Is there something like a viable Hail team? It may be argued that Hail is the worst weather.
Reporting a streak with a Hail team, so let’ see…
Other than on my previous posts, now I finally deliver proofs, have a look on YouTube:
Also for previous streaks there are some battles.
I am kinda glad the streak is over, as to how it always occupies my mind. It's the personal best with a team of my own, so I'm happy about that. Thanks for reading!
Reporting a streak with a Hail team, so let’ see…
196 wins, kinda first try, which is a personal best with a team of my own.
Abomasnow @ Focus Sash
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Blizzard
- Giga Drain
- Hail
- Protect
Whimsicott @ Lum Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / Rest Def/SDef, don't even know
Modest Nature
- Tailwind
- Encore
- Fake Tears
- Grass Knot
Rotom-Frost @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Blizzard
- Thunderbolt
- Electro Ball
- Protect
Machamp @ Expert Belt
Ability: No Guard
Level: 50
EVs: 4HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dynamic Punch
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Protect
Speeds: Rotom 138, Whimsi 136, Abomasnow 123, Machamp 117
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Blizzard
- Giga Drain
- Hail
- Protect
Whimsicott @ Lum Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / Rest Def/SDef, don't even know
Modest Nature
- Tailwind
- Encore
- Fake Tears
- Grass Knot
Rotom-Frost @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Blizzard
- Thunderbolt
- Electro Ball
- Protect
Machamp @ Expert Belt
Ability: No Guard
Level: 50
EVs: 4HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dynamic Punch
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Protect
Speeds: Rotom 138, Whimsi 136, Abomasnow 123, Machamp 117
I talked about a similar team a while ago, and suggested Hail-setter + Tailwind-setter + Nidoking + Kartana for a later generation. Here, in the final team I have Abomasnow, Whimsicott, Rotom-F and Machamp. First I tried similar sets, but with Metagross instead of Machamp, because Metagross. It worked well, that is until you notice that every random Froslass makes you lose. Maybe some of you who tried to build a Hail team also gave up, when on top of all the other problems of Hail-teams, one also has to deal with all time active Snow Veil. I looked for what can hit Ice types, and well, here comes No Guard Machamp. I played it with Close Combat, and the other team members also had different sets: Whimsi had Endeavor and not yet Fake Tears, and Rotom did not have Electro Ball. I managed to get to shaky 89 wins. I settled for a while, but then tried again, with the now in hindsight obvious changes, Fake Tears, Electro Ball and Dynamic Punch. The shakiness vanished, and I got first try to 196! Fake Tears of course is all powerful, but also Dynamic Punch, which does not corrupt Machamps bulk was crucial (I for example lost the previous streak because Hippowdon could KO because of this). Oh, and I replaced Machamps Rockslide for EQ, which was way better. Bullet Punch may be a thing, I only did not have it because I needed to breed, but I also don’t know what to replace. Anyways, this was the team, and it surpassed all my expectations by far! Yeah, Hail is viable…
Usual play is Protect + Tailwind, let the enemy eat a round of Hail, then sweep with Blizzard + Fake Tears. Often the enemy just gets overwhelmed, and if problems occur Machamp comes in and solves them. Switching almost never is an option due to a lack of resistances, but it also is not necessary most of the time. Really, I don’t know if I even switched more than 10 times in the whole run. Sometimes turn 1 attacks of Abomasnow are crucial, especially in the face of Fake Out or Dusknoir, see threats below. Most of the time you just click Blizzard over and over. Sometimes though you need to make careful decisions and plan 2 or 3 turns ahead, about what to KO when, what to hit with Fake Tears, looking when it gets into KO range by Hail damage etc. Encore and Hail go nicely hand in hand anyways. Oh, and the AI is so dumb. Also it strongly prefers to attack Abomasnow, because aside from ice moves, it is weaker in all defenses than Whimsi. Whimsi has strange EVs, I took the one I had, but it worked well. (The IVs of the four are poor in general lol, only 2 or 3 stats are on 31)
The team has a superb offensive coverage, STAB Ice + Electric, then STAB Fighting, every mon has a 100+ BP STAB. Most (pseudo) legendaries are weak to some of this. As poor and monotone the defensive typing of the team is, as good is its offense. Due to Encore and Dynamic Punch, any stall attempt usually is but a joke. And evasion is bypassed that well by almost no other team in this gen.
