SOL INVICTUS
Hi everyone, welcome to my second RMT for the BW2 metagame. As you can tell by the title, Sol Invictus is an offensive Sun team. I've played all types of weather teams before but never tried playing a Sun team until recently. The reason I generally dislike Sun teams is because Ninetales sucks and they are very dependent on Sunlight to win. Thus, it's pretty difficult to stray away from the typical Dugtrio-based offensive Sun team, but I tried as best as I could to do so. I wanted to build a Sun team that could hold its own even if Ninetales loses the weather war, and this is what I came up with.
The name "Sol Invictus" literally means "Invincible Sun" but despite what the name may suggest, this team is far from invincible. I've outlined the main threats I've encountered in the Threat List below and I'm hoping the Smogon community can help me patch these weaknesses.
IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS
NINETALES @ Leftovers
Drought | Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
56 HP / 252 SpA / 200 Spe
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power Rock
- Sunny Day
- Roar
Ninetales is shit, but it's unfortunately the only OU Drought user so it gets a spot on this team by default. I'm fairly reckless with Ninetales against weatherless teams because it's generally not very useful against them. However, I'm much more conservative with it against other weather teams. I rarely attack with Ninetales while other weather inducers are still alive. All it usually does is switch in to get sunlight active and then switch out. Ninetales is extremely disadvantaged against other weather inducers because it's weak to both of their STABs. Sunny Day helps mitigate this by negating their weather on the switch, keeping momentum in my favor. Afterwards I will usually switch to Terrakion against Tyranitar or Venusaur/Lilligant against Politoed.
Fire Blast is the STAB move of choice for the extra power. The accuracy is a little off-putting but Ninetales needs all the power it can get with that mediocre base 81 special attack. Hidden Power Rock provides a secondary attacking option, which is great for breaking Heatran's Air Balloon and checking Volcarona. Roar is in the last slot to prevent things like Volcarona, Dragonite, and Latias from setting up on Ninetales. 200 speed EVs outrun +speed base 80s, such as Mamoswine. It also outruns most defensive Gliscor. Special attack is maxed to hit as hard as possible while the remaining EVs are allocated to HP for some extra bulk.
VENUSAUR @ Life Orb
Chlorophyll | Naive (+Spe, -SpD)
92 Atk / 236 SpA / 180 Spe
- Sunny Day
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power Ice
- Earthquake
Venusaur is a fixture on Sun teams and with good reason. It has access to Chlorophyll and has all the right stats and moves to abuse it to the fullest. While most Sun teams use Venusaur as their main sweeper, it's primarily used as a supportive role on this team. Lilligant and Venusaur have a practically identical set of counters, such as Heatran and Dragonite. This set is able to lure and eliminate much of their usual counters, which clears the way for a late-game Lilligant sweep. Besides luring Lilligant's counters, Venusaur supports the rest of the team in many other ways. It's usually my primary revenge killer when Sunlight is active because it has the freedom to change moves, unlike Genesect, making it less prone to being setup on after revenge killing something. Furthermore, Venusaur's Poison typing allows it to absorb Toxic Spikes which plague Ninetales, Lilligant, and Terrakion. I opted for the Sunny Day set because I'm not using Dugtrio or a Rapid Spinner. This puts a ton of pressure on Ninetales to outlast opposing weather starters. Thankfully, Sunny Day Venusaur provides an alternative way of keeping Sunlight active if Ninetales falls early. What makes it even more effective is that opponents usually sacrifice their weather starter once Ninetales dies, which usually gives Venusaur the opportunity to setup Sunny Day and cancel out the opposing weather.
I generally use Giga Drain over SolarBeam for reliability. Plus, the recovery effect helps offset the Life Orb recoil. Sometimes the lack of power is a bit of a letdown so I occasionally use SolarBeam instead. However, the problem with SolarBeam is that it's very risky to use when other weather starters are alive and often leads to prediction games that I never win. Hidden Power Ice nails Dragon types like Dragonite and Salamence that are commonly used to check Venusaur and Lilligant. Earthquake is mainly for Heatran but it also hits other Steel types that resist Giga Drain and HP Ice. The speed EVs let Venusaur outspeed everything up to and including Choice Scarf Latios with Chlorophyll active. The attack EVs guarantee an OHKO with Earthquake on max HP Heatran after Stealth Rock. The remaining EVs are allocated to special attack to boost Giga Drain and HP Ice. Naive nature was chosen over Hasty because most priority moves used to revenge kill Venusaur are physical-based.
