Snowy Destruction
Get ready for the ride of your life. >:)
It will be cold and harsh.
Prepare for the worst.
You'll need a heavy jacket for this team.
Get ready for the ride of your life. >:)
It will be cold and harsh.
Prepare for the worst.
You'll need a heavy jacket for this team.
Hello people of Smogon. Today, I would like to introduce my most prized team, Snowy Destruction. With the release of BW2, Kyurem gained an invaluable move of Earth Power. I knew I wanted to use it until my heart's content. So for this reason, I built a very offensive hail team designed to destroy the current metagame of Drizzle. Many potent Ice-type Pokemon gain an amazing anti-metagame move known as Ice Shard, which demolishes the genies. I'm not one to ladder, but I was able to reach about 1420 with this team (on Pokemon Online), convincing me that it needs work. That's where Smogon comes in! Hopefully you guys can help me improve the team as a whole so I can continue to climb up the ladder and maybe even enter a tournament with this team. I'm not exactly sure how to format an RMT, so I'll go with what other people do.
A Quick Look
Many of the sets on these Pocket Monsters are rarely or never seen. This adds to a surprise factor as well as making it hard for your opponent to predict anything. I also have custom EV spreads to help out against new big threats, so look out for those.
Digging Deeper
Abomasnow (M) @ Expert Belt Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 168 HP / 252 Atk / 88 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Ice Shard
- Wood Hammer
- Earthquake
- Focus Punch
From first glance, you may think this set is rather unorthodox or even flat out stupid. However, I trick you not, it has a purpose. Abomasnow is an absolute (snow)monster at taking out other weather inducers. Wood Hammer, with an expert belt, OHKO's both defensive Politoed and Tyranitar. Earthquake OHKOs defensive Ninetales after Stealth Rock, and flat out OHKOs offensive variants. Ice Shard is simply amazing priority that hits many things in the metagame. Focus Punch is probably really odd to you, but it's magical. Politoed 9/10 switches out of Abomasnow, and if they have a Ferrothorn, it's coming in. This is why unprotected Focus Punch can be a huge help to this team. Expert Belt Focus Punch does 75% to 91% to standard Ferrothorn, allowing Earthquake to KO the next turn. The usage of Expert Belt also helps here. If you want to play safe 1st turn against Politoed, a good choice would be going straight for Wood Hammer. Assume they switch into Ferrothorn. With Iron Barbs, it's revealed that you're not holding Leftovers, so the common assumption is that you're choiced. The opponent will feel safe going straight for hazards thinking it's safe, only to get slammed by a Focus Punch. I guess you didn't enjoy the ride >:) The EVs in Attack are to maximize power. I put enough speed in Abomasnow to outspeed 4 Spe Politoed. This also helps scout Politoed's set. If rain gets set up 1st, you can assume it's an offensive Politoed (which makes it likely to carry Focus Blast). More Speed isn't needed, so I dumped the rest into HP.
Kyurem @ Choice Specs
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 16 HP / 252 SAtk / 240 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Blizzard
- Earth Power
- Draco Meteor
- Focus Blast
Kyurem is the main member of my team as well as complete and utter powerhouse. Nobody can be ready for this ride. >:) I'm quite meticulous about EV spreads, so I make sure not to waste any. Since Kyurem is relatively slow, I knew a Timid nature was not worth investing for. Instead, a Modest nature makes sure it destroys absolutely everything in its path. The Speed EVs given allow Kyurem to outspeed Jolly Mamoswine as well as other threats like Feraligatr or Chandelure (and everything below). The rest is dumped into HP. Blizzard is usually the go-to move (even though Draco Meteor is 20 BP more powerful) because it has no hindering effects. Earth Power takes out Jirachi and Heatran that are both known to wall Kyurem. Focus Blast is there just in case I need to demolish a Ferrothorn outside of hail. I'm not sure if I should replace it with Dragon Pulse (or even Ice Beam). Blizzard is abnormally strong and nothing wants to switch into it. There's nothing more to say. (Jirachi takes like 35%)
Heatran (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Lava Plume
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Roar
Again, I'm using a rather unseen and unorthodox set, but it's for the better. Originally, I started out with the offensive Air Balloon set, but it didn't ride well >:). So I changed to a specially defensive RestTalking set. I'm sure you can see why. With Tornadus-T running all over the place, Heatran serves as a somewhat reliable check to it. Rest allows me to switch into as many Hurricanes or Draco Meteors as I want and shrug it off like nothing hit me. That's just how I ride. >:) Heatran is also extremely very valuable to pretty much every Hail team considering it absorbs fire types aimed at Abomasnow as well as checks Scizor. Heatran always plays a huge role on this team and is extremely valuable. Roar helps rack up residual damage from Stealth Rock and Hail while Lava Plume can burn incoming physical attackers.
