Snow Warning has been banned from RU. This team is now obsolete.
this team is partially responsible for snow warning ban
Hi Smogon! This is my first RMT, and it has seen great success on the RU ladders. Somehow I managed to get it to #1 and #2 on the suspect ladder, so I guess this strange assortment of hail-immune pokemon actually works pretty consistently.
lol I know it's only a suspect ladder, but I got a bit carried away and I wanted a captivating title for this thread. And I got reqs already. Onto the team:
This team was originally built with 100% hail immunity in mind. So that means 3 Magic Guard users, two ice types and Overcoat Escavalier. The majority of the team capitalizes on bulk while maintaining an offensive presence that works wonders with hail's residual damage. It also uses some non-standard sets that tend to catch players off guard.
A closer look:
Snover (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 208 Atk / 252 SAtk / 48 Spd
Mild Nature
- Blizzard
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Wood Hammer
- Ice Shard
Snover is often considered somewhat of a dead weight when it comes to hail teams, considering its overall low stats. This set allows snover to USUALLY deal some solid damage against opponent's leads with an unusual move set and EV spread. Blizzard needs no explanation, but HP Ground is excellent for dealing heavy damage against opponents who lead with fire types. Entei (for example) takes about 40% from HP Ground, and when factoring in Flare Blitz recoil, hail damage and Ice shard, Entei is left with only 20% hp after killing Snover. Fire types often lead against Snover, because the standard HP Fire set cannot even hit fire types for neutral damage. Slowking and Cryogonal also manage to wall snover, which is when Wood Hammer comes in handy with some attack EVs behind it to severely damage and possibly KO both threats. The EVs maximize Blizzard's power with enough speed to beat Crustles without speed investment for a 2HKO without hitting Crustle into Custap range. Considering that Crustles often go for SR first, this sometimes allows me to pick off the lead Crustle without even taking damage (basically a win condition if the opponent ends up losing a second pokemon to Snover). Unfortunately, Snover doesn't fare too well against Uxie, U-turners or Volt Switchers. But that's pretty much to be expected. Snover isn't perfect lol
208 Atk Snover Wood Hammer vs. 248 HP / 144 Def Slowking: 236-282 (60.05 - 71.75%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
208 Atk Snover Wood Hammer vs. 248 HP / 168 Def Cryogonal: 198-234 (57.72 - 68.22%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Keep in mind that these two guys don't always have so much defensive investment.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Spd
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Stealth Rock
- Wish
- Protect
Clefable is arguably the best specially defensive wall on hail teams. A reliable hazard setter, wish passer and wall...I don't think much more needs to be said about Clefable. Wish/Protect is amazing for both recovery stalling AND playing mind games with your opponents when they expect the Protect. Seismic toss + hail damage manages to put a lot of pressure on opponents who enjoy setting up on Clefable, thus preventing physical setup sweepers from getting enough boosts to break through Duosion and Escavalier. Protect is obviously good for scouting as well against the plethora of choiced attackers in RU.
Duosion @ Eviolite
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spd
Bold Nature
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Calm Mind
- Recover
This dirty bubble fetus thing is essentially a hail-compatible Musharna with even better special attack and an immunity to hazards and status. I'm not sure if this has to do with its appearance, but players tend to underestimate Duosion's bulk. Time to whip out the calcs.
252+ Atk Life Orb Absol Sucker Punch vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Duosion: 268-320 (80.48 - 96.09%)
252+ Atk Choice Band Entei Flare Blitz: (63.96 - 75.67%)
252 Atk Choice Band Technician Scyther Bug Bite: (85.28 - 100.9%)
252+ Atk Choice Band Aggron Head Smash: (77.77 - 91.89%)
252 Atk Flying Gem Archeops Acrobatics: (61.56 - 72.97%)
It can survive things and hit back hard. Uninvested 125 special attack is still no joke. Duosion has the bulk to switch into almost any fighting type in the tier and then use HP Fighting predicting the (sometimes obvious) switch to a dark type. Unfortunately if this dark type is Spiritomb, Duosion is out of luck. Besides CB Spiritomb with pursuit, Duosion can still switch out on a Pursuit without taking too much damage. If the CB has already been revealed somehow, Duosion can simply spam recover and hail stall the Spiritomb if it doesn't use Trick (ugh).
