Hello All!
I recently started playing Pokemon competitively, almost exclusively 3rd gen (Have dabbled in some 1st before).
I play Pokemon on a legitimate cartridge, against friends (However they also play competitively, so no "Ill teach my Charizard 4 Fire Type moves!" BS)
This is my latest effort at a stall team, my personal favourite type of team, and I have to say I'm loving it so far.
I'm not terribly experienced, so any advice will be greatly appreciated, also keep in mind that while I am playing on a cartridge, I will be hacking Mons onto it, so I will be able to get Hidden Power/Event Pokemon/Proper IVs etc etc
So without further ado, here is my current team!
So my plan for this is to first describe the Core, then what I had in mind whilst building the team, then individual Pokemon descriptions.
The Core:
What 3rd Gen stall team would be complete without SkarmBliss?
Skarmory lays Spikes (Essential for teams like this), Phases problem Mons, sponges Physical hits like a boss, and perhaps might even deal a bit of damage along the way. To compliment this I have Blissey, who is the teams Special Wall, basically has infinite HP, and runs Aromatherapy to keep my team healthy, which is quite nice to have as quite a lot of my sets run rest. Finally to wrap it all up, i have Claydol. Claydol resists every Physical Attack that Skarmory Doesn't, He spins to keep spikes away, and has nice coverage in his moveset.
The SkarmBlissDol Core means I have reliable damage soaking, and have a nice way to lay and remove Spikes.
Hopes and Dreams:
So my idea whilst making this team was to create a team capable of stalling the match for as long as I needed to, whittle away as much as possible with incremental damage (Mainly Spikes and Toxic), then deal with the remaining Mons with a single Offensive threat (Or even just small attacks from the rest of the team). With this in mind I decided on what roles I wanted to have:
* A Special Wall
* A Physical Wall
* A Cleric
* A RestTalker
* A Spiker
* A Spinner
* A Spinblocker
* An Offensive Threat
* A Phazer
* A Status Guy (Toxic, T-Wave, WoW etc etc)
* A Mixed Wall
Those were the main things, things that I decided I did not want to go without, however there are some more, some of which are not currently on the team, that I wouldn't mind having:
* A Hazer
* A PP-Staller
* A Wish-Passer
* A Screener
* A BoltBeamer
* A MeanlookPasser
* A Sleeper
* A Hail/Sandstorm Inducer
* A Seeder
* A Wall Breaker
However we are only allowed 6 Mons, so many of these will not be present on the team
So as for what I do have:
Blissey: Cleric, Special Wall, Toxic Guy
Skarmory: Physical Wall, Phazer, Spiker
Calydol: Spinner, Physical Wall
Zapdos: Rest Talker
Dusclops: Mixed Wall, PP-Staller, WoW Guy, Spinblocker
Suicune: Offensive Threat
There are several things I am considering changing, and each would mean I would have to change movesets of other Mons respectively, note for some of these I will be posting detailed sets and things for the alternatives also:
Idea #1: Cutting Zapdos:
This would lead to me changing Either Suicune or Dusclops into a RestTalker, and depending on what one I chose, would mean I would either add Tyranitar, or a Pressure guy (Probably Umbreon) respectively. I would no longer have a Pseudo lead unless I replaced him with Tyranitar, however my RestTalker would be less suspectable to RockSlide as a result.
Another option would be to replace Zapdos with a RestTalk Metagross. Metagross has very nice bulk and a good ability, a bit of surprise factor with an uncommon set, and could act as a pseudo-offensive presence, allowing me to cut Suicune for something like Vapoureon.
Idea #2: Cutting Suicune:
Suicune would probably be replaced by Breloom, if I wanted a Purely offensive Threat, that can also act as a Statuser, a Wall-breaker AND a Seeder (Note that there are no mechanical clauses since I play on cart, so No Sleep Clause, however we have an agreement on things like Evasion Clause and Species Clause), he would make a truly respectable lead, however is very fragile. The other option would to be replacing Suicune with Vapoureon, which gives me far more defensive leverage, a Wishpasser, and a useful ability in Water Absorb, however I would then have a lack of Offensive threat, although may turn to Replacing Zapdos with Metagross again.
Idea #3: Cutting Dusclops:
Dusclops and Gengar serve the same main roll, in blocking Rapid Spin, however Dusclops is more defensive whilst Gengar is more offensive. I would lose defensive presence but gain speed, some very nice coverage in attacks, and a pseudo Boltbeam combo to boot. I am not sure about this one as much, so am running Dusclops out of personal Preference, however I will be testing both, and will provide detailed set information about both.
