An OU RMT

[Crazed_One]

For as long as I can remember, I have always run purely offensive teams. I realized that I was always being beaten by stall teams, so I decided to run one of my own. This team is based around getting Toxic Spikes, SR, and Spikes up pretty soon, and then blocking rapid spin, while constantly using roar/whirlwind to cause residual damage. Each member of the team was chosen for a purpose, and has been extremely useful. All comments are appreciated!

Team Overview:
1: Tentacruel
2: Skarmory
3: Hippowdon
4: Blissey
5: Dusknoir
6: Magnezone

Tentacular (Tentacruel) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 HP/120 Def/136 SDef
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Surf
- Sludge Bomb
---

I used to have a Roserade lead here, but it seemed to be too much of a suicide lead, and it didn't contribute much late game, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone -- I wanted a Rapid Spinner -- and add Tentacruel. Tentacruel's job is to set up Toxic Spikes, and to be bulky enough to still be a nice switch-in late-game. He can also be useful, if my opponent is also setting up a layer of something, like SR, as he can just Rapid Spin. Poison/Water gives coverage to almost all of OU as well. Tentacruel also gives me a water resistance, and as fire is the only type that I don't have an immunity for that my team has two weaknesses two, it makes a good switch-in for when Skarmory is about to get hit by a Fire Attack, such as when Heatran switches in.

Skarmster (Skarmory) (M) @ Shed Shell
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 252 HP/64 Atk/176 Def/16 Spd
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Roost
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
- Brave Bird
---

Skarm is an essential for my team. It sets up Spikes, as well Phazes the enemy team, so as to rack up reisdual damage. The entire set is standard, and does it's job extremely well on the team. Skarmory also combos well with Tentacruel, as it can switch into the ground attacks that Skarmory is weak to, and Tentacruel can switch into all of the Fire attacks that Skarmory is weak to. Specifically the special ones, due to Tentacruel's high base special defense stat. Skarmory also gives a nice switch in to ground attacks aimed at Magnezone, which is extremely important to have when having a Magnezone on a team.

Hippo (Hippowdon) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP/168 Def/88 SDef
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
---

Hippowdon's job on the team is quite simple; set up SR and roar the opponent's team. He tanks well with his bulk and Slack Off, and can deal with a lot of pokemon I usually can't with EQ. His other main use is his immunity; when Skarmory is faced with a Magnezone or the like -- it has shed shell -- it can't switch to Tentacruel, as it is also weak to electric, but it can switch to Hippowdon. For this alone, Hippowdon is extremely useful.

Blyss (Blissey) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 24 HP/252 Def/232 SDef
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Wish
- Seismic Toss
- Protect
- Toxic
---

Blissey combos perfectly with Skarmory as we all very well know. I decided to go with Wish over Aromatherapy, as I've decided that Pokemon like Dusknoir, Magnezone, and Tentacruel needed a more reliable method of healing, and keeping Pokemon with certain roles alive, was vital to my team's success. The entire moveset is extremely standard, but again, works well.

Dusksnore (Dusknoir) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP/28 Atk/228 Def
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Will-o-wisp
- Pain Split
- Fire Punch
- Earthquake
---

Dusknoir functions as a Rapid Spin blocker, as well as another wall. Fire Punch is for Scizor and other steels, and EQ is a high powered move that works better than most. I've tried both Ice Punch and Thunder Punch, but I've found that both don't work nearly as well as the one's that I'm currently running. Will-o-wisp is nice for bringing down attack stats, as well as for stalling people out. Pain Split is also incredibly useful for this.

Magnywagny (Magnezone) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 40 HP/216 Spd/252 SAtk
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Explosion
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Thunderbolt
- Substitute
---

Magnezone is my revenge killer of sorts. He can trap enemy steels, such as Scizor and enemy Skarmorys -- which used to plague my team -- and destroy them with HP Fire, which I find to be infinitely more useful than HP Grass. I chose Explosion over Magnet Rise, as if I ever have a free turn, I'd almost always rather go with Substitute than use Magnet Rise, and Explosion is useful when I find a Blissey or another pokemon that I can't seem to get rid of.

---

I've played over 50 games with them, and the team has played pretty well, but is still being beat more than I'd like. So all advice will be considered, and thank you in advance!

 

[Plus]

Hello. Not a bad attempt for stall, but there are some things I'd like to point out and suggest to improve upon your team.

Firstly, nothing on your team is going to take status very well. On a stall team, this is usually very important -- should a pokemon like restalk Rotom come in on you, you don't have anything other than Blissey to switch into without getting burned, and even then you wouldn't be able to do anything back to it.

Stall teams have Salamence weaknesses on many occasions, and yours is no different. A mix Salamence can destroy most of your team with a combination of Draco Meteor/Fire Blast/Earthquake, or Brick Break which is commonly used to beat Blissey. Dragon Dance Salamence can set up on Skarmory Hippowdon and Tentacruel, and by then your best way to deal with it would be to lure an Outrage into a Skarmory, or whittle down it's health. Another problem that I see is Gyarados, who can easily set up on Hippowdon or Skarmory through Taunt, and proceed to attack the rest of your team with Waterfalls and Earthquakes. Lucario is also problematic to this team, as he can set up on Blissey and Skarmory, sweeping your whole team with Close Combats and Crunches.

To deal with such weaknesses while keeping what you need in your team, running Forretress over Skarmory and Tentacruel isn't a bad idea, so you get a spinner, Toxic Spikes, Spikes, and a dragon resist in the mix. By running Forretress you leave some much needed space for a Salamence response, I'd recommend running a phazing Suicune with Ice Beam so you keep the Roar that you need for stall and the much needed response to Salamence.

Next, I'd recommend running rotom-h over Dusknoir, preferably Choice Scarf. This helps deal with your Lucario and Gyarados weaknesses better, as you can outspeed and OHKO Gyarados with Thunderbolt, while you OHKO and outspeed Lucario with Overheat. Additionally, your team needs some anti stall methods of its own, and that would help your team greatly.

Rotom-h @ Choice Scarf
252 SpA/252 Spe/ 6 HP timid
Thunderbolt/Shadow Ball/Overheat/Trick

Suicune @ Leftovers
252 hp/252 def/ 6 spe Bold
Surf/Ice Beam/Roar/Rest

Forretress @ Shed Shell
252 hp/212 Sdef/44 Atk Careful
Rapid Spin/Toxic Spikes/Payback/Spikes

While the first two sets are self explanatory, Sdef forretress actually beats non HP fire variants of Latias with Payback, scoring 2hkos with Sandstorm up on the field. You can set up on pokemon like Vaporeon, Swampert, Skarmory, and even defensive Rotom.

Try the changes out, hope i helped. :)

 

[Crazed_One]

Thank you so much for the excellent advice! I've also been feeling the pain of Mixmence and DD Gyarados, and I think the choices that you have proposed are excellent options, and I plan on implementing them all. However, I'm not very sure on the Forretress. Should I lead with it, or Hippowdon?