ORAS OU Black Blizzard- A Sand-Based OU Team

[The13thGalaxy]

Hello, everyone. Welcome to my second RMT. I made my first one fairly early in my Pokemon career, and since then, I've been learning more and more about my strengths and I've been working to make the best team I can. I since have made a team I dubbed "Black Blizzard", in reference to how the team mainly uses sand to its advantage.

Eichen (Garchomp) @ Garchompite
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Poison Jab/Fire Blast


Garchomp, my baby. I've been using Garchomp since I was but a small lass playing Pokemon because even then I recognized the destructive power it had. I like to run the standard set for Garchomp, the Mega Swords Dance set, with Earthquake and Dragon Claw for powerful STAB moves. However, depending on my opponent, I tend to switch between Poison Jab and Fire Blast. Poison Jab makes Garchomp a very powerful and unexpected killer to the Fairy switch-ins that will inevitably come to it. This, however, will leave it open to being nearly completely powerless against Skarmory. On the same hand, taking out Fire Blast will leave it open to Fairies such as Clefable that will force me to switch or risk losing my main offensive force.

Wawduh Hoers (Keldeo) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump
- Icy Wind​

Scarf Keldeo mainly comes into play because I know that the way I build my teams leaves them massively open to Ice-type moves or things of that nature. Keldeo comes in with Secret Sword or other STABs (and sometimes does an Icy Wind if it's going to die and I need the speed debuff on my enemy badly) and devastates them. I can't really say much more about Keldeo, but I think the performance on my team speaks for itself.

Tonka (Excadrill) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant/Naive Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
- Swords Dance
​

Excadrill in the sand is the destroyer of worlds. I think everyone knows this by now. The way I run my Excadrill is nothing special. Of all the members of my team, I think Excadrill has the moveset I'm least sure about. I rarely ever use Swords Dance on it, and I often find myself doubting if I actually do need it. If anyone has any suggestions as to a replacement for the move, I'm open to hearing them. The varying nature on Excadrill again depends on my opponent. If I know they have something that Excadrill might not be fast enough to take down, even with Sand Rush active, I tend to switch from Adamant to Naive.

Malachite (Tyranitar) @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Ice Punch
​

Tyranitar: The other big bad monster of my team. Tyranitar's main purpose is to get on in there and set up a sandstorm (or a black blizzard, if you will) to activate Sand Force and Sand Rush on Garchomp and Excadrill respectively. I gave it a Smooth Rock to extend the maximum amount of turns that the sandstorm will be active. I also needed a rocker on my team, and what with Garchomp primarily being a physical sweeper, Tyranitar seemed to fit the bill. On top of that, we all know how Tyranitar is an excellent Pursuit trapper. StEdge and Ice Punch are there to give Tyranitar most of the killing power it needs. Lastly, Tyranitar is generally one of the earlier sacks on my team if something absolutely needs to go in order to get something in safely. Once rocks are up, Tyranitar becomes a bit more expendable, and what with Sand Stream setting up a sandstorm as soon as it comes in, it becomes a viable strategic move to send it in, then sending out Excadrill or Garchomp as revenge killers.

Stellar (Mew) @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SpD / 32 Spe
Careful Nature
- Taunt
- Soft-Boiled
- Will-O-Wisp
- Knock Off
​

I'm sure that people are aware by now that Mew is a valuable asset when it comes to breaking stall and/or setup teams. With moves like Taunt, Knock Off, Soft-Boiled and Will-O-Wisp at its' disposal, Mew becomes dangerous to any team threatening to set up. That's exactly what I was hoping to achieve with my Mew. I'm fully aware of my team not being able to take much of a hit from anything, so setup mons become incredibly dangerous to me. Being able to stop the setup and to force a switch is an amazing thing my team needs, which is the main purpose of my Mew, as stated before. Once Mew's job is done and the setup of the enemy team is eliminated, it becomes expendable and typically is the first thing to be sacked.

Treble (Clefable) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
​

The last thing my team needed was something able to take some abuse if one of my Pokemon has to dip out quickly. This came in the form of Magic Guard Clefable. Not only does Magic Guard allow it to absorb status effects, it also allows Clefable to stand in the sandstorm brewed up by Tyranitar and be unharmed. The typical thing I do with Clefable is Thunder Wave and then Calm Mind as much as possible until they can break through paralysis. The issue with Clefable arises when faced with such threats as Ferrothorn, where one Gyro Ball, even without paralysis basically spells death. Despite that, I've found Clefable to be an amazing tank in many situations, and sometimes it can even be the MVP of my team if it can get set up. However, I often find myself relying too much on my team's offensive prowess, and soon, I'm left with only Clefable and Mew left due to stupid misplays on my part.

