Alright, it's been a hot minute since I've done a RMT, partly because I've been playing a ton of mashups (which don't exactly have ladders), and haven't had any teams with any real success. That said, this is probably the best team I've made in a while, and it was based around a Pokemon I had (somehow) never tried until now in CAP: Seismitoad. The team did kinda well on my new account (Snafutari, trying to get enough posts to change it here as well), getting me to #4 on the ladder, which counts for something, I guess. In any case, I present to you, A Toadally Normal Stall Team!
It all started with these two pokemon, when I was just getting super salty about Dracovish, and someone else in one of my discords mentioned a bunch of the positives of Seismitoad (like being one of the only Water types with Stealth Rocks) that I had missed. Since I'm very prone to using WishPort Clefable anyway, I thought I'd give it a shot. Clefable was used because this isn't offense, meaning you are basically forced to run it if you want to have any real longevity (not that I mind, I like having Wish access anyway).
Intimidate Tomohawk is a natural pick on, well, every non-offense playstyle. It beats so many tricky threats that it's kinda compulsory to use. Without it, the team just autoloses to Conkeldurr, Colossoil, Choice Band Tyranitar, and Choiced Terrakion. It's also a decent spinner, so there's that, although its primary goal is to function as a strong physical wall that isn't exactly passive. The last cool thing to mention about Tomohawk is that it has instant, reliable recovery, which makes it a much safer wall than either Seismitoad or Clefable, though it does deal with other threats than them.
Gee, I wonder why one of the bulkiest Pokemon in the meta found its way on this stall team? It may have only been a matter of time before I slapped this on, but its place is absolutely warranted; Doom Desire constantly keeps Clefable on its toes, while it takes almost nothing from a ton of Pokemon due to its phenomenal typing/bulk. I've legit seen this Pokemon go from 50% back to full health off of Leftovers alone, its absolutely insane. So yeah, if you're building stall without this Pokemon, what are you doing?
Mandibuzz was added because I felt like I had a really bad matchup against Pokemon like Dragapult, Pajantom, and Aegislash, all of which Mandibuzz really helps against. It can also function as an answer to Equilibra, as I've found when I keep running into it, as once it loses its Precious Leftovers, it really can't heal outside of getting a Wish from your opponent's Clefable. I'd definitely consider this a staple pick for CAP stall, at least for now. Who knows, maybe CAP 27 will change its necessity status...
Mollux is an adorable and pure Pokemon, and handles big meanies like Kefluffle, CM Clefable lacking Psyshock, and Jumbao. It was chosen over the brutish, cold, and heartless Toxapex for said pureness, which shows its kindness by ringing a bell to cure all the status afflictions for its friends. The other big reason I run it over Toxapex is that it threatens switch-ins by crying when something mean comes in. It's not Mollux's fault that said tears happen to be molten lava.
Alright, let's get started!
Seismitoad @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Protect
Seismitoad functions as a switch in to Dracovish, and an answer to rain in general. Knock Off is important utility to strip Leftovers/Timbs from crucial Pokemon (see also: Equilibra), as well as status orbs from brave Guts/Poison Heal Pokemon that wanna take advantage of a faulty prediction. Stealth Rock is Stealth Rock, I don't think anyone needs that explained to them. Earth Power is the main STAB for this thing, however. I'd run Scald, but that means you lose to opposing Mollux, Toxapex, and Naviathan. Protect is for simple scouting, of course, and can really help if your opponent sends in Dracovish/Terrakion on Toad. The EV spread is likely the only thing that will need explanation, but boy, does it need explaining. 248 HP was what I used on the ladder, due to a bad damage calc, but 252 is the optimal value, since it doesn't actually take less damage from Stealth Rock. 216 Defense with a positive nature let's you escape the 2HKO from Keldeo with Protect, and then the rest of the investment is just dumped into Special Defense.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 248 HP / 200 Def / 60 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Protect
- Teleport
- Wish
- Moonblast
This is kinda just a bog standard WishPort Clefable, sans the spread and ability, but let's go over it anyway for those of you who haven't played CAP. Wish+Protect is recovery that can heal other Pokemon on the team, and can also help with wasting PP on the only damaging moves certain setup sweepers (we'll get to the big one in a bit). Teleport is a -6 Priority pivotting move, which let's you get in a low health Pokemon for free. This really is the big reason to run Clefable at all instead of, say, Sylveon. Moonblast means you aren't exactly Taunt Bait. We run Minimum Speed to outslow other Teleport users, and a hefty amount of Defense investment to beat Cawmodore, which is something I always try to prep for. After that investment, I just dumped the rest in Special Defense.
