Wolfey
VGC 2016 Masters Champion
Hi everyone, I'll start off by introducing myself, and explaining why I chose to use something as "bad" as hail. Ive always been fascinated by the idea of underrated things, namely hail and Gravity. I have yet to build a working Gravity team, so Ive always focused my efforts on team building on hail. I made a working hail team in Gen 4, and I really liked the way it ran so when Gen 5 came out I built another hail team, with the star player scarf Garchomp. The team worked great, but soon it was VGC season and I got swept up into it, forgetting all about my lonely hail team. Once VGC ended, I returned to OU, only to find my beloved hail team sent to Ubers due to Garchomp being banned. Heartbroken, I set to work searching for another hail team that could stand up against the current metagame of weather users that appeared to have the upper hand over Abomasnow. This is the fruit of my labor, a hail team that works and has proven its worth, peaking at number one, this is my hail semi-stall.
Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
Trait: Snow Cloak
EV's: 252 Speed 252 Atk 4 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -Sp A)
-Earthquake
-Stealth Rock
-Ice Shard
-Endeavor
Since Generation 4, this guy has been my preferred lead on most of my teams. Mamoswines sheer attack power can tear holes in anything that doesn't resist it. Mamoswine is generally my preferred lead, with the ability to set up Stealth Rock if he threatens the opposing lead. Mamoswine can be used against all typed of other weather teams, if they lead. Tyranitar will generally switch into Skarmory/Gliscor/Rotom W allowing you to set up rocks for free. Balloon Ninetails is generally faster, so even though they'll believe they have the upper hand you can fire off 1 HP Endeavors to stop them. Politoed will generally scald if they're bulky, allowing you to Stealth Rock T1 and Endeavor T2, providing your not burned. Scarf Politoed can beat Mamo one on one, but has trouble with the lack of leftovers recovery and the lack of bulk against the rest of the team. Also, bear in mind that earthquake 2HKO's Politoed, so should you fear your opponent to be informed and toxic instead of Scald, you can take the safe route. Endeavor is a great move, and really fits Mamoswine well. He can come in late game with 1 HP under hail on a choiced electric move, and net a KO a turn. Ice shard is used over Icicle Crash because of the priority, and generally I dont find myself wanting for a stronger Ice move from Mamo. Mamo is the only Electric Immunity on the team, and also packs the only priority. With sash you should always try and keep him alive as long as possible, hes a great late game sweeper as well as hard hitter early game.
Abomasnow @ Leftovers
Trait: Snow Warning
EV's: 252 Hp 252 Special Defense, 4 Speed
Calm Nature (+Spe D, -Atk)
-Substitute
-Blizzard
-Leech Seed
-Protect
Abomasnow is the only Pokemon with the snow warning ability, which shows that even Game Freak is looking down on hail as every other Weather condition has two Pokemon with the auto Weather ability. This Abomasnow set has both Pro's and Cons. I used to run Max Hp, Max Speed Timid nature but Ive found I like the bulk more than I like the speed. The given Ev's allow Abomsnow to effectively wall Common special attackers, such as Jellicent, Starmie lacking HP fire, and most Importantly Politoed. Scarf Rotom W who is becoming ever so common also struggles against Aboma, especially with Protect. Focus Punch is an option over Protect, and although it does help against Tyranitar and Heatran, I find protect much more useful overall, and the team has other ways to deal with the previously mentioned. Substitute is great against slower status users that will attempt to hit Aboma, Chansey and Blissey being great examples as with there massive HP Aboma will heal a remarkable amount each turn with leech seed. Abomasnows biggest weakness is Stealth Rocks, which unfortunately is very common. If you can find a way to deal with Tyranitar a Magic Bounce user might be able to find a way onto this team to help deal with that. Abomasnow ice typing leaves it with alot of common weaknesses, namely Fire Fighting and Rock, however the most important thing to remember about Aboma is that you cannot allow him to die until your opponents weather has gone down. Abomsnow and Tentacruel cover each others weaknesses well, and with Toxic Spikes support Aboma can wall an entire team weakened late game.
