Competitive Pokémon of the Week - Mamoswine

Kicking off My Pokémon Mentor's "Competitive Pokémon of the Week" section is the big furball of a mammoth-boar-thing we like to call Mamoswine. Why Mamoswine, and not something more commonly-seen, like Garchomp, Tyranitar, Gengar, or Kangaskhan? Well, along with featuring the cornerstone competitive battlers like the aforementioned Pokémon (except for maybe Kangaskhan, though she's becoming more common now that she can Mega Evolve), I'll feature some very competitively viable and interesting Pokémon. So, let's take a look at Mamoswine.

(Shadixart's [of DeviantArt] interpretation of Mamoswine.)

At first glance, you might find Mamoswine a bit odd-looking. Is it a mammoth? Is it a gigantic boar? Remember: those same questions can be asked of any Pokémon species. Mamoswine is a formidable battler with impressive type coverage (being able to super-effectively damage nine types with move it gains STAB from) and a unique type combination of Ice/Ground. Mamoswine has been virtually unaffected with the introduction of the Fairy type, except that its use may have decreased (due to the fact that Dragon-types are now super-effectively damaged by Fairies). Why should you consider a Mamoswine?
- 9 types are super-effectively damaged by it!
- Can easily damage dragons.
- Seems to have maintained its position in OU in Generation 6, and, in my view, is still viable to counter Ubers' threats.
- Snow Cloak increases evasion by 1/4 when Mamoswine is in hail.
- Thick Fat (Hidden Ability) reduces damage by Ice and Fire-type moves by 50%, making one of Mamoswine's weaknesses more manageable.

It's also worth noting that Arash Ommati, winner of the 2013 World Championships, used a Mamoswine on his team (likely in order to effectively combat the nearly-constant flow of dragons in the fifth generation).

Whether Mamoswine is some sort of boar-mammoth from the ancient past, or just a beast that you have to look at and say, "That's a Pokémon," there's no debate that it is certainly a competitively effective beast.

If you want to get your own Mamoswine in Generation 6, go to the Ice Cavern. While you can't get Mamoswine in the wild, you can certainly catch your own Piloswine. Have your lovely Piloswine learn Ancient Power, and level him/her up. She/He will then evolve into your very own Mamoswine!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to catch a Piloswine.