Mamoswine (Ground)
QC: Eien / Misaka Mikoto / terrors
GP: CryoGyro
[OVERVIEW]
Ground
========
* Mamoswine has a unique Ice / Ground typing, which is one of the best offensive typings due to having STAB combination that very few Pokemon resist, and a strong offensive presence in that it can tear through many matchups such as against Flying-, Grass-, and Dragon-type teams. It also signifcantly eases the matchup against opposing Ground-type teams.
* Access to priority in Ice Shard makes Mamoswine invaluable on Ground-type teams.
* Mamoswine is the only Ground-type Pokemon that can resist Ice-type attacks thanks to Thick Fat.
* Mamoswine has useful coverage with which to hit most of the metagame, including Icicle Crash, Icicle Spear, Knock Off, and Superpower.
* Its high base 130 Attack makes it a very powerful wallbreaker.
* Mamoswine has decent bulk for an offensive wallbreaker.
* Mamoswine's base 80 Speed is mediocre at best, and without Choice Scarf, it is outsped by many offensive threats such as Meloetta.
* Unfortunately, other than its Ice-type resistance with Thick Fat, Mamoswine's typing is poor defensively, leaving it weak to many common types including Water, Grass, Fighting, and Steel.
* Although Mamoswine can be a powerful wallbreaker, it is still countered by certain defensive cores such as Skarmory and Mega Scizor.
[SET]
name: Wallbreaker (Ground)
move 1: Icicle Crash / Icicle Spear
move 2: Ice Shard
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Superpower / Knock Off
item: Choice Band
ability: Thick Fat
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Icicle Crash is Mamoswine's most powerful Ice-type STAB move and can potentially flinch foes.
* Icicle Spear can be used over Icicle Crash to break through users of Substitute, Focus Sash, or Sturdy, most notably Breloom. It has higher accuracy than Icicle Crash, but relies on getting a high number of hits to do more damage and cannot flinch opponents.
* Ice Shard is one of Mamoswine's key selling points, as it is priority and can check many faster threats and sweepers such as Thundurus. It also helps in picking off weakened foes too, especially if they're faster than Mamoswine.
* Earthquake is a powerful Ground STAB move used to target Steel-types such as Magearna.
* Superpower is important coverage against Normal- and Ice-type Pokemon such as Chansey and Lapras. It is also used to OHKO Air Balloon Heatran.
* Knock Off is used to remove Porygon2's Eviolite along with providing decent coverage against Psychic- and Ghost-type cores.
Set Details
========
* Maximum Attack EVs are used to make Mamoswine as strong as possible.
* 252 Speed EVs let Mamoswine check threats such as Adamant Tapu Bulu, Timid Magearna, and standard Zapdos.
* Choice Band allows for maximum damage output and turns Mamoswine into a devastating wallbreaker.
* An Adamant nature is usually preferred as it boosts Mamoswine's Attack and grants notable OHKOs against threats such as Latios and Hawlucha after Stealth Rock damage. It is also necessary to enable Superpower to 2HKO Porygon2.
* A Jolly nature should be used with Icicle Spear to break Substitute Zapdos and Focus Sash users such as Breloom and Smeargle, as it allows Mamoswine to outspeed them. Jolly can also be important to at least Speed tie with opposing Mamoswines.
* Thick Fat is used to tank Ice-type attacks.
Usage Tips
========
* It is important to identify threats that can be OHKOed with Ice Shard such as Landorus so that Mamoswine can be used to check them.
* Icicle Crash can be used to wallbreak in certain matchups such as against Flying teams, which cannot safely counter it.
* Although Thick Fat allows Mamoswine to resist Ice-type attacks, it must switch into them cautiously, as opponents will likely predict it and choose another move. For example, a Thundurus with Hidden Power [Ice] may choose to use Grass Knot instead, predicting Mamoswine to switch in.
* Mamoswine must watch out for opposing priority users such as Bullet Punch Mega Scizor and Aqua Jet Azumarill, as they can easily knock it out. Also, it should be noted that +1 Dragonite's Extreme Speed can deal a large amount of damage, making it difficult for Mamoswine to check Dragonite at times.
