Other Sandstorm Triples Team

[Vayne144]

Hello, I signed up for a tournament at Gamestop for the release of Sun/Moon. It is an ORAS triples(no legends/mythicals, one mega etc) and this is my first time constructing a competitive team. I have tested it on the battle spot and in mansion and it seems to work pretty well. Nonetheless, I am sure it could be better and would love any constructive advice you could add! Thanks!

Tyranitar @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Rock Slide
- Ice Punch
- Earthquake
Tyranitar is my central mon. I start him in the first position to initiate sandstorm. I like how I can wait to mega-evolve him to extend sandstorm or do it first turn to take back the weather if the other team is slower and overwrites mine. Ice punch for grass/dragons and Crunch for a secondary stab with good secondary effects.

Gliscor @ BrightPowder
Ability: Sand Veil
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Baton Pass
- Swords Dance
- Toxic

Gliscor is my second slot, he acts as a tanky support to set up stealth rocks first turn and then toxic, swordpass as necessity dictates. I also strategically put him in the middle between tyrannitar and excadrill so they can both earthquake without worry on both sides. Brightpowder/veil give him the chance to last a bit longer and dodge attacks to set up.


Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin

Excadrill is my main sweeper and also can clear hazards, but with a sand team should I even really care about most hazards? EQ and Rockslide to cover most threats like Tyranitar. Iron head for STAB and the secondary effect.

Garchomp @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Veil
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brick Break
- Flamethrower
- Sandstorm
- Dragon Claw

Secondary sweeper and sandstorm setter, different types of attacks for coverage ex and ty don't cover.

Gastrodon @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
Level: 50
EVs: 184 HP / 108 Def / 212 SpD / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
- Sludge Wave
- Scald
- Recover
- Protect

Counter for a water heavy team that could otherwise threaten my team. Sludge for aoe poison chance and scald is obviously a necessity.

Magnezone @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magnet Pull
Level: 50
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Reflect
- Flash Cannon
-Toxic

My Special Paralyzing tank. Discharge can be safely used from the middle with most of my team for max damage and paralysis chance. Reflect can support my frailer sweepers. Flash Cannon for a strong stab, Toxic for support.

 

[Carbonific]

Just some general Doubles/Triples advice before I start, since you're new:

• Protect is a powerful move because it shields a Pokemon while its partner KOs a threatening foe, or switches to improve positioning for the next turn. Pokemon like Excadrill and non-Scarf Tyranitar should always be using it.
  • This is particularly true for grounded Pokemon, because you can shield them from a partner's Earthquake.
• Entry hazards, unlike in Singles, are very weak and not seen. Don't use moves like Rapid Spin and Stealth Rock.
• Non-STAB and unboosted Earthquakes are weak because of the 25% damage reduction that applies to spread moves. Only use Earthquake if the Pokemon gets STAB or a way of boosting attack such as Dragon Dance.
• It's not optimal for all the Pokemon on a sand team to be Ground-, Rock-, or Steel-type. This stacks weaknesses and worsens the team's offensive coverage. A well-rounded team will focus on a few key sweepers (such as Tyranitar and Excadrill) while using the rest of the team to support them and eliminate threats.
• BrightPowder is almost never an optimal item. It only working 10% of the time makes it highly inconsistent.

Ok, with the above in mind, here are the changes I'll suggest:

Changes /w Explanations

I tried to make sure I kept as much of what I considered to be the "core" of the team as possible when making changes; Mega Tyranitar, Excadrill, Gastrodon, and a Discharge user.

Tyranitar @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Rock Slide
- Ice Punch Dragon Dance
- Earthquake Protect

The EV change is because using HP to hit a Stealth Rock number is unneeded, and HP increases general bulk more. Earthquake was replaced with Protect because, as I've previously established, Protect is strong and Earthquake is quite niche. Ice Punch was replaced with Dragon Dance because I've added Ice-type coverage to Gastrodon and because being a good Dragon Dance user is one of the few niches Mega Tyranitar has over its non-mega.

