So I've had some time on my hands this morning (morning in the UK, anyway) and wanted to make a contribution to the Hoopa discussion. I'm not the most regular poster but at the very least I battle enough to be able to put a lot of comprehensible information in one place about my experience, and some calculations.
Hoopa-U S-A+: I'd be opposed to this drop if Hoopa actually checked anything specific, but blanket-checking a play style is an entirely different kettle of fish. Take this with a pinch of salt; I could digress to avoid this drastic oversimplification but I don't think I'll say it any better with a wall of text: I'm not saying that blanket-checking balance is less of a viability factor than checking [insert x common threats here], because it's not - if anything, it's more of a pro-hoops factor, but things that are used as complete or even partial checks to whole play styles or cores (e.g. Azumarill as a check to sand, or Thundurus as a check to offense) are generally used to do that because they check key members of that play style, which Hoopa just doesn't even under such a deliberately broad heading as 'balance'; for example, Azumarill checks choice locked Tar and non-offensive variants of Tar, and while healthy she can force out Excadrill, further she's also a go-to check to some of the most notable partners for sand offense, Keldeo and Heatran. She's a great check to sand-offense for that reason, but that's by no means to say that she checks every common partner for sand offense; her matchup with Ferro isn't a favourable one, and the dual-weather addition (of ZardY and, for example, Venusaur) is also a great way around Azu. That doesn't make her less of a great check to sand offense.
However, having digressed with an example that breaks down the match ups that let one thing check a play style/core, back to Hoopa-U: the wall breaking potential is huge, but does he actually check a large proportion of the metagame? Well, no. Let's in the same way break down Hoopa's matchup with balance. To start with, I'm going to base my argument around this, the Hoopa that NJNP built a team around and reached #2 with:
Hoopa-U @ Life Orb
Ability: Magician
32 HP / 48 Atk / 252 Spa / 176 Spe
Naive Nature
- Psychic / Psyshock
- Dark Pulse / Knock Off / Hyperspace Fury
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch
Lets analyse some examples of how he matches up against the most common or rising in popularity balanced defensive threats:
252 SpA Life Orb Hoopa Unbound Psychic vs. 252 HP / 112 SpD Hippowdon: 265-313 (63 - 74.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Hippowdon Earthquake vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 180-213 (58.2 - 68.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage
So add that to 2 turns worth of Life Orb recoil and 2 turns of sandstorm, plus potential Stealth Rock damage, and Hoopa has to rely on Hippo coming in on him to get the 2HKO. Moreover, he has to come in on Psychic/Dark Pulse to lose too; Hippo can survive the combo of a Psychic and either a Drain Punch or a Gunk Shot:
0 Atk Life Orb Hoopa Unbound Drain Punch vs. 252 HP / 144+ Def Hippowdon: 74-88 (17.6 - 20.9%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Life Orb Hoopa Unbound Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 144+ Def Hippowdon: 58-70 (13.8 - 16.6%) -- possible 9HKO after Leftovers recovery
So, Hoopa can win in one given situation; Hippo switches in on a 100% healthy Hoopa-U's Dark Pulse or Psychic, or on Drain Punch/Gunk Shot after some prior damage ready to take the Psychic. Some check, heh. NEXT!
Landoge - common on balance and offense. Non-defensive variants switch in on 3 out of 6 potential coverage moves (all barring HP Ice, Dark Pulse and Psychic which in and of itself isn't even close to a guaranteed OHKO without SR up) and OHKO with U-Turn or EQ. Heck, even Superpower can put it in LO recoil/SR range, and Hoopa doesn't want to come in on a Knock Off either. Defensive variants can also 1HKO with U-Turn, very easily (no calc required there) and defensive variant's EQ puts Hoopa into LO range after rocks:
0 Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 225-265 (72.8 - 85.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 268-316 (86.7 - 102.2%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Landorus-T Superpower vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 215-253 (69.5 - 81.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Landorus-T Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 174-205 (56.3 - 66.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
And, to prove that non-defensive variants can switch in on anything but the aforementioned coverage:
252 SpA Life Orb Hoopa Unbound Psyshock vs. 24 HP / 0 Def Landorus-T: 227-269 (69.8 - 82.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
And for completeness, a healthy defensive Landoge can switch in too and is at liberty to begin investing in Speed to win:
252 SpA Life Orb Hoopa Unbound Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 8 SpD Landorus-T: 247-292 (64.6 - 76.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Hoopa Unbound Psychic vs. 252 HP / 8 SpD Landorus-T: 278-329 (72.7 - 86.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Landoge can, for example, run a Jolly Nature with 248 HP / 156 Def / 8 SpD / 92 Spe, (yes, I've checked - this does beat out Impish defensively while EVing for the same speed creep) which will outspeed Naive 176 Spe Hoopa, maintaining the same level of special bulk as the standard Def spread, and also a good amount of defensive presence to continue checking what it usually does. Granted, Hoopa can also run more speed to creep on this Landoge, but Hoopa only has 32 EV's
So, Hoopa can stop standard Landoge from switching in without baiting a Drain Punch or Gunk Shot (both of which deal less than 25%), to an extent, but can't force a healthy Landoge out. And, the above spread can be used to specifically beat Hoopa. Given that Hoopa is considered a huge threat to balance, regardless of it's ranking, I can see things like Landoge and other balance staples starting to run specifics to beat it.
