~ Stall #351 ~
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#351___Introduction
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Hello everyone, here’s the lowest classed Smogon Tour player (the 351st). That’s right, I’m a noob ;o ! Now seriously, here’s a HardStall Team that I love to use. I don’t think it’s as well built as Kevin Garett’s but I still wanted to show it to you. Have a nice read (and big thanks to FoX (and dadoux/O-R) for the translation).
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#351___The Team
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Item : Shed Shell
Ability : Keen Eye
Nature : Impish
EV's : 252 HP / 164 SpD / 92 Spd
- Taunt
- Whirlwind
- Spikes
- Roost
- I first chose a version based more on physical defense but then realised that I couldn’t handle neither Crocune, nor Cursers (such as Snorlax or Tyranitar) which set themselves up near the end of the battle and that even with an investissement in SpD, it handles Flygon really well. That’s why I chose the Taunt version which fits perfectly in the Team and is very useable as a Lead.
The 92 Speed EVs allow me to outspeed RestTalk Gyarados and to Taunt it, preventing it from Sleep Talking and Roaring. An Impish nature lets me face more than comfortably DDKingdra versions which can really damage my Team. It also makes handling Dragonite’s Outrage easier.
Let’s take a look at what I’d do against common Leads :
- Azelf : I directly switch to Tyranitar. If it’s the Choice Banded U-Turn, I take quite some damage but I can easily handle it with the rest of my Team. If it’s the classic Focus Sash, I definitely win the duel. If I’m facing the Dual Screener, I Crunch and I’m blocked against a probable Heavy Offense, the worst case scenario, but I can really face it well.
- Aerodactyl : I either switch to Rotom, or to Starmie (who can Spin). It’s on instinct.
- Machamp : Switch to Nidoqueen who wouldn’t take much on Ice Punch and will have a chance to poison it. Which will activate its Lum Berry and allow Rotom-H to burn it without fear.
- Metagross : One of the best match-ups, I’d Spike rather than Taunt and switch to Rotom-H as I don’t want Skarmory getting an Explosion blasted at it.
- Swampert : Here, probably the easiest case, I directly Spike as the opponent will (normally) switch.
- Jirachi : I stay whatever happens. If it Tricks me, it would’nt be a big problem as I’d be able to Spike quoi in any case.
- Infernape : Direct switch to Starmie who counters it perfectly.
- Roserade : I directly switch to Blissey and let it place its Toxik Spikess that I eventually absorb with Nidoqueen.
- Hippowdon : Look at Swampert, we’re in the same case except that here it activates the SandStorm (which is advantageous).
- Tyranitar : It’s all good, it activates the SandStorm for me and I can easily place my Spikes.
- Heatran : I switch to Starmie who’d be able to Spin and survive after 2 Fire Blasts.
- Smeargle : I switch to Rotom-H who’ll take Spore then I switch to Skarmory for Spikes or to Nidoqueen in order to absorb its Toxik Spikes (and place my own).
- Uxie : Switch to Tyranitar to take the Trick.
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Item : Leftovers
Ability : Natural Cure
Nature : Timid
EV's: 136 HP / 156 SpA / 216 Spd
- Hydropump
- Thunderbolt
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
- As you can see, this is my Spinner. It is the perfect Heatran Counter (Specially Defensive) and it’s my main switch to StallBreak Gliscor who ToxikTaunts my entire Team therefore it’s a Pokemon that I must conserve at all costs for specific threats (Infernape notably).
The EVs spread lets me outspeed all Pokemon with 110 Base Speed (and it’s worth saying that I also outspeed Jolly Gliscor and Jolly Infernape) and to handle two Fire Blast from Heatran. I can also 2HKO Standard Rotom (who is supposed to block my Spinning), facilitating its task. Thunderbolt lets me fare better against Bulky Waters and to get another Gyarados counter.
What I don’t like about Starmie is its weakness to Pursuit but most Pokémon making the most of this (Infernape, Lucario or Breloom) are easily handled by the rest of my Pokemon. Only MixApe with Fire Blast / Mach Punch / Close Combat / U-Turn or Stone Edge can 6-0 my team if Starmie were to get trapped. In any case, it wouldn’t last long with Entry Hazards, its Life Orb and the SandStorm, the danger is therefore less present than we can imagine it to be.
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Item : Leftovers
Ability : Point Poison
Nature : Relaxed
EV's : 252 HP / 252 Def / 6 SpA
- Toxik Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Inspired by Lady Bug’s Hail Stall. I could have chosen another Ground type such as Gliscor or Hippowdon but Nidoqueen has a valued argument : She learns Toxik Spikes and possesses the Poison type allowing the absorption of the ones laid by the opponent’s. Nidoqueen is very useful for me to counter Machamp even without a life-recovering move, as with the presence of SandStorm and the Toxik Spikes (or Poison Point), Machamp won’t last. We can also emphasise that she counters Heracross but its move to UU makes it less prevalent in OU so it isn’t much use. A big point is her ability to perfectly counter SubToxikRoost Zapdos. Fire Blast allows me to hurt Skarmory and an eventual Scizor who’d think it’s be able to scount me without danger.
