heya everyone, I've been having a lot of fun with this sand team lately, so I wanted to come here and see if I could get some help ironing out the flaws with it. the main idea of the team will become extremely apparent extremely quickly.
THE TEAM:
THE MAIN MAN:
Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- High Horsepower
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
The drillman himself is the thing this entire team revolves around. Full atk investment and life orb leads to ludicrously powerful STAB earthquakes, and getting into a situation where you can throw them out constantly is what the team is all about. Some other members of the team can also perform the same earthquake spam as Excadrill, but none with as much power. The rest of his kit is mostly filler; iron head is a strong attack that can let you fish for cheesy flinches. High Horsepower is a slightly stronger STAB Exca can use when it only wants to target one pokemon for some reason, and Rock Slide acts as a budget earthquake he can throw out when he cant use earthquake without killing his teammates, or when his opponents are flying type. I don't run Choice Band with it because while it would lead to higher damage, there are more situations then you would think where I'm stuck into using a move I don't want to, even earthquake.
THE MAIN MAN'S BODYGUARD:
Landorus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Force
EVs: 124 HP / 44 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Knock Off
- Smack Down
Excadrill's partner in crime, Landorus is the second pillar this team stands on. Landorus's flying type means that Excadrill's earthquakes will go right under it, letting him throw them out as much as he wants without hurting his teammate, without even having to use protect. Smack Down is Lando's most important move, for obvious reasons; it makes opposing flying types vulnerable to ground type moves, letting Excadrill and the other earthquaker's go at it. Knock Off deals with psychics and stally pokemon that rely on leftovers, as well as greatly hindering choice item pokemon. Hammer Arm is one of the few options the team has to deal with opposing sand teams/rock types. Explosion is a nice last resort if your teammate is low and you want to finish both opposing pokemon. Lando's Sand Force earthquake can be extremely devastating, as long as your teammate has protect to save themselves.
THE WEATHER SETTER:
Tyranitar @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpA
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Rock Slide
- Protect
- Crunch
- Fire Punch
the team's main sandstorm setter is no slouch in the offensive department. STAB Rock Slide may not be as powerful as earthquake, but it is definitely in the running. Protect lets it protect itself from its allies earthquakes so they can throw them out willy nilly. Crunch deals with psychic types, and fire punch makes mincemeat of Ferrothorn, Corviknight, as well as other steel or grass types. Keeping the weather setters alive to keep setting it up is crucial, so Sitrus berry gives it some more survivability.
THE SECOND WHEEL:
Dracovish @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Fishious Rend
- Ice Fang
What I would consider to be the second strongest member of the team behind Excadrill, Dracovish provides powerful STAB Fishous Rend, with its Sand Rush ability letting it almost always go first and take out troublesome pokemon. Ice Fang allows it to take out all the powerful dragon types running around, and earthquake lets Draco mimic Excadrill if they aren't available. Choice Band makes it even stronger than Excadrill at times; I haven't run into nearly as many situations where I'm locked into using a move I don't want to with Draco compared to Excadrill.
THE WEATHER SETTER, PART 2:
Gigalith @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Rock Slide
- Heavy Slam
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
Gigalith serves the purpose of being the second weather setter, as well as a strong physical attacker. Rock Slide serves the same purpose as it does with Tyranitar, and heavy slam deals tons of damage due to Gigalith's large weight. Stone edge smashes bulky flying types that can survive Rock Slide, and Superpower is another way to deal with opposing rock types. not much else to say here, just a pretty solid member of the team.
THE THIRD WHEEL:
Dracozolt @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 184 Atk / 140 SpA / 184 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Bolt Beak
- Draco Meteor
- Discharge
- Fire Spin
The final member of the team is the third member of the sand rush trio, and they're just as deadly as the first two. It runs a mix attacker set with EV's in both ATK and SpA, allowing it to use it's strongest STAB's on both end of the type spectrum: Bolt Beak, and Draco Meteor. Bolt Beak deals double damage if Zolt goes first, and with Sand Rush increasing it's speed immensely, it will almost always go first and deal insane damage. Draco Meteor shuts down almost anything that resists Bolt Beak with raw power, and Discharge is decent if your opponent has two electric-weak pokemon out. If your opponent has a pokemon with regenerator like Amoonguss or one that likes to switch out in general, Fire Spin keeps them in.
