SM OU First Alolan Ninetales Hail Team

[AncientKazan]

Incineroar (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 196 Atk / 60 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- U-turn

The first mon on this team is an Incineroar with an Assault Vest. I wanted to run this so he could eat up some hits on the special side. I know most people run Z Moves with him but I have a Kommo-o on the team for my Z Move user. The moves I have are Flare Blitz for fire stab, Knock Off for dark stab, Earthquake to hit Pokemon such as opposing fire types or rock types, and U-turn so I can switch Incineroar out while dealing some damage and don't always have to hard switch him out. I currently have 60 EVs in SpD I'm thinking about changing this because I'm running an Assault Vest already on him so he has that special bulk. I may change those EVs and put them into Def instead. Incineroar's initial set had the moves Darkest Lariat and Brick Break instead of Knock Off and Earthquake. I had those on there before because I thought Darkest Lariat since it was his special move might as well put it on his moveset and Brick Break to break opposing Aurora Veil.

Kommo-o (M) @ Kommonium Z
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Clanging Scales
- Close Combat
- Poison Jab
- Dragon Dance

The next mon is a Kommonium Z Kommo-o. I originally built this team when Kommo-o was able to use his special Z move in UU but now he can only use it in OU which works out for this team. I'm running a mixed set which most people run for Kommo-o with Clanging Scales for dragon stab, Close Combat for fighting stab, Poison Jab to his fairy types since Kommo-o is quad weak to them, and Dragon Dance for set up. I'm running a Naive nature one with max Atk and max Spe and a little investment in SpA since Clanging Scales is a special move. I have Bulletproof on Kommo-o so he can not be hit by moves like Moonblast but I may change it to Soundproof so he can not be hit by moves like Hyper Voice.

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 16 SpD / 28 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock

This Landorus-T was put onto the team to be a Stealth Rock setter. I have him with a Rocky Helmet so if he gets hit with a contact move from an opponent he will do at least some residual damage. The moves I have on him are Earthquake for ground stab, Stone Edge to hit ice types since he is quad weak to them, I originally had Smack Down on his set instead of Earthquake so I could Smack Down Pokemon like Celesteela and then hit them with Earthquake for super effective damage, U-turn for some pivoting potential, and Stealth Rock since a team definitely needs a rocker. The EVs on this mon I don't really understand I found this set online and thought I'd use it so I don't really know how the EVs benefit Lando-T in any way.

Manaphy @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Psychic
- Rain Dance
- Tail Glow

Manaphy is on the team to be a late game sweeper. It has Leftovers so it can gain some residual health every turn. I'm running Surf for water stab, Psychic to hit mons who are resistant to Water type moves, Rain Dance for Hydration, and Tail Glow to raise my SpA. I know some sets run Calm Mind but I think having a full investment in SpA with Tail Glow is better. Also know that some sets run Rest so that with Rain Dance and Hydration they can get fully healed quickly. Some sets do run Energy Ball for Swampert but I feel like the moveset I have currently fits well for this meta.

Ninetales-Alola (F) @ Light Clay
Ability: Snow Warning
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Moonblast
- Aurora Veil
- Hypnosis

This is the mon that the team was initially built around. I wanted to build a Hail specifically around Alolan Ninetales since it's an Alolan form and the first shiny I've ever caught in a Pokemon game. She's holding a Light Clay so that the Aurora Veil lasts longer making so that my team takes half damage. The moves I have on right now are Blizzard for ice stab it also cannot miss in the hail, Moonblast for strong fairy stab, Aurora Veil to be a screen to half damage, and Hypnosis to put opponents to sleep. I originally had Protect on this moveset instead of Hypnosis but I think having status with Hypnosis might be better. I'm running max SpA and max Spe with a small investment in SpD. I also put zero IVs in Atk since Alola Ninetales is a special attacker.

Sandslash-Alola (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Slush Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin

I put an Alolan Sandslash on the team since it has the ability Slush Rush which doubles it's speed in the hail which is set up by Alolan Ninetales. He's holding a Life Orb to deal a little more damage per turn even though it depletes his health a little every turn. I have him with the moves Icicle Crash for ice stab, Iron Head for steel stab, Earthquake for fire types since he's quad weak to that typing, and Rapid Spin to get rid of hazards. I'm running him with the max Atk and max Spe and a little investment in SpD.​

 

[737373elj]

I was just looking at this team, and I thought, oh dear, this team is not very good. Incineroar is NOT the best Fire-type to take hits out there, Fire-types aren’t supposed to be tanky! I can’t tell what you are doing with it or what it’s purpose is... And really, no matter how cool the idea sounds, Alolan Ninetales and Sandslash are not OU mons. I’m not the best person to suggest changes, just keep in mind this team will fail often... (there is such thing as Heatran you know...)

 

[737373elj]

I was just looking at this team, and I thought, oh dear, this team is not very good. Incineroar is NOT the best Fire-type to take hits out there, Fire-types aren’t supposed to be tanky! I can’t tell what you are doing with it or what it’s purpose is... And really, no matter how cool the idea sounds, Alolan Ninetales and Sandslash are not OU mons. I’m not the best person to suggest changes, just keep in mind this team will fail often... (there is such thing as Heatran you know...)

