5th Gen Sandstorm Team

[Jericho Valentine]

This is my first team as well as my first time posting on Smogon so please go easy on me. I attempted to build a sandstorm team. Constructive criticism and suggestions are not only welcome but needed.

Tyranitar@Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
Nature: Sassy
252 Hp / 64 SpA / 192 SpD

Moveset:
Stealth Rock
Crunch
Fire Blast
Ice Beam

Tyranitar is my lead. He sets up Sandstorm and Stealth Rock. He also serves as a mixed attacker and special wall. Crunch for a STAB move and it serves as coverage against Ghost and Psychic-types. Fireblast should make it easy to bust through steel types like Skarmory. And Ice Beam does 4x damage to a switch-in Gliscor. I chose left overs as a hold item Leftovers for obvious reasons.

Ferrothorn@Rugged Helmet
Ability: Iron Thorns
Nature: Relaxed
252 Hp / 48 Atk / 208 Def

Moveset:
Protect
Leech Seed
Gyro Ball
Power Whip

Rugged Helmet adds additional damage to Ferrothorn's Iron Thorns. Protect allows me to rack up additional damage from Leech Seed, Sandstorm, as well as any possible status ailments. Gyro Ball and Power Whip both get STAB as well as tackle a variety of threats.

Scizor@Life Orb
Ability: Technician
Nature: Adamant
4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

Moveset:
Swords Dance
Bullet Punch
Brick Break
Bug Bite

Scizor is my Physical Sweeper. Swords Dance boosts Scizor attack in order for him to sweep. Bullet Punch deals decent damage to Gliscor. I chose to use Brick Break over Superpower to prevent the loss of attack power. Bug Bite and Bullet Punch can be used to break through most walls. And Life Orb gives Scizor a significant power boost.

Tentacruel@Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
Nature: Calm
252 Hp / 4 SpA / 252 SpD

Moveset:
Scald
Rapid Spin
Toxic Spikes
Ice Beam

Tentacruel acts as a special tank. Scald serves as a decent stab move and can also cause burn. Rapid spin eliminates entry hazards and Tentacruel can also set up Toxic Spikes. Ice Beam is effective at taking down Gliscor as well as Grass-types. Black Sludge will restore Teantacruel's HP without fear of being tricked.

Reuniclus@Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
Nature: Bold
252 Hp / 252 Def / 4 SpD

Moveset:
Calm Mind
Recover
Psychic
Focus Blast

Calm Mind is a must have, boosting Reuniclus's already high special attack and special defense. Recover makes Reuniclus even more difficult to take down. Psychic is an ideal STAB move and will deal decent damage to most opponents and Focus Blast is powerful against threats such as Tyranitar.

Gliscor@Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Nature: Impish
252 Hp / 4 Atk / 252 Def

Moveset:
Protect
Earthquake
Ice Fang
Toxic

Gliscor is my Physical wall. With this set, Gliscor can badly poison enemy pokemon using toxic and then let the damage add up as well as heal using toxic orb while protecting. Earthquake is a great STAB move and is effective against the poison immune steel-types. Ice Fang is great to use against enemy Gliscor as well as flying types.

 

[Zero Hour 17]

First off welcome to Smogon. This is a pretty solid team, props for using things other than 3 steals a ground and a rock pokemon on a Sandstorm team. You don't know how many first time RMT's do this.

Just a few changes I would suggest, that are by no means mandatory. First on Tentacruel I would suggest Toxic over Toxic spikes. I personally find multi-turn setup hazards end up being a waste of turns in most battles unless you have a spin blocker.

On Ferrothorn switch rocky helmet for either leftovers or shed shell. Believe me, the recovery or the ability to get rid of status will help you alot more than the miniscule damage rocky helmet does. Also I don't know if you are, but consider running 1 speed IV on Ferro, this gives your Ferro's Gyro Ball a big hit, while letting you outspeed other Ferro's and you would be suprised to know the number of times I've seen a battle come down to Ferrothorn vs. Ferrothorn.

The only other thing I would suggest is consider running Psyshock over Psychic on Reuniclus. This is 100% preference though, but it can really help against special walls that try to tank you.

gl with the team