Sun-derful to be Here
A Doubles Sun Team
A Doubles Sun Team
So as the (terrible) name suggests, after finding much success with a rain team in ORAS doubles, I wanted to try my hand at a sun team instead. Now, sun teams are something I've dabbled with in the past and have never really had any success with; largely due to my reluctance to use legendary Pokemon and my (poor) decisions to rely on Pokemon that are not competitively viable. So this time around, I wanted to compromise a little; I wanted to build a sun team that had the potential to be successful AND use some of my favourite Pokemon...
Team Building Process:
So I knew from the get-go that I wanted to abuse the sun as much as possible by having some good synergy with Pokemon that covered one another's weaknesses quite well...
I chose Charizard-Y as my automatic sun-setter because of the sheer power it provides, as compared to Ninetales. The only 'caveat' is that I only get 5 turns of sun, rather than a possible 8 (if Ninetales held heat rock), but with the strength of Charizard's attacks, this is normally more than enough.
I then decided to pair Charizard-Y with Heliolisk, to take advantage of its ability Solar Power under the sun. This lets the little lizard hit surprisingly hard, and with enough base speed to outrun a lot of the other threats on the scene, it is quite capable of doings its job well. At the same time, its typing lets it deal with the Water types that Charizard-Y fears, as well as threatening opposing Charizard-Y. I wanted to use Heliolisk over Thundurus-T simply because A) I wanted to build the team around Heliolisk, to some degree, and B) I didn't want two Pokemon that were weak to the omnipresent Rock Slide...
Even though Heliolisk could take some electric hits and survive due to its resistances if necessary, the little lizard was unable to really do much back in return - particularly against opponents like Raichu and Mega Manectric who have access to Lightningrod. I therefore chose Landorus-T as my answer to Electric types, with the added bonus of removing Fire types (particularly Heatran) and being an Intimidate user, too.
To work in tandem with Landorus-T's Intimidate, and to help reduce the threats posed by Mega-Kangaskhan, Talonflame and opposing Landorus-T, I picked Hitmontop to be a bulky support-mon, with access to a powerful STAB Close Combat...
Further abuse of the sun was needed, and I decided that I needed a sweeper that could set up easily enough to sweep outside of the sun if necessary. I therefore added Volcarona to my ranks. Once it has a Quiver Dance under its belt, it becomes very hard to stop. Under the sun? Well its Fire-Type STAB becomes lethal. Plus, it has a good change to punish Physical Attackers with Flame Body burn.
Lastly, I knew that between Landorus-T and Hitmontop's Intimidates, my team had enough utility to improve its physical bulk. What I needed was a specially bulky Pokemon that wasn't just a sponge. After toying around with Cherrim (for its Flower Gift ability) and Cresselia (because she is amazing!), I finally decided on Snorlax. The benefit of this choice was also that it offered a more reliable answer to Trick Room teams.
I chose Charizard-Y as my automatic sun-setter because of the sheer power it provides, as compared to Ninetales. The only 'caveat' is that I only get 5 turns of sun, rather than a possible 8 (if Ninetales held heat rock), but with the strength of Charizard's attacks, this is normally more than enough.
I then decided to pair Charizard-Y with Heliolisk, to take advantage of its ability Solar Power under the sun. This lets the little lizard hit surprisingly hard, and with enough base speed to outrun a lot of the other threats on the scene, it is quite capable of doings its job well. At the same time, its typing lets it deal with the Water types that Charizard-Y fears, as well as threatening opposing Charizard-Y. I wanted to use Heliolisk over Thundurus-T simply because A) I wanted to build the team around Heliolisk, to some degree, and B) I didn't want two Pokemon that were weak to the omnipresent Rock Slide...
Even though Heliolisk could take some electric hits and survive due to its resistances if necessary, the little lizard was unable to really do much back in return - particularly against opponents like Raichu and Mega Manectric who have access to Lightningrod. I therefore chose Landorus-T as my answer to Electric types, with the added bonus of removing Fire types (particularly Heatran) and being an Intimidate user, too.
To work in tandem with Landorus-T's Intimidate, and to help reduce the threats posed by Mega-Kangaskhan, Talonflame and opposing Landorus-T, I picked Hitmontop to be a bulky support-mon, with access to a powerful STAB Close Combat...
Further abuse of the sun was needed, and I decided that I needed a sweeper that could set up easily enough to sweep outside of the sun if necessary. I therefore added Volcarona to my ranks. Once it has a Quiver Dance under its belt, it becomes very hard to stop. Under the sun? Well its Fire-Type STAB becomes lethal. Plus, it has a good change to punish Physical Attackers with Flame Body burn.
