Windsong
stumbling down elysian fields
Snover
(Taken over from Cloud8's analysis here)
[Overview]
<p>At first, using the little abomnable snowman seems like an odd choice in RU. Its base stats are reasonably low, so even with Eviolite, its defenses are nothing fantastic, and in general the RU metagame isn't all that kind to it. However, Snover has a trick up its sleeve in its ability: Snow Warning. Snover's ability automatically starts a hailstorm as soon as Snover enters the field, and it is the only permanent weather starter in RU providing support to many dangerous hail abusers such as Glaceon, Walrein, and Rotom-F. Snover isn't even a dead weight on those teams, since it has a nice array of support options, as well as the typing and ability to abuse them.</p>
[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Leech Seed
move 2: Protect
move 3: Blizzard
move 4: Toxic / Giga Drain / Substitute
item: Eviolite
ability: Snow Warning
nature: Calm
EVs: 248 HP/ 8 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Although a relatively surprising choice in the RU tier, Snover's reasonable defenses, along with the ability to summon hail, make it the key player in most hail teams. Due to the lack of other permanent weather setters, Snover is able to freely set up hail early on in the battle, then use its useful resistances to switch into and defeat Pokemon which wall common hail teams.</p>
<p>Leech Seed is the primary move, hitting almost all of Snover's common switch ins, while making use of Snover's below average HP stat to heal a higher percentage of HP. It works very well in tandem with Protect, which not only allows Snover extra time to rack up hail and Leech Seed damage, but also allows Snover to scout the opponent's move. Blizzard is the primary attacking move as it hits everything that isn't hit by Leech Seed extremely hard, and makes Snover significantly more threatening offensively. Finally, in the last moveslot, Snover has many options available. Toxic is generally the best option, as it wears down many defensive threats to hail teams, such as Lanturn and Slowking. Giga Drain provides a secondary STAB move and healing, while Substitute can be abused very easily with Leech Seed and Protect.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>There are many ways to arrange Snover's EVs, but in general, a full specially defensive spread is best, for it allows Snover to make the best use of its interesting array of resistances. The given HP EVs are the most efficient, allowing Snover one extra switch in with Stealth Rock. If more Speed is required, Snover can run a spread of 248 HP / 172 SpD / 88 Spe, which allows it to outrun neutral base 50s. Snover can also use more offensively oriented EVs, such as 248 HP / 172 SpA / 88 Spe, to give Blizzard much more punch. Finally, although Snover is capable of running more physically defensive sets, it's not recommended as most of the Pokemon that Snover is can wall are specially inclined.</p>
<p>In general, Snover's best teammates are Pokemon that either benefit from hail or can set up on many of Snover's common switch ins. Glaceon, Jynx, and Cryogonal all pair well with Snover, as permanent hail gives them the ability to fire off high powered Blizzards without fear of an untimely misses. Similarly, Walrein and Glaceon can abuse hail with Ice Body to stall out huge portions of the metagame, while still posing a formidable offensive threat. Continuing on, most Water-, Poison- and Psychic- types have reasonably decent synergy with Snover, for their ability to switch in on some of its major weaknesses. Qwilfish and Omastar are both capable of providing Spikes and Toxic Spikes support, while Claydol and Wartortle can both offer Rapid Spin support for it.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Blizzard
move 2: Giga Drain
move 3: Hidden Power Ground
move 4: Ice Shard
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Snow Warning
nature: Hasty
EVs: 8 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 244 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Even though it plays an important role on all hail teams, Snover is often considered a dead weight, as it lacks the offensive power that many of the other hail sweepers offer. This set attempts to remedy that, turning Snover into a Pokemon capable of checking many important Chlorophyll and Swift Swim sweepers, as well as many common Pokemon in general.</p>