Sigilyph @ Flame Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 16 SAtk / 240 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Psycho Shift
- Calm Mind
- Roost
This Sigilyph originally started out as the overused and under-performing CP Sigi (Cosmic power, psycho shift, roost, stored power). The reason why I used this set is because of the unique (and amazing) ability to deliver a fast and accurate Will-O-Wisp in the form of Psycho Shift, while otherwise being able to abuse its status immunity. I discovered that Sigi's ability to boost its defense and burn physical attackers was redundant, and it's inability to use a reliable attack was a real bummer. Calm Mind and Psyshock was my solution. The immediate reaction of most players when seeing a Flame Orb Sigi is "oh, a free rotom/galvantula/manectric switch". Psyshock is amazing for hitting these threats for solid damage on the predicted switch, while also being able to revenge kill Enteis, Emboars, and do a ton of things that CP Sigi cannot do with its laughable 20 base power Stored Power. Also, the 240 speed EVs are for outspeeding (and burning) +nature base 95s such as Drapion and Electivire. This Sigi set has no business outspeeding other Sigilyphs because it probably can't hurt them much anyway.
16 SpA Sigilyph Psyshock vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Gallade: 127-150 (45.84 - 54.15%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and weather
Lum berry SD Gallade better watch out.
Escavalier @ Leftovers
Trait: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spd
Impish Nature
- Megahorn
- Iron Head
- Sleep Talk
- Rest
Defensive Escavalier works perfectly alongside Clefable (for sponging fire attacks) and Duosion (for defensive typing synergy). Uninvested stab Megahorn and Iron Head allow Escavalier to still hit like a truck, and Rest Talk can make it extremely difficult to take down. The defensive investment and hail immunity + leftovers allows Escavalier to take boosted attacks from Feraligatr, Durant, Gallade and sometimes Kabutops. Unfortunately Kabutops can be a bit of an issue though...
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Kabutops Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 164+ Def Escavalier: 320-378 (93.02 - 109.88%) -- 56.25% chance to OHKO
Regardless, Escavalier is still pretty reliable and can usually KO physical threats before being KO'd. Escavalier is a pokemon that can often be dealt with by wearing it down. In an opponent's attempt to wear down Escavalier, revealing RestTalk makes Escavalier so difficult to KO that the opponent sometimes forfeits. It's also worth mentioning that Escavalier beats any Spiritomb as long as it doesn't have HP Fire. I came across HP Fire Spiritomb only once. I wasn't happy.
Also, the speed EVs allow me to outspeed and OHKO Slowkings with 8 speed EVs. This is extremely useful considering most of my team cannot reliably KO a Slowking with Slack Off.
0 Atk Escavalier Megahorn vs. 248 HP / 144 Def Slowking: 338-402 (86 - 102.29%) -- 93.75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
Congeal (Vanilluxe) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Ice Body
EVs: 24 HP / 252 SAtk / 232 Spd
Rash Nature
- Blizzard
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Explosion
- Toxic
Congeal is an anagram of Glaceon (means to freeze), and Vanilluxe is essentially a Glaceon in disguise. However, novelty isn't the sole reason for Vanilluxe's presence on my team. This slot originally belonged to offensive Cryogonal with Life Orb, who was extremely vulnerable to priority attacks (which are omnipresent in RU). I swapped Cryogonal out for Scarf Glaceon who can outspeed and OHKO many threats including +speed Sceptile. Despite this, I absolutely hated being speed-tied with Scarf Emboar, which is why I decided to use ice cream. The 232 speed EVs are for outspeeding jolly Scarf Emboar (and timid glaceon). Vanilluxe's base 79 speed allows me to run a +SpA nature, which gives me about the same special attack as timid Glaceon.
252 SpA Glaceon Blizzard vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Galvantula: 295-348 (104.98 - 123.84%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Vanilluxe Blizzard vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Galvantula: 288-339 (102.49 - 120.64%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Explosion is useful against weakened special walls that resist Blizzard (i.e. Slowking). Unfortunately it's still a bit weak even with the Rash nature, but it still has its occasional uses. And exploding ice cream is funny.
0 Atk Vanilluxe Explosion vs. 212 HP / 0 Def Slowking: 207-244 (53.9 - 63.54%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
The final move, Toxic, is good for breaking miscellaneous stall and Cryogonals with HP Fire and Recover who would otherwise wall my team. Most opponents wouldn't expect Toxic after I reveal the scarf anyway.
In the event of an Ice Body ban, Vanilluxe can still function as a promising Scarf Glaceon alternative with Weak Armor.
