Ladder Balanced Hackmons

Lcass4919

The Xatu Warrior
I'm just getting into BH after being afraid of it for so long, and I'm having a lot of fun despite only having played five battles. I haven't lost yet. I've been using a balance team with Prankster Giratina for Defog support, Magic Bounce Empoleon for Stealth Rock support, Mega Manectric for a fast Mold Breaker Taunt, and strong priority users in Mega Mewtwo X and Mega Gyarados.
Ho-Oh @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Roost
- King's Shield
- Brave Bird

Giratina @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Heal Order
- Will-O-Wisp
- Defog
- U-turn

Empoleon @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Scald
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock

Mewtwo-Mega-X @ Life Orb
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Shift Gear

Gyarados-Mega @ Life Orb
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 8 HP / 252 Atk / 248 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Water Shuriken
- Sucker Punch
- Icicle Spear
- Bullet Seed

Manectric-Mega @ Life Orb
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Taunt
- Ice Beam
- Blue Flare

Here's a replay of my latest battle, which was my closest yet.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-177121965
i must say, rather then the empoleon (which even then, i wont fuss over due to its decent typing) this team is fairly decent for a beginners team(i mean, at least you arent using ou pokes and crying over legends like most of the lower ladder seems to do >.>), however, you will find a bit higher up on the ladder that imposter chansey/blissey is going to make you hate its guts. its kind of something you need to work your team around, by adding slight modifications to your team. allthough i wont force you to do so, im just saying, imposter is REALLY good in the meta, and a lot of people use it, and henceforth eventually you will want to fix your team to help that issue.

regardless, welcome to BH and i hope your experience is a not-bad one :>

i feel like one of those people who wait at the front door and say "welcome! have a nice visit" to everyone. kek
 
i must say, rather then the empoleon (which even then, i wont fuss over due to its decent typing) this team is fairly decent for a beginners team(i mean, at least you arent using ou pokes and crying over legends like most of the lower ladder seems to do >.>), however, you will find a bit higher up on the ladder that imposter chansey/blissey is going to make you hate its guts. its kind of something you need to work your team around, by adding slight modifications to your team. allthough i wont force you to do so, im just saying, imposter is REALLY good in the meta, and a lot of people use it, and henceforth eventually you will want to fix your team to help that issue.

regardless, welcome to BH and i hope your experience is a not-bad one :>

i feel like one of those people who wait at the front door and say "welcome! have a nice visit" to everyone. kek
Empoleon was indeed added for its typing, as it resisted Rock and Water for Ho-oh and Ice, Fairy and Dragon for Giratina. It's bulk is also fairly decent (it took 50% from a Mega Rayquaza's Thousand Arrows for instance) and it has recovery now. It has been very valuable to my team so far.

Would an Unaware Pokemon be decent for dealing with the Imposters? I guess Ho-oh could be replaced (though it kind of saved me in that last battle) for something better suited for Unaware.

Thanks for the feedback. :)
 
One of the best things since sliced bread. Kektus challengs needs its own ladder tbh

Well, I gave it a try, using following team, if anyone is interested in the details:

SANIC (Manectric-Mega) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Electro Ball
- Discharge
- Icy Wind
- Switcheroo

lelshield (Aegislash) @ Leppa Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Recycle
- Cosmic Power
- Metronome
- Heal Order

I bang the drum (Metagross-Mega) @ Metal Coat
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Belly Drum
- Meteor Mash
- Substitute
- Heal Order

GOINGGHOST (Gengar-Mega) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Ominous Wind
- Ancient Power
- Silver Wind
- Acid Spray

Get Clever (Heatran) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Conversion 2
- King's Shield
- Substitute
- Lava Plume

Muh Hazards (Registeel) @ Leftovers
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Sticky Web
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes


>Ground Weakness on everything
>trouble against Boosting mons
>need Hazards to deal with Sheddy ("sheddy plz go" is too mainstream)

What could possibly go wrong?...
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-177121174 ChestoRest Groudon caught me kinda off guard
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-177126241 When Simple meets Sticky Web...and SANIC's Electro Ball
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-177129365 umm...okay?
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-177129965 BaloonTran is for Chumps
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-177134768 my first loss :(
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-177136670 What's up with ShedKarp Teams? Also SpeedBoostShed. kek
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-177137112 may be bad played from me, but Contrary wrecks me anyway. Second loss
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-177139247 Yeah, just me tricking Specs onto the damn Stored Power Karp ._.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-177140151 SANIC too spoopy :o
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-177140861 2 Sheds. And I LOSE to the first! >_<

Seriously, I might need to retake the Challenge with something which stops boosting cold also sheddy plz go.
But I fell in love with the hilarity of Poison Heal Conversion2 Tran :D
 
Stop spamming... It's not cool.

