Stakataka
QC [3/3]: Cynde / Artoria / Pak
GP [2/2]: The Dutch Plumberjack / A Cake Wearing A Hat
[OVERVIEW]
Stakataka posseses an unique niche in the UU tier, as its respectable Attack stat in conjunction with one of the lowest Speed stats in the game gives it a monstrously strong Gyro Ball. In addition, Stakataka's ability to accrue boosts upon KOing opposing Pokemon through Beast Boost combined with its access to Trick Room can make it a devastating late-game sweeper under the right conditions. A Steel typing and massive 61 / 211 / 101 bulk make Stakataka a decent choice for offensive teams that struggle with common threats such as Latias and Crobat. However, Stakataka's secondary Rock typing hinders its defensive utility by leaving it vulnerable to common bulky Water-types like Swampert and Suicune and compounding its weakness to Ground- and Fighting-type moves, making Stakataka extremely vulnerable to common Pokemon in UU like Gliscor, Cobalion, and Hippowdon. Stakataka is also extremely one-dimensional, as its movepool is quite limited outside of Trick Room and its STAB moves. Thus, the same pool of Pokemon that can check Stakataka will always be reliable stops to it.
[SET]
name: Offensive Trick Room
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Gyro Ball
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Earthquake
item: Rockium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Lonely
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
ivs: 15 Def / 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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Trick Room allows Stakataka to clean up teams late-game, since it will likely be attacking first due to its abysmal Speed. Gyro Ball is Stakataka's primary STAB move, hitting extremely hard due to its high Attack and ridiculously low Speed stats. Stone Edge is Stakataka's secondary STAB move, allowing it to break past Pokemon that resist Gyro Ball like Scizor and Volcanion. Lastly, Earthquake is the preferred coverage move for this set, as it allows Stakataka to meaningfully damage threats like Cobalion, Doublade, and Magneton.
Set Details
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Maximum Attack investment with a boosting nature ensures that Stakataka will hit as hard as possible. Maximum HP investment will allow Stakataka to take as many hits as possible while setting up. Rockium Z turns Stakataka's Stone Edge into a 180-Base Power Continental Crush that can break past Scizor, Gliscor, Amoonguss, and other bulky Pokemon it would be incapable of OHKOing. Since Stakataka's Defense stat is absurdly high, a Lonely nature with 15 Defense IVs is necessary to allow Beast Boost to boost its Attack upon scoring a KO. Furthermore, Stakataka uses 0 Speed IVs to push the damage output of its Gyro Ball higher. In the case of another teammate needing to use a Z-Crystal, Life Orb can be used instead of Rockium Z to increase Stakataka's overall damage output.
Usage Tips
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Avoid switching Stakataka in until its checks or counters are weakened as much as possible, as taking unnecessary chip damage will hinder its ability to tank common priority moves such as Scizor's Bullet Punch and Azumarill's Aqua Jet when attempting to sweep. Stakataka should aim to set up on Pokemon that cannot damage it significantly such as Crobat and Latias, though its massive bulk will usually allow it to set up Trick Room on most neutral hits should the situation require it. Keep in mind that Continental Crush's targets, such as Scizor and Gliscor, are often not safely OHKOed by it and must take a sizeable amount of chip damage before they can be taken out. In addition, bulky Ground-types like Swampert and Hippowdon will stop Stakataka in its tracks and must be removed before it can sweep. Likewise, Fighting-types with priority like Breloom, Infernape, and Lucario must be removed to prevent them from revenge killing Stakataka with a fair amount of prior chip damage.
Team Options
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Stakataka requires that bulky Water- and Ground-types be severely weakened or removed. Thus, strong Grass-types like Serperior and Breloom are often effective at breaking down threats like Gliscor, Hippowdon, and Suicune. Pokemon like Mamoswine and Mega Manectric can also heavily pressure Stakataka's standard checks and counters. Decent switch-ins to Ground- and Fighting-type moves are also necessary for Stakataka to fall back on should the situation arise. Pokemon like Latias, Crobat, Serperior, and Gliscor will all make decent partners for it. As the premier Spikes setter in the tier, Klefki makes for a good partner for Stakataka, as the residual damage will help Stakataka net more clean KOs. In addition, Klefki can be used as a check to Dragon-types like Latias and Hydreigon, which allows Stakataka to remain healthy until the late-game when it can set up and sweep. To assist in a sweep, Pokemon that can create setup opportunities for Stakataka are also valuable partners for it. Memento Chandelure and viable users of Light Screen or Reflect such as Klefki can be used to weaken incoming damage for Stakataka.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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Stakataka can use a Choice Band with Toxic, Superpower, or Sleep Talk in place of Trick Room to utilize its immediate power. Toxic can catch usual switch-ins such as Swampert off guard, while Sleep Talk allows Stakataka to reliably absorb Spore from Amoonguss. However, this set will make Stakataka even more one-dimensional, as it loses its sweeping capability and becomes easier to check when locked into a move with its extremely low Speed. Stakataka can also run a Chople or Shuca Berry to attempt to tank hits from offensive Fighting- and Ground-types like Nidoking and Heracross and do massive damage in return. However, this will make Stakataka significantly weaker compared to running a Life Orb or Rockium Z.
Checks and Counters
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**Ground-types**: Stakataka sports an unfortunate 4x weakness to Ground. Thus, Ground-types such as Nidoking and Gliscor are able to easily KO it. Bulky Ground-types like Swampert and Hippowdon are able to effectively wall any Stakataka, though most Gliscor are at risk of being KOed by Continental Crush with a bit of chip damage. Krookodile can OHKO Stakataka with Earthquake and lower its Attack using Intimidate.
**Water-types**: In a similar fashion to common Ground-types, many Water-types in UU pose a threat to Stakataka. Offensive Water-types like Primarina and Azumarill can crush Stakataka with high-powered Hydro Pump or Liquidation, while bulky Water-types like Suicune and Alomomola can shrug off its attacks and threaten it with Scald burns. Azumarill and Crawdaunt are also capable of picking off a weakened Stakataka with a strong Aqua Jet.
**Fighting-types**: Since Stakataka is also 4x weak to Fighting-type moves, users of such moves also pose a massive threat to Stakataka. Heracross, Cobalion, Infernape, and Kommo-o all are capable of easily OHKOing Stakataka with their STAB moves. Pokemon with strong Fighting-type priority moves like Breloom with Mach Punch, Lucario with Vacuum Wave, and Infernape, which has access to both, will also be able to pick off a Stakataka even under Trick Room. In addition, Kommo-o and Chesnaught have access to the ability Bulletproof, which grants them an immunity to Gyro Ball, Stakataka's primary source of damage output.
**Physically Bulky Steel-types**: Steel-type Pokemon with high Defense like Mega Steelix, Cobalion, Doublade, and Mega Aggron all match up decently against Stakataka. While Stakataka commonly carries Earthquake to deal noticeable damage to all of the above, they often are still able to comfortably tank even a boosted Earthquake if kept healthy and put a stop to a Stakataka attempting to sweep.
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