______________________________________________________________
So that's the team! It certainly isn't amazing by any means, and I'm always willing to try new things if you guys make suggestions. August gave me the idea of replacing Vanilluxe with Scarfed Thick Fat Timid Walrein for an extra fire resist, considering my team is pretty weak to fire. I'm not a fan of the loss in special attack, but it might not even matter. So I'm going to try it regardless.
As for weaknesses, this team has its fair share of them:
Threats
Fire types: If the offensive fire type pokemon isn't severely damaged by Snover on the first turn, then it will be a problem at some point in the match. Duosion can reliably take on the physical attackers Entei and Emboar, but at the cost of most of his HP. Duosion is often depended on to handle many physical attackers with fire type coverage moves, so he can only be worn down so much before getting revenge killed by banded Entei. Specs special attacking fire types with Fire Blast (Moltres, Typhlosion, Magmortar) can be a bit too powerful for Clefable. Especially if they pack Focus Blast. Ironically, Magmortar is the most threatening because of Expert Belt, and I usually have to end up sacrificing something to kill it (hopefully snover). Current solution: Save Snover for sacking purposes and revenge kill with a teammate.
Absol: Absol is one of those pokemon that usually can't straight up OHKO Duosion (unless banded), but will clear the path for other physical attackers to sweep. Absol commonly uses Fire Blast which is EXTREMELY annoying, because Escavalier would otherwise be a solid counter. Current solution: Sack Snover if possible. Scout for Fire Blast by double switching to Clefable or Sigilyph if Escavalier is in possible Superpower KO range, because if Escavalier doesn't have Fire Blast it will most likely switch out against Escavalier anyway. If the Absol has fire blast, it can easily be revenge killed with something that hasn't taken significant damage (ie icecream).
Alomomola: Alomomola has the magical ability of bringing back the almost-dead. My team sometimes relies heavily on wearing down opponents, so Alomomola can single-handedly make an offensive team extremely difficult to deal with. Nothing on my team can easily kill Alomomola either. Current solution: Predict the intended wish pass and threaten to KO or burn the receiver. Use Alomomola as setup fodder for Sigilyph or Duosion if necessary.
Magneton: I rely on Escavalier to take on a number of threats such as the aformentioned speed invested Crustle, Rhydon and Slowking, and also Crawdaunt, Cinccino and Spiritomb (all of which give Duosion trouble). Magneton throws my countering strategies out the window and makes a match extremely difficult if I need Escavalier to deal with one of Magneton's teammates. Current Solution: Lure it in with Escavalier or Sigilyph and wear it down using Clefable as a bulky resistor. Alternatively, remove the threats that pressure you to preserve Escavalier in the first place by luring them in and KOing with Vanilluxe or something else.
Note: Magneton + Banded Escavalier on the same team is pretty much an automatic loss if the opponent knows what he's doing. This team has nothing to deal with Banded Escavalier (even when burned) except defensive Escavalier himself.
Flareon - Oddly enough, my team has a weakness to Flareon that is greater than its weakness to any other fire type in both RU and UU. If given the opportunity (thanks clefable), Flareon will rack up a Flame Charge boost or two and then deal massive damage to my team. It OHKOs Escavalier and Snover with Flame Charge, OHKOs Clefable and Vanilluxe with a Superpower, and can possibly OHKO Sigilyph with a Facade. Duosion and Sigilyph are not powerful enough to KO it and can only get in one attack at best. To make matters worse, Flareon sometimes runs Guts Toxic Orb with RestTalk which makes it impossible to KO solely by wearing it down. Current solution: Sacrifice something or pressure it to attack at +1, and revenge kill with Vanilluxe Explosion.
Speed-invested Crustle, Rhydon and Slowking: The EV spreads on my team a good for dealing with these three pokemon if they lack speed investment. Rhydon and Crustle are common hazard leads that pack Rock Blast to shit on Snover, and Slowking has Fire Blast which will OHKO Escavalier if it has adequate speed investment. Current solution: Escavalier fares well against Rhydon and Crustle if Snover is KO'd. Sigilyph and Clefable can collectively deal with most Slowkings if Escavalier is KO'd.
Random weather moves: This is a big one. Oftentimes I come across a team that screams "my uxie has rain dance/my regirock has sunny day", so preserving Snover is clearly a priority. Then there are situations when the opponent does not have an obvious weather team, KOs Snover with his Entei to pave way for his Rain Dance Kabutops. This kind of stuff effortlessly destroys my team if I don't see it coming. Current solution: Protect stall the weather if it is particularly threatening; otherwise there really isn't a solution besides being overly cautious with Snover.
