Hazard Stack Stall
https://pokepast.es/08e51af0cc840de7
Table of Contents
Introduction
At first glance, this team appears to be just Ultimate Stall with instead of . Due to the smaller Pokédex and meta consolidation of Gen 9 pre-DLC, successful stall teams will usually have similar compositions because certain Pokémon fill critical roles so well.
However, the sets on this team are very different from Ultimate Stall, and as a result, this team plays extremely differently.
In my earlier tests of stall teams, I noticed that when I lost games, it was because my opponent was able to switch around my team and I would have no way to consistently punish them, ultimately leading to my opponent landing a decisive critical hit or chipping my team sufficiently enough for one sweeper to clean up. In addition to this issue, I also felt that the current stall sets were not optimized for the meta.
As a result, the goal of this team was not only to be able to check every single threat in the meta, but also to be able to establish a secondary win condition that wasn’t just PP stall.
Thanks to the lack of viable hazard control in a -filled meta as well as the overall meta shift to predominantly HO and BO teams featuring as the only form of hazard control, I knew hazard stack would be the way to establish my win condition.
For a Gen 9 OU team with the name “Hazard Stack Stall,” you will notice that we lack . In fact, Highv0ltag3 posted his version of a hazard stack stall team which does include . As a result, you’re probably wondering: how do we keep hazards up with an otherwise passive and offensively unthreatening team?
The answer is simple. We don’t.
While is great on most teams, its defensive typing and bulk are not sufficient for Gen 9 stall in my opinion. However, unlike most teams, we can get hazards up at any point during the game without worrying about momentum thanks to our stall core. Therefore, our goal is simply to wear down opposing hazard control by forcing them to constantly switch in on hazards to remove them while risking being poisoned/burned and/or being trapped by .
Finally, this team has no explicit hazard control. However, with 6x Boots + Tera Flying , this is rarely an issue. For more information on how to approach the hazard game, please refer to Highv0ltag3’s excellent guide in his Ultimate Stall RMT or ask me in the comments.
Proof of Peak
With this team, I was able to sustain #1 on the Gen 9 OU Ladder for the majority of 3 weeks.
Before I used this team, my GXE was around 76%. This team alone got it to 82.5%. If I had to guess, I would say I had an 88-90% GXE while using this team.
Peak game: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1835275022-z3lc1f7uohptr7tpwxffqep7q7meddtpw
Team Members
The role of is the same as always: to check set-up special sweepers.
However, a huge optimization on this set that I made is the addition of Amnesia over Haze. Rather than use Haze to remove boosts which already ignores, Amnesia allows to abuse Unaware by just simply sitting on set-up Pokémon, allowing it to preserve recover PP and set up Spikes while the opponent sets up in vain.
Following this RMT, my set should be adopted in any future stall team with because it’s just that good.
Most notably, this set counters , which gives other stall teams huge problems, as well as , , and any other Pokémon that relies on Nasty Plot/Calm Mind/Quiver Dance etc.
Tera Steel is used over Tera Psychic to resist Psyshock from and as well as Stored Power from while maintaining Fairy resistance. Poison Jab is run over Earthquake to allow us to beat Taunt/Calm Mind while still retaining ’s ability to inflict status if necessary.
Some defense EVs are included to help survive attacks like Psyshock on switch-in and give us the chance to tera and Recover if necessary.
Ever since it was introduced, no stall team is truly complete without Big Stall. Toxic Spikes basically guarantees the win against any team without hazard control or a grounded poison. It also forces switches and eases prediction, giving us turns to regenerate and/or heal other Pokémon. Toxic lets us inflict status on Pokémon that are immune to Toxic Spikes like or on a switch prediction.
preserves the double regenerator core, allowing us to beat and deny most set-up attempts when used in combination with and . Maximum physical bulk lets us survive pretty much any hit and tera Fairy is used to beat Banded and Banded if necessary.
The only Pokémon that is unchanged from any other stall team. This set is truly incredible on stall and big shout out to juliusfunnel for popularizing it. Absorbs knock offs and passes massive wishes to and which can only heal by Rest otherwise. also functions as a standalone physical wall thanks to Chilling Water. For more details, see the Ultimate Stall RMT.
Probably the best pure physical wall to date. Because we lack burn support, is used much more often than on other stall teams, especially due to the dominance of in the tier.
