Excal’s “Hitmontop Stall” Team
Hi, for the most of you that don’t know me, I’m Excal, a competitive DPP OU player. I’ve been playing “competitive pokemon” since late 2009, but I only recently started participating in tournaments. My reasons for posting are mainly that I’d like to become more involved in discussing competitive mons and the community here at Smogon, and I would love any feedback I can get on this team. I feel that this team brings something unique to the table, and I haven’t seen anything like it before. Unfortunately all I have to show for it is peaking the ladder, so posting here feels like a great way to further integrate myself with the community and competitive scene. As such this is my first team, so I apologize in advance if I didn’t write this up in a completely conventional way that pertains to this form.
A quick note about the team’s classification as “Hitmontop Stall” before I begin is that I don’t really know what else to call it. I view the team as a bulky balance, but it typically plays the long game and plays like stall.
Anyway, onto the team.
The Team
Devangaard (Jirachi) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Trick
- Ice Punch
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
For one, it sets up stealth rock. Nothing else on the team has room for rocks. And since it is my lead, it has the option to set up stealth rock from turn 1. Using stealth rock early can also allow you to bluff the lack of a scarf to cripple an opposing pokemon later in the game with trick. In that way, ironically, choice scarf and stealth rock are a good combination. This is especially effective vs opposing lead scarf Jirachis. Almost all the time, scarf Jirachi runs jolly nature, so it will go first on you and you will set up stealth rocks afterward. Obviously having my scarfed pokemon using stealth rock is overall not optimal, but in the team’s case it is the best option.
It also functions as a revenge killer for DDtar, and is the primary revenge killer for DDnite. Iron head and ice punch round out the set nicely for these purposes. Jirachi can also use trick to stop more set-up pokemon like wish calm mind Jirachi and DD Kingdra. Try to save your choice scarf for as long as possible, so that you can accurately decide what you want to trick (if you want to let go of it at all). Often times if you haphazardly use trick early on, a sweeper will have a much higher chance of finishing you off.
Iron head is scarf Jirachi’s overall strongest move as it carries out Jirachi’s multi-purpose agenda (AKA hax). Ice punch also comes into play in stall matches as a way to pressure the opponent with chances of a freeze. Often times an ice punch freeze can shift a battle completely in your favor, and if you are playing vs. another stall team, you will have plenty of opportunities to spam ice punch. This is not something I would recommend until you want to transition out of the mid game, of course.
Scarf Jirachi, if I haven’t implied this enough, makes a fantastic lead. It is effective in shutting down both conventional suicide SR leads like Aerodactyl and Azelf, and anti-leads like Machamp (at your own risk with Machamp, more on this later).
Overall, Jirachi is extremely valuable to the team, and you want to hold onto it for as long as possible. I also want to note that putting jolly nature over adamant is totally fine. Jolly scarfrachi allows it to outspeed +2 DDtar, if you find that to be necessary (which I don’t think you will). Adamant nature is also important for the extra power with iron head and ice punch. In particular, ice punch with an adamant nature will secure the kill on opposing dragons like Dragonite and Flygon much more frequently.
Jinx (Hitmontop) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Def / 60 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Foresight
- Close Combat
- Rest
Before covering the EV spread, I want to state Hitmontop’s role in the most concise way possible. While it does so much more for the team, the two most important jobs it has are handling all variants of Tyranitar, and using foresight and rapid spin on opposing rotom and gengar (more on gengar later).
The EV spread is simple. 252 HP and 60 Sp Def EVs, combined with a careful nature, allow Hitmontop to foresight, spin, and rest off the damage of a non-specially-invested Rotom’s thunderbolt. The rest is poured into Def to handle Tyranitar as well as it possibly can, on the physical side. These EVs round Hitmontop out as a strong mixed wall, which is heavily-suited for taking on Tyranitar in the most versatile way possible.
Like Jirachi, Hitmontop performs multiple roles. If I’ve eliminated Tyranitar from the equation, hitmontop is my go-to sleep fodder. It assists in countering Breloom by softening its power with intimidate and taking spore when it needs to. Combining foresight, rapid spin, and rest, Hitmontop can sit in seemingly forever because foresight and rapid spin alone have a whopping 124 PP. Hitmontop also takes uninvested Starmie’s surfs very well, and can rest off the damage and sit in.
Hitmontop’s strongest partners on this team are Rotom and Dragonite. Hitmontop and Rotom can feed off each other on Machamp with intimidate, switching between to eat payback and dpunch. Dragonite and Hitmontop have strong type synergy in that Hitmontop comes in on any rock attacks aimed at Dragonite. It also can come in to pokemon like Gliscor and Hippowdon if they threaten to ice fang. Dragonite also heal bells for Hitmontop, allowing it to instantly wake up after a rest so it can continue its job to suppress Tyranitar and rapid spin. And likewise, Hitmontop spins for Dragonite so that it has a much easier time switching in.
Faerlina (Dragonite) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Def / 12 Spe
Relaxed Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Flamethrower
- Heal Bell
- Roost
The EVs are yet again simple. HP is near maximized and Def is maximized. There is a bit of speed to creep but that is optional. I understand if you don’t like 244 HP, so you can do 248 instead and reduce 4 EVs from speed.
Heal bell is the main move on this Dragonite for reasons already stated. It allows the team to do its thing. Serene grace Blissey and rest Hitmontop would not function properly without this needed cleric support. This also allows the team to eat status in order to perform certain roles when needed.
Dragon claw and flamethrower are used to make Dragonite a mixed attacker. Flamethrower hits steel types harder than fire punch, and dragon claw is generally stronger than dragon pulse.
Regarding Infernape, you should switch out of Dragonite after entering if you suspect that HP ice is on the Infernape set. Vaporeon thankfully is the best answer to specially-based mixape. Dragonite and Vaporeon function as a main Infernape-stopping core. This is one of the things that I like about this team the most because I have found it so difficult to account for Infernape when creating teams, and for good reason.
Regarding Breloom, this Dragonite was inspired by walling Breloom. Be careful with stone edge. While that is uncommon, it can still surprise you. Its calc, assuming adamant Breloom, is 46.8 - 55.2%. But if it has seed bomb and focus punch (or seed bomb, superpower, and mach punch), this Dragonite will wall Breloom for days. I recommend dragon clawing on the substitute, and then using flamethrower when it is not behind a sub. This will catch many Breloom that try to focus punch on the roost. It is also important to never let Dragonite fall asleep. I have found Rotom to be the best sleep fodder overall, but hitmontop is better if you’ve already eliminated Tyranitar like I said before. Sometimes, Vaporeon will also be a desirable sleep fodder to have, but it is much more risky to pull that off. Blissey gets a special mention here as it can function as a sleep fodder with serene grace. I can remember several times where a Breloom has spored my Blissey, and then spored again on the switch only to have *Sleep Clause Mod Activated* show up on their screen. Once something is asleep, Dragonite will force almost all Breloom out, making it much more manageable.
Regarding Jirachi, it is evident that with physical bulk, inner focus, and heal bell, that this Dragonite is a staple in dealing with paraflinch Jirachi. While parahax can still happen, I have completely shut down paraflinch Jirachis several times using this Dragonite’s roost and flamethrower, and heal belling to cure my team of the paralysis.
Overall, this Dragonite is special. It baffles me how incredibly strong this pokemon is as a physical wall, yet I almost never see it. It is the glue to this team. When I win, this Dragonite is almost always alive. With proper scouting, you can wall so many more pokemon than I mentioned earlier. Hitmontop and Dragonite’s core is so strong, and it’s what makes this team so unique.
God Serena (Vaporeon) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 188 HP / 252 Def / 64 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Toxic
- Protect
- Surf
The EVs maximize physical defense, as its special defense is naturally better, while still giving generous investment to both HP and SpDef.
Vaporeon and Blissey get a special mention as a strong core. These two together solidify the team against many sweepers like Empoleon, Heatran, any specially-oriented rain dance sweeper (like Ludicolo, RD Kingdra, etc.), and even Gengar and mixed Flygon.
Vaporeon is also extremely strong vs paraflinch Jirachi. While Dragonite will often be used to counter it, Vaporeon also will use protect to eat twice as many iron heads as it normally would.
I want to include a special section under Vaporeon for Kingdra control. As you will see later, dragon dance Kingdra is easily one of if not the most threatening pokemon to this team. Upon creation I had a ton of difficulty managing my way around Kingdra, but over time I have improved my game vs Kingdra tremendously with this team. To start, you almost always want to switch in Vaporeon once an opposing Kingdra is revealed. If it’s rain dance, great, you don’t have to worry. But if it reveals dragon dance, it becomes much more of a threat. If you cannot trick Kingdra with Jirachi, you want to toxic it as soon as possible. As soon as you think Kingdra is going to rest, toxic it again. Once that has happened, the Kingdra will now be a lot more manageable, and you can sit in with wish and protect if you see fit. As soon as Kingdra tries to go to sleep again, Dragonite can come in and kill it with two dragon claws. There are some other ways to handle Kingdra, but I wanted to mention the way I have used Vaporeon effectively to shut it down.
Suzumiya (Blissey) @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Flamethrower
- Shadow Ball
The EVs on this Blissey are straightforward, like with almost all Blissey. Maximize HP and Def. Done.
Seismic toss and soft-boiled are mandatory moves. The only interesting thing I have to say about Blissey’s seismic toss is that it can combine with Hitmontop’s foresight to hit ghosts like Gengar and Rotom. Even though 99% of the time you will use shadow ball, this is a tactic I have used to hide shadow ball and flamethrower.
Flamethrower is used as a surprise move, but also a burn machine. In a stall match, I have won battles by burning almost an entire team with this Blissey’s flamethrower. This is not something I depend on, but rather can be a bonus. Flamethrower nets nasty surprise kills on incoming Scizor, and Forretress that think they can set up on Blissey. It also helps for Skarmory control, and has a generous amount of PP. If I cannot trick wish+calm mind Jirachi, I will use flamethrower to try to burn the Jirachi and force it to use more wishes. Hippowdon gets a special mention here because it is very difficult to land a toxic on it, given that it will switch out as soon as Vaporeon comes in. So you can use flamethrower to try to burn Hippowdon if you want, but this isn’t advised as something you should always do.
Shadow Ball is my SpDef drop machine, and my ghost killer. I am able to beat out both subsplit Gengar and subsplit Rotom 1v1 with Shadow Ball. I break all of the subs until they are forced to pain split, and when they do that I have a 40% chance of lowering their SpDef. I can safely soft-boiled back up to full so that I am not killed by focus blast or thunderbolt from Gengar and Rotom respectively. Shadow ball is also my way of forcing Starmie out if I need it gone, and even killing it quickly if it’s the last pokemon. It will be forced to recover much more frequently than it normally would on a mono-toss Blissey. I have used the SpDef drops from this Blissey in conjunction with Vaporeon’s surf, Dragonite’s flamethrower, and even Rotom’s discharge.
Blissey overall functions as my premier special wall. Regarding Heatran, I usually will switch Vaporeon into Heatran first, then reveal Blissey later as a check.
Lite (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
- Light Screen
- Discharge
The EVs once again are simple. Maximize HP and Defense. 8 Speed EVs are important to outspeed fast Machamp (max speed 209; this Rotom is 210).
Light Screen + Will-O-Wisp combine together to make this Rotom unbelievably annoying and difficult to kill. The light screen is absolutely integral to the set as it supports all of the physical walls brilliantly (Dragonite gets a special mention), improves Rotom’s performance against Starmie, and most importantly functions to support Hitmontop’s rapid spinning vs opposing special attackers and ghosts. Light screen also provides great Heatran resistance (as even with Vaporeon and Blissey I never would underestimate Heatran), and will make Rotom invalidate standard SR pert.
Discharge is great for supporting potential Jirachi paraflinch shenanigans and the team overall as, if you haven’t noticed, the team aside from Jirachi is quite slow (that means it does well vs. trick room teams, lol). Discharge is especially useful on Clefable, as you will have stall wars with that pokemon and paralyzing it will always be a good idea. Just try to use discharge sparingly and alternate your moves.
Pain split rounds out the set because Rotom needs to heal, and this enables it to invalidate Blissey and Clefable for the most part, like I stated above.
The way I use this Rotom is that I tend to send it out as early as possible to bait out Tyranitar. When doing this, almost always use Will-O-Wisp immediately. If Tyranitar gets in on Rotom and you don’t burn it, you must stay in and go for Will-O-Wisp again. You can then pain split and find a way to get out of there alive, or at worst the Tyranitar will take it with you. I have actually beaten out several Tyranitar using this Rotom alone and living to tell the tale!
So overall Rotom functions as an early scouter, an integral wall to check threats that have not been checked yet, a spinblock, a status-spreader, a supporter with light screen, a PP monster, and an overall irritating pokemon to face.
Threats
The most incredible part about this team is how many conventional threats it somehow can deal with at once, but obviously no team deals with everything. So there are some conventional and obscure threats I wanted to bring to attention.
Conventional Threats (in no particular order)
Kingdra: Kingdra has been mentioned several times in this guide, and for good reason. I view dragon dance + rest Kingdra as the biggest threat to this team. Please refer to the Vaporeon section of this guide for more detail, but to sum it up briefly again, the way I deal with Kingdra is to either trick it with Jirachi or beat it out with Vaporeon + Dragonite + Rotom. In general, however, expect some difficulty facing dragon dance KingdraRoserade: Roserade can be an annoying early game pokemon until its set is scouted, and it can be properly walled. Dragonite is usually the go-to roserade switch-in after hidden power ice has been scouted. Even though Hitmontop is an incredible spinner, Vaporeon and Blissey do not like toxic spikes at all, and Roserade is very good at laying them down against this team. It is more annoying than Nidoqueen because it needs to be scouted out, it is more powerful, and it is faster.
Shaymin: Outside of Blissey, hidden power ice Shaymin can be rough for this team. Try to scout out its hidden power, and if you find out it’s fire, then Dragonite is a shoe-in. Leech seed Shaymin is the annoying one to play around, so an interchanging of Blissey and Dragonite is usually effective, if possible. Hitmontop is another alternative, as it can rapid spin Shaymin's leech seed away, and doesn't give it much health back.
Tyranitar: Even with the wonderful Hitmontop, Tyranitar is still a huge threat to this team if it is not dealt with properly and things don’t go according to plan. In particular, choice band Tyranitar is the scariest variant. Hitmontop can still come in, but this will make it more difficult. To play around it, you do the same methods that I illustrated earlier in the guide, but you have to play more precisely around it.
Jirachi: Despite how incredibly well this team deals with paraflinch Jirachi, there are two incredibly annoying Jirachi sets that are very difficult to deal with: sub calm mind and wish calm mind. Basically, if you don’t trick these Jirachis, you will have a very difficult time against them. You need to be in with Blissey and spamming flamethrower as much as you can, which will break Jirachi’s subs without a calm mind up. In a perfect world, Blissey will beat out wish calm mind Jirachi, but hax is a thing and it will happen. While it is very hard for this Jirachi to 6-0 your team, it can do a ton of damage. Trick both Jirachi sets mentioned if possible.
Suicune: In the same way that calm mind Jirachi is a threat, sub calm mind Suicune also is a huge threat, especially if it has hidden power electric > ice beam as its fourth move. It is not nearly as bad as Jirachi, but can still wreak havoc if not played around properly. CroCune, I want to mention, is handled for sure by interchanging Vaporeon and Blissey, and rapid spinning on the crocune with Hitmontop as soon as possible.
Zapdos: Zapdos is another pokemon that I have gotten much better at playing around over time. It is very hard to poison this, but sometimes you might have to. The way this works is that you will only need to poison it if it’s a bulky variant. So Vaporeon at full health can take a tbolt surprisingly well and surprise the Zapdos with a toxic. Burning Zapdos with Blissey and Rotom is another solid option, as over time it will be forced to use roost a lot more. No matter how you want to spin it, Zapdos is played around by stalling it out usually. If you want to trick it, make sure you’ve solved higher priorities first. But because of the way Zapdos is handled by this team, it can be a big threat in combination with other pokemon that abuse toxic spikes and make Hitmontop’s job difficult.
Skarmory: This team cannot OHKO skarmory bar occasional Rotom discharge KOs (few opponents will let you get away with that). Skarmory should be dealt with by spamming flamethrower with Blissey and Dragonite, surfing it with Vaporeon, and forcing it out with Rotom. Like Zapdos, make it run out of roosts. Also Skarmory can both set up hazards and threaten Hitmontop. Hitmontop can take a brave bird if it needs to get an emergency spin off, but only do this in case of an emergency.
Celebi: Calm mind Celebi thankfully loses to Blissey usually, but the combination of calm mind and leech seed can be very annoying. Dragonite usually can function as a nice switch in to CM Celebi as almost none will ever run HP ice.
Gyarados: Dragon dance Gyarados can never be underestimated. Jirachi is not capable of revenge-killing it, only tricking it if needed. So the one Gyarados that can be very annoying to deal with is taunt and DD. An interchanging of Vaporeon, Dragonite and Hitmontop can make taunt Gyarados have an extremely difficult time sweeping if trick is not on the table. But in this situation if the Gyarados plays perfectly it can clean late game. While hidden power electric is a very tempting option on Vaporeon, it absolutely needs toxic. So don’t replace that if you are having Gyarados issues. Non-taunt variants of Gyarados are shut down by Vaporeon’s toxic or Jirachi’s trick.
Dragonite: Mixnite and CB Nite are huge threats to this team. Because Jirachi is the only steel, you need to pick your spots. Rotom and Vaporeon can take an outrage, and the latter mon can protect and cause confusion. Vaporeon can come into Mixnite once always when at full health, assuming no hazards. And if no sand, it can come in on rocks and a layer of spikes. While Mixnite in theory is ridiculous, switching around can cause it to not do as well.
Magnezone: While Kingdra is, in my opinion, the biggest solo threat to this team, Magnezone is an exception in that the DragMag core is devastating to this team. It’s difficult, but try to play around Magnezone trapping Jirachi if possible. For example, when Aerodactyl suicide rocks is leading, you first iron head it down to its sash. Then, instead of staying in, you switch out immediately to Hitmontop to hopefully finish it and its rocks off with a rapid spin. But while dragmag builds aren’t an auto-win vs my team, they have an extremely strong matchup and it will be difficult to play around. Outside of trapping Jirachi and supporting dragon spam, Magnezone is invalidated by Blissey and light screen Rotom (and by extension other pokemon on the team like Hitmontop).
Metagross: Once Rotom and Vaporeon are out of the equation, the most you have vs Metagross is Dragonite, which even then is not reliable. Burn Metagross as soon as possible. Otherwise, with Rotom and Vaporeon around, Metagross won’t be super threatening. In combination of Tyranitar, however, this can be an issue if you choke or if your opponent outplays you.
Swampert: Swampert is only ever a terrifying threat to this team if it is of the CursePert variant (see obscure threats).
Obscure Threats
To sum up most of the obscure threats, a combination of rest, set-up move, and two attacks will be an issue with specific pokemon. The most notable one is CursePert, like I stated before, but it has to have the exact set of Rest, Curse, Ice Punch, and Earthquake. Without trick, this Swampert, outside of lowering its SpDef with Blissey and then surfing with Vaporeon, will near auto-win. Even non-curse restperts can be stalled out.
However, here are two obscure threats that I can think of:
Lucario: I call this an obscure threat because there is only one set, which is obscure, that will be a huge threat: Swords Dance, Close Combat, Crunch, Ice Punch. Almost nobody would ever not run extremespeed on their SD Luc. The way my team handles conventional Lucario is usually through Dragonite, if Luc has crunch > ice punch; and if the Luc has ice punch > crunch, Rotom will handle. And Hitmontop can intimidate.
Sceptile: SubSeed Sceptile with hidden power ice can be exceptionally annoying because switching between Dragonite and Blissey will be hard. While this can be stalled out anyway, it has to be noted here as a threat. If it has grass knot, Rotom can be used as a switchin. Hitmontop with rapid spin again can be effective.
Conclusion
So, there you have it everyone. This is the best team I have ever made, and by far the most in-depth I’ve ever gone with teambuilding. I’ve never been able to create a team as anti-meta as this. The overall coverage is crazy, and I have truly found it to be incredibly reliable for general use and in tournaments. I feel that I’ve covered everything I can possibly think of for now.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Like I said, this is my first RMT post, and I would definitely appreciate constructive criticism on how to improve the team, and even my format/writing. I tried to be as concise as possible with this while still touching on important details. Also, if anyone has suggestions on how I can become more involved with the Smogon community, definitely shoot me a comment/message! Also, don't hesitate to ask any questions about the team!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, I really appreciate it! And I hope you enjoyed the read.
- Excal
Devangaard (Jirachi) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Trick
- Ice Punch
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
Jinx (Hitmontop) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Def / 60 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Foresight
- Close Combat
- Rest
Faerlina (Dragonite) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Def / 12 Spe
Relaxed Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Flamethrower
- Heal Bell
- Roost
God Serena (Vaporeon) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 188 HP / 252 Def / 64 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Toxic
- Protect
- Surf
Suzumiya (Blissey) @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Flamethrower
- Shadow Ball
Lite (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
- Light Screen
- Discharge
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Trick
- Ice Punch
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
Jinx (Hitmontop) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Def / 60 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Foresight
- Close Combat
- Rest
Faerlina (Dragonite) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Def / 12 Spe
Relaxed Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Flamethrower
- Heal Bell
- Roost
God Serena (Vaporeon) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 188 HP / 252 Def / 64 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Toxic
- Protect
- Surf
Suzumiya (Blissey) @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Flamethrower
- Shadow Ball
Lite (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
- Light Screen
- Discharge
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