SkarmBliss Reincarnation (Uber Stall RMT)

[Kuvster1]

Hello, I'm Kuvster1 and heres my first attempt at an Uber team. SkarmBliss kind of died when BW came along, so I've been working on a stall team that can utilise Skarmory and Blissey's ability to switch in on many common threats, and stall out the opponent. I originally planned to build the team for Standard OU, but decided that Uber would be a more suitable tier. Without further ado, heres the team.

TEAM AT A GLANCE
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TEAM BUILDING PROCESS
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The original defensive core of my team, and the pokemon my team was built around. With no shared weaknesses, and only three weaknesses between them, these two pokemon were built to work together.
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Giratina's type synergy with SkarmBliss is amazing. He is immune to the fighting type attacks that taunt Blissey, and resists the electric and fire type moves that are super-effective again Skarmory. This, combined with insane 150/120/120 defenses mean that Giratina is an invaluable addition to my team.
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Every stall team needs toxic spikes. Tentacruel fits this role nicely, and its combination of great special bulk and rapid spin support meant this jellyfish was my first choice for my main lead.
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There was no particular reason I used Kyogre. For me, he fitted into the 'too good not to use' category, and also carried a huge special defense stat. His Drizzle ability is useful to counter opposing weather teams and support my Rain Dish Tentacruel.
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Lugia. The Uber metagame is infested with vicious special attackers (Mewtwo, Darkrai, etc) so another special wall was always going to be a good idea. He can also pseudo-haze with Dragon Tail, and support my team against Extremekiller Arceus with Reflect.
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Because my Blissey carried no attacking moves (Seismic Toss doesn't count), I realised that an Eviolite Chansey was the better option. Superior physical and special bulk seemed better than leftovers recovery, so I went with Chansey.
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Tentacruel didn't really work. His weakness to Earthquake was often fatal, and I didn't have anyone to set up Stealth Rock. Forretress was the perfect replacement, and is a valuable member to my team.
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My most recent change was to ditch Lugia for Arceus-Grass. Lugia sucked. Really bad. Both barry4ever and shrang recommended Arceus, and I've never looked back. I needed a counter for Choice Specs Kyogre and Zekrom, so Arceus-Grass fitted the bill perfectly. Arceus truly is the God of Pokemon.

IN DEPTH
Changes are in bold
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Forretress (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Evs: 252HP/252SDef/4Spd
Careful nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Pain Split

Forretress is a brilliant lead, with access to all of the entry hazards, rapid spin, and Pain Split to recover health/deal damage. The EVs here are simple, with 4Spd to outspeed opposing Forretress, and the rest crammed into his SDef and HP. This turns Forretress into a solid mixed wall. I originally used a gimmicky set with Red Card as the hold item, but puregenius suggested a set with Pain Split, and its worked great so far. I usually set up the two layers of Toxic Spikes first, as Stealth Rock can be set up by Arceus-Grass later in the match.

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Kyogre @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 4HP/252SAtk/252Spd
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Surf
- Thunder
- Water Spout
- Ice Beam

I originally ran a Chestorest set, but my inability to hit hard and fast meant that my team was weak to Ho-oh, Reshiram, and other sun sweepers. Barry4ever suggested a Choice Scarf set, and it's worked out much better for me. He can easily revenge kill most pokemon causing me troubles. He also has Drizzle, which is great for changing the weather against sun or sandstorm teams. Kyogre is my much needed revenge killer, and is a crucial pokemon in my team.

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Arceus-Grass @ Meadow Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP/144 SpD/112 Spe
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Judgement
- Ice Beam
- Stealth Rock
- Recover

I used to be swept over and over by Zekrom. Seriously, I had no counters to him, until I switched Lugia for Arceus-Grass. He also helped my defend myself against Choice Specs Kyogre, so he deserved a spot on my team. His several important resistances, great bulk and speed help Arceus to function as a great supporter. He also carries Judgement and Ice Beam, which are important as other than Kyogre, my team really lacks a way to deal lots of immediate damage. Stealth Rock is there incase Forretress fails to set it up (which is quite common, as I usually try to get the two layers of Toxic Spikes up first). EVs and Timid nature are to outspeed any Garchomp while maximising bulk.

