Sandslash-Alola [QC 3/3] [GP 0/2]



[OVERVIEW]

Alolan Sandslash has a unique niche in the NU tier, with the combination of its ability Slush Rush and the move Aurora Veil making it a very valuable member on hyper-offensive teams. Alolan Sandslash's doubled speed under Hail allows it to set up Aurora Veil before it is fainted. Additonally, this Pokemon's typing gives it resistances to Bug, Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Ice, and Psychic type moves, and an immunity to Poison. This makes it easier for Alolan Sandslash to get up Aurora Veil. Unfortunately, Alolan Sandslash's 4x weaknesses to Fire and Fighting-type moves and its 2x weakness to Ground-type moves means it can potentially be KO'd even with Aurora Veil active. Alolan Sandslash isn't deadweight under Hail, as strong moves such as Icicle Crash and Earthquake can help it nab important chip damage or KOs. However, this Pokemon functions best on teams built specifically around its ability to set up Aurora Veil, and should seldom be used outside of this role.

[SET]
name: Aurora Veil Setter
move 1: Aurora Veil
move 2: Icicle Crash
move 3: Rapid Spin
move 4:Earthquake / Iron Head
item: Light Clay
ability: Slush Rush
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 atk / 4 def / 252 spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Aurora Veil halves the damage a team takes from special and physical moves for 5 turns, a number that becomes 8 turns with Light Clay. Alolan Sandslash's #1 priority is to set this up under Hail, so its teammates can abuse it and sweep. Icicle Crash is Alolan Sandslash's strongest physical STAB move, and while its accuracy is 90%, it has a 30% chance to flinch and does a minimum of 94% to standard Swords Dance Virizion, and up to 86% to max HP Braviary. Rapid Spin is used only to get rid of hazards, and with Slush Rush active, Alolan Sandslash with this spread outspeeds and can Rapid Spin on any viable Pokemon in the NU metagame that is not a Ghost type. Earthquake can be used as a way to get chip damage on Steel-types and Fire-types, most notably a Pokemon like Steelix. Additionally, Earthquake does respectable damage to Emboar, Incineroar, Toxicroak, Delphox, and other Fire and Steel-Types. Iron Head can be used to hit Ice-type switch ins to Alolan Sandslash such as Cryogonal and Piloswine.

Set Details
========
252 Speed with a Jolly nature ensures that Alolan Sandslash outspeeds almost every relevant Choice Scarf user in NU, including Emboar, Drapion, Rotom, and Typhlosion. It should be noted, however, that Choice Scarf Delphox outspeeds Alolan Sandslash under Hail. Alolan Sandslash's item, Light Clay, ensures that Aurora veil lasts 8 turns as opposed to the original 5. These extra turns could be crucial to other team members looking to set up while taking reduced damage. Most importantly, Slush Rush is a far better ability than Snow Cloak in this role, because Slush Rush allows Alolan Sandslash to outspeed almost everything in order to get Aurora Veil up.

Usage Tips
========
Alolan Sandslash's primary goal as an Aurora Veil setter is to set up the Veil, remove hazards, and get out of the way by either being intentionally sacrificed or switched out. Keep in mind that the faster Alolan Sandslash is stowed away or fainted, the longer the rest of the team has to abuse Aurora Veil. Additionally, This Pokemon is fairly bulky on the physical side, meaning it can occasionally come in tank most non-super effective hits. This includes Ice-type moves from Sneasel, which Alolan Sandslash quad resists. However, its low base Special Defense stat means that switching in on special attacking moves could be risky. When switching in, Alolan Sandslash should normally be coming in on paralyzed or slow Pokemon, or while Hail is active. Alolan Sandslash is not used offensively as an Aurora Veil setter, but can occasionally act in an offensive manner when an opponent lacks switch ins to Ice type moves.

Team Options
========
Alolan Sandslash is nothing more than an outclassed physical wall without hail, and cannot set up Aurora Veil without the presence of hail, so Snow Warning Pokemon such as Aurorus, Abomasnow, or Vanilluxe are almost required partners, with Aurorus often working better because it can also set up Stealth rocks, providing role compression. A team featuring Aurora Veil Alolan Sandslash is usually made up of a Snow Warning Pokemon (such as Abomasnow, Aurorus, or Vanilluxe) and Alolan Sandslash, followed by four setup sweepers or major threats. To truly get the most out of the Aurora Veil, it is recommended that the other four Pokemon are potent attackers with decent movepools and setup moves. Examples of possible teammates that fit this bill are Virizion, Mismagius, Turtonator, and Emboar. Due to Alolan Sandslash's typing, a Choice Scarf Emboar could lock itself into Flare Blitz or Superpower while trying to faint it. This could be used to allow Pokemon that resist Fire- and Fighting-type moves to set up after Alolan Sandslash is fainted. Examples of such Pokemon include Vivillon, Turtonator, and Houndoom.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
When using Alolan Sandslash as an Aurora Veil setter, one could potentially replace the move Earthquake with Brick Break. This allows Alolan Sandslash to win a mirror matchup against another Alolan Sandslash by removing the opponent's Aurora Veil and OHKOing the opposing Sandslash. This is not used often, however, ans mirror matchups are uncommon, and Earthquake hits more threats for more damage. Alolan Sandslash can be used in an offensive sweeping manner, as well. When used like this, it is usually Adamant Nature with max Attack and Speed EVs and holding a Life Orb, with the moves Icicle Crash, Iron Head, Earthquake, and Swords Dance. With a Swords Dance up and Hail Active, very few Pokemon can take on Alolan Sandslash. However, it is occasionally outclassed as a Slush Rush sweeper by Beartic, who, despite having a lower speed, has a more diverse movepool, higher base Attack, and access to Swords Dance as well. Alolan Sandslash also lacks the coverage and power to threaten some walls.
Another offensive way to use Sandslash is using the Groundium Z item in conjunction with the move Earthquake. Groundium Z Earthquake is used to hit Water types and Steelix/Rhydon harder. This, however, is arguably worse than the Life Orb variant of Slush Rush Alolan Sandslash and Beartic, as it only delivers one supercharged hit as opposed to making every move stronger, like a Life Orb does. Alolan Sandslash can set up its own Hail, but this Pokemon's moveset rarely has room for this.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Water types**: Water types hard wall Alolan Sandslash, usually resisting both of its STAB moves. Alolan Sandslash just lacks the power, usually, to get through these counters. Groundium Z can be run to hit these Pokemon hard with a neutral attack, but the aforementioned set is probably the worst Alolan Sandslash has to offer. Water-types that wall Alolan Sandslash include the likes of Vaporeon, Slowbro, and Seismitoad.

**Weather / Weather Setters**: Any form of weather that is not Hail puts Alolan Sandslash at a disadvantage, as its speed tier without Slush Rush active is quite mediocre, and it can only set up Aurora Veil under Hail. Additionally, relevant weather setters such as Liepard and Uxie can set up different weather with access to the moves Sunny Day and Rain Dance, both of which negatively impact Alolan Sandslash.

**Fire and Fighting-types**: Fighting and Fire are the two types of moves Alolan Sandslash is 4x weak to, meaning anytime an offensive presence with these moves is on the field, one must sacrifice or switch out Alolan Sandslash immediately. Emboar, Typhlosion, and Delphox are all major threats in this sense.

**Hitmonlee**: Hitmonlee is a massive threat to Alolan Sandslash, with Life Orb Mach Punch OHKOing Alolan Sandslash 75% of the time without Aurora Veil up. Because Alolan Sandslash's only legitimate niche in NU is to get up Aurora Veil, Hitmonlee can potentially render Alolan Sandslash entirely useless.
 
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imo the only set should be aurora veil setter. The only type of team ASlash is good on is the Aurorus / ASlash / Virizion / Cofag / 2 fillers team. Trying to use ASlash offensively isnt going to end well because it just doesnt have the power or coverage to threaten most teams
 
imo the only set should be aurora veil setter. The only type of team ASlash is good on is the Aurorus / ASlash / Virizion / Cofag / 2 fillers team. Trying to use ASlash offensively isnt going to end well because it just doesnt have the power or coverage to threaten most teams
Definitely a fair point, I'll make sure to put that set in the "Other Options" unless told to do otherwise :] thanks for the help!
 

etern

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Overview:
Alolan Sandslash has a unique niche with the ability Slush Rush, which doubles its Speed under Hail. Because of this, Alolan Sandslash can potentially be used as a sweeper, a way to get a fast Rapid Spin off, or even a way to set up Aurora Veil.
  • Remove the part about it being a sweeper, the central niche of Alola-Slash, and the reason it's getting an analysis is purely for Aurora Veil, so make sure you make that clear for the readers. Something like "Alolan Sandslash has a unique niche in the meta thanks to it's combination of the ability Slush Rush and access to the incredible move Aurora Veil, making it a valuable member on hyper offensive teams."
Jolly Alolan Sandslash under Hail outspeeds every relevant scarfer in the NU tier.
  • Just remove Jolly here since that's moreso getting into set details, and explain why it's important that Alola Slash outspeeds so much under hail (obviously to set up aurora veil before it can get KOed)
This Pokemon also boasts resistances to Bug, Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Ice, Normal, and Psychic-type moves, and a immunity to Poison.
  • Add that these resistances give it good opportunities to safely set up Aurora Veil. Also, rather than listing out all the types it resists, give some examples of Pokemon that it can take advantage of these resistances against to set up a-veil.
However, the Steel-Ice typing also means Sandslash is 4x weak to Fighting and Fire-type moves, along with being 2x weak to Ground-type moves.
  • Add that these weaknesses mean even with Aurora Veil up, Sandslash will be KOed by most powerful super effective attacks.
That being said, Alolan Sandslash has respectable bulk on the physical side, but is much more frail against special attackers.
  • Unnecessary info, remove this and wrap up the intro saying that Alolan Sandslash fits only on very specific teams built around the Aurora Veil support it provides, and that it should not be used outside of this role.
Moves:
  • Remove Safeguard.
Set Details:
  • Give examples of the Choice Scarf users it outspeeds, remove the part about tying with other Alola Slashes, and remove the last part.
  • A small line on why Slush Rush is mandatory over Snow Cloak would be good here.

Good work for the most part, just tidy up the Overview, QC 1/3.
 
Overview:

  • Remove the part about it being a sweeper, the central niche of Alola-Slash, and the reason it's getting an analysis is purely for Aurora Veil, so make sure you make that clear for the readers. Something like "Alolan Sandslash has a unique niche in the meta thanks to it's combination of the ability Slush Rush and access to the incredible move Aurora Veil, making it a valuable member on hyper offensive teams."

