The team at a glance:
This is the sandstorm team that I've been using in Pokemon Showdown for about a week. Sand has never been my favorite type of weather, but residual damage has been the downfall of many opponents, especially because of Gliscor. This team has brought 11 wins and two losses. Both losses were against Politoed rain teams. Most the matches ended in a Garchomp sweep, but let's get in depth with the team.
The Lead
Dinosaurus Rex (Tyranitar) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Naughty Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Superpower
Tyranitar is, of course the sand stream user, and my stealth rocker. Stone edge and pursuit are to deal with Skarmory and Latios/Latias leads, respectively. Superpower is to deal with opposing T-Tar leads. The EV's I chose were to 1. Let T-Tar take any hit he wants to, except for fighting moves of course, and 2. Allow T-Tar to all other leads pretty hard, if not OHKO them.
The Killer
Landshark O' Doom (Garchomp) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
- Stone Edge
Garchomp, the beast that has one almost every single one of my games for me. With the choice scarf, Garchomp's base 102 speed is enough to outspeed all of its threats, except for ice shard Piloswine, and other choice scarf users, specifically Latios and Latias. Its monsterous speed, combined with this moveset that gives it unresisted coverage. Combine this, and its base 130 attack, and you have one crazy pokemon. Sand veil used to be the ability on this guy, but GUESS NOT.
The Sweeper
Limey (Scizor) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Roost
- Swords Dance
The point of this set is to set up a swords dance or two, proceed to sweep with Scizor's incredible stab moves. Roost is to heal off the life orb damage, but four-moveslot syndrome is a disease that this Scizor is heavily affected by. If a pokemon, such as Heatran resists both of Scizor's STABs, he's forced to switch out, which really sucks. However, if you remove threats like Heatran, Scizor can be a deadly sweeper.
The Wall
AcroBAT (Gliscor) (F) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 184 Def / 252 HP / 72 Spd
Impish Nature
- Acrobatics
- Toxic
- Substitute
- Earthquake
This pokemon has gotten me out of trouble too many times to count, and thus, I couldn't let her NOT be on this team. The EV spread lets her be so bulky, she can withstand almost everything. For example, in the last match I played, it was AcroBAT left, versus a Salamence that had dragon danced three times. Just when all seemed lost, the combo of poison heal, toxic, and substitute won me the match. It was a major win for this bulky monster. Again, sand veil was going to be used, but GUESS NOT.
The One I Have No Idea Why I Included
Monkey Mon (Infernape) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Flare Blitz
- Thunder Punch
- U-turn
The name says it all: I have no idea why I included Infernape. He takes residual damage from the sandstorm, and doesn't receive any boosts from it either. Despite having no place in this team, Infernape can still do his part. Thunder punch rids the field of pesky Skarmorys, and close combat and flare blitz are incredible stab moves. The only trouble is, what with life orb and sandstorm damage racking up every turn, Infernape doesn't have much longetivity.
The Nuke
Metal God (Metagross) @ Choice Band
Ability: Clear Body
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Earthquake
Metagross is an interesting pokemon. In the beginning of a match, he doesn't see much use. However, at the end of a match, he can tear through most pokemon on the opposing team, mainly with its nuclear-powered STAB meteor mash. This is the main reason that the supercomputer was added to this team. Besides meteor mash, STAB zen headbutt is useful for taking out Tentacruel and others like him.
Last Thoughts:
I'm actually quite happy with the way that this team works, but a rapid spinner would be nice. Especially for toxic spikes. Which I HATE.
This is the sandstorm team that I've been using in Pokemon Showdown for about a week. Sand has never been my favorite type of weather, but residual damage has been the downfall of many opponents, especially because of Gliscor. This team has brought 11 wins and two losses. Both losses were against Politoed rain teams. Most the matches ended in a Garchomp sweep, but let's get in depth with the team.
The Lead
Dinosaurus Rex (Tyranitar) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Naughty Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Superpower
Tyranitar is, of course the sand stream user, and my stealth rocker. Stone edge and pursuit are to deal with Skarmory and Latios/Latias leads, respectively. Superpower is to deal with opposing T-Tar leads. The EV's I chose were to 1. Let T-Tar take any hit he wants to, except for fighting moves of course, and 2. Allow T-Tar to all other leads pretty hard, if not OHKO them.
The Killer
Landshark O' Doom (Garchomp) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
- Stone Edge
Garchomp, the beast that has one almost every single one of my games for me. With the choice scarf, Garchomp's base 102 speed is enough to outspeed all of its threats, except for ice shard Piloswine, and other choice scarf users, specifically Latios and Latias. Its monsterous speed, combined with this moveset that gives it unresisted coverage. Combine this, and its base 130 attack, and you have one crazy pokemon. Sand veil used to be the ability on this guy, but GUESS NOT.
The Sweeper
Limey (Scizor) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Roost
- Swords Dance
The point of this set is to set up a swords dance or two, proceed to sweep with Scizor's incredible stab moves. Roost is to heal off the life orb damage, but four-moveslot syndrome is a disease that this Scizor is heavily affected by. If a pokemon, such as Heatran resists both of Scizor's STABs, he's forced to switch out, which really sucks. However, if you remove threats like Heatran, Scizor can be a deadly sweeper.
The Wall
AcroBAT (Gliscor) (F) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 184 Def / 252 HP / 72 Spd
Impish Nature
- Acrobatics
- Toxic
- Substitute
- Earthquake
This pokemon has gotten me out of trouble too many times to count, and thus, I couldn't let her NOT be on this team. The EV spread lets her be so bulky, she can withstand almost everything. For example, in the last match I played, it was AcroBAT left, versus a Salamence that had dragon danced three times. Just when all seemed lost, the combo of poison heal, toxic, and substitute won me the match. It was a major win for this bulky monster. Again, sand veil was going to be used, but GUESS NOT.
The One I Have No Idea Why I Included
Monkey Mon (Infernape) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Flare Blitz
- Thunder Punch
- U-turn
The name says it all: I have no idea why I included Infernape. He takes residual damage from the sandstorm, and doesn't receive any boosts from it either. Despite having no place in this team, Infernape can still do his part. Thunder punch rids the field of pesky Skarmorys, and close combat and flare blitz are incredible stab moves. The only trouble is, what with life orb and sandstorm damage racking up every turn, Infernape doesn't have much longetivity.
The Nuke
Metal God (Metagross) @ Choice Band
Ability: Clear Body
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Earthquake
Metagross is an interesting pokemon. In the beginning of a match, he doesn't see much use. However, at the end of a match, he can tear through most pokemon on the opposing team, mainly with its nuclear-powered STAB meteor mash. This is the main reason that the supercomputer was added to this team. Besides meteor mash, STAB zen headbutt is useful for taking out Tentacruel and others like him.
Last Thoughts:
I'm actually quite happy with the way that this team works, but a rapid spinner would be nice. Especially for toxic spikes. Which I HATE.