~~~~~~ I Stall, You Fall ~~~~~
Opposite from the horrible RMT name given here, this team has been working for me pretty well. It is as the name suggests, a reworked stall team, keeping defensive powerhouses such as Skarmory and Forretress, while mixing things up with an Infernape and Offensive Starmie. I didn't want a standard stall team, but rather a psedo-offensive team that could manage to inflict lots of damage through entry hazards.
The majority of the first turns this team usually has involved setting up entry hazards. Usually, I can get two layers of Toxic Spikes up, Stealth Rock, and at least one layer of Spikes up. In some cases however, I can't get everything up as planned, which is where the offensive juggernauts, MixedNape and LO Starmie come into play.
Without more useless introductions, here is the team:
Rosee (Roserade) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Natural Cure
EV's: 4 Defense/252 SpA/252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Grass Knot
- Sleep Powder
- Hidden Power (Fire)
- Toxic Spikes
Enter the common Roserade lead. With this lead, I can outspeed many of the slower leads of the metagame (Bronzong, Forretress, Heatran, Hippowdon, Mamoswine, Metagross, and Tyranitar) or survive via Focus Sash in order to use Sleep Powder, which is the first move I'll always use. After Sleep Powder is up, I'm given 2-3 turns to set up my Toxic Spikes. Depending on what lead it is, I might be able to go for the kill with Hidden Power (Fire) or Grass Knot, but more often I'll switch to my next entry hazard set-uper. More often than not, Roserade survives the initial setup, which allows me to use it offensively later, making full use of the 252 SpA EV's.
How I Fare Against Other Common Leads:
: In my opinion, the toughest of the leads. They usually start off with Taunt, which royally messes me up. If it does use Taunt, I switch over to Forretress and aim for a 2HKO with Gyro Ball, but it will set up Stealth Rocks if it carries Focus Sash. I can then proceed to switch back to Roserade, for another shot at Sleep Powder + Toxic Spikes, or set up Spikes from here.
: It will go for the Taunt, which makes me switch to either Infernape (If I plan on killing it with Overheat) or Forretress (In case it carries Explosion, in which case Forretress could absorb the damage and set up Spikes). Once again, it will set up Stealth Rocks.
: Sleep Powder + Toxic Spikes set up, laugh as I switch to Starmie.
: Switch to my Infernape immediately and Stone Edge it.
: Well darn, I do hate this thing. It will start off with Dynamic Punch, and confuse me. Since it carries Lum Berry, I don't go for the Sleep Powder here and instead go straight to Toxic Spiking, since it won't be able to KO me in the two turns needed for Toxic Spike setup. Switch after to Skarmory for Stealth Rock + attempt to kill it with Brave Bird.
: Sleep Powder and pray to the gods that I win the speed tie. If so, victory! If no, then switch to Infernape and kill it with only layer of Toxic Spikes now down on my side.
: Sleep Powder + Toxic Spikes, then proceed to KO with Grass Knot.
: Sleep Powder + Toxic Spikes, OHKO with Hidden Power (Fire). Laugh.
Skarmbliss (Skarmory) @ Shed Shell
Ability: Keen Eye
EV's: 252 HP/200 Def/36 SpD/20 Spe
Impish Nature (+Def, - SpA)
- Whirlwind
- Stealth Rock
- Roost
- Brave Bird
I picked Skarmory to go on this team mainly for two reasons: 1) At the time of creating this team, I needed Stealth Rock to complete my entry hazards 2) I needed a reliable phazer to help dish the damage and Skarmory was the only one who could while providing optimal defensive coverage. Once I feel that I have set up all the entry hazards I could, Skarmory comes out on a switch or as a switch-in to phaze the other team as much as he can. Skarmory also gives me something to go to against Machamp leads, however, going up a Machamp lead is risky as using Roost will allow him to hit me super effectively with Dynamic Punch. It's also important to note that Skarmory is the only one on the team with Ground resistance.
I also put an extra 4 points into Spe from Spd to outrun those using the cookie-cutter Skarmory build described on Smogon.
