A Guide to Stall in BW2 OU

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A Guide to Stall in BW2 OU

by Slant and Rupe

Table of Contents

• Introduction to Stall
  
• Teambuilding
  
• How to Play Stall
  
• Walls and Common Cores
  
• Threats to Stall
  
• A Sample Stall Team
  
• Conclusion
  

Introduction to Stall

"The best offense is a good defense."

With the release of BW2, I figure it's time for me to make my own guide to stall. It is one of my favorite playstyles in the metagame (as you may have guessed from my RMT's). Normally getting a win in a match consists of, I'd say, 70% teambuilding and 30% execution - in stall I'd say it is 95% teambuilding and 5% execution. Battling with stall does not require prediction, which is why some people think its nooby. On the contrary, it is not -the hallmark of a good team is that it can always stick to its gameplan and pull out a win regardless of what the opponent does, and in this regard, stall teams absolutely rule. Put another way, if you need to predict every move your opponent makes then you don't have the advantage, you're just guessing. On the other hand, if your teambuilding is solid, you will know exactly what you need to do at any point in the game, eliminating all the guesswork.

When a stall team is played correctly, it will consistently be able to beat opponents through a combination of defensive prowess, hazard damage, and toxic. The same reason why people hate stall is why I love it, if it is done correctly the opponent will have little control over any battle, simply having to watch in horror as they get slowly whittled down.

Teambuilding

"Luck favors the prepared."

Randomly picking 6 defensive pokemon to put on your team does not make it a stall team. At best such a team will delay the opponent's win for a while, but otherwise there is little chance of winning. A well made stall team should have the following components:

Must-haves:

• Type synergy, bulk: This is a no-brainer. You need a solid switch in to every single attacking move, otherwise your stall will get broken apart. Simple.
  
• Hazards: Spikes and stealth rock are absolutely necessary, while toxic spikes is nice to have but not needed. During a match you will force your opponent to be constantly switching (e.g. if I bring in Chansey on Jolteon, my opponent is forced to switch and rack up extra hazards damage).
  
• Phazers (Roar, Whirlwind): These serve a twofold purpose. First, it forces the opponent to take hazards damage, and second, any pokemon that has attempted to boost its stats loses all of its boosts.
  
• Rapid spinner:You will be constantly switching your pokemon in and out to wall different threats. If hazards are up and you cannot spin them away you'll be in trouble since your pokemon will be worn down from entry hazards alone.
  

Nice to have:

• Wish support/self healing: Most pokemon on your team must have a way to heal itself up (e..g with roost, softboiled, etc.). For the few that are not able to, you must focus on keeping it healthy throughout the match with wish support. Otherwise it will be only a matter of time before your team is worn down by damage.
  
• Perish song: This move is solely to stop last pokemon sweeps, a major threat to stall teams.
  
• Spinblocker: These pokemon are typically bulky ghost types that can stop your hard-earned hazards from being spun away due to their immunity to the move rapid spin. See "Walls and Common Cores" for a list of these pokemon.
  
• Toxic users: For the pokemon that are immune to toxic spikes but not toxic, either because of levitate or because of its flying type, a toxic user really comes in handy to wear them down.
  

How To Play Stall (It's Gametime!)

"The strongest of all warriors are these two: Time and Patience."

My goal in this section is to give a "cookbook", step by step approach to every match for a stall team that, if followed correctly, will usually guarantee a win. Obviously there will be exceptions, but I feel that what I outline below will get a win the majority of the time.

During a match, I always try to adhere to these next three points as much as possible. As I point them out, they seem pretty obvious; yet my contribution here is to list these rules in decreasing order of priority, i.e. rule 1 is most important, then rule 2, then rule 3.

I think of a stall team as a big wall, where each member of the team walls a specific set of threats. When all six team members are alive, it is relatively easy to wall your opponent's pokemon, but once one or two members of your team get KOed, then your wall starts crumbling. This brings me to my first rule:

1) Always try to keep your pokemon healthy.

This may seem like a 'duh' thing to say, but all too often I see people sacrificing Tentacruel to get that rapid spin off, or letting Skarmory die to get that last layer of spikes up. This is not the way to play a stall team, every member you lose severely weakens your defensive power! Going along with this, I want to point out that crits happen a lot more to stall teams. This is not magic, it simply happens because stall matches tend to drag on a long time, so the law of large numbers starts to kick in. This means you have to plan ahead! For example, if I have Skarmory at 30% and I know that the incoming stone edge is only going to do 20%, I'm still going to roost, since I know that if the crit kicks in I'll be out one precious wall.

2) Don't let your opponent's pokemon set up.

A stall team is bulky enough to take a hit from a pokemon with one boost under its belt. However do not allow it to set up multiple boosts since in that case it will sweep through your team. As an example, Skarmory is 2hkoed by both Lucario and Terrakion with one swords dance; letting either of these two get two boosts would be disastrous.

3) Spin away any hazards on your side.

It's quite simple. You will be switching in and out often, meaning hazard damage tends to add up. Thus you want to get rid of any hazards as soon as possible.

The above three rules are things that should constantly be in the back of your head during every game. Now I'll go more in detail about how every stall match should unfold, i.e. how you should play in the early game, midgame, and endgame.

-Early game, set up hazards, spin away any hazards your opponent lays, and spread status if possible.

Again this may seem like obvious stuff, but I can't tell you how many people do not follow this simple rule. Unless your opponent is begging for it, don't go for any quick KO's, try not to engage in any fancy mindgames with your opponent. Usually I am constantly switching against my opponent. As soon as he switches in a new threat, I switch in my counter to that threat. As he switches his pokemon out, boom, either I lay one layer of hazards or try to status his switch in. Then I will look at his switch in and repeat this process.

-Midgame, focus on spreading more status, phazing to rack up damage. Look for possible threats in the end game.

If you've reached midgame with your hazards laid down and all your pokemon intact, congratulations. You're in good shape to pull off the win. At this point your opponent will have most of his pokemon still alive, but statused and worn down a bit. Now is when you bring in your phazer - constantly whirlwinding or roaring will a) prevent any sweeps from happening and racking up hazards damage. If you have stealth rock and 3 layers of spikes down, you're doing about 30% damage every turn.

Here's the key part. Now that you have a feel for your opponent's team, keep a lookout for any pokemon that can pull off a last pokemon sweep (e.g. CM Jirachi, bulk up toxicroak, CM Latias). If you see any, formulate a plan as to how you will take care of that threat and think carefully about which pokemon on your team you need alive to pull it off. If nothing comes to mind, then your team is faulty and needs to be reworked. Final note - perish song is terrific for exactly this purpose.

-Endgame, use your pokemon to stop any last-pokemon sweeps (you should have prepared for this in midgame already). If there are no last pokemon sweeps attempted then just stall until you win.

Walls and Common Cores

Jellicent

This floating balloon pringles thing is such a great addition to any stall team. Its typing and ability grant it a whopping three immunities, to water, normal, and fighting, attack types that are frequently seen in the metagame, as well as several key resistances and high defenses. In addition because of its ghost typing it can spinblock those hazards that have probably accumulated on your opponent's side.

There are not too many options in its movepool, but Jellicent works well with what it's got. Scald is a nifty move that makes physical attackers loathe to switch in, fearing the burn. Obviously it can keep itself healthy with recover too. Finally, Jellicent gets access to taunt, allowing it to beat Chansey one-on-one, and it also gets access to both toxic and will-o-wisp, making it ideal to spread status.

Pairs well with: Ferrothorn (covers each other's weaknesses), sand stall teams (as a pivot to take high-powered water moves), Keldeo counter.

Reasons to use: Bulk, typing, immunities, spinblocker, status inducer, rain counter.

Starmie

Now, I know this cute little star doesn't seem like the most ideal Pokemon for a stall team, but it definitely has its uses! Its typing grants it six key resistances to very offensive types, including : Fighting, Fire, Psychic, Water, Steel and Ice. Starmie also has a nice niche in stall teams due to his getting Rapid Spin. He may not seem like the worlds best spinner due to his obvious frailty, but using the right EV spread, maximising HP, he can become quite the formidable physical OR special wall. What sets it apart from other spinners is its blazing speed and access to a self-recovery move, which any other spinner would kill for. Natural cure is nice too.

Starmie has a very good movepool that makes him an even better option for stall teams. We've already covered Rapid spin, but it can also learn some other key moves that make him even better. Recover is a fantastic move, giving Starmie reliable recovery which is made even better when equipped with a bulky spread; he never dies. Starmie also gains a new move this gen in the form of Scald, which lets him burn certain annoying threats such as Scizor or Terrakion, or even Skarmory or Ferrothorn. As you all know, Starmie also gets a bunch of useful attacking moves such as Psychic/Psyshock, Thunderbolt/Thunder and Ice beam. Any of these could be used as a 4th slot, each to counter different things such as bulky water types, dragon types who want to set up for free, or bulky fighting types such as Conkeldurr.

Pairs well with: Starmie can pair well with Ferrothorn(Great type synergy together!) or even the standard SkarmBliss core(Blissey can wall a lot of special electric/grass moves while Skarmory does the same on the physical side with dark/bug moves.

Reasons to use: Rapid spin, recover, fast speed

Chansey

We all know what this annoying pink blob can do, and that's why he's perfect for almost any stall team! Chansey has a whopping base 250 HP, meaning his maximum HP is 704. If this was not good enough, his amazing bulk is backed up by a base 105 special defence. This alone makes Chansey one of the best special walls of the game. If all of that wasn't enough, this gen gave Chansey a new toy to play with in the form of the "Eviolite", which gives his already great special defence a 50% boost, which gives him the edge over his older brother in most cases.

Chansey also has a great set of moves that it can abuse to its fullest. Chansey has the ability to Wish-pass one of the best wishes in the game, hitting at max a 302 HP pass, which will almost surely give the following switch in all of its health back with ease. Chansey also has a very cool softboiled, which gives it 50% of its health back in a flash, making this thing even harder to take down! With other support moves such as Aromatherapy and Heal bell(along side Wish), Chansey alone can keep its entire team healthy and status-free! Can also spread status in the form of Toxic and even fight back with a reliable Seismic toss, doing a fair 100 HP damage every turn.