The Pokemans:
The Lead:
Zapdos (Zapdos) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Def / 224 SpD
Calm Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Thunderbolt
- Roar
A standard RestTalk Zapdos, he leads decently, can dent certain Mons with a STAB Thunderbolt, and has a chance to Phase even while asleep. Defensively, with 32 EV's he can survive a CB'd Salamence's Rockslide, in which case I can either Switch out, whilst Zapdos can Rest next time he is in, or Roar second if I predicted well, then Rest. Zapdos is one of the more offensive Mons on my team, so can do a fairly good job of picking off remnants, and obviously can absorb sleep. Note that even with a Cleric I still decided I needed a RestTalker, as I have found not only is sleep more abundant with no clause, but RestTalkers do an incredible job of stalling, especially with Pressure, and can be insanely hard to kill with some support. I chose Roar over another Attack as I disliked having Skarmory as my only Phazer.
Possible other Leads:
The two other leads I would replace Zapdos for are Gengar and Tyranitar, Gengar has nice coverage and amazing variety, whilst Tyranitar is a very offensive presence and Sandstorm deals nice residual damage, that both Skarmory and Claydol are immune to, however I dislike turning off my leftovers, and Sandstorm does make the game last quite a while (Its a lot slower to go through the animation). Breloom spreads sleep (unhindered by Sleep Clause) and gives me access to a Wallbreaker and leech Seed, however has almost no defensive bulk, relying on Leech Seed and Substitute. If I were to replace Zapdos as a lead (Not necessarily cut him from the team) these are the sets I would run:
Gengar (Gengar) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 184 Atk / 136 SpA / 188 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Punch
- Focus Punch
- Substitute
A SubPunching, BoltBeaming Gengar, just what Ive always wanted, he Breaks Walls and dishes out damage, I might opt for a more standard Gengar but this little guy here has both my curiosity AND my attention.
Tyranitar (Tyranitar) @ Leftovers
Trait: SandStream
EVs: 188 HP / 240 SpA / 80 Spe
Modest Nature
- Pursuit
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam
I love myself some Pursuit, and have wanted to use Pursuit for a very long time. I have never tried out this build for Tyranitar, usually going for a standard CB or DDTaunt set, however I saw this on Smogon and really want to try it out someday.
Breloom (Breloom) @ Leftovers
Trait: EffectSpore
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Focus Punch
- Spore
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
He sleeps things, then kills things, however will die to just about anything. If he can get set up he is almost unstoppable if not dealt with properly, however getting to that point is very difficult, not sure what to think on this guy.
The Core:
Skarmory (Skarmory) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
- Steel Wing
- Rest
Pretty standard set for him, he spikes, phazes, and thats about it. Sturdy and Rest, along with Steel Wing over HP Flying or Drill Peck, make him as defensive as possible, as really all he wants to do is Spikes, and Phaze, and not die. STAB Steel Wing can pick off some remnants, however mostly its just used when avaliable for the chance at a DEF boost. He is core and therefore will not be cut, unless a drastic (And i mean TRULY drastic) team redesign is made.
Blissey (Blissey) @ Leftovers
Trait: NaturalCure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
- Aromatherapy
- Softboiled
- Toxic
- Seismic Toss
EV'd and Natured for Pure Special Defense, I am a tad worried about her dying to mixed attackers, so may revert to a more mixed defense (Forgoing HP EV's for DEF, and changing to a Def increasing Nature) other than that she takes Specials, Doesnt die, and toxic's things, all while keeping my team healthy.
Claydol (Claydol) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Psychic
- Rest
Spins away spikes, whilst taking almost no residual damage apart from the almost never seen Hail. I chose Rest over Hidden Power as id rather he stayed around than deal damage, and STAB Psychic and Earthquake already deal that quite well.
The Rest:
Dusclops (Dusclops) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 36 Atk / 20 Def / 200 SpD
Careful Nature
- Seismic Toss
- Will-O-Wisp
- Focus Punch
- Rest
He blocks Rapid Spinning, which is his main job, but also carries an unprotected Focus Punch to deal with Blissey's and the occasional predicted switch, and Rest to keep him around longer. I have thought of forgoing Focus Punch for Protect, to further PP-Stall and to block Explosion and such. I have also considered making him a RestTalker, freeing up Zapdo's slot. RestTalk Dusclops would probably be very similar, probably just replacing Focus Punch with Sleep Talk.
Other RestTalkers:
Replacing (Or turning Dusclops into) Dusclops with a SleepTalker would free up a slot in Zapdos, letting me run another threat. If I were to replace Dusclops, I would either make Suicune a RestTalker, or import Metagross. Suicune frees up both an offensive slot AND another slot, so I can run both a harder hitting Offensive and another defensive Mon, however Metagross serves both roles decently.
