[Overview]
<p>Abomasnow is simply the cornerstone of hail teams, as it's the only fully-evolved and viable Pokemon with access to Snow Warning, an ability that causes permanent hail, making Blizzard's accuracy 100%. Abomasnow may seem like a gimmick at first due to its poor defensive typing and deplorable stat, but it has potential to single-handedly beat all other Wpposing weather starters; Politoed, Ninetales, Tyranitar, and even Hippowdon.</p>
<p>The transition to Black and White 2 did very little to better Abomasnow, besides throwing it a few tutor moves and a new teammate in Kyurem-B. In fact, OU became more dangerous for Abomasnow, as old threats, specifically Breloom, became more equipped to punish the snowy tree. However, Abomasnow's is still a viable choice for a weather starter in OU, as its unique typing still offers 4four key resistances, (AC) and its solid offensive movepool lets it check and hit a wide variety of threats, such as Garchomp, Heatran, and Rotom-W.</p>
[SET]
name: Mixed
move 1: Wood Hammer
move 2: Ice Shard
move 3: Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Protect / Earthquake
item: Expert Belt
ability: Snow Warning
nature: Lonely
evs: 252 Atk / 172 SpA / 84 Spe
[Set CommentsET COMMENTS]
<p>The flagship set from BW1 (If it's just the first version, you don't need a 1 with it; BW is fine.) returns in a much more volatile metagame to wreck havoc on common weather teams via its unparalleled coverage. With the given EV spread, Abomasnow's Attack is maximized, and a significant investment is put into its Special Attack in order to OHKO Scizor with Hidden Power Fire. The EVs also allow Abomasnow to outspeed minimum Speed Politoed and Skarmory. Wood Hammer is Abomasnow's go-to STAB attack, flattening the many Ground-, Rock-, and Water-type opponents found throughout the tier, such as Hippowdon, Terrakion, and Rotom-W. Ice Shard gives Abomasnow the opportunity to pick off weakened threats, bypassing its middling Speed. Ice Shard also serves as an excellent hit against the abundance of Dragon-type Pokemon found in the tier, especially Dragonite, Salamence, and Garchomp, due thanks to their crippling 4x weakness to Ice-type attacks. Hidden Power Fire allows Abomasnow to melt Steel-type foes, mainly Ferrothorn and Scizor, who'd otherwise wall Abomasnow's STAB combination to the frozen corners of the universe and back. The last movoe slot is mostly preference based, as Protect allows Abomasnow to scout its opponent, potentially locking a choice Pokemon into a move, while racking up some extra hail damage, which could be the difference of an OHKO or 2HKO. However, Earthquake may be used to nab and severely hurt Fire-type Pokemon, like Heatran and Ninetales on the switch, two Pokemon that eat the above move combination up alive, causing a huge shift in momentum and potentially winning the weather war.</p>
[Additional CommentsDDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>If you do opt for Earthquake over Protect, an alternate EV spread of 240 Atk / 120 SpA / 148 Spe is recommended, as it allows Abomasnow to outspeed Sspecially Ddefensive Heatran and crush it with Earthquake. (Set names aren't capitalized in the comment section; only in the actual set name.) Blizzard may be run over Hidden Power Fire if your team is more than capable of dealing with Steel-type threats, as it gives Abomasnow a key move that allows it to break through physical walls, such as Skarmory and Gliscor, and nuke incoming Grass-, Dragon-, and Ground-types.</p>
<p>Because of its typing, Fire- and Fighting-types are huge bane to Abomasnow, making partners like Heatran, Jellicent, Gengar, or Reuniclus serious options to consider. Jellicent and Heatran also have the advantage of checking faster variants of Scizor, which would typically outsped and KO Abomasnow with Bug Bite or U-turn. Heatran also has access to Stealth Rock, providing Abomasnow with a source of Eentry Hhazard damage, making it harder to switch- in on and check. (No hyphen for switch in unless it's referring to a Pokemon that can switch into another.) Jellicent also has extra utility, carrying Will-O-Wisp, burning opposing Scizor, Terrakion, Jirachi, and other common checks to Abomasnow, giving it more options to switch- in on the opposition and begin a sweep. These four Pokemon, while not at the same time, also work well