Taking over from sax king.
QC APPROVED 3/3 [iconic] / [setsuna] / [bloo]
GP APPROVAL 2/2 [Calm Pokemaster] / [Snorlaxe]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Mamoswine
[Overview]
<p>The generation shift seemingly gave Ice-types the short end of the stick, especially with the introduction of several new effective playstyles to the metagame that rip them to shreds. As a result, you'd be hard-pressed to find an Ice-type that works effectively in OU. Fortunately, Mamoswine is one of the few Ice-types that is successful in OU, with an immunity to both hail and sandstorm playing in its favor. It also helps that, unlike most of its other Ice-type brethren, it lacks a weakness to Stealth Rock, allowing it to switch in much more often.</p>
<p>Mamoswine is a unique Pokemon in that it is one of the few viable users of Ice Shard, giving it a niche as a revenge killer of Dragon- and Ground-type Pokemon, such as Dragonite and Salamence, thanks to its beastly base 130 Attack. In addition, Mamoswine gained the move Icicle Crash during the generation shift, finally giving a great reliable physical STAB Ice-type move. Unfortunately, it can be taken down somewhat easily by faster Pokemon with super effective STAB attacks, such as Lucario and Starmie. Despite these few misgivings, Mamoswine is worthy of a teamslot and should always be considered when making a team.</p>
[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Ice Shard
move 2: Icicle Crash
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Stone Edge
item: Life Orb / Choice Band
ability: Snow Cloak
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs.: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Due to its base 130 Attack and potent STAB combination, Mamoswine can work as an effective physical attacker with strong STAB moves and priority. Icicle Crash and Earthquake are its strongest STAB moves, hitting many important Pokemon, such as Salamence and Virizion, for super effective or neutral damage. Mamoswine makes great use of Ice Shard, which separates it from many other physical attackers. With Ice Shard, Mamoswine can cleanly revenge kill several of the most prominent Pokemon in the game, including but not limited to Breloom, Thundurus, Latios, and many others.</p>
<p>Mamoswine can make use of several other physical moves on this set as well. Earthquake is an excellent STAB move, hitting many Pokemon harder than its other STAB moves can. Stone Edge in tandem with Earthquake creates an excellent combo that hits even more Pokemon for neutral or super effective damage.</p>
<p>The EVs for this set are nearly self-explanatory: maximum Attack and Speed EVs allow Mamoswine to hit as hard and as fast as possible, while the remaining 4 EVs go into HP to slightly increase its bulk. Snow Cloak is also beneficial on the off chance hail is on the field, reducing the accuracy of the opposing Pokemon to 80% and giving Mamoswine a sort of cover as it fires off powerful attacks.</p>
[ADDITIONAL OPTIONS]
<p>Life Orb is generally the superior choice to Choice Band, as it gives a decent power boost while still allowing Mamoswine to switch between attacks. However. Choice Band is an option for giving Mamoswine more of a boost, although it will have to stick to one attack for the duration of its time on the field. Rock Slide is also an option over Stone Edge, trading power for accuracy and a chance to flinch. However, Rock Slide will not OHKO Gyarados after Stealth Rock damage, while Stone Edge will. Superpower is also an option, though it should generally only be used with a Choice Band, as Mamoswine will otherwise dislike the stat drops. If you opt to use Superpower, keep in mind that it is illegal with Icicle Crash. A Jolly nature can be used to outspeed threats such as Heatran and Breloom, though Adamant is generally preferred as Mamoswine needs as much power as possible, and Ice Shard hits many of the Pokemon that outspeed Mamoswine hard.</p>
<p>As this set is generally designed to be a wallbreaker, sweepers benefit from Mamoswine's presence. Heatran is an excellent example, providing decent type synergy with Mamoswine and taking care of Bronzong, which resists every move on this set. Mamoswine, in return, can easily take care of special walls that stand in Heatran's way, such as Blissey. Gyarados also has decent synergy with Mamoswine, and can set up on Pokemon that Mamoswine tends to bring out, and vice versa.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Icicle Spear / Icicle Crash
move 2: Superpower
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Stone Edge
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Snow Cloak
natue: Adamant / Jolly
evs.: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
