Well, I've always been a heavy offense guy. After trying out some new sets on my 2 favorite Pokemon, Gengar and Heatran, I realized that I am ever so slowly turning over to the world of stall!
Team Building Process :
I knew I wanted to start with these two as they, as mentioned before, are my 2 favorites :D I normally use a Specs Gengar and a Scarf Heatran, but this time I switched to SubDisable 'Gar and a Sp.Def 'Tran.
I remembered my old success with ParaFlinch Togekiss and figured it would fit perfectly into this team because it could absorb Ghost attacks aimed at 'Gar and Ground attacks aimed at 'Tran, and ParaFlinching is a fairly annoying strategy, and to annoy is the main point of this team.
A revenge killer seemed suitable here, and what better than Scarfed Latios? Really the only offensive based Pokemon I considered here.
I heard someone call Ferro the King of Stall the other day O.o I've always had this great Curse set lying around that I never used, so I figured with these monster defenses, is there a reason to NOT have him on your team? Gengar can take any Fighting moves targeting Ferro, and Heatran can absorb the Fire!
I really didn't know what else to put on here, and P2 seemed okay. Definitely looking to change this if possible ^_^
I decided on Jirachi instead of Togekiss, because the defensive stats seemed nicer. And even though this makes me have 3 Steel types (well I am the Steel Elite Four at the Banzuke Wi-Fi League), I made sure to have weaknesses covered as much as possible.
Replacing a Fighting Weakness for a Fighting Weakness. Smart, huh? -__- After a few tests, I found that the BoltBeam attacking combo on P2, even combined with Magic Coat, Recover, and that incredible bulk, just wasn't enough. Then I found something that might as well be just as bulky, but comes with reliable STAB, great offensive stats when it sets up, and has Shed Skin!
After seeing that I was weak to physical sweepers, Gliscor was brought up as a great idea to replace Scrafty. Kind-of absorbs status with Toxic Orb + Poison Heal, and can Taunt walls like opposing Ferro and Blissey. It also makes a good sweeper with Earthquake, Ice Fang, and Swords Dance.
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Now, for the sets.
Changes will be in RED.
Gengar (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Disable
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
This thing can be the most annoying thing ever when used properly. Even one of the battlers I respect most said it was the second most annoying thing he's ever faced :D I think most of you know the general idea here. Be fast enough to get up Sub, take the attack and Disable it. Ghost + Fighting is perfect neutral coverage, and coming off of Gengar's Sp. Attack it can put a huge dent in many things. Special Walls cripple this quite a bit.
Heatran (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Substitute
- Stealth Rock
Ahhh, good ol' Sp.Def Tran. Tanks special hits like a boss (Durr) and with Lava Plume's high Burn rate, it does pretty well against all physical attacks that aren't Ground or Fighting. Spreading Toxic is one of the main goals here, and getting up a Sub and Stealth Rock only helps the stall.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SDef / 32 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Iron Head
- Wish
- Thunder Wave
- Protect
Instead of the offensive coverage I has before, I now have Wish support and ParaFlinching. This helps Gengar survive a lot longer than it normally did, it still has the beauty of spreading Paralysis.
Latios (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Psychic
Revenge killer. Tried to choose the most reliable coverage moves I could. I'm open to changing this as I feel it offsets the idea of being a stall-ish team. Maybe another revenge killer that has priority and still a lot of bulk?
Ferrothorn (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Spikes
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
- Protect
Leech + Protect + Leftovers = Remarkable Recovery. Max HP and SpDef = Specially bulky. Spikes along with Heatran's Stealth Rock makes for a great amount of hazard damage.
Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Taunt
- Swords Dance
- Ice Fang
One of the classic physical walls. I like Gliscor because it can also function as a sweeper once all special attackers are gone from the opponent's team. Since walls used to be a problem for me, I have Taunt to shut them down.
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So, that's my team. Also, this is my first RMT here at Smogon, so criticism is both expected and appreciated! As I said at the beginning, I'm normally a heavy-offense guy, so stuff like this is out of my comfort zone. I'm becoming really interested in stall and I guarantee I'll become better at it with time :D Thanks!
Team Building Process :
I knew I wanted to start with these two as they, as mentioned before, are my 2 favorites :D I normally use a Specs Gengar and a Scarf Heatran, but this time I switched to SubDisable 'Gar and a Sp.Def 'Tran.
I remembered my old success with ParaFlinch Togekiss and figured it would fit perfectly into this team because it could absorb Ghost attacks aimed at 'Gar and Ground attacks aimed at 'Tran, and ParaFlinching is a fairly annoying strategy, and to annoy is the main point of this team.
A revenge killer seemed suitable here, and what better than Scarfed Latios? Really the only offensive based Pokemon I considered here.
I heard someone call Ferro the King of Stall the other day O.o I've always had this great Curse set lying around that I never used, so I figured with these monster defenses, is there a reason to NOT have him on your team? Gengar can take any Fighting moves targeting Ferro, and Heatran can absorb the Fire!
I really didn't know what else to put on here, and P2 seemed okay. Definitely looking to change this if possible ^_^
I decided on Jirachi instead of Togekiss, because the defensive stats seemed nicer. And even though this makes me have 3 Steel types (well I am the Steel Elite Four at the Banzuke Wi-Fi League), I made sure to have weaknesses covered as much as possible.
Replacing a Fighting Weakness for a Fighting Weakness. Smart, huh? -__- After a few tests, I found that the BoltBeam attacking combo on P2, even combined with Magic Coat, Recover, and that incredible bulk, just wasn't enough. Then I found something that might as well be just as bulky, but comes with reliable STAB, great offensive stats when it sets up, and has Shed Skin!
After seeing that I was weak to physical sweepers, Gliscor was brought up as a great idea to replace Scrafty. Kind-of absorbs status with Toxic Orb + Poison Heal, and can Taunt walls like opposing Ferro and Blissey. It also makes a good sweeper with Earthquake, Ice Fang, and Swords Dance.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Now, for the sets.
Changes will be in RED.
Gengar (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Disable
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
This thing can be the most annoying thing ever when used properly. Even one of the battlers I respect most said it was the second most annoying thing he's ever faced :D I think most of you know the general idea here. Be fast enough to get up Sub, take the attack and Disable it. Ghost + Fighting is perfect neutral coverage, and coming off of Gengar's Sp. Attack it can put a huge dent in many things. Special Walls cripple this quite a bit.
Heatran (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Substitute
- Stealth Rock
Ahhh, good ol' Sp.Def Tran. Tanks special hits like a boss (Durr) and with Lava Plume's high Burn rate, it does pretty well against all physical attacks that aren't Ground or Fighting. Spreading Toxic is one of the main goals here, and getting up a Sub and Stealth Rock only helps the stall.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SDef / 32 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Iron Head
- Wish
- Thunder Wave
- Protect
Instead of the offensive coverage I has before, I now have Wish support and ParaFlinching. This helps Gengar survive a lot longer than it normally did, it still has the beauty of spreading Paralysis.
Latios (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Psychic
Revenge killer. Tried to choose the most reliable coverage moves I could. I'm open to changing this as I feel it offsets the idea of being a stall-ish team. Maybe another revenge killer that has priority and still a lot of bulk?
Ferrothorn (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Spikes
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
- Protect
Leech + Protect + Leftovers = Remarkable Recovery. Max HP and SpDef = Specially bulky. Spikes along with Heatran's Stealth Rock makes for a great amount of hazard damage.
Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Taunt
- Swords Dance
- Ice Fang
One of the classic physical walls. I like Gliscor because it can also function as a sweeper once all special attackers are gone from the opponent's team. Since walls used to be a problem for me, I have Taunt to shut them down.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
So, that's my team. Also, this is my first RMT here at Smogon, so criticism is both expected and appreciated! As I said at the beginning, I'm normally a heavy-offense guy, so stuff like this is out of my comfort zone. I'm becoming really interested in stall and I guarantee I'll become better at it with time :D Thanks!
-JC
