Blistering Heat! An OU Sun Team

[Charge]

Blistering Heat

Sun Team created by me and with the help of members from Smogon server. I love you guys.

Team-building Process

And so, I have always love Heatran. This is probably because of the movie and Heatran looks badass in it so yeah. Heatran it is.

And since I'm at it, why don't I make a FWG core? I always disliked to use FWG core because it's basic and I don't want to make the same core as everybody else. But after that, I think that that's stupid. As long as it works, who cares? Venusaur is mah favourite starter for Gen 1 and Slowbro is ridiculously cute(no pun intended) plus the fact they are perfectly viable in this gen so that settles it.

And of course, with the addition of Venusaur, Ninetales is a must. I decided to make a Sun team in the first place so Ninetales is a staple anyway. No, don't tell me Rain / Sand is better. Fuck it.

Mamoswine joins the because I need a Revenge Killer since none of them of the current members work and Dragons is gonna give me a hell of a time. Mamoswine is perfect also because it has access to priority moves and Earthquake, which I need because Tyranitars will give me a hard time if I rely on Special attacks. Latias was here before but I got rid of her as she doesn't have any priority move and I don't want to risk speed tying with Latios. Plus the fact she is another special attacker.

Jirachi has access to Stealth Rock. It can help the team by giving Para support and Iron Head flinches and being a Special Wall too.

Introduction

Hell yeah I'm back for another RMT. My previous RMT is ignored because I'm being stupid and put Swift Swim on Ludicolo. Anyway, I'm Charge on Smogon server. Some of you might know me, some of you might not. As some of you might know, I have made like, over 9000 teams and none of them worked for me. And so, I've been searching all over the internet for guides on how to make a team and trying to find the perfect formula to make a perfect team. So, during one free afternoon, I sat down and think thoroughly. How to build a team? I thought of the OU meta and weather came into my mind. Weather team is by far one of the most effective type of team in today's metagame and I'm going to attempt to build one. I've tried Sandstorm, Rain and even Hail. None of them worked for me. I don't want to try out Sun because it seems "noobish" to me until I came across Benlisted's Sun article. It inspired me to build a Sunny Day team and thus, I found out the sheer power Sunny Day teams possess. I'm proud to say that this team, did not fail me. Katakiri's and Benlisted's RMT both gave me idea on how to construct a team. I am new to competitive battling(not really new but considered new) and I don't know how to make my own EV spreads so I get some spreads from here and there just to experiment with the spreads and tweak accordingly and creating my own unique team. Okay, this is getting boring and here's the team!

Ninetales (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drought
EVs: 244 HP / 8 SpA / 92 SpD / 164 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Will-O-Wisp
- Confuse Ray
- Roar

By far the best set I've ever made for my Ninetales. I put 8 SpA EVs for that little "oomph" for the Fire Blast. Will-O-Wisp for burning purposes. Confuse Ray is for Physical attackers. Roar is really just there to get rid of that Ninjask that is trying to Baton Pass. Smeargle will sometimes outspeed me and Spore but that's really it. I will just spam Roar and I will wake up and reset the stat changes. Brilliant.

Things to consider: Confuse Ray. I don't see myself using it at all sometimes. Energy Ball might be a good alternative to hit Politoeds?

Venusaur (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature (+SpA, -Atk)
- Growth
- SolarBeam
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Aww...Look at this cute little Venusaur. It's friendly, but try not to provoke it. Deadly under the sun with Chlorophyll in effect. Outspeeding almost everything in the meta under the sun. I don't know why, but people tend to switch out when Venusaur is in play, allowing to me to snag a free Growth or two. SolarBeam. Sheer awesomeness. Sludge Bomb. I tried Earthquake but it doesn't really provide as much coverage as it does for Sludge Bomb. Yes, it might be able to let me hit Heatran for SE damage. But if Heatran or whatever Fire types has Air Balloon = GG. Hidden Power Fire for the win. Done. Pure awesomeness. Epic. Okay, maybe I shall stop here.

Heatran (M) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 60 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 192 Spe
Modest Nature (+SpA, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Flame Charge
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Now...Heatran isn't as scary as it looks now doesn't it? xD This cute little thing is the Flash Fire user on my team. It absorbs Fire attacks for...Venusaur, Mamoswine and Jirachi. Important role. Benlisted's Sun Article suggested that Heatran can use Flame Charge. I tried and it worked great. At +1, I'm sitting at 355 speed, at +2, I'm sitting at 474(??? I forgot) speed. Enough to outspeed tons of things. Heatran without Air Balloon can be easily fucked by my Heatran with an Air Balloon. Which is why, children, balloon is always good. Just that it's too fragile don't you think? /trollface.jpg

Things to consider: Should I get rid of Flame Charge? Because I don't see myself using it but it helps in many situations. And any better EV spreads?

