5th Gen Stall Team

[andy89]

Hello guys! I'm back to competitive play after a while; this is my first attemp at a Gen V team, and since the new gen carried a lot of interesting support pokemon, I decided to build a Stall Team, even if I never used these type of teams in the past. I need help with this because I'm new to stall teams, so yeah, here's the team!

At a Glance

Team Building Process

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I started with the popular SkarmBliss combo, because they cover each other and can be difficult to deal with them if you don't carry a mixed attacker.

Then I chose Infernape as a lead, because he can set up rocks with ease, and can eventually KO the opponent's lead.

I needed a Ghost to stop Rapid spinners, and found that Jellicent has Recover! I picked him up and never thought to remove him by now.

Throh has a lot of HP, decent defenses and a useful move named Circle Throw, that is basically a damaging Roar. I needed another shuffler other than Skarmory so I picked him up.

In the last spot I needed someone that was capable of finish off the opponent's weakened pokes, and that could eventually shuffle them with Roar, while being bulky. I decided for Salamence because he has Roost, Roar and Outrage, on paper he seemed to me exactly what I needed for the last spot.

I noticed that Deoxys-S is not banned by now, and then decided to switch Infernape with him as Deoxys is more functional to the purpose of my team.

Throh is not that effective as I expected, and I needed the support of Toxic Spikes to increase the amount of stall damage the team can deal, so I dropped Throh for Tentacruel.

I noticed that Salamence is pretty useless in that type of team, not helping me at all with the stall intentions. Plus, I needed someone that can deal with electric attacks since three of my pokes are weak to electric. I chose Hippowdon because makes a great bulky pokemon, he's difficult to take down, he can Roar the enemies and can cure himself. Oh, and he summons Sandstorm, that is another welcomed passive source of damage.
I also dropped Blissey for Swampert, because I thought that the Rest+Sleep Talk set could be more effective over Blissey on my team.

In the end, I decided to drop Swampert because Hippowdon does near the same things that Swampert do, barring status absorb, and I lacked some power to revenge kill some threats that could otherwise ruin my strategy. I found ScarfChomp perfect for the last spot, as he can Revenge Kill/ manage with a lot of pokes : Latios, Salamence, Tyranitar, Metagross, Skarmory (With Fire Blast), and many others. And he has Sand Veil.

In Depth

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Deoxys Speed Forme (Rocket) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Speed
Timid Nature (+Speed, -Atk)

- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Magic Coat

Deoxys function so well for the purpose of my team : he always at least sets up rocks and one layers of spikes, or if I'm lucky, even 2 layers of spikes. With his speed, he outruns every lead, even if they're scarfed, so he can prevent Gengar from using trick, can Taunt other leads that try to put rocks/spikes, and can laught at Whimsicott by using Magic Coat, and then Taunt.

Jellicent (Boo) (M) @Leftovers
Trait: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)

- Scald / Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp / Toxic
- Recover
- Shadow Ball

His function here is to stop rapid spinners, and he does it so well with his Ghost type and Recover. Shadow Ball is here to cripple incoming Starmies, while Will-O-Wisp is for that levitating/flying pokes. I'm not sure to run it anyway, and was thinking to replace it for Toxic, that is better on the long run. Scald or Hydro Pump?

Hippowdon (Gianni)(M) @Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 176 HP / 84 Def / 248 SpDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)

- Earthquake
- Stockpile
- Slack Off
- Roar

After one Stockpile he can even resist STAB grass/water/ice moves, after two Stockpile only a few pokes in OU can 2HKO him, after 3 Stockpiles, well... He is almost highlander. With the ability of hit Steel types, that are immune to Toxic Spikes; to shuffle the opponent's pokes,to switch in on an electric move, and to summon Sandstorm, he's perfect for my team. I have no doubt about him, but any suggestion is appreciated ;)

Tentacruel (Jelly) (M) @Black Sludge
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SpDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)

- Toxic Spikes
- Protect
- Rapid Spin
- Surf

He completes my entry hazards set, laying out some Toxic Spikes that hyper-poison the enemies. Protect is here for stalling purposes, and because he lacks a recovery move, so I can use the turn to recover a bit more with Black Sludge. He can also use Rapid Spin, that is good if Deoxys fail to prevent the other lead to lay out entry hazards. Surf is just a filler, and I was thinking to replace it for Barrier, but I consider that a weaker option.

Skarmory (Hard Drive) (M) @Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Speed
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)

- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Roost
- Roar

His high defense, paired with the ability to lay out entry hazards, makes him perfect for my team. I decided to go with Stealth Rock instead of Brave Bird because I rarely have the time to use it, and I prefer to have another pokemon that can lay out rocks other that Deoxys, in case the foe rapid spin me.

Garchomp (DoomTrain) (M) @Choice Scarf
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Speed / 4 Def
Hasty Nature (+Atk, -Def)

- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Fire Blast

I found him perfect for my team because he can eliminate a lot of threats that can cause problems to my strategy. He can switch in on an electric move with impunity and EQ in response; he can revenge kill/manage with Latios, Salamence, Tyranitar, Metagross, Skarmory (With Fire Blast), and many others. He has also Sand Veil, that is every annoying. Since I needed someone that can output a decent amount of damages since all the other pokes are just support pokes, I think that he fits perfectly that role.


So, here is the team. Since I'm new to Stall teams, I'll accept any suggestions you can make on this team ;) Cheers!​

 

[LupeWilde]

r u sure you want surf or scald on your tentacruel?

 

[sangen95]

with sandstorm up wont that negate leftovers/black sludge on 2 of your stall pokes? not a huge deal but leftovers can change 2HKO's into 3HKO's.

 

[backflip]

First, I see Thundurus giving your team some trouble, even with Magic Coat stopping his Taunt/T-wave at the lead. Deoxys is the only one not hit SE, but can't actually threaten him offensively nor take many T-bolts. I would replace Deoxys Stealth Rocks with Psychic/Ice Beam as extra insurance alongside ScarfChomp against his sweeps. Psychic is good for STAB and Conkeldurr type Pokemon, but Ice Beam gets a mention because you also seem like you could struggle a lot with SD Gliscor (especially if they run Taunt as well), who unlike Thundurus, isn't bothered by sand and Stealth Rock.

Next, since Sand negates Tentacruels Sludge recovery, Protect can really only be used to scout. But in that case I see it better filled with Ice Beam (again, Gliscor and Dragons on the switch), HP Fire (Ferro and Forretress) or something like that.

Not much else as most here is pretty standard, aside from three negligible nitpicks/afterthoughts:
1) Whirlwind > Roar on Skarmory only because it isn't stopped by the (incredibly) obscure Soundproof.
2) Although Black Sludge on Tentacruel is an awesome way to ruin Trick, many people still run Leftovers just to avoid having Sludge Tricked back again on a Pokemon not named Tentacruel later in the game (especially against other stall teams where every bit of your Pokemon's longevity is vital)
3) Consider that as it stands, half your team (Hippo, Skarm, Deoxys) can't really do anything against Flying types, Levitate, and Air-Balloons except phaze them out, and your phazers are incredibly Taunt weak. Flying types have Stealth Rock to worry about, but the others are granted big opportunities to set up or dish a lot of unnecessary damage as you are forced to phaze them out.

Hope some of this helped.

 

[andy89]

Thanks Backflip for your suggestions, you helped me a lot. I think I would go with Ice Beam over Protect on Tentacruel, but I want to keep Deoxys as it is because I really need stealth rock support, or at least keeping Stealth Rock and erasing Spikes, since Skarmory can lay out that for me.