Submission [OU Hail Stall]
Greetings, Smogon. I'm posting a stall team which has been with me since the advent of Latias/Mence being banished to Ubers, which I have used to decent success. Stall is one of my all-time favorite playstyles which I have embraced ever since the ADV era. As a defensive-minded player, I had no problem selectively fitting these six members together in my first draft of the team. However, like in any team, there were some problems with certain threats that initially had to be addressed. I have made several tweaks to their spread and movesets after some playtesting, and the lineup you see here the final product which I have derived from the original mould. This is one of my favorite teams to date as it really stood out to me over other defensively built teams I have created. The main concept used here is apparent: the element of hail. I love hail not only for the aesthetically pleasing animations in-game, but the fact that it is far more effective in racking up residual damage on the opposing team than sand, with only rare ice types unaffected by it, in stark contrast to the ubiquitous rock, steel and ground pokemon in the overused metagame. Hail stall is definitely a viable playstyle; in my opinion, it is equivalent to your classic TSS teams in terms of raw strength, if not better.
But I digress. The primary stradegy of this team, like with any other stall team, is to force as many switches humanely possible. As entry hazards are so crucial to my team's success, I absolutely need Forretress in good shape for the afforementioned reason and 1) to serve as a buffer against the powerful STABs of remaining dragon types left in OU, being my only steel on this team and 2) to keep Stealth Rock off the field, as half of my team is weak to it. These are probably the flaws you would notice at first glance, and this is where I'd like you guys to come in. If possible, change as much of the team as you feel is necessary to make it more effective; with the only irreplacable member being Abomasnow. Without further ado, let's delve into the team, shall we?
***Thank you for your kind rates. Changes made are in BOLD.
Gliscor (M) @ Leftovers***Subterra
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Aerial Ace / Taunt
- Roost
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
Your probably thinking: What? Sp.Def EVs on Gliscor? Well I would like to say that this is probably my favorite set for Gliscor I have ever used. I have been using this set in a couple of my teams, although specially defensive Gliscor is almost unheard of. This isn't the original lead I had; Forry was, but it works excellently in the lead spot. With the special defense EVs, Gliscor could now handle some threats which it originally could not. To demostrate its special bulk, here are some calculations:
Physically Based MixApe's Overheat vs Gliscor: 52.8% - 62.7%
Modest Heatran's Fire Blast vs Gliscor: 52.5% - 62.1%
Timid Jolteon's Hidden Power Ice vs Gliscor: 66.7% - 79.1%
+ 1 SuperRachi's Psychic vs Gliscor: 45.2% - 53.4%
Tinkelbell Celebi's Leaf Storm vs Gliscor: 66.1% - 78%
Either of Abomasnow, Forretress or Gliscor could function as leads, each with their own merits. Between the trio, Gliscor is my preferred choice as Stealth Rock helps to limit the number of switch-ins dangerous pokemon such as Dragonite which can cause my team quite a bit of distress. Speaking of Dragonite, this Gliscor's ability to take hits from both sides of the attacking spectrum really shines against Anti-Lead variants. Gliscor can survive its Draco Meteor (66.4% - 78.2%) followed by Extremespeed (27.1% - 31.9%) approximately 76.3% of the time factoring in leftovers recovery. This gives me the option of staying in against lead Dragonite and going for Stealth Rock, then roosting up after the Extremespeed while it takes two turns of Life Orb recoil. Another merit among many of Gliscor's position in the lead spot over Abomasnow and Forretress would lie therein a matchup against Anti-lead Machamp, although he isn't as common nowadays. My initial switch-in would be Gyarados; while Aboma and Forry draws Dynamicpunch, with Gliscor, Gyarados can get in on an Ice Punch, sparing it of the potential confusion hax.
Why I picked Gliscor:
The team needed a ground type initially. I did not pick Hippowdon as there would be conflicting weather; however, it is noted that Hippowdon could replace Gliscor to check Tyranitar better. Swampert was a good choice, but I turned to Gliscor as it had an immunity to Spikes and Toxic Spikes, and most importantly, access to reliable recovery.
While it may not seem like it, Gliscor is the crucial centerpiece of my team, and its unique typing allows me to use it for pivotal switching. Without it, I am open to certain threats, such as Tyranitar and CM Jirachi.
Gyarados (M) @ Leftovers***Subjugate
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 248 Def / 12 Spe
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Rest
- Roar
- Waterfall
- Sleep Talk
RestTalk Gyarados, haven't we grown to love and hate it. This set is pretty self-explainatory; it is the best at what it does, to absorb status, phaze and to check an extensive portion of today's metagame. Losing Gyarados early to mid-game is not as detrimental for my team as it would be for other stall teams. This is because I have a solid defensive core between Gliscor, Rotom-F and Dragonite, which covers most threats that Gyarados does, which includes, but is not limited to, Lucario, Breloom and Heatran respectively. This isn't to say Gyarados is a weak link to my team though; we are still talking about top tier threats that having multiple checks to can only be a plus. 12 Speed EVs are to outspeed opposing RestTalk Gyarados which sit up to a speed of 200. This helps against stall teams as the faster Roar can sometimes be the deciding factor in matches, and I don't see what 3 extra points in either side of its defenses could do for me anyway.
