(Click the title for the song!)
Introduction
Hello and welcome to my first ever RMT on DB! This time, I'll showcase an ORAS AG Stall Team which has fared extremely well for me and for others in various tournaments, friendlies and roomtours. ORAS AG is a very underrated Gen of AG, as people thing that it's just about Darkrai and Klefki, but that's far from true. This Stall actually does incorporate a nice amount of checks to them, because yes, they're a top-tier threat, but there are other Pokémon which are better than them and give the team much more issues.
Anyways, the team was build with one Pokémon in mind: Arceus-Rock. Arceus-Rock is a "golden" mon of sorts here, as it gives the team some counterplay against Rayquaza-Mega, which can actually just click vs. the team. The team gives the Arceus-Rock as much support as possible, and even though it didn't make the building process difficult, it sure was extremely enjoyable.
I love the team and it's really fun to use. I haven't yet lost any match with it, am 34-0 something, and I've played some really experienced players, too. Without any further ado, let's get to the team!
The Team
Arceus-Rock
Arceus-Rock @ Stone Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Judgment
Arceus-Rock, along with Giratina and Arceus-Ground, form the main defensive backbone of the team. It's one of the best Rayquaza-Mega checks right now, as V-Create is more prominent than Earthquake. Even though the physical all-out attacker set is a set, with Will-O-Wisp, I'll be pressurising them immensely, as Life Orb variants would hate to stay in, and the Lum ones would not like their berry to be eaten. Arceus-Rock also aids the team by acting as a Ho-Oh and Yveltal counter, which can just click and see something pop. After the release of ORAS, the metagame also lost the former interest in things like Kyogre-Primal and Palkia, which was a godsend for the RocCeus. Even without much SpA investment, it OHKO's uninvested Ho-Oh, 2HKO's defensive Yveltal and 2HKO's Rayquaza-Mega after Stealth Rock damage. It's a formidable Stealth Rock setter too, as it puts nice pressure on Arceus-Fairy and Giratina, few of the most common Defog users right now, along with the Ho-Oh and Clefable. Will-O-Wisp is there so that we don't auto lose to Band Rayquaza team preview. Judgment and Recover and mandatory moves for hitting a majority of the tier neutrally and for longevity, respectively. We're opting for Max HP / Max Speed so that we outspeed all Rayquaza's and Wisp them before they kill us
Clefable
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell
- Moonblast
Almost every Stall needs a cleric, and so here we are. Clefable is an invaluable Pokémon in the team, as with Unaware, it checks Darkrai, Xerneas, Swords Dance and/or Calm Mind Arceus formes, bar a few. It also has a great typing in pure Fairy-, making things like Darkrai easy to handle for the team. With a variety of support moves such as Wish and the aforementioned Heal Bell, the team is hard to imagine without it. We're choosing Clefable over something like Chansey so that we don't lose to Taunt Darkrai team preview, as Taunt limits Chansey by a lot, even more than what it does to Clefable. Wish passing, albeit rare, is another perk to the Clefable, as healing the teammates is a nice thing, especially the Giratina, which relies on Rest + Leftovers for healing. Clefable is our main play against Darkrai, as with its typing and Unaware, it beats every viable variant of it, except for Sludge Bomb ones. Max HP / Max Special Defense is the set we're going for, so that we check Xerneas and the aforementioned Darkrai without taking much damage. Heal Bell solves loads of problems for the team, as the dual Arceus core hates being put on a death timer through Toxic. Moonblast is the preferred STAB, so that we deal as much damage as possible to Darkrai, and soft-check non-Choice Band / Life Orb Rayquaza-Mega.
