Overview
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Abomasnow's noticeably low Speed restricts it to only function well in Trick Room, and where most Trick Room teams struggle mightily against Amoonguss, it acts as one of the best counters to the same. Abomasnow's unique typing gives it an immunity to Spore, resistances to common attacking types such as Electric, Ground, and Water, and a pair of very threatening STAB attacks. This in combination with Mega Abomasnow's respectable bulk, great mixed offensive stats, and the fact it's the slowest Mega Pokemon make it very threatening while Trick Room is up.
However, Abomasnow's typing acts as a double-edged sword: with good resistances and powerful STAB comes a plethora of weaknesses, including ones to common attacking types such as Fire, Fighting, and Steel. Additionally, Abomasnow is unable to get past most Steel- and Fire-types, even with coverage moves. Furthermore, hail can easily be stalled out as it lasts only five turns, limiting the amount of time it can be utilized by Abomasnow and its team. Despite this, Abomasnow can be a very threatening Pokemon given the proper circumstances.
Mega Mixed Attacker
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name: Mega Mixed Attacker
move 1: Blizzard
move 2: Giga Drain / Wood Hammer
move 3: Ice Shard / Earthquake
move 4: Protect
ability: Snow Warning
item: Abomasite
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Atk
IVs: 0 Spe
nature: Quiet
Moves
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Under hail, Blizzard won't miss and hits both opponents for heavy damage if they do not resist it. Giga Drain is the preferred move in the second slot as it provides a form of recovery, does not have recoil, and complements Abomasnow's great bulk. However, if you prefer power over durability, Wood Hammer is a viable option. Ice Shard is to give Abomasnow a fighting chance if Trick Room is no longer on the field. Earthquake is a great spread move to cover the troublesome Fire- and Steel-types, such as Heatran, Metagross, and Aegislash. However, do note that its damage output is low. If Earthquake is used, take note that the team has to have a greater focus on Trick Room than if it used Ice Shard, which allows Abomasnow to function outside Trick Room as well. Finally, Protect is there to scout for super effective moves the opponent might have, buying a free turn for a teammate and dealing hail damage to bring something closer to OHKO range.
Set Details
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Without Abomasite, Abomasnow suffers a decrease in power and bulk that renders it almost worthless. The given EV spread grants Abomasnow respectable bulk while maintaining a threatening offensive presence. 48 Attack EVs can be used if you are running Wood Hammer to OHKO bulky Rotom-W, Jellicent, and Tyranitar; this also gives Ice Shard more power to score the crucial revenge KO on weakened opponents or those like Garchomp, Togekiss, and Shaymin-S quickly should they survive Blizzard with a Yache Berry. 0 Speed IVs and a Quiet nature guarantee that Abomasnow will be "faster" for the most part under Trick Room, as well as set hail after any other weather setter.
Usage Tips
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Mega Abomasnow is the slowest Mega Evolution out there; therefore, the Ice Shard set appreciates Trick Room support to take advantage of Mega Abomasnow's low 30 base Speed, while the Earthquake set absolutely needs Trick Room. Mega Abomasnow's objective is to maintain offensive presence with Blizzard to soften up or clean the enemy. It also has the inherent ability to deter Spore users so you can set up Trick Room in peace. Because Abomasnow needs Trick Room in order to be "fast," it should be reserved for later in the match rather than immediately brought out to allow its partners to set up Trick Room, while also removing any rain, sun, or sand upon switching in. Note that Snow Warning will activate once again when Abomasnow Mega Evolves; this gives Abomasnow more safety on maintaining hail against opposing weather setters that plan on switching in. Choosing when to Mega Evolve can be crucial to winning the weather war. Beware of Wide Guard users, as they can stop Abomasnow's Blizzard and Earthquake and disrupt its strategy.
