TheManyFacesOfGlalie
06-30-2013, 03:39 AM
Intro
I thought I'd make a guide to forming teams centered around abusing the Sun. Sun is arguably one of the best weather conditions to abuse, along with Rain. There are several Abilities that abuse its power, not to mention it's other effects. This guide will explain every aspect of the Sun and how to abuse it ^^
Effects of the Sun
Like any weather condition, harsh sunlight causes a few things to change on the field. This includes:
Power Increase/Decrease: When there is intense sunlight, the power of Fire-type moves increases by 50% and the power of Water-type moves decreases by 50%. This is important to know because it essentially removes Water-type STAB and gives Fire-types an edge when playing in the Sun.
Instant Solarbeam: Solarbeam doesn't need a turn to charge in the intense Sun, so a powerful Grass-type move that you'd normally be able to switch out of now fires instantly.
Accuracy Drops: The accuracy of the moves Thunder and Hurricane become only 50%, making the attacks virtually useless.
More HP Gets Restored: There are a few attacks in the game, such as Recover, that restore HP instantly. In the Sun, the moves Moonlight, Morning Sun, and Synthesis grant 2/3 of your max HP back (instead of the normal 1/2).
Fire Ball: Weather Ball's Base Power becomes 100 and it becomes a Fire-type move. This adds good coverage to certain Pokemon with access to it.
Mega Growth: Growth normally boosts Attack and Special Attack by 1 stage, but in the Sun it boosts them both by 2 stages (which doubles them). Very useful on offensive Venusaur!
No Freezing: This is where logic will, for once, come to play in a Pokemon game. Pokemon can't be frozen when the Sun is out. It's not very common to be frozen, but it's good to know.
Knowing these things is key to not only using a Sun team, but also countering one and knowing what to expect. The next section deals with the abilities the Sun will activate.
Abilities and Items
As with any weather condition, there are abilities that enhance it. This is a list of the Abilities that are activated in the Sun, along with items that help in the Sun.
Chlorophyll: This doubles a Pokemon's speed in the Sunlight, which makes them fantastic sweepers provided they have good offensive stats. Some Pokemon that enjoy this ability are Lilligant, Shiftry, and Jumpluff.
Dry Skin: Dry Skin is the worst ability to have when you are in the Sun. Not only does it causes you to lose 1/8 of your HP every turn (which is the same as being normally poisoned), but it increases the damage from Fire-type moves by 25%. It also grants immunity to Water, but you won't see that much on a Sun team.
Flower Gift: This ability is often overlooked, and I don't know why. Only Cherrim has it, but Cherrim can make decent use of it. It boosts your team's Special Defense and Attack by 50%. In Double Battles this makes for a great partner to Special Tanks that run Physical Attacks, or it could even be used to curb one Pokemon's low Special Defense/Attack stat to make it usable. It also makes Cherrim a pretty nice tank/wall/cleric.
Forecast: Castform's ability which turns it into a Fire-type and changes it's form. This is almost useless since Castform is a terrible choice, but there's ways to make it work if you center your team around it.
Leaf Guard: Leaf Guard prevents you from gettings a status condition such as Burn, Poison, etc when the Sun is set up. Very useful on Pokemon like Tangrowth.
Solar Power: Great ability for Sun sweepers. It boosts Special Attack by 50%, but causes you to lose 1/8 of your health every turn. Great for a late-game sweep!
Harvest: Restores a used berry to be used again. It can be useful on Tropius, but I think you'd rather use Chlorophyll for Exeggutor.
Heat Rock: This lengthens the duration of Sunny Day from 5 turns to 8 turns. If you're running a team without Ninetails you really want this item, but then again, you want Ninetails much more.
Knowing your options as far as abilities will help you greatly in choosing team members!
Roles
To construct a good Sun team, you should know some roles that a team can have and how a Sun team can enhance those roles greatly!
Sun Setter: I'm not talking about an awning here. This is the Pokemon that uses Sunny Day/Drought to make the Sun appear as the weather. Drought Pokemon are most useful, and these are Ninetails and Groudon. If you're an OU battler or don't use legends, obviously Ninetails is the clear choice. Aside from using weather, the Sun Setter has to be an asset to the team in some other way. I enjoy using Ninetails as a Special Tank, but others my prefer to sweep with her. It's all up to preference.
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Sweeper: A Pokemon that can deliver fast kills is great to offensive and defensive teams alike. Chlorophyll is the way to go for a Sweeper in the Sun. Solar Power is also great, but Speed is something that can be found more vital than offense at times. Of course, another option is using a Fire-type Pokemon. One great option for Fire-types is Speed Boost Blaziken. Outside of that, some Pokemon to consider are Lilligant, Shiftry, Venusaur, Exeggutor, Leafeon, Sawsbuck, Blaziken, Charizard, Ninetails, and Infernape.
