first try at a sandstorm team...shoot me.

[Pkmn Breeder Jack]

Hippowdon/Arashi@Leftovers
Sandstream
Careful +Sp. Def/-Sp. Atk
EVs: Atk- 252, rest split evenly in Def and Sp. Def
-- Earthquake
-- Thunder Fang
-- Ice Fang
-- Stealth Rock
HP-353/Atk-301/Def-298/Sp.Atk-142/Sp.Def-228/Spd-128

Arashi(Japanese for Storm) is my lead pokemon in my sandstorm team. First move would be Stealth Rock, Thunder Fang takes on water types, Ice Fang for dragons and Torterra, and Earthquake as a nice STAB attack. I know he could have a better nature, but his IVs are insanely high. Plus, I thought the extra Sp. Def would help him take a hit from a water or grass type attack.


Metagross/Ryuusei@Iron Plate
Clear Body
Naughty +Atk/-Sp. Def
EVs: Atk-252, Def-148, Spd-108
-- Meteor Mash
-- Zen Headbutt
-- Earthquake
-- Agility
HP-282/Atk-399/Def-305/Sp.Atk-217/Sp.Def-172/Spd-205

Alright, this guy is my pride and joy and the pokemon I based my team around. He’s shiny, which looks cool, and he’s very good in battle. Ryuusei (Japanese for Meteor, in reference to Meteor Mash) is a slightly modified Agiligross. I send him out. If the opponent is weak to him, they’ll most likely switch to a better pokemon, where I can use agility as they switch so I can get the first hit on their next guy. Even if they don’t switch, he can most likely take a hit and then crush them. Earthquake hits fire, and Zen Headbutt provides a very handy STAB against fighting types, and to anyone Meteor Mash wouldn’t work well against.


LUCARIO/LUCARIO@??????
Steadfast
Hasty +Spd/-Def
EVs:??? Most likely Sp.Atk-252/Spd-252
-- Aura Sphere
-- Dragon Pulse
-- Dark Pulse
-- Earthquake
HP-280/Atk-256/Def-151/Sp.Atk-325/Sp.Def-161/Spd-302

Alright, I got this guy from a trade off wifi, so I took no part in training him. I think it is a very lucky find, and I’ve tried him out a few times and he works well. Aura Sphere is given, as it plain rocks, Dragon Pulse for dragons that otherwise would be a pain, Dark Pulse for those pesky psychic types, and Earthquake for the unsuspecting fire dude.


Omastar/Kasui@?????
Swift Swim
Bold +Def/-Atk
EVs: Def-252/Sp.Atk-252
-- Surf
-- Ice Beam
-- Spikes
-- Toxic Spikes
HP-259/Atk-135/Def-369/Sp.Atk-321/Sp.Def-161/Spd-133

Well, this is my little Swiss army knife. Kasui (Japanese for Spike, reference to his field hazards) is a nice fire type counter, unless they’re carrying Solar Beam, in which I would switch to another guy. Now, before you say anything about his Swift Swim ability, I think it is very helpful. Kasui will be used to lay field hazards, which takes five turns to max out. After that, as long as no one rapid spins, he’s only used for sweeping or walling a fire type move. If the opponent tries a Kyogre or another Rain Dancer to stop the sandstorm, Kasui’s speed goes way up and boosts his sweeping abilities.


Shuckle/Shiru@Chesto Berry
Sturdy
Impish +Def/-Sp.Atk
EVs: Def-252/Sp.Def-252/HP-4
-- Toxic
-- Rest
-- Wrap
-- Protect
HP-179/Atk-55/Def-613/Sp.Atk-38/Sp.Def-555/Spd-55

Shuckle. Here he is. 30 IVs in defense, 26 in special defense. Mainly, all Shiru (Japanese for juice) has to do is Wrap the opponent, Toxic, and protect and watch their health drain. Wrap again occasionally to keep them from switching. Rest when I need to, Chesto Berry gives immediate wake up, so I don’t have to worry about wrap ending while I’m asleep. Protect to keep myself from getting hit. It would work something like, “Wrap, protect, wrap, protect” until they faint from sandstorm, poison, field hazards, if they’re out, and my pitiful wrap attacks.


Bronzong/Dootaku@?????
Levitate
Gentle +Sp. Def/-Def
EVs: Def-252/Sp.Def-252/HP-4
-- Toxic
-- Confuse Ray
-- Block
-- Rest
HP-263/Atk-183/Def-281/Sp.Atk-180/Sp.Def-359/Spd-96

Alright, before you yell, the Bronzong is shiny, that’s why he has the gentle nature. He stays. Basically another Shuckle guy, but he has confuse ray to make it harder for them to hit me. Rest is again used in case they land a critical hit or another largely damaging attack. It can be changed to double team if it needs to.



There you hve it, my sandstormer team. Hippowdon leads, then usually Shuckle comes out, or if it is safe, Omastar. I need help figuring the best items for them to hold.

 

[Skater Trainer]

Shuckle is CRAP!! Use another pokemon try cradily. Take out earthquake on lucario. I'll let someone else do the rest.

 

[Pokettomon]

Why don't people think about tauntados? It's becoming really popular...

You are taunt weak; maybe pack tpunch on metagross?

 

[Pkmn Breeder Jack]

Shuckle is CRAP!! Use another pokemon try cradily.

In my experience, Shuckle's done pretty well. As for Cradily, what moveset would you recommend?

Take out earthquake on lucario. I'll let someone else do the rest.

What should Lucario be taught in place of EQ?

You are taunt weak; maybe pack tpunch on metagross?

