Another Team Based Around Landorus
Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for taking the time to read this introduction. This is my third, and arguably best, RMT. I made this team in a response to reading somewhere that stall in Gen. V is impossible. I read Kevin Garrett Stall as a guide for building better teams, and it helped a lot. The most notable section in his RMT was when he mentioned the filler Pokemon, the Pokemon that holds the team together and is used as a last resort. Noting the various abilities newly presented in Generation V, one caught my immediate attention. That ability was Sand Force. I looked over a list of Pokemon that had access to Sand Force, and 2 caught my attention. Those two were Excadrill and Landorus. I immediately disregarded Sand Force Excadrill because it had access to a much better ability, Sand Rush. Landorus was naturally fast, and it had access to better moves, so it became the star of this team. It serves as this team's last resort.
Team at a Glance:
As seen on Team Preview:
As seen on Team Preview:
Behold Landorus, one of the best Pokemon in the game. Its base 129 Attack coupled with its base 101 Speed make it one of the best sweepers or scouts available. Sand Force only makes it better at what it usually does. However, since this team focuses on the Choice Scarf set, it won't have as much power as it usually does. To counteract its lack of starting power, entry hazards and Sandstorm must be used to supplement it. My choices and decisions for each slot outside of Landorus can be seen below.
With Landorus set as the focus of the team, it's only necessary to carry a Sand Streamer to boost the power of its Ground and Rock type moves. There are only two viable choices in OU (do not tell me Eviolite Hippopotas is viable, because it isn't). Those choices are Tyranitar and Hippowdon. Each has their advantages and disadvantages. Tyranitar can beat down many Pokemon that stand in Landorus's way of complete dominance while taking Special Attacks nearly as well as Blissey, while Hippowdon has the ability to put the sweeps of many physically-inclined Pokemon in OU, such as Terrakion and Virizion. Both can lay Stealth Rock, so that move was covered. I couldn't decide immediately between the two, so I left that slot for later. [The decision between the two can be seen later on.]
Now that I have a slot dedicated to a Sand Streamer and Stealth Rocker, I decided that a Spiker was in due order. The main choices were Ferrothorn, Forretress and Skarmory. They all have that valued Steel type, which lets them switch into Dragon type moves and set up Spikes for my team. They each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Ferrothorn can deal with Water types and Rain teams with its STAB Power Whip and slow Gyro Ball. Forretress can lay down all three types of entry hazards. Skarmory has an additional Flying-type, which lets it come in on Ground-type attacks with impunity, and Whirlwind, which lets it pHaze potentially dangerous sweepers out, eliminating their boosts.
Keeping past experiences in mind, I eliminated Ferrothorn from the list because it didn't have Sturdy. From there, it was a choice between Forretress and Skarmory. Forretress has the capacity to lay all three hazards down, taking some of the burden off of the Sand Streamer, but Skarmory has access to Whirlwind. In the end, Skarmory was chosen over Ferrothorn and Forretress [look at the name similarities] because it has access to Whirlwind and Sturdy.
With 1/3 of the team laying entry hazards down, a spinblocker was the next thing that came to mind. The four main viable defensive Ghost-types were Cofagrigus, Jellicent, Eviolite Dusclops, and Spiritomb. Regarding the other Ghost types seen in OU, Gengar was too frail for this team's demands, Dusknoir suffers from being outclassed by every other Ghost type seen in OU, and Golurk shares too many weaknesses with the rest of the team. Cofagrigus has the ability Mummy, which overrides the opponent's current ability and changes it to Mummy should they make contact with Cofagrigus. Jellicent can switch into random Water-type attacks, has relatively good synergy with Tyranitar and Skarmory, and reliable recovery. With Cursed Body, Jellicent can put a stop to the rampage of many Pokemon, such as Reuniclus and Excadrill, with a bit of luck. Eviolite Dusclops has the greatest numerical defenses out of all the Ghost types on display alongside a Pain Split coming from a pitiful base 40 HP. Spiritomb can deal with Reuniclus directly with a combination of Taunt, Sucker Punch, and its typing, which eliminates all of its weaknesses. The reason for emphasis of dealing with Reuniclus in this slot is because Reuniclus is a menace to all Stall teams with its ability Magic Guard, which negates all passive damage, its massive 125 base Special Attack, which can be further augmented by Calm Mind, and its defenses, which pose a challenge to all stall teams to break.
Keeping Reuniclus in the back seat of my mind, I eliminated Cofagrigus and Eviolite Dusclops from the list solely because they cannot deal with Reuniclus. From there, it was a toss-up between Jellicent and Spiritomb. I was undecided between the two because of their distinct advantages and disadvantages. The final choice can be seen below.
