Hey Smogon, what's up? I was messing around with teambuilder earlier today, looking over an old sandstorm team and coming up against a rain team in a few battles. This got me thinking that I never see hail teams, and wondered why that was. Essentially this is a team that I'm messing around with, but I was interested to see results; it went 14-6 over a 20 game spread. Admittedly, it was a fresh account, but there is potential here. Let's jump straight into the teambuilding!
Firstly, Abomasnow, as he's the only mon that can reliably set up hail, and also hits surprisingly hard. Next, Heatran serves to cover the fire weakness that Abomasnow regrettably brings in. Cloyster can switch into the odd fire move, but it's mainly there as my win-con with shell smash and skill link. Moving on, I needed counters to fire and fighting (the two main weaknesses of ice) - Enter Dragonite, Starmie and Clefable. All of these either resist fire and fighting or in Clefable's case shrug off ice damage and can set-up on fighting types that can wreck these guys.
So, without further ado, here we go:
Abomasnow @ Abomasite
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 88 HP / 252 Atk / 168 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Blizzard
- Giga Drain
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
Ok, the big guy. His ability sadly got nerfed in Gen 5 but it's still strong, giving me 5 turns of my weather con. He also has the amazing unique ability of countering every other weather starter in the game (Barr Charizard Y but he's dumb), usually giving me a safe switch in every time they would try and overwrite my weather. I went with an odd EV spread that actually gives me almost perfectly matched stats in attack and special attack, and he's no slouch offensively, giving me 363 attack and 376 special in mega form. This means that coupled with very high damage attacks, he can actually pack a surprising punch. Moveset is pretty standard, Blizzard because of hail, giga drain for stab recovery, ice shard to try and patch up the piss poor speed stat, and EQ for some coverage.
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Toxic
Heatran is here to absorb the fire attacks they're gonna try and hit me with, and also to set up rocks for me. He functions so well as a tank, but still has a decent spa. stat, and coupled with a few high damage moves and toxic, he's really annoying to face. Not much to say about this guy, he's pretty tried and tested, except he can pivot amazingly well due to his typing, is immune to toxic and toxic spikes, can retaliate with his own or just go to town with his moves. I am considering changing flamethrower to magma storm for unfortunate for them match-ups, as with hail damage and magma and toxic they'll be brought down very quickly. Standard moveset and standard EV spread for the super tank.
Cloyster @ Life Orb
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shell Smash
- Rock Blast
- Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard
Honestly, I put cloyster in there because he's amazing at his job, but I did realise no-one except Abom was taking advantage of the massive blizzard effect, nevertheless if he gets a shell smash up he's one tough son of a bitch, hitting so damn hard with his 5 attack moves and having ice shard for revenge killing. This is basically the one mon I was considering changing out, and was thinking of running a stall based Walrein in it's place, defensive EVs with Blizzard, Surf, Roar and Protect or something like that. What do you guys think?
Dragonite @ Leftovers
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 216 HP / 64 Atk / 228 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Roost
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
With those three mons as my core (especially if I add Walrien too), I'm massively weak to fighting, and so I need something to remedy that. As I am running a Dragon Dance set, i'm consdering changing the EV spread to be even more bulky, and going into defensive EVs to better defend against the fighting attacks coming my way. Regardless, D-nite fit the bill of resisting fighting AND fire, and being able to roost it off, set-up and sweep makes it a valuable mon to have on my team. Again standard moveset and pretty bulky EV spread, but again I'm leaving that open you guys.
Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 200 HP / 56 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Psyshock
- Scald
- Thunderbolt
Almost at the end now. Starmie comes in for a second fire and fighting resist and provides spinning support, while also providing a soft check to Mega Lopunny, who can otherwise pretty much wreck this team up. Speedy and timid nature ensures I get rapid spin off before dying if that was the case, as Starmie outspeeds almost everything, and HP evs in place to tank some damage before spinning. However, it can still pack a decent punch, hitting a 3hko on a specially defensive Heatran, a 2hko on M-Lopunny, 2hko on Keldeo and on assault vest Conkeldurr. It's speed stat and decent power, and not to mention that water and psychic hit fairly neutrally across the board means that Starmie's job is 1. Spinner, 2. deal actually decent damage despite tanky EVs.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonlight
- Flamethrower
- Moonblast
Clefable comes in as a third fighting resist and another set-up wincon, able to shrug off the hail damage with her ability. Really not much to say here, she's tanky, can set up and has a standard moveset and ev spread. She's my third Mega Lop counter, and can win the game for me provided things like Heatran are out of the way.
So, that's the team. What do you guys reckon? can hail be viable? I really like the team, it's unusual and unique, and hail like sand can really mess up their teams with the % hp damage.
2 things I'm particularly asking you guys for:
Would tank Walrein be better than Cloyster, and would a tankier spread suit Dragonite? Apart from that, only really Abomasnow is essential for this team, I'm open to all suggestions!
Peace!
Firstly, Abomasnow, as he's the only mon that can reliably set up hail, and also hits surprisingly hard. Next, Heatran serves to cover the fire weakness that Abomasnow regrettably brings in. Cloyster can switch into the odd fire move, but it's mainly there as my win-con with shell smash and skill link. Moving on, I needed counters to fire and fighting (the two main weaknesses of ice) - Enter Dragonite, Starmie and Clefable. All of these either resist fire and fighting or in Clefable's case shrug off ice damage and can set-up on fighting types that can wreck these guys.
