Sexy Hail Team

[Meryl]

I'm still so addicted to Hail teams, so here I am again, posting another Hail RMT. Lol. XD This team was tried and tested in shoddy, and unlike my previous RMTs, this time I'm making use of Platinum sets AND I'm actually making effort to put pictures. But this time I'll use different pics, since I see the same ones all the time. ^^ So, here we go.

The Team:

The Team in Detail:

Bronzong@Choice Band
Levitate
Relaxed
252Hp, 128Att, 128Def
Moveset:
~ Gyro Ball
~ Trick
~ Stealth Rock
~ Earthquake

= Bronzong is my tricky lead. ^^ No one would think this team that they are facing is actually a Hail team until Abomasnow comes out. Anyway, I use Stealth Rock first, then, if the opponent is a fast moving attacker, I use Trick and screw up its sweeping capabilities. Macho Brace would slow him down. I wanted to use Iron Ball, but I couldn't find the item in Shoddy. Either its not there or I'm just blind. Lol. Anyway, I'm also trying to decide if EQ or Explosion would be better. But I think Explosion looks better, since I'll be able to take out threats right away. What do you guys think?

Abomasnow@Life Orb
Snow Warning
Naughty
240Att, 124SpAtt, 144Spd
Moveset:
~ Ice Shard
~ Woodhammer
~ Blizzard
~ Brick Break

= And here's Abomasnow. I only send her out when one of my Pokemon faint or when I know Abomasnow can take the opponent's attack. Anyway, Abomasnow packs a punch, especially with Choice Band. Ice Shard can kill dragons and flyers right on the spot. Woodhammer kills Tyranitar, especially since this Abomasnow can outrun him. If I predict a switch, Focus punch damages the incoming Pokemon really badly or even kills it. As much as possible, I try to keep Abomasnow alive, especially when I know that I'm up against another weather team. It also helps that Bronzong, is instead, the lead, because this way, I can actually take out any potential threats without bringing Abomasnow out yet.

Froslass@Bright Powder (but Leftovers for Wifi)
Snow Cloak
Timid
252SpAtt, 252Spd, 6SpAtt
Moveset:
~ Thunderwave
~ Blizzard
~ Spikes
~ Substitute

= I love Froslass. XD I'm using the Spikes/SnowCloak abuse set this time, and when I was testing it, she did better than I expected. I only send her out when the Hail is on, unless I don't have anymore choice. The first move to use is obviously Substitute. Then, depending on who the opponent is, I either T-wave first or use Confuse ray. Then I start planting my spikes. She may be shut down by Taunt, but I can probably T-wave the Taunter before I get taunted, unless I'm facing an Aerodactyl, but those are usually suicide leads.

Tentacruel@Black Sludge
Liquid Ooze
Calm
252Hp, 220SpDef, 36Spd
Moveset:
~ Toxic Spikes
~ Rapid Spin
~ Blizzard
~ Surf

= The usual Pokemon you see in Hail teams. Tentacruel is my toxic spiker, rapid spinner, MixNape counter, and even a ScarfTran counter (if it uses fireblast). She's also Special wall-ish. I usually send her out when I'm against a wall like Blissey.

Walrein@Leftovers
Ice Body
Bold
220Hp, 244Def, 46Spd
Moveset:
~ Protect
~ Substitute
~ Roar
~ Surf

= To my opponents, Walrein is downright annoying, especially when all the spikes are in play. You know the strategy: Substitute, Protect, Substitute, Protect, and when the time is right, I Roar or Surf. Some people like Blizzard on their Walrein, but I prefer Surf so I can hit steels for neutral damage.

Rotom-h@Leftovers (^they didn't have a nice piccy of Rotom-h yet. T^T)
Levitate
Bold
252Hp, 120Def, 138SpDef
Moveset:
~ Rest
~ Sleeptalk
~ Discharge
~ Overheat

= Sleep absorber and Scizor counter. I know Scizor is a BIG threat to Hail teams, now that its got Bullet Punch. Even without Swords Dance, that thing still kills. >.< Anyway, Overheat for steels, of course, and Discharge for STAB and to paralyze any fast-moving flyers and levitators who can avoid my spikes and toxic spikes. Sleeptalk with Overheat is probably not recommended, but I can always switch out after a Rest or using a Sleeptalked Overheat.



