Introduction
Hey guys! I'm Anna (AnnaKartanna), and today I will be sharing with you my infamous Swellow + Pyukumuku semi-stall team, or the mono-green stall team. This team has reached the top 10 on the gen7ou ladder, and has been used in several smogon tournaments. It is overall a really fun team to play, and clicking boomburst is literally the most satisfying thing ever lol. Enjoy!
The Team
Dugtrio @ Groundium Z
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 21 HP
- Earthquake
- Reversal
- Screech
- Substitute
Dugtrio is one of the most important parts of allowing Swellow to sweep. It can break steels like magearna, that wall Swellow, and it also just gets rid of huge threats to the whole team like Mega-Medicham, Mega-Mawile, Heatran, Magnezone, etc. Instead of the standard focus sash, a friend suggested using Groundium Z and running Substitute instead of Stone Edge. Groundium Z does massive damage and often is able to pick up kills on bulkier threats to stall after slight weakening: Venusaur, Tapu Fini, Tapu Bulu, as well as OHKOing Tapu Lele, Mega-Medicham, Mega-Mawile (against MMaw you have to use sub on turn 1 to avoid being OHKOd by sucker punch which you force anyways, so the sub is free), Magearna, Ferrothorn (after screech), etc. The way that you would get it in to avoid having to sack a mon to trap let's say Heatran, would be to either uturn off of it or use baton pass with Pyukumuku. With fat steels that check Swellow, you can just predict the switch and click u-turn into Dugtrio.
Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Originally this was Alolan-Muk, however it didnt have any form of recovery and the team had no wish support. On top of that, I needed a constant Tapu Koko / Landorus check to stop voltturn from just slowly wearing the team down. Not only that, but the team was really weak to rain and fat stuff like Ferrothorn and Celesteela, which I would have to just switch around until it ran out of leech seed PP. Tangrowth seemed like the most obvious solution to the problem, both by its typing, ability, considerable bulk, and large movepool. I utilized Tangrowth's movepool to fill in a fair amount of holes in the team: Knock Off helps me beat fat mons by getting rid of leftovers and blocking Leech Seed. I also found it helpful as a lure against Alolan-Marowak. Giga Drain helps to wear down stuff like Rotom-Wash and Hippowdon, as well as providing a good STAB with decent enough damage considering how passive most of this team is. Sludge Bomb was an easy choice because I was losing to 3/4 Tapus, the fourth Tapu Fini. Finally, I chose hidden Power [Ice] over Hidden Power [Fire] because i needed a better way to deal with Landorus, and it helped me beat Zygarde. Tangrowth's ultimate role on the team was to be a pivot, allowing me to double into Dugtrio or Swellow against mons like Marowak and Heatran.
Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Soft-Boiled
- Seismic Toss
- Heal Bell
Chansey's role here doesn't really need much explaining. Its a SpD wall. I chose Heal Bell over Stealth Rock because I started to have problems with the stall matchup, and getting stuff toxiced was not fun.
Pyukumuku @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 228 Def / 28 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Recover
- Toxic
- Counter
- Baton Pass
The team actually started with Pyukumuku. I thought it would be an interesting choice on stall by looking at its bulk and movepool. Pyukumuku also serves as a pivot, as well as my Unaware wall, to beat physical attacking setup mons, especially Mega-Charizard-X, Mega-Pinsir, and pretty much every variant of Gyarados, with the exception of Sub Gyarados. The moveset doesn't really need much explaining, I feel. It is basically a Skarmory with Baton Pass instead of Defog, which I still needed baaaadly.
Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 116 Def / 128 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
Mega-Scizor fits this team perfectly, and often is a wincon against Bulky Offense and Hyper Offense. Its physical bulk, ability to use Defog, the fact that it gets solid recovery, plus Bullet Punch and U-Turn for momentum, make this Pokémon invaluable to the team. It obviously provides much needed hazard control, and can wear down and beat mons like Landorus, Alolan Muk, Tapu Fini, Bisharp, Thundurus, Mimikyu, Mega-Metagross (before its ban), as well as many other threats that dont get reliable forms of recovery. Keeping Mega-Scizor healthy should be a main priority when playing with the team, as late/mid game hazards can really put the team into a tough situation if Mega-Scizor isn't healthy enough to keep switching in to defog.
Swellow @ Choice Specs
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Boomburst
- Heat Wave
- U-turn
- Defog
Swellow is easily one of my favorite mons to use in OU this gen. The fact that it hits 370 SpA while spamming a 140 base power move with STAB, that not only hits Ghost types (because of Scrappy), but also hits through a Sub, which is amazing, since most Substitute sets can absolutely wreck Stall. This thing is incredibly powerful, and not many mons in the game can switch into it. Those who can are usually either beaten by Heat Wave (Celesteela, Ferrothorn, Scizor), or can be predicted and U-Turned off of into Dugtrio, like I mentioned earlier. Keep in mind that Boomburst can NOT OHKO Landorus-Therian from full. You can, however beat it after it gets below 91%. I am honestly tempted to paste a whole 2 pages of calcs, but I honestly think that that might be a bit too much lol. The only odd part about this set is probably Defog. The team really could not function well with so much pressure on Mega-Scizor having to keep switching in to Defog. Swellow provided a kind of backup, if Mega-Scizor is unable to come in.
Conclusion
Well, that's pretty much it! I hope I covered everything, but I probably missed a few things. If you are having trouble with any specific Pokémon that I didn't mention, feel free to tell me in the comment section and I will try to answer how to deal with said Pokémon as soon as possible. Also, feel free to give suggestions like EV Spreads and the sort. Any kind of feedback is always much appreciated :]
Thanks for reading, and have fun with the team!
>> Import Team <<
