Conni
katharsis
ACHOO WEE CHOOO
QC by: Hilomilo / AD Thunderboy / Corporal Levi
GP by: Conor3197 (AM) / Winry / Fireflame479
[OVERVIEW]
Snover is one of the best hail setters due to its ability Snow Warning automatically setting it upon switching in. Alongside the hail support it provides, it has a good synergy with Alolan Sandshrew, which benefits from the hail. Snover also has access to powerful moves such as Blizzard, which has perfect accuracy in hail and can do massive damage; Giga Drain, which does reasonable STAB damage and provides a form of recovery; and Ice Shard, which can clean off weakened Pokemon. With a Choice Scarf, Snover can outspeed almost all of the unboosted metagame and take out a variety of different Pokemon such as Water-, Ground-, and Flying-types. Snover's Grass / Ice typing leaves it very weak to the common Fighting-type Pokemon and Stealth Rock and the majority of its setters. Snover also faces competition from the two other hail setters, Alolan Vulpix and Amaura, which can set up Aurora Veil and Stealth Rock, respectively. However, Snover differences itself from the other two hail setters due to being able to recover health with Giga Drain, and it can also clean weakened Pokemon with priority moves as well, which are traits that Amaura and Alolan Vulpix don't have. Snover may have Hidden Power Ground, but it mostly cannot KO its checks in a one-on-one situation unless it hits them on an expected switch, so it lacks reliable coverage.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Blizzard
move 2: Giga Drain
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Hidden Power Ground / Hidden Power Fire
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Snow Warning
nature: Naive
evs: 104 Atk / 184 SpA / 200 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Snover's primary move is Blizzard, which gains perfect accuracy in hail and is a very powerful and spammable STAB move that can deal massive damage to neutral targets and certain Pokemon such as Vullaby, Mudbray, and Foongus. Giga Drain serves as a secondary STAB move that can hit Pokemon such as Drilbur, Chinchou, and Tirtouga, although the Pokemon it hits with Giga Drain might carry Rock-type moves, which Snover needs to be careful of. Giga Drain also is a decently reliable recovery source. Ice Shard allows Snover to clean weakened Pokemon that it might not be able to outspeed such as Choice Scarf Doduo and Rufflet. Hidden Power Ground is Snover's most effective coverage move, as it can hit most of Snover's checks super effectively such as Pawniard, Ponyta, and Magnemite; although, it most likely cannot KO them in a one-on-one situation, so it is most effective on an expected switch. Hidden Power Fire is an alternative option,but the only additional Pokemon it hits is Ferroseed, which switches into Snover quite easily otherwise.
Set Details
========
Snover's Speed investment combined with Choice Scarf and a Naive nature allow Snover to reach 21 Speed, which allows it to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame and some other Choice Scarf users. The drawback to this is that Snover's Special Defense is lowered by the effect of the Naive nature, although it doesn't really take a toll, since Snover's Attack and Special Attack are more important, and most moves aimed at it are physical anyway. 104 Attack and 184 Special Attack EVs make Snover's moves much more powerful and allow Snover to sweep more easily, especially with Ice Shard. Snover's offensive EVs allow it to OHKO Doduo and Eviolite Staryu with Ice Shard and Giga Drain, respectively, after they take Stealth Rock and hail damage. Snow Warning allows Snover to set up hail automatically and gain a perfectly accurate Blizzard while nullifying other weather effects; it also provides useful chip damage by weakening opposing Pokemon every turn and also breaking their Focus Sash.
Usage Tips
========
Snover is a moderate sweeper that should be sent in early-game to weaken its checks, which are mostly important pivots, so that if they're eliminated, it would be easier for Snover's teammates to sweep. When all of the Pokemon that resist Blizzard such as Fire- and Steel-types are eliminated, Snover can freely spam Blizzard to inflict heavy damage neutrally or super effectively. Snover can switch into resisted moves from Pokemon that don't have any good moves to check it with, and then Snover can revenge kill them if they don't switch out, although Snover needs to be extremely wary of coverage moves because it is rather frail. Snover can use this method against most Chinchou variants, but Snover needs to watch out for Ice Beam. Snover shouldn't directly use Hidden Power Ground against one of its checks in a one-on-one situation because it will most likely lose; however, if they are frail enough, Snover can 2HKO them if it hits them on the switch and outspeeds them later.
