Sandstorm on the DS, need help

[Lady Vader]

This is the Sandstorm team I currently have on Pokemon Black. The following Pokemon have been EV trained and gotten to level 100 and have the listed items and movesets. I really need help on getting it better, but in a way that is easy to accomplish on the DS.


Godzilla (Tyranitar) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Superpower


Tyranitar is my lead Pokemon. Her purpose is to summon sandstorm and to kill varous threats with three good STAB moves and the always useful Superpower to kill threats that are just as weak to Fighting as her.


Her major vulnerability is her x4 Fighting weakness, which I cover with Jellicent.


Nattorei (Ferrothorn) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 8 Def / 248 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Spikes


This thing drives my opponents mad, plain and simple. He goes it on resisted moves, sets up, and my opponent can't do much, unless they have their own Ferrorthorn. I've seen super-effective moves bounce off it and stall like a champ. This Pokemon has and probably will continue saving my behind in battles.


Like Tyranitar, Ferrothorn has a x4 weakness which is his problem, Fire, and like Tyranitar, it is covered by Jellicent.


Albert (Jellicent) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 236 HP / 20 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Scald
- Recover
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp


I can't believe how well this well mustached Pokemon has performed over the past year. Jellicent is both my bulky Water and my Spinblocker, and he does excellently in both roles. I originally gave it Toxic as Scald already burns and I feel it is redundant to have a second move that does the same thing, but I realized how much better it is at countering Steel-types and Terrakion. Also, it can takes 3 Thunderbolts from Starmie to KO it, while Shadow Ball knocks it out before that can happen. Jellicent's main role is to patch up weaknesses in my team, mainly Fighting and Fire.


Psybear (Reuniclus) (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Recover
- Focus Blast


I like Reuniclus, but I feel like I need something else. While he is immune to Sandstorm, entry hazards, and can use Life Orb for free, I find it dies before I can even set up.


His role is as a bulky special attacker, boosting with Calm Mind to make it's Special stats even larger than it already is, Recovering off damage, and knocking things off with Psychic and Focus Blast.


Darmani (Donphan) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Roar


After Excadrill was banished to Ubers, I had to find a Rapid Spinner, and I decided on Donphan, since I didn't want to use Forretress since I already had Ferrothorn, a Pokemon I prefer better. She has incredible Defense stat, able to stand up to even super-effective physical moves with barely a mark. She has an extra Stealth Rock in case I need it, Earthquake to fight and take out grounded foes and Roar to phase them away. My only problem with Donphan is her low speed and special defense.


Heatran (F) @ Leftovers Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 212 SDef / 40 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- Lava Plume
- Protect
- Roar

I don't have to worry about Fire moves with Heatran around. With immunity to Burn and Poison, this is a hard Pokemon to kill. Stealth Rock is always a great move and is good in case Donphan is knocked out. Protect can help it survive and to scout moves. Roar is always useful to phaze annoying foes, especially Calm Mind Suicune who happen to be asleep (always is a good idea). Lava Plume is my perfered STAB on Heatran as it is a Fire version of Scald (or, more accurately, Scald is a Water version of Lava Plume), so it is great.
The only problem is Heatran's major weakness to Earthquake, which, if I want to later on, change to Air Balloon.

------------------------------------------

Ok, over all, I have major weaknesses to several major Pokemon, namely Terrakion and Conkeldurr, who both can KO virtually all the Pokemon on my team. Now, I have several EV trained Pokemon in my box that can go into my team when I need it (a special Lucario and a Sub Terrakion are finished, with a Skarmory and Sigilyph waiting to be trained. I also have an okay Scizor with out being able to learn Bug Bite). I need suggestions on how to improve this team that will work on the DS and be easy to build. I can't use anything that requires the use of Hidden Power and Dream World will be hard to get working with help, though I am trying to get either a Nidoran (F) or a Gligar from a friend so I can breed one of them (into Nidoking or Gliscor), as they will counter my weakness to Fighting. I can't get any legend from Gen IV games that would be immune to Sandstorm and be able to fight, so don't suggest Heatran unless you'd be willing to trade one of the proper nature to me. I only have 4 Leftovers, so keep that in mind when making suggestions, as it will be a while before I can get the two on my copy of White. A quick note: I am not good with Choice Items. I don't like them and they don't seem to like me. I don't use them often, and only on Pokemon Online, since I have other items I need to get from Battle Subway first.

 

[JSteele]

i reccomend Trick Room Reuniclus, hell surprise you with his sweeping capabilities.

 

[Honus]

Hey not a bad team at all.