Pairs well with: Skarmory( forming the classic SkarmBliss core, they have almost perfect synergy and cover both the physical and special sides of the spectrum respectively), Gliscor( as we all know, Terrakion can OHKO Chansey with almost any move in its arsenal, and also heavily damage skarmory. Gliscor takes off some of the pressure Terrakion gives on stall teams, being able to wall his attacks from +0 and fight back with Earthquake) and bulky Psychic types such as Slowbro( Slowbro walls fighting attacks aimed at Chansey with ease and can fight back with scalds/toxics).

Reasons to use: Mixed wall, stealth rock, wish support, status inducer, aromatherapy.

Blissey

I will keep this short. Blissey works the exact same way as Chansey, but loses the ability to physically wall anything due to the loss of eviolite. What it gains is access to leftovers, giving it an extra source of recovery, and ok special attack (compared to Chansey at least). This means that it can run a special move such as flamethrower or ice beam to hit dragon switch ins and so it can have a way to damage ghosts.

Pairs well with: Skarmory, Gliscor, bulky Psychics, sand stall teams (leftovers offsets the sand damage that it takes).

Reasons to use: Special wall, stealth rock, wish support, status inducer, aromatherapy.

Heatran:

This robot volcano is one of the best counters to sun that you could ask for, immune to fire moves and taking pittance from grass moves. In addition its typing gives it resistances to a whopping 12 different types, and it is surprisingly bulky with base 105 defenses. While it has monster offenses, on a stall team we'll focus more on its extensive support movepool.

Heatran is one of the best users of stealth rock, having ample chance to switch in due to its aforementioned defenses and resistances. However, it's not set up bait either since it can force out stat boosters with Roar; otherwise it is able to cripple pokemon with either Will-o-wisp or toxic. Defensive Heatran's main mode of attack is Lava Plume, forcing the opponent to think twice about sending in any physical counters.

Pairs well with: Celebi (covers each other's weaknesses perfectly), Ferrothorn/Forretress (can absorb fire attacks aimed at these two and continue laying down hazards), 1/3rd of the Heatran/Amoonguss/Slowbro core.

Reasons to use: Sun counter, stealth rock, phazer, status inducer.

Tentacruel

Ah, the squid that we all hated to see while surfing in Gen 1. There was no way this guy could avoid being put in this stall guide. The Zubat of the sea, he's annoying as fuck both ingame and in a stall team. His typing alone grants him a free switch into toxic status, and even completely wipe out toxic spikes from your side of the field which can be really troublesome for a stall team. With access to a new ability "Rain Dish", his niche as a bulky spinner within rain teams has strengthened.

Tentacruel has so many stall defining moves within his movepool, it would be silly for him not to be considered for a stall team. With access to Toxic Spikes and rapid spin, Tentacruel can now lay hazards and keep hazards off his teams side effectively. Protect paired with Rain Dish allows Tentacruel to regain 12.5% health every turn, meaning if he's taken a hit the previous turn, he's already regained a whole quarter of his health! Tent also has access to some other interesting moves including: Toxic, Substitute and Scald, which could all have their own uses.

Pairs well with: Ferrothorn ( both cover each other's weaknesses very well, and between them can set up all hazards as well as spinning hazards off your own side of the field), Heatran(Covers eachothers weaknesses fairly well, despite sharing a ground weakness), Rain stall.

Reasons to use: Toxic spiker, bulky spinner.

Politoed

There is one and only one reason to use this pokemon, to summon rain. In a stall capacity, Politoed is usually seen as a bulky physical wall, typically sporting only scald as its only attack (although the extra power from surf and hydro pump would not go amiss, as Politoed basically has a double STAB boost on water attacks due to the rain it summons). Its support movepool is fairly wide, with access to protect (to toxic stall and scout choiced pokemon), It also gets access to perish song to beat last pokemon stat uppers, toxic, and encore to mess with the opponent.

Pairs well with: Pokemon with abilities that abuse rain (duh), and steel types, which lose their fire weakness in rain.

Reasons to use: Summoning rain, perish song

Skarmory

The premier physical wall of BW2 (and several generations before that). Skarmory is awesome on a stall team since it is so bulky and fulfills so many support roles. With its typing, it has a total of two weaknesses, and its ability sturdy grants it an automatic focus sash.

Skarmory is one of the best hazard layers in the metagame, easily sponging physical attacks and retaliating by laying down a layer of spikes. It also gets access to stealth rock, but I would recommend putting it on another pokemon since Skarmory cannot afford to give up a moveslot). It also easily manages to get whirlwind off, forcing out boosters and forcing the opponent to get hazards damage. The main advantages that Skarmory has over the other "best" spiker in the tier, Ferrothorn, is that it gets access to a self-healing move (roost), and also has access to whirlwind. Skarmory also is a great answer to physical dragon types like Salamence or Dragonite who want to sweep through your team (in rain, a +1 Dragonite does about 25% to Skarmory with Fire Punch, its best option).