Team Options
========
Snover's half Ice typing makes it weak to the common Stealth Rock that chips away important fractions of its health, so strong spinners such as Staryu and Drilbur are much appreciated to help preserve Snover's health to allow it to sweep longer; Staryu especially can deal with Rock- and Fire-types for Snover, while it deals with Grass-types for Staryu, forming decent synergy. Pokemon that can deal with Fire- and Steel-types are appreciated because they solidly wall Snover and can KO it easily, so Pokemon such as Staryu and Onix or Ponyta and Mienfoo can take them out, respectively. Knock Off users like Vullaby, Timburr, and Mienfoo are also helpful because they can remove the opposing Pokemon's Eviolite, which leaves them more vulnerable to Snover's sweeping capabilities. Fighting-types are a problem for Snover because they can take a Blizzard, mostly take a few neutral Giga Drains, and KO Snover easily, so Pokemon that can check Fighting-types such as Abra and Doduo are appreciated. Entry hazard setters help Snover sweep more easily; hazards break Focus Sashes on opposing Pokemon and lower their health so Snover has a better chance of sweeping.
[SET]
name: Balanced Pivot
move 1: Blizzard
move 2: Giga Drain
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Hidden Power Ground
item: Eviolite
ability: Snow Warning
nature: Quiet
evs: 36 HP / 104 Atk / 40 Def / 184 SpA / 120 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Blizzard is a very powerful STAB move that hits 100% of the time in hail and hits Pokemon such as Foongus, Drilbur, and Rufflet super effectively, as well as doing heavy neutral damage. Giga Drain is Snover's other STAB move that hits Water-types that resist Blizzard. Ice Shard is Snover's important priority move that can be used to clean weakened Pokemon, especially if they're faster than Snover such as Doduo or Vullaby after a Weak Armor boost. Hidden Power Ground is generally used as a coverage move to hit Fire- and Steel-types, which otherwise wall Snover, although it shouldn't be used in a one-on-one situation, as it can't OHKO them; it is best used on the switch. Hidden Power Fire has the same purpose as Hidden Power Ground, although it only hits Steel-types, especially Ferroseed, which is a common switch-in to Snover.
Set Details
========
Snover's defensive EV investments alongside its Eviolite grant it reasonable bulk, which allows it to tank more neutral or powerful resisted moves such as Hydro Pump and Psychic from Staryu and Abra, respectively. Snover's offensive EVs and a Quiet nature allow it to hit reasonably hard with its STAB moves and Ice Shard, giving it a balance in offense and defense, although the Quiet nature makes Snover a little sluggish. However, Snover's offensive capabilities and its bulk are much more important than its Speed, as it was already slow without the nature already. Snover's offensive EVs also allow it to OHKO Doduo and Eviolite Staryu with Ice Shard and Giga Drain, respectively, after hail and Stealth Rock damage. Snow Warning provides useful chip damage for Snover, as the opposing team gets weakened every turn, which leaves it vulnerable to Snover's strong STAB moves. It also breaks Focus Sashes.
Usage Tips
========
With its balance between defense and offense, Snover can be used as a pivot and switch into Pokemon that it resists and possibly take them out with super effective STAB moves. Pokemon that Snover can switch into and take out include Staryu and Chinchou, although Snover needs to watch out for the latter's Ice Beam if they run it. Snover should not be carelessly pivoted because if its switches into Knock Off, it loses an important portion of its bulk and is left more vulnerable, allowing it to be KOed by its faster checks. Snover should also be careful when pivoting, as the opponent can predict Snover switching in and hit it with a super effective coverage move; unexpected status moves are also risky to switch into, so be careful when pivoting Snover, and beware for status and coverage moves. As the Choice Scarf set is more commonly known and used, Snover can bluff being Choice-locked and surprise the opposing Pokemon that resists the previously used move with an other super effective move; an example of this is if Snover uses Blizzard when Staryu switches in and then surprises Staryu with Giga Drain. Snover should only use Hidden Power Ground if it predicts that one of its checks are going to switch in so it can deal super effective damage, although if Snover cannot outspeed that check, it needs to switch out because it will get KOed. You should never use Hidden Power Ground in a one-on-one situation against Snover's checks because mostly all of them can easily take a Hidden Power Ground and KO Snover.