Metagross (Metagross) @ Leftovers
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Atk / 40 Def / 32 SpD / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rest
- SleepTalk
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
He has very decent bulk, and can still hit hard, he is hard to kill and absorbs status for me. Im very tempted to run him, but Im not sure how well he would turn out IRL no matter how good he looks on Paper. He frees up a slot for something else though which is nice.
Suicune (Suicune) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 60 SpA / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
- Rest
- SleepTalk
- Calm Mind
- Surf
Frees up 2 slots on the team, and is still a semi-decent offensive presence even with this set. Pretty self explanatory, however loses coverage and the option to Phaze.
Suicune (Suicune) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 60 SpA / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Ice Beam
- Surf
- Rest
Very offensive build here, Suicune dishes out damage at the end of the match, however still has a good bulk to back it up should I need it earlier. Considered forgoing Ice beam for Roar, giving me yet another Phazer however that seemed unnecessary. Pretty Standard set, nothing too much to explain.
Possible Mons:
Gotta love Eevee's here, Whilst performing very similar roles, Vaporeon is probably the better choice as it is a bulky water type, that also can deal some damage with Surf, and give me another immunity (Through Water Absorb). Umbreon on the other hand gives me yet another PP-Staller, and is able to MeanLookPass in order to help me set up properly, or deal with certain troublesome Mons. He is also able to Charm to force switches. Both of these would require me to replace something else in order to make space for a more offensive presence
Vaporeon (Vaporeon) @ Leftovers
Trait: WaterAbsorb
EVs: 248 HP / 228 Def / 32 SpD
Bold Nature
- Surf
- Wish
- Protect
- Toxic
Helps keep my team healthy, Screws over things with Protect, and can deal damage, probably the better option of the two, and really close to making the team.
Umbreon (Umbreon) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Def / 224 Spe
Bold Nature
- Mean Look
- Baton Pass
- Moonlight
- Taunt
Helps to deal with threats better, and deals with opposing Skarmory with Taunt. Charm could be an option over Taunt to further inhibit trapped Mons.
End:
So that is my team, and the thought Process I went through when making it. Any suggestions or advice are greatly appreciated, I hope to be hearing from all of you.
I recently started playing Pokemon competitively, almost exclusively 3rd gen (Have dabbled in some 1st before).
I play Pokemon on a legitimate cartridge, against friends (However they also play competitively, so no "Ill teach my Charizard 4 Fire Type moves!" BS)
This is my latest effort at a stall team, my personal favourite type of team, and I have to say I'm loving it so far.
I'm not terribly experienced, so any advice will be greatly appreciated, also keep in mind that while I am playing on a cartridge, I will be hacking Mons onto it, so I will be able to get Hidden Power/Event Pokemon/Proper IVs etc etc
So without further ado, here is my current team!
So my plan for this is to first describe the Core, then what I had in mind whilst building the team, then individual Pokemon descriptions.
The Core:
What 3rd Gen stall team would be complete without SkarmBliss?
Skarmory lays Spikes (Essential for teams like this), Phases problem Mons, sponges Physical hits like a boss, and perhaps might even deal a bit of damage along the way. To compliment this I have Blissey, who is the teams Special Wall, basically has infinite HP, and runs Aromatherapy to keep my team healthy, which is quite nice to have as quite a lot of my sets run rest. Finally to wrap it all up, i have Claydol. Claydol resists every Physical Attack that Skarmory Doesn't, He spins to keep spikes away, and has nice coverage in his moveset.
The SkarmBlissDol Core means I have reliable damage soaking, and have a nice way to lay and remove Spikes.