Most notably, this set forgoes Water STAB in favor of Avalanche. Avalanche is especially great for beating Tera Flying , , and Tera Flying .
Tera Fighting helps beat Tera Dark without being weak to Low Kick.
Undoubtedly the best special wall of all time, is used for switching into Pokémon that cannot, such as Specs and Specs .
Calm Mind is also used to wall set-up sweepers, allowing and to split the special wall duties depending on the matchup and preserve recovery PP.
Most notably, Flamethrower is used to punish physical attackers like and that think they have a free switch-in to . It hits pretty hard after a few boosts and prevents from being completely passive against and other Ghost types. It also avoids contact with and the 10% burn chance is an added bonus.
Maximum special bulk is all that needs in this meta. Tera water walls Specs in sun/rain, Specs in sun, and Specs .
Often times, the opposing team is too offensive and and cannot risk taking damage to set up hazards. completely solves this problem thanks to its incredible bulk and fills the unique role of being able to set up both Spikes and Stealth Rock while being viable on stall.
excels at disrupting Volt Switch cores and punishing with hazards. also completely shuts down Psyspam, forcing to tera while still living a +2 hit and bringing it down to its Sash, allowing and to clean up easily. can also switch in on passive opposing Pokémon like and to set up hazards without fear of status thanks to Rest.
The most underrated part about is that with Rest, it completely walls Hex/Will-O-Wisp/Dragon Darts and Block without needing tera, both of which are massive problems for other stall teams.
People also seem to forget that has 110 base attack and stay in on it when they really shouldn’t. Even with 0 attack EVs, it 2HKOs as well as and after hazard chip.
Finally, tera Steel can be used to deny 's Mortal Spin as well as a last resort to beat if nothing else is healthy enough to make the switch-in. Tera Fairy and Tera Ghost are also potential options on .
Threats
With optimized sets, proper use of hazards, and tera, many team structures which threaten other stall teams are much less threatening to this team. That being said, no team is unbeatable.
Strong Grass types, such as , , and
Tera Flying on is your best bet. For and only, use Chilling Water to bring them to -1 attack then Regenerator stall them with + . If possible, bait Spore into a Pokémon you won’t need in the matchup or . Keeping Toxic Spikes up in these matchups is also extremely beneficial. I’ve included some replays of this team beating the above threats.
Electric Terrain abusers such as and
As usual, get up as many hazards as you can and use Tera Flying or Tera Fairy respectively. You can also use to eat a hit and try to inflict poison with Poison Jab. Once and are statused, they are very manageable. A replay vs. is included.
The only Pokémon that can outright break through , presents an unfavorable matchup for any stall team. Prioritize Toxic Spikes at all costs and switch aggressively to if you predict will come in to maximize damage on it before it boosts. I have included a replay of this team beating .
Replays
Vs.
Peak Game: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1835275022-z3lc1f7uohptr7tpwxffqep7q7meddtpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1825164541-2hs4p67pjtb96takdeq4cdtbgp2icqxpw
Vs. +
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1826617223-xnmrjf6ttsid9ouwcvfe3gy228iohghpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1833635521-y05n6i6tm9g76dvndq00jxjb51kuinypw
Vs.
Game: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1826127818-41zampepolx31h70j2dx8vi842v9qf7pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1834954163-hl1jow42wnajtyr5cmehvshbaze4vpypw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1831292538-ap679n8j67ets8vmgbxyqrojwos25gopw
Vs. Block
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1818822210-y5rbwv71tpbjic5nbco79ck4px7kcdopw
Vs. +
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1837875967-oev5tkklassf8bjonvyor6tpu7r74lmpw
Vs. Boots
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1826635694-oe3wsal2hn3duat8c6xozn70azfo5pnpw
Vs.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1824373343-zfrcptj7yamb03cpr7o0ek01rlsmk4zpw
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to juliusfunnel for pioneering what has come to be Gen 9 OU stall.
Also thanks to Highv0ltag3 for organizing the stall community. I only recently learned about the stall Discord but I am now a part of it.
