5 pokemon on my team, I took a step back. But what I saw didn't please me. I had 3 water weaknesses and no way to stop them. So right away the thought of a Storm Drain abuser came about. Now the two Storm Drain users were Cradily and Gastrodon. In the sand Cradily had superior bulk... but i gave me another nasty fighting weakness. So with that, I chose gastrodon as the Pokemon of the hour.
Gastrodon (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
EV's: 252 HP/4 SpA/252 SpD
Nature: Calm
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Toxic
- Recover
And here the sea slug is now!! East Sea was the obvious choice because it just looks so much better. But enough about asthetics. Gastrodon serves as my special wall. Capable of taking even a choice specs Draco Meteor from a Latios. He also is my only water immunity on the team. Once he gets a SpA boost he hits for decent damage. And toxic is there to cripple any walls who switch in.
Though I have many weaknesses covered, some pokemon still stand out amongst those who cause me grief. They are as follows:
Excadrill, Conkledurr, Gliscor, Any Drizzle teams, Skarmory, Blissey, Support Mew, and Jellicent.
So there you have it. My 6 shining stars. I know this team has some major issues, and that's why I have come to you to help me. So please, rip it apart and put it back together if you must. But any help is good help in this case. So really, thanks to whoever is reading this and I look forward to hearing what you have to say.
