Hello Smogonites and everyone else! This is the Explorer back with his first-ever Gen 6 RMT!! The new generation brought a bit of a disappointment with such a small number of new Pokemon released, but that was made up for with the introduction of Mega Evolutions. That being said, there were new things I couldn't resist toying with. In particular, my #1 favorite Pokemon in Gen 6 was established: Dragalge. While the team isn't built around it, it serves as a crucial part of the team for its typing and walling capabilities. Let's get moving now, shall we?
Team Profile:
Team Genre: Sand Stall
Primary Win Condition: Stall out the opponent with a combination of hazards and sand damage while passing around recovery.
Secondary Win Condition: Tyranitar sweep with brute force and coverage
Disclaimer:
*Gen 6 sprites besides Avalugg are from www.serebii.net.
Teambuilding Process
I run Hippowodon on almost every Sand Stall team for its excellent physical defense. In addition to keeping the majority of OU's physical sweepers at bay, it is also my source of Stealth Rock and my primary phazer.
With the weather nerf, I felt utilizing Tyranitar would be necessary to keep the sand up longer. Although I've barely seen the Lati twins around, Tyranitar can handle them just fine. For the time being, Tyranitar also uses up my Mega Evolution slot.
I wanted a sweeper, and I chose Excadrill for its ability to abuse sand very well. It could also smack around the Fairy-types that gave Tyranitar trouble, and its neutrality to Grass-type moves was a bonus.
I aimed to get another physical wall, and this time, rather than going for something standard, I went with the unconventional physically defensive Arcanine. Its selling point was the surprise factor of its Will-o-Wisp coupled with Intimidate, and it has been very helpful for handling many Pokemon, namely serving as my #1 counter to Scizor, either forcing it out or burning it (opponents will often switch out their Scizor into Rotom-W, only to watch it get burned).
I wanted a Rapid Spinner, so I chose Avalugg for its excellent physical defense, good two-move coverage (Avalanche + Gyro Ball), and reliable Recovery.
Finally Dragalge comes along as a very good special wall, exceptional coverage, phazing, and access to Toxic Spikes. It also gives me another source of burns for Steel-types/Flying-types/Poison-types.
Despite having great physical bulk, Avalugg had difficulty switching in and could not spin effectively. Also, my team was folding to strong Dragon-type moves since my lone special wall was vulnerable to them. Finally, Avalugg was very slow. I used Mismagius for better mixed defenses with Will-o-Wisp, much better speed, and for spinblocking.
Mismagius was also too hard to switch in (so much for my hopes of Mismagius becoming Ghost/Fairy). Worse still, my team had four Water-type weaknesses, so I went to replace Mismagius with Trevenant so rain teams didn't demolish me. Luckily they barely exist in Pokebank with all the Charizard-Ys running rampant.
Excadrill was barely getting any chances to sweep, so I tried killing a few birds with one stone: I removed a Ground-type weakness, I removed a Water-type weakness, and I got myself a revenge-killer that wasn't reliant on the weather. Salamence joined the team.
Although Salamence improved my defensive synergy, it still got very few chances to do its thing because I would stall everything out before it got to come in. I switched to Greninja due to its access to Spikes, and now Rain teams would be of little worry with three resists. Protean allowed me to play games with the opponents as well.
Greninja was too frail and didn't fit with the team. I switched it with Deoxys-D, which provided a lot more support, on top of reliable recovery and access to Knock Off, which received a significant power buff in Gen 6.
Trevenant was doing a good job, but with this being a stall team I needed a cleric. Also, Arcanine and Dragalge lacked recovery beyond Leftovers/Black Sludge, which was an issue. So, I switched Trevenant with Blissey for its access to Heal Bell and Wish.
I heard about Deoxys's ban and so I switched it out for specially defensive Ferrothorn, which performed similarly to Deoxys-D but lacked Magic Coat.
Well, I then realized the Deoxys ban only applied to Deoxys-N, so I switched back to it, and it has been a great team player ever since.
The Team
Hippowodon (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 Spe
Nature: Impish
-Stealth Rock
-Slack Off
-Whirlwind
-Earthquake
Hippowodon is my main physical wall and my main sand setter. Walling attacks on the physical side is what it does best based on its stat spread, and so that's what it's meant to do. It sets up Stealth Rock when it can, heals off damage when the time is right, and blows away opponents' stat boosts whether they see it coming or not (SD Scizor, Dragon Dance Salamence, even Gyarados on occasion). Finally, Earthquake is the attacking move in case I get Taunted or my opponent is in the KO range of it.
