Hi C&C, I am taking this update over for Franky, who's original thread can be moved to L&O.
Franky's thread: http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63850
I have based this update on Franky's, but have made quite a lot of edits as the metagame has changed a bit since he posted it. Credits to Franky for writing the original thread up!
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/walrein
[OVERVIEW]
<p>Though hail is a more viable strategy in OU due to the presence of Abomasnow, Walrein is still a great candidate for hail in the lower tiers. With hail support from Snover, Walrein can easily stall out many powerful threats with just Protect and Substitute alone. Add in a generous helping of entry hazards and you will find Walrein to be one of the most difficult Pokemon to take out. Unless you have a specific Pokemon to counter Walrein, it won't be easy to defeat it, as passive damage can easily knock you out. Overall, Walrein is a threat even in the lower tiers, and should definitely be prepared for.</p>
[SET]
name: Stallrein
move 1: Protect
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Super Fang / Roar
move 4: Surf / Blizzard
item: Leftovers
ability: Ice Body
nature: Bold
evs: 220 HP / 232 Def / 56 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set performs best in conjunction with Snover because it allows Walrein to activate its near exclusive ability, Ice Body. This specific set shines well when used with Toxic Spikes on the opposing field; the main idea behind this set is to increase residual and poison damage by alternating between Protect and Substitute. Surf or Blizzard ensures Walrein has an attacking move should it be Taunted by the opposing Pokemon. Super Fang is for halving the opponent's health, decreasing the time it'll take to wear out the opponent and decreasing the window of opportunity for your opponent to take out Walrein. With Ice Body and Leftovers, coupled with its 110/90/90 defensive stats, Walrein becomes incredibly durable despite its terrible defensive typing. It is worth noting that this set requires heavy support to function to its full potential.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMETS]
<p>What should go in the third slot totally relies on what you want Walrein to achieve. Super Fang makes the stalling process much faster by slicing the opponent’s current health in half. Walrein with Super Fang can literally bring an opponent down in only a matter of turns with Toxic Spikes on the field. If Super Fang is used, Brine is a good option for the last slot, having double the power if the opponent's HP is below half, making the process even quicker. Roar makes an excellent alternative to Super Fang in order to spread poison damage around the opponent's team, and works even better with Stealth Rock and Spikes on the field. The final choice is a toss up between Blizzard and Surf. Surf is probably the best option because it has the ability to hit Steel-types neutrally, who are immune to Toxic Spikes. On the other hand, Blizzard provides more power to quicken the stalling process. However, the main concern with Blizzard is its meager PP. Walrein becomes vulnerable when facing Taunt users late game once Blizzard's PP is completely drained.</p>
<p>For Walrein, 220 HP EVs puts its HP stat at 416, which is divisible by 16. This is of great importance as with its max possible HP of 424, Walrein's Substitutes would require 106 HP to make, but over the two turns it spends stalling with Substitute and Protect it would only recover back 104 HP. An HP stat that is divisible by 16 is necessary to allow Walrein to stall indefinitely (or at least until its PP runs out). The 56 Speed EVs give Walrein the jump on neutral natured base 70s, most notably Hitmontop, as well as Adamant Rhyperior. This allows Walrein to poison stall them by alternating between Substitute and Protect without getting hit by Close Combat or Stone Edge.</p>
<p>Snover is absolutely mandatory on any team that includes Walrein. Walrein needs hail in play in order to even function. Poison stalling is also vital to Walrein's strategy, and it simply cannot accomplish the task without the right support. Nidoqueen makes an excellent Walrein partner for several reasons; it provides Toxic Spikes support and can reliably place two layers down thanks to its bulk. Nidoqueen also covers Walrein's weaknesses by taking Electric-, Rock-, and Fighting-type hits. Last but not least, Toxic Spikes will severely hinder Walrein's chances of stalling, and Nidoqueen can easily absorb Toxic Spikes for Walrein just by switching in. As an added bonus, Nidoqueen also provides Stealth Rock for Walrein to help deal with Flying-types who are immune to Toxic Spikes. There are several candidates for Toxic Spikes, but most of them share the same weaknesses as Walrein, which makes it hard to set up more than one layer, therefore making Nidoqueen the perfect candidate for the job.</p>
<p>Walrein will appreciate spinblocking support because it generally needs entry hazards to stay on the opponent's side of the field. Spiritomb is an ideal partner because its Ghost-typing allows it to block Rapid Spin and switch in on Fighting-type attacks directed at Walrein. Spiritomb has access to Rest and great bulk, allowing it to switch in throughout the game to block Rapid Spin.</p>