<p>While Mamoswine is normally meant to be a powerful wallbreaker, it becomes an effective revenge killer with a Choice Scarf equipped, outspeeding everything up to Pokemon with base 130 Speed with a Jolly nature and max Speed. However, it still retains an astounding amount of power, allowing it to stay on the field for extended amounts of time if need be.</p>
<p>Icicle Spear seems at first to be an odd choice, but on this set, it has superiority over Icicle Crash. On average, it has at the least 10 Base Power less than Icicle Crash, while retaining perfect accuracy. At the same time, it breaks through type-resist berries, Focus Sash, Multiscale, and Substitute among other things, often giving it a greater damage output than Icicle Crash. Superpower correlates with this set's hit-and-run strategy, as it hits hard on the first turn and encourages you to switch out after using it. Earthquake is Mamoswine's other STAB move, hitting extremely hard off of its base 130 Attack, and when used in tandem with Stone Edge, the two provide excellent neutral coverage.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Ice Shard can be used over Stone Edge for an extra priority move, though it is not really necessary, and its low Base Power often make it a poor choice on this set. On another note, Adamant is generally used over Jolly on this set, as Mamoswine does not need the extra Speed, though it needs all the power it can get. However, Jolly allows it to outspeed Choice Scarf Heatran and Pokemon with base 130 Speed. If Icicle Crash is used of Icicle Spear, make sure to use something in place of Superpower, as the combination of the two is illegal. Double Edge is the best option in that case, hitting bulky Water-types like Rotom-W harder than other moves on this set.</p>
<p>A mixed Choice Scarf set is also somewhat viable if used on a hail team. With a usable base 70 Special Attack, Mamoswine can abuse a 100% accurate Blizzard, hitting a few of Mamoswine's normal counters hard. On the subject of hail teams, Abomasnow is also a decent offensive partner, taking care of Water-types that can counter Mamoswine effectively with Wood Hammer. Abomasnow's hail also activates Mamoswine's Snow Cloak, which reduces the opposing Pokemon's attacks to 80% accuracy.</p>
[SET]
name: Stealth Rock
move 1: Ice Shard
move 2: Endeavor
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Stealth Rock
item: Focus Sash
ability: Snow Cloak
Natue: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While Endeavor is generally not used competitively, Mamoswine makes an excellent user of the move, as it is immune to both sandstorm and hail, which break the Focus Sashes of other Pokemon. At the same time it has a great priority move in Ice Shard, allowing it to finish off opponents worn down with Endeavor. Coincidentally, Mamoswine is also basically guaranteed to set up Stealth Rock if at full HP, regardless of the matchup.</p>
<p>Ice Shard and Endeavor form the basis of this set, allowing Mamoswine to take down any Pokemon who would normally OHKO it. However, if you are facing a defensive Pokemon, Mamoswine can set up Stealth Rock and proceed to hit hard with STAB Earthquake, lashing out with its colossal Attack. If Earthquake is of no use, Ice Shard is perfectly usable. Endeavor is as well, though it is by far more situational.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs for this set are, again, nearly self-explanatory. Max Attack and Speed EVs allow Mamoswine to hit as hard and fast as possible when not using Endeavor. The boost in Speed also allows it to get the jump on slower Pokemon so it can set up Stealth Rock. Adamant nature is used over Jolly so Mamoswine can hit as hard as possible with Earthquake and Ice Shard.</p>
<p>Mamoswine tends to attract Fake Out users, the most common of which are generally Mienshao and Infernape. This will break its Focus Sash and, more often than not, allow the faster opponent to obliterate Mamoswine before it can do anything. Thus, it is wise to keep a sturdy Ghost-type, such as Eviolite Dusclops or Jellicent, in the wings to absorb any attacks from a Fake Out user. Having a Ghost-type serves another purpose as well: if Mamoswine sets up Stealth Rock successfully, Ghost-types are handy spinblockers, allowing other Pokemon on your team to nab KOs easier with Stealth Rock on the field.</p>
<p>If you opt to use this set mid-game, Life Orb is an option over Focus Sash. Icicle Crash may also be used over Earthquake as an alternative STAB, 2HKOing Hippowdon and hitting many Pokemon harder than Ice Shard, such as Dragonite and Whimsicott, in exchange for Eartquake's greater power.</p>
[OTHER OPTIONS]
