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
Abomasnow is a unique Pokemon, but that doesn't mean anything in the competitive environment. Here, peer scrutiny favors only the best of the best, and simply said, Abomasnow isn't among them. Its typing brings it a total of seven weaknesses, many of which are common types such as Steel, Fire, and Fighting. This is compounded by a further weakness to Stealth Rock, mediocre stats all-around, and a barely adequate movepool; from this, it would seem that Abomasnow's fate in the OU tier is pretty clear.
Nonetheless, Abomasnow's merits are enough to make it worth considering. For a start, it's the only auto-hail inducer in the game, and though this limits the variety of Pokemon you can use alongside it, Snow Warning does give it a nice niche in the metagame. Abomasnow's typing also has its advantages; resistances to Water and Electric, along with a neutrality to Ice, make it a great check to the many Water-types of the tier. Abomasnow also boasts two high-powered STAB options in Wood Hammer and Blizzard to make up for its middling attacking stats. All in all, no matter how you look at it, Abomasnow is a mixed bag of a Pokemon, and probably not worth using unless you need its unique talents.
Abomasnow's typing makes it particularly good at dealing with the many Water-types in the OU tier, as well as just about any other special attacker that lacks a super effective attack, such as Jolteon. This allows it a good number of opportunities to switch in and stall out an opponent with Leech Seed. Protect and Substitute help with the execution of this strategy, although Abomasnow's poor Speed stat makes the latter an unreliable option. The last two moveslots provide dedicated STAB attacks. Wood Hammer and Blizzard are the more reliable and powerful options, but Grass Knot and Ice Shard make viable alternatives. The former's advantage over Wood Hammer is its lack of recoil, while the latter is an ever-useful priority move.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Due to its typing, basically every physical attacker in the metagame will be able to hit Abomasnow super effectively. Hence, Abomasnow should focus on special bulk instead of physical defense. In terms of other options, Abomasnow can use Focus Punch in conjunction with Substitute to deal with the Steel-types that generally trouble it. Abomasnow can also run a faster spread with a Timid nature, but it does not have that much Speed to work with, and would therefore prefer additional bulk.
Toxic Spikes—entry hazards in general, for that matter—are excellent alongside Abomasnow, simply because of the nature of this strategy. Tentacruel is an excellent candidate to take up this task as it has decent bulk and near-perfect type synergy with Abomasnow. It also has access to Rapid Spin, which gets rid of entry hazards your opponent might set up. Pokemon with hail-related abilities, such as Snow Body and Snow Cloak, pair well with Abomasnow for obvious reasons. However, including too many Ice-types on your team can make it incredibly vulnerable to Fighting- and Fire-type attacks, so be sure to patch up this weakness with Ghost- and Fire-type Pokemon, such as Rotom-A and Heatran, respectively. Finally, Kingdra deserves a special mention, as it is able to very easily come in on any Fire-type attack aimed at Abomasnow and set up Dragon Dance boosts with near-impunity.
While Abomasnow's attacking stats are average at best, its powerful and reliable STAB options in Blizzard and Wood Hammer still let it pose a viable offensive threat. With a Choice Scarf attached, Abomasnow will be able to outspeed many Pokemon it otherwise couldn't, including Dragonite, Infernape, and Gengar, which makes it that much more dangerous. Hidden Power Fire and Earthquake cover the Steel-types that resist both Abomasnow's STABs; while the former deals with Scizor and Forretress, the latter demolishes Heatran.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The EV spread allows Abomasnow to outspeed positive-natured base 110s, as well as always OHKO physically defensive Forretress with Hidden Power Fire after Stealth Rock. Whatever's left is then dumped in Attack to power up the rest of its moves as much as possible. Focus Punch is an option to hit Blissey, who walls the rest of the set. If you'd prefer not to split EVs, Abomasnow can also go fully special with Grass Knot and Focus Blast over Wood Hammer and Earthquake. As this Abomasnow will likely have to switch a lot, a Rapid Spin user is advised; Tentacruel and Starmie are both excellent candidates that have good synergy with Abomasnow. On a dedicated hail team, Abomasnow can perform the role of a revenge killer adequately, and works well with mixed attacking Mamoswine, who can break down walls with its own 100% accurate STAB Blizzard.
