Team Relax - Gen V Stall

[boltscore]

With the creation of Gen V, Ferrothorn was pretty easily noticed and pegged as a potentially influential force in the new metagame. It stood out, along with others, and it made it seem like stall should be pretty effective once the metagame stabilized, or at least once the right things were banned (mostly Shaymin-S with its ability to ignore being at a disadvantage through flinch hax and Deoxys-A for... yeah). Of course, this new metagame appears to have remained at a pretty rapid pace, but the implementation of Aldaron's solution to the Drizzle-Swift Swim problem may help slow it down some more. Nonetheless, I have found stall to be fairly effective, and the reason for it not being so dominant isn't because of Excadrill, or even Reuniclus (Conkeldurr is a little more of a problem with its benefit from being statused). Rather, what I have found to be the biggest threat to stall so far is Zoroark. Illusion never ceases to screw with me, and it can hit like a ton of bricks. Another possible issue with stall is that now there have finally become so many threats that it just can't possibly handle all of them, an issue I have noticed through making change after change to the team to the point that I almost became too exhausted to continue editing it. I am certainly not above making recommended changes to my team as it is now, as it seems likely that there are some things I have overlooked. I am confident that there is still a potential OU metagame where stall can dominate, but there are still too many threatening Pokemon in OU for stall to have a firm grip on it right now.

And so, I present Team Relax, an effort to relax the pace of this new metagame:

I had to switch this team up so much that I am going to leave out the team-building process, or at least for now.

Closer Look:

Spiritomb@Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
252 HP / 12 Atk / 244 Def
Impish (+Def, -SpA)

• Protect
• Will-o-Wisp
• Taunt
• Pursuit

Certainly not my favorite Ghost (and therefore spin-blocker), but it serves a valuable role to my team and to stall teams in general, IMO. It simply manhandles Reuniclus. If Reuniclus has Shadow Ball, then it probably lacks a STAB move and Tentacruel has a somewhat easier time with it, even if it can't do much back, but it actually is a problem then.

Spiritomb isn't necessarily my lead, with the team preview and whatnot, but it is a fair deal of the time to Protect against Taunts, burn physical leads, Taunt Spikers, and Pursuit to use against Azelf and Deoxys-S. Oh, and those 12 Atk EVs are thrown in to do something like ensure a 2HKO on Gengar with Leftovers and SR up with Pursuit, I believe.

With its fairly average defenses and lack of significant resistances, it is hard for me to lean on it very much for anything other than the Fighting immunity. It does make handling Machamp easier due to the fact that very few of them run Guts, as it is really pretty easy to bait it into a DynamicPunch. It really is probably my least favorite member, but it is so crucial because of how valuable Taunt is that I'm not sure how I could really replace it.

Skarmory@Shed Shell
Ability: Sturdy
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish (+Def, -SpA)

• Spikes
• Whirlwind
• Brave Bird
• Roost

I'm not entirely sure how I went so long without thinking seriously about adding Skarmory. Basically utterly stops Excadrill (unless it has a Bull's Eye) and handles most physical non-Fighting types pretty well. Phazing is arguably just as important as physical walling, though, but I still have issues with boosters with Fire/Electric moves.

As this is my only phazer, I do feel like a have some problems phazing some special threats (most notably CM Jirachi). I would absolutely love to have something like Roar on Latias or some other way to phaze special attackers, but all of Latias' moves are essential. I suppose changing Skarmory's EVs to be more specially biased, but when I have to deal with Conkeldurr and Fighting legendary trio, that ridiculous Defense is needed.

Ferrothorn@Shed Shell
Ability: Steel Thorns/Iron Barbs/whatever it's called
252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Careful nature (+SpD, -SpA)

• Protect
• Leech Seed
• Power Whip
• Stealth Rock
  

You may notice at this point that I am determined to not be screwed by Magnezone. As much as I dislike not having Leftovers recovery on Ferrothorn, it at least has Leech Seed to regain health occasionally.

I just copied the EVs given in the analysis and haven't really given much thought to it, but it seems likely that if I had really tried to have a better spread for Ferrothorn on this team I probably could have found one. With Skarmory, I feel like I could probably run less Defense and more Special Defense, but Steel Thorns is so useful in taking down some threats that I feel like I can't.

Being so good in so many ways, Ferrothorn is actually one of the two Pokemon that has been on the team the entire time. I would certainly like to not replace it, but I am open to changing what it does because of how I need to change the rest of the team.