Team Options
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Powerful special attackers such as Kyurem, Greninja, and Genesect can reliably use Blizzard as coverage if Abomasnow sets up hail. In general, good partners to this set are Pokemon that can provide Trick Room and deal with opposing Fire- and Steel-types. Chandelure and Jellicent in particular are excellent partners because they can set up Trick Room, provide Will-O-Wisp support, and destroy opposing Steel- and Fire-types, respectively. Other good Trick Room setters include Reuniclus and Cresselia, which can provide Helping Hand support as well as deal with Fighting-types; Reuniclus gets bonus points for being immune to hail. Heatran and Chandelure are great partners to check Steel-types for Abomasnow; in return, Abomasnow checks Water-types for the two. Heatran and Chandelure can also take advantage of Fire-type moves aimed at Abomasnow thanks to Flash Fire, though they should not be relied upon to check Fire-types for it. Flying-type teammates, such as Tornadus and Talonflame, are also recommended to deal with the Fighting-types that Abomasnow is threatened by. The latter also doesn't mind being in Trick Room thanks to Gale Wings. Pokemon that have overall good synergy with Abomasnow include Rotom-W, which takes care of Fire-types and burns physical attackers with Will-O-Wisp, and Talonflame, which doesn't mind Trick Room with priority Brave Bird and can deal with Scizor and Escavalier outside of Trick Room.
Other Options
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Rock Slide or Hidden Power Rock can be used to surprise and KO Mega Charizard Y. Leech Seed is an interesting option to further wear an opponent down while providing Mega Abomasnow with a source of recovery. Hidden Power Fire can be used to destroy Scizor, Escavalier, and Ferrothorn, which also happen to be Trick Room threats. Some different sets can be used if the Mega slot is already taken: for example, a Focus Sash set can be useful for surviving a Fire- or Steel-type attack and retaliating with the appropriate coverage move, but it might be difficult to use and is very situational. A Choice Scarf set can be used to spam fast Blizzards and revenge kill threats such as Landorus-T, but the loss of power and freedom to choose moves are extremely restrictive. Most Landorus-T commonly use a Choice Scarf anyway, leaving Choice Scarf Abomasnow unable to outspeed and KO it and reducing its overall effectiveness in the tier.
Checks and Counters
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**Offensive Typing Advantage**: Abomasnow can't deal with most Steel- and Fire-types because they resist both of its STAB moves. Most notably, Heatran beats any Abomasnow set without Earthquake almost all the time. Other Steel-types like Escavalier, Scizor, Metagross, and Mega Mawile put a full stop to Abomasnow because they can take any hit and OHKO back. Other Fire-types like Chandelure, Talonflame, and Charizard can also survive any hit and OHKO with their Fire-type STAB moves. A special mention goes to Mega Venusaur, as it is the only Grass-type capable of taking Blizzard thanks to Thick Fat and can KO Abomasnow with Sludge Bomb. Fighting-types like Conkeldurr, Hitmontop, Scrafty, and Terrakion limit Abomasnow's longevity with their STAB moves, although most of them don't OHKO Mega Abomasnow and need to watch out for Blizzard. Finally, many powerful offensive Pokemon in general can 2HKO Abomasnow with their non-resisted STAB attacks, so Abomasnow always needs to be on the lookout.
**Priority Moves**: Due to Abomasnow's poor defensive typing, many common priority moves in the tier are able to deal super effective damage to it and severely maim it. These are also extremely dangerous as they outspeed Abomasnow even in Trick Room. Scizor's Bullet Punch, Conkeldurr's Mach Punch, and Talonflame's Brave Bird are all priority moves that can take down Abomasnow with ease.
**Opposing Weather**: Mega Charizard Y and Tyranitar can change the weather and OHKO Abomasnow with Heat Wave and Rock Slide respectively. However, Mega Charizard Y won't enjoy Rock Slide and still takes damage from Blizzard, and Tyranitar needs to watch out for Wood Hammer.
**Utility Moves**: Wide Guard disrupts Abomasnow's strategy by stopping the usage of Blizzard and Earthquake. Aegislash in particular is a problem as it is the only Wide Guard user that resists both of Abomasnow's STABs whilst posing the threat of a super effective attack. Even without Wide Guard, it can set up a Substitute that cannot be broken by Blizzard or Wood Hammer in Shield forme.
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