LILLIGANT @ Leftovers
Chlorophyll | Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
60 Def / 252 SpA / 196 Spe
- Sleep Powder
- Quiver Dance
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power Fire
Lilligant has grown to become one of my favorite Pokemon to use. Despite gaining much exposure on Stone_Cold's Sun team, it's still a very underrated Pokemon. Lilligant is a surprisingly effective sweeper that catches many people off guard. The main reason I picked Lilligant over other Chlorophyll sweepers is that it's not dependent on Chlorophyll to sweep. Sunlight just provides it with a nice speed boost so that it has an easier time setting up but it's more than capable of sweeping without it thanks to Quiver Dance. I almost always save Lilligant for a late game sweep, only using it early game to put something to sleep if necessary.
Quiver Dance is arguably the best setup move in the game and it allows Lilligant to sweep in just about any weather. Lilligant doesn't have many attacking options at its disposal but Giga Drain and HP Fire are really all it needs to sweep. Sleep Powder is a great move in general that shuts down counters and creates easy setup opportunities. The speed EVs let it outspeed Choice Scarf Latios with a Chlorophyll boost and also lets it outspeed Jolteon and Aerodactyl outside of Sunlight with +1 Quiver Dance. It also outspeeds neutral base 80s and +speed base 70s without any boosts. Special attack is maxed to hit as hard as possible while the Def EVs provide it with extra bulk to survive most priority attacks. Jolly LO Mamoswine's Ice Shard will never OHKO after SR while Adamant only has a small chance to do so. Mamoswine's Ice Shard is generally the strongest priority move that Lilligant will encounter so it's also capable of surviving other powerful priority attacks like Scizor's CB Bullet Punch and Breloom's Mach Punch.
GENESECT @ Choice Scarf
Download | Rash (+SpA, -SpD)
112 Atk / 156 SpA / 240 Spe
- U-turn
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam
- Thunder
Yeah...this set is about as bog standard as it gets but Genesect is truly amazing on a Sun team. It's the team's scout and revenge killer. It checks many Pokemon that commonly trouble Sun teams, most notably the Lati twins and Dragonite, which are capable of walling Lilligant. Heatran is one of the biggest threats to Sun teams and it is also one of the few solid Genesect counters. Thus, Genesect is a phenomenal lure for it and can U-turn into Terrakion to threaten it with a CB Close Combat. Genesect is also an excellent Pokemon to lead with thanks to its fast U-turn. Thus, I will often lead with it against other weather teams since Ninetales' speed puts it at a disadvantageous match up against other weather starters.
The moveset is fairly standard. U-turn is used for scouting and is generally the move used most often. Thunder, Ice Beam, and Flamethrower provide excellent neutral coverage and can be used to revenge kill the likes of Gyarados, Dragonite, and Lucario. Flamethrower also gets a pseudo-STAB boost from the Sunlight. I'm using Thunder over Thunderbolt since it hits harder against Rain teams and gets the guaranteed OHKO on Tornadus-T after Stealth Rock. I adjusted the EVs to better fit the needs of this team. In particular, the attack EVs guarantee that U-turn OHKOs max HP Latias after SR (with the Download boost). I chose that benchmark because Latias is a huge threat to most Sun teams and mine is no exception. Because of Genesect's unique speed tier, I chose to only use enough speed to outrun +1 Adamant Haxorus in exchange for more power. There isn't much else that Genesect needs to outrun anyways. There's not much else I can say about Genesect. It does what it needs to do and it does it exceptionally well.
TERRAKION @ Choice Band
Justified | Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor
- Quick Attack
This powerhouse has taken a huge nosedive in usage and I can't imagine why. It's still one of the deadliest Pokemon in the game. In general, Terrakion acts as the team's wall-breaker thanks to its ability to 2HKO almost anything with its STAB moves. It has excellent offensive synergy with its teammates. For example, Ninetales and Heatran commonly attract Tyranitar which often grants it a safe switch-in. Terrakion can then threaten Tyranitar or whatever comes in with its monstrous STAB moves. Likewise, Terrakion pairs well with Genesect and Lilligant because it can plow right through Blissey/Chansey and Heatran who would otherwise wall them. Terrakion is also my main check for Volcarona which is a pretty huge threat to this team.
