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[Tag]

Screw all the other weathers! Hail is, like, my favorite weather even though it gets raped over by Stealth Rock and pretty much any sweeper that carries a Fire or Rock move. Hail is a bitch because it can run full stall, semi-stall, or offense all decently. I guess you could say my team is semi-stall that breaks down the opposing team using entry hazards to open up holes to sweep with Kerudio and Kyuremu. This team has been doing decently so far and I'm pretty happy with the outcome. I'd like some rates, though, as it is definitely not perfect.

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Modest
Snow Warning
252 HP/4 Def/252 Sp. Attack

• Blizzard
• Energy Ball
• Ice Shard
• Hidden Power Fire

What kind of hail team is a hail team without this guy? To be perfectly honest, all Abomasnow is here on this team for is to set up permanent hail. Abomasnow is actually a nice asset to this team and although he's useless at times, he can keep killing off things one by one. I chose an offense lead over the Leech Seed set because lets face it, Abomasnow is a shitty Leech Seeder and an offensive set is the only set it can really run well. Abomasnow gets near perfect coverage with this set, and the only pokemon that resists this set is almost all fire pokemon (like I'd stay in on fire pokemon anways). Against any other weather team (besides hail), I try to keep Abomasnow alive as long as possible before killing off Politoad, Ninetails, or Hippowdon/Tyranitar. Life Orb lets Abomasnow kill Deoxys-S with Blizzard+Ice Shard (yeah, I laughed when I read it couldn't do that without Life Orb also). All in all, Kyremu seems pretty good as it is and I don't have any problems with it.

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Timid
Pressure
4 HP/252 Sp. Attack/252 Spe

• Draco Meteor
• Dragon Pulse
• Blizzard
• Hidden Power Fire

Holy shit I love this guy. How the hell can I actually explain the sheer awesomeness of Specs Kyuremu. He makes up one part of my main offensive core, and does it well. Specs Kyuremu hits like a truck, even on steel types that resist it. Kyuremu gets 587 in Sp. Attack with Specs, and when he spams Blizzard he can sometimes easily sweep teams (believe me, I've done it). Anything switching in that doesn't resist his move is taking a giant chunk of damage from him. The moveset is straightforward; Draco Meteor has 150 BP and gets STAB. Dragon Pulse is more for sweeping instead of hitting someone hard and then switching out, as is Blizzard. Hidden Power Fire takes care of Steels that wall him hard. The unique typing that Kyuremu has over other dragons is that he isn't threatened by faster sweepers like LO Starmie that can spam their Ice Beam on all the other dragons like Salamence and Dragonite. He can beat more threats like Shaymin-S and Suicune that would otherwise threaten most dragons with HP Ice and Ice beam, respectively.

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Bold
Ice Body
220 HP/252 Def/36 Sp. Def

• Toxic
• Surf
• Substitute
• Protect

Ah, the infamous Stallrein. On any hail team I make, he's normally added in as he is amazing at stalling under hail. Although his typing makes him weak to Stealth Rock, he can easily recover from the damage with Leftovers, Protect, and Ice Body. Walrein gets 101 HP Substitutes, a crucial role which allows Wallrein to stall much easier. Simply Sub on the switch, Toxic, and then either Protect or Substitute and cycle between the two. Walrein gains 1/8 of his HP at the end of every turn utilizing Leftovers and Ice Body. This lets him recover health at an astonishing fast rate. This is a normal Stallrein set and they're isn't really any differences in this set. Surf was chosen over Blizzard because it hits Fire-types, and it has more PP to I can't get destroyed by Taunt. Wallrein has a certain niche on the team because he is the only one that can wear the opponent's pokemon down without having to constantly switch because of certain threats, besides for very precise circumstances. I've beaten Gyarados's with +4 Attack because of the combination of Substitute and Protect.

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Timid
Heart of Justice
4 HP/252 Sp. Attack/252 Spe

• Calm Mind
• Hydro Pump
• Mystery Sword
• Hidden Power Electric

GameFreak must have been drunk when they thought of creating this horse. Kerudio is basically an Infernape on drugs without the terrible weaknesses (particularly Ground and Water). 128 Base Sp. Attack combined with 108 Base Speed is nothing to scoff at after a Calm Mind or two. The water horse was also blessed with another move: Mystery Sword. Mystery Sword is basically a fighting-type Psycho Shock. This allows Kerudio to not be utterly walled by Blissey. Kerudio makes up the second part of my offensive core; after Walrein combined with entry hazards wears down the opponent, Kerudio comes in to quickly set up a Calm Mind and sweep away. Kerudio has gotten me out of butt loads of tough matches where the score was 6 vs 3 and I've come out winning. Walrein really helps this set achieve its full potential because Kerudio needs to be able to set up against a worn out team at a specific time to sweep with ease.

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Impish
Sturdy
252 HP/4 Atk/252 Defense

• Explosion
• Rapid Spin
• Stealth Rock
• Spikes

Forretress was added after a bit of testing and I decided that I wanted Entry Hazards plus a Rapid Spinner and Forretress fit the bill, perfectly. All it's really suppose to do is provide Entry hazards to the team, and then act as a meat shield, a Spinner, or explode. That's really all Forretress's use is to this team at the moment and therefore I don't have much to say about him.

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Timid
Synchronize
252 HP/4 Sp. Attack/252 Spe

• Light Screen
• Reflect
• Wish
• Psycho Shock

It may seem weird seeing an Espeon without Magic Mirror actually being used. I'll admit, it used to be a Magic Mirror Espeon, until I added Forretress and I changed Espeon's set to a Screener while switching this team to Standard (hah, Shandera!). Screens help Walrein stall and Kerudio set up while letting them take hits better. Espeon also acts as my Wisher to heal of hazard damage in case Forry couldn't spin them away. Combined with Screens, Wish is very helpful to all of my teammates, especially Kyuremu and Kerudio, who get worn out easily. Espeon also serves as my Roob counter, who would otherwise screw over half my team with Bulk Up + Mach Punch. Espeon makes a great counter as it still gets a decent 296 Sp. Attack stat without any investments in Sp. Attack.

Well, that's it! Rate ahead!

 

[Jaroda]

Um, there is no reason to ever run Syncronize over Magic Mirror on Espeon. I mean, if you're not even going to bother a Jirachi would make a far far superior dual screener and Wish passer with its bulk and typing. And if it's your only Roopushin counter, why are you not running Psychic instead? If Roo already gets a Bulk Up when you switch in, you are going to die from either Payback or Stone Edge, no question. And after that it sweeps the rest of your team.

Also, Espeon's HP is poor and the wish passing it will be doing will be insubstantial. Looking at your team, you're better off running this.

Espeon@Light Clay
Magic Mirror
Timid 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spd
Reflect
Calm Mind
Baton Pass
Psychic

Your entire team outside of Forretress will love a Calm Mind pass and Espeon can't be phazed out, Taunted, or put to sleep with its ability. Imagine how much tougher Walrein will be with just one Calm Mind. It also makes Kerudio dangerous off the bat, who can boost further, and even Abomasnow will benefit.

How about replace Forretress for Tentacruel. With stall, Toxic Spikes will be far more useful and it also is a very good Roopushin check with Toxic Ooze and its typing. It can also Rapid Spin and it resist fire as well, which half your team is weak to. This also frees up a moveslot on your Walrein, not sure what for though. Blizzard I guess.

 

[Barilzar]

Yeah id swap Forretress for Tentacruel. You have four fighting weaknesses and 3 fire. The swap will help you out.

 

[jynx KB]

@ Jaroda I see your point with Tentacruel, but for this particular team, I think Spikes is far more useful then Toxic Spikes. Toxic Spikes is useless on Steel types, while the Flying types are going to be hit by super effective Ice damage.

The trouble however, is finding a decent Spiker to go with your team, but considering Tentacruel's multiple roles, and usefulness as a Roobushin check, it is certainly a viable option over Foretress. Liquid Ooze is a beautiful switch in to a Drain Punch, and it functions as a special wall and potential Spinner.

That said, if you want a similar moveset to fill Espeon's supporting role, it really needs to be Jirachi instead. Useful steel type resistances, and though it gives another Fire weakness, the Tentacruel switch should help in that regard. It can even hold Stealth Rock if you wanted to drop one of the screens.

For Tentacruel, it's a shame it doesn't get Clear Smog for a Hazing STAB, but a standard support set should be satisfactory.

Now this is my personal preference, but I would try and find a moveslot to get the Attack Hail in there somewhere, especially in this Generation. Abomisnow can's switch in well, and lacks Leech Seed for recovery. Though you do have Wish Passing, you don't have anything to attract Water attacks that Abomisnow resists for a switch in, and the nature of your offensive set means you don't have lower speed to ensure your weather is the one that stays. Even the Life Orb cuts off longer term use.

Just my two cents