ORAS OU Gothitelle Stall by CleanerThanRotom-W

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Introduction
Hello, welcome to the latest RMT Staff Archive team, created by CleanerThanRotom-W! This team was chosen for the archive due to the dominance it showed on the ladder throughout ORAS. The popularity and strength of this team eventually led to Shadow Tag getting banned from OU, as well as Mega Sableye getting a concurrent suspect test. This type of stall was by far the most effective use of Gothitelle and Shadow Tag. The team also takes advantage of Mega Sableye's ability to solidify and strengthen stall cores, by way of its control over the entry hazard game through Magic Bounce. Outside of Mega Sableye and Gothitelle, this team also shows the classic stall core of Chansey and Skarmory in an ORAS context. Without further ado, let's get into our latest staff RMT!

Team Members


Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Whirlwind
- Spikes
- Counter
- Roost
Skarmory plays a valuable part in this team, checking many dangerous physical threats. Mega Pinsir, Excadrill, and Landorus-T are some examples of Pokemon handled by Skarmory. Rocky Helmet helps Skarmory deal damage to threats like Mega Pinsir. Shed Shell is another option to avoid trapping from Magnezone. Spikes gives the team entry hazard stacking and helps wear down threats. Whirlwind provides phazing to the team, taking advantage of the aforementioned hazard stacking as well as stopping setup sweepers. Counter is a niche choice that punishes physical attackers that attempt to beat Skarmory through brute force. The EVs make Skarmory as physically bulky as possible, which it needs in order to beat the aforementioned threats.


Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Soft-Boiled
- Aromatherapy
- Seismic Toss
Chansey has been a staple of stall teams since the introduction of the Eviolite, and for good reason. Its massive special bulk enables it to check many dangerous special attackers such as Mega Charizard Y and Mega Alakazam. Seismic Toss provides Chansey with a reliable way of doing damage, which is helpful to get consistent damage on threats that attempt to switch in and beat Chansey, such as Keldeo, Terrakion, and Landorus-T. Aromatherapy provides the team with relief from status. Hazards are required on almost any team and this one is no different, with Chansey acting as the Stealth Rock setter. The EVs maximize the boost from Eviolite, with full investment in Defense and Special Defense.


Sableye @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Snarl
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Calm Mind
After Gothitelle, Mega Sableye is the reason why this stall build managed to function so well, becoming one of the most known stall builds through out all of XY and ORAS. Mega Sableye's unique attributes of Magic Bounce coupled with reliable recovery, solid bulk, and a great defensive typing made it a defining threat on stall teams and even pushed it to be considered suspect worthy and even ban worthy by many. This means that Mega Sableye can take on many issues that stall teams faced before, such as their vulnerability to hazard-stacking teams, as Mega Sableye can shut down common users of Spikes such as Ferrothorn and Skarmory while also being able to take on many common Stealth Rock users such as Terrakion, Hippowdon, and bulky variants of Landorus-T and Garchomp. Because this team was created earlier on in the ORAS metagame, the utility set wasn't fully discovered yet, and everybody was still riding the hype train for Calm Mind sets. These were the most common at the time, as Mega Sableye could set up very easily while spreading burns. Snarl was used on this team in order to beat opposing Mega Sableye one-on-one,while also weakening the likes of Clefable and Mega Diancie. Will-O-Wisp is one of Mega Sableye's most important moves and allows it to weaken and net chip damage on anything that isn't a Fire-type or has Flash Fire, Magic Guard, or Magic Bounce. Recover provides needed longevity for Mega Sableye, as its low Speed leaves it open to many faster attackers, and it can find itself being pressured easily.


Quagsire @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Scald
- Recover
- Earthquake
- Encore
Quagsire provides the team with another safety net against setup sweepers. Quagsire handles virtually every Mega Charizard X set, outside of the odd Outrage variant. This is vital as Mega Charizard X is a huge threat to stall teams otherwise. Scald cripples switch-ins to Quagsire; even against threats that resist Scald, burn damage can help wear down the opposing team. Earthquake provides a way to deal damage to Pokemon that can shrug off Scald, such as Heatran and Mega Charizard X. Encore provides a way to stop opposing setup sweepers that can beat Quagsire, such as Mega Gyarados. Max HP and Defense investment is needed for Quagsire to effectively handle what it needs to.


Cresselia @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 152 Def / 104 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Toxic
- Moonlight
- Skill Swap
Cresselia's main use on this team is being a hard counter for Landorus, a massive threat to stall teams with the right set. Calm Mind sets could utterly ruin Chansey, and all-out attacker sets could remove Chansey's Eviolite and break it down with boosted Focus Blasts, making it a difficult threat to keep in check. Gothitelle is also capable of beating Landorus with its Trick-Choice Scarf combination but Landorus would usually be paired with other stallbreakers such as Heatran, which makes it difficult for Gothitelle to handle more than one stallbreaker. Psyshock is Cresselia's most reliable STAB move and has decent neutral coverage. Psyshock is preferred over Psychic for its ability to reliably beat Pokemon that use Substitute, specifically Keldeo. Toxic can cripple many targets that would otherwise set up on Cresselia such as Mega Charizard X and Mega Latias, as well as putting the likes of Rotom-W and Landorus-T on a timer. Moonlight serves as recovery, but isn't very reliable given the abundance of sand in the metagame. Skill Swap allows Cresselia to beat the likes of Mega Sableye and Clefable by swapping abilities, allowing Cresselia to damage them with Toxic. The given EV spread allows Cresselia to survive some of the strongest attacks in the metagame, including two Choice Specs-boosted Hydro Pumps from Keldeo without Stealth Rock, Knock Off + any other move from Landorus, and two +3 Scalds from Manaphy without a burn or Stealth Rock damage, as well as letting Cresselia take on some of the most threatening Pokemon in the tier such as Mega Lopunny and Mega Metagross.


Gothitelle @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 80 HP / 196 SpD / 232 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick
- Psyshock
- Calm Mind
- Rest
Gothitelle is the all-around best Pokemon for stall. Its ability Shadow Tag lets it be a crucial member on any team, and allows it to trap and Trick some deadly threats for stall such as Manaphy, Keldeo, Clefable, and Togekiss. The moveset is completely dedicated to trap and stall annoying stallbreakers like Heatran. Gothitelle simply Tricks its Choice Scarf and proceeds to stall out the opposing Pokemon with Rest. Thunder Wave can be used in place of Calm Mind to cripple fast threats such as Mega Gardevoir, Mega Medicham, and Mega Alakazam. 80 EVs in HP allow Gothitelle to always survive three Seismic Tosses so it can cripple and stall out opposing Chansey. The Special Defense investment is to reliably trap and stall Heatran and Clefable. This spread also gives Gothitelle enough bulk to take a +3 Scald from Manaphy. The Speed investment combined with a Choice Scarf gives enough Speed to outrun Pokemon such as Keldeo, Latios, and Thundurus and either cripple them with Trick or revenge kill them.

Threatlist
Mega Charizard Y paired with a Dark-type that can prey on Chansey, Weavile, Bisharp, or Choice Band Tyranitar is very threatening to this team and in terms of counterplay, there's not much that the user of this team can do. Although the presence of Quagsire and Skarmory offer some sort of relief versus Weavile and Bisharp, Choice band Tyranitar is able to 2HKO physically defensive Skarmory after Stealth Rock and will require pivoting that could be detrimental to the player.
Will-O-Wisp Mega Charizard X does pose problems to the team as the only thing keeping the team from crumbling under the pressure is Quagsire, which is 2HKOed by Dragon Claw and a round of burn damage. Mega Sableye lacks Foul Play which doesn't bode well when matched up against Mega Charizard X.

Mega Gardevoir on its own can pose a problem to this team. The lack of Thunder Wave on Chansey means that the team is unable to stop it from netting a clean sweep after one Calm Mind. Toxic on Cresselia is nice but is unable to whittle down Mega Gardevoir fast enough, making it very hard to play around.
Mega Pinsir paired with Magnezone preys on the fact that the team's only resistance to Flying is Skarmory, which lacks Shed Shell, so the scope for counterplay around this is pretty much non-existent.

Mega Heracross threatens the team a great deal, as it has no hard counters and is fast enough to cause problems for every member. The only avenues of counterplay are burning it with Prankster Sableye Will-O-Wisp before Mega Evolving, revenge killing it with Gothitelle, or keeping Skarmory at full health and using Counter.

Shed Shell Togekiss became a common sight on the ladder due to teams relying on Gothitelle to Trick it a Choice item and avoid a sweep. The idea here is to set up a Nasty Plot on the Gothitelle switch and then pivot into a Pursuit trapper, Choice Scarf Tyranitar usually, then KO Gothitelle to pave the way for a Togekiss sweep.

Importable
Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Whirlwind
- Spikes
- Counter
- Roost

Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Soft-Boiled
- Aromatherapy
- Seismic Toss

Sableye @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Snarl
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Calm Mind

Quagsire @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Scald
- Recover
- Earthquake
- Encore

Cresselia @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 152 Def / 104 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Toxic
- Moonlight
- Skill Swap

Gothitelle @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 80 HP / 196 SpD / 232 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick
- Psyshock
- Calm Mind
- Rest


Other Versions
This team evolved over time, although the same basic premise was the same. Cresselia was dropped in favor of Amoonguss after Landorus got banned, which provided a strong pivot, a true Keldeo switch-in, and a Clefable check. Gothitelle eventually started running Thunder Wave over Calm Mind to cripple some threats, particularly Mega Gardevoir. Mega Sableye also began running a utility set over a Calm Mind set, as the utility set proved to be overall more useful to the team. After Shadow Tag's banning, Gothitelle was switched out in favor of Choice Band Weavile, which provided the team with a strong Pursuit trapper. There was also a similar prior version of the team that was somewhat popular during the XY era, with the team running Mega Charizard X or Mega Charizard Y over Mega Sableye. However, Mega Sableye pushed the team to another level with its use of Magic Bounce.

Credits

Created by: CleanerThanRotom-W
Written by: celticpride, DennisEG, p2, Analytic
Grammar checked by: GatoDelFuego
Art by: Team Pokepals
 

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