Slowbro (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Slack Off
- Surf
- Fire Blast

Now, this Slowbro has this, "Hey Bob!" expression. Which is ridiculously cute. Anyway, Calm Mind Slowbro. There's just this one thing people need to know about Slowbros. They can run CM. Sometimes, people just stay in on my CM Slowbr, thinking they can kill it and got surprise buttraped. No, an unboosted Bug Bite from Scizor will not kill me but I can OHKO it with unboosted Fire Blast. Even though with CM, Slowbro's SpA will not reach this ridiculous level whereby it can KO everything, it's still acceptable I guess.

Things to consider: Surf. Under the sun, Surf is pretty much useless. But without Sun, it works quite nicely. So, there's a bit of a problem here.

Mamoswine (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Snow Cloak
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Icicle Crash
- Stone Edge

Yes, that is how godly my Mamoswine is. Walking under the sun, eyes closed. Your Mamoswine can't?! Oh well, suck it up :P Anyway, jokes aside, Ice Shard is for revenge killing purposes. Earthquake is to kill TTars on the lead. Icicle Crash is to kill anybody that stands in my way. Birdies? No fear! Stone Edge is here!

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SpD / 32 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
- Body Slam
- Thunderbolt

The infamous HaxRachi everybody is whining about. No, I don't abuse Hax unless I'm forced to. Once I get a SR up(most of the times, I don't so I'm thinking to get rid of it), and Para, Jirachi is probably out of there. Thunderbolt instead of Wish. I really don't know how to Wish pass efficiently and I don't think I need to Wish pass that badly. Thunderbolt is really needed for Politoeds as I don't have a reliable way of beating it.

Okay. So, that's my team. Hope you give it a good rate! Here's the importable if anybody would wanna try my team out. Don't think anybody would wanna steal though.

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Ninetales (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drought
EVs: 244 HP / 8 SAtk / 92 SDef / 164 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Will-O-Wisp
- Confuse Ray
- Roar

Venusaur (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Growth
- SolarBeam
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Heatran (M) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 60 HP / 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 192 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Flame Charge
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Slowbro (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Slack Off
- Surf
- Fire Blast

Mamoswine (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Snow Cloak
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Icicle Crash
- Stone Edge

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SDef / 32 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
- Body Slam
- Thunderbolt

Oh and, my signature is awesome.

 

[Benlisted]

Hey there, good to know my article's helped someone! You have quite a solid Sun team here, but there are a few changes I'd recommend.

Tales like you say could probably make better use of something other than EQ. Personally I run a similar Tales with Sub over CR, which allows me to blast out things trying to set up a sub on me safely, as well as do the same with normal boosters. I wouldn't use EB simply as its damage output is awful, but HP Fight is an option to allow you to beat opposing Tran one on one. Alternatively you could try out Toxic, Hypnosis, or other annoying statuses, if they help you cripple whatever switches into her that you have trouble with (both great for boosting sweepers). I think you have even HP there, so you may be preventing one more switchin to SR, so I'd check that too.

Venusaur can do without SolarBeam, it doesn't get any significant OHKOs and just cripples her when she wants to hit a Toed or Gliscor out of Sun.

For Heatran you could take SR from Jirachi and use it over FC, but you can quite often boost against a Chomp breaking your Balloon and proceed to sweep the team, so it's entirely up to you - mostly as Tran has few other useful options. Consider Timid as with Balloon it allows you to comfortably beat all Modest Tran rather than risk dying (unless you run HP Fight Tales to kill them).

As you say Surf is pretty useless on Slowbro. Slack Off's usefulness is actually greatly diminished when you can simply switch to recover health (and he will be forced to switch a lot with his low speed) so you could drop it and run something like Fire/Elec/Ice/Psychic (maybe Fight for TTar) coverage if you also ditch CM, which is simply epic coverage, or drop a move and keep CM (imo dropping Ice/Elec would be the way to go due to the rest of your team covering those reasonably. I'd use the mindset of using CM to be able to OHKO something likely to be coming in as opposed to boosting for a sweep, as Regenerator facilitates great switching play. Alternatively, you could use T-Wave to support yourself and Jirachi, or Yawn for some phazing and scouting as your support move.

Mamoswine looks cool, use Icicle Spear>Icicle Crash though as it does on average more base power and breaks through things like SubChomp's subs as well as multiscale. Also, think about CB over LO, primarily to cut the recoil, but it's mostly personal choice.

