Stilll Cold In Here [OU RMT]
My Hail Team!
Changes in Dark Red
Introduction
I would say this is a pretty standard hail team. It has its share of entry hazards and a fair amount of methods to abuse them. The biggest drawback I see with this team as of now is its lack of a solid special attacker. When I say special attacker, I don't mean a sweeper in anyway. However, considering I have two physical sweepers, a lack of almost any special attacking is noticeable. I've tested it over Shoddy for a fair amount of time and I'm always altering it, however, I tend to see mixed results often so I'd really appreciate any critique on this.
This team is a hail team... Is there much to say other than that? It can [try to] spam entry hazards in the early game and stall most of the match through. There are a few factors uncommon in normal hail teams and I'll address them as we go along. It's by no means perfect, thus why I'm asking for critique. I'll go more in depth with how the overall strategies work at the end so without further ado...
Summary
I figured that my post was getting too long so I'll shorten my entire team here real quick for those of you that don't want to read all that.
Smeargle [Lead] - Smeargle spores then goes to set up stealth rock and spikes before destiny bonding his opponent to death.
Abomasnow [Hail and Sweeper] - Abomasnow brings hail and either Physical or Special sweeps anything it needs to. Choice scarf outspeeds quite a few of the metagame.
Tentacruel [Toxic Spiker and Spinner] - It sets up toxic spikes and rapid spins away entry hazards. It can hit with surf and sludge bomb for stab.
Rotom-H / Dusknoir (Don't know which yet) [Spinblocker] - Dusknoir is for tanking and spinblocking while hitting Scizor with fire punch [though mediocre Atk stat.] Rotom-H can hit Scizor much harder with overheat but it not as good a tank.
Walrein [Staller] - It stalls.
Weavile [Revenge Killer + Endgame Sweeper] - It revenge kills and sweeps endgame. It does fairly well with entry hazards in play, able to OHKO almost all the OU dragons and many more with SR and Spikes in play.
Well if you've read that, I encourage you to maybe not read the whole post but look at the EVs and movesets of the Pokemon if you plan to critique. Thank you!
Now for reals. Without further ado...
The Smeargle Lead
Entry Hazards Beagle
Smeargle
@ Focus Sash
Own Tempo
Naive
EVs 252 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Spore
- Destiny Bond
Prior to Testing Update: Smeargle! In my opinion, the greatest Pokemon of all time! But... In all seriousness, this is a fairly standard Smeargle lead. It basically attempts to set up by sporing and ensuring survivability with a Focus Sash. The way this build is supposed to work is to spore the opponent. How Smeargle will go about doing this depends on whether or not they attack the first turn.
1.) If they have attacked, it's a simple matter of setting up SR, one or two layers of Spikes [depending on whether or not they switch], then endeavoring and easily taking out 99% of their first or [if they switch in] their second Pokemon's Hp.
2.)If they don't attack, it is not unlikely they are setting up for entry hazards or prepping for a BP. In truth, this Spore will render most of whatever they had in store obsolete. After setting up at least one layer of Stealth rock, I can switch in something else to blow away whatever strategy they have shown me in their first turn. However, if they switch, Smeargle might have to fall back to endeavor after one SR in the thinking that their switch will probably come in to sweep my beagle away.
I didn't really know what EV's to invest in quite honestly as my Smeargle is mainly a suicide lead. However, it's greatest flaw stems from its counters. Any taunting entry hazard setup will completely annihilate this build. Many Azelf and Aerodactyl leads blow this one away with taunt. If Smeargle is taunted, his best bet would probably be to attempt a 99% damage endeavor or switched out. If he is switched out however, his usefulness greatly decreases as when he's switched in again, he will usually be damaged by hail or entry hazards, rendering his focus sash useless. In addition to being weak to taunt leads, Smeargle lacks in certainty. This build relies on the notion that sleep will last for at least two turns. When it doesn't, well Smeargle can't do all that except set up SR I suppose, which is not all that useful for one whole Pokemon slot.
Post Testing Update: Smeargle does actually pretty well as a lead and I've changed Endeavor to Destiny bond as it is a more surefire way to take out a non-taunt lead and can cause switching after I've set up my entry hazards to cause damage. As of yet, when they start with a taunt lead like Azelf, I switch to another Pokemon to take care of it.
