EPITOME OF STALL
Hi everyone! A lot of you probably know me already- whether it be from my previous RMT, or just because I spend a lot of time on this forum. I've got a team with me today, one that my pal Generic Name on Pokemon Showdown inspired me to make, and one of my most successful teams yet. I had always been a fan of hyper offense and set up sweepers, so in my previous RMT I forced myself to go further and made a team full of choiced users. This time, I'm going way beyond that, to a strategy not seen in a million years... (or, at least since BW2 came out) Stall. With all of the Therian-weather-hyper offense mumbo jumbo going around, I decided that it was time to make a new kind of team.
BUILDING PROCESS
I first started off with a core, the core of Amoongbro. My old offensive sun team was totally walled by the two, so I saw how solid they were and decided to base my team around them.
I then added Heatran, because Heatran has great synergy with them, and I wanted something to take care of Sun teams.
After Heatran, came Deoxys-Defense for hazards, and also to act as a mixed wall.
Then Jellicent to help spinblock, cripple physical attackers, and help deal with Rain.
After Jellicent finally came Forretress, to spin and also set hazards.
However, my team had a massive weakness to Tornadus-T, so I replaced Deoxys-D with Porygon 2. Its ability also helped me handle opposing Stall teams.
Still, Porygon2 was not enough. Espeon began to irk me, because I had no physical attackers. I replaced Porygon2 with Tyranitar, and turned the team into Sand Stall.
Forretress was lacking as a hazard spreader, and was not doing well as a defensive wall. I replaced it with Ferrothorn.
Forretress was doing very well, but hazards were annoying, so I switched Tyranitar with Donphan. Sand was no longer helping me as much as I thought the team slot was worth.
And that's how the team is today!
I then added Heatran, because Heatran has great synergy with them, and I wanted something to take care of Sun teams.
After Heatran, came Deoxys-Defense for hazards, and also to act as a mixed wall.
Then Jellicent to help spinblock, cripple physical attackers, and help deal with Rain.
After Jellicent finally came Forretress, to spin and also set hazards.
However, my team had a massive weakness to Tornadus-T, so I replaced Deoxys-D with Porygon 2. Its ability also helped me handle opposing Stall teams.
Still, Porygon2 was not enough. Espeon began to irk me, because I had no physical attackers. I replaced Porygon2 with Tyranitar, and turned the team into Sand Stall.
Forretress was lacking as a hazard spreader, and was not doing well as a defensive wall. I replaced it with Ferrothorn.
Forretress was doing very well, but hazards were annoying, so I switched Tyranitar with Donphan. Sand was no longer helping me as much as I thought the team slot was worth.
And that's how the team is today!
TEAM DESCRIPTION
AMOONGUSS @ Black Sludge
252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature (-Atk, +SpD)
~Spore
~Giga Drain
~Hidden Power Ice
~Clear Smog
Say hello to part one of my double core. Amoonguss is a fantastic special wall, tanking hits from pokemon like Specd Latios and living to tell the tale. Amoonguss's ability, Regenerator, is also very useful, allowing it to heal without having to waste a turn. Black Sludge allows it to heal even more, and it allows Amoonguss to cripple Trick users that think they can get away without a scratch.
The EVs are not the ones on-site- I maximized HP and Special Defense so Amoonguss could be as sturdy as possible, and then put the rest into Defense. Spore is a great move that allows me to shut down an opponent for the rest of the match. Giga Drain is the STAB move of choice, hitting many pokemon hard, despite Amoonguss's measly 85 Sp Attack. Hidden Power Ice decimates Dragons such as Salamence or Latios who think they can come in freely. Clear Smog is another STAB move used to erase the boosts the opponent could have built up, ending their potential sweep safely while still doing quite a lot of damage. Clear Smog helps especially against pokemon like Breloom, who can't get past Amoonguss otherwise and must set up in front of it. Too bad it doesn't work against me.
