BW NU The Neon Hail Mary - Peaked #1

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Introduction


Hey there, I'm Karpman. I started playing BW NU since its inception and the creation of the ladder, after my friend, whom you might know as the moderator Zebraiken, told me about it. I found the tier to be fun and I enjoyed success on the early ladder. I had basically thrown together a ragtag stall team and somehow made it to #5 on the leaderboard there while Zebrasuperstar made #1, but I was satisfied nonetheless, although I hardly pursued further learning and playing of the tier, focusing on OU instead. I was away from NU for a long time until Zebraiken told me that NU analyses were going to be available to be written and that he made the QC team, as well as that #neverused had started up and gained some activity. In addition to there being a new analysis section and irc channel, the metagame had evolved a ton since I last touched it, and I was determined to conquer it. The new metagame proved hard to adjust to at first, many offensive Pokemon had emerged, rendering stall somewhat hard to play. Eventually, The Wolf and I made a neat balanced/bulky offense team that I got to around #20 with, but this was only the beginning. After tier shifts, the new meta arrived and while many of the old staples of Stage 0 left, Vicrtreebell was the only Pokemon that came down from RU. With the start of stage 1, many new Pokemon became standard, such as Jynx, Magmortar, Gorebyss and Rotom-S. Aside from Gorebyss's great influence and power, the metagame was relatively balanced and over time, Gorebyss too showed that it was nothing special. After reaching #16 on the ladder with a teambat-generated semi stall team that was admittedly, metagame weak. Due to that causing me to lose some matches, I ended up tilting back down. I then trained deep in the mountains and built what was an extremely gimmicky stall team at the time. My goal was to utilize Natu's potential and not be entirely dependent on Spikes to stall and I'd like to say I succeeded in that. I got to around 1230 with it before stopping to fix the fact that Natu was under performing. In short, I disliked having to engage in a war of prediction against every SR user for something so little and Natu didn't wall a whole of threats, so I eventually replaced it with a Tentacool. While Tentacool is a lackluster Pokemon by itself, it could not have more perfect team synergy, it honestly works amazing with this team. It was smooth sailing from there on, I made a new alt and got to 1240 right before the council for R1 was going to be chosen. I stopped there due to fear of disconnects [dc'd 5 times during laddering wow!] and I thought I was high enough to have a shot at getting on, but my lack of temerity did not pay off, as I wasn't picked. I decided to move on and later started laddering for the hell of it, since there was less on the line. I eventually made it to #1 somehow and ended up holding it for the majority of Round 2, since the ladder never reset. A lot of people have wondered how I managed to pull off stall in NU, and some have even asked for the RMT to be posted. Many fellow NU players know this team well and have fought against it, I've even heard that someone used it, so it's infamous to an extent. Anyways, congrats for getting this far and I hope you will enjoy the RMT.


The Team



Tentacool (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Toxic
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Giga Drain

Man, this thing fits so perfectly on my team it's ridiculous. When I mention that I use one, people think I'm joking, but Tentacool is the real deal. I'll admit that the EVs were mindlessly thrown together, but they seem to work well, so I'm not complaining, if you have any better suggestions, then please do post! Anyways, on to why I used Tentacool. Well as I said, Natu wasn't cutting it and I figured I'd try out an actual spinner. The Stealth Rock weak Cryogonal and Torkoal didn't appeal to me, as the rest of the team walled what they did and again, I don't like my spinners having a weakness to hazards. I decided to try out Tentacool after I saw Fatty using it to check Gorebyss. While my team was not completely Gorebyss weak, a true Gorebyss counter that can lay Toxic Spikes is a true luxury for a stall team to have. To expand on Toxic Spikes, they're probably the most valuable entry hazard in NU at the moment, even moreso than Spikes. Almost every potent sweeper is vulnerable to these things, Jynx, Magmortar, Gorebyss, you name it. They can pretty much burn out any team without a Poison Type or a Spinner, and this team is hell for spinners anyways, so it's restricted to the former for the most part. While I lack Scald and would love to have it, Giga Drain ensures that I beat Gorebyss, as sub variants will be able to allude Toxic, Giga Drain doesn't stand for that and assures that Gorebyss will fall. Tentacool also provides a much needed check to Special Combusken, which otherwise is a bitch to take down. All of its attacks do pittance to Tentacool, however and it's simply just setup bait for my Toxic Spikes. Tentacool is also useful for Status fodder or just taking a random hit and Toxicing something, if I decide that I really don't need it at a certain point in the match.


Hypno (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Insomnia
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Sd
Calm Nature (+SpD -Atk)
- Seismic Toss / Psychic
- Wish
- Taunt
- Protect

This was actually a Misdreavus 2/3 days ago, but I decided to test out this and boy, I'm glad I did. My team had a staggering weakness to Vileplume and Amoongus, since they just continued to annoy my team and I couldn't touch them, but Hypno provides an answer. It also provides an answer to Duosion, one of the most potent threats to stall, and is one of the few stall-oriented Pokemon that can boast the ability to do so. While I lose a spinblock, it's not really a big deal for me, because I'm not using Spikes and Toxic Spikes can be easily absorbed. Plus, Tentacool beats Wartortle while Probopass pretty much beats every other Rapid Spinner unless it's Armaldo with Earthquake, and those 2 are my hazard layers, so I'm essentially not losing much. Anyways, Hypno rounds out my core of Specially Defensive walls and unlike Lickilicky, is able to take down Magmortar sans any crits, since it can't be hit Super Effectively by any of its attacks, although Lickilicky is useful for stalling it out with Toxic, but that often requires prediction. Hypno also has access to Wish, meaning I essentially have 32 Wishes to give out, thus allowing me to provide for both the Wish user and its teammates without running out of PP, which is a common qualm of mine when I only have 16 PP, having 2 Wish users eliminates this minor problem. Finally, we have Taunt, which can be described as the crux of this set and also the primary reason as to why I'm using Hypno. Taunt shuts down Duosion completely, rendering it incapable to do anything but switch out or die, and also deals with Vileplume, making sure that it can't Recover. Amoognus is in the same boat, but I also have Insomnia to make sure Spore doesn't render me helpless.


