"Defensive Threat List"

Jumpman16

np: Michael Jackson - "Mon in the Mirror" (DW mix)
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Mekkah suggested I start this up a few weeks ago, and I finally did yesterday at work (lol) but he didn't think I would so he started writing some as well. I'm just going to paste what I have so far


It is likely in your best interests to know the most capable defensive walls that DP has to offer as well. This is to ensure that, while formulating your strategy and your team, you do not unintentionally let any two pokémon easily wall the majority of your team.

I say “two” because very rarely is it the case that one pokémon can wall an entire team (unless it’s a mono-type or –species team, and even then one pokémon shouldn’t wall it if it’s actually a well-crafted team). A solid defense is usually built around two or more pokémon whose respective typing, superb defensive Base statistics, appropriately configured Natures and Effort Values, and often Abilities all combine to create a nearly impenetrable defensive powerhouse.

The best example of this is the Advance generation’s “Blisskarm”, or “SkarmBliss” — no matter the moniker, chances are very likely you know this combination by name or have at least faced it in battle.

Blissey@Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 148hp/252def/4spd/104spatk
Nature: Bold
- Ice Beam
- Seismic Toss
- Softboiled
- Thunder Wave

Skarmory@Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252hp/252def/6speed
Nature: Impish
- Drill Peck
- Rest
- Spikes
- Whirlwind/Roar



An Advance team comprised of the standard sets for Jolteon, Milotic, Alakazam, Tauros, Swords Dance Heracross and Curselax would fail pretty badly against any team employing the Blisskarm strategy. The former half would be effectively walled by Blissey, and the latter half would be likewise hard-pressed to put much of a dent into Skarmory. Anyone using this team would have to fall upon the “last poke Curselax” strategy to have any chance at winning. And even then, the Blisskarm user could be using a Choice Band Metagross with Explosion to deal with that even if Skarmory’s Roar/Whirlwind would fail, or otherwise utilize the sheer power in numbers to overpower his or her opponent’s final pokemon.

This is the most basic idea behind what a “defensive threat” is, and you need look no further than the “No SkarmBliss” that graced the user information of countless novice battlers on NetBattle, or the popularity of Magneton (Magnet Pull for Skarmory) and Choice Band Dugtrio (Arena Trap for Blissey) to know how effective it was in general.

In DP, this combination isn’t quite as formidable thanks in large part to the physical/special attack split. A few pokémon that are great examples of why Blisskarm isn’t as effective as it was in Advance:

Metagross, whose Thunderpunch is now physical and does more to Skarmory off of 135 Base Attack than the special Thunderpunch did in Advance, perhaps mainly because it no longer needs to stretch its capabilities to consider its Special Attack’s Nature and Effort Values

Alakazam, who gained the 120 Base Power Fighting-type special Focus Blast, which can 3- or even 2HKO Blissey coming from 135 Base Special Attack

Heracross, who gained the 120 Base Power Fighting-type physical Close Combat, which can 2HKO Skarmory with a Choice Band where Advance’s Brick Break could not and without necessitating a switch as the 150 Base Power Focus Punch did and still does

Porygon-Z, who can literally at least 2HKO everything in the game thanks to Nasty Plot, its Adaptive ability that serves as an additional STAB for Normal-type attacks and allows it to 2HKO Blissey with some Attack EVs and Return, and a now-special Hidden Power Fighting (for Rock/Steel types that 4× resist Normal)



and that's what i have so far

i could append my existing RMT announcement but that would make it a wall of words by even my standards so i was thinking this would probably be better as an article
 
Here's what I got so far.

There are so many threats to be found in the threat list here that you may find it impossible to cover every single Pokemon on there. While this is indeed a very tough endeavor, it does help to at least make sure you don't go down without a fight. You can't cover them all, so try to come as close as possible!

While it is not my intention to suggest that you try to pick 6 Pokemon from this list to try and hide against every threat in the game (both because it limits creativity and usually leaves you without the much-needed offense on your team) I do recommend looking over this threat list mentally or physically when making teams to see if you can actually make your way past a stall team and of course, to see if there's something you could use for your team.

Format

Name - Base HP/Base Def/Base SpDef
Notable characteristics and strategical summary

Slowbro - 95/110/80
A premiere "Bulky Water" with the ability to take physical hits and shrug them off with Slack Off. It can paralyze with Thunder Wave, scare off Dragons with Ice Beam and sometimes Gyarados with Hidden Power Electric. Occasionally sets up Calm Mind or Trick Room.

Magnezone - 70/115/90
Traps every Steel Pokemon foolish enough to leave the house without a Shed Shell, and provides a nice list of resistances including the famed Thunderbolt/Ice Beam combo. Magnet Rise makes it very tough to take down if Earthquake is relied on. Can set up Reflect/Light Screen and paralyze with Thunder Wave.

Weezing - 65/120/70
Highly useful anti physical attacker due to great Defense, Will-o-Wisp to halve attack and cause residual damage and Haze to erase stat boosts. Often hailed as one of the very few real Heracross counters due to resistance to Megahorn and Close Combat while not being weak to any of Heracross' other moves. Immune to Earthquake due to Levitate ability. Can go toe to toe with Gyarados with Thunderbolt, but struggles against Garchomp when Sand Veil is up.

Rhyperior - 115/130/40
A defensive powerhouse that earns most credit with its trait, Solid Rock, which reduces super-effective damage by 25%. Combined with immense HP and Defense as well as the 50% Special Defense boost from Sand Stream, it shrugs off almost anything not Water or Grass. Can set up Stealth Rock, pHaze with Roar, or absolutely wreck with good offensive capabilities.

Blissey - 255/10/135
The single best Special wall in the game, as the stats suggest. Softboiled or Wish can get it to recover that immense HP once in a while, Natural Cure makes sure status effects are no problem. Heals the team with Aromatherapy, can use Sing, Toxic or Thunder Wave for status and attack with high diversity, optionally boosted by Calm Mind, or bounce back a huge hit with Counter.

Tangrowth - 100/125/50
A very reliable Earthquake resistance, with a highly diverse movepool that includes Leech Seed, Knock Off, Sleep Powder, Reflect and Stun Spore on the supportive side. Can use Sunny Day/Solarbeam effectively, or use another Grass attack like Energy Ball, Power Whip or Grass Knot, can be accompanied by Earthquake.

Starmie - 60/85/85
Its defensive stats may look a little lackluster, but it's the high speed Recover and Rapid Spin that makes Starmie a true asset to the team. Can take on Gyarados rather reliably with Thunderbolt due to Waterfall resistance, Salamence and Garchomp to a lesser extent with Ice Beam. Thunder Wave, Reflect and Light Screen are other supportive options.

