Not So Fast - a BW2 Stall RMT

Changes will be in BOLD. I made a few changes and the team has been doing pretty well. There's a big weakness to Pokémon who have Focus Blast: Alakazam, Reuniclus, Gengar. There's still a big weakness to offensive Dragonite with the right coverage moves and Heatran as well. VoltTurn can also be an issue sometimes if the opponent is exceptionally skilled and doesn't let me get rocks up. Finally, if one of their sweepers is Scarfed and I don't realize it, Starmie (my cleanup sweeper) can be taken out and spell big trouble. All in all, the changes have been great, and I won something like 15 matches in a row tonight, breaking into the top 50. Thanks for your help and any more tips will be appreciated.


Introduction

Hey folks! I've been having a lot of fun playing around with this new BW2 metagame this summer. I find I'm usually too busy to play any Pokémon, so I jumped back into the game this summer after over a year of no play at all. I messed around a good deal before settling on my current team. I started with a wonderfully fun trapping team focused on giving a sweep to Dragon Dance Mixed Moxie Salamence or Calm Mind Reuniclus. It was fun, but for whatever reason I always seem to prefer playing stall. And boy is that a curse in this metagame. Stall is HARD. Anyway, with school starting up again in about a week, I'm probably not going to be playing ton more, so I figure I'd let it loose for you guys to see what you think.


Team Building Process

Closer Look


Jellicent @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 206 HP / 216 Def / 88 Spd
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Recover

Jellicent, given how clearly NOT Slowbro he is, has turned out pretty good. Jellicent has always been a thorn in my side as someone who likes playing stall, so it was nice to be on the other side. Taunt is absolutely wonderful. With it and Recover, he can single-handedly massacre opposing stall teams. Just pull him in on Blissey or someone and Taunt them, then start tossing out Will-O-Wisp. Will-O-Wisp allows him to start building up the residual damage as well as neuter physical threats. If he catches Ferrothorn with it on the switch, Taunt and Recover allow him to outpace Power Whip.

Scald is there simply as a way to not be set-up bait. I find myself frequently disappointed by how little it does, even when super-effective (especially against Heatran who always gives me trouble). Really, he fills a different niche than Slowbro would and I have to remind myself to be less cavalier with him since he does not get the benefit of Regenerator.

I took some EVs out of HP and put them into speed to outspeed base 70s (Politoed, Skarmory). Now that Jelli can't taunt Toed's Toxic, he is a perfect counter to Toed, and can use Will-O-Wisp on whatever switches in. I know some have suggested Toxic over WoW, but I just can't do it. I would much MUCH rather have something burnt than Toxic'd. Toxic helps you bring down walls, which Jelli can just Taunt instead. WoW cripples Physical sweepers, which are a much bigger threat. My team can handle other stall teams with a great spinner and spin blocker, it's sweepers that are trouble. WoW > Toxic all the time. I tried Surf over Scald for a while, but the damage difference is not that great and Scald has the oft-forgotten utility of unfreezing me. This comes up surprisingly often since a taunted Politoed or Tentacruel will often spam Ice Beam in hopes of a freeze. This new EV spread has proven to be really useful!


Amoonguss @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 6 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Clear Smog
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Spore

This guy is just a barrel of fun. With this much Special Defense investment, he can tank hits like you wouldn't believe. He's my go-to guy on basically any special attacker that doesn't have a STAB Super Effective move. He can tank any hit and switch out none the worse for wear. He provides a perfect counter to Breloom and Keldeo, which is a huge boon in this metagame. He can stand up to Thundurus-T and other electrics with no problem, and can mess with most rain teams (along with Jellicent). Finally, Ferrothorn can do nothing to him, so if Jellicent burns or Taunts him, I'll jump over to Amoonguss for a free Spore.

Spore is the bread and butter of this set. Stall is so difficult in this generation, that putting an opponent to sleep to make it 5v6 makes things much easier to handle and really gives some breathing room. If the opponent doesn't have a Magic Bounce user, I'll typically lead with Spore once Amoonguss is in. Giga Drain is for STAB and a way to threaten Keldeo, Gastrodon, and Politoed. Clear Smog is a spectacular move to stop opponents from setting up. It's what makes him the ideal Breloom and Keldeo counter. Heck, it can work wonders against Conkeldurr too (especially if they have been Toxic'd or burned). Hidden Power Ice is a coverage move for Gliscor or the Genies.