on hail teams, checking the many threats the playstyle brings, specifically opposing Heatran, Jirachi, Terrakion, and Scizor. Abomasnow's crippling weakness to Stealth Rock is also something that needs to be considered, making Starmie and Tentacruel solid partners to Abomasnow, as their access to Rapid Spin and STAB combinations, which resist the two above mentioned Fire- and Fighting-type moves that threaten Abomasnow, are a boon to Abomasnowit. Pokemon that can take advantage of the hail brought about by Abomasnow's Snow Warning, such as Kyurem, Kyurem-B, and other Pokemon with access to Blizzard, make excellent partners, as the ability to fire off 100% accurate Blizzards gives those Pokemon the ability to break opposing teams.</p>
[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Ice Shard
move 2: Wood Hammer / Earthquake
move 3: Protect
move 4: Leech Seed
item: Leftovers
ability: Snow Warning
nature: Adamant
evs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
[Set CommentsET COMMENTS]
<p>Abomasnow makes for a very adept physical attacker, thanks to its powerful Grass-type STAB in Wood Hammer, priority in Ice Shard, and surprise factor, as it's typically expected to be using Blizzard and other Sspecial Aattacks. Ice Shard is arguably the most useful move on this set, as it crusheds many opponents in OU, being capable of 2HKOing and even OHKing a solid number of threats. Here's some calculations to exemplify its usefulness:<p>
<ul class="damage_calculation">
<li>Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragonite (Multiscale in-tact): 37.15% - 44.58%</li>
<li>Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragonite (Multiscale broken): 74.3% - 89.16%</li>
<li>Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Landorus-I: 78.99% - 94.04%</li>
<li>Ice Shard vs. 200 HP / 244 Def Landorus-T (With Intimidate): 35.77% - 43.36%</li>
<li>Ice Shard vs. 200 HP / 244 Def Landorus-T (Without Intimidate): 53.11 - 62.87%</li>
<li>Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 67.22% - 80.67%</li>
<li>Ice Shard vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Latios: 45.69% - 54.3%</li>
<li>Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Salamence: 83.38% - 99.09%</li>
<li>Ice Shard vs. 252 HP / 184+ Def Gliscor: 41.8% - 50.84%</li>
</ul>
<p>It's alternate STAB move, Wood Hammer, is equally as punishing, as its sheer power leaves very few Pokemon that can safely switch into it if they don't resist it. It's very handy at dealing extensive damage to the multitude of Water-, Ground-, and Rock-types, such as Jellicent, Gastrodon, and Tyranitar, found throughout the tier, giving teammates more opportunities to sweep. Earthquake may be used over Wood Hammer, (AC) however, as it allows Abomasnow to crush Heatran and Ninetales switch-ins, as well as bust open grounded Electric-types, such as Jolteon and the rare Raikou. Leech Seed provides Abomasnow with a somewhat reliable form of recovery, recovering 12.5% HP on top of what Leftovers recovers. Due to its annoyance, it can also function as a phazing move, as it discourages many opposing Pokemon from staying in forom too long, potentially ruining a set-up or sweep. Protect further increases Leech Seed's recovery effect, reaching 37.5% of recover after two turns (with Leftovers of course), while forcing the opponent into more residual damage via hail and Leech Seed. Protect also allows Abomasnow to scout the opposition, locking choice opponents into a move, causing a shift in momentum.</p>
[Additional CommentsDDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The listed EV spread maximizes Abomasnow's Attack and bulk, while giving it enough Speed to outrun minimum- Speed Politoed. However, if you prefer an Abomasnow with more bulk, a spread of 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD can be utilize in order to switch- in against Water- and Electric-type attacks. A Life Orb may be used over Leftovers if more power is desired, and it can make the difference between an 2HKO and OHKO. Unfortunately, the lack of Leftovers recovery and recoil damage provide to be unfavourable for Abomasnow. (Use the English version of those words; no 'u'.) If Wood Hammer's recoil is also unfavourablelackluster to you, you may opt to use Seed Bomb. However, the 25% drop in power will cause Abomasnow to lose out on many OHKOs and 2HKOs.</p>
