UU Stall

[Luphrous]

Like many new UU players, I'm trying it out because of the combination of more diversity than OU, and frankly I'm a little tired of OU at the moment...Anyways I had heard that Stalling was pretty hard to do and often unheard of in UU, and I figured since I was changing tiers, perhaps I should also try changing my battle style(Offensive teams ftw). After some testing, I came up with this team, which has been doing far better than I had expected, I've played quite a few matches, and I'm doing really well in all of them. That said, I'm still feeling a little overwhelmed at the number of options that I am yet to try that I would like to. Anyways, here's the team.
EDIT: Got pics =)

Shuckle@Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EV's: 252 HP, 96 Def, 160 Sp.Def
Nature: Impish
- Stealth Rock
- Knock Off
- Rest
- Toxic
Shuckle, this little guy has proved to be very helpful, most opponents struggle to take him down while he can Toxic them, or Knock Off items. Also sets up the all-important Stealth Rocks. I was skeptical about leading with Shuckle at first, but he's actually working quite well, taking any hits and setting up SR on turn one. Taunt leads are a little annoying, but mostly cause I'm still getting used to what can and can't taunt me lol.

Rotom@Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EV's: 252 Sp.Att, 60 Spd, 196 HP
Nature: Timid
- Trick
- ThunderBolt
- Shadow Ball
- HP: Ice
The newest addition to the team, I'm moving away from a designated SleepTalker and trying out Rotom. Rotom can block RS, and while it's not exactly a 'stall' poke, Tricking Choice Scarf onto something that has just used a support move can really screw with people strategies. He can also come in quite well on Swellow and Scyther, two pokes who give me a bit trouble, and immediately threaten them. This guy's spot isn't set in stone, but for now he's testing quite well. Suggestions still welcome though

Leafeon@Leftovers
Ability: Leaf Guard
EV's: 252 HP, 240 Def, 16 Spd
Nature: Impish
- Leaf Blade
- Wish
- Roar
- Protect
I'm finding that Leafeon is usually one of the stars of the show....Takes hits like a champ, wish passes, shuffles, and can stall out a poisoned enemy. I'm really surprised Leafeon doesn't get more love(as a wall, not Baton Passer), especially with the recent loss of so many wish passers. The number of pokes walled by Leafeon is very high, it's fun to watch things like DDAltaria barely scratch me after a Dance, only to be Roared away. Speed EV's out speed Max Speed Omastar, in no rain of course. Also out speeds the UU mixed Nidoking, and is capable of dealing 43.89% - 51.49% with Leaf Blade, making Leafeon useful for finishing off a weakened Nidoking. I'd like to drone on about how awesome it's been doing, but this page could go on for a bit...

Nidoqueen@Leftovers
Ability: Poison Point
EV's: 252 HP, 56 Att, 200 Def
Nature: Impish
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Toxic Spikes
- Protect
I've also been pleasantly surprised by Nidoqueen, she was added to come in on Band/Scarf CC's and to set up T-Spikes, but she's done that job very well. She can also stall a bit with protect, getting Leftovers recovery and wearing down poisoned foes. STAB EQ is wonderful for taking down the poison types that try to absorb my spikes, adding more usefulness to Nidoqueen's game. EV spread is the one listed on Smogon, but I moved 40 EV's from Attack to Defense, cause well, I felt like it.

Politoed@Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EV's: 252 HP, 252 Sp.Def, 4 Sp.Att
Nature: Calm
- Rest
- Surf
- Toxic/Hypnosis
- Perish Song
Rather torn on Politoed...Absorbs special hits well, but with the only recovery being wish, this Toed doesn't always last as long as I'd like..that said, Hypnosis and Perish Song are very helpful moves...Perish Song forces switches, can get rid of a stubborn last poke, and screws up Baton Pass chains. Hypnosis is helpful for those pokes that are immune to T-spikes, and can shut down a threat. Looking at its stats, Lapras looks like it could do something very similar, but better...It even has Perish Song, a move I'd really like to have somewhere. But it's that dang Ice typing...I don't like it being weak to SR.....Also, I'd lose my option to sleep a foe, as I don't think I would want to risk Sing. Opinions on this spot are very welcome, anything from which poke to which moves or what EV's spread to use would be helpful. EDIT: Gave him Rest, which is working decently, adding to his longevity. Suggestions on Toxic vs. Hypnosis?