Lickilicky (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Return
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell


You're looking at one of the best Special walls and clerics in the game right now. This thing will shrug off literally any neutral hit with its absolutely insane Special Bulk. There honestly isn't any one Special Attacking move in the tier than can take this thing out if Rocks aren't up, Specs Eggy Leaf Storm comes close, but it falls about 3%, which is pretty clutch on Lickilicky's part. I consider Lickilicky to be the Chansey/Blissey of NU. While its bulk pales in comparison to theirs, it still caries out the same duties and is similar in both type and appearance, but also has perks of its own that Blissey and Chansey lack. This thing is just so ridiculously durable and is my go-to user of Wish. Lickilicky is almost always able to come in and out and do whatever it needs to so that the team can win. It often finds ample opportunities during a match to either Heal Bell or Wish and while I do lose Toxic, it is useful to have Heal Bell on the set, since Lickilicky is often the receiver of many a status condition. The one thing I really love about Lickilicky is its ability to not only wall special threats, but hit them and whatever comes in, hard, thanks to STAB Return and Lickilicky's respectable Attack stat, which is something Blissey can't brag about. I do miss Toxic a lot, but it's necessary to have Heal Bell since Misdreavus is no longer on the team, and I need to keep my Pokemon free of status.


Quagsire (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Recover
- Toxic


Quagsire, simply a Pokemon whose prowess transcends tiers thanks to its absolutely wonderful ability in Unaware. Unaware allows Quagsire to become so much more than its mediocre bulk, it allows it to take down set up sweeper after set up sweeper without breaking a sweat. With a full investment in both HP and Defense as well as a Relaxed Nature, Quagsire is surprisingly bulky and can take hits from the likes of Absol and Samurott while whittling their health down via Toxicstalling. The best quality that Quagsire has, though, in my opinion is its fantastic synergy with Tangela. The TangelQuag core is beyond fantastic, and each Pokemon picks up the slack while its partner is at low health or up against a Pokemon that it can't beat. Obviously, this combination is restricted to Physical threats only, but the amount of Physical attackers it covers is insane. To this day, Pinsir with Mold Breaker and Swords Dance is the only Pokemon I have seen threaten the core, but even that can be handled if I get Toxic on it, which I usually do and Probopass's Sturdy is intact. Quagsire's moveset is almost perfect for a wall. While Toxic is usually the move I spam on switchins, it's always fantastic when Scald can get a crucial burn on one of the annoying Grass Types I mentioned in Hypno's description and is useful for taking down stuff that it hits supereffectively or generally does a lot of damage to, although its coverage is somewhat redundant with Earthquake. Earthquake is still useful in its own right and does a ton of damage to stuff like Absol and Garbodor that Scald doesn't do all that much to. Finally, Toxic and Recover is just a fantastic combo and has allowed me to wall numerous threats throughout my BW NU Career. I hope to God that this thing never moves up.


Probopass (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- Volt Switch
- Power Gem
- Toxic


At the beginning of Stage 1, the Birds, aka Swellow and Braviary were being hyped ridiculously due to most of their checks and counters moving up when the tiers shifted. Due to the fact that the birds were feared like the plague, the mindset at the time was basically 'Regi, Golem, Probo or die', and so I adapted to this idea and slapped a good ol' Probopass on my team. While the birds, like Gorebyss, died down and descended from their man-given thrones, Probo continued to act as a boss for this team and took the hits that no one else wanted to. This thing is so extremely dependable, it's crazy. The best part is that it's optimized to take both Physical and Special hits, thereby increasing its ability to beat threats. One threat in particular that it beats is Jynx, which many of my fellow NU players want banned. I always say that you should carry "2 counters to Jynx" or at least a counter and a shaky check, a la my special walls. This is mainly because of Lovely Kiss, which can effectively put one of them out of commission, so you'll need the other to beat it with. Probopass does just that when Lickilicky is down and can take multiple Ice Beams like a champion, while hitting hard with Power Gem, I just have to pray that it doesn't freeze me! On to the moves, Power Gem is my main means of attacking and can really eat away at spinners in conjunction with Toxic, since almost every common spinner is weak to rock. Volt Switch is also very useful, as it can allow me to get a good matchup against a Pokemon like Magmortar without having to switch in. Stealth Rock is pretty much a given, I wanted to utilize every hazard I could fit on the team and is useful for wearing down my opponent.