Team Options
========
Snover appreciates powerful spinners and Defog users due to Stealth Rock taking its important health away; it affects this variant even more, since pivots need to switch in and out quite often, so Pokemon such as Staryu and Archen that can help remove Stealth Rock make for great partners. Archen especially is useful, as it can take out Flying- and Fire-types for Snover, while it takes out Water-types that threaten Archen. Pokemon that can deal with Fire-, Fighting-, and Flying-type Pokemon are great partners, as the aforementioned types except for Flying can wall most of Snover's moves and can outspeed and KO it, although Flying-types are in trouble if Snover lives their attack. Pokemon such as Onix, Staryu, and Archen can take out Fire-types, Abra and Doduo can take out the Fighting-types, and Elekid and Kabuto can take out faster Flying-types. Pokemon that appreciate Snover's automatic hail setting such as Alolan Sandshrew and Cubchoo are good teammates, as they both have access to Slush Rush and can sweep the opposing team and some of Snover's checks, including Flying-types. Snover can also help wear down and take out mutual checks. Steel-type checks are also appreciated, as Snover can't take out most of them with Hidden Power Ground alone, unless it hits a frailer Steel-type Pokemon on the switch that it outspeeds and can later 2HKO it. Pokemon such as Timburr, Ponyta, and Diglett are good teammates in this situation.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Icy Rock can be used instead of Eviolite on the Balanced Pivot variant if Snover has Slush Rush users on its team so it can set up hail for much longer, which allows its Slush Rush teammates to sweep for longer periods of time and maintain an offensive presence; although, it is generally not used because hail sweepers are weak to too much common Pokemon such as Fighting-types and Staryu, which lessens their sweeping capabilities. Hidden Power Rock can be used alternatively as the last moveslot, as it can also hit Fire-types super effectively on the switch; although, the main purpose of it is to hit Larvesta on the switch, and it isn't as common anymore and important as what Hidden Power Ground can hit. Energy Ball can be used instead of Giga Drain for more STAB damage, although the additional health that Giga Drain provides is much more useful than Energy Ball's secondary effect. Leech Seed can also be used on the Balanced Pivot set as a form of recovery, although Giga Drain is much useful in that context, and Snover struggles to find a moveslot for it. Hidden Power Fighting can be used to hit frail Steel-types on the switch that try to switch into Snover, especially Pawniard; although, like Hidden Power Rock, it is too circumstantial,and Hidden Power Ground covers more types, which is more important. Snover can also utilize a Life Orb and be used as a sweeper on Sticky Web teams due to its excellent movepool that can 2HKO almost all of the metagame. Additionally, it can also act as a soft check to Snivy and Flying-types with its boosted, Ice Shard which Sticky Web teams greatly appreciate.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fire-types**: If Snover doesn't run Hidden Power Ground, most Fire-types are able to switch into Snover without taking significant damage and can hit it 4x super effectively, which mostly always results in an OHKO. Larvesta can also deal a lot of damage by pivoting on Snover with U-turn.
**Steel-types**: Steel-types such as Magnemite and Pawniard can switch into Snover with ease. While they might dislike getting hit by Hidden Power Ground on the switch, they can KO Snover with their STAB Steel-type moves as well as resist all of Snover's moves except for Hidden Power Ground, although it can't KO them if it doesn't hit them on the switch.
**Bulky Fighting-types**: Fighting-types that have solid Special Defense such as Mienfoo and Timburr can take any of Snover's moves and can hit it super effectively with their STAB Fighting-type moves. Mienfoo can either outspeed and KO Snover with High Jump Kick or Drain Punch if it holds a Choice Scarf, and if it holds an Eviolite, it can tank any of Snover's moves and KO it back, and Timburr can hit Snover with Drain Punch and finish it off with Mach Punch if Drain Punch doesn't KO it.
**Flying-types**: Faster Flying-type Pokemon such as Choice Scarf users like Doduo and Rufflet can outspeed all Snover variants and possibly KO it with super effective Flying-type STAB moves. The uncommon Fletchling can also use a priority Acrobatics from full health and KO Snover, although it will only have one chance to do that, since hail damage will break its Gale Wings, and Stealth Rock on the opposing side can also negate Gale Wings as well. If the Flying-types don't OHKO Snover, they will most likely be OHKOed by it, as they have to be careful of Ice Shard if they are weakened.
**Stealth Rock**: Stealth Rock does a lot of residual damage to Snover due to its Ice typing, and this cuts Snover's longevity and allows it to be KOed more easily. Additionally, Stealth Rock setters are mostly Rock-types or Pokemon that can use Rock-type moves, which can badly damage Snover if they outspeed it.
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