Golurk - Burn it if possible or switch in Duosion on a move other than Shadow Punch. Watch out for Fire Punch.
LO Omastar with Hydro Pump - 50% chance to OHKO clefable at +2. Protect stall and do as much damage as possible as it sets up the shell smash.
CB Crawdaunt - Sacrifice something to revenge kill. Or lure it in with Duosion and switch in Escavalier on the Crunch. Banded Crunch OHKOs Duosion :[
LO CM Sigilyph - Sacrifice something and put enough pressure on Sigilyph to prevent it from getting more than one CM boost, then revenge kill with Vanilluxe.
Random setup Clefables - Ugh. Fish for a crit idk.
______________________________________________________________
I'm sure there are other weaknesses that I can't think of atm. Anyways this team is really fun to use and I hope you enjoy it while Hail is still in the RU metagame. Though I wouldn't be surprised if Hail got banned...I'm on edge as to whether hail is actually broken. Or if there should be a Hail/Ice body ban. Idk. TLDR Ice Body is not absolutely necessary for effective hail stall.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Spd
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Stealth Rock
- Wish
- Protect
Duosion @ Eviolite
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spd
Bold Nature
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Calm Mind
- Recover
Snover (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 208 Atk / 252 SAtk / 48 Spd
Mild Nature
- Blizzard
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Wood Hammer
- Ice Shard
Sigilyph @ Flame Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 16 SAtk / 240 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Psycho Shift
- Calm Mind
- Roost
Escavalier @ Leftovers
Trait: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spd
Impish Nature
- Megahorn
- Iron Head
- Sleep Talk
- Rest
Congeal (Vanilluxe) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Ice Body
EVs: 24 HP / 252 SAtk / 232 Spd
Rash Nature
- Blizzard
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Explosion
- Toxic
this team is partially responsible for snow warning ban
Hi Smogon! This is my first RMT, and it has seen great success on the RU ladders. Somehow I managed to get it to #1 and #2 on the suspect ladder, so I guess this strange assortment of hail-immune pokemon actually works pretty consistently.
lol I know it's only a suspect ladder, but I got a bit carried away and I wanted a captivating title for this thread. And I got reqs already. Onto the team:
This team was originally built with 100% hail immunity in mind. So that means 3 Magic Guard users, two ice types and Overcoat Escavalier. The majority of the team capitalizes on bulk while maintaining an offensive presence that works wonders with hail's residual damage. It also uses some non-standard sets that tend to catch players off guard.
A closer look:
Snover (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 208 Atk / 252 SAtk / 48 Spd
Mild Nature
- Blizzard
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Wood Hammer
- Ice Shard
Snover is often considered somewhat of a dead weight when it comes to hail teams, considering its overall low stats. This set allows snover to USUALLY deal some solid damage against opponent's leads with an unusual move set and EV spread. Blizzard needs no explanation, but HP Ground is excellent for dealing heavy damage against opponents who lead with fire types. Entei (for example) takes about 40% from HP Ground, and when factoring in Flare Blitz recoil, hail damage and Ice shard, Entei is left with only 20% hp after killing Snover. Fire types often lead against Snover, because the standard HP Fire set cannot even hit fire types for neutral damage. Slowking and Cryogonal also manage to wall snover, which is when Wood Hammer comes in handy with some attack EVs behind it to severely damage and possibly KO both threats. The EVs maximize Blizzard's power with enough speed to beat Crustles without speed investment for a 2HKO without hitting Crustle into Custap range. Considering that Crustles often go for SR first, this sometimes allows me to pick off the lead Crustle without even taking damage (basically a win condition if the opponent ends up losing a second pokemon to Snover). Unfortunately, Snover doesn't fare too well against Uxie, U-turners or Volt Switchers. But that's pretty much to be expected. Snover isn't perfect lol
208 Atk Snover Wood Hammer vs. 248 HP / 144 Def Slowking: 236-282 (60.05 - 71.75%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
208 Atk Snover Wood Hammer vs. 248 HP / 168 Def Cryogonal: 198-234 (57.72 - 68.22%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Keep in mind that these two guys don't always have so much defensive investment.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Spd
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Stealth Rock
- Wish
- Protect
Clefable is arguably the best specially defensive wall on hail teams. A reliable hazard setter, wish passer and wall...I don't think much more needs to be said about Clefable. Wish/Protect is amazing for both recovery stalling AND playing mind games with your opponents when they expect the Protect. Seismic toss + hail damage manages to put a lot of pressure on opponents who enjoy setting up on Clefable, thus preventing physical setup sweepers from getting enough boosts to break through Duosion and Escavalier. Protect is obviously good for scouting as well against the plethora of choiced attackers in RU.