Why I picked Gyarados:
It is most reliable at what it does. Intimidate is a benefical quality that enables it support the team by cushioning the blows from hard hitting sweepers such as Lucario and Infernape. If I manage to keep Stealth Rock off the field, I can put a lot of pressure on my opponent by using Gyarados in double switches, racking up more entry hazard damage.
Abomasnow (M) @ Leftovers***Sub-Zero
Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Protect
- Ice Shard
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
The obligatory auto-hail inducer. On a slow pokemon such as Aboma, I didn't see the necessity of running Substitute over Protect, so I went with the latter. Protect helps with scouting when something likely choiced such as Scizor switches in, which usually is my opponent's initial response to it. It has the added bonus of 1) Helping me gain additional health through leftovers, which is especially helpful if Rocks are up on my side and 2) racking up an extra turn of hail/poison damage. When I first decided to base a team around Abomasnow, I noticed its ability to reliably check special threats such as offensive Suicune, Life Orb Starmie and Jolteon. I considered using Blissey, but the coverage was almost redundant, not to mention that Blissey amplifies a Hail team's weakness to threats such as Infernape. With this in mind, I've come up with my own custom Dragonite set as you will see below.
Why I picked Abomasnow:
Do I really need to explain the need to use Aboma on any Hail-based team?
Dragonite (M) @ Leftovers***Subsist
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 HP / 232 SDef / 24 Spe
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Heal Bell
- Roost
- Earthquake / Toxic
- Roar
Dragonite is commonly seen as a powerful sweeper, a potent wallbreaker, or a bulky set-upper. Its support options are exceptionally underrated. Consider him as a Blissey of sorts with the ability to phaze. Heal Bell rids my team of troublesome statuses and supports Forretress, Gyarados and Rotom-F which utilises Rest as a means of recovery. Its ability, Inner Focus, allows me to take on most Togekiss and stall them out with Toxic + Roost without worrying about the 99% flinch rate we all would die for to get haxxed by. Other special threats like Gengar and Heatran would almost never be able to get past Dragonite with anything short of the odd HP Ice or Explosion. As Dragonite wants to be as bulky on the special side and it does not need to outpace much, I pumped enough speed EVs to outspeed 12 Speed Gyarados, not surprisingly, and the rest are delegated into HP and special defense.
Why I picked Dragonite:
There was something very interesting I saw in Dragonite's typing with Forretress. They synergise with each other very well. Between Nite and Forry, I have threats such as Shaymin cornered all day long. If Shaymin lacks HP Fire, Forry comes in, gets up Toxic Spikes and Rests up in its face after he's done, then Aboma comes in to force it out. If Shaymin lacks HP Ice, Dragonite comes in and says hi. Of course you can't have both, so things are considerably easy once I've scouted my opponent's sets.
Rotom-F @ Leftovers***Subterfuge
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Rest
- Blizzard
- Sleep Talk
- Thunderbolt
Good old RestTalk Rotom. Call me unoriginal for being the 9001th person to have this set up, but it is that good that I have to go with it. I cannot have Gyarados to manhandle Breloom alone as that would lead to disaterous situations if Forry fails to keep Rocks off my side of the field and my opponent pulls off intelligent double switches. I've considered Celebi over this slot (believe me, spinblocker-less stall teams can work), but there is one particular threat that requires me to have Rotom-F healthy at all times until my opponent reveals he doesn't have it or it is eliminated: goddamn motherfucking Zapdos. I'm particularly concerned with offensive variants with T-bolt, Heat Wave and HP Ice. Substitute + Toxic variants are a pain too as they never seem to die, as Blizzard and Pressure don't belong in the same sentence; it's just horrible.
Why I picked Rotom-F:
Rotom-F serves as the spinblocker, of course, but it is his ability to check threats such as Metagross, physical Jirachi, Scizor and Zapdos which threaten Hail teams that gives it the spot on my team.
Forretress (M) @ Leftovers/Shed Shell***Sublimate
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Gyro Ball / Rest
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic Spikes
The eye of the storm, as I'd like to call it. Spikes are more than just essential to this team's success, so Shed Shell is slashed as an alternative option over Leftovers to prevent Magnezone woes. Leftovers is the primary option if only for the residual hail damage which will tend to pile up. When I had Forry in the lead spot, though, I ran Shed Shell and never had a problem with it. Forretress needs no introduction; he is a valued member in many stall teams for a good reason.
Why I picked Forretress:
The rapin spin it provides is invaluable, especially to a team with half its members weak to Stealth Rock. However, from another perspective, 4/6 of its members are fully immune to Spikes, and only Aboma is affected by Toxic Spikes. Regardless, I find no better option in this slot than Forretress.
A Final Glance:
You can check out this team in action here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm8drKH5qbc
A fairly old battle, but still most worthwhile to watch.
That concludes my team. Please do give feedback and offer some advice to improve this team; they are greatly appreciated. I hope you had a good read, too.
