~SUNSHINE~
♫ Walkin' on sunshine, woah-oh ~
Overview
With the addition of Drought Ninetales, sun has become a very viable weather playstyle in OU. In Dream World however, there are even more benefits. In the Dream World metagame, Blaziken, a huge threat that was deemed uber, is released, and allowed into gameplay again. Blaziken is arguably one of sun's biggest powerhouses, being able to destroy the opposition even without a Swords Dance boost. Being able to use Baton Pass also helps it further as a team player. Because the Dream World allows certain moves and unreleased Pokemon / Dream World abilities that may have been illegal thanks to real limitations, the metagame is diverse, and full of possibilities.
One reason I wanted to make this thread is to help readers get a better sense of just how powerful and useful sun can be in the Dream World Metagame. As it stands, sun is probably the least common weather in the metagame, with sandstorm and rain teams overflowing the ladder, probably because of things such as Excadrill being unbanned, the release of Keldeo, etc. However, sun has a great many threats of their own, and if used correctly, can easily dominate other weather teams.
Effects of Sun
The following effects occur while Sunny Day is active:
- The Base Power of Fire-type moves is increased by 50%
- Pokemon with the ability Chlorophyll have their Speed doubled
- The Base Power of Water-type moves is decreased by 50%
- SolarBeam's charge turn is removed
- Growth increases Attack and Special Attack by two stages
- Sunlight prevents the freeze status from being inflicted
- Thunder's and Hurricane's accuracy is reduced to 50%
- Weather Ball effectively becomes a 150 Base Power Fire-type move
- Synthesis, Moonlight, and Morning Sun recover 66% of the user's HP
- Pokemon with the ability Solar Power have their Special Attack increased by 50% but lose 12.5% of their maximum HP per turn
- Pokemon with the ability Leaf Guard become immune to status (note: the user is prevented from using the move Rest)
- Pokemon with the Dry Skin ability lose 12.5% of their maximum HP per turn
- Cherrim and Castform change formes
Of the above listed effects of sun, the most important pertaining to battle are: Chlorophyll Pokemon get their Speed doubled, Fire-type moves' Base Power is increased, Water-type moves' Base Power is decreased, and SolarBeam's charge turn is removed. Sun may seem inferior to the other weather playstyles because of the lack of abusers, but in reality, there are plenty of abusers, as it can range from Chlorophyll users such as Venusaur, to powerful Fire-types such as Blaziken and Volcarona, and more. Many of the other Chlorophyll abusers are in the lower tiers, which may also explain the relative lack of sun teams on the Dream World ladder.
Another important thing to note is that Ninetales suffers from a weakness to the other two main weather setters; Tyranitar and Politoed both have the type advantage against Ninetales, meaning that Ninetales will almost always lose when paired against them. This is why sun teams are particularly hard to use and execute well, as Ninetales is rather fragile, and even suffers a weakness to Stealth Rock. Sun players must always exercise caution when playing with Ninetales, as they must preserve it for as long as possible, at least until the opposing weather setter has fallen.
The Pokemon
Being the sun-bringer, Ninetales is obviously the most important member of any sun team. Despite its relatively low stats, it can hit hard with a sun-boosted STAB Fire Blast, and it also has many support moves such as Hypnosis, Will-O-Wisp, and more, so that you can cripple your unsuspecting opponent. As mentioned previously, Ninetales is such a crucial member of any sun team such that playing with it must be taken with extreme caution. Chlorophyll sweepers are near-useless without the sun provided by Ninetales.
A common mistake that new players will do is to always lead with Ninetales. While this may seem like a great idea in order to get the weather in your favor, it is not always a good idea, unless your opponent has no weather setter of any kind. Even then, you shouldn't play recklessly with Ninetales, as the opponent may carry some sort of weather move in order to combat other weather teams.
Taken directly from the Dream World analysis for Ninetales, the following quote explains why Ninetales should not be used as a lead under most circumstances:
Here is an example set, perhaps Ninetales's most common set, as it comes in handy against other weather setters such as Tyranitar and Politoed.Ninetales Analysis said:A common mistake for new players is to use Ninetales as a lead to bring in the sunshine immediately. It must be stressed, however, that no Ninetales set functions as a lead unless the other team lacks an instant weather starter. The reason for this is that Ninetales outspeeds Tyranitar, Politoed, and Hippowdon, who will always get their weather up, as opposed to sun, when used one-on-one. You might think of reducing Ninetales's Speed to nearly guarantee instant sun in the lead position. However, it is nearly impossible to underspeed Hippowdon without the extremely gimmicky Iron Ball, and Ninetales's high 100 base Speed is almost as vital to its success as Drought! Obviously, Ninetales will be forced to switch out, fearing a super effective attack from Tyranitar or Politoed, giving instant momentum to your opponent. Use your first turn to set up entry hazards instead of losing your weather setter so early in the match.
Ninetales (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drought
EVs: 12 HP / 252 SAtk / 184 SDef / 60 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Sunny Day
- Fire Blast
- SolarBeam
- Will-O-Wisp
For more information about this set and how to use it, please check out the analysis here.
Venusaur is the face of sun sweepers around. It has received the ability Chlorophyll from the Dream World, which by now you should know doubles its Speed in the sun. Although Venusaur may possess a rather underwhelming stat spread, its movepool more than makes up for that. With access to moves such as Sleep Powder, Growth, Giga Drain (which was previously illegal with Chlorophyll), SolarBeam, Sludge Bomb, Leech Seed, and more, Venusaur is a powerful all-around threat that every sun player should consider as an addition to their team. After a single Growth in the sun, Venusaur's Attack AND Special Attack is doubled, instantly turning it into a monstrous powerhouse.
Here is an example set, should you wish to try it out.
Venusaur (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 32 HP / 252 SAtk / 224 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Growth
Blaziken, a starter Pokemon that has come a long way, first to be pushed into the Ubers tier thanks to its ridiculously good Dream World ability, Speed Boost. In the Dream World metagame however, Blaziken is back and ready to burn its opponents into a charred crisp. In the Dream World, Blaziken is also able to use Baton Pass, which enables it to become a great partner on a Baton Pass chain, as it doesn't need to worry about boosting its Speed. A great overall sweeper, and it can function inside and outside of sun just as well.
One last example set:
Blaziken (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Protect
- Swords Dance
- Hi Jump Kick
- Flare Blitz
Discussion
To differ from what the usual weather threads end up turning into, I'm going to highlight several discussion options that I think will help this thread go in the right direction.
Talk about why sun isn't as prevalent in the Dream World metagame:
- I've already outlined several reasons, but tell me what you think about it.
- Why isn't sun more popular, especially as it has so many great sweepers to choose from?
- How can it become more popular?
Discuss different sun teams:
- Post your thoughts and ideas here on different sun teams; be creative! Think outside the box, and come up with strategies that sun teams can use in order to be effective and efficient.
- What makes a good sun team? Discuss this in detail here.
How can we make sun a more popular playstyle?
- Sun is, like I said previously, not the most popular playstyle.
- How can we change that?
- What works best on a sun team?
- What are the defining aspects of sun teams that make them stand out in the crowd?
- What is so great about sun anyway?