The team has a superb offensive coverage, STAB Ice + Electric, then STAB Fighting, every mon has a 100+ BP STAB. Most (pseudo) legendaries are weak to some of this. As poor and monotone the defensive typing of the team is, as good is its offense. Due to Encore and Dynamic Punch, any stall attempt usually is but a joke. And evasion is bypassed that well by almost no other team in this gen.
Single most biggest threat: Fake Out. Fake Out is the single most biggest threat. Especially in turn 1, but also sometimes when it comes from the back. Below are some battles, and the streak ended by paranoia from Fake Out. Fake Out turn 1 on Whimsi + Whimsi getting killed probably is the worst case scenario, and it happened like 2 times. Some mons always seem to go for Whimsi, like Kangaskhan. Fake Out is so scary, that I started pondering about removing one of Whimsis unreplacable moves for Protect…
Ice Resists: Often everything just gets worn down. Against waters Abomasnow stays around forever. Many Steels and Fires though survive Hail damage + Fake Tears + Blizzard, and obviously cause pain in return. Still, often they just get overwhelmed, also because Abomasnow has a Sash. And Machamp shines against many of them, as he can OHKO most fire types and many steels, especially with the omnipresent chip damage this team deals. Some fire types like Magmortar are OHKOed by Hail + EQ. Escavalier for instance takes 85% from Electro Ball under Tailwind, so it’s just a matter of chip, which you want to deal anyways. Even facing multiple ice resists, one usually can overwhelm them. And of course against ice types and their raised evasion Machamp also shines – it was the reason I considered it in the first place. Of course smart protecting also is a thing. And probably the preference of the AI to go for Abomasnow over Whimsi does also a lot. I did not plan it, but Whimsi had slightly higher defenses and HP than Abo, and it may be crucial.
Enemy weather, most notably sand: Can be bad. If it is set manually, Encore may be a thing, and then resetting Hail at the appropriate time. Often I just manually reset by using Abos Hail. The most problematic scenarios occurred, when Sand came again from the back and Abomasnow cannot reset Hail for some reason (for instance due to not living anymore). Enjoy battle 118 below.
Conkeldurr/Priority: Having a 1HP Abomasnow sitting in front of priority of course is inconvenient, and Conkeldurr somehow seems to be the most notorious, probably because of its bulk. While switching almost never is an option, one can play around it a bit, and soften things with Fake Tears.
Trickroom: The usual play is to Encore the TR in the second turn, which is usually an easy win then. That may fail, if Whimsi dies in turn1, which I think never happened, or if Dusknoir4 is the setter. This is stressful, because it may go with Shadow Sneak in the next turn, before Whimsi can Encore it into TR. So often the best play is Fake Tears + Blizzard, to get some damage rolling. Then Dusknoir usually goes for something else than Shadow Sneak in turn 2, and Whimsi can force it to neuter TR. I had many battles where TR went up, and the majority is harmless.
Ice Resists: Often everything just gets worn down. Against waters Abomasnow stays around forever. Many Steels and Fires though survive Hail damage + Fake Tears + Blizzard, and obviously cause pain in return. Still, often they just get overwhelmed, also because Abomasnow has a Sash. And Machamp shines against many of them, as he can OHKO most fire types and many steels, especially with the omnipresent chip damage this team deals. Some fire types like Magmortar are OHKOed by Hail + EQ. Escavalier for instance takes 85% from Electro Ball under Tailwind, so it’s just a matter of chip, which you want to deal anyways. Even facing multiple ice resists, one usually can overwhelm them. And of course against ice types and their raised evasion Machamp also shines – it was the reason I considered it in the first place. Of course smart protecting also is a thing. And probably the preference of the AI to go for Abomasnow over Whimsi does also a lot. I did not plan it, but Whimsi had slightly higher defenses and HP than Abo, and it may be crucial.
Enemy weather, most notably sand: Can be bad. If it is set manually, Encore may be a thing, and then resetting Hail at the appropriate time. Often I just manually reset by using Abos Hail. The most problematic scenarios occurred, when Sand came again from the back and Abomasnow cannot reset Hail for some reason (for instance due to not living anymore). Enjoy battle 118 below.