But therein lies the trouble. Amoonguss needs all this defensive investment to make the Regenerator count. But once he's in, I find he can't do much but sponge. His attacks deal pathetic damage unless they are 4x effective, and once something has been Spore'd he doesn't have much else he can do. God knows I need him on the team to stand up to Keldeo, Breloom, Thundurus-T, and so on. But I wish he could do more.



Heatran @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 250 HP / 252 SDef / 8 Spd
Calm Nature
- Roar
- Stealth Rock
- Protect
- Lava Plume

Specially defensive Heatran is a pretty standard set. He's wonderful at setting up Stealth Rock, since he forces a ton of switches. Roar and Toxic let him rack up residual damage, while Lava Plume lets him threaten Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Jirachi, and Scizor, while still providing a chance of burn. He can tank hits like no other and is my go-to guy for Jirachi, Skarmory, or Ferrothorn.

I debated between Air Balloon and Leftovers. With a stall team, the hope is that the game will go on more than 30 turns, so it was very disheartening to have an item that might in one turn become useless for the rest of the game. I found myself scared of losing my balloon and not switching him in. In a stall team, you should never have anything stopping you from switching in the right wall at the right time. The Leftovers gave him a lot more longevity as well so he can tank hits the whole game long.

I still have a pretty crushing Heatran weakness myself and my Heatran is usually my early switch in for enemy Heatran. Not a ton of them run Earth Power, but if they do, that means big trouble for my team.

I tried RestTalk with Shed Shell without great results. First, the pace of this metagame means very few things will be able to stay in more than a turn or two, which is too long to take advantage of RestTalk. Second, Heatran is better for Stealth Rock than Tyranitar. Both easily force switches, but Tyranitar will typically prefer to Pursuit on a switch than Stealth Rock. I opted for Protect, which lets me grab some more recovery as well as scout moves (though I am always nervous of letting a threatening enemy set up with it). It has proven to be pretty useful. Few teams have Dugtrio, and the tradeoff for Shed Shell over Leftovers is too high. I'd rather just play the prediction game in Dugtrio matches than give up recovery in all the others.



Skarmory @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 6 Spd
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Spikes
- Whirlwind

A classic. I find Skarmory always ends up on my stall teams. He just has everything stall wants: entry hazards (and the best one in my opinion), recovery, Phazing, and a spectacular typing. Skarmory can fight off many important threats, such as Gyarados, Choice-locked Dragons, Toxicroak, Breloom, Landorus, Landorus-T, and Terrakion. He usually has no trouble tossing up those spikes to rack up the damage. Once you have three layers, the damage adds up incredibly quickly.

Whirlwind allows him to fight off anything that might try to set up on him, while forcing some residual damage. Brave Bird is a great STAB that does surprisingly good damage. Finally, his ability, Sturdy, is a godsend. If he is at full health, he can function as an emergency evacuation method, by using Whirlwind against some sweeper that got too many boosts after tanking the hit to 1 HP. Plus, if Magnezone traps him, it lets him get one more layer of Spikes before dropping dead.



Starmie @ Expert Belt
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 6 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Surf

My team's most recent addition. I'm still trying to get a feel for how she works. Since I realized that I was very protective of my spinner, I knew I wanted something fast, so that once it came in, it damn sure did it's job. Furthermore, I had a significant weakness to a number of threats - Dragonite with fire attacks, Mixed Salamence, Gliscor (if it had Taunt or was the last man standing), Heatran, and Jellicent. Starmie could outspeed and hit them all for super effective damage.

Since I wanted Starmie to serve as a revenge killer of sorts, I needed to give her some oomph. I maxed out her offensive stats. I stopped short of Life Orb and Choice Items, though. Choice Items are scary because I don't want to give any free turns, nor do I want to switch more than I have to. Life Orb was not great because I wanted my spinner to stick around for long. Plus the idea of dropping 10% when I use Rapid Spin was not at all appetizing. Because she has such great type coverage, I ended up settling on Expert Belt. This also lets me bluff a Choice Scarf set.

From time to time I wonder if I should switch to Leftovers or drop an attack for Recover. But each time, I think that this would severely hinder the offensive power of Starmie, while buffing her bulk, which is not really a strong point of hers in the first place.

Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 6 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Pursuit

Tyranitar has been a very useful addition to the team. He inherits Scizor's niche of Pursuit-trapping Lati@s, Espeon, and Xatu. It still threatens Reuniclus (although he is now more of an issue than he was with Scizor here). I have both Crunch and Pursuit as Pursuit is needed for fleeing enemies, while Crunch is needed if they opt to stay in, thinking I won't have both. Earthquake lets me take down grounded Heatrans (although they are still a huge issue, since they will likely not stay in to get killed and Ttar cannot switch in 10 times). Stone Edge is basically filler move. I may switch it for Fire Blast, but I'm not quite sure what it would accomplish. Hell, maybe even Dragon Dance? I dunno.

He also had the benefit of bringing weather to the team, but not for the reasons you'd expect. To be honest, I can sort of deal with rain and sun teams even with their weather up. What Tyranitar does do is he serves as a distraction. It is so satisfying to watch an opponent focusing most of their attention on the weather war, on bringing down Tyranitar, when I could care less if their weather is up in the end. Their focus on this lets me net a lead so that even if they do bring down Ttar, they have to see what it cost them. Tyranitar joined the team because he had Pursuit and high Special Defense, not because of Sand Stream. My lack of attachment to my weather is a big help most of the time.


Threat List

I'm not going to update my threat list (at least not tonight), maybe later.

Abomasnow: He typically can't do much to Heatran who can scare him away while setting up Stealth Rock to make sure his days are numbered. I wish I could send in Amoonguss to block the Leech Seed, but he is not a fan of Blizzard.

Aerodactyl: I only saw him once and had no trouble with him. Skarmory and Jellicent both cover him handily, while Scizor can revenge if necessary.

Alakazam: Zam is no fun at all with this team. My best bet is to go to Scizor to Bullet Punch away the Sash (unless by some miracle some other team member has broken it, in which case life is a lot easier). Heatran can tank a Focus Blast, but he doesn't like it. Skarmory is the same way.

Blissey: Oh Blissey. I love teams with Blissey because Taunt Jellicent makes her completely useless and I love it. I go straight to Jelly to Taunt, then burn what ever dares to switch in. Great fun.

Breloom: Every stall team needs two answers to Breloom, in case one gets Spored. Mine are Skarmory and Amoonguss. Amoonguss is a much better counter, so I typically sac Skarmory to the sleep and then go to him. None of his attacks do much damage, even boosted by Swords Dance, Bulk Up, or Choice Band. Any setting up he tries to do is blasted away with Clear Smog, which can also take him out in a few hits.

Celebi: Celebi is a royal pain in the ass. Any specially offensive attacker with good type coverage is big trouble. Amoonguss can stand against it alright with Clear Smog, but a Nasty Plot HP Fire is no fun at all. Heatran wishes he could deal with her, but most carry Earth Power. Scizor can try to Pursuit it, but more often than not gets HP Fire'd. The Tinkerbell set is more of a nuisance, but offensive sets are a big problem.

Chansey: Again, Jellicent walks all over it. Useless.

Cloyster: Jellicent can tank a Shell Smashed Rock Blast and return fire with Will-O-Wisp. If Will -O-Wisp misses, though, trouble is brewing. Skarmory can revenge at great loss of life, as can Scizor. But hopefully WoW hits...

Conkeldurr: A pretty scary threat. Skarmory can beat it down pretty quickly with Brave Bird. And Amoonguss can sponge attacks, while either sleeping it or canceling it's boosts with Clear Smog.

Deoxys-D: I haven't seen much of him lately, but I would probably go to Scizor to U-Turn it or Pursuit it and hope it didn't pack HP Fire. Starmie can also spin right in his face without fearing much response. Anyone else will just get Taunted probably.

Donphan: Not a big problem. I typically go to Jellicent to block the spin. If he stays in to Earthquake or Stealth Rock, I can burn him and make him a non-issue for the rest of the game. Jellicent can Recover against a burnt Donphan or hit it with Scald to speed it's demise.

Dragonite: Dragonite can spell trouble, especially if it packs the right set of coverage moves. A DD Earthquake, Fire Punch, Dragon Attack Dragonite simply wins against my team, which is sad. Other ones can be covered by Skarmory and, if its Multiscale is broken, can be revenged by Starmie and Scizor.

