Hey guys! This is my first RMT (and for that matter my first post in these forums), so I would greatly appreciate any constructive criticism.
My team is intended to be completely focused on stall, so most of its members have very limited attacking moves. Without further ado, here it is:
First off, Forretress, my usual lead:
Team Forretress 2 (Forretress) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
This is my hazard setter, and remover (with Rapid Spin). Forretress's effectiveness is obviously dependent on the team matchup; if the opponent has an obvious fire lead (e.g. MegaZard, and no other lead pokemon like Scolipede, Azelf, TTar, etc.) then leading with Forretress is not the best idea. In these cases, I can often bring it into play later - if the opponent lacks a rapid spinner/defogger, and the game starts to draw out into a stall vs stall battle (e.g. against mixed teams with a penchant towards stalling and status conditions), then setting up even a couple spike layers mid-game can do wonders in accumulated damage through the numerous switches that the opponent is likely to execute.
Often, if the opponent has no poison pokemon and doesn't lead with a fire-type, Forretress's sole role may consist of setting up a layer of toxic spikes as the opponent switches to something that can ohko forretress, then setting up a second layer thanks to sturdy. This alone can be extremely useful.
Finally, once I do set up hazards, my Mew (covered later) can Roar repeatedly if given the opportunity to rack up significant damage and/or spread the poisoning through the opponent's team.
Rapid spin is rapid spin; in practice, Forretress often ends up being a suicide lead, but not always. (If it does die, most of my team shrugs off SR, and I've got Venusaur against toxic spikes). I've tried various moves for the 4th slot, and Rapid Spin seems to be the one I use the most really. (Sticky Web would have been amazing, but oh well.)
tl;dr: sets up hazards, and is kinda suicidal. Also not good against special threats, though can usually survive at least two hits to set up decent spikes or full toxic spikes.
F-ew (Mew) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Roar
- Will-O-Wisp
- Heal Bell
- Roost
My Mew has been designed to work in conjunction with Forretress. Roar in particular is obviously extremely useful if a lot of hazards are up on the opponent's side.
The reason it's holding Focus Sash (rather than, say, lefties) is also to combat a problem with taking the time to set up hazards with Forretress: the opponent may set up, often to +6 atk/Satk (hoping to sweep my whole team with one pokemon, which isn't really an unrealistic hope with a free setup like that). If that happens, I simply let them kill my Forretress once they're done, then bring in my Mew, survive with Focus Sash and Roar them away. Bam, they have full hazards on their side and are screwed.
WoW-ing my opponents is also an important role of Mew's: most of my team runs Toxic, so a) against Steel/Poison types, and b) against physical attackers I need to cripple, WoW is invaluable. Given, however, that my Mew is specially defensive, care needs to be taken when switching into a physical threat with the intention to burn it. (In fact, perhaps I should change the EV spread to physically defensive for that sole purpose?)
Heal Bell is Heal Bell, duh. Mew is the only pokemon on my team that could learn it, while more than half my team is immune to poisoning, burns can be pretty annoying, especially on Ferrothorn. The only thing to keep in mind is that if my Gliscor's Toxic Orb got knocked off or somehow removed, this move should NOT be used, for obvious reasons.
tl;dr: Roars when hazards are set up. If the opponent sets up on forretress, sack it, bring in mew, then focus sash + roar to phaze out the would-be sweeper. WoW to cripple some physical attackers and to inflict damaging status on Steel/poison types. Heal Bell for support.
Alomomolomolomomolola (Alomomola) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Knock Off
- Wish
- Protect
- Toxic
Alomomolomolomomolola serves three main purposes: to tank damage, to provide Wish support, and to check Fire types (like Zard).
Its pretty insane HP lets it tank almost anything not super-effective. Thanks to Regenerator, it can be a huge pain to kill if it only switches in to knock something off or wish, then immediately switches back out.
Knock off is there because nobody else on my team has it, and it's a useful move to cripple item strategies - and if you get lucky, you might knock off a toxic/flame orb off a pokemon that relied on it for something. (Unpoisoned Gliscors with virtually no recovery, yay!) Wish+protect is a pretty standard combination; it can be used to stall out a poisoned pokemon, or to heal another weakened party member by switching out after wishing (while simultaneously restoring 30% of Alomomolomo... fine, I'l stop, Alomomola's HP thanks to Regenerator). Toxic because why not, and there really isn't anything else useful I could put in the last moveslot. (The abysmal attack stats mean Alomomola is pretty much doomed to be a purely support pokemon.)