  • Just remove Jolly here since that's moreso getting into set details, and explain why it's important that Alola Slash outspeeds so much under hail (obviously to set up aurora veil before it can get KOed)

  • Add that these resistances give it good opportunities to safely set up Aurora Veil. Also, rather than listing out all the types it resists, give some examples of Pokemon that it can take advantage of these resistances against to set up a-veil.

  • Add that these weaknesses mean even with Aurora Veil up, Sandslash will be KOed by most powerful super effective attacks.

  • Unnecessary info, remove this and wrap up the intro saying that Alolan Sandslash fits only on very specific teams built around the Aurora Veil support it provides, and that it should not be used outside of this role.
Moves:
  • Remove Safeguard.
Set Details:
  • Give examples of the Choice Scarf users it outspeeds, remove the part about tying with other Alola Slashes, and remove the last part.
  • A small line on why Slush Rush is mandatory over Snow Cloak would be good here.

Good work for the most part, just tidy up the Overview, QC 1/3.
I appreciate the feedback! I'll have it done by tomorrow morning :)
 
Steelix should be moved out of counters because you can do your job vs it.

If anything I think hitmonlee deserves a special mention in counters because you cant set up aveil on it due to fear of mach punch
252 Atk Life Orb Hitmonlee Mach Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Sandslash-Alola: 281-333 (96.5 - 114.4%) -- 75% chance to OHKO


also I think Brick Break should be the go to move in the fourth slot of the set. It allows you to win the mirror matchup decisively against other hail veil teams. Break their veil and OHKO their ASlash. The 4th slot is pretty useless anyways and Brick Break gives you a bit more utility
 
Steelix should be moved out of counters because you can do your job vs it.

If anything I think hitmonlee deserves a special mention in counters because you cant set up aveil on it due to fear of mach punch
252 Atk Life Orb Hitmonlee Mach Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Sandslash-Alola: 281-333 (96.5 - 114.4%) -- 75% chance to OHKO


also I think Brick Break should be the go to move in the fourth slot of the set. It allows you to win the mirror matchup decisively against other hail veil teams. Break their veil and OHKO their ASlash. The 4th slot is pretty useless anyways and Brick Break gives you a bit more utility
Really appreciate the suggestions :] I'll implement later today when I have more time to do so

Edit: Implemented!
 
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erisia

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Mention in the Overview that a strong Icicle Crash and coverage in Earthquake mean that Sandslash-Alola isn't deadweight on its own in Hail, and you can sometimes pick up a KO before using Aurora Veil or during its effectives.

Ngl Brick Break sounds like OO material at best to me, mirror matches aren't super common despite how good this archetype is and it certainly doesn't hit Steelix or Rhydon harder than your other moves. I guess Raseri probably has more experience with it but if I were you I'd deslash it at least since Earthquake is better in literally every other matchup save Cryogonal (which you can hit with Iron Head).

I'd also remove the calc on Earthquake vs Steelix, the whole sentence is kind of unnecessary since we know unSTAB Earthquakes don't do much to Steelix anyways.

Mention in Usage Tips that Sandslash-Alola can switch into Ice-type attacks due to its quad-resistance, but should avoid most other moves due to its low SpD stat and multiple weaknesses. It should really only be coming in if Hail is up or you can outspeed a paralysed mon and get the KO or spin off.

In Team Options, note that Aurorus is the better partner for Sandslash-Alola primarily because it can also set Rocks, providing role compression and preventing your team from stacking unnecessary weaknesses outside of these two slots. You can also mention Vanilluxe here since its Choice Scarf set is another relevant setter. If you use a non-Aurorus hail setter, Uxie is probably the best Rocks setter due to its Fighting-type resistance and extra support options like Memento and U-turn.

Mention relevant NU weather setters in Checks and Counters (Uxie, Liepard, etc).

Also just have a look at sentence structure in general and make sure you're not repeating yourself too much before this goes to GP.

Tag me when you're done and I'll look at this again.
 
Mention in the Overview that a strong Icicle Crash and coverage in Earthquake mean that Sandslash-Alola isn't deadweight on its own in Hail, and you can sometimes pick up a KO before using Aurora Veil or during its effectives.

Ngl Brick Break sounds like OO material at best to me, mirror matches aren't super common despite how good this archetype is and it certainly doesn't hit Steelix or Rhydon harder than your other moves. I guess Raseri probably has more experience with it but if I were you I'd deslash it at least since Earthquake is better in literally every other matchup save Cryogonal (which you can hit with Iron Head).

I'd also remove the calc on Earthquake vs Steelix, the whole sentence is kind of unnecessary since we know unSTAB Earthquakes don't do much to Steelix anyways.

Mention in Usage Tips that Sandslash-Alola can switch into Ice-type attacks due to its quad-resistance, but should avoid most other moves due to its low SpD stat and multiple weaknesses. It should really only be coming in if Hail is up or you can outspeed a paralysed mon and get the KO or spin off.

In Team Options, note that Aurorus is the better partner for Sandslash-Alola primarily because it can also set Rocks, providing role compression and preventing your team from stacking unnecessary weaknesses outside of these two slots. You can also mention Vanilluxe here since its Choice Scarf set is another relevant setter. If you use a non-Aurorus hail setter, Uxie is probably the best Rocks setter due to its Fighting-type resistance and extra support options like Memento and U-turn.

Mention relevant NU weather setters in Checks and Counters (Uxie, Liepard, etc).

Also just have a look at sentence structure in general and make sure you're not repeating yourself too much before this goes to GP.

