QC: Subject 18
[OVERVIEW]
- Mamoswine is a good wallbreaker with nearly unresisted STAB coverage, able to easily pressure teams thanks to its high Attack stat.
- It has low Speed but can alleviate that with Ice Shard, letting it revenge kill Lando-T, Garchomp, and Zygarde.
- Poor typing defensively and mediocre bulk makes it hard to bring into battle, especially as it gets worn down by Life Orb.
name: Wallbreaker
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Ice Shard
move 3: Icicle Crash / Icicle Spear
move 4: Stealth Rock / Superpower / Knock Off
item: Life Orb
ability: Thick Fat
nature: Jolly / Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
- Earthquake is Mamoswine's strongest attack, and obliterates Steel and Fire types.
- Ice Shard lets Mamoswine pick off Pokemon faster than it, especially those that are weak to it like Garchomp, Zygarde, Landorus-T, and Latios.
- Icicle Crash has excellent coverage alongside Earthquake and rounds off Mamoswine's STAB by hitting the Flying and Grass-types that resist Earthquake super effectively.
- Icicle Spear is an alternative to Icicle Crash that is on average weaker, but it's more accurate and has a good chance of OHKOing Smeargle through its Focus Sash, letting Mamoswine anti-lead Sticky Web teams. It also can hit Zygarde through a Substitute.
- Stealth Rock can be set up on predicted switches, to further pressure the opponent.
- Superpower is solely for Ferrothorn, a common check to Mamoswine.
- Knock Off deprives switch-ins like Skarmory and Celesteela of their item, letting them be worn down easier or trapped by Magnezone, if they are carrying a Shed Shell.
Set Details
========
- Life Orb is chosen to increase the damage dealt while still letting Mamoswine change moves, giving it the ability to crush defensive cores.
- Thick Fat gives Mamoswine a resistance to Ice moves and a neutrality to Fire, letting it take weaker attacks from the likes of Heatran and Greninja better.
- The EV spread maximizes speed and power. If Freeze-Dry is used, a Naive nature with a spread of 240 Atk / 16 SpA / 252 Spe guarantees a 2HKO on physically defensive Rotom-W after Stealth Rock.
- An Adamant or Naughty nature can be used for even greater power, but Mamoswine loses the ability to outspeed and check threats like Bisharp, Tapu Bulu, and Heatran.
========
- Mamoswine is good at breaking down defensive cores found on balanced teams by simply attacking what's in front of it and wearing down its switch-ins.
- It should be brought into battle via double switches or after a Pokemon has fainted, as it lacks the capability to switch in easily. However, its immunity to Electric and Thick Fat let it switch in on Tapu Koko on Zapdos somewhat easily.
- Keeping Mamoswine is important if the opponent has a setup sweeper weak to Ice Shard, like Salamence or Landorus-T, as Mamoswine's presence can prevent them from sweeping.
Team Options
========
- Electric-types make great partners for Mamoswine, as they appreciate Mamoswine's ability to break through Ground and Grass-types. Tapu Koko can use U-Turn to let Mamoswine enter the battle safely, while checking Skarmory and Celesteela as well as Water-types. Magnezone can trap and remove Skarmory, Ferrothorn, Celesteela, and Mega Scizor, which is very helpful for Mamoswine. If Mamoswine is running Knock Off, Magnezone is even better because it can trap Skarmory after its Shed Shell has been Knocked Off, giving Mamoswine much more wiggle room against stall teams
- Fire-types deal well with the Steel-types that give Mamoswine trouble. Charizard-Y and Bloom Doom Heatran are both excellent picks that can deal with Water-types too. Charizard-X and Volcarona can set up against Pokemon that check Mamoswine, like Celesteela and Mega Scizor.
- A fat Grass-type like Tangrowth, Amoonguss, or Mega Venusaur can take advantage of the Water-types that check Mamoswine.
- Teammates that can set up entry hazards make great partners for Mamoswine. Spikes users like Greninja and Ferrothorn can make opposing checks to Mamoswine such as Mega Scizor struggle to switch in. Stealth Rock users like Landorus-T, Ferrothorn, and Heatran accomplish the same, making Mamoswine much more difficult to switch into.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
- Mamoswine can run a lead set, which uses Focus Sash to live any hit and set up Stealth Rock, and typically has Endeavor to bring down a foe's health after Sash has been activated and Oblivious, which prevents Mamoswine from being Taunted.
- Freeze-Dry can be used to target Rotom-W, Gyarados, Mantine, Pelipper, and Quagsire, which are otherwise not threatened much by Mamoswine, but as a special attack, it's damage output is quite poor and doesn't hit anything besides those targets.
- Choice Band can be used to further boost Mamoswine's power and prevent it from being worn down in long matches, but a lot of Mamoswine's strength comes from being able to switch moves and break down cores.
- Choice Scarf can net a few surprise kills, but Mamoswine's still relatively slow, even with a Scarf, and has Ice Shard to get around some of its Speed issues anyways.
===================
**Bulky waters**: Physically defensive Water-types can check Mamoswine well by threat of their Water-moves and their Ice resistance. Rotom-W takes Mamoswine's STABs easily, but can be lured by Freeze-Dry. Tapu Fini can take Earthquakes if it needs to, and if running max speed, can outspeed and knock out Mamoswine with Hydro Pump.
**Steel-types that can take EQ**: Steel-types that don't care much about Earthquake and have high Defense stats can take on Mamoswine well. Skarmory and Celesteela are great checks to Mamoswine that take relatively little from a neutral Ice move and can heal up and wall Mamoswine indefinitely, or hit back with an attack. Mega Scizor can Roost and wall Mamoswine or simply pick it off with Bullet Punch, although it can be chunked by a well-placed Earthquake.
**Faster mons that resist Ice Shard**: Most of the time Mamoswine's best option against faster opponents is to use Ice Shard, which can be taken advantage of by faster resists. Many common offensive Pokemon resist Ice Shard, like Mega Metagross, Greninja, and Keldeo, all of which can OHKO Mamoswine with the appropriate move. Tapu Lele can eliminate the threat of Ice Shard with its Psychic Terrain and knock Mamoswine out, too.
Last edited:
