Offensive Drought + 1 Dragon

[Bizdis]

This team is based off of Katakiri's Prelude of Light team, and seeing as it has major flaws that still need to ironed out, I hope that it will become more distinguished from his team. Mainly, I'm looking for changes to movesets, as I don't think I'm quite there yet. One pokemon I seem to hate on this team is Politoed, as it can switch into Ninetales with near impunity. I seem to be having major issues with Tentacruel and scarf Heatran aswell. Hopefully, any changes will help me defend against opposing weather teams better.

More recent comments: I reckon that this team is near completion. Maybe just a few more minor tweaks, and this molten monster of a team will be ready for battle. The one problem with switching out Infernape for Heatran is that now Blissey and Chansey give me some problems (nobody in their right mind keeps them in on a Scizor). However, this is not a major issue as they are not nearly as common in OU as they once were.

Ninetales @ Leftovers | Drought
Modest | 136 HP / 252 SpA / 120 Spe
Sunny Day
Flamethrower
SolarBeam
Will-O-Wisp

Thanks to ganj4lF for this set. This Ninetales is better for winning weather wars, and still hits pokemon that do not resist fire hard. Sunny Day and Solar Beam are used to force out Politoed that try to switch in, and Will-O-Wisp is used to cripple physical attackers that try to come in on Ninetales, more specifically Choice Scarf Tyranitar, who is not concerned if I still have the sun up when it switches in. I have chosen Flamethrower over Fire Blast because some leads will try to substitute until one of my attacks misses, with Flamethrower this will not happen.

Lilligant @ Life Orb | Chlorophyll
Modest | 252 sp atk / 196 speed / 60 def
Quiver Dance
Giga Drain
Sleep Powder
Hidden Power Rock

Thanks for Dr Ciel for this set. Quiver Dance is there for setting up, and Giga Drain is chosen over Energy Ball because it heals off Life Orb damage. Hidden Power Rock is there for finishing off weakened dragons and Volcarona. Sleep Powder is great for hitting pokemon on the switch, or simply pacifying any pokemon that Lilligant can't deal damage against. Simple, but effective.

Scizor @ Choice Band | Technician
Adamant | 252 atk/ 248 hp/ 8 sp def
Bullet Punch
U-Turn
Superpower
Pursuit

Standard Scizor. It has proven useful because it takes no damage from sandstorm, Bullet Punch can finish off dragons that have used dd (providing they have already taken some damage), and Scizor can completely destroy Lati@s with Pursuit (providing they don’t use HP Fire). Generally it is a pretty strong member of the team. U-Turn is there for scouting, and Superpower is there for the additional coverage.

Heatran @ Choice Scarf | Flash Fire
Modest | 252 sp atk/ 252 speed/ 4 sp def
Overheat
Flamethrower
Earth Power
Hidden Power Ice

I think that Heatran fits perfectly onto this team. It replaced Infernape, and for good reason. Half of my team is weak to fire, and considering it is my aim to have sun up, something which could take a fire attack well was essential. Overheat hits pokemon that do not resist it very hard, it makes great use of STAB and the sun. The Sp Atk drop does not matter, since I doubt I'll be staying in long after my opponent realises that I am scarfed anyway. Earth Power is good for finishing off weakened Tyranitar, and attacking opposing fire types (Heatran in particular). Hidden Power Ice provides a reliable way of destroying any dragon that has not yet received a dd boost, or is locked into outrage. Flamethrower is for cleaning up late game, when the opponent lacks any switch-in to Heatran. I have used a modest nature over timid one because I already have Scizor and Lilligant to revenge kill +1 Dragonite, and thus, more power is my preferred option.

Dragonite @ Lum Berry | Multiscale
Adamant | 252 atk/ 252 speed/ 4 sp def
Dragon Dance
Dragon Claw
Fire Punch
Roost

When I switched out Infernape for Heatran, I found myself short on physical attackers, and so in came Dragonite, replacing Latios. Lum Berry gives me a Get out of Jail Free card if it gets burned or paralysed, which is very useful if I mispredict or the opponent hits me with a lucky Scald. Dragon Claw and Fire Punch have excellent coverage together, they are only resisted by Heatran, which I leave the rest of my team to deal with. Generally, I will be switching Dragonite into a lot of water attacks, and so Roost is there because otherwise, particularly under rain, Dragonite will quickly get worn down.

