Sun is pretty good in ZU at the moment. I'm not sure if a sample sun team for ZU is out yet, but here is my version of a ZU sun team. It has decent success so far, and I would like to have this team rated. Team Pokepaste can be found here.
Uxie @ Heat Rock
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Sunny Day
- Yawn
- U-turn
Liepard @ Heat Rock
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Sunny Day
- Knock Off
- Thunder Wave
- U-turn
Leafeon @ Kebia Berry
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Swords Dance
- Solar Blade
- Knock Off
- Weather Ball
Shiftry @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Growth
- Solar Beam
- Knock Off
- Heat Wave
Ivysaur @ Eviolite
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Growth
- Solar Beam
- Weather Ball
- Sludge Bomb
Garbodor @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spe
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Gunk Shot
- Pain Split
- Stomping Tantrum
How the team works should be pretty self explanatory. Uxie is one of the sun setters on the team. It can also set up Stealth Rock, use Yawn to help force out Pokemon, and can pivot with U-Turn. Liepard is the other sun setter, and utilizes Prankster so you can setup Sunny Day first, regardless of opposing Pokemon's speed. Knock Off, Thunder Wave, and U-Turn are for utility to help your sun sweepers. Leafeon is pretty much the physical sun sweeper, although it's mixed. Swords Dance to boost your attack, and then you can pretty much spam Solar Blade in the sun. Knock Off removes opposing Pokemon's items. Weather Ball allows Leafeon to deal with Tangela. Kebia Berry on Leafeon allows you to take a Sludge Bomb from Tangela. Shiftry is also a mixed sun sweeper, but mainly a special attacker. Growth boosts both of Shiftry's attacks. Solar Beam is a powerful grass STAB move. Knock Off is to remove items from opposing Pokemon. Heat Wave is useful coverage and gets boosted by the sun. Ivysaur is the only sun sweeper that isn't mixed. Although it's not on the VR as of now, it is a really good sun sweeper. Growth boosts your special attack, so you can fire off powerful Solarbeams in the sun. Weather Ball is good coverage in the sun. Sludge Bomb is STAB that allows you to hit Pokemon like Altaria and Centiskorch. Lastly, Garboder is for setting up Spikes, which can put opposing Pokemon into range of the sun sweepers' attacks, and punishes physical attackers.
Things to Keep in Mind when Rating this Team
- Half of my team has Knock Off as one of their moves. Is this a problem that makes some of my matchups worse against certain Pokemon?
- I personally find Kangaskhan, Altaria and Skuntank hard to deal with. Kangaskhan's access to Fake Out can be a problem if my team gets weak enough to be revenge killed with it. Kangaskhan's Sucker Punch can also put pressure on the sun sweepers, even Shiftry once it's chipped enough. I find myself using Garbodor to force chip damage on Kangaskhan. Is this a good way to deal with Kangaskhan? Altaria's dragon/flying combo makes it resist grass and fire moves, forcing me to either use Knock Off or Ivysaur's Sludge Bomb on it. Sun being up kind of improves the matchup vs Altaria somewhat, as sunlight causes Altaria's STAB Hurricane to be 50% accurate, but it's a 50/50 chance for Hurricane to hit or miss. Skuntank's poison/dark combo pretty much makes me have to use fire moves, but I would have to setup before hand if I want to deal with Skuntank. What is a good strategy for dealing with Skuntank?
- I kind of want to add a fire type Pokemon, but I'm not sure if I should. Should I add a fire type on the team? If so, who should I replace to add the fire type Pokemon?