So this isn't a totally pointless post, what are your thoughts on how the new weather abilitys can be used in BH?
 
Stop spamming... It's not cool.

So this isn't a totally pointless post, what are your thoughts on how the new weather abilitys can be used in BH?
The new weather abilities aren't fully implemented. Currently they just act like Drizzle, Drought, and Air Lock, I believe.
However, when they do get implemented, I feel like Primordial Sea Scizor Mega would be a very good set, as it's Flash Fire + Rain. And Groudon-Primal would probably like to keep Desolate Land, as it offers a Water immunity.
 

Lcass4919

The Xatu Warrior
The new weather abilities aren't fully implemented. Currently they just act like Drizzle, Drought, and Air Lock, I believe.
However, when they do get implemented, I feel like Primordial Sea Scizor Mega would be a very good set, as it's Flash Fire + Rain. And Groudon-Primal would probably like to keep Desolate Land, as it offers a Water immunity.
at first i was thinking mega scizor would love the ability...but then i remembered its basically removing a lesser used attack (lets face it, fire aint as common as it used to be) for a much more common typing (primal ogre for example) of course, losing a double immunity for a single one is very much welcome, but just throwing out a warning that flash fire still has some merit. allthough its nice that primordial seas blocks mold breaker.
 
Also worth noting Primordial Seas is vulnerable to Desolate Lands, Mega-Rays ability, whose name I forget, and lolCloud Nine switch-ins. It also wouldn't play nicely if you decided to do a weather-based team. Still though, it pretty much outclasses Drought in every way... unless it ends after the user switches out. Have the hackers figured that bit out yet or not?


Also, Jaguar360 : Like Lcass said, it's a pretty good team for someone just starting. Probably better than my first serious attempt at a team (I don't count my 6 Imposter Blisseys as a serious team). Off-hand, you may wish to switch Sacred Fire for Flare Blitz on Ho-Oh, as it can really leverage that move on a MG set, and possibly swap the LO for a Toxic Orb. The LO is just as viable, but TO will protect you from status, so it's worth considering.

Giratina may appreciate running that set with Poison Heal instead of Prankster since all the stuff it wants to burn generally can't hurt it much (like most Contrary Xtwo) or outspeeds Prankster WoW (Frige Kyu-B). And most of the physical attackers that threaten Giratina out, like Gyarados and Yveltal, are fond of PH themselves, so you're not going to burn them anyway.

Gyarados I'd probably swap for Skill Link Kyu-B. It's a vasty underrated threat that can also force a lot of switches by bluffing Refrigerate (safe switch in on something that does not want to take a priority hit). It gets great coverage with Icicle Spear and Bone Rush alone, allowing you to run set-up and other useful moves instead of more coverage attacks.

Meanwhile Empoleon, I'd change. I mean, it has great typing that sometimes I wish I had on my teams, but it is seriously lacking in stats. At 84/86/88/111/101/60, it's bulk, speed, and offenses are all below average or worse in BH, so the only thing it has going for it is the typing.

Also, has Lcass said, you might start having Imposter problems as you keep going higher. Synergizing your team for everything to counter everything is possible, but quite difficult, more so for balanced teams and especially so for offensive teams. You'll want at least a general purpose counter to your sweepers. Which, with what you have right now, would be tricky to find without tinkering with your overall coverage. Even Sheddy wouldn't work well because of your Manectric.
 
I left a message on V4Victini's profile asking about what they've discovered but he hasn't responded yet.
While you're at it, can you ask about Arceus forms?


Also, I finally got around to starting the Kektus Challenge. Yes, I changed the nicknames since I had my own naming theme in mind, so sue me. Also, Cactus, you misspelt Endeavor on Heatran.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-177373671

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-177381555

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-177391431
 
Diancie equipped with King's shield is a potent threat. Ray is obviously a great mixed attacker. Perhaps the best by a long shot. And I too think the other two are best suited for defensive roles.
 