There are two reasons I chose Alomomola over Chansey: the first one being Regenerator, but the main one being its type. Half my team is weak to Fire, of which two pokemon are 4x weak; Venusaur has Thick Fat, but is very vulnerable if MegaZard is brought in early game and my Saur isn't mega-evolved yet. Gliscor can stall out MegaZard, but may not be able to afford the turn required to toxic it, making PP-stalling its only effective strategy; the best Mew can do is Roar the threat out, losing a good amount of health in the process. Alomomola is my check to Fire-types, and MegaZard in particular.
Stall, lel (Venusaur-Mega) @ Venusaurite
Ability: Thick Fat
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Leech Seed
- Giga Drain
- Synthesis
Now we move on to the actual stall core of my team. Mega Venusaur's main strategy is putting opponents to sleep, setting up Leech Seed, then stalling with Giga Drain + Synthesis. It helps if the opponent is already either burned or poisoned, or it can work the other way around - setting up Leech Seed then switching into, say, Gliscor, who will provide poisoning and Sub+Protect stalling, while the opponent is still sleeping.
Not much else to say about this, other than stall, lel. Of course it's weak to psychic and flying, so that's something to keep in mind - and it's completely ineffective against Grass types, forcing it to switch out.
Pet me! (Ferrothorn) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Leech Seed
- Curse
- Gyro Ball
- Protect
Ah yes, your usual stall Ferrothorn. With Iron Barbs and Rocky Helmet, inflicts about 25% recoil damage onto anybody making contact.
Unfortunately, his only form of recovery is through Leech Seed. Protect is there to allow Thorn to stall out an additional turn and recover a bit more HP; it also works great if the opposing pokemon has already been poisoned/burned by somebody else on my team (or by toxic spikes).
Curse+Gyro Ball: I don't think I need to explain that. Even one or two curses are enough to guarantee max 150 power GB against nearly every other pokemon, and +2 atk stab 150 power is a force to be reckoned with.
The reason the EV spread and nature favour mixed physical and special defense is that Thorn's SpD stat is actually quite high, and has the potential to, say, survive a focus blast to retaliate with a Gyro Ball if near full health. Besides, the barbs and helmet combo punish most physical attackers quite a bit already, so most will hesitate to simply attack all-out. (Also, the current defense is enough to survive a superpower from mega-scizor with a decent amount of health, and that's saying something.)
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Toxic
- Substitute
- Protect
- Ice Fang
And last but not least, SubProtect Gliscor. The one pokemon that has made opponents ragequit simply upon switch-in. (Granted, that wasn't high up in the ladder, but still.)
I don't think I need to say much about him. Except perhaps Ice Fang: I chose that over EQ because nothing is immune to Ice Fang, whereas something like Skarmory might render EQ Gliscor completely useless and forced to switch out. Another important reason is the 10% chance to freeze: this has allowed me to deal pretty well with things like Scolipede, who sets up for a thousand turns without me risking any damage. Provided the hax are on my side. Also, the coverage seems better suited to my team - things like opposing gliscors and dragonites can be hit with 4x effectiveness.
The speed EVs are there to outspeed a decent amount of pokemon when using Substitute, which makes indefinite sub+protect stalling that much easier.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my OU stall team. I think I may have gone overboard with the descriptions: do tell me if that's the case, and I may shorten it. Of course this team is vulnerable to Taunt carriers, but dealing with that would require more of a mixed approach; the whole point of this team is all-out stall, which is inherently weak to Taunt. Still, facing a taunter is not an automatic loss in this case - I've had a few pretty close battles, even against teams with two taunters.
Finally, I might mention two candidates I used for a time on my team: Clefable (Magic Guard + cosmic power + stored power) and SpD Umbreon (Wish+Protect, Heal Bell, Foul Play/Toxic).
The former got replaced for two reasons: 1) I came to dislike the strategy, seeing as it can mean an automatic win if your opponent is nor prepared OR a waste of time and a huge hassle if they are. And 2), it's more of a setup pokemon than a true staller. Both of these reasons meant that most of the battles, I'd go without really using Clefable, only to sack it in a tight spot for the benefit of some other pokemon or strategy.
The latter got replaced simply because Alomomola does the same job, and better. Heal Bell was moved to Mew, replacing Substitute which I never used anyway.
Thank you for reading this (unexpectedly, even for me) lengthy RMT, and I look forward to hearing your feedback!
EDIT: crud, the attached files are showing up. The in-built file upload was acting up and consistently failing for the Gliscor, Alomomola and Ferrothorn sprites for no apparent reason, then the three that did work showed up wonky in the preview, so I switched to imgur for all six... Any advice?