Jirachi I'd advise not going the Haxrachi route and instead trying something Alphatron came up with to screw over Rain (as well as pose a big threat to SS). It involves using a near max SpD Rachi with Wish, CM, Thunderbolt and Doom Desire - which threatens most of rain enormously whilst also offering immense team support should the occasion call for it (as it is Doom Desire and Wish work fantastically as a self-heal), since rain looks like it's be problematic for you. Of course this would require giving Tran SR (or maybe Mamo, perhaps over SE?), so only use this if you want to give that a try, but a max SpD Rachi looks good for you for helping VS rain in any case, just consider Wish>Body Slam for a self heal anyway.

 

[Jmaculas]

I do recommend taking of flame charge on heatran with either stealth rocks or dragon pulse for good coverage against flying/dragon pokemon. Also the I think venasuar doesn't need hp fire with already two other fire types so maybe trade it with sleep powder or energy ball if the weather got changed and nine tales is down and out for another STAB grass avenue

 

[Charge]

Hey there, good to know my article's helped someone! You have quite a solid Sun team here, but there are a few changes I'd recommend.

Tales like you say could probably make better use of something other than EQ. Personally I run a similar Tales with Sub over CR, which allows me to blast out things trying to set up a sub on me safely, as well as do the same with normal boosters. I wouldn't use EB simply as its damage output is awful, but HP Fight is an option to allow you to beat opposing Tran one on one. Alternatively you could try out Toxic, Hypnosis, or other annoying statuses, if they help you cripple whatever switches into her that you have trouble with (both great for boosting sweepers). I think you have even HP there, so you may be preventing one more switchin to SR, so I'd check that too.

Venusaur can do without SolarBeam, it doesn't get any significant OHKOs and just cripples her when she wants to hit a Toed or Gliscor out of Sun.

For Heatran you could take SR from Jirachi and use it over FC, but you can quite often boost against a Chomp breaking your Balloon and proceed to sweep the team, so it's entirely up to you - mostly as Tran has few other useful options. Consider Timid as with Balloon it allows you to comfortably beat all Modest Tran rather than risk dying (unless you run HP Fight Tales to kill them).

As you say Surf is pretty useless on Slowbro. Slack Off's usefulness is actually greatly diminished when you can simply switch to recover health (and he will be forced to switch a lot with his low speed) so you could drop it and run something like Fire/Elec/Ice/Psychic (maybe Fight for TTar) coverage if you also ditch CM, which is simply epic coverage, or drop a move and keep CM (imo dropping Ice/Elec would be the way to go due to the rest of your team covering those reasonably. I'd use the mindset of using CM to be able to OHKO something likely to be coming in as opposed to boosting for a sweep, as Regenerator facilitates great switching play. Alternatively, you could use T-Wave to support yourself and Jirachi, or Yawn for some phazing and scouting as your support move.

Mamoswine looks cool, use Icicle Spear>Icicle Crash though as it does on average more base power and breaks through things like SubChomp's subs as well as multiscale. Also, think about CB over LO, primarily to cut the recoil, but it's mostly personal choice.

Jirachi I'd advise not going the Haxrachi route and instead trying something Alphatron came up with to screw over Rain (as well as pose a big threat to SS). It involves using a near max SpD Rachi with Wish, CM, Thunderbolt and Doom Desire - which threatens most of rain enormously whilst also offering immense team support should the occasion call for it (as it is Doom Desire and Wish work fantastically as a self-heal), since rain looks like it's be problematic for you. Of course this would require giving Tran SR (or maybe Mamo, perhaps over SE?), so only use this if you want to give that a try, but a max SpD Rachi looks good for you for helping VS rain in any case, just consider Wish>Body Slam for a self heal anyway.

Thanks for the rate, Benlisted! I'm going to go through some of the suggestions you listed and tell you what I think.

Regarding my Ninetales, I'm still testing out Confuse Ray, but so far, I'm not really using it. I will try your suggestion and replace it with a Substitute. Roar have been really good so far because as I scale the ladder, more Baton Pass teams have been giving me quite a problem sometimes so Roar is needed because I don't have access to Taunt. HP Fighting...I might try that over Substitute but I already have Pokemons that can handle Heatrans and Tyranitars.

Venusaur. Yes, I used Energy Ball > SolarBeam when I first started but I am afraid it will miss out significant KO when unboosted so I changed it to SolarBeam. Now that you confirmed this, I can safely change back to Energy Ball. Thanks!