* Choice Band locks Mamoswine into its first move when used, so it is important to predict the opponent's plays when choosing a move. For example, if an opponent with a Grass team has a Breloom out, you may want to use Ice Shard and KO it, but if they switch to a Ferrothorn, you will be in a bad position by being locked into Ice Shard.
* Superpower lowers Mamoswine's Attack and Defense when used, potentially making it set-up bait.
* Knock Off can be used to remove items from checks and counters early-game.
* Avoid Kyurem-B's Ice Beam, as it has Teravolt, which negates Mamoswine's Thick Fat ability.
Team Options
========
* Gastrodon or Seismitoad can provide a Water-type immunity to compensate for Mamoswine's weakness; such an immunity is necessary to deal with Water-type walls such as Rotom-W and Tapu Fini along with offensive Water-type threats such as Greninja.
* Special wallbreakers such as Landorus and Nidoking compliment Mamoswine exceptionally by breaking through Pokemon Mamoswine struggles against such as Skarmory, forming a wallbreaking core.
* Dugtrio can be used to trap and check Pokemon such as Greninja and Excadrill that threaten Mamoswine such as Greninja and Excadrill.
* Hippowdon is a good wall that counters physical threats such as Buzzwole.
* Sand Rush Excadrill is used in tandem with Hippowdon to sweep and check Pokemon that threaten Mamoswine such as Keldeo.
* Double Dance Landorus-T can sweep more easily with Mamoswine's support and is capable of breaking walls such as Skarmory and Rotom-W for Mamoswine.
* Garchomp appreciates Mamoswine's pseudo-Ice resistance. In return, it can run either Choice Scarf to revenge kill threats like Greninja for Mamoswine or Swords Dance to wallbreak alongside it.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf (Ground)
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Icicle Crash
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Superpower / Stone Edge
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Thick Fat
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Earthquake is the essential Ground-type STAB attack and Mamoswine's most powerful move.
* Icicle Crash is Mamoswine's most reliable Ice-type STAB attack and can potentially flinch foes while targetting Flying- and Grass-types.
* Although Mamoswine already has Choice Scarf to outspeed foes, Ice Shard is still necessary in order to check threats such Mach Punch Breloom and Unburden-boosted Hawlucha.
* Superpower provides coverage against Dark- and Ice-type threats such as Greninja and Weavile. It can also be used to target Air Balloon Heatran and Chansey.
* Stone Edge allows Mamoswine to lure and OHKO Mega Charizard Y or Mega Pinsir, along with providing coverage against Mantine and Pelipper.
* Knock Off can be used to cripple switch-ins such as Eviolite Porygon2, although it usually isn't worth using over important coverage.
Set Details
========
* Maximum Attack and Speed investment is necessary to make Mamoswine as fast and strong as possible.
* Choice Scarf is the basis of this set and allows Mamoswine to out speed the majority of the unboosted metagame.
* A Jolly natue is necessary to check base 130 Speed Pokemon such as Tapu Koko and Crobat along with Choice Scarf Tapu Bulu, which can be very difficult to handle otherwise.
* Thick Fat allows Mamoswine to tank Ice-type attacks.
Usage Tips
========
* Choice Scarf allows Mamoswine to become important Speed control on Ground teams, and able to revenge kill threats such as Tapu Koko and Greninja.
* It can be important to keep Mamoswine from fainting in many matchups where Speed control is important, as it may need to check fast threats such as Greninja.
* Thick Fat allows Mamoswine to resist Ice-type attacks, but it must switch into them cautiously, as opponents will likely predict it and choose a more threatening move instead.
* Priority users such as Bullet Punch Mega Scizor and Aqua Jet Azumarill can KO Mamoswine and so should be avoided.
* Mamoswine can often become set up bait due to being locked into a move and its lack of boosted Attack. Superpower lowers Mamoswine's Attack and Defense, which makes this even worse.
