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Pokemazter · Jan 22nd, 2013, 3:28:24 AM

Credit to zdrup15 for the original analysis!

Skeleton

[Overview]

Abomasnow is the cornerstone of hail teams, as it's the only fully evolved Pokemon with access to Snow Warning, an ability that causes permanent hail, making Blizzard's accuracy 100%. Abomasnow may seem like a gimmick at first due to its poor defensive typing and poor stats, but it has the potential to single-handedly beat all opposing weather starters; Politoed, Ninetales, Tyranitar, and even Hippowdon.

Since the advent of BW, OU has become more dangerous for Abomasnow. Old threats, specifically Breloom, have become more equipped to punish the snowy tree. However, Abomasnow is still viable as a weather starter in OU, as its unique typing still offers four key resistances, and its solid offensive movepool lets it check and hit a wide variety of threats, such as Garchomp, Heatran, and Rotom-W.

[SET]
name: Mixed
move 1: Wood Hammer
move 2: Ice Shard
move 3: Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Protect / Earthquake
item: Expert Belt
ability: Snow Warning
nature: Lonely
evs: 252 Atk / 172 SpA / 84 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Abomasnow's flagship set from BW continues to wreak havoc on common weather teams due to its unparalleled coverage. With the given EV spread, Abomasnow's Attack is maximized, with significant investment in Special Attack in order to OHKO Scizor with Hidden Power Fire. The EVs also allow Abomasnow to outspeed minimum Speed Politoed and Skarmory. Wood Hammer is Abomasnow's go-to STAB attack, flattening the many Ground-, Rock-, and Water-type opponents found in OU, such as Hippowdon, Terrakion, and Rotom-W. Ice Shard allows Abomasnow to pick off weakened threats, bypassing its middling Speed. Ice Shard also hits Dragon-type Pokemon hard, especially Dragonite, Salamence, and Garchomp, due to their 4x weakness to Ice-type attacks. Hidden Power Fire allows Abomasnow to melt Steel-type foes, mainly Ferrothorn and Scizor, who could otherwise wall Abomasnow's STAB combination. The last move slot is mostly preference based, as Protect allows Abomasnow to scout its opponent, potentially locking a choice Pokemon into a move, while racking up some extra hail damage, which could be the difference between an OHKO and a 2HKO. However, Earthquake may be used to heavily damage Fire-type Pokemon, like Heatran and Ninetales on the switch, two Pokemon that typically cause hail teams problems.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

If you do opt for Earthquake over Protect, an alternate EV spread of 240 Atk / 120 SpA / 148 Spe is recommended, as it allows Abomasnow to outspeed specially defensive Heatran and decimate it with Earthquake. Blizzard may be run over Hidden Power Fire if your team is capable of dealing with Steel-types, as it gives Abomasnow a key move that allows it to break through physical walls, such as Skarmory and Gliscor, and hit incoming Grass-, Dragon-, and Ground-types.

Because of its typing, Fire- and Fighting-types are huge bane to Abomasnow, making partners like Heatran, Jellicent, Gengar, or Reuniclus excellent teammates. Jellicent and Heatran also have the advantage of checking faster variants of Scizor, which would typically outsped and KO Abomasnow with Bug Bite or U-turn. Heatran also has access to Stealth Rock, making it harder for switch-ins to check Abomasnow. Jellicent can burn opposing Scizor, Terrakion, Jirachi, and other common checks with Will-O-Wisp, giving Abomasnow more opportunities to switch in. These four Pokemon, also work well on hail teams, checking opposing Heatran, Jirachi, Terrakion, and Scizor, some of the playstyle's largest threats. Abomasnow's crippling weakness to Stealth Rock makes Starmie and Tentacruel solid partners to Abomasnow. Access to Rapid Spin and STAB combinations, which resist the two types that threaten Abomasnow, make them excellent partners. Pokemon that can take advantage of the hail brought about by Abomasnow's Snow Warning, such as Kyurem and Kyurem-B, make excellent partners, as the ability to fire off 100% accurate Blizzards makes them extremely threatening.