Duosion @ Eviolite
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spd
Bold Nature
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Calm Mind
- Recover
This dirty bubble fetus thing is essentially a hail-compatible Musharna with even better special attack and an immunity to hazards and status. I'm not sure if this has to do with its appearance, but players tend to underestimate Duosion's bulk. Time to whip out the calcs.
252+ Atk Life Orb Absol Sucker Punch vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Duosion: 268-320 (80.48 - 96.09%)
252+ Atk Choice Band Entei Flare Blitz: (63.96 - 75.67%)
252 Atk Choice Band Technician Scyther Bug Bite: (85.28 - 100.9%)
252+ Atk Choice Band Aggron Head Smash: (77.77 - 91.89%)
252 Atk Flying Gem Archeops Acrobatics: (61.56 - 72.97%)
It can survive things and hit back hard. Uninvested 125 special attack is still no joke. Duosion has the bulk to switch into almost any fighting type in the tier and then use HP Fighting predicting the (sometimes obvious) switch to a dark type. Unfortunately if this dark type is Spiritomb, Duosion is out of luck. Besides CB Spiritomb with pursuit, Duosion can still switch out on a Pursuit without taking too much damage. If the CB has already been revealed somehow, Duosion can simply spam recover and hail stall the Spiritomb if it doesn't use Trick (ugh).
Sigilyph @ Flame Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 16 SAtk / 240 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Psycho Shift
- Calm Mind
- Roost
This Sigilyph originally started out as the overused and under-performing CP Sigi (Cosmic power, psycho shift, roost, stored power). The reason why I used this set is because of the unique (and amazing) ability to deliver a fast and accurate Will-O-Wisp in the form of Psycho Shift, while otherwise being able to abuse its status immunity. I discovered that Sigi's ability to boost its defense and burn physical attackers was redundant, and it's inability to use a reliable attack was a real bummer. Calm Mind and Psyshock was my solution. The immediate reaction of most players when seeing a Flame Orb Sigi is "oh, a free rotom/galvantula/manectric switch". Psyshock is amazing for hitting these threats for solid damage on the predicted switch, while also being able to revenge kill Enteis, Emboars, and do a ton of things that CP Sigi cannot do with its laughable 20 base power Stored Power. Also, the 240 speed EVs are for outspeeding (and burning) +nature base 95s such as Drapion and Electivire. This Sigi set has no business outspeeding other Sigilyphs because it probably can't hurt them much anyway.
16 SpA Sigilyph Psyshock vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Gallade: 127-150 (45.84 - 54.15%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and weather
Lum berry SD Gallade better watch out.
Escavalier @ Leftovers
Trait: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spd
Impish Nature
- Megahorn
- Iron Head
- Sleep Talk
- Rest
Defensive Escavalier works perfectly alongside Clefable (for sponging fire attacks) and Duosion (for defensive typing synergy). Uninvested stab Megahorn and Iron Head allow Escavalier to still hit like a truck, and Rest Talk can make it extremely difficult to take down. The defensive investment and hail immunity + leftovers allows Escavalier to take boosted attacks from Feraligatr, Durant, Gallade and sometimes Kabutops. Unfortunately Kabutops can be a bit of an issue though...
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Kabutops Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 164+ Def Escavalier: 320-378 (93.02 - 109.88%) -- 56.25% chance to OHKO
Regardless, Escavalier is still pretty reliable and can usually KO physical threats before being KO'd. Escavalier is a pokemon that can often be dealt with by wearing it down. In an opponent's attempt to wear down Escavalier, revealing RestTalk makes Escavalier so difficult to KO that the opponent sometimes forfeits. It's also worth mentioning that Escavalier beats any Spiritomb as long as it doesn't have HP Fire. I came across HP Fire Spiritomb only once. I wasn't happy.
Also, the speed EVs allow me to outspeed and OHKO Slowkings with 8 speed EVs. This is extremely useful considering most of my team cannot reliably KO a Slowking with Slack Off.
