[OVERVIEW]
Sneasel carves itself a niche in the RU tier by virtue of its unique Dark and Ice STAB moves that make it difficult to switch into, as few Pokemon in the tier resist both; combined, they hit a wide expanse of the tier for super effective damage. This makes many common physical walls such as Gligar, Doublade, and Slowbro wary of switching in on Sneasel. Additionally, its high Speed stat puts it above most of the unboosted tier, which, combined with its STAB Ice-type priority, makes it difficult for offensive teams to deal with and a great revenge killer for prominent offensive threats. Sneasel's access to Pursuit allows it to trap Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokemon as well as catch threats that are weak to Ice as they switch out for big damage, which is a unique trait among Dark-types and sets it apart from rivals such as Zoroark. However, Sneasel's frailty and poor defensive typing lead it to contribute little defensively and leave it unable to switch in on much, and a weakness to Stealth Rock can lead to it being worn down quickly. Also, a lackluster base Attack stat means Sneasel hits neutral targets for low damage and often misses OHKOs or 2HKOs on some bulkier targets, even those weak to it, which prevents it from dealing huge damage to teams from the get-go and means it requires support to realize its full potential.
[SET]
name: All-out Attacker
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Icicle Crash
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Pursuit
item: Life Orb / Choice Band
ability: Inner Focus
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Knock Off is strong, is spammable, and removes items from targets, often leaving them vulnerable. Icicle Crash rounds out Sneasel's STAB coverage and allows it to threaten a wider range of Pokemon than most Dark-types, as well as threaten Ice-weak foes in order to take advantage of its speedy Pursuit. Its 30% flinch chance can also come in handy in a pinch. Ice Shard picks off weakened offensive threats and frail threats weak to Ice such as Swellow as well as revenge killing potent sweepers such as Dragon Dance Flygon and Chlorophyll Venusaur in sun. Pursuit allows Sneasel to secure KOs on weakened foes and takes advantage of the switches Sneasel causes with its high Speed and expansive coverage to deal large chunks to or outright KO the foe as it switches out. Low Kick could be used over Pursuit to nail Mega Glalie, Gigalith, Snorlax, and Registeel, which otherwise stop Sneasel in its tracks, but Sneasel doesn't often find space to use it, as its other options are generally more valuable. Similarly, Iron Tail is an option over Pursuit to hit other switch-ins in Florges, Diancie, and Gigalith hard on the switch, but Sneasel again can't fit it onto a moveset very easily, and Pokemon like Florges and Gigalith greatly dislike Knock Off to begin with. Also, Iron Tail is somewhat unreliable due to its low accuracy.
Set Details
========
Full Speed and Attack EVs maximize Sneasel's offensive prowess, and a Jolly nature keeps Sneasel's amazing Speed tier intact, allowing it to stay faster than numerous threats such as Zoroark, Espeon, Heliolisk, Virizion, Shaymin, and Flygon. None of its abilites are particularly practical, so Inner Focus is chosen for situational usefulness should Sneasel happen to take a weak Fake Out or another flinch-causing move. The item choice largely depends on the team: Choice Band is used for a large boost in power, makes Knock Off and Icicle Crash much more difficult to switch in to, and allows Sneasel to become a very threatening Pursuit trapper at the cost of being locked into the move afterwards. Life Orb is preferred on more offensive teams that want to take advantage of Sneasel's excellent dual STAB to break holes in the opposing team or effectively clean in the late-game, but it misses out on a few 2HKOs such as on maximum Defense Chesnaught and reduces the effectiveness of Pursuit. Black Glasses could be used to take advantage of the power boost to Pursuit and Knock Off while bluffing a Choice item, but the power is sorely missed on Ice-type moves.
Usage Tips
========
Due to its frailty and poor defensive typing, Sneasel is best used as a revenge killer or after being brought in by a slow U-turn or Volt Switch such as from Gligar. After getting Sneasel in, utilize its fantastic two-move coverage to threaten a large variety of prominent Pokemon such as Nidoqueen, Kommo-o, Flygon, Shaymin, Gligar, and Bronzong. Use Knock Off liberally, as it has essentially no drawbacks and has the advantage of removing valuable items from foes. Also take advantage of Pursuit to trap problematic Psychic- and Ghost-types, and use the threat of Sneasel's Ice-type STAB moves to threaten out enemies weak to Ice in order to chunk them later with Pursuit. Additionally, due to Sneasel's high Speed and decent power, it can preserved for the late-game in order to act as a cleaner once its checks are sufficiently weakened. When using Sneasel, note that since Z-Crystals cannot be knocked off, so holding one reduces the Base Power of Knock Off to a paltry 65. This allows bulky foes weak to Dark such as Reuniclus, Slowbro, and Cresselia to take advantage of Sneasel, as opposed to the other way around.
