Hello, all! This is my first RMT, and I will be posting my (so far) successful hail stall team. The team focuses on using hail and poison, while taking advantage of some unique typings and abilities to systematically break down my opponent...sounds better when I put it that way, eh? My rating has been hovering around the upper-mid 1100s, but I recently broke the 1200 mark with a couple of changes. However, this team is obviously not perfect, and I hope that the wonderful Smogon community will be able to help. Without further ado, here is Hail Stall!
Abomasnow@Focus Sash
Snow Warning
252 Atk/252 Spe/4 HP
Adamant
- Protect
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Wood Hammer
Abomasnow is an absolute requirement for my team, as it sets up the ever useful hail. Ice types are much less common than ground/rock/steel types, so I decided that hail is the best residual damage one can find (at least weather wise). Abomasnow doesn't always lead, but I almost always put him up front for teams that don't have a weather starter. Protect buys a free turn of hail/poison damage, and for scouting. Ice Shard provides some crucial priority to the team, and allows Abomasnow to function well as a lead. Earthquake is mostly for fire types, especially Shandera, who usually falls after 2 turns of hail damage and one Earthquake. Wood Hammer OHKOs Politoed, and is an overall powerful attack. Focus Sash ensure I can KO whatever my opponent throws out there, and makes Abomasnow a surprisingly good answer to things like Deoxys and Shandera. The EVs are dumped into Attack and Speed. To make this clear: I don't know too much about where to put EVs, so I usually follow Smogon sets (sometimes adding some extra EVs in Speed to outspeed opposing same-speed Pokemon).
Problems: His attacks are resisted by a lot of Pokemon, and it would be nice to get some extra power behind his attacks. However, I'm hesitant to replace Focus Sash because his survivability isn't that great.
Gliscor@Toxic Orb
Poison Heal
252 HP/252 Spe/4 SpD
Impish
- Fling
- Acrobat
- Earthquake
- Protect
Gliscor is simply amazing. Poison Heal restores more health that hail takes away his typing and natural bulk makes him an answer to many key and prevalent threats in the current metagame. Fling means Gliscor can toxic something once he's done, and he can poison those nasty flying/levitating Pokemon that are immune to Toxic Spikes. Coincidentally, Acrobat doubles in power once the orb is gone, providing a good STAB. Earthquake does as well, but also provides great coverage. Protect is again present to stall. Gliscor is one of my favorite switch-ins, and he is definitely a team player.
Problems: None right now. Working out great!
Regice@Leftovers
Ice Body
204 HP/252 Def/44 Spe/8 SpD
Calm
- Subtitute
- Protect
- Toxic
- Blizzard
Regice is main reason why I made this team. With Leftovers, Ice Body, and a ridiculous defensive potential, Regice wants to stall out everything he sees. Substitute and Protect are for stalling, Toxic to get Fliers/Levitators, and Blizzard takes advantage of the Hail that Abomasnow. As my only Ice type (bar Abomasnow), Regice greatly benefits from the Hail through Ice Body, Blizzard, and residual damage stall. He is an absolute wall, and his EVs help. 204 gives him 352 HP, a nice number for Leftovers, Ice Body, and Substitute. 252 in Defense to make him more physically bulky, 44 Speed to out-speed Blissey, and the rest go in Special Defense. I tell you what, Regice has been an absolute boss, sponging up even super-effective hits like nothing.
Problems: I don't use Toxic too much, but I don't want conflicting statuses by replacing it with Thunder Wave or something. Maybe a coverage move? With only Blizzard, he can get out-stalled/set up on by steel types especially. However, I'm fairly confident his pros outweigh his cons.
Tentacruel@Leftovers
Liquid Ooze
252 HP/120 Def/136 SpD
Calm
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic Spikes
- Surf
- Knock Off
Tentacruel is the greatest team player here, and provides extremely crucial support. Liquid Ooze counters Leech Seed, Drain Punch, and others that are starting to become common with Shayminn-S, Roobushin, etc. Rapid Spin helps Regice a LOT...besides, nothing here likes Spikes/Stealth Rock anyways. Toxic Spikes are amazingly useful for statusing everything that enters the battlefield (with some obvious exceptions). Surf is the token STAB move so I'm not completely set-up fodder. Knock Off is a very underrated move that removes the opponents item. It gets rid of Pre-Evolution Stones, Leftovers, and other important items that let me scout what the opponents set might be. Most underrated move in the game? I'm tempted to say Knock Off.
Problems: Maybe I'm not using it right, but it seems to die quickly. It goes in, sets up Toxic Spikes, and usually dies soon after. I would really like some more survivability, but I also understand that it will have to be used as death fodder in order to set up the ever important Toxic Spikes.
Burungeru@Leftovers
Water Absorb
252 HP/252 Def/4 SpD
Bold
- Recover
- Protect
- Taunt
- Surf
Although I didn't originally have Burungeru on the team, it has proved itself invaluable in spinblocking/fighting and water immunity/taunter/so much else. Having it on a team with Tentacruel is unconventional, but the two actually work together quite well, holding very different niches on my team. For example, Burungeru is EVd to be physically bulky compared to Tentacruel. Burungeru also has Protect and Recover. When combined with Leftovers, this thing is an amazing staller. Taunt is amazing, as it doesn't let me or my partners get set up on, forcing opponents to attack, forcing switches, you name it and Taunt helps it out. Surf is the token STAB move. Burungeru and Gliscor seem to act as the glue of the team, and I couldn't be much happier with how well they have worked out thus far.
Problems: None right now.
Genosekuto@Choice Scarf
Download
252 SpA/252 Spe/4 SpD
Modest
- Bug Buzz
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam
Yes, yes, it's an all-out Special Attacking Genosekuto with a Choice Scarf; and I love it. He is my revenge killer, and my best answer to something like Rankurusu. Choice Scarf is obvious for out-speeding stuff, while Modest means he kills stuff faster. 4 SpD EVs are for forcing an Attack boost to opposing Genosekuto. Bug Buzz for Psychics, Thunderbolt for Gyarados and other bulky waters, Flamethrower for nasty Steels, and Ice Beam for everything else. I usually don't reveal him until late game, at which point I simply click the right move to sweep the last 2-3 Pokemon on my opponent's team. Truly amazing at what it does.
Problems: I would really like U-turn on there somewhere, but if I'm using him late game then U-turn doesn't serve a purpose other than telling my oppponent "I'm going to sweep you with Genosekuto after weakening his counters lol". I don't want to lose coverage moves, but I will if it's absolutely necessary.
Threats:
Once something is poisoned, it's usually not a problem, but there are some exceptions.
Rankurusu/Shinporaa
These things are terribly annoying because they are immune to hail and poison, have set-up moves, and can attack powerfully once they're done. As mentioned earlier, Genosekuto is usually my only answer. Maybe it would be nice to get a phazer in there?
Steel Types
Heatran especially, but Steel is a problem obviously due to their immunity to toxic spikes. Maybe a powerful fighting attack? I'm not really sure...
Opposing weather teams
This was somewhat made as an anti-weather team due to Abomasnow's unique ability, but other weather teams are still a problem. They all destroy the "Hail" part of my "Hail Stall" team, and provide powerful sweepers to dismantle the "Stall" part (Kingdra, Manaphy, Landlos, Doryuuzu, Venusaur, Charizard, etc.).
Lack of Stealth Rock/Spikes is also a problem. I originally had Skarmory and Blissey in place of Burungeru and Genosekuto, but neither was pulling their weight, so they were easily replaced. Any and all rates are greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for reading through all this and helping me out!
Abomasnow@Focus Sash
Snow Warning
252 Atk/252 Spe/4 HP
Adamant
- Protect
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Wood Hammer
Abomasnow is an absolute requirement for my team, as it sets up the ever useful hail. Ice types are much less common than ground/rock/steel types, so I decided that hail is the best residual damage one can find (at least weather wise). Abomasnow doesn't always lead, but I almost always put him up front for teams that don't have a weather starter. Protect buys a free turn of hail/poison damage, and for scouting. Ice Shard provides some crucial priority to the team, and allows Abomasnow to function well as a lead. Earthquake is mostly for fire types, especially Shandera, who usually falls after 2 turns of hail damage and one Earthquake. Wood Hammer OHKOs Politoed, and is an overall powerful attack. Focus Sash ensure I can KO whatever my opponent throws out there, and makes Abomasnow a surprisingly good answer to things like Deoxys and Shandera. The EVs are dumped into Attack and Speed. To make this clear: I don't know too much about where to put EVs, so I usually follow Smogon sets (sometimes adding some extra EVs in Speed to outspeed opposing same-speed Pokemon).
Problems: His attacks are resisted by a lot of Pokemon, and it would be nice to get some extra power behind his attacks. However, I'm hesitant to replace Focus Sash because his survivability isn't that great.
Gliscor@Toxic Orb
Poison Heal
252 HP/252 Spe/4 SpD
Impish
- Fling
- Acrobat
- Earthquake
- Protect
Gliscor is simply amazing. Poison Heal restores more health that hail takes away his typing and natural bulk makes him an answer to many key and prevalent threats in the current metagame. Fling means Gliscor can toxic something once he's done, and he can poison those nasty flying/levitating Pokemon that are immune to Toxic Spikes. Coincidentally, Acrobat doubles in power once the orb is gone, providing a good STAB. Earthquake does as well, but also provides great coverage. Protect is again present to stall. Gliscor is one of my favorite switch-ins, and he is definitely a team player.
Problems: None right now. Working out great!
