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Goodstuff Sandstorm Team [VGC]

Legendery

New Member
So this is my VGC 2014 team, or at least my hopeful team, I would like it if you guys could give me any pointers and whatnot.


1. Tryanitar
Nature: Adamant (Atk+/SpAtk-)
EVs: 180 HP/ 252 Atk/ 76 Spd
Ability: Sand Stream
Item: Chople Berry
Moves:
Crunch
Rock Slide
Protect
Fire Punch
I use this guy along with my Garchomp to set up a good Sandstorm combo with Garchomp's Sand Veil. Crunch is a nice STAB move along with a potential for decrease in Def, Rock Slide is a very nice area STAB move that hits Fire, Flying, and Ice types. Protect allows Tyranitar to survive a quick Close Combat from a pesky Infernape or some such Fighting type and Fire Punch is nice for getting rid of Ferrothorn and other bulky Steel or Grass types.

2. Garchomp
Nature: Jolly (Spd+/SpAtk-)
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 Atk/ 252 Spd
Ability: Sand Veil
Item: Dragon Gem
Moves:
Earthquake
Dragon Claw/Outrage
Stone Edge
Protect
Alongside Tyranitar, Garchomp sweeps through most teams. Stone Edge is handy for end game killing when Garchomp is left with someone else. Earthquake gets a nice STAB boost and provides nice coverage to Fire, Rock, and Ice types. Protect keeps Garchomp safe from any speedy Weaviles. Outrage is a stupidly powerful physical STAB move which is helpful with Garchomp's high Atk. Dragon Claw will be my main attackin Dragon type move if I dont use Outrage, only reason I havent changed completely to Dragon Claw is I wanna hear other opinions on Outrage.

3. Jellicent
Nature: Bold (Def+/ Atk-)
EVs: 248 HP/ 216 Def/ 44 Spd
Ability: Water Absorb
Item: Sitrus Berry
Moves:
Scald
Protect
Shadow Ball
Recover
So some of you may say why Def on this guy? Well, I say because since its Ghost it is immune to Fighting and Normal types, and it has Water Absorb so no Water damage, and it resists Bug, Steel, Ice, and Fire all which are generally physical. Shadow Ball allows Jellicent to hit those uncommon bulky Ghost Pokemon for some extra damage. Scald allows for a nice burn which lowers the opponent's attack which is why I decided to run a defensive set on Jellicent. Protect lets Jellicent sit back and eat its Leftovers while its opponents cry for Nurse Joy to heal their burn. Recover allows Jellicent to get its HP back.

4. Ferrothorn
Nature: Relaxed (Def+/ Spd-)
EVs: 252 HP/ 252 Def/ 4 Atk
Ability: Iron Barbs
Item: Rocky Helmet
Moves:
Power Whip
Gyro Ball
Protect
Substitute
Ferrothorn and Jellicent being paired up together are able to stall the opposing team for a few turns. The Rocky Helmet along with Iron Barbs Ability will allow for Ferrothorn to stack damage up on any pokemon who tries to whittle down its HP and will hopefully cause more damage to them than Ferrothorn receives. Substitute helps keep Ferrothorn alive for an extra turn or two. Power Whip is a great STAB move for Ferrothorn to hit those bulky Water/Ground types such as Swampert or Gastrodon. Gyro Ball is a nice STAB move and since Ferrothorn is inherently slow it will do lots more damage. Protect allows Ferrothorn to survive while Garchomp Earthquakes and just allow for him to stall for one more turn.

5. Wash Rotom
Nature: Modest (SpAtk+/ Atk-)
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 SpAtk/ 252 Spd
Ability: Levitate
Item: Electric Gem
Moves:
Thunderbolt
Protect
Hydro Pump
Hidden Power(Ice)
I guess you could call this my revenge Dragon killer with his HP Ice. Thunderbolt kills bulky Waters that my team would otherwise have no type advantages over. Hydro Pump gets rid of Ground and Rock types that I might have a hard time getting rid of otherwise. Protect is standard doubles play.

6. Uhm for this one I'm not sure, I was planning on having a Special Fairy Sweeper once Gen VI rolls around, so I have something for next gen VGC, that will be current.
Still not decided on this one but I'm thinking of running this for the time being:
Blaziken
Nature: Jolly (Spe+/SpAtk-)/ Adamant (Atk+/SpAtk-)
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 Atk/ 252 Spe
Ability: Speed Boost
Item: Life Orb
Moves:
Flare Blitz/Fire Punch
Sky Uppercut
Protect
Brave Bird
Protect on the first turn allows for Blaziken to get a free Speed Boost while Garchomp rushes in with a powerful STAB Earthquake while bypassing Blaziken, who on the next turn would be fast enough to break any glass cannons such as Weavile with Sky Uppercut. Brave Bird is GREAT for getting rid of those pesky Hitmontops and other Fighting types. Flare Blitz is a good STAB physical move to deal with any stray Steels, if I dont run Flare Blitz I will run Fire Punch, same as with Outrage, I'd like to hear different opinions on Flare Blitz vs. Fire Punch.
 