I can't get Tpunch on Metagross, he's shiny and he's on Diamond, so he's stuck with re-learning moves and TMs.

 

[Skater Trainer]

Try this on cradily

cradily@leftovers
nature:careful
252hp/164def/192spdef
-toxic
-stealth rock
-recover/earthquake
-rock slide/ stone edge

 

["L"]

You are infernape weak.

Also EQ is redundant on Lucario since Aurasphere hits everything EQ would except harder. Give it psychic for heracross or Vacuum wave for revenge kills, if it holds Choice specs, otherwise go with Calm mind. (I prefer CS)

Your Bronzong is also basically a set up for things like CM Lucario Skarmory, and everything else immune to poison.

 

[Pkmn Breeder Jack]

Also EQ is redundant on Lucario since Aurasphere hits everything EQ would except harder. Give it psychic for heracross or Vacuum wave for revenge kills, if it holds Choice specs, otherwise go with Calm mind. (I prefer CS)

Doesn't EQ hit fire types harder than aura sphere?

Your Bronzong is also basically a set up for things like CM Lucario Skarmory, and everything else immune to poison.

What would be a better moveset?

 

[duncan]

Doesn't EQ hit fire types harder than aura sphere?

Yeah it does. It's up to you if you want to use EQ. The upside to using EQ is obviously to hit Fire types that might give you some trouble. And an added bonus is that a mixed Lucario is superior to a Sp. Atk or Atk variant.

That said, Psychic would still probably be a better use of the moveset. Seeing as Lucario is traded, and you don't know his IV/EV spread, I would probably just stick to Psychic. It gives you added type coverage (mostly for fighting types that could give your team some slack). If you see a Fire type, just switch to Omastar or Hippowdon.

But you are pretty Infernape weak. Shuckle is easily broken (low HP), and Cradily would probably be the best to take it's spot. This is what I use:

Cradily
Leftovers
Careful (+Sp. Def -S. Atk)/Calm (+Sp. Def -Atk)
252 HP/52 Def/200 Sp. Def

Toxic
Sandstorm/Wrap (Sandstorm might be helpful here, just in case your Sandstorm gets taken down)
Recover
Amnesia/Barrier

It works pretty much like Shuckle. Start with Toxic, then go with Wrap. Alternate with Amnesia or Barrier to boost your stats and Recover when needed.

Now I'll take a crack at Hold Items:

Hippowdon-Leftovers/Life Orb
Metagross-Life Orb would be what I would use here, but Leftovers would work just fine.
Lucario-Choice Specs

Omastar and Bronzong are a little tricky. Usually Bronzong would go with Leftovers, but if you're changing it's moveset then you might want something else. For Omastar, well I've never used one so that's beyond me.

 

[~-Overheat-~]

Omastar@Leftovers
Bold
252 hp 252 defense 6 sp.defense/sp.attack

Knock Off
Spikes
Surf
Ice Beam

Bronzong@Leftovers
Gentle( relaxed would have been better)
252 hp 252 defense 6 attack

Hypnosis
Stealth Rock
Gyro ball
Explosion

Lucario@Choice Specs
Modest/Timid
252 sp.attack 252 speed 4hp

Aura Sphere
Dragon Pulse( HP Ice is better)
Dark Pulse
Vacuum Wave

 

[Pkmn Breeder Jack]

Thanks. Anyone else have some advice?

 

[Incarnati0n]

even if you have an item clause, iron plate is a bad item.

maybe replace something, because you have some massive weaknesses against several types.

and er, stealth rock + spikes + toxic spikes sounds neat, but you wasted 6 turns when a spinner comes in.

 

[johnXkid]

it makes me laugh that all these cradilys are lacking stockpile :X
Cradily @ Leftovers
252 HP, 200 Def, 56 SpDef
Calm

Stockpile
Recover
Energy Ball/ Grass Knot/ HP Electric
Toxic/ Stealth Rock

HP electric hits skarm and gyra but makes it ground weak

 

["L"]

Doesn't EQ hit fire types harder than aura sphere?

Other than Infernape, you really aren't going to be hitting that many fire types, and if Infernape does get into you, you'll most likely be switching out, although I doubt anyone's really switching Infernape in on Lucario.

Also that's why Lucario has Psychic on specs set.

Auraspere is going to hurt Heatran.

 

[aipomkong]

it makes me laugh that all these cradilys are lacking stockpile :X

That would be because Stockpile is awful and that Cradily already has better moves to use.

- Stealth Rock / Toxic / Sleep Talk
- Stone Edge / Rock Slide
- Recover / Rest
- Earthquake

Also this team is just too Gyarados weak to work. You could modify Bronzong into a Gyara counter with;

- Charge Beam
- Grass Knot
- Hypnosis
- Reflect

But it means you will have to lose the shiny as Gentle will not make it a reliable Gyara counter.

Ditch Shuckle for something like Weezng that can stop Gyarados from ripping your team apart.

Not every Pokemon on a sandstorm team has to resist the sandstorm.

 

[BlackHeart]

Giga Drain sounds fun on Cradily. >.>
And also, with around 900 Sp. Def in the sand, shuckle ain't that bad. The moveset that you stated however, sux.

Shuckle@Leftovers/Chesto Berry
-Stealth Rock/Toxic
-Encore
-Body Slam/Knock Off
-Rest

I copied it off Smogon, I think I did, so kill me. The rest of your team looks good though. And unless you want to psuedo-haze, all you do when you confuse an oppennet is make them switch out, so...meh.

 

[Pkmn Breeder Jack]

Thanks.

Does anyone else have some ideas?