I've been playing PokemonShowdown to test the team I'm planning to make in my 3DS. So far I had 17 wins 8 loses with it. Since you can run full 31 IVs in emulators, I'll be placing here the 31 IV spread that I'd want to achieve in console play. I'll also be explaining the moveset first before I discuss my strategies.
Ninetales (F) @ Shuca Berry
Trait: Drought
IVs: HP, Spe, SDef
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Protect
- Will-O-Wisp
- Heat Wave
- Energy Ball
What's a sun team without your setter. Ninetails here runs her speedy basic defensive set. HP obviously is to be set at max to cushion attacks, and Speed to inflict burn fast before she takes any physical offensive. Since there are other faster sweepers, even with though running max Speed with a Timid nature, the fox can still work under TR.
Dusknoir @ Mental Herb
Trait: Pressure
IVs: HP, Def, SDef/0 Spe
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SDef
Impish Nature
- Sunny Day
- Will-O-Wisp
- Night Shade
- Trick Room
Most VGC players would run Dusclops over Dusknoir because of it's accessibility to Eviolite. The only thing that made me choose his 3rd evo is because it's freedom to use other items than Eviolite. And this brings us to Mental Herb. Most Dusclops users that I have faced can easily be shut
down by a taunt rendering the ghost useless. With Mental Herb, Dusknoir is more versatile: It is immune to Fake Out and can take 1 Taunt before it gets shut down.
Impish nature with 216 Def EVs nails him to 200 def, 40 SDef EVs at 160. People might wonder why I choose to go with such spread since I'm already running WoW which can practically cover his Def stat. Well, I considered such spread since Physical Dark moves have a wider distribution (Crunch & Sucker Punch), than special ones (with Dark Pulse). Dusknoir can take Dark types with ease and counter them with a burn.
I first considered Trick Room as a means to counter opposing Trick Room users, but it played way better than my expectations especially when faced against fast teams. Sunny Day is an obvious move to support my sun team and it works well with Trick Room, especially against weather teams that choose to play with weather inducers rather than weather starters. Against such teams, I'd usually go TR on the first turn then Sunny Day on the next. It counters their weather efficiently while maintaining my defensive tempo.
Volcarona (F) @ Focus Sash
IV: HP, SAtk, Spe
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave
- Bug Buzz
- Tailwind
- Protect
Tailwind + Focus Sash can make Volcarona forgo a Timid nature. Under the Sun and with Tailwind, pairing up with Ninetails, they can spam Heat Waves after Heat Waves and can cause a burn on the opponent. I got this idea while studying Hail Teams, their strategy on spamming Blizzard to nail them a Freeze on the opponent. Caution though, this set must be played defensively since it does not run a Timid nature.
Sawsbuck (M) @ Life Orb
IV: HP, Atk, Spe
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Horn Leech
- Return
- Jump Kick
- Protect
Revenge killer at best, and I would normally run him on the second row. Not much discussion on his moveset except for Horn Leech and Jump Kick. With his signature move, Sawsbuck can act as a pseudo tank, most of the time keeping himself 10% less than full HP. Jump Kick was considered over Megahorn since I have trouble facing against opposing Heatran, which would sweep my team before I considred using it. It also counters opposing Tyranitar well, since most of them are slower with a Sassy or Brave nature.
Now with the EV spread. 124 Spe EVs outruns uninvested base 110 Spe pokemon (nailing him at 131 Speed). This is to make sure he can dent or KO opposing 110 spe when faced without Tailwind or Sun support.
Exeggutor @ Sitrus Berry
IV: HP, Def, Sdef
Trait: Harvest
EVs: 244 HP / 28 Def / 236 SDef
Calm Nature
- Giga Drain
- Psyshock
- Leech Seed
- Protect
Exeggutor sees a lot of matches in this team and most of my wins is because of him. I would often play him on the 1st row with Dusknoir since he can run both on Sun and TR. I mainly got this idea from Wolfe Glick's Exeggutor (credits to him and his explanation can be found here>>>> http://nuggetbridge.com/reports/eggscelent-execution/) What I've copied from him is his EV distribution since I found it appealing but deviated in the moveset.
I deviated from Wolfe's Leaf Storm and Power Swap combo, and replaced it with Giga Drain and Leech Seed. My reasons is that I find Exeggutor to slow to abuse Power Swap, especially when running outside TR. Even though he can cushion attacks and partially heal it off with Sitrus, it's not an assurance that he can survive the next turn.
