Snover (Choice Scarf)

QC stamps: 2/2
GP stamps: 0/2

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Blizzard
move 2: Hidden Power Ground
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Energy Ball / Wood Hammer
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Hasty
evs: 8 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 244 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>When Snover enters the playing field, the one thing going through the opponent's mind will be "dead weight". It is used almost solely in UU to set up hail and then either sit around for the majority of the match or just be used as death fodder. However, when attached with a Choice Scarf, Snover stops being dead weight for hail teams and instead becomes an effective counter to almost every Rain Dance team as well as an effective revenge killer to common Pokemon such as Venusaur.</p>

<p>Blizzard is the primary attack, having 180 BP after STAB combined with 100% accuracy and no drawbacks in hail. Although Blizzard is the most useful attack on the set, it is not the only useful one; Hidden Power Ground allows Snover to significantly damage Aggron and provide excellent coverage with Blizzard. Ice Shard is a useful tool for killing faster Pokemon with a bit of health left, such as Swellow or Dugtrio. In the final slot, pick one of the Grass-moves that give Snover a true niche; demolishing Rain Dance.</p>

[Additional Comments]
<p>244 Speed EVs with a Hasty Nature allows Snover to outspeed max Speed base 80 Pokemon such as Venusaur or Kabutops, as well as Life Orb Milotic and max Speed, neutral nature base 95 Speed Pokemon (such as Arcanine). Venusaur, who will usually stay in and try to kill Snover with Life Orb Sludge Bomb, can be taken out by Blizzard before it even gets a chance to fire it off. The key to stopping rain is the element of surprise that this set gives. All Snover has to do is switch into Kabutops, either during Swords Dance or after Kabutops has killed something. With the rain stopped due to Snow Warning, Snover will now outspeed Kabutops. Kabutops, under the assumption that it will be faster, will try to OHKO Snover with Stone Edge, but it will promptly be OHKOed by Snover's Grass-type attack of choice. This same method can take out Omastar (although Omastar will likely switch out unless it can KO Snover) and also stop rain, allowing Snover to slowly wear down all of their rain sweepers such as Ludicolo.</p>

<p>Choosing between Energy Ball and Wood Hammer can be difficult. Both can OHKO Kabutops and Omastar, however the former will have more power versus Rhyperior and Regirock while the latter will deal more damage to Lanturn and Mismagius. This can be especially useful when these mons switch in, expecting a light Grass Knot and instead take significant damage from Wood Hammer.</p>

<p>Choice Scarf Snover adds yet another sweeper onto "Blizzspam" teams and also adds a safety net for hail stall teams that can often find themselves weak to Rain Dance. Obviously, other Pokemon that can abuse hail are also excellent partners. Glaceon, Walrein, and Jynx can fire off STAB Blizzards from high Special Attack stats. Dugtrio is another useful Pokemon on these hail teams, trapping and killing Registeel and Chansey, two of Snover's biggest threats. To keep Snover healthy, a rapid spinner is also advised, as Snover has enough trouble switching into attacks with it low defenses anyway. Snover should be used on teams that are in need of hail, such as offensive Blizzard teams and hail stall. Snover's Snow Warning will cut Synthesis and Morning Sun's healing power, as well as take off 6% HP from your Pokemon each turn, unless they are Ice-type.</p>

<p>Registeel is the best counter, shrugging off anything Snover throws at it and firing off Thunder Waves, Iron Heads, or setting up Rain Dance for free. Arcanine can also shrug off all of Snover's attacks and OHKO with Flare Blitz. Arcanine can also outspeed Snover without the use of boosting items. Heracross also outspeeds and can switch in on every attack except Blizzard, threatening Snover with STAB Close Combat and Megahorn. Snover's utility dramatically goes down after the set is revealed, as it only takes smart switching to ultimately down it.</p>
 
This actually seems interesting. Though it has low offensive stats, it can actually work better than Leech Seed stalling in the lead position. It has great surprise value, and spikers such as Omastar and Cloyster can't set up more than 1 layer of hazards. I'm definitely going to test this out!
 
