Jumping on the Sandwagon

[CBManBearPig]

Jumping on the Sandwagon!
(A 5th Generation UU Sandstorm team by CBManBearPig)
​

Introduction:

Welcome, thank you taking the time to read my RMT. So when I saw how effective Sand was in the UU metagame and how it was being used by a lot of people, I thought I'd give it a shot myself. The team underwent so many changes its not even funny to become what it is today, so I'll spare you the agony of reading it. The team's goal is to soften the opponent up with tons of entry hazard damage and then go for a sweep. I know you're probably bored and about to leave this RMT by now, so I'll get right to it.

At a Glance:

The Team:

Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)

• Earthquake
• Stealth Rock
• Slack Off
  
• Roar

Hippopotas is obviously here to support the team not only by summoning the valuable Sandstorm but also providing team support with Stealth Rock. Besides that, he are simply here to be a general physical wall. Anyway, Earthquake is a strong, reliable STAB attack that prevents my hippo from becoming Taunt bait, while Slack Off provides reliable recovery and makes sure Hippopotas sticks around for awhile. Finally, Roar shuffles the opponents team and racks up damage from Stealth Rock (and (Toxic) Spikes, but I'll get to that). The EVs make the most of the sand hippo's fantastic Defense, while the remainder is deposited into Attack so that it will hit a bit harder.

Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 20 HP / 252 Atk / 236 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)

• Return
• Crunch
• Wild Charge
  
• Retaliate

I was fascinated by Stoutland ever since its sprite was first released, not only aesthetically, but competitively as well. Unfortunately, it was never able to truly shine in OU, as Terrakion, Landorus, and previously Garchomp and Excadrill all had better movepools and stats. This is not so in UU, as here it is a monsterous revenge killer. Between Sand Rush, the listed EVs and an Adamant nature, it outspeeds +1 Mismagius and everything below it. Anywho, Return and Retaliate are powerful STAB attacks, each boosted by Silk Scarf. Retaliate tends to see a bit more use because Stoutland usually comes in after a kill to wreak havoc. Wild Charge does significant damage to bulky waters and zaps most Flying-types out of the sky. I run Silk Scarf instead of Life Orb so that I can bluff a Choice Band and lure in Ghost-types, which are quickly dispatched by Crunch. Unfortunately, this thing is walled cold but Rhyperior and Aggron, however, some other members of my team are tailored to destroy them so that Stoutland can sweep.

Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 88 SAtk / 168 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)

• Cosmic Power
• Stored Power
• Roost
• Psycho Shift

No idea what Gamefreak was drinking when they came up with Sigilyph's concept art, but its a great pokemon nonetheless. Sigilyph is mostly here to patch up my Fighting weakness, although Roserade and Chandelure resist Fighting as well. This thing also destroys stall courtesy of Magic Guard, Cosmic Power, and Roost. Speaking of which, Roost lets me stack up a bunch of Cosmic Power boosts until Sigilyph is impossible to KO outside of phazing, which is only delaying the inevitable, and critical hits. Stored Power makes the most of this boosts, and Psycho Shift cripples so much stuff with Burn that it's not even funny, courtesy of Flame Orb. The EVs allow me to outspeed Timid Rotom-H, maximum HP investment for better overall bulk, and the remainder is dumped into Special Attack so that Sigilyph will hit a bit harder.

Trait: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)

• Knock Off
• Scald
• Roar
• Ice Beam

Empoleon and Hippopotas form my defensive core. Empoleon tanks special attacks, while the hippo takes physical attacks forever. It and Chandelure threaten Hail as well. Knock Off rids most walls of their pesky Leftovers, making them take steady damage each turn from Sandstorm, which grants Stoutland and others an easier time sweeping. It also knocks off other problematic items, such as Eviolite, Choice Scarf, etc. Scald is a STAB attack which will burn if I'm not lucky, cushioning physical attacks which threaten Empoleon. Ice Beam hits Grass-types that switch in to absorb a Scald fairly hard as well. And lastly, Roar racks up Stealth Rock and (Toxic) Spikes damage. EVs are for maximum special bulk, while the remainder is deposited into Special Attack so that Empoleon will hit a bit harder.

Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)

• Toxic Spikes
• Spikes
• Rest
• Giga Drain

Roserade is my team's Spiker. Most of my team benefits from Toxic Spikes and Spikes, as the extra damage lets Stoutland acheive KOs easier and the Toxic Spikes wear down all of Chandelure's counters, among other effects. With Hippowdon and Empoleon always Roaring, that extra damage adds up real quick. Roserade also absorbs Toxic Spikes, the only entry hazard that really bothers my team, with its part Poison typing. Rest keeps Roserade alive and healthy; it also works well with Natural Cure. Finally, Giga Drain is a reliable STAB attack that can heal me a little bit, it's too bad that Leaf Storm and Toxic Spikes are illegal together. Leftovers prevent Rose from losing HP from Sandstorm, and the EVs bulk Roserade up quite a bit, as it won't be sweeping any well-made teams by itself with only Giga Drain anytime soon.

Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)

• Substitute
• Pain Split
• Fire Blast
• Shadow Ball

Last but not least, its Chandelure. With Toxic Spikes messing up Snorlax and its other counters, it can be incredibly deadly. Chandelure also completely counters Obomasnow and many other members of a Hail team. So yeah, Substitute and Pain Split form the deadly SubSplit combination, while Fire Blast and Shadow Ball are my STAB moves. Ordinarily I would never run Fire Blast (I'm too unlucky) but whe hiding behind a Substitute Chandelure can afford a miss. Again, the Leftovers neutralize Sandstorm damage. Max Speed and Special Attack because there's no reason to invest in anything else, given Chandelure's common weaknesses, average defenses, and relatively slow Speed.

Closing:

Thank you again for reading my RMT. Please rate it, I want to get better.

 

[yaysnivy34]

Very nice team! Your offense is solid and your defense is outstanding. Two Pokemon instantly jump out at me as threats: Weavile and Mamoswine. Weavile murders your entire team, while so does Mamoswine except for Chandelure. I would suggest running Escavalier in place of either Empoleon or Sigilyph, preferably Sigilyph, because it can get hard walled so easily.

Escavalier-Swarm
252 HP/252 Att./4 Sp. Def.
Nature: Adamant Item: Choice Band
Return/Frustration
Megahorn
Iron Head
Pursuit

Hope this helped!

 

[CBManBearPig]

Thanks for the rate, I'll test Escavalier over Sigilyph and if it works well then I'll keep it.

 

[Moo]

Hey, nice team. Looks like standard sandstorm to me, but I have a few suggestions to improve it. Stoutland really is fantastic, but I suggest running Choice Band over Silk Scarf. The reason for this is that you want to hit as hard as possible. Stoutland will usually be either hitting once and switching, or spamming Return, so you won't be held back by the drawbacks of Choice Band.

Relpace Toxic Spikes on Roserade with Sleep Powder. Toxic Spikes really aren't that important, and it benefits you more just to set up as much layers of spikes as possible to weaken your opponent for Stoutland. With the likes of Roserade, Nidoking, and Nidoqueen being very common in UU, you'll find your Toxic Spikes going to waste more often than not. Sleep Powder lets you put common switch-ins to sleep. Escavalier is a prime example, and with that out of commision Roserade will have an easier time setting up spikes.

Sigilyph seems to be the weakest link in the team, and in my experience it tends to just sit there and do nothing. This team sort of lacks the offensive potential to abuse Spikes and Stealth Rock, and I think replacing Sigilyph with Alakazam would remedy that.

Alakazam (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute

Alakazam is an offensive force, and can take out so many Pokemon in UU with the help of entry hazards and sandstorm damage. The best part about it is that it isn't affected by opposing entry hazards or sandstorm damage, and it basically gets a free Life Orb. Alakazam can weaken strong physical walls like Rhyperior and Hippoptas, as well as Steel-type Pokemon like Registeel for Stoutland, while Stoutland tears through the likes of Chansey and Snorlax. They work well together offensively, and this will help you get the most use out of your entry hazards

Good luck with the team, I hope I helped!

 

[GTS]

That is a good rate above, but just need to point out that Roserade can't learn Sleep Powder if it has Spikes. I do agree that Toxic Spikes aren't as useful, though.

 

[Moo]

Oh, sorry, I didn't know Sleep Powder + Spikes was illegal. Something else should be used over Toxic Spikes, though, maybe Hidden Power Fire for Escavalier and other Grass-type Pokemon

 

[CBManBearPig]

Thanks for the rate, Moo; you were very helpful. I'll test both Alakazam and Escavalier over Sigilyph and whichever one works best I'll keep. The only issue I have with replacing Sigilyph is that I'll lose my one ground resistance. But I suppose that won't be too bad, Hippopotas can take multiple EQs if need be.

 

[CBManBearPig]

Bumping this to say that I have replaced Sigilyph and Empoleon with CM Alakazam and Specially Defensive Escavalier, respectively. However, I have recently had a surgery and will be bed-ridden for a while, and so I will be unable to update the OP.