Stall So Hard

Stall so hard motherfuckers try and fine me​

What's up Smogon, Superstar here. A little bit about me: I'm not really that active on Smogon too much, although I have been lurking in the forums for ages and have seen a lot more stuff than my 20-odd posts may say. I've been playing since like 3 days before BW came out, and peaked in the Top 10 in Pokemon Online with both Drizzle + SS and and Excadrill + Chomp team. But then all this stuff got banned and I found myself unable to build a successful team, although I had plenty of luck with other people's teams.
So anyway, how this team got created was pretty simple. Near the end of BW1 I kept hearing stuff like "Stall is dead" and "OMG META IS SO OFFENSIVE NOW WAAA GENESECT WAAA"
Yeah, right.
So I decided to go against the grain and make a stall team that attempted to counter the prominent threats of the metagame. This team is very sucessful despite me never really never playing stall before, although I regret I do not have exact ladder peaks.

Team Building:

So that's the final team, although I have changed movesets and EVs around quite a bit since then. I would love any improvements you guys could give me, although here are some things I will NOT consider:
Adding a Choice user. The goal is for full stall to succeed, not balance
Adding Genesect

Okay, that was really only one thing. Anything else is up for grabs. And now for the team! P.S. I based the RMT off of N***** in Paris. Go listen to it as you rate.


You gotta learn to crawl before you ball

Kanye West @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Def, 4 SpDef
Bold Nature: (+Def, -Att)
-Surf
-Toxic
-Encore
-Perish Song


Like Kayne, Politoed is useless in most areas but does offer quality music/weather. Rain offers many advantages to my team, but to use them I unfortunately have to rely on this useless frog. Politoed isn't good for anything but Choice Specs, but unfortunately I that will do no good here. He is one of my answers to physical attackers, and actually does a pretty good job of it. If I don't lead with Sabelye, I am leading with him.

EVs: Real talk: There is no point in splitting Toed's EVs because his stats are so weak to begin with. So I maxed out Defense, since I have little trouble with special attackers.

Moves: Surf gives a quality STAB. There are often things that I want to Toxic on the switch and not burn, (special attackers, especially Latias) or save for Jiachi, so Scald was not chosen. Toxic allows me to cripple many of my switch-ins. Encore punishes set-up sweepers and allows me to switch to Skarmory to Spike and then phaze. Perish Song allows me to win late game if they have something like CM Reuniclus.

Possible Changes: Scald over Surf, a different EV spread


This shit wierd, we ain't even 'posed to be here

Jay-Z @Leftovers
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Def, 4 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Att)
- Will-O-Wisp
-Foul Play
-Substitute
-Recover

As Jay-Z is the greatest rapper alive, so is Sabelye the MVP of the team. He serves as spinblocker, status-er, emergency check, and is a great staller. Let's get to it.

Why this Pokemon? Spinblockers suck, lets all make that clear. Who does Jellicent actually stop from spinning? Well, everyone but Starmie, but that's besides the point. Jellicent is setup bait for practically everything and offers no defensive synergy on a team that already has Toed and Cruel. So Sabelye. Man, this guy delivers. Terrakion? Suck on a burn. Dragonite? Eat it. MoxieMence? Useless. A lot of people run him with Taunt, which is cool I guess, but Sub is so much better. You block Leech Seed, and there's no way someone is going to ever status you unless its on the switch. Sabelye just doesn't die. He tries to burn Tentacruels and Ferros to take advantage of their lack of recovery, and also is a check to nearly every Physical sweeper in existence. Scizor cannot KO with Bullet Punch before eating a burn, and Lucario is in the same boat -- even a +2 Bullet Punch only does 80%. All around boss.

EVs and Nature: Max special defensive because I can usually burn physical attackers.

Moves: Will-O-Wisp should be obvious. Foul Play is very helpful. Often opponents will switch to Gengar/Lati@s as I sub. Foul Play hits both of these Pokemon for enormous amounts of damage as all they can do is break my sub.
Substitute is absolutely incredible, it gives you the ability to scout all choice users. Genesect? Sub up, then switch to the appropriate counter. Recover is obvious for healing and is incredible when combined with Prankster.

Possible Changes: Can't think of any, but you guys may have something.


