BW OU Stall Guide

BW OU Stall Guide
By ThePillsburyDoughBoy

Introduction

Love it or hate it, stall stands its ground as a premier playstyle in the OU metagame. As a playstyle, stall aims to win by wearing down the opponent with residual damage while taking minimal damage itself. Thus, Pokemon that work best and are often found on stall teams are those that have high defenses; help minimize residual damage of fellow teammates, and can efficiently add to the residual damage experienced by the opponent. In order to minimize the damage one's own team takes, one must be able to cover as many prominent threats as possible with their combination of Pokemon as well as having Pokemon that can sustain eachother. This aspect is what makes stall a consistent playstyle as compared to others: by having Pokemon being able to sustain themselves and eachother one can make mistakes with smaller consequences.

As with every transition to a new generation; the list of threats for Stall teams to cover grows. In addition to the plethora of hard hitting threats, such as Haxorus, that have been introduced with the addition of Black and White, two additional weathers have been introduced into OU: Rain and Sun. The inducers are Politoed and Ninetales respectively. Their weather not only increases the power of Water and Fire attacks, but an array of what might have otherwise been unviable, but now powerful, sweepers with them. The new generation also has introduced powerful Pokemon with Magic Guard, who are immune to all forms of residual damage, and Volt-Turn, a strategy that makes it exceptionally difficult to directly counter an opposing Pokemon. These new threats as well as the myriad of threats that existed in Gen 4 must be taken into account in order to succeed with a stall team.

However, it is not all gloom and doom for stall in Black and White. Great defensive Pokemon have been introduced with Black and White as well as buffs for Pokemon of previous generations. Perhaps the greatest stride made for stall was the introduction of Ferrothorn who sports 10 resistances with only 2 weakness, an amazing support movepool that includes Spikes, and an attack stat that is capable of denting opposing Pokemon. While stall did lose out on the Rotom forms retaining their Ghost typing, Jellicent makes an excellent spinblocker, stall breaker, and partner with Ferrothorn. Gliscor received Poison Heal from the Dream World, giving it a status immunity and great passive recovery. Dragonite recieved Multiscale from Dream World, which can be abused on defensive teams with Roost to make it very hard to take down with one hit. All in all stall has received a lot of pressure this generation from more offensive playstyles and the Pokemon that compose them, but its own strides still makes it viable and competitive.

Stall Terms and Basics

As mentioned before, the method in which stall defeat their opponents is by wearing down opposing Pokemon with residual damage. There are a couple of methods to do this, primarily entry hazards. Likewise, a stall team has to keep their own residual damage at a minimum and their a few methods to keep residual damage at bay. To help you understand this article, familiarize yourself with these terms and their importance on a team.

Entry Hazards

Entry Hazards are the primary method in which stall teams inflict residual damage on the opposing team. As their name implies, entry hazards afflict damage to a Pokemon when they are switched in. Each entry hazard has a different effect and amount of "layers" to completely set up.

  • Stealth Rock is the most important and possibly potent of the three entry hazards. Stealth Rock bases its damage off the effectiveness of Rock-type against the incoming Pokemon on a basis of 12.5%. Stealth Rock affects all Pokemon, but to varying degrees, and only requires 1 layer to completely set up. Thus, Stealth Rock is the easiest hazard to set up and enables you to wear down any Pokemon, particularly those weak to Rock type attacks. In BW, Stealth Rock plays an important role in hampering the effectiveness of Dragonite and Volcarona. Stealth Rock has wide distribution, therefore finding a spot for it on a stall team is easy.

    Spikes is the second entry hazard to familiarize yourself with. Spikes affect grounded Pokemon when they enter enter on to the battlefield. Unlike Stealth Rock, Spikes damage is not determined off of type effectiveness on the incoming Pokemon. Rather, Spikes damage output is dependent on how many layers are set up. A maxmium of 3 layers can be set with the damage output being 1/8th, 1/6th, and 1/4th of the incoming Pokemon's health for 1, 2, and 3 layers respectively. Spikes is possibly the hardest entry hazard to completely set up and its distrubtion is more limited than Stealth Rock.

    Toxic Spikes is the least distributed entry hazard. Toxic Spikes is completely set up in two layers. The first layer inflicts Poison upon the incoming Pokemon, while two layers will badly Poison the incoming Pokemon as if they were under the effects of Toxic. Under the effects of Toxic, the damage output of Poison increases each turn. Toxic Spikes do not effect Steel, Poison, or non-grounded Pokemon. It is also unique since it is can be removed by a switchin'ed, grounded Poison Pokemon as oppose to just Rapid Spin. However, Toxic Spikes play an important role in taking down opposing stall teams.

Status is the second biggest form of residual damage that is used on stall teams. On stall teams the two best statuses to use are Burn and Toxic. Burn will cut down the opponents attack stat in half, while Toxic will inflict an increasing amount of damage for each turn a Pokemon stays in. Status allows you to continue adding residual damage to a Pokemon without forcing it out.

Status Absorber: As the name implies, a status absorber is a Pokemon designated to take status. Status absorbers are very important for stall teams as they prevent residual damage from being added to your team. Usually a Pokemon is status absorber through an ability or typing.

Cleric: Clerics are Pokemon that can heal statuses of the entire team. This is accomplished through the moves Heal Bell and Aromatherapy. However the distribution of Heal Bell and Aromatherapy is very limited, so it is harder to put on a team as opposed to a status absorber. It should be noted that a Cleric and a Pokemon with Rest form an effective combo.

Hazer/Phazer: A Hazer/Phazer is a Pokemon that can remove the effects of stat boosts of a Pokemon. The move Haze directly removes the Pokemon's stat boosts, but we are more concerned with Phazing. Phazing does not directly remove the stat boosts, rather it forces a switch, which in turn get rid of the stat boosts. On stall teams, phazing prevents your team from being steamrolled by a single sweeper. Phazing also allows you to better utilize your entry hazards and wear down the opponent. By forcing a switch, you force the opponent to take more residual damage from entry hazards.

Spinner: A spinner is a Pokemon who has the move Rapid Spin. When used, Rapid Spin removes entry hazards from the field. Thus, having a Pokemon to utilize Rapid Spin will let you minimize the residual damage you take and have more freedom to switch. While the distribution of Rapid Spin is very limited, the effect of Rapid Spin and their users traits are more than enough to warrant a spot on your team.

Spin Blocker: Spin Blockers are Pokemon that are designated to stop opposing teams from Rapid Spinning. If an opposing team Rapid Spins, not only do they cut off your main method of inflicting damage, but also force you to waste turns setting hazards up again. Spinblockers, with one exception, are Ghost-type Pokemon since they are immune to normal attacks. In BW, the Rotom forms losing their Ghost-typing, however a new spin blocker was introduced: Jellicent. Spin blockers should be considered on every stall team in order to maximize their effectiveness

Stallbreaker: A stallbreaker is a Pokemon to counter opposing stall teams. While not necessary, stallbreakers make it exceptionally easier to battle against opposing stall teams. Usually, stallbreakers used their mixed attacking skills or the move Taunt to prevent the use of status and phazing moves. As their name implies, stallbreakers are Pokemon that stall teams have difficulty playing against, thus they should be accounted as notable threats when team building.

To have a successful stall team, one must combine multiple elements in a fashion that is efficient, i.e. maximizing your opponents residual and minimizing your own. For example, hazards combined with a spinblocker will make your opponent have difficulty. However, not all of these elements have to be combined together, some even pose inefficient combinations. For examples, having a cleric with many status absorbers, particularly Poison Heal Gliscor, on a team is an inefficent combo.

Pokemon to Consider


Gliscor
Type: Ground / Flying
Stats: 75 HP / 95 Atk / 125 Def / 45 SpA / 75 SpD / 95 Spe
Ability: Hyper Cutter / Sand Veil / Poison Heal

Gliscor stands out as one of stall's premier options for a physical wall. With Poison Heal Gliscor not only gains access to a nice 12.5% passive recovery each turn but a status immunity. His flying typing along with his high defense cements him as one of OU's best fighting type counters. Pokemon that might otherwise cause troubles for stall teams such as Terrakion and Conkledurr are handled by Gliscor. Whether it be acting as an annoying staller with its SubProtect set or lethal stallbreaker, Gliscor is an option that should be considered on every stall team.

Common threats checked by Gliscor: Conkledurr, Terrakion, Lucario, Breloom

Preferred Teammates: Unfortunately, Gliscor suffers from a terrible 4x Ice weakness, taking heavy damage even from a weak Hidden power Ice. However, Bulky Waters cover both of Gliscor's weaknesses very nicely. Vaporeon makes an exceptional partner being able to utilize Gliscor's status spreading with the Wish-Protect combo. Also, Vaporeon can provide Gliscor with emergency recovery in the form of 232 HP Wishes. Rotom-W has excellent synergy with Gliscor and it has the utility of taking out water types with its Electric-STAB that Gliscor would otherwise have trouble with.


Bronzong
Type: Steel / Psychic
Base Stats: 67 HP / 89 Atk / 116 Def / 79 SpA / 116 SpD / 33 Spe
Ability: Levitate / Heat Proof / Heavy Metal

Summary: Brongzong excellent mixed defenses and typing makes it a great switchin to just about any attacker. A decent attack stat and slow speed makes sure Brongzong will be able to dent a sweeper with Gyro Ball once it switches in. Earthquake and even Hidden Power Ice compliment Gyro Ball to hit Pokemon most threatning to your team hard. Options including Stealth Rock, Trick, and Hypnosis make it a great team player. Its ability of choice, Levitate, not only takes away one of its weaknesses, it allows Brongzong to be immune from Spikes damage. However, Brongzong's durability is compounded by his lack of reliable recovery besides Rest, so he can only switchin and counter threats a limited amount of times without Wish support. One of his best options last generation, Explosion, was severly nerfed. Nevertheless, Brongzong remains an excellent choice for stall teams if given the right support due to his ability to switch in easily and counter many threats.

