Somewhere Around Barstow
Greetings, folks!
This will be my third team posted to this site. Back to the OU meta, and I’m still planning on making teams that can be bred into Ultra Sun (for all the good it will do me for Gen VIII, but I think I’m allowed one last hoorah for Gen VII). However, I really wanted to get out of my comfort zone for this one, so I challenged myself. I rarely, if ever, utilize weather-based teams, or teams featuring a weather mechanic of some sort. They always seemed, for lack of better phrasing, gimmicky, at least when I first thought on it years ago, before paying attention to competitive play. After some research on the Rain Era, it really blew my mind how much of a boon a weather condition can give to a team. So, I decided to make one myself, but not for rain. Rain is far from my preferred weather condition, despite its strengths. I prefer something a bit more, granular. It’s time to buy the ticket and take the ride. Let’s get to the breakdown.
THE TEAM
"Reptile Zoo"
Tyranitar @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 168 HP / 252 Atk / 88 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Fire Punch
Every weather team needs its weather setter, and Tyranitar is one of the best Sandstorm summoners in the game. This is doubly true when it is given access to its Mega-Evolution. Not that the Choice Band or Assault Vest builds of TTar lack merit, but I needed to compress the Stealth Rocker for the rest of the lineup. Using Ferrothorn felt slow, IMHO, and it added a third Fighting-type weakness to the team. The rest of the moves are pretty standard. Pursuit traps Psychic-types like the Eon Duo (Latios & Latias) and Tapu Lele if Choice-locked. Stone Edge is TTar’s STAB move of choice, and Fire Punch is for coverage against Steel-types, like Mega-Mawile, Magearna, and namely, Celesteela and Ferrothorn, as the latter would take more damage from the Punch than they would from Earthquake. The former two can retaliate with Fairy-type moves, but the EV spread of 88 Speed lets TTar out-speed Mega-Mawile. Kartana isn’t on the list because it’s still horrifying with Sacred Sword, but we have checks for Kartana. Synergy-wise, Mega-Tyranitar appreciates the Volt-Turn support of Tornadus-T and Tapu Koko to come in safely, and set up Sandstorm advantageously. Tangrowth checks Water and Ground-types that would bother TTar, namely Ash-Greninja (barring Ice Beam for coverage). Of course, I would be remise if I didn’t mention TTar’s top partner-in-crime on Sandstorm teams such as these.
"Highway Patrol"
Excadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
The weasels are closing in. Well, a singular mole, in this case. Excadrill, when accompanying Sandstorm support from TTar, is blisteringly fast, outstripping literally everything in the tier. Since its Speed is a non-issue (at least inside Sandstorm), Swords Dance boosts its attack power to better abuse its sweeper-status. Careful control is required, however, as Excadrill may as well be facing down Saitama if the weather isn’t in its favor. Earthquake and Iron Head are the preferred moves, though I did consider Rock Slide over the latter as a sort of play-around to Flying-types. However, that left my team with no Steel-type moves, and the Fairy-type in general usually demands an answer in Steel-type coverage. Tyranitar’s Stone Edge and Tapu Koko in general were suitable enough answers to Flying for me. Rapid Spin rounds out the list as a hazard removal. This is crucial for Volcarona, a partner with a 4x weakness to Stealth Rock, and who can reliably answer some of Excadrill’s checks, like Celesteela, and bulky Grass-types. Of course, Volcarona also takes up the Z-Crystal slot in the team, so Excadrill’s held item is Leftovers. This helps with the long(er) game, and acts as better staying power to the likes of Clefable, allowing for more opportunities to set-up with Swords Dance.
"Bat Country"
Volcarona @ Firium Z
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power Ground
“Poor man’s Mega-Charizard-Y” (I’m being facetious). While it is true that running Volcarona over ‘Zard-Y is less conducive to the original Weather core, it does open up the Mega slot for TTar. If Tyranitar wasn’t in its Mega form, I would require another teammate to set Stealth Rock. A four-Pokémon core is less a core, and more a restrictive build-space. Besides, it’s not like Volcarona is any less viable as a “replacement option”, far from it. As a setup sweeper with Quiver Dance, the moth can do some serious work. Fire Blast, with Firium Z, is able to OHKO many would-be threats to Sandstorm teams like this one, including the dreaded Kyurem-B. This specific check was the main reason for my particular Z-Crystal selection. I was mulling over Psychic instead of Bug Buzz, but if I ran that, I would have no STAB super-effective moves against Dark-types across the team. Hidden Power Ground comes last, as it lets Volcarona combat Heatran to a degree, who would otherwise come in for free. As for synergy, Volcarona needs hazard removal, the more the merrier. Rapid Spin and Defog from Excadrill and Tapu Koko cover that well. Priority-moves that override the Quiver Dance speed bonus is also an issue, namely Mega-Pinsir’s Aerilated (is that even a word?) Quick Attack and Ash-Greninja’s Water Shuriken. Tapu Koko and Tangrowth can stomach both, respectively. TTar, applying Stealth Rock and Sandstorm, can soften up the enemy team for an easier sweep. Only half way through the team, so we can't stop here!