Most people give Skarmory leftovers for the extra healing, but a very important option to consider is Shed Shell, which allows it to escape those pesky Chandelures and Magnezones.

Reasons to use: Physical wall, dragon counter, spiker, stealth rocker, phazer

Pairs well with: Politoed (rain halves Skarmory's damage from fire), Chansey/Blissey (takes the special hits that Skarmory can't)

Gliscor

Gliscor makes an appearance in many stall teams due to its ability to counter top-tier physical threats, such as Terrakion and Conkeldurr. It has great defenses and an amazing ability, Toxic Heal, which not only heals double the amount that leftovers does, but makes Gliscor immune to status, the Achilles heel of bulky walls.

One of Gliscor's best strategies is to toxic stall with a combination of substitute and protect, which when combined with poison heal cause Gliscor to lose negligible hp after every turn. Another worthy option in Gliscor's support movepool is taunt, which prevents setup by offensive sweepers, or hazard laying. Although not exactly fitting into a stall team, Gliscor is also a very effective Swords Dance user, functioning primarily as a late game cleaner.

Reasons to use: Status inducer, physical wall, late game sweeper, taunt,

Pairs well with: Rain teams (due to electric immunity)

Quagsire

There is only one reason to use this guy in OU, and that is the ability unaware. If you aren't planning to use it for that, look elsewhere for a better bulky water/ground type, of which there are tons. Quagsire's ability allows it to ignore any stat boosts the opponent may have accumulated, making it the perfect 'oh shit' switch in if you have allowed a pokemon to accumulate too many boosts and you are on the verge of getting swept.

While Quagsire's special attack is nothing to write home about, it still has access to scald, allowing it to cripple many physical pokemon. It also gets access to recover, which many other bulky waters would kill for. Other options that it has are toxic, stockpile, curse, and yawn, which all have their uses. Overall, use this guy to stop any sweeper in their tracks.

Reasons to use: Unaware (have I not made it clear yet?)

Pairs well with:

Hippowdon

Hippowdon is a pokemon that is perfectly suited to stall, with high defenses and hp. It is a perfect defensive wall and also receives self-healing in the form of slack off, making it suited to winning weather wars. Tyranitar is a huge competitor to Hippowdon for the role of summoning sand, but Hippowdon has higher defenses (versus Tyranitar's special defense), and a recovery move, but loses Tyranitar's monster offenses.

Hippowdon can set up stealth rock to support its team mates, while phazing with whirlwind. Typically it carries earthquake as its sole attack, although ice fang can be handy as well in order to hit dragons and Gliscor, pokemon that just love walling Hippowdon otherwise. When playing with Hippowdon, be careful to keep it away from burns and toxic, as these two status completely destroy Hippowdon's ability to wall.

Reasons to use: Sandstorm, stealth rock, physical wall, phazer.

Pairs well with: Tyranitar (to win the weather war), spinners (to remove stealth rock).

Forretress

Forretress makes its way onto stall teams for good reason. It completely answers all of a team's needs related to hazards. In addition its steel/bug typing gives it multiple resistances, which when coupled with Forretress's monster defenses means that it will not be dying anytime soon. It also has access to the ability sturdy, essentially giving it a focus sash.

If you use Forretress, make sure to give it hazards to lay. It can set all three different types of hazards (toxic spikes, spikes, stealth rock), although stealth rock is recommended to give to another team member since it is more common and we don't want to waste a moveslot on Forretress. Another non-negotiable move on Forretress is rapid spin; if you don't plan to use Forretress as a rapid spinner then you would be better off going with Ferrothorn, which boasts largely the same advantages, but with better typing and higher special defense. Finally, it is common to put an attacking move on Forretress, depending on your preference. One option is gyro ball, which gives it a high-powered stab move. However, I usually go with Volt Switch, since otherwise people just love sending in boosters to set up as Forretress lays hazards. It is also useful to help me avoid Chandelures that attempt to trap and kill Forretress.

Reasons to use:Spinner, hazard layer, physical wall

Pairs well with: Heatran

Amoonguss

Ever since the release of BW2 this bulky little mushroom has been tearing it up on stall teams. With excellent defensive stats, the ability to absorb toxic spikes, and access to the awesome ability regenerator, this guy will have no problem staying alive and annoying the shit out of your opponent. Amoonguss is also used as a great rain counter, thanks to its typing.

Amoonguss's main job is that of a status inducer. It gets access to the exclusive move Spore, effectively disabling one pokemon for the entire match. It can also use stun spore and clear smog to mess with the opponent's sweepers.

Reasons to use: Status inducer, rain counter, toxic spikes absorber, Keldeo/Thundurus-T/Breloom counter.

Pairs well with: 1/3rd of the Heatran/Amoonguss/Slowbro core, rain teams.