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Wall/Cleric: A Wall is a Pokemon that is supposed to be extremely hard to take down in terms of it's ability to recover quickly (not like a tank, which simply takes little damage). A Cleric is a Pokemon that can use Heal Bell or Aromatherapy to heal the team's status conditions. I classify them together since a Cleric typically has similar properties to a Wall. Leaf Guard is nice to abuse for this job, but Harvest + Sitrus Berry makes a good combo on Tropius to be a Wall. A good Cleric is Cherrim, since it gets +1 Special Defense in the Sun and can therefore take a hit to use Aromatherapy and heal with Synthesis. Tangrowth makes a great Wall with Leaf Guard, too, but it also makes a good physical tank with Regenerator so be sure that you want to use it as a Wall and not a Tank.
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Building Your Team
When you build your Sun team, there are a few things you need to consider. One thing is that you need two Sun Setters, just in case you face another type of weather. That means that in addition to Ninetales or Groudon, you also need a Sunny Day user (possibly holding a Heat Rock). Keep in mind what I said earlier about Sun Setters: They need to play two roles. A Pokemon should not just be dedicated to setting up the Sun. Ninetales will often need to play a sweeper, but it can also be a Special Tank. You should also consider the added effects I mentioned near the beginning. Solarbeam should appear on your team somewhere. You should use Fire-type attacks as well. Growth is a handy move here as well. Venusaur uses it nicely along with it's hidden ability Chlorophyll. You should definitely use one of the healing moves I mentioned above. Depending on your teams, you should see at least two of the above-mentioned abilities on your team. A personal favorite of mine is Solar Power Charizard. Anyways, some pretty successful team set-ups are also something you may want to consider. My personal favorite is:
Spiker - Physical Sweeper - Special Sweeper - Tank - Drainer - Annoyer
This is an irritating team. Now, Ninetales would, in addition to SunSetting, be either a Special Sweeper (Although Charizard is better) or a Tank. Of course, you don't need to follow this. That's just a personal favorite. Another, more common arrangement is:
Physical Sweeper - Physical Sweeper - Special Sweeper - Special Sweeper - Physical Tank - Special Tank
Remember that these are just some options. There are an infinite number of ways you can arrange your team. One thing you should always consider, however, is that you should include a mass variety of Pokemon types. You should try to have a Ground, Ghost, Normal, Flying (or Levitate), Steel, and Dark-type on your team for all the immunities they offer. Hydreigon is a nice choice as well, as it offers two immunities and with Flamethrower and Wise Glasses, this makes for a nice Choice Specs Bluffer.
For any questions regarding teams or options, just post them here and I'll answer as best I can ^^
I thought I'd make a guide to forming teams centered around abusing the Sun. Sun is arguably one of the best weather conditions to abuse, along with Rain. There are several Abilities that abuse its power, not to mention it's other effects. This guide will explain every aspect of the Sun and how to abuse it ^^
Effects of the Sun
Like any weather condition, harsh sunlight causes a few things to change on the field. This includes:
Power Increase/Decrease: When there is intense sunlight, the power of Fire-type moves increases by 50% and the power of Water-type moves decreases by 50%. This is important to know because it essentially removes Water-type STAB and gives Fire-types an edge when playing in the Sun.
Instant Solarbeam: Solarbeam doesn't need a turn to charge in the intense Sun, so a powerful Grass-type move that you'd normally be able to switch out of now fires instantly.
Accuracy Drops: The accuracy of the moves Thunder and Hurricane become only 50%, making the attacks virtually useless.
More HP Gets Restored: There are a few attacks in the game, such as Recover, that restore HP instantly. In the Sun, the moves Moonlight, Morning Sun, and Synthesis grant 2/3 of your max HP back (instead of the normal 1/2).
Fire Ball: Weather Ball's Base Power becomes 100 and it becomes a Fire-type move. This adds good coverage to certain Pokemon with access to it.
Mega Growth: Growth normally boosts Attack and Special Attack by 1 stage, but in the Sun it boosts them both by 2 stages (which doubles them). Very useful on offensive Venusaur!
No Freezing: This is where logic will, for once, come to play in a Pokemon game. Pokemon can't be frozen when the Sun is out. It's not very common to be frozen, but it's good to know.
Knowing these things is key to not only using a Sun team, but also countering one and knowing what to expect. The next section deals with the abilities the Sun will activate.
Abilities and Items
As with any weather condition, there are abilities that enhance it. This is a list of the Abilities that are activated in the Sun, along with items that help in the Sun.
Chlorophyll: This doubles a Pokemon's speed in the Sunlight, which makes them fantastic sweepers provided they have good offensive stats. Some Pokemon that enjoy this ability are Lilligant, Shiftry, and Jumpluff.
Dry Skin: Dry Skin is the worst ability to have when you are in the Sun. Not only does it causes you to lose 1/8 of your HP every turn (which is the same as being normally poisoned), but it increases the damage from Fire-type moves by 25%. It also grants immunity to Water, but you won't see that much on a Sun team.
