Gen 8 Double Arcto Hail

Which is your favorite Galar fossil?

  • Arctovish

  • Arctozolt

  • Dracovish

  • Dracozolt


Results are only viewable after voting.
INTRODUCTION
Playing Gen 8 a few years back, one of my favorite mons released was :arctovish:. It did not have nearly the same impact as :Dracovish: did, however it did have the same signature move in Fishious Rend, a very powerful physical attack that can reach to upwards of 170 BP. When the Crown Tundra was released, the fossils got their hidden abilities, with :arctovish: and :arctozolt: both getting Slush Rush. :Arctozolt: loved this ability being paired up with :ninetales-alola:, being a niche meta pick with near perfect coverage. :Arctovish: however did not have the same luxury, even with the amazing Water + Freeze-Dry coverage. However, :arctovish: can put in some work in the OU tier with Fishious Rend, still dealing massive damage to any unprepared team.
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TEAMBUILDING PROCESS
:arctovish::ninetales-alola:
Since we are using :arctovish:, :ninetales-alola: is required. :ninetales-alola: can support the team with a short Aurora Veil while giving the team massive turns of Hail.
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:arctovish::ninetales-alola::arctozolt:
:arctozolt: is a mon who is amazing on hail, with some teams only using :arctozolt: as the hail abuser while having the rest of the mons focus on the Aurora Veil aspect of hail. :arctozolt: is a mixed breaker that can take advantage of the mons :arctovish: deals with:
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:arctovish::ninetales-alola::arctozolt::hatterene:
Since my :arctovish: was running a different item rather than :heavy-duty-boots:, I chose :hatterene: as an :eject-button: pivot to avoid rocks from common rockers such as :landorus-therian:, :garchomp:, :swampert:, and others and to switch out to a Slush Rush mon when getting attacked.
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:arctovish::ninetales-alola::arctozolt::hatterene::tornadus-therian:
:tornadus-therian: acts as a ground resist for the team, while still being fast and having longevity due to Regenerator. Moves such as Knock Off and U-Turn provide progress and momentum for the team, especially when :eject-button::hatterene: has already been used.
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:arctovish::ninetales-alola::arctozolt::hatterene::tornadus-therian::swampert:
:swampert: provides the team with a mandatory ground resist for :regieleki: and is used to deal with strong steel types such as :melmetal:, :heatran:, and :magnezone:. It provides the team with guarented rocks and another momentum mon with Flip Turn.
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:arctovish::ninetales-alola::arctozolt::xatu::tornadus-therian::swampert:
Instead of :hatterene:, :xatu: also came to mind as a Magic Bounce mon, with more reliable pivoting with Teleport and better longevity with Roost. However, :xatu: is not a set and stone change therefore I will be talking about both mons in this thread.
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THE TEAM

arctovish.gif

Arctovish @ Leftovers
Ability: Slush Rush
EVs: 224 Atk / 56 SpA / 228 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Substitute
- Fishious Rend
- Freeze-Dry
- Whirlpool

:arctovish: uses Subsitiute + Whirlpool to take advantage of passive mons that switch into it, such as :slowbro: and :toxapex:. Even though :slowbro: runs Teleport, Freeze-Dry's 32 PP allow many chances to get a 10% freeze, allowing it to potentially turn the 1v1 in your favor, while Whirlpool makes it sure that :slowbro: cannot hard switch out, making use of Regenerator. The same goes for :toxapex:, however if it is :shed-shell::toxapex: you need :tornadus-therian: to knock it off. To make use of Fishious Rend, most of the EVs are put into attack, while 56 SpA gives it the best chance to 3HKO physically defensive :toxapex: without Whirlpool, and to 2HKO specially defensive :garchomp:. The speed EVs are to outspeed the standard :arctozolt: spread.

ninetales-alola.gif

Ninetales-Alola @ Icy Rock
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hail
- Aurora Veil
- Encore
- Moonblast

:ninetales-alola: is the hail setter of the team, and also serves as the :weavile: check in emergency case scenarios, which is why Moonblast is used over Freeze-Dry. Hail is used to combat opposing weather, which is important due to the two main hail abusers being base 55 Speed. Aurora Veil is a given, providing the team with extra bulk for a few turns making pivoting easier and letting :arctovish: setting up Substitute on more mons. Encore is an important move as well, allowing :ninetales-alola: to lock in certain mons into moves, allowing you to pivot easier. Examples of this are moves such as :bisharp: Swords Dance/Sucker Punch, :zeraora: Bulk Up, and more. The EV spread makes :ninetales-alola: to be as bulky as possible while allowing it to outspeed some mons in the tier.

arctozolt.gif

Arctozolt @ Heavy-Duty Boots / Life Orb
Ability: Slush Rush
EVs: 204 Atk / 76 SpA / 228 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Bolt Beak
- Blizzard
- Low Kick
- Freeze-Dry