[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Ice Shard
move 2: Wood Hammer / Earthquake
move 3: Protect
move 4: Leech Seed
item: Leftovers
ability: Snow Warning
nature: Adamant
evs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Abomasnow makes for a very adept physical attacker, thanks to its powerful STAB Wood Hammer, priority Ice Shard, and surprise factor, as it's typically expected to be using Blizzard and other special attacks. Ice Shard is arguably the most useful move on this set, as it hits many opponents in OU hard, 2HKOing and even OHKing a large number of threats. Here are some calculations to exemplify its usefulness:

<ul class="damage_calculation">
<li>Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragonite (Multiscale in-tact): 37.15% - 44.58%</li>
<li>Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragonite (Multiscale broken): 74.3% - 89.16%</li>
<li>Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Landorus-I: 78.99% - 94.04%</li>
<li>Ice Shard vs. 200 HP / 244 Def Landorus-T (With Intimidate): 35.77% - 43.36%</li>
<li>Ice Shard vs. 200 HP / 244 Def Landorus-T (Without Intimidate): 53.11 - 62.87%</li>
<li>Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 67.22% - 80.67%</li>
<li>Ice Shard vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Latios: 45.69% - 54.3%</li>
<li>Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Salamence: 83.38% - 99.09%</li>
<li>Ice Shard vs. 252 HP / 184+ Def Gliscor: 41.8% - 50.84%</li>
</ul>

Abomasnow's alternate STAB move, Wood Hammer, is equally as punishing, as its sheer power makes it difficult to switch into. It hits Water-, Ground-, and Rock-types, such as Jellicent, Gastrodon, and Tyranitar hard, giving teammates more opportunities to sweep. Earthquake may be used over Wood Hammer, as it allows Abomasnow to hit Heatran and Ninetales switch-ins, as well as Electric-types, such as Jolteon and Raikou. Leech Seed provides Abomasnow with a somewhat reliable form of recovery, recovering 12.5% HP on top of what Leftovers recovers. It can also function as a phazing move, as it discourages many opposing Pokemon from staying in for too long. Protect further increases Leech Seed's recovery effect, reaching 37.5% of recover after two turns (with Leftovers of course), while forcing the opponent into more residual damage via hail and Leech Seed. Protect also allows Abomasnow to scout the opposition, locking choice opponents into a move.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

The listed EV spread maximizes Abomasnow's Attack and bulk, while giving it enough Speed to outrun minimum-Speed Politoed. However, if you prefer an Abomasnow with more bulk, a spread of 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD can be utilized in order to switch in against Water- and Electric-type attacks. A Life Orb may be used over Leftovers if more power is desired, and it can make the difference between a 2HKO and an OHKO. Unfortunately, the lack of Leftovers recovery and additional recoil damage are unfavorable for Abomasnow.

Because this variant lacks Hidden Power Fire, teammates such as Magnezone or Heatran are recommended, as they are capable of removing Steel-types, specifically Scizor, Skarmory, or Ferrothorn. Carrying Magnezone or Heatran also makes dealing with faster Scizor variants easier, as Choice Scarf and 252 Speed Scizor variants outpace and KO Abomasnow with U-turn or Bug Bite. Tentacruel and Heatran are able to deal with Fire-type threats, and synergize well with Abomasnow. Tentacruel has access to Rapid Spin and Toxic Spikes, adding to residual damage and removing Stealth Rock to allow Abomasnow to switch in. Pokemon that function well on hail teams, such as Reuniclus, Jellicent, and Kyurem also make for solid partners, as they all benefit from Leech Seed's recovery and residual damage, while countering common Abomasnow checks, specifically Scizor and Terrakion.

