[youtube]HHO40HywOlM[/youtube]
Hey there, Smogon. You've not heard from me for a while, though I can't blame you if you have no idea who I am. Though my teams have been accepted and loved by some, I'm not exactly known around here, though I really would love to be. Or, have been, I suppose. This is a retirement RMT; college is ending, I've not been battling much up until now, and I have a great journalism career coming up, so I'm not going to have much time for a good while, I imagine.
The last couple of RMTs I've posted here have been pretty well-received. Son of Hyperion gained a handful of Luvdiscs with minimal testing behind it, and Season Unending secured in my head the idea that I'd become decent at building offensive teams. I decided to carry on with that, and wanting to build a team around a core that I'd been meaning to use for at least half a year, I wanted it to be a hail team, which I'd never been successful making before now.
Even though I'm not known, this is a retirement RMT nonetheless, and I wanted to go out with a bang, peaking high on the Pokémon Showdown! ladder. Though, with setbacks to the team being many, I'd wanted to peak highly by now, which has not happened. It cannot be put back any longer, so hopefully this team is going to be as well-received as if I had managed to do well on the ladder. I won't say it's as good as my other RMT teams, I really don't think it is, but I do think it's as solid as I can make it myself, and a good idea of an offensive hail team.
This was the core that I wanted to build a team around. I remember attempting to make something out of it a while back, and ended up having something with Landorus-I and Shaymin and, well, it just didn't seem to work for me at the time. An underrated weather-inducer coupled with a great anti-weather Pokémon, an amazing counter to rain in general. Kingdra's amazing typing works great with Abomasnow's weaknesses, while Abomasnow is more than able to provide the same kind of role that Mamoswine does, and take care of many Dragon-types that would become a threat.
I knew that a hail team would be threatened by Ground-types, and my initial solution would be using Landorus, which also synergises decently well with the rest of the team, and is able to take a couple of hits from Fighting-type Pokémon - Terrakion was a main worry here. This was also the reason that Scizor was added too, being able to counter Terrakion extremely well, as well as bringing immediate physically offensive power to the team behind Kingdra.
Even though it only had one Rock-type weakness at the time, I was obviously going to need a Rapid Spin user to keep Abomasnow healthy - more troublesome considering I was using it in a more offensive way than I'd prefer. The only offensive Rapid Spin Pokémon I could think of was, of course, Starmie, fitting in well great on pretty much any hail team. I would have used Tentacruel here instead, but I didn't want to be playing around with an offensive set - I already had two 'uncommon' Pokémon on the team in Abomasnow and Kingdra, an added uncommon set seemed risky. Starmie would also provide me with some scope against opposing Keldeo, which would otherwise threaten the vast majority of the team with its STABs.
It was around this point that I posted in the OU Cores thread my initial core of Abomasnow and Kingdra, being stuck myself as to deciding on a sixth member of the team. Though only one reply was directed at me, and not one that would become a sixth member, user victinivcreate1 suggested that I could use a Choice Scarf Nidoking to counter Terrakion. I actually decided that I would give it a go over my Landorus, replacing the suggested Ice Beam with Blizzard, and I really haven't considered switching it back at all. I doubted it at first, but the power of 100% accurate Blizzards when backed up by Sheer Force is amazing, and the vast majority of the time is the go-to move.
So at this point I genuinely was stuck. In my mind, I had a fairly solid team of five Pokémon here, and anything that I thought could fill the gap, on deeper thinking would only make it worse. I asked Trinitrotoluene of course, and he suggested a Lead SashRakion or a similar Garchomp. I'd already toyed with the idea of using a Terrakion, but a vastly different set. Not wanting to double-up on Dragon-types, Terrakion was chosen, and the team was finally ready for battle.
[box]Of course, hail teams need an Abomasnow, and so does this team's main core. Abomasnow is just, let's be honest, a terrible Pokémon. It's not bulky, its typing is terrible, it's not powerful, and it's just simply not a threat to anything at all ever. However, it's really the only thing that can do its role on hail teams (what, you're going to use Snover?) so that kinda sucks.
That being said, its STAB moves are half-decent. Wood Hammer always manages to knock some sense into (uh, out of) bulky Water-types, Ice Shard threatens things like the genies and Dragon-types (somewhat), and the fact that it can outspeed things like bulky Politoed and hit extremely hard with its Grass-type STAB, you could say that this generation only helped it.
So, the first member of the party is introduced. Partnered with Kingdra, I wanted Abomasnow's role to be just helping it out. This meant being able to take on bulky Water-types, Dragon-types and, most importantly, Steel-types. The choice of Expert Belt as an item and EVs maximising Attack are there for just that, maximising its Attack stat and the damage it can cause through Wood Hammer and Ice Shard. Defensive Politoed are outsped by this set and face a OHKO from Wood Hammer, which most players seem to overlook.
Hidden Power [Fire] is still invaluable on Abomasnow, being a great lure for things like Scizor, Ferrothorn and Forretress, while Blizzard is there for simply filler and having a decently powerful move at your disposal. All this being said, however, it needs to be used carefully, which on an offensive team isn't really ideal, especially when your team revolves around it somewhat. It's not entirely useless, though, and definitely does well enough in its roles, clearing a way for Kingdra to power its way through, and keeping potentially troublesome weather effects off the field - mainly sun, which is a definite threat.[/box]
[box]In my opinion, still one of the most underrated and underestimated Pokémon, and a near perfect counter to rain teams. When opposing Steel-types have been disposed of, Kingdra is almost free to rampage through most rain teams even at +1. Synergising amazingly well with Abomasnow, and bringing two x4 resistances to the team, its lack of decent bulk can be definitely made up for if you're switching it into the right moves at the right time.
A core that I'd dreamed up months ago, I feel that this team does manage to do it justice, supporting Kingdra as well as it can and having roles synergising with its destructive capabilities. Whenever a battle comes around where I require it to set up a number of boosts, I aim to bring it in on something more defensive that can't do much damage to it - Forretress, Ferrothorn, etc. - at which point setting up a Substitute and a few Dragon Dances aren't a bother. That's the point of the set, but it really comes into its own against rain teams, with the boosted Speed and Water-type STAB making it an immediate threat and powerhouse.
Along with Nidoking, it's also a good way to deal with sun teams. Even with Fire-type attacks boosted in the weather, Kingdra can survive amazingly well against Ninetales, and boost against it, though it obviously fears a burn like the plague, but if it can set up a handful of boosts then it's pretty much smooth sailing from there.
As I mentioned, it was chosen alongside Abomasnow due to them working very well together. Any Dragon-types that Kingdra can't take on, Abomasnow can pick them off with Ice Shard. Any bulky Water-types that don't even care much for Outrage, Abomasnow can hit them hard with Wood Hammer - Jellicent, Slowbro, etc. In the same vein, Kingdra can do the same for Abomasnow through its amazing typing, and working well with the snow titan.[/box]
[box]Nidoking was a surprise choice, even for me. Suggested by victinivcreate1 to accompany the main two Pokémon, and counter Terrakion well, as well as being able to counter the constant threats presented by sun teams, it ended up replacing Landorus-I even before the team was finished, and I've really not wanted to switch back at all. I feel that it's doing a much better job at countering things like Terrakion and many other Fighting-type threats than Landorus-I ever could have - its typing also protects it from Rock-type attacks that they also commonly carry.
Its coverage is simply amazing, and with Sheer Force backing them all up, missing out on the added power that Life Orb would be giving over Choice Scarf, allowing me to not lose out on much by giving it the extra Speed. Normally Ice Beam would be used on this set over Blizzard, but with this being a hail team, and one relatively successful in keeping its effects up, then having an Ice-type move that's incredibly powerful without Sheer Force backing it up is just amazing. It hits even things that are effected neutrally by it like a truck, and is usually the immediate go-to move for Nidoking in most situations.
Fast threats can be very damaging to the team - things like Thundurus-T and Latios can just walk through the team with Choice Scarf equipped, but if not then Nidoking is in a prime situation to show why it really should be used more often. It's also amazing at being able to clear the opposing team of Steel-types, with its STAB able to hit extremely hard, and a boosted Fire Blast in reserve for it that isn't able to do the job.