Got back playing BH a few days ago under the nick of NevermanORAS. So far i used my usual Sturdinja team with modifications (Aerilate Mega-Rayquaza instead of Refrigerate Kyurem-B, and trying Hyperspace Fury on Yveltal - waiting for Hoopa-Mega for higher offensive stats), so i didn't get to use new abilities and the Primal Ubers yet, but due to reading of those stuff here goes my opinion/theorymoning:

Primordial Sea -> Flash Fire that blocks Mold Breaker Fire Attacks while has Perma Rain active, looks good for Scizor-Mega, Aegiglash, maybe even Ferrothorn if it is still usable;
Desolate Land -> Pretty much the same above, but blocking Water + Perma Sun, useful for its original owner (Groudon-Primal) or anything that wants to boost fire-attacks or to get rid of water;
Delta Storm -> Good for flying walls like Lugia, but there are better stuff in this case, so idk what to think of this ability;
Kyogre-Primal -> Poison Heal fits nicely (i saw this in practice) due to its natural high bulk, can help regenerate the power of Water Spout, i guess Unaware can go well too, besides its own ability to boost furthermore Water attacks;
Groudon-Primal -> Its own ability does good, but Adaptability boosting Thousand Arrows (or Earthquake/Preciple Blade if you don't care so much about flying types) and V-Create looks real scary, with No Guard it can be Imposter-proof not getting burned by Inferno or affected by Zap Cannon, but must use Earth Plate + Judgment;

About the new Megas for me Altaria looks interesting for its typing, Slowbro for its Defense, Sceptile for its Speed, and Diance could be a good Mixed Attacker Magic Guard if we were on the old EV system with 252 on both Attack, Sp.A and Speed while attacking with STABed Head Smash & Light of Ruin. Rayquaza-Mega looks like can use Dragon Ascent/Swords Dance or Oblivion Wing/Tail Glow + Gale Wings, but Aerilate is overall better.
 
I've fixed the challenge up a bit by fixing miss spellings and the like and made the score system be bit more variable, cause the challenges scoring system was just getting as many 6 - 0's as possible before, now there's big bonus for getting higher ELO.

Also Delta Stream kinda seems rather useless for singles, apart from giving extra resistances to flying mons. I figured delta stream could work for Ho-Oh by giving it resistance to ice making it bit more easier to switch in on kyurem-b and the like.
 
Meanwhile, I've noticed a lot of people seem to be using set-up offense again. Time to renew the quest for the better Unaware. Mixed bulk Cress just doesn't cut it anymore since it takes ~55% from certain Contraries (Soul Dew Lati@s, Xtwo, Groudon-P, Ray-M, and more). Which I guess that's a good thing since I'm a little tired of the moon duck sneaking onto so many teams of mine. 120/120/130 bulk is going to be hard to beat though. If only Aegislash and Registeel weren't weak to Fire...

...maybe Lugia? Fridge weakness though... Normal Diancie? Low HP...

...eh, I'm rambling, I'll think on it more later. Kind of wish OR/AS had given us a good, mixed wall.
 
Darm-Z resists all Contrary except Draco Meteor (which it is neutral to).
Latias-Mega resists all Contrary too except Draco Meteor which she is weak to.

Considering the boost of Soul Dew i'd say Latias is better, but that must be put in practice.

Unfortunately there's no one that resists all Contrary moves (as far as i know). And even before the new EVs system Cresselia couldn't take well V-Creates of Xtwo.
 
Sorry for the double post, but Pixilate Diance-Mega + Unaware Darm-Z looks like a good core:

Z resists 2 of 3 -ates (pixie and refrige) and all Contrary attacks with exception of Draco Meteor. Diance resists the third -ate not resisted by Z (aerilate), and can switch in predicted Draco Meteor safely because of its immunity then regain momentum with Pixilate Fake Out + Extreme Speed.
 

Pikachuun

the entire waruda machine
Darmanitan-Zen: 105/105/105. Can run Leftovers, and it really should (unless you're running blood orange darm-z *cough*CactusCactimakethisaset*cough*
Latias-Mega: 85/120/150. Can run Leftovers or Soul Dew. Soul Dew has the added benefit of bonus special bulk (which you probably need to take -ate boombursts, especially fridge and pixie ones), while Leftovers is passive recovery. Also has the added bonus of special attack to hit things harder.

Darm-Z:
Pros: Resists 2 types of -ate, and is only neutrally affected by the other one (shame it's Ray-M). Slightly more physical bulk. Really slow, making it an excellent pivot.
Cons: P-Ogre makes it sad, hitting it hard with SE Scalds. If PH isn't up, it does not appreciate tanking a Nuzzle if Darm-Z carries it, however. Precipice Blades/Thousand Arrows (pretty much any ground type, but P-Don stands out) and Diamond Storm (M-Sparkle-Waifu) make it sad too. Really slow, so it can't pull off Recover that easy if you predict wrong.