And proof of what I said:

See the defenses?

 

[chineesedude1105]

Why do you run rain Dance on Manaphy, and why are you using Manaphy in a non-rain team
Incin sucks his role as a tank is compromised because of his typing and he is too slow

 

[DrPumpkinz]

I'd run Freeze Dry over Blizzard on Ninetales, as it hits Water-types like Tapu Fini, Toxapex, and especially Pelipper and Swampert, much harder.

Why do you run rain Dance on Manaphy, and why are you using Manaphy in a non-rain team
Incin sucks his role as a tank is compromised because of his typing and he is too slow

Kazan explained in the post that "Rain Dance is for Hydration" (and also presumably to give Surf an extra boost. That said, without Waterium Z to make Rain Dance give a speed boost, I agree that it's probably not worth it.

 

[TheTapDancer]

There's no particularly nice way to put this, but this team is bad. Your threats are too easily walled by any defensive teams, and weak to common offence. I don't see you having any good matchups above 1300 ELO.

Alolan-Nintales isn't a bad pokemon per se, but hail in general isn't what it's good for. It's good for its ability to quickly and reliably set up screens for faster, frailer offensive threats to set up under. Manaphy isn't a good example - once the screens are gone it gets outsped and OHKOd by Kartana, Tapu Koko or any other suitably powerful fast threat. Sandslash has a similar issue - you're spending time setting up screens, which costs precious hail time. Mix this with an inability to break common walls like Celesteela, Skarmory, Ferrothorn, etc. Without Swords Dance and coming off its attack, I wouldn't be surprised if even Toxapex or Clefable could weather your coverage to waste your hail and screens.

Kommo-o is okay at best. Even with Poison Jab at +1 it's too weak to score critical OHKOs on Fairies like Tapu Fini who can ohko it back. It's OU because it found its way on a spammed team, not because it really belongs here.

As others have said, Incineroar is just bad. Rock weakness, no reliable recovery, mediocre bulk, mediocre power, low speed, no real moves that set it apart. You'd do better with almost any pivot.

If you want to play screens HO, there's plenty of resources out there for Ninetales or Tapu Koko builds, and I would advise giving them a try before attempting to fix this team.

 

[AncientKazan]

Why do you run rain Dance on Manaphy, and why are you using Manaphy in a non-rain team
Incin sucks his role as a tank is compromised because of his typing and he is too slow

I'm running Manaphy on this team as a late game sweeper once Ninetales has fainted I can use it to sweep hopefully

 

[AncientKazan]

There's no particularly nice way to put this, but this team is bad. Your threats are too easily walled by any defensive teams, and weak to common offence. I don't see you having any good matchups above 1300 ELO.

Alolan-Nintales isn't a bad pokemon per se, but hail in general isn't what it's good for. It's good for its ability to quickly and reliably set up screens for faster, frailer offensive threats to set up under. Manaphy isn't a good example - once the screens are gone it gets outsped and OHKOd by Kartana, Tapu Koko or any other suitably powerful fast threat. Sandslash has a similar issue - you're spending time setting up screens, which costs precious hail time. Mix this with an inability to break common walls like Celesteela, Skarmory, Ferrothorn, etc. Without Swords Dance and coming off its attack, I wouldn't be surprised if even Toxapex or Clefable could weather your coverage to waste your hail and screens.

Kommo-o is okay at best. Even with Poison Jab at +1 it's too weak to score critical OHKOs on Fairies like Tapu Fini who can ohko it back. It's OU because it found its way on a spammed team, not because it really belongs here.

As others have said, Incineroar is just bad. Rock weakness, no reliable recovery, mediocre bulk, mediocre power, low speed, no real moves that set it apart. You'd do better with almost any pivot.

If you want to play screens HO, there's plenty of resources out there for Ninetales or Tapu Koko builds, and I would advise giving them a try before attempting to fix this team.

Alright thank you for the feedback :]

 

[AncientKazan]

I'd run Freeze Dry over Blizzard on Ninetales, as it hits Water-types like Tapu Fini, Toxapex, and especially Pelipper and Swampert, much harder.


Kazan explained in the post that "Rain Dance is for Hydration" (and also presumably to give Surf an extra boost. That said, without Waterium Z to make Rain Dance give a speed boost, I agree that it's probably not worth it.

Alright I'll tryout Freeze Dry instead

 

[AncientKazan]

I was just looking at this team, and I thought, oh dear, this team is not very good. Incineroar is NOT the best Fire-type to take hits out there, Fire-types aren’t supposed to be tanky! I can’t tell what you are doing with it or what it’s purpose is... And really, no matter how cool the idea sounds, Alolan Ninetales and Sandslash are not OU mons. I’m not the best person to suggest changes, just keep in mind this team will fail often... (there is such thing as Heatran you know...)

Yeah I know Heatran is a thing and I don't mind using it this was what the build was and I'm definitely open to change

 

[AncientKazan]

Another thing is I had other mons on this team when I originally made but I asked Lord Emvee for some help and he put on the Kommo-o, Lando-T, and Alolan Manaphy. It had a Garchomp and Milotic at first but no sixth Pokemon.