Genesect in particular has superb offensive synergy with Terrakion because its U-turn often allows Terrakion to come in unscathed and threaten Heatran and Blissey that Genesect often lures in. In return, Genesect checks things like Celebi, Starmie, and Latios/Latias that are commonly used to check Terrakion. The moveset is standard. Close Combat and Stone Edge have excellent power and neutral coverage so they are usually the only moves I use. However, X-Scissor and Quick Attack have their niche uses. X-Scissor nails Psychic switch-ins while Quick Attack can be useful for picking off a weakened foe.
HEATRAN @ Air Balloon
Flash Fire | Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power Ice
- Stealth Rock
The best Fire-type in the game feels right at home on a Sun team, especially one with 3 Fire weaknesses. This provides several opportunities to nab a free Flash Fire boost to bolster its Fire attacks to even greater heights. Under the Sunlight, even Fire resists risk being 2HKO'd by its boosted Magma Storm. Heatran's primary duty is to setup the all-important Stealth Rock which keeps threats like Dragonite and Volcarona at bay. Heatran also acts as a lure and trapper. Magma Storm, Heatran's signature move, makes an appearance on this team for its ability to trap its common switch ins, such as Politoed, Tyranitar, and Blissey. Once they are caught in the fiery vortex, I'll often bring in Terrakion and fire off a Close Combat while Venusaur or Lilligant can take advantage of Politoed. Although the effects of Magma Storm wear off when Heatran switches out, the momentum often remains in my favor.
Magma Storm's accuracy can be annoying at times but the utility it provides for this team merits using it over Fire Blast. Earth Power is for opposing Heatran but it also nails things like Terrakion and Tyranitar that often switch into Heatran. Hidden Power Ice rounds out coverage by hitting Dragon types that commonly resist Magma Storm and Earth Power. Air Balloon is the item of choice since it temporarily negates Heatran's quad Ground weakness and can come in handy for checking certain threats that rely on Earthquake to beat Heatran. It also prevents Dugtrio from trapping Heatran. Speed is maxed to at least tie with opposing Heatran as well as beating neutral base 80's like Dragonite and Gyarados.
THREAT LIST
Latias - CM Latias is definitely the biggest threat to this team. Genesect is my only check to it. If it gets too many boosts or if Genesect dies, I pretty much lose. Thus, I always try to conserve Genesect if I see that my opponent has Latias in his or her party.
Volcarona - HP Ground variants are the main threat. Heatran and Terrakion handle other versions fairly well (Terrakion has to watch out for random Giga Drains and LO Fire Blast), but Dugtrio is usually paired with Volcarona to take those two out. Keeping Heatran's Air Balloon in tact is important.
Tornadus-T - It's a nuisance since nothing on my team really likes taking a Hurricane. It's not as hard to deal with if Sun is active however.
Ninetales @ Leftovers
Trait: Drought
EVs: 56 HP / 252 SAtk / 200 Spd
Modest Nature
IVs: 30 Def / 30 SDef / 30 Spd / 2 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Sunny Day
- Roar
Venusaur @ Life Orb
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 92 Atk / 236 SAtk / 180 Spd
Naive Nature
- Sunny Day
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Earthquake
Lilligant @ Leftovers
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 60 Def / 252 SAtk / 196 Spd
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SAtk / 30 Spd
- Sleep Powder
- Quiver Dance
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Terrakion @ Choice Band
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor
- Quick Attack
Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Download
EVs: 112 Atk / 156 SAtk / 240 Spd
Rash Nature
- U-turn
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam
- Thunder
Heatran @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 3 Atk / 30 Def
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stealth Rock
Trait: Drought
EVs: 56 HP / 252 SAtk / 200 Spd
Modest Nature
IVs: 30 Def / 30 SDef / 30 Spd / 2 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Sunny Day
- Roar
Venusaur @ Life Orb
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 92 Atk / 236 SAtk / 180 Spd
Naive Nature
- Sunny Day
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Earthquake
Lilligant @ Leftovers
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 60 Def / 252 SAtk / 196 Spd
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SAtk / 30 Spd
- Sleep Powder
- Quiver Dance
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Terrakion @ Choice Band
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor
- Quick Attack
Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Download
EVs: 112 Atk / 156 SAtk / 240 Spd
Rash Nature
- U-turn
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam
- Thunder
Heatran @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 3 Atk / 30 Def
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stealth Rock
