Featured OU RMT - Superstalling Fun

Team by Crunchatize Me with commentary by august.
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This team is a great example of the metagame's previous "semistall" phase. Taunt Skarmory + Rotom-A + Swampert, a solid spikestacking core with a great spinblocker. It also has the extra luxury of a Rapid Spinner in Starmie, and a legitimate special wall in Blissey, while still maintaining coverage against nearly every other Pokémon in the game.

Starmie
Pirate's Charm @ Choice Scarf
Ability | Natural Cure
EVs | 4 HP / 252 Spe / 252 SpA
Timid nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt / Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin
- Trick

Lead Trick/Scarf Starmie. This is a pretty good lead. We would rather have this as a lead than Swampert, because if Swampert gets weakened then DD Mence has its way with this team. So, anyway, this is our team's main answer to the huge stall threat, MixApe (and other versions). Trick is cool when people use Stealth Rock, as once they are locked into Stealth Rock they switch, giving us a free opportunity to Rapid Spin. Speaking of Rapid Spin, it's nice to have it here, because it is a luxury most semi-stall teams miss out on. The choice between Thunderbolt and Ice Beam is the choice between letting Gyarados set up or Salamence set up. I generally go with Thunderbolt since Gyarados is more of a pain to this team, I think, although I'm not sure about Plus. Derp.

Skarmory
The Helmaroc King @ Shed Shell / Leftovers
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 252 HP / 108 Spe / 148 SpD
Careful nature (+SpD, -SpA)
- Taunt
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
- Roost

Taunt Skarmory is an excellent Spikes stacker and stall breaker. Skarmory serves as one of our main weapons against stall: Taunting Blissey, Forretress, Swampert, etc., Spiking in their faces (not so much against Forretress), and Roosting up so it can be done again later.

Skarmory's primary purpose is set up Spikes for our team, as mentioned. The combination of Taunt and a specially defensive Spread maximizes the number of threats this can be done against. 252 HP EVs, 148 SpDef EVs, and a Careful nature guarantees that Blissey will never 2HKO with Flamethrower, even with Stealth Rock up, even without Leftovers. This means that Skarm can switch into Flamethrower, Taunt and take a second Flamethrower, and Roost up more health than Blissey can take away, eventually allowing Skarmory to Spike up. Vaporeon is in the same boat; STAB Surf will never 2HKO either. The Speed EVs allow Skarmory to outrun 16 Speed Gyarados, which outruns most Resttalk variants. This allows Skarmory to Taunt them before they can use Sleep Talk or Whirlwind before they Roar. In a similar vein, the Speed EVs also practically guarantee that Skarmory will outrun Tyranitar, meaning I can Roost up for the Stone Edge resistance and avoid being 2HKOed. If I stall for a miss, I can also set up another layer of Spikes.

Damage Calculations

Blissey
Mrs. Marie @ Leftovers
Ability | Natural Cure
EVs | 148 HP / 252 Def / 108 SpD
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Thunder Wave
- Seismic Toss
- Softboiled
- Ice Beam / Flamethrower

Uh, yeah, Blissey walls stuff. These things can be called Jolteon, Gengar, Latias, Rotom-A, Heatran, Empoleon, Zapdos, Yanmega, Vaporeon, some Togekiss, some Suicune, Porygon-Z, Porygon2, Celebi, uh, and other stuff. Anyway yes bla bla the best special wall in the game bla bla instant recovery. Thunder Wave is an interesting option and I'm not really sure why we have it there, but it works. Thunder Waving random Salamence as they switch in makes them far less threatening. Speaking of Salamence, Blissey is an excellent MixMence check with Ice Beam, because Salamence can only 2HKO with Outrage and Blissey can OHKO with Ice Beam. Most Blissey are Wish / Protect / Seismic Toss or Ice Beam / Toxic. Choosing between Seismic Toss and Ice Beam is like choosing whether to be weak to MixMence or Life Orb Heatran. With both, I don't worry about either. Also, Seismic Toss / Toxic is walled by Gengar and that's no fun with the best special wall in the game. So, yeah, Softboiled for recovery, both attacking moves for super fun time, spamming T-Wave to scout just to make the opponent ragequat, etc.