<p>Even coming off of Snover's rather pathetic base 62 SpA stat, Blizzard hits reasonably hard, whittling down many of the Pokemon that resist Ice, while allowing Snover to break through several of its common switch ins. Giga Drain allows Snover to recover some of its HP when attacking, which is always helpful, especially since Snover suffers from a weakness to Stealth Rock. Giga Drain is also useful for breaking through the Water-types which come in to wall Blizzard. Hidden Power Ground lets Snover hit Entei and Magneton, both of whom commonly switch in on more defensive Snover, with the assumption that Snover is incapable of hurting them. Finally, Ice Shard rounds off the set as a filler, however, it can be useful for picking off faster Pokemon such as Swellow, Sceptile, and Sawsbuck.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The given EVs and nature allow Snover to outspeed everything up to positive Speed base 80s and neutral natured base 95s. This includes many prominent Pokemon, such as Kabutops, Modest Moltres, and even unboosted Sharpedo. Max Special Attack is a must since Snover's Special Attack stat is downright pathetic and it needs all the power it can get. 8 HP EVs are necessary to allow Snover to take minimum damage from Stealth Rock, while the remaining EVs are placed into Special Defense in order to make better use of Snover's resistances.</p>
<p>As always, Snover appreciates teammates who can abuse hail. Because Choice Scarf Snover is more offensively minded than other Snover sets, it partners well with more offensive hail abusers, such as Glaceon, Rotom-F, Cryogonal,(comma) and Jynx. However, Choice Scarf Snover still works well with Walrein and Ice Body Glaceon. Choice Scarf Snover can also fit into stall oriented and balanced hail teams because it can revenge kill almost all Chlorophyll and Swift Swim sweepers with ease.</p>
<p>Continuing on, Snover really appreciates both hazard and Rapid Spin support. Due to its ability to force switches, and excellent synergy with many Spikers, it's worthwhile to use Qwilfish or Omastar to set up Spikes. In addition, being an Ice-type, Snover is weak to Stealth Rock and which means Rapid Spin support is almost a necessity. Thankfully, many spinners partner well with Snover, such as Claydol, Wartortle, and Cryogonal.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Snover has a variety of support options. For example, Snover has access to the extremely inaccurate GrassWhistle, which can be helpful in handling one counter, but in general it isn't consistent enough to merit a mention on any of the main sets. Snover also has Magic Coat available to it, which can be helpful in reflecting Taunt, Stealth Rock, Spikes, and so on.</p>
<p>On a more offensive note, Snover has access to all the moves necessary to pull off a decent Swords Dance set, thanks to Swords Dance, Wood Hammer, and Ice Shard. However, this is generally outclassed by Pokemon with a higher base Attack stat. Snover can also use a Choice Specs set in order to hit switch ins harder with Blizzard and recover more HP with Giga Drain, although it's really too slow to use it effectively. Finally, Snover can also opt for a mixed set, although it lacks the power to actually break through many important walls.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Snover's typing gives it seven weaknesses, many of which are extremely common in RU, such as Fire, Rock, and Fighting. A huge number of Pokemon can therefore KO Snover, even with Eviolite, and are all relatively unafraid of the Choice Scarf set. For example, Typhlosion, Moltres, and Entei are all capable of taking anything that Snover can throw at them, while Hitmonchan, Gallade, and Medicham can easily beat most Snover as well. Aggron and other Rock- types can also deal significant damage to Snover, or scare it out and set up for free. Finally, Flying-types such as Braviary and Swellow can easily KO Snover, though they can't switch in on Blizzard.</p>
<p>Snover can't do much damage to bulky Water-types, even with Giga Drain, since Giga Drain is relatively weak off of Snover's base 62 SpA stat. Specially defensive behemoths, such as Cryogonal, as well as Pokemon immune to passive damage, such as Clefable and Duosion, are also capable of handling Snover reasonably well. Cryogonal can take any hits from the offensive sets, while Clefable and Duosion completely wall all defensive Snover. Finally, Stealth Rock is a constant annoyance to Snover, limiting its switch ins and whittling its HP down quickly.</p>
[Dreamworld]
<p>Snover gets Soundproof from Dreamworld, but the only real reason to use Snover is for Snow Warning, so Soundproof is useless.</p>