Sharpedo@Choice Band
Ability: Rough Skin
EV's: 252 Spd, 252 Att, 4 HP
Nature: Jolly
- Crunch
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
Sharpedo is working very well, I couldn't ask more of it. The goal of the team isn't to set up a Sharpedo sweep, even though it does happen a lot. He was added to revenge kill anything annoying, and because sometimes I just need to do a boat load of damage if the indirect damage just doesn't seem to be adding up(go die Clefable). CB Crunch really wrecks stuff though, a team with no resist is in for some pain. 2HKO'es Steelix with Waterfall, in case you were wondering

Overall this team is working very well and giving some very encouraging results, but do to the sheer volume of options this team is by no means done. I would really like suggestions on the whole Politoed/Lapras issue, as well as what poke can fill my SleepTalking needs. With no spinner, I'd really like to keep the number of SR weak pokes down, another reason why I'm unsure of Lapras, as several possible SleepTalkers(Armaldo, Flareon, Altaria, etc.) all share that weakness....I could even fore go a SleepTalker in favor of Froslass, who could block RS, set up Spikes, pose a threat with its speed, and even use Destiny Bond on a poke that is really troubling me. Any suggestions on tweaked EV spreads would be helpful, as I've done very little tinkering to those.

Shoddy needs an UU ladder soon >.<

I'd like suggestions on Politoed vs. Lapras, as Lapras can do exactly what Politoed is doing but with better stats, however I really dislike that SR weakness >.<

Threat List
I'm not going to lie, I'm still too new to make a full list....I'll still list some larger threats though
Altaria- DD versions are laughed at by Leafeon, Specs I feel doesn't hit hard enough in the first place, Shuckle and Politoed can take most moves on. Having Protect on two pokes that Specs Altaria like to come in on due to low Sp. Def, Leafeon and Nidoqueen, also makes switching to a proper poke much easier.
Clefable- Not all sets are an actual threat, but Cosmic Power/Belly Drum ones certainly are. This fairy is a real pain with Magic guard, I can really only Roar it away, but this is dangerous because some Cosmic Power sets may run Ice Beam. This is another reason that I so highly value Perish Song.
Froslass- Specs versions are dangerous, I usually go to Shuckle to stall it out. SR and T-Spikes are it's downfall though.
Glaceon- Scary high Special Attack for UU, but Politoed takes it on very well. Again, SR and T-Spikes spell doom for it.
Hitmonlee- Definitely a dangerous poke, early game Nidoqueen can come in on a CC and set up some T-Spikes. Playing smart is key, because it is possible to stall him out once poisoned, but it's all about switching in on the right move.
Kabutops- Leafeon takes him on just fine, and threatens him with a x4 super effective Leaf Blade.
Kangaskhan- Again, he can't really trouble Leafeon.
Manetric- A bit troublesome, I've yet to face one, but I imagine he could be annoying. That said, I don't see how he can get around Shuckle, so I should be able to simply Stall him out.
Muk- Leafeon takes boosted Poison Jabs/Fire Punches like a champ and can roar him out. If need be, Perish Song is an option too.
Nidoking- Specs/Band can be outpredicted, Mixed is a threat, but his own L-Orb quickens his death, and Leafeon or Sharpedo can revenge kill him. If need be, Shuckle can knock off his Life Orb, but I actually prefer he keeps it because I can't wear him out any other way. W/o that orb, he can't beat Shuckle.
Ninetales- Havne't faced one yet, but Politoed takes boosted Energy Balls decently well, but of course something will get put to sleep so that Politoed can switch in. Rotom could switch in on a Nasty Plot and Trick Scarf on him to prevent a sweep too.
Omastar- Yet to face one, Politoed should take it on pretty well though, and Toxic will wear it out soon enough.
Poliwrath- Belly Drum versions don't OHKO Leafeon, who quickly finishes off Poliwrath.
Primeape- Same story as Hitmonlee really.
Relicanth- Leafeon takes Head Smash like a champ, can stall out a poisoned one or threaten with Leaf Blade.
Rotom- Meh, Trick is annoying, but without a boost Rotom lacks real fire power.
Scyther- He can be troublesome, but thankfully SR really ruins him. Need to be careful and not let it set up though.
Sharpedo- Specs and Band can be predicted around, Mixed ones are trouble though. Thankfully Life Orb and Poison wear him down quickly. I can also use my own Sharpedo and hope to win a speed tie, if I must.
Swellow- Hits hard, and I lack a Flying resist, but BB, Burn/Poison, and SR wear it down quickly.
Toxicroak- Leafeon beats physical sets. Oddball Nasty Plot ones can't get around Politoed.
Venemoth- Specs hits pretty hard, but Shuckle/Politoed take hits well, and prediction is of course a pain for Venemoth. The SR weak is very helpful.

 

[Luphrous]

Okay, I hate to bump so soon as it's not been 24hours and I usually wait, but I usually have other stuff to keep me occupied and now its summer...
So Bumpity-Bump
Also just stating that suggestions are very welcome
And wow, only 47 views.. <_< For some reason my teams tend to slowly generate views, but that's just sad XD

 

[Falkner12]

I realize Drifblim's stats are kind of eh but it'd be a cool replacement over Armaldo as a better sponge. You can run whatever you like, but I was thinking some sort of STalk variant would be cool; HP Fly/Sball/Stalk or whatever--kind of like of a poor man's Spiritomb.

 

[Luphrous]

Falkner12: Thanks for the suggestion, I looked at Drifblim's stats and with full EV's in defenses, he's actually more durable than he looks. As of now however, I've moved away from a SleepTalker, but should I decide to go back to one, I'll definitely look at him again as he would also help block RS. Thanks again for the suggestion.
If more people could help out with some advice, it would be very helpful ^.^
EDIT:
ExoM7: Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm not sure if that would work in UU. StallRein needs PermaHail I believe, something non existant in UU. Thanks again though.

 

[ExoM7]

How about Walrein over Politoed? Have someone set up Hail, or have him set up hail, and he's the ultimate staller. Also, Blastoise is one of the most sturdy Pokemon around, even in OU, and can Toxic/Protect/Surf/Rapid Spin if you need it.

 

[astrohawke]

Toxic spikes is pretty bad in UU in my opinion and in my experience, it has never worked. Not against me anyway. Out of all the poison pokemon, there are 6 that are not in UU. That means that just about every UU team will have one that can come in and absorb the spikes, essentially making you waste 2 turns setting them up. I'd rather try to add a spiker.

Rain dance teams are pretty popular in UU these days and they are strong. Politoed can handle the special sweepers like omastar but you may have trouble against the physical ones, especially qwilfish. It will probably 2HKO leafeon and politoed and OHKO everything else.

For these reasons, I suggest replacing nidoqueen with quagsire. It maintains the ground typing and protects you against the physical rain dance sweepers. This obviously gives you a pretty big grass weak so you might want to replace sharpedo with a sweeper that's not weak to grass.

 

[Luphrous]

astrohawke: I realize there's an abundance of Poison types in UU, and sometimes keeping a layer down is really hard, but I've still found in my experience that T-Spikes work well. Opponents also have some trouble switching Poison types because Nidoqueen carries STAB EQ. Because of this, they have to come in when Nidoqueen is gone, and so basically by repeating this process I tend to poison a few pokes, even though the opponents carries Poison types. Also, when I know my opponents has a poison type in the wings, I never bother with 2 layers as I know it's only a matter of time 'till there absorbed. This makes laying them down much less tedious. When the poison types are gone, that's when I'll go for a second layer. As far as the Rain Dance teams, they are indeed strong, but as you said, Politoed combats special threats quite well. As far as physical, I've only met Kabutops, who quite frankly can't get around Leafeon unless Leafeon is on low health. Adamant Qwilfish w/ 252 Att EV's using Poison Jab on Leafeon does 43.11% - 50.60%. This means I can basically stall out the rain with Wish and Protect. W/o the rain, Qwilfish is rather slow and can be revenged killed by Sharpedo, or Rotom is he still has the Scarf. Basically the RD teams are a definite threat to me, but so long as I'm in good shape, I should be able to play around it. Also, Nidoqueen provides a key Fighting resistance, something that Quagsire doesn't provide. Should RD teams give me serious problems down the road however, I'll look into somehow working him into the team. But for now, I don't think I need him. Thanks for the advice though.
Opinions on Lapras vs. Politoed still wanted >.< Shoddy isn't opening for me right now(is this happening to others aswell, or just me?) so it's not like I can just go test them..

 

[Luphrous]

Meh, I'm never really quite sure when I should just let a thread die or if I can still bump it, but its been only a little over a day when I first posted this and I've seen others bump way after.
I tried testing out Lapras vs. Politoed, but good god my battling is just horrible today, really stupid mistakes like staying in on my own Perish Song...so I decided to run calcs, and it basically just left me even more torn >.< Basically when switching in and taking SR damage and the attack, and then getting hit the second turn, I found that against strong attacks(Nasty Plotted Psychic, Specs Draco Meteor, etc.) that Politoed and Lapras took about the same amount of damage, Lapras taking less damage from the attacks, but taking more from SR. Now, the advantage of this is that if the opponent doesn't use SR, Lapras simply takes less damage, and Lapras takes Physical hits better to boot. Unfortunately, it's not that simple..Lapras' Ice typing hurts more than helps...I'm now neutral to Fire, which Politoed resisted, not to mention Lapras gains weaks to Fighting and Rock, all of this just to take Ice type attacks better than Politoed, who already resisted them...So yea, Lapras takes hits overall better, but Politoed has better resistances....who do I choose? >.< Opinions please...?
Feel free to post on something other than Politoed vs. Lapras, however that is the issue I'm worried over most right now

 

[Cynthia]

Hey I beat this team :)

Anyway, I would drop TSpikes on Nidoqueen due to the large number of ground based poison types in UU. It just won't be effective most of the time.