Hail Man
Physical Sweeper
Abomasnow
@ Choice Scarf
Snow Warning
Jolly
EVs 252 Atk / 6 Hp / 252 Spe
- Brick Break
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Wood Hammer
OR
Hail Man
Special Sweeper
Abomasnow
@ Choice Scarf
Snow Warning
Jolly
EVs 252 SpA / 6 Hp / 252 Spe
- Energy Ball / Grass knot
- HP Fire
- Blizzard
- Focus Punch / Brick Break
Prior to Testing [Only Physical Sweep Set] Update: What Hail team would be complete without one of these? Abomasnow is a fairly versatile Pokemon in that it can Subseed, Subpunch, Choice Band, Choice Scarf, Choice Specs even... I'm right now, wondering whether or not I should change this Choice Scarfer to a Choice Specs. This set has worked fairly well for me so far, but as I've mentioned, I have no real special attackers in my team and a SpA based Abomasnow really has rather nice type coverage with HP Fire. In addition, you get blizzard, an undoubtedly very powerful stab ice move.
However, what's worked so well for me with this set is its unpredictability and actually good speed. One would never think an Abomasnow to move fast but this one can outspeed quite a good amount of OU Metagame. For those that it can't, Abomasnow has [for me at least] often nabbed a few free kills with an unexpected Ice Shard and fairly good Atk stat.
I've tried a Subseeder stalling set before and it really didn't work out. The Wood Hammer is practically the Wood version of Blizzard with [unfortunately] recoil. It's recoil really gets to you but simply because of the power it deals. With STAB, actually really good accuracy, and a pretty good Atk stat, Wood Hammer has hit quite well for even Pokemon that resist it. So ultimately, I feel this set deserves a few more shots even if I decide to switch to a different Abomasnow.
Prior to Testing [Added Special Sweep Set] Update: There is a conflict between a few of his attacks. Now I've yet to test this [hence why my physical build is still up there] but I think this set would provide a better coverage. It will hit Scizor very hard with HP fire and Ttar with Grass Knot. It can probably OHKO Ttar with Grass Knot but Energy Ball is more solid on any other Pokemon. The last attack is kind of a giveaway. Focus Punch and Brick Break hit Blissey hard but they run on Atk which has no EVs in. Focus Blast has rather poor accuracy but it will provide tremendous damage if it hits. In addition, Focus Punch or Brick Break can hit Blissey pretty hard but because his EVs are in SpA Focus Blast can hit Blissey fairly well too and other Pokemon as well. Now between Focus Punch and Brick Break, it's pretty obvious that Focus Punch is stronger but takes a whole turn to set up which is really bad if I plan to keep him in after the first attack due to Choice Scarf.
Post Testing [Added Special Sweep Set] Update: Focus Blast does no damage to Blissey... LOL I've changed it to Focus Punch for that reason and I'll come back with results soon. I kept Brick Break as a possibility because I have managed to outspeed a MixApe with Focus Blast and took a huge chunk, OHKOing it because of entry hazards. Energy Ball has done pretty well as of yet but I see many situations that I'd rather have Grass Knot in so I'm not sure about that. In addition, it feels like a huge loss to no longer have Ice Shard as Ice shard was immensely helpful as a priority due to Abomasnow's lackluster speed despite the Choice Scarf. Also, losing earthquake was rather a pain in the butt as well. I might reconsider the physical build with further testing... Any suggestions?
Friend
Utility
Tentacruel
@ Leftovers
Clear Body
Calm
EVs 252 Hp / 136 Def / 116 SpD
- Toxic Spikes
- Surf
- Sludge Bomb
- Rapid Spin
Prior to Testing Update: Tentacruel is kind of an utility Pokemon with a solid SpAtk stat for hitting some of my teams counters. The most obvious one is surf hitting fire types. HP Fire is a nice surprise when dealing with Scizor. Although it catches them off guard, it still usually takes 2-3 hits to knock it down. Of course, a spinner is a good thing to have on any team, and Tentacruel does well to take some hits that my other Pokemon can't even bear to look at. However, at this, I look at my EVs. I'm thinking of spreading some of the SpAtk EV into Def or SpDef for handier switching in options. When it's not busy, Tentacruel does a fair job of Toxic Spiking, a move that leaves not much to be desired for as I've yet to have a toxic spiker on my team and oh I just love piling up those entry hazards!
My main problem with Tentacruel is his fragility. Many people anticipate Tentacruel counters to fire and so Thunderbolt or HP Elec are often packed in with their sweepers. This means almost instant death for my Tentacruel despite its good special defense as there are ultimately no EVs invested in it.
