Dark Armed (Tyranitar) @ Chople Berry
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 156 HP / 252 Atk / 100 SDef
IVs: 0 Spd
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spd)
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Protect
If I notice a good number of Special Attacking Pokémon on my opponent’s team through Battle Preview, I will choose to lead with Tyranitar. Tyranitar gains a significant boost to its Special Defense from Sandstorm, making it an ideal competitor against Special Attackers such as Latios, Zapdos, Cresselia, etc. Chople Berry is equipped to protect Tyranitar from dreaded Fighting-Type attacks. Brave Nature as well as 0 IVs in Speed allows Tyranitar to win the weather battle majority of the time.
Hoplomus (Hippowdon) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
IVs: 0 Spd
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spd)
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Crunch
- Protect
If I notice a good number of Physical Attackers on my opponent’s team, I will choose to lead with Hippowdon. Hippowdon has a good amount of Physical Defense, making it the ideal lead against Physical Attackers that will find it difficult to inflict damage. Leftovers are equipped so that Hippowdon can have access to constant recovery. Just like with Tyranitar, Hippowdon has 0 Speed IVs as well as Brave Nature to win most weather battles. I prefer Crunch to Ice Fang, as there are more Pokémon vulnerable to Dark attacks than Ice attacks right now and Rock Slide works against most Pokémon that would fear Ice Fang.
Hamon (Zapdos) @ Charti Berry
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Discharge
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Detect
Zapdos is the reliable Special Attacker of the team. The rest of the team either resists Electric-Type attacks or are immune to them, so it is easy for me to use Discharge without fear of my own Pokémon taking damage. The combination of Garchomp and Zapdos to do Earthquake and Discharge simultaneously was popular and this team is capable of doing this with the vast amount of Ground-Type Pokémon, dealing great damage to multiple targets in a single turn. Heat Wave is very helpful, especially with the many players who use Ferrothorn. Hidden Power Ice helps add more coverage to the team as no other Pokémon in my party has access to Ice-Type attacks. Charti Berry is for surviving Rock-Type attacks, as they appear to be the second most threatening to Zapdos other than Ice; however, Landorus is already holding the Yache Berry.
Grand Mole (Excadrill) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- X-Scissor
- Protect
Excadrill is the MVP of the team. With the Sandstorm brewing, he can out speed every other Pokémon, outside of Trick Room, Tailwind, and opposing speed boosts of course. Pokémon that hold Choice Scarf really piss me off and Excadrill is the perfect answer as no Pokémon with a Scarf alone is capable of out speeding it in the Sand. It has an Adamant Nature to ensure its attacks can do as most damage as possible as it can already out speed everything else without the boost from a Jolly Nature. Despite Excadrill’s great Attack and Speed, its defense is lacking against Super Effective moves, so Focus Sash is held so that it can come back after receiving a big hit from opposing Pokémon. X-Scissor is especially helpful for inflicting Super Effective damage to Pokémon such as Latios, Cresselia, Ludicolo, etc.
Granel (Landorus) @ Yache Berry
Trait: Sand Force
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Brick Break
- Protect
While Excadrill gains a significant amount of speed in the Sandstorm, Landorus gains a great boost to its Earthquakes and Rock Slides, making it the reliable Physical Attack of the team. I will usually depend on Landorus to do its best at doing as most damage as possible and using it to soften up opposing Pokémon so that my Excadrill can have an easier time finishing them off. Ice-Type attacks are Landorus’ nightmare, so the Yache Berry is held so that it can survive. Brick Break is a nice single-target attack when necessary and nice for breaking Reflect or Light Screen if they are used.
Stardust (Latios) @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 4 Def / 248 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Dragon Pulse
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Protect
Latios is the other reliable Special Attacker for the team. Just like Zapdos, it can avoid my own Earthquakes thanks to its Levitate trait. Pokémon such as Gastrodon and such that have high Physical Defense and invulnerable to Zapdos’ attacks were a huge nuisance. At first, I tried using Rotom-W for dealing with Pokémon like Swampert and Gastrodon, but I would have problems if the opponent uses both Gastrodon and Ferrothorn on the same team. I decided on Latios because it has a high Special Attack so that it can deal with both threats when they appear. Life Orb ensures that Latios can inflict as much damage as possible. I have not tried Draco Meteor over Dragon Pulse, but I feel the latter is safer.
I have been using Sandstorm even before the debut of Black and White, as it is my favorite strategy. I would appreciate feedback for how to improve this team. If there are any questions regarding my team that were unanswered in my RMT, be sure to ask, as I did not feel like making this look perfectly thorough. I will be attending the VGC Regional in Providence, Rhode Island, so expect to see my father and me for those also attending.
