Trollin' With SandRoom
By Red Striker
~Introduction~
For some time,I've been meaning to create some type of Trick Room team.At that same time,I've been meaning to create a Sand team.After hearing about the rules for VGC 2011-2012,I did two plus two and came out with this team:SandRoom.
By Red Striker
~Introduction~
For some time,I've been meaning to create some type of Trick Room team.At that same time,I've been meaning to create a Sand team.After hearing about the rules for VGC 2011-2012,I did two plus two and came out with this team:SandRoom.
~Team Building~
Of course,you can't have a Sand team without good ol' T-tar.T-tar also does wonders for Trick Room,as it's about as slow as a person with a piano tied to their back.It's also more bulky than the other Sand Streamer,Hippowdon.
Rather than starting off immidiately with Trick Room,I dicided to start sweeping,and then use Trick Room is needed.Out of all decent Sand leads other than T-tar,Garchomp seemed to fit perfectly,so I went with SubSwordChomp.
One of the crown jewels to the team,Rhyperior fits like no other.It get's a Sp.Defense boost from Sand(which will come in handy,as it only has the base Sp.Defense of fifty),takes advantage of Trick Room with godly effectiveness(it only has the base speed of fourty),and comes with the Ability Solid Rock,an Ability that reduces the amount of damage taken from super-effective moves(which,when combined with the Sand bonus,can help in the long run)(did I forget to mention that it has the base Attack stat of one-hundred fourty?).
Acting as one of the Trick Roomers,Slowking walls special sweepers while being able to heal itself via Slack Off.I also needed something in the team that was a special sweeper(since if you notice,all of the other pokemon listed so far are phisical sweepers)that could use Blizzard(since it would seem that Abomasnow has been getting quite a bit of usage).Slowknig is perfect for those roles.
Heatran is supposed to be for the occasional Sun team I come accross(and as another special sweeper),but it hasn't really seen much use(I've been testing this team),so for the time being,it's just another slot-filler.Maybe I can trick my opponent into thinking I'm going to use it lol.
Slowbro in this case is exactly like Slowking on this team.[Enter everything I said about Slowking here].There's one thing I forgot to mention.The reason I carry boath King' and Bro' on the team is so I can adapt to the opponent's team better.With team preview I can guesstimate the average Base Attack of their physical sweepers and average Base Sp.Attack of their special sweepers(if I know for sure one of the pokemon is meant to have more status moves,then they don't get tallied to the total).Whichever stat comes out to about the most is the one I should focus on walling(I already have a good memory on about how high a pokemon's (Sp.)Attack on the most commonly used pokemon).If the Sp.Attack seems higher,I'll use King'.If the Attack seems kigher,I'll use Bro'.
~The Team Itself~
T-tar(Godzilla)@Leftovers
Nature:Brave
Ability:Sand Stream
EVs:252 HP,252 Attack,6 Defense
Moveset:
Protect
Rock Slide
Crunch
Ice Punch
Nickname origin:It's a big freaking lizard that destroys mountain ranges.Nuff' said.
Everybody's favorite Sand lead.To start the battle,while it's accomplice in victory(A.K.A Garchomp)uses Subsitute,this guy will use Protect.Protect will also have two other uses.Use number one is to have two pokemon use it at the same time to scout out moves the opponent has waiting for me.Use number two is to Protect itself from a teammate's Earthquake,as it's something spammed on this team.Crunch and Rock Slide act as it's STAB moves.Ice Punch is like Protect,and has many uses.To begin,it takes care of commonly used Dragons(Dragonite,Garchomp,Salamence and Haxxxxorus to name a few),counters T-tar's biggest weaknesses;Grass and Ground,and finally,provides more coverage.
Garchomp(Deathclaw)@BrightPowder
Nature:Jolly
Ability:Sand Veil
EVs:252 Attack,252 Speed,6 Defense
Moveset:
Subsitute
Swords Dance
Earthquake
Dragon Claw
Nickname origin:Named after an enemy from Fallout 3(Bethesda,2008),these foes are extremely fast,powerful,and degrade your armor like heck.
With this set,it's possibly the most evasive you can get without raising you Evasivness by so much as one Stage.To start,Garchomp will use Subsitute,which will likely succeed,since Sand Veil plus BrightPowder equals a thirty per cent chance to evade an attack(this is assuming,however,that the move has an accuacy of one-hundred).Next turn,Garchomp can get a free Swords Dance to start sweeping turn three.Earthquake and Dragon Claw are self-explanitory,as they are it's two best STAB moves(there is the option of Outrage,but I rather not got with that).
Rhyperior(Da' Smasher)@Expert Belt
Nature:Brave
Ability:Solid Rock
EVs:252 Attack,252 HP,6 Sp.Defense
Moveset:
Protect
Hammer Arm
Earthquake
Rock Slide
Nickname origin:It smashes stuff straight into the ground.What else can I say?