SYNERGY:
SLOWBRO @ Leftovers
248 HP / 244 Def / 16 SpA
Bold Nature (-Atk, +Def)
~Scald
~Psychic
~Ice Beam
~Trick Room
Slowbro is Amoonguss's second partner in crime, tanking physical hits like there's no tomorrow. Terrakion sweep? Send in Slowbro, and take less than 30% from Close Combat. Dragon setting up? Come in, and Ice beam it to oblivion, and switch out without getting a scratch. Slowbro has also been blessed with Regenerator, allowing it to come out of many skirmishes untouched.
A lot of credit for this Slowbro goes to other people; Scarfywynaut pointed out that having Twave was useless on Slowbro, and replacing it with Ice Beam really helped. A saw in a thread a while ago about someone using Trick Room as a back up strategy, so I tried that and it worked wonders too. Trick Room especially has saved me in a lot of battles, where all of a sudden the opponent's hyper offense became hyper frail to my powerful yet slow attacks. I've been bent between using Psychic and using Psyshock, especially after being beaten by another Stall team because Amoonguss was taken down by Psyshock.
SYNERGY:
HEATRAN @ Air Balloon
248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Calm Nature (-Atk, +SpD)
~Protect
~Roar
~Lava Plume
~Toxic
Heatran is the glue that holds the two cores of the team together. Its ability allows me to switch in and take fire attacks aimed at Ferrothorn and Amoonguss, and its typing allows me to take down Sun teams without worrying about anything. The EVs and nature give Heatran maximum Special Bulk, allowing it to survive Alakazam's Focus Blast, and reply with Lava Plume for the OHKO. Air Balloon is used over Leftovers so Heatran can't be trapped by Dugtrio. It also allows me to switch into ground type attacks with ease.
Heatran's movepool is the one listed on the site, and it works like a charm. Toxic and Protect allow me to Stall out the opponent, causing them to take a lot of damage as they fail to break through my defenses. Protect also allows me to scout the opponent, and find a good answer to choice locked pokemon such as Rotom-W. Roar allows me to phaze out set up sweepers like Volcorona, forcing them to take even more entry hazard damage while giving me the hand in momentum. Lava Plume is the STAB move of choice, blasting through Steel types immune to Toxic and dealing a hefty chunk to everyone else. The burn factor in Lava Plume is really helpful too, securing many minimal damage OHKOs that I would have missed without.
SYNERGY:
JELLICENT @ Leftovers
248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature (-Atk, +Def)
~Taunt
~WiloWisp
~Recover
~Scald
Jellicent is the spinblocker of the group, and is also the first part of the second core in my team. Its awesome ability allows it to take water type hits for Heatran and Donphan, and recover health in the process. Its ghost typing helps me handle fighting types once Slowbro is gone, and it also blocks spinners such as Forretress from whisking away my precious hazards. The EVs give it a lot of physical defense so it can tank many hits. The 44 speed EVs also allow it to outspeed many slower set up pokemon such as Ferrothorn or Amoonguss and shut them down with Taunt.
Jellicent is one of the most important members of my team because of its ability to Taunt. It may be slow, but it hits what it has to, which is why I don't have much problems with opposing Stall teams. Wil o wisp is the status move that allows it to cripple physical attackers such as Cloyster, however I must use it wisely because often times it has clashed with Spore, allowing a pokemon I wanted shut down to set up on me. Recover allows Jellicent to regain health lost, and to Stall out the opponent with burn. Scald is the STAB move of choice, hitting Terrakion and friends hard, and even further boosted in Rain.
SYNERGY:
DONPHAN @ Leftovers
252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature (-SpA +Atk)
~Rapid Spin
~Ice Shard
~Earthquake
~Stone Edge
Donphan is the tape that patches up what the glue doesn't- it spins and hits with priority. Donphan is also the only physical attacker on my team, so its ability to hit CM'ers hard is very cherished. Sturdy is also a very useful ability, as it allows me to revenge kill many sweepers that are hard to stop- such as Tornadus-T. Leftovers allow Donphan to keep its Sturdy up when switching into SR, so it can spin them away without fear of being KO'd. The EVs give Donphan as much strength as possible so it can hit Espeon and other enemies of Stall hard.
