SM Doubles OU Sandy Doubles

[press-b-to-dash!]

I attempted to make a sandstorm-based team, so there's that.

Tyranitar @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpS
Sassy Nature

- Crunch
- Ice Beam
- Protect
- Rock Slide

Tyranitar is usually a lead, whipping up a sandstorm that causes chip damage and raises the Special Defense of every Rock type in the party. It holds a Shuca Berry to dampen the effects of Ground type moves such as Earth Power. Crunch is one of Tyranitar's moves that gets STAB, and has a small chance to lower the opponent's Defense. Ice Beam takes down Garchomp, Landorus-T and Gliscor and also hits Grass types effectively. Protect can be used to scout moves, let its partner KO an adjacent Pokemon or rack up Sandstorm's chip damage. Rock Slide is another STAB move, and hits both opponents and also has a 30% chance of flinching.

Diancie @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature

- Moonblast
- Trick Room
- Protect
- Earth Power

Diancie is a good lead alongside Tyranitar, as it covers its Fighting type weakness and can help the team with speed control. A Weakness Policy lets Diancie take a super effective move and bolster its Attack and Special Attack. Moonblast is its most spammable move, and helps out with Fighting and Dragon types. Setting up Trick Room allows Diancie's slower teammates like Rhyperior to possibly sweep. Protect keeps crippling status moves like Toxic away, increasing Diancie's longevity. Earth Power is extra coverage, taking on opposing Fire, Electric, Poison and Steel types. Diancie's Clear Body prevents its stats being lowered from moves like Parting Shot or Intimidate.

Rhyperior @ Rockium-Z
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature

- Drill Run
- Fire Punch
- Protect
- Rock Wrecker

Rhyperior is best paired with Diancie to take advantage of Trick Room, and appreciates the boost Sandstorm gives to its Special Defense. A Rockium-Z in conjunction with Rock Wrecker becomes a one-time, 200 base power Continental Crush. Drill Run helps out with Steel, Fire, Electric Poison and other Rock types. Protect can be used to scout moves, or let one of Rhyperior's partners KO a troublesome opponent. Fire Punch covers Steel, Grass and Ice types and has a slight chance to cause a burn. Solid Rock prevents super effective moves like Scald from taking off too much of Rhyperior's health.

Aerodactyl @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature

- Aerial Ace
- Ice Fang
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide

Aerodactyl is there to punch holes in the opposing team early on or late game. Aerial Ace is one of Aerodactyl's STAB moves, has perfect accuracy and gets a boost from its post-Mega Ability, Tough Claws. Ice Fang is for Ground types like Hippowdon or Landorus-T who doesn't worry too much about Aerodactyl's other moves. Earthquake is a coverage move that lets Aerodactyl hit Fire, Poison, Steel and especially Electric types super effectively. Rock Slide hurts both opponents, and has a chance of causing flinch. I tend to swap it out if Diancie's Trick Room is up, however.

Lycanroc @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature

- Accelerock
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
- Drill Run

Lycanroc is typically used early on, setting up entry hazards and spreading status. Accelerock is Lycanroc's STAB move, and has priority to strike first and pick off weakened foes. Toxic can cripple bulky Pokemon like Blissey or Cresselia that Lycanroc's moves don't damage much. Stealth Rock is pretty much mandatory on any team, causing chip damage and cutting Volcarona or Mega Charizard Y's health by half. Drill Run hits opposing Steel, Rock, Fire, Electric and Poison types effectively. Lycanroc's Ability Sand Rush lets it outspeed just about anything under Sandstorm, but isn't very useful if Trick Room is active.

Cradily @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature

- Giga Drain
- Toxic
- Protect
- Rock Slide

Cradily is handy to switch into any Water type attacks targeting its partner, and gets a boost in Special Attack from it thanks to Storm Drain. Giga Drain can replenish a bit of Cradily's health, and is effective against Water, Ground and other Rock types. Toxic puts a timer on more bulky Pokemon such as Clefable, and gives Cradily a reliable way to damage them. Protect can be used to scout moves, stall an opponent inflicted with Toxic and recover with its Leftovers. Rock Slide hits Flying, Ice, Fire and Bug types super effectively, and can cause flinching.

Well, that's about it. I'm open to suggestions, so feel free to leave them.

~ press-b-to-dash! (aka swaessy)

 

[Level 51]

Hi press-b-to-dash!, interesting team you have here! While making a team purely out of Rock-, Ground- and Steel-types is perhaps the most intuitive approach to building a team around Sand, it's not actually the most optimal method—due to these types' significant overlap in terms of both offensive and defensive coverage, you're stuck relying on niche picks like Storm Drain Cradily to fill up the gaps.

Instead, consider starting from a Sand-ish core (the most common being Tyranitar + Excadrill, but you could try Tyranitar + Lycanroc if you'd like), and then building outwards with Pokemon which aren't necessarily specific to Sand archetypes, but which aid it greatly. Here's some you could consider:

• Amoonguss checks Tapu Fini and Tapu Bulu; the former threatens Tyranitar and Excadrill, and the latter is a problem for Tyranitar, though Excadrill could Iron Head it for a chunk, if given a chance. Spreading sleep via Spore is also generally beneficial for a core as offensive as Tyranitar + Excadrill/Lycanroc.
• Tapu Lele stops Kommo-o from threatening your entire Sand core, and also checks opposing Amoonguss, which can take your Sand core's attacks fairly comfortably and put things to sleep.
• Volcanion provides some great Fire-type coverage to beat Celesteela and Ferrothorn, which are problematic to a Sand core, and also helps shore up your matchups against Tapu Bulu and Mega Metagross.
• Zapdos gives you speed control in the form of Tailwind to speed up Tyranitar, as well as make you less susceptible to opposing Tailwind as well as conflicting weathers. It also hits bulky Water-types, like Tapu Fini and Suicune, which can give Tyranitar, Excadrill, and Lycanroc trouble. Defensively, it provides the team with a much-needed Ground-resist.

Those are just some examples of Pokemon which could help out a Sand team. Here's two examples (a) (b) of teams I've seen which work with Tyranitar effectively; the former pairs it with Excadrill to form a Sand core, while the latter uses it on its own as a DD sweeper. You could take some ideas from here and try to apply them!

Good luck with the team, and don't hesitate to reach out if you have any doubts about some stuff I've discussed. Hope you enjoy DOU enough to stick around!