Ever wonder why you almost always see Rhyperior on Trick Room teams?Is it because of its massive Attack stat,or because of its pethetic Speed?I'm going to go with all of the above.To make itself more effective with Trick Room,Rhyperior can use Hammer Arm,which always lowers the Speed stat by one stage.It's probably the best teammate on here since it comes with two moves that hit boath of the opponent's pokemon,as I'm reffering to Rock Slide and Earthquake.Protect on the other hand is handy,since it allows me to scout out moves and Protect myself from a teammates Earthquake.
Slowking(Havn't thought of a nickname yet)@Colbur Berry
Nature:Sassy
Ability:Regenarator
EVs:252 Sp.Defense,130 HP,128 Sp.Attack
Moveset:
Trick Room
Blizzard
Psychic
Slack Off
Nickname origin:Maybe I'll think of something
Slowking acts as one of my Trick Roomers.I've been testing this team,and the one thing I see in most of my battles is Abomasnow.To take advantage of that,I dicided to give Slowking Blizzard.Slowking seems to be one of the few Trick Roomers that comes with the bonus of a recovery move(A.K.A Slack Off),so atleast it can keep going with ease.For its final move slot,I dicided to go with Psychic,a somewhat decent STAB move.
Heatran(Hades)@Air Baloon
Nature:Quiet
Ability:Flash Fire
Evs:252 Sp.Att,252 HP,6 Def
Moveset:
Protect
Heat Wave
Dragon Pulse
Earth Power
Nickname origin:Hades is the Greek god of the underworld.Heatran lives deep is a volcano.I find the nickname appropriate.
Heatran is meant to be my Sun counter.Heat Wave for STAB,along with hitting boath of the opponent's pokemon.Protect is for scouting out moves and Protecting itself from an ally's Earthquake.Since Dragons are becoming popular,Dragon Pulse is there to counter them as well.Earth Power has many uses,as it takes care of other Heatrans,other T-tars,Excadrill,Terrakion,Cobalion,Ninetails,and the list just continues on.
Slowbro(Havn't thought of a nickname yet)@Wacan Berry
Nature:Relaxed
Ability:Regenarator
EVs:252 Defense,130 Sp.Attack,128 HP
Moveset:
Trick Room
Blizzard
Psychic
Slack Off
Nickname origin:Maybe I'll come up with something
Slowbro acts as one of my Trick Roomers.I've been testing this team,and the one thing I see in most of my battles is Abomasnow.To take advantage of that,I dicided to give Slowbro Blizzard.Slowking seems to be one of the few Trick Roomers that comes with the bonus of a recovery move(A.K.A Slack Off),so atleast it can keep going with ease.For its final move slot,I dicided to go with Psychic,a somewhat decent STAB move.The only difference between Bro' and King' is Bro' is more Defensive,whereas King' has higher Sp.Defense.
~Considerations~
Of course,you can't have a Sand team without good ol' T-tar.T-tar also does wonders for Trick Room,as it's about as slow as a person with a piano tied to their back.It's also more bulky than the other Sand Streamer,Hippowdon.
Rather than starting off immidiately with Trick Room,I dicided to start sweeping,and then use Trick Room is needed.Out of all decent Sand leads other than T-tar,Garchomp seemed to fit perfectly,so I went with SubSwordChomp.
One of the crown jewels to the team,Rhyperior fits like no other.It get's a Sp.Defense boost from Sand(which will come in handy,as it only has the base Sp.Defense of fifty),takes advantage of Trick Room with godly effectiveness(it only has the base speed of fourty),and comes with the Ability Solid Rock,an Ability that reduces the amount of damage taken from super-effective moves(which,when combined with the Sand bonus,can help in the long run)(did I forget to mention that it has the base Attack stat of one-hundred fourty?).
Acting as one of the Trick Roomers,Slowking walls special sweepers while being able to heal itself via Slack Off.I also needed something in the team that was a special sweeper(since if you notice,all of the other pokemon listed so far are phisical sweepers)that could use Blizzard(since it would seem that Abomasnow has been getting quite a bit of usage).Slowknig is perfect for those roles.
Heatran is supposed to be for the occasional Sun team I come accross(and as another special sweeper),but it hasn't really seen much use(I've been testing this team),so for the time being,it's just another slot-filler.Maybe I can trick my opponent into thinking I'm going to use it lol.
Slowbro in this case is exactly like Slowking on this team.[Enter everything I said about Slowking here].There's one thing I forgot to mention.The reason I carry boath King' and Bro' on the team is so I can adapt to the opponent's team better.With team preview I can guesstimate the average Base Attack of their physical sweepers and average Base Sp.Attack of their special sweepers(if I know for sure one of the pokemon is meant to have more status moves,then they don't get tallied to the total).Whichever stat comes out to about the most is the one I should focus on walling(I already have a good memory on about how high a pokemon's (Sp.)Attack on the most commonly used pokemon).If the Sp.Attack seems higher,I'll use King'.If the Attack seems kigher,I'll use Bro'.
~The Team Itself~
T-tar(Godzilla)@Leftovers
Nature:Brave
Ability:Sand Stream
EVs:252 HP,252 Attack,6 Defense
Moveset:
Protect
Rock Slide
Crunch
Ice Punch
Nickname origin:It's a big freaking lizard that destroys mountain ranges.Nuff' said.