And that's my team. Rate away! Suggestions are appreciated.

Fear the Rotom-H... H for HELLO KITTY! XD

(All changes in pink)

(Credits to a Japanese website for the pics. I just resized them and uploaded them to photobucket)​

 

[Orion]

Oh, truly awesome pictures!

Iron Ball can be found on Shoddy Battle, you just have to chose "Smogon University" and not "Standard Metagame" when you press "New Team"! ;)
However, I would not have used that item. Firstly, with Levitate as your ability, you're both weak to Fire and Ground (and you can actually be hit by EQ, since many players have started using Heatproof, and therefore the other players might try to EQ before going to Heatran). Secondly, todays starters are mostly setup-leads, leads that doesn't care about Iron Ball whatsoever. Hippowdon, Forretress, Swampert.. they're all slow enough to be mostly going last anyway. The faster leads that can be seriously damaged by Iron Ball can also dodge it easily, for instance Gyarados Taunting or Zapdos just setting up a Sub.
Tricking a Choice Item can be more effective, as setupleads are limited to one move, seriously hampering their ability to Stall forever. Alternatively, you can just go with Hypnosis to Sleep them and render them temporarily useless, and then set up your own Rocks.

For Abomasnow, I haven't really got the Choice Bander. Tyranitar has 61 Base Speed to Abomasnows 60. That means a 252 Speed Tyranitar, whatever Nature, outspeeds you, and kill with Stone Edge.
I rated an Abomasnow in a previous Hail-thread, and I actually want to quote myself:

For Abomasnow to take on both Tyranitar and Hippowdon, you want Blizzard as well as Wood Hammer. You'll also need Life Orb in order to kill both. With a Naughty Nature and 240 Attack / 124 SpAtt, you OHKO both of them with WH/Blizzard respectively. You then have 144 Speed EVs left, which gives you 192 Speed. You will with that Speed outspeed most Tyranitars, but not the ones with 140 Speed EVs or more. Also remember that since Abomasnow has a lower Base Speed than Tyranitar in the first place, you will need Scarf to be guaranteed to outrun all non-Scarfed Tars.
CB-Tars, which are most common today, rarely goes to more than 84 Speed EVs, so you outrun them, at least.
You can, obviously, run a Scarf, but then you won't get the kill on neither of the Sandstreamers.

If you are reluctant to be using that spread, or if you don't think you will outspeed Tyranitar or that Hippowdon would want to stay in on you, I will just suggest using the standard SubSeed-set from the analysis, since Abomasnows role in a Hail team is generally fulfilled by entering the field.

For Froslass, you can opt for Brightpowder as your item, since you increase your evasion by two stages, making it so much harder to actually hit it.

Apart from that, the rest is fairly decent and should fare OK.
Generally, with Hail teams, Fighting, Fire, Steel and Rock-moves are those that cause most problems. You can switch Bronzong in on almost any Rock-move there is, but it has to be wary as Hail will strip him off 6% each turn (and not be nullified by Leftovers if you use Trick), and he has no reliable recovery. Fighting is a well-covered type, but only Tentacruel resists it, another Pokémon taking Hail-damage and not having reliable recovery. Fine, Walrein can take a beating, it's not a very reliable counter. Steel is all very well-covered in 3 resists and only 2 weak, but be wary of smart Metagrosses, as they can prove troublesome.

If you play smart, none of that should be a problem, but Pokémon that can help remedy your weaknesses can be any bulky Water Type, especially Swampert. Froslass seems to be doing the least teamwork, but if you remove Froslass, you also remove a lot of the initial weaknesses, meaning the Bulky Water is a bit overkill. And let's face it, that Froslass is one hell of an annoying Pokémon!

 

[Meryl]

Ok, so instead of Ironball, I either stick with Macho Brace or I go for a Choice Scarf. Hmm... Okay I'll use Choice Scarf.