As for Heatran, I usually like Flame Charge but I don't know...Can my team do without Rocks? I shall test it out and get back to you. Then, I need to adjust my EVs for Heatran. Maybe a 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe, Timid might work because I like the idea of killing other Heatrans one on one.

As for Slowbro, I thought of using Electric attacks too but to my dismay, it doesn't have any other than Thunder Wave so there really isn't a point. I will get rid of Slack Off and give it, CM / Fire Blast / Psychic / Focus Blast.

Mamoswine. I agree on the Icicle Spear > Icicle Crash. I thought of CB but I don't really need that extra power but the flexibility in switching moves so I'll stick with LO.

Oh yes! Jirachi. I am searching high and low for a Doom Desire set but can't find any. Thanks for the moveset! I'll definitely change my set now. But mastering the use of Doom Desire might be a little difficult. But nonetheless, a valuable suggestion.

All in all, thanks!

@Jma: I did consider Sleep Power but when Venusaur is sweeping and a Scizor comes in or the likes, HP Fire settles it quickly instead of switching it to Heatran or the likes just to take that out and if a smart player decided to withdraw the Pokemon that I put to sleep, Sleep Clause activates and party's over. Thanks for the suggestions though!

Keep 'em coming~

 

[Benlisted]

Imo if you use Alphatron's Doom Desire Jirachi from here then you should definitely try and put SR elsewhere. You could use it over Flame Charge (definitely go Timid in that case) or SE on Mamo, as with Ice STAB it's not as needed, you lose out on hitting Gyara pretty much (I think that's it) quite as hard but Jirachi can take ones w/out EQ and those with can be dealt with by Venusaur or even Slowbro.

With CM Jirachi keep an eye on if CM on Slowbro is being used much, as if not you can replace it with something else.

Good luck!

 

[Smith]

Hey Charge, I think I looked at this team on PO but I got your message and I'll throw you a full rate. LO Mamoswine is pretty underrated so I'm glad that somebody likes him! This looks like a solid sun team and Jirachi + Slowbro is actually a pretty good core for most things, so I'll just nitpick some sets I don't like.

I agree that Confuse Ray isn't so hot on Ninetales (pun seriously not intended). It's unreliable, cured by switching out, and not useful for anything in particular. I agree that Energy Ball would be helpful to hit all opposing weather inducers SE (Abomasnow is obviously weak to fire) and to maintain good coverage.

On Venusaur, I agree with Benlisted that Solarbeam should definitely not be used. If somebody were to switch in a ScarfTar or ScarfToed or something, you'd be down a Venusaur. Energy Ball or Giga Drain hit plenty hard- Giga Drain helps manage LO recoil, especially in situations where your opponent has no reliable counter and has to stall out LO.

Slowbro doesn't need Calm Mind or Surf, in my opinion. Surf on a sun team is not good for obvious reasons, but I also think CM is a bad idea when you have much better options. Slowbro's main purpose is to stop opposing waters or fighting types and I'd caution against using it as a set up sweeper. I'd replace the two with Psychic and Thunder Wave. Psychic has the same power as Surf but hits things like Conkeldurr or other fighting types hard. Thunder Wave has the advantage of neutering offensive threats for the rest of your team to take out, and might actually let Slowbro outspeed something. It's a great move to spam randomly. :) I just don't think CM Slowbro is practical on an offensive team like this, when Thunder Wave can help your team out much more.

I'm also not sure about some of your spreads- it looks like you just picked a random number for some of them. Ninetales' speed is random and doesn't seem to serve a specific purpose, and the special attack even less necessary. I'd just dump those into special defense and a calm nature, unless you're doing anything special- in which case, I'd make sure to specify. I'd say the same about Heatran's HP and Def. Jirachi should be running a Careful nature, unless, again, you're achieving something with the timid nature. If you want to speed creep just bump up the EVs to 40 or 44, not the nature.

Beyond that, this is a solid crew. I hope this helps!

 

[Benlisted]

Pretty much entirely agree with Smith's points, on Slowbro and Saur especially. The 3 atks you're now using look good to me, and T-Wave would indeed be nice to help all of your team but Saur. Smith's post reminded me that your Saur does not need all those Spe EVs, consider dropping to just beat Scarfchomp (hit 250 speed out of sun).

Few things I just want to clarify a little, however, just so you aren't misled (if yu don't know already). Firstly, Giga Drain will not work on Saur unless you're in DW since he's all male currently (breaks my heart), and secondly for sure keep your speed on Tales since it beats Excadrill out of SS. He's definitely right in that you could move some of the random 4 Def EVs on Tran and Tales somewhere else, however, as they accomplish little atm.