Ferrouswheel, don't forget that Hail and Sandstorm are weather conditions as well and that they require specific team building. Hippowdon cannot really do anything other than getting slaughtered by Water and Grass moves. Ttar is funny with a specially bulky spread and Light Screen up but it attracts physical Fighting moves and Earthquakes and its damage output is mediocre at best. Abomasnow is the most promising of these OU weather leads as it can adapt to a variety of team building styles - think of Scarfobama, TR Obama - as well as its ability to counter various threats in VGC's metagame.
Do you guys have any ideas on what you will be using? This question is directed more towards the U.S. players as I noticed already in the VGC 2009 thread that very few people actually talked about their teams and I think that was one of the reasons why America and Europe got served in San Diego.
I'll most likely be running Rain or Hail. Here's the current version of my Rain team, that I've been using on PBB's Netbattle server:
Togekiss (M) @ Chesto Berry
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 6 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Air Slash
- Extremespeed
- Follow Me
- Roost
Kyogre @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Thunder
- Water Spout
Palkia @ Haban Berry
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Aura Sphere
- Protect
- Spacial Rend
- Thunder
Heracross (M) @ Expert Belt
Trait: Guts
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Megahorn
- Night Slash
- Stone Edge
I'm not too sure how useful Heracross is - I've also tested with Ludicolo and Kingdra. The sets I run on those two:
Ludicolo (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Grass Knot
- Ice Beam
- Protect
- Surf
Kingdra (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Draco Meteor
- Hydro Pump
- Protect
- Waterfall
I like Kingdra more than Heracross, but at the moment, I don't really have a way to deal with Shedinja (on my cart) - I'm thinking about getting a Ludicolo with Leech Seed, or I can throw Abomasnow in, since Sash doesn't save Shedinja from field hazards.