Regice@Leftovers
Ice Body
204 HP/252 Def/44 Spe/8 SpD
Calm
- Subtitute
- Protect
- Toxic
- Blizzard
Regice is main reason why I made this team. With Leftovers, Ice Body, and a ridiculous defensive potential, Regice wants to stall out everything he sees. Substitute and Protect are for stalling, Toxic to get Fliers/Levitators, and Blizzard takes advantage of the Hail that Abomasnow. As my only Ice type (bar Abomasnow), Regice greatly benefits from the Hail through Ice Body, Blizzard, and residual damage stall. He is an absolute wall, and his EVs help. 204 gives him 352 HP, a nice number for Leftovers, Ice Body, and Substitute. 252 in Defense to make him more physically bulky, 44 Speed to out-speed Blissey, and the rest go in Special Defense. I tell you what, Regice has been an absolute boss, sponging up even super-effective hits like nothing.
Problems: I don't use Toxic too much, but I don't want conflicting statuses by replacing it with Thunder Wave or something. Maybe a coverage move? With only Blizzard, he can get out-stalled/set up on by steel types especially. However, I'm fairly confident his pros outweigh his cons.
Tentacruel@Leftovers
Liquid Ooze
252 HP/120 Def/136 SpD
Calm
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic Spikes
- Surf
- Knock Off
Tentacruel is the greatest team player here, and provides extremely crucial support. Liquid Ooze counters Leech Seed, Drain Punch, and others that are starting to become common with Shayminn-S, Roobushin, etc. Rapid Spin helps Regice a LOT...besides, nothing here likes Spikes/Stealth Rock anyways. Toxic Spikes are amazingly useful for statusing everything that enters the battlefield (with some obvious exceptions). Surf is the token STAB move so I'm not completely set-up fodder. Knock Off is a very underrated move that removes the opponents item. It gets rid of Pre-Evolution Stones, Leftovers, and other important items that let me scout what the opponents set might be. Most underrated move in the game? I'm tempted to say Knock Off.
Problems: Maybe I'm not using it right, but it seems to die quickly. It goes in, sets up Toxic Spikes, and usually dies soon after. I would really like some more survivability, but I also understand that it will have to be used as death fodder in order to set up the ever important Toxic Spikes.
Burungeru@Leftovers
Water Absorb
252 HP/252 Def/4 SpD
Bold
- Recover
- Protect
- Taunt
- Surf
Although I didn't originally have Burungeru on the team, it has proved itself invaluable in spinblocking/fighting and water immunity/taunter/so much else. Having it on a team with Tentacruel is unconventional, but the two actually work together quite well, holding very different niches on my team. For example, Burungeru is EVd to be physically bulky compared to Tentacruel. Burungeru also has Protect and Recover. When combined with Leftovers, this thing is an amazing staller. Taunt is amazing, as it doesn't let me or my partners get set up on, forcing opponents to attack, forcing switches, you name it and Taunt helps it out. Surf is the token STAB move. Burungeru and Gliscor seem to act as the glue of the team, and I couldn't be much happier with how well they have worked out thus far.
Problems: None right now.
Genosekuto@Choice Scarf
Download
252 SpA/252 Spe/4 SpD
Modest
- Bug Buzz
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam
Yes, yes, it's an all-out Special Attacking Genosekuto with a Choice Scarf; and I love it. He is my revenge killer, and my best answer to something like Rankurusu. Choice Scarf is obvious for out-speeding stuff, while Modest means he kills stuff faster. 4 SpD EVs are for forcing an Attack boost to opposing Genosekuto. Bug Buzz for Psychics, Thunderbolt for Gyarados and other bulky waters, Flamethrower for nasty Steels, and Ice Beam for everything else. I usually don't reveal him until late game, at which point I simply click the right move to sweep the last 2-3 Pokemon on my opponent's team. Truly amazing at what it does.
Problems: I would really like U-turn on there somewhere, but if I'm using him late game then U-turn doesn't serve a purpose other than telling my oppponent "I'm going to sweep you with Genosekuto after weakening his counters lol". I don't want to lose coverage moves, but I will if it's absolutely necessary.
Threats:
Once something is poisoned, it's usually not a problem, but there are some exceptions.
Rankurusu/Shinporaa
These things are terribly annoying because they are immune to hail and poison, have set-up moves, and can attack powerfully once they're done. As mentioned earlier, Genosekuto is usually my only answer. Maybe it would be nice to get a phazer in there?
Steel Types
Heatran especially, but Steel is a problem obviously due to their immunity to toxic spikes. Maybe a powerful fighting attack? I'm not really sure...
Opposing weather teams
This was somewhat made as an anti-weather team due to Abomasnow's unique ability, but other weather teams are still a problem. They all destroy the "Hail" part of my "Hail Stall" team, and provide powerful sweepers to dismantle the "Stall" part (Kingdra, Manaphy, Landlos, Doryuuzu, Venusaur, Charizard, etc.).
Lack of Stealth Rock/Spikes is also a problem. I originally had Skarmory and Blissey in place of Burungeru and Genosekuto, but neither was pulling their weight, so they were easily replaced. Any and all rates are greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for reading through all this and helping me out!