Common threats checked by Bronzong: Landorus, Salamence, Latios, Gliscor

Preferred Teammates: Teammates that can pass wish make excellent partners for Brongzong. Vaporeon is the most notable of these Wish passers, as she can sponge the Fire type attacks aimed at Brongzong, powerful Water moves with Water absorb, and spread status easily. Other notable partners include Jellicent, Blissey, and Heatran.


Jellicent
Type: Water / Ghost
Base Stats: 100 HP / 60 Atk / 70 Def / 85 SpA / 105 SpD / 60 Spe
Ability: Water Absorb / Cursed Body / Damp

Summary: With the loss of the Rotom formes Ghost typing, Jelliicent stands out as the only common defensive spin blocker in the tier. Jellicent's bulk is an oddity among Ghost types; base 100 HP stats backed up by 70/105 defenses makes Jellicent quite hard to take down. Access to Scald and Will-o-Wisp gives Jellicent a great chance to cripple opposing physical attackers. Ghost typing not only allows Jellicent to spinblock, but makes it one of the best counters to fighting types in the tier. His decent speed, his ability to burn Pokemon, and access to Taunt+Recover combo makes his a formidable stallbreaker. Both of Jellicent's abilities are viable and can be used depending on preference. Water Absorb makes Jellicent a great counter to powerful water attacks found on Rain teams and an immunity to Scald's burn (notable for spinblocking Tentacruel). Cursed Body gives Jellicent a 30% chance to disable contact moves, preventing the opponent to continue doing significant damage to Jellicent and giving Jellicent the oppurtunity to Recover.

Common threats checked by Jellicent: Infernape, Scizor, Mienshao, Lucario

Preferred Teammates: Teammates that can sponge powerful Grass and Electric attacks make excellent team mates for Jellicent. Celebi can take those attacks with ease, absorb status, and remove Jellicent's status with Heal Bell. Specially defensive Roserade is able to do the same with Aromatherapy, but has the benefit to absorb Toxic Spikes on the switch. Ferrothorn is perhaps Jellicent's most notable team mate, as together they resist almost all attacks in the game and it is able to provide Spikes and SR for Jellicent to spinblock. Specially defensive Heatran makes a great team mate as well; being a good counter to Hydreigon, easily being able to spread added status, and being able to complete the famous FWG cores.


Blissey
Type: Normal
Base Stats: 255 HP / 10 Atk / 10 Def / 75 SpA / 135 SpD / 55 Spe
Ability: Natural Cure / Serene Grace / Healer

Summary: Blissey stands out as god among special walls, nothing the game other than specially defensive Multiscale Dragonite and her little sister can match her special bulk. Her large support movepool makes sure she can fulfill a variety of walls on a stall team, whether it be a hazard setter, status spreader, or cleric. Blissey is notable for having the ability to pass the largest Wishes in the game, 357 HP, which can practically fully restore the HP of some walls. With a Wish-passing Blissey, the choice of walls on a team becomes more flexible and varied. Lastly, with Natural Cure Blissey is an excellent status absorber.

While Blissey's special bulk is god-like, it is quite the opposite with her physical bulk. With a whopping 10 bade defense, Blissey fears even the slightest of physical attacks. While full physical investment can remedy this issue, it compromise her ability to take special attacks. In BW, Psychic types have a unique tool to get around Blissey: Psyshock. By attacking her weak physical defense, Blissey will take heavy damage. Thus, Blissey should be wary around Psychic types if you do not know whether the attacker has Psyshock. Blissey is a great wall, and with the right team mates, she can make an excellent support Pokemon.

Common threats checked by Blissey: Latios, Hydreigon, Starmie, Heatran

Preferred Teammates: Since her physical bulk is lacking, Blissey's team mates must be sturdy enough to tank a hit from the physical end. Traditionally, Skarmory has been the go-to wall of choice with Blissey since its typing and physical bulkiness makes it an ideal physical. However, the SkarmBliss combo has not been as effective as in past generations due to the legion of strong Fighting types that reside in OU. Therefore, a tertiary member that resists fighting is another awesome partner for Blissey. Tentacruel stands out as being on of the best, being able to Rapid Spin hazards that could threaten Blissey and absorb Toxic Spikes that would affect her. Roserade is another good parner, being able to absorb Toxic Spikes and handle Gengar that Blissey couldn't normally touch. Lastly, Gliscor is another great partner as it can switch into most physical Fighting-type attackers with ease (note Poison Heal Gliscor+Heal Bell/Aromatherapy is a bad combination). Having a reliable phazer is paticularly important to pair with Blissey, as she often finds herself setup fodder for a multitude of attackers such as Reuniclus, Conkldurr, Volcarona, and Gliscor.

Generally, Blissey's teammates will conform around its moveset. If you choose Blissey as your Stealth Rock setter, then a wall that doesn't use Stealth Rock (such as Poison Heal Gliscor and Bulky Waters) will be put with it. Walls that don't have reliable recovery will be paired with Wish Blissey and those that are susceptible to status will be paired with a cleric Blissey.


Chansey
Type: Normal
Base Stats: 250 HP / 5 Atk / 5 Def / 35 SpA / 105 SpD / 50 Spe
Ability: Natural Cure / Serene Grace / Healer

Summary: Chansey has stood in the shadow of its bigger sister Blissey ever since its release since GSC. However, with Eviolite it is now bulkier in both defensive spectrums. With investment in physical bulk it is just as bulky as Swampert, and with special investment it literally becomes the best special wall in the game. Chansey because of its newfound physical bulk can not actually take on many mixed pokemon found in the tier like Tornadus-T and Hydregion, never being 2HKOed by superpower with with rocks up. The new special bulk also allows it to take on many special threats much more effectively. Like its sister Blissey, it also can provide critical team support with Wish, Stealth rock, or Aromatherapy. Not everything is sunshine and rainbows for Chansey though, grasping Eviolite leaves no room for Leftovers, leaving Chansey much weaker to passive damage. Just having sandstorm up can seriously cripple her, making her a terrible choice for a sand stall team. Chansey also suffers from many of the same problems Blissey has. It still isn't the best pokemon to take a physical attack, almost any fighting type can kill it on spot, and without the ability to phaze it is very weak to certain calm mind users such as Jirachi and Reuniclus. Chansey certainly is a great wall, but it is no one man army.

Common threats checked by Chansey: Heatran, Latios, Celebi, Volcarona, Starmie, Thundurus-T, Tornadus-T, Hydregion

Preferred Teammates: When using Chansey one must first cover some of the special pokemon she losses to: CM Jirachi, CM Reuniclus, Keldeo, Gengar, and Venusaur. Chansey also is prone to Rotom-W that have Trick, Latias with Refresh, and Latios with Psyshock. Latias has the ability to check almost all of these threats and provides a crucial fighting resist to partner with Chansey. Roar or Psyshock variants of Calm Mind Latias are best to pair with Chansey. One can supplement phazing while the other can supplement the ability to hit certain targets super effectively or beat in a opposing CM war such as Keldeo, Venusaur, and Reuniclus. Jirachi can take on CM Reuniclus, Gengar, Latias and Latios. It adds wish support and a critical steel ally. However, their roles do overlap and paralysis can conflict with the Toxic stalling of Chansey. Amoonguss can take on Keldeo and Rotom-W who might otherwise threaten Blissey as well as provide a Fighting-type resist. In addition, Amoonguss can absorb Toxic Spikes that are critical to take down Chansey.

Like Blissey, Chansey also appreciates a good physical core behind her back. Skarmory, Slowbro, Gliscor, and Forretress are all pokemon to consider. Chansey more so than Blissey also needs rapid spin support as if it switches into hazards, its not getting that health back without recovering. Tentaruel is perhaps the best to pair with Chansey since it provides a Fighting-resist and absorbs Toxic Spikes from the moment it switches in. Chansey also likes to avoid the sand if possible, so Politoed is a good teammate. Politoed is notable because it can use perish song to take on Reuniclus.


Heatran
Type: Fire / Steel
Base Stats: 91 HP / 90 Atk / 106 Def / 130 SpA / 106 SpD / 77 Spe
Ability: Flash Fire / Flame Body

Summary: A unique typing and ability makes Heatran perhaps the best Sun team counter in the game. 90/106/106 Defenses are nothing to scoff at, which paired with his typing, makes a premeir special wall. Flash Fire allows Heatan to have an immunity to fire moves, which means he can laugh at boosted Fire moves on sun teams. Lava plume gives Heatran access to a STAB move with a 30% burn chances, which is key to cripple physical attacks that could harm Heatran. Will-o-Wisp gives Heatran another option to burn attackers, however Toxic can be used to hit targets that might otherwise not mind the burn. Other notable options for Heatran include Stealth Rock and Roar. Heatran can use Torment effectively to abuse the fact Pokemon usually only have one move to hit Heatran hard, thus acting as an annoying (but effective) staller.