Scizor - 70/100/80
Excellent typing that allows it the luxury of having only one weakness. Can scout with U-Turn, kill something weak that switches with Pursuit or something that doesn't with Quick Attack helped by Technician. Can Baton Pass Iron Defense, Swords Dance, Substitute and/or Agility or use them himself with his good 130 Attack. May recover HP with Morning Sun if the weather allows him to.

Gyarados - 95/79/100
Intimidate and resistance to Megahorn and Fighting moves in addition to an Earthquake immunity makes this a good switch-in on many threatening physical attackers such as Garchomp, Infernape, Heracross and even other Gyarados. You need to watch out for Stone Edge/Thunderpunch when appropiate and be sure to Spin away Stealth Rock when relying on Gyarados as a wall. With its offensive diversity in Ice Fang, Earthquake, Waterfall and Stone Edge (which it needs to counter these mentioned Pokemon appropiatly) Gyarados can also easily set up Dragon Dances and sweep, Taunting status and Haze/Roar/Whirlwind when needed.

Vaporeon - 130/60/95
Stands out as a bulky Water thanks to Water Absorb and Wish. Can Baton Pass extremely high HP Substitutes or Acid Armors, and uses Wish to heal itself and the team. Protect is often used in tandem with Wish because it is tough to heal yourself on Wish alone.

Umbreon 95/110/130
Umbreon posesses one of the most dangerous combo's in the Pokemon world in Mean Look, Baton Pass and Taunt, and has the defenses to actually trap something, Taunt phazing attempts and Baton Pass out to a more desirable counter which can proceed to set-up and/or destroy. STAB Pursuit can hurt of frail Ghosts such as Gengar, but other than that Umbreon is restricted to indirect offense with Yawn, Toxic or Charm.

Porygon2 - 85/90/95
The new D/P Trace allows Porygon2 to effectively backfire Gyarados/Salamence Intimidates. Coupled with Recover and its decent defensive stats and the ability to use both Thunderbolt and Ice Beam from high Special Attack, it makes a great counter to them, especially Gyarados. Thunder Wave/Toxic is often used to inflict status.

Snorlax - 160/65/110
While not as good as Special walling as Blissey due to lack of Natural Cure, Softboiled and overkill HP/Special Defense, Snorlax is still able to laugh at many Special Attacks and can actually pack a punch with its huge physical movepool containing Body Slam, Double-Edge, Earthquake, Crunch, Focus Punch and Selfdestruct, as well as Fire Blast for Steels. Curse, Rest and Sleep Talk variations can make it hard to take out quickly.

Zapdos - 90/85/100
Stripped off its former glory as a Gyarados counter due to the physical Waterfall and the addition of Stealth Rock, but nonetheless a very effective counter to Metagross as long as it doesn't run into Rock Slides. Roost keeps it alive, and Zapdos can get in a Substitute or Agility to Baton Pass around rather easily.

Lanturn - 125/58/76
Thanks to Volt Absorb Lanturn is the other reliable resistance to the famous BoltBeam, and it also happens to resist Water and take little damage from Grass Knot, making it one of the best Starmie counters in the game. Lanturn cannot hurt much outright, but Thunder Wave and Confuse Ray provide some support and its Surf/Ice Beam/Thunderbolt attacks at least hurt with a type advantage.

Togekiss - 85/95/115
A maniac supporter in itself that may very well sweep your team with a bit of luck due to Serene Grace, paralyzing possibilities with Thunder Wave/Body Slam and the 60% flinch Air Slash. Its Stealth Rock weakness is amended with Roost or Softboiled to recover HP. Can set up Nasty Plot OR use Tri Attack as well.

Forretress - 75/140/60
Like Scizor it is only weak to Fire and has a gazillion resistances. Forretress can set up Stealth Rock, Spikes or even Toxic Spikes, Rapid Spin away opposing Spikes and Explode when done. It has little to no offensive capabilities besides that and Gyro Ball, but it can Counter effectively and support with Reflect/Light Screen.

Gliscor - 75/125/75
The best if not the only Heracross counter in the game, and generally a great physical wall with two immunities to very common attacking types (Ground and Electric), resistance to Bug, Fighting, taking neutral damage from Rock and being able to Roost. Stealth Rock and Knock Off are there for utility, it can Baton Pass Rock Cart, Substitute and Swords Dance nicely or use these for itself with STAB Earthquake and Aerial Ace, complimented by the elemental fangs.

Steelix - 75/200/65
Steel/Ground is a typing that laughs at many, many opposing types, and with Defense like that it can shrug off Earthquakes if it has to from say, Metagross. It can set up Stealth Rock and phaze with Roar, but beyond that it usually doesn't hurt anything with some kind of defense. Earthquake and Gyro Ball are used to inflict damage against enemies weak to it.

Mamoswine - 110/80/60
Its inflated HP, okay Defense and great Attack makes it a nice switch into a Salamence Dragon Dance or Garchomp Swords Dance to go for the kill with Ice Shard, Avalanche or Ice Fang, and it can take an occasional Earthquake or Dragon Claw if it has to. Its Special Defense is rather bad, so on that end it is usually stuck warding off Electric types without a Grass, Fighting or Water move.

Skarmory - 65/140/70
Ever since GSC it has been the premiere physical wall of choice and little has changed. Immunity to Earthquake and resistant to about everything else, posesses the unique ability to Spike AND phaze, making it not easy to get past. Uses Roost to restore HP and often holds Shed Shell to prevent it from being trapped by Magnezone. Alternatively it can set up Stealth Rock.

Donphan - 90/120/60
Anything you would expect from a utility-based Ground-type. It can set up Stealth Rock, Rapid Spin effectively and quickly ward off Dragons with Ice Shard if needbe. Its 120 attack Earthquake usually is not going around sweeping teams, but does a nice job on Tyranitar, who it can counter nicely.

Miltank - 95/105/70
Miltank can be compared to Blissey, except it is more balanced and takes physical hits instead. It does this quite nicely, can paralyze with Body Slam/Thunder Wave, Heal Bell, and shrug off sustained damage with Milk Drink. Usually not a good attacking threat due to an average-at-best 80 Attack, but don't entirely write it off as an offenseless Pokemon because it gets Earthquake, Gyro Ball and Focus Punch to toy with.

Suicune - 100/115/115
Takes most neutral hits as if it is nothing, though it can't switch in on extreme powerhouses like Choice Band Heracross or Tyranitar, or Choice Specs Salamence. Lack of the reliable recovery move that Starmie, Slowbro and Milotic all posess, but quite threatening once it starts setting up Calm Mind. It can Rest/Sleep Talk nicely, and throw Roar in the mix for Spikes/Stealth Rock abuse.

