A Hail team that ISN'T STALL!
It's balanced. At least somewhat balanced.
At a glance:
Anyway, this team is meant to apply offensive pressure early while maintaining a defensive presence. Abomasnow sets up the hail, and can either attack or try to stall out the opponent. He does both very well. I have two choiced pokemon; Victini and Raikou, both of which have a scouting move (U-turn and Volt Switch, respectively). They tear around the opponents pokemon for a bit, throwing around their amazing super effective coverage for the bulk of my team's KO's. Slowking and Hitmontop round out the defenses. Slowking provides valuable special bulk, while Hitmontop spins away the rocks that this team hates. Once his counters are removed, Rotom-F then uses his bulk and STAB boltbeam coverage to finish off the opposing team.
Without further ado, here's the team:
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Abomasnow @ Leftovers
Snow Warning
Sassy
252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpDef
- Blizzard
- Focus Punch
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
The lead for every hail team. Abomasnow sets the pace early with a mix of offense and defense with the sub-seed strategy, which he does very effectively. Offensive pokemon without a fire or super-effective stab move can't take Abomasnow down in one hit, and Abomasnow can fire back with STAB Blizzard or set up a sub. Leech Seed, Hail, and Focus Punch destroy Chansey. Abomasnow can also reliably beat many bulky waters. But he's mostly here for the hail.
Synergy
Fire: Victini, Slowking
Fighting: Victini
Steel: Victini, Raikou, Slowking
Rock: Hitmontop
Poison: n/a
Bug: Hitmontop
Flying: Raikou, Rotom-F
Victini @ Choice Band
Victory Star
Jolly
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
- V-create
- Fusion Bolt
- Zen Headbutt
- U-turn
One of the best, if not the best pokemon in the tier, Victini takes wallbreaking to the extreme with his incredibly strong V-create. Choice Band V-create kills pretty much EVERYTHING that isn't completely defensive, while the rest of his moves deal with pokemon that resist it. Fusion Bolt kills waters, Zen Headbutt does a big number to Arcanine and other flash fire pokes, while U-turn allows me to scout a counter and send out the ideal poke to beat it. The fact that he's been suspect multiple times shows how great Victini truly is.
Synergy
Water: Abomasnow, Slowking
Rock: Hitmontop
Ground: Abomasnow, Rotom-F
Dark: Hitmontop
Ghost: n/a
Raikou @ Choice Scarf
Pressure
Rash
252 Spatk / 4 SpDef / 252 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Weather Ball
- Aura Sphere
- Volt Switch
THE revenge killer, Choice Scarf Raikou combines the ideal mix of speed, power, coverage, and scouting ability to deal with many top threats. Thunderbolt is Raikou's main STAB move, and it will deal huge amounts of damage to any poke that doesn't resist it, isn't ground type, and isn't Chansey. As long as hail is up, Weather Ball gives Raikou the coveted Bolt-Beam coverage that many a poke wishes it had. Aura Sphere is mostly filler, but does more damage to pokes like Mamoswine than any of Raikou's other moves. Volt Switch is for scouting, and deals big damage on Raikou's way out.
Synergy
Ground: Abomasnow, Rotom-F
Slowking @ Leftovers
Regenerator
Calm
212 HP / 44 SpAtk / 252 SpDef
- Scald
- Grass Knot
- Thunder Wave
- Slack off
Slowking is a very underrated threat. Combine big Special Defense and instant recovery in the form of Slack Off with an amazing ability in Regenerator and Slowking is one tough motherf*cker to crack. Scald is the King's STAB move of choice, dealing solid damage and grabbing the occasional burn, allowing slowking to deal with physical threats. Grass Knot makes breaking through Water/Ground's like Quagsire and Gastrodon much easier. Thunder Wave is an amazing asset to have on any team, as it brings fast threats to a crawl and occasionally stopping them from attacking. Slack Off is a move that truly makes Slowking great, Allowing him to tank hits all day long.
Synergy
Dark: Hitmontop
Ghost: n/a
Bug: Hitmontop
Electric: Abomasnow, Raikou, Rotom-F
Grass: Abomasnow
Hitmontop @ Leftovers
Intimidate
Impish
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic
- Hi Jump Kick
- Sucker Punch
Old reliable. Hitmontop has always been good. The fighting type member of my team makes answering dangerous physical threats like Heracross a much less daunting task. Rapid Spin removes the rocks that hail teams hate. Toxic cracks tough walls that may be too strong for the more defensive Hitmon. Hi Jump Kick is Hittmontop's STAB move, and it's high base power often covers up the fact that he has no attack ev's. Sucker Punch is priority that all teams need, though it isn't too reliable.
Synergy
Psychic: Victini, Slowking
Flying: Raikou, Rotom-F
Rotom-F @ Life Orb
Levitate
Timid
252 SpAtk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
- Blizzard
- Thunderbolt
- Substitute
- Pain Split
The main man. I built this team for Rotom-F. Blizzard is his hugely strong STAB move, and it tears many a foe to bits and pieces. Thunderbolt is Rotom's second STAB, hitting waters super effectively and providing great coverage with Blizzard. Substitute is just good. Not much needs to be said about it. Pain Split heals somewhat reliably, given Rotom's low HP stat, and takes a big chunk out of Chansey.
Synergy
Fire: Victini, Slowking
Fighting: Victini, Slowking
Rock: Hitmontop
It's balanced. At least somewhat balanced.