Aside from the changes I told you on IRC, change the HP EVs to 8 and give it 4 SpD, to avoid a SR number divisible by 4 and this seems good to go (you do however have some parts to fix in this analysis, but I'll either pm you on IRC or just let GP work its magic):

stamp3.png
 
I know this has been approved already and it's too late to change it, but I'm going to jump in anyway.

Running 252 EVs could be better but it's very rarely needed. It allows you to reach 294 speed, outrunning Magmortar and Skuntank at 291 and 293 respectively. Their STABs both decimate Snover, but they're also both weak to HP Ground, giving Snover a chance to hit them with a super effective attack before they move.

However, these two are very rarely seen in UU, so it wouldn't be necessary. On the other hand, your 4 SpD and 8 HP EVs don't help with any specific threats that I can think of, so it may not be a bad idea to run max speed, just for those two.

@Bluewind,

To avoid an SR number, the IVs can be tweaked, still allowing for 252 Spe EVs.
 
grammar edits in pink
prose edits in blue

[box][SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Blizzard
move 2: Hidden Power Ground
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Energy Ball / Wood Hammer
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Hasty
evs: 8 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 244 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>When Snover enters the playing field, it will generally be perceived by the opponent as "dead weight". It is used almost solely in UU to set up hail and then either sit around for the majority of the match or just serve as death fodder. However, when attached with a Choice Scarf, Snover becomes an effective counter to almost every Rain Dance team as well as an effective revenge killer to common Pokemon such as Venusaur.</p>

<p>Blizzard is the primary attack, having 180 BP after STAB, combined with 100% accuracy and no drawbacks in hail. Although Blizzard is the most useful attack on the set, it is not the only useful one; Hidden Power Ground allows Snover to significantly damage Aggron and provides excellent coverage with Blizzard. Ice Shard is a useful tool for picking off faster Pokemon such as Swellow or Dugtrio. For the final slot, pick one of the Grass moves that gives Snover a true niche and a way to demolish Rain Dance teams.</p>

[Additional Comments]
<p>244 Speed EVs with a Hasty Nature allow Snover to outspeed max Speed base 80 Pokemon such as Venusaur or Kabutops, as well as Life Orb Milotic and max Speed, neutral natured base 95 Speed Pokemon such as Arcanine. Venusaur, who will usually stay in and try to kill Snover with Life Orb Sludge Bomb, can be taken out by Blizzard before it even gets a chance to attack. The key to stopping rain is this set's element of surprise. All Snover has to do is switch into Kabutops, either during Swords Dance or after Kabutops has killed something, and procced to KO it with a Grass-type attack of choice. This same method can take out Omastar (although Omastar will likely switch out unless it can KO Snover) and stop rain, allowing Snover to slowly wear down rain sweepers such as Ludicolo.</p>

<p>Choosing between Energy Ball and Wood Hammer can be difficult. Both can OHKO Kabutops and Omastar; however, the former will hit Rhyperior and Regirock harder while the latter will deal more damage to Lanturn and Mismagius. Wood Hammer can be especially useful when Lanturn and Mismagius switch in expecting a light Grass Knot, as it will deal a high and unexpected amount of damage.</p>

<p>Choice Scarf Snover adds a sweeper to "Blizzspam" teams anda safety net to hail stall teams that can often find themselves weak to Rain Dance. Obviously, other Pokemon that can abuse hail are also excellent partners. Glaceon, Walrein, and Jynx can fire off STAB Blizzards from high Special Attack stats. Dugtrio is another useful Pokemon on these hail teams, trapping and killing Registeel and Chansey, two of Snover's biggest threats. To keep Snover healthy, a rapid spinner is also advised, as Snover has enough trouble switching into attacks with its low defenses anyway. Snover should be used on teams that are in need of hail, such as offensive Blizzard and hail stall teams. Unfortunately, Snover's Snow Warning will cut Synthesis and Morning Sun's healing power and take off 6% HP from your Pokemon each turn, unless they are Ice-type.</p>