Conkeldurr/Priority: Having a 1HP Abomasnow sitting in front of priority of course is inconvenient, and Conkeldurr somehow seems to be the most notorious, probably because of its bulk. While switching almost never is an option, one can play around it a bit, and soften things with Fake Tears.
Trickroom: The usual play is to Encore the TR in the second turn, which is usually an easy win then. That may fail, if Whimsi dies in turn1, which I think never happened, or if Dusknoir4 is the setter. This is stressful, because it may go with Shadow Sneak in the next turn, before Whimsi can Encore it into TR. So often the best play is Fake Tears + Blizzard, to get some damage rolling. Then Dusknoir usually goes for something else than Shadow Sneak in turn 2, and Whimsi can force it to neuter TR. I had many battles where TR went up, and the majority is harmless.
Dusknoir and Eelektross
Blizzard + Fake Tears Dusknoir. Flamethrower against Abomasnow, TR.
Probably Dusknoir goes for priority because Abo has 1HP, so I decide to attack it with Whimsi and not Encore it. Indeed they double on Abo, who protects, Grass Knot Dusknoir. Dusknoir down.
Arcanine in.
Protect, but failed, Extremespeed finishes it. Grass Knot Eelektross, Whimsi tanks Flamethrower.
Machamp in.
Try Fake Tears against Eel, but Extremespeed finishes Whimsi first. Flamethrower against Machamp. Machamp SE kills Arcanine.
Rotom in, Pinsir in.
Eel Flamethrower Rotom, burn. Machamp kills Pinsir with SE, Rotom kills Eel with Blizzard. Even with a crit on Rotom I would have won. But that was stressful.
Blizzard + Fake Tears Dusknoir. Flamethrower against Abomasnow, TR.
Probably Dusknoir goes for priority because Abo has 1HP, so I decide to attack it with Whimsi and not Encore it. Indeed they double on Abo, who protects, Grass Knot Dusknoir. Dusknoir down.
Arcanine in.
Protect, but failed, Extremespeed finishes it. Grass Knot Eelektross, Whimsi tanks Flamethrower.
Machamp in.
Try Fake Tears against Eel, but Extremespeed finishes Whimsi first. Flamethrower against Machamp. Machamp SE kills Arcanine.
Rotom in, Pinsir in.
Eel Flamethrower Rotom, burn. Machamp kills Pinsir with SE, Rotom kills Eel with Blizzard. Even with a crit on Rotom I would have won. But that was stressful.
Clerk Bank, uff:
I don't know the beginning anymore, but I already had 3vs2 + Tailwind. So it's Whimsi + Rotom, and in comes... Tyranitar3 and Gliscor3! Possible Sand Veil… Gliscor can OHKO everything of me, and I can hardly hit it aside from Blizzard. But it’s my best bet and I try it. It hits Tyranitar (did not matter), but fails on Gliscor, uff. Whimsi Grassknot on Gliscor crit. Tyranitar hits SE, kills Rotom, Gliscor kills Whimsi, Machamp in. Tailwind out, Machamp slower than Tyranitar but faster than Gliscor. Now only a confusion miracle will safe me. Indeed: Tar EQ, Machamp to 2/3HP, Machamp Dynamic Punch Gliscor, Glis hits itself! Tar EQ, Dynamic Punch kills Tar, Gliscor hits itself, Gliscor dies!
Bad IVs mattered, Whimsi could have survived Aerial Ace from Gliscor e.g. But I absolutely should have absolutely lost that.
I don't know the beginning anymore, but I already had 3vs2 + Tailwind. So it's Whimsi + Rotom, and in comes... Tyranitar3 and Gliscor3! Possible Sand Veil… Gliscor can OHKO everything of me, and I can hardly hit it aside from Blizzard. But it’s my best bet and I try it. It hits Tyranitar (did not matter), but fails on Gliscor, uff. Whimsi Grassknot on Gliscor crit. Tyranitar hits SE, kills Rotom, Gliscor kills Whimsi, Machamp in. Tailwind out, Machamp slower than Tyranitar but faster than Gliscor. Now only a confusion miracle will safe me. Indeed: Tar EQ, Machamp to 2/3HP, Machamp Dynamic Punch Gliscor, Glis hits itself! Tar EQ, Dynamic Punch kills Tar, Gliscor hits itself, Gliscor dies!