Donphan's ability as a spinner was a real gift and something my team desperately needed. Without Donphan, Amoonguss and Slowbro's Renerators are canceled, and my frequent switching is hindered. Donphan is also the only priority user on my team, but a strong one at that. Ice Shard has helped me revenge and KO a lot of switch ins or sweepers that would otherwise give me tons of problems. EQ is the STAB move of choice, hitting Tyranitar and Steel types such as Jirachi hard, and Stone Edge allows me to hit Gengar on the switch so it can be finished off with Ice Shard afterwards. Stone Edge also finishes Tornadus-T and other flying types.
SYNERGY:
FERROTHORN @ Rocky Helmet
252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Impish Nature (-SpA +Def)
~Stealth Rock
~Spikes
~Leech Seed
~Protect
Ferrothorn is the last member of my team, even though I often use him as my lead to set up early hazards. Its ability, coupled with a Rocky Helmet, punishes any pokemon that tries to touch Ferrothorn, making them take 29% damage. This is really helpful against pokemon like Starmie, who have very little attack, and can barely scratch me with Rapid Spin. Because most spinners outspeed Ferro, if I can predict a spin and use Stealth Rock afterwards, that will force the opponent to spin again, and then take another 29%, and again and again until the opponent falls. That's why I used Ferrothorn as my hazard setter, because it is so hard so spin against.
The EVs give Ferrothorn balanced defenses on both sides, allowing it to take a lot of hits as it sets up. Stealth Rock and Spikes are the main hazards, and I often have a lot of time to use them, so they are a very important part of the team's strategy. Leech Seed allows me to regain health while at the same time crippling the opponent. Protect allows me to Leech Seed stall, and sometimes even status Stall if the opponent was Toxic'd by Heatran. Protect also allows me to scout, just like Heatran. Ferrothorn is also my answer to Sandstorm, which usually carries a lot of physical attackers, sometimes many of them not even immune to Sand. In sand, with Leech Seed, an opponent that has touched Ferrothorn loses 47% damage, while I just set up in their face.
SYNERGY:
PROBLEMS
What team doesn't have its fair share of counters? 
Espeon- the thing reflects all of the status I throw at it and sets up in my face. Donphan helps me handle this thing, however if it gets too many boosts / Donphan faints I'm dead.
Amoonguss- what a traitor. This thing is very hard to take down, especially because of Spore and Regenerator and what not.
Slowbro- only when paired with Amoonguss, however. Hard to take down, becuase I don't have any SE moves I can throw at it bar my own Amoonguss's Giga Drain, which does jack shit. (~40% iirc)
Celebi- don't let its looks fool you. This can take Heatran's Lava Plume and reply with Earth Power. CM versions are especially hard, unless Amoonguss can Clear Smog, but Psyshock does a lot.
Ferrothorn- another traitor. This one doesn't really pose an offensive threat, it just takes a while to take down once Heatran is gone.
ONE LAST LOOK
IMPORTABLE
Don't be afraid to test out the team! Amoonguss @ Black Sludge
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Def
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Giga Drain
- Spore
- Clear Smog
Slowbro @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 16 SAtk
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Trick Room
- Psychic
Heatran @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SDef / 8 Spd
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roar
- Lava Plume
- Protect
- Toxic
Jellicent @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spd
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Taunt
Donphan @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Ice Shard
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SDef
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 SAtk / 0 Spd
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock
- Protect
- Spikes
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Def
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Giga Drain
- Spore
- Clear Smog
Slowbro @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 16 SAtk
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Trick Room
- Psychic
Heatran @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SDef / 8 Spd
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roar
- Lava Plume
- Protect
- Toxic
Jellicent @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spd
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Taunt
Donphan @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Ice Shard
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SDef
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 SAtk / 0 Spd
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock
- Protect
- Spikes