Import Data

So, that's my sand team. I'm still learning what would be best on the team, so I know there's improvements that can be done. If anyone can give me any advice, I'd greatly appreciate it!

EDIT: Spelling errors and import data.

 

[tigers jaw]

Hi there, The13thGalaxy. This rate will be based on the premise that your main focus of the team is to weaken/eliminate checks to Excadrill with Garchomp, and then clean from there. This is actually an incredibly effective route to pick whilst teambuilding, seeing as they all share common checks and counters such as Slowbro, Hippowdon, Landorus-T, Rotom-W, etc., and I hope to make it more effective in achieving this goal with this rate.

That being said, there are a few notable weaknesses that I can spot right off the bat. Firstly, this team is incredibly weak to Choice Specs Keldeo, your only check/counter-play really being Mew, which dies to two Hydro Pumps 57% of the time and hates being burnt by Scald, and winning 50/50s between Secret Sword and Hydro Pump between Tyranitar/Excadrill+Clefable/Keldeo etc. You're also incredibly weak to Fairy-types such as Mega Gardevoir and max-Attack Diancie; your Clefable match-up is strenuous, also. Furthermore, you're also somewhat weak to opposing Sand offence, ironically; having no means by which of dealing with an opposing Excadrill in sand other than winning a Speed-tie with your own Excadrill, catching the opposing Excadrill with a Burn from Mew (which no decent player will allow), or hoping they miraculously sack Excadrill to Keldeo or Garchomp, which, once again, isn't likely to happen. Along with this, you're also somewhat weak to Mega Metagross, your only means of handling it being revenge killing with Excadrill, should sand be active. I also believe a few of your sets are somewhat ineffective/inefficient for this team, which of course I'll get onto.

The Red & Pink Problem
This section of the rate will aim to improve your match-up against these specific threats, whilst also not detracting too much from the team, and adding a member which fills a crucial role on all Sand teams.

->

I'd recommend running Specially-defensive Slowking with Leftovers over Mew, with a spread of 248 HP / 28 Def / 232 SpD and a Calm nature, and a set of Scald / Psyshock / Slack Off / Calm Mind. This spread will allow you to come in on Mega Gardevoir's Hyper Voice on Stealth Rock and avoid the 2HKO. As far as the set goes, Scald should be pretty self-explanatory, but it's reliable STAB with a crisp 30% burn chance, allowing you to cripple and ultimately turn into setup fodder, switch-ins such as Ferrothorn; Psyshock is mandatory STAB to handle the likes of Keldeo, and, in conjunction with Calm Mind, beat other Calm Mind users, including Clefable, Suicune, and Manaphy; Slack Off is mandatory recovery, allowing Slowking to stay in for repeated turns and still remain healthy. This also fills the crucial role I previously mentioned, which is a solid and reliable Water-resist; giving you a counter to the likes of Keldeo, Volcanion, and offensive Starmie. Furthermore, it greatly improves your matchup against Life Orb Tornadus-T, which, in retrospect, also does a number to this team.

As for max-Attack Diancie, I'd recommend a change to your Clefable spread from your current one to 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD with a Bold nature, and a slight change to your set to Calm Mind / Moonblast / Ice Beam / Soft-Boiled. The defensive investment allows you to take on max-Attack Diancie with ease, stalling it out of Diamond Storms, and then proceeding to use it as setup fodder, whilst also sponging hits from the likes of Weavile, Mega Lopunny, and Mega Medicham that lack Zen Headbutt. Calm Mind is self-explanatory, once again, as are both Moonblast and Soft-Boiled, but I think Ice Beam suits this team more, as it acts for a lure against players/teams which either expect the Thunder Wave or have SD Defensive Landorus-T/SD Gliscor as their main Clefable answer, further supporting Excadrill in removing these threats.

Strong Physical Stuff Problem
Let's get onto fixing the issues you have with opposing Sand offence and Mega Metagross, and (a little bit) Mega Charizard X.