Tyranitar (M) @ Tyranitarite
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Spe
Nature: Adamant
-Dragon Dance
-Stone Edge
-Ice Punch
-Iron Tail
A twist on the standard DD set, Tyranitar Mega-Evolves into an incredibly bulky beast which can set up 1-2 Dragon Dances on a large portion of the metagame. It then charges in with fantastic coverage. Stone Edge is the main STAB and shuts down Volcarona, Talonflame, Dragonite, Galvantula, and many more. Ice Punch hits Garchomp and Gliscor, luring them in on the DD and destroying them. Finally, Iron Tail appears actually usable here to hit Fairy-types (and opposing Tyranitar). The EVs give Tyranitar a good balance of bulk and power to sweep fairly easily.
Possible changes:
Iron Tail--->Earthquake
Iron Tail--->Crunch
Deoxys @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP/8 Def/252 SpD
Nature: Careful
-Spikes
-Magic Coat
-Recover
-Knock Off
Deoxys makes for a good lead due to Magic Coat. It really messes with Ferrothorn, bouncing back its hazards and Thunder Waves; predicted Taunts are also returned to the sender. Magic Coat compensates for my lack of a Rapid Spinner as well. Spikes help with stalling, particularly if I come across a lead without hazards. Recover lets Deoxys do its job repeatedly, and Knock Off removes Leftovers, among other items. Better yet, Knock Off received a significant power buff in Gen 6. Deoxys comes to be my main special wall.
Arcanine (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP/8 Atk/252 Def
Nature: Relaxed
-Will-o-Wisp
-Extremespeed
-Fire Blast
-Crunch Morning Sun
Arcanine is my secondary physical wall and my main source of burns. Many Pokemon are surprised to see Arcanine with Will-o-Wisp until their physical sweeper is burned. It also carries very valuable priority and good mixed attacking stats, even with minimal investment. Fire Blast roasts Steel-types and Grass-types, notably Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Trevenant.Crunch is really for Chandelure switching in, but this move gets almost zero use. Morning Sun gives Arcanine recovery which is actually quite good outside of sand (where the sand nerf actually HELPS me). Overall Arcanine is very important for destroying Scizor and Mawile.
Possible Replacements:
Morning Sun--->Hidden Power Ice
Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 240 HP/16 SpA/252 SpD
IVs: 0 Atk
Nature: Calm
-Wish
-Heal Bell
-Icy Wind
-Psychic Toxic
Blissey is my cleric and glue. It removes crippling statuses from its teammates (namely burn and poison), and can pass huge wishes to heal any teammate. In particular, Dragalge and Deoxys-D have low base HP and thus will largely benefit from Blissey's Wishes. Icy Wind lets me catch Gliscor/Garchomp/etc. for large damage while also lowering speed in case I need to switch something else in.Psychic is used to hit Fighting-types on the switch, but is easily replaceable. Toxic is a backup source of poison in case Dragalge falls before setting up Toxic Spikes or I want to poison a Pokemon that doesn't touch the ground.
Possible replacements:
Psychic--->Toxic
Dragalge (F) @ Black Sludge
Trait: Adaptability
EVs: 240 HP/16 SpA/252 SpD
Nature: Sassy
-Toxic Spikes
-Dragon Tail
-Venoshock
-Scald
Dragalge is very important as a Volcarona check, but even more so for setting up Toxic Spikes. These allow Dragalge to keep the pain coming even after it falls, and Dragon Tail allows it to spread the hazard's effects. Venoshock is the other STAB move to abuse all the poisoned opponents that are created, and Scald gives Dragalge a chance to burn Pokemon that can't be poisoned (mostly Scizor and Dragon/Flying-types). Blissey is very important for Dragalge as a partner since it gets worn down very quickly and it tends to attract burns.
Threatlist
The #1 threat to this team is Mega-Kangaskhan due to Power-Up Punch. As long as Hippowodon is healthy, it can come in and Whirlwind Kangaskhan out. If I have a lot of hazards up, Kangaskhan will get worn down very quickly, especially without Leftovers. If Arcanine gets to burn it, that's even better, but more often than not it gets poisoned first, which still works fairly well.