Post Testing Update: I've changed my EVs for Tentacruel from SpA focused to defense centered because it couldn't do much without a defense as it was easily destroyed with everything and its lack of speed made it unable to pull off surf and HP Fire efficiently anyways. I added Sludge Bomb to its repertoire for STAB and since Scizor usually switches out on Tentacruel really fast because it can't hit Tenta hard at all.
Casper the Spinblocker
Utility Tank
Dusknoir
@ Leftovers
Pressure
Impish
EVs 252 Hp / 128 Def / 128 SpD
- Fire Punch
- Pain Split
- Shadow Sneak
- Gravity / W-o-W
OR
Casper the Spinblocker
Utility Special Attacker
[Insert Picture]
Rotom-H @ Leftovers
Levitate
Timid
EVs 248 HP / 72 SpA / 188 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Overheat
- Reflect
- Pain Split
Prior to Testing [Dusknoir Only] Update: Of course I need a spinblocker. I love my entry hazards and I love how easy it is to predict a spin from my opponent for the most part. I didn't just need any spinblocker though, I needed one that could hold his own and provide to my team at the same time.
Dusknoir has surprisingly amazing defense stats. Unfortunately, they are coupled with a lackluster HP, making him not as ideal a tank as I would have hoped for. Two of his moves are kind of for type coverage. Dusknoir has a rather lame Atk with no EVs invested but it holds up as he can survive long enough to pummel them with a crappy move over and over again. Shadow Sneak is a pretty good priority STAB and Fire Punch is there like to counter certain threats to my team. This build is heavily defense focused so other than stalling and perhaps setting up Gravity to make my spikes much more threatening, it doesn't do much. Pain Split can easily drag down a powerhouse with it. It's a great move for healing and damaging at the same time with Dusknoir's durability.
I had considered and tested many other Pokemon as spinblockers but Dusknoir so far has the most advantage. I've tried Rotom Appliances which worked fairly well as well but lacked the durability I appreciated from Dusknoir. Gengar, while a great Special Sweeper, was fragile beyond my belief.
Post Testing [Rotom-H Added] Update: I've tested this set [Rotom-H] a little as of yet but I haven't had alot of time lately. It seems to function so far pretty well so I'll leave it open for further testing. The only problem I find with this set however is maybe something that had developed because I used Dusknoir. This set's defenses are not nearly as strong as Dusknoir's. However, it does provide pretty good type coverage and attacking capabilities.
The Stallrein
Staller
Walrein
@ Leftovers
Ice Body
Bold
EVs 252HP / 138 Def / 120 SpD
- Protect
- Substitute
- Roar
- Surf / Blizzard
Prior to Testing Update: Stallrein! The meat of a stalling hail team. This fairly standard Stallrein has for more than a couple occasions stalled me out of some messes. This Stallrein set has done very well for me but that doesn't mean I have no intention of changing it. All feedback is welcome and critiques are encouraged. There's not really much to say. With Leftover and Ice Body, Walrein is gaining a whopping 12% Hp per turn. Couple that with Protect and Substitute and it's a stalling machine. Roar is for pseudo hazing as I don't feel comfortable without one on my team. [I have too many times been swept to bits by a single Pokemon sweep.]
The main dilemma here is between Surf and Blizzard. I prefer Surf for the PP and type coverage, but I prefer Blizzard for the power. While Blizzard sounds appealing at first with its good accuracy, it does less for my team in term of types and I find myself easily running out of PP when using it. Surf, in the long run, has done better for me, but inputs are welcome!
Toenails
Revenge Killer
Weavile
@ Life Orb
Pressure
Jolly
EVs 6Hp / 252Atk / 252Spe
- Night Slash
- Ice Shard
- Aerial Ace
- Low Kick
Prior to Testing Update: My late game sweep. This fragile Weavile is often used situationally depending on the type and Pokemon choice of my opponent. When Weaviles major threats have been eliminated and the opponent's team has been fairly weakened, he really shines. I've swept 4 Pokemon in one go with my Weavile due to his good type coverage, speed, and attack. He does fail however, at some counters. For example, when put against a Scizor, there is really nothing he can do much about. His STABS may still do decent damage but a bullet punch to the face and he's gone! He can go toe-to-toe easy with a TTar when it has been entry-hazarded. The main problem I see with this build is that it is rather difficult to stand alone. While he's strong, he's not strong enough to kill everything with one attack and therefore relies heavily on entry hazards and previous damage.