->

I'd recommend changing your Sand-setter from Tyranitar to mixed-defensive Hippowdon with Leftovers, with the standard spread of 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD and an Impish nature, with a set of Stealth Rock / Earthquake / Toxic / Slack Off. The spread is ripped straight from here. As for the moveset, Stealth Rock is mandatory on all teams, and Hippowdon is replacing Tyranitar as your rocker; Earthquake is mandatory STAB for dealing with the likes of Excadrill, Zard-X, and Choice Band Tyranitar; Toxic is to nail Will-o-Wisp+Bulk Up Talonflame, which otherwise uses Hippowdon as setup fodder; and Slack Off is mandatory reliable recovery allowing Hippowdon to stick around throughout the game, repeatedly setting Sand for Garchomp and Excadrill. Another thing I'd like to note is that I think that thematically, Hippowdon fits this team much more than Tyranitar, thanks to its longevity and the aforementioned ability to reliably set Sand throughout the game for the two. It also gives you a reliable Electric-type check, as you'll find should you read the analysis I inserted. Furthermore, Hippowdon allows for a second check to Bisharp, meaning you won't have to take the Knock Off on your Keldeo, thus retaining your item.

Set Changes
A couple of your sets, as I mentioned, were slightly inefficient or redundant on this team, in my opinion, and I'll list options as a fix to that in this section.

Less of a change, more of a recommendation. Poison Jab is completely redundant on Garchomp, even if it isn't Mega, considering the damage it does to Fairy-types in comparison to Earthquake is negligible at best*. Always run some form of Fire coverage on 3-attacks Garchomp, be it Fire Fang or Fire Blast, as it's so important to nail targets such as Skarmory and Ferrothorn.

I'd recommend changing your Keldeo from Choice Scarf to Choice Specs, and potentially running Focus Blast over Icy Wind. Choice Scarf seems somewhat redundant on this team as you have Sand Rush Excadrill to act as a revenge killer, whilst Choice Specs allows you to break down balance cores and stall a lot more easily, and it forms a potent core with Mega Garchomp. Choice Specs Keldeo is its flagship set for good reason, and should be used on the majority of teams over any alternative set. Focus Blast allows Keldeo to deal significant damage to, or kill on a roll, Volcanion, Rotom-W, opposing Keldeo, non-AV Tangrowth, Alomomola; and seeing as you have the combination of Clefable+Slowking to take on Latios and Latias, I don't feel that Icy Wind is necessary on this team.

As for Excadrill's set, I'd drop Swords Dance in favour of Rock Slide, and change the nature from Adamant to Jolly. Rock Slide allows you to nail Thundurus-I, which, should it be Nasty Plot or Grass Knot, could pose a huge threat to the team, whilst also nailing Pokemon such as Talonflame before they can hit you with a Will-o-Wisp in Sand, and also KOing Mega Pinsir, seeing as the set I provided for Hippowdon lacks Stone Edge, and really, you shouldn't need Swords Dance, or Garchomp hasn't done its job properly. Jolly, in my opinion, is the superior option for Sand Rush Excadrill as of late, allowing it to outpace max-Speed Timid Heatran outside of Sand, along with both Adamant Mega Medicham and neutral-Speed natured Kyurem-B, and an up-and-coming threat, Modest Hydreigon. You could still run Adamant if you'd prefer, but I'd suggest against it in the current meta.

importable

Garchomp @ Garchompite
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Fire Fang / Fire Blast

Keldeo @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump
- Focus Blast

Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
- Rock Slide

Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Slack Off

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Ice Beam
- Soft-Boiled

Slowking @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 28 Def / 232 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Slack Off
- Calm Mind

Thanks a bunch for reading, and I hope the changes I suggested make sense to you, and that you have more success in the future with this team. If you've got any questions at all, don't hesitate to shoot me a PM.

Peace :]

*Garchomp vs. Fairies calcs

+2 252 Atk Mega Garchomp Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 172 Def Clefable: 418-493 (106 - 125.1%)
252 Atk Mega Garchomp Earthquake vs. 16 HP / 8 Def Mega Gardevoir: 280-331 (99.6 - 117.7%)
252 Atk Mega Garchomp Earthquake vs. 172 HP / 0 Def Azumarill: 241-285 (62.7 - 74.2%)
+2 252 Atk Mega Garchomp Earthquake vs. 172 HP / 0 Def Azumarill: 481-567 (125.2 - 147.6%)
+2 252 Atk Mega Garchomp Poison Jab vs. 252 HP / 172 Def Clefable: 448-528 (113.7 - 134%)
252 Atk Mega Garchomp Poison Jab vs. 16 HP / 8 Def Mega Gardevoir: 300-354 (106.7 - 125.9%)
252 Atk Mega Garchomp Poison Jab vs. 172 HP / 0 Def Azumarill: 258-304 (67.1 - 79.1%)
+2 252 Atk Mega Garchomp Poison Jab vs. 172 HP / 0 Def Azumarill: 514-606 (133.8 - 157.8%)

As you can see, the damage is negligible at best. It's a common mistake for players to think that Iron Head/Poison Jab are viable options for Garchomp, but this really isn't the case.