Common Switchout Types:
Fire: Either go to Infernape or Starmie, both who have moves to get the job done most of the time
Electric: Pop over to Forretress or Roserade. Dusknoir is also a potential switch as he carries Earthquake
Polaris (Starmie) @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EV's: 4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Recover
- Ice Beam
Starmie is some of the bug spray that keeps the threats of the OU metagame away. Boasting amazing type coverage (Water, Electric, and Ice) as well as managing to keep itself up through Recover, Starmie can sweep through teams and counter some major threats. Starmie is my only real answer to Water types, which can be a problem. Starmie is also the only way I can effectively deal with Dragon types as well, through Ice Beam. It's also a beastly status absorber if Roserade gets taken down. While it does provide some amazing offensive coverage, if it goes down then two giant holes tear themselves in my team, leaving me wide open to some serious threats.
Common Switchout Types:
Electric: Same as Skarmory; Pop over to Forretress or Roserade. Dusknoir is also a potential switch as he carries Earthquake
Grass: Infernape is my best answer to this, depending on the pokemon on the other end.
Bug: Once again, Infernape is the best option here, especially since the pokemon on the other end is most likely Scizor.
Ghost: I usually tend to go into Forretress and attempt to retaliate with a STAB Gyro Ball, and since Ghost's are usually fast (Gengar), it ends up dealing quite the bit of damage.
Dark: Switch in Infernape and go for the Close Combat.
Xena (Infernape) @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EV's: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SpA)
- Overheat
- U-Turn
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
If anyone could dish the pain on this team, it's Infernape. Boasting STAB Overheat and STAB Close Combat, Infernape will rip through anyone that doesn't resist his damage, and even those that are neutral to it. Despite this, Infernape is extremely fragile. He has many counters such as Gyarados that love to come in on him, and if Starmie is down, then I'm close to losing the match just from that. Even though he has all of that offensive power, without the correct defensive support (Starmie) up, he kind of falls over to the slighest threat. He does provide a lot of coverage though, filling certain holes in the team's offensive core, and because of that, he's worth it.
Common Switchout Types:
Water: Obviously, this type of problem is best dealt with Starmie. However, if Starmie is down the next best thing to switch to is Dusknoir.
Ground: Skarmory
Flying: Also Skarmory
Psychic: Switch to Starmie, even though Starmie has no super effective moves to deal with a Psychic type. Psychic is not that common in OU though so it's not a big worry.
iSpin (Forretress) @ Shed Shell
Ability: Sturdy
EV's: 252 HP/112 Atk/144 Def
Relaxed Nature (+Def, - Spe)
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Gyro Ball
- Explosion
A true member of my defensive core. Forretress is an extremely reliable check to many types due to his wide variety of resistances. If I predict my opponent correctly, I can either Rapid Spin their hazards away if they don't switch to a Spin Blocker or set up some free layers of Spikes. Forretress is running with 0 Speed IV's in order to get maximum damage from his Gyro Ball. Explosion is there for those threats that you can't seem to get through, and in a final act of service, Forretress explodes to (hopefully) get rid of them. However, despite his many resistances, he is my team's only 4x weakness, Fire. This is no reason to not use him however, and he has certainly proven so on the battle field why he is the best at what he does.
Common Switchout Types:
Fire: Starmie or Infernape, half my team has a fear of fire, so if both Infernape and Starmie are down, I've pretty much lost.
WannabeRotom (Dusknoir) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EV's: 252 HP/28 Atk/228 Def
Impish Nature (+Def, - SpA)
- Pain Split
- Thunder Punch
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
As is name suggests, he is a wannabe Rotom, and as such my Spin Blocker. I prefer him over Rotom however for a few reasons. Outside of RestTalk Rotom, Rotom lacks recovery, which Dusknoir gets through his use of Pain Split. Also, Dusknoir gets Sucker Punch, to punch out those pesky (few) Psychic types that decide to pop up, and Earthquake, which gives decent coverage. For his Thunder Punch, I had two options. I could go Ice Punch, to give myself more coverage against Dragons, or Thunder Punch, for Water types. I went with Thunder Punch because if my opponent were using Salamence, and Starmie was down, Infernape could come around and use Stone Edge for super effective damage. If my opponent was using Gyarados however, and Starmie was down, nothing could stop it save Roserade, who could get OHKO'd by Earthquake or Stone Edge while only being able to 2HKO with Grass Knot.