Common threats checked by Heatran: Venasaur, Volcarona, Hydreigon, Latios

Preferred Teammates: Heatran has no reliable recovery outside of Rest, so a Wish passer is required for Heatran to stick around. Vaporeon stands out as being able to easily take the Water type attacks aimed at Heatran, as well as add to the status Heatran spreads with Toxic. Since Heatran uses Protect to scout as well as gain HP, Toxic Spikes makes a wonderful combo to add residual damage on the opponent. Forretress stands out as a Toxic Spikes user for being able to spin away the hazards that would mitigate Heatran's effectivness, along with baiting the fire type attacks Heatran can switch into. Gliscor is a notable partner, being able to easily take the Fighting and Ground type attacks aimed at Heatran


Jirachi
Type: Steel / Psychic
Base Stats: 100 HP / 100 Atk / 100 Def / 100 SpA / 100 SpD / 100 Spe
Ability: Serene Grace

Summary: With its stats allowing to perform any role, Jirachi functions exceptionally as a special wall. Many of the metagames hardest hitting threats such as Latios, Tornadus, and Hydreigon. Steel typing pairs excellently with Psychic, leaving Jirachi only to weaknesses to Fire and Ground. Jirachi is one of the few OU Pokemon with access to Wish and uses it to great effect with a base 100 HP stat that passes 202 HP wishes. Wish allows more flexibility with team mates by giving recovery to those who don't posses a reliable recovery move. With Serene Grace, Jirachi can spread status easily, especially paralysis, to cripple opposing threats. Iron Head will make the most of the paralysis Jirachi spreads; forming the infamous paraflinch combo to slowly chip away at opposing Pokemon's health while remaining untouched. Jirachi possesses a killer support movepool, the most notable other options being Stealth Rock, Healing Wish, Trick, and Fire Punch for burn support.

Common threats checked by Jirachi: Tornadus, Latios, Hydreigon, Alakazam, Reuniclus

Preferred Teammates: Team mates that can avoid Earthquake and take minimal damage from fire type attacks make excellent partners with Jirachi. Gliscor makes an excellent choice to pair with Jirachi, being able to take advantage of the paralysis to pull a sweep easier as well as being able to avoid Earthquakes aimed at Jirachi. Note that Toxic Stalling Gliscor status will conflict with the paralysis spread by Jirachi. Bulky waters can take Fire type attacks all day, especially from the likes of Heatran, so they make good general parters. Gastrodon is a bulky water that pairs especially well with Jirachi, being able to take the Rain-powered Water attacks that might overwhelm Jirachi and being able to smack Heatran with a 4x supereffective Earthquake. Tyranitar also take Fire type attacks aimed at Jirachi, but most notably provides extra residual damage with Sandstorm that Jirachi is immune to.


Gastrodon
Type: Water / Ground
Base Stats: 110 HP / 83 Atk / 68 Def / 92 SpA / 82 SpD / 39 Spe
Ability: Sticky Hold / Storm Drain / Sand Force

Summary: Judging from Gastrodon's former tiering in RU why such a creature has made it up to OU with the baddest, meanest, and toughest Pokemon in the game. Well Gastrodon has the undeniable utility as being the best counter to rain teams out there. Sporting a Ground typing, Gastrodon has a natural immunity to Electric type attacks. However, Gastrodon received a god-send with the buff to its ability Storm Drain, which now gives a water immunity. With an immunity to both Electric and Water attacks, Gastrodon can wall the main offensive threats of rain teams. Coupled with a nice 110 HP, reliable recovery, and decent bulk on the special end, Gastrodon is able take more than a splash or two on the special end. His decent special attack and attack makes him able to hit back against the threats he is supposed to counter. Gastrodon's best option to add to the residual damage against opposing teams is by using toxic, which is also a great move to have against Pokemon he might otherwise not be able to touch such as Rotom-W.

Common threats checked by Gastrodon: Rotom-W, Politoed, Jolteon, Starmie, "Rain Tank" Dragonite, CM Jirachi

Preferred Teammates: Shared by its other Water/Ground cousin; Gastrodon hates Grass attacks due to a 4x weakness. Gastrodon also hates strong physical attacks being sent its way. Skarmory pairs up nicely with Gastrodon, being able to take Grass atacks with ease while its Electric weakness is covered in return. Heatran also makes another great team mates, as it 4x resits Grass and can handle the sun teams that might overwhelm Gastrodon. Of course, Gastrodon covers the water type attacks that will be aimed as Heatran. A special mention goes to Xatu as a team mate for Gastrodon since it will find itself prone to Ferrothorn switchin's threatening to kill or set up entry hazards. Xatu is also able to defect the statuses that Gastrodon otherwise loathes, while also countering Ferrothorn very nicely and preventing opposing entry hazards adding residual damage to your side.


Forretress
Type: Bug / Steel
Base Stats: 75 HP / 90 Atk / 140 Def / 60 SpA / 60 SpD / 40 Spe
Ability: Sturdy / Overcoat

Summary: In a game where entry hazards largely determine the outcome of the match, Forretress stands at the center of the conflict. With access to Rapid Spin and all forms of entry hazards, Forretress dictates who will have entry hazards and the lack thereof. Excellent physical bulk with steel typing allows Forretress to switch in on to Dragon attacks with ease, making him a great physical wall. Forretress is one of the best users of Toxic Spikes in OU and will capitalize on physical attackers by setting up entry hazards. In the transition to Gen 5 Forretress' ability, Sturdy, was buffed to being able to survive with 1 HP from full health. This allows Forretress to set up a layer of entry hazards or attack in a pinch. However, Forretress often finds himself used as set up bait by bulkier physical attackers. He is also liable to being trapped by Magenezone, which would give your opponent an oppurtunity to sweep and make you more liable to entry hazards. However, Forretress has all the right tools to prevent himself from being set up bait. With Volt Switch he can escape Magnezone and switch to a Pokemon that can more adequately address a threat. Gyro Ball gives him a powerfull option to smack fast Pokemon and set-up sweepers. Lastly, Forretress lacks reliable recovery outside of Rest, so a Wish passer is highly recommended in order to keep Forretress healthy.

Common threats checked by Forretress: Scizor, Haxorus, Terrakion

Preferred Teammates: As mentioned before, a Wish passer is highly recommended to keep Forretress healthy. Vaporeon makes an excellent candidate as it resists Forretress' crippling 4x Fire weakness. Blissey remains top of the class as well, forming an effective defensive/specially defensive combo with Forretress, as well as being able to heal Forretress to a 100% with a single Wish. With the ability to lay all forms of entry hazards, a spinblocker is a natural teammates to Forretress. Jellicent excels at this, being resistant to the Fire type attacks that plague Forretress and being able to spread burn to hit the attackers that might otherwise set up on Forretress.


Ferrothorn
Type: Grass / Steel
Base Stats: 74 HP / 94 Atk / 131 Def / 54 SpA / 116 SpD / 20 Spe
Ability: Iron Barbs

Summary: Out of all defensive threats; Ferrothorn is the one that defines BW. Godly defensive typing with an excellent stat spread of 74/131/116 allow Ferrothorn to sponge hits all day. Ferrothorn finds his niche in OU with being the best Spikes user in the game, capable of setting it up against a myriad of threats including strong water attacks, dragon attacks, electric attacks, and miscellaneous other attacks he covers with his 11 resistances. Ferrothorn's support is not limited to Spikes; brimming with Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave, Leech Seed (which he can use for its own recovery), and even Gravity. Unlike other walls, Ferrothorn is not one who can't fight back: a decent 94 base attack coupled with STAB Power Whip and a STAB, super-slow Gyro Ball means he can dent opposing pokemon. Lastly, in combination with Iron Bars, Rocky Helment Ferrothorn can act as a pseudo-spinblocker by stripping Rapid Spinners 25% of their health while Ferrothorn continually sets up Spikes/Leech Seed/ Stealth Rock. Overall, due to Ferrorthorn's typing, bulk, and utility it should be considered on virtually every stall team.

Common threats checked by Ferrothorn: Starmie, Gyarados, Latios, Haxorus, Rotom-W, Jolteon

Preferred Teammates: Ferrothorn sports a devastating 4x Fire type weakness, therefore team mates that resist or are immune to Fire-type attacks are necessary to pair with Ferrothorn in order to succeed. Jellicent is an excellent candidate resisting Ferrothorn's weakness, spinblocking Ferrothorn's hazards, and spreading burn to weaken attackers. Vaporeon is another great bulky water to pair with Ferrothorn since it can heal Ferrothorn of status, especially burns taken from Scald, with Heal Bell. Really any bulky water or Ghost-type pairs well with Ferrothorn. Clerics benefit Ferrothorn greatly since he is suseptible to status, especially burns from Scald he might be absorbing. Gliscor is another candidate to partner with Ferrothorn, since it counters the fighting types and Sand-sweepers that might overwhelm Ferrothorn.


Skarmory
Type: Steel / Flying
Base Stats: 65 HP / 80 Atk / 140 Def / 40 SpA / 70 SpD / 70 Spe
Ability: Keen Eye / Sturdy / Weak Armor

Summary: In a metagame full of powerful physical attacks, one bird stands tall as the gold standard to which all physical walls compare themselves to. That bird is Skarmory. Skarmory's 140 Defense stat and typing is what makes it so resilient; its typing only giving it weaknesses to Fire and Electric while removing Steel's two weakness of Ground and Fighting. Skarmory is one of the Pokemon who possesses the elusive Spikes that are crucial for stall teams and it will find plenty of opportunities to set them with his bulk. Furthermore, Skarmory get access to Whirlwind which not only allows it to phaze boosting threats, particularly Dragons, but also to abuse the Spikes it gets. While Skarmory gets Stealth Rock, Spikes distribution is much more limited in distribution compared to Stealth Rock, therefore Spikes is the better option. What really sets Skarmory apart from other physical walls is access to Roost, a reliable recovery move, which is something few physicall walls get. In BW, Skarmory got a slight buff with Sturdy, as it now acts as a buffer leaving with 1 HP from full health. This allows Skarmory to get off a last layer of spikes or a whirlwind before dying; an action that could be game changing. If your team needs a counter to Sandsweepers or Dragons that can stick around, look no further than Skarmory.

