>>41182486Sandaconda's new ability, Sand Spit, activates whenever Sandaconda is hit by an attack. Naturally this draws a lot of comparisons to Hippowdon, which we'll do shorty. Hard to say if Sand Spit is an improvement on the formula or not. On one hand, the downsides are obvious. If Sandaconda is in, or switched in, you don't get the immediate benefits that sand provides, meaning you're gonna potentially take that boosted attack before the weather turns to your favor. On the other hand, Sandaconda makes it incredibly difficult for your opponent to keep the weather they want up. Once a traditional sand setter is on the field, your opponent only needs to exploit a opportunity to bring in theirs and put you on the back foot again. With Sandaconda, your opponent has half a turn to enjoy its benefits before they're taking sand damage again at the end of the turn.
Sandaconda also relieves Pupitar of its former monopoly on access to Shed Skin, a somewhat unreliable ability that is typically seen on sets that try to maximally abuse it with Rest. For the formats that allow it, Sandaconda's unique access to Minimize and Coil among Ground types makes either of these moves quite complementary to a potential Shed Rest set.
As for Sand Veil, well we've seen that shit before. Pretty vanilla for Ground-types. Although with Minimize access it might just be the best evasion user the type has had to date.