[Other Options]

Giga Drain can be used on the mixed and physical sets over their Wood Hammer for extra recovery. However, it is not recommended, Wood Hammer is much more powerful than Giga Drain. Focus Blast may also seem like a logical choice on the mixed set, however, its shaky accuracy makes it an unfavourable choice. Additionally, Earthquake and Hidden Power Fire have similar coverage to Focus Blast, making it redundant. Abomasnow does have access to Swords Dance, but due to its abysmal Speed stat, it cannot fully take advantage of a +2 Attack stat. Equipping Abomasnow with Choice Specs or Choice Band may seem like a wise idea, but this would cause excess switching, which is not recommended for a Pokemon with a Stealth Rock weakness. The same is true for Choice Scarf Abomasnow, which is outsped by positively-natured base 115s and other Choice Scarf Pokemon doesn't do Scarf Abomasnow any favours.

[Checks and Counters]

The downside of Abomasnow's typing is its crippling weakness to Stealth Rock, which arguably functions as the most reliable check to Abomasnow. Fire-, Steel-, and Fighting-types, such as Volcarona, Metagross, and Terrakion, make for reliable checks to Abomasnow due to their super effective STAB moves. Opposing weather starters, such as Ninetales and Tyranitar, also make for solid checks to Abomasnow despite having to watch out for Earthquake and Wood Hammer respectively. Jirachi, Scizor, and Terrakion, function as the best checks to Abomasnow and hail teams, being able to heavily damage the opposition while resisting key attacking types, such as opposing Ice-types. Bulky Steel-types, such as Jirachi, Skarmory, and Heatran, as well as Chansey and Blissey, can wall Abomasnow effectively.