Bad IVs mattered, Whimsi could have survived Aerial Ace from Gliscor e.g. But I absolutely should have absolutely lost that.
Cresselia, Moltres.
Protect + Tailwind. Air Slash, Swagger in Abo.
Fake Tears Moltres + Blizzard. Should have maybe went for Encore on Moltres. It survives, and Heatwave + Icy Wind kills both of mine.
Rotom + Machamp in.
Cannot kill Cresselia, and do not want to take Icy Wind. Double Protect, Moltres killed by Hail.
In comes Tornadus.
Tornadus3 may survive Blizzard, so I double on him. Cresselia goes for HH, so easy take down. Landorus in. Double Protect again because Hail finishes Cresse. OHKO Lando next turn.
Protect + Tailwind. Air Slash, Swagger in Abo.
Fake Tears Moltres + Blizzard. Should have maybe went for Encore on Moltres. It survives, and Heatwave + Icy Wind kills both of mine.
Rotom + Machamp in.
Cannot kill Cresselia, and do not want to take Icy Wind. Double Protect, Moltres killed by Hail.
In comes Tornadus.
Tornadus3 may survive Blizzard, so I double on him. Cresselia goes for HH, so easy take down. Landorus in. Double Protect again because Hail finishes Cresse. OHKO Lando next turn.
Regirock, Regice
Troublesome, because of spread moves, and bulky. Tailwind for backrow needed, but I need to attack, or I will get traded down because I cannot KO in the following turn. Depends much on the sets what they will survive…
Gigadrain on Regirock, Tailwind. Rockslide, Crit on Abo (would have survived the following turn), Thunderwave on Abo.
Grass Knot kills Regirock, Regice kills both of mine.
Rotom and Machamp in, Regigigas comes in.
Rotom Blizzard, freezes Regigigas, Machamp OHKOs Regice with Dynamic Punch.
Zapdos in, clean up.
Troublesome, because of spread moves, and bulky. Tailwind for backrow needed, but I need to attack, or I will get traded down because I cannot KO in the following turn. Depends much on the sets what they will survive…
Gigadrain on Regirock, Tailwind. Rockslide, Crit on Abo (would have survived the following turn), Thunderwave on Abo.
Grass Knot kills Regirock, Regice kills both of mine.
Rotom and Machamp in, Regigigas comes in.
Rotom Blizzard, freezes Regigigas, Machamp OHKOs Regice with Dynamic Punch.
Zapdos in, clean up.
Charizard-Scarf, Kangaskhan, scariest battle.
Oh oh.
Blizzard, because Fake Out, and indeed it Fake Outs Whimsi, and Charizard kills with Heat Wave, Abo 1 HP, no Tailwind.
Machamp in (Rotom might die full HP to Heat Wave).
Protect with Abo, Heat Wave, burns Machamp, Kang Double Edge into Abo, Machamp kills Charizard.
In comes Serperior. Abo 1HP, Machamp burned 48 HP. Both are outsped and OHKOed by both enemies. Reasoning: If I protect one of mine (Machamp because it did not protect the previous turn), then Rotom will not be double targeted the following turn. So I protect Machamp, who will survive with 20 HP after burn and hail. And… both attacks go into Machamp and I land Blizzard, which does 70% to Serperior, freezes it and kills Kang! What a turn of events lol. The freeze did not matter so much, but the stupid AI
In comes Drifblim. Battle is over because Rotom outspeeds Serperior, survives a crit from Drifblim and OHKOs both, but for the record: Drifblim could outspeed and kill both with Icy Wind, but kills Machamp with Shadow Ball. Serperior frozen, Abo kills it with Blizzard, and a sliver, I kill it next turn.
Machamp with Bullet Punch would maybe have provided more options…
Oh oh.
Blizzard, because Fake Out, and indeed it Fake Outs Whimsi, and Charizard kills with Heat Wave, Abo 1 HP, no Tailwind.
Machamp in (Rotom might die full HP to Heat Wave).
Protect with Abo, Heat Wave, burns Machamp, Kang Double Edge into Abo, Machamp kills Charizard.
