Let's Take the Tauros By the Horns

[Kid Icarus]

RMT Standard 6v6 Single

Bronzong@Leftovers
Levitate
Careful
252 Hp/ 128 Atk/ 128 SpD
Gyro Ball
Reflect
Stealth Rock
Hypnosis

Acts as a special sponge to some extent. Takes out Weavile, and stalls Electivire for a bit. Reflect for support, and to help handle Electivire and Garchomp. Stealth Rock to pile up the passive damage, and Hypnosis to sleep anything giving us trouble. Weavile is no longer a problem, but Yanmega can smash through us. Metagross can't do much, but Machamp still shows his ugly face. Also, it has no reliable recovery, so we can't fall back on it constantly when a sp. sweeper comes back.

Tyranitar@Choice Scarf
Jolly
252 Atk/ 252 Spd/ 6 Hp
Crunch
Stone Edge
Earthquake
Ice Beam/Ice Fang/Dragon Claw

It kicks off the sandstorm to give the other team a
disadvantage. Most people don't expect ScarfTar, so it can easily surprise some and get a good hit on something. My team kind of lacks sweeping power, so when the field is full of miserable and sluggish Pokemon choking on the sandstorm, the giant terror comes out and cleans up. Choice Scarf gives T-Tar 364 speed.

Gliscor@Leftovers
Hyper Cutter
Impish
252 Hp/ 252 Def/ 6 Atk
EQ
Roost
Ice Fang
Knock Off

I wish it didn't have HC, but oh well, Sand Veil isn't that influential often anyways. The team's main physical wall. Won't get hurt from the sandstorm, gets good coverage with EQ and Ice Fang. Can stop Garchomp and Heracross. Even better is with proper prediction, the opponent's items will be gone. This is great, as now Blissey can't restore health every turn, Heracross lacks power, Garchomp lacks its scarf, and so on. Knock Off just works wonders against leftovers in a sandstorm. Bulky waters will ruin it though, along with special sweepers, and Gyarados. And we still don't have a reliable answer to Infernape and Machamp.

Starmie@Expert Belt
Natural Cure
Timid
252 Spd/ 100 SpA/ 100 Hp/ 32 Def/ 20 SpD
Surf
Ice Beam
Thunderbolt
Recover

Yeah the EV spread is crazy, but it might just work. Counterstar, takes out Gyarados, Infernape, and "can" come in on non-scarf Garchomp. It's good at cleaning up near the end, as well. It may have health trouble with LO and sandstorm going, so it'll take some good prediction to get Recover in. But it's not impossible! Gliscor won't keep Electivire at bay, and Weavile can still...hail on our sandstorm, and Machamp still storms through us. Bronzong is just a nuisance with Gliscor.

Dusknoir@Leftovers
Pressure
Careful
252 Hp/ 76 Def/ 180 SpD
Will-O-Wisp
Pain Split
Thunderpunch
Shadow Sneak

SleepTalk Machamp won't like having Dynamic Punch and Ice Punch have their PP sapped away. Burns things to add support to the team, and cause more passive damage. Gliscor helps with Heracross, Bronzong can come in on Weavile. We'll have to watch out for Heatran, as Starmie might accidently switch into a dark pulse, and T-tar has to look out for Specs Earthpower. Stops Yanmega with its SpD, and blocks any attempts at rapid spin. It can also come in on Gyarados and get a surprise attack in, but T-punch is mainly for Starmies. Shadow Sneak can bring down a weakened Gengar, and can stop rare reversal and flail attempts. Bulky Waters remain as an issue, and we need an excellent physical sweeper.

Breloom@Toxic Orb
Poison Heal
Jolly
252 Atk/ 252 Spd/ 6 Hp
Spore
Substitute
Leech Seed
Focus Punch

It can come in on a bulky water (has to watch out for Ice Beam) Spore or Sub up, and get some free hits. Poison Heal allows healing even in a sandstorm. Has a great physical offense, too. I might replace either seed bomb or focus punch for leech seed, as it seems more useful, but I'll let you guys be the judge of that. Fliers get met with Bronzong, T-tar, and Gliscor. But if Breloom gets one free turn, the momentum it has with that one turn advantage will allow it to wreak havoc.

Main Objective: Allow passive damage to stack and weaken the opposing side. This opens up Tyranitar, Starmie, and Breloom to sweep (Dusknoir can even join in with Shadow Sneak). Tyranitar contributes with sandstream, Gliscor with Knock off, Bronzong with Stealth rock and Hypnosis, Dusknoir with WOW and Breloom with Spore. Starmie is here to counter common threats and clean up when the time is right. Breloom takes out any bulky waters standing in the way, and Gliscor stops physical threats. Bronzong sponges mixed assaults, and gives extra defensive support with Reflect and Hypnosis. Dusknoir adds to this with WOW and provides the Special walling, while at the same time blocking Rapid Spin. Tyranitar breaks any defensive combos near the end, and allowing Starmie and Breloom to begin to charge.