Slowbro

5th gen has been extremely kind to our old friend Slowbro, granting him some new toys in the form of Scald, Psyshock and most importantly, a new ability in the form of Regenerator, allowing him to regain an entire third of his health simply from switching out. Slowbro still retains his amazing base 110 defence and fair bulk from his past generations, and equipped with such a great ability he's now able to now stall through physical sweepers more than ever.

Slowbro has a lot of interesting moves in his arsenal which make him a great addition to any stall team. He has access to three great moves which can all spread paralysis, making him a great status spreader for any team, let alone a stall team in the forms of Thunder Wave, Toxic and Scald. Also, having the move Slack Off Slowbro can be an efficient Toxic Stall pokemon. Slowbro can be used to counter a vast array of physical attackers and even more bulky Pokemon, due to the fact that he also has some attacking capabilities. With Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, Psyshock, Scald, Hydro Pump and Fire blast, he can effectively "fight back" against the Pokemon he walls, and doesn't make him set-up fodder.

Reasons to use: Regenerator, status spreader, reliable recovery, physical wall.

Pairs well with: Amoonguss, Chansey, Bulky grass types.

Ferrothorn

It is not hard to see why this pokemon consistently tops usage charts. With its great typing and massive defenses in both the physical and special sides, it can check a plethora of pokemon, switching in and then either threatening to set up entry hazards or cripple a pokemon with status. Its attack is not too shabby either, and most pokemon will not enjoy taking either a gyro ball or power whip unless it carries resistances to these types. For the most part it overshadows its older brother Forretress due to its typing, but would kill for access to rapid spin. However, if equipped with a rocky helmet, Ferrothorn can act as a pseudo-spinblocker, punishing any pokemon which tries to rapid spin by taking away 29% of their health.

Most Ferrothorn carry some sort of entry hazards, either stealth rock or spikes. Other popular moves on it are some sort of attack, either Gyro Ball or Power Whip (if using gyro ball, remember to set speed IVs to zero!). It can also cripple incoming attackers with thunder wave or toxic, or even alternate between leech seed and protect to annoy the living daylights out of your opponent. Since it does not have access to reliable healing on its own, I heavily recommend wish support to keep it healthy. If you are careful, Ferrothorn will not be going down anytime soon.

Reasons to use: Mixed wall, status spreader, hazard layer

Pairs well with: Heatran, Jellicent, rain teams (has fire weakness halved, resists electric attacks).

Tyranitar

The big boss himself. Tyranitar is, for obvious reasons, a staple on sandstorm teams. It fills so many niches on a team, including stealth rock layer, special wall, and mixed attacker. In sandstorm Tyranitar gets its special defense boosted by 50%, and also has a monster base 134 attack and respectable base 95 special attack, meaning it can hit hard on both sides of the spectrum. In addition it gets ice beam and fire blast to hit its main counters, Gliscor, Skarmory, and other steel types. With its sheer unpredictability, your opponent will hesitate to send in anything without first scouting out Tyranitar's moveset. Tyranitar's STAB pursuit can also come in handy, eliminating pesky spinblockers on your opponent's side, and also getting rid of Chandelure, a major threat otherwise to any stall team.

Reasons to use: Special wall, sandstorm, stealth rock.

Pairs well with: Sand teams (duh), Skarmory (to take fighting, ground, and bug attacks), Hippowdon (to win the weather war).

Celebi

This guy is soooo unpredictable since it can literally learn almost anything under the sun. With base 100 stats everywhere, it can function as a sweeper, an annoyer, a status spreader, or a tank. Since this is a stall guide, we'll focus on the "tank" aspects. With the proper EVs, Celebi becomes a great tank, and with access to both recover and natural cure, it won't be KOed easily. It can spread status with thunder wave and toxic, use heal bell to remove status on your team (which is a godsend, and by the way practically guarantees you a win against other stall teams), and finally it learns the all-important perish song. Definitely consider Celebi on any stall team, it fulfills a niche that other team members are hard pressed to duplicate.

Reasons to use: Perish song, status, stealth rock, rain counter,

Pairs well with: Heatran, Tentacruel.

Dragonite

Dragonite is commonly seen as a dragon dancer, for good reason. But it can also pull off a bulky stall set well, thanks to its numerous resistances, natural bulk, and awesome ability in multiscale. To put it in perspective, with multiscale, a Dragonite has more special bulk than Chansey and Blissey. Typically this set will only be seen on rain stall, due to Dragonite's ability to both abuse hurricane and thunder. In addition it gets access to roost to keep itself healthy, thunder wave to spread around status, and dragon tail to phaze out threats. I usually use this Dragonite in conjunction with Skarmory; Skarmory phazes out the physical threats, while Dragonite is able to phaze out the special ones.

Reasons to use: Phazer, status, special wall, Breloom/Reuniclus/Espeon counter.

Pairs well with: Rain teams, steel types.

Gastrodon

This stupid looking slug may not look like much, but it is THE BEST counter to rain teams, boasting an immunity to both water and electric attacks, the two staples of rain offense. There is not too much to say about this; besides its typing the pokemon's stats are pretty mediocre. A typical tank set will give it recover for survivability, toxic to spread status, and then scald/icebeam/earth power for coverage.