The CB Abomasnow worked fine for me. And yeah, I outspeeded all the Tyranitars I've faced with it. But anyway, I'll give that set a shot. ^^

For Froslass, brightpowder is considered a luck item, right? So maybe I can use it in shoddy, but on Wifi battles, I guess I stick with leftovers...


.......... Okay I edited the items to be used. ^^

 

[Orion]

For a Choice Item, Band will be the best, as if you haven't got the chance to Trick it, you can still do something heavy with Bronzong. Scarf is pretty useless, and only weakens Gyro Balls power.

Brightpowder is also an item you are allowed to use, I think, Evasion Clause only bans Evasion Moves (like Double Team).

 

[Meryl]

Ok, choice band it is. Done. XD

Any other raters out there? ^^

 

[Legacy Raider]

On your leading Bronzong, CB is almost indefinitely the best item you can Trick with it. At least until Lagging Tail gets implemented into Shoddy. Personally, I would go with a slightly more physically defensive set on Bronzong, as it is the only thing on your team that can reliably take on a Tyranitar. With it being Hail team's no 1 nemesis, it's always nice to have a reliable check to it somewhere on your team. Relaxed with 252 HP / 128 Atk / 128 Def would be a more apt EV spread in my opinion, as it lets you do significant damage to things like DD Salamence with your CB Gyro Ball, and you can take on those physical attacks a lot better. Explosion may be tempting with a CB, but remember, if you blow up with Bronzong, a late game Tyranitar could potentially have a field day with your team. Because you lack a reliable Tyranitar counter elsewhere, I would be inclined to stick with Earthquake in that last slot (CB Earthquake will also 2HKO Scizor and do big damage to Lucario, and a Bronzong with a CB isn't an offensive slouch either, so giving it some coverage alongside Gyro Ball can't be a bad thing).

Focus Punch on Abomasnow is very unreliable in my opinion, as not many things find it to be a threat and so will choose to stay in and attack Abomasnow rather than switch out. Brick Break still gives you good coverage alongside Ice, and is a far more reliable attack in that slot. If Focus Punch has been working for you then keep it, but Brick Break has been more useful in my experience.

You are running a very weird spread on your Tentacruel. I would suggest you change it to a simple 252 HP / 220 SpD / 36 Spe spread. Since you are running Blizzard, not Ice Beam, you don't need any SpA EVs to get guaranteed OHKOs on Salamence, Dragonite and Gliscor. By investing heavily in SpD you become a much better Infernape and Heatran counter, as with this spread, a Scarfed Earth Power is a 3HKO at best. The 36 Spe lets you outrun Jolly Tyranitar, Adamant Breloom and Scizor, allowing you to hit them before they can touch you.

I find it is always useful to have an attack on Spikes Froslass, as with this current set it is effectively useless once it has got all 3 layers up. I would recommend you run Blizzard over Confuse Ray, and really make the most of that Ice STAB and speed.

Give Walrein those final 44 EVs in speed rather than SpD. It will let you outspeed Skarmory and Swampert, meaning you can Roar them out first before they can phaze you.

Finally, Rotom should really have a minimum of of 88 Spe EVs to outrun max speed Scizor. Try a 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 Spe spread over your current one.

Nice hail team, and I particularly loved the pics =). They really gave your RMT some personality. Good luck with your team.

 

[Meryl]

@Legacy Rider,
I put in everything you suggested, except for Rotom's set. It just got me thinking that if I'll be removing those SpDef EVs, Rotom will be more built to take in Physical hits, won't it? Tentacruel would be my only special wall then. And Bronzong and Walrein are already fit for the Defense. Won't I be disadvantaged against special attackers if I make Rotom more physically defensive?

And yeah, I also like the pics I found. XD Too bad they didn't have Rotom-H. I used a Hello Kitty toaster instead. lol

(Lol. Hail teams seem to be getting popular. Someone just posted another Hail team for RMT. XD)

@Orion,
I have tried out that Abomasnow set you recommended and it worked well! XD Thanks a lot!