Talonflame @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
Level: 50
EVs: 60 HP / 196 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Quick Guard
- Snatch
Gliscor @ BrightPowder
Ability: Sand Veil
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Baton Pass
- Swords Dance
- Toxic

Gliscor is just not very viable outside of Singles formats. However, Flying-types in general are very strong on sand teams because they do a great job at handling the Grass-types that they often struggle with. Mega Salamence is usually the best choice, but since you're using another mega, I went with Talonflame; another strong option. The EV spread and nature ensure Talonflame outspeeds Weavile by one point to allow Quick Guard to block its Fake Out. Snatch is important to steal Wide Guard, which would otherwise prevent Talonflame's teammates from using their spread moves; Earthquake, Rock Slide, and Discharge. It also provides a means of stopping opposing setup. Sharp Beak is worse than Life Orb here because of Flare Blitz, but Life Orb is probably better off on Excadrill. If you don't mind swapping Excadrill's Life Orb for something like a Focus Sash, you can move the Life Orb here if you'd like.

Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin Protect

The HP EVs were moved to Defense because Excadrill's base HP is very high, and it therefore gets more value from its lower Defense and Special Defense stats. Its Jolly nature was changed to Adamant because Excadrill is already fast enough to outspeed all relevant threats under sand. Rapid Spin was changed to Protect because entry hazards are not an issue.

Hitmontop @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Close Combat
- Feint
- Wide Guard

Garchomp @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Veil
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brick Break
- Flamethrower
- Sandstorm
- Dragon Claw

Garchomp is unneeded as Excadrill is the team's dedicated sand sweeper. Hitmontop on the other hand provides valuable support for the team. Feint is particularly important to put a stop to Quick Guard and Wide Guard for Hitmontop's teammates, and Wide Guard is valuable as many of Hitmontop's teammates are weak to spread moves. Intimidate and Fake Out are always nice. Close Combat means you maintain a way of checking Mega Kangaskhan.

Gastrodon @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
Level: 50
EVs: 184 HP / 108 Def / 212 SpD / 4 Spe 204 HP / 140 Def / 100 SpA / 60 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 27 Spe
- Sludge Wave Earth Power
- Scald
- Recover Ice Beam
- Protect

Having at least enough EVs to OHKO 4x Ice-weak foes like Salamence is important, so I changed the EV spread accordingly along with adding Ice Beam. The Speed IVs ensure Gastrodon underspeeds minimum Speed Aegislash so it can OHKO it after it's changed to Blade-forme. Sludge Wave is generally a poor move for similar reasons to non-STAB Earthquake.

Rotom-Mow @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 20 HP / 252 SpA / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Thunderbolt
- Discharge
- Will-O-Wisp

Magnezone @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magnet Pull
Level: 50
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Reflect
- Flash Cannon
-Toxic

This is definitely the weirdest suggestion I'm making, but I think it's a good choice given the circumstances. I felt it was important to maintain Magnezone's Electric-type coverage, and Rotom in general swaps a Ground weakness for a Ground immunity. Critically though, Mow Rotom improves the team's match-up against foes such as opposing Gastrodon and Swampert and provides a safe switch-in to powder moves like Sleep Powder and Spore. Choice Scarf was chosen primarily because a fast Will-O-Wisp helps to check Mega Kangaskhan. One other thing you could try here, is Volt Switch over Thunderbolt to allow Rotom to fuction as a pivot.

Team after suggested changes:

Importable

Tyranitar @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Crunch
- Dragon Dance
- Protect

Talonflame @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
Level: 50
EVs: 60 HP / 196 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Quick Guard
- Snatch

Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Protect

Hitmontop @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Close Combat
- Feint
- Wide Guard

Gastrodon @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
Level: 50
EVs: 204 HP / 140 Def / 100 SpA / 60 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 27 Spe
- Earth Power
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Protect

Rotom-Mow @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 20 HP / 252 SpA / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Thunderbolt
- Discharge
- Will-O-Wisp

Hope this helped. Good luck at the tournament!

 

[Vayne144]

Thanks for taking the time to reply, Carbonific. This really is my first time getting my feet wet with competitive play, and I'm looking forward to diving into Sun/Moon next week! You definitely enlightened me to some of the mechanics of triples of which I was unaware, so that was really helpful. I'll definitely try to make the Mon swaps you suggested, but rebreeding and EV training the stats might be a challenge with my time constraints! It's tough considering this will be the first and only time I use this team considering Sun/Moon comes out the next day, and none of them will be legal anymore! Nonetheless, I feel like I've already learned a lot going forward, so thanks again!