* When Stone Edge is being used to bait Mega Charizard Y, it can be useful to hide it at first and play safe until your opponent is confident you lack the move so that you can successfully lure the threat.
* Mamoswine has potential for cleaning late-game when walls and faster threats are dealt with. It should be noted that keeping Mamoswine's HP high is usually important for this to work.
* Bluffing non-Choice Scarf Mamoswine is useful to surprise your opponent by unexpectedly outspeeding a foe.
Team Options
========
* Seismitoad or Gastrodon can provide Water-type immunity, making one of them necessary to counter Water-type walls such as Slowbro and Rotom-W. Seismitoad is usually a better teammate because this set is easy setup bait for Azumarill, which Seismitoad can check with Sludge Wave.
* Mega Garchomp and Landorus make excellent teammates, as Mamoswine can tank the Ice-type moves they're weak to, while Mega Garchomp and Landorus can be used to break walls that counter Mamoswine such as Ferrothorn.
* Hippowdon can function as a good wall to counter offensive Pokemon such as Buzzwole that threaten Mamoswine and sets up Stealth Rock, which helps chip away at threats to put them into Mamoswine's range. Choice Scarf Mamoswine can also lure Mega Charizard Y, which is great for Hippowdon.
* Sand Rush Excadrill under sand provided by Hippowdon can be used to sweep, check Pokemon that threaten Mamoswine such as Keldeo, and help against Ice-types such as Kyurem-B.
* Swords Dance Garchomp can be a useful teammate for wallbreaking Pokemon such as Mega Venusaur.
* Dugtrio can help by trapping and removing walls and other threats to Mamoswine such as Chansey.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Ground
--------
* Life Orb is usable over Choice Band for the option of changing moves when necessary, but is notably weaker and comes at the cost of some HP whenever a move is used.
* Icicle Spear can be used on the Choice Scarf set to potentially break through fast Focus Sash hazard-setting leads such as Galvantula and Aerodactyl along with Substitute Serperior. However, all of these things require several hits, making it unreliable.
* A Focus Sash lead set with Oblivious can be ran with Stealth Rock and possibly Endeavor, but is generally inferior to other Mamoswine sets unless a Stealth Rock user is sorely needed.
* Freeze Dry with Life Orb is an option to target Water-type threats such as Swampert and Rotom-W, but is weak due to Mamoswine's low Special Attack and is less useful than other coverage moves.
Checks and Counters
===================
Ground
--------
**Revenge Killers**: Non-Choice Scarf Mamoswine is outsped by many threats that can KO it such as Keldeo. Mamoswine can also be threatened by priority; Bullet Punch Mega Scizor and Aqua Jet Azumarill can easily check any Mamoswine.
**Offensive Water-types**: Offensive Water-types such as Keldeo can prove to be a major threat; Keldeo in particular is faster and can easily KO Mamoswine with either of its STAB attacks. Choice Scarf Mamoswine cannot OHKO Keldeo even after Stealth Rock damage, and Choice Scarf Keldeo is faster. Gyarados lowers Mamoswine's Attack by switching in and is immune to Earthquake, giving it the opportunity to set up Dragon Dance. Bulkier Water-types such as Tapu Fini can also be annoying.
**Offensive Fighting-types**: Buzzwole is a major threat to Mamoswine and completely counters it with its high defenses, Ground-type resistance, and Fighting-type STAB attacks. Other Pokemon such as Conkeldurr can check Mamoswine by using Drain Punch to restore HP after tanking a hit, or by picking it off with Mach Punch priority.
**Physical Walls**: Choice Scarf Mamoswine is easily walled by many physical walls such as Skarmory, and while Choice Band can usually break most defensive cores, walls such as Slowbro can still take it on by pivoting with Regenerator. Rotom-W also completely shuts it down.
**Setup Sweepers**: Mamoswine, especially the Choice Scarf set, can often end up being setup bait against threats such as Swords Dance Mega Scizor and Z-Belly Drum Azumarill, as they take its hits well. Once Mamoswine locks itself into a move due to its Choice item, these kinds of Pokemon can usually take advantage of it.