With most of the team a bit unsettled, a reliable Special wall was sought out. The only choices were Eviolite Chansey and Blissey, seeing that Tyranitar was already a potential member of the team. They both were chosen to do the same duties, which were absorbing Special Attacks and giving Aromatherapy support, but once again, it was a choice between greater numerical defenses or Leftovers recovery. Blissey made the cut solely because it wasn't as vulnerable to indirect damage as Eviolite Chansey was.
I threw Reuniclus into this team to mess with offensive teams that abuse massive speed stats by using Trick Room. Its ability to simply disregard all indirect damage gave it immediate appeal, especially considering that this team runs with Sandstorm. It serves as a wallbreaker and counter to Ferrothorn and Whimsicott.
Now, I had to settle my choice of Sand Streamer and bulky Ghost-type. Looking at the Sand Streamers, I realized that Tyranitar had more overall capabilities and that Excadrill wasn't a problem because of Skarmory. Tyranitar was chosen as this team's Sand Streamer of choice.
I'm still uncertain of this decision, but I eventually decided on Jellicent over Spiritomb for the sole reason of reliable recovery. They could both deal with Reuniclus, but the recovery was the clincher.
The team in detail:
Landorus (M) @
Ability: Sand Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)
~ Earthquake
~ Stone Edge
~ U-turn
~ Hidden Power [Ice]
How this Pokemon is Used:
Landorus is occasionally seen as a lead, so having Landorus in the lead position usually puts a bit of offensive pressure on my opponent. I'll usually U-turn out to see how my opponent reacts, but I will attack if I see that I have an advantage. In the end-game, Landorus can clean up after the entry hazards and Reuniclus have taken their toll on my opponent. Earthquake is general STAB that is boosted by Sandstorm. Stone Edge gives Landorus the ability to hit Flying-type Pokemon and Pokemon holding an Air Balloon. Hidden Power Ice is used to OHKO Gliscor, Landorus, and various Dragon-type Pokemon on the switch-in. U-turn lets Landorus play the role of the scout while getting some free damage in.
EVs and Nature:
The EVs give Landorus maximum Speed and Attack, which are important, because Landorus outspeeds the base 100 Speed Pokemon, even after one boost with the Scarf. The remaining 4 EVs were placed into Special Attack to give Hidden Power Ice a small boost.
Changes Being Considered:
- Hammer Arm is being considered over Hidden Power Ice for hitting Tyranitar harder, but it's generally covered by the rest of the team. If Hammer Arm is used over Hidden Power Ice though, it'll leave me more vulnerable to Gliscor.
Tyranitar (F) @
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 180 SAtk / 76 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
~ Flamethrower
~ Crunch
~ Ice Beam
~ Stealth Rock
How this Pokemon is Used:
Tyranitar serves as this team's defensive pivot [ironic, considering that Tyranitar has 6 weaknesses] and specially-based wallbreaker. It has 420 Special Defense in a Sandstorm, which lets it take Special Attacks when needed to. It starts Sandstorm for this team and sets Stealth Rock down for the team. Tyranitar is the usual Pokemon Landorus U-turns out to in the beginning of the game. Later on, Tyranitar can switch in on random attacks and threatens my opponent's team. Crunch makes Tyranitar a deadly foe for most spinblockers to face. Flamethrower catches Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Forretress off guard, thinking that they can set up entry hazards on Tyranitar. Ice Beam lets Tyranitar KO the random Gliscor that switch in on Tyranitar, attempting to use it as set-up bait.
EVs and Nature:
The Sassy nature lets Tyranitar set its weather up if it's facing another weather setter that isn't weighed down by an Iron Ball. The EVs look a bit odd, but they serve an important defensive purpose. Alongside the Chople Berry, Tyranitar can beat Reuniclus one on one.
Changes being considered:
- Fire Blast over Flamethrower for more power, but the decreased accuracy is a bit of a turn-off.
Skarmory (F) @
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Def / 8 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
~ Brave Bird
~ Spikes
~ Roost
~ Whirlwind
How this Pokemon is used:
Skarmory serves as this team's Spiker and primary physical wall. It typically comes in on a resisted attack and lays Spikes down. It also is my team's primary stopper for frighteningly powerful physical sweepers such as Excadrill and Conkeldurr, either of which can potentially demolish my team should they manage to set themselves up. Spikes are Skarmory's reason for being on the team, seeing that they weaken my opponent indirectly. Whirlwind lets me force my opponent out of the playing field, removing all of their boosts. Roost, giving Skarmory more reliable recovery, is another reason Skarmory was chosen over Ferrothorn and Forretress. Brave Bird keeps Skarmory away from being complete Taunt bait.