My team is intended to be completely focused on stall, so most of its members have very limited attacking moves. Without further ado, here it is:
First off, Forretress, my usual lead:
Team Forretress 2 (Forretress) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
This is my hazard setter, and remover (with Rapid Spin). Forretress's effectiveness is obviously dependent on the team matchup; if the opponent has an obvious fire lead (e.g. MegaZard, and no other lead pokemon like Scolipede, Azelf, TTar, etc.) then leading with Forretress is not the best idea. In these cases, I can often bring it into play later - if the opponent lacks a rapid spinner/defogger, and the game starts to draw out into a stall vs stall battle (e.g. against mixed teams with a penchant towards stalling and status conditions), then setting up even a couple spike layers mid-game can do wonders in accumulated damage through the numerous switches that the opponent is likely to execute.
Often, if the opponent has no poison pokemon and doesn't lead with a fire-type, Forretress's sole role may consist of setting up a layer of toxic spikes as the opponent switches to something that can ohko forretress, then setting up a second layer thanks to sturdy. This alone can be extremely useful.
Finally, once I do set up hazards, my Mew (covered later) can Roar repeatedly if given the opportunity to rack up significant damage and/or spread the poisoning through the opponent's team.
Rapid spin is rapid spin; in practice, Forretress often ends up being a suicide lead, but not always. (If it does die, most of my team shrugs off SR, and I've got Venusaur against toxic spikes). I've tried various moves for the 4th slot, and Rapid Spin seems to be the one I use the most really. (Sticky Web would have been amazing, but oh well.)
tl;dr: sets up hazards, and is kinda suicidal. Also not good against special threats, though can usually survive at least two hits to set up decent spikes or full toxic spikes.
F-ew (Mew) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Roar
- Will-O-Wisp
- Heal Bell
- Roost
My Mew has been designed to work in conjunction with Forretress. Roar in particular is obviously extremely useful if a lot of hazards are up on the opponent's side.
The reason it's holding Focus Sash (rather than, say, lefties) is also to combat a problem with taking the time to set up hazards with Forretress: the opponent may set up, often to +6 atk/Satk (hoping to sweep my whole team with one pokemon, which isn't really an unrealistic hope with a free setup like that). If that happens, I simply let them kill my Forretress once they're done, then bring in my Mew, survive with Focus Sash and Roar them away. Bam, they have full hazards on their side and are screwed.
WoW-ing my opponents is also an important role of Mew's: most of my team runs Toxic, so a) against Steel/Poison types, and b) against physical attackers I need to cripple, WoW is invaluable. Given, however, that my Mew is specially defensive, care needs to be taken when switching into a physical threat with the intention to burn it. (In fact, perhaps I should change the EV spread to physically defensive for that sole purpose?)
Heal Bell is Heal Bell, duh. Mew is the only pokemon on my team that could learn it, while more than half my team is immune to poisoning, burns can be pretty annoying, especially on Ferrothorn. The only thing to keep in mind is that if my Gliscor's Toxic Orb got knocked off or somehow removed, this move should NOT be used, for obvious reasons.
tl;dr: Roars when hazards are set up. If the opponent sets up on forretress, sack it, bring in mew, then focus sash + roar to phaze out the would-be sweeper. WoW to cripple some physical attackers and to inflict damaging status on Steel/poison types. Heal Bell for support.
Alomomolomolomomolola (Alomomola) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Knock Off
- Wish
- Protect
- Toxic
Alomomolomolomomolola serves three main purposes: to tank damage, to provide Wish support, and to check Fire types (like Zard).
Its pretty insane HP lets it tank almost anything not super-effective. Thanks to Regenerator, it can be a huge pain to kill if it only switches in to knock something off or wish, then immediately switches back out.
Knock off is there because nobody else on my team has it, and it's a useful move to cripple item strategies - and if you get lucky, you might knock off a toxic/flame orb off a pokemon that relied on it for something. (Unpoisoned Gliscors with virtually no recovery, yay!) Wish+protect is a pretty standard combination; it can be used to stall out a poisoned pokemon, or to heal another weakened party member by switching out after wishing (while simultaneously restoring 30% of Alomomolomo... fine, I'l stop, Alomomola's HP thanks to Regenerator). Toxic because why not, and there really isn't anything else useful I could put in the last moveslot. (The abysmal attack stats mean Alomomola is pretty much doomed to be a purely support pokemon.)