:arctozolt: is an amazing mon on hail, showing off its mixed coverage to hit the majority of the tier hard. Bolt Beak is the main draw of this mon, providing BoltBeam coverage with Blizzard, which hits mons such as :kartana: and :buzzwole: harder than Icicle Crash. Low Kick is to hit mons such as :ferrothorn: and :magnezone: harder, and Freeze-Dry deals with mons such as :swampert:, :seismitoad:, and :gastrodon:. At first, I chose :heavy-duty-boots: in case a mon such as Mold Breaker :excadrill: sets up rocks, however :life orb: can be used to clean up easier while dealing with :ferrothorn: easier with Low Kick.

hatterene.gif

Hatterene (F) @ Eject Button
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Nuzzle
- Psyshock
- Mystical Fire
- Healing Wish

:hatterene: is a mon that can switch into common hazard setters :ninetales-alola: cannot deal with, denying rocks while pivoting out with :eject-button: Nuzzle denies set up from mons such as :volcarona:, while making progress on mons such as :heatran:, where :arctovish: can attempt to fish for a para while going for Substitute. Psyshock hits :blissey: and :chansey: for moderate damage, while Mystical Fire is mainly for :ferrothorn:, however can hit mons such as :magnezone: and :melmetal: on the switch. Healing Wish allows :hatterene: to perform one final pivot, healing weakened mons from near death situations. Minimum speed allows :hatterene: to take :ferrothorn: Gyro Balls better, while providing the team with a niche way to deal with Trick Room teams.

As mentioned prior, I will briefly be talking about :xatu: as well.
xatu.gif

Xatu @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost / Wish
- Psyshock / Thunder Wave / Protect / Future Sight
- Heat Wave
- Teleport

:xatu: provides more longevity than :hatterene: with the cost of less bulk. With Roost, it can afford to stay in on :ferrothorn: for longer even while being weak to Knock Off, however can threaten :ferrothorn: with Heat Wave similar to how :hatterene: does. Teleport is negative priority, allowing it to switch out more reliably than :hatterene: can into one of the fossils. Psyshock can hit :blissey: and :chansey: as well, however is way weaker. Alternatively, Thunder Wave can be used over Psyshock to paralyze :heatran: on the switch while not allowing mons such as :dragonite: and :volcarona: from getting too threatening. Wish + Protect can be used to heal mons such as :ninetales-alola: and :swampert:, however makes :xatu: much more passive. Future Sight can help :arctovish: and :arctozolt: as well alongside Teleport.

tornadus-therian.gif

Tornadus-Therian (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 52 Def / 40 SpD / 168 Spe
Timid Nature
- Heat Wave
- Weather Ball
- Knock Off
- U-turn

:tornadus-therian: with :assault-vest: makes for an amazing pivot, allowing it to scout mons such as :tapu-lele: and :heatran: while still dealing with mons such as :rillaboom: and :kartana:. Knock Off is an important move making progress on mons such as :leftovers::heatran: and :shed-shell::toxapex:. U-turn provides momentum for the team, allowing for easy chip and easy switches into :arctovish: and :arctozolt:. Heat Wave is used for mons such as :ferrothorn: and :melmetal: while Weather Ball nails :landorus-therian:, :zapdos:, :garchomp:, :dragonite:, and opposing :tornadus-therian:.

swampert.gif

Swampert @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Damp
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- Flip Turn

:swampert: is the team's ground resist, which is invaluable against mons such as :regieleki: and :tapu-koko:. A more physically defensive spread is chose for mons such as :melmetal:, :bisharp:, :weavile:, and :victini:. Stealth Rocks provides chip for the team, especially if :hatterene: never bounces back any hazards. Toxic hits mons that :swampert: struggles with, and can make progress on :slowbro: to help :arctovish: against it, Earthquake is a powerful no drawback move, allowing it to attack without it worrying about :ferrothorn: Iron Barbs or :garchomp: Rough Skin. Min speed Flip Turn allows :swampert: to easily pivot out into :arctovish: or :arctozolt:. Damp is used to avoid :regieleki: pivoting out with Explosion.
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THREATS
ferrothorn.gif

Even with :hatterene:, :leftovers::ferrothorn: is a roadblock for this team, as :arctovish: cannot reliably deal with it and :arctozolt: being severely weakened trying to deal with it with Low Kick.
kartana.gif

The second Grass/Steel, :kartana: can pressure this team easily. :choice-scarf::kartana: outspeeds both :arctovish: and :arctozolt:, while :choice-band::kartana: threatens :tornadus-therian: bad with Smart Strike.
buzzwole.gif

A well played :buzzwole: can threaten this team as well. :arctovish: barely deals with it while :arctozolt: needs all of its turns right to weaken :buzzwole:.
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CONCLUSION
Gen 8 brought a multitude of cools mons, such as :Arctovish: and :arctozolt:. With Slush Rush and 170 BP moves, both mons are extremely fun to use. With Hail being naturally good in OU as well, :arctovish: has a chance to put in work along side its fossil counterpart.
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TEAM PASTES
https://pokepast.es/b490126598d565ad
https://pokepast.es/7d3f7c897ff3ba84
 
Last edited:
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