Flower Gift: This ability is often overlooked, and I don't know why. Only Cherrim has it, but Cherrim can make decent use of it. It boosts your team's Special Defense and Attack by 50%. In Double Battles this makes for a great partner to Special Tanks that run Physical Attacks, or it could even be used to curb one Pokemon's low Special Defense/Attack stat to make it usable. It also makes Cherrim a pretty nice tank/wall/cleric.
Forecast: Castform's ability which turns it into a Fire-type and changes it's form. This is almost useless since Castform is a terrible choice, but there's ways to make it work if you center your team around it.
Leaf Guard: Leaf Guard prevents you from gettings a status condition such as Burn, Poison, etc when the Sun is set up. Very useful on Pokemon like Tangrowth.
Solar Power: Great ability for Sun sweepers. It boosts Special Attack by 50%, but causes you to lose 1/8 of your health every turn. Great for a late-game sweep!
Harvest: Restores a used berry to be used again. It can be useful on Tropius, but I think you'd rather use Chlorophyll for Exeggutor.
Heat Rock: This lengthens the duration of Sunny Day from 5 turns to 8 turns. If you're running a team without Ninetails you really want this item, but then again, you want Ninetails much more.
Knowing your options as far as abilities will help you greatly in choosing team members!
Roles
To construct a good Sun team, you should know some roles that a team can have and how a Sun team can enhance those roles greatly!
Sun Setter: I'm not talking about an awning here. This is the Pokemon that uses Sunny Day/Drought to make the Sun appear as the weather. Drought Pokemon are most useful, and these are Ninetails and Groudon. If you're an OU battler or don't use legends, obviously Ninetails is the clear choice. Aside from using weather, the Sun Setter has to be an asset to the team in some other way. I enjoy using Ninetails as a Special Tank, but others my prefer to sweep with her. It's all up to preference.
56155616
Sweeper: A Pokemon that can deliver fast kills is great to offensive and defensive teams alike. Chlorophyll is the way to go for a Sweeper in the Sun. Solar Power is also great, but Speed is something that can be found more vital than offense at times. Of course, another option is using a Fire-type Pokemon. One great option for Fire-types is Speed Boost Blaziken. Outside of that, some Pokemon to consider are Lilligant, Shiftry, Venusaur, Exeggutor, Leafeon, Sawsbuck, Blaziken, Charizard, Ninetails, and Infernape.
561756185619
Wall/Cleric: A Wall is a Pokemon that is supposed to be extremely hard to take down in terms of it's ability to recover quickly (not like a tank, which simply takes little damage). A Cleric is a Pokemon that can use Heal Bell or Aromatherapy to heal the team's status conditions. I classify them together since a Cleric typically has similar properties to a Wall. Leaf Guard is nice to abuse for this job, but Harvest + Sitrus Berry makes a good combo on Tropius to be a Wall. A good Cleric is Cherrim, since it gets +1 Special Defense in the Sun and can therefore take a hit to use Aromatherapy and heal with Synthesis. Tangrowth makes a great Wall with Leaf Guard, too, but it also makes a good physical tank with Regenerator so be sure that you want to use it as a Wall and not a Tank.
562056215622
Building Your Team
When you build your Sun team, there are a few things you need to consider. One thing is that you need two Sun Setters, just in case you face another type of weather. That means that in addition to Ninetales or Groudon, you also need a Sunny Day user (possibly holding a Heat Rock). Keep in mind what I said earlier about Sun Setters: They need to play two roles. A Pokemon should not just be dedicated to setting up the Sun. Ninetales will often need to play a sweeper, but it can also be a Special Tank. You should also consider the added effects I mentioned near the beginning. Solarbeam should appear on your team somewhere. You should use Fire-type attacks as well. Growth is a handy move here as well. Venusaur uses it nicely along with it's hidden ability Chlorophyll. You should definitely use one of the healing moves I mentioned above. Depending on your teams, you should see at least two of the above-mentioned abilities on your team. A personal favorite of mine is Solar Power Charizard. Anyways, some pretty successful team set-ups are also something you may want to consider. My personal favorite is:
Spiker - Physical Sweeper - Special Sweeper - Tank - Drainer - Annoyer
This is an irritating team. Now, Ninetales would, in addition to SunSetting, be either a Special Sweeper (Although Charizard is better) or a Tank. Of course, you don't need to follow this. That's just a personal favorite. Another, more common arrangement is:
Physical Sweeper - Physical Sweeper - Special Sweeper - Special Sweeper - Physical Tank - Special Tank
Remember that these are just some options. There are an infinite number of ways you can arrange your team. One thing you should always consider, however, is that you should include a mass variety of Pokemon types. You should try to have a Ground, Ghost, Normal, Flying (or Levitate), Steel, and Dark-type on your team for all the immunities they offer. Hydreigon is a nice choice as well, as it offers two immunities and with Flamethrower and Wise Glasses, this makes for a nice Choice Specs Bluffer.
For any questions regarding teams or options, just post them here and I'll answer as best I can ^^