Red
Hello fellow Smogonites! Rainy days inside a hotel, and the Showdown server is down - what better time to sit down and make a team? After watching a few people utilize Sand and master it to a strong extent, I felt inspired to make an offensive Sand team of my own. It's a typical sand team, with a few interesting sets - I opted for the ubiquitous Tyranitar lead, with supporting attackers. I'm not exactly trying to revolutionize the Sand meta, but I do want to introduce some new versatility into the strategy that I want to see adapted into other teams possibly. The name actually has no significance to the team (as if any do ;D), but I decided to name the team and the members after one of my favorite artists. Hope you enjoy, and whether you're telling me my nicknames suck or my team sucks, all feedback and criticism will be taken into consideration and is greatly appreciated. Thanks for looking! Without further ado... I present: Red.
TeamBuilding
I started with Tyranitar and Scizor, as I knew I was going to make a Sand-based team; however, at this point I wasn't sure whether I wanted to go for an offensive or stall-focused team, so I opted for the essential Tyranitar, and added Scizor as a very versatile threat to any team.
I then added Terrakion and Lucario, two more threats that decided that my team would be an offensive Sand team. Both of these Pokemon perform very well in Sand; Terrakion is a very standard Sand member, but I decided to also add Lucario for the sake of versatility in the team.
Gliscor was then added into the team, as I lacked a physically bulkier Pokemon, and status for that matter. Gliscor performs very well individually in almost any team, so I decided it would be a good fit for a Sand team – he's also incredibly fun to use and induces a lot of rage into whoever I'm facing.
To finalize the team, I decided to add another wall – seeing as I lacked a strong specially defensive wall, I decided to go for Skarmory. It also serves as my sole entry-hazard setter, and if I feel the enemy has a threat to deal with Tyranitar as a lead (e.g. Weavile), then I'll usually send in Skarmory.
TheTeam
Fearless (Tyranitar) (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SAtk Rash Nature
- Crunch
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam
- Stealth Rock
Compulsory. Tyranitar is the Ninetales of the Sand teams, whose main purpose is to set up and maintain sandstorm. As predictable as it is, I usually lead with Tyranitar unless they have a very strong threat to him, such as Breloom or Weavile – in that case, I'll lead with Skarmory. Tyranitar is the only Pokemon on my team with Stealth Rock, so that will usually be its first priority after being sent in if there are offensive threats on the enemy team that have exploitable SR weaknesses such as Volcarona or Dragonite. I opted to go for a bulky specially-offensive set contrary to the typical Tyranitar set to check would-be threats such as Scizor, so it can be disposed of with Fire Blast.
Twenty-Two (Scizor) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Pursuit
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
Scizor is my main scouter and serves as a strong pivot on the team; with a standard Choice Band set and priority Bullet Punch, it helps check various threats to sand teams, notably Weavile and Terrakion. U-Turn is a very standard scouting move and serves as Scizor's Bug STAB, as well as helps check the likes of Lati@s or Mew who may attempt to set-up on the team. Pursuit also helps trap other Psychics, and Superpower helps deal with Pokemon such as other Scizors and other various Steel-types like Lucario or Ferrothorn.
The Last Time (Terrakion) @ Choice Band
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor
- Earthquake
Part two of my offensive core: Terrakion serves as the bane of many other teams and very standard on Sand teams. It serves as another possible check to Pokemon such as Celebi with X-Scissor, and with Choice Band, packs a huge punch with STAB Close Combat. Earthquake is part of the set to check other Tyranitars and is a compulsory coverage move. Stone Edge serves as Terrakion's Rock STAB and helps hits Flying-types such as Skarmory or Dragonite that might otherwise pose a threat to the team.
Back to December (Lucario) @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Crunch
- Swords Dance
- Extreme Speed
Part three of my offensive core, Lucario serves as my setup-sweeper equipped with Swords Dance. The power of Lucario after just one Swords Dance is immense – in tandem with Life Orb, I've managed to single-handedly sweep teams with just this Pokemon. With Close Combat and Crunch being notorious for being neutrally unresisted except for two Pokemon (Heracross and Toxicroak), and with Steel being a lackluster attacking type, I felt those were the only two offensive moves alongside Extremespeed for priority. Lucario is usually my early-game sweeper that opens a path for Terrakion or Scizor to clean up after Lucario's knocked out (if he hasn't knocked out the whole team already, that is).
