Hey everyone, I've decided to post my favorite team I've ever created to see what you think of it and to get some feedback to see if I can make my team better then it is now. Personally I love to use Stall teams or semi-Stall teams over any other style, so if you decide to suggest any replacements for my team please only suggest pokemon that are aimed towards walling then sweeping. Also I am proud of the fact that I do not use Blissey, so please do not suggest her. As for my record with this team, It had been on a hot streak for a record of 27-0 until recently. My last 2 matches had gone bad and I lost both by large margins so hopefully some ofyoucan help me bring this team back to it's prime. One thing I wouldn't mind changing is my lead as he seems a bit predictable and weak to common leads.
Team Building Process
Once I decided on building a new team, I knew that I wanted to use a Heatran with Torment. Tormentran has been one of my favorite pokemon to use because of how effective it is with it's stalling capabilities.
I've been using Tormentran in my teams for a while now, and over time I learned how to use it to it's highest potential. Tormentran works great with Toxic Spike coverage, but it absolutely thrives when Spikes, Stealth Rock, and Sand Storm are out. So now I knew I was gonna need that support, and Forretress was my first choice to help heatran out. Forretress could bring Spikes and Toxic spikes to the table.
Now I had Toxic Spikes and Spikes covered for Heatran, now I needed a pokemon to bring in Sandstorm as well as Stealth Rock. I had two choices, either Tyranitar or Hippowdon. Tyranitar could be used as a special wall and lead for my team, Hippowdon has a huge HP and Defense stat so he could add some physical bulky as well as a good counter to Thunder Wave and other Eletric attacks. I went with Hippowdon because Tyranitar and Heatran share many similar weaknesses such as Ground, Fighting, and Water, where Hippowdon only has Water as it's common weakness with Heatran.
With Hippowdon and Forretress on the team Heatran now had everything it needed to work as best as possible, so now I needed to focus on building good solid Psynergy for my team. I could see that I was already starting off with 2 pokemon weak to the same type (Water) so I needed to find some pokemon to counter it. I started to look around smogon for some possible pokemon and noticed Gyarados' defensive capabilities and knew I had to use it because of his ability to counter all of Heatran's weaknesses.
Gyarados' addition to the team gave me a decent counter to water attacks and an excellent counter to Fighting and Ground. I still wasn't happy with my coverage towards water so I started looking for another wall to add to my team preferably focused on special defense. The decisions was easy. Latias was going to be my second water counter. She fit right in perfectly and even added better coverage for everyone in my team. For instance, she counters Fighting Water and Ground for my Heatran, she also counters eletric attacks that will help Gyarados and fire attacks for Forretress.
One final spot remained and I knew who I needed to use, Rotom-A. I have always used Rotom-A for Stall teams because of it's typing, bulky defensive stats, ability, and it's decent speed and special attack stat. I had always used bulky sets of Rotom-A but I noticed over time that even though Rotom-A is bulky it cannot handle dragon dancers as well as I had hoped. So for this team I wanted it to be a revenge killer so I could give my walls a break and let this pokemon finish off pokemon that were posing as a threat.
Ex-SOLDIER proudly presents his team:
The Exasperating Sandstorm and the Torturing Beast Within.
Hippowdon
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
Nature: Impish (+Def, -SpA)
EVs: 252HP/168Def/88SpD
Moveset:
~Earthquake
~Ice Fang
~Stealth Rock
~Slack Off
Hippowdon is probably one of the best walls I've used. Only a few Leads in the OU Metagame can actually threaten this pokemon. I enjoy having Hippowdon as a lead mostly because of his Sand Stream ability destroying my opponents Focus Sash. I had a hard time trying to pick between using Roar or Ice Fang buy I went with Ice Fang to keep Gliscor in check as well as popular Dragon Pokemon like Salamence Flygon and Dragonite. Earthquake is for STAB and Slack Off is for Recovery to ensure I can keep Hippowdon around to switch in for Gyarados being threatened by Physical Sweepers carrying Stone Edge. The EVs give him 345 Def and 202 SpD, I chose this because I wanted my Hippowdon to be able to face a Heatran's Fire Blast and OHKO it back with Earthquake while still having around 30% HP left.
Heatran
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
Nature: Calm (+SpD, -Atk)
EVs: 244HP/32SpA/12SpD/220Spe
Moveset:
~Lava Plume
~Torment
~Substitute
~Protect
Ah Heatran AKA "The Torturing Beast" is the star of this team. Once I get a free substitute with Heatran, while Toxic Spikes are in play, the match is pretty much over. Thanks to Heatran's unique typing and ability, not many pokemon carry more then one attack that's super effective against it. Gyarados is the only pokemon Heatran really fears (Waterfall + Earthquake). Swamperts sometimes carry a Water attack, but usually they carry Ice Beam and Earthquake as their only attacks so all they can usually do is Roar me but Toxic Spikes will take a toll on Swampert. Lava Plume is Heatrans main attack for STAB and it's nice 30% Burn rate, Torment is to stop my opponent from using the same move twice in a row, Substitute is to stop Heatran from being Paralyzed and give Heatran a free turn to use a move when my opponent switches, and Protect is to stall out the turns my opponent can hit me with their super effective attack. The EVs are to give Heatran enough speed to outpace Scizors as well as tie defensive Jirachis and Celebis. The SpD helps Heatran's Substitute survive non super efftice special attacks and the SpA is to pack a little more of a punch into Lava Plume.
Forretress
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Careful (+SpD, -SpA)
EVs: 252HP/80Def/176SpD
Moveset:
~Payback
~Rapid Spin
~Toxic Spikes
~Spikes
Forretress is by far the most important pokemon in helping Heatran because Heatran cannot work properly without Toxic Spikes. I send this guy out when I see Outrage and start setting up my Toxic Spikes to set everything up for Heatran to come in and stall some pokemon till they faint. Spikes is kind of a bonus for my team and isn't really needed for Heatran to work right. Rapid Spin is for getting rid of entry Hazzards out against me as Stealth Rock hurts Gyarados and Toxic Spikes cripples my Hippowdon. Payback is Forretress' only real attack and I chose it for hitting Ghosts coming in to block my Rapid Spin. The EVs give Forretress 220SpD and 336Def. I wanted my Forretress to be able to take attacks from both Special attacks and physical attacks, and I feel like this spread helps it do that. Even with 336 Def Forretress is only 3HKO by a +1 Adamant 252atk Gyarados which gives me plenty of time to set up 2 layers of Toxic Spikes. 220 SpD helps Forretress a lot against common special sweepers as forretress can switch into Latias' Draco Meteor and Gengars Shadow Ball without losing a great deal of HP unlike purely Defensive Forretress.
Gyarados
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Impish (+Def, -SpA)
EVs: 252HP/200Def/40SpD/16Spe
Moveset:
~Waterfall
~Roar
~Rest
~Sleep Talk
Gyarados has been excellent at serving as a physical wall for my team. His base 79 Def may seem a little frail to be walling, but his ability Intimidate gives him the bulkiness to wall almost every physical sweeper. One thing that Gyarados does for this team that is vital is he stops LO Lucarios. Even after a Swords Dance (including Intimidate) Lucarios fail to OHKO Gyarados with Stone Edge. Usually if I see Stone Edge I switch to Hippowdon to finish off with Earthquake. Waterfall is Gyarados' only attack, but I usually only use Roar. With Gyarados I like to switch him out against a pokemon he would typically scare away like a Scarf Flygon trapped on Earthquake. Once he's in I predict the switch and use Roar instead of trying to hit them with Waterfall so that I can see what counters he has to my Gyarados and to force it out and bring in a new pokemon. After a while of doing this my opponents usually catch on and try to just deal whatever damage they can muster against my Gyarados leaving me with the opportunity to attack their weakened pokemon (from entry hazzards). The EVs give Gyarados major bulk in Defense as well as keeping his Special Defense fairly bulky so he can take Special attacks easier.
Latias
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
EVs: 204HP/128Def/176Spe
Moveset:
~Dragon Pulse
~Roar
~Calm Mind
~Recover
I have been using this Latias for a very long time and I love this set for her. This set is perfect for beating many common Mix Sweepers and Special Sweepers. The EVs given to Latias allow her to outpace Speed+ Natured base 100s most noticeably Salamence. 128 Def EVs will ensure that a Tyranitar's pursuit will never OHKO if I'm switching out, and if I'm not switching out Latias can easily Recover off the damage as pursuit hits for a 3HKO. This latias' main weakness is Steel Type pokemon since Dragon Pulse is resisted. That being said, if I manage to clear away all Steel Types Latias can actually sweep through the rest of my opponents pokemon. This set absolutely works perfectly against CM Wish Jirachi, and Rest Talker Suicune. What I do is send out Latias after my opponent gets 1 Calm Mind Up only because my opponent will be less likely to switch. Once Latias is in I start to Calm Mind as well. Usually people will stay in because they feel like they have nothing to fear, but when Latias hits her 3rd Calm Mind and my opponent reaches their 5th i use Roar. I wait till then to do it because I'd rather not get hit by a an attack and my opponents most likely will go for a full set up.
Rotom-H
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
EVs: 36HP/252SpA/220Spe
Moveset:
~Thunderbolt
~Shadow Ball
~Hidden Power (Fighting)
~Trick
This Rotom is both a Rapid Spin Blocker and a Revenge Killer for my team. Typically I send him out againt Forretress'. I was using Overheat for a while instead of Hidden Power (Fighting) but quickly realized how predictable the set was. I was getting countered by Choice Scarf Tyranitars and Choice Scarf Heatrans. So I got rid of Overheat for Hidden Power (Fighting) so that I could try predicting those pokemon and hit them for clean 2HKOs while still outpacing them. But this pokemon actually does more then just Revenge Kills, this pokemon will also help Heatran out. If I encounter a pokemon with a moveset that can hit every pokemon of mine for a super effective hit, I Trick my Choice Scarf onto them and switch to my Heatran to Torment them and force them to struggle. The EVs given Rotom-H enough speed to outpace a +1 DD Jolly 252spe Gyarados and the rest to maximize it's Special Attack and to give it a bit more bulkiness by adding 36 HP EVs.
Team Building Process
Once I decided on building a new team, I knew that I wanted to use a Heatran with Torment. Tormentran has been one of my favorite pokemon to use because of how effective it is with it's stalling capabilities.
I've been using Tormentran in my teams for a while now, and over time I learned how to use it to it's highest potential. Tormentran works great with Toxic Spike coverage, but it absolutely thrives when Spikes, Stealth Rock, and Sand Storm are out. So now I knew I was gonna need that support, and Forretress was my first choice to help heatran out. Forretress could bring Spikes and Toxic spikes to the table.
Now I had Toxic Spikes and Spikes covered for Heatran, now I needed a pokemon to bring in Sandstorm as well as Stealth Rock. I had two choices, either Tyranitar or Hippowdon. Tyranitar could be used as a special wall and lead for my team, Hippowdon has a huge HP and Defense stat so he could add some physical bulky as well as a good counter to Thunder Wave and other Eletric attacks. I went with Hippowdon because Tyranitar and Heatran share many similar weaknesses such as Ground, Fighting, and Water, where Hippowdon only has Water as it's common weakness with Heatran.
With Hippowdon and Forretress on the team Heatran now had everything it needed to work as best as possible, so now I needed to focus on building good solid Psynergy for my team. I could see that I was already starting off with 2 pokemon weak to the same type (Water) so I needed to find some pokemon to counter it. I started to look around smogon for some possible pokemon and noticed Gyarados' defensive capabilities and knew I had to use it because of his ability to counter all of Heatran's weaknesses.