There are two reasons I chose Alomomola over Chansey: the first one being Regenerator, but the main one being its type. Half my team is weak to Fire, of which two pokemon are 4x weak; Venusaur has Thick Fat, but is very vulnerable if MegaZard is brought in early game and my Saur isn't mega-evolved yet. Gliscor can stall out MegaZard, but may not be able to afford the turn required to toxic it, making PP-stalling its only effective strategy; the best Mew can do is Roar the threat out, losing a good amount of health in the process. Alomomola is my check to Fire-types, and MegaZard in particular.
Stall, lel (Venusaur-Mega) @ Venusaurite
Ability: Thick Fat
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Leech Seed
- Giga Drain
- Synthesis
Now we move on to the actual stall core of my team. Mega Venusaur's main strategy is putting opponents to sleep, setting up Leech Seed, then stalling with Giga Drain + Synthesis. It helps if the opponent is already either burned or poisoned, or it can work the other way around - setting up Leech Seed then switching into, say, Gliscor, who will provide poisoning and Sub+Protect stalling, while the opponent is still sleeping.
Not much else to say about this, other than stall, lel. Of course it's weak to psychic and flying, so that's something to keep in mind - and it's completely ineffective against Grass types, forcing it to switch out.
Pet me! (Ferrothorn) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Leech Seed
- Curse
- Gyro Ball
- Protect
Ah yes, your usual stall Ferrothorn. With Iron Barbs and Rocky Helmet, inflicts about 25% recoil damage onto anybody making contact.
Unfortunately, his only form of recovery is through Leech Seed. Protect is there to allow Thorn to stall out an additional turn and recover a bit more HP; it also works great if the opposing pokemon has already been poisoned/burned by somebody else on my team (or by toxic spikes).
Curse+Gyro Ball: I don't think I need to explain that. Even one or two curses are enough to guarantee max 150 power GB against nearly every other pokemon, and +2 atk stab 150 power is a force to be reckoned with.
The reason the EV spread and nature favour mixed physical and special defense is that Thorn's SpD stat is actually quite high, and has the potential to, say, survive a focus blast to retaliate with a Gyro Ball if near full health. Besides, the barbs and helmet combo punish most physical attackers quite a bit already, so most will hesitate to simply attack all-out. (Also, the current defense is enough to survive a superpower from mega-scizor with a decent amount of health, and that's saying something.)
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Toxic
- Substitute
- Protect
- Ice Fang
And last but not least, SubProtect Gliscor. The one pokemon that has made opponents ragequit simply upon switch-in. (Granted, that wasn't high up in the ladder, but still.)
I don't think I need to say much about him. Except perhaps Ice Fang: I chose that over EQ because nothing is immune to Ice Fang, whereas something like Skarmory might render EQ Gliscor completely useless and forced to switch out. Another important reason is the 10% chance to freeze: this has allowed me to deal pretty well with things like Scolipede, who sets up for a thousand turns without me risking any damage. Provided the hax are on my side. Also, the coverage seems better suited to my team - things like opposing gliscors and dragonites can be hit with 4x effectiveness.
The speed EVs are there to outspeed a decent amount of pokemon when using Substitute, which makes indefinite sub+protect stalling that much easier.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my OU stall team. I think I may have gone overboard with the descriptions: do tell me if that's the case, and I may shorten it. Of course this team is vulnerable to Taunt carriers, but dealing with that would require more of a mixed approach; the whole point of this team is all-out stall, which is inherently weak to Taunt. Still, facing a taunter is not an automatic loss in this case - I've had a few pretty close battles, even against teams with two taunters.
Finally, I might mention two candidates I used for a time on my team: Clefable (Magic Guard + cosmic power + stored power) and SpD Umbreon (Wish+Protect, Heal Bell, Foul Play/Toxic).
The former got replaced for two reasons: 1) I came to dislike the strategy, seeing as it can mean an automatic win if your opponent is nor prepared OR a waste of time and a huge hassle if they are. And 2), it's more of a setup pokemon than a true staller. Both of these reasons meant that most of the battles, I'd go without really using Clefable, only to sack it in a tight spot for the benefit of some other pokemon or strategy.
The latter got replaced simply because Alomomola does the same job, and better. Heal Bell was moved to Mew, replacing Substitute which I never used anyway.
Thank you for reading this (unexpectedly, even for me) lengthy RMT, and I look forward to hearing your feedback!
EDIT: crud, the attached files are showing up. The in-built file upload was acting up and consistently failing for the Gliscor, Alomomola and Ferrothorn sprites for no apparent reason, then the three that did work showed up wonky in the preview, so I switched to imgur for all six... Any advice?