Tangela (F) @ Eviolite
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Def / 64 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Leech Seed
- Sleep Powder


I honestly think any words in my vocabulary do a disservice to Tangela, given how fantastic it is, but I'll try and explain its unprecedented dominance of physical attackers the best I can. An Eviolite boosts Tangela's Defenses to amazing heights and it's actually Physically bulkier than Skarmory, crazy, huh? Simply put, what Tangela does to Physical Attackers in NU is akin to what Blissey does to Special threats in OU, although a Specially Oriented metagame is totally fine, in my opinion. Like Tentacool, I pretty much randomly slapped on the EVs, but they've been working fine and who knows, they might have saved my ass against a special move at one point. Anyways, I'll get down to explaining how great Tangela is. While it lacks any form of Phazing/Hazing, Tangela is hardly setup bait, between its great coverage of Giga Drain/HP Ice coming off of a respectable Base 100 SpA Stat, Leech Seed, and Sleep Powder, Pokemon trying to set up on Tangela are easily brought down within a matter of turns. I have considered running Hidden Power Rock to make killing Magmortar or Birds easier, but after some testing, I've decided Ice is the best option, as Dragons are extremely powerful, even if they aren't fully evolved, and I need to kill them as quickly as I can. The best quality of Tangela is Regenerator, though. While Giga Drain and Leech Seed are great for gaining back health, not to mention I have Wish, Regenerator requires almost no effort to recover any damage I took, meaning Tangela can literally force one threat out, switch out and recover the damage it took and repeat this process until everything dies. As I already said in Quagsire's description, the two form an infamous combo, one that is the basis of my team and also one that any Physical Attacker should be wary of.