And that's the team! Tell me what you think about it and where you think it could improve.
THE TEAM:
THE MAIN MAN:
Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- High Horsepower
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
The drillman himself is the thing this entire team revolves around. Full atk investment and life orb leads to ludicrously powerful STAB earthquakes, and getting into a situation where you can throw them out constantly is what the team is all about. Some other members of the team can also perform the same earthquake spam as Excadrill, but none with as much power. The rest of his kit is mostly filler; iron head is a strong attack that can let you fish for cheesy flinches. High Horsepower is a slightly stronger STAB Exca can use when it only wants to target one pokemon for some reason, and Rock Slide acts as a budget earthquake he can throw out when he cant use earthquake without killing his teammates, or when his opponents are flying type. I don't run Choice Band with it because while it would lead to higher damage, there are more situations then you would think where I'm stuck into using a move I don't want to, even earthquake.
THE MAIN MAN'S BODYGUARD:
Landorus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Force
EVs: 124 HP / 44 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Knock Off
- Smack Down
Excadrill's partner in crime, Landorus is the second pillar this team stands on. Landorus's flying type means that Excadrill's earthquakes will go right under it, letting him throw them out as much as he wants without hurting his teammate, without even having to use protect. Smack Down is Lando's most important move, for obvious reasons; it makes opposing flying types vulnerable to ground type moves, letting Excadrill and the other earthquaker's go at it. Knock Off deals with psychics and stally pokemon that rely on leftovers, as well as greatly hindering choice item pokemon. Hammer Arm is one of the few options the team has to deal with opposing sand teams/rock types. Explosion is a nice last resort if your teammate is low and you want to finish both opposing pokemon. Lando's Sand Force earthquake can be extremely devastating, as long as your teammate has protect to save themselves.
THE WEATHER SETTER:
Tyranitar @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpA
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Rock Slide
- Protect
- Crunch
- Fire Punch
the team's main sandstorm setter is no slouch in the offensive department. STAB Rock Slide may not be as powerful as earthquake, but it is definitely in the running. Protect lets it protect itself from its allies earthquakes so they can throw them out willy nilly. Crunch deals with psychic types, and fire punch makes mincemeat of Ferrothorn, Corviknight, as well as other steel or grass types. Keeping the weather setters alive to keep setting it up is crucial, so Sitrus berry gives it some more survivability.
THE SECOND WHEEL:
Dracovish @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Fishious Rend
- Ice Fang
What I would consider to be the second strongest member of the team behind Excadrill, Dracovish provides powerful STAB Fishous Rend, with its Sand Rush ability letting it almost always go first and take out troublesome pokemon. Ice Fang allows it to take out all the powerful dragon types running around, and earthquake lets Draco mimic Excadrill if they aren't available. Choice Band makes it even stronger than Excadrill at times; I haven't run into nearly as many situations where I'm locked into using a move I don't want to with Draco compared to Excadrill.
THE WEATHER SETTER, PART 2:
Gigalith @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Rock Slide
- Heavy Slam
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
Gigalith serves the purpose of being the second weather setter, as well as a strong physical attacker. Rock Slide serves the same purpose as it does with Tyranitar, and heavy slam deals tons of damage due to Gigalith's large weight. Stone edge smashes bulky flying types that can survive Rock Slide, and Superpower is another way to deal with opposing rock types. not much else to say here, just a pretty solid member of the team.
THE THIRD WHEEL:
Dracozolt @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 184 Atk / 140 SpA / 184 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Bolt Beak
- Draco Meteor
- Discharge
- Fire Spin
The final member of the team is the third member of the sand rush trio, and they're just as deadly as the first two. It runs a mix attacker set with EV's in both ATK and SpA, allowing it to use it's strongest STAB's on both end of the type spectrum: Bolt Beak, and Draco Meteor. Bolt Beak deals double damage if Zolt goes first, and with Sand Rush increasing it's speed immensely, it will almost always go first and deal insane damage. Draco Meteor shuts down almost anything that resists Bolt Beak with raw power, and Discharge is decent if your opponent has two electric-weak pokemon out. If your opponent has a pokemon with regenerator like Amoonguss or one that likes to switch out in general, Fire Spin keeps them in.
And that's the team! Tell me what you think about it and where you think it could improve.
Last edited:
