The Team
Introduction
So me and Itsuki (Mr. Darkrai if anyone still remembers his previous name) wanted to make a new stall team because it just sounded like fun. We knew it would be hard simply because Gallade and Honchkrow were fucking with stall (and still currently are <_<), but we just said fuck it and decided to make one anyway. Besides, who doesn't love using a stall team? :P
This team peaked at #6 on the UU ladder under the account Scruffy309, maxing out at 1648. I know It isn't the best team, and I honestly don't know how it got up as high as it did (mainly because of my team's huge Honchkrow weakness), but I'll take it :).
Team Makeup
I'm just going to skip the boring shit and go straight to what we started playing with.
The obligatory pokemon on any and all UU stall teams. Sure, some people make UU teams completely physically based just so Chansey never sees the light of day in a match, but that doesn't mean everyone makes teams like that. Chansey walls too much of the UU metagame and can come in on a ridiculous amount of pokemon, so it was a needed pokemon.
There really is no formula to making stall teams, except to make sure you have most of your weaknesses covered. So for the next step in the team building process, I wanted to go for a Grass/Water/Fire core (which btw is one of the best type combinations in any tier, even going beyond Steel/Dragon). I decided to go with Venasaur as another special wall and T-spikes absorber, Milotic for the obligatory bulky water, and Arcanine for as a decent Honchkrow counter (if that even exists).
Now with the addition of a SR weak pokemon in Arcanine, I needed rapid spin support (which all teams should have anyway). Hitmontop has been such a good rapid spinner for me on my previous teams and always seems to get them off the field when he comes in. Plus Hitmontop is a needed rock resist so Rock Polish Rhyperior doesn't break massive holes in my team.
Now all the team needs is a good, consistant lead. Honestly, I had no idea what to put in here, but Itsuki helped me out: Spiritomb. Spiritomb has been the best lead I have ever used in the UU tier, hands down. I'm saying this because of the large amount of leads it literally shuts down. Starting off the game 6-5 isn't all too common thanks to Spiritomb. Thanks Itsuki for the suggestion ;)
At this point, me and Itsuki parted different ways with the team, as he changed multiple things that he thought made the team better. One of the changes was Umbreon over Chansey (to add a Cleric to the team and Wish support) and Omastar over Milotic (to set up entry hazards and add a flying resist).
Testing the team
After some testing, I noticed my team had trouble coming in on ground attacks, especially hard hitting Earthquakes. As much as I loved Milotic and Arcanine, they just weren't doing their job effectively. Milotic and Arcanine seemed to be hard switch ins later in the match and I felt that Venasaur was doing most of the work defensively in the Grass/Water/Fire core. I still wanted to keep that core, so I ended up swapping Arcanine for Moltres and Milotic for Blastoise. I know dropping Milotic for Blastoise seems pretty stupid, but I felt that extra Rapid Spin support could let me bring in Moltres more often. There were quiet a few people that literally quit the match half-way through simply because I ran 2 rapid spinners. Kinda funny when they "2 rapid spinners? Seriously?" and then quit. :P
This was my final change to my team, and therefore the final build. My team had trouble against other stall teams, simply put. I don't run a phazer, I don't run spikes, and I don't run a phazer. When I put it like that, it doesn't sound much like a stall team. But ah well fuck at this point it doesn't matter about what team it is and instead about how it works. Azumarill helped check my Moltres weakness (once Chansey was gone) and was able to make late game sweeps once the rest of my team had worn down the opponent. Also worth mentioning is the added pressure Azumarill puts on the opponent. Blastoise was good at getting rid of spikes and was also my status absorber thanks to the Rest/Talk set I was running, but it doesn't even compare to the effectiveness that Azumarill added to the team.
Extra Comments
So that it's it for my shit comments. I guess I shouldn't of wrote all that but I thought it would be interesting for people to see how the team became what it is now. I have been suggested Blastoise once again over Azumaril (as a Rapid Spinner) and Hitmontop being replaced by Omastar (as my spiker/SR user), but those didn't exactly equate to a better team. I appreciate the comments I got from the user, but after trying the suggestions, It came to focus that I still had trouble against stall and Omastar couldn't survive a match long enough to consistantly set up entry hazards. Omastar does make sense to use, as my team doesn't have a flying resist at all (making Honchkrow that much more of a threat), but I can't seem to switch Omastar in during the match.
The Team
"Snootchi Gootchi"
@ Leftovers
Relaxed - Pressure
252 Hp / 252 Def / 4 Sp.Def
~ Will-o-wisp
~ Shadow Sneak
~ Pursuit
~ Dark Pulse
What it does best
What spiritomb does for my team is take out enemy Froslass leads and dents Ambipom leads hard. Froslass takes around ~75% from Dark Pulse and then falls to Shadow Sneak (no matter if they're running ProLass or any other lead set). Dark Pulse hits Ambipom for around ~35% from Dark Pulse, then Pursuit does an addition 35-40% when they U-turn out, leaving them limited as to how many times Ambipom can come in, especially if stealth rock is down. Spiritomb is also arguably the best counter to Gallade, Hitmontop, and virtually any other fighter in existance thanks to it's ability to Wow, then let the rest of my team take care of them (such as Venasaur or Moltres).
Gets rid of spin blockers early in the game
Now I just mentioned 2 lead pokemon, and Spiritomb is able to do so much more. Combined with Hitmontop, I'm able to draw out my opponents RS blocker real quick. I bring in Hitmontop say if I see a Cloyster lead, and then use my obligatory Rapid Spin as they either explode or switch to their RS blocker (Explosion does shit damage btw). With they're spin blocker exposed, I go straight back to Spiritomb and get ready to psyche my opponent out of one of they're pokemon. Mismagius and Rotom tend to be the most common spin blockers (at least with Hitmontop, as Spiritomb fears Foresight/Close Combat), and both don't do much to Spiritomb. Once Spiritomb is in, I bluff Pursuit once so they know I have it. It won't kill them, but the following Shadow Sneak will. The opponent doesn't want to switch out anyway after seeing Pursuit or they risk being killed, so Shadow Sneak is an obvious choice. It can be a mind game once in a while, but if worse comes to worse, keep using Pursuit (worst that could happen is you lose 60-65% to +2 Shadow Ball from Mismag).
"Blissey"
@ Leftovers/Shed Shell
Calm - Natural Cure
252 Def / 240 Sp.Def / 16 Speed
~ Softboiled
~ Stealth Rock
~ Seismic Toss
~ Toxic
Why this moveset
Chansey has a ridiculous amount of versatility and I honestly was unsure what to use on her. Of course I'ld like wish support for pokemon that can't heal themselves, mainly Spiritomb and Hitmontop. My team could also use a cleric and Chansey can could run a cleric set as well. In the end I ended up going with a more standard set, mostly because she was the only one on my team that could set up rocks. Also, with the amount of opportunities that Chansey has to come in and use a move before switching out, it makes SR that much more obvious to use. Softboiled and Seismic Toss are obvious and of course helps counter Raikou perfectly. Toxic, if anything, could be removed for a different move and is the most debatable moveslot. However I found it critically essential to taking on pokemon that otherwise my team would be screwed against, especially Calm Mind Slowbro.
The fat bitch who could... not survive a Dugtrio Trap
Dugtrio happens to really give me trouble sometimes, since taking away Chansey early in the game lets my opponent use Raikou and Houndoom earlier to punch holes. Because of this I have used Shed Shell would some success, as it gives me a free switch in to Moltres (and then Hitmontop to scout to see if it's choiced or not).
"Tripod"
@ Leftovers
Impish - Intimidate
252 Hp/ 248 Def / 8 Speed
~ Foresight
~ Close Combat
~ Rapid Spin
~ Sucker Punch
Rapid Spin support!
Standard Rapid Spin set. Does what it needs, and does it effectively. As stated earlier, if they show a RS blocker I go back to Spiritomb to nail them and take them out of the game so I can go back to Hitmontop later to get rid of the entry hazards. I don't think any other RS'er could do a better job than Hitmontop has for this team.
More than meets eye
Hitmontop actually does a lot for this team. Yes it's the standard RSTop set but it has more uses than that. He's one of the best Rhyperior/Aggron counters out there. Close Combat doesn't do massive amounts back (at least to Rhyperior), but I get the Intimidate them before they get behind their subs and I can fire back to force them out. Also can take on Feraligatr, but I need to watch out for the defense drops.
"Bird Feeder"
@ Leftovers
Sassy - Growth
252 Hp / 252 Sp.Def / 4 Def
~ Sludge Bomb
~ Power Whip
~ Synthesis
~ Knock Off
The glue to the team
Now that Roserade is gone, Venasaur has been in the spotlight, and deservingly so. I absolutely love his versatility and his ability to do more than one thing at once. Obviously he gets rid of Toxic Spikes, but as he comes in to wall special attacks, he can also hit back on both sides of the spectrum extremely well. Sludge Bomb's poison percentage is incredibly and I almost feel sorry for the first-turn poisons the opponent receives. Power Whip does a really good amount of damage to anything neutral as well, and does quiet a number on Chansey. Venasaur also serves as my back-up Raikou counter if Chansey is gone, which is extremely important.
Knock Off? Trust me, it's not a gimmick
Now the real question mark is why I use Knock Off on my Venasaur. Answer is quiet simple: Honchkrow. My team has no Flying resist, and Honchkrow does a serious number to any and all members of my team. Honchkrow is also the most common switch in to Venasaur that I've ever saw. I use this to my advantage to knock off the item that makes Honch devastating to my team: the Life Orb. Life Orb Brave Bird 2hkos Moltres, but without it, it's a clean 3hko, meaning once Venasaur slaps off Honch's LO, Moltres is a safe switch in and can either PP drain it with Pressure or Roost and set up. This is why getting rid of SR early in the game is needed and why my Spiritomb/Hitmontop combo is very much needed due to its effectiveness.
Halle Berry
@ Choice Band
Adamant - Huge Power
252 Atk / 118 Speed / 100 Hp / 20 Def/ 20 Sp. Def
~ Aqua Jet
~ Waterfall
~ Superpower
~ Return/Ice Punch
Leeroooooooooy Jeeenkiiiiins!
Azumarill is a great asset to my team because of its ability to revenge kill a large portion of the UU metagame. He is my brute force that is needed to get rid of pokemon like Curse Umbreon and any kind of Clefable. Clefable naturally outspeeds Azumarill and would get a clean KO (depending on the set) with a Thunderbolt, but I put enough Speed EVs on my Azumarill to safely outspeed neutral Clefable by 9 points, which may seem like overkill, but I enjoy being able to feel safe staying in against a Clefable and using Superpower for the KO. Aqua jet helps revenge Blaziken, Houndoom, and Moltres who if played right can be trouble to my team. Return is so that I can hit bulky waters as well as Venasaur, but towards the end of my stint with this team I just ran Ice Punch because Venasaur was way to common.
Omega Chicken
@ Leftovers
Bold - Pressure
252 Hp / 252 Def / 4 Speed
~ Flamethrower
~ Toxic
~ Substitute
~ Roost
The suspect?
What Moltres does for my team is add a way to spread status with Toxic while still being a deadly force to get rid of. Being my only pokemon that can come in on an EQ makes him a necessary addition. Moltres also helps itself with its ability Pressure. The only real worry is Rock Blast Rhyperior, but that is easily scouted by going to Hitmontop to take the weak hit if he does indeed have it. If not, then Moltres is free to come in and Pressure stall any and all rock type moves by sub/roosting. Moltres always comes out on top. Bulky waters obviously force me to switch, but not before taking a Toxic if I'm behind a sub.
An amazing pressure-stalling machine
Also, paired with Hitmontop, Moltres is able to wall and beat much more stuff. I bring Hitmontop on pokemon that are liable to sub (quick example is Kangaskan) and then bring in Moltres now so that Kanga can't even break a sub with Return. As long as I can keep getting Moltres in, my opponent is in trouble. Pokemon such as Donphan, Arcanine (as long as they don't care Toxic) and even Blaziken are set up bait for Moltres. Pressure takes care of Donphan's Stone Edge, Arcanine's Flare Blitz, and Blaziken's Fire Blast. LO Thunder punch from Blaziken is the only thing I need to fear, but even then it doesn't OHKO and I can roost on the move to scout for it.
Final Thoughts/Comments
And so that's my team. I realize that yes, it does have weakness (mainly Toxic Arcanine and Honchkrow), but I'm able to play around them and still manage wins. I feel like I could of written a MUCH better RMT, but this is only my 3rd in over 3 years of registering on smogon so I'm still learning >.<.
I am retiring this team and don't plan on using any more, especially since Honchkrow is still everywhere. Feel free to try out the team and then let me know what you think. It is definitely a team that you need to adjust to to play, mainly because I don't run spikes to hurt my opponent and you might freak when you see Honchkrow. Feel free to rate/hate/steal or whatever. With the current changes in the metagame I felt like it was necessary to retire this team anyway. It was fun while it lasted ;).
Final Glance
(Will add threat list in next post)