Tentacruel@Leftovers
Ability: Liquid Ooze
252 HP / 64 Def / 172 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm nature (+SpD, -Atk)

• Protect
• Toxic Spikes
• Rapid Spin
• Boiling Water

Tentacruel and Blastoise have been the only Rapid Spinners I have tried because of the nature of the rest of the team, and have worked quite well. Toxic Spikes really is not all that essential in an OU metagame that features Steel- and Flying-types as well as Levitaters so heavily, but is useful for those things that are too dangerous to allow me to easily burn or poison them.

I have one more Speed point than was listed in the analysis to get the jump on things like Magnezone and things that try to outspeed neutral base 70s by one point. Tentacruel generally handles generic special threats, and while I would like for its Poison typing to be more useful against the overly numerous powerful Fighting types, it just wasn't made to take physical hits. It can also take hits from Latios if I fear HP Fire being used in search of a Steel-type.

Lanturn@Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
40 HP / 160 Def / 56 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm nature (+SpD, -Atk)

• Heal Bell
• Toxic
• Discharge/Thunderbolt
• Surf

I used to have Protect over a Water move on Lanturn, but Nidoking was just too dangerous for me to be unable to touch it with one of the Pokemon that can actually take a hit from it sometimes (Modest can OHKO, while Timid can't without SR. Modest always does with SR and Timid has a 58.97% chance to with it). But, anyway, Lanturn is shockingly effective in OU to the point that it doesn't seem very unorthodox to me anymore. It has good typing, but Volt Absorb really makes it useful, and it has good natural bulkiness as well. Heal Bell was actually the reason I started using it, as having to rely on one Pokemon to take status does not work so well.

Those Special Attack EVs were thrown there, I am pretty sure, to ensure a 2HKO on some kind of Skarmory. I think. I don't remember exactly, but then the rest of the spread is copied from the old UU Gen IV analysis when it had to deal with Chansey, as it does now. It gets 401 HP to deal with Seismic Toss, basically, and then the defensive EVs are pretty obvious. I am open to someone who has a better EV spread for Lanturn, though.

Latias@Shed Shell
Ability: Levitate
252 HP / 64 Def / 192 Spe
Timid nature (+Spe, -Atk)

• Protect
• Wish
• Charm
• Dragon Pulse

I am strongly considering switching to Leftovers because of how much of a difference it makes, even on a Pokemon that can heal itself. Shed Shell is solely there to escape Chandelure's Shadow Balls, because Latias is very crucial to the being of my team (it is the other Pokemon that has always been on the team). The reason Leftovers is so important, though, is that Protect is nowhere near as useful without a little residual healing, or when losing health in a sandstorm. I have gotten some Scizor's down to -6 Atk and locked into Pursuit, but still couldn't get away because sand wore me down just as fast and I couldn't Protect to recover up.

Charm, by the way, is extremely useful, and mostly because Latias resists the ever-so-powerful Fighting type. The fighting legendaries are so much less menacing at -2 Attack, and they're easier for Skarmory to wall at that point, as well. It also helps to get Spiritomb in to burn them and make them so much worse.

As I have said already, I would absolutely love to have Roar on Latias, but I can't find a moveslot to put it in. I am not going to have a non-attacking Latias, because it always receives Latios Specs/Scarf and uses it to it to its own advantage. I can't get rid of Wish because it heals the other four Pokes that don't have their own recovery, as well as Latias. And lastly, I can't get rid of Protect because it lets me scout what Tyranitar and Scizor are going to try to do to me when they inevitably come in.

Latias also serves as a way to take down non-Scarfed/boosted Dragons if I can get in safely. The Speed EVs outspeed all Garchomps, and all Modest Latios. I'm including calcs for Latias against all Dragons, mostly for my sake:
Neutral max HP/120 SpD Garchomp - 50.48% - 60.00%
Neutral 4 HP/min SpD Garchomp - 67.04% - 79.33%
Hindering min HP/min SpD Dragonite - 73.07% - 86.07%
Neutral min HP/min SpD Dragonite - 65.63% - 78.02%
Neutral max HP/min SpD Dragonite - 54.92% - 65.28%
Beneficial 244 HP/max SpD Dragonite - 39.58% - 47.40%
Beneficial 244 HP/88 SpD Dragonite - 45.83% - 54.69%
Neutral 4 HP/min SpD Salamence - 76.51% - 90.36%
Hindering min HP/min SpD Salamence - 84.94% - 100.00%
Neutral 4 HP/min SpD Latios - 64.24% - 76.16%
Neutral 4 HP/min SpD Latias - 55.81% - 66.45%
Neutral max HP/min SpD Latias - 46.15% - 54.95%
Neutral 4 HP/min SpD Haxorus - 95.92% - 112.93%
Neutral 4 HP/min SpD Druddigon - 77.70% - 91.89%
Neutral 4 HP/min SpD Hydreigon - 70.55% - 83.44%
Neutral 64 HP/min SpD Hydreigon - 67.45% - 79.77%
Hindering min HP/min SpD Kyurem - 64.96% - 77.24%
Neutral min HP/min SpD Kyurem - 58.82% - 69.57%