Lastly, I knew that between Landorus-T and Hitmontop's Intimidates, my team had enough utility to improve its physical bulk. What I needed was a specially bulky Pokemon that wasn't just a sponge. After toying around with Cherrim (for its Flower Gift ability) and Cresselia (because she is amazing!), I finally decided on Snorlax. The benefit of this choice was also that it offered a more reliable answer to Trick Room teams.
The Team:
Charizard (M) @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Solar Power
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Heat Wave
- Solar Beam
- Air Slash
- Protect
I chose Charizard-Y as my automatic sun setter because of the advantages it has over Ninetales. First of all, it has an incredible Special Attack stat, which ensures that anything hit by its STAB Heat Wave under the sun will be taking a heavy hit, unless they are able to resist it due to typing. Indeed, the only Pokemon that don't get hit hard by Heat Wave are Rock, Ground, Water, Fire and Dragon-types. Because of this, I gave Charizard-Y Solar Beam (which again, benefits from the sun by being able to drop its two-turn setup). This allows Charizard-Y to do serious damage to three of those five types, and has the synergy in combination with Heat Wave to seriously damage rain, sand and hail teams. Lastly (not counting the obligatory Protect, for stalling out Trick Room and for scouting movesets) is Air Slash. Air Slash I chose because it hits fighting types such as Conkeldurr really hard, and has a great Flinch chance, too. This allows it to frighten some of the Pokemon that threaten Heliolisk, too. The spread is very straightforward: 252 evs invested in Speed and Special Attack with a Timid nature to hit hard and fast as possible. The remaining 4 evs are put into Special Defence to keep Charizard-Y's HP at an odd number, allowing it to switch into Stealth Rock twice.
Heliolisk (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Solar Power
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Protect
- Thunderbolt
- Hyper Voice
- Grass Knot
Heliolisk was always planned to work in tandem with Charizard-Y by covering some of its weaknesses and benefiting from the sun via its ability, Solar Power. Protect is obligatory for this set, to defend against Mach Punch from Fighting types and Earthquakes from the likes of both opponents and team mates. Thunderbolt gets STAB and, boosted by Life Orb and Solar Power, hits like a truck. Hyper Voice is secondary STAB to hit both opponents where Thunderbolt is not desirable (for example when Raichu is on the field with Lightningrod), whilst Grass Knot gives it some way of hitting weakened Rock and Ground types. Again, a spread of 252 evs in Special Attack and Speed optimise its sweeping capabilities, and 4 evs in Special Defence allow it more switches into Stealth Rock. I wanted to use Heliolisk over the likes of Thundurus-T to save the team from another Rock Slide weakness, and also since I've always wanted to build a team around it!
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
- U-turn
Landorus-T is a Pokemon that requires little introduction. Legendary by name, and legendary by reputation, it has access to so many traits that benefit the team. Intimidate weakens physical attackers, and its huge base Attack stat combined with an Adamant nature, 252 ev's in Attack and STAB Earthquake make it a reliable answer to Pokemon like Heatran that Charizard can't hit. With 252 EVs in Speed and a Choice Scarf equipped, too, Landorus-T possesses fantastic Speed that allows it to work well with Charizard-Y on the field. I cannot count the number of times this pairing of power has been faced against Heatran, hoping to prevent Charizard-Y's Heat Wave spam and either Amoonguss or Ferrothorn. With Choice Scarf, Landorus-T is able to outspeed Charizard-Y, get off an Earthquake (which Charizard-Y is immune to) and kill off the Heatran; allowing Charizard-Y to Heat Wave safely that turn and kill of the Grass-Type hiding behind its team mate's ability! Rock Slide is there to threaten Pokemon like Talonflame and Charizard-Y (the former of which is neutered to some extent by Intimidate, too), and has an excellent flinch chance. Superpower hits Hydreigon like a truck, as well as Normal types like Mega Kangaskhan, and U-Turn allows for scouting to take place. Nothing more really needs to be said here, as we all know what an amazing Pokemon Landorus-T is!