QC: Eien / Misaka Mikoto / terrors
GP: CryoGyro
[OVERVIEW]
Ground
========
* Mamoswine has a unique Ice / Ground typing, which is one of the best offensive typings due to having STAB combination that very few Pokemon resist, and a strong offensive presence in that it can tear through many matchups such as against Flying-, Grass-, and Dragon-type teams. It also signifcantly eases the matchup against opposing Ground-type teams.
* Access to priority in Ice Shard makes Mamoswine invaluable on Ground-type teams.
* Mamoswine is the only Ground-type Pokemon that can resist Ice-type attacks thanks to Thick Fat.
* Mamoswine has useful coverage with which to hit most of the metagame, including Icicle Crash, Icicle Spear, Knock Off, and Superpower.
* Its high base 130 Attack makes it a very powerful wallbreaker.
* Mamoswine has decent bulk for an offensive wallbreaker.
* Mamoswine's base 80 Speed is mediocre at best, and without Choice Scarf, it is outsped by many offensive threats such as Meloetta.
* Unfortunately, other than its Ice-type resistance with Thick Fat, Mamoswine's typing is poor defensively, leaving it weak to many common types including Water, Grass, Fighting, and Steel.
* Although Mamoswine can be a powerful wallbreaker, it is still countered by certain defensive cores such as Skarmory and Mega Scizor.
[SET]
name: Wallbreaker (Ground)
move 1: Icicle Crash / Icicle Spear
move 2: Ice Shard
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Superpower / Knock Off
item: Choice Band
ability: Thick Fat
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Icicle Crash is Mamoswine's most powerful Ice-type STAB move and can potentially flinch foes.
* Icicle Spear can be used over Icicle Crash to break through users of Substitute, Focus Sash, or Sturdy, most notably Breloom. It has higher accuracy than Icicle Crash, but relies on getting a high number of hits to do more damage and cannot flinch opponents.
* Ice Shard is one of Mamoswine's key selling points, as it is priority and can check many faster threats and sweepers such as Thundurus. It also helps in picking off weakened foes too, especially if they're faster than Mamoswine.
* Earthquake is a powerful Ground STAB move used to target Steel-types such as Magearna.
* Superpower is important coverage against Normal- and Ice-type Pokemon such as Chansey and Lapras. It is also used to OHKO Air Balloon Heatran.
* Knock Off is used to remove Porygon2's Eviolite along with providing decent coverage against Psychic- and Ghost-type cores.
Set Details
========
* Maximum Attack EVs are used to make Mamoswine as strong as possible.
* 252 Speed EVs let Mamoswine check threats such as Adamant Tapu Bulu, Timid Magearna, and standard Zapdos.
* Choice Band allows for maximum damage output and turns Mamoswine into a devastating wallbreaker.
* An Adamant nature is usually preferred as it boosts Mamoswine's Attack and grants notable OHKOs against threats such as Latios and Hawlucha after Stealth Rock damage. It is also necessary to enable Superpower to 2HKO Porygon2.
* A Jolly nature should be used with Icicle Spear to break Substitute Zapdos and Focus Sash users such as Breloom and Smeargle, as it allows Mamoswine to outspeed them. Jolly can also be important to at least Speed tie with opposing Mamoswines.
* Thick Fat is used to tank Ice-type attacks.
Usage Tips
========
* It is important to identify threats that can be OHKOed with Ice Shard such as Landorus so that Mamoswine can be used to check them.
* Icicle Crash can be used to wallbreak in certain matchups such as against Flying teams, which cannot safely counter it.
* Although Thick Fat allows Mamoswine to resist Ice-type attacks, it must switch into them cautiously, as opponents will likely predict it and choose another move. For example, a Thundurus with Hidden Power [Ice] may choose to use Grass Knot instead, predicting Mamoswine to switch in.
* Mamoswine must watch out for opposing priority users such as Bullet Punch Mega Scizor and Aqua Jet Azumarill, as they can easily knock it out. Also, it should be noted that +1 Dragonite's Extreme Speed can deal a large amount of damage, making it difficult for Mamoswine to check Dragonite at times.