Finally, while this RMT is a great starting point, it is far from comprehensive. Feel free to ask me any questions about the team or specific matchups in the comments or on Discord. The link to the Stall Discord can be found in the Ultimate Stall RMT.
https://pokepast.es/08e51af0cc840de7
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Proof of Peak
- Team Members
- Threats
- Replays
- Acknowledgments
Introduction
At first glance, this team appears to be just Ultimate Stall with instead of . Due to the smaller Pokédex and meta consolidation of Gen 9 pre-DLC, successful stall teams will usually have similar compositions because certain Pokémon fill critical roles so well.
However, the sets on this team are very different from Ultimate Stall, and as a result, this team plays extremely differently.
In my earlier tests of stall teams, I noticed that when I lost games, it was because my opponent was able to switch around my team and I would have no way to consistently punish them, ultimately leading to my opponent landing a decisive critical hit or chipping my team sufficiently enough for one sweeper to clean up. In addition to this issue, I also felt that the current stall sets were not optimized for the meta.
As a result, the goal of this team was not only to be able to check every single threat in the meta, but also to be able to establish a secondary win condition that wasn’t just PP stall.
Thanks to the lack of viable hazard control in a -filled meta as well as the overall meta shift to predominantly HO and BO teams featuring as the only form of hazard control, I knew hazard stack would be the way to establish my win condition.
For a Gen 9 OU team with the name “Hazard Stack Stall,” you will notice that we lack . In fact, Highv0ltag3 posted his version of a hazard stack stall team which does include . As a result, you’re probably wondering: how do we keep hazards up with an otherwise passive and offensively unthreatening team?
The answer is simple. We don’t.
While is great on most teams, its defensive typing and bulk are not sufficient for Gen 9 stall in my opinion. However, unlike most teams, we can get hazards up at any point during the game without worrying about momentum thanks to our stall core. Therefore, our goal is simply to wear down opposing hazard control by forcing them to constantly switch in on hazards to remove them while risking being poisoned/burned and/or being trapped by .
Finally, this team has no explicit hazard control. However, with 6x Boots + Tera Flying , this is rarely an issue. For more information on how to approach the hazard game, please refer to Highv0ltag3’s excellent guide in his Ultimate Stall RMT or ask me in the comments.
Proof of Peak
With this team, I was able to sustain #1 on the Gen 9 OU Ladder for the majority of 3 weeks.
Before I used this team, my GXE was around 76%. This team alone got it to 82.5%. If I had to guess, I would say I had an 88-90% GXE while using this team.
Peak game: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1835275022-z3lc1f7uohptr7tpwxffqep7q7meddtpw
Team Members
The role of is the same as always: to check set-up special sweepers.
However, a huge optimization on this set that I made is the addition of Amnesia over Haze. Rather than use Haze to remove boosts which already ignores, Amnesia allows to abuse Unaware by just simply sitting on set-up Pokémon, allowing it to preserve recover PP and set up Spikes while the opponent sets up in vain.
Following this RMT, my set should be adopted in any future stall team with because it’s just that good.
Most notably, this set counters , which gives other stall teams huge problems, as well as , , and any other Pokémon that relies on Nasty Plot/Calm Mind/Quiver Dance etc.
Tera Steel is used over Tera Psychic to resist Psyshock from and as well as Stored Power from while maintaining Fairy resistance. Poison Jab is run over Earthquake to allow us to beat Taunt/Calm Mind while still retaining ’s ability to inflict status if necessary.
Some defense EVs are included to help survive attacks like Psyshock on switch-in and give us the chance to tera and Recover if necessary.
Ever since it was introduced, no stall team is truly complete without Big Stall. Toxic Spikes basically guarantees the win against any team without hazard control or a grounded poison. It also forces switches and eases prediction, giving us turns to regenerate and/or heal other Pokémon. Toxic lets us inflict status on Pokémon that are immune to Toxic Spikes like or on a switch prediction.
preserves the double regenerator core, allowing us to beat and deny most set-up attempts when used in combination with and . Maximum physical bulk lets us survive pretty much any hit and tera Fairy is used to beat Banded and Banded if necessary.
The only Pokémon that is unchanged from any other stall team. This set is truly incredible on stall and big shout out to juliusfunnel for popularizing it. Absorbs knock offs and passes massive wishes to and which can only heal by Rest otherwise. also functions as a standalone physical wall thanks to Chilling Water. For more details, see the Ultimate Stall RMT.
Probably the best pure physical wall to date. Because we lack burn support, is used much more often than on other stall teams, especially due to the dominance of in the tier.
Most notably, this set forgoes Water STAB in favor of Avalanche. Avalanche is especially great for beating Tera Flying , , and Tera Flying .
Tera Fighting helps beat Tera Dark without being weak to Low Kick.
Undoubtedly the best special wall of all time, is used for switching into Pokémon that cannot, such as Specs and Specs .
Calm Mind is also used to wall set-up sweepers, allowing and to split the special wall duties depending on the matchup and preserve recovery PP.
Most notably, Flamethrower is used to punish physical attackers like and that think they have a free switch-in to . It hits pretty hard after a few boosts and prevents from being completely passive against and other Ghost types. It also avoids contact with and the 10% burn chance is an added bonus.
Maximum special bulk is all that needs in this meta. Tera water walls Specs in sun/rain, Specs in sun, and Specs .
Often times, the opposing team is too offensive and and cannot risk taking damage to set up hazards. completely solves this problem thanks to its incredible bulk and fills the unique role of being able to set up both Spikes and Stealth Rock while being viable on stall.
excels at disrupting Volt Switch cores and punishing with hazards. also completely shuts down Psyspam, forcing to tera while still living a +2 hit and bringing it down to its Sash, allowing and to clean up easily. can also switch in on passive opposing Pokémon like and to set up hazards without fear of status thanks to Rest.
The most underrated part about is that with Rest, it completely walls Hex/Will-O-Wisp/Dragon Darts and Block without needing tera, both of which are massive problems for other stall teams.
People also seem to forget that has 110 base attack and stay in on it when they really shouldn’t. Even with 0 attack EVs, it 2HKOs as well as and after hazard chip.
Finally, tera Steel can be used to deny 's Mortal Spin as well as a last resort to beat if nothing else is healthy enough to make the switch-in. Tera Fairy and Tera Ghost are also potential options on .
Threats
With optimized sets, proper use of hazards, and tera, many team structures which threaten other stall teams are much less threatening to this team. That being said, no team is unbeatable.
Strong Grass types, such as , , and
Tera Flying on is your best bet. For and only, use Chilling Water to bring them to -1 attack then Regenerator stall them with + . If possible, bait Spore into a Pokémon you won’t need in the matchup or . Keeping Toxic Spikes up in these matchups is also extremely beneficial. I’ve included some replays of this team beating the above threats.
Electric Terrain abusers such as and
As usual, get up as many hazards as you can and use Tera Flying or Tera Fairy respectively. You can also use to eat a hit and try to inflict poison with Poison Jab. Once and are statused, they are very manageable. A replay vs. is included.
The only Pokémon that can outright break through , presents an unfavorable matchup for any stall team. Prioritize Toxic Spikes at all costs and switch aggressively to if you predict will come in to maximize damage on it before it boosts. I have included a replay of this team beating .
Replays
Vs.
Peak Game: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1835275022-z3lc1f7uohptr7tpwxffqep7q7meddtpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1825164541-2hs4p67pjtb96takdeq4cdtbgp2icqxpw
Vs. +
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1826617223-xnmrjf6ttsid9ouwcvfe3gy228iohghpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1833635521-y05n6i6tm9g76dvndq00jxjb51kuinypw
Vs.
Game: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1826127818-41zampepolx31h70j2dx8vi842v9qf7pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1834954163-hl1jow42wnajtyr5cmehvshbaze4vpypw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1831292538-ap679n8j67ets8vmgbxyqrojwos25gopw
Vs. Block
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1818822210-y5rbwv71tpbjic5nbco79ck4px7kcdopw
Vs. +
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1837875967-oev5tkklassf8bjonvyor6tpu7r74lmpw
Vs. Boots
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1826635694-oe3wsal2hn3duat8c6xozn70azfo5pnpw
Vs.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1824373343-zfrcptj7yamb03cpr7o0ek01rlsmk4zpw
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to juliusfunnel for pioneering what has come to be Gen 9 OU stall.
Also thanks to Highv0ltag3 for organizing the stall community. I only recently learned about the stall Discord but I am now a part of it.
Finally, while this RMT is a great starting point, it is far from comprehensive. Feel free to ask me any questions about the team or specific matchups in the comments or on Discord. The link to the Stall Discord can be found in the Ultimate Stall RMT.
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