Tyranitar - 100/110/100
Mostly known as an offensive Pokemon, but Tyranitar also makes a very potent counter to many Psychic threats due to immunity to their STAB, resistance to Fire, capability to use STAB Crunch/Pursuit and the 50% bonus to Special Defense thanks to auto-Sand Stream. This ongoing Sandstorm causes for quite a lot of residual pain. While much, much rarer than the Dragon Dancing, Choice Banding or mixed attacking Tyranitar, it can Roar as well.

Celebi - 100/100/100
A Pokemon about as tough as Blissey thanks to the same Recover + Natural Cure syndrome. Resistance to Ground, Fighting, Electric and Water and an immense supporting movepool in Leech Seed, Heal Bell, Baton Pass (Calm Mind, Substitute, Swords Dance), Trick Room and Thunder Wave. The only thing that lets him down is 7 weaknesses, among others one to Pursuit.
 

Jumpman16

np: Michael Jackson - "Mon in the Mirror" (DW mix)
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Admin Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Researcher Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis an Administrator Alumnus
good that's great, i mainly "had a problem" with doing away with the strategical walls of text i typed up already but I am glad i stopped with the actual pokemon so thank you


i think i'll combine these two into my next post which you can edit as you see fit
 

Atlas

I'm the Mary!
is a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Researcher Alumnus
=
Metagross, whose Thunderpunch is now physical and does more to Skarmory off of 135 Base Attack than the special Thunderpunch did in Advance, perhaps mainly because it no longer needs to stretch its capabilities to consider its Special Attack’s Nature and Effort Values
actually physical thunderpunch (max attack, plus nature) and special thunderpunch (min special attack, neutral nature) do the same amount of damage to skarm (no ev, no boosting nature). if skarm for some crazy reason has defence ev's special thunderpunch would have done more.
 

X-Act

np: Biffy Clyro - Shock Shock
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Actually, since Skarmory usually has HP and Defense EVs, 405 attack Thunderpunch does less to it (126 damage max) than 203 special attack special Thunderpunch (148 damage max).

Also, Adaptability isn't a second STAB; it makes STAB attacks deal x2 instead of x1.5.

For Mekkah, I think Hippowdon should be included in the list of defense threats.
 
I'm only up to the Advance ones now, I used Veekuns so new evo's to old Pokemon are in there. I also removed Mamoswine from my .txt version.
 

Jumpman16

np: Michael Jackson - "Mon in the Mirror" (DW mix)
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Admin Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Researcher Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis an Administrator Alumnus
ok i will reword the part about metagross, the point is that thunderpunch is much more validated on metagross in DP because he can use it off of his Atk and not SpA, where in Advance nobody even bothered to run Thunderpunch on Metagross even if it did make it a "SkarmBliss counter" because it didn't make it fare any better against milotic and suicune (tp was like 0.5% "better" against a 401HP/352Def/266SpD Suicune than EQ)
 

Jumpman16

np: Michael Jackson - "Mon in the Mirror" (DW mix)
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Admin Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Researcher Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis an Administrator Alumnus
ok edit the shit out of this mekkah


It is likely in your best interests to know the most capable defensive walls that DP has to offer, in addition to the offensive threats. This is to ensure that, while formulating your strategy and your team, you do not unintentionally let any two pokémon easily wall the majority of your team.

I say “two” because very rarely is it the case that one pokémon can wall an entire team (unless it’s a mono-type or –species team, and even then one pokémon shouldn’t wall it if it’s actually a well-crafted team). A solid defense is usually built around two or more pokémon whose respective typing, superb defensive Base statistics, appropriately configured Natures and Effort Values, and often Abilities all combine to create a nearly impenetrable defensive powerhouse.

The best example of this is the Advance generation’s “Blisskarm”, or “SkarmBliss” — no matter the moniker, chances are very likely you know this combination by name or have at least faced it in battle.


Blissey@Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 148hp/252def/4spd/104spatk
Nature: Bold
- Ice Beam
- Seismic Toss
- Softboiled
- Thunder Wave

Skarmory@Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252hp/252def/6speed
Nature: Impish
- Drill Peck
- Rest
- Spikes
- Whirlwind/Roar


An Advance team comprised of the standard sets for Jolteon, Milotic, Alakazam, Tauros, Swords Dance Heracross and Curselax would fail pretty badly against any team employing the Blisskarm strategy. The former half would be effectively walled by Blissey, and the latter half would be likewise hard-pressed to put much of a dent into Skarmory. Anyone using this team would have to fall upon the “last poke Curselax” strategy to have any chance at winning. And even then, the Blisskarm user could be using a Choice Band Metagross with Explosion to deal with that even if Skarmory’s Roar/Whirlwind would fail, or otherwise utilize the sheer power in numbers to overpower his or her opponent’s final pokemon.

This is the most basic idea behind what a “defensive threat” is, and you need look no further than the “No SkarmBliss” that graced the user information of countless novice battlers on NetBattle, or the popularity of Magneton (Magnet Pull for Skarmory) and Choice Band Dugtrio (Arena Trap for Blissey) to know how effective it was in general.

In DP, this combination isn’t quite as formidable thanks in large part to the physical/special attack split. A few pokémon that are great examples of why Blisskarm isn’t as effective as it was in Advance:

Metagross, whose Thunderpunch is now physical and runs off of 135 Base Attack, which suits it much better than it did in Advance when it was rare that one would actually use Thunderpunch on Metagross even in spite of the fact that it did more than this physical Thunderpunch does in DP

Alakazam, who gained the 120 Base Power Fighting-type special Focus Blast, which can 3- or even 2HKO Blissey coming from 135 Base Special Attack

Heracross, who gained the 120 Base Power Fighting-type physical Close Combat, which can 2HKO Skarmory with a Choice Band where Advance’s Brick Break could not and without necessitating a switch as the 150 Base Power Focus Punch did and still does

Porygon-Z, who can literally at least 2HKO everything in the game thanks to Nasty Plot, its Adaptive ability that serves as an additional STAB for Normal-type attacks and allows it to 2HKO Blissey with some Attack EVs and Return, and a now-special Hidden Power Fighting (for Rock/Steel types that 4× resist Normal)

In addition to these pokemon that exemplify why a rigid Blisskarm strategy would be doomed to fail in DP, there are so many additional offensive ones to be found in the threat list here that you may find it impossible to cover every single Pokemon on there. While this is indeed a very tough endeavor, it does help to at least make sure you don't go down without a fight. You can't cover them all, so try to come as close as possible!