Abomasnow's movepool and stats are sufficient to run a decent mixed set with four attacking moves. Blizzard and Wood Hammer are the powerful STAB moves that make this set viable, and they hit a variety of threats for good damage. Ice Shard is STAB priority that is especially useful for picking off Dragon-type Pokemon, while Earthquake covers the Steel-types that resist the rest of the moveset. If you're feeling especially bold, you could run the more powerful but much riskier Focus Punch, which also deals major damage to Blissey, another troublesome Pokemon. Without any form of protection though, you'd have to have some impressive prediction skills to make it work.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Despite the typically offensive nature of this set, Leftovers is the preferred item choice here for survivability, as Abomasnow will be switching a lot and thus taking huge amounts of damage from entry hazards. Life Orb tends to drastically shorten Abomasnow's lifespan, but can be worth it on incredibly fast-paced offensive teams. Both attacking stats should be maximized as Abomasnow will want all the power that it can get, with no Life Orb. One can also consider diverting some EVs into Speed to outrun specific threats; at least a neutral nature is required to outspeed Blissey and Swampert, and a further 84 EVs are needed for Skarmory. Hidden Power Fire can be used to net the OHKO on Forretress and Scizor, while Substitute and Protect can ease prediction.
As for teammates, Abomasnow appreciates a team that can cover for its poor Speed stat, such as by means of paralysis support. Rotom-A is able to provide this with Thunder Wave, and can switch in for free on any Fighting-type attacks aimed at Abomasnow; it can also benefit from Abomasnow's indefinite hail with its access to Blizzard. Other than that, the usual hail Pokemon make obvious teammates.
With a pair of slick Choice Specs on, Abomasnow's Blizzard packs quite a punch, and despite Abomasnow's only modest Special Attack, it will do solid damage to anything that doesn't resist it and isn't named Blissey or Snorlax. Grass Knot is secondary STAB and covers Water-types, and also hits Rock-types such as Tyranitar both more powerfully and more reliably. Hidden Power Fire OHKOes even the most specially defensive of Scizor and Forretress, and stands a chance to 2HKO Bronzong as well. Finally, a Fighting-type move in Focus Blast helps round off the coverage by KOing switch-ins such as Heatran and Tyranitar with ease. Even though it's super effective, Focus Blast still doesn't even come close to 2HKOing Blissey, so Focus Punch is a fair alternative to do just that; it is weaker in almost every other aspect, though.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Maximize Special Attack and then overall bulk, but take 4 EVs out of HP to reduce Stealth Rock damage. This Abomasnow can use a faster spread with a Timid nature, but it is not recommended.
Choice Specs Abomasnow abhors Stealth Rock, and appreciates its removal. Starmie and Tentacruel make excellent spinners due to their synergy with Abomasnow. Donphan can also do this, as well as provide a sturdy Rock resist for Abomasnow. Furthermore, it is able to lay Stealth Rock effectively, which can help secure several KOs for Abomasnow. Finally, the slow Abomasnow appreciates paralysis support, which can be provided by Slowbro, who resists Fire and Fighting, although it shares a weaknegss to Bu.
Other Options
A Choice Band set might seem appealing, but Abomasnow lacks a good neutral physical STAB attack, and will often find itself being forced out or taking more damage than it can dish out. A Swords Dance set is not recommended for the same reason; in addition, it requires too much prediction to be effective, and many of the KOs it nabs can be accomplished without Swords Dance. Seed Bomb can replace Wood Hammer on any Abomasnow set if you don't like the recoil, while Energy Ball can replace Grass Knot to hit lighter Pokemon, but most of its targets are quite heavy anyway. Abomasnow has access to Light Screen, Safeguard, and Mist, but there are so many bulkier Pokemon that would make better use of these moves that you shouldn't try it with Abomasnow.
Checks and Counters
Scizor resists both of Abomasnow's STABs and can destroy it with Bullet Punch before Abomasnow can even make a move; Scizor also packs U-turn to ruin any Leech Seed shenanigans. Bronzong and Forretress both counter Abomasnow decently with Gyro Ball, but their lack of Speed makes them easy targets for Leech Seed. Metagross doesn't take much damage from Earthquake and can easily OHKO with Meteor Mash; Bullet Punch also does massive damage, and helps thwart Leech Seed attempts. Jirachi shrugs off Earthquake too and can U-turn or simply tear down Abomasnow with Iron Head or Fire Punch. Tyranitar despises being hit by Wood Hammer and must beware of Focus Punch, but can switch in easily on Blizzard and negate its perfect accuracy with Sand Stream. Tyranitar can then hit back with a super effective Stone Edge or a powerful Crunch.
Fire-types such as Heatran are big problems if Abomasnow doesn't pack Earthquake, and even then, many are faster, capable of switching into Ice-type attacks with ease, and able to revenge kill with little to no consequence. Stone Edge Gyarados is another good check as its high Special Defense allows it to sponge neutral STAB attacks quite well; it also has the option of using Taunt to block Leech Seed. Weavile greatly fears Focus Punch and takes considerable damage from Wood Hammer, but is immune to the effects of Snow Warning and can outspeed and KO with Brick Break or Low Kick. Switching into Abomasnow can be very annoying, so prey on any of its many weaknesses and keep attacking, and it will fall soon enough.