So, without further ado, here we go:
Abomasnow @ Abomasite
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 88 HP / 252 Atk / 168 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Blizzard
- Giga Drain
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
Ok, the big guy. His ability sadly got nerfed in Gen 5 but it's still strong, giving me 5 turns of my weather con. He also has the amazing unique ability of countering every other weather starter in the game (Barr Charizard Y but he's dumb), usually giving me a safe switch in every time they would try and overwrite my weather. I went with an odd EV spread that actually gives me almost perfectly matched stats in attack and special attack, and he's no slouch offensively, giving me 363 attack and 376 special in mega form. This means that coupled with very high damage attacks, he can actually pack a surprising punch. Moveset is pretty standard, Blizzard because of hail, giga drain for stab recovery, ice shard to try and patch up the piss poor speed stat, and EQ for some coverage.
168+ SpA Mega Abomasnow Blizzard vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Skarmory: 252-297 (75.4 - 88.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after hail damage
168+ SpA Mega Abomasnow Giga Drain vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Rotom-W: 242-288 (79.8 - 95%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after hail damage and Leftovers recovery
68+ SpA Mega Abomasnow Blizzard vs. 252 HP / 112 SpD Hippowdon: 428-506 (101.9 - 120.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
168+ SpA Mega Abomasnow Blizzard vs. 252 HP / 76 SpD Garchomp: 792-936 (188.5 - 222.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
He also goes through every variation of Lando and Gliscor because of their typing. He can counter most of the usual stealth rock leads, except Heatran, although if they're stupid and try to SR on the first turn I can EQ them.
168+ SpA Mega Abomasnow Giga Drain vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Rotom-W: 242-288 (79.8 - 95%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after hail damage and Leftovers recovery
68+ SpA Mega Abomasnow Blizzard vs. 252 HP / 112 SpD Hippowdon: 428-506 (101.9 - 120.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
168+ SpA Mega Abomasnow Blizzard vs. 252 HP / 76 SpD Garchomp: 792-936 (188.5 - 222.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
He also goes through every variation of Lando and Gliscor because of their typing. He can counter most of the usual stealth rock leads, except Heatran, although if they're stupid and try to SR on the first turn I can EQ them.
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Toxic
Heatran is here to absorb the fire attacks they're gonna try and hit me with, and also to set up rocks for me. He functions so well as a tank, but still has a decent spa. stat, and coupled with a few high damage moves and toxic, he's really annoying to face. Not much to say about this guy, he's pretty tried and tested, except he can pivot amazingly well due to his typing, is immune to toxic and toxic spikes, can retaliate with his own or just go to town with his moves. I am considering changing flamethrower to magma storm for unfortunate for them match-ups, as with hail damage and magma and toxic they'll be brought down very quickly. Standard moveset and standard EV spread for the super tank.
Cloyster @ Life Orb
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shell Smash
- Rock Blast
- Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard
Honestly, I put cloyster in there because he's amazing at his job, but I did realise no-one except Abom was taking advantage of the massive blizzard effect, nevertheless if he gets a shell smash up he's one tough son of a bitch, hitting so damn hard with his 5 attack moves and having ice shard for revenge killing. This is basically the one mon I was considering changing out, and was thinking of running a stall based Walrein in it's place, defensive EVs with Blizzard, Surf, Roar and Protect or something like that. What do you guys think?
Dragonite @ Leftovers
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 216 HP / 64 Atk / 228 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Roost
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
With those three mons as my core (especially if I add Walrien too), I'm massively weak to fighting, and so I need something to remedy that. As I am running a Dragon Dance set, i'm consdering changing the EV spread to be even more bulky, and going into defensive EVs to better defend against the fighting attacks coming my way. Regardless, D-nite fit the bill of resisting fighting AND fire, and being able to roost it off, set-up and sweep makes it a valuable mon to have on my team. Again standard moveset and pretty bulky EV spread, but again I'm leaving that open you guys.
Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 200 HP / 56 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Psyshock
- Scald
- Thunderbolt
Almost at the end now. Starmie comes in for a second fire and fighting resist and provides spinning support, while also providing a soft check to Mega Lopunny, who can otherwise pretty much wreck this team up. Speedy and timid nature ensures I get rapid spin off before dying if that was the case, as Starmie outspeeds almost everything, and HP evs in place to tank some damage before spinning. However, it can still pack a decent punch, hitting a 3hko on a specially defensive Heatran, a 2hko on M-Lopunny, 2hko on Keldeo and on assault vest Conkeldurr. It's speed stat and decent power, and not to mention that water and psychic hit fairly neutrally across the board means that Starmie's job is 1. Spinner, 2. deal actually decent damage despite tanky EVs.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonlight
- Flamethrower
- Moonblast
Clefable comes in as a third fighting resist and another set-up wincon, able to shrug off the hail damage with her ability. Really not much to say here, she's tanky, can set up and has a standard moveset and ev spread. She's my third Mega Lop counter, and can win the game for me provided things like Heatran are out of the way.
So, that's the team. What do you guys reckon? can hail be viable? I really like the team, it's unusual and unique, and hail like sand can really mess up their teams with the % hp damage.
2 things I'm particularly asking you guys for:
Would tank Walrein be better than Cloyster, and would a tankier spread suit Dragonite? Apart from that, only really Abomasnow is essential for this team, I'm open to all suggestions!
Peace!
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