Hello everyone, this is my first RMT in Smogon. I'm an average player hoping to get more competitive which is why I decided to post this team for others to see and help me make it better. I've been on Showdown as a fairly successful player, using all sorts of decks in order to see which one fit me best. I find stall teams more suited to my play style, mainly because I feel that offensive decks are too frail, and balanced teams don't have enough team slots to do everything you want to do with them. Due to this, I'm showcasing a Sand stall team I call Vexxy Stall that I'm very comfortable with. (I named it after Vexacus4666 who gave me the original idea for the team).
Hippowdon (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Def
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
Hippowdon is my weather-setter simply because I don't like my opponent to have an advantage with their own weather. I can make do with without the Sand though because none of my pokes really take advantage of it. The only reason why I decided to use Sand was because a. it dishes out damage every turn which can rack up quickly, and b. the only other weather, hail, which gives out damage has too many weaknesses and I'm more used to Sand anyway . Besides being my weather-setter, Hippowdon is a boss at tanking hits, whether physical or special, and can heal it off with Slack Off. He's also my SR setter and is good at his job since he can take a lot of hits. The reason why I have both Earthquake and Ice Fang is because both moves give me good coverage against the pokes that people send to counter Hippowdon. If one move doesn't hit it, then the other does, and if I take out one move, I find myself wishing for it sooner or later. The EVs are set so that he can take Special hits better which helps him fulfill his role to take hits, as well as his Careful nature. I find no need to invest in Defense, as he already has plenty of stats in that area.
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 200 HP / 64 Atk / 244 Def
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Toxic
Landorus-Therian is my pivot as well as my check to physical attackers. Due to his high attack, I don't really need to invest EVs in that area, and an Adamant nature gives him enough firepower anyway. The rest of the EVs are placed so that he can take hits better, and his ability, Intimidate, really helps with that. His move set is fairly standard with a few twists, but is extremely effective. The EdgeQuake combo gives him good coverage, and U-turn allows him to be the pivot he is, and he's good at his job. He forces out a lot of switches, allowing me to use U-turn and giving me the upper hand over my opponent and allowing me more momentum. Since my opponent tends to switch out whenever I switch in Landorus-Therian, Toxic comes into play here where I can poison the counter to my poke. He's just a generally good pivot and counter to physical attackers.
Scizor (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Pursuit
- Superpower
Although initially a defensive Gliscor, Scizor fits infinitely better in this team as it forms a mini Volt-turn core, allowing me some ease in prediction as well as being ridiculously powerful when equipped with a Choice Band. He also serves as a counter to the omnipresent twin dragons (Latios and Lati@s) as well as being a pretty nifty revenge killer with Bullet Punch. I haven't looked back ever since changing to Scizor, and definitely like having him on my team.
Celebi @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 236 SDef / 20 Spd
Calm Nature
- Giga Drain
- Psychic
- U-turn
- Recover
Probably one of my most favorite pokemon of all time, Celebi is the G factor of the FWG core. She defines stall in my opinion, not only because of her excellent base stats, but also because of her ability Natural Cure. If I suspect my opponent of attempting to use status against my pokes, I go to Celebi as the answer. My FWG core is Specially Defensive, mostly because I already have two physically defensive pokemon. Celebi's move set is fairly standard, with a few tweaks of my own. I use Giga Drain as my grass move which hits hard enough when super effective. Psychic is my "spammable" move, which I use when Giga Drain doesn't hit hard enough. It also acts as a surprise to the opponent whom is probably expecting a status move in its place. U-turn allows me to gain some momentum and Recover is for reliable recovery. The EVs are placed so that Celebi can take specially defensive hits.
Heatran (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Lava Plume
- Protect
- Toxic
- Roar
Heatran serves as my counter to Dragon-types, having a Steel typing, as well as being the F factor of my FWG core. Heatran is my counter to Sun teams, having Flash Fire and being super effective against the many grass types on Sun teams. I tweaked around with his move set similar to Celebi. I use Lava Plume as my fire move of choice, although I somehow never get the burn off. I use a mini Toxic / Protect set to poison enemy pokes and heal as well as rack up poison damage with Protect. I use Roar which is my second phazing move as I find that my team can be easily set up on. The only problem that I encounter is that the poke that's setting up is faster than Heatran and can kill him before he gets a chance to use Roar, making him an inferior phazer, but I guess he does his job okay enough. His nature and EVs are tailored to match his role as a Specially Defensive poke.