Jan 22nd, 2013, 3:28:24 AM	#1
Pokemazter 04/01/13 never forget Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 615 Edmonton, AB	Abomasnow [QC 3/3] [GP 1/2] Credit to zdrup15 for the original analysis! Abomasnow Skeleton [Overview] Cornerstone of hail teams. Only fully-evolved Pokemon with access to Snow Warning, causing permanent hail, which makes Blizzard's accuracy 100%. Has potential to single-handedly beat all other Weather starters. Unique typing offering 4 key resistances and 7 relatively common weaknesses. Held back by its deplorable stats and Stealth Rock weakness. Solid offensive movepool with a passable supporting movepool. Only weather starter with access to a priority move. [SET] name: Mixed move 1: Wood Hammer move 2: Ice Shard move 3: Hidden Power Fire move 4: Protect / Earthquake item: Expert Belt ability: Snow Warning nature: Lonely evs: 252 Atk / 172 SpA / 84 Spe [SET COMMENTS] The given EVs allow Abomasnow to KO Scizor with Hidden Power Fire, maximize its attack, and outspeed minimum Speed Politoed and Skarmory. Wood Hammer functions as Abomasnow's best STAB, annihilating Rock-, Water-, or Ground-types such as Mamoswine, Starmie, or Terrakion. Ice Shard is alternative STAB, and is dead useful for picking off Landorus and the many Dragon-types found in OU while dealing solid damage to faster opponents that threaten Abomasnow. Hidden Power Fire is useful for destroying Scizor, a common switch-in to Abomasnow, while dealing super effective damage to other Steel-types, such as Skarmory or Ferrothorn, and dealing massive hurt to opposing Abomasnow. Protect allows Abomasnow to rack up residual hail damage on the opposing side in order to turn many 2HKOs into OHKOs and scout the opposing team. However, Earthquake may be run instead in order to hit things such as Ninetales on the switch, Magnezone, or Heatran for massive damage, rounding out Abomasnow's coverage. [ADDITIONAL COMMENTS] If opting for Earthquake over Protect, a faster spread of 240 Atk / 120 SpA / 148 Spe is recommended, allowing Abomasnow to outspeed Specially Defensive Heatran and deliver a crushing blow via Earthquake. If Scizor and other Steel-types are of no worry to you, Blizzard may be run over Hidden Power Fire to give Abomasnow a powerful weapon against Grass-, Flying-, and Dragon-type switch-ins as well as a way to break though many physical walls, such as Skarmory, Gliscor, and Deoxys-D. Because Abomasnow gets wrecked by Fire-types in general, a Pokemon with Flash Fire or a resistance to the type, such as Heatran or Jellicent, make excellent partners for Abomasnow. Abomasnow also dislikes Fighting-types, so a Ghost- or Psychic-type partner in Gengar, Jellicent, or Reuniclus makes for a great partner. Fighting-types such as Keldeo, Terrakion, or Infernape also make good partners for Abomasnow, as they can dispatch opposing Tyranitar with greater ease than Abomasnow can. Hates Stealth Rock with a passion and wants to be paired with Forretress, Starmie, or other Pokemon with access to Rapid Spin. Also appreciates entry hazard support from teammates such as Tentacruel, who also has access to Rapid Spin, and Heatran, both of whom synergize well with Abomasnow. [SET] name: Physical Attacker move 1: Ice Shard move 2: Wood Hammer / Earthquake move 3: Protect move 4: Leech Seed item: Leftovers ability: Snow Warning nature: Adamant evs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe [SET COMMENTS] Rather adept at running a physical set thanks to its powerful STAB in Wood Hammer and access to Priority in Ice Shard. Ice Shard is extremely handy, 2HKOing and even OHKOing many of OU's top threats after Stealth Rock damage while bypassing Abomasnow's horrendous Speed. <ul class="damage_calculation"> <li>Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragonite (Multiscale in-tact): 37.15% - 44.58%</li> <li>Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragonite (Multiscale broken): 74.3% - 89.16%</li> <li>Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Landorus-I: 78.99% - 94.04%</li> <li>Ice Shard vs. 200 HP / 244 Def Landorus-T (With Intimidate): 35.77% - 43.36%</li> <li>Ice Shard vs. 200 HP / 244 Def Landorus-T (Without Intimidate): 53.11 - 62.87%</li> <li>Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 67.22% - 80.67%</li> <li>Ice Shard vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Latios: 45.69% - 54.3%</li> <li>Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Salamence: 83.38% - 99.09%</li> <li>Ice Shard vs. 252 HP / 184+ Def Gliscor: 41.8% - 50.84%</li> </ul> Wood Hammer is equally as nasty, dealing extensive damage to the multitude of Water-, Ground-, and Rock-types, such as Rotom-W, Hippowdon, and Tyranitar, found throughout the tier. Protect allows Abomasnow to increase Leech Seed's