Tyranitar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Stream
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 160 Atk / 252 Def / 96 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Snarl
- Rock Slide
- Iron Head
Tyrantiar acts as the dedicated sand setter for the team. with assault vest it becomes incredibly bulky when combined with Klefki which will appear later on in this team. Stomping tantrum allows Tyranitar to hit steel types super effectively, crunch acts as good dark STAB, rock slide can be used both to fish for flinches whilst also acting once again as good STAB Aswell as a spread move. finally iron head which is arguable the most unique move on this Pokémon allows Tyranitar to abuse its high special bulk in sandstorm plus assault vest in order to attempt to check Flutter mane as it can tank both moonblast and dazzling gleam from a tera boost fairy flutter mane and then one hit kill it.
Houndstone @ Spell Tag
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Last Respects
- Fire Fang
- Play Rough
- Psychic Fangs
Houndstone is the sweeper of the team abusing its ability sand rush in sandstorm to clean up games with spell tag, potentially tera boosted as well, last respects which is almost unstoppable it synergies in many ways well with Tyrantiar and a couple other members of this team who can effectively shut down any potentially faster Pokémon e.g., speed boost energy Futter mane as this team doesn't run tailwind. fire fang is just generic steel coverage that could possibly be switched out for a better move, play rough comes in useful against many dark types who may be able to tank last respects, and finally psychic fangs which can help it wall break to a certain extent as it can remove light screen, reflect and aurora veil.
Gastrodon @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Recover
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Clear Smog
Gastrodon is a Pokémon I use frequently on any team I make as it acts as a reliable defensive pivot for many of my more agressive teams. Gastrodon's biggest selling point is its essential nullification of other water type threats this team faces, through storm drain it walls and beats Pokémon like Palafin who can be caught trying to flip turn for an easy +1 special attack, the same goes for boosted Dodonzo as it can protect the team from potential wave crashes. another important utility feature of the team is that it acts as an important special attacker on a team that focuses heavily on physical attacks which in many cases can leave it stranded against large physical walls such as Garganacl which can sometimes be hard to get through physically. recover despite its nerf can still be handy in a pinch as it can help keep Gastrodon alive if it is required to check numerous Pokémon over the course of a game, ice beam hits dragons super effectively which would normally resist its water STAB, earth power is good ground STAB and hits rock and steel types hard, and finally chilling water which would have been in the past scald but it still functions in its role to help bring down physical attackers. i have omitted tera types for the most part as i am still trying to figure out how to use them effectively but in gastrodons case i have found it pertinent to mention that i have chosen tera type fire to help catch grass types that would usually check it off guard before hitting them with ice beam.
Klefki @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Light Screen
- Sandstorm
- Thunder Wave
- Reflect
Klefki is one of my favourite Pokémon on this team and acts in a crucial supporting role. originally i had dazzling gleam instead of Thunder wave so that it could at least exert some offensive pressure however i tossed it for much need speed control. prankster light screen/reflect allows the teams rock types to become even more resilient along with the rest of the team. sandstorm allows it to act as a crucial second sand setter which can beat weather setters such as torkoal to an extent as it can override the sun, a situation Tyrantiar would struggle to proceed in. finally as mentioned above Thunder wave acts a speed control for a team that is not particularly quick and despite its total lack of effective offensive pressure it in my opinion makes up for it with crucial defensive and support utility.
Great Tusk @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Rock
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Headlong Rush
- Iron Head
- Ice Spinner
Great tusk is in here admittedly because it is my favourite designed of the paradox Pokémon however it can still provide good wall break utility which can open up the game for houndstone later. choice scarf was in many ways a tactical choice as it allows great tusk to out speed and kill many big threats such as iron bundle alongside Flutter man both of which threaten to one hit kill. Close combat is a good stab which can chunk if not kill the ruin Pokémon whose dark typing and either great offenses or defence most importantly it can kill Chien pao in one hit (from what i have seen focus sash is usually run which is then broken by sandstorm) whose sucker punch can ruin late game sweeps, it can also chunk both Ting lu and wo chien who can once again wall Houndstone late game. Headlong rush is just close combat but of a different type and it has the same functionality high power to break open teams. ice spinner is a move intended to be used on grass/flying types but has proven to lack damage to be an effective check to them, on the other hand it is useful in removing electric terrain that boosts the future paradox Pokémon. tera blast will take on the rock type for this as it provides good stab when tera typing Great tusk usually i would tera great tusk when the extra bulk given by sandstorm is more useful than stab headlong rush/close combat.
Corviknight @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Mirror Armor
EVs: 130 HP / 160 Atk / 218 Def
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Body Press
- Iron Defense
- Roost
corviknight is a Pokémon i have never used before adding it to this team and i added it believing that it would help supplement the pseudo defensive nature of the team. Mirror armour allows it to check opposing intimidate which could potentially cripple the team due to the reliance on physical attackers. Body press and iron defence go hand in hand to give a move that can capitalise on its naturally high defence over its weaker attack stat, brave bird is the most crucial aspect of corviknight on this team as it checks both the dangerous grass and fighting types both of which can potentially end the team most prominently the rare appearance of Breloom which in my experience is incredibly hard to stop spreading spore, it also checks other walls such as amoongus.
whilst this team feels alright to use i generally feels like it is missing something that i cannot put my finger on furthermore its lack of effective sand abusers makes me question not only whether it is losing its identity as a sand team but also whether sand is even needed on it to begin with. any feedback no matter the size would be greatly appreciated as i am not the most experienced team builder nor do i make post on here often as i have only ever posted one other team here in the past. thank you to anyone who even read this post and even more to anyone kind enough to offer feedback.
Gen 9 Sandstorm (pokepast.es)
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