RMT: RU Slizzer Blizzard

The OU metagame has given me a disgusted taste because it is so focused on weather, so I usually keep away from that tier. Back in 4th Gen, Sandstorm and Hail teams were common, but they could be dealt with with the right Pokemon. I play UU, RU, and NU now because it's pretty fun to use Pokemon that people have "scrapped" away. A project that I've been wanting to do for a long time was a Hail team in RU since Snover has been placed in that tier. Why, you may ask? Because Ice-type does bad in a tier that is dominated by Fighting, Rock, and Bug!


So about 22 of those Pokemon use their STAB move that are effective against Ice, which is difficult and challenging. So I'll go through what I picked and decided.

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Snover [Hel] @ Focus Sash
252 HP/ 252 Sp. Atk/ 4 Spe
Mild nature
Snow Warning
-Blizzard
-Giga Drain
-Protect
-Ice Shard

Standard Snover in RU. Enough said. I set up Hail by just throwing this guy out there, so I try to make the most out of him. Whenever I throw him out, a counter will always be ready, so I have to be pretty flexible. If I can kind of tell that there will be a counter-weather up, I will try to prolong his death, because let's be honest, he has seven weaknesses and he's going to die. Anyway, Blizzard and Giga Drain for STAB, Protect for some extra damage with Hail and to scout, and Ice Shard for a last hit.



Rotom-Frost [Jörmungandr] @ Choice Scarf
4 Def / 252 Sp. Atk / 252 Spd
Timid nature
Levitate
-Volt Switch
-Blizzard
-Thunderbolt
-Trick

Rotom-Frost is really bad in NU tier, but pretty good in RU tier because of Hail. Rotom acts as my scout and late-game sweeper at the same time, with Volt Switching dealing a good chunk of damage to those that don't resist or become immune to it, and Blizzard hits hard. I can cripple defensive Pokemon like Ferroseed and Steelix with Trick if need be. Overall, it's a pretty good addition to the team.



Qwilfish [Byakhee] @ Black Sludge
252 HP / 240 Def / 12 Spd
Impish nature
Intimidate
-Spikes
-Pain Split
-Waterfall
-Thunder Wave

Qwilfish is my defensive Pokemon with entry hazards. Basically, he comes into Fighting moves and with -1 Atk and resistant to their STAB moves, I don't take too much damage. The only ones that do pose a threat are Gallade and Medicham since they both have Psychic STAB. Anyway, Spikes are the main entry hazard, Pain Split is to recover HP, Waterfall is for STAB and does good damage against Moltres, Entei, and Emboar. I chose Thunder Wave over Haze because it can potentially cripple incoming Grass-types and hurt Galvantula. I chose Spikes over Toxic Spikes because the amount of Poison-type Pokemon is too damn high!



Sandslash [Kenren Taishou] @ Leftovers
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish nature
Sand Rush
-Stealth Rock
-Rapid Spin
-Earthquake
-Toxic

Standard Sandslash set. I needed a Rapid Spinner and a Stealth Rock user, and something to take Electric moves from Qwilfish, so I decided to use Sandslash. Not only is it immune to Electric-type moves, but it can take Rock-type moves as well. However, I feel that there could be a better Pokemon to use other than Sandslash, but I just could not find one.



Mesprit [Prometheus] @ Expert Belt
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spd
Timid nature
Levitate
-Calm Mind
-Psychic
-Thunderbolt
-Blizzard

I needed a Pokemon that wasn't locked into a choice move to deal some Special Attack damage, so ultimately decided Mesprit. Not only does it fulfill its role, but it can also set-up against Pokemon that will be afraid to go up against it. I chose Blizzard over Ice Beam for more power, but switching Expert Belt for Leftovers and Blizzard for Substitute may happen if Mesprit dies too much from things it shouldn't die from.



Spiritomb [Thanatos] @ Leftovers
252 HP / 64 Def / 192 SDef
Careful nature
Pressure
~Will-O-Wisp
-Pain Split
-Shadow Sneak
-Sucker Punch

This is basically my special tank, who takes damage and deals some back. I just switched the Sp. Def EVs with the Def ones. WoW provides Burn status, while Pain Split not only heals Spiritomb but deals some extra damage to the ones that are suffering from Hail. Shadow Sneak is a last hitting move while Sucker Punch deals greater damage.

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This team has its pros and cons. I was focusing more on type balance rather than if the team balanced itself out. Here's some a list of what I discovered that is good with the team:

• Flexible
  
• Able to inflict Burn, Paralysis, and Badly Poison
  
• Able to deal with major threats in RU tier
  
• No team is able to counter the Hail team
  
• Balanced
  

And here's some of the cons:

• Not too powerful
  
• Does not provide heavy Stall
  
• Does not utilize Hail too much
  
• Moltres is hard to counter
  
• Suicide Lead hurts in the end
  

Yeah, that pretty much sums it all up. I had some Pokemon that I wanted to use, actually.

• Clefable- Magic Guard, Wish, and Heal Bell is very useful, but it would add to my Fighting weakness.
  
• Duosion- A Psychic-type with Magic Guard, Eviolite, and Trick Room would be extremely powerful, but I felt Mesprit was better at the end.
  
• Kadabra- Basically a faster version of Duosion, but with Focus Sash instead. It wouldn't be able to switch-in though.
  
• Sigilyph- It's a fun Pokemon to use, but doesn't provide enough power.
  
• Mandibuzz- This Pokemon would be able to Whirlwind Pokemon that set-up, Roost off damage, Taunt, Toxic Pokemon, and Overcoat Hail, but it would provide another Rock-weakness that I wasn't willing to give.
  
• Shelgon- With access to Wish, Dragon Dance, Eviolite, and Overcoat, Shelgon was hard to say no. I picked Qwilfish in the end, though.
  
• Escavalier- With Overcoat, good typing, and great stats, the only bad thing was the 4x weakness to Fire.
  
• Cryogonal- A Rapid Spinner, immune to Hail, good Speed and Sp. Def, and access to Recover, the only thing that made me say no was that I would have 3 Ice-types.
  

How is Aerodactyl in that tier? I definitely remember it being used in just about every team.

Aerodactyl is a fast and strong sweeper, but with Team Analysis, opponents can easily just save their Aqua Jet or Bullet Punch users to use against Aerodactyl.

What is the really the point of using hail if you aren't going to completely use it...  I'm sure their are better options.

I could use Ice Body along with Magic Guard and Overcoat, but many of those Pokemon are pure Ice, which increases my Fighting, Rock, and Fire weakness. Snow Cloak is banned, and Weather Ball is only used by four Pokemon in NU tier that aren't Ice. There's not really a lot of options, but I also feel like I can abuse it more and add more firepower to the team.

If your team kind of doesn't want to deal with Moltres, why not use a Bulky Entei like one of those inferior Arcanine sets. Instead of Spiritomb. I'll have to look at the tiers, I'm not really sure whats are your best options.

However it would double your Ground, Rock and Water weaknesses.