as someone who enjoys building stall, i wholeheartedly agree with this nom. i think shed stall is probably the closest we'll get to optimal full stall in gen8, and covers a lot of important defensive holes that stall would otherwise lack. the set chosen is mainly a personal preference thing imo, doesn't really matter if you want to run dual status or sd polt or 2 atks or anything as long as u have protect on the setC- to B
This thing is criminally underrated. Shedinja is a great option for stall because it checks or outright counters most sets of the following: Excadrill, Garchomp, Kyurem, Magnezone, Melmetal, Tapu Fini, Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Urshifu, and Arctozolt. Safety Goggles enables Shedinja to shit all over Hail in particular.
Shedinja @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Wonder Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 HP / 0 Atk / 0 Def / 0 SpD
- Hex
- Toxic
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
I've been using this set, which I got from airfare's team here. Double status is excellent for all the switches that Shedinja forces and Hex allows Shedinja to deal meaningful chip damage against statused targets. Shadow Ball has more PP but that's rarely relevant. Poltergeist is bad on Shedinja since it only has 8 PP and is useless against Knock'd opponents.
Here's another Shedinja stall team, this time by me. It's not quite as robust as Airfare's but it has a better Heatran matchup. Notice that both teams have multiple hazard control options, as Shedinja obviously cannot function without tons of support.
Although I believe Shedinja is one of the best options for stall currently, I think B is appropriate because stall is generally not a great playstyle this gen. Seriously. Knock Off + Magnezone, Heatran, and the god-awful stall vs stall matchup have plagued every stall team for years, and the absence of Gliscor and Pursuit are the last nails in the coffin. We'll see if that changes if BDSP brings back Pursuit in November ;) Anyway, if you like to matchup fish and/or bully low-to-mid level players, then Shedinja will be a valuable asset.
- beats specific scary wallbreakers - having a perfect answer to lele/kyurem/watershifu/melmetal/specs zone/so many other scary breakers is an actual godsend. shouldn't really have to explain more but these are mons that can somewhat consistently break shedless stall otherwise and it can completely deny them any possible opportunities while not caring at all about momentum loss
- absorbs future sight - becoming slightly more relevant because of slowbro usage: shed is amazing at completely shutting down teams reliant on fs to wallbreak. not as effective vs gking but less important because their breaker isn't getting a safe switchin
- my personal favorite is its ability to deny momentum to things like tapu koko, watershifu, or specs magnezone that are otherwise able to wear down stall over time. makes it a perfect answer to koko unlike gastro/hippo/bliss that succumb to hazards + status + uturn
the team i built linked above by JTD783 was mainly intended to be just a concept of an idea that i liked - goggles shedinja beats arctozolt while xatu and corv keep hazards off permanently. my main goal was to guarantee the hail matchup, as nothing else seemed to be a really consistent answer to arctozolt. while i think that this core is a solid one and has some merit, a more traditional variant featuring avalugg for the hail mu has been built more recently in olt & scl by ABR and talah, and used by several others.












ABR vs Gray, olt
Gray vs Sagiri, olt
hsa vs Rubyblood, olt
me(goat) vs Hervalt, stour
talah vs ez, scl
so yea avalugg to c+ in addition to the shed nom above, great physical wall that can strengthen mus against mainly hail, but also other physical grounds grasses & dragons well while offering some useful utility in spin
+1I'd like to nominate Ferrothorn from A to A+.
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Ferrothorn is a Pokemon that I feel has gotten really strong in recent weeks, and is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the tier's latest trends. Between Tapu Koko rising as the Electric-type of choice on many Bulky Offenses, as well as Arctozolt being a menacing presence in its own right, Ferrothorn's attributes as a Spikes setter, wall, and general purpose disruptor with access to Knock Off and Leech Seed give it a lot of value and make it a very flexible pick on many hazard stacking bulky offenses and even a good amount of balances. On top of being able to check Arctozolt and Tapu Koko, its defensive typing and natural bulk let it serve as a very solid Weavile, Tapu Lele, Tapu Fini, Melmetal, and Scizor check that, similarly to Toxapex, is able to exploit its bulk and typing to force switches, using those switches as an opportunity to force progress. It is also really difficult to kill because of its bulk, and with how reliably it sets Leech Seed, it has startling longevity that simultaneously chips its switch-ins; this, currently, is incredibly valuable with how important it is right now to keep your team healthy, and compounded by the fact that it has Iron Barbs to screw with opposing U-turn (notably the U-turns of Tapu Koko and Landorus-T) and Knock Off. In essence, Ferrothorn not only sustains itself, but creates reliable progress at the same time. This in tandem with its reliability as a Spikes setter, general lack of passivity, and its premium defensive typing make it a definite A+ threat at this time, imo.
this mon is an unkillable beast, fucks over most of the relevant offensive fairy/ice/steels in the tier rn and wins fat mus vs teams - like the above two stalls - almost by itself
100% deserves a+ if not s-