Tag me when you're done and I'll look at this again.
Thank you for the feedback! Should have it done tonight
 
I'd like to recommend putting Hail in OO. Sandslash-A can set its own Hail on forced switches and proceed to set up Aurora Veil on the next turn. I feel this is niche enough to include there.
 

SPACE FORCE meeps

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mention iron head in moves for cryo and piloswine

don't mention klinklang as an earthquake target, it's just not common enough in the meta.

"252 Speed with a Jolly nature ensures that Alolan Sandslash outspeeds almost every relevant user in NU" - think you forgot to say "scarf" here

"Alolan Sandslash's item, Light Clay, ensures that Aurora veil lasts 8 turns as opposed to the original 5." - discuss the importance of this; the extra turns may allow for more than one pokemon to setup, or prevent a sweeper from getting revenge killed.

in team options mention how sandslash-alola's typing may cause emboar to get locked into flare blitz or superpower, which can allow for pokemon that resist fire or fighting to setup on emboar, turtonator and vivillon being respective examples. also, i've personally never seen uxie setting up rocks paired with sandslash-alola; i don't think it deserves a mention (also forces a player to give up a teamslot for rocks while aurorus compresses snow warning + stealth rock into one)

mention some examples in the c&c subsections for water-types and fire/fighting-types

3/3 after implemented
 
mention iron head in moves for cryo and piloswine

don't mention klinklang as an earthquake target, it's just not common enough in the meta.

"252 Speed with a Jolly nature ensures that Alolan Sandslash outspeeds almost every relevant user in NU" - think you forgot to say "scarf" here

"Alolan Sandslash's item, Light Clay, ensures that Aurora veil lasts 8 turns as opposed to the original 5." - discuss the importance of this; the extra turns may allow for more than one pokemon to setup, or prevent a sweeper from getting revenge killed.

in team options mention how sandslash-alola's typing may cause emboar to get locked into flare blitz or superpower, which can allow for pokemon that resist fire or fighting to setup on emboar, turtonator and vivillon being respective examples. also, i've personally never seen uxie setting up rocks paired with sandslash-alola; i don't think it deserves a mention (also forces a player to give up a teamslot for rocks while aurorus compresses snow warning + stealth rock into one)

mention some examples in the c&c subsections for water-types and fire/fighting-types

3/3 after implemented
Thanks meeps! I'll have it done a few hours
 

autumn

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C&C Leader
amcheck, this isn't required to be implemented unless stamped by a member of the GP team.

Additions (AC) = add comma (AH) = add hyphen
Corrections (RC) = remove comma (RH) = remove hyphen
Comments

[OVERVIEW]

Alolan Sandslash has a unique niche in the NU tier,(RC) with the combination of its ability Slush Rush and the move Aurora Veil,(AC) making it a very valuable member on hyper-offensive teams. Alolan Sandslash's doubled speed under Hhail allows it to set up Aurora Veil before it is has fainted. Additonally, this Pokemon's typing gives it resistances to Bug, Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Ice, and Psychic type moves, and an immunity to Poison. This makes it easier for Alolan Sandslash to get up Aurora Veil. Unfortunately, Alolan Sandslash's 4x weaknesses to Fire-(AH) and Fighting-type moves and its 2x weakness to Ground-type moves means it can potentially be KO'd KOed even with Aurora Veil active. Alolan Sandslash isn't deadweight under Hhail, as strong moves such as Icicle Crash and Earthquake can help it nab important chip damage or KOs. However, this Pokemon functions best on teams built specifically around its ability to set up Aurora Veil, and should seldom be used outside of this role.

[SET]
name: Aurora Veil Setter
move 1: Aurora Veil
move 2: Icicle Crash
move 3: Rapid Spin
move 4: Earthquake / Iron Head
item: Light Clay
ability: Slush Rush
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 atk / 4 def / 252 spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Aurora Veil halves the damage a team takes from both special and physical moves for 5 turns, a number that becomes 8 turns with Light Clay. Alolan Sandslash's #1 first priority is to set this up under Hhail, so its teammates can abuse it and sweep. Icicle Crash is Alolan Sandslash's strongest physical STAB move, and while its accuracy is 90%, it has a 30% chance to flinch and does a minimum of 94% to standard Swords Dance Virizion, and up to 86% to max HP Braviary. Rapid Spin is used only to get rid of hazards, and with Slush Rush active, Alolan Sandslash with this spread outspeeds and can Rapid Spin on any viable Pokemon in the NU metagame that is not a Ghost type. Earthquake can be used as a way to get chip damage on Steel-types and Fire-types, most notably a Pokemon like Steelix. Additionally, Earthquake does respectable damage to Emboar, Incineroar, Toxicroak, Delphox, and other Fire-(AH) and Steel-Ttypes. Iron Head can be used to hit Ice-type switchins to Alolan Sandslash such as Cryogonal and Piloswine.

Set Details
========
252 Speed with a Jolly nature ensures that Alolan Sandslash outspeeds almost every relevant Choice Scarf user in NU, including Emboar, Drapion, Rotom, and Typhlosion. It should be noted, however, that Choice Scarf Delphox outspeeds Alolan Sandslash under Hail. Alolan Sandslash's item, Light Clay, ensures that Aurora Vveil lasts 8 turns as opposed to the original 5. These extra turns could be crucial to other team members looking to set up while taking reduced damage. Most importantly, Slush Rush is a far better ability than Snow Cloak in this role, because Slush Rush allows Alolan Sandslash to outspeed almost everything in order to get Aurora Veil up.