Hopes and Dreams:
So my idea whilst making this team was to create a team capable of stalling the match for as long as I needed to, whittle away as much as possible with incremental damage (Mainly Spikes and Toxic), then deal with the remaining Mons with a single Offensive threat (Or even just small attacks from the rest of the team). With this in mind I decided on what roles I wanted to have:
* A Special Wall
* A Physical Wall
* A Cleric
* A RestTalker
* A Spiker
* A Spinner
* A Spinblocker
* An Offensive Threat
* A Phazer
* A Status Guy (Toxic, T-Wave, WoW etc etc)
* A Mixed Wall
Those were the main things, things that I decided I did not want to go without, however there are some more, some of which are not currently on the team, that I wouldn't mind having:
* A Hazer
* A PP-Staller
* A Wish-Passer
* A Screener
* A BoltBeamer
* A MeanlookPasser
* A Sleeper
* A Hail/Sandstorm Inducer
* A Seeder
* A Wall Breaker
However we are only allowed 6 Mons, so many of these will not be present on the team
So as for what I do have:
Blissey: Cleric, Special Wall, Toxic Guy
Skarmory: Physical Wall, Phazer, Spiker
Calydol: Spinner, Physical Wall
Zapdos: Rest Talker
Dusclops: Mixed Wall, PP-Staller, WoW Guy, Spinblocker
Suicune: Offensive Threat
There are several things I am considering changing, and each would mean I would have to change movesets of other Mons respectively, note for some of these I will be posting detailed sets and things for the alternatives also:
Idea #1: Cutting Zapdos:
This would lead to me changing Either Suicune or Dusclops into a RestTalker, and depending on what one I chose, would mean I would either add Tyranitar, or a Pressure guy (Probably Umbreon) respectively. I would no longer have a Pseudo lead unless I replaced him with Tyranitar, however my RestTalker would be less suspectable to RockSlide as a result.
Another option would be to replace Zapdos with a RestTalk Metagross. Metagross has very nice bulk and a good ability, a bit of surprise factor with an uncommon set, and could act as a pseudo-offensive presence, allowing me to cut Suicune for something like Vapoureon.
Idea #2: Cutting Suicune:
Suicune would probably be replaced by Breloom, if I wanted a Purely offensive Threat, that can also act as a Statuser, a Wall-breaker AND a Seeder (Note that there are no mechanical clauses since I play on cart, so No Sleep Clause, however we have an agreement on things like Evasion Clause and Species Clause), he would make a truly respectable lead, however is very fragile. The other option would to be replacing Suicune with Vapoureon, which gives me far more defensive leverage, a Wishpasser, and a useful ability in Water Absorb, however I would then have a lack of Offensive threat, although may turn to Replacing Zapdos with Metagross again.
Idea #3: Cutting Dusclops:
Dusclops and Gengar serve the same main roll, in blocking Rapid Spin, however Dusclops is more defensive whilst Gengar is more offensive. I would lose defensive presence but gain speed, some very nice coverage in attacks, and a pseudo Boltbeam combo to boot. I am not sure about this one as much, so am running Dusclops out of personal Preference, however I will be testing both, and will provide detailed set information about both.
The Pokemans:
The Lead:
Zapdos (Zapdos) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Def / 224 SpD
Calm Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Thunderbolt
- Roar
A standard RestTalk Zapdos, he leads decently, can dent certain Mons with a STAB Thunderbolt, and has a chance to Phase even while asleep. Defensively, with 32 EV's he can survive a CB'd Salamence's Rockslide, in which case I can either Switch out, whilst Zapdos can Rest next time he is in, or Roar second if I predicted well, then Rest. Zapdos is one of the more offensive Mons on my team, so can do a fairly good job of picking off remnants, and obviously can absorb sleep. Note that even with a Cleric I still decided I needed a RestTalker, as I have found not only is sleep more abundant with no clause, but RestTalkers do an incredible job of stalling, especially with Pressure, and can be insanely hard to kill with some support. I chose Roar over another Attack as I disliked having Skarmory as my only Phazer.
Possible other Leads:
The two other leads I would replace Zapdos for are Gengar and Tyranitar, Gengar has nice coverage and amazing variety, whilst Tyranitar is a very offensive presence and Sandstorm deals nice residual damage, that both Skarmory and Claydol are immune to, however I dislike turning off my leftovers, and Sandstorm does make the game last quite a while (Its a lot slower to go through the animation). Breloom spreads sleep (unhindered by Sleep Clause) and gives me access to a Wallbreaker and leech Seed, however has almost no defensive bulk, relying on Leech Seed and Substitute. If I were to replace Zapdos as a lead (Not necessarily cut him from the team) these are the sets I would run:
Gengar (Gengar) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 184 Atk / 136 SpA / 188 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Punch
- Focus Punch
- Substitute
A SubPunching, BoltBeaming Gengar, just what Ive always wanted, he Breaks Walls and dishes out damage, I might opt for a more standard Gengar but this little guy here has both my curiosity AND my attention.
Tyranitar (Tyranitar) @ Leftovers
Trait: SandStream
EVs: 188 HP / 240 SpA / 80 Spe
Modest Nature
- Pursuit
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam
I love myself some Pursuit, and have wanted to use Pursuit for a very long time. I have never tried out this build for Tyranitar, usually going for a standard CB or DDTaunt set, however I saw this on Smogon and really want to try it out someday.