Safe and Sound (Gliscor) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 248 Def / 16 Spd
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Ice Fang
- Protect
Gliscor's main purpose on my team is to soak up physical damage and sustain it off with Toxic Orb and Poison Heal, as well as cripple enemy Pokemon with Toxic. It also has the only other Ice-type move on my team aside from Tyranitar's unexpected Ice Beam which helps check the ubiquitous Landorus-T, other Gliscors, and dragons such as Salamence or Dragonite, which could otherwise pose a threat to my team. In addition, Ice Fang helps hit Grass-types such as Breloom or Celebi who would usually see a Gliscor as an opportunity to setup, especially Poison Heal variants of Breloom.
Haunted (Skarmory) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 224 HP / 32 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Brave Bird
Skarmory serves as my Spikes-setter and my backup lead in case the opposing team has a hard-check to Tyranitar and in that case will attempt to get off at least two Spikes before it faints. Whirlwind is added into the set for fazing anyone who may be trying to set-up on it, while Brave Bird ensures it won't be screwed if Taunted. I didn't opt for Stealth Rock on this set as I believe Tyranitar will get SR set up more often than not, and I wanted this set to act more than just a suicide lead as its my only Pokemon that can reliably soak up special attacks. Speaking of, I went for a specially-defensive set as I already had a defensive wall in Gliscor and needed something to better counter specially-offensive water types – I am iffy about this Pokemon at the moment and am willing to take suggestions on replacing it.
ThreatList
Coming soon – help on this section would be greatly appreciated.
ClosingWords
In the end, this team was made to have fun as its primary objective with a side of kick-ass. I realize it isn't the most balanced team, but I'm okay with that. The strategy seems to have been working out well so far, but I feel like the sets I'm using on some of them are rather ineffective, so help in that area would be greatly appreciated. In addition, I do feel the team composition is rather lacking; I'm really looking for feedback and help on optimizing that. Thanks a lot for looking – good luck on the battlefield.
Importable
Hello fellow Smogonites! Rainy days inside a hotel, and the Showdown server is down - what better time to sit down and make a team? After watching a few people utilize Sand and master it to a strong extent, I felt inspired to make an offensive Sand team of my own. It's a typical sand team, with a few interesting sets - I opted for the ubiquitous Tyranitar lead, with supporting attackers. I'm not exactly trying to revolutionize the Sand meta, but I do want to introduce some new versatility into the strategy that I want to see adapted into other teams possibly. The name actually has no significance to the team (as if any do ;D), but I decided to name the team and the members after one of my favorite artists. Hope you enjoy, and whether you're telling me my nicknames suck or my team sucks, all feedback and criticism will be taken into consideration and is greatly appreciated. Thanks for looking! Without further ado... I present: Red.
TeamBuilding
I started with Tyranitar and Scizor, as I knew I was going to make a Sand-based team; however, at this point I wasn't sure whether I wanted to go for an offensive or stall-focused team, so I opted for the essential Tyranitar, and added Scizor as a very versatile threat to any team.
I then added Terrakion and Lucario, two more threats that decided that my team would be an offensive Sand team. Both of these Pokemon perform very well in Sand; Terrakion is a very standard Sand member, but I decided to also add Lucario for the sake of versatility in the team.
Gliscor was then added into the team, as I lacked a physically bulkier Pokemon, and status for that matter. Gliscor performs very well individually in almost any team, so I decided it would be a good fit for a Sand team – he's also incredibly fun to use and induces a lot of rage into whoever I'm facing.
To finalize the team, I decided to add another wall – seeing as I lacked a strong specially defensive wall, I decided to go for Skarmory. It also serves as my sole entry-hazard setter, and if I feel the enemy has a threat to deal with Tyranitar as a lead (e.g. Weavile), then I'll usually send in Skarmory.