Common threats checked by Skarmory: Landorus, Dragonite, Haxorus, Gliscor, Breloom

Preferred Teammates: Skarmory hates Electric and Fire type attacks as they will quickly fry it out of existance. Latias in an excellent partner to Skarmory, resisting both of its weaknesses, as well as being able to take advantage of the Spikes Skarmory provides with Roar. Heatran is able to cover the other spectrum of Dragon attacks and switch into Fire-type attacks with impunity. In return, Skarmory handles the Earthquakes that Heatran would be KO'ed from. Lastly, Blissey is an excellent partner as she provides excellent support options to Skarmory and can counter almost all of the special spectrum, while Skarmoory does the same except for the physical side.


Tentacruel
Type: Water / Poison
Base Stats: 80 HP / 70 Atk / 65 Def / 80 SpA / 120 SpD / 100 Spe
Ability: Clear Body / Liquid Ooze / Rain Dish

Summary: Out of all bulky waters in BW, Tentacruel has jumped by leaps and bonds. The newly added Dream World ability Rain Dish came at the right moment with the introduction of Drizzle Politoed into the Metagame. With Rain on its side Tentacruel receives an additional 6.25% recovery each turn on top of his Leftovers. Great passable recovery with one of the best defensive typing around with resistances to common Fighting, Fire, and Ice attacks makes Tentacruel a tough jellyfish to take out. It doesn't end there, as Tentacruel has access to both the niche Toxic Spikes and Rapid Spin. Toxic Spikes allows Tentacruel to contribute to badly poison enemy Pokemon passively, as well as stall in conjunction with Protect. Spinning allows Tentacruel to support its team further, however it should be noted that Tentacruel has a difficult time spinning against Jellicent, the most common spinblocker on defensive teams. It should be noted that it is unnecessary for Tentacruel to spin Toxic Spikes as his Poison typing allows it to absorb them on the switchin. Lastly, Scald enables Tentacruel to burn Pokemon that are not affected by Toxic or needed to have their physical power curtailed.

Common threats checked by Tentacruel: Lucario, Terrakion, Infernape, Hazard Setters

Preferred Teammates: Politoed and his rain bring Drizzle is perhaps the best teammates with Tentacruel. Although their typings overlap, the Rain provided by Politoed activate Tentacruel's Rain Dish making it a much studier wall. Teammates that can cover Tentacruel's Ground weakness is deeply appreciated since it is among one of the most used attacking types within the metagame. Skarmory makes a great team mate with Tentacruel as it stops sand-sweepers such as Landorus in their tracks and can proceed to phaze them out. Skarmory can also take advantage of Tentacruel's Toxic Spikes by phazing and contribute to hazard setting with Spikes. Tentacruel often find himself set-up bait for many Calm Mind users, therefore Celebi makes a great team mate. Celebi can use Perish Song to force Calm Mind users such as Jirachi and Reuniclus out, and also has the option to provide clerical support to prevent Burns from Scalds or wake a sleeping Tentacruel. In a similar vein Politoed provides Perish Song to combat opposing Calm Mind users.


Slowbro
Type: Water / Psychic
Base Stats: 95 HP / 75 Atk / 110 Def / 100 SpA / 80 SpD / 30 Spe
Ability: Oblivious / Own Tempo / Regenerator

Summary: With the introduction of Dream World Slowbro recieved a blessing known as Regenerator, an ability that allows Slowbro to restore 33% of it's HP when it switches out. Coupled with reliable recovery in the form of Slack Off, Slowbro is able to consistently maintain its health at a high-level. Although Slowbro is in UU tier, the abudnance of strong, physical Fighting type Pokemon within OU makes Slowbro's services in high demand. A Psychic typing back up with awesome 95 / 110 Defenses makes Slowbro one of the best Fighting types counters in the game. An expansive movepool, which includes Scald and Psychic, backed by a respectable base 100 SpA makes sure Slowbro can hit back at Fighting types hard. Access to Ice Beam also makes Slowbro a great secondary check to Dragons. However is is not all roses for Slowbro. Being weak to both attacks in the popular Volt-Turn strategy can make him act as dead weight. Slowbro is lacking in the support movepool for stall teams, only having Trick and Toxic as viable options (paralysis isn't useful on full stall teams). Lastly, Slowbro has a susceptibility to status, particularly Toxic, as it will cut into his ability to Tank various threats.

Common threats checked by Slowbro: Infernape, Terrakion, Conkledurr, Gliscor, Metagross, Cloyster

Preferred Teammates: As always teammates that can cover weaknesses are much appreciated. Ferrothorn stands out as being one of the best, able to resist 4/5 of Slowbro's weaknesses while Slowbro reciprocates by resisting Ferrothorn's Fire and Fighting weaknesses. Scizor and Tyranitar are some of the most common Pokemon in the game, therefore having adequate checks to them are a must in order for Slowbro to function well. Heatran makes a great addition as he is able to come in on most Tyranitar (Tyranitar's versatility makes it hard to have an all-around counter) and burn it. It also can be used to form an FWG core. Gliscor can also make a great teammates, as they can come in on powerful attacks from Tyranitar and Scizor, as well as avoid status with Poison Heal. Lastly, a cleric such as Blissey makes a great teammate due to be able to remove status from Slowbro. A status absorber also works, but it is not to your advantage to be forced out due to status.


Tangrowth
Type: Grass
Base Stats: 100 HP / 100 Atk / 125 Def / 110 SpA / 50 SpD / 50 Spe
Ability: Chlorophyll / Leaf Guard / Regenerator

Summary: A bushel of vines make look as sturdy as a tissue, but appearances are deceiving. Tangrowth has made a name for itself as being one of the most physically bulky in the game, outdoing its steel type friends Forretress and Skarmory. BW didn't give Tangrowth a short end of a stick either; its newfound Dream World ability, Regenerator, gives it access to more recovery which it otherwise lacked. As a grass-type, Tangrowth has access to the valuable Leech Seed that allows it to chip away at an opponents health while restoring yours. Tangrowth also has access to Knock Off, Sleep Powder, and Stun Spore highlight Tangrowth's support movepool. Tangrowth also has the means to retalitae accordingly to most threats in OU due to its great mixed attacking stats and large attacking movepool. However, when playing in OU Tangrowth recieves competition from its steel cousin Ferrothorn; which has a similar movepool and better typing. So when playing OU make sure to play Tangrowth to his strengths, namely access to Sleep Powder and Knock Off, superior recovery/physical defense, as well as a lack of a fighting weakness.

Common threats checked by Tangrowth: Gyarados, Terrakion, Gliscor, Metagross, Breloom

Preferred Teammates: While Tangrowth has the physical department locked down, his special defense is lacking. A strong, specially defensive wall makes a great partner. Naturally, Blissey, the mother of all special walls, makes a great partner. Not only can she sponge the special attacks Tangrowth dislikes, she can also remove the status from Tangrowth with Heal Bell or Aromatherapy. Heatran also makes a good partner, being able to absorb the Fire attacks targeted at Tangrowth with ease.


Deoxys-D
Type: Psychic
Base Stats: 50 HP / 70 Atk / 160 Def / 70 SpA / 160 SpD / 90 Spe
Ability: Pressure

Summary: Unlike his leaner cousins, Deoxys-D does not reside in soul-crushingly powerful Uber tier, but in the no man's land of BL. However, Deoxys-D has a couple of interesting niches that make him a great choice for a stall team. First, if one looks closely Deoxys-D is one of two higher-tier Spikers that lacks a Fire weakness (the other is Cloyster). When teambuilding, this often prevents conflicts about an inclusion of a Fire weakness to a team if trying to incorporate a Pokemon with Spikes. Next, Deoxys-D sports some of the best mixed defensive stats around, however only having 50 Base HP severely cuts into his bulk. But this does not mean Dexoys-D does not have the ability to tank the beefiest attacks in OU, quite the contrary. With appropriate investment, Deoxys-D can wall targets from either the physical or the special spectrum.

If one wants to truely know how well Deoxys-D fits onto a stall team, look no further than its stellar support movepool. Hazards, Gravity, Trick, Taunt, Toxic, and Knock Off are all availible to be mixed and matched onto one set. Pressure suits Deooxys-D nicely, as it can afford to stall out the PP of opposing Pokemon, especially those with high-powered/low PP moves. With a decently fast Taunt, Recover, Toxic and Seismic Toss/Night Shade Deoxys-D can become a mean stallbreaker. With a set containing Recover/Night Shade/Taunt Deoxys-D can also act as a Calm Mind Reuniclus counter for a team, preventing its setup and whittling down its PP. Taunt also gives a way to prevent/delay hazards from being deployed on your side. Overall, Deoxys-D is an underrated wall that can fill a variety of roles for a team with its large movepool

Common threats checked by Deoxys-D: Reuniclus, Breloom, Rotom-W

Preferred Teammates: Deoxys-D has a terrible suceptibility to status, so a status absorber or cleric is a must to pair with Deoxys-D. Blissey and Roserade are among the best partners for Deoxys-D, as they can absorb status, heal Deoxys-D own status, and appreciate the ability for Deoxys-D to beat CM Reuniclus. Since Deoxys-D provides the hazards necessary for stall teams, a spinblocker is necessary in order to make the most use of Deoxys-D's hazards. Jellicent and Dusclops are the best, since Sableye's job of taking Reuniclus is already covered by Deoxys-D.


