Sandstorm Team (OU)

sturtle

Master of Awesome
Member
I wanted to check this team out, before I build it. Here is my run-of-the-mill, cliche sandstorm team:

450Hippowdon.png

Hippowdon@Impish
Sand Steam
252 HP/252 Def/4 Sp.Def
-Stealth Rock
-Roar
-Earthquake
-Slack Off
Item: Leftovers

Classic Hippo lead. Sets up Sandstorm, then Stealth Rock, then annoys with Roar. He absorbs physical hits like a sponge, but falls victim to taunt. Politoed is his biggest issue, being weak and all. He usually switches out to prevent rain setting up later.

Doryuuzu2.png

Doryuuzu@Adamant
Sand Throw
4 HP/ 252 Atk/252 Spd
-Swords Dance
-Earthquake
-Rock Slide
-Rapid Spin
Item: Balloon

Classic Dory. Swords Dance, then sweep. When he gets that chance, nothing stops him. He's just so frail! That's really my only problem with him. I give him Adamant, because rarely out sped other Doryuuzu's with Jolly. Besides, I prefer the power.

Sugi_565.png

Abagoora@Impish
252 HP/ 252 Def. 4 Atk
Solid Rock
-Aqua Jet
-Stone Edge
-Knock Off
-Toxic
Item: Leftovers

WALL! He's just awesome. He's great for absorbing hits, and he can hold his own against SE types with Solid Rock. His main idea is to Knock Off the item, then Toxic the opponent. Once he's done that, I either switch or let him die. But he's tough to take down. Grass types are his biggest weakness.

200px-445Garchomp.png

Garchomp@Adamant
4 HP/ 252 Atk/ 252 Spd
Sand Veil
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-Fire Fang
-Outrage
Item: Yache Berry

Yachechomp returns. Outrage, earthquake and stone edge are generic. Fire Fang is for Nattorei, who thinks it can switch in. Ice types pose the biggest problem, but Fire Fang can somewhat handle that.

genosekutosmall.png

Genosekuto@Timid
4 HP/252 Sp. Atk/ 252 Spd
Download
-Bug Buzz
-Thunderbolt
-Flamethrower
-Ice Beam
Item: Choice Specs

Super crazy attacker. Genosekuto destroys teams with all that Special Attack. Even resisted moves deal big damage. Still, Shandera really hurts, as well as any fire type, really.

blissey.png

Blissey@Bold
252 HP/ 252 Def/ 4 Sp. Def
Natural Cure
-Aromatherapy
-Softboiled
-Ice Beam
-Toxic
Item: Leftovers

Absolutely nothing has changed about this Blissey. I have this Blissey on my HG, before B/W was thought off. I see no need to change Blissey, cause it rocks that much. Still, it takes Sandstorm damage, and doesn't really fit with the rest of my team. Still, I heart Blissey.


So that's my team. I'm looking for any suggestions, as I'd like this team to thrive. Thanks a bunch!
 
I don't have any views for fixing the team since I don't play gen 5, but there's a formatting issue that i need you to fix.

After Dory, you forgot to mention the item and EV's of your pokémon. The only reason I've approved this is because I think it's just an oversight since you did this at the start, but you NEED to put them in or it will be locked.
 
Yeah, there were a couple issue I need to fix. Thanks for approving it, though.

Edit: All fixed up.
 
Ok, lets get through with this rate!! I'll do each pokemon individually:

Hippowdon: Looks good, but you may want to invest some more EVs into special defence. I recommend a spread of 252 HP/ 56 Def/ 200 Sp Def, although someone more experienced with EVs may give youy a better spread.

Doryuuzu: Looks good, but I would run X-Scissor over Rapid Spin. Your team isn't very weak to entry hazards, and X-Scissor covers grass types like Erufuun and Jalorda that may give your team problems after Blissey is down. Also, I would use a Balloon instead of Life Orb. This gives Dory a valuable ground immunity, and annoys things like standard Hippowdon, other Doryuuzu, and ScarfChomp.

Abagoora: I would switch to Baffuron. Abagoora's 74/133/65 defences are comparable to Baffuron's 95/95/95 defences. Baffuron also brings Herbivore to the table, helping out with your mega grass weakness. Try Baffuron, you'll be surprised. You could even use a Celebi or Jirachi here, but you wouldn't take full advantage of Herbivore.

