Hello, I'm Sax King! In this fast paced, offensive metagame, the name of the game is revenge killing. The basic premise of most teams is to kill, be revenge killed, revenge kill the opponent, be revenge killed, etc. If you can't revenge kill the opponent, they sweep you. I was fairly tired of these frail offensive teams. I've never really tried making a stall team, and so this is a new area for me. This team is meant to stall the opponent while still hurting them through entry hazards, status, and the likes. Essentially, this is a bulky hazard phazing team. I'll show you how it all began.
Team Building:
Alright, enough screwing around, here's the team:
El Ermitaño (Iwaparesu) (F) @
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 168 HP / 252 Atk / 88 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Slide
- X-Scissor
This is the most reliable hazard lead in existance. It has access to two types of hazards and has very strong attack. It has great bulk and usually can lay down at least two layers of hazards. The basic plan is to make it a suicide pokemon and just have it lay down as many hazards as possible. Stealth Rock is obviously top priority, as Nattorei carries Spikes. After Stealth Rock is down, I can put down layers of Spikes. Rock Slide is powerful and strong and is capable of OHKOing Aerodactyl and anything weak to Rock. X-Scissor is also equally powerful and can deal massive damage to everything that doesn't resist it. Espeon is OHKO'd by it, so if I predict an Espeon switch-in, I'll OHKO it. Iwaparesu's bulk is indespensible, as it allows it to tank multiple hits. The Lum berry is to protect it from status leads like Darkrai, Machamp, and Roserade. I've been considering a Passho berry however, to combat leads like Politoed. The 88 Speed EVs are to outspeed leads like Machamp. Attack is maxed out to ensure that he can deal some damage, and everything else is dumped into HP.
El Dragón (Salamence) (M) @
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 SAtk / 16 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Roost
- Dragon Tail
- Flamethrower
- Hydro Pump
This is my own, custom Salamence. The idea of it is to counter common pokemon while still being a threat and to be bulky enough to sponge hits and heal. Now, someone is going to say "WTF WHERE'S OUTRAGE AND DRAGON DANCE?!" I understand that Salamence gets both of those moves, but I think this Salamence suits the team better. Intimidate is incredibly useful and forces many switches. The switch in gets hit with Stealth Rock and multiple layers of Spikes, as well as a STAB Dragon Tail. Then the new, unwanted pokemon comes in and is hit by multiple layers of hazards. The damage starts to rack up quickly. Flamethrower is standard on Salamence for its ability to hit Ice, Grass (Breloom, Nattorei), and Steels hard. Hydro Pump is an often overlooked move on Salamence, but it is needed on my team for pokemon like Hippowdon, Blaziken, and Infernape. The EVs and nature are unusual. Max HP is for maximum bulk, and the 16 Speed EVs are to outspeed max speed Adamant Breloom. The rest is dumped into SAtk for a more powerful Flamethrower and Hydro Pump. I understand tha a Modest Nature makes Dragon Tail less powerful, but Salamence has a base 135 Atk. Dragon Tail is still immensely powerful. I would like some help with the spread of this pokemon, though. I was considering Garchomp, but I liked Intimidate more so I chose Salamence.
La Medusa (Burungeru) (F) @
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Boil Over
- Shadow Ball
- Recover
- Toxic
Burungeru is the much needed spin blocker of the team. It is also the dedicated special wall of the team. All special attacks go to Burungeru, as she can absorb most of them. Her high HP stat also allows her to absorb some physical attacks, though not as well as special attacks. Boil Over is for the nifty Burn chance that helps my team tank for a bit more. Shadow Ball is for additional STAB and even for opposing Burungerus. Recover allows me to tank hits all day, as I can usually heal up when their sweeper realizes that it can't do anything to me. Toxic is for additional stalling and helps wear down the opponent even faster. This is pretty much a standard Burungeru, there's really not much too it. It has great synergy with the rest of the team, especially because it can absorb Ice attacks aimed at Salamence and Latias.