Dugtrio: Since my Heatran lacks a balloon, he can be a real problem. Heatran is the only thing it will really take out, but losing one link in the chain spells disaster for a stall team. I try to play conservative with Heatran if Dugtrio is in play. If Heatran IS in play, I spam Lava Plume and hope the Dugtrio is choiced (or if it has Focus Sash, that it gets burned). Once Heatran is gone, Trio can't do much to anyone else.

Espeon: Espeon is a pain for a Stall team. I switch straight to Scizor and Pursuit it to death. Exceptionally satisfying.

Ferrothorn: Heatran will typically come in to set up Rocks. If I manage to burn it with Jellicent (they seldom switch out and more frequently switch in on her), then he becomes set-up bait for Skarmory or Amoonguss can absorb any Leech Seed.

Forretress: Jellicent has no trouble spin blocking and can burn it to speed its demise, while taunting it to stop hazard set-ups. Heatran can come in to scare it away and set up Stealth Rocks.

Gastrodon: Amoonguss can tank anything Gastrodon tries to do and threaten with Giga Drain. Jellicent can taunt it to prevent recovery and Toxic, though Amoonguss really fares best.

Gengar: What a pest. Scizor is my only good answer to Pursuit or Bullet Punch it to death. If it is a sub-Disable Gengar, I can only go to Heatran or Skarmory to Phaze it and try to wear it down with passive damage so it drops out of Sub range. Yuck.

Gliscor: I typically go to Skarmory first to set up spikes against him. If it has Taunt, a switch to Starmie for Ice Beam will scare him away no problem.

Gyarados: Jellicent laughs at Gyarados and burns him to boot. Skarmory can also set up spikes and Phaze him away as she sees fit. Starmie outspeeds and Thunderbolts. Not a problem at all for my team.

Haxorus: Skarmory can usually stand up to him admirably. I find they usually are late game cleaners, so Starmie and Scizor (whichever are left) can finish him off.

Heatran: A gigantic problem for my team. My own Heatran can set up rocks and Roar him away, but only if he doesn't have Earth Power. Otherwise, Starmie is my best bet to threaten him with Surf.

Hippowdon: Not a huge threat. Jellicent can Taunt and burn, Amoonguss can keep up with Earthquake damage using Giga Drain, then switch out to regain health.

Hydreigon: Heatran can typically tank anything he throws at me. Unfortunately, I don't have much against him. I get up rocks and keep forcing him out until he falls into KO range for Scizor or Starmie.

Infernape: Jellicent has no trouble whatsoever with him. If he has Thunderpunch (I saw it once) I had to do some careful switching to get Starmie in safe to Surf him.

Jellicent: My Jellicent can counter opposing Jellicent if they don't have Taunt (maybe I should add some speed EVs to speed creep other Jelli taunts...). Otherwise, Amoonguss can hit it with Giga Drain and is immune to Toxic. If it comes in to block a Starmie spin, he'll get hit by Thunderbolt.

Jirachi: Heatran can deal with most Jirachi. If they Wish on the switch, I'll usually Roar the next turn just so my opponent doesn't get to pick who gets the health. Specially defensive ones can try to hax him to death, but seldom with much luck.

Jolteon: Even with HP Ice Amoonguss walls him admirably and responds with Giga Drain or Spore. Heatran also fares well.

Keldeo: Amoonguss shuts him down completely with a combination of Giga Drain and Clear Smog. Great fun to wreck.

Kyurem: Stealth Rock needs to go up quickly and Heatran can also sponge most of his attacks. Scizor can revenge it with Bullet Punch as well.

Landorus/Landorus-T: Skarmory can wall it to heaven and back. I typically set up Spikes unless it tries to set up, in which case I Whirlwind it. Amoonguss can hit it with HP Ice and Starmie can Ice Beam. Landorus-T is dealt with in the same manner.

Latias: What a pain in the neck. Jellicent typically fares pretty well with a Taunt. Scizor can also Pursuit trap it or U-Turn.

Latios: Very scary, but Scizor and Heatran both can tank hits (actually, with Regenerator, Amoonguss can too). I prefer Scizor if I'm certain a Draco Meteor is coming (i.e. when Jellicent is in). Pursuit makes short work of him.

Lucario: Jellicent can burn him without much fear, while Skarmory can Whirlwind it or punch with Brave Bird.

Magnezone: I hate to lose Skarmory to this smug bastard, but it will probably happen. I just try to get as much spikes up as I can. Even when Skarmory is gone, it can be a problem. Heatran fares pretty well though.

Mamoswine: Both Skarmory and Jellicent do pretty well here. Jellicent can go for the burn which is lovely. If an ice attack is coming, Starmie can scare it away as well.

Metagross: I haven't seen much Metagross. Jellicent again can burn it without fearing too much bar Thunderpunch. Heatran is afraid of Earthquake, but Amoonguss can Spore it (but not much else).

Ninetales: Heatran stands up to her just fine and puts up rocks or Toxic's it. Even with HP Fighting it isn't much of an issue. With HP Ground, Starmie or Jellicent may have to do it.

Politoed: A non-issue. Jellicent walls it to heck and back except for Toxic, while Amoonguss walls it completely including Toxic!

Reuniclus: A big problem for any stall team. I go straight to Scizor and try to Pursuit it or U-Turn. That flip of a coin typically determines the match, sadly.

Rotom-W: Amoonguss walls every set I've come across and either Spores or Giga Drains. Volt Switch is annoying, but with Regenerator, I tend to have a net gain.

Salamence: Very scary for a stall team. Mixmence in particular is a monster. Starmie can revenge it if it is trapped on the wrong move or doesn't have a Scarf. Jellicent can try to burn it if it tries to set up on her. And Skarmory can stand up to some iterations (if they don't have Fire Blast).

Scizor: Straight to Skarmory for some free Spikes, thank you very much. In the endgame, Skarmory can Brave Bird it, Jellicent can burn it, or Heatran/Starmie can kill it. Not a big problem.

Scrafty: He can be a pain in the neck, but seldom gets to sweep. Skarmory can either blow it away or, if enough Spikes damage adds up, take it out with Brave Bird. Amoonguss can stalemate it with Clear Smog. If it weren't for Shed Skin, Jellicent would love to burn it. Finally, Scizor can tank a hit and Superpower.

Skarmory: Heatran will typically come in and scare it away. He can put up rocks, or, if they're already up, Roar away the switch-in. Starmie also can threaten with Thunderbolt while spinning away hazards.

Starmie: Defensive ones are easily Pursuit trapped by Scizor. Offensive ones can be troubling, but Amoonguss can tank an Ice Beam or two and Giga Drain it.

Tentacruel: Tentacruel can be a big issue for this team, but Starmie is a pretty big help with that. Jellicent can block spins, but doesn't like Toxic. Amoonguss takes little damage (and soaks up Toxic Spikes!), but can't retaliate much.

Terrakion: Not a huge threat. Skarmory checks it just fine and can blow it away. Jellicent can tank a hit and burn. Scizor can revenge, as can Starmie (if it isn't scarfed).

Thundurus-T: This guy deals big damage, but Amoonguss can tank it and hit back with Clear Smog or HP Ice. Heatran, similarly, can tank hits and Roar it away for more Stealth Rock damage.

Tornadus-T: Good lord. We need to start our suspect testing because this guy will be gone in a heartbeat. What a nightmare. Scizor can tank one hit and Pursuit it on the inevitable switch (they always fear Bullet Punch). Stealth Rock makes it slightly more tolerable. Heatran can tank some hits too, but yikes.

Toxicroak: Amoonguss can stalemate any that try to set up, while Skarmory can tank some hits and Brave Bird it. Jellicent can actually fare pretty well too, burning it and avoiding Sucker Punch.

Tyranitar: I haven't been seeing a ton of him lately, but one with good coverage moves can be trouble. They typically come in on Jellicent, and I stay in to burn them such that I can either eat their Crunch or not get Pursuited. Scizor can take it out in the late game.

Vaporeon: With rain up, he can be a real problem. Jellicent can Taunt it to take away it's recovery, while Amoonguss can Giga Drain it or Starmie can Thunderbolt it.

Venusaur: Heatran and Amoonguss both shut it down fairly comfortably. Heatran can just kill it (especially if sun is up) and Amoonguss can shut down any boosts he tries to accumulate.

Virizion: Like Breloom, Amoonguss has no trouble with it. Even with HP Ice, he can deal big damage and cancel any boosts with Clear Smog.

Volcarona: Heatran sets up rocks as soon as possible when Volcarona is on the enemy team. Once it comes in, Heatran comes in to Roar it out again and let rocks finish it off.