Comprehensive Threat List


Moderate Threats in Orange
Big Threats in Red

Offensive Threats

Absol:
~Choice Scarf/Band-Rare, Tangela beats it, if it's locked into Megahorn then I just force it out with Probo, although I'll probably check to see if it's not bluffing.
~Swords Dance-Beaten by Quag without crits, Tangela beats non Megahorn variants.
Altaria:
~Special-Basically just stalled out with Toxic on Probo or by Lickilicky/Hypno
~Dragon Dance/Bulky DD-Can't touch Quag without crits, probably can't touch it with crits. Tangela smashes it if I can sleep it for at least 2 turns and takes nothing from its attacks.
Arbok:
~Coil-Pretty dangerous if it has Seed Bomb, but Quagsire can take 1 Seed Bomb and EQ it for heavy damage, Tangela is also able to take a boosted Gunk Shot and either Leech Seed/Sleep Powder or hit it with Hidden Power Ice.
Armaldo:
~Support-Loses to Probopass if it lacks Earthquake, always loses to Quagsire.
~Swords Dance-Always loses to Quagsire.
Banette:
~Trick Room Sweeper-Honestly had to check what this did, Quag and Tangela can take whatever it throws at them, sans Curse. Rare and not a huge threat.
Basculin:
~Choice-Beaten outright by Tangela and Probopass and Quagsire can beat it if it's not locked into Waterfall.
Beartic:
~SubPunch-Could be annoying due to STAB Icicle Crash, but I've never seen it, so I honestly don't know, I'd try and get my Tspikes up against it quick.
~All out attacker-Same boat as Subpunch, Quag could probably take it on better, though.
Beheeyem:
-Nasty Plot-I try and get this thing 1 on 1 against Hypno so I can Taunt it quickly. Overall, the lack of Toxic on Lickilicky has hurt me against Beeheyem, I'll have to just chip away at it and hope it doesn't kill my whole team.
Braviary:
~Choice-Not much of a threat, I send in Tangela to take a hit and then send in whatever resists that hit. It's very easy to force out into SR and often ends up dying quickly.
~Life Orb-Tangela can take a Brave Bird and hurt it with HP Ice, Quagsire beats it outright.
Butterfree:
~Quiver Dance-Annoying, but like Jynx, Probopass or Lickicky beats it while the other is asleep.
Cacturne:
~Spikes-Somewhat bothersome since it can really hurt Tentacool, I try to KO it as quickly as I can with Tangela.
~Swords Dance-Can't touch Tangela at all.
Camerupt:
~Support-Lays SR and nothing more, dies to Toxic or Tspikes.
Carracosta:
~Special Shell Smash-Another reason why I'd like Toxic on Lickilicky, this can get annoying if it has HP Grass.
~Physical Shell Smash-Tangela and Quagsire beat it outright.
Cinccino:
~Life Orb-Beaten by Tangela unless it gets 5 crits in a row, eaten away at by hazards.
~Choice Band-Same as Life Orb, easier to beat due to being locked into a move.
Dragonair:
~Dragon Dance-Can't touch Quagsire, Tangela KOs between Leech Seed, HP Ice and Sleep.
Drifblim:
~Unburden-The Devil, can't touch it if it has HP Fighting [Else Probopass], thank God it's rare.
~SubCM-^
~Baton Pass-^
Duosion:
~Calm Mind-Beaten by Hypno.
~Trick Room-Rare, but can be stalled out and Hypno usually beats it.
Eelektross:
~Special Attacker-Probo, Licki or Hypno if they don't switch in on acid spray.
~Coil-Beaten by Quagsire easily, Tangela is decent at beating it, too.
Emboar:
~Choice-Beaten by Quag regardless of move choice
~Mixed-Not that common, but somewhat threatening if it has HP Grass.
Exeggutor:
~Specs-Very strong, often have to end up sacrificing a Pokemon to it, but if I can Toxic it, then I'm set.
~Standard Attacker-Too weak, Lickilicky and Hypno handle it.
~SubSeed-Beaten by Tentacool and doesn't really do much, hates Tspikes.
Floatzel:
~CB-Loses to Tangela and Quagsire.
~Bulk Up-Same as CB.
~Rain Dance-Same as other sets.
Fraxure:
~Dragon Dance-Loses to Tangela, can be a bit tough to predict against SubDD. Any lacking Earthquake have a hard time vs. Probopass and any without Substitute are susceptible to Quagsire's Toxic.
Gardevoir:
~Support-Will O Wisp is annoying, but I eventually win out against it, especially if it lacks Heal Bell.
~Choice-Beaten by Hypno, I have to watch out for Trick though
~Dual Screens-Can't stop from screening, but not a threat itself
~Sub+3 Attacks-Hypno all day.
Gigalith:
~Support-Sets up SR only to die to Tangela/Quagsire and have Tenta spin away its hard work.
Glaceon:
~Choice-Loses to Hypno/Lickilicky
Golem:
~Support-Same boat as Gigalith, loses to Tangela and Quag. Normal Gem Explosion can hurt, though.
Gorebyss:
~Shell Smash-Loses to Tentacool easily, Lickilicky and Hypno can take a +2 hit.
~SubSS-Just unable to Toxic it with Tentacool, but also gives Quag a chance to hit it. Giga Drain still beats it, though.
Haunter:
~LO+3 Attacks-Annoying, but Quag can usually tank a hit and hurt it with Scald.
~Substitute-Very annoying, not that common, though. Especially bad if it gets a crit or Poison or SpD drop on Quag [which it usually does].
Huntail:
~Shell Smash-Rare, beaten by Quagsire or Tangela
Jynx:
~SubCM/SubNP-Annoying if my opponent plays smart with lovely kiss, but Probo/Licki check it.
~Offensive Nasty Plot-Big threat with Focus Blast, hopefully sturdy is intact or my Tspikes are up.
~Choice Scarf-Can't harm the team at all.
Kadabra:
~Special Attacker-Beaten by Lickilicky and/or Hypno.
Kangaskhan:
~Physical Attacker-Beaten by Tangela, Quag is decent with it, too.
~SubPunch-Same as Physical Attacker.
Leafeon:
~Swords Dance-Beaten by Tangela and Probopass.
~Physical Wall-Does nothing.
~Baton Pass-Can be threatening, depending on the recipient, I try and Sleep Powder it or the recipient as soon as I can.
Linoone:
~Belly Drum-Can't KO Tangela with +6 Extremspeed and Probo can Toxic or attack it if sturdy is intact.
Machoke:
~Choice Band-Tangela wins here.
~Restalk-Tangela beats this too.
Magmortar:
~Life Orb-Tricky, but Hypno takes it on well, Licki and Tentacool can also take a hit if need be.
~Substitute-Quagsire beats it if it lacks HP Grass, Hypno wins outright and Tentacool beats non-Thunderbolt variants.
Marowak:
~Trick Room Sweeper-Loses to Tangela
~Substitute-Loses to Tangela
~ShakeItUp [SD and Sub Pass from Ninjask]-Hard to beat if it's behind a sub, but Tangela can win otherwise.
Mesprit:
~Support-Sets SR or Screens and then does nothing.
~SubCM-Dangerous. I have to make sure it can't set up. I basically go to Hypno first, Taunt and then start Seismic Tossing.
Ninjask:
~Baton Pass-I HAVE to lead Probo to make sure this does nothing and I have to make sure it can't come in late game and set up, otherwise I'm in deep trouble.
Persian:
~Scout-Can't touch my Physical Walls
~Nasty Plot-Beaten by Hypno and Lickilicky.
Pinsir:
~Swords Dance-Breaks TangelQuag if it has Mold Breaker, but Quagsire will always get Toxic on it, from there I just have to stall it out.
~Choice Band-Tangela can take X-Scissor, so I just have to learn whatever move its locked into and force it out by sending in a Pokemon that resists that move.
Raichu:
~Nasty Plot-Beaten by Lickilicky and Hypno.
~Choice-Can't touch me, same strategy as with other choiced mons.
Rapidash:
~Physical Attacker-Loses to Quagsire outright.
Rotom-F:
~Choice-Beaten by Probopass and my special walls, I usually have Probopass absorb the trick.
~Defensive-Can't do much, Toxic wears it down.
Rotom-S:
~Choice-Same as Rotom-F
~Defensive-^
~SubCharge-Quagsire, Lickilicky and Hypno all beat it if there's not a ton of hax.
~ParaFlinch-Same as Subcharge for the most part.
Samurott:
~Swords Dance-Tangela can take a Megahorn, Quagsire straight up wins.
~Mixed Attacker-Annoying if it has HP Grass and a move to deal with Tangela, rare, but threatening. I have to get Toxic on it.
Sawk:
~Choice-Can't touch Tangela, Scarf can't hurt Quagsire.
Serperior:
~SubSeed-Annoying, but can't hurt Tenta all that much, also Tspikes bait.
~SubCM-Hates Tspikes like all Subseed variants, loses to Licki and Hypno.
~Dual Screens-Rare, can't really do much unless it has Leech Seed, but it dies to Toxic anyways.
~Coil-Hates Tspikes and loses to Tangela.
Slaking:
~Choice-Can't beat Tangela, Truant allows me to play around it, plus it hates Toxic/Toxic Spikes.
Skuntank:
~Trapper-ANNOYING. Absorbs my Tspikes and also opens up a sweep for Duosion by trapping Hypno.
~Wallbreaker-Can't touch Quagsire.
Simisage:
~Nasty Plot-Rare, but it's good if I can get my Tspikes up or Toxic it. Hypno does an alright job of beating it.
Simisear
~Nasty Plot-Same as Simisage.
Simipour:
~Nasty Plot-Same as Simisage.
Swellow:
~Guts Attacker-Can't touch Probopass, often forced out into SR.
Tauros:
~Physical Attacker-Loses to Tangela without Fire Blast, loses to Quag outright.
~Work Up-Same as Physical Attacker.
Torterra:
~Support-Can't do much other than set SR, Tangela takes it to the cleaners.
~Rock Polish-Tangela always wins here.
~Choice-^
~Tank-^
Ursaring:
~Guts Abuser-Both Tangela and Quagsire can take its hits and eventually kill it.
~Quick Feet Abuser-Tangela and Quagsire always beat it.
Victreebel:
~Mixed Sun Abuser-Annoying, but Hypno and Lickilicky can usually take it down. Also rare.
~Swords Dance-A clean 6-0 for the most part, Probo can damage it with Power Gem, but is KO'd afterwards. Glad it's rare. Thanks to Texas Cloverleaf for pointing this out.
Zweilous:
~Choice Band-Beaten by Tangela and Probopass.