El Durián (Nattorei) (M) @
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Power Whip
- Spikes
- Toxic
- Gyro Ball
How can you make a stall team without this guy? Nattorei is a staple of any stall team, and my team is no exception. It provides Spike support if Iwaparesu can't get down three layers, and can provide poison support to help stall out the opponent. Power Whip is pretty much essential on Nattorei as it can take down bulky Waters that plague many teams. Gyro Ball also gets huge power because minimum speed Nattorei is the slowest fully evolved pokemon out there. Burungeru and Nattorei form an unstoppable combo that forces switches all over the place. I don't really need to put any specail defense EVs into this guy because I have Burungeru to take all of the special hits.
Legendario (Latias) (F) @
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Recover
- Dragon Pulse
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
Life Orb + 3 Attack Latias is truly a monster. It packs incredible power and can even heal whatever damage is dealt to it by either the Life Orb or by other pokemon. Dragon Pulse is for obvious STAB. I chose it over Draco Meteor because I don't like the Special Attack drop. Instead of using moves like Surf and Psychic, I chose Thunderbolt and Ice Beam for BoltBeam coverage, although I would actually like a Psychic move in there, but I don't want to sacrifice coverage. Latias packs several useful resistances for my team (Psychic, Ground, Water, Fire, Fighting, Electric, etc). I chose Latias over Latios because I wanted bulk, not power.
La Rana (Toxicroak) (M) @
Trait: Dry Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Sucker Punch
- Poison Jab
- Drain Punch
- Swords Dance
Toxicroak is a weird pokemon that I wish people would use more often. Toxicroak has several important uses, the main one being that it is a sure-fire rain counter. It absorbs all water attacks and there's little they can do in return. Sucker Punch is great priority to have, especially with pokemon like Deoxys-A running around (He thinks he can use Psycho Boost on me...) Poison Jab is for STAB, and it is also my move of choice against Grass types like Breloom and Venusaur. Drain Punch is also a great move on Toxicroak. Many walls are weak to Fighting, so Toxicroak can heal himself (and any LO recoil) and break down walls simultaneously. Swords Dance is probably the most useful move on Toxicroak. Some pokemon are smart and switch out when they see Toxicroak, and so I Swords Dance on the switch. This makes all future Sucker Punches super powerful, and I can run through teams after just one Swords Dance. This also makes Drain Punch super powerful, making Toxicroak constantly heal itself.
Team Building:
So I wanted to start with the king of Stall and phazing, Skarmory. Skarmory needs a specially defensive partner to accompany it. I hated Blissey's weak physical side, so I wanted to choose another pokemon that complimented Skarmory well. Snorlax seemed to fit the bill with its high special defense and resistance to Ice and Fire. So here they are.
So the main problem for teams that capitalize on entry hazards is Rapid Spin. The problem with most spin blockers is that spinners develope ways to deal with them. Blocking the spinners wasn't enough; I had to kill them before they killed my blocker. The absolute best pokemon for this was Shandera (Not Shadow Tag, though, this is standard tier).
Okay, so now I had the basic part down. I had two walls, a defensive core, and a spin blocker/revenge killer. There was one thing I forgot, though: entry hazards! Sure, Skarmory carries Spikes, but I can't just rely on Skarmory. I needed a strong, bulky lead that could lay down hazards reliably. Forretress was an option, but it was total Taunt bait and lures in Espeon. I've use Omastar in the past, but there was really no reason to use it in particular now, so that was no. Iwaparesu caught my eye for its ability to OHKO Espeon and Aerodactyl, not lure in Taunt or Espeon, and lay down two types of hazards.
My new facvorite move was Dragon Tail, and it fit the theme of the team well. All I needed was an abuser. I had tried Dragonite on a previous team, but I was unimpressed. Instead, I wanted something that could still apply offensive pressure while being reasonably bulky. Gyarados was my first choice, but then I had a nasty Electric weakness and no resistances. Instead, I chose Salamence because of Roost, Intimidate, and decent defensive typing.
There was still a nasty weakness to Electric attacks, and a strong Boltbeam combo could rampage through my team (*cough Borutorosu cough*). I also needed another phazer who could also lay down hazards and tank hits like nobody's business. I wanted to try Swampert because of its great typing, synergy with my team, and great bulk.
Yeah, this team sucked in practice. Snorlax could maybe last for one hit, Shandera was too frail, and the grass attacks for Swampert were unavoidable. I needed to replace Shandera and Swampert first. I would have liked not to use these pokemon, but Burungeru and Nattorei were perfect for this team. So, I had to use them.