Gengar @ Black Sludge
Trait: Levitate
EV's: 252 Speed 252 Special A 4 HP
Timid nature: (+Speed -Atk)
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast
-Pain Split
-Substitute
Gengar is my spinblocker, and helps check offensive threats such as Latios who otherwise gives this team alot of trouble. I run Black Sludge over Life Orb because with Hail taking 6 percent of his HP a turn, he really can not afford to run Life Orb as it makes him too easily stalled out. I like this gengar set as it can work well against both Chansy and Blissy, substituting into thier Thunder Wave then Pain Splitting back all of his HP. As Ice is weak to fighting Gengar provides the essential fighting type immunity that this team craves. Substitute is a great move to scout switches, and although Ive considered and tested other moves in its place, I find Substitute the most useful. Gengar is an excellent wall breaker, Substituting into red and healing back chunks of its Hp against a defensive Pokemon that cant one shot it.
Skarmory @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EV's: 252 HP 252 Def 4 Spe
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Spikes
- Roost
- Whirlwind
Skarmory is my defensive wall, and although Sharing a weakness to fire with Aboma and Mamoswine he more than makes up for it with his impressive stats. Some people are probably wondering why I run max Defense and no Special Defense, but the truth is Skarmory should never be taking a special hit on this team, as anything super effective another Pokemon can take better. Any special Fire or fighting move tentacruel can take, while any electric or water Abomasnow would prefer. Without Skarmory, I have a massive Excadrill weakness which was the original reason Skarmory was added. If you wanted to, you might be able to fit Walrein in this slot instead but too many ice types are hard to cover up. Skarmory sets up spikes for the team, which is a valuable asset, as well as the ability to phase. Skarmory works better under Sandstorm, and while he doesn't wall all Tyranitar (Namely ones that pack Fire Blast/Flamethrower) Sand helps him more than hail does.
Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Trait: Liquid Ooze
EV's: 252 HP 136 Special D 120 Defense
Calm Nature: (+Special D, -Atk)
-Scald
-Rapid Spin
-Toxic Spikes
-Knock Off/Haze
Tentacruel is an amazing Pokemon and whenever I need a spinner I always look straight to him. Tentacruel provides a number of things for this team, the first being a special wall and good typing, being resistant to both fire and fighting he helps cover some basic weaknesses. The next being a rapid spinner, as Stealth Rock destroys this team more than any set counter. The third is that he can lay down toxic spikes, which helps wear down other weather users and defensive Pokemon, which when coupled with hail not many Pokemon can live very long. I run Knock Off in the last spot for a number of reasons. Defensive Pokemon will often switch into Tenta, and the ability to knock off leftovers under hail is amazing. Knocking off Chansys Eviolite is also very useful, on top of the fact that not many people expect knock off from Tenta for some reason. I run Tentacruel over a different spinner because of the ability to remove toxic spikes just through the switch in. Lastly, Liquid Ooze is used over rain dish as the general strategy against rain is as soon as they bring in Politoed, bring in Abomasnow to not give them any chance to take advantage of the rain and if youve set up Stealth rock as you should have, have them take damage every time they switch in. Therefore, rain dish is not useful with Tentacruel, and liquid ooze helps against Conkeldurr late game If Skarmorys gone, who otherwise might sweep you.
Rotom-W @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
252 Speed 252 Special Attack 4 Hp
Modest Nature (+Special A, - Atk)
Hydro Pump
Hidden Power [Fire]
Volt Switch
Trick
Rotom-W is the final member of this team. I always knew I wanted a scarfer, and after testing Latios, Kyurem, and several others I stumbled upon Rotom. Rotom is used mainly because of its excellent typing with little weaknesses. Choice Scarf is used mainly for the ability to revenge kill and hit unexpectedly. Volt Switch is used over Thunderbolt as most Pokemon who are weak to electric are most likely going to switch anyways, and the ability to counter that switch is essential. Modest nature is used over timid as this team does not have trouble with opposing scarfers, and the boost in power is more important to me than outspeeding other Scarfers. HP fire is to deal with those annoying Grass/Steel and Steel/Bug Pokemon, as Steel is a bad type for this team to fight against. The given EV's are fairly self explanitory. Lastly, trick is run to stop special walls from switching in over and over again to Rotom, especially against defensive teams where the speed isn't needed.