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 232 HP / 76 SAtk / 200 Spd
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Thunder Wave
- Pain Split
As the last member of my FWG core, Rotom-W is the W factor of the core. I opted for a bulky attacker rather than a Specially Defensive set mainly because Rotom-W didn't hit hard enough. Stalling is all good and fine, but I needed a decisive attacker. His EVs and nature reflect my wish to hit hard as well, although I retained some stall element by making him have more health. His move set is fairly standard, although I opted to use Thunder Wave instead of Will-O-Wisp. Besides having perfect accuracy (yes, i miss Will-O-Wisp at the worst of times), Thunder Wave gives my team some breathing space if I get paralysis hax. My team is generally slow, and benefits from the speed drop that the enemy pokes suffer from the paralysis as well. Pain Split gives my Rotom-W some longevity as I didn't want it to die too early, but I didn't want to take up a moveslot with Rest and Chesto Berry.
How to Play this Team:
More often that not, I find people asking me how this team wins, as there are no sweepers or decisive attackers in my team. Rather, it's made up of pokes that rely on longevity and pure stall. I find that the only way to win with this team is through prediction and U-turn as well as Volt Switch. The Volt-turn moves allow me some momentum and breathing space which lets me switch into a super effective poke. Through proper prediction, I'm able to use a move which is super effective against a poke switching in, allowing me the upper hand. Once I take out a core member of the opponent's team, it's all too easy to either stall to the ends of time or use prediction to take out another member. If I don't feel like predicting, Toxic is the go to move, as it makes the opponent run on a timer. It's with Toxic that moves like Protect show their true worth. There's also the weather to think of. If my opponent lacks Leftovers, they'll also find themselves taking damage from Sand that can rack up very quickly. This can make them panic and be overly hasty, giving me the opportunity to take down a poke.
Conclusion:
Thanks for reading and feel free to rate, take, hate, and use this team. I'm open up to any suggestions as well.
Hippowdon (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Def
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
Hippowdon is my weather-setter simply because I don't like my opponent to have an advantage with their own weather. I can make do with without the Sand though because none of my pokes really take advantage of it. The only reason why I decided to use Sand was because a. it dishes out damage every turn which can rack up quickly, and b. the only other weather, hail, which gives out damage has too many weaknesses and I'm more used to Sand anyway . Besides being my weather-setter, Hippowdon is a boss at tanking hits, whether physical or special, and can heal it off with Slack Off. He's also my SR setter and is good at his job since he can take a lot of hits. The reason why I have both Earthquake and Ice Fang is because both moves give me good coverage against the pokes that people send to counter Hippowdon. If one move doesn't hit it, then the other does, and if I take out one move, I find myself wishing for it sooner or later. The EVs are set so that he can take Special hits better which helps him fulfill his role to take hits, as well as his Careful nature. I find no need to invest in Defense, as he already has plenty of stats in that area.
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 200 HP / 64 Atk / 244 Def
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Toxic
Landorus-Therian is my pivot as well as my check to physical attackers. Due to his high attack, I don't really need to invest EVs in that area, and an Adamant nature gives him enough firepower anyway. The rest of the EVs are placed so that he can take hits better, and his ability, Intimidate, really helps with that. His move set is fairly standard with a few twists, but is extremely effective. The EdgeQuake combo gives him good coverage, and U-turn allows him to be the pivot he is, and he's good at his job. He forces out a lot of switches, allowing me to use U-turn and giving me the upper hand over my opponent and allowing me more momentum. Since my opponent tends to switch out whenever I switch in Landorus-Therian, Toxic comes into play here where I can poison the counter to my poke. He's just a generally good pivot and counter to physical attackers.