Breloom (Breloom) @ Leftovers
Trait: EffectSpore
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Focus Punch
- Spore
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
He sleeps things, then kills things, however will die to just about anything. If he can get set up he is almost unstoppable if not dealt with properly, however getting to that point is very difficult, not sure what to think on this guy.
The Core:
Skarmory (Skarmory) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
- Steel Wing
- Rest
Pretty standard set for him, he spikes, phazes, and thats about it. Sturdy and Rest, along with Steel Wing over HP Flying or Drill Peck, make him as defensive as possible, as really all he wants to do is Spikes, and Phaze, and not die. STAB Steel Wing can pick off some remnants, however mostly its just used when avaliable for the chance at a DEF boost. He is core and therefore will not be cut, unless a drastic (And i mean TRULY drastic) team redesign is made.
Blissey (Blissey) @ Leftovers
Trait: NaturalCure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
- Aromatherapy
- Softboiled
- Toxic
- Seismic Toss
EV'd and Natured for Pure Special Defense, I am a tad worried about her dying to mixed attackers, so may revert to a more mixed defense (Forgoing HP EV's for DEF, and changing to a Def increasing Nature) other than that she takes Specials, Doesnt die, and toxic's things, all while keeping my team healthy.
Claydol (Claydol) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Psychic
- Rest
Spins away spikes, whilst taking almost no residual damage apart from the almost never seen Hail. I chose Rest over Hidden Power as id rather he stayed around than deal damage, and STAB Psychic and Earthquake already deal that quite well.
The Rest:
Dusclops (Dusclops) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 36 Atk / 20 Def / 200 SpD
Careful Nature
- Seismic Toss
- Will-O-Wisp
- Focus Punch
- Rest
He blocks Rapid Spinning, which is his main job, but also carries an unprotected Focus Punch to deal with Blissey's and the occasional predicted switch, and Rest to keep him around longer. I have thought of forgoing Focus Punch for Protect, to further PP-Stall and to block Explosion and such. I have also considered making him a RestTalker, freeing up Zapdo's slot. RestTalk Dusclops would probably be very similar, probably just replacing Focus Punch with Sleep Talk.
Other RestTalkers:
Replacing (Or turning Dusclops into) Dusclops with a SleepTalker would free up a slot in Zapdos, letting me run another threat. If I were to replace Dusclops, I would either make Suicune a RestTalker, or import Metagross. Suicune frees up both an offensive slot AND another slot, so I can run both a harder hitting Offensive and another defensive Mon, however Metagross serves both roles decently.
Metagross (Metagross) @ Leftovers
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Atk / 40 Def / 32 SpD / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rest
- SleepTalk
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
He has very decent bulk, and can still hit hard, he is hard to kill and absorbs status for me. Im very tempted to run him, but Im not sure how well he would turn out IRL no matter how good he looks on Paper. He frees up a slot for something else though which is nice.
Suicune (Suicune) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 60 SpA / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
- Rest
- SleepTalk
- Calm Mind
- Surf
Frees up 2 slots on the team, and is still a semi-decent offensive presence even with this set. Pretty self explanatory, however loses coverage and the option to Phaze.
Suicune (Suicune) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 60 SpA / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Ice Beam
- Surf
- Rest
Very offensive build here, Suicune dishes out damage at the end of the match, however still has a good bulk to back it up should I need it earlier. Considered forgoing Ice beam for Roar, giving me yet another Phazer however that seemed unnecessary. Pretty Standard set, nothing too much to explain.
Possible Mons:
Gotta love Eevee's here, Whilst performing very similar roles, Vaporeon is probably the better choice as it is a bulky water type, that also can deal some damage with Surf, and give me another immunity (Through Water Absorb). Umbreon on the other hand gives me yet another PP-Staller, and is able to MeanLookPass in order to help me set up properly, or deal with certain troublesome Mons. He is also able to Charm to force switches. Both of these would require me to replace something else in order to make space for a more offensive presence
Vaporeon (Vaporeon) @ Leftovers
Trait: WaterAbsorb
EVs: 248 HP / 228 Def / 32 SpD
Bold Nature
- Surf
- Wish
- Protect
- Toxic
Helps keep my team healthy, Screws over things with Protect, and can deal damage, probably the better option of the two, and really close to making the team.
Umbreon (Umbreon) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Def / 224 Spe
Bold Nature
- Mean Look
- Baton Pass
- Moonlight
- Taunt
Helps to deal with threats better, and deals with opposing Skarmory with Taunt. Charm could be an option over Taunt to further inhibit trapped Mons.
End:
So that is my team, and the thought Process I went through when making it. Any suggestions or advice are greatly appreciated, I hope to be hearing from all of you.