Gyarados' addition to the team gave me a decent counter to water attacks and an excellent counter to Fighting and Ground. I still wasn't happy with my coverage towards water so I started looking for another wall to add to my team preferably focused on special defense. The decisions was easy. Latias was going to be my second water counter. She fit right in perfectly and even added better coverage for everyone in my team. For instance, she counters Fighting Water and Ground for my Heatran, she also counters eletric attacks that will help Gyarados and fire attacks for Forretress.
One final spot remained and I knew who I needed to use, Rotom-A. I have always used Rotom-A for Stall teams because of it's typing, bulky defensive stats, ability, and it's decent speed and special attack stat. I had always used bulky sets of Rotom-A but I noticed over time that even though Rotom-A is bulky it cannot handle dragon dancers as well as I had hoped. So for this team I wanted it to be a revenge killer so I could give my walls a break and let this pokemon finish off pokemon that were posing as a threat.
Ex-SOLDIER proudly presents his team:
The Exasperating Sandstorm and the Torturing Beast Within.
Hippowdon
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
Nature: Impish (+Def, -SpA)
EVs: 252HP/168Def/88SpD
Moveset:
~Earthquake
~Ice Fang
~Stealth Rock
~Slack Off
Hippowdon is probably one of the best walls I've used. Only a few Leads in the OU Metagame can actually threaten this pokemon. I enjoy having Hippowdon as a lead mostly because of his Sand Stream ability destroying my opponents Focus Sash. I had a hard time trying to pick between using Roar or Ice Fang buy I went with Ice Fang to keep Gliscor in check as well as popular Dragon Pokemon like Salamence Flygon and Dragonite. Earthquake is for STAB and Slack Off is for Recovery to ensure I can keep Hippowdon around to switch in for Gyarados being threatened by Physical Sweepers carrying Stone Edge. The EVs give him 345 Def and 202 SpD, I chose this because I wanted my Hippowdon to be able to face a Heatran's Fire Blast and OHKO it back with Earthquake while still having around 30% HP left.
Heatran
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
Nature: Calm (+SpD, -Atk)
EVs: 244HP/32SpA/12SpD/220Spe
Moveset:
~Lava Plume
~Torment
~Substitute
~Protect
Ah Heatran AKA "The Torturing Beast" is the star of this team. Once I get a free substitute with Heatran, while Toxic Spikes are in play, the match is pretty much over. Thanks to Heatran's unique typing and ability, not many pokemon carry more then one attack that's super effective against it. Gyarados is the only pokemon Heatran really fears (Waterfall + Earthquake). Swamperts sometimes carry a Water attack, but usually they carry Ice Beam and Earthquake as their only attacks so all they can usually do is Roar me but Toxic Spikes will take a toll on Swampert. Lava Plume is Heatrans main attack for STAB and it's nice 30% Burn rate, Torment is to stop my opponent from using the same move twice in a row, Substitute is to stop Heatran from being Paralyzed and give Heatran a free turn to use a move when my opponent switches, and Protect is to stall out the turns my opponent can hit me with their super effective attack. The EVs are to give Heatran enough speed to outpace Scizors as well as tie defensive Jirachis and Celebis. The SpD helps Heatran's Substitute survive non super efftice special attacks and the SpA is to pack a little more of a punch into Lava Plume.
Forretress
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Careful (+SpD, -SpA)
EVs: 252HP/80Def/176SpD
Moveset:
~Payback
~Rapid Spin
~Toxic Spikes
~Spikes
Forretress is by far the most important pokemon in helping Heatran because Heatran cannot work properly without Toxic Spikes. I send this guy out when I see Outrage and start setting up my Toxic Spikes to set everything up for Heatran to come in and stall some pokemon till they faint. Spikes is kind of a bonus for my team and isn't really needed for Heatran to work right. Rapid Spin is for getting rid of entry Hazzards out against me as Stealth Rock hurts Gyarados and Toxic Spikes cripples my Hippowdon. Payback is Forretress' only real attack and I chose it for hitting Ghosts coming in to block my Rapid Spin. The EVs give Forretress 220SpD and 336Def. I wanted my Forretress to be able to take attacks from both Special attacks and physical attacks, and I feel like this spread helps it do that. Even with 336 Def Forretress is only 3HKO by a +1 Adamant 252atk Gyarados which gives me plenty of time to set up 2 layers of Toxic Spikes. 220 SpD helps Forretress a lot against common special sweepers as forretress can switch into Latias' Draco Meteor and Gengars Shadow Ball without losing a great deal of HP unlike purely Defensive Forretress.
