Introduction:
Here's my PU sand stall team that I used to climb to the number 1 spot on the PU ladder. It features Hippopotas as the team's rocker, Vullaby as the primary defogger, Pyukumuku as the primary response to Pokemon that may try to take advantage of the team's passivity by setting up, Musharna as an all around wall and cleric, Vespiquen as a special wall as well as a secondary defogger, and Lapras as a way to deal with other bulkier teams. Enjoy the team :]
Proof of peak:
Peaked #1 on PU Ladder
The Team:
Hippopotas @ Eviolite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
Hippopotas serves many functions for this team. The main one being the stealth rocker. Like any stall team, hazards are very important and I believe that every stall team must have at least 1 stealth rocker. In addition to providing the team with rocks, it serves as a very good physical wall as well as a ground type which means that electric types are not able to freely volt switch. Some notable threats that Hippopotas deals with include Mawile, Pawniard, and some Silvally variants. The moveset is pretty standard as Eearthquake is a solid STAB option, toxic helps wear down opposing teams, slack off for recovery, and stealth rock. Sand stream is chosen as the ability as the extra chip damage from sandstorm makes it easier to wear down opposing Poekmon.
Vullaby (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Roost
- Heat Wave
- Knock Off
- Defog
Vullaby, much like Hippopotas, provides this team with another essential component of any stall team, and that is a defogger. Vullaby also serves as a phsyical wall and a Pokemon that is able to spam Knock off. This is important because being able to knock off opposing Pokemon's heavy duty boots and leftovers makes it easier for the chip damage of rocks, toxic, and sandstorm to accumulate. Overcoat is chosen as the ability in order to avoid taking sandstorm damage and in order to be immune to spore and other powder moves. The move set is fairly standard apart from heat wave, which was chosen as a way to effectively deal with Pawniard in order to prevent it from setting up. It also serves as a way to get a solid amount of damage on Pokemon such as Mawile. Due to eviolite, Vullaby's physical defense is very good and it is able to defog on a plethora of physical attackers, which makes it a great counterpart to Vespiquen, which is able to defog on a plethora of special attackers.
Pyukumuku @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Spite
- Toxic
- Soak
Pyukumuku plays an integral part of this stall team. Due to Quagsire being unavailable, I decided to use Pyukumu as the response to Pokemon that rely on setting up. Pokemon such as swords dance Pawniard are able to be soaked and then toxic'd, while not caring about how many times it swords dances. Other threats to the team that Pyukumuku is able to effectively handle are calm mind Musharna and Mr.Mime, and swords dance Silvally to name a few. The moveset is intended to always at least force out any Pokemon that may try to set up. Usually it is done so with the combination of soak + toxic. However, for Pokemon that use rest such as Throh, spite is used to PP stall their rest and allow me to then toxic them without them having a way to reliably stop the toxic damage. Spite also helps to quicken the rate at which opposing heal bells / aroma therapies are used, as toxic forces them to click heal bell, and if I am able to read the turn correctly, I can spite on that turn in order to effectively have removed 5/8 of their PP. Unaware is chosen as the ability due to the previously mentioned fact that this Pokemon's purpose is to deal with opposing set up pokemon. In addition, Pyukumuku also serves as a solid special wall for a good portion of the PU tier.
Musharna @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonlight
- Heal Bell
- Psychic
- Toxic
Musharna is the team's cleric, which in my opinion is also a very necessary part of any stall team. The reason that I chose to have Musharna be the team's cleric is due to the threat of Silvally-Poison and and Throh. Silvally-Poison is the only Silvally type that may be able to swords dance and win, as Pyukumuku is not able to soak nor toxic it. Luckily Hippopotas can help with it, but if Hippopotas is weakened, then Silvally-Poison would be quite an issue. Due to this, I decided that a bulky Psychic type would be necessary. Luckily, Musharna fills both roles of the bulky psychic as well as the cleric. Synchronize is chosen as the ability because I believe it the best option of all its abilities and it is able to punish opponents who may try to toxic it. The moveset is standard as heal bell is used to heal off status ailments that impede the team, Psychic is a solid STAB option, toxic helps wear down opposing teams, and Moonlight is a method of recovery. One note that should be considered is that Moonlight will only heal 25% instead of 50% when used in sand, so you must be careful not to rely on moonlight during times that sand is up.
Vespiquen (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Roost
- Defog
- U-turn
- Toxic
Vespiquen is able to provide this team with 3 main uses. The first being a decent special wall that can spread toxic against opposing teams. The second use that it's ability, Pressure, allows the team to more effectively PP stall when needed. And thirdly, Vespiquen serves as a good counter part to Vullaby, as it is able to defog against special attackers, while Vullaby is able to defog against physical attackers. The item heavy-duty boots allows it to more effectively defog, as it nullifies the 4x weakness to stealth rocks. The move set has roost as a means of recovery, defog in order to remove hazards, toxic in order to wear down opposing teams, and U-turn as a solid STAB option as well as allowing it to safely bring in other members of the team in order to counter the Pokemon that may come in on Vespiquen.
Lapras @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Whirlpool
- Rest
- Toxic
- Perish Song
Finally, the last Pokemon on this team is Lapras. Lapras provides the team with a lot of uses, but the there are 2 main ones for which I chose it to be on the team. The first one is that it is able to help tremendously in match-ups in which the opponent also has a stall / very bulky team by outright removing a lot of Pokemon through the combination of Whirlpool + Perish Song. The second main use is it makes the team not automatically lose to choice band Basculin. Without Lapras, Basculin would be free to spam choice band Liquidation and 2hko my entire team. However, thanks to Lapras' water absorb ability, Basculin must be cautious of clicking it, which makes it a lot easier for my team to deal with it. The moves are primarily meant to trap and kill whatever comes in Lapras, either by way of Whirlpool + Perish song, or Whirlpool + Toxic. Rest is used as a means of recovery. One note that should be made is that whirlpool may be replaced for block, however, I found that the chip damage from whirlpool is extremely useful. Furthermore, if block is used, Lapras will not be able to trap Hattrem, and will instead be useless against teams containing Hattrem. So although, block can replace whirlpool, I would strongly recommend against it.
Shout outs:
Shout out to Mirbro for giving me the idea and motivation of laddering in PU, as well as checking over my sets and suggesting changes. Thanks a lot bro :)
Conclusion:
This team is pretty solid. The ability of each member on the team to cover each others weak points is extraordinary. Double defog allows for hazards to often not be a problem, and the trapping element given to the team by Lapras allows the match-up vs. other stall / bulky teams to be very good. The biggest threats to this team are choice specs freeze dry Pokemon such as Glaceon, and electric types that are able to boost their special attack while also having coverage for Hippopotas such as Raichu. Overall, this team has been great to play with and has done very well for me. Good luck and have fun with this team everyone :]
Importable:
https://pokepast.es/8041479410139dfa
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