Tyranitar
Type: Rock / Dark
Base Stats: 100 HP / 134 Atk / 110 Def / 95 SpA / 100 SpD / 61 Spe
Ability: Sand Stream / Unnerve

Summary: As one of only two Pokemon in the game who can set up Sandstorm, Tyranitar plays an important role on Stall teams by providing extra residual damage in Sandstorm. While activating Sandstorm and being able to compete with the opponents weather are Tyranitar's primary niche's he can play a variety of roles on stall teams. Tyranitar's movepool combined with its stats make it so that Tyranitar can be tailored to whatever threatens your team the most. One of Tyranitar's more popular roles is being a specially defensive tank, as the Sandstorm it activates boosts its defenses by 1.5%. With full special defensive investment, Tyranitar can tank hits from the likes of Latios and Heatran and retaliate accordingly. Tyranitar's massive attack can be utilized by stall teams, especially the Choice Band set. It can afflict heavy damage on Calm Mind Reuniclus, a minimum of 89%, as well as lure out an opposing weather starter for heavy damage. Whether utilizing its Sandstorm, powerful dark type attacks, or special tanking Tyranitar is a surefire addition to any stall team.

Common threats checked by Tyranitar: Reuniclus, Latios, Latias, Heatran, Ninetales

Preferred Teammates: Due to the Sandstorm Tyranitar provides, you should seek to construct your team accordingly with Rock, Ground, and Steel types, otherwise Sand may harm your team more than benefit it. While this does put constraints on teambuilding (namely with the inclusion of Eviolite Stone users), the Steel-type happens to be the most defensively inclined type in the game.

The team mates the benefit Tyranitar the most are those who will aide in the function of winning the weather war and absorbing Fighting type attacks. Ferrothorn stands out as a key team mate. While sharing a Fighting-type weakness, Ferrothorn provides a sturdy switch-in into Rain-boosted water-type attacks with his Grass-typing. Ferrothorn can also set up spikes to hinder the life of opposing weather starters and he remains unaffacted by the Sandstorm due to his Steel-typing. Gliscor is another excellent partner, as it can tank the physical-fighting attacks aimed at Tyranitar marvelously while remaining immune to Sand damage with a Ground typing. Finnally, Jellicent is another excellent partner for Tyranitar, as it has immunites to both Fighting and Water attacks that otherwise might threaten Tyranitar.


Politoed
Type: Water
Base Stats: 90 HP / 75 Atk / 75 Def / 90 SpA / 100 SpD / 70 Spe
Ability: Water Absorb / Damp / Drizzle

Summary: Oddly enough, an ominous downpour arrives with the appearance of possibly the most innocent of face in all of Pokemon. Drizzle Politoed is a force to be reckoned with in OU, but stall teams seemed to have figured out how to abuse Drizzle Politoed moreso than their offensive counterparts. While increasing the power of opposing water moves, rain does two key things for stall teams: it increases the effectiveness of bulky waters and takes away the Fire-type weakness that many Steel types have. This creates an environment where it becomes much more difficult to take down steel-types and take on bulky waters, especially Tentacruel and Starmie. Politoed can even provide unique support to a stall team by using Perish Song, which will cause trouble to both Baton Pass teams and last-man-standing Pokemon. Overall, Politoed's rain can amplify a stall team's bulkiness, counter opposing weather teams, and gives access to using abilities triggered by rain (such as Hydration and Ran Dish).

Common threats checked by Politoed: Ninetales, Tyranitar, Hippowdon

Preferred Teammates: Due to Politoed's rain, one must be wary of opposing Water-type attackers. Pokemon that can handle opposing water types make great team mates for Politoed. Ferrothorn is especially a good team mate, as it has the bulk to take on water and electric attacks aimed at Politoed, while in return it has its quadruple weakness to Fire eliminated. In a weather war, Politoed will be switching in and out often to check the opposing teams weather, so it is crucial to control the amount of hazards on your side of the field. Tentacruel is the best bulky spinner in the rain due to his ability Rain Dish. With Rain Dish, Tentacruel can maintain a steady stream of passive recovery along with Protect. Tentacruel can even foil Jellicent's plans to spinblock with a SubToxic set. Lastly, Tentacruel enjoys the extra power behind Scald due to Politoed's rain.


Abomasnow
Type: Grass / Ice
Base Stats: 90 HP / 92 Atk / 75 Def / 92 SpA / 85 SpD / 60 Spe
Ability: Snow Warning / Soundproof

Summary: While shunned compared to other weather starters, Abomasnow is perfectly viable fit on a stall team. The draw to using Abomasnow is Hail, which unlike Sandstorm hits the steel-types that infest the OU metagame. Abomasnow's hail can be used in conjuction with SubSeed to wear down a large amount of Pokemon, as Grass-types are weary do switch in due to Blizzard. However, it is much more difficult to play with Abomasnow compared to other weather's due to a weakness to Stealth Rock. In addition, Hail will hit all of your Pokemon too if they aren't Ice type (which are hardly ever used on a stall team). Thus, if you are to use Abomasnow, make sure to capitalize on its strengths and weather.

Common threats checked by Abomasnow: Starmie, Ferrothorn

Preferred Teammates: As an Ice-type, Abomasnow has a plethora of weaknesses to cover and it usually can't tank the hit if it hits him super-effectively. For starters, Abomasnow has a 4x weakness to Fire type moves, meaning he will have difficulty playing against Sun teams. For this reason Sp. Defensive Heatran makes an awesome partner, being able to absorb the Fire-type attacks aimed at Abomasnow with ease as well as deal with Sun teams with ease. Since Abomasnow is weak to both of Terrakion's STAB's, one must find a way to deal with him effectively. Poison Heal Gliscor is one of the best Terrakion counters and one of the only non-ice types to still get passive recovery in Hail. Lastly, Rapid Spin support is needed for Abomasnow to switch in frequently. There are a couple of options, but Forretress and Tentacruel are the best. Forretress can use Overcoat to avoid Hail damage (Hail will kill forretress at Sturdy) and Tentacruel can resist Fighting-type attacks aimed at Abomasnow.

_____________________________________ Additions to KG's pokes


Hippowdon
Type: Ground
Base Stats: 108 HP / 112 Atk / 118 Def / 68 SpA / 72 SpD / 47 Spe
Ability: Sand Stream / Sand Force

Summary: Nothing fits the phrase "monstrously bulky" like Hippowdon does. Hippowdon is often shunned for the choice of a Sand Streamer when pitted against Tyranitar, but Hippowdon possesses all of the tools it needs to be the Sand Streamer of choice for defensive teams. Immediately what pops out from his stat spread is his HP and defense stats as well as great attack stat. 108 HP combined with 118 Def means Hippowdon is more physically bulky than Skarmory. STAB Earthquake can still put dents into plenty of things even when uninvested: he is a wall the strikes back. Hippowdon's bulk doesn't go to waste either since he has reliable recovery with Slack Off and utility with Stealth Rock and Roar/Whirlwind. As a matter of fact: Hippowdon is the only weather starter with reliable recovery meaning he can often outlast the opposing weather starter in a weather war. On stall teams Hippowdon can act as a great secondary check to physical Dragons, should ones steel type go down.

Hippowdon isn't limited to the physical end either. With full EV investment into his decent 72 special defense, Hippowdon can become a great mixed wall who can take a hit from just about anything. His high HP stat is key to his ability to have special bulk, and it shows when even some physical attackers struggle against him. However it is not all flowers and sunshine for Hippowdon. While Ground typing has a great resistance to Rock and immunity to Electric, it isn't good against much else. A lack of resistances means even with all his bulk, his Steel-type cousins could often tank the hit more comfortably. Overall, Hippowdon is a great choice for a stall team if they would like Sand Stream while still retaining a defensive partner.

Common threats checked by Hippowdon: Lucario, Terrakion, Tyraniar, Gliscor

Preferred Teammates: Hippowdon will find himself in a tight spot if he becomes Toxic'ed, so it is ideal to prevent that from happening. Roserade is a great team mate, since its Poison-typing allows it to absorb Toxic Spikes effortlessly while also being a cleric with Aromatherapy. Blissey also provides clerical support, but unlike Roserade she can sponge the powerful special hits Hippowdon fears. In this case, Blissey is preferred over Chansey due to not being affected by sandstorm damage with Leftovers. Ferrothorn is another great team mate. Like Roserade it is able to switch into water and grass attacks that scare Hippowdon, but it also has the ability to beat physical attackers that might beat Hippowdon (and vice versa). If Hippowdon elects to use Roar, Ferrothorn's spikes can come quite handy for racking up residual damage. Lastly, a spinner can be used to keep Hippowdon in good shape if an opponent successfully sets Toxic Spikes or Spikes. Tentacruel and Forretress are equally good in this regard, both offer Toxic Spikes to allow Hippowdon to stall out certain threats and keep the field clear of hazards.