Usage Tips
========
Alolan Sandslash's primary goal as an Aurora Veil setter is to set up the Veil, remove hazards, and get out of the way by either being intentionally sacrificed or switched out. Keep in mind that the faster Alolan Sandslash is stowed away or fainted, the longer the rest of the team has to abuse Aurora Veil. Additionally, Tthis Pokemon is fairly bulky on the physical side, meaning it can occasionally come in to tank most non-super effective hits. This includes Ice-type moves from Sneasel, which Alolan Sandslash quad resists. However, its low base Special Defense stat means that switching in on special attacking moves could be risky. When switching in, Alolan Sandslash should normally be coming in on paralyzed or slow Pokemon, or while Hail is active. Alolan Sandslash is not should not be used offensively as an Aurora Veil setter, but can occasionally act in an offensive manner when an opponent lacks switchins to Ice-(AH)type moves.

Team Options
========
Alolan Sandslash is nothing more than an outclassed physical wall without hail, and which cannot set up Aurora Veil without the presence of hail, so Snow Warning Pokemon such as Aurorus, Abomasnow, or Vanilluxe are almost always required partners, with Aurorus often working better because it can also set up Stealth Rrocks, providing role compression. A team featuring Aurora Veil Alolan Sandslash is usually made up of a Snow Warning Pokemon (such as Abomasnow, Aurorus, or Vanilluxe) and Alolan Sandslash (already stated), followed by four setup sweepers or major threats. To truly get the most out of the Aurora Veil, it is recommended that the other four Pokemon are potent attackers with decent movepools and setup moves. Examples of possible teammates that fit this bill are Virizion, Mismagius, Turtonator, and Emboar. Due to Alolan Sandslash's typing, a Choice Scarf Emboar could lock itself into Flare Blitz or Superpower while trying to faint it. This could be used to allow Pokemon that resist Fire- and Fighting-type moves to set up after Alolan Sandslash is has fainted. Examples of such Pokemon include Vivillon, Turtonator, and Houndoom.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
When using Alolan Sandslash as an Aurora Veil setter, one could potentially replace the move Earthquake with Brick Break. This allows Alolan Sandslash to win a mirror matchup against another Alolan Sandslash by removing the opponent's Aurora Veil and OHKOing the opposing Sandslash. This is not used often, however, ans mirror matchups are uncommon, and Earthquake hits more threats for more damage. Alolan Sandslash can also be used in an offensive sweeping manner, as well. When used like this, it is usually Adamant Nature with max Attack and Speed EVs and holding a Life Orb, with the moves Icicle Crash, Iron Head, Earthquake, and Swords Dance. With a Swords Dance up and Hhail Aactive, very few Pokemon can take on Alolan Sandslash. However, it is occasionally outclassed as a Slush Rush sweeper by Beartic, who, despite having a lower speed, has a more diverse movepool, higher base Attack, and access to Swords Dance as well. Alolan Sandslash also lacks the coverage and power to threaten some walls.
Another offensive way to use Sandslash is using the Groundium Z item in conjunction with the move Earthquake. Groundium Z Earthquake is used to hit Water(AH)-types,(AC) and Steelix,(AC) and Rhydon harder. This, however, is arguably worse than the Life Orb variant of Slush Rush Alolan Sandslash and Beartic, as it only delivers one supercharged hit as opposed to making every move stronger, like a Life Orb does. Alolan Sandslash can set up its own Hhail, but this Pokemon's moveset rarely has room for this.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Water types**: Water(AH)-types hard wall Alolan Sandslash, usually as they resisting both of its STAB moves. Alolan Sandslash just lacks the power, usually, to get through these counters. Groundium Z can be run to hit these Pokemon hard with a neutral attack, but the aforementioned set is probably the worst Alolan Sandslash has to offer. Water-types that wall Alolan Sandslash include the likes of Vaporeon, Slowbro, and Seismitoad.

**Weather / Weather Setters**: Any form of weather that is not Hhail puts Alolan Sandslash at a disadvantage, as its speed tier without Slush Rush active is quite mediocre, and it can only set up Aurora Veil under Hhail. Additionally, relevant weather setters such as Liepard and Uxie can set up different weather with access to the moves Sunny Day and Rain Dance, both of which negatively impact Alolan Sandslash.

**Fire and Fighting-types**: Fighting and Fire are the two types of moves Alolan Sandslash is 4x weak to, meaning anytime an offensive presence with these moves is on the field, one must sacrifice or switch out Alolan Sandslash immediately. Emboar, Typhlosion, and Delphox are all major threats in this sense.

**Hitmonlee**: Hitmonlee is a massive threat to Alolan Sandslash, with Life Orb Mach Punch OHKOing Alolan Sandslash 75% of the time without Aurora Veil up. Because Alolan Sandslash's only legitimate niche in NU is to get up Aurora Veil, Hitmonlee can potentially render Alolan Sandslash entirely useless.
 
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amcheck, this isn't required to be implemented unless stamped by a member of the GP team.