Weavile is fragile as well, hence the Life Orb I put on it. The Life Orb significantly increases his attacking capabilities while minimally affecting his fragility [since he's practically made of glass already]. Weavile is a pretty good revenge killer for the most part. I've considered and tested Gengar and Mamoswine over him but neither seemed to cut it as well as he did with his type coverage. In addition, Weavile's STAB Ice Shard priority really packs a punch when dealing with ground or grass types.
Post Testing Update: I added Low Kick in place of Brick Break because of how easily it kills Heatran and Ttar which I often encounter in the OU metagame. Further testing is still needed to gauge its overall effectiveness.
Conclusion
Well that's it for my team. Thanks for reading! Please rate and help me with comments and suggestions. Here, I'll point out a few weak points in my team. First of all, I've considered Gliscor on my team. Gliscor is a great Ttar counter which may pose a major threat to my team and has. I find that for the most part, my brick breakers can put him to sleep when need be. However, when my brick breakers are down, Ttar will destroy my whole team and my Abomasnow and Weavile are not very reliable counters while they do possess the potential to kill. I've switched Brick Break to Low Kick on my Weavile's repertoire as it can OHKO Ttar that way. However, that doesn't mean of course, the threat is eliminated completely as Weavile can't switch in on Ttar at all. It can still easily revenge kill it though at the cost of one of my Pokemon. Another major problem on is Scizor. HP Fire and Fire Punch can hit Scizor, but this is considering it doesn't take out the corresponding Pokemon before they can act. Scizor is surprisingly difficult to deal with and I have considered Heatran for the job as many other hail teams use. However, I wouldn't really know what to take out. I really would rather not take out my rapid spinner or spinblocker, but on the other hand, should I take out Weavile, my team will be left rather broken as a hail team with only 2 ice types that directly benefit from the hail. If I end up changing my Abomasnow to a Special Sweeping build [which I will most likely do], I will have another HP Fire to take out Scizor with. I have considered replacing my Smeargle lead with an Azelf one but I'm not completely satisfied with the entry hazard potential of most other Pokemon [maybe I'm being immature lol]. Thanks for reading. Rate and comment!
My Hail Team!
Changes in Dark Red
Introduction
I would say this is a pretty standard hail team. It has its share of entry hazards and a fair amount of methods to abuse them. The biggest drawback I see with this team as of now is its lack of a solid special attacker. When I say special attacker, I don't mean a sweeper in anyway. However, considering I have two physical sweepers, a lack of almost any special attacking is noticeable. I've tested it over Shoddy for a fair amount of time and I'm always altering it, however, I tend to see mixed results often so I'd really appreciate any critique on this.
This team is a hail team... Is there much to say other than that? It can [try to] spam entry hazards in the early game and stall most of the match through. There are a few factors uncommon in normal hail teams and I'll address them as we go along. It's by no means perfect, thus why I'm asking for critique. I'll go more in depth with how the overall strategies work at the end so without further ado...
Summary
I figured that my post was getting too long so I'll shorten my entire team here real quick for those of you that don't want to read all that.
Smeargle [Lead] - Smeargle spores then goes to set up stealth rock and spikes before destiny bonding his opponent to death.
Abomasnow [Hail and Sweeper] - Abomasnow brings hail and either Physical or Special sweeps anything it needs to. Choice scarf outspeeds quite a few of the metagame.
Tentacruel [Toxic Spiker and Spinner] - It sets up toxic spikes and rapid spins away entry hazards. It can hit with surf and sludge bomb for stab.
Rotom-H / Dusknoir (Don't know which yet) [Spinblocker] - Dusknoir is for tanking and spinblocking while hitting Scizor with fire punch [though mediocre Atk stat.] Rotom-H can hit Scizor much harder with overheat but it not as good a tank.
Walrein [Staller] - It stalls.
Weavile [Revenge Killer + Endgame Sweeper] - It revenge kills and sweeps endgame. It does fairly well with entry hazards in play, able to OHKO almost all the OU dragons and many more with SR and Spikes in play.
Well if you've read that, I encourage you to maybe not read the whole post but look at the EVs and movesets of the Pokemon if you plan to critique. Thank you!
Now for reals. Without further ado...