Starmie @ Ice Gem
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Rapid Spin
- Thunderbolt
- Blizzard
- Hydro Pump
You're probably questioning my sanity by now, but hear me out. With 3 Stealth Rock weak Pokemon, I obviously needed a spinner. I considered Tentacruel, but it was weak and couldn't handle the ride >:). Starmie provides excellent speed and decent power as well as amazing coverage. Ice Gem serves MANY purposes on this team. It's simply a great item. I originally applied an Ice Gem after messing around with EVs and discovered that with Blizzard, it has a high chance of OHKOing offensive DD Dragonite WITH MULTISCALE ACTIVE. That's a pretty huge feat for base 100 Special Attack and a non-STAB coverage move. It also does about 75% to defensive Latias, meaning with hail damage, it has a chance to OHKO after it switches into a Hydro Pump. I'm just getting started. Next, it feigns the choice item, which can be crucial for Starmie. Faking a choice item makes Spinning with such a frail Pocket Monster considerably easier. It's even more useful with Starmie's massive coverage options. It also scores nasty KOs on Pocket Monsters like Celebi (which switches in on Thunderbolt or Hydro Pump). Starmie is very valuable both offensively and speed-wise.
Mamoswine (M) @ Life Orb Trait: Snow Cloak
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Ice Shard
- Stealth Rock
- Superpower
- Earthquake
Mamoswine has become one of the most used Pocket Monster in BW2 due to the increase in usage of the genies. However, it simply rocks my socks. Mamoswine has a humungous base attacking stat with a STAB priority move, making it one of the biggest threats on my team. People are starting to use Jolly to outspeed and OHKO Technician Breloom with Ice Shard, but I definitely appreciate the extra power that is brought through Adamant. There's a chance that Jolly Mamoswine cannot even OHKO Tornadus-T AFTER STEALTH ROCKS! I find that absurd and it's not up to my standards. Mamoswine is my physical powerhouse and needs all the attack he can get. Unless there's another reason to use Jolly, I wouldn't bother. I do have Stealth Rock on Mamoswine even when I have Heatran, which limits me from having a strong Ice STAB (like Icicle Crash or Icicle Spear). I find myself rarely using a strong Ice STAB, and since Mamoswine often forces switches, getting Stealth Rock up isn't usually a problem. There's not much to explain about Mamoswine except for the fact that he's strong as shit. He also adds to my collection of priority, which makes this team so hard to set up on.
Breloom (F) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Mach Punch
- Low Sweep
- Spore
- Bullet Seed
Breloom has turned out to be possibly the most important member of my team. Being able to revenge kill the biggest threat to this team, Infernape, is extremely desirable. I made my own EV spread based on the fact that Breloom is Choice Banded. 252 Attack and Adamant + Choice Band and Technician powers up Mach Punch to the point that it OHKOs or 2HKOs anything that does not resist it. It's usually my go-to move and it conveniently knocks out the Steel types that take Blizzards and Draco Meteors from Kyurem. It's often my late game sweeping move as well as insta-threat-remover. I do run Spore on a choiced set, which may seem weird, but it comes in handy when I need something asleep at that moment. I'm thinking of replacing it for Stone Edge. Bullet Seed is the monster that takes everything for a ride >:). It pretty much will OHKO anything that doesn't resist it, including Gliscor (if you get 5 hits) or Landorus-T (even after Initimidate!). Last, but definitely not least (the opposite in fact), Low Sweep. Low Sweep is pretty much the crux of this Choice Band set, especially with the EVs I calculated. If didn't know already, Low Sweep is a 60 BP (hello Technician boost!) move that always lowers the opposing Pocket Monster's Speed after getting hit. With 232 Spe, I'm able to outspeed Timid natured base 110 Speed Pokemon (Lati@s) and everything below after a Low Sweep. Similarly, Low Sweep 2HKOs Latios, meaning it absolutely CANNOT switch into my Breloom. Latias is 2HKOd after 2 switches into Stealth Rock, meaning it won't be alive for long. This forces pressure onto your opponent since many checks they try to switch in will get their Speed reduced, allowing me to attack once again. Breloom has become the MVP of the team even when I based it around my newfound interest in Kyurem.