Common Switchout Types:
Ghost: Run to Forretress or Infernape and hope one of them can deal with it.
Dark: Infernape, followed by a Close Combat for the kill.
My real concerns for this team are:
1) Dusknoir or Rotom
2) How should my weakness to Water types and Dragon types be handled better
Since this is my first RMT, feel free to point out whatever's wrong in my format (and of course the team as well). Stay tuned for Threat List.
Opposite from the horrible RMT name given here, this team has been working for me pretty well. It is as the name suggests, a reworked stall team, keeping defensive powerhouses such as Skarmory and Forretress, while mixing things up with an Infernape and Offensive Starmie. I didn't want a standard stall team, but rather a psedo-offensive team that could manage to inflict lots of damage through entry hazards.
The majority of the first turns this team usually has involved setting up entry hazards. Usually, I can get two layers of Toxic Spikes up, Stealth Rock, and at least one layer of Spikes up. In some cases however, I can't get everything up as planned, which is where the offensive juggernauts, MixedNape and LO Starmie come into play.
Without more useless introductions, here is the team:
Rosee (Roserade) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Natural Cure
EV's: 4 Defense/252 SpA/252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Grass Knot
- Sleep Powder
- Hidden Power (Fire)
- Toxic Spikes
Enter the common Roserade lead. With this lead, I can outspeed many of the slower leads of the metagame (Bronzong, Forretress, Heatran, Hippowdon, Mamoswine, Metagross, and Tyranitar) or survive via Focus Sash in order to use Sleep Powder, which is the first move I'll always use. After Sleep Powder is up, I'm given 2-3 turns to set up my Toxic Spikes. Depending on what lead it is, I might be able to go for the kill with Hidden Power (Fire) or Grass Knot, but more often I'll switch to my next entry hazard set-uper. More often than not, Roserade survives the initial setup, which allows me to use it offensively later, making full use of the 252 SpA EV's.
How I Fare Against Other Common Leads:
Skarmbliss (Skarmory) @ Shed Shell
Ability: Keen Eye
EV's: 252 HP/200 Def/36 SpD/20 Spe
Impish Nature (+Def, - SpA)
- Whirlwind
- Stealth Rock
- Roost
- Brave Bird
I picked Skarmory to go on this team mainly for two reasons: 1) At the time of creating this team, I needed Stealth Rock to complete my entry hazards 2) I needed a reliable phazer to help dish the damage and Skarmory was the only one who could while providing optimal defensive coverage. Once I feel that I have set up all the entry hazards I could, Skarmory comes out on a switch or as a switch-in to phaze the other team as much as he can. Skarmory also gives me something to go to against Machamp leads, however, going up a Machamp lead is risky as using Roost will allow him to hit me super effectively with Dynamic Punch. It's also important to note that Skarmory is the only one on the team with Ground resistance.
I also put an extra 4 points into Spe from Spd to outrun those using the cookie-cutter Skarmory build described on Smogon.
Common Switchout Types:
Fire: Either go to Infernape or Starmie, both who have moves to get the job done most of the time
Electric: Pop over to Forretress or Roserade. Dusknoir is also a potential switch as he carries Earthquake
Polaris (Starmie) @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EV's: 4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Recover
- Ice Beam
Starmie is some of the bug spray that keeps the threats of the OU metagame away. Boasting amazing type coverage (Water, Electric, and Ice) as well as managing to keep itself up through Recover, Starmie can sweep through teams and counter some major threats. Starmie is my only real answer to Water types, which can be a problem. Starmie is also the only way I can effectively deal with Dragon types as well, through Ice Beam. It's also a beastly status absorber if Roserade gets taken down. While it does provide some amazing offensive coverage, if it goes down then two giant holes tear themselves in my team, leaving me wide open to some serious threats.