Let’s not forget that she’s primarily here to set up Stealth Rock, which is more than important to annoy Dragonite who is a real pain (especially when I do not know its moves). For those of you who didn’t know, a Relaxed nature lets me avoid reducing any offensive or defensive stats so I find myself obliged to reduce my Speed, making me slower than Skarmory but this is not much of a worry.
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Item : Choice Scarf
Ability : Sand Stream
Nature : Jolly
EV's : 6 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
- Here’s ScarfTar, another classical HardStallTeam Pokemon . First of all, it is the one that activates my SandStorm and it can do so from the start by coming on a Lead Azelf who cannot do much (except Choice Band U-Turn but in that case, Skarmory and Rotom-H counter it).
It will allow me to Revenge Kill a whole lot of stuff, primarily Mixed Dragonite who is an excellent WallBreaker and all Sweepers in the likes of Starmie, Gengar, Zapdos if I were to lose Blissey. The most delicate case is Rotom-A, especially the Water and the Grass. It is very hard to switch on them as their signature moves can 2HKO, or even OHKO me. Generally, I send Blissey in order to see which move is used. If I see Hydropump or Leaf Storm, I’d deduce that it’s an offensive version and according to the HitPoints that I lose, I could deduce whether it’s a Choice Specs or a Choice Scarf. That’s when I send out Tyranitar to anticipate the Trick.
It also allows me to counter RainDanceTeams. In fact, I don’t have any Pokemon (apart from Blissey who can face Ludicolo) to take attacks from Rain Sweepers. Tyranitar, can cancel the Rain out and outspeed most SwiftSwimmers thanks to its Choice Scarf.
Obviously, the problem of this set is that it is blocked on one attack and facilitates the set-up of many Pokémon like Infernape, Lucario or Machamp, Pokémon that are quite difficult to handle. For Infernape, I switch to Starmie without any hesitation, a perfect counter with Grass Knot and a resistance to Vacuum Wave. I don’t really fear Lucario, all I have to do is switch to Nidoqueen, a really nice counter due to the fact that we do not see many Lucarios with Ice Punch nowadays. In the unlikely case that it has Ice Punch, I’d let Nidoqueen die and put Rotom-H (If Luke has Ice Punch, it won’t have Crunch). Finally, concerning Machamp, I send Nidoqueen out to handle its attacks really well ; Machamp generally doesn’t have Ice Punch (except the Lead)) and Earthquake has the potential to inflict good damage on top of damage from the SandStorm (canceling out Leftovers Recovery) and Toxik Spikes. For Breloom, I just have to send Rotom-H out.
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Item : Leftovers
Ability : Levitate
Nature : Bold
EV's : 252 HP / 252 Def / 6 Spd
- Thunderbolt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- The classic Spin Blocker, it is indispensable in this Team (like all the others) because, as its name suggests, it prevents the oppenent from Spinning while taking no damange from Spikes and Toxik Spikes. The choice of Will-O-Wisp is obvious. It allows me to burn a Dragonite or a Scizor on the switch, two Pokémon with the ability to inflict considerable damage . Let’s add that Shadow Ball wouldn’t have brought me much, knowing that I can easily handle Celebi.
Elsewhere, it lets me counter Metagross with the help of Skarmory (who suffers a lot from Explosion), Gyarados (who eliminates Starmie with Bounce and can also Taunt Skamory), Breloom or even SwordsDanceScizor. Its excellent typing (and special ability) also facilitates the handling of Pokémon like Magnezone (a pain in the butt with its Explosion) but more importantly, it lets me switch on Jirachi who doesn’t threaten much. I only switch on Jirachi in the case that I don’t know its moves, as it can Thunderbolt on Skarmory. If it’s the WishMindJirachi, I directly switch to Blissey, winning the duel thanks to Calm Mind.
One of the problems of this set is the fact that I’m totally blocked by TauntGliscor, but Starmie (or Blissey) are here and are often able to scare it. The other problem is the risk of activating Heatran’s Flash Fire, which can be quite a big obstacle. My only solution is to send Blissey, take a Fire Blast (which inflicts less than 50% if it doesn’t hold Choice Specs ) and I SoftBoil to recover my HP. If I have the feeling that it’ll stay after my recovery, I can place Calm Minds to fare even better against it.
The other problem is that I can’t burn Tyranitar (due to the ToxikSpikes), allowing it to set-up or to Pursuit. I generally try resolving this by switching (unless I don’t have enough HP to survive, I stay and Rest) to Skarmory who is a good general counter to scout the move it possesses. The only avantage of this situation is that it’ll die quite quickly due to the poison.
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Item : Leftovers
Ability : Natural Cure
Nature : Bold
EV's : 252 HP / 252 Def / 6 SpD
- Calm Mind
- Ice Beam
- Seismic Toss
- Softboiled
- The best special wall of the game, she has an obvious position in the Team as she couples herself perfectly to the other Pokémon (SkarmBlissRotom blablabla).
You’ve probably noticed the presence of Calm Mind, it is not there randomly. In fact, CalmMind Bliss will let me avoid the set-ups of many CalmMinders who could very well 6-0 my team, I think straight away of Jirachi and Celebi. She’s also a perfect counter to Charge Beamers such as Jolteon or Rotom. The case of Shaymin musn’t be forgotten, an annoying as hell Pokemon if it’s LifeOrbed with HP Fire, its Seed Flare acts like a Nasty Plot and I find myself forced to switch to Skarmory to PP Waster the 8PPs of Seed Flare. Here as well, Calm Mind can be a solution.
I really hesitated on Ice Beam or Flamethrower but I realised that Gliscor et Dragonite could be real buggers so I went for Ice Beam. The absence of Toxik is due to the fact that I have Toxik Spikes, I therefore chose Seismic Toss, removing 100 HP to all Pokémon other than Ghosts in the game, giving me more flexibility. Concerning EVs, I maximise Defense and HP in order to better take physical hits as well as Pursuit, and I don’t have much to fear in terms of Special Attack with Calm Mind.
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#351___Threat List
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The threats below are only offensive, I think it'd be useless to make a list of defensive threats, seeing as Entry Hazards largely help to ruin them.
- In black, you'll find the threats that I handle completely,
- In orange, you'll find the threats that have the potential to be dangerous, but have great diffulcity to set themselves up,
- In red, you'll find the threats that cause big problems.
- Azelf : Tyranitar (all versions except the Choice Bander (U-Turn)), Rotom-H (Choice Bander) / Skarmory (Choice Bander).
- Breloom : Rotom-H / Nidoqueen.
- Dragonite : Skarmory (Dragon Dancer, Mixed's Draco Meteor), Rotom-H (Dragon Dancer), Blissey (Mixed's Draco Meteor) and Rotom-H (Dragon Dance without Lum Berry), Tyranitar (Revenge Kill). Stealth Rock.
- Electivire : Rotom-H (all versions), Tyranitar (Revenge Kill), Nidoqueen (Mixed without Earthquake).
- Empoleon : Blissey (specially versions), Skarmory and Rotom-H (physically versions).
- Flygon : Skarmory (all versions), Rotom-H (Scarf).
- Gengar : Blissey / Tyranitar (Nidoqueen can withdraw the Toxik Spikes).
- Gyarados : Rotom (all versions), Starmie (except Bounce), Skarmory (except Taunt).
- Heatran : Blissey (All versions (but be careful to Explosion)), Starmie (Specially Defensive, Choice Scarfer), Tyranitar (Revenge Kill).
- Infernape : Starmie (Mixed (but be careful to Pursuit)), Blissey (Nasty Ploter), Nidoqueen (Swords Dance (if he have Flare Blitz, it will be OHKO by the recoil). Entry Hazards, SandStorm and his Life Orb.
- Jirachi : : Skarmory (WishMinder), Nidoqueen and Rotom-H (Physical versions). Specially versions beat my team.
- Jolteon : Blissey (all versions), Tyranitar can be a good counter.
- Kingdra : Skarmory (all DD versions), Tyranitar (Rain Sweeper).
- Lucario : Nidoqueen, Tyrascarf + Rotom (Swords Dance) Bliss + Rotom (Choice Specs).
- Machamp : Rotom, Nidoqueen (allversions except the Sleep Talker), Skarmory (Sleep Talker) and Toxik Spikes.
- Magnezone : Blissey (All versions (but be careful to Explosion)), Tyranitar and Rotom-H.
- Mamoswine : Skarmory and Rotom-H (all versions) Tyranocif and Starmie (Revenge Kill).
- Metagross : Rotom-H (all versions), Skarmory (all versions except ThunderPunch).
- Roserade : Blissey (all versions), Skarmory (all versions), Nidoqueen withdraw his Toxik Spikes.
- Rotom-A : Blissey (be careful to Trick), Tyranitar (be careful to Hydropump / Leaf Storm) and a good prediction.
- Scizor : Rotom-H / Skarm / Nidoqueen.
- Shaymin : Blissey (all versions except the Leech Seeder) + Skarmory (for Seed Flares) and Toxik Spikes.
- Starmie : Blissey (all versions), Tyranitar (Pursuit).
- Suicune : Blissey (all versions except CroCune), Skarmory (CroCune) and Toxik Spikes (except for CroCune).
- Togekiss : Rotom-H, Tyra, Skarm and Bliss (all versions).
- Tyranitar : I haven't counter to the Dragon Dancer (with Stone Edge / Earthquake / Crunch (Skarmory can take a Stone Edge but that's it)), MixTar is a good threat to. My only way to kill him is the Poison.
- Weavile : Skarmory, Entry Hazards & SandStorm.
- Zapdos : Blissey (all versions except the SubRoost), Nidoqueen (SubToxikRoost).