Abomasnow (M) @ Expert Belt Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 168 HP / 252 Atk / 88 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Ice Shard
- Wood Hammer
- Earthquake
- Focus Punch
From first glance, you may think this set is rather unorthodox or even flat out stupid. However, I trick you not, it has a purpose. Abomasnow is an absolute (snow)monster at taking out other weather inducers. Wood Hammer, with an expert belt, OHKO's both defensive Politoed and Tyranitar. Earthquake OHKOs defensive Ninetales after Stealth Rock, and flat out OHKOs offensive variants. Ice Shard is simply amazing priority that hits many things in the metagame. Focus Punch is probably really odd to you, but it's magical. Politoed 9/10 switches out of Abomasnow, and if they have a Ferrothorn, it's coming in. This is why unprotected Focus Punch can be a huge help to this team. Expert Belt Focus Punch does 75% to 91% to standard Ferrothorn, allowing Earthquake to KO the next turn. The usage of Expert Belt also helps here. If you want to play safe 1st turn against Politoed, a good choice would be going straight for Wood Hammer. Assume they switch into Ferrothorn. With Iron Barbs, it's revealed that you're not holding Leftovers, so the common assumption is that you're choiced. The opponent will feel safe going straight for hazards thinking it's safe, only to get slammed by a Focus Punch. I guess you didn't enjoy the ride >:) The EVs in Attack are to maximize power. I put enough speed in Abomasnow to outspeed 4 Spe Politoed. This also helps scout Politoed's set. If rain gets set up 1st, you can assume it's an offensive Politoed (which makes it likely to carry Focus Blast). More Speed isn't needed, so I dumped the rest into HP.
Kyurem @ Choice Specs
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 16 HP / 252 SAtk / 240 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Blizzard
- Earth Power
- Draco Meteor
- Focus Blast
Kyurem is the main member of my team as well as complete and utter powerhouse. Nobody can be ready for this ride. >:) I'm quite meticulous about EV spreads, so I make sure not to waste any. Since Kyurem is relatively slow, I knew a Timid nature was not worth investing for. Instead, a Modest nature makes sure it destroys absolutely everything in its path. The Speed EVs given allow Kyurem to outspeed Jolly Mamoswine as well as other threats like Feraligatr or Chandelure (and everything below). The rest is dumped into HP. Blizzard is usually the go-to move (even though Draco Meteor is 20 BP more powerful) because it has no hindering effects. Earth Power takes out Jirachi and Heatran that are both known to wall Kyurem. Focus Blast is there just in case I need to demolish a Ferrothorn outside of hail. I'm not sure if I should replace it with Dragon Pulse (or even Ice Beam). Blizzard is abnormally strong and nothing wants to switch into it. There's nothing more to say. (Jirachi takes like 35%)
Heatran (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Lava Plume
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Roar
Again, I'm using a rather unseen and unorthodox set, but it's for the better. Originally, I started out with the offensive Air Balloon set, but it didn't ride well >:). So I changed to a specially defensive RestTalking set. I'm sure you can see why. With Tornadus-T running all over the place, Heatran serves as a somewhat reliable check to it. Rest allows me to switch into as many Hurricanes or Draco Meteors as I want and shrug it off like nothing hit me. That's just how I ride. >:) Heatran is also extremely very valuable to pretty much every Hail team considering it absorbs fire types aimed at Abomasnow as well as checks Scizor. Heatran always plays a huge role on this team and is extremely valuable. Roar helps rack up residual damage from Stealth Rock and Hail while Lava Plume can burn incoming physical attackers.
Starmie @ Ice Gem
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Rapid Spin
- Thunderbolt
- Blizzard
- Hydro Pump
You're probably questioning my sanity by now, but hear me out. With 3 Stealth Rock weak Pokemon, I obviously needed a spinner. I considered Tentacruel, but it was weak and couldn't handle the ride >:). Starmie provides excellent speed and decent power as well as amazing coverage. Ice Gem serves MANY purposes on this team. It's simply a great item. I originally applied an Ice Gem after messing around with EVs and discovered that with Blizzard, it has a high chance of OHKOing offensive DD Dragonite WITH MULTISCALE ACTIVE. That's a pretty huge feat for base 100 Special Attack and a non-STAB coverage move. It also does about 75% to defensive Latias, meaning with hail damage, it has a chance to OHKO after it switches into a Hydro Pump. I'm just getting started. Next, it feigns the choice item, which can be crucial for Starmie. Faking a choice item makes Spinning with such a frail Pocket Monster considerably easier. It's even more useful with Starmie's massive coverage options. It also scores nasty KOs on Pocket Monsters like Celebi (which switches in on Thunderbolt or Hydro Pump). Starmie is very valuable both offensively and speed-wise.