Defensive Threats

Alomomola:
~Support-Hates Toxic Spikes and Toxic, can't really hurt me.
Amoonguss:
~Defensive-Spore can't touch Hypno, Hypno outright beats it if it doesn't get Poison via Sludge Bomb.
Articuno:
~Defensive-Loses to Probo, I just stall it out of Heal Bell.
~SubRoost-SR Weak, Probo completely wrecks it.
Audino:
~Cleric-Annoying, but it gets stalled out of PP eventually, hates T-Spikes.
~Dual Screens-Doesn't do much.
Bastiodon:
~Support-Lays SR and then does nothing.
Cryogonal:
~Specially Defensive Spinner-Hates Toxic, Probo walks all over it.
Flareon:
~Defensive-Hates Toxic, I just stall it out of Wish.
Garbodor:
~Spiker-Ugh, I hate this thing. It outspeeds and is 3HKO'd by Quagsire. I just have to hope that I can get Tenta in and spin away its Spikes.
Gurdurr:
~Bulk Up-Has no chance against Tangela or Quagsire.
Lapras:
~Dragon Dance-Loses to Tangela/Quagsire
~Curse-Same as Dragon Dance
~Special Attacker-Beaten by Lickilicky/Hypno.
Lairon:
~Support-Same as Bastiodon, sets up SR and does nothing.
Lickilicky:
~Support-Just have to stall it out of Heal Bell and Toxic it to death.
~Mono-Attacker-Can't touch Quagsire or Tangela, Dragon Tail only has 16 PP.
Meganium:
~Support-Same idea as Lickilicky and Audino, Toxic it until Aromatherapy is out of PP.
~Dual Screens-Does nothing except set up screens.
Miltank:
~Curse-Can't touch Quagsire or Tangela, unless it has Sap Sipper, still not a threat since Quag beats all variants.
~Utility-Does nothing, I just stall it out of Heal Bell
~Defensive-^
Misdreavus:
~Physically Defensive-Stallbreaker Versions are annoying and generally hard to deal with since it just spams WoW and Taunt :/
~Calm Mind-Can't touch Quagsire without severe hax.
Musharna:
~Calm Mind-All I have to do is get Toxic on it and it will lose, as Rest is very rare. Still not a huge threat.
Murkrow:
~Perish Trapper-Dangerous if I play stupidly against it.
~FeatherDance-Does nothing except lose to Probopass.
~Life Orb Attacker-Breaks TangelQuag core, but loses to Probo.
Probopass:
~Support-Another case of set up SR and do nothing.
Quagsire:
~Physical Wall-Loses to Tangela and Toxic.
~Curse-^
Regice:
~Support-Can't do anything threatening.
~Rock Polish-Hypno beats it unless it gets critted.
~All-Out Attacker-Same as Rock Polish.
Regirock:
~Offensive Tank-Can't touch Tangela or Quagsire.
~Support-Another Pokemon that sets up SR and can't hurt the team at all.
~Curse-Tangela and Quagsire win here, too.
Tangela:
~Physically Defensive-Can't damage the team too much, dies to Toxic.
~Specially Defensive-Same as Physically Defensive.
~SubSeed-Annoying, but Tentacool or Hypno usually win here.
Throh:
~Bulk Up-Loses to Tangela/Quagsire, Tangela even beats ones with status on them.
Torkoal:
~Support-Sets up SR, but dies to Probopass very quickly and is easily eradicated from play.
Vileplume:
~Support-Quite annoying if it gets Poison on Hypno, I mainly just bring it down with Taunt and Seismic Toss.
Volbeat:
~Baton Pass-Could be fatal, depending on the recipient, extremely rare.
~Weather Support-Just have to brave past the weather, can't do anything outside of setting it up.
Wartortle:
~Rapid Spinner-Dies to Toxic Spikes/Toxic and loses to Tentacool easily.
Weezing:
~Physically Defensive Tank-Hypno wins by taunting it, I just have to hope for no Poison.