The other major threat to this team is Genesect. Every team member is hit hard by one commonly carried move besides Arcanine, so my best bet is to wear it down with hazards and get Arcanine in on it safely, giving me the momentum.
That is how this team works. Sand Stall was a force to be reckoned with in Gen 5, and it appears no different here. It shows how a combination of "standard fare" and underrated/uncommon sets can coordinate to get the job done. Thanks for reading!
Team Profile:
Team Genre: Sand Stall
Primary Win Condition: Stall out the opponent with a combination of hazards and sand damage while passing around recovery.
Secondary Win Condition: Tyranitar sweep with brute force and coverage
Disclaimer:
*Gen 6 sprites besides Avalugg are from www.serebii.net.
Teambuilding Process
I run Hippowodon on almost every Sand Stall team for its excellent physical defense. In addition to keeping the majority of OU's physical sweepers at bay, it is also my source of Stealth Rock and my primary phazer.
With the weather nerf, I felt utilizing Tyranitar would be necessary to keep the sand up longer. Although I've barely seen the Lati twins around, Tyranitar can handle them just fine. For the time being, Tyranitar also uses up my Mega Evolution slot.
I wanted a sweeper, and I chose Excadrill for its ability to abuse sand very well. It could also smack around the Fairy-types that gave Tyranitar trouble, and its neutrality to Grass-type moves was a bonus.
I aimed to get another physical wall, and this time, rather than going for something standard, I went with the unconventional physically defensive Arcanine. Its selling point was the surprise factor of its Will-o-Wisp coupled with Intimidate, and it has been very helpful for handling many Pokemon, namely serving as my #1 counter to Scizor, either forcing it out or burning it (opponents will often switch out their Scizor into Rotom-W, only to watch it get burned).
I wanted a Rapid Spinner, so I chose Avalugg for its excellent physical defense, good two-move coverage (Avalanche + Gyro Ball), and reliable Recovery.
Finally Dragalge comes along as a very good special wall, exceptional coverage, phazing, and access to Toxic Spikes. It also gives me another source of burns for Steel-types/Flying-types/Poison-types.
Despite having great physical bulk, Avalugg had difficulty switching in and could not spin effectively. Also, my team was folding to strong Dragon-type moves since my lone special wall was vulnerable to them. Finally, Avalugg was very slow. I used Mismagius for better mixed defenses with Will-o-Wisp, much better speed, and for spinblocking.
Mismagius was also too hard to switch in (so much for my hopes of Mismagius becoming Ghost/Fairy). Worse still, my team had four Water-type weaknesses, so I went to replace Mismagius with Trevenant so rain teams didn't demolish me. Luckily they barely exist in Pokebank with all the Charizard-Ys running rampant.
Excadrill was barely getting any chances to sweep, so I tried killing a few birds with one stone: I removed a Ground-type weakness, I removed a Water-type weakness, and I got myself a revenge-killer that wasn't reliant on the weather. Salamence joined the team.
Although Salamence improved my defensive synergy, it still got very few chances to do its thing because I would stall everything out before it got to come in. I switched to Greninja due to its access to Spikes, and now Rain teams would be of little worry with three resists. Protean allowed me to play games with the opponents as well.
Greninja was too frail and didn't fit with the team. I switched it with Deoxys-D, which provided a lot more support, on top of reliable recovery and access to Knock Off, which received a significant power buff in Gen 6.
Trevenant was doing a good job, but with this being a stall team I needed a cleric. Also, Arcanine and Dragalge lacked recovery beyond Leftovers/Black Sludge, which was an issue. So, I switched Trevenant with Blissey for its access to Heal Bell and Wish.
I heard about Deoxys's ban and so I switched it out for specially defensive Ferrothorn, which performed similarly to Deoxys-D but lacked Magic Coat.
Well, I then realized the Deoxys ban only applied to Deoxys-N, so I switched back to it, and it has been a great team player ever since.
The Team
Hippowodon (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 Spe
Nature: Impish
-Stealth Rock
-Slack Off
-Whirlwind
-Earthquake
Hippowodon is my main physical wall and my main sand setter. Walling attacks on the physical side is what it does best based on its stat spread, and so that's what it's meant to do. It sets up Stealth Rock when it can, heals off damage when the time is right, and blows away opponents' stat boosts whether they see it coming or not (SD Scizor, Dragon Dance Salamence, even Gyarados on occasion). Finally, Earthquake is the attacking move in case I get Taunted or my opponent is in the KO range of it.