The Smeargle Lead
Entry Hazards Beagle
Smeargle
@ Focus Sash
Own Tempo
Naive
EVs 252 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Spore
- Destiny Bond
Prior to Testing Update: Smeargle! In my opinion, the greatest Pokemon of all time! But... In all seriousness, this is a fairly standard Smeargle lead. It basically attempts to set up by sporing and ensuring survivability with a Focus Sash. The way this build is supposed to work is to spore the opponent. How Smeargle will go about doing this depends on whether or not they attack the first turn.
1.) If they have attacked, it's a simple matter of setting up SR, one or two layers of Spikes [depending on whether or not they switch], then endeavoring and easily taking out 99% of their first or [if they switch in] their second Pokemon's Hp.
2.)If they don't attack, it is not unlikely they are setting up for entry hazards or prepping for a BP. In truth, this Spore will render most of whatever they had in store obsolete. After setting up at least one layer of Stealth rock, I can switch in something else to blow away whatever strategy they have shown me in their first turn. However, if they switch, Smeargle might have to fall back to endeavor after one SR in the thinking that their switch will probably come in to sweep my beagle away.
I didn't really know what EV's to invest in quite honestly as my Smeargle is mainly a suicide lead. However, it's greatest flaw stems from its counters. Any taunting entry hazard setup will completely annihilate this build. Many Azelf and Aerodactyl leads blow this one away with taunt. If Smeargle is taunted, his best bet would probably be to attempt a 99% damage endeavor or switched out. If he is switched out however, his usefulness greatly decreases as when he's switched in again, he will usually be damaged by hail or entry hazards, rendering his focus sash useless. In addition to being weak to taunt leads, Smeargle lacks in certainty. This build relies on the notion that sleep will last for at least two turns. When it doesn't, well Smeargle can't do all that except set up SR I suppose, which is not all that useful for one whole Pokemon slot.
Post Testing Update: Smeargle does actually pretty well as a lead and I've changed Endeavor to Destiny bond as it is a more surefire way to take out a non-taunt lead and can cause switching after I've set up my entry hazards to cause damage. As of yet, when they start with a taunt lead like Azelf, I switch to another Pokemon to take care of it.
Hail Man
Physical Sweeper
Abomasnow
@ Choice Scarf
Snow Warning
Jolly
EVs 252 Atk / 6 Hp / 252 Spe
- Brick Break
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Wood Hammer
OR
Hail Man
Special Sweeper
Abomasnow
@ Choice Scarf
Snow Warning
Jolly
EVs 252 SpA / 6 Hp / 252 Spe
- Energy Ball / Grass knot
- HP Fire
- Blizzard
- Focus Punch / Brick Break
Prior to Testing [Only Physical Sweep Set] Update: What Hail team would be complete without one of these? Abomasnow is a fairly versatile Pokemon in that it can Subseed, Subpunch, Choice Band, Choice Scarf, Choice Specs even... I'm right now, wondering whether or not I should change this Choice Scarfer to a Choice Specs. This set has worked fairly well for me so far, but as I've mentioned, I have no real special attackers in my team and a SpA based Abomasnow really has rather nice type coverage with HP Fire. In addition, you get blizzard, an undoubtedly very powerful stab ice move.
However, what's worked so well for me with this set is its unpredictability and actually good speed. One would never think an Abomasnow to move fast but this one can outspeed quite a good amount of OU Metagame. For those that it can't, Abomasnow has [for me at least] often nabbed a few free kills with an unexpected Ice Shard and fairly good Atk stat.
I've tried a Subseeder stalling set before and it really didn't work out. The Wood Hammer is practically the Wood version of Blizzard with [unfortunately] recoil. It's recoil really gets to you but simply because of the power it deals. With STAB, actually really good accuracy, and a pretty good Atk stat, Wood Hammer has hit quite well for even Pokemon that resist it. So ultimately, I feel this set deserves a few more shots even if I decide to switch to a different Abomasnow.
Prior to Testing [Added Special Sweep Set] Update: There is a conflict between a few of his attacks. Now I've yet to test this [hence why my physical build is still up there] but I think this set would provide a better coverage. It will hit Scizor very hard with HP fire and Ttar with Grass Knot. It can probably OHKO Ttar with Grass Knot but Energy Ball is more solid on any other Pokemon. The last attack is kind of a giveaway. Focus Punch and Brick Break hit Blissey hard but they run on Atk which has no EVs in. Focus Blast has rather poor accuracy but it will provide tremendous damage if it hits. In addition, Focus Punch or Brick Break can hit Blissey pretty hard but because his EVs are in SpA Focus Blast can hit Blissey fairly well too and other Pokemon as well. Now between Focus Punch and Brick Break, it's pretty obvious that Focus Punch is stronger but takes a whole turn to set up which is really bad if I plan to keep him in after the first attack due to Choice Scarf.
