Lolwut does anyone actually use stall in Protean Palace? Those are pretty cool sets (although I kinda think the Gengar set is gimmicky and Sheddy really isn't hard to beat) but stall is next to non existent lmao. The trouble I see with Heracross is that in such a fast paced meta it is likely going to be outsped and hit with an attack before it can Sub, meaning it could possibly lose its boosts. After the third Sub and you've got the Salac boost, it is really easy to beat it with the omnipresent priority in the meta. While the sets seem cool, I don't really see how they are too viable, since stall and Shedinja aren't really huge problems and priority and strong, fast attackers are everywhere.
Yes, people do use stall. With regards to stalling methods, Shedinja is a common theme I've seen and honestly in my team I don't really have much of a counter for it.. I would probably say either hazards or sandstorm sets can easily make it not a problem however. There is also the easy option: Switch-in ferrothorn so iron barbs makes mincemeat of shedinja, as well as allowing a free switch to a hazards setter.
In my team, I use the extremely common gliscor troll set:
Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 188 Def / 72 Spe
Impish Nature
- Protect
- Roost
- Toxic
- Knock Off
Honestly, I've had a hard time trying to even get round a gliscor if the circumstances aren't completely correct. Hell, one toxic and usually, if predicting right, that mon is as good as dead if it has no strong STAB fighting type move. As of late, even the dnite espeed spamming set can't really take this thing down, unless you catch the gliscor spamming roost/protect, in which superpower usually OHKO's it. However, the only real main counter to this set orso I've found as of yet is Megacham (this is, and I repeat NOT UPON SWITCH-IN. This moveset usually works when the previous mon has been KO'd).
Medicham (F) @ Medichamite
Ability: Pure Power
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
- Zen Headbutt/Ice punch
- Bullet Punch
I would not advise an immediate fake out, since gliscor users will no doubt predict it. Instead, use it to your advantage. Use bullet punch. Bullet punch literally forces this gliscor set to use knock off/roost, as the protean effect makes you steel, and steel obviously cannot be poisoned.. Since roost makes it flying type, and roost negates flying type, this is perfect as it is stuck with normal typing (it can't really outspeed a megacham, and protect only lasts usually 1/2 turns at best) which easily gives megacham an easy way to OHKO with either drain punch or hjk, depending on set (I personally run drain since if you are caught in a switch-in toxic, that usually isn't fun to deal with, plus the added health is nice. On top of this, gliscor's protect could be critical as one bad play and your megacham is down for nothing). Even then, if you do use fake out, and the gliscor does get the psn for whatever reason, you could definitely use that to your advantage using zen headbutt. I'm not doing a calc, but from what I've seen it's usually an OHKO.
The other way around gliscor, like I said before, is dnite.
Dragonite (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Multiscale
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Roost
- Superpower
- Earthquake
Common sets of dnite I have seen do actually use DD over roost, but I digress. I prefer to roost to get multiscale effect if need be. Helps a lot.
Usually, people would just set up one DD, then spam espeed and be done with almost every single mon. However, if a gliscor gets a toxic off, it can be a real pain to deal with the protect/roost spamming. Which is where superpower comes in.
Since protect/roost both make gliscor normal, and gliscor is hardly gonna outspeed a dnite, superpower will OHKO guaranteed. An espeed even at +1, will not. From my experiences, it takes a full-health'd gliscor down to about 15-17% HP. Which is why I reccommend superpower.
Even then, if you predict the incoming toxic, that's even better since EQ will more than likely OHKO the annoying pest. With life orb's added damage, it'll no doubt OHKO.
If anyone else has a way around gliscor other than megacham or dnite, I'd love to know, honestly. Or even a more trollier set of gliscor, which would be fun to stop all those all-out attackers in the meta.
EDIT: After talking to the OM room, I found another option. Similar to dnite, but can also negate the toxic. Zygarde.
Now, zygarde is pretty much the poorer dnite, with a weaker espeed and no multiscale. But think about this set.
Zygarde @ Life Orb
Ability: Aura Break
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Coil
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake
- Brick Break
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/proteanpalace-248378913
Looking at this replay, not only does zygarde outspeed gliscor (due to a full all-out EV set), but also can make advantage of anything gliscor throws at it. The coil boost allowed an instant OHKO on the dark-typed gliscor, which was obviously going to use toxic to break the setup I'd pulled off instantly. Regardless of whether the move had been taunt, knock off, or even earthquake (to check the coil poison typing), it was still an obvious outcome in the end. Plus, with +1 defense, EQ does hardly anything to zygarde-poison type. Even without life orb, leftovers can be a possible item for zygarde, as shown in this replay here:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/proteanpalace-248380212
The only way I see gliscor having anything against a zygarde is if it can instantly get off a toxic upon switch-in, OR it runs subtox set, which in this meta, I don't think a lot of stalling teams would generically use.