<p>Cloyster is a good teammate for Walrein as well, despite sharing the same typing. Cloyster provides valuable Spikes support, which can be deadly when Walrein is in play. With all three entry hazards on the field, it becomes extremely hard for the opponent to take down Walrein. As for other spinblocking candidates, Mismagius makes an exceptional partner due to its ability to threaten common Rapid Spin users like Donphan, Hitmontop, and Blastoise with its powerful special attacks. Furthermore, Mismagius has Taunt to prevent Hitmontop or Blastoise from using Foresight to bypass its Ghost typing.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>There were many possible sets left out of the main options due to Walrein’s's poor defensive typing. Walrein can run a set with Curse / Avalanche / Earthquake / Rest, but its poor defensive typing along with unreliable healing makes the set's effectiveness questionable. Walrein can run a decent RestTalk set, but it won't stick around for long due to its many weaknesses. Walrein can also run an Encore set to help its teammates set up.</p>
<p>A Choice Band set is plausible, but Walrein is better off stalling rather than attacking. Body Slam, Rock Slide, Ice Fang, and Waterfall are all options. A Choice Specs set could also work, especially with hail on the field, allowing for an 100% accurate Blizzard.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>To put it simply, there are very few hard counters to Walrein. Toxic Spikes is vital to Walrein's success, so if you can prevent them from sticking around on your side of the field, it will be much easier to defeat Walrein. If Toxic Spikes has not been placed down yet, then Poliwrath does well at countering Walrein thanks to its decent defenses, resistance to Ice-, immunity to Water- through Water Absorb, and access to STAB Fighting-type attacks. Toxicroak also work in a similar fashion as Poliwrath, but it doesn't boast the Ice-type resistance; however, it does have immunity to Toxic and can absorb Toxic Spikes just by switching in, which prevents Walrein from stalling it. Lapras is also blessed with Water Absorb and a 4x Ice-type resistance, allowing it to wear down Walrein with Thunderbolt.</p>
<p>From a defensive standpoint, Clefable does well against Walrein thanks to its convenient ability, Magic Guard. Clefable can prevent Walrein from stalling by using Encore to limit its options. Walrein can't do anything back to Clefable thanks to its high Special Defense stat. If Walrein has Blizzard instead of Surf, Registeel can come in and PP stall out Blizzard, forcing Walrein to switch out most of the time. However, Registeel should be cautious of Super Fang.</p>
Franky's thread: http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63850
I have based this update on Franky's, but have made quite a lot of edits as the metagame has changed a bit since he posted it. Credits to Franky for writing the original thread up!
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/walrein
[OVERVIEW]
<p>Though hail is a more viable strategy in OU due to the presence of Abomasnow, Walrein is still a great candidate for hail in the lower tiers. With hail support from Snover, Walrein can easily stall out many powerful threats with just Protect and Substitute alone. Add in a generous helping of entry hazards and you will find Walrein to be one of the most difficult Pokemon to take out. Unless you have a specific Pokemon to counter Walrein, it won't be easy to defeat it, as passive damage can easily knock you out. Overall, Walrein is a threat even in the lower tiers, and should definitely be prepared for.</p>
[SET]
name: Stallrein
move 1: Protect
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Super Fang / Roar
move 4: Surf / Blizzard
item: Leftovers
ability: Ice Body
nature: Bold
evs: 220 HP / 232 Def / 56 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set performs best in conjunction with Snover because it allows Walrein to activate its near exclusive ability, Ice Body. This specific set shines well when used with Toxic Spikes on the opposing field; the main idea behind this set is to increase residual and poison damage by alternating between Protect and Substitute. Surf or Blizzard ensures Walrein has an attacking move should it be Taunted by the opposing Pokemon. Super Fang is for halving the opponent's health, decreasing the time it'll take to wear out the opponent and decreasing the window of opportunity for your opponent to take out Walrein. With Ice Body and Leftovers, coupled with its 110/90/90 defensive stats, Walrein becomes incredibly durable despite its terrible defensive typing. It is worth noting that this set requires heavy support to function to its full potential.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMETS]