Anyways I do see a weakness of your to Conkeldurr and Terrakion, but that can be fixed pretty easily. For one thing I think you can get rid of Psyshock on Reuniclus and replace it with Psychic. With Psychic, Reuniclus becomes one of, if not the best Conkeldurr counters in the game, as its great bulk lets it takes even boosted Paybacks with ease while Psychic cuts through Conkeldurr like a hot knife through butter [it does 73.23% - 86.61%] at +0/0 while Payback is a rough 3HKO. Psyshock really isn't needed, as you usually win against Virizion anyways and in most CM Wars it doesn't do enough to 2HKO without the aid of crits [can't 2HKO other CM Reuniclus even if at +6]. Anyways, I'm seeing a bit of a weakness to Offensive Sun teams. This team has pretty big problems with Pokemon like Volcarona and Victini that take advantage of stronger fire attacks and weaker water attacks to get past Jellicent, and since they outspeed your whole team, you may have trouble stopping them. Volcarona in particular is quite threatening as it's able to set up on Ferrothorn before proceeding to sweep your entire team by outspeeding and KOing them all with boosted Bug Buzz / Fire Attack. Chlorophyll Sweepers also seem annoying for this team, as Sawsbuck and Venusaur are both able to pull off a nice sweep late game, given their boosted Speed and the fact that they can both take an Ice Shard. Anyways I'd really like to advocate a Specially Defensive Heatran in the place of your Mamoswine. Mamoswine isn't being used as a Scarfer, so it really doesn't seem to have much purpose on a stall team; you're better off checking threats, and having Heatran on your team pretty much eliminates the threat of sun since it's also paired with Tyranitar. Tyranitar can change the weather while Specially Defensive Heatran checks pretty much every common abuser of sun save Victini or Infernape, but both of them are almost always choiced, so you can Protect and make the correct decision afterwards.

Heatran (M) @ Leftovers]
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 212 SDef / 40 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock [use Toxic if you take this and not the ScarfTar suggestion]
- Lava Plume
- Protect
- Roar

Change Summary:

Reuniclus:
Psyshock-> Psychic

Finally, I think this team would really benefit from a Scarf Tyranitar. All stall teams love a revenge killer, but ScarfTar does so much more. For one thing, it's an additional check to both Terrakion and Sawsbuck with Superpower, assuring that they don't outright sweep [although Reuniclus takes both on pretty handily]. Scarf Tyranitar also gives you an additional means of blocking Rapid Spin by beating Starmie, as you can lure it in before pursuit trapping it into oblivion. Scarf Tyranitar is also one of, if not the best partner for Calm Mind Reuniclus when used in conjunction with Spikes. Most stall teams use one of the following Pokemon to beat CM Reuniclus: Jirachi, Celebi, Latias, Stallbreak Mew, Deoxys-D. All of them except Latias are vulnerable to Spikes, but that's ok since Latias is outright destroyed by Tyranitar. Anyways the strategy you can utilize to get an easy sweep for Reuniclus against opposing stall is to get some Spikes down and send in Reuniclus to lure these Pokemon in and then double switch in your Tyranitar. You will usually be able to Pursuit Latias/Celebi/Deoxys-D since the opponent will need them for Reuniclus, although Mew and Jirachi require you to have them accumulate a lot of residual but Heatran can force both of them back out into the hazards, Jirachi especially. Overall, Scarf Tyranitar is just a fantastic asset for stall, especially when you use it with CM Reuniclus. Finally, I'd like to reccomend using Will O Wisp over Toxic on Jellicent, this is mainly to counter Mynism Toxicroak [SD + 3 Attacks] and Lucario better and assuring that they won't be able to sweep you, without Will O Wisp they can simply continue to boost [Toxicroak in particular since it's immune to Scald] as you can't hinder them too much.

Tyranitar (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Superpower

Change Summary:

Jellicent:
Toxic-> Will O' Wisp

GL, this team was a pleasure to rate :)

 

[Lady Vader]

Hey not a bad team at all.