Conclusion


Damn, finally done writing this. NU has been a crazy run for me and I'm really glad that I've evolved into the player I have. I thought stall could never thrive in this metagame, but I managed to prove myself and so many others wrong. I really hope this RMT meets everyone's expectations and will help them down the road, as I spent over 2 hours writing it. I'm glad to have met a ton of cool guys from #neverused and that I'm enjoying Smogon a lot more because of it. I'll admit that I'm a bit salty over not being able to get a checkmark, but as I said in the introduction, that's partially on me. The permanentt senate obviously offers less incentive to play, since I have no shot at a checkmark anymore, but I'll probably still play ladder from time to time to test or hone my skills and I'l definitely be available for tournaments.


Importable:

Tentacool (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Toxic
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Giga Drain

Hypno (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Insomnia
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Seismic Toss
- Wish
- Taunt
- Psychic

Lickilicky (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Return
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell

Quagsire (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Recover
- Toxic

Probopass (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- Volt Switch
- Power Gem
- Toxic

Tangela (F) @ Eviolite
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Def / 64 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Leech Seed
- Sleep Powder


Importable of the old version if anyone wants it:

Tentacool (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Toxic
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Giga Drain

Misdreavus (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Pain Split
- Perish Song
- Heal Bell
- Shadow Ball

Lickilicky (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Return
- Wish
- Protect
- Toxic

Quagsire (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Recover
- Toxic

Probopass (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- Volt Switch
- Power Gem
- Toxic

Tangela (F) @ Eviolite
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Def / 64 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Leech Seed
- Sleep Powder
 
FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!
it took you long enough karpman, i was dieing. but on a lighter note, great team and congratz on the ladder peak!
 
I just realized that regular users are capable of posting Luvdiscs :] Awesome team man I love seeing well made defensive teams. I do find it pretty funny that Drifblim is a massive threat, but it's incredibly uncommon, so no sweat I guess!
 

Ice-eyes

Simper Fi
This team is really awesome and makes me wish I was a competent stall player. Congratulations on getting to #1!

If I was going to critique the team, it would be to suggest changing around some of the EV spreads. I'm not sure if you really need that Defense on Tentacool; you might be better-off with maxed SpD in order to soften Thunderbolts from Magmortar etc. The EVs on Probo look really weird as well.

EDIT: One thing you could try is Duosion over Hypno. It handles many of the same threats and gives the team a little more bite. However, Hypno fits into the niche better, with Wish and that massive SpD that lets you take on Magmortar.

But yeah this team!
 

Honus

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FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!
it took you long enough karpman, i was dieing. but on a lighter note, great team and congratz on the ladder peak!
Yeah, sorry for the wait, man. Glad you enjoyed it.

I just realized that regular users are capable of posting Luvdiscs :] Awesome team man I love seeing well made defensive teams. I do find it pretty funny that Drifblim is a massive threat, but it's incredibly uncommon, so no sweat I guess!
Thanks, Nubagator! Since posting this RMT, I've actually alternated between Hypno and Misdreavus, since using both have their pros and cons, but neither can really stand up to Drifblim, which oddly enough is a nuisance to my RU teams as well. The idea of this team was to beat the majority of the common threats, as indicated by the threatlist, since Drifblim would probably fall into the next tier down if there was one, so as you said, it's not a huge deal to be weak to it, as its somewhat akin to an OU Stall team being weak to Durant. Anyways, thanks a ton for the compliments and Luvdisc. PS I enjoy your videos ;)

It's the master of Lickilicky ! /me bows

Stall .__. Excellent team
Thank your Keiran, and yes, I am quite well-versed in the art of Lickilicky.


This team is really awesome and makes me wish I was a competent stall player. Congratulations on getting to #1!

If I was going to critique the team, it would be to suggest changing around some of the EV spreads. I'm not sure if you really need that Defense on Tentacool; you might be better-off with maxed SpD in order to soften Thunderbolts from Magmortar etc. The EVs on Probo look really weird as well.

But yeah this team!
Damn, that means a lot coming from the beast who held #1, #2 and #3 for the majority of Round 1. I probably should take the time to optimize Tentacool's EV Spread, but it does have a lot of SpD Already, although it has an awful defense stat, so I wanted to put most of the EVs towards improving that, plus it makes me more pursuit weak if I take away from that, although not many people pursuit Tentacools. As for the EVs on Probo, well they're standard [as per the on-site analysis], they put both stats at 380, which is p cool imo. Thanks for the compliments and criticism, though!
 

Molk

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its too bad rapid spin and haze are illegal on tentacool :/

anyways, great team also i luvdisc'd :D
 

marilli

With you
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This is like the stall team of NU, standing in the face of hyper offensive teams that really dominated the metagame. Whenever I heard of 'stallbreaking' it usually meant that it just counterteams your team =P. I don't think anyone really needs to 'rate' this team or anything, given that I thought it was quite complete when you had Misdreavus over Hypno already.

<3
 

TrollFreak

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Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 18 (13 members and 5 guests)

O.o
 

Honus

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is a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
its too bad rapid spin and haze are illegal on tentacool :/

anyways, great team also i luvdisc'd :D
Thanks, Molk. I'm fine without it having Haze, it's nice for stopping BP I guess but Tenta has 4 MSS as is with Giga Drain/Toxic/Tspikes/Rapid Spin/Scald.

This is like the stall team of NU, standing in the face of hyper offensive teams that really dominated the metagame. Whenever I heard of 'stallbreaking' it usually meant that it just counterteams your team =P. I don't think anyone really needs to 'rate' this team or anything, given that I thought it was quite complete when you had Misdreavus over Hypno already.