Forretress @ Leftovers | Sturdy
Relaxed | 252 hp/ 176 def/ 80 sp Def
Volt Switch
Gyro Ball
Rapid Spin
Stealth Rock

Thanks to Milos for this set. Forretress is an important pokemon because not only does it set up Stealth Rock, it also can Rapid Spin away entry hazards, making worrying about Spikes and SR a thing of the past for this team. Volt switch is used to ensure that I have the advantage on the switch, and Gyro Ball is its main offensive move. I will keep Sturdy on this because Overcoat only cancels out hail, which is so rarely seen that it is not worth thinking about.

 

[ganj4lF]

Besides the problems you mention (e.g. keeping up Sun with Politoed switching into half your team with impunity), your team is actually dismantled by opposing Growth Venusaur in the Sun (that you provide on your own), after the Sleep Clause is activated or Lilligant goes down to something. Timid Venusaur in Sun outspeeds Infernape and everything else apart from Lilli, and OHKOs everything with a moveset of HP Fire | Sludge Bomb (it will probably have also Giga Drain, but it's not relevant here) after a Growth boost. Scizor's Bullet Punch only deals 62.58 - 73.84%, so it's hardly a problem for it, and Lilligant deals pathetic damage at best (32.11 - 38.07% w/ HP Rock). So you have to hope the're both available to take down Venusaur, and that your opponent is not smart enough to predict and react accordingly. To fix that, you could switch to Hidden Power Fire on Lilligant, and a Timid nature. You'll lose coverage on some threats (Volcarona is the most relevant one, I'd say), but gain the ability to hit Steel types, and to OHKO Venusaur in Sun after 1 rould of LO recoil, or SR, or any residual damage (even at full HP you OHKO 25% of the times). You may say that this is a problem, since you'd lose KOs on Volcarona and Salamence/Dragonite, however all of those can be easily handled by Infernape (just substitute ThunderPunch with Stone Edge, that hits Gyarados too, and OHKOs Volcarona), or by Lilligant itself if Sleep Clause is not active.

Also, if you want to make Politoed's life harder, you can switch your Ninetales set to the Sunny Day Ninetales one. Carrying Sunny Day on Ninetales means that you can predict Politoed's switch-ins, Sunny Day in its face and SolarBeam for major damage. Power Swap + Overheat is indeed neat, but it doesn't have similar utility in winning weather wars, and thus is less useful IMHO.

Sunny Day Tales

Ninetales @ Leftovers | Drought
Modest | 136 HP / 252 SpA / 120 Spe
- Sunny Day
- Fire Blast / Flamethrower
- SolarBeam
- Will-O-Wisp / Hypnosis / Protect / Toxic / Roar

Lastly, you may want to consider running Recover on Latios. While you lose little coverage giving up Grass Knot (and in many cases you're just better to fire off a Draco Meteor anyway), it will make your life easier since it could absorb Water attacks more reliably, and stay around for longer with its powerful attacks (one of them coincidentally, rapes Tentacruel that is an annoyance to your team).

Hope my suggestions helped somewhat. Good luck for your team.

 

[Milos]

At this moment, your Ninetales is pure set up fodder for any sort of Volcarona, seeing as after a Quiver Dance it can sweep more than half of your team, and not even HP Ground will be hurting it much. Overheat + Power Swap does mitigate this problem, but Volcarona will only lose its offensive boosts, meaning it can continue to set back up. For this reason, I recommend you use a more utility based set of Ninetales.

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Ninetales @ Leftovers
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 HP/ 120 SpD/ 136 Spe
Calm (+SpD,-Atk)
-Flamethrower
-Toxic
-Roar
-Sunny Day/Protect

Flamethrower is your basic STAB move, and the Speed EVs mean you get the jump on Toxicroak and are able to KO it. This set gives you a better way to deal with Politoed, since you can either Toxic as it switches in, pretty much crippling it for the rest of the match, or you can use Sunny Day to negate his weather change. Roar allows you to phaze out Volcarona or to force out the obvious Heatran switch in and scout your opponent's team. If you want, you can run Protect alongside Toxic, but from personal experience I've found Sunny Day is more effective.