Hitmontop @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Atk / 60 Def / 60 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Close Combat
- Wide Guard
- Feint
Hitmontop is the surprise, break-out star of the team! With Intimidate, it works great with Landorus-T to reduce down a Physical Attacker's prowess until the rest of the team are able to laugh off a number of attacks, and with Sitrus Berry, the little spinning-top is able to take a couple of extra attacks where needed. So what has made this Pokemon so brilliant in my battle experience? Fake Out? Sure, it is very useful in allowing Pokemon like Volcarona to set up a little easier, and it can stop some threatening Pokemon in their tracks and turn them into sitting ducks for team mates like Landorus-T or Charizard-Y to finish off, but that's not it. Close Combat is Powerful STAB that provides another way to hit Heatran and Bisharp, but that's not it either. It is the combination of Wide Guard and Feint that make Hitmontop irreplaceable on this team. Volcarona, Charizard-Y, Heliolisk, Landorus-T: these are Pokemon that fear the likes of Earthquake, Rock Slide and Icy Wind like the plague. Yet, with Wide Guard - which can be used in multiple succession without issue - these oh-so-common moves offer no threat whiklst Hitmontop is on the field. I cannot tell you how many times Charizard-Y or Volcarona have been able to kill off a Landorus-T, or a Garchomp, or a Sylveon simply because these Pokemon - which are often Choiced in some way - were not able to strike through Wide Guard! And then there is Feint, which allows Hitmontop to break through opposing Protects and Wide Guards; allowing Charizard-Y or Landorus-T to smack down a spread move on an opponent where normally they would be unable to. It is seriously unbelievable how good this little guy is, and how well he has fit into the team. An Adamant nature allows Hitmontop to take advantage of its 120bp STAB move, alongside a generous 136 evs in attack. 252 evs invested into HP, with a further 60 evs invested in each Defence and Special Defences allows Hitmontop to survive a multitude of different attacks and continue to support the team.
Volcarona (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Protect
- Quiver Dance
- Giga Drain
- Flamethrower
Volcarona is a funny one. It is certainly powerful, and access to Quiver Dance makes it a threatening sweeper if it can set up. And if is the operative word. You see, Volcarona can either sweep whole teams with a Quiver Dance or two under its belt, or can be completely destroyed if disallowed setup depending on how strong an answer the opponent has for it. Again, I have opted for a Timid nature and 252 Speed EVs to improve its chances of getting up a Quiver Dance fast, since its Special Attack will be bolstered by the stat boost anyway (and 252 evs in Special Attack coming off of such a high base stat is still enough to get off plenty of damage). With 4 Special Defence EVs, the benefits of Quiver Dance's Special Defence boosts are slightly improved, and I am also able to keep Volcarona at an odd number of HP - allow it to switch into Stealth Rock twice. Flame Body has a good chance to burn Physical Attackers that hit it, mitigating its low defences somewhat, whilst a Life Orb augments Volcarona's already sky-high Special Attack to provide some killer hits under the sun. As the team already has a Heat Wave user, and to lessen the weakness to Wide Guard if Hitmontop is not on the field, I have opted for Flamethrower on this set. The damage is not reduced by being a multi-target attack, giving it a higher damage output than Heat Wave as well as a chance to burn. Giga Drain is chosen over Bug Buzz to give Volcarona more options against Pokemon like Politoed, Gastrodon, Swampert and other Ground or Rock types that would normally wall it, and after a Quiver Dance (or two) these Pokemon are as good as done for. Lastly, Protect is used to stall out Trick Room or Tailwind and offers some scouting ability to Volcarona.
Snorlax (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Heavy Slam
Last, but certainly not least, is Snorlax - another of the break-out stars of the team. With 160/65/110 defences, an Assault Vest and 252 Evs invested in Defence, Snorlax can a large number of hits; and Thick Fat further reduces its fear of Ice and Fire-type attacks. However, I didn't want my primarily-Special Wall to be just a sponge. I had already experimented with other Pokemon such as Cresslia and Cherrim (for its ability) which had seen some success, but despite being great Pokemon (at least in Cresslia's case!), they simply didn't hit back hard enough. With 252 EVs in Attack and a Brave nature, Snorlax hits hard off a 110 base Attack Stat, as well as taking hits! Brave was chosen over Adamant to give the team a way to benefit from Trick Room, and provide a reliable way to fight back if the opponent is able to set it up. Body Slam is a STAB move with decent base power that is preferred over Return for its chance to Paralyze the enemy, whilst Fire Punch benefits from the Sun and gives Snorlax a way to hit Steel Types such as Ferrothorn hard. Earthquake is just too useful a move to pass up; hitting Heatran hard whilst taking a pittance back in return (Modest Heatran's Heat Wave has a chance to 8HKO, whilst Flash Cannon is still only a possible 5HKO!) Heavy Slam is used in the last slot to hit Fairy types as hard as possible; particularly the ever-prevalent Sylveon as well as Gardevoir - both Mega and otherwise.
Conclusion:
So that's the team as it stands, and I have to say that I have been having consistently great results playing with and testing it on Showdown. It has some excellent synergy, and with some prediction (and a few well-timed Wide Guard's) has been able to 6-0 and 5-0 a number of teams. The only Pokemon I'm currently unsure about it Volcarona, as I don't know whether there are better options that I could replace it with; perhaps this is something you guys and gals could help me out with?
I thank you for taking the time to look over my team, and I look forward to reading all your feedback!