Really, I still can't see Landorus-I doing a better job than this thing can do. Its coverage is just so much better, and its typing giving it a larger advantage over most Fighting-type Pokémon too.[/box]
[box]Really, every team should be using a Scizor. It's as good as ever, and still able to completely take apart unprepared teams. The second Choice item Pokémon on the team, it provides extra extra backup for opposing Terrakion, and further insures the team against the faster threats and Dragon-types that are going to forever be plaguing the rest of the team.
This thing's way too common and standard to really describe. I can barely describe uncommon or original sets, how do I do this. In terms of power and its role, it just ties the team together well - better than anything else that could go here. I needed a Steel-type, and it was the most offensive thing that I could think of. Even with Scarf Nidoking, I still needed some Speed poorly, and Scizor manages to make up for that with ease.
It might not be used in many battles, but its typing still lends it to a great role in the team as the pivot, which it usually what it's used for in the end. Though I'm not saying it's useless, the exact opposite, it's almost vital.[/box]
[box]Yeah, Starmie's become a real regular thing on my teams, huh. What can I say, though, it's my favourite Rapid Spin user. The team looked like it would be threatened by Fighting-types still, despite having Nidoking, and Keldeo in particular seemed like a threat. Having Psyshock on Starmie solves that problem somewhat, though I'm not running into as many Keldeos as the last time I was testing a team.
Starmie was chosen over Tentacruel due to its Speed, for the most part. Tentacruel would probably be doing a better job here, but I'm not sure it could fill the more offensive role as well as this is. Doesn't help much against opposing Dragon-types, lacking Ice Beam really hurts when it comes to dealing with things like Garchomp, but the overall Speed and coverage are definitely useful for things such as weakened Thundurus-T and Landorus that are definitely otherwise going to be a threat.
[/box]
[box]Finally, Terrakion, not my idea. Like I said, I'd been stuck deciding on a final member of the team, and Trinitrotoluene suggested it be the final member here. Usually used as my leading Pokémon, especially against opposing weather teams, SashRakion manages to get Stealth Rocks down a lot of the time, and put immediate pressure on the opponent's team with either its moves or Taunt.
I really couldn't have come up with a better final member here, and even though it's not used as an offensive role - it's more used for just sending out and sacking off - it can usually manage to net a couple of KOsbecause, well, it's Terrakion, isn't it. Of course it's going to get something.
Mostly useful against sand teams in that regard, though with the item it obviously never sticks around for long. It can mostly be used in the battle for just seeming threatening if it lives through the first few turns, though, which is so useful in getting other members of the team in safely.[/box]
So that's that, then. My final RMT is out of the way with, and will hopefully be even remotely successful, like my older teams. There's nothing else really to say here, but thank you for having me, Smogon. Even though I never really contributed in a huge way, it's been genuinely fun. Thanks to everyone that I've asked questions, thanks to everyone that said hi, thanks to everyone for just being lovely.
Shurtugal, thank you for being lovely whenever we spoke, and thanks for your great advice all the time.
Dr Ciel, thanks for being 3 cool 5 me. Loved talking to you, and sorry I was such a dick.
Trinitrotoluene especially, thank you for all the input and advice. I know i asked for a lot, but thanks for everything man. Building that team with you was amazing, even if there was no RMT to show for it. Thanks for everything, this RMT wouldn't even be happening without your help all those times.
And just thanks to everyone that ever commented on an RMT of mine, or replied to me or liked my teams. It really made me feel like I could do some good things, so thank you all. I hope you all like this RMT, and if you could leave a Luvdisc then that would be greatly appreciated. Maybe I can't go out with a bang and a legendary ladder ranking, but if I can go out and please some people with this team, then that's just as amazing. Thank you all, and goodbye.
Code:
Abomasnow (F) @ Expert Belt
Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 Atk / 144 SAtk / 112 Spd
Lonely Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SAtk / 30 Spd
- Wood Hammer
- Blizzard
- Ice Shard
- Hidden Power
Bitch (Kingdra) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 40 HP / 228 Atk / 12 Def / 228 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Substitute
- Waterfall
- Outrage
Nidoking (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Blizzard
- Thunderbolt
Starmie @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
- Psyshock
- Rapid Spin
Scizor (F) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Pursuit
Terrakion @ Focus Sash
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