Reasons to use: Rain counter, CM Jirachi counter, Rotom-W counter.

Pairs well with: Heatran? Dunno, someone help me out here

Sableye

Sableye deserves an honorable mention here, although it is not quite on par with OU tier stall pokemon because of its mediocre defensive stats. What sets it apart from other pokemon is its ability, prankster. This is abused in one of two ways. The first way is obviously to annoy the fuck out of your opponent with status (Sableye gets access to tons of support moves such as taunt, will o wisp, toxic, substitute, and recover, all with +1 priority). You can also use it to prevent set ups - e.g. if you accidentally let your opponent's dragonite get a dragon dance off, you can burn it with a priority will o wisp to stop the sweep. Its typing also allows it to be a spinblocker.

Reasons to use: Prankster, spinblocker, Reuniclus counter.

Pairs well with: Rapid spinners? Again kind of clueless.

Deoxys-D

Jeez, of course this guy was gonna make an appearance on my stall guide. It has the word "defense" right in its name. With titanic defensive stats, awesome support moves, and a pretty decent speed stat, Deoxys-D is a great choice. The main reason to use it is to lay hazards; while it has a worse typing than its main competitor, Skarmory, it makes up for this with access to taunt, so that while it lays down spikes, the opponent can't take advantage of the free turns to set up. PS I can't find a picture of Deoxys-D so there's regular old Deoxys.

Reasons to use: Hazard layer, taunt, status spreader.

Pairs well with: Gliscor; any pokemon that can wall fighting and bug attacks.

Threats to Stall

Reuniclus: CM variants are a problem, but TR variants not so much since Chansey can tank hits from it all day. Thanks to its awesome ability, magic guard, this guy just does not give a shit about stall teams. The solutions I see are to either a) pick up a dedicated Reuniclus counter or make sure that you have both a phazer that can take special hits and a user of perish song. In this case Reuniclus cannot set up midgame due to the phazer, and then in endgame if the opponent attempts a last pokemon sweep, it is stopped by perish song. Thankfully Reuniclus's bad typing means it takes a decent amount of damage from many things, making it feasible to wear down.

Trappers (Chandelure, Dugtrio, Magnezone): The presence of these guys on your opponent's team means that at least one pokemon on your team is going down. This is a problem since it drastically reduces the synergy of your team and makes it easier for your opponent to punch holes in your team (see rule 1 above). Unfortunately there is not too much you can do about this, except to run shed shell on pokemon that typically lure these trappers in.

Breloom: Spore just wrecks stall teams, essentially taking one wall out of commission. In addition Breloom can take advantage of the free turns to set up Swords Dance and wreck stall teams. Playing against Breloom means you have to sacrifice one pokemon to spore, and then bring in your dedicated physical wall to KO it or force it out. Even in this best case scenario, you will be at a disadvantage.

Stat-uppers that are immune to toxic: Play very carefully against these pokemon. Typically what you have to do if you see one of these is keep on phazing them out and force them to accumulate hazards damage. By the time it attempts the last pokemon sweep, hopefully it will be too weakened to do much of anything before being taken out by you. Again, perish song helps out tons against this. Notable threats in this category are: CM Jirachi, BU Toxicroak, Work Up Vaporeon, Sub/CM Latias.

Sample Stall Team

Hippowdon (F) @ Leftovers

Trait: Sand Stream

EVs: 252 HP / 244 Def / 12 SDef

Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)

- Stealth Rock

- Whirlwind

- Earthquake

- Slack Off

Blissey (F) @ Leftovers

Trait: Natural Cure

EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SDef

Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)

- Wish

- Softboiled

- Seismic Toss

- Toxic

Skarmory (F) @ Shed Shell

Trait: Keen Eye

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd

Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)

- Whirlwind

- Spikes

- Brave Bird

- Roost

Tentacruel (F) @ Leftovers

Trait: Rain Dish

EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 20 Spd

Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)

- Toxic Spikes

- Rapid Spin

- Ice Beam

- Scald

Celebi @ Leftovers

Trait: Natural Cure

EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 Spd

Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)

- Giga Drain

- Recover

- Perish Song

- Heal Bell

Jellicent (M) @ Leftovers

Trait: Water Absorb

EVs: 252 HP / 36 Def / 220 SDef

Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)

- Scald

- Recover

- Toxic

- Shadow Ball

I will skip the indepth analysis, and instead simply point out the roles that each pokemon plays. First off, note that there are, for the most part, at least two resistances to each type. Hippowdon is a physical wall, stealth rocker, and phazer. Blissey is the dedicated special wall that can also spread toxic if needed and wish supports if necessary. Skarmory is another physical wall, spikes layer, sand counter, and phazer. Tentacruel is a rapid spinner, toxic spikes layer, and one of my rain counters. Celebi is a mixed wall, cleric, perish song user, and another rain counter. Finally Jellicent is a rain counter, mixed wall, spinblocker, and can also spread toxic if necessary.

