[OVERVIEW]
Aurorus has a small but solid niche as a dedicated Stealth Rock lead on hail hyper offense teams. Thanks to its typing, it can scare out most entry hazard removers such as Dhelmise, Crobat, and Togekiss, thus allowing it to keep Stealth Rock up until it is KOed. Furthermore, Encore dissuades foes from setting entry hazards, and it can provide teammates an opportunity to take advantage of a locked-in foe. However, Aurorus is very slow and has a terrible defensive typing, which makes it hard to do much beyond setting Stealth Rock early-game. For other roles, Abomasnow and Vanilluxe completely outclass it as a primary hail setter or wallbreaker, respectively.
[SET]
name: Hail Lead
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Blizzard
move 3: Encore
move 4: Earth Power / Thunder Wave
item: Focus Sash
ability: Snow Warning
nature: Modest
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
ivs: 0 Atk
[SET COMMENTS]
With a Modest nature, Blizzard OHKOes common entry hazard removers such as Crobat and Dhelmise, which Freeze-Dry fails to do. Encore discourages opposing hazard setters and setup sweepers such as Registeel, Metagross, and Reuniclus from taking advantage of Aurorus, and it potentially opens setup opportunities for its teammates. Earth Power hits Steel- and Fire-types like Lucario and Chandelure directly. Alternatively, Thunder Wave can cripple them, alongside problematic Pokemon like Choice Scarf Heracross and Gardevoir. Finally, Focus Sash guarantees Stealth Rock goes up against the majority of the metagame.
Because of its place in dedicated hail teams, Aurorus is always paired with a secondary hail setter; Abomasnow is almost always preferred because it can deal with Water-types, which can be troublesome for hail teams. This secondary setter is especially important considering that Aurorus must be played offensively, so it's unlikely to survive into the late-game. Similarly, Arctovish and Alolan Sandslash are hail staples, forming a fearsome offensive core and wearing down their own checks together. Hail teams appreciate a lot of role compression in the last two teamslots; glue Pokemon like Xatu, Starmie, Flygon, and Crobat can check off several important requirements, such as checking Fire-, Fighting-, and Steel-types while removing entry hazards. Complements to the offensive hail core, like Toxicroak and Raikou, can be considered as well; Toxicroak sets up on Water-types and Golisopod, while Raikou, besides smashing Water-types, can use Weather Ball in hail to cover Grass- and Dragon-types in one move. Spinblockers like Mimikyu and Doublade can preserve Aurorus's Stealth Rock.
STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Aurorus can run Aurora Veil as its last move, helping its teammates set up before it is KOed, although it has to give up a valuable move and is often too slow to fully take advantage of the move. A defensive Stealth Rock set is a niche primary hail setter over Abomasnow, as Aurorus beats most entry hazard removers, checks Flying-types, and sets Stealth Rock in one teamslot. However, Abomasnow being able to beat Water-types is generally far more important than Aurorus handling hazard setters like Klefki, Nidoqueen, and Metagross, making this set almost entirely unused.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Starmie**: Starmie is the only entry hazard remover that Aurorus can't scare out, and it can even shrug off paralysis with Natural Cure.
**Steel-types**: Steel-types like Registeel, Steelix, and Bronzong don't appreciate Encore, but, with correct predictions, they can potentially set their own entry hazards and KO Aurorus with Heavy Slam or Gyro Ball. Cosmic Power Metagross can potentially set up on Aurorus with correct predictions and snowball out of control.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[zizalith, 410251]]
- Quality checked by: [[Yourwelcomethanku, 541847], [GoldCat, 359771]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Adeleine, 517429]]
Aurorus has a small but solid niche as a dedicated Stealth Rock lead on hail hyper offense teams. Thanks to its typing, it can scare out most entry hazard removers such as Dhelmise, Crobat, and Togekiss, thus allowing it to keep Stealth Rock up until it is KOed. Furthermore, Encore dissuades foes from setting entry hazards, and it can provide teammates an opportunity to take advantage of a locked-in foe. However, Aurorus is very slow and has a terrible defensive typing, which makes it hard to do much beyond setting Stealth Rock early-game. For other roles, Abomasnow and Vanilluxe completely outclass it as a primary hail setter or wallbreaker, respectively.
[SET]
name: Hail Lead
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Blizzard
move 3: Encore
move 4: Earth Power / Thunder Wave
item: Focus Sash
ability: Snow Warning
nature: Modest
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
ivs: 0 Atk
[SET COMMENTS]
With a Modest nature, Blizzard OHKOes common entry hazard removers such as Crobat and Dhelmise, which Freeze-Dry fails to do. Encore discourages opposing hazard setters and setup sweepers such as Registeel, Metagross, and Reuniclus from taking advantage of Aurorus, and it potentially opens setup opportunities for its teammates. Earth Power hits Steel- and Fire-types like Lucario and Chandelure directly. Alternatively, Thunder Wave can cripple them, alongside problematic Pokemon like Choice Scarf Heracross and Gardevoir. Finally, Focus Sash guarantees Stealth Rock goes up against the majority of the metagame.
Because of its place in dedicated hail teams, Aurorus is always paired with a secondary hail setter; Abomasnow is almost always preferred because it can deal with Water-types, which can be troublesome for hail teams. This secondary setter is especially important considering that Aurorus must be played offensively, so it's unlikely to survive into the late-game. Similarly, Arctovish and Alolan Sandslash are hail staples, forming a fearsome offensive core and wearing down their own checks together. Hail teams appreciate a lot of role compression in the last two teamslots; glue Pokemon like Xatu, Starmie, Flygon, and Crobat can check off several important requirements, such as checking Fire-, Fighting-, and Steel-types while removing entry hazards. Complements to the offensive hail core, like Toxicroak and Raikou, can be considered as well; Toxicroak sets up on Water-types and Golisopod, while Raikou, besides smashing Water-types, can use Weather Ball in hail to cover Grass- and Dragon-types in one move. Spinblockers like Mimikyu and Doublade can preserve Aurorus's Stealth Rock.
STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Aurorus can run Aurora Veil as its last move, helping its teammates set up before it is KOed, although it has to give up a valuable move and is often too slow to fully take advantage of the move. A defensive Stealth Rock set is a niche primary hail setter over Abomasnow, as Aurorus beats most entry hazard removers, checks Flying-types, and sets Stealth Rock in one teamslot. However, Abomasnow being able to beat Water-types is generally far more important than Aurorus handling hazard setters like Klefki, Nidoqueen, and Metagross, making this set almost entirely unused.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Starmie**: Starmie is the only entry hazard remover that Aurorus can't scare out, and it can even shrug off paralysis with Natural Cure.
**Steel-types**: Steel-types like Registeel, Steelix, and Bronzong don't appreciate Encore, but, with correct predictions, they can potentially set their own entry hazards and KO Aurorus with Heavy Slam or Gyro Ball. Cosmic Power Metagross can potentially set up on Aurorus with correct predictions and snowball out of control.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[zizalith, 410251]]
- Quality checked by: [[Yourwelcomethanku, 541847], [GoldCat, 359771]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Adeleine, 517429]]
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