While it is not my intention to suggest that you try to pick 6 Pokemon from this list to try and hide against every threat in the game (both because it limits creativity and usually leaves you without the much-needed offense on your team) I do recommend looking over this threat list mentally or physically when making teams to see if you can actually make your way past a stall team and of course, to see if there's something you could use for your team.

There are so many threats to be found in the threat list here that you may find it impossible to cover every single Pokemon on there. While this is indeed a very tough endeavor, it does help to at least make sure you don't go down without a fight. You can't cover them all, so try to come as close as possible!

While it is not my intention to suggest that you try to pick 6 Pokemon from this list to try and hide against every threat in the game (both because it limits creativity and usually leaves you without the much-needed offense on your team) I do recommend looking over this threat list mentally or physically when making teams to see if you can actually make your way past a stall team and of course, to see if there's something you could use for your team.

Format

Name - Base HP/Base Def/Base SpDef
Typing. Notable characteristics and strategical summary

Slowbro - 95/110/80
Water/Psychic. A premiere "Bulky Water" with the ability to take physical hits and shrug them off with Slack Off. It can paralyze with Thunder Wave, scare off Dragons with Ice Beam and sometimes Gyarados with Hidden Power Electric. Occasionally sets up Calm Mind or Trick Room.

Magnezone - 70/115/90
Steel/Electric. Traps every Steel Pokemon foolish enough to leave the house without a Shed Shell, and provides a nice list of resistances including the famed Thunderbolt/Ice Beam combo. Magnet Rise makes it very tough to take down if Earthquake is relied on. Can set up Reflect/Light Screen and paralyze with Thunder Wave.

Weezing - 65/120/70
Poison. Highly useful anti physical attacker due to great Defense, Will-o-Wisp to halve attack and cause residual damage and Haze to erase stat boosts. Often hailed as one of the very few real Heracross counters due to resistance to Megahorn and Close Combat while not being weak to any of Heracross' other moves. Immune to Earthquake due to Levitate ability. Can go toe to toe with Gyarados with Thunderbolt, but struggles against Garchomp when Sand Veil is up.

Rhyperior - 115/130/40
Rock/Ground. A defensive powerhouse that earns most credit with its trait, Solid Rock, which reduces super-effective damage by 25%. Combined with immense HP and Defense as well as the 50% Special Defense boost from Sand Stream, it shrugs off almost anything not Water or Grass. Can set up Stealth Rock, pHaze with Roar, or absolutely wreck with good offensive capabilities.

Blissey - 255/10/135
Normal. The single best Special wall in the game, as the stats suggest. Softboiled or Wish can get it to recover that immense HP once in a while, Natural Cure makes sure status effects are no problem. Heals the team with Aromatherapy, can use Sing, Toxic or Thunder Wave for status and attack with high diversity, optionally boosted by Calm Mind, or bounce back a huge hit with Counter.

Tangrowth - 100/125/50
Grass. A very reliable Earthquake resistance, with a highly diverse movepool that includes Leech Seed, Knock Off, Sleep Powder, Reflect and Stun Spore on the supportive side. Can use Sunny Day/Solarbeam effectively, or use another Grass attack like Energy Ball, Power Whip or Grass Knot, can be accompanied by Earthquake.

Starmie - 60/85/85
Water/Psychic. Its defensive stats may look a little lackluster, but it's the high speed Recover and Rapid Spin that makes Starmie a true asset to the team. Can take on Gyarados rather reliably with Thunderbolt due to Waterfall resistance, Salamence and Garchomp to a lesser extent with Ice Beam. Thunder Wave, Reflect and Light Screen are other supportive options.

Scizor - 70/100/80
Bug/Steel. Excellent typing that allows it the luxury of having only one weakness. Can scout with U-Turn, kill something weak that switches with Pursuit or something that doesn't with Quick Attack helped by Technician. Can Baton Pass Iron Defense, Swords Dance, Substitute and/or Agility or use them himself with his good 130 Attack. May recover HP with Morning Sun if the weather allows him to.

Gyarados - 95/79/100
Water/Flying. Intimidate and resistance to Megahorn and Fighting moves in addition to an Earthquake immunity makes this a good switch-in on many threatening physical attackers such as Garchomp, Infernape, Heracross and even other Gyarados. You need to watch out for Stone Edge/Thunderpunch when appropiate and be sure to Spin away Stealth Rock when relying on Gyarados as a wall. With its offensive diversity in Ice Fang, Earthquake, Waterfall and Stone Edge (which it needs to counter these mentioned Pokemon appropiatly) Gyarados can also easily set up Dragon Dances and sweep, Taunting status and Haze/Roar/Whirlwind when needed.

Vaporeon - 130/60/95
Water. Stands out as a bulky Water thanks to Water Absorb and Wish. Can Baton Pass extremely high HP Substitutes or Acid Armors, and uses Wish to heal itself and the team. Protect is often used in tandem with Wish because it is tough to heal yourself on Wish alone.

Umbreon 95/110/130
Dark. Umbreon posesses one of the most dangerous combo's in the Pokemon world in Mean Look, Baton Pass and Taunt, and has the defenses to actually trap something, Taunt phazing attempts and Baton Pass out to a more desirable counter which can proceed to set-up and/or destroy. STAB Pursuit can hurt of frail Ghosts such as Gengar, but other than that Umbreon is restricted to indirect offense with Yawn, Toxic or Charm.

Porygon2 - 85/90/95
Normal. The new D/P Trace allows Porygon2 to effectively backfire Gyarados/Salamence Intimidates. Coupled with Recover and its decent defensive stats and the ability to use both Thunderbolt and Ice Beam from high Special Attack, it makes a great counter to them, especially Gyarados. Thunder Wave/Toxic is often used to inflict status.

Snorlax - 160/65/110
Normal. While not as good as Special walling as Blissey due to lack of Natural Cure, Softboiled and overkill HP/Special Defense, Snorlax is still able to laugh at many Special Attacks and can actually pack a punch with its huge physical movepool containing Body Slam, Double-Edge, Earthquake, Crunch, Focus Punch and Selfdestruct, as well as Fire Blast for Steels. Curse, Rest and Sleep Talk variations can make it hard to take out quickly.

Zapdos - 90/85/100
Electric/Flying. Stripped off its former glory as a Gyarados counter due to the physical Waterfall and the addition of Stealth Rock, but nonetheless a very effective counter to Metagross as long as it doesn't run into Rock Slides. Roost keeps it alive, and Zapdos can get in a Substitute or Agility to Baton Pass around rather easily.

Lanturn - 125/58/76
Electric/Water. Thanks to Volt Absorb Lanturn is the other reliable resistance to the famous BoltBeam, and it also happens to resist Water and take little damage from Grass Knot, making it one of the best Starmie counters in the game. Lanturn cannot hurt much outright, but Thunder Wave and Confuse Ray provide some support and its Surf/Ice Beam/Thunderbolt attacks at least hurt with a type advantage.