EVs and Nature:
The 8 Speed EVs let me outspeed other Skarmory and Whirlwind them out before they can do the same to me. Call it speed creep, but it works. The EVs let Skarmory take most, if not all physical attacks with aplomb.
Changes being considered:
- Toxic over Brave Bird.
- Ferrothorn, to take care of rain teams better, or Forretress, to lay all three entry hazards down in one go.
Jellicent (F) @
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Def / 12 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
~ Surf
~ Will-O-Wisp
~ Taunt
~ Recover
How this Pokemon is used:
Jellicent is this team's mixed wall and spinblocker. It, alongside Skarmory, walls every physical threat commonly seen. Jellicent usually comes in on Fighting type attacks aimed at Tyranitar and Blissey and proceeds to cripple the opponent with Will-O-Wisp or Taunt. Surf gives Jellicent a reliable method of dealing damage while Will-O-Wisp can cripple important physical attackers that my opponent has. Recover is the reason I chose Jellicent over Spiritomb. Taunt, coupled with Cursed Body and a bit of luck, helps me stop CM Reuniclus. Admittedly though, I only can halt Reuniclus's rampage for a few turns.
EVs and Nature:
The EVs let Jellicent take physical attacks just as well as Skarmory after Will-O-Wisp hits. The tiny investment in Speed lets me outspeed Bulk Up Scrafty and Taunt it before it can get to a point where my team can't handle it.
Changes being considered:
- A more specially defensive spread, because Will-O-Wisp can make up for the lost EVs in physical Defense.
- Spiritomb, for a more offensive method of dealing with CM Reuniclus.
- Scald and Shadow Ball over Surf and Will-O-Wisp, for a more offensive approach to Jellicent.
Blissey (F) @
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
~ Aromatherapy
~ Softboiled
~ Seismic Toss
~ Toxic
How this Pokemon is used:
Blissey is this team's cleric, which is important, because Landorus won't be cleaning house if it's burnt and Jellicent won't be walling much if it's toxic poisoned. It also serves as this team's primary Special Wall. It comes in on nearly every special attacker that isn't Reuniclus and proceeds to wall them to the end of the world. Aromatherapy is the main move on Blissey's movepool. It gives many of my Pokemon an extended warranty when out on the battlefield by removing potentially crippling statuses. Softboiled lets Blissey recover health lost through Sandstorm and attacks. Seismic Toss lets Blissey hit her opponent for a consistent 100 damage. Toxic lets Blissey cripple her opponents by giving them toxic poisoning.
EVs and nature:
The EVs may look odd, but they work. Max Defense on Blissey is a given, seeing that she has an incredibly bad Defense stat. Maxing out Special Defense lets Blissey stomach hits from both sides of the spectrum. The remaining EVs are placed into HP to maximize Blissey's defensive potential.
Changes being considered:
- Eviolite Chansey over Blissey, for greater numerical defenses.
- Flamethrower over Seismic Toss, to hit Gengar.
- An EV spread with Max HP / Max Def over the current EV spread.
Reuniclus (F) @
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 192 HP / 64 Def / 252 SAtk
0 Speed IVs
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
~ Trick Room
~ Psychic
~ Focus Blast
~ Shadow Ball
How this Pokemon is used:
Reuniclus is a fantastic wallbreaker and late-game sweeper. Coupled with entry hazards, a free damage boost from Life Orb and Magic Guard, and Landorus in the sand, it can put a lot of pressure on offensive teams. Trick Room takes the natural speed of many hyper offensive teams and turns it against them by making them move last for 4 turns when against Reuniclus. It typically comes in on resisted attacks or status moves that would cripple another member of my team. Trick Room is the move that causes offensive teams so much pain by using their Speed against them. Psychic is Reuniclus's general STAB move, which wrecks most switch-ins coming from a base 125 Special Attack. Focus Blast lets Reuniclus strike most Dark type Pokemon, like Tyranitar, for a bunch of damage. Shadow Ball completes the set by giving Reuniclus perfect neutral coverage.
EVs and Nature:
A Quiet Nature and 0 IVs in Speed let me make the most out of Trick Room. 192 HP EVs and 64 Defense EVs let Reuniclus take physical blows better. 252 Special Attack EVs let Reuniclus hit hard with its specially based attacks.
Changes being considered:
- CM Recover set over the current set to mess with opposing stall teams.
- Max HP and 4 Def over the current spread of 192 HP and 64 Def.
Take a Look at the Team One More Time!