0 Atk Escavalier Megahorn vs. 248 HP / 144 Def Slowking: 338-402 (86 - 102.29%) -- 93.75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
Congeal (Vanilluxe) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Ice Body
EVs: 24 HP / 252 SAtk / 232 Spd
Rash Nature
- Blizzard
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Explosion
- Toxic
Congeal is an anagram of Glaceon (means to freeze), and Vanilluxe is essentially a Glaceon in disguise. However, novelty isn't the sole reason for Vanilluxe's presence on my team. This slot originally belonged to offensive Cryogonal with Life Orb, who was extremely vulnerable to priority attacks (which are omnipresent in RU). I swapped Cryogonal out for Scarf Glaceon who can outspeed and OHKO many threats including +speed Sceptile. Despite this, I absolutely hated being speed-tied with Scarf Emboar, which is why I decided to use ice cream. The 232 speed EVs are for outspeeding jolly Scarf Emboar (and timid glaceon). Vanilluxe's base 79 speed allows me to run a +SpA nature, which gives me about the same special attack as timid Glaceon.
252 SpA Glaceon Blizzard vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Galvantula: 295-348 (104.98 - 123.84%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Vanilluxe Blizzard vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Galvantula: 288-339 (102.49 - 120.64%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Explosion is useful against weakened special walls that resist Blizzard (i.e. Slowking). Unfortunately it's still a bit weak even with the Rash nature, but it still has its occasional uses. And exploding ice cream is funny.
0 Atk Vanilluxe Explosion vs. 212 HP / 0 Def Slowking: 207-244 (53.9 - 63.54%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
The final move, Toxic, is good for breaking miscellaneous stall and Cryogonals with HP Fire and Recover who would otherwise wall my team. Most opponents wouldn't expect Toxic after I reveal the scarf anyway.
In the event of an Ice Body ban, Vanilluxe can still function as a promising Scarf Glaceon alternative with Weak Armor.
______________________________________________________________
So that's the team! It certainly isn't amazing by any means, and I'm always willing to try new things if you guys make suggestions. August gave me the idea of replacing Vanilluxe with Scarfed Thick Fat Timid Walrein for an extra fire resist, considering my team is pretty weak to fire. I'm not a fan of the loss in special attack, but it might not even matter. So I'm going to try it regardless.
As for weaknesses, this team has its fair share of them:
Threats
Note: Magneton + Banded Escavalier on the same team is pretty much an automatic loss if the opponent knows what he's doing. This team has nothing to deal with Banded Escavalier (even when burned) except defensive Escavalier himself.
Random weather moves: This is a big one. Oftentimes I come across a team that screams "my uxie has rain dance/my regirock has sunny day", so preserving Snover is clearly a priority. Then there are situations when the opponent does not have an obvious weather team, KOs Snover with his Entei to pave way for his Rain Dance Kabutops. This kind of stuff effortlessly destroys my team if I don't see it coming. Current solution: Protect stall the weather if it is particularly threatening; otherwise there really isn't a solution besides being overly cautious with Snover.
Golurk - Burn it if possible or switch in Duosion on a move other than Shadow Punch. Watch out for Fire Punch.
LO Omastar with Hydro Pump - 50% chance to OHKO clefable at +2. Protect stall and do as much damage as possible as it sets up the shell smash.
CB Crawdaunt - Sacrifice something to revenge kill. Or lure it in with Duosion and switch in Escavalier on the Crunch. Banded Crunch OHKOs Duosion :[
LO CM Sigilyph - Sacrifice something and put enough pressure on Sigilyph to prevent it from getting more than one CM boost, then revenge kill with Vanilluxe.
Random setup Clefables - Ugh. Fish for a crit idk.
______________________________________________________________
I'm sure there are other weaknesses that I can't think of atm. Anyways this team is really fun to use and I hope you enjoy it while Hail is still in the RU metagame. Though I wouldn't be surprised if Hail got banned...I'm on edge as to whether hail is actually broken. Or if there should be a Hail/Ice body ban. Idk. TLDR Ice Body is not absolutely necessary for effective hail stall.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Spd
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Stealth Rock
- Wish
- Protect
Duosion @ Eviolite
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spd
Bold Nature
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Calm Mind
- Recover
Snover (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 208 Atk / 252 SAtk / 48 Spd
Mild Nature
- Blizzard
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Wood Hammer
- Ice Shard
Sigilyph @ Flame Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 16 SAtk / 240 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Psycho Shift
- Calm Mind
- Roost
Escavalier @ Leftovers
Trait: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spd
Impish Nature
- Megahorn
- Iron Head
- Sleep Talk
- Rest
Congeal (Vanilluxe) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Ice Body
EVs: 24 HP / 252 SAtk / 232 Spd
Rash Nature
- Blizzard
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Explosion
- Toxic
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