Vaporeon
Type: Water
Base Stats: 130 HP / 65 Atk / 60 Def / 110 SpA / 95 SpD / 65 Spe
Ability: Water Absorb / Hydration

Summary: For last generation and BW, Vaporeon has been the standard to which all other bulky waters compare themselves to. While its physical defense stat indicates otherwise Vaporeon is a tank that can tank hits easily from both the physical and special end. It is all thanks to Vaporeon's massive HP stat which also serves a pratical application as well: to pass one of the beefiest Wishes in the game with 232 HP. Vaporeon is great on teams whose team mates lack reliable recovery or feel that Blissey's and Chansey's potential to be set up on are too great of a liability. BW not only buffed Vaporeon's ability to pass Wishes but to also annoy the opponent. Scald allows Vaporeon to burn opponents even while Taunted.

Usually Vaporeon only has one slot to dedicate to a support move since most of the time it does not carry Rest+Hydration. In the last slot chooses how your Vaporeon will play, so you must choose wisely. Roar can be used for additional phazing and Vaporeon makes a great phazer due to being able to take a hit from just about anything. Toxic can be used to rack up residual damage and allow Vaporeon to beat Pokemon it might otherwise have trouble with. Other options include Ice Beam for hitting Dragons and Grass-types on the switch, Heal Bell to be a cleric, and Haze which is useful for Baton Pass and end-game pokemon.

Common threats checked by Vaporeon: Infernape, Heatran, Cloyster

Preferred Teammates: Vaporeon relies on upon staying at high health to come in on a variety of threats in order to wall them. Thus, Vaporeon should avoid damage dealing status at all costs if it wants to do its job reliably. Toxic is particularly worrying as it has the potential to take increasingly large amounts of health off of Vaporeon until it finds itself to be KO'ed. To prevent this from happening to Vaporeon certain team mates are needed. Vaporeon lacking Heal Bell would enjoy an accompanying cleric to help deal with status. Blissey can take the harder special hits that might overwhelm Vaporeon while curing her of status. Roserade is another good choice, since it can absorb Toxic Spikes that its Aromatherapy would be useless against. Of course, Vaporeon can also be paired with team mates that lack reliable recovery, since its Wish support is the one of the main reasons to use it. Forretress and Brongzong are two Pokemon that benefit very much from Vaporeon's Wish, since they give hazards for Vaporeon to abuse and can use Vaporeon to sponge Fire-type moves from across the spectrum.


Dusclops
Type: Ghost
Base Stats: 40 HP / 70 Atk / 130 Def / 60 SpA / 130 SpD / 25 Spe
Ability: Pressure

Summary: With the use of Eviolite, Dusclops has come back with a vengeance in the BW OU metagame. Dusclops is one of the only viable defensive spinblockers in OU, a niche that is high in demand on stall teams. Backed by Eviolite, Dusclops becomes bulkier than his big brother Dusknoir and it can allow Dusclops to absorb a variety of of hits from across the attacking spectrum. Like many other Ghost types, Dusclops has access to Will-o-Wisp to cripple physical attackers and makes sure he is quite hard to break on the physical side. Since Eviolite boosts both of Dusclops already high defensive stats, it can as a mixed wall to sponge attacks from mixed threats. Low base HP means that Pain Split can be used to great effect and against most targets refill its health.

However, Dusclops benefits end there. Ironically, Eviolite is also Dusclops down fall. Using that key item slot for Eviolite instead of Leftovers means that Dusclops is prone to residual damage, especially Sandstorm and Hail. It also makes Dusclops prone to any Pokemon that uses Trick or Knock Off and could spell the end of its usefulness on a team, so extra caution should be used on threats that might carry those moves. Dusclops doesn't exactly have the attacking stats to prevent itself from becoming set up bait and even if it does carry Taunt, it is too slow to utilize against the majority of Pokemon. Lastly, low base HP and lack of reliable recovery means that Dusclops can find itself dying quite quickly to repeated hits and won't be able to utilize all the defensive stats it has.

Common threats checked by Dusclops: Infernape, Scizor, Breloom, Terrakion

Prefered Teammates: Since Dusclops lacks reliable recovery of its own, the best teammates are those who can assist it in some capacity to obtain more recovery. Depending on whether or not Dusclops runs Rest Talk, a cleric or a Wish passer should be used. Just about any Wish passer can be used since Dusclops HP is very low. Blissey fulfills both of these roles admirably and enjoys the fighting-type switch in Dusclops provides. Hazard setting Pokemon are a no brainer to pair with Dusclops since it blocks rapid spin from the majority of Pokemon who have it. Ferrothorn and Skarmory are the best hazard setters to pair with Dusclops because their steel typing and recovery allows them to consistently take the Dark and Steel type attacks that could KO Dusclops.


Sableye
Type: Ghost / Dark
Base Stats: 50 HP / 75 Atk / 75 Def / 65 SpA / 65 SpD / 50 Spe
Ability: Keen Eye / Stall / Prankster

Summary: Sableye is almost the antithesis of Dusclops: it has a lot of utility but has atrocious defenses. However, just because Sableye is frail does not mean it can not hang with the bulky big boys on stall teams. Prankster is the key to Sableye's success by giving it priority to all of its non-attacking moves: which includes Taunt and Will-o-Wisp. Access to priority Taunt, Recover, and Will-o-Wisp makes Sableye one of the best stallbreakers in the tier. A stallbreaker in hand means opposing stall teams that might otherwise be problematic become much easier to break down. Sableye also has a unique typing that allows it to become completely immune to the bane of many stall teams: CM Reuniclus. Wrapped up with the ability to spin block, Sableye is a great choice for many stall teams.

However, Sableye finds itself in disuse due to being very heavy on prediction. As mentioned before, Sableye is a very frail Pokemon and is in fact frailer than Lucario in terms of base stats. This means that should it find itself coming in on a move that it isn't immune to, such as Rapid Spin, it will be sure to take a chunk out of its HP. Even Tentacruel's Rain-boosted Scald, a relatively weak attack, will find itself doing a decent chunk to Sableye. Speaking of Scald, Sableye is very sensitive to status from sources it can not Taunt, which includes Scald and Toxic Spikes. Overall while Sableye provides a lot of utility and roles to a team, remember it is frail and has to be played with a large amount of prediction.

Common threats checked by Sableye: Reuniclus, Alakazam, Chansey, Mew, Forretress

Preferred Teammates: While Sableye can usually avoid status with the use Taunt, status moves that circumvent that threaten to basically put Sableye out of commission. Toxic Spikes can prove to be quite a nuisance to Sableye if a layer or two gets setup. While 1 layer won't put Sableye on a timer unlike 2 layers, it will force Sableye to waste extra turns recovering: a heavy price to pay for a Pokemon heavily reliant on the use of Taunt. For this reason, a grounded Poison-type is great to pair with Sableye. Tentacruel and Roserade are the premier Toxic Spikes absorbers. Rapid Spin support can also remove Toxic Spikes, but it is less immediate and reliant in removal since Toxic Spikes find themselves used on stall teams which have a spinblocker. Bulky waters with Scald, especially boosted by rain, also remain problematic for Sableye since they can still burn Sableye while under the effects of Taunt (which is why it is very difficult to spin block Tentacruel with Sableye). A bulky Grass-type, especially one with Natural Cure, is a great partner for being able to absorb even rain-boosted Scalds with impunity and force bulky waters out. Psyshock Latias is a handy partner for Sableye, due to its ability to remove Tentacruel off of its weaker defense stat while being immune from Toxic Spikes and tanking Scald. Lastly, to insure Sableye does not invite special attackers uncaring of burn's attack drop in without consequence, a strong special sponge should be paired with Sableye. Chansey and Blissey are among the best since they can provide clerical support, which Sableye loves, with Heal Bell or Aromatherapy to give Sableye a second life if it is statused.


Donphan
Type: Ground
Base Stats: 90 HP / 120 Atk / 120 Def / 60 SpA / 60 SpD / 50 Spe
Ability: Sturdy / Sand Veil

Summary: Solid is the best way to describe Donphan in terms of appearance and practice. Donphan is a great choice for a Rapid Spinner as he has the defensive bulk to take physical attacks with ease. Unlike Forretress and Tentacruel, Donphan has the tools to fight back and dent opposing Pokemon to prevent set up. STAB Earthquake backed by base 120 attack gives Donphan the power to dent most targets and deter any set up. Donphan also possesses Ice Shard, which coupled with slight attack investment, can be a great secondary check to Landorus and Dragons (having priority on a defensive poke is quite rare). Rapid Spin isn't the only way Donphan can contribute. Donphan has access to Stealth Rock and Knock Off, the latter being an excellent move to rack up residual damage for a Sandstorm or Hail team.

While Donphan has great defenses, it does not have any recovery moves outside of Rest. Another one of Donphan's issues is a lack of resists. Rock is the only attacking type that Donphan will come in on to take, as Electric moves are overwhelmingly special and Poison moves are rarely used. However, Rock is actually a very handy type to resist, since it is one of the relatively few Pokemon that can come in on a CB Terrakions or CB Tyranitar's Stone Edge. Lastly, Donphan does not have the ability to spin Toxic Spikes with impunity since it will fall prey to them himself. What Donphan does make up in resists is its ability to add some offensive presence to a stall team, making it a great Pokemon to pull off Rapid Spin.

Common threats checked by Donphan: Tyranitar, Terrakion, Landorus

Prefered Teammates: Donphan has trouble with recovery and status so it needs support in some capacity to survive throughout the match. Wish and clerical support are both beneficiary to Donphan. Jirachi, and Blissey all pair well with Donphan to pass Wishes to keep it in good health while sponging the special attacks that might wipe it off the battlefield. Meanwhile, Vaporeon can come in on the Water-type and Ice-type attacks from both sides of the spectrum which are aimed at Donphan. Vaporeon along with Chansey and Blissey can also provide clerical support, which can heal Donphan if it decides to utilize a slot for Rest. A dedicated Poison-type is also a good idea to pair up with Donphan since it does not possess an immunity to Poison unlike the other OU-defensive spinners so it is susceptible to Toxic Spikes. Roserade is perhaps the best dedicated Poison-type to pair with Donphan since it can provide clerical support as well as switch into Water-type attacks.