Togekiss - 85/95/115
Normal/Flying. A maniac supporter in itself that may very well sweep your team with a bit of luck due to Serene Grace, paralyzing possibilities with Thunder Wave/Body Slam and the 60% flinch Air Slash. Its Stealth Rock weakness is amended with Roost or Softboiled to recover HP. Can set up Nasty Plot OR use Tri Attack as well.

Forretress - 75/140/60
Bug/Steel. Like Scizor it is only weak to Fire and has a gazillion resistances. Forretress can set up Stealth Rock, Spikes or even Toxic Spikes, Rapid Spin away opposing Spikes and Explode when done. It has little to no offensive capabilities besides that and Gyro Ball, but it can Counter effectively and support with Reflect/Light Screen.

Gliscor - 75/125/75
Ground/Flying. The best if not the only Heracross counter in the game, and generally a great physical wall with two immunities to very common attacking types (Ground and Electric), resistance to Bug, Fighting, taking neutral damage from Rock and being able to Roost. Stealth Rock and Knock Off are there for utility, it can Baton Pass Rock Cart, Substitute and Swords Dance nicely or use these for itself with STAB Earthquake and Aerial Ace, complimented by the elemental fangs.

Steelix - 75/200/65
Steel/Ground. A typing that laughs at many, many opposing types, and with Defense like that it can shrug off Earthquakes if it has to from say, Metagross. It can set up Stealth Rock and phaze with Roar, but beyond that it usually doesn't hurt anything with some kind of defense. Earthquake and Gyro Ball are used to inflict damage against enemies weak to it.

Skarmory - 65/140/70
Steel/Flying. Ever since GSC it has been the premiere physical wall of choice and little has changed. Immunity to Earthquake and resistant to about everything else, posesses the unique ability to Spike AND phaze, making it not easy to get past. Uses Roost to restore HP and often holds Shed Shell to prevent it from being trapped by Magnezone. Alternatively it can set up Stealth Rock.

Donphan - 90/120/60
Ground. Anything you would expect from a utility-based Ground-type. It can set up Stealth Rock, Rapid Spin effectively and quickly ward off Dragons with Ice Shard if needbe. Its 120 attack Earthquake usually is not going around sweeping teams, but does a nice job on Tyranitar, who it can counter nicely.

Miltank - 95/105/70
Normal. Miltank can be compared to Blissey, except it is more balanced and takes physical hits instead. It does this quite nicely, can paralyze with Body Slam/Thunder Wave, Heal Bell, and shrug off sustained damage with Milk Drink. Usually not a good attacking threat due to an average-at-best 80 Attack, but don't entirely write it off as an offenseless Pokemon because it gets Earthquake, Gyro Ball and Focus Punch to toy with.

Suicune - 100/115/115
Water. Takes most neutral hits as if it is nothing, though it can't switch in on extreme powerhouses like Choice Band Heracross or Tyranitar, or Choice Specs Salamence. Lack of the reliable recovery move that Starmie, Slowbro and Milotic all posess, but quite threatening once it starts setting up Calm Mind. It can Rest/Sleep Talk nicely, and throw Roar in the mix for Spikes/Stealth Rock abuse. Probably the best user of the Pressure trait, with a little bit of luck it can run Stone Edge out of PP.

Tyranitar - 100/110/100
Dark/Rock. Mostly known as an offensive Pokemon, but Tyranitar also makes a very potent counter to many Psychic threats due to immunity to their STAB, resistance to Fire, capability to use STAB Crunch/Pursuit and the 50% bonus to Special Defense thanks to auto-Sand Stream. This ongoing Sandstorm causes for quite a lot of residual pain. While much, much rarer than the Dragon Dancing, Choice Banding or mixed attacking Tyranitar, it can Roar as well.

Celebi - 100/100/100
Grass/Psychic. A Pokemon about as tough as Blissey thanks to the same Recover + Natural Cure syndrome. Resistance to Ground, Fighting, Electric and Water and an immense supporting movepool in Leech Seed, Heal Bell, Baton Pass (Calm Mind, Substitute, Swords Dance), Trick Room and Thunder Wave. The only thing that lets him down is 7 weaknesses, among others one to Pursuit.

Swampert - 100/90/90
Water/Ground. A bulky Water with about the same purposes as the others, except it is resistant to Stealth Rock and Rock in general, and immune to Electric and Sand Stream. This comes at the price of being 4x weak to Grass and not having a reliable Recovery move, but it more than compensates with the ability to lay down Stealth Rock, use Roar, counter non-Grass move Electrics, take on Tyranitar, Aerodactyl and other scary Stone Edging attackers and use a STABed Earthquake, boosted by Curse if desired.

Ludicolo - 80/70/100
Grass/Water. Unique typing that shrugs off Water hits as well as Earthquake, making a Thunderpunch or HP Electric Ludicolo a very good idea for countering Gyarados. Leech Seed and Toxic allow it to support and sap HP, attacks with Surf, Energy Ball/Grass Knot and/or Ice Beam as well. Can run a Swift Swim set with Rain Dance rather effectively too.

Slaking - 150/100/65
Normal. Slaking's stat lay-out screams "wreck stuff", which is exactly why it is a nice Pokemon to play defensively thanks to the immense HP combined with a nice 100 Speed. It can switch in on about anything at least once or twice and hit them with a super effective hit or, failing that, an extremely powerful Return or Double-Edge and OHKO more often than not. A great example is Gyarados, who can hardly do anything to Slaking but gets hit by a Thunderpunch.

Hariyama - 144/60/60
Fighting. Arguably the best switch into Blissey in the game with high HP, Guts to absorb status or Thick Fat for Ice Beam and the choice of many different Fighting assaults (Cross Chop, Close Combat and Force Palm). With Thick Fat also makes a splendid switch into Weavile without Aerial Ace, and Tyranitar has a tough time getting past it as well, both thanks to the awesome resistances of the Fighting type. Knock Off, Fake Out and Whirlwind give some utility while Counter can catch a heavy hitter off guard. It can also Bulk Up and use elemental punches, Earthquake, Rock Slide and Stone Edge.

Claydol - 60/105/120
Ground/Psychic. One of the very few Pokemon that resists both Rock and Ground (only thanks to Levitate though), and the only one that also resists Fighting. It is immune to all sorts of Spikes and it can Rapid Spin them off. Can Calm Mind up, but usually sticks to attacking whatever it's SE against with Earthquake/Land Power, Psychic, Ice Beam, Shadow Ball and it can Explode. Weakness to Tyranitar's Crunch and Pursuit in general is what really hurts him.