So yeah, I discussed that he can win games, and that's because he can outstall the opponent, even though it's at a disadvantage 2 to 1. Sitrus+Harvest, Leech Seed and Giga Drain wrecks havoc to opponents who would normally disregard Exeggutor. My friends who I have battled over PS would disregard Exeggutor and would normally target its partner thinking Exeggutor would not be a treat. Others who would otherwise target him would be sweeped by its partner and Exeggutor would just heal it back with his Sitrus+Harvest combo.
Rhyperior @ Rindo Berry
IV: HP, Def, SDef
Trait: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Ice Punch
- Protect
Tank.
Rhyperior works well inside and outside TR. Outside TR but under the Sun, Rhyperior's type weaknesses would hit him 1.5 effective thanks to Sun support, Rindo Berry and Solid Rock. People who thinks that they can OHKO him would be disappointed, the EV spread makes sure of such result. Rhyperior's Atk and Def stats doesn't need that much invested since it's running 140 and 130 base stat respectively. With that in mind, I can run max HP and SDef EVs giving him 222 HP and 117 SDef.
His moveset is geared to take on coverage. Notably, Ice Punch is chosen over Megahorn to counter opposing dragon types.
__________________________________________________________
Synergies
>This team is to be played defensively and with a counter-attack strategy in mind. The idea is to stretch the opponent's defenses while maintaining pressure. 4 out of 6 in this team is meant to be played defensively: Ninetails, Dusknoir, Exeggutor and Rhyperior.
Dusknoir + Exeggutor
>This starting line up gives me freedom to choose my strategy between Sunny Day and Trick Room. But as I have mentioned earlier I would normally go TR on the first turn and Sunny Day on the second. This combination also makes me start my stall with WoW and Leech Seed. Though it may be an unwise start, it pressures my opponent to switch which is a great opportunity to spread Burn around. Once my leads are defeated, though rarely in case of Exeggutor, I could switch in with my revenge killers with Ninetails, Volcarona and Sawsbuck.
Volcarona + Ninetails
>Simple enough, Ninetails protects - Volcarona uses Tailwind, if lucky, opponent would choose to take down ninetails or Volcarona triggers Focus Sash and does not take any more damage. Next turn, I'd go Heat Wave offensive as I have discussed earlier.
Volcarona + Sawsbuck
>Same idea with Ninetails here, but this is more of a situational when I choose to play with only Dusknoir and without Ninetails at the back row. It technically plays the same idea with a Chlorophyll boosted Sawsbuck except that it's on a safer ground against fire attacks (not that it can take fire attack and still live to take revenge)
Sun + Rhyperior
>I mentioned this earlier. I would often play this as a weather counter. Against Rain teams, I would just have to use protect while his partner sets up the Sun. Even without the Sun, Rhyperior can still take 2HKOs. Against Sand, obviously it gets its SDef boost, must to Tyranitar's dismay and counter it with an Earthquake. It can even sponge Tyranitar's Low Kick.
The idea is to just tank everything they give you while Rhyperior and his partner would use protect and alternatively. I would also play it then suddenly switch it with Exeggutor to surprise them. In that scenario, Exeggutor will just have to leave Leech Seed around then switch back to Rhyperior.
Trick Room + Exeggutor and Rhyperior
>Yes, it might be best to play offensively with this tactic but I would normally go offensive-defense. Wondering what that might be? I'm using TR to set up my revenge kill or sweep when they have left the room, spreading Burn, scattering Seeds and (in case of Rhyperior) taking out Dragon and Flying types since Volcarona, Sawsbuck and Exeggutor hates those stuffs.
Exeggutor + everything else
>Exeggutor serves as a check to my teams weaknesses (even though it brings the most number of weaknesses in the team). Switching is the best tactic to use on Exeggutor.
It supports the team against opposing weather teams especially Rain teams. Against the latter, I would play weather battles switching Ninetails and Exeggutor since Exeguttor resists Water type attacks and Ninetails with Ice. If I'm not playing Ninetails, Dusknoir will just have to set the Sun up or TR while Exeggutor uses Protect, TR being the better choice since most Rain teams runs Swift Swim.
Ninetails + everything else
>Obviously it's a Sun Team so Ninetails would support everything in this team. As I have said earlier, Ninetails plays a defensive role. Always WoW over Heat Wave. Dusknoir would always take the lead, only to be substituted by Ninetails when it faints. I rarely come to a position when I have to play both Ninetails and Dusknoir at the same time.