<p>Mamoswine has the capability to run many other sets thanks to its decent movepool and nice stats around the board. Due to Mamoswine's respectable defenses, a bulkier set can be used, placing EVs that would normally go into Attack or Speed into its defenses. Bite is Mamoswine's only option to hit Ghost- and Psychic-types for super effective damage, though other moves may hit the aforementioned types harder. Superpower may be used wherever not explicitly stated, though those sets may not necessarily welcome the stat drops that come with using the move. Substitute can also be used, as Mamoswine can cleanly 2HKO its counters. An Expert Belt can be used on the Physical Attacker set to bluff a Choice Band while maintaining a near-identical damage output if Mamoswine can hit for super effective damage. Due to its base 70 Special Attack, Mamoswine can run a fairly effective mixed set, using Earth Power, Ancientpower, and Ice Beam. Mamoswine can also play an interesting role on a hail team, effectively abusing Snow Cloak and a 100% accurate Blizzard.</p>
[CHECKS AND COUNTERS]
<p>Steel-types can be tough on Mamoswine, hitting it for super effective damage and having the ability to come in on one of its STAB moves. Scizor smashes Mamoswine with Bullet Punch, while Jirachi nails it with Iron Head. Gyarados can set up on Mamoswine using the Attack drop from Intimidate to force Mamoswine out, allowing it to set up a Dragon Dance. Any Pokemon with above average Defense and defensive typing should, in theory, be able to stop Mamoswine in its tracks if it is locked into a move with Choice Band or Choice Scarf. Ferrothorn and Bronzong are excellent examples of this, both having immense base Defense and the ability to KO Mamoswine with their STAB moves. Water-types are also great counters to Mamoswine, as they resist its Ice-type attacks and hit it for super efffective damage.</p>
[DREAM WORLD]
<p>While Mamoswine's Dream World ability, Thick Fat, has already been released, it isn't really much of a boost, as Mamoswine with Thick Fat cannot have any 4th generation tutor moves or egg moves, as it is currently only available through a male Mamoswine; most of the moves it uses competitively will not be available in this case. While Thick Fat allows Mamoswine to resist the infamous combination of Thunderbolt and Ice Beam, Snow Cloak is not a bad ability at all. In general, you should be using Snow Cloak over Thick Fat in most, if not all, situations.</p>
QC APPROVED 3/3 [iconic] / [setsuna] / [bloo]
GP APPROVAL 2/2 [Calm Pokemaster] / [Snorlaxe]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Mamoswine
[Overview]
<p>The generation shift seemingly gave Ice-types the short end of the stick, especially with the introduction of several new effective playstyles to the metagame that rip them to shreds. As a result, you'd be hard-pressed to find an Ice-type that works effectively in OU. Fortunately, Mamoswine is one of the few Ice-types that is successful in OU, with an immunity to both hail and sandstorm playing in its favor. It also helps that, unlike most of its other Ice-type brethren, it lacks a weakness to Stealth Rock, allowing it to switch in much more often.</p>
<p>Mamoswine is a unique Pokemon in that it is one of the few viable users of Ice Shard, giving it a niche as a revenge killer of Dragon- and Ground-type Pokemon, such as Dragonite and Salamence, thanks to its beastly base 130 Attack. In addition, Mamoswine gained the move Icicle Crash during the generation shift, finally giving a great reliable physical STAB Ice-type move. Unfortunately, it can be taken down somewhat easily by faster Pokemon with super effective STAB attacks, such as Lucario and Starmie. Despite these few misgivings, Mamoswine is worthy of a teamslot and should always be considered when making a team.</p>
[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Ice Shard
move 2: Icicle Crash
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Stone Edge
item: Life Orb / Choice Band
ability: Snow Cloak
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs.: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Due to its base 130 Attack and potent STAB combination, Mamoswine can work as an effective physical attacker with strong STAB moves and priority. Icicle Crash and Earthquake are its strongest STAB moves, hitting many important Pokemon, such as Salamence and Virizion, for super effective or neutral damage. Mamoswine makes great use of Ice Shard, which separates it from many other physical attackers. With Ice Shard, Mamoswine can cleanly revenge kill several of the most prominent Pokemon in the game, including but not limited to Breloom, Thundurus, Latios, and many others.</p>
