Featured RMT - Uber

Overview

Before you begin, Fireburn and I wrote this together, so the text will appear the same for what we both have to say. (Although all of these nicknames are on my (bojangles) team, I'm not sure about Fireburn's).

Ubers, as you may or may not know, is full to the brim of offensive teams. Basically, every time you get on the ladder, you’re bound to face an offensive team, with the exception of the odd stall team. I myself have about 30 offensive teams scattered about my computer; I know for a fact that some players, like Theorymon, have whole flash drives full of teams, generally dominated by offense. As a result, I do like to branch out or “mix it up a bit”. Don’t get me wrong, I do love offense, but, every once and a while, its nice to get a change. Therefore, when Fireburn, a great pal of mine and a fantastic Ubers player, wanted to build a team with me, I knew the direction I wanted to go in: QuickStall.

I will be explaining more about the playstyle in a bit, but it combines the reliability of stall with the speed and tempo of offense. This particular team is one of the most successful teams I have ever made (Fireburn too). I, myself, was nearly, if not completely, undefeated with this team (although I did not ladder as much as I would’ve liked); Fireburn, too, was incredibly successful, as his record was like 22-3 (an 88% win rate). We’re trying to adapt it to this new HGSS metagame (Brave Bird Ho-oh), but Ho-oh is giving us some serious problems, so we’d love your help! If not, we may have to, unfortunately, retired team QuickStall.

Playstyle

QuickStall is a very unique playstyle, pretty specific to the Ubers metagame. It takes generally offensive-orientated Pokémon (maybe a defensive Pokémon or two thrown in) and gives them defensive sets. The end result is a stall team that plays like an offensive team. By using a stall/drain-oriented team like this, you can make a team that still keeps offensive pressure, but also keeps you fortified against the enemy in case things go sour. The thing that makes it specific to Ubers, as opposed to OU or UU, is that even the most offensive Pokémon, like Mewtwo, Kyogre, Latios, etc, are quite bulky too, with some notable exceptions (cough Deoxys-A cough). Anyways, this particular team revolves around the “evil” triad of Shaymin-S, Wobbuffet, and Mewtwo to drive the opponent to insanity/drain away their health slowly.

As a little side note, I’d just like to say how much of a blast I had building, testing, and playing this team with Fireburn. Thanks buddy!

At a glance

In Depth

Forretress (M) @ Leftovers *** reachzero
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP/6 Def/252 SDef
Careful nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Rapid Spin
- Payback
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic Spikes

Forretress plays a pivotal role in this team, both in wearing down the opponent and keeping my team relatively healthy. It sets the two most important types of entry hazards for this team: Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes. Stealth Rock helps wear down Flying-types who aren’t hit by Toxic Spikes, as well as just generally doing damage to any and every Pokémon. Toxic Spikes are the cornerstone of any stall team, quick or normal, so it was really a must have. It helps us wear down the opponent’s team, since it chips away at their health, taking the place of attackers (for the most part). It also gives more passive damage to go with Leech Seed; Pokémon can only last a short while with 12% from Leech Seed and mounting poison damage each turn.

Forretress also helps our team by using Rapid Spin. Two of our Pokémon are taking 25% each switch in, including one of our main Pokémon, Shaymin-S. Furthermore, Wobbuffet plays and important role, and it is without reliable recovery; likewise, Palkia is our answer to many threats, and it will be switching quite often because of its Choice Scarf. In this way, Rapid Spin helps take a lot of stress off our team. Payback is fairly standard, since it lets Forretress hit Giratina(-O) and, every so often, Mewtwo.

The EVs are fairly standard. Forretress already has tremendous physical bulk and so, combined with the fact that Ubers is specially-orientated, it makes it obvious that Forretress needs more special bulk. ( The EV spread maximizes this. With this spread, Forretress can take on Giratina-O who try to spinblock (it has to watch out for HP Fire though). Forretress also helps the team by adding valuable resistances, including Dragon, Dark, Ghost, and Ice.

Shaymin-S @ Leftovers *** Gen. Empoleon
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 6 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Air Slash
- Substitute
- Seed Flare
- Leech Seed

Shaymin-S is the focus of the team and the core of our “trio of insanity” (trust me, this isn’t an exaggeration). While it’s mainly seen as an excellent offensive presence or “hax machine”, in my opinion it does its SubSeeding job equally well, if not more so. Once Shaymin-S comes in, if it gets a Leech Seed on a switch, it can stall for turns on end. By repeating the cycle of Substituting while gaining health back from Leech Seed and Leftovers, it can very easily drain a ton of health off the opponent, while losing very little, if any, itself.

The last two moves give Shaymin-S a bit of offensive ability as well as helping with the general draining of health. Air Slash’s large 60% flinch rate makes it very possible to have the opponent not move at all, giving us another turn of Leech Seed healing, as well as another turn of poison damage on the enemy. This can mean that Shaymin-S can even overcome special walls, such as Blissey. Seed Flare is an amazingly strong move that also has an 80% of dropping the opponent’s Special Defense by 2 stages. This presents the opponent with a tough decision: either stay in and face certain death at the hands of what is essential a +2 Shaymin-S, or switch and take damage from Stealth Rock and risk poisoning another Pokémon from Toxic Spikes. Either option is really quite beneficial for our team and it just adds another layer of difficulty and aggravation.

The EVs on this Pokémon are pretty straightforward as well. Maximum Speed, because its pretty much Shaymin-S’s most important stat; it needs to outspeed everything that it possibly can. (One thing of note: it outspeeds with maximum Speed is Darkrai, which can let Shaymin-S serve as an emergency revenge killer for it, if necessary.) Maximum Special Attack allows it not only to reap the benefits of Seed Flare and Air Slash, but also to let it deal good damage. It also lets it sweep in endgame. Small amounts of HP make the health gained from Leech Seed equal a higher percent, meaning that we can Substitute more often.

Wobbuffet (M) @ Leftovers *** Theorymon
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 28 HP/252 Def/228 SDef
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Counter
- Encore
- Mirror Coat
- Safeguard

Wobbuffet is generally thought of as “that cheap set-up Pokémon". Wobbuffet, however, is used in a slightly different way. It’s not helping a Pokémon set up, but rather it is aiding Shaymin-S in stalling. In this way, it is part two of the “trio of insanity”. First of all, it helps get Shaymin-S in safely. Shaymin-S is a fairly frail Pokémon, so Encoring an Earthquake or the like can aid in a massive way. Furthermore, Wobbuffet can switch in after the opponent has been Leech Seeded and literally trap them there while their health is drained. (Fireburn has even managed to stall out a Lugia this way while recovering all of his Wobbuffet's HP.) It can also Counter or Mirror Coat any attempts to break free. Wobbuffet can also be healed like this, as it lacks any other form of recovery.

Wobbuffet can also step in to kill off any Pokémon who is faster than Shaymin-S, since they are usually holding a Choice Scarf (except Mewtwo). Shaymin-S and Wobbuffet are truly a great match (you can visit the analysis and see how Theorymon has written pages about it lol). In fact, Wobbuffet is our answer for many Pokémon who we revenge kill or drain into submission. Safeguard is the icing on the cake, and it allows Shaymin-S to come in on Encored Thunder Waves, Will-O-Wisp, Toxic, etc. and begin SubSeeding away.

Wobbuffet’s EVs should be famous by now; it’s so standard. The HP EVs maximize Leftovers recovery, and the rest are poured into its defensive stats, where it needs all the help it can get. The Calm nature helps it take the more prevalent special attacks in Ubers.

Giratina-O @ Platinum Orb *** tripe
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 Atk/196 Spd/64 SAtk
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Draco Meteor
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Outrage
- Shadow Sneak

Jibaku suggested this mixed Giratina-O; the moment we tried it, we knew that it fit amazingly on our team. Giratina-O is generally seen as the Calm Mind Sweeper version, so this set actually has a fair amount of surprise value. This, however, is not the only reason that we use it. Giratina-O's Ghost-typing gives us what we really needed earlier: a Rapid Spin blocker. Now, Forretress cannot spin away our Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rock. This is a huge help for the team, since it helps spread Poison to each Pokémon, meaning that we can stall everything out more easily.

Draco Meteor provides a very strong STAB move that generally wipes away any Dragon-type who tries to switch in, as well as doing massive damage to any Pokémon who doesn't resist it. Hidden Power Fire is especially useful for further dealing with our Forretress problem. Once it has blocked Rapid Spin, Giratina-O can roast Forretress with a super effective Hidden Power Fire. Outrage is a nice physical touch for this set. This works very well against Pokémon who can normally give Giratina-O some problems, like Blissey; it also works extremely well to defeat stall. Outrage also helps us deal with Ho-oh quite well, as it hits it for huge damage, especially since Stealth Rock will most likely be out. Finally, Shadow Sneak lets us revenge kill weakened Pokémon who are trying to sweep.

The EVs give us a compromise between Attack and Special Attack, while also maintaining good Speed. With Giratina-O on the team, we only have 1 Pokémon weak to Stealth Rock and 2 Pokémon weak to Toxic Spikes (Palkia is too, but it's switching in and out constantly anyway), making this team very efficient against stall (as well as Giratina-O sweeping easily like i mentioned earlier). We also have ample resistances among the team, having each type (other than Rock-type and Flying-type, because who uses Psychic-type attacks?) resisted by at least one Pokémon. Giratina-O also brings a helpful Explosion immunity to the table, which can help against "annoyed" Pokémon, like Forretress.

Mewtwo @ Leftovers *** Jibaku
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP/92 Spd/160 SDef
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Light Screen
- Recover
- Taunt
- Will-o-wisp

This is probably my favorite Pokémon on the team, it’s just so good. (In fact, I (Fireburn) have convinced myself that this is the real star of the team, not Shaymin-S. XD ) When I say “Mewtwo”, the first thing that you probably thing about is an offensive set, generally with Calm Mind. Well, I did too, until I was browsing the analysis one day way back when. The thought of a stalling Mewtwo intrigued me, so we decided to incorporate it into our team. Man, I’m glad we did. This thing is a stalling machine. While Mewtwo’s defenses are only above average at best, this set can make it seem like it was born (made?) for this purpose.

Will-O-Wisp and Light Screen combine to effectively boost both Mewtwo’s Defense and Special Defense, meaning that it will only be taking a fraction of its health. Will-O-Wisp also provides a means of draining health in the event that Toxic Spikes don’t get laid (like if Forretress gets Taunted), or if the sweeper has a Lum Berry. This is also why Will-O-Wisp is viable to be used even with Toxic Spikes. Taunt allows us to stop any status or stat up moves, effectively eliminating any way for the opponent to increase their damage put out. This way, we can keep stalling without worry of dying quickly, barring a critical hit. Recover is a must-have for any stall set, and it works just as well on this one. Since Taunt has eliminated any way of increasing damage output, it is easily to Recover off any damage taken without worry of the opponent taking advantage of this period. Furthermore, Mewtwo will not take much damage because of the aforementioned combination of Taunt and Will-O-Wisp/Light Screen, so it is simple to Recover off the damage before Mewtwo gets truly threatened.

Mewtwo’s EVs maximize its HP to take more hits, as well as giving enough Speed to beat Latios and Latias, so it can Taunt them before they start setting up. The rest of the EVs are pouring into Special Defense, because those are the most common forms of attack. Although Mewtwo doesn’t have really many resistances worth mentioning, its Will-O-Wisp and Light Screen, plus its great defending stats makes it our “all purpose wall”. By using these two moves, it can bolster both its defensive stats, and it becomes a tough nut to crack. You seriously don’t want to mess with this set.

Palkia @ Choice Scarf *** Fireburn
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 6 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Spacial Rend
- Surf
- Thunder

To quote Jibaku, “Palkia is the glue of the team”. Palkia, while being a heavily offensive Pokémon, also has great defensive stats and typing. Water- and Dragon-type is only hit for super effective damage by Dragon-type moves, and, while this is an extremely common type of attack, it also has resistances to many common attacking types, like Water-, Fire-, Steel-types, and is neutral to many others. It also has 90 / 100 / 120 defenses, which are really quite good. This, combined with its already-established excellent offensive prowess, makes it an obvious choice for a QuickStall team.

Palkia is a check for many threats that can otherwise run through this team. Darkrai is outspeed and OHKOed by Draco Meteor. Kyogre doesn’t do much with any of its attacks, barring a paralyze from Thunder; in return, Palkia can hit it hard with Thunder or Draco Meteor. Dragon Dance Rayquaza won't destroy us if it gets past Lugia, and Mewtwo won't have fun with this team either. Spacial Rend and Surf are for obvious STAB. Dragon Dance Rayquaza is also checked by Spacial Rend. We’re thinking of maybe making this a bulkier set that can survive a +2 LO ExtremeSpeed from Lucario. At the moment, the EVs are pretty straightforward, maximizing Speed and damage output.