Ninetales (F) @ Shuca Berry
Trait: Drought
IVs: HP, Spe, SDef
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Protect
- Will-O-Wisp
- Heat Wave
- Energy Ball
What's a sun team without your setter. Ninetails here runs her speedy basic defensive set. HP obviously is to be set at max to cushion attacks, and Speed to inflict burn fast before she takes any physical offensive. Since there are other faster sweepers, even with though running max Speed with a Timid nature, the fox can still work under TR.
Dusknoir @ Mental Herb
Trait: Pressure
IVs: HP, Def, SDef/0 Spe
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SDef
Impish Nature
- Sunny Day
- Will-O-Wisp
- Night Shade
- Trick Room
Most VGC players would run Dusclops over Dusknoir because of it's accessibility to Eviolite. The only thing that made me choose his 3rd evo is because it's freedom to use other items than Eviolite. And this brings us to Mental Herb. Most Dusclops users that I have faced can easily be shut
down by a taunt rendering the ghost useless. With Mental Herb, Dusknoir is more versatile: It is immune to Fake Out and can take 1 Taunt before it gets shut down.
Impish nature with 216 Def EVs nails him to 200 def, 40 SDef EVs at 160. People might wonder why I choose to go with such spread since I'm already running WoW which can practically cover his Def stat. Well, I considered such spread since Physical Dark moves have a wider distribution (Crunch & Sucker Punch), than special ones (with Dark Pulse). Dusknoir can take Dark types with ease and counter them with a burn.
I first considered Trick Room as a means to counter opposing Trick Room users, but it played way better than my expectations especially when faced against fast teams. Sunny Day is an obvious move to support my sun team and it works well with Trick Room, especially against weather teams that choose to play with weather inducers rather than weather starters. Against such teams, I'd usually go TR on the first turn then Sunny Day on the next. It counters their weather efficiently while maintaining my defensive tempo.
Volcarona (F) @ Focus Sash
IV: HP, SAtk, Spe
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave
- Bug Buzz
- Tailwind
- Protect
Tailwind + Focus Sash can make Volcarona forgo a Timid nature. Under the Sun and with Tailwind, pairing up with Ninetails, they can spam Heat Waves after Heat Waves and can cause a burn on the opponent. I got this idea while studying Hail Teams, their strategy on spamming Blizzard to nail them a Freeze on the opponent. Caution though, this set must be played defensively since it does not run a Timid nature.
Sawsbuck (M) @ Life Orb
IV: HP, Atk, Spe
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Horn Leech
- Return
- Jump Kick
- Protect
Revenge killer at best, and I would normally run him on the second row. Not much discussion on his moveset except for Horn Leech and Jump Kick. With his signature move, Sawsbuck can act as a pseudo tank, most of the time keeping himself 10% less than full HP. Jump Kick was considered over Megahorn since I have trouble facing against opposing Heatran, which would sweep my team before I considred using it. It also counters opposing Tyranitar well, since most of them are slower with a Sassy or Brave nature.
Now with the EV spread. 124 Spe EVs outruns uninvested base 110 Spe pokemon (nailing him at 131 Speed). This is to make sure he can dent or KO opposing 110 spe when faced without Tailwind or Sun support.
Exeggutor @ Sitrus Berry
IV: HP, Def, Sdef
Trait: Harvest
EVs: 244 HP / 28 Def / 236 SDef
Calm Nature
- Giga Drain
- Psyshock
- Leech Seed
- Protect
Exeggutor sees a lot of matches in this team and most of my wins is because of him. I would often play him on the 1st row with Dusknoir since he can run both on Sun and TR. I mainly got this idea from Wolfe Glick's Exeggutor (credits to him and his explanation can be found here>>>> http://nuggetbridge.com/reports/eggscelent-execution/) What I've copied from him is his EV distribution since I found it appealing but deviated in the moveset.
I deviated from Wolfe's Leaf Storm and Power Swap combo, and replaced it with Giga Drain and Leech Seed. My reasons is that I find Exeggutor to slow to abuse Power Swap, especially when running outside TR. Even though he can cushion attacks and partially heal it off with Sitrus, it's not an assurance that he can survive the next turn.