Mamoswine (M) @ Life Orb Trait: Snow Cloak
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Ice Shard
- Stealth Rock
- Superpower
- Earthquake
Mamoswine has become one of the most used Pocket Monster in BW2 due to the increase in usage of the genies. However, it simply rocks my socks. Mamoswine has a humungous base attacking stat with a STAB priority move, making it one of the biggest threats on my team. People are starting to use Jolly to outspeed and OHKO Technician Breloom with Ice Shard, but I definitely appreciate the extra power that is brought through Adamant. There's a chance that Jolly Mamoswine cannot even OHKO Tornadus-T AFTER STEALTH ROCKS! I find that absurd and it's not up to my standards. Mamoswine is my physical powerhouse and needs all the attack he can get. Unless there's another reason to use Jolly, I wouldn't bother. I do have Stealth Rock on Mamoswine even when I have Heatran, which limits me from having a strong Ice STAB (like Icicle Crash or Icicle Spear). I find myself rarely using a strong Ice STAB, and since Mamoswine often forces switches, getting Stealth Rock up isn't usually a problem. There's not much to explain about Mamoswine except for the fact that he's strong as shit. He also adds to my collection of priority, which makes this team so hard to set up on.
Breloom (F) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Mach Punch
- Low Sweep
- Spore
- Bullet Seed
Breloom has turned out to be possibly the most important member of my team. Being able to revenge kill the biggest threat to this team, Infernape, is extremely desirable. I made my own EV spread based on the fact that Breloom is Choice Banded. 252 Attack and Adamant + Choice Band and Technician powers up Mach Punch to the point that it OHKOs or 2HKOs anything that does not resist it. It's usually my go-to move and it conveniently knocks out the Steel types that take Blizzards and Draco Meteors from Kyurem. It's often my late game sweeping move as well as insta-threat-remover. I do run Spore on a choiced set, which may seem weird, but it comes in handy when I need something asleep at that moment. I'm thinking of replacing it for Stone Edge. Bullet Seed is the monster that takes everything for a ride >:). It pretty much will OHKO anything that doesn't resist it, including Gliscor (if you get 5 hits) or Landorus-T (even after Initimidate!). Last, but definitely not least (the opposite in fact), Low Sweep. Low Sweep is pretty much the crux of this Choice Band set, especially with the EVs I calculated. If didn't know already, Low Sweep is a 60 BP (hello Technician boost!) move that always lowers the opposing Pocket Monster's Speed after getting hit. With 232 Spe, I'm able to outspeed Timid natured base 110 Speed Pokemon (Lati@s) and everything below after a Low Sweep. Similarly, Low Sweep 2HKOs Latios, meaning it absolutely CANNOT switch into my Breloom. Latias is 2HKOd after 2 switches into Stealth Rock, meaning it won't be alive for long. This forces pressure onto your opponent since many checks they try to switch in will get their Speed reduced, allowing me to attack once again. Breloom has become the MVP of the team even when I based it around my newfound interest in Kyurem.
Conclusion
I'm not much of a ladder person myself, but out of boredom, I have reached about 1420. It also showed my increasing weaknesses to many Pocket Monsters (ESPECIALLY INFERNAPE). I was hoping with some guidance from Smogon University, I could build a better and more balanced team that could threaten many top teams today. I feel an offensive team like this has potential and want advice to strengthen it even further. Thanks for reading! I'd also like to take this time to give a public apology to Gamester. I finally realized why you cared so much about making RMTs. These take a lot of work and while I was writing, I had some pride in my team. If my team had gotten that far, I would have definitely done the same. I am deeply sorry for what I said. With that said, I'll finally end it.
Abomasnow (M) @ Expert Belt
Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 168 HP / 252 Atk / 88 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Ice Shard
- Wood Hammer
- Earthquake
- Focus Punch
Kyurem @ Choice Specs
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 16 HP / 252 SAtk / 240 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Blizzard
- Earth Power
- Draco Meteor
- Focus Blast
Mamoswine (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Snow Cloak
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Ice Shard
- Stealth Rock
- Superpower
- Earthquake
Heatran (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Lava Plume
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Roar
Starmie @ Ice Gem
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Rapid Spin
- Thunderbolt
- Blizzard
- Hydro Pump
Breloom (F) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Mach Punch
- Low Sweep
- Spore
- Bullet Seed
Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 168 HP / 252 Atk / 88 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Ice Shard
- Wood Hammer
- Earthquake
- Focus Punch
Kyurem @ Choice Specs
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 16 HP / 252 SAtk / 240 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Blizzard
- Earth Power
- Draco Meteor
- Focus Blast
Mamoswine (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Snow Cloak
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Ice Shard
- Stealth Rock
- Superpower
- Earthquake
Heatran (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Lava Plume
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Roar
Starmie @ Ice Gem
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Rapid Spin
- Thunderbolt
- Blizzard
- Hydro Pump
Breloom (F) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Mach Punch
- Low Sweep
- Spore
- Bullet Seed