Wow, Fire attacks were a problem, seeing as they still destroyed Snorlax and completely destroyed Nattorei and Skarmory. I also had enough hazards between Nattorei and Iwaparesu, so there was really no need for Skarmory. What I really needed was a pokemon who had useful resistances for my team and could still apply a bit of offensive pressure. Latias was bulky and could really apply pressure on the opponent. Now all I needed was a pokemon to check set up sweepers with strong priority that could even take out opposing walls. I liked Toxicroak for that because of his strong Sucker Punch, bulk in the rain, and ability to switch in easily on fighting and water attacks.
So the main problem for teams that capitalize on entry hazards is Rapid Spin. The problem with most spin blockers is that spinners develope ways to deal with them. Blocking the spinners wasn't enough; I had to kill them before they killed my blocker. The absolute best pokemon for this was Shandera (Not Shadow Tag, though, this is standard tier).
Okay, so now I had the basic part down. I had two walls, a defensive core, and a spin blocker/revenge killer. There was one thing I forgot, though: entry hazards! Sure, Skarmory carries Spikes, but I can't just rely on Skarmory. I needed a strong, bulky lead that could lay down hazards reliably. Forretress was an option, but it was total Taunt bait and lures in Espeon. I've use Omastar in the past, but there was really no reason to use it in particular now, so that was no. Iwaparesu caught my eye for its ability to OHKO Espeon and Aerodactyl, not lure in Taunt or Espeon, and lay down two types of hazards.
My new facvorite move was Dragon Tail, and it fit the theme of the team well. All I needed was an abuser. I had tried Dragonite on a previous team, but I was unimpressed. Instead, I wanted something that could still apply offensive pressure while being reasonably bulky. Gyarados was my first choice, but then I had a nasty Electric weakness and no resistances. Instead, I chose Salamence because of Roost, Intimidate, and decent defensive typing.
There was still a nasty weakness to Electric attacks, and a strong Boltbeam combo could rampage through my team (*cough Borutorosu cough*). I also needed another phazer who could also lay down hazards and tank hits like nobody's business. I wanted to try Swampert because of its great typing, synergy with my team, and great bulk.
Yeah, this team sucked in practice. Snorlax could maybe last for one hit, Shandera was too frail, and the grass attacks for Swampert were unavoidable. I needed to replace Shandera and Swampert first. I would have liked not to use these pokemon, but Burungeru and Nattorei were perfect for this team. So, I had to use them.
Wow, Fire attacks were a problem, seeing as they still destroyed Snorlax and completely destroyed Nattorei and Skarmory. I also had enough hazards between Nattorei and Iwaparesu, so there was really no need for Skarmory. What I really needed was a pokemon who had useful resistances for my team and could still apply a bit of offensive pressure. Latias was bulky and could really apply pressure on the opponent. Now all I needed was a pokemon to check set up sweepers with strong priority that could even take out opposing walls. I liked Toxicroak for that because of his strong Sucker Punch, bulk in the rain, and ability to switch in easily on fighting and water attacks.
Alright, enough screwing around, here's the team:
El Ermitaño (Iwaparesu) (F) @
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 168 HP / 252 Atk / 88 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
This is the most reliable hazard lead in existance. It has access to two types of hazards and has very strong attack. It has great bulk and usually can lay down at least two layers of hazards. The basic plan is to make it a suicide pokemon and just have it lay down as many hazards as possible. Stealth Rock is obviously top priority, as Nattorei carries Spikes. After Stealth Rock is down, I can put down layers of Spikes. Rock Slide is powerful and strong and is capable of OHKOing Aerodactyl and anything weak to Rock. X-Scissor is also equally powerful and can deal massive damage to everything that doesn't resist it. Espeon is OHKO'd by it, so if I predict an Espeon switch-in, I'll OHKO it. Iwaparesu's bulk is indespensible, as it allows it to tank multiple hits. The Lum berry is to protect it from status leads like Darkrai, Machamp, and Roserade. I've been considering a Passho berry however, to combat leads like Politoed. The 88 Speed EVs are to outspeed leads like Machamp. Attack is maxed out to ensure that he can deal some damage, and everything else is dumped into HP.