Team Options
========
Primary partners to Sneasel are Pokemon that can clean up after Sneasel has worn down the opposing team, such as Salazzle, Sharpedo, Swellow, and Choice Scarf Heracross. Sneasel also appreciates teammates that can break holes in the opposition for it to clean afterwards, such as Guts Heracross, Kommo-o, Nidoqueen, and Moltres. Teammates that enjoy Psychic- and Ghost-types weakened or removed, such as Heracross, Toxicroak, Snorlax, and Necrozma, value the support Sneasel brings to the table with Pursuit. Sneasel pairs well with partners that can dispatch bulky Water- and Fairy-types to allow Sneasel more room to break teams, such as Shaymin, Roserade, Toxicroak, Doublade, and Escavalier. Special mention goes to Roserade, as it threatens both of these typings and also sets up Spikes for Sneasel to capitalize on. Volt Switch and U-turn users such as Heliolisk, Rotom-H, Choice Scarf Flygon, and Gligar are practically necessary to get Sneasel on the field outside of revenge killing. As Sneasel is frail and weak to numerous common typings such as Fire, Fighting, Fairy, and Steel, partners that can easily switch into and beat Pokemon of these typings are very appreciated, such as Doublade, Rotom-H, Escavalier, and Salazzle. Sneasel also likes being paired with entry hazard setters, as it enjoys the extra chip damage to help support its below-average Attack and assist it in wallbreaking, late-game cleaning, and revenge killing. The aforementioned Nidoqueen and Roserade are especially good partners, as they enjoy offensive Psychic-types being removed by Sneasel and in return threaten and weaken bulky Fairy- and Water-types that Sneasel dislikes. Nidoqueen is also a soft Steel-type check, being able to switch into the likes of Escavalier and Doublade. Mega Glalie can form a threatening Ice-type spam core with Sneasel, as Sneasel is able to weaken or remove common Ice checks in Bronzong and Doublade, while Glalie can weaken Water-types for Sneasel with Freeze-Dry and set up Spikes for it to clean or wallbreak more effectively. Sneasel also very much appreciates hazard control on its own side, as it is worn down quickly between a weakness to Stealth Rock and Life Orb recoil. Rapid Spin users such as Donphan also enjoy that Sneasel can remove Ghost-types that can block Rapid Spin with its Pursuit.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A set with Eviolite and Swords Dance is an option, but it forfeits one of Sneasel's very valued moveslots and often misses the power from a boosting item. It is also rather difficult to set up with and not particularly strong afterwards either. Focus Sash + Counter can be used to catch some physical attackers off guard, but this once again gives up one of Sneasel's moveslots. Additionally, unboosted Sneasel is quite weak, and it doesn't stay at full HP very well to utilize this strategy.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Bulky Fairy-types**: Florges, Diancie, and Granbull are bulky enough to take Icicle Crash, resist Knock Off, and threaten Sneasel with an OHKO in return.
**Bulky Water-types**: Bulky Water-type Pokemon such as Milotic, Pyukumuku, and Blastoise switch into Sneasel with ease and scare it off by threatening it with Scald burns or, in Pyukumuku's case, Counter. However, Knock Off is rather crippling, as it often gets rid of Leftovers or some other important item.
**Steel-types**: Most Steel-type Pokemon, such as Durant and Escavalier, have little problem taking on Sneasel, as they resist Icicle Crash, take Knock Off decently, and threaten to OHKO it with their STAB attacks. Even Doublade, which is weak to Knock Off, can take one and retaliate with an OHKO. However, though they make take the hit, none of these Pokemon particularly enjoy being hit by Knock Off.
**Bulky Pokemon Not Weak to Sneasel**: Sneasel's below-average Attack means that bulky Pokemon that aren't weak to its STAB attacks such as Umbreon, Snorlax, and Gigalith take little from Sneasel's attacks and force it to switch. Some offensive Pokemon with high Defense stats such as Cloyster also easily take hits from Sneasel and can use it as setup bait.
**Choice Scarf Users and Faster Offensive Pokemon**: Due to Sneasel's frailty, offensive Pokemon that outspeed it such as Salazzle and Choice Scarf Rotom-H, Gardevoir, and Heracross can KO it with ease, and only foes weak to Ice have anything to fear in return.
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