Tomohawk @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Def / 64 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rapid Spin
- Roost
- Aura Sphere
- Hurricane
First thing's first, Heavy-Duty Boots was added because (for some reason) I thought that Tomohawk was weak to rocks. Oops. I noticed this while laddering, and really didn't feel like going through the struggle of redoing all my calcs, so unless any of you want to provide a spread, this is how it stays. Anyway, Intimidate is used to let you wall Choiced Terrakion, Colossoil, Conkeldurr, and Choice Band Tyranitar. Roost further helps this goal, since you can just sit on any of these threats until you have a comfortable enough health to just kill with Aura Sphere/Hurricane. Speaking of which, I chose Aura Sphere over Focus Blast because I like actually hitting my opponent, and Hurricane is chosen over Air Slash because...okay, I feel like Hurricane has way more accuracy than Air Slash, considering how much I hit it on the ladder, but I don't know. Anyway, for the last slot on Tomohawk, I went Rapid Spin over Stealth Rock, because I can already setup rocks with Seismitoad, plus it helps with removing hazards. The spread allows you to counter Choice Band Tyranitar, with all the remaining EVs dumped into Special Attack.
Equilibra @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 208 Def / 52 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aura Sphere
- Earth Power
- Rapid Spin
- Doom Desire
Equilibra is another required Pokemon on CAP Stall, and for obvious reasons. The spread let's you hard counter Kyurem lacking Focus Blast (which seems like most of them) thanks to Levitate, with the rest of the investment dumped in Defense. Doom Desire, for some reason, seems to bait everyone I fight into bad plays. This is generally my gameplan when I fight a team with a Clefable of their own (so any competently made team), since most teams just die when Clefable does. Earth Power is mostly just secondary STAB, and means that Toxapex isn't just gonna strip you of your Leftovers for free. Rapid Spin makes Equilibra a solid secondary hazard remover, especially since Equilibra quad resists and is immune to Spikes. Aura Sphere is mostly just a filler slot that helps with opposing Equilibra. Half considering running Flash Cannon over it to provide an immediate threat to Clefable, but I'm not quite certain.
Mandibuzz (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 162 SpD / 96 Spe
Careful Nature
- Toxic
- Roost
- Foul Play
- U-turn
Boo, normal set! In all seriousness, Mandibuzz kinda needs this set to do basically anything of value for the team. The spread is basically just speed-creeped for Aegislash, then the rest was dumped into Special Defense. Toxic is chosen over Defog because I already have two Rapid Spinners, and I didn't feel like I needed a third hazard remover. Speaking of hazards, Heavy-Duty Boots is used to ignore hazards, and Overcoat helps prevent annoying chip damage from Sandstorm (although its not really common). Roost helps with stalling out certain Pokemon, like Aegislash. Foul Play is STAB, and let's you actually win against Aegislash, Dragapult, and Pajantom, as well as any Leftovers-free Equilibra. Lastly, U-turn is ran to deal with trapping, because random trapping is pure cancer.
Mollux @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heal Bell
- Clear Smog
- Recover
- Lava Plume
Mollux is an adorable Pokemon, and really helps deal with a ton of stuff it helps to handle. Heal Bell is one of the big reasons you'd run this over, say, Toxapex, and deals with annoying status afflictions like toxic and paralysis. Clear Smog allows Mollux to just flatout win against CM Clefable without Psyshock (which are dealt with fairly handily by both my own Clefable and Equilibra), and against random boosters. Recover is chosen because I like not dying, and Lava Plume is used as the primary STAB to pressure physical attackers that'd otherwise consider Mollux Escargot. The spread allows Mollux barely survive a Psychic Fang from Banded Dracovish (a max roll leaves you with 2 HP remaining), with the rest just dumped into Special Defense.
SD Terrakion is a monster, and can trash this team very easily. The best counterplay this team has to it is swap tomohawk in turn 1, then go for Aura Sphere. After that, figure out what mon you need the least and sacrifice it to kill it with LO recoil. I wish this team had better counter play to it, and maybe you guys can help with that.
Sun in general is a big threat, although there is decent counterplay to Darmanitan/Smokomodo thanks to Seismitoad+Tomohawk. Your game plan against sun in most cases is to stall out the sun timer without taking too much damage. That said, Venusaur isn't that easy to answer. If it comes in for free, its almost certainly game over. The only chance you really have is dependent on what it runs; If it lacks Poison STAB, Clefable likely can answer, or if it lacks Earth Power, Mollux.
Shell Smash Necturna can usually be handled by Clefable. That set really isn't the biggest threat. Where things get ugly is Choice Band, as this team has pretty much no good switchins. Tomohawk is about as good of on as it gets, meaning that prediction can be necessary at times to win.