<p>Because this variant lacks Hidden Power Fire, a tteammates such as Magnezone or Heatran are recommended, as they are capable of removing Steel-types, specifically Scizor, Skarmory, or Ferrothorn, such as Magnezone or Heatran, is highly recommended. Heatran also has the added bonus of packing Stealth Rock, damaging the opposition as they switch in to check Abomasnow. Carrying Magnezone or Heatran also makes dealing with faster Scizor easier, as Choice Scarf and 252 Speed Scizor variants do exist and can outpace and KO Abomasnow with U-turn or Bug Bite. Despite Earthquake doing a large amount of damage to Fire-type threats, Abomasnow is much too slow to sneak in a second Earthquake, so will need a teammate to bypass them. Tentacruel and the aforementioned Heatran are beyond capable of doing so, and synergize well with Abomasnow. Tentacruel also carries the added bonus of access toing Rapid Spin and Toxic Spikes, two moves that keep Stealth Rock off the field, keeping Abomasnow safe and healthy, and add up to the total residual damage alongside Leech Seed and hail, giving Abomasnow the opportunity to bypass bulkier walls, respectively. Abomasnow may also want to be paired with a cleric, as this set is more likely to be crippled by a stray Scald burn. Pokemon that function well on hail teams, such as Reuniclus, Jellicent, and Kyurem also make for solid partners, as they all benefit from Leech Seed's recovery and residual damage, while being able to ploughw (I thought you meant 'plow', though I wasn't sure.) through common Abomasnow checks, specifically Scizor and Terrakion.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Moves such as Ice Punch and Giga Drain can be used on the Mmixed and Pphysical sets over their corresponding STAB alternates to attain a more powerful attack (in Ice Punch's case over Ice Shard) or for extra recovery (Giga Drain), respectively. However, they are not recommended, as Blizzard and Wood Hammer are much more powerful than Ice Punch and Giga Drain, despite the lesser investment (in Blizzard's situation). Focus Blast may also seem like a logical choice on the Mmixed set, however, its beyond-shaky accuracy makes it an unfavourable choice, as well as Earthquake and Hidden Power Fire already attaining the same coverage Focus Blast does. Abomasnow does have access to Swords Dance, but due to its abysmal Speed stat, it cannot fully take advantage of a +2 Attack stat. Equipping Abomasnow with Choice Specs or Choice Band may seem like a wise idea, turning papa tree into a fearsome wallbreaker, but this is not the case. Abomasnow would then be forced to hop in and out of a match, which is not recommended for a Pokemon with a Stealth Rock weakness. The same goes for Choice Scarf Abomasnow, which used to be rather effective at one point in time, outspeeding andor revenge killing opposing non-scarfed Dragon-types, Stoutland and other Sand Rush Pokemon, and all Chlorophyll sweepers, bar Lilligant. However, being outsped by positively-natured base 115s and other Choice Scarf Pokemon doesn't do Scarf Abomasnow any favours.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>The downside of Abomasnow's typing is bar-none its crippling weakness to Stealth Rock, which arguably functions as the most reliable check to Abomasnow, as it can deter Abomasnow and keep it out of athe match. Because Stealth Rock isn't enough to get the job done on its own, Fire-, Steel-, and Fighting-type threats, such as Volcarona, Metagross, and Terrakion, make for reliable checks to Abomasnow, as their powerful, super effective STAB moves will quickly wipe Abomasnow off the face of a match. Opposing weather starters in Ninetales and Tyranitar also make for solid checks to Abomasnow despite having to watch out for specific moves, as their STAB will effectively run through Abomasnow. Jirachi, Scizor, and Terrakion, albeit already mentioned, function as the best checks to Abomasnow and hail teams, being able to heavily damage the opposition while resisting key attacking types, such as opposing Ice-types. Bulky Steel-types, such as Jirachi, Skarmory, and Heatran, as well as the pink blobs, Chansey and Blissey, can prove to be too much for Abomasnow's paper-thin offenses, and can wall Abomasnow effectively before the residual damage of hail and or Leech Seed can break through them.</p>