Cradily - 86/97/107
Grass/Rock. While offensively retarded, Cradily's defenses are extreme, especially when you consider it cannot be phazed (due to Suction Cups) and it doesn't lose any health from Sand Stream - in fact, it gains a 50% Special Defense boost from it. It gets Mirror Coat to bounce back strong Special hits (like Ice Beams), Sand Stream may hinder that. Usually its only "offense" is Toxic, Confuse Ray, Stealth Rock or a super effective attack though, unless it is using a Swords Dance set with Earthquake and Stone Edge/Rock Slide. It can make a pretty decent Electric counter as long as said Electric's name isn't Electivire.

Milotic - 95/79/125
Water. One of the most everlasting Pokemon in the game, thanks to the Marvel Scale trait that gives it a 50% Defense boost when afflicted by status. That and Recover make it nearly impossible to OHKO. It only makes an average counter at best to threats like Tyranitar, Garchomp and Salamence due to its tendacy to get (nearly or completely) 2HKOed after a boost, but it can switch in on the weaker Grounds like Donphan all day long. Hypnosis allows it to disable at least one threat on the switch.

Dusknoir - 45/135/135
Ghost. Immunities to Fighting and Normal and immense defenses are what places Dusknoir at the top (it certainly isn't that 45 base HP). He can easily be tailored to counter Infernape and Electivire with Earthquake, or a Dragon with Ice Punch, or about any Psychic with Shadow Punch, or Heracross with Fire Punch - the possibilities are endless. An easy switch into Staraptor, Tauros and many Fighters. The Pursuit weakness is what breaks him most of the time.

Metagross - 80/130/90
Steel/Psychic. Great defensive typing AND defenses. Metagross' offensive typing with Meteor Mash isn't that amazing anyway, but it does do a good job at walling Weavile and Staraptor while also resisting Dragon. I am just listing it for that reason - while Metagross can go for a defensive moveset with Reflect, Light Screen, Stealth Rock, Rest/Sleep Talk and such, you should just look into its offensive movepool nonetheless (Thunderpunch, Meteor Mash, Earthquake, Rock Slide, Explosion) because otherwise you are just using a bad Bronzong/Jirachi.

Regirock - 80/200/100
Rock. Has Defense so huge that it can even absorb Earthquakes sometimes, making it a splendid safe switch into any Normal attacker. Thunder Wave and Stealth Rock are its main supporting options, but it can also pack a punch with Cursed Stone Edge/Rock Slide, Earthquake, elemental punches and of course Explosion. With a Sandstorm boost, it can easily take on about every competitively used Electric. Counter can work because of aforementioned defense enabling it to take things like Dragon Danced Earthquakes.

Regice - 80/100/200
Ice. A pretty scary Special wall that hits with STABed Ice Beams from 100 Special Attack, accompanied by Thunderbolt for type coverage. 25% from Stealth Rock damage and several weaknesses puts a damper on Regice's appeal, but nonetheless it is an okay option. It can Psych Up for Calm Minders, paralyze with Thunder Wave and Explode at will, or Counter back a hit at it good-but-not-as-awesome-as-its-Special Defense.

Registeel - 80/150/150
Steel. A virtually offenseless Pokemon due to lack of great attacking moves and only average-at-best attacking stats (75 each), but like the other Regi's it can Counter, Explode and Stealth Rock effectively, and like Regirock it can use Thunder Wave. Ice Punch can hit the Grounds it can't paralyze. Mostly useful because of its resistances, a great switch into PorygonZ.

Jirachi - 100/100/100
Steel/Psychic. It shares Metagross' awesome typing and can use it to be an utility Pokemon extraordinaire with Reflect, Light Screen, Stealth Rock, U-Turn and Wish at its disposal. Zen Headbutt and Body Slam allow it to utilize Serene Grace, or use elemental punches. It can also attack well from the Special side and tank with Calm Mind, followed by a sweep from Psychic, Thunderbolt, Thunder and/or Grass Knot.

Empoleon - 84/88/101
Water/Steel. While an Earthquake weakness makes it unfit for the "bulky Water" role, it makes a pretty good Special wall and it can lay down Stealth Rock and abuse it with Roar or Yawn. It's one of the best switches you can wish for into a Choice Specs Salamence, as well.

Bidoof - 59/40/40
Normal. This thing is everywhere, better prepare for it.

Bronzong - 67/116/116
Psychic/Steel. Basically it is a lot like Claydol with Metagross/Jirachi typing. It has the choice between two defensive traits, where Levitate is usually picked over Heatproof. It only has one effective weaknesses, and an extreme amount of resistances, most notably Dragon, Flying, Rock and Ground if it has Levitate. Can use Hypnosis, Stealth Rock and Reflect/Light Screen effectively, or use attacks to take some Pokemon one on one. Earthquake for Electivire, Grass Knot for Rhyperior, Charge Beam for Gyarados, Gyro Ball for anything it's neutral on and fast enough to damage - examples are Garchomp and Gengar.

Spiritomb - 50/108/108
Dark/Ghost. Another Pokemon with the low HP/high defenses syndrome. Quite similar to Dusknoir, except with no weakness to Pursuit, or anything for that matter. Relies on Pain Split for recovery, and uses Pursuit and Sucker Punch to put opponents in checkmate position. Can Calm Mind or Nasty Plot to boost its okay Special Attack and go on the offense with Dark Pulse and Shadow Ball. Will-o-Wisp and Hypnosis disable opponents, and its Pressure trait allows it to outstall things like Blissey easily. Can be completely overrun with the right use of the move Substitute, however.

Hippowdon - 108/118/72
Ground. Pretty much the best balanced physical wall out there thanks to Slack Off. It can shrug off even Heracross' STAB hits and Slack them Off. Lays down Stealth Rock with no problems, and can Roar anything that tries to set up on him. Earthquake from 112 base Attack hurts what it's supposed to, and it can use elemental fangs for things that it wants to hit hard (Garchomp/Salamence/Gliscor can be dealt with with Ice Fang, Gyarados with Thunderfang, etc). An extreme nuisance and a veteran player on stall teams, mostly because of the Sand Stream trait it shares with Tyranitar that effectively nulls most Leftovers recovery, hurts anything that doesn't have Leftovers and boosts the Special Defense of Rock-types.

Uxie - 75/130/130
Psychic. An extremely bulky pixie thanks to Levitate and great defenses, mostly dangerous because of U-Turn and a varied attacking movepool with Grass Knot/Energy Ball, Psychic and Thunderbolt/Charge Beam, backed up by the possibility of using Calm Mind. It can also set up Thunder Wave, Trick Room, Reflect, Light Screen or Stealth Rock for the toom, and Yawn things. Not often seen used over Cresselia though, they're nearly the same "floating Psychic type".

