Deep Blue Day

[Groudon ex]

Deep Blue Day

A Rain Semi-Stall Team
Overused Tier

.::Introduction::.


I'll try to keep this brief. I'm not exactly the most famous player of all time, nor the most successful, but I do have a hell of a lot of experience due to my long playtime. I've been around since the very beginning of Gen 4, and so have witnessed many drastic changes in the metagame. I've tried out every playstyle there is, from reckless offense, to intense stall and everything in-between. Although many of my most successful teams have been utilised bulky offense, at the end of the day I have done and will always have a natural preference defensive teams.

This is my most successful (and possibly favourite) of the plethora of teams I've made for the BW2 metagame so far. Although stall has become more difficult to pull off than ever due to the power of the new threats, it is by no means impossible. I believe this team at least pulls off the strategy at least decently. I haven't laddered with this team (or any team for that matter) enough to pull it into the top 50, but I can assure you that this team does win the vast majority of its matches (at least ~85% of the time). I am looking to improve and polish up the team though, so perhaps in the near future I may be amongst the top players on the ladder. This team is far from perfect, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

The title of the RMT takes its name from an ambient track by Brian Eno. It felt fitting due to the Rain element of the team (hence Deep Blue Day), and I should pay homage as I frequently listened to his music (and that by other ambient artists) whilst using this team, as it helped me maintain a strong level of focus when playing 100+ turn matches.

Without further ado...


.::Team Overview::.

The general strategy of the team is to wear down the opponent with residual damage, giving either Latias or Scizor the chance to sweep a weakened team.


.::Team Analysis::.

Politoed @ Leftovers

Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Scald
- Toxic
- Perish Song
- Protect

Politoed is an essential piece for any rain-focused team. Not only does it allow my team members to benefit from the rain, but it also helps to keep away hazardous enemy weather, most notably sand and sun. In my opinion, the physically defensive Politoed set is the most effective because it is more likely to be absorbing physical attacks as opposed to special attacks. 90/75 isn't brilliant, but it's enough to make sure that Politoed can withstand unboosted STAB attacks from most things. The burn chance from Scald further helps it ward off strong physical threats, discouraging them from switching in. Toxic is handy when it comes to winning the weather war, as it weakens all of the opposing weather starters significantly. It also is generally useful for poisoning things that Politoed lures in, such as Rotom-W and Gastrodon. Perish Song has gives Politoed a massive niche outside of providing infinite rain, preventing anything from setting up reliably. This comes in especially useful vs last pokemon sweeps, or against Baton Pass chains that lack Mr. Mime. Protect is useful for gaining extra Leftovers recovery and for scouting the move of Choice users.

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers

Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Protect

Ferrothorn provides key roles in the primary hazard setter, bulky Steel and counter to Water 'mons. Entry hazards are my team's main source of damage, and this is the best source of hazards for my team. Ferrothorn is one of the key members of my team, so I play very conservatively with it. Without it, I'd be lacking the source of Spikes, which form the core of the stalling element of my team. It can also set up Leech Seed, which goes a long way in keeping it alive, as well as wear down the opponent in order to discourage setting up, and to break down the opponent's stall. Power Whip was preferred over Gyro Ball due to its ability to hit problematic Pokemon such as Gyarados and Rotom-W hard. Protect gives Ferrothorn more durability due to getting a free turn of Leftovers/Leech Seed recovery.

Chansey @ Eviolite

Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- Seismic Toss
- Aromatherapy
- Softboiled

Chansey is a generic special wall, but one that does its job fantastically. As well as simply taking hits and keeping my team healthy with Aromatherapy, Chansey is on the front lines when it comes to combatting the new Therians. She's pretty much the go-to Pokemon when I'm up against anything that lacks a strong physical move. She can also set up Stealth Rock for the team, which gives her something to do aside from walling - that means I don't have to completely rely on Ferrothorn for a supply of hazards. There isn't much else to say to be perfectly honest - Chansey hasn't let me down thus far.

Tentacruel @ Leftovers

Trait: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Scald
- Substitute
- Toxic
- Rapid Spin

A slightly unconventional set, but I've found that it is the most effective set for this team. Toxic Spikes aren't particularly useful in the current metagame - not when most Pokemon in OU are part-Flying, have the ability Levitate or are Steel type. It doesn't help that Poison types such as Tentacruel, Venusaur and Toxicroak are more popular than before. The immediate poison from Toxic is often more effective than the passive poison of Toxic Spikes, which can be mitigated by Rapid Spin and switching in onto one layer of TS (normal poison is terrible, by the way). Substitute comes in incredibly handy against rival stall teams - most of them struggle to break a Tentacruel sub. Within that time, Tenta has the ability to be a massive asshole by spreading status and spinning to its content - as it can Toxic all the common defensive spin-blockers behind a sub. Spinning is necessary for this team in order to prevent the opponent from outstalling me. Tentacruel also provides a useful check to many Fighting 'mons, and other bulky Waters in general.

Latias @ Leftovers

Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 228 Def / 28 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Dragon Pulse
- Roar
- Roost

Although Latias aims to sweep, it has huge defensive role in the team as well. It is a fantastic check to sun teams, which are notorious for being a nightmare for stall. It can take up most of the common sun sweepers fairly comfortably, Roaring them out to stop them getting away with boosting, giving my team momentum, and causing passive damage to wrack up. It also acts as a semi-reliable Fighting resist and secondary Electric resist. With Stealth Rock and 3 layers of Spikes down, Latias can normally sweep without much to worry about.

Scizor @ Leftovers

Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 244 SDef / 12 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Roost

Quite possibly the best member of the team. Scizor is such an amazing Pokemon in general, and I'm very surprised that he hasn't made an appearance on many stall teams in the past, especially considering his ability to trump many of stall's biggest threats - including but not limited to: Reuniclus, Gengar, Lati@s, Salamence, Terrakion etc. With the given EV spread + Roost, Scizor is VERY difficult to kill without a decent STAB Fire or Water move. In the late game, Scizor can often get to +6 easily and clear up the mess left of the opponent's team from there. It can still prove itself earlier in the match too; Bug/Steel is an amazing defensive type, and Roost means it still has a chance to sweep later on after taking damage. If I see the opponent does not have any decent checks against him in team preview, I may even play more recklessly with my walls in order to get the hazards up so this guy can sweep. Seriously, he's that good. I sincerely encourage people to make more use of this set, especially in stall teams.


.::Summary::.

.::Changelog::.

V1.1 - Adjusted EV spreads of Tentacruel & Scizor. 
Aromatherapy > Toxic on Chansey.

V1.2 - Bulldoze > Protect on Ferrothorn. 
Ice Beam > Toxic on Politoed.
Minor EV change on Politoed (4 SAtk > 4 Spd).

.::Importable::.

Delta Rain Dream (Politoed) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Toxic
- Perish Song
- Protect

Calcium Needles (Ferrothorn) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SDef
Relaxed Nature
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Bulldoze

Neroli (Chansey) @ Eviolite
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Seismic Toss
- Aromatherapy
- Softboiled

Tal Coat (Tentacruel) @ Leftovers
Trait: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spd
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Toxic
- Substitute
- Rapid Spin

Always Returning (Latias) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 228 Def / 28 Spd
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Dragon Pulse
- Roar
- Roost

Sky Saw (Scizor) @ Leftovers
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 244 SDef / 12 Spd
Careful Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Roost

 

[bluewooper]

Hey Groudon ex. This team you are using is actually quite solid. I have a few suggested changes that can make it a lot tougher to break.

First things first, as I always try to do, I'm going to address any move slashes that you have on your team. The only one is Roar/Substitute on Latias. While both are good moves to use, I think that Roar is the move that you really want, for two reasons. Firstly, you only have one phazer on your team, and that is Politoed with Perish Song. Now, I would certainly recommend having another phazing move since you will greatly benefit by the buildup of residual damage for the opposition. Also, you really want to be as conservative with polited as possible, seeing as he is your key to winning every weather war. Forcing him to switch in to phaze, especially against weather teams, can be risky. Additionally, I have a suggestion later on in the rate that would make your primary concern regarding status less worrisome.

Your Tentacruel set looks rather solid, however, I do believe that I can tweak your EV spread a bit. See, when you run 32 Speed EV's, you are trying to outrun a Jolly Tyranitar, which really has only been used in DP. In BW no one really uses JollyTar without a Scarf. I think that changing your EV spread to 252Hp/240Def/16Spe, Bold, allows you to hit a speed that allows you to outspeed Adamant Breloom. This could potentially become a threat to your team if it can sub up or set up on you. This speed allows you to do many things, all of them will piss of Breloom. For example, you can sub to block a Spore, and you can burn him with Scald before he attacks. Additionally, I understand your desire to avoid using toxic spikes, since the insta-toxic through one toxic is kinda cool. However, some threats can come in and out and give you some trouble without T-Spikes. These would be Natural Curers, specificly Starmie, Celebi, and Blissey. I would heavily recommend Toxic Spikes over Toxic.

On Ferrothorn, you seem to be running Bulldoze in order to nab Magnezone. However, I think that you are better off with a different move, seeing as Magnezone appears only 6.6% of the time, while Magneton appears less than 1% of the time. Bulldoze has really very little practical use, and is incredibly situational. I would recommend that you switch Bulldoze to Protect. Protect allows you to do many things: to add semi-reliable recovery, to scout for hidden power fire, and to better utilize Leech Stall. Also, it is great against Genesect and other choiced users, forcing them to commit to a move, easing prediction.

Ah, Scizor. I absolutely love Bulky SDScizor. However, I glanced at your EV spread and i think I can help you improve upon it. You are running 44 speed EVs and I have absolutely no idea of what their purpose is. I think that you could certainly move some of those around to be more effective. I propose you use 252Hp/244SpDef/12Spe, Careful. This EV spread will allow you to outspeed the standard HydroRest Vaporeon, who could cause you a lot of difficulty. This will ease your eliminating this, since it benefits from your rain (and his own, most likely). You will get a bit more Special Bulk, too.

My final recommendation for you involves your Chansey. I noticed that you are running Toxic here. This is still a really good move, even with T-Spikes, since you can hit levitating dragons. However, your team can really deal with those dragons anyway. Lati@s and Rotom-W (not a dragon, lol) are the things that Blissey walls that won't stay in to get toxiced, and any Physical Dragon can be easily dealt with Scizor, Politoed, and Ferrothorn, to a smalller extent. I think that you can replace Toxic with Aromatherapy, to better give you team support. This will allow you not to get slowly beaten by stupid statuses, from pokemon like Jirachi, as well as stupid Scald burns. This will greatly help you with your team's support.

 

[Groudon ex]

Thanks for the suggestions! I've incorporated the new EV spreads you've suggested - they're definitely superior to my original spreads. I've also decided to run Aromatherapy as I've had a few games where status really screwed me over. I'll test Toxic Spikes on Tentacruel first before I consider running it - they do help vs. opposing stall teams, although theoretically my team can handle the 'mons you mentioned. I'll give Protect a go too, but Magnezone is still something that bothers me. I haven't seen too many lately at least though.

Anyways, thanks again for the rate! :)

EDIT: Actually I'll go with Protect after all. I've also decided on Ice Beam > Toxic on Politoed as it helps with combatting opposing weather, and dragons are dealt with a combination of Stealth Rock, Leech Seed and Protect, as well as Scizor's Bullet Punch.