Tyranitar (M) @ Tyranitarite
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Spe
Nature: Adamant
-Dragon Dance
-Stone Edge
-Ice Punch
-Iron Tail
A twist on the standard DD set, Tyranitar Mega-Evolves into an incredibly bulky beast which can set up 1-2 Dragon Dances on a large portion of the metagame. It then charges in with fantastic coverage. Stone Edge is the main STAB and shuts down Volcarona, Talonflame, Dragonite, Galvantula, and many more. Ice Punch hits Garchomp and Gliscor, luring them in on the DD and destroying them. Finally, Iron Tail appears actually usable here to hit Fairy-types (and opposing Tyranitar). The EVs give Tyranitar a good balance of bulk and power to sweep fairly easily.
Possible changes:
Iron Tail--->Earthquake
Iron Tail--->Crunch
Deoxys @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP/8 Def/252 SpD
Nature: Careful
-Spikes
-Magic Coat
-Recover
-Knock Off
Deoxys makes for a good lead due to Magic Coat. It really messes with Ferrothorn, bouncing back its hazards and Thunder Waves; predicted Taunts are also returned to the sender. Magic Coat compensates for my lack of a Rapid Spinner as well. Spikes help with stalling, particularly if I come across a lead without hazards. Recover lets Deoxys do its job repeatedly, and Knock Off removes Leftovers, among other items. Better yet, Knock Off received a significant power buff in Gen 6. Deoxys comes to be my main special wall.
Arcanine (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP/8 Atk/252 Def
Nature: Relaxed
-Will-o-Wisp
-Extremespeed
-Fire Blast
-
Arcanine is my secondary physical wall and my main source of burns. Many Pokemon are surprised to see Arcanine with Will-o-Wisp until their physical sweeper is burned. It also carries very valuable priority and good mixed attacking stats, even with minimal investment. Fire Blast roasts Steel-types and Grass-types, notably Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Trevenant.
Possible Replacements:
Morning Sun--->Hidden Power Ice
Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 240 HP/16 SpA/252 SpD
IVs: 0 Atk
Nature: Calm
-Wish
-Heal Bell
-Icy Wind
-
Blissey is my cleric and glue. It removes crippling statuses from its teammates (namely burn and poison), and can pass huge wishes to heal any teammate. In particular, Dragalge and Deoxys-D have low base HP and thus will largely benefit from Blissey's Wishes. Icy Wind lets me catch Gliscor/Garchomp/etc. for large damage while also lowering speed in case I need to switch something else in.
Possible replacements:
Psychic--->Toxic
Dragalge (F) @ Black Sludge
Trait: Adaptability
EVs: 240 HP/16 SpA/252 SpD
Nature: Sassy
-Toxic Spikes
-Dragon Tail
-Venoshock
-Scald
Dragalge is very important as a Volcarona check, but even more so for setting up Toxic Spikes. These allow Dragalge to keep the pain coming even after it falls, and Dragon Tail allows it to spread the hazard's effects. Venoshock is the other STAB move to abuse all the poisoned opponents that are created, and Scald gives Dragalge a chance to burn Pokemon that can't be poisoned (mostly Scizor and Dragon/Flying-types). Blissey is very important for Dragalge as a partner since it gets worn down very quickly and it tends to attract burns.
Threatlist
The #1 threat to this team is Mega-Kangaskhan due to Power-Up Punch. As long as Hippowodon is healthy, it can come in and Whirlwind Kangaskhan out. If I have a lot of hazards up, Kangaskhan will get worn down very quickly, especially without Leftovers. If Arcanine gets to burn it, that's even better, but more often than not it gets poisoned first, which still works fairly well.
The other major threat to this team is Genesect. Every team member is hit hard by one commonly carried move besides Arcanine, so my best bet is to wear it down with hazards and get Arcanine in on it safely, giving me the momentum.
That is how this team works. Sand Stall was a force to be reckoned with in Gen 5, and it appears no different here. It shows how a combination of "standard fare" and underrated/uncommon sets can coordinate to get the job done. Thanks for reading!
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