Now, one thing that sticks out to me is that you don't have a spinner. This means that your current Ninetales will only be able to switch in about 4 times before dying to Stealth Rock. I'd recommend replacing Ferrothorn with a Forretress. Although you lose a handy Water resist, you still have Latios (which should be given Recover) and Lilligant. Not to mention if the sun is up they'll be taking 50% less damage from random Scalds or Surfs. I noticed that your team lacked Stealth Rock, which is wrong for ANY team, so replacing Spikes with Stealth Rock will be better for you in the long run. Here is the set:

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Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP/ 176 Def/ 80 SpD
Relaxed (+Def,-Spe)
-Rapid Spin
-Stealth Rock
-Volt Switch
-Gyro Ball

Forry provides entry hazard support, can spin for Ninetales, and can even keep momentum with Volt Switch. Gyro Ball makes sure that Terrakion cannot set up on you as well as being generally useful to hit fast Pokemon.

Starmie and Tentacruel are both good options to spin as well, and as a bonus they bring you a handy Water and Fighting resist. However, they cannot set up entry hazards, apart from Tenta's Toxic Spikes.

Anyway, nice team and I hope I helped!

 

[Bizdis]

Hidden Power Fire on Lilligant, and a Timid nature
substitute ThunderPunch with Stone Edge
Sunny Day Ninetales

Sunny Day Tales

Ninetales @ Leftovers | Drought
Modest | 136 HP / 252 SpA / 120 Spe
- Sunny Day
- Fire Blast / Flamethrower
- SolarBeam
- Will-O-Wisp / Hypnosis / Protect / Toxic / Roar

Recover on Latios

Thank you. I have taken all of you suggestions on board, and my team is now stronger because of it. I have noticed, however, that I don't have any good switch-ins to fire type moves when under the sun, and I have thought of an idea to fix this.

Hide

Ninetales @ Leftovers
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 HP/ 120 SpD/ 136 Spe
Calm (+SpD,-Atk)
-Flamethrower
-Toxic
-Roar
-Sunny Day/Protect

I'd recommend replacing Ferrothorn with a Forretress.

Hide

Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP/ 176 Def/ 80 SpD
Relaxed (+Def,-Spe)
-Rapid Spin
-Stealth Rock
-Volt Switch
-Gyro Ball

Anyway, nice team and I hope I helped!

Thank you for your help as well, I will test out both sets of Ninetales, and I now definitely see that Forretress is better for my team than Ferrothorn.

As for the fix I mentioned earlier in this post:
Take out Infernape and Latios, and put in these guys:

Heatran @ Choice Scarf | Flash Fire
Timid/Modest | 252 sp atk / 252 spe / 4 sp def
Fire Blast
Solar Beam
Earthpower
Hidden Power Ice

This should make the opponent think twice about using fire attacks, and it provides a more accurate way of hitting dragons to boot. I am not sure which nature to use though. However, this leaves me with a lack of physical sweepers, so...

Dragonite @ Lum Berry | Multiscale
Adamant | 252 atk / 252 spe / 4 sp def
Dragon Dance
Dragon Claw
Fire Punch
Roost

This should be able to soak up water attacks as well, and sacrifices Latios' superior coverage for a physical moveset. In addition, its SR weakness does not matter, as I now have a rapid spinner. Although
Considering half of my team is now Steel typed, I will now start using terrible steel making puns. Let me know if you have any more ideas to add to the melting pot.

 

[Dr Ciel]