TheTeam
Fearless (Tyranitar) (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SAtk Rash Nature
- Crunch
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam
- Stealth Rock
Compulsory. Tyranitar is the Ninetales of the Sand teams, whose main purpose is to set up and maintain sandstorm. As predictable as it is, I usually lead with Tyranitar unless they have a very strong threat to him, such as Breloom or Weavile – in that case, I'll lead with Skarmory. Tyranitar is the only Pokemon on my team with Stealth Rock, so that will usually be its first priority after being sent in if there are offensive threats on the enemy team that have exploitable SR weaknesses such as Volcarona or Dragonite. I opted to go for a bulky specially-offensive set contrary to the typical Tyranitar set to check would-be threats such as Scizor, so it can be disposed of with Fire Blast.
Twenty-Two (Scizor) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Pursuit
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
Scizor is my main scouter and serves as a strong pivot on the team; with a standard Choice Band set and priority Bullet Punch, it helps check various threats to sand teams, notably Weavile and Terrakion. U-Turn is a very standard scouting move and serves as Scizor's Bug STAB, as well as helps check the likes of Lati@s or Mew who may attempt to set-up on the team. Pursuit also helps trap other Psychics, and Superpower helps deal with Pokemon such as other Scizors and other various Steel-types like Lucario or Ferrothorn.
The Last Time (Terrakion) @ Choice Band
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor
- Earthquake
Part two of my offensive core: Terrakion serves as the bane of many other teams and very standard on Sand teams. It serves as another possible check to Pokemon such as Celebi with X-Scissor, and with Choice Band, packs a huge punch with STAB Close Combat. Earthquake is part of the set to check other Tyranitars and is a compulsory coverage move. Stone Edge serves as Terrakion's Rock STAB and helps hits Flying-types such as Skarmory or Dragonite that might otherwise pose a threat to the team.
Back to December (Lucario) @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Crunch
- Swords Dance
- Extreme Speed
Part three of my offensive core, Lucario serves as my setup-sweeper equipped with Swords Dance. The power of Lucario after just one Swords Dance is immense – in tandem with Life Orb, I've managed to single-handedly sweep teams with just this Pokemon. With Close Combat and Crunch being notorious for being neutrally unresisted except for two Pokemon (Heracross and Toxicroak), and with Steel being a lackluster attacking type, I felt those were the only two offensive moves alongside Extremespeed for priority. Lucario is usually my early-game sweeper that opens a path for Terrakion or Scizor to clean up after Lucario's knocked out (if he hasn't knocked out the whole team already, that is).
Safe and Sound (Gliscor) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 248 Def / 16 Spd
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Ice Fang
- Protect
Gliscor's main purpose on my team is to soak up physical damage and sustain it off with Toxic Orb and Poison Heal, as well as cripple enemy Pokemon with Toxic. It also has the only other Ice-type move on my team aside from Tyranitar's unexpected Ice Beam which helps check the ubiquitous Landorus-T, other Gliscors, and dragons such as Salamence or Dragonite, which could otherwise pose a threat to my team. In addition, Ice Fang helps hit Grass-types such as Breloom or Celebi who would usually see a Gliscor as an opportunity to setup, especially Poison Heal variants of Breloom.
Haunted (Skarmory) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 224 HP / 32 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Brave Bird
Skarmory serves as my Spikes-setter and my backup lead in case the opposing team has a hard-check to Tyranitar and in that case will attempt to get off at least two Spikes before it faints. Whirlwind is added into the set for fazing anyone who may be trying to set-up on it, while Brave Bird ensures it won't be screwed if Taunted. I didn't opt for Stealth Rock on this set as I believe Tyranitar will get SR set up more often than not, and I wanted this set to act more than just a suicide lead as its my only Pokemon that can reliably soak up special attacks. Speaking of, I went for a specially-defensive set as I already had a defensive wall in Gliscor and needed something to better counter specially-offensive water types – I am iffy about this Pokemon at the moment and am willing to take suggestions on replacing it.
ThreatList
Coming soon – help on this section would be greatly appreciated.
ClosingWords
In the end, this team was made to have fun as its primary objective with a side of kick-ass. I realize it isn't the most balanced team, but I'm okay with that. The strategy seems to have been working out well so far, but I feel like the sets I'm using on some of them are rather ineffective, so help in that area would be greatly appreciated. In addition, I do feel the team composition is rather lacking; I'm really looking for feedback and help on optimizing that. Thanks a lot for looking – good luck on the battlefield.
Importable
