The 17 Best Pokemon To Use As Stallers

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 December 5, 2024, by Hamza Haq: Stalling is one of the most annoying tactics in competitive Pokemon battling, but its effectiveness for securing wins is undeniable. Pokemon that excel at stalling typically need an ability to complement this playstyle, decent defensive stats, and good defensive typing, preferably a combination of all three. With new generations of Pokemon being introduced every day, it’s hard to keep track of the current meta and who the best Pokemon for stalling are.

17 Tentacruel

Generation 1

• 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.

16 Gliscor

Generation 4

• 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.

15 Comfey

Generation 7

• 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.

14 Milotic

Generation 3

• 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.

13 Clawitzer

Generation 6

• 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.

12 Amoongus

Generation 5

• Type: Grass/Poison
• Weaknesses: Ground (2x), Electric (2x), Psychic (2x)
• Held Item: Rocky Helmet/Black Sludge

A Grass/Poison Pokemon, Amoongus has an extremely defensive typing, one that makes it resistant to Water, Electric, Grass, Fighting, and Fairy, all extremely common offensive typings that are often a part of a competitive team. It also has balanced bulk (114 HP, 70 Def, 80 Sp. Def), which ensures that it doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses for the enemy to take advantage of.

But the reason it’s one of the best Pokemon to use a Staller is its hidden ability, Regenerator, which allows it to recover ⅓ of its maximum HP when switched out. This allows Amoongus to come in, tank a couple of moves, and switch out with basically full health. Its best move is Spore, which is one of the only ways to inflict the Sleep status with a 100 accuracy. While this move doesn’t work on Grass types, that’s a small price to pay to cover every other type.

11 Quagsire

Generation 2

• 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.

Unfortunately, Quagsire’s typing gives it a huge weakness to Grass-type attacks. Its Special Defense is also somewhat lackluster for a wall.

10 Whimsicott

Generation 5

• 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

Generation 4

• 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

Generation 1

• 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

Generation 5

• 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 Clodsire

Generation 9

• Type: Poison/Ground
• Weaknesses: Water (2x), Ice (2x), Ground (2x), Psychic (2x)
• Held Item: Heavy-Duty Boots

Clodsire has one of the most coveted Pokemon abilities for any Staller in the scene: Unaware. Unaware makes it so that Clodsire ignores any and all stat changes on the field, essentially making moves like Dragon Dance, Quiver Dance, Shell Smash, and many more entirely useless. Combined with the fact that Clodsire has excellent bulk (130 HP, 100 Sp. Def), it can function as an excellent wall in most situations. Water Absorb is also a great option sometimes, as it gets rid of one of its main weaknesses, Water.

Additionally, Clodsire has access to its pick of entry Hazards and can choose between Stealth Rock, Toxic Spikes, and Spikes to annoy incoming Pokemon. Its main weakness is its Physical Defense (60) which can be capitalized on by a sufficiently powerful physical attacker. On top of that, it gets access to both Toxic and Recover, one of the most annoying combos in existence.

5 Dondozo

Generation 9

• Type: Water
• Weaknesses: Grass (2x), Electric (2x)
• Held Item: Heavy-Duty Boots

Among the new Pokemon introduced in Generation 9, Dondozo is one of the most notable Stallers and has quickly become a mainstay of the competitive battling scene since. When built correctly, Dondozo becomes an immovable wall against physical attackers, with the ability to stall these attackers nearly indefinitely. The reason this is so is because of two main factors.

Not only does it have excellent physical defense (115) and HP (150), but it also boasts the ability Unaware, a coveted special ability for all Stallers which makes the Pokemon ignore stat changes made by setup moves. Setup sweepers become severely inconvenienced by this ability, and it can easily spell defeat for them if they don’t have any answers. Thanks to its pure Water typing, it has no glaring weaknesses. And best of all, Dondozo is not just a passive staller meant to stop the offensive. Its physical attack (100) is nothing to scoff at, and something it can take full advantage of using its most potent STAB move, Waterfall.

4 Chansey

Generation 1

• 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.

3 Clefable

Generation 1

• 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

Generation 2

• 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

Generation 7

• 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.