Psycho, I'm liable to go Michael take your pick -- Jackson, Tyson, Jordan, Game Six

Michael @Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP/ 252 Def/ 4 Spe
Nature: Impish
-Roost
-Brave Bird
-Spikes
-Whirlwind

Skarmory is indeed crazy, just like all those guys named Michael.

Why this Pokemon? Skarmory is my answer to all threats physical. Scizor, Mamoswine, Landorus-T -- he laughs at all of them. He also acts as a crucial phazer and often can pseudo-sweep late game with Brave Bird, which is why I chose it over Taunt. Leftovers is chosen over Shed Shell because he really, really needs the recover, but it does make my Magnezone's bitch. I need very good prediction to beat a Magnezone. Skarmory is chosen to lay Spikes and Ferro Stealth Rock because Skarm is usually around longer because of his great resistances and reliable recovery.

EVs: Max HP and Max Defense, with 4 Spe to creep the very rare base 65 or 60 that tries to reach base 70. I know the on-page site says 24 EVs to beat....max speed Wobbafett? No.

Moves: Pretty much already said all the moves. Standard Skarm.

Possible Changes: Shed shell over lefties, more Speed if you can convince me it's worth it


Doctors say I'm the illest, cause I'm suffrin' from realness

Eminem @Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP/ 136 Def/ 128 SpDef
IVs: 0 Spe
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spe)
-Power Whip
-Protect
-Leech Seed
-Stealth Rock

Eminem is ill, but can be unreliable and crashed far too fast -- see Encore and Relapse. This is what Ferrothorn is to me.

Why this pokemon? With all the rain offence going about, a team needs something that can take a hit from a water attack and live, as well as threaten bulky waters like Hydration Vaporeon. Ferro can do all of these things. His only flaw is his lack of recovery, but with Leech Seed and Protect, he usually manages to survive long enough to do his job. To be honest, I don't really like him here, but I need a mixed wall and he does well, as well as providing a crucial third steel type. Heatran was tempting, but then I am ground weak, and most other steels are going to have that problem.

EVs: Standard mixed wall EVs for Ferro, with a bit more of an emphasis on SDef so that he can live boosted water attacks a bit better.

Moves: Stealth Rock is obvious. Believe me, I tested switching Spikes and SR for ages. 75% of the time I want them on Skarm, 25% of the time on Ferro. So Skarm wins. Power Whip to hit the bulky waters that give my team trouble. Protect + Leech Seed for recovery. I would love Gyro Ball to deal with dragons better, but unfortunately I need all the other moves, especially Protect against Genesect.

Potential Changes: I've tried everything from Chesto + Rest to Gyro Ball over every single move on here except rocks. This really seems to be the best set, but hey, I'm not an expert. If someone can think of another Poke to put in this spot, I'm all ears


Ya'll don't know that don't shit faze me

Dr. Dre @Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP/ 248 Def/ 8 Spe
Trait: Rain Dish
Bold Nature (+Def, -Att)
-Substitute
-Toxic
-Rapid Spin
-Scald

Dr. Dre is a pillar of hip-hop. You can't take him down. And nothing can take down Tentacruel.

Why this Pokemon? Every rain stall team needs Tentacruel. It works, it spins, it's great.

EVs: Yeah, MaxDef is a little bit unusual -- but it ensures that Jolly CB Terrakion Close Combat is never a 2HKO with Leftovers, Rain Dish, 1 Layer of Spikes, and SR -- this happens surprisingly often. Also, I often use Tenta to sponge Fighting attacks. Plus, he can survive a couple of Earthquakes this way from some notable Pokemon.

Moves: Sub + Toxic? This is by far the best Tentacruel set in my opinion. It destroys all common spinblockers. Sub is incredibly useful on a stall team. It eases prediction and allows you to Toxic/go for the burn against whatever comes in. All this for only 6.25% of your HP in Rain, too.

Changes: EV/nature suggestions are very welcome, although I am skeptical about forgoing the Bold nature.


I got that hot bitch in my home -- You know how many hot bitches I own?

Superstar @Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP/ 4 Att/252 SpDef
Nature: Careful (+SDef, -SAtt)
-Iron Head
-Wish
-Protect
-Toxic

This guy is the true MVP of my team. My Superstar.

