Pokemon Showdown! Username: HailTeamRising
Dark Horse Pokemon: Walrein, although Abomasnow was on the team
Screenshot of Top 100 Ladder Ranking: http://imgur.com/fDsPh (Rank 38, 1901 ACRE, 2013 +- 80 Glicko)
Dark Horse Pokemon Complete Set:
Walrein (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Ice Body
EVs: 232 HP / 252 Def / 24 SDef
Bold Nature
- Substitute
- Protect
- Blizzard
- Toxic
Rest of team:
Former members:
How did you choose your Dark Horse Pokemon for this project? What lead you to choose the Pokemon you did? Did you have regrets or were you happy with your selection?
Hail stall has always been a favorite playstyle of mine back since 4th gen. When Stallrein was first discovered it was theorymonned to be uber (LOL) and then, after a week, immediately ignored. But it is still a major threat. Some say stall is impossible in 5th gen, even more say that hail sucks and has no viable abusers. My goal was to revitalize my favorite playstyle and prove them wrong. NO REGRETS
How did you go about building a team for your Dark Horse Pokemon? Which kinds of teammates did you consider? What factors contributed to the team you created?
Obviously Abomasnow is necessary for Walrein to be more than a useless blubber sack. Blissey is an awesome special wall and cleric. I hate Forretress, but he's a pretty good hazard setter and spinner and can take some monster physical hits. Gliscor checks physical threats like Terrakion, and Heatran is a good fire absorber as well as checking Genesect and Jirachi (in hail).
Do you think it is more difficult or less difficult to ladder with a Dark Horse Pokemon? Why? Does the element of surprise play a factor in your battles? Is it easier to fight with a "highly used"" team or with Pokemon that are less common?
I think that hail is massively more viable with Walrein than without. Unless you are using Abomasnow as a weather counter and aren't building a team around him, I don't see hail "offense" as viable because there really aren't any boosts. Stall is the way to go and the way that hail is useful. The element of surprise does certainly play some factor but I think that most people are at lost aware of it, particularly at higher skill levels. I do think that many "highly used" teams are quite vulnerable to a Walrein "sweep".
(For Hall of Fame members only) How did you reach the Hall of Fame? Was it easy or difficult? Did having a Dark Horse Pokemon on your team benefit you? What advice would you give to those laddering with Dark Horse Pokemon?
HoF was reached pretty quickly, other questions pretty much answered above.
Question for the people running this, when I update my ranking do I update in this post or make a new one? Thanks.
Pocket EDIT: Preferably update this post, but also post saying that you've reached a new peak & that you've updated this post ;d Congrats!
Dark Horse Pokemon: Walrein, although Abomasnow was on the team
Screenshot of Top 100 Ladder Ranking: http://imgur.com/fDsPh (Rank 38, 1901 ACRE, 2013 +- 80 Glicko)
Dark Horse Pokemon Complete Set:
Walrein (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Ice Body
EVs: 232 HP / 252 Def / 24 SDef
Bold Nature
- Substitute
- Protect
- Blizzard
- Toxic
Rest of team:
Abomasnow (F) @ Expert Belt
Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 Atk / 112 SAtk / 144 Spd
Lonely Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
Forretress @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Spikes
- Volt Switch
Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Aromatherapy
- Softboiled
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic
Heatran @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Substitute
- Toxic
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 184 Def / 252 HP / 72 Spd
Impish Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SAtk / 30 Spd
- Earthquake
- Taunt
- Roost
- Toxic
Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 Atk / 112 SAtk / 144 Spd
Lonely Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
Forretress @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Spikes
- Volt Switch
Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Aromatherapy
- Softboiled
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic
Heatran @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Substitute
- Toxic
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 184 Def / 252 HP / 72 Spd
Impish Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SAtk / 30 Spd
- Earthquake
- Taunt
- Roost
- Toxic
Former members:
Meloetta @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Modest Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
I actually really liked Meloetta, but Genesect and Jirachi were huge problems, so Heatran became necessary.
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Modest Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
I actually really liked Meloetta, but Genesect and Jirachi were huge problems, so Heatran became necessary.
How did you choose your Dark Horse Pokemon for this project? What lead you to choose the Pokemon you did? Did you have regrets or were you happy with your selection?
Hail stall has always been a favorite playstyle of mine back since 4th gen. When Stallrein was first discovered it was theorymonned to be uber (LOL) and then, after a week, immediately ignored. But it is still a major threat. Some say stall is impossible in 5th gen, even more say that hail sucks and has no viable abusers. My goal was to revitalize my favorite playstyle and prove them wrong. NO REGRETS
How did you go about building a team for your Dark Horse Pokemon? Which kinds of teammates did you consider? What factors contributed to the team you created?
Obviously Abomasnow is necessary for Walrein to be more than a useless blubber sack. Blissey is an awesome special wall and cleric. I hate Forretress, but he's a pretty good hazard setter and spinner and can take some monster physical hits. Gliscor checks physical threats like Terrakion, and Heatran is a good fire absorber as well as checking Genesect and Jirachi (in hail).
Do you think it is more difficult or less difficult to ladder with a Dark Horse Pokemon? Why? Does the element of surprise play a factor in your battles? Is it easier to fight with a "highly used"" team or with Pokemon that are less common?
I think that hail is massively more viable with Walrein than without. Unless you are using Abomasnow as a weather counter and aren't building a team around him, I don't see hail "offense" as viable because there really aren't any boosts. Stall is the way to go and the way that hail is useful. The element of surprise does certainly play some factor but I think that most people are at lost aware of it, particularly at higher skill levels. I do think that many "highly used" teams are quite vulnerable to a Walrein "sweep".
(For Hall of Fame members only) How did you reach the Hall of Fame? Was it easy or difficult? Did having a Dark Horse Pokemon on your team benefit you? What advice would you give to those laddering with Dark Horse Pokemon?
HoF was reached pretty quickly, other questions pretty much answered above.
Question for the people running this, when I update my ranking do I update in this post or make a new one? Thanks.
Pocket EDIT: Preferably update this post, but also post saying that you've reached a new peak & that you've updated this post ;d Congrats!