Gen 4 Let it Snow(Abomasnow Offense)

[robertshortgrass]

Introduction

Hello all, this is my Abomasnow Offense.The primary inspiration for this project came from the BW Hail Renaissance. I used Peng's video on Hail in BW(linked below) and Groudon's team used in Week Four of SPL XVI( ) as guides in the teambuilding process. The team feels pretty solid right now, but is not without its flaws. If Starmie isn't able to spin, the rest of the team is ravaged by hazards. Scizor also has a field day against it, as the only resist to Bug type attacks is Dragonite. Nevertheless, it is a fun team to use that has had good results on the ladder. I would appreciate any and all feedback.
Happy reading!


In-Depth

Abomasnow @ Leftovers
Ability: Snow Warning
Nature: Lonely
EVs: 244 Att | 172 Spa | 92 Spe
Moves: Wood Hammer | Blizzard | Focus Punch | Ice Shard/Substitute

Abomasnow is the mon this team was built around. It sets hail to chip the steels of the tier. It is also a very reliable check to every water type in the game(apart from Bounce and Stone Edge Gyarados). It also does a good job of weakening Skarmory with Blizzard. I'm using a tweaked version of the standard EV spread, giving it just a bit more speed to outrun Skarmory and standard Band Tar. FP is chosen to be able to hit Heatran, Bronzong, and Clefable. I have tried both Ice Shard and Substitute. Both are nice though I can't decide which I prefer.

Dragonite @ Lum Berry
Ability: Inner Focus
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk | 4 Def | 252 Spe
Moves: Outrage | Fire Punch | Extreme Speed | Dragon Dance

Dragonite is the second mon I added to this team after Abomasnow. I watched Peng's video on Hail in BW and he said that Dragons are some of the best abusers of Hail, so I decided to use DD Nite. I've been using this set that was featured in the video because I thing DD E-Speed is cool. Fire Punch is chosen over EQ because this team is weak to Scizor. EQ over E-Speed might be the move but I've been enjoying the priority too much to test that. If the conditions are right(weakened team + no Rocks) Dragonite should have an easy time sweeping.

Flygon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk | 4 SpD | 252 Spe
Moves: Earthquake | Outrage | U-turn | Thunder Punch
This is the third mon I added. I read on the strategy dex that other Dragons pair nicely with Dragonite, so I went to the builder to see which Dragon I wanted to use. I decided on Scarf Flygon for it's ability to check the DDers, its immuity to electric type attacks, and strong EQ to punish Jirachi. After adding Flygon, I remembered Groudon's team and decided to look to it for inspiration.

Tyranitar @ Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
Nature: Hasty
EVs: 100 Att | 52 Spa | 148 SpD | 208 Spe
Moves: Crunch | Pursuit | Roar | Fire Blast

Tyranitar is here to trap Rotom, Gengar, Starmie, and Latias, as well as handle Zapdos and pressure steel types. I went with Chople Berry to better deal with Gengar and to tank Mach Punches from Breloom. 100 Att guarantees the OHKO on offensive Latias after Rocks with Crunch, 52 Spa OHKOs 76 Hp Breloom after Rocks, + 208 Spe to be faster than max Spe Adamant Scizor and the remaining EVs are dumped into SpD. Roar was chosen to scout teams and mess with my opponent. Fire Blast is necessary to snipe Scizor. I know Sand contradicts Hail, but in my experience it hasn't been too much of an issue. TTar also feels necessary because its the best Dark type in the tier.

Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def | 252 Spa | 252 Spe
Moves: Hydro Pump | Thunderbolt | Ice Beam | Rapid Spin

Starmie is the team's way of dealing with hazards. It provides the team with some much needed speed. LO lets it put big pressure on anything that switches into it, making it a potent threat. I don't have much to say about it, but I would love to hear suggestions on how to adjust the moveset to accomodate Recover. I also briefly thought about using Cloyster over Starmie to get Spikes + Spin, but I don't know if its worth trying.

Metagross @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 HP | 204 Att | 40 Def | 12 Spe
Moves: Meteor Mash | Earthquake | Stealth Rock | Explosion

Metagross is the glue that holds this team together. It switches into the Dragons, checks Jirachi, can check the Dragon Dancers, sets up Rocks, and can trade with most Mons because of Explosion. The Spe is to hit 179 in order to be faster than other Metagross and Slow Tyranitars. The Hp and Def are to live Boosted Eqs from the aformentioned DDers after a switch into Rocks(or two switches in the case of Gyara). I also just had the thought to put a SR Jirachi here, as Jirachi has the same defensive profile, can set up Rocks, carry Fire Punch, and potentially even HWish. It's physical bulk isn't as great as Metagross which makes me hesitant to make the change.

