POTW Pokémon of the Week #73: Snover and Abomasnow

SirOni · Dec 23, 2017

First off, Happy Holidays everyone and I hope the season has treated you well!

In the World of Pokémon, there lives a vast number and variety of amazing creatures to befriend and collect. Every week, we will be focusing on a single one of these Pokémon or evolutionary line and talking about what makes it special. This week's Pokémon of choice is the Abomasnow line!

Hailing from Generation IV Snover and Abomasnow are the Frost Tree Pokémon and are known for possessing the unique Grass/Ice-type combo. These Pokémon live quiet lives on snowy mountains and will migrate to the lower ranges of these mountains during the cold season. Snover and Abomasnow can extend their reach into the surrounding forests and foothills using their innate power to summon snowstorms. They resemble snow-covered vegetation, primarily evergreen trees, as well as the yeti in the case of Abomasnow. Snover also bear some resemblance to daikon radishes, also known as winter radishes due to being traditionally harvested and eaten in the winter. Their “hats” are shaped to look similar to the kanji for mountain (山) which is itself a made to resemble three mountain peaks. During the spring Snover will grow delicious berries, known as Snoverberries, that are said to have the textures of frozen treats. Characterizing these berries like frozen treats may mean they are an allusion to popular Japanese desserts like mochi ice cream and daifuku. Having had very little contact with humans Snover are boldly inquisitive and will gather around footsteps they find in the snow. Abomasnow though often prefer to keep themselves hidden from humankind by whipping up huge blizzards which alter their surroundings and provide effective camouflage. This ability to conjure all forms of snow, sleet, and hail can make their mountain homes extremely dangerous for travelers especially during the winter. They will appear when snow flowers are in bloom and then once again retreat to parts unknown when the flower petals fall. Just like the yeti Abomasnow also has a few monikers such as “The Ice Monster” and unimaginatively “The Abominable Snowman” which it shares with the yeti and is also the origin of its name. The Pokedex literally says it is the Abominable Snowman. They may also be based the juhyou, trees covered in snow known as “snow monsters”. The Japanese name of Abomasnow, Yukinooh, can be easily understood to mean “The King of Snow” which further elucidates this Pokémon’s complete mastery over all things cold and of winter.

Snover and Abomasnow have notable appearances in the games and in the anime. In the games these Pokémon are used by trainers in the Snowpoint and Snowbelle Gyms with the gym leaders Candice and Wulfric respectively using Abomasnow. In Diamond and Pearl Candice also used Snover but no longer had one in Platinum due to more Ice-types available in that game. In the anime these Pokémon are used by these same gym leaders with Candice using her Diamond and Pearl team. Wulfric’s Abomasnow appears to be his main Pokémon as opposed to Avalugg in the games. It has the ability to Mega Evolve and fought a fierce battle against Ash’s Greninja both in their powered up states.

In the realm of battling Abomasnow is mainly known for two big factors. This first is for its Snow Warning ability, which was introduced alongside this Pokémon, that bring forth Hail upon its entry and makes it the premier Hail setter. Even after other Pokémon have gained access to this ability Abomasnow is still the go to for Hail-based teams. The second is its infamous seven weaknesses which is currently the most weaknesses any Pokémon can have. With weaknesses to common attacking types such as Fire and Fighting as well as a vulnerability to Stealth Rocks many people feel that Abomasnow may not be worth choosing for their team. But of course, this is Pokémon where everything has weaknesses, so playing to one’s strengths is the real key to victory. Abomasnow’s types compliment each other nicely with Ice dealing super effective damage to most of the types that resist Grass and the rest easily handled by solid coverage moves like Earthquake and Rock Slide. Abomasnow also boasts some great STAB options with Wood Hammer, Giga Drain, and Ice Shard at its disposal. Of special note is Blizzard which has perfect accuracy under the hailstorm that Abomasnow sets up just by entering the field. Abomasnow is well known for being a good matchup against Water and Ground-types and it performs very well under Trick Room due to its low Speed. With the arrival of Mega Evolution Abomasnow gained some interesting new applications. Along with becoming better under Trick Room due to even lower Speed Mega Abomasnow gave players a reason to use its comparatively underwhelming Soundproof Hidden Ability. Soundproof Abomasnow has given players a new way to fight the weather wars. Since Mega Abomasnow still has Snow Warning as its ability players can now just Mega Evolve it whenever they need their Hail up instead of having to switch Abomasnow in to battle. Though a one time tactic it has proved to be a very convenient tool that has further extended Abomasnow’s utility.

Here are some questions to consider to get conversation rolling. You don't have to answer all of them or any of them in your post as long as you're staying on topic and within global forum rules.
-Do you like or dislike this Pokémon? Why?
-How is this Pokémon in-game?
-How is this Pokémon in competitive play? Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for them?
-Do you like this Pokémon's representation in the anime? Are there any moments or qualities in particular you enjoy/dislike?
-How do you think this Pokémon would interact with our world?
-If given the power to, would you change anything about this Pokémon and if so, what would you change?
-How do you think Snover and Abomasnow compare to other Pokémon with weather summoning abilities?
-Have you ever been discouraged from using these Pokémon because of how many weaknesses they have?
-Would you like to see this unique type combo given to other Pokémon?
If you have any suggestions for Pokémon you'd like to discuss in the future just leave your ideas at the bottom of your post. Make sure you give your thoughts about the current Pokémon first!