Last edited:

The Master Chief

Well-Known Member
Im editing as i go along. As for Evs I'll give suggestions once i find a damage calculator.

Tyranitar: pretty standard.

Garchomp: Switch from Hasty to Jolly. Switch Outrage to Dragon Claw. Outrage picks a target at random which is never good plus you'll get confused. Switch stone edge to Rock Slide. You get more accuracy, hit both mon, and a chance to flinch. Dragon gem is preferred over life orb.

Jellicent: It's a good thing to make jellicent physically bulky. Moveset is ok.

Ferrothorn: If you want to take full advantage of gyro ball lower his speed IV to 0. Not only will gyro ball have more power naturally but you'll have a poke that'll perform well in trick room. His evs can be rearranged

Rotom-W: If you're using trick then have a choice scarf. If not then electric gem is preferred.

Blaziken: That strategy is extremely predictable. Plus use fire punch over flare blitz. That recoil, life orb, and sandstorm will do a heavy toll on blaziken .

Bulk is a good thing to have. If a poke naturally has high atk, speed, etc then invest some evs in bulk. Unless they're a glass cannon
 
Last edited:

Legendery

New Member
Updated, and were you going to work with evs too?
 

drizzleboy12

Well-Known Member
I suggest replace blazikens because there are so many rain teams and he doesn't do well against them. I suggest using hitmontop because you need intimidate support and your team lacks a fake out user. I suggest this set

Hitmontop @ Dark gem/ fighting gem
EVs: 168 HP 252 Attack 92 Spd
Adamant nature
-Fake out
-Close Combat
-Sucker Punch
-Stone Edge

The EVs let you outspeed 4 speed togekiss and chandelure. With Dark gem you can KO latios 62.5% of the time. But with fighting gem you KO tyranitars with chople berry.

For rotom-w i suggest running the EVs 228 HP 4 Def 252 SpA 12 SpD 12 Spd. The EVs let you live a draco meteor life orb from a kingdra. and the speed EVs let you outspeed 4 spd rotom-ws.

On jellicent I suggest Trick room over protect. And change the nature to relaxed and the EVs to 252 HP 216 Def 16 SpA 28 SpD.

Tyranitar I suggest brave and 252 HP 252 Atk 4 SpD as the EVs.
 

Shreyas

Well-Known Member
I highly suggest not taking sets off of Smogon's OU section to use for the VGCs team. Although sets may work in singles, you need to keep in mind that VGCs is a different metagame. Also the EV spreads are mainly meant for level 100 Pokemon, not level 50. For example, although your Jellicent may work in singles, that EV spread (assuming the Jellicent is flawless) will not be used to its maximum potential as a level 50 Pokemon. That's just something to keep in mind~

For Tyranitar, I'm not quite sure if Chople Berry is really that useful. I generally only go for that option if I've used up my Focus Sash elsewhere on my team. But, many people do use it, so there has to be a good reason for it's popularity. On Garchomp, you really do not want Outrage especially in this metagame. Outrage is a risky pick because it will attack a random target on your opponent's side of the field. On top of that, you'll be stuck for 2-3 turns on Outrage, so you'll be vulnerable to Garchomp's threats. And, as personal preference, I highly recommend Rock Slide > Stone Edge. Those multi hit moves can come in really handy. Also, in a 4 v 4 situation, missing a stone edge will be a lot more harmful to you than it would be in singles. Considering you have Tyranitar, Ferrothorn, and Jellicent, I suggest running Trick Room > Protect. Because of Jellicent's immense bulk and it's ability to recover, Protect is not required. Ferrothorn is a really amazing Pokemon, isn't it? It can stall out all 4 Pokemon on the opponent's team if it has to! Because of this, Leech Seed would be necessary on Ferrothorn. After all, it is what makes Ferrothorn a big threat in the metagame. As for Rotom, I'm not quite sure how useful it will be with an offensive set. I personally prefer a defensive Rotom-W. Other than that, I can't say much about this. Blaziken is a great Pokemon, but because of the double environment, he has trouble staying in for long periods of time. Generally, he will die pretty quickly because of the LO damage and all the Flare Blitz and Brave Birds you need to throw out. That too, a properly used Blaziken would need really good support from it's teammates. This would mean Heal Pulses, Fake Outs, and status. All of which, your team does not provide. So, I'd take Drizzle's advice and replace him with Hitmontop.
 
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