Additions (AC) = add comma (AH) = add hyphen
Corrections (RC) = remove comma (RH) = remove hyphen
Comments

[OVERVIEW]

Alolan Sandslash has a unique niche in the NU tier,(RC) with the combination of its ability Slush Rush and the move Aurora Veil,(AC) making it a very valuable member on hyper-offensive teams. Alolan Sandslash's doubled speed under Hhail allows it to set up Aurora Veil before it is has fainted. Additonally, this Pokemon's typing gives it resistances to Bug, Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Ice, and Psychic type moves, and an immunity to Poison. This makes it easier for Alolan Sandslash to get up Aurora Veil. Unfortunately, Alolan Sandslash's 4x weaknesses to Fire-(AH) and Fighting-type moves and its 2x weakness to Ground-type moves means it can potentially be KO'd KOed even with Aurora Veil active. Alolan Sandslash isn't deadweight under Hhail, as strong moves such as Icicle Crash and Earthquake can help it nab important chip damage or KOs. However, this Pokemon functions best on teams built specifically around its ability to set up Aurora Veil, and should seldom be used outside of this role.

[SET]
name: Aurora Veil Setter
move 1: Aurora Veil
move 2: Icicle Crash
move 3: Rapid Spin
move 4: Earthquake / Iron Head
item: Light Clay
ability: Slush Rush
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 atk / 4 def / 252 spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Aurora Veil halves the damage a team takes from both special and physical moves for 5 turns, a number that becomes 8 turns with Light Clay. Alolan Sandslash's #1 first priority is to set this up under Hhail, so its teammates can abuse it and sweep. Icicle Crash is Alolan Sandslash's strongest physical STAB move, and while its accuracy is 90%, it has a 30% chance to flinch and does a minimum of 94% to standard Swords Dance Virizion, and up to 86% to max HP Braviary. Rapid Spin is used only to get rid of hazards, and with Slush Rush active, Alolan Sandslash with this spread outspeeds and can Rapid Spin on any viable Pokemon in the NU metagame that is not a Ghost type. Earthquake can be used as a way to get chip damage on Steel-types and Fire-types, most notably a Pokemon like Steelix. Additionally, Earthquake does respectable damage to Emboar, Incineroar, Toxicroak, Delphox, and other Fire-(AH) and Steel-Ttypes. Iron Head can be used to hit Ice-type switchins to Alolan Sandslash such as Cryogonal and Piloswine.

Set Details
========
252 Speed with a Jolly nature ensures that Alolan Sandslash outspeeds almost every relevant Choice Scarf user in NU, including Emboar, Drapion, Rotom, and Typhlosion. It should be noted, however, that Choice Scarf Delphox outspeeds Alolan Sandslash under Hail. Alolan Sandslash's item, Light Clay, ensures that Aurora Vveil lasts 8 turns as opposed to the original 5. These extra turns could be crucial to other team members looking to set up while taking reduced damage. Most importantly, Slush Rush is a far better ability than Snow Cloak in this role, because Slush Rush allows Alolan Sandslash to outspeed almost everything in order to get Aurora Veil up.

Usage Tips
========
Alolan Sandslash's primary goal as an Aurora Veil setter is to set up the Veil, remove hazards, and get out of the way by either being intentionally sacrificed or switched out. Keep in mind that the faster Alolan Sandslash is stowed away or fainted, the longer the rest of the team has to abuse Aurora Veil. Additionally, Tthis Pokemon is fairly bulky on the physical side, meaning it can occasionally come in to tank most non-super effective hits. This includes Ice-type moves from Sneasel, which Alolan Sandslash quad resists. However, its low base Special Defense stat means that switching in on special attacking moves could be risky. When switching in, Alolan Sandslash should normally be coming in on paralyzed or slow Pokemon, or while Hail is active. Alolan Sandslash is not should not be used offensively as an Aurora Veil setter, but can occasionally act in an offensive manner when an opponent lacks switchins to Ice-(AH)type moves.

Team Options
========
Alolan Sandslash is nothing more than an outclassed physical wall without hail, and which cannot set up Aurora Veil without the presence of hail, so Snow Warning Pokemon such as Aurorus, Abomasnow, or Vanilluxe are almost always required partners, with Aurorus often working better because it can also set up Stealth Rrocks, providing role compression. A team featuring Aurora Veil Alolan Sandslash is usually made up of a Snow Warning Pokemon (such as Abomasnow, Aurorus, or Vanilluxe) and Alolan Sandslash (already stated), followed by four setup sweepers or major threats. To truly get the most out of the Aurora Veil, it is recommended that the other four Pokemon are potent attackers with decent movepools and setup moves. Examples of possible teammates that fit this bill are Virizion, Mismagius, Turtonator, and Emboar. Due to Alolan Sandslash's typing, a Choice Scarf Emboar could lock itself into Flare Blitz or Superpower while trying to faint it. This could be used to allow Pokemon that resist Fire- and Fighting-type moves to set up after Alolan Sandslash is has fainted. Examples of such Pokemon include Vivillon, Turtonator, and Houndoom.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
When using Alolan Sandslash as an Aurora Veil setter, one could potentially replace the move Earthquake with Brick Break. This allows Alolan Sandslash to win a mirror matchup against another Alolan Sandslash by removing the opponent's Aurora Veil and OHKOing the opposing Sandslash. This is not used often, however, ans mirror matchups are uncommon, and Earthquake hits more threats for more damage. Alolan Sandslash can also be used in an offensive sweeping manner, as well. When used like this, it is usually Adamant Nature with max Attack and Speed EVs and holding a Life Orb, with the moves Icicle Crash, Iron Head, Earthquake, and Swords Dance. With a Swords Dance up and Hhail Aactive, very few Pokemon can take on Alolan Sandslash. However, it is occasionally outclassed as a Slush Rush sweeper by Beartic, who, despite having a lower speed, has a more diverse movepool, higher base Attack, and access to Swords Dance as well. Alolan Sandslash also lacks the coverage and power to threaten some walls.
Another offensive way to use Sandslash is using the Groundium Z item in conjunction with the move Earthquake. Groundium Z Earthquake is used to hit Water(AH)-types,(AC) and Steelix,(AC) and Rhydon harder. This, however, is arguably worse than the Life Orb variant of Slush Rush Alolan Sandslash and Beartic, as it only delivers one supercharged hit as opposed to making every move stronger, like a Life Orb does. Alolan Sandslash can set up its own Hhail, but this Pokemon's moveset rarely has room for this.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Water types**: Water(AH)-types hard wall Alolan Sandslash, usually as they resisting both of its STAB moves. Alolan Sandslash just lacks the power, usually, to get through these counters. Groundium Z can be run to hit these Pokemon hard with a neutral attack, but the aforementioned set is probably the worst Alolan Sandslash has to offer. Water-types that wall Alolan Sandslash include the likes of Vaporeon, Slowbro, and Seismitoad.

