Sand Team Guide for Pokémon Champions M-C
A sand team is anchored by a setter whose documented ability raises a sandstorm, then profits twice: residual chip damage on most of the field and doubled Speed for Sand Rush attackers. Tyranitar and Hippowdon are the verified Regulation M-C setters. Sandstorm in Champions is unconfirmed, and this page says so wherever it matters.
Evidence: EV-ARCH-CORPUS · EV-MC-ROSTER-262
The archetype stands or falls on one requirement: get sand up and keep it up. Tyranitar and Hippowdon are the corpus-verified setters, both on the official eligible list, and Tyranitar doubles as the plan's heavy breaker. Because Champions has published no weather rules, the entire premise is marked Unknown; what follows is documented main-series logic, offered as a model to evaluate rather than a promise to trust.
Evidence: EV-ARCH-CORPUS · EV-MC-ROSTER-262 · EV-SPD-MECH
Four roles surround the setter. The Sand Rush attacker slot, verified as Excadrill, Lycanroc Midday, or Houndstone, turns the storm into tempo. A Rock and Steel resist core, Lucario and Corviknight here, covers the Fighting and Ground answers aimed at Tyranitar. Garchomp adds Ground offense that appreciates the chip damage. Gengar rounds out the plan as the special attacker, keeping the team from leaning wholly physical.
Evidence: EV-ARCH-CORPUS · EV-DS-PKM · EV-TYPE-CHART
Sand Rush is documented to double Speed inside a sandstorm, which converts otherwise average attackers into the fastest things on the field without touching their training. The caveat never leaves: Champions parity for both the storm and the ability is Unknown. This site's speed calculator can still compute the doubled outcomes under the documented assumption, so the plan can be stress-tested before it is believed.
Evidence: EV-ARCH-CORPUS · EV-SPD-MECH
Threats are derived from the documented type chart, because no usage data exists to rank real opponents. Fighting offense is the headline: Tyranitar takes quadruple damage from it, and several teammates share lesser weaknesses to the same answers. Water and Grass moves pressure the Ground-leaning members. Meta-derived threat lists and popularity figures are Unknown and intentionally missing.
Evidence: EV-ARCH-CORPUS · EV-TYPE-CHART · EV-MC-FACTS
The loadable template drops these verified candidates into this site's team builder, everything stored on your device only. Hippowdon over Tyranitar trades breaking power for staying power; Excadrill is the obvious first swimmer to try. Whatever you change, the builder re-checks legality against the same September 9 eligible list behind this page, so a legal template never becomes an illegal team quietly.
Evidence: EV-ARCH-CORPUS · EV-MC-ROSTER-262
Formation conditions
Requires a sand setter; verified candidates Tyranitar and Hippowdon. Sandstorm existence and behavior in Champions: Unknown.
Evidence: EV-ARCH-CORPUS
Loadable template
Roles, verified candidates, and their sources are listed below. The optional flex slot has no verified candidate and is left open on purpose.
| Role | Verified candidates | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sand setter | Tyranitar, Hippowdon | project-authored from documented mechanics + official M-C roster |
| Sand rush attacker | Excadrill, Lycanroc midday, Houndstone | dataset ability_keys + documented mechanics |
| Rock/steel resist core | Lucario, Corviknight | project-authored from documented mechanics + official M-C roster |
| Ground attacker | Garchomp | project-authored from documented mechanics + official M-C roster |
| Special attacker | Gengar | project-authored from documented mechanics + official M-C roster |
| Flex (optional) | Unknown — no verified candidate; slot left open | Unknown - no verified candidate; slot left open |
Evidence: EV-ARCH-CORPUS · EV-MC-ROSTER-262
Threats (type math only)
Project-authored type math: Fighting offense hits the core hard, including quadruple damage into Tyranitar. Usage-based threat lists are Unknown; none exists.
Evidence: EV-ARCH-CORPUS · EV-TYPE-CHART
Pokémon guides: Tyranitar · Garchomp · Lucario
Frequently asked questions
Is sandstorm confirmed in Pokémon Champions?
No weather mechanic has been published for Champions, so sand's effects here are documented main-series behavior, not proven Champions behavior.
Who sets sand in Regulation M-C?
The corpus verifies Tyranitar and Hippowdon on the official eligible list via their documented Sand Stream ability. Each is selectable in this site's builder.
Why does this page show no matchup percentages?
Regulation M-C has no usage data, so percentages would be invented. Threats are derived from the documented type chart and labeled as project-authored math.
Load this template in the Builder · Regulation M-C rules & eligible list · All Regulations · Data Sources & Status
Sources: the official Pokémon Champions rules page and eligible list (retrieved September 11, 2026) for legality, dates, and clauses; PokéBase (pokebase.app), an authorized third-party source, for form attributes. This site is not Nintendo or The Pokémon Company.
Stat and matchup math uses documented main-series mechanics. Whether Pokémon Champions matches those mechanics exactly is Unknown; where that matters, the page says so instead of guessing.
Dataset version m-c-2026.09.09.1 - regulation facts verified September 11, 2026.
More team guides: Rain · Sun · Tailwind offense