"Dr. Gonzo"
Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Power Whip
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Sludge Bomb
Tangrowth acts as one of the pivots to the team, given a Sand team’s inherent weakness to the likes of Water-types. As an answer to Special Attackers in general, its Assault Vest build is one of the best in the tier. Power Whip is chosen over Giga Drain in this set, as while the regen from Drain is appreciated, Regenerator can alleviate the loss of HP moderately well. Moreover, Power Whip is a better answer to Mega-Alakazam, which could otherwise be quite troubling to the team. Knock Off is used to cripple switch-ins with the loss of an item, while Earthquake softens Steel-types like Heatran and Magearna. Sludge Bomb is the final move, mainly for Fairy-Type coverage, especially against Tapu Bulu, and the poison chance is a nice bonus when it does proc. Now, this set is a bit weak of answers to Landorus-T, as is the rest of the team so far. And while Tangrowth can wall Landorus-T, this is more reliably done with the physically defensive Rocky Helmet build, and that’s only if Landorus-T lacks a Z-Crystal. I needed a more reliable answer to Lando, as well as some good-ole fashioned VoltTurn support for the rest of the team’s momentum. Enter everyone’s favorite rooster (besides Blaziken).
"Raoul Duke"
Tapu Koko @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 32 HP / 88 Def / 172 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power Ice
- Defog
Tapu Koko comes onto the team as one-half of a VoltTurn core, and acts as an answer to the likes of Landorus-T, as well as Garchomp and Gliscor, by extension. Whether it be suicide lead, Z-move, Defensive Stealth Rocks, etc., the lion would likely run rampant outside of Tangrowth. Shuca Berry, with HP Ice and the very specific EV spread above allows Tapu Koko to answer all three of those threats, namely surviving Gliscor’s Sword’s Dance boosted Earthquake, if it’s running that particular build. Hawlucha was, of course, another worry I had with this team, as its STAB moves hit each previous member super-effectively. Tapu Koko nips this in the bud quite favorably, even if Nacho Libre’s Electric Seed is consumed, as it resists both Fighting and Flying, and can retaliate with Thunderbolt. Defog acts as the mandatory second hazard removal on Volcarona teams, and is on Tapu Koko instead of Tornadus-T, as Tornadus-T is weak to Stealth Rock (TFW the Defogger is weak to rocks). Water-types, like Toxapex and Tapu Fini, are also sorted by Tapu Koko, much to the joy of TTar, Excadrill, and Volcarona.
"Ether"
Tornadus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Knock Off
- U-Turn
- Taunt
With just one member left, I needed U-Turn to close the loop. That, and something to check certain pesky Fighting-types, as well as some walls. Tornadus-T was a natural fit. I chose the bulky build with Rocky Helmet to further grate down the opposing team, if Sandstorm damage and Stealth Rock weren’t enough already. That, and outside of Mega-TTar’s natural thiccness, there wasn’t really any other teammate that could handle aggression well, save Tangrowth. Torn-T and Tangrowth create a Regenerator core to boot, covering each other’s checks, notably opposing Tapu Kokos against Torn-T, and Mega Venusaur/bulky Grass-types for Tangrowth. Both team members possessing Knock Off further exacerbates enemies that would capitalize on switching in to ease the match-up, or benefit from Leftovers to cancel out the Sandstorm damage. Hurricane can handle Kartana and Mega-Medicham, and can OHKO both even though this particular build lacks in Special Attack investment. Taunt fills out the list as a standard status control, and better match-up against walls. This is selected over Defog, as that would make two Defoggers and one Rapid Spinner on the team. Volcarona appreciates the hazard clearing, but that seems redundant. Taunt also helps Tapu Koko deal with Toxapex, which is otherwise quite annoying if it gets a Toxic off.
THREATS
Priority is hard to deal with, and more or less demands someone gets hit to switch in and resist, or I sack a ‘Mon. Not being able to respond to it with my own priority guarantees damage advantage for my opponent. Also, while the team is fast, there are no Choice-Scarf speed-checks outside of bulk from Tangrowth and Mega-Tyranitar. Tapu Lele seems easy-to-answer with Excadrill, but Excadrill must be under sand, and it shouldn’t directly switch-in. The scariest threat in that regard is Mega-Lopunny. The scrunchie bunny usually has the right coverage moves, and it naturally outspeeds my entire team out of Sandstorm. Tornadus-T can OHKO Mega-Lopunny with Hurricane after Rocky Helmet, but switching into sets with Ice Punch is a no-no. On the topic of Mega-evolution, Mega-Diancie comes to mind as difficult to manage. Magic Bounce sends back Stealth Rock, Sandstorm gives it a SpDef boost, and every team member besides Tangrowth takes super-effective damage from its moves. Power Whip can OHKO Mega-Diancie, but not if Diamond Storm procs a Defense boost. I also lack Fighting-type coverage of my own on the team, and while every other type weak to Fighting is covered by other moves on this team, sans Normal, I feel the hole it makes. This is a major problem with opposing Tyranitars. The Mega-Dragon Dance variant can usually set up uncontested, while TTars with Choice-Scarf need to be Choice-locked into resisted hits. Excadrill’s speed must be used wisely in both scenarios, being aggressive against DD and only switching into Choice-locked Stone Edge or Pursuit.
CONCLUSION
Thus ends my third RMT. This has to be one of my favorite teams as of late, due to all the answers it has to some of the top-tier meta-mons. Of course, it’s not perfect. If nothing else, the most poignant limiter to this team is the way I play, and I’ve found that weather teams are inherently difficult to pilot. The preview screen roughly confirms to your opponent exactly what’s up, and it’s an uphill battle from there. I still have a ways to go in battling expertise, and I haven’t bred this exact team into Ultra Sun yet, so nothing is set in stone. As always, I thank you for your time, and if you have any improvements or suggestions, feel free to post them below. Keep it rockin’!
-Revërberations
