An offensively based sand team with other pokemon to support. Please use constructive criticism, and not just say that its good or bad. I really want to know how far i can go with this.
Tyranitar
Item: Tyrantitarite
Nature: Adamant Ability: Sand Stream
4 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Spe
Rock Slide
Crunch
Ice Punch
Protect
MegaTar essentially acts as the core of the team, providing offensive support for 2 of the other main pokemon as well as being able to hold its own. I invested it in Speed instead of HP since its defenses already make it extremely bulky. Rock Slide is the main attack, being very spammable in many situations. Crunch works as a secondary STAB, dealing more damage to single targets and works to hit Ghosts and Psychics very hard. Protect is necessary for T-Tar, considering its weak to Earthquake and Surf, 2 very common moves in VGC due to their ability to hit both enemies very hard. Ice punch is a final coverage move for hitting pokemon such as Garchomp, Gliscor, and many other Ground and dragon-types harder than with either of its 2 other attacks.
Rhyperior
Item: Assault Vest
Nature: Adamant Ability: Solid Rock
252 HP, 252 Atk, 4 SpD
Earthquake
Rock Slide
Payback
Fire Fang
Rhyperior may seem like an odd choice, but it can actually be a huge threat under the right circumstances. Its gigantic base 140 attack along with both STAB Earthquake AND Rock Slide makes him a dominant force on the field. He's also bulky as hell, not even getting 2HKO'd by Garchomp's EQ. And while his crap Special Defense would be a problem, the boosts given by the Assault Vest, Sandstorm, as well as Solid Rock, means that Rhyperior can stay on the field for a long amount of time. Payback and Fire Fang are his coverage moves, Payback essentially working as a Base 100 Dark-Type attack considering how Rhyperior is usually the slowest thing on the field, and Fire Fang killing off many pokemon that would otherwise tank both EQ and Rock Slide, such as Forretress, Scizor, and Ferrothorn. Rhyperior is essentially the best partner on this team for T-Tar, launching powerful EQs when T-Tar protects and killing off things that T-Tar would have a hard time with.
Sandslash
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Adamant Ability: Sand Rush
4 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Spe
Earthquake
Stone Edge
Brick Break
Poison Jab
As Excadrill is banned in VGC, I needed another good Sand Rush poke for sweeping faster threats. Enter Sandlash. With Life Orb and Sand Rush, its as fast as i need it to be, as powerful as I need it to be, and as varied as i need it to be. Sandslash's job is simple, either sweep late game, or take out fast threats that neither T-tar or Rhyperior could do anything about. Sandslash's EQ with LO is just a bit less powerful than Rhyperiors, so it can still get the job done. I chose Stone Edge over Rock Slide this time since Sandslash will usually attack single targets, and the previous 2 use rock slide much better. Brick Break is for breaking screens and hitting anything that EQ wouldn't instantly kill. Poison Jab hits frail Grass-Types that give T-tar and Rhyperior a hard time, as well as fairies, which otherwise only Zangoose could take care of.
Greninja
Item: Expert Belt
Nature: Timid Ability: Protean
4 HP, 252 SpA, 252 Spe
Surf
Ice Beam
Extrasensory
Mat Block
The last 3 pokemon on this team are mainly for support leads, killing off pokemon the first 3 above would have trouble with. Greninja is the fastest of these, and as such has a lot of use at the beginning of games. Surf is the preferred move here, being able to hit both enemies hard. Ice Beam is chosen over blizzard because of the sand, and because it has more power in general, being able to deal huge damage to single target Ground and Dragon types. Extrasensory helps take out many fighting types, helpful for when they would use wide guard. Mat Block is excellent in VGC because of Greninja's speed. While it can only be used on his first turn, it can provide protection from enemies while Gren's partner gets an important kill.
Zangoose
Item: Toxic Orb
Nature: Jolly Ability: Toxic Boost
252 Atk, 4 SpD, 252 Spe
Facade
Close Combat
Shadow Claw
Protect
Zangoose's utility lies in its sheer power. With toxic boost and Facade, its possibly the hardest-hitting normal-type in the game. Facade can essentialy 2HKO anything that doesn't resist, if it doesn't OHKO outright. Jolly is given over Adamant for the sake of speed advantage. Close Combat hits harder on those resistant to Facade, and Shadow Claw hits Ghosts, who are immune to it. Protect gives it a free turn for the Toxic Orb to activate, as well as just provide overall utility.
Heliolisk
Item: Choice Specs
Nature: Timid Ability: Dry Skin
4 HP, 252 SpA, 252 Spe
Thunder
Hyper Beam
Surf
Volt Switch
Heliolisk has one job, murdering Politoed. Politoed is a serious threat for my team, and thankfully, Heliolisk can not only take him out in an instant, but also abuse the rain to put major dents in other threats. Thunder is his main STAB instead of T-bolt for its sheer power and easy abuse of rain. Surf hits ground and rock types hard if Politoed has already been killed. Hyper beam is meant as an Uber-powerful suicide move on something that could threaten the whole team. Volt switch can be used on weakened pokemon as a means of safe kills and keeping momentum.