Garchomp: Having both Fire Fang and Brick Break is kind of useless. I would run a moveset of Swords Dance/Dragon Claw/Earthquake/Stone Edge. Don't be concerned about Nattorei, you've got Genosect!

Genosect: Looks good.

Blissey: Run a spread of 252 HP/ 252 Sp Def/ 4 Def.
 
I would definitely use Balloon on Doryuuzu. Not only do you get the ground immunity that the previous poster mentioned, you get a Spikes immunity. It really helps in terms of Dory's survivability.

Your Garchomp set really needs a change. You could use the set that was given by Chillarmy, or you could use Outrage over Dragon Claw. Since you already have STAB Earthquake, you can use that earlier on and Outrage later on for it's extra power, which can actually be quite important. Fire Fang is also optional over Stone Edge, those two being your coverage options, and for me Stone Edge doesn't actually give much in the way of coverage. Fire Fang is better for stuff like Skarmory, Forretress and Nattorei (and yes, you have to worry about them, having Genosect is irrelevant because these Pokemon can stop your sweep and if you are forced to switch out, all your boosts are gone and your opponent will be more prepared for Garchomp next time).

Don't change your Blissey EV spread. Running the spread mentioned by Chillarmy makes you incredibly weak to physical attacks, if you stick with your spread you increase your overall bulk, you will be able to take most neutral physical hits, and really, Blissey doesn't need those SpD EVs since it sponges special attacks awesomely enought as it is.
 
I disagree with Chillarmy on a few things. Rapid Spin is good, personally. All 6 Pokemon are hit by Spikes, and 4 by Toxic Spikes. On Blissey, a spread of 24 HP/252 Def/232 SpD might be nice. First of all, maximizing your HP actually won't increase your bulk as much as defenses. The 24 gets you extra leftover recovery boosts. Maximizing your defense is the most important part, since Blissey is extremely weak to that side of the spectrum. The rest are poured into SpD.

I might want to get rid of Abagoora though. He doesn't really help your team, and is very slow. Gliscor might be decent, since he resists your big Fighting-type hole. Gliscor is also able to sweep with 317 speed and access to SD, while withstanding sandstorm. Giving him a Toxic Orb would also increase his survivability a bit since he will gain 12% health per turn.

Genosekuto I would change. He's not legal in OU (At least on PB). He hasn't been released yet, so in normal OU you cannot use him. I'm not too good with sandstorm teams as I've never really made one. He could be replaced with Latias, another special sweeper. Latias has access to recovery, high speed and SpA, a great movepool, and covers many weaknesses you have like Grass, Water and Fighting. However, this will also give you 1 more Dragon-weak, but it might not be too big of a deal. Again, I have never really played this style before so if someone else with a bit of experience doesn't suggest Latias, then I might go for their suggestion.
 
Made some changes.

Balloon > Life Orb
Choice Specs > Choice Scarf (I prefer more power on Genosekuto)
Stone Edge/ Outrage > Brick Break/Double Chop

I'll take some consideration into Gliscor, but I really like Abagoora. Knock Off ruins Chansey, Porygon2, and Dusclops. Really any item reliant pokemon. But Gliscor might be interesting, I'll try him out.

My Blissey, I worry about. The stat diostribution on it now seems to work, since it already soaks up special hits, and is able to take physical hits as well. But I'll see about switching them around. Maybe...

Thanks everybody, for the help!
 
If you are giving genoseckuto specs, give it timid nature. You never know when that extra speed could come in handy.
 
One thing I would do is change your Hippowdon's nature to Relaxed, and have a speed IV of 0. This guarantees that if your opponent leads with a Politoed/Nintetales/Abomasnow, your sandstorm will activate after their sun/rain/hail, and remove it, giving you the advantage.

Also, I would change Abagoura to Gliscor. It still can use Knock Off, while having better defenses, as well as Toxic Orb+Fling. It is also one of, if not the best, Dory counter. Having Poison Heal (which has been released) gives Gliscor great durability. Though Garchomp and Gliscor are both 4x weak to Ice...
 
Just an idea:

I would give abagoora knock down over stone edge. It will be good against gliscor because it renders it vulnerable to earthquake.
 
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