So yeah, I discussed that he can win games, and that's because he can outstall the opponent, even though it's at a disadvantage 2 to 1. Sitrus+Harvest, Leech Seed and Giga Drain wrecks havoc to opponents who would normally disregard Exeggutor. My friends who I have battled over PS would disregard Exeggutor and would normally target its partner thinking Exeggutor would not be a treat. Others who would otherwise target him would be sweeped by its partner and Exeggutor would just heal it back with his Sitrus+Harvest combo.
Rhyperior @ Rindo Berry
IV: HP, Def, SDef
Trait: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Ice Punch
- Protect
Tank.
Rhyperior works well inside and outside TR. Outside TR but under the Sun, Rhyperior's type weaknesses would hit him 1.5 effective thanks to Sun support, Rindo Berry and Solid Rock. People who thinks that they can OHKO him would be disappointed, the EV spread makes sure of such result. Rhyperior's Atk and Def stats doesn't need that much invested since it's running 140 and 130 base stat respectively. With that in mind, I can run max HP and SDef EVs giving him 222 HP and 117 SDef.
His moveset is geared to take on coverage. Notably, Ice Punch is chosen over Megahorn to counter opposing dragon types.
__________________________________________________________
Synergies
>This team is to be played defensively and with a counter-attack strategy in mind. The idea is to stretch the opponent's defenses while maintaining pressure. 4 out of 6 in this team is meant to be played defensively: Ninetails, Dusknoir, Exeggutor and Rhyperior.
Dusknoir + Exeggutor
>This starting line up gives me freedom to choose my strategy between Sunny Day and Trick Room. But as I have mentioned earlier I would normally go TR on the first turn and Sunny Day on the second. This combination also makes me start my stall with WoW and Leech Seed. Though it may be an unwise start, it pressures my opponent to switch which is a great opportunity to spread Burn around. Once my leads are defeated, though rarely in case of Exeggutor, I could switch in with my revenge killers with Ninetails, Volcarona and Sawsbuck.
Volcarona + Ninetails
>Simple enough, Ninetails protects - Volcarona uses Tailwind, if lucky, opponent would choose to take down ninetails or Volcarona triggers Focus Sash and does not take any more damage. Next turn, I'd go Heat Wave offensive as I have discussed earlier.
Volcarona + Sawsbuck
>Same idea with Ninetails here, but this is more of a situational when I choose to play with only Dusknoir and without Ninetails at the back row. It technically plays the same idea with a Chlorophyll boosted Sawsbuck except that it's on a safer ground against fire attacks (not that it can take fire attack and still live to take revenge)
Sun + Rhyperior
>I mentioned this earlier. I would often play this as a weather counter. Against Rain teams, I would just have to use protect while his partner sets up the Sun. Even without the Sun, Rhyperior can still take 2HKOs. Against Sand, obviously it gets its SDef boost, must to Tyranitar's dismay and counter it with an Earthquake. It can even sponge Tyranitar's Low Kick.
The idea is to just tank everything they give you while Rhyperior and his partner would use protect and alternatively. I would also play it then suddenly switch it with Exeggutor to surprise them. In that scenario, Exeggutor will just have to leave Leech Seed around then switch back to Rhyperior.
Trick Room + Exeggutor and Rhyperior
>Yes, it might be best to play offensively with this tactic but I would normally go offensive-defense. Wondering what that might be? I'm using TR to set up my revenge kill or sweep when they have left the room, spreading Burn, scattering Seeds and (in case of Rhyperior) taking out Dragon and Flying types since Volcarona, Sawsbuck and Exeggutor hates those stuffs.
Exeggutor + everything else
>Exeggutor serves as a check to my teams weaknesses (even though it brings the most number of weaknesses in the team). Switching is the best tactic to use on Exeggutor.
It supports the team against opposing weather teams especially Rain teams. Against the latter, I would play weather battles switching Ninetails and Exeggutor since Exeguttor resists Water type attacks and Ninetails with Ice. If I'm not playing Ninetails, Dusknoir will just have to set the Sun up or TR while Exeggutor uses Protect, TR being the better choice since most Rain teams runs Swift Swim.
Ninetails + everything else
>Obviously it's a Sun Team so Ninetails would support everything in this team. As I have said earlier, Ninetails plays a defensive role. Always WoW over Heat Wave. Dusknoir would always take the lead, only to be substituted by Ninetails when it faints. I rarely come to a position when I have to play both Ninetails and Dusknoir at the same time.