* Choice Band locks Mamoswine into its first move when used, so it is important to predict the opponent's plays when choosing a move. For example, if an opponent with a Grass team has a Breloom out, you may want to use Ice Shard and KO it, but if they switch to a Ferrothorn, you will be in a bad position by being locked into Ice Shard.
* Superpower lowers Mamoswine's Attack and Defense when used, potentially making it set-up bait.
* Knock Off can be used to remove items from checks and counters early-game.
* Avoid Kyurem-B's Ice Beam, as it has Teravolt, which negates Mamoswine's Thick Fat ability.
Team Options
========
* Gastrodon or Seismitoad can provide a Water-type immunity to compensate for Mamoswine's weakness; such an immunity is necessary to deal with Water-type walls such as Rotom-W and Tapu Fini along with offensive Water-type threats such as Greninja.
* Special wallbreakers such as Landorus and Nidoking compliment Mamoswine exceptionally by breaking through Pokemon Mamoswine struggles against such as Skarmory, forming a wallbreaking core.
* Dugtrio can be used to trap and check Pokemon such as Greninja and Excadrill that threaten Mamoswine such as Greninja and Excadrill.
* Hippowdon is a good wall that counters physical threats such as Buzzwole.
* Sand Rush Excadrill is used in tandem with Hippowdon to sweep and check Pokemon that threaten Mamoswine such as Keldeo.
* Double Dance Landorus-T can sweep more easily with Mamoswine's support and is capable of breaking walls such as Skarmory and Rotom-W for Mamoswine.
* Garchomp appreciates Mamoswine's pseudo-Ice resistance. In return, it can run either Choice Scarf to revenge kill threats like Greninja for Mamoswine or Swords Dance to wallbreak alongside it.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf (Ground)
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Icicle Crash
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Superpower / Stone Edge
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Thick Fat
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Earthquake is the essential Ground-type STAB attack and Mamoswine's most powerful move.
* Icicle Crash is Mamoswine's most reliable Ice-type STAB attack and can potentially flinch foes while targetting Flying- and Grass-types.
* Although Mamoswine already has Choice Scarf to outspeed foes, Ice Shard is still necessary in order to check threats such Mach Punch Breloom and Unburden-boosted Hawlucha.
* Superpower provides coverage against Dark- and Ice-type threats such as Greninja and Weavile. It can also be used to target Air Balloon Heatran and Chansey.
* Stone Edge allows Mamoswine to lure and OHKO Mega Charizard Y or Mega Pinsir, along with providing coverage against Mantine and Pelipper.
* Knock Off can be used to cripple switch-ins such as Eviolite Porygon2, although it usually isn't worth using over important coverage.
Set Details
========
* Maximum Attack and Speed investment is necessary to make Mamoswine as fast and strong as possible.
* Choice Scarf is the basis of this set and allows Mamoswine to out speed the majority of the unboosted metagame.
* A Jolly natue is necessary to check base 130 Speed Pokemon such as Tapu Koko and Crobat along with Choice Scarf Tapu Bulu, which can be very difficult to handle otherwise.
* Thick Fat allows Mamoswine to tank Ice-type attacks.
Usage Tips
========
* Choice Scarf allows Mamoswine to become important Speed control on Ground teams, and able to revenge kill threats such as Tapu Koko and Greninja.
* It can be important to keep Mamoswine from fainting in many matchups where Speed control is important, as it may need to check fast threats such as Greninja.
* Thick Fat allows Mamoswine to resist Ice-type attacks, but it must switch into them cautiously, as opponents will likely predict it and choose a more threatening move instead.
* Priority users such as Bullet Punch Mega Scizor and Aqua Jet Azumarill can KO Mamoswine and so should be avoided.
* Mamoswine can often become set up bait due to being locked into a move and its lack of boosted Attack. Superpower lowers Mamoswine's Attack and Defense, which makes this even worse.