Necrozma rarely performs decently against this team; it either does nothing or it overperforms. Weakness Policy means you can't just use Mandibuzz's Foul Play/U-turn to chip its health, while Photon Geyser means it can actually crack through Clefable's Unaware. Getting a Toxic off on this thing can turn things around, and if it comes to it, you can try pp stalling Photon Geyser so Clefable wins.
The Sauce
It all started with these two pokemon, when I was just getting super salty about Dracovish, and someone else in one of my discords mentioned a bunch of the positives of Seismitoad (like being one of the only Water types with Stealth Rocks) that I had missed. Since I'm very prone to using WishPort Clefable anyway, I thought I'd give it a shot. Clefable was used because this isn't offense, meaning you are basically forced to run it if you want to have any real longevity (not that I mind, I like having Wish access anyway).
Intimidate Tomohawk is a natural pick on, well, every non-offense playstyle. It beats so many tricky threats that it's kinda compulsory to use. Without it, the team just autoloses to Conkeldurr, Colossoil, Choice Band Tyranitar, and Choiced Terrakion. It's also a decent spinner, so there's that, although its primary goal is to function as a strong physical wall that isn't exactly passive. The last cool thing to mention about Tomohawk is that it has instant, reliable recovery, which makes it a much safer wall than either Seismitoad or Clefable, though it does deal with other threats than them.
Gee, I wonder why one of the bulkiest Pokemon in the meta found its way on this stall team? It may have only been a matter of time before I slapped this on, but its place is absolutely warranted; Doom Desire constantly keeps Clefable on its toes, while it takes almost nothing from a ton of Pokemon due to its phenomenal typing/bulk. I've legit seen this Pokemon go from 50% back to full health off of Leftovers alone, its absolutely insane. So yeah, if you're building stall without this Pokemon, what are you doing?
Mandibuzz was added because I felt like I had a really bad matchup against Pokemon like Dragapult, Pajantom, and Aegislash, all of which Mandibuzz really helps against. It can also function as an answer to Equilibra, as I've found when I keep running into it, as once it loses its Precious Leftovers, it really can't heal outside of getting a Wish from your opponent's Clefable. I'd definitely consider this a staple pick for CAP stall, at least for now. Who knows, maybe CAP 27 will change its necessity status...
Mollux is an adorable and pure Pokemon, and handles big meanies like Kefluffle, CM Clefable lacking Psyshock, and Jumbao. It was chosen over the brutish, cold, and heartless Toxapex for said pureness, which shows its kindness by ringing a bell to cure all the status afflictions for its friends. The other big reason I run it over Toxapex is that it threatens switch-ins by crying when something mean comes in. It's not Mollux's fault that said tears happen to be molten lava.
Alright, let's get started!
Seismitoad @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Protect
Seismitoad functions as a switch in to Dracovish, and an answer to rain in general. Knock Off is important utility to strip Leftovers/Timbs from crucial Pokemon (see also: Equilibra), as well as status orbs from brave Guts/Poison Heal Pokemon that wanna take advantage of a faulty prediction. Stealth Rock is Stealth Rock, I don't think anyone needs that explained to them. Earth Power is the main STAB for this thing, however. I'd run Scald, but that means you lose to opposing Mollux, Toxapex, and Naviathan. Protect is for simple scouting, of course, and can really help if your opponent sends in Dracovish/Terrakion on Toad. The EV spread is likely the only thing that will need explanation, but boy, does it need explaining. 248 HP was what I used on the ladder, due to a bad damage calc, but 252 is the optimal value, since it doesn't actually take less damage from Stealth Rock. 216 Defense with a positive nature let's you escape the 2HKO from Keldeo with Protect, and then the rest of the investment is just dumped into Special Defense.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 248 HP / 200 Def / 60 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Protect
- Teleport
- Wish
- Moonblast
This is kinda just a bog standard WishPort Clefable, sans the spread and ability, but let's go over it anyway for those of you who haven't played CAP. Wish+Protect is recovery that can heal other Pokemon on the team, and can also help with wasting PP on the only damaging moves certain setup sweepers (we'll get to the big one in a bit). Teleport is a -6 Priority pivotting move, which let's you get in a low health Pokemon for free. This really is the big reason to run Clefable at all instead of, say, Sylveon. Moonblast means you aren't exactly Taunt Bait. We run Minimum Speed to outslow other Teleport users, and a hefty amount of Defense investment to beat Cawmodore, which is something I always try to prep for. After that investment, I just dumped the rest in Special Defense.