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Skarmory (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252HP/252Def/4Spd
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
- Taunt
- Roost

Skarmory, my main physical wall, and the first half of the infamous SkarmBliss combo. 4Spd EVs are used to outspeed opposing base 70's with no speed investment (Metagross, Breloom, etc), and leftovers are preferred over Shed Shell, as Magnezone are rare in Uber. Brave Bird is only there to prevent Skarmory from becoming Taunt bait, and the rest of the set is pretty much standard. I know alot of you will recommend switching Skarmory for Ferrothorn, but its not going to happen. I need whirlwind for Pseudo-hazing, and I don't want two pokemon with a quad weakness to fire on the same team.

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Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252Def/252SDef/4Spd
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Heal Bell
- Softboiled
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic

Chansey is hands down the best at walling special attackers. The only special wall that can compare to Chansey is her older sister Blissey, but even she can't sponge hits as well. The introduction of the Eviolite has changed the OU and Uber metagame drastically, with Chansey becoming the premiere special wall, although also being capable of taking physical hits with relative ease. She is also a decent cleric, and can chip away at the opposition with Seismic Toss. As always, I use 4Spd EVs to outspeed opposing Chansey. A valuable team member, Chansey is simply irreplaceable.

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Giratina @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252Hp/252SDef/8Spd
Careful nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Dragon Tail
- Will-O-Wisp

Giratina, the third Pokemon in my defensive core. His defenses are a mind boggling 150/120/120, and as I mentioned earlier, he resists the fire and electric type attacks that are super-effective against Skarmory, and is immune to the fighting type moves that are super-effective against Chansey. Although he has no form of reliable recovery, RestTalk still works effectively. Dragon Tail is of course handy for Pseudo-hazing, while Will-O-Wisp cripples physical attackers. 8Spd EVs are used to outspeed opposing Groudon, Dialga and Giratina.

FINAL NOTES

Please be critical of my team. This is my first attempt at the Uber metagame, so I won't be too offended if you tell me to scrap it all and start over.
Also, I'll consider switching back Chansey for Blissey, but other than that, Chansey and Skarmory are not going to be replaced. They are the reason I built this team, and I'm not going to use Ferrothorn or any other Pokemon instead.
Thanks to pure genius, cheap_uber_battler, shrang and barry4ever for the suggestions. The changes have substantially improved my team.

 

[puregenius]

there are 2 major flaws i can see in this team:

-weak to sun offense
-lacks a solid way to remove threats

ho oh in sun will destroy u
a neutral 252 atk ho oh will do 53-62% to ur kyogre, which basically means u cant switch in, so when ever ho oh comes, something will die
while giratina can somewhat take ho-oh's hits, he can do nothing back
and u cant forget reshiram either

wat can u do if there are threats to ur team? the answer is of course nothing
if u want instant damage, u can only rely on kyogre, which is painfully slow
wat im getting at is stick in a revenger of sorts

also change forre. On a stall team, u need to keep hazards off because u will be switching a lot
i suggest leftovers and pain split over red card and volt switch (since there is no chandelure in wifi and magnezone is uncommon).

let me think for a while

 

[hamiltonion]

Hello. Decent stall team you've got there but from one look I can see you're terribly Zekrom weak. Nothing on this team can ever safely switch-into Zekrom. Furthermore, Zekrom cuts through your defensive core nonchalantly. Like the above user said: You're also pretty weak to Sun teams and sorely need a revenge killer.