* When Stone Edge is being used to bait Mega Charizard Y, it can be useful to hide it at first and play safe until your opponent is confident you lack the move so that you can successfully lure the threat.
* Mamoswine has potential for cleaning late-game when walls and faster threats are dealt with. It should be noted that keeping Mamoswine's HP high is usually important for this to work.
* Bluffing non-Choice Scarf Mamoswine is useful to surprise your opponent by unexpectedly outspeeding a foe.
Team Options
========
* Seismitoad or Gastrodon can provide Water-type immunity, making one of them necessary to counter Water-type walls such as Slowbro and Rotom-W. Seismitoad is usually a better teammate because this set is easy setup bait for Azumarill, which Seismitoad can check with Sludge Wave.
* Mega Garchomp and Landorus make excellent teammates, as Mamoswine can tank the Ice-type moves they're weak to, while Mega Garchomp and Landorus can be used to break walls that counter Mamoswine such as Ferrothorn.
* Hippowdon can function as a good wall to counter offensive Pokemon such as Buzzwole that threaten Mamoswine and sets up Stealth Rock, which helps chip away at threats to put them into Mamoswine's range. Choice Scarf Mamoswine can also lure Mega Charizard Y, which is great for Hippowdon.
* Sand Rush Excadrill under sand provided by Hippowdon can be used to sweep, check Pokemon that threaten Mamoswine such as Keldeo, and help against Ice-types such as Kyurem-B.
* Swords Dance Garchomp can be a useful teammate for wallbreaking Pokemon such as Mega Venusaur.
* Dugtrio can help by trapping and removing walls and other threats to Mamoswine such as Chansey.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Ground
--------
* Life Orb is usable over Choice Band for the option of changing moves when necessary, but is notably weaker and comes at the cost of some HP whenever a move is used.
* Icicle Spear can be used on the Choice Scarf set to potentially break through fast Focus Sash hazard-setting leads such as Galvantula and Aerodactyl along with Substitute Serperior. However, all of these things require several hits, making it unreliable.
* A Focus Sash lead set with Oblivious can be ran with Stealth Rock and possibly Endeavor, but is generally inferior to other Mamoswine sets unless a Stealth Rock user is sorely needed.
* Freeze Dry with Life Orb is an option to target Water-type threats such as Swampert and Rotom-W, but is weak due to Mamoswine's low Special Attack and is less useful than other coverage moves.
Checks and Counters
===================
Ground
--------
**Revenge Killers**: Non-Choice Scarf Mamoswine is outsped by many threats that can KO it such as Keldeo. Mamoswine can also be threatened by priority; Bullet Punch Mega Scizor and Aqua Jet Azumarill can easily check any Mamoswine.
**Offensive Water-types**: Offensive Water-types such as Keldeo can prove to be a major threat; Keldeo in particular is faster and can easily KO Mamoswine with either of its STAB attacks. Choice Scarf Mamoswine cannot OHKO Keldeo even after Stealth Rock damage, and Choice Scarf Keldeo is faster. Gyarados lowers Mamoswine's Attack by switching in and is immune to Earthquake, giving it the opportunity to set up Dragon Dance. Bulkier Water-types such as Tapu Fini can also be annoying.
**Offensive Fighting-types**: Buzzwole is a major threat to Mamoswine and completely counters it with its high defenses, Ground-type resistance, and Fighting-type STAB attacks. Other Pokemon such as Conkeldurr can check Mamoswine by using Drain Punch to restore HP after tanking a hit, or by picking it off with Mach Punch priority.
**Physical Walls**: Choice Scarf Mamoswine is easily walled by many physical walls such as Skarmory, and while Choice Band can usually break most defensive cores, walls such as Slowbro can still take it on by pivoting with Regenerator. Rotom-W also completely shuts it down.
**Setup Sweepers**: Mamoswine, especially the Choice Scarf set, can often end up being setup bait against threats such as Swords Dance Mega Scizor and Z-Belly Drum Azumarill, as they take its hits well. Once Mamoswine locks itself into a move due to its Choice item, these kinds of Pokemon can usually take advantage of it.
Last edited:
