Akir
A true villain!
So I've been meaning to make this post for a while and I wanted to echo the sentiments of Mango Smoothie to say that I am shocked that there isn't more Abomasnow on the ladder. I don't want this to be a long post so I will be brief-ish.
Abomasnow @ Icy Rock
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Mild Nature
- Blizzard
- Giga Drain
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard / Leech Seed
So the comparison to be made is between Abomasnow and Aurorus. Aurorus is marginally stronger and bulkier, and has access to better utility like Stealth Rock. A Normal resist is not bad either, and access to moves like Earth Power rounds out coverage nicely. Aurorus has a lot of good things going for it and it deserves to be used, but Abomasnow also has a lot going for it.
Abomasnow's additional Grass typing instead of Rock has a decent amount of advantages. Due to bulky Waters being popular at the moment (need to check Typhlosion and also Electrics are easy to prep for thanks to immunities like Piloswine and Lanturn), having a setter that can reliably switch in on Lanturn and Gastrodon is an asset to any team in general. Abomasnow's access to Giga Drain means that even though Aurorus is bulkier Abomasnow has more longevity since it can heal itself. Abomasnow is also capable of reliably running a mixed set with Earthquake to pressure threats like AV mons and Magmortar, who can fairly reliably switch in otherwise. Ice Shard is also beneficial to revenge kill things in general, like Scyther, or ease the Trick Room matchup by revenge killing Exeggutor-Alola...and priority is never a bad thing to have. Leech Seed is also a decent option for chip damage and frankly, a setup mon with both Aurora Veil and Leech Seed is a terror to face. Abomasnow also ties with the base 60 Speed benchmark instead of always falling short like Aurorus. Abomasnow is well-suited for hail teams that are looking for more defensive synergy and want to play a longer, more consistent, game.
The tl;dr is this: Aurorus is good, but Abomasnow is also. I have yet to see this thing on the ladder at all, even with hail teams being everywhere, and that strikes me as people just using Aurorus out of reflex and not evaluating their options enough. So try Abomasnow. He's a cool guy.
Abomasnow @ Icy Rock
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Mild Nature
- Blizzard
- Giga Drain
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard / Leech Seed
So the comparison to be made is between Abomasnow and Aurorus. Aurorus is marginally stronger and bulkier, and has access to better utility like Stealth Rock. A Normal resist is not bad either, and access to moves like Earth Power rounds out coverage nicely. Aurorus has a lot of good things going for it and it deserves to be used, but Abomasnow also has a lot going for it.
Abomasnow's additional Grass typing instead of Rock has a decent amount of advantages. Due to bulky Waters being popular at the moment (need to check Typhlosion and also Electrics are easy to prep for thanks to immunities like Piloswine and Lanturn), having a setter that can reliably switch in on Lanturn and Gastrodon is an asset to any team in general. Abomasnow's access to Giga Drain means that even though Aurorus is bulkier Abomasnow has more longevity since it can heal itself. Abomasnow is also capable of reliably running a mixed set with Earthquake to pressure threats like AV mons and Magmortar, who can fairly reliably switch in otherwise. Ice Shard is also beneficial to revenge kill things in general, like Scyther, or ease the Trick Room matchup by revenge killing Exeggutor-Alola...and priority is never a bad thing to have. Leech Seed is also a decent option for chip damage and frankly, a setup mon with both Aurora Veil and Leech Seed is a terror to face. Abomasnow also ties with the base 60 Speed benchmark instead of always falling short like Aurorus. Abomasnow is well-suited for hail teams that are looking for more defensive synergy and want to play a longer, more consistent, game.
The tl;dr is this: Aurorus is good, but Abomasnow is also. I have yet to see this thing on the ladder at all, even with hail teams being everywhere, and that strikes me as people just using Aurorus out of reflex and not evaluating their options enough. So try Abomasnow. He's a cool guy.
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