Hail Discussion Thread
Despite Rain and Sun having great offensive presence, hail has monopoly on weather with the only auto-inducing ability in the tier and should always be prepared for. Hail abusers also find home in the tier such as Rotom-F, Glaceon and Stallrein. Hail teams do have there problems that stop it from being as dominating as it could be like the omnipresent Stealth Rock. Even with the aforementioned glaring weaknesses, Hail should always be considered when team building as both a candidate for a team, as well as a threat.
The Weather Starter:
The most vital part of any hail team; Snover has Snow Warning which immediately summons a permanent hailstorm. With Eviolite, Snover gets overall bulk just short of it's evolution, Abomasnow. This bulk allows him to set up a Sub in front of many Pokemon and Leech Seed there health away to compensate for lack of Leftovers. Unfortunately, Snover has weaknesses to common attacking types in the tier such as Bug and Fire but as the only perma-weather, it is not as necessary to keep your weather inducer alive like in other tiers.
Snover @ Eviolite
Trait: Snow Warning
Nature: Calm
EV's: 248 HP/ 172 Sp. Def/ 88 Def
Moves:
-Leech Seed
-Protect
-Substitute
-Giga Drain
Snover @ Eviolite
Trait: Snow Warning
Nature: Calm
EV's: 248 HP/ 172 Sp. Def/ 88 Def
Moves:
-Leech Seed
-Protect
-Substitute
-Giga Drain
This is the set that takes advantage of Eviolite the best and is probably the most common Snover set. As previously stated, his Subs are very bulky and they also stop him from being Toxiced when he is trying to stall for Hail and Leech Seed damage. Leech Seed also compensates for Snover's low HP and lack of Leftovers. Protect is amazing for scouting for surprise HP Fires and can be used to get an extra 18% of damage on the opponent without taking any damage. The EV spread and Eviolite give great mixed bulk and give Snover the abilty to take Thunderbolts and Scalds all day long. Unfortunately, Giga Drain doesn't do much damage damage and can leave Snover as set up fodder against things like Calm Mind Entei. Regardless, Snover is a necessary evil for Hail teams and with the proper set Snover can actually do something beyond setting up Hail.
Hail Abusers:
As mentioned previously, many Hail abusers find a home in RU and can cause quite the havoc. Abusing Hail can be anything from taking advantage of an evasion boost with Snow Cloak, Spamming powerful Blizzards or even stalling out hail damage with Ice Body recovery. These abusers are the heart of most hail teams and there are many options available to build a hail team around available such As Glaceon, Walrein and even Beartic. Regardless the form of hail abuse or abuser, it is generally a very effective strategy and there are still many useful hail abusers that are not on this list that can be just as powerful.
Glaceon @Choice Specs
Trait: Snow Cloak/ Ice Body
Nature: Modest
EV's: 252 HP/ 252 Sp. Atk/ 4 Spe
Moves:
-Blizzard
-Shadow Ball
-HP Fire/ HP Ground
-Ice Beam/ Baton Pass
Glaceon @Choice Specs
Trait: Snow Cloak/ Ice Body
Nature: Modest
EV's: 252 HP/ 252 Sp. Atk/ 4 Spe
Moves:
-Blizzard
-Shadow Ball
-HP Fire/ HP Ground
-Ice Beam/ Baton Pass
Glaceon was never really used in 4th gen outside of NU but Glaceon finds a place in RU in 5th gen, hitting majority of common flying types in the tier with a powerful Blizzard. Unfortunately, Glaceon faces stiff competition from Rotom-F for a Blizzspammer with his superior speed. Glaceon does have higher special attack and a Specs set takes full advantage of that, Glaceon also uses its nice bulk with full HP investment to avoid revenge kills outside of powerful fighting and fire types. A scarf set is still viable as with max speed and a Timid nature, Glaceon can outspeed all base 120's but is arguably outclassed by Rotom-F. A scarf set also forces Glaceon to switch more; a deadly practice for an ice type with a weakness to Stealth Rock. The other issue that holds Glaceon back is a shallow movepool; outside of Blizzard and Ice Beam Glaceon only really has Shadow Ball and Hidden Power for coverage. Glaceon can still make that work as it hits threatening Spinblockers that Hail teams hate with Shadow Ball and can fall back on HP Ground for the likes of Aggron or HP Fire for Ice types and a stronger hit on Ferroseed. Lack of movepool also leaves room for Ice Beam; which has much higher PP than Blizzard or Baton Pass to gain momentum. Not to mention Glaceons two great abilities that it has over Rotom-F that can make even 100% accurate moves miss 20% of the time or give Glaceon a higher HP recovery per turn than Leftovers; therefore freeing up an item slot.
Walrein@ Leftovers
Trait: Ice Body
Nature: Bold
EV's: 232 HP/ 252 Def/ 24 Sp. Def
Moves:
-Substitute
-Protect
-Blizzard/ Surf
-Toxic/ Roar/ Super Fang
Rotom-F@ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
Nature: Modest
EV's 4 HP/ 252 Sp. Atk/ 252 Spe
Moves:
-Blizzard
-Thunderbolt
-Trick
HP Fire/ Volt Switch
Beartic@ Leftovers/ Life Orb
Trait: Snow Cloak
Nature: Adamant
EV's: 168 HP/ 252 Atk/ 88 Spe
Moves:
Substitute
Swords Dance
Focus Punch
Icicle Crash/ Ice Punch
Walrein@ Leftovers
Trait: Ice Body
Nature: Bold
EV's: 232 HP/ 252 Def/ 24 Sp. Def
Moves:
-Substitute
-Protect
-Blizzard/ Surf
-Toxic/ Roar/ Super Fang
Rotom-F@ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
Nature: Modest
EV's 4 HP/ 252 Sp. Atk/ 252 Spe
Moves:
-Blizzard
-Thunderbolt
-Trick
HP Fire/ Volt Switch
Beartic@ Leftovers/ Life Orb
Trait: Snow Cloak
Nature: Adamant
EV's: 168 HP/ 252 Atk/ 88 Spe
Moves:
Substitute
Swords Dance
Focus Punch
Icicle Crash/ Ice Punch
Hail Team Suppoters:
Qwilfish@ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
Nature: Impish
EV's: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Moves:
- Spikes
- Waterfall
- Taunt
- Toxic Spikes/ Poison Jab
Claydol@ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Sp. Def
Moves:
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam/ Toxic
Hariyama@ Leftovers
Trait: Thick Fat
Nature: Impish/ Careful
EV's: 12 HP/ 252 Def/ 244 Sp. Def
Moves:
-Rest
-Sleep Talk
-Whirlwind
-Force Palm
Cryogonal@ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
Nature: Calm
EV's: 252 HP/ 252 Sp. Def/ 4 Spe
Moves:
-Rapid Spin
-Recover
-Ice Beam
- Toxic/ Haze
Clefable@ Leftovers
Trait: Magic Guard
Nature: Impish
EV's: 252 HP/ 176 Def/ 80 Sp. Def
Moves:
-Knock Off
-Wish/ Softboiled
-Seismic Toss
-Protect/ Toxic/ Encore/ Heal Bell
Threats to Hail Teams:
Fighting Types
.....
Entei
Entei
.....
Munchlax
Munchlax
.....
Figure I'd Snatchn this thread up. Rest coming soon.