





Hello and welcome to this RMT.
New Gen, new Hail team. Unfortunately Hail didn't get a big boost this gen, unlike all the other weathers but there are some pokemon that got upgraded, like the Rotom forms or Poison Heal Gliscor, so there might be hope for Hail after all. This team has actually been the first team I've ever made in 5th gen, which was 3 months ago. Obviously the first draft of this team wasn't nothing like it does look now as it got a major revamp. I started making by making a team with pokemon who I really wanted to try out, because they got new features, or because they weren't OU before. The first version of the team was like this:
New Gen, new Hail team. Unfortunately Hail didn't get a big boost this gen, unlike all the other weathers but there are some pokemon that got upgraded, like the Rotom forms or Poison Heal Gliscor, so there might be hope for Hail after all. This team has actually been the first team I've ever made in 5th gen, which was 3 months ago. Obviously the first draft of this team wasn't nothing like it does look now as it got a major revamp. I started making by making a team with pokemon who I really wanted to try out, because they got new features, or because they weren't OU before. The first version of the team was like this:
- Abomasnow (for setting up Hail obviously)
- Excadrill (Sandstorm counter + Rapid Spinner)
- Deoxys-d (Mixed wall + lays down Stealth Rocks and Spikes)
- Sableye (Anti-spinner, it also made a good lead with Prankster)
- Milotic (Status Absorber + Phazer, I used a RestTalker with Dragon Tail)
- Stallrein (For Hail stall, duh)
- Excadrill (Sandstorm counter + Rapid Spinner)
- Deoxys-d (Mixed wall + lays down Stealth Rocks and Spikes)
- Sableye (Anti-spinner, it also made a good lead with Prankster)
- Milotic (Status Absorber + Phazer, I used a RestTalker with Dragon Tail)
- Stallrein (For Hail stall, duh)
Because weather teams are omnipresent I quickly realised that Wallrein wouldn't stall as much as it did previous gen. The team also didn't perform very well but after a few other tries (Bulky Garchomp with SR and Dragon Tail, Rotom-W, Conculdurr, ...) I came to this version of the team. As you might notice it looks like a Heavy Stall team at first sight but I managed to get some offensive sets in there so I have the upper hand against opposing Stall teams. Anway, that's enough introduction for now, let's take a closer look.
In depth view:

Abomasnow (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SAtk
Quiet nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Ice Shard
- Giga Drain
- Substitute
- Blizzard
- Giga Drain
- Substitute
- Blizzard
Obvious Abomasnow is obvious on a Hail team. But seriously, with all the weather teams around this guy makes my best counter. I opted for a somewhat offensive SubSeed here because Pokémon SubSeed itself is already a very annoying strategy but taking a max SAtk Blizzard to the face isn’t a laughing matter either. Giga Drain received an upgrade this gen making it actually worth using and it adds to Abomasnow’s survivability. After a while I replaced Leech Seed with Ice Shard as many people suggested it. Ice Shard helps me by revenge killing some of the fiercest threats in the current metagame such as the genies, Garchomp, Salamence, etc. I don’t usually lead with Abomasnow because ironically he is the only one immune to Hail on this team and I don’t want to hurt my other guys right away. I mostly start out with either Blissey or Skarmory, depending on with what my opponent will lead in the team preview, because I want to get my entry hazards up right away.
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Skarmory (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)

Skarmory (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
- Roost
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
Skarmory from 4th gen is still viable in gen 5. This is just the basic Spikes set but it is still an amazing set. Skarmory can set up on pretty much almost physical attacker, multiple times if needed. Skarmory also acts as the phazer of the team, abusing the entry hazards. Roost is a reliable recovery move making Skarmory even harder to kill. Brave Bird is mainly a filler move but it does hit the likes of Conculdurr hard. Skamory isn't an offensive poke so it's main way of causing damage to the opponent is through phazing with Whirlwind.
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Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Def / 120 SpA / 92 Spe
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)

Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Def / 120 SpA / 92 Spe
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Seismic Toss
- Flamethrower
- Stealth Rock
- Softboiled
- Flamethrower
- Stealth Rock
- Softboiled
With all those powerful special attackers this gen, I felt Blissey is needed on a decent stall teams in order to survive an onslaught. SkarmBliss has been a solid combination for the 3 previous generations and it still continues to be so. Outside of the fact the she is the most reliable special wall ever existed Blissey also provides me with Stealth Rock support. The moveset and the EV spread might look a bit odd, but it is actually pretty good as it allows me to outspeed and OHKO Scizor, Forretress and 2HKO Ferrothorn and Skarmory trying to use Blissey as set up fodder. Flamethrower also hit’s Gengar and other Ghost trying to set up on me. Softboiled provides a solid recovery move and Blissey doesn’t fear status either because of her Natural Cure Ability. Seismic Toss is an obvious move a Blissey, and is just reliable overall. I still prefer Blissey over Chansey because the loss of Leftovers hurts, especially with residual Hail damage.
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Jellicent (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 HP / 174 Def / 84 Spe
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)

Jellicent (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 HP / 174 Def / 84 Spe
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Scald
- Recover
- Toxic
- Taunt
- Recover
- Toxic
- Taunt
Jellicent acts as both the Spinblocker and the Bulky Water of the team. He is also my main counter to mix Blaziken and Reuniclus. Jellicent provides my team with useful status in the form of Toxic and the likely burn from Scald. Taunt and Toxic makes a solid move combination and allows it to beat Blissey, Chansey and other hardcore walls who are always hard to deal with when it's Stall vs Stall. With Recover Jellicent can stay healthy throughout the match and possible stall with Toxic and hail damage. I use to have Water Absorb on him but I've got other pokemon who can take Water attacks without to much trouble as well. Cursed Body on the other hand is a tricky ability which is great for screwing over Choiced users or pokemon who only have 1 attack to hit Jellicent with. I also had Hidden Power [Electric] on him before mainly for Gyarados but I haven't seen to much of them lately and Taunt proved to be way more useful.
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Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spe
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)

Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spe
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Protect
- Ice Fang
- Earthquake
- Sword Dance
- Ice Fang
- Earthquake
- Sword Dance
Gliscor is mandatory on Hail teams, and always has been. In gen 4 he covered the 2 biggest threats to a Hail team: Tyranitar and Lucario. Now, he also covers the likes of Conculdurr and Mienshao. In gen 5 however Gliscor has greatly improved with the addition of the Dream World ability Poison Heal. Not only does this allow Gliscor the act as a status absorber but it also provides useful solid recovery every turn. Ice Fang and Earthquake for the offensive moves and since they provide pretty good coverage there isn’t much wrong with it. Protect is for the obvious stall effect of Hail damage to the opponent + Poison Heal recovery for me. It also allows Gliscor to scout my opponent. Sword Dance is the somewhat awkward move on this set but it helps me with my weakness against Reuniclus and SD Scizor, who Gliscor can beat most of the time this way. The Blissey – Jellicent – Gliscor core is a quite effective one, allowing me to counter most offensive (weather) team with relative ease.
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Hitmontop (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Atk / 176 Def
Adamant nature (+ Atk, -SAtk)

Hitmontop (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Atk / 176 Def
Adamant nature (+ Atk, -SAtk)
- Rapid Spin
- Mach Punch
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
- Mach Punch
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
Hitmontop fills the last slot on my team but as the saying goes: “last but not least”. This guy is an extremely important member to my team as he provides me a couple of useful things. For starters he gives my team a much needed Spinner. You might notice that I opted to not run Foresight, which is mostly because Spin blockers are not all that common anymore and the ones that are kill me anyway. Not running Foresight gives a free moveslot which I used for Mach Punch. Mach Punch allows Hitmontop to revenge kill the most common Pokémon on Sandstorm team: Tyranitar and Excadrill. With Stone Edge in his arsenal Hitmontop makes a great counter to Gyarados and DD Salamence, Stone Edge also gives good coverage with his STAB moves. Close Combat is a pretty standard move on Hitmontop and has just good damage output against most things. Intimidate is what makes this guy stand out over other spinners such as Donphan (well that and Mach Punch). With Intimidate physical attackers are made completely useless so my other guys have an easier time walling them. I used to have Technician on him before so Mach Punch got boosted but with entry hazards lain down I don't loose important KO's anyway. Sucker Punch was on here before as well but the was more situational while the other moves came more in handy.
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Thanks for reading this RMT.