Level 100 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
90
|
- |
321 |
384 |
- |
| Atk |
92
|
198 |
220 |
283 |
311 |
| Def |
75
|
167 |
186 |
249 |
273 |
| SpA |
92
|
198 |
220 |
283 |
311 |
| SpD |
85
|
185 |
206 |
269 |
295 |
| Spe |
60
|
140 |
156 |
219 |
240 |
Overview
Without its ability, Abomasnow would certainly be overlooked by many players. However, it is the only fully evolved Pokemon with Snow Warning, making it a staple on hail teams. Also, since hail is the least common weather, it does get some use on balanced teams as an answer to more dangerous weather conditions.
When you look past its ability, you find a Grass / Ice Pokemon with seven weaknesses and only four resistances. It does have decent Attack and Special Attack which, when coupled with its base 60 Speed, instantly bring Choice Scarf to mind. It has very powerful STAB attacks such as Blizzard and Wood Hammer that can make up for its only decent offenses. When you look at its defenses, they are only average, but when coupled with key resistances to Water-, Grass-, and Electric-type attacks, a specially bulky set can be valuable. Its access to useful support options such as Leech Seed also helps mold defensive sets together. All in all, while Abomasnow may seem controversial, its niche as the only fully evolved auto-hail inducer makes it a fierce competitor on the battlegrounds.
With a Choice Scarf, Abomasnow reaches 354 Speed, allowing it to surprise slower foes such as max Speed Tornadus and revenge kill efficiently. Its STAB Blizzard has perfect accuracy under hail and deals massive damage to any Pokemon that doesn't resist it. Grass Knot is the preferred Grass-type attack because it offers great power against heavy foes and doesn't have recoil, allowing Abomasnow to switch in more times. Abomasnow's remaining moves are primarily for the Steel-types that resist its STAB moves: Hidden Power Fire covers Scizor and Ferrothorn, while Earthquake covers Heatran (watch out for Air Balloon) and Magnezone.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
A Hasty nature and 240 Speed EVs allow Abomasnow to outspeed Tornadus by one point without hurting its offenses; max Special Attack maximizes Blizzard's, Grass Knot's, and Hidden Power Fire's damage output; the remaining EVs go into Attack to give Earthquake a small boost. Wood Hammer is an option, as it hits much harder than Grass Knot against lighter opponents. The main reason it isn't recommended is that Abomasnow's health will go down too fast without recovery. If you use Wood Hammer over Grass Knot, switch the EVs to 140 Atk / 128 SpA / 240 Spe, as this provides Abomasnow with enough power to OHKO Swords Dance Scizor with Hidden Power Fire (the most common Scizor variant in this metagame alongside the Choice Band set) if Stealth Rock is on the field. If you prefer a physical Grass STAB but dislike the recoil of Wood Hammer, Seed Bomb can be used instead. However, 60 Base Power is a great difference and may not be worth the lack of recoil.
Although Abomasnow has Earthquake and Hidden Power Fire, it is still a good idea to remove Steel-types via other methods so that Abomasnow can spam Blizzard and Grass Knot more easily. As such, Magnezone is an ideal partner, since it can trap and kill Steel-types without much trouble.
This set takes a defensive approach, utilizing Abomasnow's decent defenses and typing. As the name suggests, Substitute and Leech Seed are the most important moves. Substitute protects Abomasnow from damage and status, and Leech Seed restores its health while simultaneously reducing its opponent's. Blizzard is a great move to have on Abomasnow, as it is powerful and a reliable STAB under hail. When Protect is used alongside Substitute and Leech Seed, Abomasnow can be very annoying because Protect allows it to recover the health it loses from creating Substitutes.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
A Calm nature and the given EV spread provide Abomasnow with good overall bulk to maximize its potential against the Grass-, Water-, and Electric-types that it is supposed to stall. Wood Hammer may seem like an odd suggestion, but it gives Abomasnow a strong STAB move for when it isn't behind a Substitute. Focus Punch can be used if Abomasnow's job is to get rid of Tyranitar and the common Steel-types that like to switch in. When running Focus Punch, a Careful nature should be used as it retains Abomasnow's power without losing its bulk. Taking into account the speedy nature of the metagame, Ice Shard has some uses on the last slot, giving Abomasnow some priority to abuse. A Sassy nature can also be used with an EV spread of 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD to allow other weather inducers to outspeed Abomasnow in order to preserve hail while maximizing its special bulk.
As the goal of this set is to stall, entry hazards are a must as Leech Seed tends to cause switches. Toxic Spikes make the opponent's Pokemon suffer increasing damage each turn, and with Substitute and Protect, it will do wonders draining your opponent's health. Forretress, Roserade, and Tentacruel are the best partners to set them up since they have great bulk.
With access to good coverage moves, decent attacking stats, and a pretty good offensive typing, Abomasnow is certainly an interesting option for a mixed attacker, especially considering it can cause trouble to common rain stall and VoltTurn teams. Wood Hammer is Abomasnow's strongest attack, and while Grass isn't an impressive attacking type, it does hit important Pokemon, such as Rotom-W, Quagsire, Politoed, and Tyranitar. Furthermore, STAB Blizzard complements it very nicely by hitting Dragon-, Grass-, and Flying-types super effectively, as well as denting physical walls, such as Skarmory and Gliscor. Hidden Power Fire rounds off the set by hitting Steel-types, such as Scizor and Ferrothorn, who can absorb Grass- and Ice-moves and retaliate, although you should watch out for the former's Bullet Punch. Ice Shard is used in the last slot in order to hit Dragonite, Landorus, Salamence, and other faster threats that can OHKO Abomasnow.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
While the EV spread seems unorthodox, it gives Abomasnow the ability to outspeed standard Skarmory and other threats such as defensive Tyranitar, defensive Politoed, Choice Band Scizor, and Blissey. It then maximizes Abomasnow's Attack in order to do more damage with Wood Hammer and Ice Shard, and the leftover EVs boost Abomasnow's Special Attack for a stronger Blizzard. If you wish, Earthquake can be used over Hidden Power Fire to hit Specially Defensive Jirachi much harder than Hidden Power Fire; it also OHKOes Heatran and deals over 80% damage to Ninetales, but it should be noted that you cannot OHKO Scizor anymore, and Ferrothorn might be annoying. Protect is also a viable option over Blizzard, as it avoids U-turn / Bullet Punch mindgames against Scizor and wastes a turn, which means your opponent takes hail damage, but if you use it, the Choice item bluff will not work. You can also use Babiri Berry as an item in order to survive Scizor's Bullet Punch, although it's not recommended because it will still do a lot of damage and, without Expert Belt, you lose out on important KOs.
Since Fire-type Pokemon are troublesome for Abomasnow, Heatran and Chandelure are nice teammates, as they can take advantage of opposing Fire-moves with Flash Fire. Additionally, they beat Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Jirachi much more reliably and are excellent Pokemon to use against sun teams. Conkeldurr, Terrakion, Lucario, and other Fighting-type Pokemon are interesting options as well, as they can beat Blissey, Chansey, Ferrothorn, and Tyranitar more reliably, and also resist the Rock-type moves that KO Abomasnow. The christmas tree hates opposing Fighting-types, though. Therefore, Mew, Reuniclus, and Gliscor are good teammates.
When looking at Abomasnow's stat spread, "physical attacker" isn't the first thing that comes to mind. Despite this setback, the Frosted Tree Pokemon can use an extremely effective physical set that focuses on wearing the opponent down while sporting more bulk than a mixed set would have. The set's main selling points are priority Ice Shard, a powerful Wood Hammer or Seed Bomb, and reliable hail setup thanks to greater bulk than other sets.
Abomasnow can use its STAB moves to revenge kill or KO a slower opponent. Ice Shard is one of the reasons this set is so effective; being able to revenge kill Dragon- and Ground-types easily is a great asset. Ice Shard can severely dent, if not OHKO, Latios, Latias, Dragonite, Salamence, Landorus, and Gliscor, making the tree a great support Pokemon for teams that are weak to those threats. Wood Hammer is a powerful STAB move that is great for heavily damaging foes that take neutral damage from Grass-type attacks, though the recoil can sometimes be undesirable. If that is the case, Seed Bomb is an acceptable option to run instead. Protect is a great move for stalling the opponent and scouting, and can be used to increase Leech Seed's effectiveness. Protect and Leech Seed, in tandem with hail and Leftovers, is an excellent way to slowly wear down the opponent while recovering Abomasnow's own HP. Alternatively, Earthquake is a good option that can be used to hit and KO some of Abomasnow's more common counters. Incoming or unsuspecting Pokemon that think that they can safely switch into the the tree, such as Heatran and Ninetales, will be hit extremely hard by Earthquake. If one chooses to run Earthquake, they will also gain the advantage of being able to hit all permanent weather starters for serious damage.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The given EV spread allows for near maximum bulk while still retaining enough Speed to outspeed most Tyranitar and Jellicent. 188 HP EVs also produces a HP stat that maximizes recovery from Leftovers and Leech Seed. HP can be maxed out—also a Leftovers number—to provide better bulk, but Abomasnow will miss the Speed. The Attack EVs are self-explanatory, as this Abomasnow wants to hit as hard as possible. An item swap is also viable for more power. Life Orb can be used to make Abomasnow's attacks much more powerful but it is generally unadvised because the recoil severely hampers Abomasnow's longevity. If you want a bit of both worlds, Expert Belt is a good choice as it provides more power for Ice Shard, while it does not deplete HP.
Because this set loses coverage by not packing Hidden Power, quite a number of Pokemon can wall it, the most notable of which are Steel- and Fire-types. Steel types such as Jirachi, Scizor, Skarmory, and Ferrothorn can all take Abomasnow's attacks with ease and retaliate with either STAB Steel-type attacks or other coverage moves they run. Fire-type Pokemon such as Ninetales, Heatran, and Chandelure also resist both of Abomasnow's STAB attacks and can net an OHKO with a 4x super effective STAB move of their own. Although Earthquake can help check these Pokemon, their harsh flames are just too overwhelming for poor Abomasnow. As a teammate, Tentacruel can help ease the tree's weaknesses with its numerous resistances, Rapid Spin support, and ability to lay Toxic Spikes. Pokemon that resist Abomasnow's weaknesses and can damage Steel- and Fire-types are also great team options. Two Pokemon that fill this role excellently are Gliscor and Heatran because they synergize well with Abomasnow. Finally, because a burn is so crippling to this set, a cleric can be of great use while also healing any poison and paralysis.
Give Abomasnow a Choice Band and it reaches its maximum offensive potential. This set lures in and defeats opposing weather inducers and common Abomasnow switch-ins. Wood Hammer OHKOes specially defensive Tyranitar and physically defensive Politoed while 2HKOing any Hippowdon. Earthquake OHKOes 252 HP / 0 Def Ninetales with ease, destroys Heatran, and deals 69.8% - 82.7% to specially defensive Jirachi. This set is a great addition to hail teams, as they often fail to get past these threats if they use Kyurem as their main attacker. As all these Pokemon have little to fear from other Abomasnow sets, Abomasnow can frequently lure them in and take them out. Abomasnow can also work as an excellent revenge killer with Ice Shard, as STAB Ice-type priority is excellent in a metagame filled with offensive Dragon-types such as Dragonite and Salamence. Abomasnow gets enough coverage with Wood Hammer, Ice Shard, and Earthquake; as such, it doesn't regularly use its fourth move. Focus Punch, however, is still usable in certain situations; it KOes Air Balloon Heatran hoping to switch into an Earthquake and eliminates Tyranitar without forcing Abomasnow to take recoil from Wood Hammer. It also OHKOes Blissey, and even Chansey falls after Stealth Rock and hail damage. Because decent prediction skills are needed to use Focus Punch effectively, Brick Break is a viable alternative even though the loss in power is considerable.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Abomasnow's Attack is maximized so that it can hit as hard as possible, and 84 Speed EVs allow it to outspeed minimum Speed Politoed and Tyranitar. The remaining 172 EVs are placed into HP to provide extra bulk and offset Wood Hammer's recoil. An alternative EV spread of 118 HP / 252 Atk / 140 Spe allows Abomasnow to outspeed minimum Speed Heatran. There are a few other moves Abomasnow can use in the last slot, but before considering them, be aware of the benefits of Focus Punch:
- Focus Punch vs. 252/88+ Ferrothorn 80.7% - 95.5%
- Focus Punch vs. 248/0 Scizor 61.8% - 72.9%
- Focus Punch vs. 252/252+ Skarmory 36.2% - 42.8%
- Focus Punch vs. 252/252+ Forretress 33.9% - 40.1%
- Focus Punch vs. 252/252+ Bronzong 40.8% - 48.2%
Ice Punch is more powerful than Ice Shard, but Abomasnow's low Speed stat means that Ice Shard is usually the better choice. Avalanche has -4 priority, but it gives Abomasnow a 120 Base Power move if attacked by the foe; then again, Abomasnow should not take hits if it can avoid them. Seed Bomb is weaker than Wood Hammer, but it lacks recoil damage and can still 2HKO Blissey and Hippowdon after Stealth Rock. Hidden Power Fire can be used to deal heavy damage to physically defensive Steel-types such as Forretress, which can take all of Abomasnow's physical moves. Use a Lonely nature and transfer 4 EVs from HP into Speed if Abomasnow decides to go mixed. However, Hidden Power Fire will be weak without Special Attack investment, and it is a bad move to be locked into. Finally, Rock Slide is a niche option to destroy incoming Volcarona.
Steel-types are at the top of Abomasnow's list of counters. Scizor is particularly dangerous, as it can switch in on Wood Hammer or Ice Shard and threaten to KO with Bullet Punch or U-turn. Forretress, Skarmory, and Bronzong also have an easy time against Abomasnow as they are not 2HKOed by any of its moves. Therefore, Magnezone is an excellent teammate because it can trap and KO these Pokemon with Hidden Power Fire. Faster Pokemon with Fire- and Fighting-type moves can KO Abomasnow with ease if they can safely switch in; Infernape, Terrakion, and Mienshao are just some of the full stops to Abomasnow. Slowbro and Reuniclus make good teammates as they can take on these Fighting-types. Gyarados is also an excellent choice to tank Fire- and Fighting-type moves directed at Abomasnow, but it brings another Rock-type weakness. Residual damage is also a major problem for Abomasnow, as it will receive recoil from Wood Hammer and has a weakness to Stealth Rock. Furthermore, it is vulnerable to Spikes and Toxic Spikes and does not have Leftovers to restore its HP. Abomasnow thus appreciates Rapid Spin and Wish support. Tentacruel can spin entry hazards away, has excellent defensive synergy with Abomasnow, and is a great check to Scizor. It can also lay Toxic Spikes to help weaken the opponent's offensive Pokemon to the point where Abomasnow can take them out with Ice Shard. Vaporeon is a great Wish passer due to its high HP and bulk, and Abomasnow is able to switch in on the Grass- and Electric-type attacks that Vaporeon is weak to in order to receive the Wish. Lastly, Heatran can take most of the special attacks aimed at Abomasnow and lay down Stealth Rock to rack up more residual damage on the opponent's Pokemon.
Other Options
Abomasnow has plenty of STAB moves to choose from. Ice Punch is its strongest physical Ice STAB, but it is inferior to Blizzard. Giga Drain is a possibility for the SubSeed set to restore more health, so it can be used over Protect (Blizzard can't be replaced or Grass-types wall the set completely).
Checks and Counters
Abomasnow suffers heavily from its poor typing; with an astonishing total of seven weaknesses, it is very hard to preserve Abomasnow without proper team support. Even with coverage moves such as Earthquake and Wood Hammer, Ninetales and Tyranitar are extremely hard for Abomasnow to face because they not only have super effective STAB moves, but also summon their own weather. Additionally, Tyranitar might pack Stealth Rock, which severely limits Abomasnow's switch-in opportunities. Common priority users such as Scizor, Lucario, and Conkeldurr will all severely damage Abomasnow due to their high Attack. This also extends to all Fighting-types that can tank a hit from Abomasnow and demolish it swiftly with STAB moves. Reuniclus is very problematic for Abomasnow to deal with, as it takes no damage from hail or Leech Seed and can KO with Focus Blast.
Steel-types also have their way against Abomasnow, as they resist its STAB and can tank Hidden Power Fire with ease. Jirachi, Metagross, and even Bronzong will wreck Abomasnow with STAB Steel moves such as Iron Head or Gyro Ball. Additionally, all three of the aforementioned Steel-types can use Stealth Rock, so Abomasnow will not be able to switch back in easily for fear of losing 25% of its health. Fire-type Pokemon such as Heatran, Infernape, and Volcarona all maul Abomasnow with their super effective STAB moves. Additionally, Infernape and Volcarona can take the turn that Abomasnow switches out on as an opportunity to set up and sweep soon after.
Abomasnow's low offenses by OU standards allow standard walls such as Chansey, Skarmory, and Ferrothorn to walk all over it. While Ferrothorn does have to be wary of the uncommon Hidden Power Fire, Abomasnow in turn has to worry about STAB Gyro Ball. Chansey can Toxic stall Abomasnow, and Skarmory and Ferrothorn do well in setting up hazards or crippling the switch-ins through damage or status. Speaking of entry hazards, Spikes and Toxic Spikes cripple Abomasnow badly and heavily limit its survivability. Furthermore, struggle can be applied to any wall that Abomasnow does not have the power to break through, and one can use the turn that Abomasnow switches out on as an opportunity to gain momentum.