Hey there, and pretty solid looking sun team you're running! As you may well know, sun is an underappreciated weather in today's metagame with all the sand and rain teams running around, but you seem to have defied the odds with this team, so I am going to give a very in-depth rate, so please bear with me. Okay, enough of my rambling, let's get this rate started, shall we? When I look at your team, I can't really find any glaring weaknesses, so I'll go ahead and suggest some moveset anf EV changes, also, a Pokemon or teo are going to be changed. That Lilligant set isn't really viable in today's metagame, whereas you need to have a sweeper that can abuse Chlorophyll, and Lilligant is an example of that. For the reasons stated above, I suggest changing Lilligant to an Offensive Quiver Dance set over your current one. There are many reasons for this, one of them being that Lilligant is insanely fast in Sun, and Quiver Dance raises its stats to sky high levels, allowing you to easily sweep your opponent with no effort at all. Also, I back the suggestion of using Heatran over Infernape, but you should really use a Magma Storm set over your current one. The strategy for Magma Storm Heatran is really simple. You use Magma Storm, which can trap the Politoed, or whatever threat is out, Use Sunny Day, taking out the opponents weather (as in Politoeds case) OHKO it with a Solarbeam. Well, that's all I have to say for this team. I hope that I helped just a bit. Also, just a piece of advice, you should increase your Pokemons descriptions to at least a paragraphs length, describing the role the Pokemon has on the team. Have fun and good luck with your team!

Sets

Lilligant @ Leftovers Lv. 100 -- Chlorophyll

Nature: Timid - EVs: 80 HP / 176 SAtk / 252 Spd

- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Quiver Dance


Heatran @ Air Balloon Lv. 100 -- Flash Fire

Nature: Timid - EVs: 56 HP / 252 SAtk / 200 Spd

- Magma Storm
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Sunny Day
- SolarBeam

~Dr Ciel~ (The doctor is OUT)

 

[Bizdis]

I suggest changing Lilligant to an Offensive Quiver Dance set over your current one. There are many reasons for this, one of them being that Lilligant is insanely fast in Sun, and Quiver Dance raises its stats to sky high levels, allowing you to easily sweep your opponent with no effort at all. Also, I back the suggestion of using Heatran over Infernape, but you should really use a Magma Storm set over your current one.

Also, just a piece of advice, you should increase your Pokemons descriptions to at least a paragraphs length, describing the role the Pokemon has on the team. Have fun and good luck with your team!

Sets

Lilligant @ Leftovers Lv. 100 -- Chlorophyll

Nature: Timid - EVs: 80 HP / 176 SAtk / 252 Spd

- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Quiver Dance


Heatran @ Air Balloon Lv. 100 -- Flash Fire

Nature: Timid - EVs: 56 HP / 252 SAtk / 200 Spd

- Magma Storm
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Sunny Day
- SolarBeam

~Dr Ciel~ (The doctor is OUT)

Thank you, now that Heatran stops Venusaur from having any hope at sweeping my team, it is definitely time to use HP Rock on Lilligant over HP Fire. I also think that Lilligant is better off by dropping Healing Wish, and taking up a more offensive Quiver Dance set. However, I am not sure why you have taken points out of sp atk, and put them into hp on the set. Surely Lilligant will already have more than enough speed due to chlorophyll?

Having a Heatran set that has little use other than to eliminate Politoed seems like a rather risky idea - what if I am not playing against a rain team? Anyway, I appreciate the suggestion none the less, and I shall definitely adjust my Lilligant, and seriously take a look at changing my Heatran the way you suggested.

I apologise for the short descriptions, I shall have more detailed analyses of my pokemon up by tomorrow.

 

[Bizdis]

I am having second thoughts about running Roost on Dragonite over Earthquake - Roost has not been as useful as I expected thus far. I have considered running Genesect over Scizor on my team, but this would force me to give up my only pokemon with a priority move, and I would be left with just Dragonite as an offensive physical pokemon. I would like more opinions on this matter please.

 

[Yeezy D]

I'm taking it that you are running Lilligant over Venusaur because if Tyranitar/Toed switches in, then you lose Chlorophyll and you weren't as speedy as before and with Lilligant you have Quiver Dance speed boost to fall back on?
Because if not, I'd usually run Saur over Lilligant, and I can provide a set for you if you want.

 

[Bizdis]

I'm taking it that you are running Lilligant over Venusaur because if Tyranitar/Toed switches in, then you lose Chlorophyll and you weren't as speedy as before and with Lilligant you have Quiver Dance speed boost to fall back on?
Because if not, I'd usually run Saur over Lilligant, and I can provide a set for you if you want.

Precisely. Venusaur is far more dependant on sun than Lilligant is, and considering that Lilligant is my main weapon against rain teams, I want her to be a threat come rain or shine.