Hello! My name is glam (usually operating on OHMYGODGLAM or OHMYGODWASPS), and this is my first RMT here on Smogon. I got back into competitive battling with the release of the gen 6 games after having hardly played at all since the release of Platinum. I've been a big fan of stall teams for a while but with all the incredible new offensive tools that this generation brought (more Huge Power users, defog, steel nerf) I thought stall might have been over. When I set out to make a stall team, however, things turned out better than I anticipated. The team is called Deep Fog because it's been designed to really screw with Defog users, making sure my fog stays right where it is.
Team Strategy
Briefly before going into the actual members of the team, I wanted to discuss how I broke down the roles that are important to stall and how this led me into the choices of Pokemon that I made. Here are the four primary roles I sought to fill in my team:
- Provide entry hazards. Stall cannot function without passive damage, and entry hazards are the most available and most important source of them. Damaging status (toxic and burn) is another important consideration here for the same reasons.
- Force switches. The more the opponent has to switch, the more damage they'll take from passive sources like hazards and status. This is also important as it stops sweeps and kills the opponent's offensive momentum by forcing them to switch in a resist/wall/status absorber.
- Deter hazard removal. Hazard removal is more accessible than ever, thanks to Defog and the return of Excadrill. It's important for a stall team to be able to punish opponents who try to remove entry hazards. A spinblocker is a well-known standard for a stall team, but preventing Defog is a lot trickier.
- Keep the team alive. Stall sort of implies that your team is long-lasting. With more deadly wallbreakers than ever running around in OU, having a dedicated cleric to keep your team standing is of paramount importance.
Now then, on to the team.
The Team
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 184 Def / 252 HP / 72 Spd
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Roost / Knock Off
- Stealth Rock
- Protect
Gliscor is the team's primary physical wall and is also the team's Stealth Rock setter. This puts Gliscor squarely in the role of providing hazards, but his utility extends substantially beyond just rocks. Thanks to Protect and Poison Heal, Gliscor can generally stall out the opponent substantially better than any other individual member of the team. In addition to a 12.5% health gain, Protect lets me scout an opponent and get a sense for what they're planning, as well as throw off their prediction a bit. If I protect an Ice Punch from Conkeldurr, for example, they may not want to risk giving me a free switch by firing it again, but if they try to Drain Punch and I stay, I could get a free turn of setup. Earthquake's position in Gliscor's moveset is pretty self-explanatory; it's the team's only Earthquake and it lets Gliscor be useful against Pokemon like Heatran. I'm on the fence between Roost and Knock Off; I typically run Roost, and it's saved me many times, but it can make Air Balloon Heatran really hard to play around at times. Knock Off also helps to screw up many variants of Dragonite, especially those with Choice Band. The Roost/Knock Off choice is one of the things I'm looking for feedback on the most, along with the EV spread.
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Protect
Ferrothorn is the other half of the team's dynamic hazard setting duo. Ferrothorn is a particularly reliable Spikes user towards the mid-game as his appearance will usually force a switch, guaranteeing one layer. I also will lead with Ferrothorn against Smeargle leads; Stealth Rock and Sticky Web don't bother this team too much, so trading hazards while being immune to Spore is usually a good outcome for me. Leech Seed racks up even more passive damage and provides Ferrothorn with a useful method of recovery. Like Gliscor's Poison Heal, Leech Seed goes hand-in-hand with Protect. I opted for Power Whip over the more traditional Thunder Wave for a few reasons. One is that I personally can't stand playing with Pokemon that are complete Taunt bait (i.e. no attacking moves) but the more relevant reason is that paralysis support really doesn't help this team out a whole lot. Accidentally firing a Thunder Wave into something like Mega Venusaur could actually make it harder for the team to take down (typically I go for a burn onto M-Venusaur if it's necessary). Rocky Helmet comes in over Leftovers to further deter would-be Rapid Spin users, and definitely gives Ferrothorn a much better matchup against Excadrill, making it think twice about removing hazards.
Rotom-Heat @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
Bold Nature
- Rest
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
In my opinion, the toaster is tremendously underrated as a defensive fire type. His typing is absolutely fantastic and makes him probably the best straight up counter to Genesect in the game, as he resists U-Turn, Ice Beam, Flamethrower, and Thunderbolt. His amazing defensive typing and threat of Will-o-Wisp in general are excellent at forcing switches, which is his primary job. Rotom-H is the glue that holds the team together by constantly showing his face and forcing opponents to step through hazards yet again. Overheat gives him some punch, which is greatly appreciated on this team. Volt Switch, without investment, is essentially more chip damage; whether Rotom goes first or second is usually not too important, it's more about doing that little bit of extra damage on each switch. Chesto-Rest makes Rotom a great status absorber; he's immune to paralysis and burn and can soak up poison any time. Rotom is the only member of the team that's weak to Stealth Rock, so he commonly is the one who gets the Wishes, especially since he switches in and out more frequently than any of the other team members.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Protect
- Aromatherapy
I had been using Florges in this spot, but after reading Se7en Lions' RMT and seeing his Clefable set I gave this a shot. It's been fantastic so far, so a special thanks to Se7en Lions for this set. Mine is slightly different, however, and that's in the choice of Unaware over Magic Guard. The team is hardly in need of status absorbers; Rotom and Gliscor can both handle status users pretty safely, and Ferrothorn is immune to Sleep Powder and Spore. What the team does fear, however, is monstrously powerful wallbreakers and sweepers. Things like Nasty Plot Thundurus would be able to rip this team to pieces without Clefable here. The move choices here are mostly self-explanatory. Moonblast is Clefable's best STAB option and the -SpA chance can occasionally force a switch. Wish and Protect let Clefable do its primary job: keeping the team healthy. Rotom in particular needs Wishes pretty badly when Stealth Rock is on the field, but the entire team can still reap the benefits of a health boost or a free switch into an otherwise powerful move thanks to Wish. Aromatherapy is one I've actually been on the fence about. Gliscor doesn't like it too much as his Toxic Orb needs to reactivate, and in general Clefable has a tough time finding an opportunity to use it. I'm not sure what else to consider for that slot, however, so I'm interested to hear suggestions.
Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 124 HP / 132 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Substitute
This thing absolutely wrecks shit everywhere it walks. Bisharp is the first half of the hazard insurance team: the anti-Defogger. Thanks to Defiant, Bisharp gets a two-stage Attack boost from the Evasion drop it gets when hit by Defog. This set is meant to do as much damage as physically possible after getting a boost. Iron Head and Sucker Punch let Bisharp annihilate anything in front of it. Pursuit is chosen over Knock Off because it lets Bisharp trap Latios, Latias, and Mew, who are some of the game's most common Defoggers. Being able to trap things like Espeon and Xatu is also very nice. While Substitute doesn't seem so great with Life Orb, it's important because it's Bisharp's only answer to fast Will-o-Wisp users, especially Rotom-W who 4x resists Iron Head. Although fairly frail, Bisharp's typing became absolutely excellent this generation, as it's the only steel type to retain its resistance to both ghost and dark. He actually is able to form a great resistance core with Rotom-H and Jellicent, though this is somewhat coincidental. Basically, Bisharp is the desperately needed fangs on an otherwise slightly toothless team, and he'll almost always score a couple KOs before he goes down.
Jellicent @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Recover
- Toxic
- Shadow Ball
Jellicent is the team's spinblocker, Bisharp's other half. Its defensive synergy with the rest of the team (particularly Rotom-H and Bisharp) is stellar. Being able to absorb water attacks is vitally important as Gliscor and Rotom really attract them heavily. Thanks to heavy SpDef investment, Jellicent has no problem standing up to Rotom-W and can even take a Thunderbolt from LO Thundurus if absolutely necessary. In addition to spinblocking, I use Jellicent as the primary source of status on the team. Scald and Toxic give him the ability to spread both burn and poison, two powerful forms of chip damage that help the team muscle past opposing walls. Recover is a no-brainer for Jellicent, and Shadow Ball gives him a second STAB option that can make Jellicent able to sometimes check Aegislash. Due to his poor speed making him usually unable to Recover before the opponent takes a turn, Jellicent also greatly appreciates Clefable's Wishes.
Threats
I won't go over every threat the team faces, but here's a quick rundown of some things I have a hard time with. You'll notice many of them have some things in common.
NP Mega-Lucario: Thanks to stupid Flash Cannon, he gives me a rough time. It really requires smart play to avoid letting him set up; assuming it runs Aura Sphere/Dark Pulse/Flash Cannon there's not much chance of getting past it once it sets up.
Mega-Medicham: It's not so much that there's no counter, it's more that Rotom-H is a single point of failure here. Assuming a typical HJK/Psycho Cut/Ice Punch/Bullet Punch set if Rotom goes down without burning him then there's not much to do but try to bait him into HJKing Jellicent and killing himself.
Heatran: I hate Heatran. The main problem is that only Gliscor can really deal with the specially defensive set but only Jellicent can really deal with the offensive set. This makes Heatran a big threat late game unless I'm completely crushing them.
Excadrill: This one is a lot more changeable as Ferrothorn can actually handle Excadrill pretty well if he can get some rocky helmet damage out. Jellicent just has a rather mediocre matchup with Excadrill especially if Jellicent is switching in.
I probably will think of some more threats in time.
Anyway, thank you so much for taking time to read through my RMT and I really appreciate any feedback you're willing to give. Hope you enjoyed it!
The Team
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 184 Def / 252 HP / 72 Spd
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Roost / Knock Off
- Stealth Rock
- Protect
Gliscor is the team's primary physical wall and is also the team's Stealth Rock setter. This puts Gliscor squarely in the role of providing hazards, but his utility extends substantially beyond just rocks. Thanks to Protect and Poison Heal, Gliscor can generally stall out the opponent substantially better than any other individual member of the team. In addition to a 12.5% health gain, Protect lets me scout an opponent and get a sense for what they're planning, as well as throw off their prediction a bit. If I protect an Ice Punch from Conkeldurr, for example, they may not want to risk giving me a free switch by firing it again, but if they try to Drain Punch and I stay, I could get a free turn of setup. Earthquake's position in Gliscor's moveset is pretty self-explanatory; it's the team's only Earthquake and it lets Gliscor be useful against Pokemon like Heatran. I'm on the fence between Roost and Knock Off; I typically run Roost, and it's saved me many times, but it can make Air Balloon Heatran really hard to play around at times. Knock Off also helps to screw up many variants of Dragonite, especially those with Choice Band. The Roost/Knock Off choice is one of the things I'm looking for feedback on the most, along with the EV spread.
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Protect
Ferrothorn is the other half of the team's dynamic hazard setting duo. Ferrothorn is a particularly reliable Spikes user towards the mid-game as his appearance will usually force a switch, guaranteeing one layer. I also will lead with Ferrothorn against Smeargle leads; Stealth Rock and Sticky Web don't bother this team too much, so trading hazards while being immune to Spore is usually a good outcome for me. Leech Seed racks up even more passive damage and provides Ferrothorn with a useful method of recovery. Like Gliscor's Poison Heal, Leech Seed goes hand-in-hand with Protect. I opted for Power Whip over the more traditional Thunder Wave for a few reasons. One is that I personally can't stand playing with Pokemon that are complete Taunt bait (i.e. no attacking moves) but the more relevant reason is that paralysis support really doesn't help this team out a whole lot. Accidentally firing a Thunder Wave into something like Mega Venusaur could actually make it harder for the team to take down (typically I go for a burn onto M-Venusaur if it's necessary). Rocky Helmet comes in over Leftovers to further deter would-be Rapid Spin users, and definitely gives Ferrothorn a much better matchup against Excadrill, making it think twice about removing hazards.
Rotom-Heat @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
Bold Nature
- Rest
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
In my opinion, the toaster is tremendously underrated as a defensive fire type. His typing is absolutely fantastic and makes him probably the best straight up counter to Genesect in the game, as he resists U-Turn, Ice Beam, Flamethrower, and Thunderbolt. His amazing defensive typing and threat of Will-o-Wisp in general are excellent at forcing switches, which is his primary job. Rotom-H is the glue that holds the team together by constantly showing his face and forcing opponents to step through hazards yet again. Overheat gives him some punch, which is greatly appreciated on this team. Volt Switch, without investment, is essentially more chip damage; whether Rotom goes first or second is usually not too important, it's more about doing that little bit of extra damage on each switch. Chesto-Rest makes Rotom a great status absorber; he's immune to paralysis and burn and can soak up poison any time. Rotom is the only member of the team that's weak to Stealth Rock, so he commonly is the one who gets the Wishes, especially since he switches in and out more frequently than any of the other team members.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Protect
- Aromatherapy
I had been using Florges in this spot, but after reading Se7en Lions' RMT and seeing his Clefable set I gave this a shot. It's been fantastic so far, so a special thanks to Se7en Lions for this set. Mine is slightly different, however, and that's in the choice of Unaware over Magic Guard. The team is hardly in need of status absorbers; Rotom and Gliscor can both handle status users pretty safely, and Ferrothorn is immune to Sleep Powder and Spore. What the team does fear, however, is monstrously powerful wallbreakers and sweepers. Things like Nasty Plot Thundurus would be able to rip this team to pieces without Clefable here. The move choices here are mostly self-explanatory. Moonblast is Clefable's best STAB option and the -SpA chance can occasionally force a switch. Wish and Protect let Clefable do its primary job: keeping the team healthy. Rotom in particular needs Wishes pretty badly when Stealth Rock is on the field, but the entire team can still reap the benefits of a health boost or a free switch into an otherwise powerful move thanks to Wish. Aromatherapy is one I've actually been on the fence about. Gliscor doesn't like it too much as his Toxic Orb needs to reactivate, and in general Clefable has a tough time finding an opportunity to use it. I'm not sure what else to consider for that slot, however, so I'm interested to hear suggestions.
Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 124 HP / 132 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Substitute
This thing absolutely wrecks shit everywhere it walks. Bisharp is the first half of the hazard insurance team: the anti-Defogger. Thanks to Defiant, Bisharp gets a two-stage Attack boost from the Evasion drop it gets when hit by Defog. This set is meant to do as much damage as physically possible after getting a boost. Iron Head and Sucker Punch let Bisharp annihilate anything in front of it. Pursuit is chosen over Knock Off because it lets Bisharp trap Latios, Latias, and Mew, who are some of the game's most common Defoggers. Being able to trap things like Espeon and Xatu is also very nice. While Substitute doesn't seem so great with Life Orb, it's important because it's Bisharp's only answer to fast Will-o-Wisp users, especially Rotom-W who 4x resists Iron Head. Although fairly frail, Bisharp's typing became absolutely excellent this generation, as it's the only steel type to retain its resistance to both ghost and dark. He actually is able to form a great resistance core with Rotom-H and Jellicent, though this is somewhat coincidental. Basically, Bisharp is the desperately needed fangs on an otherwise slightly toothless team, and he'll almost always score a couple KOs before he goes down.
Jellicent @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Recover
- Toxic
- Shadow Ball
Jellicent is the team's spinblocker, Bisharp's other half. Its defensive synergy with the rest of the team (particularly Rotom-H and Bisharp) is stellar. Being able to absorb water attacks is vitally important as Gliscor and Rotom really attract them heavily. Thanks to heavy SpDef investment, Jellicent has no problem standing up to Rotom-W and can even take a Thunderbolt from LO Thundurus if absolutely necessary. In addition to spinblocking, I use Jellicent as the primary source of status on the team. Scald and Toxic give him the ability to spread both burn and poison, two powerful forms of chip damage that help the team muscle past opposing walls. Recover is a no-brainer for Jellicent, and Shadow Ball gives him a second STAB option that can make Jellicent able to sometimes check Aegislash. Due to his poor speed making him usually unable to Recover before the opponent takes a turn, Jellicent also greatly appreciates Clefable's Wishes.
Threats
I won't go over every threat the team faces, but here's a quick rundown of some things I have a hard time with. You'll notice many of them have some things in common.
NP Mega-Lucario: Thanks to stupid Flash Cannon, he gives me a rough time. It really requires smart play to avoid letting him set up; assuming it runs Aura Sphere/Dark Pulse/Flash Cannon there's not much chance of getting past it once it sets up.
Mega-Medicham: It's not so much that there's no counter, it's more that Rotom-H is a single point of failure here. Assuming a typical HJK/Psycho Cut/Ice Punch/Bullet Punch set if Rotom goes down without burning him then there's not much to do but try to bait him into HJKing Jellicent and killing himself.
Heatran: I hate Heatran. The main problem is that only Gliscor can really deal with the specially defensive set but only Jellicent can really deal with the offensive set. This makes Heatran a big threat late game unless I'm completely crushing them.
Excadrill: This one is a lot more changeable as Ferrothorn can actually handle Excadrill pretty well if he can get some rocky helmet damage out. Jellicent just has a rather mediocre matchup with Excadrill especially if Jellicent is switching in.
I probably will think of some more threats in time.
Anyway, thank you so much for taking time to read through my RMT and I really appreciate any feedback you're willing to give. Hope you enjoyed it!
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