general effectiveness while scouting and stalling the opposing team. IT also allows Abomasnow to rack up some extra passive damage with hail. Leech Seed provides Abomasnow with a somewhat reliable form of recovery, recovering 12.5% HP on top of what Leftovers recovers. It can also function as a phazing move, as it discourages many opposing Pokemon from staying in from too long, potentially ruining a set-up or sweep. Earthquake may be used in order to nail Fire-type switch-ins, namely Heatran or Ninetales, giving Abomasnow complete coverage over the other Weather Starters, but it means losing out on the only way of making up for Wood Hammer's recoil and any other damage Abomasnow happens to sustain during the battle. [ADDITIONAL COMMENTS] EVs are designed to maximize Abomasnow's Attack and bulk, while giving it enough Speed to outspeed minimum Speed Politoed. However, if you desire a bulkier Abomasnow that is more capable of switching in on Water- or Electric-type attacks, a spread of 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD may be utilized. If looking for more power, a Life Orb or an Expert Belt may be used over Leftovers, turning many of Abomasnow's 2HKOs into OHKOs. However, Abomasnow will miss the residual recovery brought about by Leftovers and doesn't appreciate the extra damage from Life Orb recoil. Seed Bomb may be used in place if you find the recoil to be too unfavourable. Be warned though, there's a significant drop in power, which will cause many OHKOs Abomasnow scores with Wood Hammer to turn into 2HKOs via Seed Bomb. Because this spread lacks Hidden Power Fire, Abomasnow is typically going to want Steel-types, Such as Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory, removed from play before coming out to wreck hell on the opposing team. Magnezone thus makes for a great partner, capable of quickly eliminating all Steel-types bar Heatran. Despite Earthquake bashing opposing Fire-types, Abomasnow is more than often too slow to get the second hit in, and wants a partner to deal with them. Heatran and Tentacruel are both solid options against many of the Fire-types in OU, the former being able to provide Abomasnow with Stealth Rock support, and the latter being able to use Rapid Spin to keep Abomasnow healthy from entry hazards damage and being able to supply Toxic Spikes, breaking down many walls that would narrowly avoid a 2HKO or OHKO from either Wood Hammer or Ice Shard. Crippled by Burns, so carrying a cleric is always a safe option to keep Abomasnow healthy. [Other Options] Ice Punch on Mixed Attacker set, but is significantly weaker than Blizzard. Giga Drain is a viable option over Protect on the Leech Seed set, as it increases overall HP recovery. Do note that it must be run with Blizzard, or Grass-types will wall that set to hell and back. Has access to Swords Dance, but is too slow to take full advantage of a +2 Attack stat. Focus Blast could be used on the Mixed Attacker set, but Earthquake and Hidden Power Fire make up for any coverage Focus Blast would attain. The shaky accuracy is rather unfavourable too. Thanks to its wide special movepool, a Choice Specs set or a Choice Band set seems plausable. However, Abomasnow is much too slow to utilize either of the Choice items. A Choice Scarf set could be used to patch up Abomasnow's dreadful Speed stat and to kill Chlorophyll abusers as well as maybe Stoutland and Sandslash, but will still see Abomasnow outsped by positively-natured base 115's and any other Scarf user that has a higher base Speed. [Checks and Counters] Stealth rock, Stealth Rock, Stealth Rock. Ninetales and Tyranitar provide complications for Abomasnow, despite having moves that deal heavy damage to the two. Priority users such as Breloom, Lucario, and Scizor must be wary of specific moves, but can revenge kill Abomasnow with Mach Punch or Bullet Punch respectively. Steel-types such as Heatran, Jirachi, and Skarmory are difficult for Abomasnow to KO, and can set up entry hazards and threaten Abomasnow with powerful STAB moves. Fire-types, such as Volcarona or Infernape, cause similar issues for Abomasnow, being able to switch in on nearly every one of its moves and incincerate Abomasnow with powerful STAB moves. Overly-bulky walls such as Blissey, Chansey, Ferrothorn, and Deoxys-D can cause issues for Abomasnow's mediocre offenses. However, the pink blobs must be wary of Focus Punch, Ferrothorn of Hidden Power Fire, and Deoxys-D of Blizzard. [Overview] <p>Abomasnow is the cornerstone of hail teams, as it's the only fully evolved Pokemon with access to Snow Warning, an ability that causes permanent hail, making Blizzard's accuracy 100%. Abomasnow may seem like a gimmick at first due to its poor defensive typing and poor stats, but it has the potential to single-handedly beat all opposing weather starters; Politoed, Ninetales, Tyranitar, and even Hippowdon.