Scizor (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Pursuit
- Superpower
Although initially a defensive Gliscor, Scizor fits infinitely better in this team as it forms a mini Volt-turn core, allowing me some ease in prediction as well as being ridiculously powerful when equipped with a Choice Band. He also serves as a counter to the omnipresent twin dragons (Latios and Lati@s) as well as being a pretty nifty revenge killer with Bullet Punch. I haven't looked back ever since changing to Scizor, and definitely like having him on my team.
Celebi @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 236 SDef / 20 Spd
Calm Nature
- Giga Drain
- Psychic
- U-turn
- Recover
Probably one of my most favorite pokemon of all time, Celebi is the G factor of the FWG core. She defines stall in my opinion, not only because of her excellent base stats, but also because of her ability Natural Cure. If I suspect my opponent of attempting to use status against my pokes, I go to Celebi as the answer. My FWG core is Specially Defensive, mostly because I already have two physically defensive pokemon. Celebi's move set is fairly standard, with a few tweaks of my own. I use Giga Drain as my grass move which hits hard enough when super effective. Psychic is my "spammable" move, which I use when Giga Drain doesn't hit hard enough. It also acts as a surprise to the opponent whom is probably expecting a status move in its place. U-turn allows me to gain some momentum and Recover is for reliable recovery. The EVs are placed so that Celebi can take specially defensive hits.
Heatran (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Lava Plume
- Protect
- Toxic
- Roar
Heatran serves as my counter to Dragon-types, having a Steel typing, as well as being the F factor of my FWG core. Heatran is my counter to Sun teams, having Flash Fire and being super effective against the many grass types on Sun teams. I tweaked around with his move set similar to Celebi. I use Lava Plume as my fire move of choice, although I somehow never get the burn off. I use a mini Toxic / Protect set to poison enemy pokes and heal as well as rack up poison damage with Protect. I use Roar which is my second phazing move as I find that my team can be easily set up on. The only problem that I encounter is that the poke that's setting up is faster than Heatran and can kill him before he gets a chance to use Roar, making him an inferior phazer, but I guess he does his job okay enough. His nature and EVs are tailored to match his role as a Specially Defensive poke.
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 232 HP / 76 SAtk / 200 Spd
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Thunder Wave
- Pain Split
As the last member of my FWG core, Rotom-W is the W factor of the core. I opted for a bulky attacker rather than a Specially Defensive set mainly because Rotom-W didn't hit hard enough. Stalling is all good and fine, but I needed a decisive attacker. His EVs and nature reflect my wish to hit hard as well, although I retained some stall element by making him have more health. His move set is fairly standard, although I opted to use Thunder Wave instead of Will-O-Wisp. Besides having perfect accuracy (yes, i miss Will-O-Wisp at the worst of times), Thunder Wave gives my team some breathing space if I get paralysis hax. My team is generally slow, and benefits from the speed drop that the enemy pokes suffer from the paralysis as well. Pain Split gives my Rotom-W some longevity as I didn't want it to die too early, but I didn't want to take up a moveslot with Rest and Chesto Berry.
How to Play this Team:
More often that not, I find people asking me how this team wins, as there are no sweepers or decisive attackers in my team. Rather, it's made up of pokes that rely on longevity and pure stall. I find that the only way to win with this team is through prediction and U-turn as well as Volt Switch. The Volt-turn moves allow me some momentum and breathing space which lets me switch into a super effective poke. Through proper prediction, I'm able to use a move which is super effective against a poke switching in, allowing me the upper hand. Once I take out a core member of the opponent's team, it's all too easy to either stall to the ends of time or use prediction to take out another member. If I don't feel like predicting, Toxic is the go to move, as it makes the opponent run on a timer. It's with Toxic that moves like Protect show their true worth. There's also the weather to think of. If my opponent lacks Leftovers, they'll also find themselves taking damage from Sand that can rack up very quickly. This can make them panic and be overly hasty, giving me the opportunity to take down a poke.
Conclusion:
Thanks for reading and feel free to rate, take, hate, and use this team. I'm open up to any suggestions as well.