 

[darkrai lucario]

Hello...great team, and I love the pictures...but you might want to give Bronzong Trick Room so that it can be a speedy AND tricky lead. Also, it can be good support because many pokes on your team really arent that fast. Some, like Tentacruel, are, but try holding off to switch into him before your Trick Room wears off. I think that Explosion would be better, because it can take out anything with neutral defenses that doesnt resist it. Gyro Ball is always a good choice on Bronzong.

I think that your Abomasnow is very interesting. Usually they arent sweepers...I myself have always been partial to SweepSnow...but in any event, you might want to switch the attack EVs so that sp has more than normal. Then you could keep Wood Hammer and still OHKO Tyrannitar, but then with Snow Warning in effect, you could run a special version of SweepSnow. Then you could give it Blizzard, and it could have 180 BP with STAB, and Life Orb would bring it even higher. Ice Shard you could POSSIBLY still keep, but only to get a quick KO on an injured opponent, or even a revenge KO.

It is a very good idea to have Snow Cloak Froalass@BrightPowder with hail in effect. Blizzard is also a good idea beacuse of the before mentioned hail. I think that Confuse Ray is a better option over Thunder Wave because Froslass is already so darn fast. And a good idea to have SubSpikes as well. You thought out your Froslass very well, I have to admit. I wouldn't worry too much about Taunt, you can always switch. The only problem is Froslass gets completely shut down if Hail is taken out of play. For that reason alone you might want to switch Thunder Wave/Confuse Ray with Hail just in case of Hippodown or something.

The Tentecruel is another well-thought out spiker, but I wouldn't use it as a Blissey counter. I would probably use Wood Hammer Abomasnow instead. Another good idea is the Rapid Spinning. Use Surf over Blizzard as long as Blizzard is not SE. Otherwise, with STAB, even if Hail is in play, Surf is much stronger. Tentacruel's special defense is already WAY above average, so you might want to split the EVs into both defensive categories, so it will last longer. Just in case.

The Walrein is very annoying for your opponents, I have to agree. Roar, Protect, Substitute=crazy strategy. I would get REALLY annoyed. Infernape@Choice Band with max IVs and EVs in attack w/ Close Combat COULD OHKO, but its not guarenteed. I agree with Surf, it does hit steels, and its more PP to abuse.

Last but not least...ROTOM! The Scizor counter is very good, as you can OHKO with Overheat. You dont even need Overheat...you could probably get the job done with a lone Flamethrower. Fire Blast=guarenteed OHKO. Especially seeing as Scizor cant OHKO Rotom-H. You can rest off most damage, but I would give it a Chesto Berry. It sounds like a n00b strategy, but its actually really good when used with Rest...full recovery with no drawbacks (Chesto Berry eliminates sleep) is nothing to scoff at when considering a counter.

GO SEXY HAIL!

 

[Meryl]

@darkrai lucario

Thanks! Hehe. Glad a lot of you liked the pics. XD Anyway, on Bronzong, Legacy Rainder had a point about it being the only Pokemon who could stand up to Tyranitar. So, I can't really afford to lose Bronzong just like that. If I used trick room, I would have to give up Stealth Rock, which I don't really want to do here. I guess you could say that I'm also counting on passive damage in this team (thus you see that I have access to all arena spikes).

Abomasnow has more attack EVs than special attack, because, well, all her attacks except Blizzard are Physical. Blizzard is already a powerful move, so I may need those attack EVs to strengthen my physical attacks. Thanks for that suggestion though.

On Froslass, hmm... I haven't tried using Confuse Ray over T-wave, but I think T-wave would be better because it slows down my opponent's Pokemon so that my other Pokemon would have an advantage. It can especially affect those pokemon immune to toxic spikes. But I can try and test which of the two would work better.

Tentacruel doesn't really counter Blissy. If someone sends out a Blissy, I just see that as my chance to plant spikes. Blissy will most likely use T-wave first anyway. And I don't fear Tentacruel being paralyzed. And My Tentacruel has both Surf AND Blizzard, so I don't think that should be a problem, me choosing whether Surf is better over Blizzard...

And Rotom doesn't learn Flamethrower or FireBlast...