Everybody's favorite Sand lead.To start the battle,while it's accomplice in victory(A.K.A Garchomp)uses Subsitute,this guy will use Protect.Protect will also have two other uses.Use number one is to have two pokemon use it at the same time to scout out moves the opponent has waiting for me.Use number two is to Protect itself from a teammate's Earthquake,as it's something spammed on this team.Crunch and Rock Slide act as it's STAB moves.Ice Punch is like Protect,and has many uses.To begin,it takes care of commonly used Dragons(Dragonite,Garchomp,Salamence and Haxxxxorus to name a few),counters T-tar's biggest weaknesses;Grass and Ground,and finally,provides more coverage.
Garchomp(Deathclaw)@BrightPowder
Nature:Jolly
Ability:Sand Veil
EVs:252 Attack,252 Speed,6 Defense
Moveset:
Subsitute
Swords Dance
Earthquake
Dragon Claw
Nickname origin:Named after an enemy from Fallout 3(Bethesda,2008),these foes are extremely fast,powerful,and degrade your armor like heck.
With this set,it's possibly the most evasive you can get without raising you Evasivness by so much as one Stage.To start,Garchomp will use Subsitute,which will likely succeed,since Sand Veil plus BrightPowder equals a thirty per cent chance to evade an attack(this is assuming,however,that the move has an accuacy of one-hundred).Next turn,Garchomp can get a free Swords Dance to start sweeping turn three.Earthquake and Dragon Claw are self-explanitory,as they are it's two best STAB moves(there is the option of Outrage,but I rather not got with that).
Rhyperior(Da' Smasher)@Expert Belt
Nature:Brave
Ability:Solid Rock
EVs:252 Attack,252 HP,6 Sp.Defense
Moveset:
Protect
Hammer Arm
Earthquake
Rock Slide
Nickname origin:It smashes stuff straight into the ground.What else can I say?
Ever wonder why you almost always see Rhyperior on Trick Room teams?Is it because of its massive Attack stat,or because of its pethetic Speed?I'm going to go with all of the above.To make itself more effective with Trick Room,Rhyperior can use Hammer Arm,which always lowers the Speed stat by one stage.It's probably the best teammate on here since it comes with two moves that hit boath of the opponent's pokemon,as I'm reffering to Rock Slide and Earthquake.Protect on the other hand is handy,since it allows me to scout out moves and Protect myself from a teammates Earthquake.
Slowking(Havn't thought of a nickname yet)@Colbur Berry
Nature:Sassy
Ability:Regenarator
EVs:252 Sp.Defense,130 HP,128 Sp.Attack
Moveset:
Trick Room
Blizzard
Psychic
Slack Off
Nickname origin:Maybe I'll think of something
Slowking acts as one of my Trick Roomers.I've been testing this team,and the one thing I see in most of my battles is Abomasnow.To take advantage of that,I dicided to give Slowking Blizzard.Slowking seems to be one of the few Trick Roomers that comes with the bonus of a recovery move(A.K.A Slack Off),so atleast it can keep going with ease.For its final move slot,I dicided to go with Psychic,a somewhat decent STAB move.
Heatran(Hades)@Air Baloon
Nature:Quiet
Ability:Flash Fire
Evs:252 Sp.Att,252 HP,6 Def
Moveset:
Protect
Heat Wave
Dragon Pulse
Earth Power
Nickname origin:Hades is the Greek god of the underworld.Heatran lives deep is a volcano.I find the nickname appropriate.
Heatran is meant to be my Sun counter.Heat Wave for STAB,along with hitting boath of the opponent's pokemon.Protect is for scouting out moves and Protecting itself from an ally's Earthquake.Since Dragons are becoming popular,Dragon Pulse is there to counter them as well.Earth Power has many uses,as it takes care of other Heatrans,other T-tars,Excadrill,Terrakion,Cobalion,Ninetails,and the list just continues on.
Slowbro(Havn't thought of a nickname yet)@Wacan Berry
Nature:Relaxed
Ability:Regenarator
EVs:252 Defense,130 Sp.Attack,128 HP
Moveset:
Trick Room
Blizzard
Psychic
Slack Off
Nickname origin:Maybe I'll come up with something
Slowbro acts as one of my Trick Roomers.I've been testing this team,and the one thing I see in most of my battles is Abomasnow.To take advantage of that,I dicided to give Slowbro Blizzard.Slowking seems to be one of the few Trick Roomers that comes with the bonus of a recovery move(A.K.A Slack Off),so atleast it can keep going with ease.For its final move slot,I dicided to go with Psychic,a somewhat decent STAB move.The only difference between Bro' and King' is Bro' is more Defensive,whereas King' has higher Sp.Defense.
~Considerations~
First of all,Heatran.It hasn't seen any use at all.I've also been considering using Trick Room at the start of battle.If I do,then I'll brobably boot Heatran for something else that knows Trick Room(Claydol maybe.It has decent Defenses,but no recovery).Also,if I use Trick Room,that means Garchomp might have to go as well(I don't know what to replace it with).