In comes Serperior. Abo 1HP, Machamp burned 48 HP. Both are outsped and OHKOed by both enemies. Reasoning: If I protect one of mine (Machamp because it did not protect the previous turn), then Rotom will not be double targeted the following turn. So I protect Machamp, who will survive with 20 HP after burn and hail. And… both attacks go into Machamp and I land Blizzard, which does 70% to Serperior, freezes it and kills Kang! What a turn of events lol. The freeze did not matter so much, but the stupid AI
In comes Drifblim. Battle is over because Rotom outspeeds Serperior, survives a crit from Drifblim and OHKOs both, but for the record: Drifblim could outspeed and kill both with Icy Wind, but kills Machamp with Shadow Ball. Serperior frozen, Abo kills it with Blizzard, and a sliver, I kill it next turn.
Machamp with Bullet Punch would maybe have provided more options…
Battle 197, Vanilluxe and Beartic
Normal Protect + Tailwind. Vanilluxe Icebeam into Protect, Beartic hits Whimsi with Icy Wind.
Next, Fake Tears into Vanilluxe, then Blizzard, both opponents at around 75%. Beartic kills Whimsi, Vanilluxe uses Icebeam to bring Abomasnow a little below half.
Machamp in. Abomasnow Giga Drain against Vanilluxe, now at 75% again, Machamp OHKOs Beartic. Vanilluxe goes for Icebeam, Abomasnow at 33 HP.
In comes Jynx… and I get slightly nervous, because of – Fake Out! And I, smart as I am, want to outstall this potential Fake Out turn and go for double Protect, as I count how many moves Abomasnow used, and I find, that I still have a Tailwind turn left after, and probably easy game from there… However that is not true, Tailwind peters out, and I see, that I overlooked that I already used Gigadrain. From here it’s basically over, if the AI plays smart. Well Jynx didn’t even go for Fake Out against Machamp before.. And it does not kill Machamp with Psychic, but goes for Blizzard. It kills Abomasnow, but worse, it freezes Machamp. It stays frozen and gets killed by Vanilluxe. Rotom comes in. Maybe there was even a chance to win, because Jynx goes for Lovely Kiss and Vanilluxe for Taunt. However it hits, and although Rotom has an early wake up, it gets killed. Last was Glaceon.
Very avoidable loss.. I had more difficult battles before, where the chance of winning and making the right calls was way slimmer, but that’s how it goes. Proud of having made a Hail team come that far. I don’t know if there are other viable Hail teams possible in this gen, as I think that something like Machamp/Golurk with No Guard is mandatory. TR + Hail of course could work, too.
Normal Protect + Tailwind. Vanilluxe Icebeam into Protect, Beartic hits Whimsi with Icy Wind.
Next, Fake Tears into Vanilluxe, then Blizzard, both opponents at around 75%. Beartic kills Whimsi, Vanilluxe uses Icebeam to bring Abomasnow a little below half.
Machamp in. Abomasnow Giga Drain against Vanilluxe, now at 75% again, Machamp OHKOs Beartic. Vanilluxe goes for Icebeam, Abomasnow at 33 HP.
In comes Jynx… and I get slightly nervous, because of – Fake Out! And I, smart as I am, want to outstall this potential Fake Out turn and go for double Protect, as I count how many moves Abomasnow used, and I find, that I still have a Tailwind turn left after, and probably easy game from there… However that is not true, Tailwind peters out, and I see, that I overlooked that I already used Gigadrain. From here it’s basically over, if the AI plays smart. Well Jynx didn’t even go for Fake Out against Machamp before.. And it does not kill Machamp with Psychic, but goes for Blizzard. It kills Abomasnow, but worse, it freezes Machamp. It stays frozen and gets killed by Vanilluxe. Rotom comes in. Maybe there was even a chance to win, because Jynx goes for Lovely Kiss and Vanilluxe for Taunt. However it hits, and although Rotom has an early wake up, it gets killed. Last was Glaceon.
Very avoidable loss.. I had more difficult battles before, where the chance of winning and making the right calls was way slimmer, but that’s how it goes. Proud of having made a Hail team come that far. I don’t know if there are other viable Hail teams possible in this gen, as I think that something like Machamp/Golurk with No Guard is mandatory. TR + Hail of course could work, too.
I am kinda glad the streak is over, as to how it always occupies my mind. It's the personal best with a team of my own, so I'm happy about that. Thanks for reading!
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