Why this Pokemon? Like I said earlier, I think the reason stall fails a lot is everyone uses Chansey. Jirachi is so, so much better. He wins matches for me almost single handedly, and is the glue that holds the team together. Latios? WALLED. Most Tyranitar? 2HKO'd. Tornadus-t? Always confuse haxxes me...

EVs: Max SDef for maximum bulk. He can even take a Specs Keldeo Hydro Pump like a champ (okay, he's 2HKO'd, but I Toxic the pony and switch out), which is my benchmark for offensive power!

Moves: Yes, I realize that there are many reasons to run Body Slam. But on a stall team, Toxic is just amazing. There are so many unsuspecting things that Jirachi can cripple because honestly, who the fuck runs Toxic on Jirachi? Jirachi is the best stall Pokemon in this metagame because he walls so many of the top threats. Wish heals the team, and Protect is essential for scouting Genesect (again...) and getting free wish healing. Iron Head wins games as it allows me to deal huge chunks of damage to Ttar and sometimes even flinch Vaporeon to death. This guy is the new face of stall, once again.


Summary: So there's the team. I hoped you enjoy this RMT, because I really did put a lot of time into it. I'm hoping to show that stall isn't dead, it just requires some creativity. Argue, complain, rate away. Please make any suggestions you think of, no matter how crazy, I won't hate. :D

P.S. Steal this team all you want, but leave the nicks and leave a LUVDISC.

From a very quick glance, I can see that Thundurus can really take a massive dump on your team, especially EBelt or LO versions of it. 5 of your 6 members would simply sit there and get pummeled by Thunderbolt/Focus Blast, so that's definitely a problem worth looking into. You can theoretically predict every move and let it die of LO recoil, but from experience, that rarely ever works.

Also, I have one nitpick, and that is the fact that Politoed and Tentacruel basically serve similar roles on this team and pretty much redundant in concept. This doesn't actually help this team in any way. I would recommend converting Politoed into a Specs/Scarf user, as either of those options provide an immense boost. I particularly find Scarf more useful since it lessens the problem un-Choiced Thundurus has on your team by outspeeding and killing it.

While we're on the topic of redundancy, I notice 3 steel types on your team (!). While I understand that Jirachi takes on Special Dragons, you have both Skarmory and Ferrothorn on your team, both of which serve similar, if not identical, roles on a stall team. What I would suggest is to take out one or the other and throw Chansey back in. A 4 HP/252 Def/252 Sp.Def. can take Superpowers from Tornadus and take Thundurus's attacks like a boss. Chansey is too good of a Special Wall to pass up, man.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the rate man!
Thundurus is indeed a big problem, as is sheer force Landorus, which puts me in a similar spot. I know that Chansey is a great wall, but it gets worn down very easily without leftovers, and gets set up on by a whole host of threats. The problem is that in this meta there are many Pokemon that can murder your team with one turn of setup. What can Chansey do back to Thunderus? It's just going to switch to a physical sweeper and maul my team. Although there is the fact that Chansey can set up rocks, so I guess it could do okay replacing Ferrothorn. I'll try it over Ferro, or even better try out Blissey. Scarf Toed is a great idea though. Toed is absolutely useless right now other than rain and setting up sweepers, and with Jirachi's Wish support it may actually come in handy.

Chansey is technically better on rain for a few reasons. Even though it doesn't get Lefties recovery, it has more bulk than Blissey, and mathematically speaking (from calcs), A Thunderbolt vs. Chansey takes less total damage than Thunderbolt vs. Blissey (with Lefties factored in). Leftovers is usually a problem when your match-up is Sand or Hail.

Furthermore, Chansey/Blissey can both run status moves that are bitches to sweepers. Toxic is very good since it can severely shorten a sweeper's time to sweep and not crap all over your team. Furthermore, a moveset of
-Stealth Rock/Toxic
-Seismic Toss
-Softboiled/Wish
-Aromatherapy/Protect
(the standard)
This allows you to either make Chansey/Blissey the WishPassers and pass humongous Wishes, making Jirachi the honorary Stealth Rocker and Haxrachi, or you can go for pure wall, with an added bonus as a Cleric to rid your team of status, which is kind of an neat, extra perk, leaving Jirachi as your WishPasser.