**Weather / Weather Setters**: Any form of weather that is not Hhail puts Alolan Sandslash at a disadvantage, as its speed tier without Slush Rush active is quite mediocre, and it can only set up Aurora Veil under Hhail. Additionally, relevant weather setters such as Liepard and Uxie can set up different weather with access to the moves Sunny Day and Rain Dance, both of which negatively impact Alolan Sandslash.

**Fire and Fighting-types**: Fighting and Fire are the two types of moves Alolan Sandslash is 4x weak to, meaning anytime an offensive presence with these moves is on the field, one must sacrifice or switch out Alolan Sandslash immediately. Emboar, Typhlosion, and Delphox are all major threats in this sense.

**Hitmonlee**: Hitmonlee is a massive threat to Alolan Sandslash, with Life Orb Mach Punch OHKOing Alolan Sandslash 75% of the time without Aurora Veil up. Because Alolan Sandslash's only legitimate niche in NU is to get up Aurora Veil, Hitmonlee can potentially render Alolan Sandslash entirely useless.
appreciate the check!
 

GP 1/2
remove add comments

[OVERVIEW]

Alolan Sandslash has a unique niche in the NU tier, (comma) with thanks to the combination of its ability Slush Rush and the move Aurora Veil making it a very valuable member on hyper-offensive hyper offense teams. Alolan Sandslash's doubled speed under hail allows it to set up Aurora Veil before it is fainted KOed. Additonally, this Pokemon's its typing gives it resistances to Bug, Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Ice, and Psychic type moves, and as well as an immunity to Poison. This makes it easier for Alolan Sandslash to get up set Aurora Veil. () Unfortunately, Alolan Sandslash's 4x weaknesses to Fire-(hyphen) and Fighting-type moves and its 2x weakness to Ground-type moves means it can potentially be KO'd KOed even with Aurora Veil active. Alolan Sandslash itself isn't dead(space)weight under hail, as strong moves such as Icicle Crash and Earthquake can help it nab important chip damage or and KOs. (implement my changes to the prior sentence, then move it to where the green parentheses are above) However, This Pokemon functions best on teams built specifically around its ability to set up Aurora Veil, and should seldom be used outside of this role.

[SET]
name: Aurora Veil Setter
move 1: Aurora Veil
move 2: Icicle Crash
move 3: Rapid Spin
move 4:(space)Earthquake / Iron Head
item: Light Clay
ability: Slush Rush
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
line break

Aurora Veil halves the damage a team takes from special and physical moves for 5 turns, a number that becomes 8 turns with thanks to Light Clay. Alolan Sandslash's #1 priority is to set this it up under Hail, so its teammates can abuse it safely attack and sweep. Icicle Crash is Alolan Sandslash's strongest physical STAB move, and while its accuracy is 90%, it has a 30% chance to flinch and does a minimum of 94% to standard Swords Dance Virizion, (comma) and up to 86% to maximum HP Braviary. Rapid Spin is used only to get rid of hazards, and with Slush Rush active, Alolan Sandslash with this spread outspeeds and can use Rapid Spin on against any viable Pokemon in the NU metagame that is not a Ghost-(hyphen)type. Earthquake can be used as a way to get chip damage on Steel-types Steel-, Poison-, and Fire-types, most notably a Pokemon like Steelix, (comma) Emboar, Incineroar, Toxicroak, and Delphox. Additionally, Earthquake does respectable damage to Emboar, Incineroar, Toxicroak, Delphox, and other Fire and Steel-Types. Iron Head can be used to hit Ice-type switch-(hyphen)ins to Alolan Sandslash such as Cryogonal and Piloswine.

Set Details
========
line break
252 Maximum Speed with a Jolly nature ensures that Alolan Sandslash outspeeds almost every relevant Choice Scarf user in NU, including Emboar, Drapion, Rotom, and Typhlosion, (comma) but not Delphox. It should be noted, however, that Choice Scarf Delphox outspeeds Alolan Sandslash under Hail. Alolan Sandslash's item, Light Clay, ensures that Aurora Veil lasts 8 turns as opposed to the original 5. These extra turns could be crucial to other team members looking to set up while taking reduced damage. Most importantly, Slush Rush is a far better ability than Snow Cloak in this for Alolan Sandslash's role, (comma) because Slush Rush it allows Alolan Sandslash to outspeed almost everything in order to get Aurora Veil up.