Forms of Stall


General Threats to Stall Teams

While Stall teams have among the bulkiest Pokemon around, they are not immune to being broken. Various methods can be emplyed to to break Stall teams, but there are two main methods to break Stall. The first is to utilize Taunt, which prevents a Pokemon from using any non-attacking moves. This includes any status moves and healing moves, making a Pokemon utilizing Taunt cut off your recovery and preventing any way to force you out, whether it be status or phazing. Taunt can be utilized with either a boosting moves or status move to deal damage, but the effect is still the same where stall is broken. The second main method is to utilize an attacker with great mixed attacking prowess or a collasal amount of Brute force

Taunt-Status:



While this strategy could be used by an abundance of Pokemon in OU, the most common abusers of this strategy in OU are Mew, Jellicent, Sableye, and Gliscor. While the strategy remains largely the same by employing the combination of Taunt+Status to wear down the opponent while utilizing a reliable recovery move, each of them possesses different attributes that make them different to play against. Mew is perhaps the most well-rounded user of the group with good speed and good bulk. It can run a coverage move of choice to take down certain targets which include Psychic, Seismic Toss, and Ice Beam. While Sableye is the frailest Pokemon of the group, however it makes up for this by carrying priority Taunt, Will-o-Wisp, and Recover. By carrying priority Taunt it makes it almost impossible to get a non-attacking move on it. Jellicent possess to stall break against bulky waters due to its immunity from potentially Rain-boosted Scalds, however it needs a large amount of speed investment to be effective. Lastly there is Gliscor, who possesses a Status immunity of its own and can wear down Pokemon with a nice STAB Earthquake. Note that 3 out of the 4 Pokemon use Will-o-Wisp instead of Toxic as there status move of choice. This is due to Will-o-Wisp's attack drop and more importantly its ability to hit the Steel-type and Poison-type Pokemon (Gliscor tries to work around this with Earthquake).

So what can be done to combat these type of stallbreakers? For starters, Toxic Spikes is by far the best way to remove grounded stallbreakers from play. Setting up Toxic Spikes very early in a game can allow you to circumvent Taunt to statuses the stallbreakers and to put the stallbreakers on a clock. While this can be a challenge if the opponent decides to throw around Taunt early game, you should at some point find an opportunity to set up Toxic Spikes. Tentacruel and Roserade are the most effective at this, since they have the ability to potentially outspeed the Taunt user to get up at least one layer up. However one must be careful, as having only one layer of Toxic Spikes could mean the opposing stallbreaker can switch in early to only receive normal Poison, thus avoiding the danger of being KO'ed. Heatran makes an excellent stop to Mew and Sableye because of its immunity to burn and the potential to boost its Fire moves off a predicted Will-o-Wisp. Gliscor can also make an excellent counter to non-Ice Beam Mew and Sableye after Toxic Orb is activated. Sableye will struggle to get past Gliscor because of Gliscor's extra passive healing in Poison Heal while Gliscor can consistently fire off STAB Earthquakes. With a bit of speed investment, Gliscor can outspeed Mew to Taunt or even Toxic it, preventing it from being able to stay in for an extensive period of time. Sableye also dislikes facing bulky water, especially in the rain, due to Scald's ability to burn it and even do heafty damage to it. Jellicent is easily handled by Grass-types with Natural Cure such as Roserade, Celebi, and Shaymin due to there ability to threaten heavy damage. Roserade especially effective due to its ability to also set up Toxic Spikes. Lastly, Gliscor hates facing bulky waters due to them preying on his lower special defense and his Water-weakness while all he can do is Toxic for one turn. In a similar fashion, a Grass-type with Natural Cure and a special attack can come in on Gliscor's Toxic or Earthquake to force it out. Brongzong also packs the ability to counter Gliscor by threatening with HP Ice and being immune to both of his damaging moves. While Skarmory can be a potential counter, it will only find itself outstalled of PP against Taunt endgame.

Taunt Boosters:



While Pokemon that use Taunt+Status aim to put a stall team out of commission slowly, Taunt Boosters aim to sweep or act as a quick hole puncher to break through a team. While the utility of Taunt for Taunt+Status users is to prevent recovery and status, Taunt boosters use Taunt to prevent the phazing away of their boosts. Normally, defensive Pokemon only have use weak attacks backed by their even more lacklaster offensive stats, making set up against them quite easy. Taunt SD Gliscor is perhaps the most common Taunt booster within the OU tier. Great passive recovery with Poison Heal, immunity to sandstorm, good Ground+Ice coverage, and great bulk all are great attributes that stall teams will have a difficult time with. Behind Gliscor, there is Gyarados and Haxorus. Gyarados plays similarly to Gliscor where it uses it good bulk coupled with Intimidate for initial setup and has great STAB's to dish out attacks with, namely Water. With the extra insurance of a Lum Berry, Gyarados will even find itself having the opportunity to set up against bulky waters. Haxorus on the other hand uses it ginormous attacking power and the neutrality of Dragon STAB to get the job done. With a single Swords Dance and Life Orb in hand even Skarmory, Haxorus' best counter, will find itself being apart of the holepunching by taking upwards to 60% from Outrage.

The best way to deal with these threats is to pack an some-sort of offensive presence on your team. Packing an offensive presence can come in a variety of forms from using high-base powered moves on your defensive walls or even a boosting sweeper of your own. One of the best and common examples of an offensive presence on a stall team is CM Latias. With high speed, Dragon STAB, and great coverage options Latias has the ability to check a wide variety of threats while contributing to a team defensively with its great typing. Sometimes it can even pack utility moves such as Roar and Reflect. Other common examples of a stall team keeping an offensive presence are Choice Band/Choice Scarf Tyranitar (sand stall), WishCM Jirachi, Tank Dragonite, Landorus-T and Nasty Plot Celebi. Packing high-based power moves also helps hinder the setup of opposing Pokemon, but it should be kept in mind how a high-based power move can effect the utility/bulk or a Pokemon and that it can only prevent the setup of certain targets. For example, Brave Bird Skarmory will have an easier time dealing with Taunt Haxorus than one with Drill Peck since Brave Bird will be able to kill Haxorus off faster (especially important to do on the first turn against an incoming Haxorus in case it uses Taunt). One of the great aspects of rain stall that through rain the power of bulky water's Scalds are boosted. To put in perspective the power increase, a rain boosted Scald has the same base power of a clear skies Hydro Pump coming from the same Pokemon. With increased power and a handy 30% burn rate, it is easy to see why rain boosted Scalds coming from bulky waters are aggravating to set up upon. Basically, the idea to carry away is that with an offensive presence you constrain and limit the ability of Pokemon to setup on you. Particularly it is aggravating for Taunt users, who will find themselves taking a decent amount of damage, as opposed to an amount they could handle, on the "free" turn they Taunt.

Powerful Choice Bander and Choice Specs Users


Sometimes when the job of breaking stall needs to be done, instead of relying on coverage, some Pokemon rely on sheer brute force and power in combination with choice items. These types of breakers not only massive offensive stats, but a great STAB move to abuse and a move with very high base power. Even some of the listed Pokemon above counters fear the possibility of a choiced attack just overwhelming them. For example, Standard CM Latias faces the potential to be 2HKO'ed by Hydro Pump fro,m Choice Specs Keldeo's Hydro Pump in the rain. If these hits are so powerful, how can one take them on safely? While packing many counters to common Choice Band and Choice Specs users can be useful, it is an inefficient way of teambuilding and you will find holes to other threats in your team. For starters, packing strong resists or even immunities to the types abused by Choice Band and Choice Specs will help. The best and most popular Choice Band and Choice Specs users are those that have STAB's that receive great neutrality and have high base power moves; which have been identified as Dragon, Water, Fighting, and Rock types. Since Choiced users are locked in one move, packing a solid resist to these types as well as a good sense of prediction will aid you in your fight against them.

However, relying on prediction can only get you so far since even the best of players do not have the ability to get 100% of there predictions right. The aim is of stall is consistency and prediction is not consistent enough. The best and most consistent option of beating out powerful Choice Band and Choice Specs users it to carry Protect, particularly on the Pokemon that a problematic Choiced users come in on often. With Protect, you are able to scout for the Choiced users move and switch into (or stay in) with the appropriate resist on the proceeding turn. Simply put, powerful Choiced users are a lot easier to handle when you know exactly what they are going to do next. Protect isn't exactly a useless move either since it can be used to gain crucial Leftovers recovery or stall out turns for residual damage from Toxic, Sandstorm, Burn, and Leech Seed. It should also be noted that Stealth Rock and multiple layers Spikes are incredibly helpful to shortening the life span of a Choiced user. Because of their inability to switch moves and their reliance on switching to change moves, Choiced Pokemon will have to switch in and out more often than an average Pokemon meaning they take more entry hazard damage. Residual damage from weather and status isn't paticularly effective against Choiced because they will often be in for little more for a turn or two. However, it still can be helpful to have on them if they are being checked by a user of Protect.