Mespirit - 80/105/105
Psychic. The balanced pixie, but plays defensively quite well, again Levitate helps this. Has the same offensive movepool in U-Turn, Grass Knot/Energy Ball, Psychic and Thunderbolt/Charge Beam, and again can Calm Mind. This one, too, can set up Thunder Wave, Trick Room, Reflect, Light Screen and Stealth Rock, though it can't Yawn. Packs more of a punch than Uxie, but is less sturdy.

Heatran - 91/106/106
Fire/Steel. The only Pokemon in existance that is resistant to the Dragon/Fire attacking combo, and by far the best Weezing counter in the game. It absorbs any kind of Fire hit with Flash Fire, and if this happens it gladly returns the favor in the form of a STABed, Flash Fire boosted 130 Special Attack Lava Plume, Fire Blast, Overheat or Flamethrower. Its resistances make it a good switch into threatening forces PorygonZ, Azelf and Choice Specs Salamence. If it finds the time it can set up Stealth Rock, and Will-o-Wisp or Roar things. One thing to be wary of when using Heatran to wall things is the nasty weaknesses, in particular the 4x one to Earthquake and other Ground moves.

Cresselia - 120/120/130
Psychic. One of the most popular walls in existance, it shrugs off about anything with a focused EV spread and its Levitate trait. With such defenses, it can be tailored to counter about anything. Usually wards off Dragons with Ice Beam, whatever version they are, and Gyarados gets a deal of Charge Beam. Can Reflect/Light Screen easily, its only problems are lack of offense, weakness to Pursuit and lack of a good recovery move. Usually the latter problem is solved with Rest/Sleep Talk. Thunder Wave brings down many threats ot it as well, especially Weavile.

Shaymin - 100/100/100
Grass. Usually forgotten in the existance of Celebi and Tangrowth, but good enough to prepare against. Natural Cure Rest, good overall defenses and lack of a Pursuit weakness in combination with a 100 speed Leech Seed combined with a 101 HP Substitute makes it quite comfortable in your defensive line-up. Its personal move Seed Flare may have a crappy attacking type, but it can put a hurting if you happen to not resist it. Grasswhistle puts something to sleep, which is sadly its only means of "offense" besides Grass moves and Hidden Power. Aromatherapy is always handy as well.
 
Alright, nitpick please before it is released to the masses of Stark Mountain.

Pokemon I considered adding but didn't with or without Jump's agreement:
- Probopass
- Gengar
- Mismagius
- Torterra
 

Loki

like seashells
is a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis the Smogon Tour Season 7 Championwon the 3rd Official Smogon Tournament
okay nitpicking go

Gyarados - 95/79/100
Water/Flying. Intimidate and resistance to Megahorn and Fighting moves in addition to an Earthquake immunity makes this a good switch-in on many threatening physical attackers such as Garchomp, Infernape, Heracross and even other Gyarados. You need to watch out for Stone Edge/Thunderpunch when appropiate and be sure to Spin away Stealth Rock when relying on Gyarados as a wall. With its offensive diversity in Ice Fang, Earthquake, Waterfall and Stone Edge (which it needs to counter these mentioned Pokemon appropriately) Gyarados can also easily set up Dragon Dances and sweep, Taunting status and Haze/Roar/Whirlwind when needed.

Umbreon 95/110/130
Dark. Umbreon posesses one of the most dangerous combo's in the Pokemon world in Mean Look, Baton Pass and Taunt, and has the defenses to actually trap something, Taunt phazing attempts and Baton Pass out to a more desirable counter which can proceed to set-up and/or destroy. STAB Pursuit can hurt of frail Ghosts such as Gengar, but other than that Umbreon is restricted to indirect offense with Yawn, Toxic or Charm.

should be "hurt frail ghosts" instead of "hurt of"


Snorlax - 160/65/110
Normal. While not as good at Special walling as Blissey due to lack of Natural Cure, Softboiled and overkill HP/Special Defense, Snorlax is still able to laugh at many Special Attacks and can actually pack a punch with its huge physical movepool which contains Body Slam, Double-Edge, Earthquake, Crunch, Focus Punch and Selfdestruct, as well as Fire Blast for Steels. Curse, Rest and Sleep Talk variations can make it hard to take out quickly.

Zapdos - 90/85/100
Electric/Flying. Stripped of its former glory as a Gyarados counter due to the physical Waterfall and the addition of Stealth Rock, but nonetheless a very effective counter to Metagross as long as it doesn't run into Rock Slides. Roost keeps it alive, and Zapdos can get in a Substitute or Agility to Baton Pass around rather easily.

I think you should also mention how it's pretty much the only solid counter to air slash/aura sphere togekiss.


Togekiss - 85/95/115
Normal/Flying. A maniac supporter in itself that may very well sweep your team with a bit of luck due to Serene Grace, paralyzing possibilities with Thunder Wave/Body Slam and the 60% flinch Air Slash. Its Stealth Rock weakness is amended with Roost or Softboiled to recover HP. Can set up Nasty Plot OR use Tri Attack as well.

Wish should also be mentioned along with roost and softboiled.

Gliscor - 75/125/75
Ground/Flying. The best if not the only Heracross counter in the game, and generally a great physical wall with two immunities to very common attacking types (Ground and Electric), it resists Bug and Fighting while taking neutral damage from Rock and can recover HP with Roost. Stealth Rock and Knock Off are there for utility, it can Baton Pass Rock Cart, Substitute and Swords Dance nicely or use these for itself with STAB Earthquake and Aerial Ace, complimented by the elemental fangs.

Steelix - 75/200/65
Steel/Ground. A typing that laughs at many, many opposing types, and with Defense like that it can shrug off Earthquakes if it has to from say, Metagross. It can set up Stealth Rock and phaze with Roar, but beyond that it usually doesn't hurt anything with some kind of defense. Earthquake and Gyro Ball are used to inflict damage against enemies weak to it.

Explosion can also be mentioned here


Skarmory - 65/140/70
Steel/Flying. Ever since GSC it has been the premiere physical wall of choice and little has changed. Immune to Earthquake and resistant to about everything else, posesses the unique ability to Spike AND phaze, making it difficult to get past. Uses Roost to restore HP and often holds Shed Shell to prevent it from being trapped by Magnezone. Alternatively it can set up Stealth Rock.

Donphan - 90/120/60
Ground. Anything you would expect from a utility-based Ground-type. It can set up Stealth Rock, Rapid Spin effectively and quickly ward off Dragons with Ice Shard if need be. Its 120 attack Earthquake is usually not going to sweep teams, but does a nice job on Tyranitar, who it can counter nicely.