<3
Yeah, in hindsight I'm actually really missing Misdreavus, so I decided I'll probably alternate between the 2, and alternate their sets as well, if I ever use this team again. Anyways....I blushed reading that, that really gave me like a huge confidence boost xD, maybe it won't be the only stall team after people see this RMT !
 
The NU stall team and definitely one of(if not the) best teams for this round. A Luvdisc for you! Great team Karpman; the few times I ever did face it were always very difficult.
 
All of the prominent threats are covered very well, the ones that are the biggest threats to you are very rare (Drifblim @_@). I really like the synergy within the team and I honestly am so proud of Tentacool being able to take on all formes of Gorebyss. This is definitely going to be one of the best stall teams in NU even well into the future.

Good work!
 
This really is a great team. Well done peaking with a very hard NU playstyle.

One thing that your team doesn't really have is an answer to opposing stall, especially spike stacking stall, which can really hammer your only Rapid Spinner. One thing I was thinking about was replacing Hypno with a trapper Skuntank. The two check almost the exact same things (though you might need temporary Sleep Fodder for Ammonguss), while giving you a chance to break holes in opposing stall/spike stackers by trapping them, since you win against every common Spike Stacker in NU. Skuntank also patches up a bunch of the weaknesses that you were mentioning as I was browsing through your RMT. It also has access to Taunt, which means that it can still stop annoying Pokemon like Vileplume etc.

tl:dr
Try Trapper Skuntank over Hypno

Skuntank @ Life Orb | Aftermath
Adamant | 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
~Pursuit
~Taunt
~Sucker Punch
~Crunch / Sludge Bomb


Really cool team man, and congrats on the success!

Edit: Also, great presentation / good job making a Tentacool set that doesn't suck!
 

Honus

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is a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
The NU stall team and definitely one of(if not the) best teams for this round. A Luvdisc for you! Great team Karpman; the few times I ever did face it were always very difficult.
Thank you!

All of the prominent threats are covered very well, the ones that are the biggest threats to you are very rare (Drifblim @_@). I really like the synergy within the team and I honestly am so proud of Tentacool being able to take on all formes of Gorebyss. This is definitely going to be one of the best stall teams in NU even well into the future.

Good work!
Thanks steam, means a lot ;D
This really is a great team. Well done peaking with a very hard NU playstyle.

One thing that your team doesn't really have is an answer to opposing stall, especially spike stacking stall, which can really hammer your only Rapid Spinner. One thing I was thinking about was replacing Hypno with a trapper Skuntank. The two check almost the exact same things (though you might need temporary Sleep Fodder for Ammonguss), while giving you a chance to break holes in opposing stall/spike stackers by trapping them, since you win against every common Spike Stacker in NU. Skuntank also patches up a bunch of the weaknesses that you were mentioning as I was browsing through your RMT. It also has access to Taunt, which means that it can still stop annoying Pokemon like Vileplume etc.

tl:dr
Try Trapper Skuntank over Hypno

Skuntank @ Life Orb | Aftermath
Adamant | 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
~Pursuit
~Taunt
~Sucker Punch
~Crunch / Sludge Bomb


Really cool team man, and congrats on the success!

Edit: Also, great presentation / good job making a Tentacool set that doesn't suck!
Very valid point, I definitely agree that spike stacking stall gives me trouble, I'll try that Skuntank out !
 

watashi

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World Defender
I remember facing earlier versions of this team when I was laddering and it gave me headaches every time. I had a hard time getting past the core of Quagsire and Tangela. It's amazing how well this team checks most of the top threats in NU, especially with uncommon Pokemon such as Hypno and Tentacool.

Great team and congrats on peaking the ladder!
 

Texas Cloverleaf

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As I mentioned on irc, and as you've added into the threatlist,

SD
Sludge Bomb
Leaf Blade
Sucker Punch

Victreebel

Naughty

252 Atk / 104 SAtk / 152 Speed

OHKOs: Hypno, Tangela, Quagsire, Tentacool, Lickilicky (31% of the time) (always OHKO after rocks)
Always 2HKOs Probopass: 69-81%

Sets up on Tentacool and Hypno

will 6-0 you.

Maybe someone reading could find a fix for it?
 
Weezing over Tanglea is probably your best bet against Victreebel. By doing this, you still have a physical wall capable of burning things with Will-O-Wisp. Weezing checks most of what Tangela checks. Sucker Punch can be evaded by going for Will-O-Wisp. Will-O-Wisp cripples Victreebel. Weezing also resists its dual STABs meaning that it will take less damage even at +2.

Weezing (NU Physical Tank) takes: Sucker Punch 40.71 - 48.2% Leaf Blade 34.13 - 40.41%
Sludge bomb does max 33%.

So I'd say Weezing is a pretty good wall.

Weezing (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Sludge Bomb
- Clear Smog
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split


Good luck!
 

shrang

General Kenobi
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Am I the only person who is bothered about the fact that this team has no spinblocker? It's clearly a stall team, and what a waste that would be if all your hazards are just spun away whenever they go up. I don't play NU at all, but it's just the "no spin blocker" thing kind of makes me raise my eyebrows, or is it that there are no spinners in NU? Drifblim and Misdreavus look like decent options.
 

Upstart

Copy Cat
Am I the only person who isn't bothered about the fact that this team has no spinblocker? It's clearly a stall team, and what a waste that would be if all your hazards are just spun away whenever they go up. I don't play NU at all, but it's just the "no spin blocker" thing kind of makes me raise my eyebrows, or is it that there are no spinners in NU? Drifblim and Misdreavus look like decent options.
Lacking a spin blocker on this team isn't all that bad as at no point does this team spend all these turns spiking only for them to be spun away. Stealth rocks are easy to get down and in most cases only one layer of toxic spikes is needed as the team can stall out almost anything. So no spin blocker is worth having an extra pokemon to cover the diversity of NU.