Common Switchout Types:
Electric: Same as Skarmory; Pop over to Forretress or Roserade. Dusknoir is also a potential switch as he carries Earthquake
Grass: Infernape is my best answer to this, depending on the pokemon on the other end.
Bug: Once again, Infernape is the best option here, especially since the pokemon on the other end is most likely Scizor.
Ghost: I usually tend to go into Forretress and attempt to retaliate with a STAB Gyro Ball, and since Ghost's are usually fast (Gengar), it ends up dealing quite the bit of damage.
Dark: Switch in Infernape and go for the Close Combat.
Xena (Infernape) @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EV's: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SpA)
- Overheat
- U-Turn
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
If anyone could dish the pain on this team, it's Infernape. Boasting STAB Overheat and STAB Close Combat, Infernape will rip through anyone that doesn't resist his damage, and even those that are neutral to it. Despite this, Infernape is extremely fragile. He has many counters such as Gyarados that love to come in on him, and if Starmie is down, then I'm close to losing the match just from that. Even though he has all of that offensive power, without the correct defensive support (Starmie) up, he kind of falls over to the slighest threat. He does provide a lot of coverage though, filling certain holes in the team's offensive core, and because of that, he's worth it.
Common Switchout Types:
Water: Obviously, this type of problem is best dealt with Starmie. However, if Starmie is down the next best thing to switch to is Dusknoir.
Ground: Skarmory
Flying: Also Skarmory
Psychic: Switch to Starmie, even though Starmie has no super effective moves to deal with a Psychic type. Psychic is not that common in OU though so it's not a big worry.
iSpin (Forretress) @ Shed Shell
Ability: Sturdy
EV's: 252 HP/112 Atk/144 Def
Relaxed Nature (+Def, - Spe)
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Gyro Ball
- Explosion
A true member of my defensive core. Forretress is an extremely reliable check to many types due to his wide variety of resistances. If I predict my opponent correctly, I can either Rapid Spin their hazards away if they don't switch to a Spin Blocker or set up some free layers of Spikes. Forretress is running with 0 Speed IV's in order to get maximum damage from his Gyro Ball. Explosion is there for those threats that you can't seem to get through, and in a final act of service, Forretress explodes to (hopefully) get rid of them. However, despite his many resistances, he is my team's only 4x weakness, Fire. This is no reason to not use him however, and he has certainly proven so on the battle field why he is the best at what he does.
Common Switchout Types:
Fire: Starmie or Infernape, half my team has a fear of fire, so if both Infernape and Starmie are down, I've pretty much lost.
WannabeRotom (Dusknoir) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EV's: 252 HP/28 Atk/228 Def
Impish Nature (+Def, - SpA)
- Pain Split
- Thunder Punch
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
As is name suggests, he is a wannabe Rotom, and as such my Spin Blocker. I prefer him over Rotom however for a few reasons. Outside of RestTalk Rotom, Rotom lacks recovery, which Dusknoir gets through his use of Pain Split. Also, Dusknoir gets Sucker Punch, to punch out those pesky (few) Psychic types that decide to pop up, and Earthquake, which gives decent coverage. For his Thunder Punch, I had two options. I could go Ice Punch, to give myself more coverage against Dragons, or Thunder Punch, for Water types. I went with Thunder Punch because if my opponent were using Salamence, and Starmie was down, Infernape could come around and use Stone Edge for super effective damage. If my opponent was using Gyarados however, and Starmie was down, nothing could stop it save Roserade, who could get OHKO'd by Earthquake or Stone Edge while only being able to 2HKO with Grass Knot.
Common Switchout Types:
Ghost: Run to Forretress or Infernape and hope one of them can deal with it.
Dark: Infernape, followed by a Close Combat for the kill.
My real concerns for this team are:
1) Dusknoir or Rotom
2) How should my weakness to Water types and Dragon types be handled better
Since this is my first RMT, feel free to point out whatever's wrong in my format (and of course the team as well). Stay tuned for Threat List.
