Playing in the sand

[MilkyWay]

So here is my first shot at a sand team. This is my original teamand usually I end up changing a lot from the original team. Well, here's the team:

Hippowdon
@Leftovers
-SandStream
252hp 252sp def 4atk
Earthquake, ice fang, slack off, stealth rock

I chose hippowdon as I lead over tyranitar because tyranitar has too many common weaknesses and doesn't live long enough to be much use or win weather wars. Hippowdon, on the other hand is tough to take down. It can reliably heal with slack off, puts down stealth rock, hits hard with earthquake, and hits flying types with ice fang. Pretty much a standard smogon's set for a mixed wall.

Stoutland
@Choice Band
-Sand Rush
252atk 252speed 4hp
Return, superpower, crunch, wildcharge

With sand rush stout land is incredibly fast and choice band makes it rather powerful too. Return is its main stab and although it isn't super effective against anything I like how few pokemon resist it. I chose crunch over pursuit because I just fail at predicting the switch and with choice band I get stuck into it.

Landorus
@Life Orb
-Sand Force
252atk 252speed 4sp atk
Earthquake, stone edge, u turn, hp ice

Landorus is an amazing sweeper, especially under the sand. I don't like the choice sets because too many pokemon are immune to earthquake, stone edge has no accuracy, and I don't like getting stuck in hp ice because its sp atk.


Heatran
@Life Orb
-Flash Fire
252sp atk 100def 100sp def 56hp
Fire Blast, flash cannon, earth power, hp grass

This set is a little different than smogon's sets because it aims for bulk and power rather than speed and power. I feel that putting in speed Evs on a pokemon with a base 77 speed is a waste of Evs so I put those Evs into bulk instead.

Gastrodon
@Leftovers
-Storm Drain
252hp 100def 156sp def
Scald, toxic, recover, protect

Gastrodon is the perfect counter for rain teams and this is its standard set. In a way it functions better on sand teams than rain teams for two reasons. One, it can counter rain teams, a big threat to sand teams. Two, its immune to the sandstorm which can add to its stalling.

Ferrothorn
@Leftovers
-Iron Barbs
88def, 252hp 168sp def
Spikes, power whip, leech seed, protect

Ferrothorn has a similar function to gastrodon, it counters rain teams, its stall is improved with sand, but, it can heal more efficiently with leech seed. I like ferrothorn a lot from past uses and I find it one of the best walls to use and I feel as if it can function on all teams.

One thing I want to do with this team is incorporate gliscor. It can heal well, substitute + protect + sandstorm +poison heal = complete annoyance and an amazing wall, but ferrothorn and gastrodon are good too and I'm not sure if I want a standstill team so I would need to drop one. Another thing is that I think I should find room for a rock type because the of the 1.5X sp def. I was leaning towards terrain but I just can't find a spot for it. Suggestion? And by the way as dumb as this may sound, how do you post pictures of pokemon in a post? I feel like a noob because I can't do it.

 

[undisputed]

Hey!

I've got a short rate for you because I think your team is already pretty solid. You've got some funky sets right now, but there are some easy changes you can make for more efficiency and success.

First, use Pursuit on Stoutland over Crunch. You shouldn't really use Crunch ever in my opinion, and Pursuit is useful for trapping those annoying Starmie that try to spin your hazards. I think Starmie is one of the biggest problems for you right now because nothing can actually kill it. It outspeeds Landorus, so you have to risk losing Landorus in order to beat Starmie anyway.

Second, use the Special RP Landorus set with Sheer Force. Just use U-turn instead of Rock Polish, which will make you a more focused on Wall breaking rather than sweeping. The Special Sheer Force set is stronger overall, and you can avoid Life Orb recoil with Focus Blast and Earth Power too. Special Landorus will help you bring down Skarmory and other physical walls to ensure your CB Stoutland sweep.

Heatran would probably be best used as a specially defensive variant. 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Sp Def with a Calm nature. Lava Plume / Toxic / Roar / Protect for your moves in my opinion. I think you should focus on a defensive early-mid game with Heatran / Ferrothorn / Gastrodon with Landorus coming in for some easy shots. Then you sweep with CB Return on Stoutland. Sp Defensive Heatran will help you maintain Defensive presence throughout the match, and Offensive Heatran is pretty bad with all the Rain teams running around.

Finally, use Earth Power on Gastrodon. Protect is next to useless since you have Recover already. Earth Power also hits Steel Types pretty hard, and that will be pretty important if you want effective use of Toxic. Earth Power is also a passable option for hitting opposing Rain teams and Ferrothorn, which should never be underestimated.

Before I go, you can put pictures in your post by clicking the Blue, Earth-like icon and pasting the link of the picture you want.

Good luck!