And so there it is. My threat list is more comprehensive, and shows what the issues are more specifically. I understand that big changes will probably have to be made, if any are at all, because changing one Pokemon typically changes the entire synergy of the team. I have been relatively successful with this team, but nothing spectacular. I feel that this is one of my better teams because of the dedication I took towards improving it, but now I rely on Smogon to take the next steps. And thanks to Arkeis for the pics.
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[boltscore]

Offensive Threats - In general, status/switches/Leech Seed takes down my opponent. I say this because I don't mention how I knock something out in most of these

Orange - kind of a problem - there's a pretty big range in how threatening these are
Red - big problem

Archeops - Have to predict and use resistances to get basically anyone in, and from there all I have to do is hit it once and it usually is no longer a threat (Spiritomb would Will-o-Wisp, though, and I would phaze it with Skarmory to let SR do the work)

Aerodactyl - Taunt is irritating, but Ferrothorn can take whatever it has (I Protect to scout for Fire Fang first normally, though) and if it lacks Ice Fang (which is typical) Latias can Charm it

Azelf - Latias is my go-to here unless it's a lead, in which case I let Spiritomb handle it

Virizion - Skarmory all day, really, but if I switch in on an untimely Focus Blast it's right back to Latias

Blaziken - Latias does a pretty good job at handling it with Charm, until I get critted by Stone Edge of course

Thundurus - Lanturn does very well against it, and if Discharge paralyzes it then I don't have to worry about Taunt as much

Breloom - Skarmory keeps Breloom in check, and I pretty much always pick Spiritomb to fall victim to Spore, Ferrothorn and Latias also have their strong suits in defending it, of course

Deoxys-S - For offensive ones, Ferrothorn and Lanturn are really the only way I can handle it, but they have to watch out for Hidden Power Fire and Grass Knot/Energy Ball (an excellent use of Protect scouting for me)

Lilligant - Spiritomb takes the sleep, as usual, and I switch in Latias on the Butterfly Dance, and use Protect to see which Hidden Power they have; if Fire, Latias and Tentacruel can tag-team (because of Liquid Ooze), while Ice means I go to Skarmory for a Brave Bird or Whirlwind

Excadrill - Skarmory is a truly excellent check to Doryuuzu, and Spiritomb can take a hit and Will-o-Wisp to neuter it almost entirely

Dragonite - Unless Skarmory is in, I switch in Ferrothorn to take whatever and then Protect to scout for a Fire move; Latias can outspeed and kill non-boosted ones when they have low enough HP

Electivire - Not really common, but with its ridiculous coverage I have to try and bait it into Cross Chop with Ferrothorn and then switch to Spiritomb to burn it - I'm not sure how threatening it really is because I don't really ever see it

Empoleon - Wall it with Tentacruel and try to burn it; SD set can be fairly safely phazed by Skarmory

Emboar - Latias can kind of handle physical versions, and for the CB I have to attempt to Toxic Spikes stall it pretty much; Tentacruel can handle the Specs variant

Espeon - Magic Mirror obviously poses an irritating threat to stall teams, but Spiritomb is an incredible counter with its typing and Pursuit (it's a shame that Taunt gets reflected)

Flygon - Not seen so often, but it is most likely to use U-turn in the early game, which I only really care about hitting Latias. I'm assuming most are Scarfed and so it really comes down to prediction and burning it with Spiritomb/Tentacruel or seeding it with Ferrothorn

Garchomp - Entry hazards go a long way in bringing down the beast, and it is basically up to Skarmory to phaze it if it isn't Scarfed; if it switches in on Latias after a KO I protect and switch to the appropiate resist because very few people would bring an unscarfed Garchomp in on Latias. Latias can also finish it off if necessary, but I only go for this if it is very weak or very clearly a ScarfChomp because I don't want to be screwed by a Haban Berry