Latias-Mega:
Pros: EXTREME SPECIAL BULK WITH SOUL DEW. Even if you choose to run Leftovers, has more special bulk. Resists the wrath of all Kyogre-P not carrying Moonblast (or Ice Beam but seriously you're running Ice Beam). Not Stealth Rock weak.
Cons: Weak to the 2 different types of -ate that Darm-Z just so happens to resist. The advent of Fridge MMX *cough*karutobi*cough* to deal with Ray-M does not help. Weak to U-turn, which is kind of sad (inb5 Shift Gear M-Scizor). In the contrary department, weak to Draco Meteor (WHICH IS REALLY SAD).

Note: In the pros and cons I did not include weakness to knock off/spoopy plate judgment (both have it), and resisting most contrary moves (both do so).

Pick your poison.
 
The kicker is taking Mega-Rays Dragon Ascent along with Groudon-P's V-Create, Xtwo's Super Power, Soul Dew Latios' Draco Meteor, and Ytwo's Psycho Boost. Being resistant isn't necessary, just being able to take all of that at 40% or less. Really, I think the thing messing it all up is Mega-Ray since Darm-Z would probably work wonderfully against everything else. Or if V-Create wasn't on every Contrarymon, then Aegis-Shield would work wonderfully. There might not be a good non-Sheddy, non-Imposter last ditch catch-all though.

Though I'll admit, never really thought about Latias. Could pair it with Xern or Diancie to threaten the stuff carrying Draco Meteor. Heck, could even have it run Draco Meteor itself and run as sort of a wall/offensive Unaware (Drac stuff, Heart Swap the attack drops while walling set-up, Drac more stuff).
 
For the kektus challenge are we allowed to replace mons with other mons once we've started
probably not but i started with the first version and i want to try out new (more viable) things
 
Meanwhile, I've noticed a lot of people seem to be using set-up offense again. Time to renew the quest for the better Unaware. Mixed bulk Cress just doesn't cut it anymore since it takes ~55% from certain Contraries (Soul Dew Lati@s, Xtwo, Groudon-P, Ray-M, and more). Which I guess that's a good thing since I'm a little tired of the moon duck sneaking onto so many teams of mine. 120/120/130 bulk is going to be hard to beat though. If only Aegislash and Registeel weren't weak to Fire...

...maybe Lugia? Fridge weakness though... Normal Diancie? Low HP...

...eh, I'm rambling, I'll think on it more later. Kind of wish OR/AS had given us a good, mixed wall.

Mega Audino bruh. Low speed but meh. you could also use Arceus.
 
I've had moderate success using Prankster Heart Swap Groudon-P and Regenvest pivot Kyogre-P as a defensive core, along with Magic Bounce Tina and Prankster Ferro. This format is very offensive, but it's still very possible to play semi-stall successfully.

It'll be even easier once Aerilate is banned... mixed Ray-M is just too good with -ate. Way too good.

While I'm around, what are people running to counter Sturdinja these days? I've had to resort to Mold Breaker Pursuit trapping (with Metagross-M currently), but that feels a bit too niche.

The 2 main problems my current team faces, other than the obvious Ray-M that buttfucks everyone, are Sturdinja with Safeguard and Poison Heal walls, which are near impossible to kill for my team.
 
I've had moderate success using Prankster Heart Swap Groudon-P and Regenvest pivot Kyogre-P as a defensive core, along with Magic Bounce Tina and Prankster Ferro. This format is very offensive, but it's still very possible to play semi-stall successfully.

It'll be even easier once Aerilate is banned... mixed Ray-M is just too good with -ate. Way too good.

While I'm around, what are people running to counter Sturdinja these days? I've had to resort to Mold Breaker Pursuit trapping (with Metagross-M currently), but that feels a bit too niche.

The 2 main problems my current team faces, other than the obvious Ray-M that buttfucks everyone, are Sturdinja with Safeguard and Poison Heal walls, which are near impossible to kill for my team.
Aerilate being banned isn't set in stone. Rayquaza-Mega isn't that good. Sure, it's very powerful. It might even be one of the best offensive threats in the metagame. But most sets are walled by any Registeel, Aegislash, or Shedinja. If you're having that much trouble with it, (which doesn't surprise me, since nothing on your team resists Flying...), you should try something like Prankster Registeel. Soundproof physical walls, like Mega Aggron or Mega Slowbro, also work well, unless you're facing one of those pesky Techno Blast ones.

As for Shedinja, it might be a good idea to run things with partial trapping moves, like Magma Storm or Infestation. Alternatively, run hazards with enough offensive pressure to prevent Defog and Rapid Spin.

And for Poison Heal walls, run Entrainment on your Magic Bounce Giratina if you're not already. That should help.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 2)

Top