<p>Mamoswine can make use of several other physical moves on this set as well. Earthquake is an excellent STAB move, hitting many Pokemon harder than its other STAB moves can. Stone Edge in tandem with Earthquake creates an excellent combo that hits even more Pokemon for neutral or super effective damage.</p>
<p>The EVs for this set are nearly self-explanatory: maximum Attack and Speed EVs allow Mamoswine to hit as hard and as fast as possible, while the remaining 4 EVs go into HP to slightly increase its bulk. Snow Cloak is also beneficial on the off chance hail is on the field, reducing the accuracy of the opposing Pokemon to 80% and giving Mamoswine a sort of cover as it fires off powerful attacks.</p>
[ADDITIONAL OPTIONS]
<p>Life Orb is generally the superior choice to Choice Band, as it gives a decent power boost while still allowing Mamoswine to switch between attacks. However. Choice Band is an option for giving Mamoswine more of a boost, although it will have to stick to one attack for the duration of its time on the field. Rock Slide is also an option over Stone Edge, trading power for accuracy and a chance to flinch. However, Rock Slide will not OHKO Gyarados after Stealth Rock damage, while Stone Edge will. Superpower is also an option, though it should generally only be used with a Choice Band, as Mamoswine will otherwise dislike the stat drops. If you opt to use Superpower, keep in mind that it is illegal with Icicle Crash. A Jolly nature can be used to outspeed threats such as Heatran and Breloom, though Adamant is generally preferred as Mamoswine needs as much power as possible, and Ice Shard hits many of the Pokemon that outspeed Mamoswine hard.</p>
<p>As this set is generally designed to be a wallbreaker, sweepers benefit from Mamoswine's presence. Heatran is an excellent example, providing decent type synergy with Mamoswine and taking care of Bronzong, which resists every move on this set. Mamoswine, in return, can easily take care of special walls that stand in Heatran's way, such as Blissey. Gyarados also has decent synergy with Mamoswine, and can set up on Pokemon that Mamoswine tends to bring out, and vice versa.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Icicle Spear / Icicle Crash
move 2: Superpower
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Stone Edge
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Snow Cloak
natue: Adamant / Jolly
evs.: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
<p>While Mamoswine is normally meant to be a powerful wallbreaker, it becomes an effective revenge killer with a Choice Scarf equipped, outspeeding everything up to Pokemon with base 130 Speed with a Jolly nature and max Speed. However, it still retains an astounding amount of power, allowing it to stay on the field for extended amounts of time if need be.</p>
<p>Icicle Spear seems at first to be an odd choice, but on this set, it has superiority over Icicle Crash. On average, it has at the least 10 Base Power less than Icicle Crash, while retaining perfect accuracy. At the same time, it breaks through type-resist berries, Focus Sash, Multiscale, and Substitute among other things, often giving it a greater damage output than Icicle Crash. Superpower correlates with this set's hit-and-run strategy, as it hits hard on the first turn and encourages you to switch out after using it. Earthquake is Mamoswine's other STAB move, hitting extremely hard off of its base 130 Attack, and when used in tandem with Stone Edge, the two provide excellent neutral coverage.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Ice Shard can be used over Stone Edge for an extra priority move, though it is not really necessary, and its low Base Power often make it a poor choice on this set. On another note, Adamant is generally used over Jolly on this set, as Mamoswine does not need the extra Speed, though it needs all the power it can get. However, Jolly allows it to outspeed Choice Scarf Heatran and Pokemon with base 130 Speed. If Icicle Crash is used of Icicle Spear, make sure to use something in place of Superpower, as the combination of the two is illegal. Double Edge is the best option in that case, hitting bulky Water-types like Rotom-W harder than other moves on this set.</p>
<p>A mixed Choice Scarf set is also somewhat viable if used on a hail team. With a usable base 70 Special Attack, Mamoswine can abuse a 100% accurate Blizzard, hitting a few of Mamoswine's normal counters hard. On the subject of hail teams, Abomasnow is also a decent offensive partner, taking care of Water-types that can counter Mamoswine effectively with Wood Hammer. Abomasnow's hail also activates Mamoswine's Snow Cloak, which reduces the opposing Pokemon's attacks to 80% accuracy.</p>
[SET]
name: Stealth Rock
move 1: Ice Shard
move 2: Endeavor
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Stealth Rock