Well if no one is posting, I guess that means my team is PERFECT!

Please post, I've never used a sandstorm team like this before, so it would help if you would give me some advice. ( I got rid of the threat list, because who wants to look at a block of text? But if you want to see it, ask and I'll repost it)

 

[Chaos_Emperor]

-sandstorm team without using garchomp?!
-dusknoir's low base HP might get screwed in sandstorm
-maybe go expert belt over life orb on starmie. LO damage and SS damage build up very fast even with recover as an option

 

[milotic111]

-dusknoir's low base HP might get screwed in sandstorm

You do know that sandstorm damage is based of percentage. So it will take little damage.

Otherwise looks really good. And hypercutter on gliscor may help against predicted salamence switch ins.

 

[Kid Icarus]

I'm actually kind of worried about subseeders, as it seems like I'll have no answer to them. Do you know the most effective way to counter one?

Also Breloom just seems a bit too slow to sweep.
I've been thinking about replacing it with Agiligross.

 

[travisurfer]

Well, I haven't rated in a team in awhile, but:
Breloom can't be seeded so you do have some defence in that aspect. On that note, I'm curious as to what you are running max speed to outspeed?

 

[Kid Icarus]

Well, I haven't rated in a team in awhile, but:
Breloom can't be seeded so you do have some defence in that aspect. On that note, I'm curious as to what you are running max speed to outspeed?

I've decided to switch Seed Bomb for Leech Seed, and see how much success I get. Focus Punch will do enough on bulky waters anyways.

Yeah, I have been wondering if Jolly is a better option than Adamant. But Breloom should outrun max speed Tyranitar, and outrun max speed adamant Gyarados. (Why they would have max speed I don't know). It'll also outrun timid Abomasnow, and max speed Magnezone. But I doubt people will have a max speed Magnezone. I just think Jolly seems a little better, as Breloom's effectiveness usually relies on Breloom being able to attack first. Besides, Leech Seed, Sandstorm, and Stealth Rock will probably weaken the opponent down enough.

 

[travisurfer]

I've decided to switch Seed Bomb for Leech Seed, and see how much success I get. Focus Punch will do enough on bulky waters anyways.

Yeah, I have been wondering if Jolly is a better option than Adamant. But Breloom should outrun max speed Tyranitar, and outrun max speed adamant Gyarados. (Why they would have max speed I don't know). It'll also outrun timid Abomasnow, and max speed Magnezone. But I doubt people will have a max speed Magnezone. I just think Jolly seems a little better, as Breloom's effectiveness usually relies on Breloom being able to attack first. Besides, Leech Seed, Sandstorm, and Stealth Rock will probably weaken the opponent down enough.

I've had much better success with Leech Seed as you will probably find out. It makes Breloom into an amazing wall-breaker because you can just sub as their health gets whittled away. And, if they stop attacking to break the sub, you can get a free Focus Punch.

I've always used Adamant just for sheer power and it has been successful. You do have a good point though in that Jolly could give you a decent advantage over Obamasnow and Magnezone. I would be weary of DDGyara/T-Tar if you've already put something to sleep though. That's just me but it does look like either way can be successful depending on what you need.

 

[Stainless1234]

The team looks good but theres one pokemon who can screw you over when set up. TyrinBoa with ice beam. It can get rid of Dusknoir, Starmie, Breloom, Gliscore and possibly your tyranitar. Bronzong is the only real counter to it on your team. Just watch out for tyraniboa

 

[Albatross2KO]

-sandstorm team without using garchomp?!
-dusknoir's low base HP might get screwed in sandstorm
-maybe go expert belt over life orb on starmie. LO damage and SS damage build up very fast even with recover as an option

Sandstorm teams without Garchomp are perfectly viable, as clearly he went with the more defensive 4x weak to ice, Gliscor. Speaking of Gliscor, you need Sand Veil! 20% evasion boost(I think) is very influential when trying to wall a CB Metagross(if Swampert dies).

Most of your EV spreads are pointless, for example, Starmie, run 352 Speed, ~269 Special Attack and the rest into HP. Special defense is not helping you anywhere.

For Bronzong, ALWAYS, ALWAYS run Relaxed/Sassy with Gyro Ball. You want that as powerful as possible.

Adamant>Jolly on Breloom. What do you outspeed from the +Speed nature? The only important OU poke you outspeed is Heatran, who often will be holding a Scarf anyways so you can't rely on Jolly nature. The difference between 359 Attack and 394 Attack is much greater than outspeeding that Jolly Choice Scarf Snorlax by a single point(it hits 261 while your max with Jolly nature is 262).