Miltank - 95/105/70
Normal. Miltank can be compared to Blissey, except it is more balanced and takes physical hits instead. It does this quite nicely, can paralyze with Body Slam/Thunder Wave, Heal Bell, and shrug off sustained damage with Milk Drink. Usually not a good attacking threat due to an average-at-best 80 Attack, but don't entirely write it off as an offenseless Pokemon because it gets Earthquake, Gyro Ball and Focus Punch to toy with.

curse should also be mentioned


Suicune - 100/115/115
Water. Takes most neutral hits as if it is nothing, though it can't switch in on extreme powerhouses like Choice Band Heracross or Tyranitar, or Choice Specs Salamence. Lacks the reliable recovery move that Starmie, Slowbro and Milotic all possess, but can be quite threatening once it starts setting up Calm Mind. It can Rest/Sleep Talk nicely, and throw Roar in the mix for Spikes/Stealth Rock abuse. Probably the best user of the Pressure trait, with a little bit of luck it can run Stone Edge out of PP.

Claydol - 60/105/120
Ground/Psychic. One of the very few Pokemon that resists both Rock and Ground (only thanks to Levitate though), and the only one that also resists Fighting. It is immune to all sorts of Spikes and it can Rapid Spin them off. Can Calm Mind up, but usually sticks to attacking whatever it's SE against with Earthquake/Earth Power, Psychic, Ice Beam, Shadow Ball and it can Explode. Weakness to Tyranitar's Crunch and Pursuit in general is what really hurts him.

Cradily - 86/97/107
Grass/Rock. While offensively retarded, Cradily's defenses are extreme, especially when you consider it cannot be phazed (due to Suction Cups) and it doesn't lose any health from Sand Stream - in fact, it gains a 50% Special Defense boost from it. It gets Mirror Coat to bounce back strong Special hits (like Ice Beams), Sand Stream may hinder that. Usually its only "offense" is Toxic, Confuse Ray, Stealth Rock or a super effective attack though, unless it is using a Swords Dance set with Earthquake and Stone Edge/Rock Slide. It can make a pretty decent Electric counter as long as said Electric's name isn't Electivire.

I think the sentence about its offense would flow better without the "though,"

Milotic - 95/79/125
Water. One of the most everlasting Pokemon in the game, thanks to the Marvel Scale trait that gives it a 50% Defense boost when afflicted by status. That and Recover make it nearly impossible to OHKO. It only makes an average counter at best to threats like Tyranitar, Garchomp and Salamence due to its tendency to get (nearly or completely) 2HKOed after a boost, but it can switch in on the weaker Grounds like Donphan all day long. Hypnosis allows it to disable at least one threat on the switch.

Registeel - 80/150/150
Steel. A virtually offenseless Pokemon due to lack of great attacking moves and only average-at-best attacking stats (75 each), but like the other Regi's it can Counter, Explode and Stealth Rock effectively, and like Regirock it can use Thunder Wave. Ice Punch can hit the Grounds it can't paralyze. Mostly useful because of its resistances, a great switch into PorygonZ.

why's thunder wave mentioned seperately when all the regi's can learn it?


Bronzong - 67/116/116
Psychic/Steel. Basically it is a lot like Claydol with Metagross/Jirachi typing. It has the choice between two defensive traits, where Levitate is usually picked over Heatproof. It only has one effective weaknesses, and an extreme amount of resistances, most notably Dragon, Flying, Rock and Ground if it has Levitate. Can use Hypnosis, Stealth Rock and Reflect/Light Screen effectively, or use attacks to take some Pokemon one on one. Earthquake for Electivire, Grass Knot for Rhyperior, Charge Beam for Gyarados, Gyro Ball for anything it's neutral on and fast enough to damage - examples are Garchomp and Gengar.

is calm mind worth a mention? I know it's not used much on this

Uxie - 75/130/130
Psychic. An extremely bulky pixie thanks to Levitate and great defenses, mostly dangerous because of U-Turn and a varied attacking movepool with Grass Knot/Energy Ball, Psychic and Thunderbolt/Charge Beam, backed up by the possibility of using Calm Mind. It can also set up Thunder Wave, Trick Room, Reflect, Light Screen or Stealth Rock for the team, and Yawn things. Not often seen used over Cresselia though, they're nearly the same "floating Psychic type".

Heatran - 91/106/106
Fire/Steel. The only Pokemon in existance that is resistant to the Dragon/Fire attacking combo, and by far the best Weezing counter in the game. It absorbs any kind of Fire hit with Flash Fire, and if this happens it gladly returns the favor in the form of a STABed, Flash Fire boosted 130 Special Attack Lava Plume, Fire Blast, Overheat or Flamethrower. Its resistances make it a good switch into threatening forces like PorygonZ, Azelf and Choice Specs Salamence. If it finds the time it can set up Stealth Rock, and Will-o-Wisp or Roar things. One thing to be wary of when using Heatran to wall things is the nasty weaknesses, in particular the 4x one to Earthquake and other Ground moves.

Cresselia - 120/120/130
Psychic. One of the most popular walls in existance, it shrugs off about anything with a focused EV spread and its Levitate trait. With such defenses, it can be tailored to counter about anything. Usually wards off Dragons with Ice Beam, whatever version they are, and Gyarados gets a deal of Charge Beam. Can Reflect/Light Screen easily, its only problems are lack of offense, weakness to Pursuit and lack of a good recovery move. Usually the latter problem is solved with Rest/Sleep Talk. Thunder Wave brings down many of its threats, especially Weavile.

Shaymin - 100/100/100
Grass. Usually forgotten in the existence of Celebi and Tangrowth, but good enough to prepare against. Natural Cure Rest, good overall defenses and lack of a Pursuit weakness in combination with a 100 speed Leech Seed combined with a 101 HP Substitute makes it quite comfortable in your defensive line-up. Its personal move Seed Flare may have a crappy attacking type, but it can put a hurting if you happen to not resist it. Grasswhistle puts something to sleep, which is sadly its only means of "offense" besides Grass moves and Hidden Power. Aromatherapy is always handy as well.
 

Jumpman16

np: Michael Jackson - "Mon in the Mirror" (DW mix)
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Admin Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Researcher Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis an Administrator Alumnus
changed everything but the explosion on steelix and CM on bronzong bits, those ideas are a bit more "offensive" than defensive imo
 

Carl

or Varl
is a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis a Past SPL Champion
mandatory idiot response of "why is bidoof there it sux"

I read the whole thing and it's pretty solid. For the Scizor analysis I noticed it can learn Roost which is not mentioned so you may want to add that in.
 

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