item: Focus Sash
ability: Snow Cloak
Natue: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While Endeavor is generally not used competitively, Mamoswine makes an excellent user of the move, as it is immune to both sandstorm and hail, which break the Focus Sashes of other Pokemon. At the same time it has a great priority move in Ice Shard, allowing it to finish off opponents worn down with Endeavor. Coincidentally, Mamoswine is also basically guaranteed to set up Stealth Rock if at full HP, regardless of the matchup.</p>
<p>Ice Shard and Endeavor form the basis of this set, allowing Mamoswine to take down any Pokemon who would normally OHKO it. However, if you are facing a defensive Pokemon, Mamoswine can set up Stealth Rock and proceed to hit hard with STAB Earthquake, lashing out with its colossal Attack. If Earthquake is of no use, Ice Shard is perfectly usable. Endeavor is as well, though it is by far more situational.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs for this set are, again, nearly self-explanatory. Max Attack and Speed EVs allow Mamoswine to hit as hard and fast as possible when not using Endeavor. The boost in Speed also allows it to get the jump on slower Pokemon so it can set up Stealth Rock. Adamant nature is used over Jolly so Mamoswine can hit as hard as possible with Earthquake and Ice Shard.</p>
<p>Mamoswine tends to attract Fake Out users, the most common of which are generally Mienshao and Infernape. This will break its Focus Sash and, more often than not, allow the faster opponent to obliterate Mamoswine before it can do anything. Thus, it is wise to keep a sturdy Ghost-type, such as Eviolite Dusclops or Jellicent, in the wings to absorb any attacks from a Fake Out user. Having a Ghost-type serves another purpose as well: if Mamoswine sets up Stealth Rock successfully, Ghost-types are handy spinblockers, allowing other Pokemon on your team to nab KOs easier with Stealth Rock on the field.</p>
<p>If you opt to use this set mid-game, Life Orb is an option over Focus Sash. Icicle Crash may also be used over Earthquake as an alternative STAB, 2HKOing Hippowdon and hitting many Pokemon harder than Ice Shard, such as Dragonite and Whimsicott, in exchange for Eartquake's greater power.</p>
[OTHER OPTIONS]
<p>Mamoswine has the capability to run many other sets thanks to its decent movepool and nice stats around the board. Due to Mamoswine's respectable defenses, a bulkier set can be used, placing EVs that would normally go into Attack or Speed into its defenses. Bite is Mamoswine's only option to hit Ghost- and Psychic-types for super effective damage, though other moves may hit the aforementioned types harder. Superpower may be used wherever not explicitly stated, though those sets may not necessarily welcome the stat drops that come with using the move. Substitute can also be used, as Mamoswine can cleanly 2HKO its counters. An Expert Belt can be used on the Physical Attacker set to bluff a Choice Band while maintaining a near-identical damage output if Mamoswine can hit for super effective damage. Due to its base 70 Special Attack, Mamoswine can run a fairly effective mixed set, using Earth Power, Ancientpower, and Ice Beam. Mamoswine can also play an interesting role on a hail team, effectively abusing Snow Cloak and a 100% accurate Blizzard.</p>
[CHECKS AND COUNTERS]
<p>Steel-types can be tough on Mamoswine, hitting it for super effective damage and having the ability to come in on one of its STAB moves. Scizor smashes Mamoswine with Bullet Punch, while Jirachi nails it with Iron Head. Gyarados can set up on Mamoswine using the Attack drop from Intimidate to force Mamoswine out, allowing it to set up a Dragon Dance. Any Pokemon with above average Defense and defensive typing should, in theory, be able to stop Mamoswine in its tracks if it is locked into a move with Choice Band or Choice Scarf. Ferrothorn and Bronzong are excellent examples of this, both having immense base Defense and the ability to KO Mamoswine with their STAB moves. Water-types are also great counters to Mamoswine, as they resist its Ice-type attacks and hit it for super efffective damage.</p>
[DREAM WORLD]
<p>While Mamoswine's Dream World ability, Thick Fat, has already been released, it isn't really much of a boost, as Mamoswine with Thick Fat cannot have any 4th generation tutor moves or egg moves, as it is currently only available through a male Mamoswine; most of the moves it uses competitively will not be available in this case. While Thick Fat allows Mamoswine to resist the infamous combination of Thunderbolt and Ice Beam, Snow Cloak is not a bad ability at all. In general, you should be using Snow Cloak over Thick Fat in most, if not all, situations.</p>