THREATS
The team has been built to cover many of the Pokemon who gave it trouble, but there are still some that need to be addressed. Taunt Gliscor can be a problem if both Abomasnow and Rotom are gone. Sun teams are especially hard for this team to fight against. Volcarona is a massive pain, and the original reason Gengar was added to help deal with spinners clearing away my rocks. Tornadus can be a huge pain as none of my special walls resist flying, but Rotom+Ice Shard+Stealth Rocks normally take care of him. Spin blockers are also a major threat as Stealth Rocks is Abomasnows biggest weakness.
Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
Trait: Snow Cloak
EV's: 252 Speed 252 Atk 4 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -Sp A)
-Earthquake
-Stealth Rock
-Ice Shard
-Endeavor
Since Generation 4, this guy has been my preferred lead on most of my teams. Mamoswines sheer attack power can tear holes in anything that doesn't resist it. Mamoswine is generally my preferred lead, with the ability to set up Stealth Rock if he threatens the opposing lead. Mamoswine can be used against all typed of other weather teams, if they lead. Tyranitar will generally switch into Skarmory/Gliscor/Rotom W allowing you to set up rocks for free. Balloon Ninetails is generally faster, so even though they'll believe they have the upper hand you can fire off 1 HP Endeavors to stop them. Politoed will generally scald if they're bulky, allowing you to Stealth Rock T1 and Endeavor T2, providing your not burned. Scarf Politoed can beat Mamo one on one, but has trouble with the lack of leftovers recovery and the lack of bulk against the rest of the team. Also, bear in mind that earthquake 2HKO's Politoed, so should you fear your opponent to be informed and toxic instead of Scald, you can take the safe route. Endeavor is a great move, and really fits Mamoswine well. He can come in late game with 1 HP under hail on a choiced electric move, and net a KO a turn. Ice shard is used over Icicle Crash because of the priority, and generally I dont find myself wanting for a stronger Ice move from Mamo. Mamo is the only Electric Immunity on the team, and also packs the only priority. With sash you should always try and keep him alive as long as possible, hes a great late game sweeper as well as hard hitter early game.
Abomasnow @ Leftovers
Trait: Snow Warning
EV's: 252 Hp 252 Special Defense, 4 Speed
Calm Nature (+Spe D, -Atk)
-Substitute
-Blizzard
-Leech Seed
-Protect
Abomasnow is the only Pokemon with the snow warning ability, which shows that even Game Freak is looking down on hail as every other Weather condition has two Pokemon with the auto Weather ability. This Abomasnow set has both Pro's and Cons. I used to run Max Hp, Max Speed Timid nature but Ive found I like the bulk more than I like the speed. The given Ev's allow Abomsnow to effectively wall Common special attackers, such as Jellicent, Starmie lacking HP fire, and most Importantly Politoed. Scarf Rotom W who is becoming ever so common also struggles against Aboma, especially with Protect. Focus Punch is an option over Protect, and although it does help against Tyranitar and Heatran, I find protect much more useful overall, and the team has other ways to deal with the previously mentioned. Substitute is great against slower status users that will attempt to hit Aboma, Chansey and Blissey being great examples as with there massive HP Aboma will heal a remarkable amount each turn with leech seed. Abomasnows biggest weakness is Stealth Rocks, which unfortunately is very common. If you can find a way to deal with Tyranitar a Magic Bounce user might be able to find a way onto this team to help deal with that. Abomasnow ice typing leaves it with alot of common weaknesses, namely Fire Fighting and Rock, however the most important thing to remember about Aboma is that you cannot allow him to die until your opponents weather has gone down. Abomsnow and Tentacruel cover each others weaknesses well, and with Toxic Spikes support Aboma can wall an entire team weakened late game.
Gengar @ Black Sludge
Trait: Levitate
EV's: 252 Speed 252 Special A 4 HP
Timid nature: (+Speed -Atk)
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast
-Pain Split
-Substitute
Gengar is my spinblocker, and helps check offensive threats such as Latios who otherwise gives this team alot of trouble. I run Black Sludge over Life Orb because with Hail taking 6 percent of his HP a turn, he really can not afford to run Life Orb as it makes him too easily stalled out. I like this gengar set as it can work well against both Chansy and Blissy, substituting into thier Thunder Wave then Pain Splitting back all of his HP. As Ice is weak to fighting Gengar provides the essential fighting type immunity that this team craves. Substitute is a great move to scout switches, and although Ive considered and tested other moves in its place, I find Substitute the most useful. Gengar is an excellent wall breaker, Substituting into red and healing back chunks of its Hp against a defensive Pokemon that cant one shot it.