 

[Kid Icarus]

I'm not sure about Starmie's EV spread. It may seem a bit unorthodox, but it still receives some survivability against certain attacks, like Infernape's Grass Knot, and it also outspeeds opposing Starmies. With Breloom, yes, Adamant does get more damage, but Breloom is mainly to be an annoyer, as sweeping will be restricted with just FP. Outrunning things is what makes Breloom work, otherwise you'll have to predict really well. Breloom might also catch others off guard, if they have a Pokemon with a certain magic number to outrun Breloom. As for Bronzong, the speed won't matter that much. Gyro Ball should only be used in certain situations, and in the times it needs to be used, the opposing Pokemon already have high speed anyways (Weavile, Gengar).

Tyraniboah could catch me off guard I guess. Bronzong seems like a poor choice to handle it, as it can only Reflect and GB. I if anyone has suggestions about how to handle this, post away.

 

[Venom]

I'm just gonna add that Bronzong is a pretty good Tyraboah counter, just with a Different EV Spread that you have on your Bronzong. This is what the Bronzong set should look like in order to have success;

Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 Hp / 72 Atk / 128 Def / 56 SpDef
IV's: 1
Nature: Brave / Relaxed
- Hypnosis
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Explosion / Reflect / Earthquake

You can pick Earthquake here, if you feel you need something better to hit other Steel incomings with. Gyro Ball or Earthquake take care of Boah. The 1 IV is for stronger Gyro Balls, and to outspeed other 0 Bronzongs.

Not much of a rate, but just wanted to add something

 

[Kid Icarus]

Thanks, I also think my team is a bit Togekiss weak. Any suggestions?

 

[Dormin]

Bronzong would make a much better lead than Tyranitar, especially because tyraniboah will rarely get a sub off from the get-go. To combat the team's abysmal speed, I would like to make the odd suggestion of giving Tyranitar a scarf. Use this.

Tyranitar@Choice Scarf
Nature: Hasty
Sandstream
EVs: 4 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Speed
-Crunch
-EQ
-Stone Edge
-Ice Beam

Breloom already does a number to most walls, and this should take care of your speed problems (kind of). It takes on Togekiss (don't switch into a T-wave), and is able to revenge kill Garchomp (as long as the yache has been broken), among other things.

So, Bronzong as a lead and Tyranitar with scarf imo

 

[Kid Icarus]

Alright, I'll try leading with Bronzong. It might be good to let Dusknoir and Starmie fight without the sandstorm early on, and let the other four come in when more stalling power is needed.

Also, is my team a bit Lucario weak? Gliscor and Dusknoir can handle physical ones, but Life Orb special Lucario ran through my team in a battle I've had recently. It wasn't a total sweep, but only having Breloom and Starmie left spelled an end for me. Anyone know how to remedy this?

Also, I think my team does need a bit more speed, as Starmie is fast, but needs someone else to help it sweep. T-tar as a boah hasn't done much actually. But unfortunately, I'll have to rebreed another T-tar. I guess I could, but it'll take time.

Alright, I'll see how well CS will do. I was actually considering sticking Electivire somewhere, but Breloom has been doing so well, it would be kind of stupid trying to fix something that's doing great.

How fast is a CS Tyranitar anyways?

 

[Dormin]

Outspeeds all 115 base speed pokes with a +speed nature--aka Azelf, Starmie etc.

 

[blasphemy1]

Whatever you do, switch your TTar set. Boah is such a waste of time, having to set up a Substitute just whittles down your HP and seeing as you don't have a spinner, it will just quicken your demise with Toxic Spikes. Run the aforementioned Scarf Ttar for a surprise, or try DD Tar with Taunt, EQ, and Crunch. CB Tyranitar is always a huge threat too. Basically, you want to as much damage in as few turns as possible with him since Starmie doesn't have RS.

 

[Kid Icarus]

Alright, I'm breeding a Jolly Tyranitar right now. I think I would rather go physical. Hits harder, and Starmie already handles special offense. Thanks for the suggestions. If you see any holes in the team, just post.

 

[Kid Icarus]

Does anyone think Starmie should be a spinner instead of a counter-er? It just doesn't seem like passive damage is that big of an issue now. 2 of my Pokemon are immune to Spikes, and aren't hit hard by Stealth Rock. Breloom and Starmie don't get affected much by Toxic Spikes, and T-tar won't care much for Spikes, SR, and TS because now that he's a ScarfTar, sweeping is her niche, and damage won't really matter when sweeping. Poison would actually be good, because now T-tar can't get paralyzed or burned. It's just Dusknoir who has trouble. Starmie sometimes gets the jump on certain Pokemon because people only suspect 2 attacks. But is spinning away stuff better for this team?