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Perhaps some of you guys have seen my RMT on Belly Drum Kommo-o. That was a Hyper Offense team and it worked out well enough to get me to peak at 1700+. Now I'm trying out the polar opposite to HO, Stall. Full disclosure: I'm not good at building or playing Stall (hell, I'm not good at balance lmao), but this build has done pretty decent so far. I created a fresh account just so I could test out this team and all I have to say is that I'm 100% getting reqs for the next suspect test. Honestly, I thought that I'd be in low ladder for a while, but the games were so damn easy that people are basically giving you free wins. For the first time in a while, I actually didn't want to kill myself and/or doubt my teambuilding skills just for being in the low ladder. The team is very consistent and pretty fun to use.
(Sometimes I'll get very stressed from laddering and as a result, get incredibly pissy with anyone who stands in my way. A result of doing nothing but Pokémon for months on end, non-stop)
Since the most troubling part I have with Stall is wearing down Pokémon while staying healthy, My idea was to accelerate the process by having a Pokémon that hits incredibly hard so I can shimmy past checks such as Heatran, Lando, and Corviknight. To assist in the wear down process, is a modified combination of most stall sub archetypes (bar Unaware and Wish cores). This consists of hazard stack core along with a double Regenerator core and a Bouncer to create a team that both denies status, spreads status, has near infinite longevity, and sets up hazards while also having a clear win-con in ID+BP Skarmory.
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 104 Def / 152 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Recover
- Toxic
- Haze
The Iconic Pex Set. This was originally a Glowking but it never lived up to its potential considering it was facing competition with Tangrowth as a special wall. The rain match-up was also fairly atrocious so Pex helps out a lot against that. I realise that since Pex is hella passive, that it's incredibly susceptible to trapping and actually loses to Heatran, so Shed Shell might be a better item.
Sableye-Mega @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 248 SpD / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Knock Off
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Protect
Sableye is also the standard set, acting as a defensive bouncer and status spreader. Protect helps scout out the opponents intentions and allows me to get the jump on choice users. Knock Off is to mainly remove HDB so that the hazards actually sting.
Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 12 Atk / 12 Def / 232 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Sludge Bomb
- Rock Slide
This is a slight deviation on the standard Tangrowth set. The key difference is the fact that it can OHKO offensive Volcorona with rock slide and therefore acts as a great lure since the Volc Player sees it as a free turn. So it's slightly frailer but in exchange, it can bait in Volcorona? Fantastic trade.
Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 164 Def / 96 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Iron Defense
- Body Press
- Roost
- Spikes
This is the team's win-condition against a lot of offensive cores. Once all the special attackers and ghosts are cleared, Skarm is near impossible to kill and is incredibly taxing to handle. Rocky Helmet is basically a death sentence against physical attackers (MFW the Weavile is shredded by Rocky Helmet Chip). And of course, Spikes help make progress against switch ins.
Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 48 SpD / 168 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Superpower
Kinda weird that a stall team has a wallbreaker in it, but CB Ttar really does go hard. Stone Edge 2HKOs Clefable and Mixed Wall Corviknight (which are issues against my team) and also terrorizes Zapdos. Pursuit (and Crunch to an extent) demolishes Psychics and Ghosts, while Superpower ruins Ferrothorn and Lopunny. It's sort of like a suicide mon since it has horrible longevity but also deals big damage in return.
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 52 Def / 100 SpD / 112 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Roost
The final member of the team. Used to check Heatran while also setting up hazards. It's way bulkier than it looks on paper, which is a nice surprise.
Threatlist:
Like a billion threats against this dumpster fire, and all of them can destroy me if i'm not careful.
Impressive Coverage and Access to Terrain Boosted Stab is incredibly threatening. Set versatility also troubling since it could be CM, Specs, or Scarf and I'll prep improperly. A common answer is to bait in Psyshock from Spec/Scarf Lele and quick switch into Tyranitar and OHKO it from Pursuit.
This hits like a freight train coming at you at 80/mph. Switching into Band sets are a nightmare, and Swords Dance is straight up impossible to win against. Lucky for me, it's rarely used outside of rain (which is its own beast.) A common answer is to burn it, and pray that he isn't SD
Asshat keeps flinching me and it's very annoying to handle if it's not burned. A common answer is to force it out using ID skarm to wall and remove it.
Cleans out 2/3rds of my team with Water/Fire Coverage. There is no direct answer other than to Toxic it with Pex
Incredible Coverage with Incredible Power. Typically, Sableye can handle it.
More specifically, Greninja in the rain. It hits incredibly hard and has amazing coverage. Outside of rain, the protean sets are the most difficult threat. A common answer is to switch into Tangrowth which is generally fine against it, however it hates switching into Gunk Shot and Ice Beam.
It's basically THE stall breaker against this team. While it can lose to all of them (bar Sableye), its incredible coverage renders them unable to function at times. A common answer is to safe switch into Gliscor and kill it with EQ
There's only one way to check Blaziken, have Skarmory OHKO it with an already setup ID+BP sweep.
Team Flaws:
Goofiest drawbacks known to man
No Defogger
Once the hazards are set down, they're permanent. Just have to manage it.
No Unaware Wall
Sweeping is quite annoying to counter but it's fairly manageable
No Cleric
Probably the biggest issue since status is permanent and TTar's wallbreaking is limited.
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