Post Testing [Added Special Sweep Set] Update: Focus Blast does no damage to Blissey... LOL I've changed it to Focus Punch for that reason and I'll come back with results soon. I kept Brick Break as a possibility because I have managed to outspeed a MixApe with Focus Blast and took a huge chunk, OHKOing it because of entry hazards. Energy Ball has done pretty well as of yet but I see many situations that I'd rather have Grass Knot in so I'm not sure about that. In addition, it feels like a huge loss to no longer have Ice Shard as Ice shard was immensely helpful as a priority due to Abomasnow's lackluster speed despite the Choice Scarf. Also, losing earthquake was rather a pain in the butt as well. I might reconsider the physical build with further testing... Any suggestions?
Friend
Utility
Tentacruel
@ Leftovers
Clear Body
Calm
EVs 252 Hp / 136 Def / 116 SpD
- Toxic Spikes
- Surf
- Sludge Bomb
- Rapid Spin
Prior to Testing Update: Tentacruel is kind of an utility Pokemon with a solid SpAtk stat for hitting some of my teams counters. The most obvious one is surf hitting fire types. HP Fire is a nice surprise when dealing with Scizor. Although it catches them off guard, it still usually takes 2-3 hits to knock it down. Of course, a spinner is a good thing to have on any team, and Tentacruel does well to take some hits that my other Pokemon can't even bear to look at. However, at this, I look at my EVs. I'm thinking of spreading some of the SpAtk EV into Def or SpDef for handier switching in options. When it's not busy, Tentacruel does a fair job of Toxic Spiking, a move that leaves not much to be desired for as I've yet to have a toxic spiker on my team and oh I just love piling up those entry hazards!
My main problem with Tentacruel is his fragility. Many people anticipate Tentacruel counters to fire and so Thunderbolt or HP Elec are often packed in with their sweepers. This means almost instant death for my Tentacruel despite its good special defense as there are ultimately no EVs invested in it.
Post Testing Update: I've changed my EVs for Tentacruel from SpA focused to defense centered because it couldn't do much without a defense as it was easily destroyed with everything and its lack of speed made it unable to pull off surf and HP Fire efficiently anyways. I added Sludge Bomb to its repertoire for STAB and since Scizor usually switches out on Tentacruel really fast because it can't hit Tenta hard at all.
Casper the Spinblocker
Utility Tank
Dusknoir
@ Leftovers
Pressure
Impish
EVs 252 Hp / 128 Def / 128 SpD
- Fire Punch
- Pain Split
- Shadow Sneak
- Gravity / W-o-W
OR
Casper the Spinblocker
Utility Special Attacker
[Insert Picture]
Rotom-H @ Leftovers
Levitate
Timid
EVs 248 HP / 72 SpA / 188 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Overheat
- Reflect
- Pain Split
Prior to Testing [Dusknoir Only] Update: Of course I need a spinblocker. I love my entry hazards and I love how easy it is to predict a spin from my opponent for the most part. I didn't just need any spinblocker though, I needed one that could hold his own and provide to my team at the same time.
Dusknoir has surprisingly amazing defense stats. Unfortunately, they are coupled with a lackluster HP, making him not as ideal a tank as I would have hoped for. Two of his moves are kind of for type coverage. Dusknoir has a rather lame Atk with no EVs invested but it holds up as he can survive long enough to pummel them with a crappy move over and over again. Shadow Sneak is a pretty good priority STAB and Fire Punch is there like to counter certain threats to my team. This build is heavily defense focused so other than stalling and perhaps setting up Gravity to make my spikes much more threatening, it doesn't do much. Pain Split can easily drag down a powerhouse with it. It's a great move for healing and damaging at the same time with Dusknoir's durability.
I had considered and tested many other Pokemon as spinblockers but Dusknoir so far has the most advantage. I've tried Rotom Appliances which worked fairly well as well but lacked the durability I appreciated from Dusknoir. Gengar, while a great Special Sweeper, was fragile beyond my belief.