</p> <p>Since the advent of BW, OU has become more dangerous for Abomasnow. Old threats, specifically Breloom, have become more equipped to punish the snowy tree. However, Abomasnow is still viable as a weather starter in OU, as its unique typing still offers four key resistances, and its solid offensive movepool lets it check and hit a wide variety of threats, such as Garchomp, Heatran, and Rotom-W.</p> [SET] name: Mixed move 1: Wood Hammer move 2: Ice Shard move 3: Hidden Power Fire move 4: Protect / Earthquake item: Expert Belt ability: Snow Warning nature: Lonely evs: 252 Atk / 172 SpA / 84 Spe [SET COMMENTS] <p>Abomasnow's flagship set from BW continues to wreak havoc on common weather teams due to its unparalleled coverage. With the given EV spread, Abomasnow's Attack is maximized, with significant investment in Special Attack in order to OHKO Scizor with Hidden Power Fire. The EVs also allow Abomasnow to outspeed minimum Speed Politoed and Skarmory. Wood Hammer is Abomasnow's go-to STAB attack, flattening the many Ground-, Rock-, and Water-type opponents found in OU, such as Hippowdon, Terrakion, and Rotom-W. Ice Shard allows Abomasnow to pick off weakened threats, bypassing its middling Speed. Ice Shard also hits Dragon-type Pokemon hard, especially Dragonite, Salamence, and Garchomp, due to their 4x weakness to Ice-type attacks. Hidden Power Fire allows Abomasnow to melt Steel-type foes, mainly Ferrothorn and Scizor, who could otherwise wall Abomasnow's STAB combination. The last move slot is mostly preference based, as Protect allows Abomasnow to scout its opponent, potentially locking a choice Pokemon into a move, while racking up some extra hail damage, which could be the difference between an OHKO and a 2HKO. However, Earthquake may be used to heavily damage Fire-type Pokemon, like Heatran and Ninetales on the switch, two Pokemon that typically cause hail teams problems.</p> [ADDITIONAL COMMENTS] <p>If you do opt for Earthquake over Protect, an alternate EV spread of 240 Atk / 120 SpA / 148 Spe is recommended, as it allows Abomasnow to outspeed specially defensive Heatran and decimate it with Earthquake. Blizzard may be run over Hidden Power Fire if your team is capable of dealing with Steel-types, as it gives Abomasnow a key move that allows it to break through physical walls, such as Skarmory and Gliscor, and hit incoming Grass-, Dragon-, and Ground-types.</p> <p>Because of its typing, Fire- and Fighting-types are huge bane to Abomasnow, making partners like Heatran, Jellicent, Gengar, or Reuniclus excellent teammates. Jellicent and Heatran also have the advantage of checking faster variants of Scizor, which would typically outsped and KO Abomasnow with Bug Bite or U-turn. Heatran also has access to Stealth Rock, making it harder for switch-ins to check Abomasnow. Jellicent can burn opposing Scizor, Terrakion, Jirachi, and other common checks with Will-O-Wisp, giving Abomasnow more opportunities to switch in. These four Pokemon, also work well on hail teams, checking opposing Heatran, Jirachi, Terrakion, and Scizor, some of the playstyle's largest threats. Abomasnow's crippling weakness to Stealth Rock makes Starmie and Tentacruel solid partners to Abomasnow. Access to Rapid Spin and STAB combinations, which resist the two types that threaten Abomasnow, make them excellent partners. Pokemon that can take advantage of the hail brought about by Abomasnow's Snow Warning, such as Kyurem and Kyurem-B, make excellent partners, as the ability to fire off 100% accurate Blizzards makes them extremely threatening.</p> [SET] name: Physical Attacker move 1: Ice Shard move 2: Wood Hammer / Earthquake move 3: Protect move 4: Leech Seed item: Leftovers ability: Snow Warning nature: Adamant evs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe [SET COMMENTS] <p>Abomasnow makes for a very adept physical attacker, thanks to its powerful STAB Wood Hammer, priority Ice Shard, and surprise factor, as it's typically expected to be using Blizzard and other special attacks. Ice Shard is arguably the most useful move on this set, as it hits many opponents in OU hard, 2HKOing and even OHKing a large number of threats. Here are some calculations to exemplify its usefulness:<p> <ul class="damage_calculation"> <li>Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragonite (Multiscale in-tact): 37.15% - 44.58%</li> <li>Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragonite (Multiscale broken): 74.3% - 89.16%</li> <li>Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Landorus-I: 78.99% - 94.04%</li> <li>Ice Shard vs. 200 HP / 244 Def Landorus-T (With Intimidate): 35.77% - 43.36%</li> <li>Ice Shard vs. 