Conclusion

The main reason why I posted this is to showcase my favorite playstyle. I almost exclusively stick to defensive or balanced teams, and this is why. Stall teams, if built correctly, are wildly successful - I have used both my rain stall and sand semi-stall teams for months now and I consistently win matches with them (currently I have around an 80% win ratio). I think this says something about stall. Stall takes all the guesswork out of a match, making it purely about preparation and solid play.

Thanks for reading, and I encourage everyone to give stall a shot!

Edited January 14, 2013 by slant

[Zen]

I'd have to disagree with Spinblockers being an option for stall - with the amount of people running Spinners nowadays, no stall team would work ideally without a Spinblocker.

Jellicent/dusclops/dusknoir are the ideal Spinblockers, IMHO. All three are viable stall pieces on their own, too.

[Dark Desire]

Oooo this seems very interesting slant and rupe! I've always wanted to get back into stalls and this guide will be very helpfull!

[slant]

I don't think that spinblockers are absolutely necessary. Two great stall teams immediately come to mind that lack spinblockers:

1) M Dragon's rain stall team, http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3455765

2) Rain Man, the rain stall team that popularized CM rain Jirachi, http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3454555.

I think a more accurate statement would be stall teams should be able to limit the number of times something can spin away hazards. For example, on the stall teams I just mentioned, Ferrothorn with rocky helmet takes away a quarter of something's hp every time it gets hit with rapid spin. Otherwise status such as burn and toxic can help chip away at their spinner, or really just attacking on the spin.

Thanks for the input, I will put that in (along with a note to analyze Duskclops and Dusknoir).

[Zen]

I don't think that spinblockers are absolutely necessary. Two great stall teams immediately come to mind that lack spinblockers:

1) M Dragon's rain stall team, http://www.smogon.co...d.php?t=3455765

2) Rain Man, the rain stall team that popularized CM rain Jirachi, http://www.smogon.co...d.php?t=3454555.

I think a more accurate statement would be stall teams should be able to limit the number of times something can spin away hazards. For example, on the stall teams I just mentioned, Ferrothorn with rocky helmet takes away a quarter of something's hp every time it gets hit with rapid spin. Otherwise status such as burn and toxic can help chip away at their spinner, or really just attacking on the spin.

Thanks for the input, I will put that in (along with a note to analyze Duskclops and Dusknoir).

Hmm, haven't really seen much of the first team, though CM jirachi in Rain is quite common.

And yes, limiting the opponent's Rapid Spin is more towards what I meant - in a best case scenario, you force them to either take damage to execute the Spin, or to lose the Spinner (which is the cue for the fresh set of hazards).

On second thought, though, the necessity in limiting and/or jamming Rapid Spin probably lies with the resilience of the hazard-setter and/or the team's playing style. Hippowdon, for instance, can be reliably brought out to reset hazards more often than say, tyranitar (due to the differing number of weaknesses, access to recovery moves, etc.).

One of my personal favourites for hazards is probably cloyster, strangely enough. Defensive cloyster with Overcoat and Spikes can serve as a weather-proof hazard setter, and also has Ice Shard and/or Rapid Spin to give it a few options (priority to disable that Sash, and Spin to remove opposing hazards).

[Skwayz]

First thing first slant, i'll have to disagree with the first paragraph. Winning on bw2 is, at the same level of gameplay, 80% match up, 20% skill.

Wining with stall in BW is 100% match up,0% skill, even if the dude in front of you suck badly.

Rupe and you perfectly know that stall is by far the easiliest kind of gameplay in pokemon, and every player who'll play stall know it. That's why playing stall at high level is complicated. Because you're just so freakin predictable on your switch that your opponent can outplayed you really easyly. If I've got an advice for stall player, it's to pay attention to your opponent match-up, and NEVER let something die stupidly, if, for exemple, your skarm is done, you now can't deal with the opposing moxie mence, and you loose.

This is a really beautiful guide to read, even if I don't agree with everything. Good job guys.

BTW SCIZOR CAN U TURN AND SWITCH TO CHANDY AND LOL AT YOUR SKARMBLISS SLANT

(luv u guyz)

Edited September 23, 2012 by Skwayz

[Kamina]

Skwayz it's not an rmt, its a guide

YAY My 100th POST!

Edited September 23, 2012 by Kamina

[Skwayz]

Watcha talkin about ? I never said RMT on my post

NO I DIDNT EDITED

And yeah, you don't really need a spinblocker.

[slant]

bump for more comments. I also need people to say a few sentences about hail and sun stall respectively since I do not know that much about them (but I will probably point out that they are not as viable as rain or sand stall unless someone can convince me otherwise).

[Skwayz]

Kk, I'll do something about hail stall.

Gonna edit this post when I've got time.

IK U LUV ME

[Kamina]

you should add deoxys D and S. there both pretty good at setting up .

[Dark Desire]

Mmm.. I've been noticing people have been running that reflect type move on starmie recently on the stalls i've been facing. The move is very useful if you copy the right mon, maybe you should mention the move in starmie's description. c:

[slant]

Deoxys-D I will add, Deoxys-S maybe not since I don't think it fits into stall. About reflect on starmie - I will probably say a few sentences at the end about reflect/light screen in general but I don't think reflect starmie deserves its own shoutout.