Post Testing [Rotom-H Added] Update: I've tested this set [Rotom-H] a little as of yet but I haven't had alot of time lately. It seems to function so far pretty well so I'll leave it open for further testing. The only problem I find with this set however is maybe something that had developed because I used Dusknoir. This set's defenses are not nearly as strong as Dusknoir's. However, it does provide pretty good type coverage and attacking capabilities.
The Stallrein
Staller
Walrein
@ Leftovers
Ice Body
Bold
EVs 252HP / 138 Def / 120 SpD
- Protect
- Substitute
- Roar
- Surf / Blizzard
Prior to Testing Update: Stallrein! The meat of a stalling hail team. This fairly standard Stallrein has for more than a couple occasions stalled me out of some messes. This Stallrein set has done very well for me but that doesn't mean I have no intention of changing it. All feedback is welcome and critiques are encouraged. There's not really much to say. With Leftover and Ice Body, Walrein is gaining a whopping 12% Hp per turn. Couple that with Protect and Substitute and it's a stalling machine. Roar is for pseudo hazing as I don't feel comfortable without one on my team. [I have too many times been swept to bits by a single Pokemon sweep.]
The main dilemma here is between Surf and Blizzard. I prefer Surf for the PP and type coverage, but I prefer Blizzard for the power. While Blizzard sounds appealing at first with its good accuracy, it does less for my team in term of types and I find myself easily running out of PP when using it. Surf, in the long run, has done better for me, but inputs are welcome!
Toenails
Revenge Killer
Weavile
@ Life Orb
Pressure
Jolly
EVs 6Hp / 252Atk / 252Spe
- Night Slash
- Ice Shard
- Aerial Ace
- Low Kick
Prior to Testing Update: My late game sweep. This fragile Weavile is often used situationally depending on the type and Pokemon choice of my opponent. When Weaviles major threats have been eliminated and the opponent's team has been fairly weakened, he really shines. I've swept 4 Pokemon in one go with my Weavile due to his good type coverage, speed, and attack. He does fail however, at some counters. For example, when put against a Scizor, there is really nothing he can do much about. His STABS may still do decent damage but a bullet punch to the face and he's gone! He can go toe-to-toe easy with a TTar when it has been entry-hazarded. The main problem I see with this build is that it is rather difficult to stand alone. While he's strong, he's not strong enough to kill everything with one attack and therefore relies heavily on entry hazards and previous damage.
Weavile is fragile as well, hence the Life Orb I put on it. The Life Orb significantly increases his attacking capabilities while minimally affecting his fragility [since he's practically made of glass already]. Weavile is a pretty good revenge killer for the most part. I've considered and tested Gengar and Mamoswine over him but neither seemed to cut it as well as he did with his type coverage. In addition, Weavile's STAB Ice Shard priority really packs a punch when dealing with ground or grass types.
Post Testing Update: I added Low Kick in place of Brick Break because of how easily it kills Heatran and Ttar which I often encounter in the OU metagame. Further testing is still needed to gauge its overall effectiveness.
Conclusion
Well that's it for my team. Thanks for reading! Please rate and help me with comments and suggestions. Here, I'll point out a few weak points in my team. First of all, I've considered Gliscor on my team. Gliscor is a great Ttar counter which may pose a major threat to my team and has. I find that for the most part, my brick breakers can put him to sleep when need be. However, when my brick breakers are down, Ttar will destroy my whole team and my Abomasnow and Weavile are not very reliable counters while they do possess the potential to kill. I've switched Brick Break to Low Kick on my Weavile's repertoire as it can OHKO Ttar that way. However, that doesn't mean of course, the threat is eliminated completely as Weavile can't switch in on Ttar at all. It can still easily revenge kill it though at the cost of one of my Pokemon. Another major problem on is Scizor. HP Fire and Fire Punch can hit Scizor, but this is considering it doesn't take out the corresponding Pokemon before they can act. Scizor is surprisingly difficult to deal with and I have considered Heatran for the job as many other hail teams use. However, I wouldn't really know what to take out. I really would rather not take out my rapid spinner or spinblocker, but on the other hand, should I take out Weavile, my team will be left rather broken as a hail team with only 2 ice types that directly benefit from the hail. If I end up changing my Abomasnow to a Special Sweeping build [which I will most likely do], I will have another HP Fire to take out Scizor with. I have considered replacing my Smeargle lead with an Azelf one but I'm not completely satisfied with the entry hazard potential of most other Pokemon [maybe I'm being immature lol]. Thanks for reading. Rate and comment!