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Conclusion

I typically like to test a team much more before I make a RMT, but with my summer nearly over, and threats like Shadow Tag Gothitelle and Genesect here to ruin stall's day, I have to throw in the towel. I would like to know what tips or opinions you guys might have. I don't know what it is about stall that appeals to me so, but it is very difficult to be a stall player in this hyper-offensive metagame. Very difficult indeed. But incredibly rewarding. It is wonderful to see a poorly prepared team flounder against my army of sponges. And a stall vs stall match turns into what is, to me, a very enjoyable battle of attrition with chess-like characteristics (spinner vs spin blocker vs entry hazard stacking). I really love playing this game and stall is a lot of fun for me. I hope you enjoyed looking at my team and I look forward to your rates!

Nice team there. As someone whose main team is stall too, I can agree that it is really pushing the limits on team building and being viable. That said lets get started on your rate!

The problem:

While starmie and Scizor patch up a few holes in the team, they do not provide enough utility/defensive presence to contribute as team players nor provide a large enough offensive presence to be threats on their own. Ultimately I think if we replaced those two teams slots with something else I think it will make for a better stall team.

Suggestions:

Alright first even though you have two great special tanks on your team, it sounds like you fold to a number of their coverage moves. Plus without reliable recovery (regenerator is great but you have to switch out) they will fold a number of repeated attacks. So a solid special wall is going to be needed. Chansey looks like the poke for he job, being the best special wall in the game and having the ability to provide a lot of support.

Second, Starmie is going to fold to repeated hazard use and attacks so a much sturdier Rapid Spin user looks like a better option. Your team also lacks a Rock resist, meaning a strong Stone Edge from the likes of CB Tyranitr and Terrakion could spell t-r-o-u-b-l-e for this team. Therefore I am going to suggest Donphan for this team. Donphan can Rapid SpIn very well on a stall team and can also supply the essential Stealth Rock needed to wear down threats. Although Hitmontop could be put in this apot with much better typing and Intimdate (which is really useful utility) it can not supply SR.

Lastly some offensive presence is needed on your team, so I would highly suggest CM Roar Latias over Heatran. Latias can handle Sun team very well like Heatran, but it also alleviates a CM Reuniclus weakness. Just engage in a CM war with Reuniclus and just roar it out when you hit a comfortable amount of boosts. Alternatively, you can use Psyshock which can still take on Reuniclus quite nicely while gaining the ability to hit certain targets much harder like Terrakion and Chansey. However, yo lose the ability to abuse got hazards with Roar and lose an additional phazer. Chansey's aromatherapy can keep it safe from status.

Pro's and cons/tips:
- I thought about Aromatherapy vs Wish Chansey. Overall Aromatherapy is more useful since it allows for your Latias/Jellicent to have a second chance if they are Toxic-ed and can help Amoonguss take Scalds more freely. However you do miss out on Ice Shard with Donpahn (which is useful for taking out MixMence and other threats)
- I put Donphan on their because it had SR. If you could find a free slot for SR try Hitmontop. Intimidate is a great utility to have and having Foresight Rapid Spin makes opposing stall teams much easier to face.
- Psyshock vs Roar is an interesting dilemma. Psyshock let's you check more threats and have a higher sweeping potential while Roar let's you abuse your hazards more freely and phaze from the special spectrum.

Changes:

- Put 28 EV's into Sp. Atk on Amoonguss to prevent mindgames with SubCM Keldeo in case Jellicent goes down
- Possibly put Toxic over Clear Smog on Amoonguss since you hae an additional phazer with RoarCM Latias and Breloom counter
- Put Shed Shell and Drill Peck on Skarmory to prevent DragMag teams from destroying you
- Change Jellicent's spread to 240 HP / 176 Def / 92 Spd so it can stall break better
-

Sets

Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic
- Softboiled
- Aromatherapy

Forretress (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Volt Switch
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin

Donphan (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Rest

Hey There nice looking team I am a big fan of Stall and this seems like a team that can use the strategy well.

First of your Jellicent has Scald and Will-o-Wisp on the same set. With Scalds 30% burn rat you are much better of running Toxic>Will-o-Wisp Because Toxic is really great in helping you rack up residaul damage iand is essential in stall teams that dont run Toxic Spikes.