You're lucky you haven't run into many Ninetales users. Though Politoed can take 1 +2 SPatk Energy Ball it cannot OHKO back and dies to a second ball. Then its pretty much clean sweeping for Ninetales if Rotom (who can't switch in) Trick's away its Scarf. It can outspeed and OHKO nost of the team, you may want to consider Altaria or Grumpig as decent Ninetales counters.

Use Poitoed over Lapras. With no spinner you really don't have room to add another SR weak into your team, Politoed can wall most special attackers anyway.

 

[Colonel M]

I'm a bit more of an expert of OU and I see what you mean about Toxic Spikes plans ruining you... this obviously is a problem and without Spikes you add to the redundancy of not being able to stall. Add no Rapid Spin on top of it and you've got some problems.

Alright, so by a glance I can suggest some Pokemon. A good Spinner would probably be Claydol; despite it's Pursuit-weak packing Reflect on it (or Stealth Rock pending on what you need) would be beneficial. Not that there's an abundance of Pursuit in UU but you get the point. The next is adding Spikes to the team and here comes the problem right away. The only ones that really learn Spikes are Cloyster, Qwilfish, Cacturne, Omastar, Glalie, and Froslass. Now not that list is horrible (actually it's not that half bad) but obviously it will depend on the team. Well we got Qwilfish who can even absorb Toxic Spikes itself and even set those up (note: don't even think about adding both Spikes) but obviously something that can be done. I wish Tentacruel was still UU because then I'd force you to slap him on this team. As far as Spikes you could add Froslass onto the team as it gives you a Spin Blocker (a useful one at that) and can set up Spikes upon the switch.

Hm as far as problems I can see the #1 being Clefable followed by any Poison-type that walks and talks. Perish Song users... I'd go with Altaria because it isn't half bad at the job. It has Natural Cure and it does offer the nice Ninetales protection. If it desperately needs to he can use Roost to prevent Stone Edges from hitting you.

Sorry, maybe I'm over-exaggerating some of this since you can't play it fully like OU and such. If you seriously want an alternative to take out the Poison-types I guess I'm going to be crazy and say the cursed 8-letter word: Trapinch. Ugh, sorry if I didn't help. >_>;

 

[Luphrous]

Meh, this is rather hard, see plenty of good players are telling me to drop T-Spikes, but I'm a good player myself(albeit I'm more used to OU than UU), and even though everyone says they aren't effective in UU, I am winning matches, and T-Spikes are helping achieve this. It's also been mentioned I lack a Rapid Spinner, but I'm an OU expert, and I learned how to get around lack of spinner in OU, where all types of spikes are used more, so I'm kinda bent on not using one lol...though, this is a defensive team and I use offensive in OU, so perhaps I should try out a spinner. Oh well, I've got to go.
I'll edit this post later though, and try to address some of these issues

 

[Luphrous]

Meh, I was gone longer than I thought I would be, so I'm going to bump this for the last time, while addressing some of my issues.
Okay well for starters, I'm going Politoed>Lapras, the SR is just too much to handle, and I carry no spinner.
Cynthia: Well, I thought about it, and despite what you and others have said about T-Spikes, it's working for me, so for now I'm sticking with it. As far as Ninetales, yea, I kind of wish I could face one to see how I actually stack up against it...I'm considering trying something over Rotom(curse this slot, it's the only one giving me trouble >.<) but, ugh there's just so many things this slot could do...Ninetales counter seems to be important, but blocking RS is always nice, I'd also like to fit in an actual counter to Scyther/Swellow, ugh choices choices..
Also, you beat me, but you did get that crit on Leafeon... :P

Colonel M: Well, I'm sticking with T-Spikes, so while Spikes would be nice to fit in, I don't really see it happening right now. I did try Frosslass, I was hoping for good results as I figured it could block RS, do some Spiking, and even revenge kill. However, I was a little disapointed with it to be honest, weak to SR and overall frail, it just didn't last...perhaps I'll give it another go, simply cause that list looks so nice...Thanks for posting anyways

Any opinions on Clefable over Rotom perhaps? Some more Wish support could really help this team(Again, my over-reliance on Leafeon :P), but as a bonus it could take status for me, and provide some descent walling..Does anyone know how it fares against Ninetales?
Actually, one question I forgot, does anyone think I should fit Encore onto Shuckle? It'd be really nice, but..I kind of need what I have..

 

[Luphrous]

Okay, I said the last post was my last bump, but yea, I lied. It was going to be my last bump, but know I'm really curious as to how Clefable could do over Rotom. Unfortunately I can't play Shoddy until Monday, so it's not like I can test it out. More Wish Support and a status absorber all in one sounds nice, but I've never used Clefable before, so I'm not really sure how it stands up to some of the stronger attackers. Like Ninetales for example, who I'm worried could be a real issue for my team. Opinions on Clefable please.
EDIT: Oh dear, just looked over this thread, hope this doesn't count as like, a Triple post or something <_<