At a glance:
Anyway, this team is meant to apply offensive pressure early while maintaining a defensive presence. Abomasnow sets up the hail, and can either attack or try to stall out the opponent. He does both very well. I have two choiced pokemon; Victini and Raikou, both of which have a scouting move (U-turn and Volt Switch, respectively). They tear around the opponents pokemon for a bit, throwing around their amazing super effective coverage for the bulk of my team's KO's. Slowking and Hitmontop round out the defenses. Slowking provides valuable special bulk, while Hitmontop spins away the rocks that this team hates. Once his counters are removed, Rotom-F then uses his bulk and STAB boltbeam coverage to finish off the opposing team.
Without further ado, here's the team:
_________________________________
Abomasnow @ Leftovers
Snow Warning
Sassy
252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpDef
- Blizzard
- Focus Punch
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
The lead for every hail team. Abomasnow sets the pace early with a mix of offense and defense with the sub-seed strategy, which he does very effectively. Offensive pokemon without a fire or super-effective stab move can't take Abomasnow down in one hit, and Abomasnow can fire back with STAB Blizzard or set up a sub. Leech Seed, Hail, and Focus Punch destroy Chansey. Abomasnow can also reliably beat many bulky waters. But he's mostly here for the hail.
Synergy
Fire: Victini, Slowking
Fighting: Victini
Steel: Victini, Raikou, Slowking
Rock: Hitmontop
Poison: n/a
Bug: Hitmontop
Flying: Raikou, Rotom-F
Victini @ Choice Band
Victory Star
Jolly
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
- V-create
- Fusion Bolt
- Zen Headbutt
- U-turn
One of the best, if not the best pokemon in the tier, Victini takes wallbreaking to the extreme with his incredibly strong V-create. Choice Band V-create kills pretty much EVERYTHING that isn't completely defensive, while the rest of his moves deal with pokemon that resist it. Fusion Bolt kills waters, Zen Headbutt does a big number to Arcanine and other flash fire pokes, while U-turn allows me to scout a counter and send out the ideal poke to beat it. The fact that he's been suspect multiple times shows how great Victini truly is.
Synergy
Water: Abomasnow, Slowking
Rock: Hitmontop
Ground: Abomasnow, Rotom-F
Dark: Hitmontop
Ghost: n/a
Raikou @ Choice Scarf
Pressure
Rash
252 Spatk / 4 SpDef / 252 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Weather Ball
- Aura Sphere
- Volt Switch
THE revenge killer, Choice Scarf Raikou combines the ideal mix of speed, power, coverage, and scouting ability to deal with many top threats. Thunderbolt is Raikou's main STAB move, and it will deal huge amounts of damage to any poke that doesn't resist it, isn't ground type, and isn't Chansey. As long as hail is up, Weather Ball gives Raikou the coveted Bolt-Beam coverage that many a poke wishes it had. Aura Sphere is mostly filler, but does more damage to pokes like Mamoswine than any of Raikou's other moves. Volt Switch is for scouting, and deals big damage on Raikou's way out.
Synergy
Ground: Abomasnow, Rotom-F
Slowking @ Leftovers
Regenerator
Calm
212 HP / 44 SpAtk / 252 SpDef
- Scald
- Grass Knot
- Thunder Wave
- Slack off
Slowking is a very underrated threat. Combine big Special Defense and instant recovery in the form of Slack Off with an amazing ability in Regenerator and Slowking is one tough motherf*cker to crack. Scald is the King's STAB move of choice, dealing solid damage and grabbing the occasional burn, allowing slowking to deal with physical threats. Grass Knot makes breaking through Water/Ground's like Quagsire and Gastrodon much easier. Thunder Wave is an amazing asset to have on any team, as it brings fast threats to a crawl and occasionally stopping them from attacking. Slack Off is a move that truly makes Slowking great, Allowing him to tank hits all day long.
Synergy
Dark: Hitmontop
Ghost: n/a
Bug: Hitmontop
Electric: Abomasnow, Raikou, Rotom-F
Grass: Abomasnow
Hitmontop @ Leftovers
Intimidate
Impish
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic
- Hi Jump Kick
- Sucker Punch
Old reliable. Hitmontop has always been good. The fighting type member of my team makes answering dangerous physical threats like Heracross a much less daunting task. Rapid Spin removes the rocks that hail teams hate. Toxic cracks tough walls that may be too strong for the more defensive Hitmon. Hi Jump Kick is Hittmontop's STAB move, and it's high base power often covers up the fact that he has no attack ev's. Sucker Punch is priority that all teams need, though it isn't too reliable.
Synergy
Psychic: Victini, Slowking
Flying: Raikou, Rotom-F
Rotom-F @ Life Orb
Levitate
Timid
252 SpAtk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
- Blizzard
- Thunderbolt
- Substitute
- Pain Split
The main man. I built this team for Rotom-F. Blizzard is his hugely strong STAB move, and it tears many a foe to bits and pieces. Thunderbolt is Rotom's second STAB, hitting waters super effectively and providing great coverage with Blizzard. Substitute is just good. Not much needs to be said about it. Pain Split heals somewhat reliably, given Rotom's low HP stat, and takes a big chunk out of Chansey.
Synergy
Fire: Victini, Slowking
Fighting: Victini, Slowking
Rock: Hitmontop