Also I can see Heatran as a Threat to this team as it gets super effective hits on 4 of your pokes 3 with its stab fire attack. You also said you use Scizor as a pursuit trapper a much better suited option for a stall team and a pokemon that can destroy Heatran is Specaily Defensive Tyranitar>Scizor. He can still pursuit trap he can set up Stealth Rocks and hit Forrtress hard with Fire Blast which is great on a team the hates opposing spinners. Also Tyranitar gives of a great weather effect for stall teams because it chips away your opponents health each turn.

If you go with Tyraniatar you have a spot free in your Heatran in place of Stealth Rocks. With that being the case I believe the best suited Heatran set for this team is the Restalk Heatran>Current Heatran with Shed Shell so it cant be trapped by Dugtrio Heatran offers a way of phazing that any stall team likes as well as lets you spread burn with Lava Plume.

I hope I helped good lcuk with your team and makingit through another school term ;)

Sets
tl:dr


~Superpowerdude

Hey

As it stands you have a bit of a weakness to Rock- type attacks in general with no resist. Although you have Scizor to take out Choice Band Terrakion and Tyranitar which carry the type's moves, you may have trouble with actually taking their CB Stone Edges, as Scizor can't directly switch in. Likewise, Skarmory can't switch-in directly either as Terrakion will be dealing 40.1% - 47.5% with Stone Edge, and Tyranitar deals 46.7% - 55.1%, both having a shot at a 2HKO after SR. Substitute+Disable Gengar also looks troublesome, coming in on a Choice-locked Scizor in the appropriate move or on Amoonguss after something is asleep, setting up a Sub, and wrecking havoc. From there it's guaranteed to kill something as most of your team members only carry 1 move to hit it, which when disabled, will be taken down by Shadow Ball / F Blast. Lastly, LO Tornadus-T looks like a problem, as under rain, every member on your team is basically 2HKOed by Hurricane (bar Heatran, taken out by Superpower). Your best bet is to have SR up, take a few painful hits from Hurricane to rack up LO recoil, and then revenge with Scizor (Bullet Punch does 65.2% - 76.6%).

The best possible way IMO to check all the above threats is to try a Specially Defensive Jirachi over Scizor. Jirachi can take the CB Stone Edges with its natural bulk and retaliate with Iron Head against any Choice-locked Terrakion or Tyranitar. Gengar is also manhandled, as you can alternate between Iron Head + Fire Punch + Wish to stay afloat, and come out on top against it (you have two moves to hit it with) and can also take Tornadus's Hurricanes, and fight back with Body Slam Paralysis and Iron Head. You don't lose much from replacing Scizor, as the threats it handles are also handled by Jirachi (Reuniclus, Lati@s). You can't revenge Rock Polish and Swords Dance Terrakion, but Rock Polish doesn't carry the power to muscle through Skarmory, and SD is revenged by Starmie (not like set-up sweepers get any chance of set-up against you anymore, with no choice users). Furthermore, Jirachi aids the stalling theme of the team with causing constant switches with the spread of paralysis and flinches and spreading residual damage with Spikes. Lastly, let me just warn you against SD Lucario; with Crunch, it can force out Heatran for a boost and then sweep. With Scizor you could've revenged it at -1 with Bullet Punch. It's not as bad as you may think though, because now Lucario can't really set-up on anything (it can force out Heatran, but not come in on any of its attacks). If it becomes too troubling, then you might want to give Jirachi 80 HP / 252 SDef / 176 Spe to outspeed it and hit it with Fire Punch.


GL

First off, I would give Jellicent 40 more Speed EVs to hit 178 speed so you can outspeed Base 70s by 2 points. You should take those EVs out of SpD. It is pretty important to outspeed politoed and skarmory before they can toxic or set up spikes.

Magnezone is a huge problem to your team as the only thing that can touch it is Heatran and Starmie, while starmie can't really switch into it. Even a heatran doesnt like taking thunderbolts.

I would definitely take up on the suggestions superpowerdude made (making Heatran Restalk and replacing Scizor with Tyranitar), except I would give Tyranitar Crunch over Pursuit. Pursuit might be a good answer to some threats, you need the consistency of Crunch (reuniclus sets up on tyranitar with only pursuit lol). You want your opponent to switch to take entry hazard damage and Pursuit goes away from that mindset.

Thanks a lot for your tips guys. Tyranitar over Scizor in particular has been very useful! Any more rates incoming?