<p>Registeel Snover's best counter, shrugging off anything Snover throws at it and firing off Thunder Waves or Iron Heads. Registeel can also easily set up Rain Dance on Snover. Arcanine can also shrug off all of Snover's attacks and OHKO with Flare Blitz, outspeeding Snover without the use of boosting items. Heracross also outspeeds and can switch in on every attack except Blizzard, threatening Snover with STAB Close Combat and Megahorn. Snover's utility dramatically decreases after the set is revealed, as smart switching can ultimately wear it down.</p>[/box]
 
GP Check 1 / 2

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Blizzard
move 2: Hidden Power Ground
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Energy Ball / Wood Hammer
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Hasty
evs: 8 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 244 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>When Snover enters the playing field, the one thing going through the opponent's mind will be "dead weight". It is used almost solely in UU to set up hail and then either sit around for the majority of the match or just be used as death fodder. However, when attachequipped with a Choice Scarf, Snover stops being dead weight for hail teams and instead becomes an effective counter to almost every Rain Dance team as well as an effective revenge killer to common Pokemon such as Venusaur.</p>

<p>Blizzard is the primary attack, having 180 BP after STAB combined with 100% accuracy and no drawbacks in hail. Although Blizzard is the most useful attack on the set, it is not the only useful one; Hidden Power Ground allows Snover to significantly damage Aggron and provide excellent coverage with Blizzard. Ice Shard is a useful tool for killing faster Pokemon with a bit of health left, such as Swellow or Dugtrio. In the final slot, pick one of the Grass-type moves that give Snover a true niche; demolishing Rain Dance.</p>

[Additional Comments]
<p>244 Speed EVs with a Hasty Nature allows Snover to outspeed max Speed base 80 Pokemon such as Venusaur or Kabutops, as well as Life Orb Milotic and max Speed, neutral nature base 95 Speed Pokemon (such as Arcanine). Venusaur, who will usually stay in and try to kill Snover with Life Orb Sludge Bomb, can be taken out by Blizzard before it even gets a chance to fire it off. The key to stopping rain is the element of surprise that this set gives. All Snover has to do is switch into Kabutops, either during Swords Dance or after Kabutops has killed something. With the rain stopped due to Snow Warning, Snover will now outspeed Kabutops. Kabutops, under the assumption that it will be faster, will try to OHKO Snover with Stone Edge, but it will promptly be OHKOed by Snover's Grass-type attack of choice. This same method can take out Omastar (although Omastar will likely switch out unless it can KO Snover) and also stop rain, allowing Snover to slowly wear down all of their rain sweepers such as Ludicolo.</p>

<p>Choosing between Energy Ball and Wood Hammer can be difficult. Both can OHKO Kabutops and Omastar, however the former will have more power versus Rhyperior and Regirock while the latter will deal more damage to Lanturn and Mismagius. This can be especially useful when these Pokemons switch in, expecting a light Grass Knot and instead take significant damage from Wood Hammer.</p>

<p>Choice Scarf Snover adds yet another sweeper onto "Blizzspam" teams and also adds a safety net for hail stall teams that can often find themselves weak to Rain Dance. Obviously, other Pokemon that can abuse hail are also excellent partners. Glaceon, Walrein, and Jynx can fire off STAB Blizzards from high Special Attack stats. Dugtrio is another useful Pokemon on these hail teams, trapping and killing Registeel and Chansey, two of Snover's biggest threats. To keep Snover healthy, a rapid spinner is also advised, as Snover has enough trouble switching into attacks with its low defenses anyway. Snover should be used on teams that are in need of hail, such as offensive Blizzard teams and hail stall. Snover's Snow Warning will cut Synthesis and Morning Sun's healing power, as well as take off 6% HP from your Pokemon each turn, unless they are Ice-type.</p>

<p>Registeel is the best counter, shrugging off anything Snover throws at it and firing off Thunder Waves, Iron Heads, or setting up Rain Dance for free. Arcanine can also shrug off all of Snover's attacks and OHKO with Flare Blitz. Arcanine can also, and can outspeed Snover without the use of boosting items, assuming it has a positive nature. Heracross also outspeeds with a positive nature and can switch in on every attack except Blizzard, threatening Snover with STAB Close Combat and Megahorn. Snover's utility dramatically goes down after the set is revealed, as it only takes smart switching to ultimately down it.</p>

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