Gengar - I lack a direct answer to Gengar so I have to play around it, typically aiming to paralyze it with Discharge while Spiritomb can 2HKO with Pursuit, Stealth Rock and Leftovers; OHKO with one hit from Stealth Rock if it switches while I use it

Genosect - Excellent coverage makes it another threat, but Lanturn's unique abilities can handle it fairly well

Golurk - I try to burn if it isn't poisoned, and on the right moves Tentacruel, Ferrothorn and Latias can all deal with it

Gyarados - Ones without Earthquake just lose to Lanturn, but I normally handle them with Ferrothorn because by the time they feel like they have enough Dragon Dances to Bounce I just use Protect; Skarmory can deal with them somewhat as well

Leavanny - Can't hurt Skarmory at all, while Skarmory has 480 BP move plus STAB against it

Heatran - Tentacruel is one of the better Heatran counters, and Latias and Heatran have a mutual thing of not being able to hurt each other. Latias is good at stalling out Heatran's Fire Blast PP though

Heracross - Moxie really made this thing much better, IMO, but since it loses Guts I have to burn it somehow. Otherwise it takes out half my team before I Protect stall it to death due to poison

Darmanitan - I have plenty of Fire resists to take those terrible hits, and Protect lets me scout for the Earthquake that will hamper by bulky Waters and the U-turn that will devastate Latias

Infernape - Latias handles them with ease. Protect helps me scout for U-turn if it seems likely that it has it

Serperior - Leaf Storms hurt, but Latias and Ferrothorn can do alright. Protect to determine what Hidden Power it has

Jirachi - It has an absurd amount of sets, and so I have to play around to figure out what to do. Skarmory can easily take an Iron Head while the Sub-CM Jirachi is an enormous problem as I can't reasonably phaze it with Skarmory; if it has Psychic, I can "wall" it with Latias, while Lanturn can "handle" ones with Flash Cannon. Ferrothorn can take its hits typically, but I can't Leech Seed through a Substitute or break it reliably with Power Whip/Discharge/Dragon Pulse when it CMs so much. PP stalling has basically become one of my only choices against it. An obvious solution would be putting Roar on Latias, but all of its moves are essential. Snorlax is another of the few that can phaze it, but I can't imagine putting it in somewhere because of its limited support movepool, and I prefer having someone with Heal Bell over having a RestTalker, particularly now.

Jolteon - Lanturn and Ferrothorn can do a solid job on it...that's about it

Kerudio - Tentacruel can take a hit, Skarmory can phaze it if it's physical, but the typical CM ones pose a very similar problem as Jirachi and HP Ghost can hamper Latias while Sword of Mystery is obviously not in the best interest of Snorlax.

Kingdra - Outside of rain, Latias can hit it pretty hard with Dragon Pulse, but Ferrothorn walls it pretty well

Bisharp - Skarmory can handle it pretty well, but I cannot Roost against it because then Brick Break is super-effective because I will be faster. I just phaze it away, and if Spiritomb can burn it, all the better

Mienshao - Spiritomb is immune to its truly threatening move, but Taunt is irritating on Spiritomb; as such I have to try for a burn with Boiling Water more frequently, which is not terrible because Mienshao lacks Earthquake

Cobalion - Tentacruel fares pretty well if it lacks Earthquake, and can burn it; Tentacruel merely becomes better against CM ones and tank-ish ones aren't as much of an issue

Kyurem - If I get hazards up, not a problem at all, really. It relies on lots of prediction, though, and Protect stalling. If TS aren't out then I have to bait a Draco Metor so Lanturn can safely Toxic it

Latios - There are a shocking amount of Modest Latios, it seems, and Latias is always the Trick recipient because it puts a Scarf/Specs to best use. Ferrothorn is a solid check on it, although I have to scout for HP Fire - CM Latios is a bitch just like CM Jirachi is, however

Lucario - Spiritomb can take a Crunch and burn it, while a special version can be handled pretty well by Tentacruel

Machamp - Switch in on a DynamicPunch with Spiritomb to burn it (which will never miss! Screw you, No Guard!), but if it doesn't seem to have DynamicPunch I can't risk burning it because I can't let it get a Guts boost. Figuring out its moves is a high priority if it has Guts, and I have to try to Toxic it then and just Protect stall to its death