Thanks for the ideas guys.

[slant]

OK, after almost a month I finally got off my ass and did some more work. At this point it is almost done, and again I'd be willing to listen to any more suggestions to improve this guide.

BTW if anyone has a suggestion about another pokemon that should make it into the guide, please PLEASE try to supply an analysis of it too if you can. I'm exhausted at this point after writing so many.

Again thanks for all the help and thanks for stopping by!

Edited October 28, 2012 by slant

[Kamina]

<---- Deoyxys D form . Okay now that i have put that out i just want to say you made awesome Guide and it looks like you put a lot of effort into it. Also you should add anti stall mew as a threat because it demolished my stall team once D:. Edited October 28, 2012 by Kamina

[Summer]

I'm not sure if this guide is for tanks or Stall. Anyhow, I do have suggestions:

Stalls:

Whimiscott

Ninjask

Jumpfluff/ Skiploom (Evolite) in Sun

Gengar

Tanky Walls:

Bronzong (Synergy with Gastrodon)

Zapdos

Milotic

Ninetails

Salamance

Roserade

Rotom

Cryongal

Evolite Frillsh

Swampert

Cloyster

Suicune

Spirtomb

And Eeveelutions are known for their amazing bulk (lolol Flareon)

Will edit this post with example sets later. If you see some uncommon stuff that you disagree with, tell me and I'll explain/remove the set.

[Summer]

I'm not sure if this guide is for tanks or Stall. Anyhow, I do have suggestions:

Stalls:

Whimiscott

Jumpfluff/ Skiploom (Evolite) in Sun

Gengar

Tanky Walls:

Zapdos

Milotic

Ninetails

Roserade

Suicune

These are some examples

Stalls:

@ Leftovers

Trait: Prankster

EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spd

Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)

- Taunt

- Leech Seed

- Substitute

- Hurricane

Basic staller. +1 on moves that render you foe crippled and finally whittling their HP away with Hurricane.

@ Eviolite

Trait: Chlorophyll

EVs: 212 HP / 44 SDef / 252 Spd

Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)

- Leech Seed

- U-turn

- Stun Spore

- Encore

Basic Whimiscott, except it gains Ground immunites and loses priority. Risky set, but if you pull off Stun Spore+Leech Seed you're in for some good times.

@ Leftovers

Trait: Levitate

EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd

Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)

- Icy Wind

- Substitute

- Disable

- Toxic

Basically a set to weaken the foe.

Walls:

@ Leftovers

Trait: Pressure

EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 Spd

Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)

- Roost

- Thunderbolt

- Toxic

- Hidden Power [Fight]

Zapdos has great typing, making it instantly resistant to some deadly stuff. [citation needed]

Leftovers

Trait: Marvel Scale

EVs: 204 HP / 24 Def / 204 SAtk / 76 SDef

Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)

- Scald

- Rest

- Sleep Talk

- Ice Beam

Rest abuses Marvel scale, making Milotic gain HP to the max and +1 Defense. Sleep Talk makes up for the sleeping 2 turns.

@Leftovers

Calm (+SDef, -Atk)

200 HP / 52 Def / 216 SpD / 40 Spe

-Flamethrower

-Toxic

-Will-O-Wisp / Hidden Power Ground

-Protect

Protect + Toxic / Will-O-Wisp is basic. Flamethrower is for good damage.

@ Black Sludge

Trait: Natural Cure

EVs: 240 HP / 16 SAtk / 252 Spd

Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)

- Spikes

- Toxic Spikes

- Giga Drain

- GrassWhistle

Lead setter. Poison gives it immunity to Fighting and TS can go as well.

Leftovers

Trait: Water Absorb

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef

Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)

- Calm Mind

- Scald

- Rest

- Sleep Talk

Likewise with Milotic, but this one sets up.

[Lobos]

Bronzong <<< [Access to Hypnosis, Toxic, Trick, and Stealth Rock]

Vaporeon<<< [Wish Passer, Hazer, Toxic Stall under the Rain with Rest, Roar]

Dusclops<<< [Will-O-Wisp, Pain Split, Anti-Spinner]

Porygon2<<< [Thunder Wave, Toxic Stall, Access to Recover, Stats are completely flexible, when in doubt and you need a wall this is the guy you call]

Now for forcing out opponents I use these Pokemon:

Eelektross<<< [Dragon Tail, Coil, Drain Punch, and Sub.] <---- It's mediocre but it gets the job done, including when it's immune to Earth type moves, and is damaged normally by all other ones.

Milotic<<< [Awesome Sp. Defense, Great Health, and above all access to Marvel Scale] <---- You can Haze your opponent, Dragon Tail them, Hypnosis, and Toxic.

[i tried ]

[Unknown Guy]

Oops Interesting and Nice Guide

[slant]

One final bump. This guide is as complete as it will ever be, so I'm calling it the final version. Thanks everyone for reading!

[zeroznmn]

Does anyone know any gen6 pokes that would work in a stall team