Importable

PokePaste

 

[YouMeAndRNG]

It seems like in the right circumstances skarmory might be a bit of a nuisance for you. You might consider running a mixed Jirachi (t-bolt) over the Metagross to fill the same role and also soft check a lot of set up threats (Tyranitar, Gyarados). Alternatively you could run an iron ball + trick here which might also slow down Bronzong and Rotom-A. Leftovers is nice but half of the time Metagross won't be taking chip (if sand is up).

EQ over roar on T-tar might also help you have a more solid check on Heatran. It looks like certain variants (vaster utility versions running shuca) could be a bit tricky to deal with.

Full disclosure I didn't play your team so there could be something I'm missing.

 

[robertshortgrass]

There are games where Skarmory has been a problem, so I like the idea of mixed Rachi over Metagross. Tyranitar not having a move to deal with Heatran has also been rough, so Eq isn’t a bad idea. Over the last day, I’ve been trying Leftovers Heatran over Tar and I’ve been liking it a lot because it improves a lot of the bad matchups I have. Thanks for the feedback.
https://pokepast.es/c44836a160eb3cc0 - New version of the team

 

[mackie]

Expanding on the above, I was also thinking the Magnet Rise Magnezone could also work over Metagross. Mainly since it can immediately take out Skarmory, Bronzong, Jirachi, and Scizor all of which seem like big threats to the team. You lose Steath Rock however you can probably fit it over Roar on Tyranitar. Or even Fire Blast since you say you mainly have that for Steels which can be eliminated by Magnezone. Magnezone also goes hand-in-hand with Flygon's U-turn.

With Skarmory out of the picture you can also go full physical on Abomasnow. You can put Ice Shard over Blizzard so you can have both Substitute and Ice Shard and get the best of both worlds. Plus with the extra EVs from SpA being not needed you can put it into HP to bulk up Abomasnow.

 

[Jhall99]

A few changes I made on your new team is replacing Jirachi to Metagross, feels like your team could get run over by a Gyarados after a Dance; the DPP Butcher.

I also took inspiration from Dhelmise's Dragonite set from the DPP underrated sets since D-Nite gets easily baited with Outrage, Thunder Punch can also work as back up along with Offensive Starmie to fry Gyara.

As for Heatran, I did replace Explosion to Will o Wisp since Heatran baits in T-Tar, you can adjust the EVs on your team that's satisfactory.
https://pokepast.es/147260cdb8ad4dae


EDIT: I have a replay against a 1365 ELO player with your team https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2324891250?p2

 

[mackie]

Jhall99
I know you changed up the team quite a bit, but doesn't Thunder Punch on his old Flygon cover DD Gyarados?

 

[Jhall99]

I kinda feel like Scarfers get baited in? But also Dragon Claw is a solid choice I wanted to free up since Outrage gets baited in. I did reference a few teams from Jirachee's invitational a bit.

Jhall99
I know you changed up the team quite a bit, but doesn't Thunder Punch on his old Flygon cover DD Gyarados?

 

[robertshortgrass]

Expanding

I like the Mag idea, 'cause as you mentioned, those Steels can be annoying. Having both Sub and Ice Shard on Abomasnow is cool, but I do enjoy having Blizzard for the ability to OHKO bulky grounds, as well as Zapdos and Latias on the switch.
I've been thinking about moving away from Tyranitar and using Heatran instead because as YouMeAndRNG mentioned the team is very weak to U-turn, but maybe with Mag I don't have to worry about it?

A

Those are interesting changes that you proposed. I'm especially intrigued by the Will-o-Wisp Heatran.

I'm gonna have to try the team out with the changes the both of you suggested and see how I like them. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[mackie]

Having both Sub and Ice Shard on Abomasnow is cool, but I do enjoy having Blizzard for the ability to OHKO bulky grounds, as well as Zapdos and Latias on the switch.

I feel like Wood Hammer is enough for Ground types, since it still 2HKO's the bulkiest Ground type in the game - Hippowdon. Plus with Hippowdon summoning Sand, Blizzard gets faulty accuracy which makes it inconsistant in using against Hippowdon. Also the other common Ground type - Swampert - is neutral to Blizzard instead of 4x weak to Wood Hammer.

Also its worth noting that Ice Shard still 2HKOs offensive Latias after SR and hail damage. So say you're behind a Sub, you can Ice Shard, sacrifice the Sub, and then Ice Shard again for the KO.

Lastly I think Ice Shard is important on a lead Abomasnow, just for nabbing the kill on Focus Sash leads.

Of course this is for a 252+ Atk Abomasnow.