Tyranitar
Item: Tyrantitarite
Nature: Adamant Ability: Sand Stream
4 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Spe
Rock Slide
Crunch
Ice Punch
Protect
MegaTar essentially acts as the core of the team, providing offensive support for 2 of the other main pokemon as well as being able to hold its own. I invested it in Speed instead of HP since its defenses already make it extremely bulky. Rock Slide is the main attack, being very spammable in many situations. Crunch works as a secondary STAB, dealing more damage to single targets and works to hit Ghosts and Psychics very hard. Protect is necessary for T-Tar, considering its weak to Earthquake and Surf, 2 very common moves in VGC due to their ability to hit both enemies very hard. Ice punch is a final coverage move for hitting pokemon such as Garchomp, Gliscor, and many other Ground and dragon-types harder than with either of its 2 other attacks.
Rhyperior
Item: Assault Vest
Nature: Adamant Ability: Solid Rock
252 HP, 252 Atk, 4 SpD
Earthquake
Rock Slide
Payback
Fire Fang
Rhyperior may seem like an odd choice, but it can actually be a huge threat under the right circumstances. Its gigantic base 140 attack along with both STAB Earthquake AND Rock Slide makes him a dominant force on the field. He's also bulky as hell, not even getting 2HKO'd by Garchomp's EQ. And while his crap Special Defense would be a problem, the boosts given by the Assault Vest, Sandstorm, as well as Solid Rock, means that Rhyperior can stay on the field for a long amount of time. Payback and Fire Fang are his coverage moves, Payback essentially working as a Base 100 Dark-Type attack considering how Rhyperior is usually the slowest thing on the field, and Fire Fang killing off many pokemon that would otherwise tank both EQ and Rock Slide, such as Forretress, Scizor, and Ferrothorn. Rhyperior is essentially the best partner on this team for T-Tar, launching powerful EQs when T-Tar protects and killing off things that T-Tar would have a hard time with.
Sandslash
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Adamant Ability: Sand Rush
4 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Spe
Earthquake
Stone Edge
Brick Break
Poison Jab
As Excadrill is banned in VGC, I needed another good Sand Rush poke for sweeping faster threats. Enter Sandlash. With Life Orb and Sand Rush, its as fast as i need it to be, as powerful as I need it to be, and as varied as i need it to be. Sandslash's job is simple, either sweep late game, or take out fast threats that neither T-tar or Rhyperior could do anything about. Sandslash's EQ with LO is just a bit less powerful than Rhyperiors, so it can still get the job done. I chose Stone Edge over Rock Slide this time since Sandslash will usually attack single targets, and the previous 2 use rock slide much better. Brick Break is for breaking screens and hitting anything that EQ wouldn't instantly kill. Poison Jab hits frail Grass-Types that give T-tar and Rhyperior a hard time, as well as fairies, which otherwise only Zangoose could take care of.
Greninja
Item: Expert Belt
Nature: Timid Ability: Protean
4 HP, 252 SpA, 252 Spe
Surf
Ice Beam
Extrasensory
Mat Block
The last 3 pokemon on this team are mainly for support leads, killing off pokemon the first 3 above would have trouble with. Greninja is the fastest of these, and as such has a lot of use at the beginning of games. Surf is the preferred move here, being able to hit both enemies hard. Ice Beam is chosen over blizzard because of the sand, and because it has more power in general, being able to deal huge damage to single target Ground and Dragon types. Extrasensory helps take out many fighting types, helpful for when they would use wide guard. Mat Block is excellent in VGC because of Greninja's speed. While it can only be used on his first turn, it can provide protection from enemies while Gren's partner gets an important kill.
Zangoose
Item: Toxic Orb
Nature: Jolly Ability: Toxic Boost
252 Atk, 4 SpD, 252 Spe
Facade
Close Combat
Shadow Claw
Protect
Zangoose's utility lies in its sheer power. With toxic boost and Facade, its possibly the hardest-hitting normal-type in the game. Facade can essentialy 2HKO anything that doesn't resist, if it doesn't OHKO outright. Jolly is given over Adamant for the sake of speed advantage. Close Combat hits harder on those resistant to Facade, and Shadow Claw hits Ghosts, who are immune to it. Protect gives it a free turn for the Toxic Orb to activate, as well as just provide overall utility.
Heliolisk
Item: Choice Specs
Nature: Timid Ability: Dry Skin
4 HP, 252 SpA, 252 Spe
Thunder
Hyper Beam
Surf
Volt Switch
Heliolisk has one job, murdering Politoed. Politoed is a serious threat for my team, and thankfully, Heliolisk can not only take him out in an instant, but also abuse the rain to put major dents in other threats. Thunder is his main STAB instead of T-bolt for its sheer power and easy abuse of rain. Surf hits ground and rock types hard if Politoed has already been killed. Hyper beam is meant as an Uber-powerful suicide move on something that could threaten the whole team. Volt switch can be used on weakened pokemon as a means of safe kills and keeping momentum.
Last edited:
