XY OU (1700+) Goth Zard-X Stall: A Delve Into Standard Tiers [0.5K Post RMT]

[Kit Kasai]

Hm... How should I end your life...

~Introduction~

Hi guys, it's Kit again, this time with an OU RMT for my (late ;-;)0.5k Post milestone. This team is a huge milestone for me, not just in post count (lol). This team was my first step into really getting into standard competitive battling. I remember my first OU team looked something like this:

Hide

look familiar?

I've gone a long way from that now, and I'm feeling like I'm beginning to understand the OU metagame and teambuilding better now. This team took a lot of time and effort to make, but it was a really fun learning experience for me and I feel a lot more comfortable making teams now.

On to the team ^.^

~At a Glance~

~Teambuilding~

A few weeks ago, I decided to make a Goth / Zard stall team on a whim, so I started making this team. I don't exactly remember the exact process I went through in making this team, but I dug up a few of my pastebins from before:

This is the earliest iteration of the team. It's pretty klunky, but you can see the basic outline for the team. I had Gothitelle and bulky Charizard Y to start with. I used Slowbro to deal with pokes like Talonflame, Zard-X, and Keldeo. Chansey is just generally a good special wall and cleric, and helps me deal with pokemon like Thundurus and Zard-Y. Doublade was used to counter Medicham and Gardevoir. Skarmory gave me some hazard control and dealt with pokemon like Pinsir. This team was OK (ish), but had a hard time dealing with strong offensive cores like Lando-I / Thundy-I

Eventually, I got frustrated using Zard-Y because working without a mega stone on the rest of my team was really constraining. Also Zard wasn't really working well enough for me defensively, so I felt like I was trying to build a stall team with only 4 mons. So for some reason, I decided to swap Latios in for Zard-Y. In retrospect I'm not really sure why I did that XD. Latios covered Keldeo, which gave me a bit of trouble on my previous team, and also functioned a similar role as Zard-Y without using a mega stone.

I then got the great idea of using Zard-X instead of Y on this team. Zard-X functions much better defensively than Zard-Y, and can still hit decently hard. I don't have any record of teams before this one, but I struggled a lot with building this team until I ran into Cresselia. Cresselia covered so many threats that I struggled with, like Gardevoir, Keldeo, and Medicham, and really loosened up teambuilding for me.


~Team Members~

Gothitelle @ Choice Specs
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 80 HP / 200 SpA / 228 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psyshock
- Thunderbolt
- Energy Ball / Hidden Power [Ice]
- Trick

Relatively standard Trick Specs Gothitelle set. Gothitelle is usually used to trap defensive pokemon and easily KO them. Goth is also sometimes used to revenge kill other pokes, as they can't switch out from you. Psyshock is strong stab that can hit chansey. Thunderbolt is used to KO Skarmory. Energy ball gives you the ability to kill pokes like Quagsire, but I've been considering HP Ice recently to hit Gliscor. Gliscor is a big pain in the ass to deal with, and most pokes that are hit by energy ball don't hurt my team as much as Gliscor does. 80 HP EVs avoids a 3HKO on seismic toss from chans. 228+ Spe gets you 245 speed, which creeps everything that tries to creep Jolly Tyranitar. The rest are put into SpA for damage.

GO CHARIZARDS
Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 16 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake

Charizard-X is actually a great pokemon on stall. Zard has decently good bulk with strong STAB, even when uninvested. I use Zard-X to deal with threats like Scizor, Bisharp, Azumarill, and other similar physical attackers. Will-o-wisp is needed to be able to shut down physical attackers, and roost is for reliable recovery. Dragon Claw is still really strong even without attack investment thanks to Tough Claws. Earthquake is so I don't get walled by Heatran. 16+ Spe is used to outspeed Adamant Gyarados, the rest is put into bulk.

Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
- Soft-Boiled
- Heal Bell
- Seismic Toss
- Wish

This is just a really standard cleric set for Chansey. I prefer Soft-Boiled and Wish on the same set because I think you get more reliable recovery that way. For EVs, I prefer to put the extra into speed just because an extra 8 in SDef barely does anything to chansey whereas 8 Spe allows it to outspeed other 50 speed mons, which is a pretty common speed tier.

Cresselia (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 128 Def / 132 SpD
Calm Nature
- Moonlight
- Toxic
- Psyshock
- Ice Beam / Moonblast

Cresselia is just a really amazing pokemon on stall, I'm surprised it's only RU. It has an absolutely legendary amount of mixed bulk and can take on any neutral hit and even some super effective hits. I really love Cresselia on this team because it fixed a lot of problems I had with certain mons that are really hard to fit counters for, like Medicham. Moonlight is for recovery. It's a shame Cresselia doesn't get a better recovery move like Recover, so this move has to used carefully and sparingly. Toxic is for wearing down enemies. Psyshock is good for hitting a lot of things that Cresselia walls. Ice Beam is used mainly to hit dragons with, but I've been playing around with Moonblast a bit. It has similar coverage and can be used to KO Greninja easier. The EVs are somewhat arbitrary: 132+ SDef allows Cresselia to guarantee a 3HKO from specs Keldeo after rocks. I can change them to something better if someone suggests something, but this gives Cresselia strong mixed bulk with a special bias.

Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 224 Def / 32 Spe
Bold Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Counter
- Whirlwind / Taunt

Skarmory walls a large majority of the physical threats in this metagame, for me mainly Pinsir. Defog is necessary for any stall team, especially since I'm running Charizard. Roost is for reliable recovery. Counter is used on sets so I can actually do something against physical attackers, instead of just phazing them and losing a lot of HP. The last slot I'm not really sure about. Whirlwind helps to phaze out set up boosters who predict the counter and try to OHKO me with boosts, while Taunt helps against other defensive mons, mainly other Skarmory. The given EV spread speed creeps most other Skarmory while maximizing physical bulk.

Krookodile @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 100 Spe
Impish Nature
- Taunt
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock

I decided to use Krookodile over Hippowdown as a bulky ground type because I really liked the utility of a fast taunt user. The set itself is again pretty standard. Taunt is for shutting down opposing defensive mons, and is good for shutting down defog. Knock Off and Earthquake are both strong STABs, and Knock Off also has very good utility. Stealth Rock is absolutely necessary for this team, and in my experience Krookodile has been a much more reliable rock setter than Hippowdown. The EV spread gives Krookodile 245 speed to speed creep any mons that are creeping Jolly Tyranitar, which are usually defensive mons. The rest is put into physical bulk.

Thanks everybody for reading! This team has been really fun to both build and battle with. Hope you guys can give me some good feedback so I can become an even better teambuilder o.o
​

SHOUTOUTS

All my OM bros (and girls?): Arhops AWailOfATail asterat Keep it Playful Mamp Monte Cristo Pikachuun simsims2800 The Reptile TheBurgerKing99 Whatwasthatnoise Uselesscrab Peef Rimgar manu 11 Arcticblast w0rd unfixable Heisenerg E4 Flint Angeela Mista Rob -Talent- The Immortal Hollywood BetaHousing

EXTRA SPECIAL MENTIONS:
Adrian Marin For being master of everything Mr. Mime and Stall and being my sensei through this teambuilding experience GET KEKT BY GOTHITELLE
Piccolo Daimao For being an awesome fren and fellow progammer and helping me with this team
Seismitoad for being the most kawaii piece of shit For being a really awesome friend in many tiers, OM and Standard. Also, top scrub ^.^
The Eevee General For being the most awesome OM General ever :3
Lcass4919 senpai :>

Importable

Gothitelle @ Choice Specs
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 80 HP / 200 SpA / 228 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psyshock
- Thunderbolt
- Energy Ball
- Trick

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake

Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
- Soft-Boiled
- Heal Bell
- Seismic Toss
- Wish

Cresselia (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 128 Def / 132 SpD
Calm Nature
- Moonlight
- Toxic
- Psychic
- Moonblast

Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 224 Def / 32 Spe
Bold Nature
- Defog
- Whirlwind
- Roost
- Counter

Krookodile @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 100 Spe
Impish Nature
- Taunt
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock

​

 

[Kit Kasai]

~Threatlist~
​

Basically copied the A to B ranks off the viability ranking

Azumarill - At best countered by Zard-X after mevo or Skarmory. Belly Drum Azu is pretty tough, but can be checked by Zard. Basically all variants are checked by Zard

Charizard (Mega-X) - This guy is pretty tough. I just try to keep rocks up so he can't switch in, and try to toxic stall him with Cress. Krook helps a lot against him.

Keldeo - Countered by Cresselia

Landorus - Countered by Cresselia

Thundurus - Countered by Cresselia / Chansey, Zard can be used if desperate

Charizard (Mega-Y) - Countered by Cresselia / Chansey

Clefable - This is a bitch. Don't let it set up, but it can be stalled out by Cresselia / Chansey

Excadrill - Handled by Skarmory / Krookodile, but may require some prediction if using Skarmory. Best bet is just to whirlwind.

Garchomp - Handled by Krookodile mostly, Skarm if not running Fire Blast. Cresselia can be used if you use Ice Beam.

Greninja - Countered by Chansey

Gyarados (Mega) - This is a little tough if they send this in on set up bait. Charizard checks / counters Gyara before it sets up, but after that

Heatran - Countered by Zard

Latias - Countered by Chans

Latios - Chans is usually the better switch in, but I sometimes prefer Cress in case they trick a specs or something.

Pinsir (Mega) - "Countered" by Skarmory. This guy is always a tough one :/ always try to keep rocks up.

Talonflame - Mostly countered by Zard / Krookodile, depends on the set. At worst, checked.

Terrakion - Countered by Cresselia

Tyranitar (Mega) - Countered by Krookodile

Venusaur (Mega) - Rekt by Gothitelle

Bisharp - Countered by Zard

Dragonite - Countered by Skarm, can also be dealt with by Cresselia

Ferrothorn - This little spiky shit is a pain in the ass. Tricking it a specs makes it easier to deal with.

Gardevoir (Mega) - Hard to deal with, Cresselia is my best answer to it but dies to taunt :/

Gengar - this thing shits on my team I have no idea what to do with it I seriously ran shadow ball on Chansey once

Gliscor - Pain in the ass, but HP Ice Gothitelle or Ice Beam from Cress should take it out.

Heracross (Mega) - Also a huge pain like Gardevoir, but they can't run both ;-; It can be revenged by Gothitelle

Hippowdon - Rekt by Gothitelle

Landorus-T - Countered by Skarmory / Krookodile. Slow versions can be dealt with by Zard. A lot of people lead with Lando and I just burn it on turn 1.

Mamoswine - Never seen one before, but Cress can deal with it.

Medicham (Mega) - Countered by Cresselia

Mew - If it has Toxic, Krookodile can deal with it. If it has WoW, Zard can deal with it. If it has both, FML. Just pp stall it with Chansey.

Rotom-W - You can't "Counter" Volt switch ;-; I dun wanna run gastrodon

Scizor (Mega) - Countered by Zard and Skarm

Tyranitar - Countered by Krookodile

Amoonguss - Rekt by Gothitelle

Breloom - Countered by Zard / Skarmory

Chansey - Rekt by Gothitelle

Diggersby - Countered by Skarmory

Gyarados - If its offensive, same as Gyara-Mega. If it's defensive it's not much of a problem. Goth can kill it.

Kyurem-B - My safest switch in Cress, then I scout its movepool and counter it with the appropriate mon.

Manaphy - Never seen one before but Cress + Chans should be able to beat it.

Mandibuzz - Pain in the ass to kill but doesn't do much to my team.

Skarmory - Rekt by Gothitelle

Slowbro - Same as Mandibuzz

Alomomola - Rekt by Gothitelle

Garchomp (Mega) - At worst, checked by Cresselia.

Kabutops - Really hard to deal with in Rain, otherwise Skarm counters and Zard checks it. Never seen one before though.

Politoed - Funny enough I haven't actually seen a good rain team yet. Frog itself is countered by Chansey.

Quagsire - Rekt by Gothitelle

Scizor - Countered by Skarm / Zard

Scolipede - Better not be quickpass ;-; Skarm deals with him or whatever he passes to most of the time.

Suicune - Frankly I just trick it a scarf and then wall it with Chansey.

Tornadus-T - Never seen one before, but countered by Cresselia

Aerodactyl (Mega) - Countered by Skarm / Krookodile / Cresselia (probably)

Alakazam (Mega) - Countered by Chansey / Cresselia

Kingdra - Never seen one before, but Cress deals with it well.

Lucario - I don't actually know. Cress should be able to kill it with Psyshock / Psychic before it can power through Cress.

Magnezone - Fuck magnets how do they work. Just gotta predict. Nothing you can really do except run Shed Shell Skarmory.

Manectric (Mega) - Again you can't counter volt switch ;-; Walled by Chansey though.

Raikou - Same as above. If Sub / CM set, Chansey and Cress can both break the sub.

Starmie - Countered by Chansey

Victini - Countered by Zard

Zapdos - Countered by Chansey

Ampharos (Mega) - Countered by Chansey

Celebi - Countered by Chansey

Chesnaught - Rekt by Gothitelle

Conkeldurr - Really hard to wall. Cress can take a Knock Off though.

Entei - Countered by Zard / Krookodile (ish). Never seen one before though.

Gothitelle - WTF who even uses this shit

Rhyperior - Rekt by Gothitelle

Sableye - Countered by Zard if it doesn't have Toxic, otherwise just PP stall it.

Staraptor - Countered by Skarmory

Weavile - Countered by Zard (I think). Never seen one before.

As you can see, it deals with common threats pretty well. Not perfect, but pretty good for my first competitive team.

 

[AWailOfATail]

Wow, I remember that original STABmons OU team

Anyway, it's honestly a really solid team. Not much that I can see that needs to be changed. Yea, HP Ice over Energy Ball on Gothitelle. If you decide to do that, use Moonblast on Cresselia. Thanks for the shoutout :)

also scrub don't you know that m2m is the only hope of defeating the blisseys in the finals

 

[Piccolo Daimao]

This is a really solid team. It definitely stops my (very poorly made) OU team right in its tracks and I can't think of any immediate problems with it. I only wish I could have helped more in the teambuilding. Also, I'm definitely gonna steal this team and ladder with it.

Thanks for the shoutout fren! ^.^

 

[Adrian Marin]

Hi, thanks for the shoutout, this is a really good team overall!

Gothitelle seems to be the weak link as it makes your matchup against offense a lot worse.

I would try replacing Gothitelle with Stallbreaker Mew, and Cresselia with Specially Defensive Gliscor. With this change, you'll still be able to counter Landorus and Mega Medicham, while having an easier time walling Mega Heracross and other threats. Additionally, changing your Mega Charizard-X set to the Bulky Dragon Dance variant makes Mew and Charizard-X's role less conflicting. Krookodile seems a little out of place with Gliscor and Mew around, so Alomomola seems to be a feasible option as it helps you defeat threats your team has a hard time against, such as Keldeo, Talonflame, and Mega Gyarados. I also recommend using Taunt + Counter Skarmory as it helps you defeat Bisharp and other threats.

Sets

Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 104 Def / 152 Spe
Impish Nature
- Taunt
- Soft-Boiled
- Will-O-Wisp
- Night Shade

Mew can take the role of Krookodile as a fast Taunter, and walls Mega Medicham quite well. The EV spread allows it to outpace Jolly Mega Heracross, but you may also opt to use 120 Speed EVs to outpace Jolly Bisharp with a little more defense EVs. Mew also helps you defeat common switch-ins, such as Heatran and Ferrothorn, as Night Shade makes defeating them a lot easier.

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 176 SpD / 88 Spe
Careful Nature
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
- Roost
- Earthquake

Gliscor works well as a reliable Stealth Rock setter, but the loss of Taunt is negligible; as such, you may opt to use Chansey with Stealth Rock instead, as it allows Gliscor to have Taunt instead of Stealth Rock. The EV spread allows it to outpace 44 speed Victini/Mew and other Gliscor.

Alomomola @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 36 HP / 252 Def / 220 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Wish
- Magic Coat
- Toxic

Alomomola really helps you defeat a lot of threats your team struggles against, and its Wish-passing is incredibly useful. The EV spread grants a Leftovers number, while maximising overall bulk; increasing Alomomola's HP is negligible as it does not increase Alomomola's physical bulk that much.

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 144 HP / 252 Atk / 112 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Fire Punch
- Roost

Your team ends up extremely prepared for Heatran, so using Fire Punch instead of Earthquake on Bulky Dragon Dance Charizard-X becomes a great option. The EV spread is standard, and it allows you to outspeed various Choice Scarf users at +2, and increases Charizard's to the point where it can still check various offensive threats.

Hope I helped!

 

[Kit Kasai]

Thanks for the rates! ^.^

I'll try those things out. How does it deal with sub cm Keldeo and similar pokes though?

Also any idea how to deal with gengar? ;-;

 

[Adrian Marin]

Thanks for the rates! ^.^

I'll try those things out. How does it deal with sub cm Keldeo and similar pokes though?

Also any idea how to deal with gengar? ;-;

You may opt to use Knock Off on Gliscor, that usually works really well vs Gengar. As for Sub CM Keldeo, there's not much you can do against it with this team, except fish for burns with Mew, and kill it with Zard-X.

 

[Alexgrizz]

thanks im stealing this team to use

 

[SporeSpam]

w0w

 

[chimpact]

It's really difficult to beat stall breaking pokemon with your current team. Mega Gard/hera just have a field day as chansey/cress/Krookodile just invite them to come in and get a kill each time. Because you aren't running a lot of speed / powerful attacks on your team, they can get multiple kills as a result.

I believe gothitelle and Krookodile are the weak points of this team. Although I would love to get rid of Chansey/cress as well :[. Gliscor is a pretty decent answer to heracross (and gengar), although it can't do much back unless you're running aerial ace.

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 56 Def / 112 SpD / 96 Spe
Impish Nature
- Aerial Ace
- Knock Off
- Taunt / Roost
- Protect / Roost

This ensures you live + 2 rock blast from adamant hera after rocks more than half the team and are always 3hko'd by gengar's shadow ball. unfortunately aerial ace is really weak and doesn't ohko unless it took prior damage with rocks.

Landorus could be used over gliscor as it has intimidate and hp flying has a chance to knock out hera with minimal investment. however it doesnt have the same utility as a stall breaker and being able to take on gengar.

Heatran's a pokemon you should consider for the replacement of Krookodile. Heatran has solid resistances, solid defenses, and is a great stealth rock user. You can make it offensive to get the surprise kill on Heracross if they think you're slow or you can be defensive like the rest of your team.

Heatran @ Leftovers / Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 16 HP / 252 SpA / 240 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Roar / Toxic / Protect / Coverage Move

when I was using your team an offensive heatran put in a little bit more work from the games I tested, but it's up to you.

Hope I helped.