Anyways I do see a weakness of your to Conkeldurr and Terrakion, but that can be fixed pretty easily. For one thing I think you can get rid of Psyshock on Reuniclus and replace it with Psychic. With Psychic, Reuniclus becomes one of, if not the best Conkeldurr counters in the game, as its great bulk lets it takes even boosted Paybacks with ease while Psychic cuts through Conkeldurr like a hot knife through butter [it does 73.23% - 86.61%] at +0/0 while Payback is a rough 3HKO. Psyshock really isn't needed, as you usually win against Virizion anyways and in most CM Wars it doesn't do enough to 2HKO without the aid of crits [can't 2HKO other CM Reuniclus even if at +6]. Anyways, I'm seeing a bit of a weakness to Offensive Sun teams. This team has pretty big problems with Pokemon like Volcarona and Victini that take advantage of stronger fire attacks and weaker water attacks to get past Jellicent, and since they outspeed your whole team, you may have trouble stopping them. Volcarona in particular is quite threatening as it's able to set up on Ferrothorn before proceeding to sweep your entire team by outspeeding and KOing them all with boosted Bug Buzz / Fire Attack. Chlorophyll Sweepers also seem annoying for this team, as Sawsbuck and Venusaur are both able to pull off a nice sweep late game, given their boosted Speed and the fact that they can both take an Ice Shard. Anyways I'd really like to advocate a Specially Defensive Heatran in the place of your Mamoswine. Mamoswine isn't being used as a Scarfer, so it really doesn't seem to have much purpose on a stall team; you're better off checking threats, and having Heatran on your team pretty much eliminates the threat of sun since it's also paired with Tyranitar. Tyranitar can change the weather while Specially Defensive Heatran checks pretty much every common abuser of sun save Victini or Infernape, but both of them are almost always choiced, so you can Protect and make the correct decision afterwards.

Heatran (M) @ Leftovers]
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 212 SDef / 40 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock [use Toxic if you take this and not the ScarfTar suggestion]
- Lava Plume
- Protect
- Roar

Change Summary:

Reuniclus:
Psyshock-> Psychic

Finally, I think this team would really benefit from a Scarf Tyranitar. All stall teams love a revenge killer, but ScarfTar does so much more. For one thing, it's an additional check to both Terrakion and Sawsbuck with Superpower, assuring that they don't outright sweep [although Reuniclus takes both on pretty handily]. Scarf Tyranitar also gives you an additional means of blocking Rapid Spin by beating Starmie, as you can lure it in before pursuit trapping it into oblivion. Scarf Tyranitar is also one of, if not the best partner for Calm Mind Reuniclus when used in conjunction with Spikes. Most stall teams use one of the following Pokemon to beat CM Reuniclus: Jirachi, Celebi, Latias, Stallbreak Mew, Deoxys-D. All of them except Latias are vulnerable to Spikes, but that's ok since Latias is outright destroyed by Tyranitar. Anyways the strategy you can utilize to get an easy sweep for Reuniclus against opposing stall is to get some Spikes down and send in Reuniclus to lure these Pokemon in and then double switch in your Tyranitar. You will usually be able to Pursuit Latias/Celebi/Deoxys-D since the opponent will need them for Reuniclus, although Mew and Jirachi require you to have them accumulate a lot of residual but Heatran can force both of them back out into the hazards, Jirachi especially. Overall, Scarf Tyranitar is just a fantastic asset for stall, especially when you use it with CM Reuniclus. Finally, I'd like to reccomend using Will O Wisp over Toxic on Jellicent, this is mainly to counter Mynism Toxicroak [SD + 3 Attacks] and Lucario better and assuring that they won't be able to sweep you, without Will O Wisp they can simply continue to boost [Toxicroak in particular since it's immune to Scald] as you can't hinder them too much.

Tyranitar (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Superpower

Change Summary:

Jellicent:
Toxic-> Will O' Wisp

GL, this team was a pleasure to rate :)

Trust me, I would love to use Heatran. I even use it on my Online team, but I don't have a Calm Heatran on my games. And since I can't reset Platinum (it has most of my valuable Pokemon and was my first game) and my copy of Diamond doesn't work half the time (it was used), I can't get one. If anyone is willing to trade me one with a nickname of "Heatran", I can't use it.
I will try the ScarfTar and the other changes. If I like them, I will change the original post.

EDIT: Tried it with ScarfTar and Heatran, and so far so good.
EDIT 2: The changes are terrific. I can't add Heatran until I can get one on my DS, so until then, I need other suggestions.
EDIT 3: I managed to clean my copy of Diamond and it now works. I just need to get through the game real quick and obtain Heatran.

 

[XcRunner]

Hey the team is pretty good actually. I feel as if Donphan is unnecessary though as Heatran is basically doing the same thing. To replace him I'd recommend Landorus as an offensive threat that also helps a bit with your fighting weakness. Here's the set
Landorus@Expert Belt
Naive
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-U-turn
-HP Ice (if you can get it. If not then smack down may be a decent idea here)
252 att/4 spA/252 spe

hope this helped. The team looks pretty good

 

[Lady Vader]

Only problem with that is that I need a Rapid Spinner and I don't like Forretress as much as Ferrothorn.