Gyarados
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Impish (+Def, -SpA)
EVs: 252HP/200Def/40SpD/16Spe
Moveset:
~Waterfall
~Roar
~Rest
~Sleep Talk
Gyarados has been excellent at serving as a physical wall for my team. His base 79 Def may seem a little frail to be walling, but his ability Intimidate gives him the bulkiness to wall almost every physical sweeper. One thing that Gyarados does for this team that is vital is he stops LO Lucarios. Even after a Swords Dance (including Intimidate) Lucarios fail to OHKO Gyarados with Stone Edge. Usually if I see Stone Edge I switch to Hippowdon to finish off with Earthquake. Waterfall is Gyarados' only attack, but I usually only use Roar. With Gyarados I like to switch him out against a pokemon he would typically scare away like a Scarf Flygon trapped on Earthquake. Once he's in I predict the switch and use Roar instead of trying to hit them with Waterfall so that I can see what counters he has to my Gyarados and to force it out and bring in a new pokemon. After a while of doing this my opponents usually catch on and try to just deal whatever damage they can muster against my Gyarados leaving me with the opportunity to attack their weakened pokemon (from entry hazzards). The EVs give Gyarados major bulk in Defense as well as keeping his Special Defense fairly bulky so he can take Special attacks easier.
Latias
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
EVs: 204HP/128Def/176Spe
Moveset:
~Dragon Pulse
~Roar
~Calm Mind
~Recover
I have been using this Latias for a very long time and I love this set for her. This set is perfect for beating many common Mix Sweepers and Special Sweepers. The EVs given to Latias allow her to outpace Speed+ Natured base 100s most noticeably Salamence. 128 Def EVs will ensure that a Tyranitar's pursuit will never OHKO if I'm switching out, and if I'm not switching out Latias can easily Recover off the damage as pursuit hits for a 3HKO. This latias' main weakness is Steel Type pokemon since Dragon Pulse is resisted. That being said, if I manage to clear away all Steel Types Latias can actually sweep through the rest of my opponents pokemon. This set absolutely works perfectly against CM Wish Jirachi, and Rest Talker Suicune. What I do is send out Latias after my opponent gets 1 Calm Mind Up only because my opponent will be less likely to switch. Once Latias is in I start to Calm Mind as well. Usually people will stay in because they feel like they have nothing to fear, but when Latias hits her 3rd Calm Mind and my opponent reaches their 5th i use Roar. I wait till then to do it because I'd rather not get hit by a an attack and my opponents most likely will go for a full set up.
Rotom-H
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
EVs: 36HP/252SpA/220Spe
Moveset:
~Thunderbolt
~Shadow Ball
~Hidden Power (Fighting)
~Trick
This Rotom is both a Rapid Spin Blocker and a Revenge Killer for my team. Typically I send him out againt Forretress'. I was using Overheat for a while instead of Hidden Power (Fighting) but quickly realized how predictable the set was. I was getting countered by Choice Scarf Tyranitars and Choice Scarf Heatrans. So I got rid of Overheat for Hidden Power (Fighting) so that I could try predicting those pokemon and hit them for clean 2HKOs while still outpacing them. But this pokemon actually does more then just Revenge Kills, this pokemon will also help Heatran out. If I encounter a pokemon with a moveset that can hit every pokemon of mine for a super effective hit, I Trick my Choice Scarf onto them and switch to my Heatran to Torment them and force them to struggle. The EVs given Rotom-H enough speed to outpace a +1 DD Jolly 252spe Gyarados and the rest to maximize it's Special Attack and to give it a bit more bulkiness by adding 36 HP EVs.