I suggest replacing your ChestoRest Ogre with Modest Scarf Kyogre 52 HP / 252 SpA / 204 Spe Modest with Water Spout / Ice Beam / Thunder / Surf. This gives you a much needed revenge killer to take down stuff like Mewtwo and Reshiram. Now onto Lugia, it overlaps a lot with your core of Skarmory / Chansey / Giratina. So I suggest replacing it with a Support Ground Arceus Jolly 252 HP / 84 Def / 168 Spe Impish to outspeed Rayquaza and slower. The moveset is Will-O-Wisp / Earthquake / Stone Edge / Recover. This Ground Arceus checks Zekrom with ease burning it and Recovering off the damage. If you want a sweeper, you could also go for the SD set SD / EQ / Stone Edge / Recover. Apart from that, just play your Forretress very very carefully since if Forretress goes down especially if you haven't gotten SR up, then you'll be in a hellluva lot of trouble due to hazards.

 

[cheap_uber_battler]

Hi, nice team. Like above users have pointed out you will struggle with Zekrom, especially sub+hone claws. Aswell as testing support Groundceus, you could also test Groudon. If testing Groundceus, I'd try other options such as Judgment, Ice Beam, Perish Song and Roar as well as the above set.

Other optional things to try are:

- Modest over Timid on Kyogre for extra power
- Wish over Seismic Toss/Toxic on Chansey
- Whirlwind over Dragon Tail if you keep Lugia
- Taunt over Brave Bird on Skarm - I'd recommend this especially as Brave Bird won't be hitting much hard and Taunt prevents Ferrothorn setting up spikes/leech seed aswell as stopping opposing Chansey recovering.

 

[shrang]

Okay, the more I look at this team, the more problems I am spotting. There are actually a lot of major flaws.

- Zekrom weakness - Yes, I know everyone else has said it, but I'll just say it for completion's sake
- Specs Kyogre weakness - For a stall team, you have absolutely no way of switching into Choice Specs Kyogre safely, THIS IS BAD NEWS
- General weakness to stall breakers. These include Calm Mind / Recover / Refresh Dark and Water Arceus, Tail Glow Manaphy (that carries bulk), and by extension, Calm Mind Manaphy. Sub/CM Giratina-O also defeats you easily if it's the last Pokemon.

These are a lot of things to try and fix at once, but if you want, there's one thing you can try that covers most of these weaknesses:

Arceus-Grass @ Mewdow Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 144 SpD / 112 Spe
Nature: Timid
- Judgement
- Ice Beam
- Perish Song
- Recover

This Arceus covers most of your weaknesses. It can switch into SpecsOgre, resists Electric from Zekrom, can Ice Beam Dragon-types and put the brakes on last mon sweepers with Perish Song. I'd personally replace Lugia with this, since you have both Skarm AND Forretress to switch into Dragons and Giratina for general walling anyway.

I'd also suggest changing Brave Bird -> Toxic on Skarmory, since that way, you easily wall ExtremeKiller Arceus, even if it's the last Pokemon.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[Donkey]

Shrang fixed your weaknesses pretty nicely, but your team is still very, very taunt weak. I used to run a similar team around 6 months ago before I realized how much trouble it had with things like stalltwo (If Kyogre is down, the best you can do is Dragon Tail and Judgment spam and hope for a crit), Sub/Taunt Gliscor (Subs on half of your team, Toxic's Arceus-Grass and Kyogre), and Taunt Heatran. Without Psong on Arceus-Grass, last-poke CM Arceus forms (specifically with Substitute) can sweep your team, along with Bulk Up Dialga. Therefore, try freeing up a move on Chansey so that you can move off SR from Arceus-Grass and have a check to these last mons with Psong.

Unless you change your team drastically, you can't patch up that Taunt weakness.

 

[CottonPuff]

^ He's naturally going to have weaknesses to stall breakers, as, well, their meant to break stall. If Gliscor really pisses you off, give Forretress HP ice and smack the flying bat out-of-the air. Stalltwo can be beaten through prediction. Any competent player should be able to predict himself out of a bad situation, but yes donkey, I see what you mean.