[SET]
name: Choice Band (Ground)
move 1: Icicle Crash
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Superpower / Knock Off
item: Choice Band
ability: Thick Fat
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Mamoswine's good Attack stat and daunting STAB combination make it an excellent wallbreaker that can help against types like Flying and Dragon, which are otherwise poor matchups for Ground teams. Icicle Crash allows it to get rid of Mandibuzz, Tapu Bulu, and Dragonite. Ice Shard provides useful priority for fast threats like Landorus, Hydreigon, Latias, and Latios, especially if they are weakened. Superpower is a useful move for targeting Ferrothorn and Porygon2; however, Knock Off gets rid of items like Eviolite, Leftovers, and Heavy-Duty Boots from Pokemon such as Galarian Corsola, Porygon2, Celesteela, and Blissey. An Adamant nature paired with a Choice Band maximizes Mamoswine's damage output, letting it pick off weakened threats with Ice Shard better and have a better chance of KOing a weakened Celesteela or Corviknight. Thick Fat is the preferred ability to give Ground teams a useful resistance to Ice-type attacks. Generally, Mamoswine should be used to wallbreak types like Flying, Poison, and Dragon early-game, and it can clean weakened teams with Ice Shard late-game.
Hippowdon is a great partner, as it tanks hits for Mamoswine due to its good bulk, can phaze out threatening foes like Mega Scizor and Mega Gallade with Whirlwind, and provide Stealth Rock and Sand Stream support, which gives Mamoswine an easier time sweeping late-game by racking chip damage on foes. Landorus is an essential wallbreaker, as it can not only break through physically defensive foes like Slowbro and Mega Sableye for Mamoswine, but utilize Gravity in order to make Mamoswine's Earthquake useful against threats like Celesteela, Rotom-W, and Corviknight. Gastrodon and Seismitoad can absorb Water-type attacks for Mamoswine; Gastrodon has access to reliable recovery, and Seismitoad can outspeed and threaten Azumarill as well as use its higher physical bulk to take attacks from Pokemon like Barraskewda more easily. Excadrill is a dangerous sweeper under Hippowdon's sand due to Sand Rush, which allows it to outspeed fast threats like Mega Lopunny and Terrakion for Mamoswine, and it provides Rapid Spin support while breaking past physically defensive foes like Mega Sableye, Porygon2, and Avalugg with Steelium Z and Swords Dance. Garchomp can break through most walls due to Swords Dance and Dragonium Z while weakening Celesteela with Fire Fang and providing a useful neutrality to Water- and Grass-type attacks. Mega Garchomp can destroy foes like Celesteela and Ferrothorn with Fire Blast while living an Aqua Jet from +6 Azumarill and threatening it back with a Sand Force-boosted Earthquake. Mega Steelix is a powerful bulky sweeper with Curse that can also live a hit from +6 Azumarill's Aqua Jet and threaten it back with Heavy Slam, and it also threatens other foes like Tapu Bulu and Rillaboom.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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Ground
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A Jolly nature allows Mamoswine to outspeed offensive Heatran, but it doesn't outspeed anything else significant because Mamoswine can already KO foes like Nidoking with Ice Shard, and it has less breaking power without Adamant. Choice Scarf turns Mamoswine into a decent revenge killer that can outspeed the likes of Spectrier, Zeraora, and Barraskewda without rain, but it loses a ton of extra damage output without Choice Band, making it more difficult to wallbreak.
Checks and Counters
===================
Ground
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**Physically Defensive Walls**: Physically defensive walls such as Mega Slowbro, Skarmory, and Swampert are able to take attacks from Mamoswine and wear it down with Scald, Body Press, or Flip Turn, respectively. However, Swampert's lack of reliable recovery means that it can easily be pressured by Mamoswine's teammates.
**Status**: Burn significantly reduces Mamoswine's damage output, leaving it unable to function as a wallbreaker. Toxic consistently wears Mamoswine down, making it difficult for it to stay in the field for a long time.
**Water-types**: Offensive Water-types such as Mega Swampert, Urshifu-R, and Mega Gyarados can outspeed Mamoswine and KO it with their STAB moves. Bulky Water-types such as Tapu Fini, Slowbro, Swampert, and Suicune are able to tank attacks from Mamoswine and 2HKO it with Scald, with Tapu Fini and Suicune outspeeding Mamoswine as well.
**Rotom-W**: Rotom-W is one of the most consistent checks to Mamoswine, being immune to its Earthquake due to Levitate and resisting its Icicle Crash. Rotom-W is able to either KO Mamoswine with a powerful Hydro Pump or cripple it or another teammate with Will-O-Wisp or Toxic.
**Fighting-types**: Fighting-types like Heracross, Mega Gallade, Urshifu-S, and Kommo-o after a boost can all outspeed Mamoswine and KO it with their STAB moves.
**Revenge Killers**: Mamoswine sits at a mediocre Speed tier for an offensive Pokemon, making it outsped and KOed by a myriad of powerful revenge killers such as Mega Lopunny, Keldeo, Tapu Lele, Blacephalon, and Rillaboom due to Grassy Glide.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Rotten, 491896]]
- Ground analysis by: [[Rotten, 491896]]
- Quality checked by: [[Maple, 473171], [maroon, 305839]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429]]
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