Most Pokemon battles revolve around hitting hard and hitting fast until your opponent drops. That's not the only way to play, though. There's a secondary method of play popular in competitive battling - stalling. This is an indirect playstyle that focuses on heavily defensive Pokemon and wearing down opponents gradually.
The best stall Pokemon typically have high defense, a way of healing themselves, and a good selection of passive support moves. It might not sound like the most exciting way to battle, but there's a surprising amount of good Pokemon. Each has its own unique way of grinding down its enemies until they go down.
Updated August 30, 2021 By Adriano Valente:Every Pokemon has its own unique set of strengths and skills. It’s up to trainers to determine what those strengths are, and make the most out of them. There are plenty of Pokemon that have what it takes to be good stallers in battle. High defense and the right combination of moveset and ability play a significant role in determining a Pokemon’s potential as a staller. As can certain held items that really benefit some Pokemon in battle. Some great Pokemon have already been highlighted, so here are a few more who’d be great stall Pokemon on your team.
15 Tentacruel
- Type: Water/Poison
- Weaknesses: Ground (2×), Electric (2×), Psychic (2×)
- Held Item: Black Sludge
With average Attack and Special Attack, Tentacruel’s offensive capabilities aren’t going to scare many trainers off. But if used right, it can make for a solid staller.
Its 120 Special Defense really compensates for the 65 base Defense. Trainers should prioritize investing EV’s into Tentacruel’s speed, as well as its HP and bulking up its Defense. Moves like Rapid Spin, Protect and Toxic Spikes, coupled with Black Sludge as its held Item make Tentacruel a fun stalking option for any party.
14 Gliscor
- Type: Ground/Flying
- Weaknesses: Water (2×), Ice (4×)
- Held Item: Toxic Orb
Gliscor might not seem like a natural staller, but trainers can definitely pull it off. With 125 Defense and 95 Speed to go alongside 95 Attack, Gliscor can take on a much more active role in battle.
Its Poison Heal ability, coupled with a Toxic Orb make for a surefire way to raise its HP. Gliscor’s Special Defense stat is still a little too low, so putting EVs into that as well as its HP would be beneficial. Teaching it Roost, Swords Dance and Venoshock can let Gliscor serve as a secondary sweeper as well.
13 Comfey
- Type: Fairy
- Weaknesses: Poison (2×), Steel (2×)
- Held Item: Rocky Helmet
It might not look the part, but Comfey is one of the tougher Pokemon on this list. The little Fairy-type has great base stats, with the exception of its low HP and Attack. High Defense and Special Defense make Comfey a durable option in battle.
Its 100 Speed and 82 Special Attack allow trainers the versatility to use Comfey in a more attack-heavy role. Giving it a Rocky Helmet and teaching it Protect, Draining Kiss and U-Turn would really help round out its role.
12 Milotic
- Type: Water
- Weaknesses: Grass (2x), Electric (2x)
- Held Item: Leftovers
With its only real weakness being its base Attack, Mioltic would be a great stall Pokemon on most teams. High HP and Special Defense help balance out its average Defense, and its high Special Attack give trainers plenty of options.
Give Miotic leftovers and teach it Rest to take advantage of its Marvel Scale ability. Be sure to add Protect and Hydro Pump to its moveset as well.
11 Clawitzer
- Type: Water
- Weaknesses: Grass (2x), Electric (2x)
- Held Item: Leftovers
Solid Defense and Special Defense stats give Clawitzer a fighting chance in most battles. Subpar Speed likely means that trainers won’t be able to take advantage of Clawitzer’s 120 Special Attack as often as they’d like.
Clawitzer’s Mega Launcher ability allows it to take advantage of some useful moves in its learnset. Aura Sphere’s power gets a 50% boost because of it, and trainers can use a combination of Protect and Heal Pulse to keep Clawitzer in the fight. Heal Pulse’s effectiveness increases from ½ HP restored to ¾ with the Mega Launcher ability.
10 Whimsicott
- Type: Grass/Fairy
- Weaknesses: Flying (2×), Poison (4×), Steel (2×), Fire (2×), Ice (2×)
- Held Item: Leftovers
One of the most underrated stalling Pokemon. Whimsicott can have the ability Prankster, which makes status moves take priority and go first regardless of Speed checks. The combination of Substitute, Leech Seed, and Encore make it extremely annoying and hard to take down. A well-timed Encore can even out-stall other stallers by preventing them from recovering health.
Running Whimsicott can be difficult. Leech Seed has no effect against other Grass-types. It also has low HP compared to others on this list, so once its Substitute goes down, it won't last much longer.
9 Hippowdon
- Type: Ground
- Weaknesses: Water (2x), Grass (2x), Ice (2x)
- Held Item: Leftovers
Hippowdon is a pretty standard bulky Pokemon. It has high HP and Defense, a good healing move in Slack Off, and can learn a variety of good support moves. One thing sets it apart from the rest: Sand Stream. This ability kicks up a sandstorm whenever Hippowdon switches in. Combined with Toxic, Hippowdon grinds down opponents at a fast rate.
Sandstorm is a double-edged sword. It'll do damage to your own Pokemon if Hippowdon is switched out. It's also a very passive Pokemon, and isn't great at taking down opponents by itself.
8 Snorlax
- Type: Normal
- Weaknesses: Fighting (2x)
- Held Item: Leftovers
Snorlax has been a fixture of competitive play for a long time. It isn't as popular as it once was, but it shouldn't be skipped over. Snorlax has a gigantic HP stat combined with great Attack and Special Defense. One of the most common strategies for Snorlax is using Curse. Curse will cut Snorlax's Speed in exchange for boosting Attack and Defense. Since Snorlax is already very slow, decreasing Speed further won't hurt it too much.
Rest and the Thick Fat ability increase Snorlax's survivability even more. As a Normal-type with rather low Defense, it's a sitting duck for Fighting-type Pokemon. It can also have trouble with Ghost-types and being Burned or Poisoned.
7 Ferrothorn
- Type: Grass/Poison
- Weaknesses: Fighting (2x), Fire (4x)
- Held Item: Leftovers
There was once a time when Ferrothorn ruled the Pokemon metagame. It's no longer the Pokemon to beat, but it's still very popular. Steel/Grass is a good defensive typing, and Ferrothorn can use Leech Seed to keep itself alive. The ability Iron Barbs and hazard moves like Spikes chip down its opponents slowly but surely.
Speed is Ferrothorn's worst stat. Most opponents will be one step ahead of it. It also has a glaring weakness against Fire-type attacks. Trainers who use Ferrothorn should be very aware of their opponent's team setup.
6 Quagsire
- Type: Water/Ground
- Weaknesses: Grass (4x)
- Held Item: Leftovers
Quagsire has access to the ability Unaware. That means it ignores opponents' Attack boosts when it takes damage. Switching in Quagsire is a great way to ruin a sweeper's day, making those three turns of Swords Dance they just did useless. It has decent Defensive stats and HP, and can also use Recover to restore its health. With moves like Earthquake and Scald, it can deal some damage as well.
Like Ferrothorn, Quagsire's typing gives it a huge weakness to Grass-type attacks. Its Special Defense is also somewhat lackluster for a wall.
5 Chansey
- Type: Normal
- Weaknesses: Fighting (2x)
- Held Item: Eviolite
Ever since the first games, Chansey has been one of the most effective tanks. Its HP is monstrous, and it has great Special Defense to boot. Chansey also has access to useful healing moves like Heal Bell and Soft-Boiled. Taking a Chansey down can be incredibly difficult. It also can use stall team staples like Toxic and Stealth Rock to dish out some damage.
Why Chansey and not its evolution Blissey? As a not-fully-evolved Pokemon, Chansey can use Eviolite, boosting its Defense even higher than Blissey. Blissey doesn't have access to any particularly useful moves that Chansey doesn't.
4 Aegislash
- Type: Steel/Ghost
- Weaknesses: Ground (2x), Ghost (2x), Fire (2x), Dark (2x)
- Held Item: Leftovers
Aegislash was once so powerful that Smogon banned it from most tiers of competitive play. The ban has since been lifted, but Aegislash is still a powerful and versatile Pokemon. When in the Shield Forme, it has great defenses. It can attack with Shadow Ball or Gyro Ball before switching back to defense mode with its signature move, King's Shield.
One option is running Aegislash with Toxic and Substitute. This will make it extremely annoying to hit while it whittles down its opponent. However, this set means missing out on its powerful attacks.
3 Clefable
- Type: Fairy
- Weaknesses: Poison (2x), Steel (2x)
- Held Item: Leftovers
Clefable can have two of the best abilities in the game. Unaware, which was already touched on with Quagsire, and Magic Guard. Clefable can be a fantastic medic/wall hybrid with moves like Heal Bell and Wish. It can also be a decent damage dealer with Moonblast and other special attacks. Trainers that love status moves can give it Thunder Wave or Toxic.
Clefable has a wide selection of moves, but it can't counter everyone. It should be especially wary of Steel-type attacks. Physical attacks in general give it a bit more trouble than Special ones.
2 Skarmory
- Type: Steel/Flying
- Weaknesses: Fire (2x), Electric (2x)
- Held Item: Rocky Helmet
For a very long time, Skarmory was the first Pokemon trainers thought of when it came to stallers. Steel/Flying is a great type that resists most attacks and has no 4x weaknesses. Skarmory also has access to Spikes, Stealth Rock, and a recovery move in Roost. Tie it all together with good Defense and you have a staple of many a team.
There's one issue with Skarmory - it has a hard time dealing damage. Its Attack stats are not great, and it can't use very many offensive moves that work with a staller strategy. Some trainers run Skarmory without any attacking moves at all - but that's a risky game to play.
1 Toxapex
- Type: Poison/Water
- Weaknesses: Ground (2x), Electric (2x), Psychic (2x)
- Held Item: Black Sludge
If Skarmory is no longer the number one staller, then who is? It's Toxapex. Toxapex checks all of the boxes needed to make the ideal staller. It resists many move types, has amazing Defense and Special Defense, and can use a huge variety of support moves. Best of all, it can have Regenerator, one of the most powerful abilities in the game. When switching out, it'll regenerate up to a third of its HP.
Toxapex is incredibly strong, but it has its weaknesses like any other. Ground-types are immune to its Poison attacks. It needs to be especially careful of Taunt - without its various status moves, Toxapex is essentially useless.