Swampert
The King of Red Lions @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spe)
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Stealth Rock
- Roar

Every team loves Stealth Rock, and this team is no exception. Anyway, Stealth Rock is everyone's favorite Salamence and Gyarados pseudo-check, and it also keeps the opponent from playing around with too much switching, to an extent. Earthquake provides Swampert a 100 BP STAB move and turns him into my Tyranitar check. Ice Beam is for coverage; this combination hits the entire metagame for neutral or better damage, minus Bronzong. I'm another person who likes to parrot the statement "Swampert is the best Stealth Rocker in the game". With excellent typing and resistances, paired with his respectable defensive stats and resistance to Stealth Rock, Swampert not only has the ability to set up rocks both early and mid game, but he can also do it without suffering from four moveslot syndrome. Roar is a nice move that allows me to get rid of stat-uppers, scout the opposing team, and rack up Stealth Rock and Spikes damage. Overall, Swampert is great. It is my main check to many troublesome threats including Tyranitar and Dragon Dance Salamence.

Rotom-A
Phantom Gannon @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 72 Def / 188 Spe
Timid nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Will-O-Wisp / Reflect
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

This is the best spin blocker that standard play has to offer, and so it finds a place on our entry hazard stacking team. The two main spin blockers in OU are Starmie and Forretress. Starmie is taken out nicely by Thunderbolt. Forretress is outsped and burned, leaving its Paybacks to do pittance. Thunderbolt also OHKOes Gyarados, leaving Rotom as our main Gyarados check. Rotom can switch into a Dragon Dance, take a Waterfall, and Thunderbolt for the KO. Finally, I draw attention to the odd EV spread and nature. Most Rest + Sleep Talk Rotoms run 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SpD and Bold. However, with the speed EVs and nature Rotom reaches 280 Speed, enough to outrun Adamant Lucario. I can therefore switch into a Swords Dance, Close Combat, or ExtremeSpeed, and then burn it so that it is unable to run through our team. I don't know if Plus has tried it, but I sometimes use Reflect because it doesn't conflict with Thunder Wave. Rest and Sleep Talk for Recovery.

Alternate option:

Rotom-H @ Choice Scarf
148 HP / 220 Spe / 140 SpA
Timid
-Thunderbolt
-Overheat
-Will-O-Wisp / Reflect
-Trick

This is a set I've tested briefly. It serves as a better check to both Gyarados and Lucario. Will-O-Wisp is used in an attempt to have some sort of defense against Pursuiters, but is difficult to predict. Also provides this team a secondary Trick user / absorber. However, this Rotom does not spin block as well.

Jirachi
Din @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Spe / 4 SpA
Timid nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt / Thunder

SubCM Jirachi yeaaaaaaaaaaaa. This is our finisher. Yes, this monster is notoriously good with Spikes support, it's an excellent weapon against opposing stall teams, it takes excellent advantage of what the core weakens to set up a sweep, and, uh, stuff. Psychic is used over Flash Cannon because Swampert has got Tyraniatar covered. Some times I do wish I had Flash Cannon against Latias and Celebi, but oh well. Most of things that take this on (Heatran, Swampert, Hungry Hungry Hippowdon, Blissey (doesn't even win 100% without Flamethrower), Tyranitar, etc.) are grounded and therefore susceptible to Spikes. In addition to being weakened by Spikes, most checks to Jirachi are handled by this team well—Swampert and Hippowdon by Skarmory, Tyranitar by Swampert, Celebi and Latias by Blissey, Tyranitar by Swampert, Heatran by Blissey, Starmie, and Swampert, etc. Tying with other base 100s is much cooler than 80 SpA EVs which do next to nothing. Blissey is still beaten at +6 with one Special Defense drop. This also can check Lucario kinda by subbing twice on Close Combat for Special Defense drops and they using Psychic for the KO. Uh, yeah.