Sableye-Mega
Sableye @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Protect
- Foul Play
- Recover
- Toxic
Sableye-Mega is something that you'll be seeing on 80% of the ORAS AG Stalls which aren't semi's. It's main job is quite simple: keep hazards off the field. With Magic Bounce, it sets itself apart from the other hazard controllers, as Mega Sableye's presence discourages most passive Pokemon from attempting to set entry hazards and using status moves, reducing their overall effectiveness. It also has solid bulk, making it an efficient counter to Extreme Killer, and a nice check to non-Mixed Rayquaza-Mega. Max HP / Defense investment makes it a formidable check to the forenamed Pokémon, and with Foul Play, it's one of the best checks to a lot of physical Pokémon in the metagame. We're going for Protect than Fake Out here so that we can scout for opposing Skill Swap from Deoxys-Speed, and proceed accordingly. Toxic is chosen over Will-O-Wisp because it's typing allows it to check a lot of the physical attackers, and we already have enough for them, with Sableye-M, Giratina, and the Arceus-Ground. Recover is mandatory, and yeah that's it for Sableye
Giratina
Giratina @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 208 Def / 52 SpD
IVs: 0 Atk / 20 Spe
Relaxed Nature
- Defog
- Rest
- Toxic
- Dragon Tail
Ah yes. Giratina. Giratina is an excellent option for Stall because of it's amazing bulk, access to Pressure, Toxic, Defog and whatnot, great typing and awesome design. Over here also, it's an invaluable addition to the team and is a really amazing Pokémon. It checks Rayquaza-Mega (counters the Lum Berry variants, too!), checks Extreme Killer, and Kyogre-Primal, shuffles the opposing team and acts as a real nuisance for the opponent. It's also one of the best Defoggers in the metagame, as it Defog's extremely easily on Groudon-Primal, the most common hazard setter, and deals with it pretty easily. We can go for Will-O-Wisp than Defog to improve the Ferrothorn matchup, as we already have a Fog Groundy, but the sheer number of common Hazarder's that Giratina completely invalidates makes me run Defog almost always. We're going for a little USUM-ish set here, but it's pretty important, if we look at the team as a whole. 52 SpD EV's let it survive the 2HKO from Modest Kyogre-Primal's Ice Beam, and the rest is dumped into HP and Defense to make it a better Extreme Killer, Rayquaza-Mega and Groudon-Primal check. 20 Speed IV's make us slower than opposing Specially Defensive Groudon-Primal's, which lets us Defog after they've set their Stealth Rock, so we'll be winning the 1v1 always. Rest is Giratina's only form of recovery and is extremely important, even with Wish support, so that it isn't worn down too quickly in the course of the match. I felt that the need for RestTalk wasn't required here, especially with clerical support, so Dragon Tail is the best option for the last move here.
Ho-Oh
Ho-Oh @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 SpD
Careful Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Toxic
- Sleep Talk
- Whirlwind
Ho-Oh is the main Specially Defensive Pokémon of the team. With a busted ability in Regenerator, Ho-Oh finds its place in a lot of Stalls. It can spam Toxic to its hearts content and it also has no fear of getting Toxic'd itself, as Regenerator solves that issue. It's also acts as a backup check to Darkrai, as Clefable can sometimes get overwhelmed by Sludge Bomb sets as stated before. Leftovers is, by and large, the best item for defensive Ho-Oh on Stall. We can go for Goggles but that's extremely niche. The Nature and EV Spread might look weird, so let me explain them. 252 HP + 52 SpD + Careful Nature allows to Ho-Oh to survive a +2 HP [Rock] from a Xerneas. This was extremely important, especially when I got to know Lauriane and Zayele use it a lot. The rest of the EV's are piled in Defense to take on physical attackers well. Sacred Fire is a great STAB move with an additional 50% Burn chance (sweet), Toxic is the spamable move, Sleep Talk is for Darkrai's and Whirlwind is to phaze, and along with Giratina, be a total headache for the opponent.
Arceus-Ground
Arceus-Ground @ Earth Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Judgment
- Recover
- Defog
- Will-O-Wisp / Toxic
Arceus-Ground is our second Defogger and a Groudon-Primal counter. It's also a secondary Rayquaza-Mega soft-check, as it can Wisp them and limit what they can do. Arceus-Rock + Giratina + Arceus-Ground form a really extraordinary defensive core which beats almost everything, bar a few special attackers like Xerneas. Groundy also has a nice typing in pure Ground-, which forces a lot of switches. I did Earthquake + Groundium-Z at first to nuke Kyogre-Primal on the switchin, but it turned out to be counterproductive as it got Wisp'd a lot (lol) and was deadweight till I chimed the Bell (Heal Bell). It's also a great answer to Klefki, which is a small headache for the team. The set is simple, 16 Spe is to outspeed fully invested neutral-natured base 90 Speed Pokemon such as Groudon and Kyogre-Primal. Rest is dumped into HP and Defense to tank hits better. Judgment and Recover are mandatory, Defog is important as discussed above, and the last move is more of a choice; Wisp cripples Rayquaza-Mega even after they've eaten their RocCeus Lum, whereas Toxic cripples SupportCeus formes, Kyogre-Primal and more.
Threatlist
Kyogre-Primal
Kyogre-Primal is legit something that TEARS through the team. The only way to check it is through a Toxic on the switchin (it switches a lot on Groundy and co.) and then hard Giratina, then hard Clefable on Ice Beam, Protect once, go hard Tina again and then well sack Tina / play carefully even more. If I keep hazard pressure, it's easier to handle, and yeah, it's a big, big threat.
Replays
Will be adding 'em soon, I got them spread across nine alts lol. Stay tuned!
Importable
So that's it!! Hope y'all enjoyed, feel free to ask any questions I guess.