Hi there,

This is a pretty solid stall team here, however there are a couple things that look annoying for you to face. One thing I did notice was Starmie on your team, because it is pretty frail with no defensive investment, and does not provide you with the ability to Spin away hazards multiple times in a match. Your current Starmie also lacks a form of reliable recovery, which is important on a stall team as you need to keep all your team members alive for as long as possible. When Starmie is down, variants of Terrakion look very threatening. Substitute Swords Dance sets can easily setup on Heatran, Amoonguss and Jellicent to block potential status, and then you give them another turn of setup as you Taunt, Giga Drain, Scald, etc. to break Terrakion's Substitute. Another thing that looks threatening are DragMag teams, who easily trap Skarmory with Magnezone / Magneton, and can hit a lot of your team hard with the Dragons that follow, such as Scarf Salamence, CB Dragonite and CB Haxorus. Nothing on your team really wants to switch in to these when Skarmory is gone, as it is your main answer to Dragons, and your other Dragon resist in Heatran cannot really do anything in return. As a result, I think you should replace Starmie with a Forretress. Forretress forms as your secondary check to Dragons, which can often plow through stall teams. Just like Starmie, it provides you with a spinner, while also being able to set up hazards of your own. The Toxic Spikes support Forretress brings allows you to wear down some of the aforementioned threats, namely variants of Terrakion and Haxorus who do look a little annoying to face when you rely so heavily on Skarmory to deal with them. Forretress can Volt Switch out of obvious Magnezone switch ins, saving your secondary check to dragons, while also being able to hit Dragons hard with Hidden Power [Ice]. It has the ability to 2HKO Salamence who you mentioned was annoying to face. Additionally, Forretress also makes your team less weak to Electric attacks in general, easing against offensive teams with Rotom-W / Thundurus-T.

I also noticed a slight weakness to offensive Sun Teams. Those with Dugtrio have no trouble trapping Heatran, your main answer to Sun, while mons such as Volcarona and Venusaur become a problem for you. In Sun, Jellicent cannot really touch Volcarona, while Amoonguss is used as setup fodder if you have previously put something else to sleep. Skarmory does not want to stay in against Volcarona, while Tyranitar has to get in before Volcarona gets multiple boosts, and banking on Stone Edge hitting. To help with this, I'd recommend you try out Air Balloon on Heatran. While Leftovers every turn is ideal, the cost of escaping Dugtrio is arguably more important. It allows you to avoid the Earthquake, while also being able to switch out when the Balloon is intact. It can give you a free switch into Skarmory to set up hazards to rack up even more residual damage on the opponent, while also breaking Dugtrio's Focus Sash the next time it switches in, making it harder to trap and remove Tyranitar when it relies on Reversal. If you choose to go with this change, you will probably want to try Toxic > Protect on Heatran. Protect with no Leftovers is not ideal, while Toxic allows you to hit Volcarona and Latias, two common boosters which Heatran walls with Toxic. It stops them from setting up and causing problems for your other team members, and severely limits their sweeping capabilities. It's also nice for hitting opposing weather inducers, as well as common switch ins to Heatran. Ninetales, Politoed and Rotom-W all do not appreciate a burn, as it wears them down quickly, which is ideal for helping to win the weather war, and aid against the force of offensive Rain / Sun Teams.

Finally, I picked up on your Tyranitar. Honestly, I think you could get much better use out of it. Tyranitar main role on this team is to trap Special Attackers and Xatu, but currently, it doesn't really perform that job too well. Calm Mind Reuniclus has a chance to avoid the 2HKO from Tyranitar, while hitting it with Focus Blast. If you change your set to 252 HP / 120 Atk / 136 SDef then you will always 2HKO Reuniclus with Crunch, which is great because it stops Reuniclus from setting up, as it is a big threat to most stall teams with Magic Guard. The loss of bulk really isn't notable, as in Sandstorm Tyranitar still has massive Special Defense, still being able to beat the majority of Special Attackers. You may also want to consider trying out Chople Berry > Leftovers on Tyranitar. It bluffs the Choice Band / Scarf very well, while also helping against variants of Sub Disable Gengar who try to Disable your Pursuit, while you eliminate them with Crunch. Chople Berry also aids against Tornadus-T carrying Superpower, as you can easily dispatch of it with Stone Edge, stopping it hitting Heatran / Amoonguss hard, while also helping greatly against Offensive Rain Teams.

Nice team, good luck!