Starmie, Zach's lead, is a solid choice to lead off. Trick Scarf Starmie is a surprising lead, as most lead Starmie are generally Life Orb variants with Rapid Spin, designed to keep Stealth Rock off the field. Zach's Starmie does this just as well, Tricking off its Scarf against bulkier Stealth Rock leads like Metagross and Swampert and proceeding to spin away Stealth Rock. Starmie also gives a solid answer to most Infernape variants as well as Bulky Gyarados, and a Water resist in general. Starmie is the team's only Water resist, although Skarmory can be used in a pinch against popular bulky waters like Swampert and Vaporeon, as can Rotom if necessary. If Starmie chooses to keep its Scarf, it can be a solid revenge killer late game, when Spikes, Stealth Rock, and battle conditions take their toll on the opposing team. Trick is also good for last pokemon stat-uppers if Starmie keeps the Scarf, notably Curse Swampert and Curse Snorlax, which are very difficult for Zach to stop if his Taunt Skarmory is KO'd.

The spikestacking core of the team consists of Skarmory and Swampert. Skarmory is able to set up Spikes rather easily against slower bulky Pokémon, whether it be Blissey (where the added Special Defense helps), Swampert, opposing Skarmory (thanks to Taunt), or Vaporeon. Swampert's valuable Steel resist helps it to easily set up Stealth Rock on pokemon like Choice Scarf Jirachi and Bullet Punch-locked Scizor, as well as easily being able to Stealth Rock against most variants of Tyranitar, although Choice Band is arguably much harder to set up against, as a boosted Crunch threatens to 3HKO. Once the hazards are set up, both of these Pokémon can easily build up passive damage thanks to their respective phazing moves. The synergy between them is rather good, as Swampert resists or has an immunity to both of Skarmory's weaknesses, while Skarmory can easily switch into the Grass-type attacks that often threaten Swampert.

Blissey is a classic counterpart to Skarmory, although on "semistall" teams like this one, Blissey generally is not present. This often makes it hard for teams like this to take repeated special assaults. Zach's inclusion of Blissey gives him a rather solid special wall who can wall the majority of all special attackers, especially with Starmie as a designated switch into common Trick pokemon. Thunder Wave allows Blissey to slow down common physical switch-ins, like Tyranitar and Scizor. By spamming Thunder Wave, Zach will generally have an easier time Spiking with Skarmory, being able to Roost off weaker Thunderbolts and get the Taunt off on Pokémon that would generally be faster, which is always a plus. The reason Zach forgoes the use of Toxic is so he can beat Gengar, which can otherwise be a bit of a pain for this team, and Spikes and Stealth Rock will generally be enough passive damage.

Rotom-W is the spinblocker of the team, an infinitely important role. Will-O-Wisp allows Rotom to block Rapid Spin against Special Defensive Payback Forretress, which otherwise may be a problem. While most Restalk Rotom-A choose to run a Bold nature, Zach chooses to use a Timid nature to outpace Adamant Swords Dance Lucario, and hopefully burn it before it can hit Rotom with a boosted Crunch. The extra Speed also comes in handy against non-Choice Scarfed Tyranitar, which otherwise can do quite a bit of damage to Rotom before it gets off the burn. Will-O-Wisp is the second status move on the team, and also allows Skarmory to Spike a bit more easily. The last Pokémon on the team is Jirachi, the finisher. Sub CM Jirachi cleans up in wake of Spikes, Stealth Rock, and two status moves that support it rather well. For example, if Rotom manages to burn Swampert, Jirachi will have a much easier time sweeping, especially seeing as Swampert is already grounded in the first place and is an easy target for Skarmory to set up Spikes against. Thunder Wave slows down Choice Scarf Pokémon like Heatran, who is also grounded and is a perfect choice for Swampert to Stealth Rock against.

As for weaknesses, Breloom looks like it can give Zach's team a bit of trouble, being able to cause switches with Spore and use its two STAB attacks to wear Zach down, 1-2HKOing everything barring Rotom, which can't burn Breloom thanks to Toxic Orb. Jolly Lucario with Crunch may be a bit of a problem, as Rotom is outsped and OHKO'd with a Swords Danced Crunch before it gets the chance to burn it. Crocune is a bit of a problem if Starmie does not manage to keep its Scarf, particularly versions that carry Rest and Sleep Talk, as that means Zach is likely forced to start a stall war with Jirachi if he hopes to pull through. If Rotom is weakened, Life Orb Dragon Dance Gyarados gives this team a whole lot of trouble, especially Adamant variants, as they OHKO both Starmie and Jirachi with Earthquake after Stealth Rock. All in all said though, this is a wonderful team; congrats to Zach, and I hope you all got some good insight out of this article!

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