Usage Tips
========
Alolan Sandslash's primary goals are as an Aurora Veil setter is to set up the Aurora Veil, remove hazards, and get out of the way by either being intentionally sacrificed or switched out. Keep in mind that the faster Alolan Sandslash is stowed away or fainted KOed, the longer greater time the rest of the team has to abuse Aurora Veil. Additionally, This Pokemon is fairly bulky on the physical side Alolan Sandslash has fair physical bulk, meaning it can occasionally come in tank switch into most non-super effective hits. This includes Ice-type moves from Sneasel, which Alolan Sandslash quad resists is 4x resistant to. However, its low base Special Defense stat means that switching in on special attacking moves attackers could be risky. When switching in, Alolan Sandslash should normally otherwise be coming in on paralyzed or slow Pokemon, or while hail is active. Alolan Sandslash is not used offensively as an Aurora Veil setter, but can occasionally act in an offensive manner when an opponent lacks switch-(hyphen)ins to Ice-(hyphen)type moves.

Team Options
========
line break
Alolan Sandslash is nothing more than an outclassed physical wall without hail, and cannot set up Aurora Veil without the presence of hail, so Snow Warning Pokemon such as Aurorus, Abomasnow, or and Vanilluxe are almost practically required partners, with Aurorus often working better best because it can also set up Stealth rocks Rock, providing role compression. A team featuring Aurora Veil Alolan Sandslash is usually made up of Alolan Sandslash and a Snow Warning Pokemon (such as Abomasnow, Aurorus, or Vanilluxe) and Alolan Sandslash, followed by four setup sweepers or major threats. To truly get the most out of the Aurora Veil, it is recommended that the other four Pokemon are potent attackers with decent movepools and setup moves. Examples of possible teammates that fit this bill are Virizion, Mismagius, Turtonator, and Emboar. Due to Alolan Sandslash's typing, a Choice Scarf Emboar could lock itself into Flare Blitz or Superpower while trying to faint KO it. This could be used to allow Pokemon that resist Fire- and or Fighting-type moves to set up after Alolan Sandslash is fainted faints. Examples of such Pokemon include Vivillon, Turtonator, and Houndoom.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
line break
When using Alolan Sandslash as an Aurora Veil setter, one could potentially replace the move Earthquake with Brick Break. This allows Alolan Sandslash to win a mirror matchup against another Alolan Sandslash by removing the opponent's Aurora Veil and OHKOing the opposing Sandslash. This is not used often, however, ans as mirror matchups are uncommon, and Earthquake hits more threats for more damage. Alolan Sandslash can be used in an offensive sweeping manner, as well. When used like this, it is usually with an Adamant Nature, (comma) with maximum Attack and Speed EVs, (comma) and holding a Life Orb, with and the moves Icicle Crash, Iron Head, Earthquake, and Swords Dance. With a Swords Dance up +2 Attack and hail active, very few Pokemon can take on Alolan Sandslash. However, it is occasionally outclassed as a Slush Rush sweeper by Beartic, who, despite having a lower speed, has which is slower but has a more diverse movepool, higher base Attack, and access to Swords Dance as well. Alolan Sandslash also lacks the coverage and power to threaten some walls.
Another offensive way to use Sandslash is using the Groundium Z item in conjunction with the move Earthquake. Groundium Z Earthquake The resulting Tectonic Rage is used to hit Water-(hyphen)types, (comma) Steelix, and Rhydon and Steelix/Rhydon harder. This, however, is arguably worse than the Life Orb variant of Slush Rush Alolan Sandslash and Beartic, as it only delivers one supercharged hit as opposed to making every move stronger, like a Life Orb does. Alolan Sandslash can set up its own hail with Hail, but this Pokemon's its moveset rarely has room for this.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Water-(hyphen)types**: Water-(hyphen)types hard wall Alolan Sandslash, usually resisting both of its STAB moves. Alolan Sandslash just lacks the power, (comma) usually, to get through these counters them. Groundium Z can be run to hit these Pokemon hard with a neutral attack, but the aforementioned such a set is probably the worst Alolan Sandslash has to offer. Water-types that wall Alolan Sandslash include the likes of Vaporeon, Slowbro, and Seismitoad.

**Weather / Weather Setters**: Any form of weather that is not hail puts Alolan Sandslash at a disadvantage, as its Speed tier without Slush Rush active is quite mediocre, and it can only set up Aurora Veil under hail. Additionally, Relevant weather setters such as Liepard and Uxie can set up different weather with access to frequently use the moves Sunny Day and Rain Dance, both of which negatively impact Alolan Sandslash.

**Fire-(hyphen) and Fighting-types**: Fighting and Fire are the two types of moves Alolan Sandslash is 4x weak to, meaning anytime an offensive presence with these moves is on the field, one must sacrifice or switch out Alolan Sandslash immediately. Emboar, Typhlosion, and Delphox are all major threats in this sense.

**Hitmonlee**: Hitmonlee is a massive threat to Alolan Sandslash, with Life Orb Mach Punch OHKOing Alolan Sandslash 75% of the time without Aurora Veil up. Because Alolan Sandslash's only legitimate niche in NU is to get up Aurora Veil, Hitmonlee can potentially render Alolan Sandslash entirely useless.
 
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Sandslash is unviable without Aurora Veil so I'll be locking this, sorry for the inconvenience
 

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