Tomohawk @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Def / 64 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rapid Spin
- Roost
- Aura Sphere
- Hurricane
First thing's first, Heavy-Duty Boots was added because (for some reason) I thought that Tomohawk was weak to rocks. Oops. I noticed this while laddering, and really didn't feel like going through the struggle of redoing all my calcs, so unless any of you want to provide a spread, this is how it stays. Anyway, Intimidate is used to let you wall Choiced Terrakion, Colossoil, Conkeldurr, and Choice Band Tyranitar. Roost further helps this goal, since you can just sit on any of these threats until you have a comfortable enough health to just kill with Aura Sphere/Hurricane. Speaking of which, I chose Aura Sphere over Focus Blast because I like actually hitting my opponent, and Hurricane is chosen over Air Slash because...okay, I feel like Hurricane has way more accuracy than Air Slash, considering how much I hit it on the ladder, but I don't know. Anyway, for the last slot on Tomohawk, I went Rapid Spin over Stealth Rock, because I can already setup rocks with Seismitoad, plus it helps with removing hazards. The spread allows you to counter Choice Band Tyranitar, with all the remaining EVs dumped into Special Attack.
Equilibra @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 208 Def / 52 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aura Sphere
- Earth Power
- Rapid Spin
- Doom Desire
Equilibra is another required Pokemon on CAP Stall, and for obvious reasons. The spread let's you hard counter Kyurem lacking Focus Blast (which seems like most of them) thanks to Levitate, with the rest of the investment dumped in Defense. Doom Desire, for some reason, seems to bait everyone I fight into bad plays. This is generally my gameplan when I fight a team with a Clefable of their own (so any competently made team), since most teams just die when Clefable does. Earth Power is mostly just secondary STAB, and means that Toxapex isn't just gonna strip you of your Leftovers for free. Rapid Spin makes Equilibra a solid secondary hazard remover, especially since Equilibra quad resists and is immune to Spikes. Aura Sphere is mostly just a filler slot that helps with opposing Equilibra. Half considering running Flash Cannon over it to provide an immediate threat to Clefable, but I'm not quite certain.
Mandibuzz (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 162 SpD / 96 Spe
Careful Nature
- Toxic
- Roost
- Foul Play
- U-turn
Boo, normal set! In all seriousness, Mandibuzz kinda needs this set to do basically anything of value for the team. The spread is basically just speed-creeped for Aegislash, then the rest was dumped into Special Defense. Toxic is chosen over Defog because I already have two Rapid Spinners, and I didn't feel like I needed a third hazard remover. Speaking of hazards, Heavy-Duty Boots is used to ignore hazards, and Overcoat helps prevent annoying chip damage from Sandstorm (although its not really common). Roost helps with stalling out certain Pokemon, like Aegislash. Foul Play is STAB, and let's you actually win against Aegislash, Dragapult, and Pajantom, as well as any Leftovers-free Equilibra. Lastly, U-turn is ran to deal with trapping, because random trapping is pure cancer.
Mollux @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heal Bell
- Clear Smog
- Recover
- Lava Plume
Mollux is an adorable Pokemon, and really helps deal with a ton of stuff it helps to handle. Heal Bell is one of the big reasons you'd run this over, say, Toxapex, and deals with annoying status afflictions like toxic and paralysis. Clear Smog allows Mollux to just flatout win against CM Clefable without Psyshock (which are dealt with fairly handily by both my own Clefable and Equilibra), and against random boosters. Recover is chosen because I like not dying, and Lava Plume is used as the primary STAB to pressure physical attackers that'd otherwise consider Mollux Escargot. The spread allows Mollux barely survive a Psychic Fang from Banded Dracovish (a max roll leaves you with 2 HP remaining), with the rest just dumped into Special Defense.
SD Terrakion is a monster, and can trash this team very easily. The best counterplay this team has to it is swap tomohawk in turn 1, then go for Aura Sphere. After that, figure out what mon you need the least and sacrifice it to kill it with LO recoil. I wish this team had better counter play to it, and maybe you guys can help with that.
Sun in general is a big threat, although there is decent counterplay to Darmanitan/Smokomodo thanks to Seismitoad+Tomohawk. Your game plan against sun in most cases is to stall out the sun timer without taking too much damage. That said, Venusaur isn't that easy to answer. If it comes in for free, its almost certainly game over. The only chance you really have is dependent on what it runs; If it lacks Poison STAB, Clefable likely can answer, or if it lacks Earth Power, Mollux.
Shell Smash Necturna can usually be handled by Clefable. That set really isn't the biggest threat. Where things get ugly is Choice Band, as this team has pretty much no good switchins. Tomohawk is about as good of on as it gets, meaning that prediction can be necessary at times to win.
Necrozma rarely performs decently against this team; it either does nothing or it overperforms. Weakness Policy means you can't just use Mandibuzz's Foul Play/U-turn to chip its health, while Photon Geyser means it can actually crack through Clefable's Unaware. Getting a Toxic off on this thing can turn things around, and if it comes to it, you can try pp stalling Photon Geyser so Clefable wins.
The Sauce
Last edited: