So I've been messing around with a few stall teams and I got to wondering whether it's better to have a wall great at soaking both physical and special damage, or one that takes practically nothing from one or the other, but not both.
Dedicated Walls
While technically, you could max out EVs in their off stat and make them somewhat more survivable against those hits, it's typically only just enough to live through an unexpected attack. However, these Pokémon are exceptional at blocking out anything in their specialized field that doesn't outright super them (or, in some cases, even attacks that do super them - a Life Orb Gengar's Focus Blast will only hit Blissey for 30% life at most) and can typically end up forcing a switch, either due to Choice locks, or through sheer attrition. Keeping these Pokémon on your team makes you awfully predictable as to who's coming in for the next attack, though. Usually these walls are set to only either entry hazard utility or pure stalling, as several of them lack an exceptional attack/special attack stat, and offensive movepools tend to be limited. A few, like Snorlax and Hippowdon, can still hit back reasonably hard, though.
Balanced Walls
While the balanced walls tend not to be able to completely negate any single kind of attack against them, they're still very much able to live through nearly any non-super attack. They also tend to be much, much more plentiful in terms of options. Generally the strategy with these tend to differ, as well, with some able to play a PP/Toxic stalling game and landing hits here and there, while others boost up their defense specialty and then start cleaning up if left unhindered. Still others are around only to set up support or status before a dedicated wall comes in.
Yeah, what're your thoughts? Seems like balanced walls can reduce a lot of necessary switches and hold their own in more situations, but there's no denying how well things like Skarmory and Blissey can just shut down a Choice...
Dedicated Walls
While technically, you could max out EVs in their off stat and make them somewhat more survivable against those hits, it's typically only just enough to live through an unexpected attack. However, these Pokémon are exceptional at blocking out anything in their specialized field that doesn't outright super them (or, in some cases, even attacks that do super them - a Life Orb Gengar's Focus Blast will only hit Blissey for 30% life at most) and can typically end up forcing a switch, either due to Choice locks, or through sheer attrition. Keeping these Pokémon on your team makes you awfully predictable as to who's coming in for the next attack, though. Usually these walls are set to only either entry hazard utility or pure stalling, as several of them lack an exceptional attack/special attack stat, and offensive movepools tend to be limited. A few, like Snorlax and Hippowdon, can still hit back reasonably hard, though.
Balanced Walls
While the balanced walls tend not to be able to completely negate any single kind of attack against them, they're still very much able to live through nearly any non-super attack. They also tend to be much, much more plentiful in terms of options. Generally the strategy with these tend to differ, as well, with some able to play a PP/Toxic stalling game and landing hits here and there, while others boost up their defense specialty and then start cleaning up if left unhindered. Still others are around only to set up support or status before a dedicated wall comes in.
Yeah, what're your thoughts? Seems like balanced walls can reduce a lot of necessary switches and hold their own in more situations, but there's no denying how well things like Skarmory and Blissey can just shut down a Choice...