Thanks to @CrystaI for suggesting this Pokémon of the Week!

Previous Pokémon of the Week:

Gengarzilla · Dec 24, 2017

-Do you like or dislike this Pokémon? Why?
Abomasnow is one of those Pokémon which I have no powerful feelings towards. It just... exists.

-How is this Pokémon in-game?
Never personally used one and don't plan to. I wouldn't feel right in judging something I have no experience with.

-How is this Pokémon in competitive play? Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for them?
Though I can't work well with slow Pokémon seven times out of ten, I do recognize that a lower Speed stat is pretty important for a weather setter, as the second activated weather overrides the first. In that sense, Abomasnow and its even slower Mega Evolution do pretty well at their primary function.

-Do you like this Pokémon's representation in the anime? Are there any moments or qualities in particular you enjoy/dislike?
It's rather mixed. I really loved seeing the pressure put upon Ash by Candice's Abomasnow, but hated how Wulfric's Abomasnow went from being crushed by Hawlucha to beating a fucking Talonflame and matching Ash-Greninja. I'm fully convinced that he used two different Abomasnow.

On top of all that, this was the point where DP retook its position from XY as my favourite Pokémon anime series. Instead of having Ash ponder endlessly over how to break Avalugg's Ice Body and titanic defenses, like he did with Fantina's Hypnosis spam, we just got another Ash-Greninja beatdown. Don't ever bring this Pokémon back.

-How do you think this Pokémon would interact with our world?
Abominable Snowman conspiracy theories would love this Pokémon.

-If given the power to, would you change anything about this Pokémon and if so, what would you change?
Better Hidden Ability. I hate it when their secret ability is trash compared to their normal abilities.

-How do you think Snover and Abomasnow compare to other Pokémon with weather summoning abilities?
As I've already discussed, slower is better here. Abomasnow and its Mega have that part right but the problem is its typing and hail not being very good.

-Have you ever been discouraged from using these Pokémon because of how many weaknesses they have?
I've used Breloom a lot, having many weaknesses isn't what discourages me. I just don't want to be building a team around hail.

-Would you like to see this unique type combo given to other Pokémon?
I don't see why not, so long as they have a good way around Fire.

ocelotlrama jaguar · Dec 24, 2017

They're neat Pokemon. Not big favorites, but I appreciate their appeal. I never tried them in-game but in a competitive environment, they weren't anything too special. I tried to use Abomasnow as part of a Hail team and it didn't go too well, considering sun, rain, and sandstorm teams tend to be superior, overall. Plus its weaknesses to all kinds of types really makes it difficult to use in any competitive environment. Its stats are bad in normal form, but even its Mega Evolution's stats are nothing over-the-top, especially for a Mega Evolution. It's just nothing special. I guess it could pass as a good in-game team member, but its Snow Warning ability can really make things tough for yourself if you use Pokemon that are not of the Ice-type.

What makes me not dislike this line completely is their roles in the anime of the DP series. I LOVED these guys in the anime. Snover giving its berries and Candice's Abomasnow were fun to watch.

These Pokemon would probably be found up north in mountainous areas. I wish they were real. I love snow and they'd make it snow all the time.

There's not much that could be changed to these two that would make them useful in competitions. Their typing and stats really hurt them, and the fact that Hail conditions only help other Ice-types is a drawback. Maybe beef up their defenses so that way they won't go down in one hit from pretty much anything?

As mentioned before, they are inferior to the likes of Pokemon with Drought, Drizzle, and Sand Stream. Hail only helps Ice-types, and those have numerous weaknesses. Sand Stream is better because it gives an advantage to three types as opposed to just one, and there are mutliple type combos with Rock, Ground, and Steel that don't leave them vulnerable to too many weaknesses. The same cannot be said for Snow Warning.

When it comes to using Pokemon with too many weaknesses, no. I will use Pokemon that have a lot of weaknesses if they can really hold their own. I love using certain Grass-types, and people razz on those as being "too weak" but they can be menacing in the right conditions. I love using Camerupt, a Pokemon weak to numerous types. My problems with Snover and Abomasnow is that not only are the weak to a lot of things, they are slow and their defenses are awful. Snow Warning is a crippling ability for them because you cannot pair them up with anything other than other Ice-types. You can alleviate this by having another Pokemon with a weather changing ability on the field that wouldn't hinder Abomasnow, but too bad Blizzard's accuracy goes down with that drawback.

The typing is unique and I like unique typings, but they need to address the numerous weaknesses and have them stand up to something. Do not give them Snow Warning, either. I hate that ability.

Sunsette · Dec 26, 2017

They're neat. I have more experience with them in the spin-off games (Mystery Dungeon) than the main games, actually, but I can pretty clearly remember Candice's Abomasnow being difficult to deal with without any Fire types on my team to directly counter it.

I appreciate an abominable snowman/yeti-inspired Pokemon, I think cryptids and urban legends are cool and under-used sources for Pokemon. I agree that an additional normal ability besides Snow Warning could make them more viable for both in-game and competitive teams; I get that it's thematic, but Hail is the most annoying weather condition to deal with and is only helpful under specific circumstances.

POTW Pokémon of the Week #73: Snover and Abomasnow

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SirOni

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Gengarzilla

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ocelotlrama jaguar

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Sunsette

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