Magnezone - As you can see, I don't let this thing get the best of my Steels. With Ferrothorn, I first scout for HP Fire, because I could care less about Thunderbolt. Leech Seed, if it lacks HP Fire, is a priority, while I burn it with Spiritomb as well to let Lanturn stall it

Mamoswine - If I can get Spiritomb in, I burn it, but Skarmory and Ferrothorn handle it in normal circumstances

Sawsbuck - Use Tentacruel to see whether it has Nature Power or Jump Kick, if it has Nature Power I can go to Ferrothorn and Skarmory while otherwise it is more threatening as I have to switch around and try to burn it

Meloetta - Spiritomb doesn't let it transform into the more troublesome Pirouette Forme, and can burn it to neuter it anyway. Latias can take the typical Aria Forme moves pretty well

Metagross - Spiritomb can take a hit and burn it, as can Tentacruel if it doesn't have Earthquake. Skarmory can wall it easily if it doesn't have ThunderPunch

Ninjask - I have to Taunt it with Spiritomb generally, but if it passes to a physical sweeper (as it normally does) that's not like Conkeldurr or something Skarmory can phaze it; and anyway Spiritomb could Will-o-Wisp as it BPs

Haxorus - Skarmory handles it quite nicely, and Ferrothorn can Leech Seed to get some residual damage on it while its locked into Outrage

Landorus - Skarmory handles it pretty well, and Spiritomb can take a hit from it, Ferrothorn can also deal with it fairly well

Reuniclus - This bulky stat-upper is not a problem because of Spiritomb, and is the main reason for having Spiritomb as my Ghost. I think you should see why Spiritomb handles it, and Ferrothorn takes Shadow Balls if it has it normally

Conkeldurr - Frustrating to no end because status-ing it ends poorly. Skarmory can sort-of-but-not-really handle it, Latias can Charm it but it is still ridiculously powerful. Ferrothorn is too slow to sacrifice itself with one last Leech Seed. Prediction, protect, and poison are basically the keys to taking it down

Roserade - Spiritomb takes the sleep, and then it can't do a whole lot to Latias

Salamence - Another dragon that Latias outspeeds to deal a final blow to, I also try to burn it somehow and Skarmory and Ferrothorn can take many of the hits

Hydreigon - Latias again can Dragon Pulse to deal with it, Protect is pretty important to decide what to do and playing around to status it

Scizor - If Latias is in, I hopefully Charmed it as it switched in, and then I scout with Protect and make a decision;Skarmory of course walls it and Ferrothorn fares pretty well, too

Chandelure - The reason for Latias having a Shed Shell, Tentacruel and Spiritomb do pretty well against. This is one that I mostly just attack

Shaymin - Tentacruel and Liquid Ooze handle Leech Seed excellently, and I can temporarily burn him to make him switch out; Ferrothorn can get up Spikes on it and Skarmory can actually damage it through attacking

Eelektross - Latias can Protect scout for HP Ice, and Lanturn can take a hit to Toxic it and then I play the resistances with prediction

Sigilyph - Spiritomb handles its basic set, although being burned is annoying

Escavalier - Very similar to Scizor, really, I mostly just use Skarmory

Smeargle - I actually send in Ferrothorn to take Spore here, because I need Spiritomb's Will-o-Wisp or Taunt

Starmie - Lanturn takes everything Starmie typically has and can threaten with Discharge

Terrakion - I send in Latias and predict whether to use Protect to scout or Charm to weaken it; when Charmed Skarmory has an easier go about handling it. Spiritomb can also take a hit and Will-o-Wisp back

Togekiss - Tentacruel can take some special hits from it, while a Hustle version could be handled more easily by Skarmory

Tornadus - Lanturn takes the Flying-type attacks best, and SE Discharge and Toxic cause problems for it; a Bulk Up version could be phazed by Skarmory

Tyranitar - If it comes in on Latias, it's the same deal as Scizor and I hope that I hit it with Charm as it came in and Protect scout to make a decision; I like Ferrothorn to go in first and scout for a Fire move, and if it lacks one both Skarmory and Ferrothorn can deal with it pretty easily. If it has some bizarre Crunch/EQ/SE/Fire Blast set then I suppose I would have to burn it with Spiritomb and just try to stall it in a more difficult fashion

Volcarona - Tentacruel resists both STABs and has a STAB SE move against it

Venusaur - Spiritomb takes Sleep Powder, and I then switch in Ferrothorn which can set up Spikes as Venasaur can't do anything to it

Victini - Latias takes its STABs pretty well, and Lanturn can typically get in a Toxic to wear it down

Krookodile - Skarmory walls it pretty well, as well as Ferrothorn

Zoroark - As I already said, probably the biggest threat to stall teams now. Anyway, once I figure it out, it remains a problem. I can take a hit with Lanturn and Toxic it or hope for a paralysis from Discharge, and then stall it with Tentacruel and Spiritomb mainly.

Scrafty - Skarmory has to phaze it (or KO an unboosted one with Brave Bird) or I have to irritate my opponent enough to make them give up

Nidoking - He is actually a fairly big problem, and while Lanturn can survive a Timid Earth Power without SR, a Boiling Water/Surf can't OHKO it, either. Tentacruel has better chances at surviving, but has even less Special Attack than Lanturn. And since LO recoil doesn't affect it, apparently, I have to burn it and switch around and abuse Protect to wear it down. I can also hope for a Fire Blast miss on Ferrothorn to let me Leech Seed it, and it can't OHKO Spiritomb, either, giving me another chance to burn it. A Boiling Water+Dragon Pulse will KO it, thankfully, but it is going to take down either Tentacruel or Lanturn in the process (and if they are both below max health, I'm screwed). I could EV Tentacruel to outpace Modest/max Spe Nidoking, but then I lose out on a some significant sponging power that lets me survive Brick Breaks easier or that would let me survive Earth Power

Defensive Threats

Blissey - I obviously have difficulty outright killing it, and so I just annoy it a lot with all sorts of residual damage, phazing, and Taunt

Bronzong - Spiritomb doesn't care much about anything Bronzong can do to it besides sleep, and can Taunt it and burn it; Taunt makes it even easier for Ferrothorn to deal with it

Jellicent - Poison always goes a long way in breaking down bulky waters, and so Lanturn can handle Jellicent pretty well. Tentacruel and Jellicent, the two jellyfish, can't really do much to each other

Celebi - Being immune to Leech Seed AND having Natural Cure makes Celebi an enormous pain, so it goes back to the idea of just being irritating enough to force some miscues; Spiritomb's moveset is very helpful against Celebi, though, and if it doesn't have HP Fire, then it is just asking to have Ferrothorn set up Spikes on it. I would stop an offensive one with Latias or Ferrothorn depending on the Hidden Power it has, I suppose

Chansey - Even less likely to be taken down by attacks than Blissey, it at least can't even harm Spiritomb once it is Taunted. It basically has to switch once it is Taunted, which is where Pursuit and entry hazards come in

Deoxys-D - Poison, basically, and Leech Seed only speeds up the process. Taunt just makes it extremely annoying

Cofagrigus - In a very similar boat as Deoxys-D, but I can actually Taunt this thing

Dusclops - Effectively the same as the two above, and Pain Split means it is more necessary to use Spiritomb and its shitty HP stat against Dusclops; although I can get free healing out of it sometimes

Whimsicott - It doesn't stay in for too long normally, but I hope to God that TS got it. Ferrothorn doesn't give a damn about anything it can do besides Taunt, and so I just try to force it out that way in order to rack up entry hazard damage

Forretress - Taunt and Will-o-Wisp are very useful against it, and the new use of Volt Change allows me to abuse Volt Absorb on Lanturn more

Gliscor - I loved having Cofagrigus for this thing because Mummy truly screws over Gliscor that hit you with anything besides EQ or Fling, but I need Spiritomb so that Reuniclus doesn't destroy me. Now I have to mostly Power Whip and Dragon Pulse my way towards KOing it because Taunt never lets me Leech Seed

Hippowdon - I choose burn over poison for this fella and Tentacruel can finish it off at a certain point; walled by Ferrothorn and Skarmory

Latias - A CM set would be very problematic, but I don't foresee having to deal with that with Latios around; if it has Refresh, also, it is extremely irritating. If it has Refresh, though, it is almost assuredly walled by Ferrothorn and defeated through Leech Seed

Alomamola - Ferrothorn laughs in its face, and rain merely slows down the process of defeating this pink fish

Ferrothorn - Spiritomb is my best answer for it with Will-o-Wisp and Taunt, and Skarmory can phaze it away to make it deal with my own Spikes

Ninetales - Obviously, I can't make the sun go away, as much as I would desire to be able to (Abomasnow was on the original draft of the team). However, Skarmory and Ferrothorn both sport x4 resistances to SolarBeam, and Tentacruel has great Special Defense to help take Fire moves even in the sun. However, I still feel like a match against a sun team would be very demanding and require lots of correct switches and timely Protects combined with lots of entry hazards. The team preview helps me with this a fair deal, though.

Scolipede - Skarmory walls it very hard and cause phaze away its attempts to BP its boosts

Politoed - Rain teams aren't as problematic for me, but they can still be threatening. Ferrothorn makes the best use of Politoed itself even if I have to switch out later because of Perish Song

Porygon2 - Annoying to take down, and so I rely on entry hazards, status, Leech Seed, and so on

Rotom-H - Lanturn can hold its own against this Rotom

Rotom-W - Ferrothorn can take this Rotom, though, and while Will-o-Wisp is annoying, it really is nothing more than that

Skarmory - Burn it, Leech Seed it, Discharge it, something. It is not all too threatening given Rapid Spin and Spiritomb's ability to Taunt it

Snorlax - I prefer facing Immunity Snorlax because it means I won't accidentally poison it when I want to burn and ruin it, and thankfully Skarmory can typically phaze Curselax, if at a cost

Suicune - Similar to CM Jirachi and Lati@s, but what really sets apart Jirachi is the use of Substitute on its CM set so frequently and its immunity to Toxic. Latias can hold out against CroCune pretty well, and Ferrothorn can threaten it, too

Swampert - Ferrothorn very obviously threatens it, Spiritomb can Taunt it and burn it, and Skarmory can wall and phaze it

Tentacruel - Needs to be burned, generally, because it can't be poisoned or Leech Seeded (unless this is rain stall). Discharge does alright, but I again rely on Spikes, SR and such to do most of my work

Vaporeon - Toxic goes a long way in bringing down Vaporeon, just like other bulky waters. I fear for the day that all bulky waters carry a Fire move to deal with Ferrothorn and solely Ferrothorn, though.

Mandibuzz - Another irritatingly tough Poke, but Toxic and Discharge from Lanturn can really wear it down while it can't do all that much back

Xatu - Being an utterly unspectacular Pokemon with a fancy movepool and ability, I just try and kill it. It's not that hard. Really.

Zapdos - Latias can break Subs with Dragon Pulse and handle whatever Zapdos has to throw at it other than HP Ice. Lanturn can also do the same, unless it has HP Grass. If it lacks Heat Wave in favor of Roost or something, then Ferrothorn can wall it as well. Substitute is rather irritating, though, as it becomes hard to status/seed and, as a result, defeat

 

[LeviLamprey]

It seems like an agonisingly well-thought-out stall team, and a good one too. You cover your weaknesses fairly well and certainly have a lot of support wherever you turn to. Just reminding you you should probably put in some basic Threats in on place to your team. Even if nobody appreciates it, it will help YOU get a mental picture of what you need/might want to change, like with Latias' percentage list. You have discussed your big problems with each Pokemon, but a simple list at the bottom makes it easier for Smogonners to evaluate and help you. Keep up the good work!

P.S: If you hate Spiritomb, there are other Pokemon that can learn Taunt+Protect+Will o' Wisp+Pursuit, namely Houndoom, Banette, Dusclops, Dusknoir and Absol. Dusclops and Dusknoir are probably your best bets, though STAB-less Pursuit hurts. If you want a different Taunt-tect lead, use Serebii's Moveset Calculator to find some other viable Pokemon. Good luck!

EDIT: Just realsied it's a GENIV calculator only, there may be Gen 5 users I haven't put up. Also, the threat list is really nice! Kudos to you!

 

[Jaroda]

Discharge, Toxic, and Boiling Water on one set? With Toxic Spikes in general you're sacrificing base power needlessly. I'd really suggest using Surf and Thunderbolt instead.

Reflect is far superior to Charm, as it provides the same defensive boost and benefits all your pokemon for five turns, as opposed to whenever your Charmed opponent switches.

Team looks pretty solid.

 

[elDino]

Just a quick hint, you should change switch spikes and rocks around on Skarm and Ferrothorn as Skarmory lasts longer due to it having reliable recovery, allowing it to more easily set up the whole three layers of spikes. Great team and good luck!

 

[LeviLamprey]

No new Gen 5 Pokes with legitimate Spiritomb moveset, only the ones I mentioned before. Discharge on Lanturn should probably go to Thunderbolt for more power because you've got Boil Over and Toxic already.

 

[boltscore]

I will accept the suggestion to switch SR and Spikes, and I've looked into replacing Spiritomb with Dusclops. The main problem is that Gengar 2HKOes max/max Dusclops with Life Orb, and Shadow Punch can't OHKO it back. Now that I think about it, though, because of LO recoil, Dusclops may be viable, but I wouldn't run max Special Defense. The Gen V analysis hasn't been posted yet, and so I'm not sure how much I should invest in each defense to reach some good benchmarks. Oh, and Pursuit isn't really necessary, but something with a physical move that can hit Reuniclus SE is really what I want.

And about Latias having Charm over Reflect - switching out is exactly what I want the opponent to do because basically everything I would use Charm on is hurt by Spikes (Scizor, Tyranitar, Fighting-types). Reflect also cannot be stacked and doesn't last as long.

Since Lanturn can't really take physical hits well anyway, I'll give him Surf over Boiling Water, but I'm a little more skeptical about Thunderbolt because paralysis is quite useful against some things. I will test it out, though.

EDIT: I realized that Dusclops would have to run 44 Speed EVs in order to outrun Reuniclus and Taunt before it can use Recover. This would mean that it would have to lose out on some bulk, but it may be bulkier still than Spiritomb anyway (despite actually having weaknesses).

 

[Benlisted]

Just from looking at your team after noticing your analysis of Ninetales (and by extension Sun teams) in the threat list, I can't help but feel you're pretty horribly vulnerable to certain aspects of them, which are likely to become much more common now Rain is banned.

On the contrary to your threat list mention of it, the standard Chlorophyll Venusaur uses Growth, Energy Ball, Sludge Bomb and HP Fire and can OHKO half or maybe more of your team if it gets a boost, which several of your pokes allow it to do easily. Tentacruel may live an Energy Ball but has to watch for the occasional EQ, Tomb can live a hit but can only Burn in return, and Latias should just be able to take a Sludge Bomb if at near full health, but again if DP doesn't KO it poses a large issue.

Sun teams often run 2 chlorophyll sweepers which pose similar issues to the above, meaning they can easily wear you down (a lot of them also use Giga Drain, meaning smart switching will only get you so far if trying to cause LO recoil). I think currently stacking hazards and preventing setup is the best you could do against them, but putting a weather move somewhere on your team may help you significantly. I'm sorry that I don't offer you any advice as to where this should go, since I know little about stall and everything looks essential to me, but pointing this out may let you or someone else better advise you on the subject.

 

[Rakan]

Tentacruel's speed evs are kinda pointless, you say you have them to outspeed Magnezone, but why would you wanna stay in on him in the first place? O.o

 

[boltscore]

I haven't encountered any sun teams yet, at least, but I have seen a handful of Venasaurs that haven't been a significant threat. In sun I guess they would be more of a problem, and I'm not sure that just slapping Rain Dance somewhere on my team would particularly help, as the Chlorophyll sweepers that were a problem before sun would still be somewhat problematic.

It also assumes that I would have to give up Protect on something for Rain Dance, most likely Tentacruel. I suppose that I wouldn't hate to do this as much as I would with Latias or Ferrothorn, but I still wouldn't desire it unless it is necessary.

On a different note, I had an idea that I could run Jellicent and Forretress over Tentacruel and Spiritomb. I think Jellicent would be best suited to having Taunt/Recover/Will-o-Wisp/Shadow Ball (to deal with Reuniclus), while Forretress would have Rapid Spin/Toxic Spikes/Protect/Attack(Gyro Ball or EQ). This seems to make the weakness to sun teams worse, though, and I can't really put Rain Dance on either of them because one is weak to Grass while the other is weak to Fire. And, of course, then Gengar with Shadow Ball/Focus Blast/T-bolt/HP Fire would have a field day against everything except Lanturn, and it is harder to safely switch by having fewer Pokemon with Protect.

As for the Tentacruel Speed EVs, I basically just added one point to what the analysis had listed to outspeed anything that was also reaching for the same benchmark as listed in the analysis, which was neutral base 70s. It also just so happens to beat Magnezone and thought I'd throw that in there.

 

[JohnWesleyX]

I say a Mischevious Heart Sableye could be a good replacement to Spiritomb. It may have a harder time taking out Gengar but a shadow ball does around 59- 60something % on him, and with max Hp and good amount of SpD Evs, you can take a shadow ball and recover up or shadow ball a second time.

Plus priority taunt and Will-o-wisp will help out a lot