With that in mind I would imagine poison types in general would be annoying to have to play around as they keep absorbing your spikes. However, I must say that it is a great team you have here. Great Job!
 

Honus

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I remember facing earlier versions of this team when I was laddering and it gave me headaches every time. I had a hard time getting past the core of Quagsire and Tangela. It's amazing how well this team checks most of the top threats in NU, especially with uncommon Pokemon such as Hypno and Tentacool.

Great team and congrats on peaking the ladder!
Thanks, FLCL! I didn't know my team was one of those teams, and your team was great, too!

As I mentioned on irc, and as you've added into the threatlist,

SD
Sludge Bomb
Leaf Blade
Sucker Punch

Victreebel

Naughty

252 Atk / 104 SAtk / 152 Speed

OHKOs: Hypno, Tangela, Quagsire, Tentacool, Lickilicky (31% of the time) (always OHKO after rocks)
Always 2HKOs Probopass: 69-81%

Sets up on Tentacool and Hypno

will 6-0 you.

Maybe someone reading could find a fix for it?
Yeah, it rapes me, I'm just glad its rare. I'm not sure what Pokemon could fit on my team that beats it, I might explore some options.

Weezing over Tanglea is probably your best bet against Victreebel. By doing this, you still have a physical wall capable of burning things with Will-O-Wisp. Weezing checks most of what Tangela checks. Sucker Punch can be evaded by going for Will-O-Wisp. Will-O-Wisp cripples Victreebel. Weezing also resists its dual STABs meaning that it will take less damage even at +2.

Weezing (NU Physical Tank) takes: Sucker Punch 40.71 - 48.2% Leaf Blade 34.13 - 40.41%
Sludge bomb does max 33%.

So I'd say Weezing is a pretty good wall.

Weezing (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Sludge Bomb
- Clear Smog
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split


Good luck!
Thanks for the suggestion, but Tangela's walling capabilities far outweigh that of Weezing's, so the burden will all essentially be on Quag. I'll try it though!

Am I the only person who isn't bothered about the fact that this team has no spinblocker? It's clearly a stall team, and what a waste that would be if all your hazards are just spun away whenever they go up. I don't play NU at all, but it's just the "no spin blocker" thing kind of makes me raise my eyebrows, or is it that there are no spinners in NU? Drifblim and Misdreavus look like decent options.
Well the first version of this team had a Misdreavus and that version worked really well [in hindsight it might be more effective at 'stalling' as opposed to checking threats than the current one], but the thing is, the spinners in NU die to my hazard setters, so they're essentially spinning themselves dead as I continually lay my hazards while they're poisoned via Toxic.

Lacking a spin blocker on this team isn't all that bad as at no point does this team spend all these turns spiking only for them to be spun away. Stealth rocks are easy to get down and in most cases only one layer of toxic spikes is needed as the team can stall out almost anything. So no spin blocker is worth having an extra pokemon to cover the diversity of NU.

With that in mind I would imagine poison types in general would be annoying to have to play around as they keep absorbing your spikes. However, I must say that it is a great team you have here. Great Job!
Yeah, this team absolutely despises most Poison types. Thank you for the compliment, though, Upstart!
 

jake

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Am I the only person who isn't bothered about the fact that this team has no spinblocker? It's clearly a stall team, and what a waste that would be if all your hazards are just spun away whenever they go up. I don't play NU at all, but it's just the "no spin blocker" thing kind of makes me raise my eyebrows, or is it that there are no spinners in NU? Drifblim and Misdreavus look like decent options.
Upstart already alluded to this, but I just wanted to point out that every Rapid Spin user in NU save Cryogonal and Tentacool lose to Toxic Spikes (Armaldo, Torkoal, Wartortle, Spinda). Cryogonal is mashed by Lickilicky's Return, while Tentacool/Probopass can just keep setting up Toxic Spikes/Stealth Rock respectively while Cryogonal does nothing to them with Ice Beam or Toxic. Opposing Tentacool are crushed by Lickilicky's Return as well as Quagsire's Earthquake, and Hypno can Seismic Toss them to death if need be. Regardless, Rapid Spinners are fairly uncommon in NU because they're... not very good and in most cases one-dimensional, in general.

Excellent team, Karpo. There's really not much you can add, as the team is to the point where if you change anything to fix one weakness, you become weak to a whole lot of other stuff. Neon Hail Mary is the definition of NU stall. x)
 
Haven't really fought this team yet as we always draw when we meet up on the ladder :<, but great team, this is definitely a prime example of NU stall.

edit: for the sd victreebell weakness, you can probably try out T-wave > Toxic on Probopass just to cripple it and hopefully take it down with the rest of your team.
 

Honus

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Haven't really fought this team yet as we always draw when we meet up on the ladder :<, but great team, this is definitely a prime example of NU stall.

edit: for the sd victreebell weakness, you can probably try out T-wave > Toxic on Probopass just to cripple it and hopefully take it down with the rest of your team.
Thanks, D4RR3N! I think I fought your rain team once with the Misdreavus version, xD. Anyways, that's actually a really good suggestion, I'll definitely try it if Victreebell becomes popular.
 

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