El Dragón (Salamence) (M) @
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 SAtk / 16 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
This is my own, custom Salamence. The idea of it is to counter common pokemon while still being a threat and to be bulky enough to sponge hits and heal. Now, someone is going to say "WTF WHERE'S OUTRAGE AND DRAGON DANCE?!" I understand that Salamence gets both of those moves, but I think this Salamence suits the team better. Intimidate is incredibly useful and forces many switches. The switch in gets hit with Stealth Rock and multiple layers of Spikes, as well as a STAB Dragon Tail. Then the new, unwanted pokemon comes in and is hit by multiple layers of hazards. The damage starts to rack up quickly. Flamethrower is standard on Salamence for its ability to hit Ice, Grass (Breloom, Nattorei), and Steels hard. Hydro Pump is an often overlooked move on Salamence, but it is needed on my team for pokemon like Hippowdon, Blaziken, and Infernape. The EVs and nature are unusual. Max HP is for maximum bulk, and the 16 Speed EVs are to outspeed max speed Adamant Breloom. The rest is dumped into SAtk for a more powerful Flamethrower and Hydro Pump. I understand tha a Modest Nature makes Dragon Tail less powerful, but Salamence has a base 135 Atk. Dragon Tail is still immensely powerful. I would like some help with the spread of this pokemon, though. I was considering Garchomp, but I liked Intimidate more so I chose Salamence.
La Medusa (Burungeru) (F) @
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
Burungeru is the much needed spin blocker of the team. It is also the dedicated special wall of the team. All special attacks go to Burungeru, as she can absorb most of them. Her high HP stat also allows her to absorb some physical attacks, though not as well as special attacks. Boil Over is for the nifty Burn chance that helps my team tank for a bit more. Shadow Ball is for additional STAB and even for opposing Burungerus. Recover allows me to tank hits all day, as I can usually heal up when their sweeper realizes that it can't do anything to me. Toxic is for additional stalling and helps wear down the opponent even faster. This is pretty much a standard Burungeru, there's really not much too it. It has great synergy with the rest of the team, especially because it can absorb Ice attacks aimed at Salamence and Latias.
El Durián (Nattorei) (M) @
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
How can you make a stall team without this guy? Nattorei is a staple of any stall team, and my team is no exception. It provides Spike support if Iwaparesu can't get down three layers, and can provide poison support to help stall out the opponent. Power Whip is pretty much essential on Nattorei as it can take down bulky Waters that plague many teams. Gyro Ball also gets huge power because minimum speed Nattorei is the slowest fully evolved pokemon out there. Burungeru and Nattorei form an unstoppable combo that forces switches all over the place. I don't really need to put any specail defense EVs into this guy because I have Burungeru to take all of the special hits.
Legendario (Latias) (F) @
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
Life Orb + 3 Attack Latias is truly a monster. It packs incredible power and can even heal whatever damage is dealt to it by either the Life Orb or by other pokemon. Dragon Pulse is for obvious STAB. I chose it over Draco Meteor because I don't like the Special Attack drop. Instead of using moves like Surf and Psychic, I chose Thunderbolt and Ice Beam for BoltBeam coverage, although I would actually like a Psychic move in there, but I don't want to sacrifice coverage. Latias packs several useful resistances for my team (Psychic, Ground, Water, Fire, Fighting, Electric, etc). I chose Latias over Latios because I wanted bulk, not power.
La Rana (Toxicroak) (M) @
Trait: Dry Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
Toxicroak is a weird pokemon that I wish people would use more often. Toxicroak has several important uses, the main one being that it is a sure-fire rain counter. It absorbs all water attacks and there's little they can do in return. Sucker Punch is great priority to have, especially with pokemon like Deoxys-A running around (He thinks he can use Psycho Boost on me...) Poison Jab is for STAB, and it is also my move of choice against Grass types like Breloom and Venusaur. Drain Punch is also a great move on Toxicroak. Many walls are weak to Fighting, so Toxicroak can heal himself (and any LO recoil) and break down walls simultaneously. Swords Dance is probably the most useful move on Toxicroak. Some pokemon are smart and switch out when they see Toxicroak, and so I Swords Dance on the switch. This makes all future Sucker Punches super powerful, and I can run through teams after just one Swords Dance. This also makes Drain Punch super powerful, making Toxicroak constantly heal itself.