Skarmory @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EV's: 252 HP 252 Def 4 Spe
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Spikes
- Roost
- Whirlwind
Skarmory is my defensive wall, and although Sharing a weakness to fire with Aboma and Mamoswine he more than makes up for it with his impressive stats. Some people are probably wondering why I run max Defense and no Special Defense, but the truth is Skarmory should never be taking a special hit on this team, as anything super effective another Pokemon can take better. Any special Fire or fighting move tentacruel can take, while any electric or water Abomasnow would prefer. Without Skarmory, I have a massive Excadrill weakness which was the original reason Skarmory was added. If you wanted to, you might be able to fit Walrein in this slot instead but too many ice types are hard to cover up. Skarmory sets up spikes for the team, which is a valuable asset, as well as the ability to phase. Skarmory works better under Sandstorm, and while he doesn't wall all Tyranitar (Namely ones that pack Fire Blast/Flamethrower) Sand helps him more than hail does.
Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Trait: Liquid Ooze
EV's: 252 HP 136 Special D 120 Defense
Calm Nature: (+Special D, -Atk)
-Scald
-Rapid Spin
-Toxic Spikes
-Knock Off/Haze
Tentacruel is an amazing Pokemon and whenever I need a spinner I always look straight to him. Tentacruel provides a number of things for this team, the first being a special wall and good typing, being resistant to both fire and fighting he helps cover some basic weaknesses. The next being a rapid spinner, as Stealth Rock destroys this team more than any set counter. The third is that he can lay down toxic spikes, which helps wear down other weather users and defensive Pokemon, which when coupled with hail not many Pokemon can live very long. I run Knock Off in the last spot for a number of reasons. Defensive Pokemon will often switch into Tenta, and the ability to knock off leftovers under hail is amazing. Knocking off Chansys Eviolite is also very useful, on top of the fact that not many people expect knock off from Tenta for some reason. I run Tentacruel over a different spinner because of the ability to remove toxic spikes just through the switch in. Lastly, Liquid Ooze is used over rain dish as the general strategy against rain is as soon as they bring in Politoed, bring in Abomasnow to not give them any chance to take advantage of the rain and if youve set up Stealth rock as you should have, have them take damage every time they switch in. Therefore, rain dish is not useful with Tentacruel, and liquid ooze helps against Conkeldurr late game If Skarmorys gone, who otherwise might sweep you.
Rotom-W @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
252 Speed 252 Special Attack 4 Hp
Modest Nature (+Special A, - Atk)
Hydro Pump
Hidden Power [Fire]
Volt Switch
Trick
Rotom-W is the final member of this team. I always knew I wanted a scarfer, and after testing Latios, Kyurem, and several others I stumbled upon Rotom. Rotom is used mainly because of its excellent typing with little weaknesses. Choice Scarf is used mainly for the ability to revenge kill and hit unexpectedly. Volt Switch is used over Thunderbolt as most Pokemon who are weak to electric are most likely going to switch anyways, and the ability to counter that switch is essential. Modest nature is used over timid as this team does not have trouble with opposing scarfers, and the boost in power is more important to me than outspeeding other Scarfers. HP fire is to deal with those annoying Grass/Steel and Steel/Bug Pokemon, as Steel is a bad type for this team to fight against. The given EV's are fairly self explanitory. Lastly, trick is run to stop special walls from switching in over and over again to Rotom, especially against defensive teams where the speed isn't needed.
THREATS
The team has been built to cover many of the Pokemon who gave it trouble, but there are still some that need to be addressed. Taunt Gliscor can be a problem if both Abomasnow and Rotom are gone. Sun teams are especially hard for this team to fight against. Volcarona is a massive pain, and the original reason Gengar was added to help deal with spinners clearing away my rocks. Tornadus can be a huge pain as none of my special walls resist flying, but Rotom+Ice Shard+Stealth Rocks normally take care of him. Spin blockers are also a major threat as Stealth Rocks is Abomasnows biggest weakness.