Mixed Attackers


Calm Minders


Trappers


Example Team

The Art of Rain Stall by M_Dragon

Rain! (Politoed) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 152 Def / 64 SAtk / 40 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Scald
- Toxic
- Protect
- Perish Song

Rain Dogs (Quagsire) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Unaware
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Recover
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Toxic

Old Times (Dragonite) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 252 HP / 108 SAtk / 148 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Hurricane
- Thunder
- Dragon Tail
- Roost

Joy Toy (Chansey) (F) @ Eviolite
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Toxic
- Seismic Toss
- Softboiled
- Wish

Sushi (Tentacruel) (M) @ Black Sludge
Trait: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Toxic Spikes
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Protect

BS (Ferrothorn) (F) @ Rocky Helmet
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip

Conclusion
 
You should consider adding all the Pokemon that KG had. It would make deciding what to add a whole lot easier. Anyhow, good luck on this behemoth.
 
Using each type of stall would be tough. I recommend that you guys use a balanced non-weather stall team. Tabloo comes to mind.
 
If you want an example team "The Art of Rain Stall" would be fine, Tabloo isn't even a stall team and rain stall is the standard stall anyway.
 
If you want a example of a standard Sandstall team:

Code:
Hippowdon (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 152 Def / 104 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Slack Off

Skarmory (F) @ Shed Shell
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Spikes
- Brave Bird
- Whirlwind
- Roost

Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Def / 164 SDef / 92 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Aromatherapy
- Seismic Toss
- Flamethrower
- Softboiled

Tentacruel (M) @ Black Sludge
Trait: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Toxic Spikes
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Rest

Dusclops (F) @ Eviolite
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Gravity
- Night Shade
- Toxic
- Rest

Tyranitar (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 156 HP / 252 Atk / 100 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Tail
 
I don't know, Dusclops seems like an odd choice for a sand stall team.

Pillsbury, if need any help I could probably do some small stuff like finding pictures for example, just to take some of the work off.
 
I don't know, Dusclops seems like an odd choice for a sand stall team.
That's why Rest > Pain Split (Blissey has Aromatherapy anyway).
Dusclops is incredibly bulky and has Gravity (makes Flying types and Levitators hit by (Toxic) Spikes).
 
You could get picture from the art for articles thread in Smeargle's Studio. Also Tabloo is semistall, so I guess that's different. Delko's sand stall team is really good, and so is The Art of Rainstall. If you're using both, great. However, I think that Delko's team would be the better choice if only using one team solely because it's less outdated (both peaked at #1 anyways, so it's no big deal as to which is "better")

Oh, and try out these sprites to pretty up the page! :)
It's on Dragonite because Dragonite is the best Pokemon ever.
 

Sayonara

don't forget
SubDisable Gengar deserves a mention as Pokemon to consider, as it outspeeds and sets up a Sub, and can cripple the opponent with Disable. If Toxic Spikes are up, Gengar can effectively Toxic Stall.
 
I hadn't noticed everyone's replies until now! I've been trying to do at least one Pokemon a day to make sure the article stays on track. I've been wondering about a few things on this guide but first I will give you my responses.

We should start thinking about what example team we want to use. Im thinking Sanctuary! but it might be a bit outdated. The art of Rain Stall might be something to consider, but if we start using specialized stall teams, I feel we might be inclined to give an example of each like hail stall for example.
I don't think providing an example of each type of stall would be necessary. They all have the same game in mind and they will only be slightly different. Having the weather starters in the "Pokemon to Consider" section their summaries will contain the benefits/negatives of the forms of stall they bring. I.E. in the Politoed summary the benefit of his weather neutralizes steel's fire type weakness, Tyranitar's summary will have how sand adds residual damage/teammates will mostly be steel/ground, etc.

If you want a example of a standard Sandstall team:

Code:
Hippowdon (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 152 Def / 104 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Slack Off

Skarmory (F) @ Shed Shell
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Spikes
- Brave Bird
- Whirlwind
- Roost

Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Def / 164 SDef / 92 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Aromatherapy
- Seismic Toss
- Flamethrower
- Softboiled

Tentacruel (M) @ Black Sludge
Trait: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Toxic Spikes
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Rest

Dusclops (F) @ Eviolite
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Gravity
- Night Shade
- Toxic
- Rest

Tyranitar (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 156 HP / 252 Atk / 100 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Tail
I think we should use this team as an example. What I think this team has over the other teams shown is that it plainly has all the roles of the Pokemon demostrated, so it will be easier to understand and explain. It really has all the faucets found in the "stall terms and basics" section.

You could get picture from the art for articles thread in Smeargle's Studio. Also Tabloo is semistall, so I guess that's different. Delko's sand stall team is really good, and so is The Art of Rainstall. If you're using both, great. However, I think that Delko's team would be the better choice if only using one team solely because it's less outdated (both peaked at #1 anyways, so it's no big deal as to which is "better")

Oh, and try out these sprites to pretty up the page! :)
It's on Dragonite because Dragonite is the best Pokemon ever.
I think we should stick with the normal BW sprites, since it has the most consistency with the other articles on site (such as the Ubers Stall Article. Although it would be nice to add some pretty pictures:toast: If we could put them in and someone finds some I'll add them in the mix.

I don't know, Dusclops seems like an odd choice for a sand stall team.

Pillsbury, if need any help I could probably do some small stuff like finding pictures for example, just to take some of the work off.
Agreed, I would change it to Dusknoir considering how there is Sand in play, its like using Chansey on a SandStall team. The sprites are pretty easy to implement. I think the best way to help out at this point would be to have some input on what Pokemon should be added/not included and input on what makes the best partner for some Pokemon. TBH I could see me needing help writing to get this done faster, but so far its been ok. If it is going to be as big as the Ubers Article it would be necessary (though I can't see why it would be so big).

Anyway here some of the tidbits/questions I have to share. I think we should combine Chansey/Blissey into one, seeing as how they are basically the same Pokemon. Also, I'm going to put a list of Pokemon to add to KG's original list. Off the top of my head I can think of Vaporeon, Sableye, Dusclops/Dusknoir, Rotom-W, and Gengar. Lastly, I took out the benefits/disadvantages because I thought they were covered by the summary and team mates, but I was looking at the Uber Stall I can see how the summary didn't fully cover some things. Therefore, should I put it back in?

Alright guys thanks for the input so far.
 
I think you are throwing the word "check" around to loosely. I wouldn't really call Heatran a check to Hydreigon, since most run Focus Blast, which can dent Heatran heavily. In return, Heatran can not do much, especially if it is the SpD set. All it can do is Roar, Lava Plume, or inflict a status if Hydreigon is not running the Sub set. Yes, Heatran can tank other hits, but I find that most Hydreigon are not choiced, so Hydreigon can simply use Focus Blast the following turn. Same goes with Forretress checking Scizor, (just becomes set up fotter for SD sets) etc.

Some of the Pokemon you put under "Common threats checked by Pokemon X" are countered by Pokemon X. For example, Bronzong "checking" Gliscor, Jellicent "checking" Mienshao, etc. I think a good idea is to put a line underneath the "Common threats checked by Pokemon X" section, containing a "Common threats countered by Pokemon X" section just so people don't get the two words confused.
 
Alright so I finnally had time this weekend and got cracking on this. All of KG's original Pokemon have been done. However, I think there are some Pokemon that should defitnitely be added to the list; here are a few off the top of my head:

- Hippowdon
-Roserade
-Vaporeon
-Dusclops/Dusknoir
-Sableye
-Donphan

I have also considered adding back in the advantages/disdavantages/important moves section since I realized not everything it touched on in the summary. Also, I changed all the sprites to the on-site smogon ones. Lastly...

I think you are throwing the word "check" around to loosely. I wouldn't really call Heatran a check to Hydreigon, since most run Focus Blast, which can dent Heatran heavily. In return, Heatran can not do much, especially if it is the SpD set. All it can do is Roar, Lava Plume, or inflict a status if Hydreigon is not running the Sub set. Yes, Heatran can tank other hits, but I find that most Hydreigon are not choiced, so Hydreigon can simply use Focus Blast the following turn. Same goes with Forretress checking Scizor, (just becomes set up fotter for SD sets) etc.

Some of the Pokemon you put under "Common threats checked by Pokemon X" are countered by Pokemon X. For example, Bronzong "checking" Gliscor, Jellicent "checking" Mienshao, etc. I think a good idea is to put a line underneath the "Common threats checked by Pokemon X" section, containing a "Common threats countered by Pokemon X" section just so people don't get the two words confused.
If Heatran doesn't "check" Hydreigon, then nothing will. Same goes for many of the other defenders in this article. Is Gliscor not a Terrakion Counter due to the SD-Rock Gem set? Is Skarmory not a counter to Dragonite even if it is 2HKO'ed by +1 Fire Punch after SR? What about Latios tricking Blissey/Chansey? The article gives shows which defensive walls are the best switchins to certain Pokemon. If we played this game, then most defensive Pokemon in this article wouldn't have any Pokemon listed that they could wall.

In regards to the whole check vs counter, it has been the standard format for stall articles. The Ubers Stall and the RU Stall Article use it. If it truely needs to be pointed out, I will add a bit about it in the "basics and terms" section.
 
i need to try out stall teams and maybe use it as my main playstyle or added as another way i can play :D..thanks man for the list
 
How is this going man?

ctrl - f leads to no mentions of Genesect, so this needs probably a massive update, since stall was hurt so much by the little bugger

also since stall is so effected by Genesect, we are probably going to need a new stall team example that is Genesect minded as well as keeping in mind all the new threats (Keldeo, Tornadus, Thundurus-T)

stall got hit hard, but its still viable, this should reflect that
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top