SM OU Salazzle Toxic Spam Semi Stall

[Lambo_murphy44]

Introduction​

What's going on guys? I had this idea for a kind of semi stall team where you just toxic everything, let some damage rack up, and then sweep late game with a greninja. This is just a first draft and it's been really fun to play with so far, but I know it can be a lot better optimized. I wanted to throw this out here right now though because:

1. I think its a cool idea and I want other people to try teams like it
2. I figured some people would have great ideas for changes

So lets get right in

The Team​

Salazzle @ Black Sludge
Ability: Corrosion
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Wave
- Toxic
- Flamethrower
- Substitute
​

Salazzle is a really fun pick for OU, especially on a team whose point is to spread around toxic. Salazzle is good for cleaning up in the late game with a fast speed stat and pretty fair fire and poison coverage, but the main reason salazzle is on the team is for a 100% accurate toxic that you don't really have to predict too much with. Someone switches a heatran in which completely walls your stabs? All good, you toxic it. Sub also lets you punish switches, hide behind some pokemon that may not be able to break it, and easily spread or stall out some toxic turns. You have to be careful about it not being very bulky, but it is your only means of toxicing things like toxapex, celesteela, heatran, etc.

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Soft-Boiled
- Cosmic Power
- Charge Beam
- Stored Power
​

Clefable is in here for a couple of niches. First of all, it can single handedly break down opposing stall teams, which makes the match up a lot easier for this team. It also just acts like the incredible mono fairy wall that doesn't take damage from opposing toxics, burns, or entry hazards. This is awesome because if you can toxic a lot of the opponents team, then clefable can just come out and win against the rest by stalling out toxic turns and cosmic powering up.

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Leech Seed
- Heavy Slam
- Flamethrower
- Protect
​

Celesteela is pretty much on the team for its awesome defensive typing and great synergy with toxapex, making a core that many pokemon struggle to breakthrough. Additionally, with leech seed and protect, its just a really good mon for slowing down the pace of the game and letting toxic turns rack up. I've debated putting toxic on here over either flamethrower or heavy slam because I don't always get a toxic off on the things I want this to wall earlier in the match, but you know and love him. It's the old reliable set and pretty much always puts in work.

Greninja-Ash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Water Shuriken
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Spikes
​

I wanted to have one cleaner on the team to finish off games after I spread a lot of toxic around. Ash greninja is just an awesome wall breaker and cleaner in general and can help with offensive checks to this team such as weakened kokos, medichams, kartanas, mega diancies, sableyes, and a host of other pokemon. After weakening the opponents team, he can come in and hopefully water shuriken through. He also has the option of spiking up, but I often find myself scared to click it because he is like the one main offensive threat on the team and is here to counter so many things so I'm honestly considering changing it to something like u-turn, gunk shot, or some other coverage move.

Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Haze
- Scald
- Recover
​

Like celesteela, this doesn't need too much explaining. Its toxapex. Its fat and hard to kill. Counters a lot of things and lives for a long time. Can easily toxic things, even if they have a powerful super effective move because it will frequently live one, and you can just use regenerator to heal it back up. Slows down the pace of the game, toxics things, and stalls toxic turns.

Excadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
​

One of the absolute biggest threats to this team is tapu koko, and this thing typically brings kokos to a bit of a hault. If they are HP fire koko, were going to have a problem, and I'll just have to try to revenge them with greninja after it is in its ash form or a lot of chip. This is also a really awesome pokemon for setting up rocks, spinning, and toxicing things that have magic bounce like mega sableye and sometimes (but not usually because they usually wont switch in and can easily earth power you if they get in free) mega diancies

Conclusion​

Between moldbreaker and corrosion, you can essentially toxic anything. The challenge is keeping your salazzle and drill alive when toxicing things. It is certainly a match up dependent team though, and some things can just put a hault to the strategy. For example:

1. Mega Zard X can do a number to the team if you cant get a toxic or rocks up early. You kind of just have to play around it and hope you can get it low enough for greninja to come in and revenge with water shuriken
2. Tapu koko with HP fire can really beast the team. Like previously mentioned, try to get it low and revenge with gren. Toxapex can eat a thunderbolt as long as it isn't specs, but you kind of just have to hop for chip over the long run. If its not HP fire, excadrill is usually easy for it.
3. Mega medicham is again just a big problem from full. After some chip though, salazzle and gren should be able to get the job done
4. Tapu fini is a really hard match up because with misty terrain, taunt, and natures madness, it can just hurt the team
5. Rain can be really hard because swampert can take names and has incredible coverage. Again though, chip and water shruiken. If its some like tapu lele rain team though then you're going to have a bad time
6. Mega diancie can only be toxiced by excadrill but they can usually just earthpower you, and would never switch in in fear of earthquake. Like usual though, gren comes to save the day

If you can get some cosmic powers on clefable though, a lot of this stuff can still be beat easily. This team has the tools, but some matchups can just be extremely challenging if you don't start with momentum. I'm thinking of maybe trying something like a bulu on the team to counter terrain and generally just be a good wall, but I highly encourage you to take this concept and go run with it!

Feel free to take this team and change it as much as you want, like I said, its a first run of a concept that I think can be really fun!

Importable

Salazzle @ Black Sludge
Ability: Corrosion
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Wave
- Toxic
- Flamethrower
- Substitute

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Soft-Boiled
- Cosmic Power
- Charge Beam
- Stored Power

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Leech Seed
- Heavy Slam
- Flamethrower
- Protect

Greninja-Ash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Water Shuriken
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Spikes

Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Haze
- Scald
- Recover

Excadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic

 

[Lambo_murphy44]

bump, anyone have any cool ideas for different cores or builds to run this team with?

 

[Steel With It]

Always good to see SubTox Salazzle! I'm not really much of a rater, so I'll leave that for now, but I do have a couple of tips for using salamander stall:

1. Run Protect over Sludge Wave. Being able to safely burn through Stone Edge or Hydro Pump PP, gain an extra round of Black Sludge recovery or scout against Scarfers is clutch as hell.

2. Assault Vest Tapu Bulu is SubTox Salazzle's best friend. I don't know which Pokemon you could replace for it, but I'd still recommend trying to fit it somewhere; their defensive synergy is amazing and the extra recovery lets you set up more subs. It'd also help with your Koko, Fini and rain weaknesses.

 

[Lambo_murphy44]

Always good to see SubTox Salazzle! I'm not really much of a rater, so I'll leave that for now, but I do have a couple of tips for using salamander stall:

1. Run Protect over Sludge Wave. Being able to safely burn through Stone Edge or Hydro Pump PP, gain an extra round of Black Sludge recovery or scout against Scarfers is clutch as hell.

2. Assault Vest Tapu Bulu is SubTox Salazzle's best friend. I don't know which Pokemon you could replace for it, but I'd still recommend trying to fit it somewhere; their defensive synergy is amazing and the extra recovery lets you set up more subs. It'd also help with your Koko, Fini and rain weaknesses.

I agree with both of those points. Sludge wave is helpful against clefables and stuff but protect may be better. And I did want to run bulu but idk what I would want to get rid of for it? I guess the clefable will have to go but that does hurt the stall and some other matchups that clefable would single handedly. Ill have to do some testing with it I suppose. Thanks for the comment!