<p>What should go in the third slot totally relies on what you want Walrein to achieve. Super Fang makes the stalling process much faster by slicing the opponent’s current health in half. Walrein with Super Fang can literally bring an opponent down in only a matter of turns with Toxic Spikes on the field. If Super Fang is used, Brine is a good option for the last slot, having double the power if the opponent's HP is below half, making the process even quicker. Roar makes an excellent alternative to Super Fang in order to spread poison damage around the opponent's team, and works even better with Stealth Rock and Spikes on the field. The final choice is a toss up between Blizzard and Surf. Surf is probably the best option because it has the ability to hit Steel-types neutrally, who are immune to Toxic Spikes. On the other hand, Blizzard provides more power to quicken the stalling process. However, the main concern with Blizzard is its meager PP. Walrein becomes vulnerable when facing Taunt users late game once Blizzard's PP is completely drained.</p>
<p>For Walrein, 220 HP EVs puts its HP stat at 416, which is divisible by 16. This is of great importance as with its max possible HP of 424, Walrein's Substitutes would require 106 HP to make, but over the two turns it spends stalling with Substitute and Protect it would only recover back 104 HP. An HP stat that is divisible by 16 is necessary to allow Walrein to stall indefinitely (or at least until its PP runs out). The 56 Speed EVs give Walrein the jump on neutral natured base 70s, most notably Hitmontop, as well as Adamant Rhyperior. This allows Walrein to poison stall them by alternating between Substitute and Protect without getting hit by Close Combat or Stone Edge.</p>
<p>Snover is absolutely mandatory on any team that includes Walrein. Walrein needs hail in play in order to even function. Poison stalling is also vital to Walrein's strategy, and it simply cannot accomplish the task without the right support. Nidoqueen makes an excellent Walrein partner for several reasons; it provides Toxic Spikes support and can reliably place two layers down thanks to its bulk. Nidoqueen also covers Walrein's weaknesses by taking Electric-, Rock-, and Fighting-type hits. Last but not least, Toxic Spikes will severely hinder Walrein's chances of stalling, and Nidoqueen can easily absorb Toxic Spikes for Walrein just by switching in. As an added bonus, Nidoqueen also provides Stealth Rock for Walrein to help deal with Flying-types who are immune to Toxic Spikes. There are several candidates for Toxic Spikes, but most of them share the same weaknesses as Walrein, which makes it hard to set up more than one layer, therefore making Nidoqueen the perfect candidate for the job.</p>
<p>Walrein will appreciate spinblocking support because it generally needs entry hazards to stay on the opponent's side of the field. Spiritomb is an ideal partner because its Ghost-typing allows it to block Rapid Spin and switch in on Fighting-type attacks directed at Walrein. Spiritomb has access to Rest and great bulk, allowing it to switch in throughout the game to block Rapid Spin.</p>
<p>Cloyster is a good teammate for Walrein as well, despite sharing the same typing. Cloyster provides valuable Spikes support, which can be deadly when Walrein is in play. With all three entry hazards on the field, it becomes extremely hard for the opponent to take down Walrein. As for other spinblocking candidates, Mismagius makes an exceptional partner due to its ability to threaten common Rapid Spin users like Donphan, Hitmontop, and Blastoise with its powerful special attacks. Furthermore, Mismagius has Taunt to prevent Hitmontop or Blastoise from using Foresight to bypass its Ghost typing.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>There were many possible sets left out of the main options due to Walrein’s's poor defensive typing. Walrein can run a set with Curse / Avalanche / Earthquake / Rest, but its poor defensive typing along with unreliable healing makes the set's effectiveness questionable. Walrein can run a decent RestTalk set, but it won't stick around for long due to its many weaknesses. Walrein can also run an Encore set to help its teammates set up.</p>
<p>A Choice Band set is plausible, but Walrein is better off stalling rather than attacking. Body Slam, Rock Slide, Ice Fang, and Waterfall are all options. A Choice Specs set could also work, especially with hail on the field, allowing for an 100% accurate Blizzard.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>To put it simply, there are very few hard counters to Walrein. Toxic Spikes is vital to Walrein's success, so if you can prevent them from sticking around on your side of the field, it will be much easier to defeat Walrein. If Toxic Spikes has not been placed down yet, then Poliwrath does well at countering Walrein thanks to its decent defenses, resistance to Ice-, immunity to Water- through Water Absorb, and access to STAB Fighting-type attacks. Toxicroak also work in a similar fashion as Poliwrath, but it doesn't boast the Ice-type resistance; however, it does have immunity to Toxic and can absorb Toxic Spikes just by switching in, which prevents Walrein from stalling it. Lapras is also blessed with Water Absorb and a 4x Ice-type resistance, allowing it to wear down Walrein with Thunderbolt.</p>
<p>From a defensive standpoint, Clefable does well against Walrein thanks to its convenient ability, Magic Guard. Clefable can prevent Walrein from stalling by using Encore to limit its options. Walrein can't do anything back to Clefable thanks to its high Special Defense stat. If Walrein has Blizzard instead of Surf, Registeel can come in and PP stall out Blizzard, forcing Walrein to switch out most of the time. However, Registeel should be cautious of Super Fang.</p>