200 HP / 244 Def Landorus-T (Without Intimidate): 53.11 - 62.87%</li> <li>Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 67.22% - 80.67%</li> <li>Ice Shard vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Latios: 45.69% - 54.3%</li> <li>Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Salamence: 83.38% - 99.09%</li> <li>Ice Shard vs. 252 HP / 184+ Def Gliscor: 41.8% - 50.84%</li> </ul> <p>Abomasnow's alternate STAB move, Wood Hammer, is equally as punishing, as its sheer power makes it difficult to switch into. It hits Water-, Ground-, and Rock-types, such as Jellicent, Gastrodon, and Tyranitar hard, giving teammates more opportunities to sweep. Earthquake may be used over Wood Hammer, as it allows Abomasnow to hit Heatran and Ninetales switch-ins, as well as Electric-types, such as Jolteon and Raikou. Leech Seed provides Abomasnow with a somewhat reliable form of recovery, recovering 12.5% HP on top of what Leftovers recovers. It can also function as a phazing move, as it discourages many opposing Pokemon from staying in for too long. Protect further increases Leech Seed's recovery effect, reaching 37.5% of recover after two turns (with Leftovers of course), while forcing the opponent into more residual damage via hail and Leech Seed. Protect also allows Abomasnow to scout the opposition, locking choice opponents into a move.</p> [ADDITIONAL COMMENTS] <p>The listed EV spread maximizes Abomasnow's Attack and bulk, while giving it enough Speed to outrun minimum-Speed Politoed. However, if you prefer an Abomasnow with more bulk, a spread of 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD can be utilized in order to switch in against Water- and Electric-type attacks. A Life Orb may be used over Leftovers if more power is desired, and it can make the difference between a 2HKO and an OHKO. Unfortunately, the lack of Leftovers recovery and additional recoil damage are unfavorable for Abomasnow.</p> <p>Because this variant lacks Hidden Power Fire, teammates such as Magnezone or Heatran are recommended, as they are capable of removing Steel-types, specifically Scizor, Skarmory, or Ferrothorn. Carrying Magnezone or Heatran also makes dealing with faster Scizor variants easier, as Choice Scarf and 252 Speed Scizor variants outpace and KO Abomasnow with U-turn or Bug Bite. Tentacruel and Heatran are able to deal with Fire-type threats, and synergize well with Abomasnow. Tentacruel has access to Rapid Spin and Toxic Spikes, adding to residual damage and removing Stealth Rock to allow Abomasnow to switch in. Pokemon that function well on hail teams, such as Reuniclus, Jellicent, and Kyurem also make for solid partners, as they all benefit from Leech Seed's recovery and residual damage, while countering common Abomasnow checks, specifically Scizor and Terrakion.</p> [Other Options] <p>Giga Drain can be used on the mixed and physical sets over their Wood Hammer for extra recovery. However, it is not recommended, Wood Hammer is much more powerful than Giga Drain. Focus Blast may also seem like a logical choice on the mixed set, however, its shaky accuracy makes it an unfavourable choice. Additionally, Earthquake and Hidden Power Fire have similar coverage to Focus Blast, making it redundant. Abomasnow does have access to Swords Dance, but due to its abysmal Speed stat, it cannot fully take advantage of a +2 Attack stat. Equipping Abomasnow with Choice Specs or Choice Band may seem like a wise idea, but this would cause excess switching, which is not recommended for a Pokemon with a Stealth Rock weakness. The same is true for Choice Scarf Abomasnow, which is outsped by positively-natured base 115s and other Choice Scarf Pokemon doesn't do Scarf Abomasnow any favours.</p> [Checks and Counters] <p>The downside of Abomasnow's typing is its crippling weakness to Stealth Rock, which arguably functions as the most reliable check to Abomasnow. Fire-, Steel-, and Fighting-types, such as Volcarona, Metagross, and Terrakion, make for reliable checks to Abomasnow due to their super effective STAB moves. Opposing weather starters, such as Ninetales and Tyranitar, also make for solid checks to Abomasnow despite having to watch out for Earthquake and Wood Hammer respectively. Jirachi, Scizor, and Terrakion, function as the best checks to Abomasnow and hail teams, being able to heavily damage the opposition while resisting key attacking types, such as opposing Ice-types. Bulky Steel-types, such as Jirachi, Skarmory, and Heatran, as well as Chansey and Blissey, can wall Abomasnow effectively.</p> __________________ Ever wanted to contribute to Smogon? Visit the Contributions and Corrections forum! \|Work \| UU Titans project \| UU Research Week Mk.III #5 \| Last edited by Pokemazter; Apr 29th, 2013 at 11:21:02 PM.