Similarly, to quickly touch some other examples: Rotom-W loses to any combination of two attacks, Hoopa runs enough Atk to 2HKO Chansey, Ferro and Tran with Drain Punch, and he beats Clefable/Sylveon with Gunk Shot, wrecks Mega-Venusaur with Psychic... the list goes on. BUT he can't safely switch in on any of them without tricking prediction 50:50s. Not one. Literally none of those. Nor can he beat them 1v1 assuming both are healthy. Well, maybe Chansey, but she's a bit different and if you're letting your Chansey stay in to get 2HKO'd by Hoopa on your balanced team, you've something wrong or you're on a 1 for 1 exchange with Hoopa and whatever you can revenge kill it with.
In terms of his matchup against balance's key offensive threats, aside from those already mentioned:
Alakazam - switches in on his sash and wins with Dazzling Gleam or hits a weakened Hoopa with Focus Blast. Shakier match up, but Hoopa was bound to get a few. I don't think it makes Hoopa a good Zam check as Hoopa is much more easy to wear down.
Azumarill: 252+ Atk Choice Band Huge Power Azumarill Aqua Jet vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 180-213 (58.2 - 68.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Hoopa Unbound Psychic vs. 172 HP / 0 SpD Azumarill: 282-333 (73.4 - 86.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Same as most of the others - Hoopa's never switching in but can win 1v1 with Gunk Shot. Azu can come in on anything other than a Gunk Shot.
Mega Altaria: 252 Atk Pixilate Mega Altaria Return vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 584-690 (188.9 - 223.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO. So, same thing. Altaria can take anything other than a Gunk Shot and 1HKO, and if she's Jolly (as in the calc) she outspeeds Hoopa too.
Bisharp: 252 Atk Life Orb Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 251-296 (81.2 - 95.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. Guaranteed to atleast put Hoopa into LO range with Sucker Punch after Rocks and thats assuming a healthy Hoopa. Bisharp can switch in on anything except Drain Punch. If it's a Dark Pulse, then thats a guaranteed kill right there after Rocks given that Hoopa will have already taken LO damage. And, for the record, this Bisharp calc is Jolly, which doesn't outspeed Hoopa anyway. Hoopa switching in on a Knock Off is: (98.3 - 116.1%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO, and Adamant Sucker Punch wins.
Either variant of Charizard: Can take any of Hoopa's attacks outside of SR, given their unnaturally high SpD, outspeed, and 1HKO with Dragon Claw/Flare Blitz or Flamethrower, respectively.
252+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Dragon Claw vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 288-339 (93.2 - 109.7%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO. 252 SpA Mega Charizard Y Fire Blast vs. 32 HP / 0- SpD Hoopa Unbound in Sun: 279-328 (90.2 - 106.1%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO. Even if Rocks are up, preventing the Zard switch in, Hoopa loses on its own switch in and loses 1v1.
Mega Diancie: Switches in on anything except Psychic ((89.6 - 105.8%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO) and wins. 252 SpA Mega Diancie Moonblast vs. 32 HP / 0- SpD Hoopa Unbound: 320-380 (103.5 - 122.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Dragonite: 252+ Atk Choice Band Dragonite Extreme Speed vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 222-262 (71.8 - 84.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. Hoopa does a maximum of 42% with Psychic before breaking Multiscale
Garchomp: This one's not a bad matchup for Hoopa (think of Chomp's offensive variant Dragon Claw as unboosted Zard X without the Tough Claws boost - i.e. guaranteed 2HKO) but again it's the speed tier that makes it entirely situation based.
Mega Gardevoir: 252 SpA Life Orb Hoopa Unbound Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Gardevoir: 161-191 (58.1 - 68.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. Gardevoir can switch in on anything except a Gunk Shot (Dark Pulse is it's next best hit and does up to 78.7% before Garde mega's) and 1HKOs with Hyper Voice.
(Mega) Gyarados: Mega loses to Drain Punch even after Intimidate and regular loses to Dark Pulse depending on speed investment, but Hoopa doesn't want to switch in on a setup or an attack as he can't 1HKO at all but is cleanly 2HKO'd by the combination of a Waterfall and any other attack on offensive variants of Gyara.
Jirachi: Scarf comes in on anything except Dark Pulse and wins with U-Turn. Hoopa can't switch in on any of her attacks, especially due to the serene-grace'd burn/para/flinch/whatever chances. Defensive variants do the same albeit with less of an immediate threat to a healthy Hoopa.
Keldeo: Actually one of Hoopa's better match ups 1v1 but he still can't switch in. Only Specs and Life Orb can come close to a 1HKO with Secret Sword. Specs is guaranteed, Life Orb is guaranteed post-SR. For reference, without any boosts: 252 SpA Keldeo Secret Sword vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 210-247 (67.9 - 79.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. Keldeo can absorb any of Hoopas other attacks and threaten it though, and LO keldeo will win after Hoopa takes one hit from his own LO.
Kyurem-B: Given Drain Punch recovery, possibly one of the only things Hoopa can hope to switch in on. Once. Even then, if Kyurem's carrying a life orb, Fusion Bolt does a maximum of 85% which can some of the time put Hoopa into LO range again after rocks. Thats a good chunk more than an Ice beam, which goes to show how crippling Hoopas low base Def really is. Kyurem outspeeds 176 Spe Hoopa, too, if it's running 252 Spe itself, regardless of nature.
Latis: Same story coming up; they can switch in on anything but the right coverage move (Dark Pulse). But Hoopa can't come in at all except on Scarf'd Latios variants locked into Psyshock or another coverage move. If Hoopa's healthy it can most of the time (only most of the time) survive a Draco Meteor after rocks, but then also runs the risk of dying some of the time to it's own life orb recoil. Another one of Hoopa's better match ups but it's again a prediction game.
Mega-Lopunny: Can't switch in, period, except maybe on a Dark Pulse while healthy (39.8 - 46.8%), but gets the guaranteed 1HKO with HJK and comes pretty close to guaranteed with Return. Fake Out nets the kill with Return too. Even without that, Return puts Hoopa into LO range most of the time (all the time after SR).
Magnezone: Another of Hoopa's better match ups but he still can't switch in on a Thunderbolt as scarf'd variants will still net the kill most of the time due to Hoopa's life orb. 252 SpA Magnezone Thunderbolt vs. 32 HP / 0- SpD Hoopa Unbound: 132-156 (42.7 - 50.4%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO. Hoopa can't switch in on a healthy Specs Zone at all as it can't take either TBolt or Flash Cannon twice and can only 1HKO Zone with Dark Pulse after SR. Drain Punch recovery might swing it. Zone is still possibly the only guaranteed good opportunity for Hoopa to switch in yet though.
Mega Metagross: Another common sense one which I won't provide calcs for - it outspeeds Hoopa and wins with Meteor Mash (it's a guaranteed OHKO from Jolly/Hasty Meta), but Meta can't switch in on a Dark Pulse.
Raikou: Oh goody - we found a safe switch in! Vest Raikou does a maximum of 45% with Thunderbolt while taking the following from Gunk Shot: 48 Atk Life Orb Hoopa Unbound Gunk Shot vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Raikou: 221-261 (68.8 - 81.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. Specs Raikou isn't safe for Hoopa to switch in on, however: 252 SpA Choice Specs Raikou Thunderbolt vs. 32 HP / 0- SpD Hoopa Unbound: 180-213 (58.2 - 68.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. Both variants can still severely hamper Hoopa's health given they outspeed anyway.
(Mega) Scizor: 252 SpA Life Orb Hoopa Unbound Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mega Scizor: 208-246 (74 - 87.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. 252+ Atk Technician Mega Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 181-214 (58.5 - 69.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. Both Knock Off and Superpower from Mega Scizor do more to Hoopa, as does Life Orbed or Banded regular Scizor (who also can carry U-Turn). So this one is never a safe switch in for Hoopa unless it's so low that even a roost on the switch won't save it.
Serperior: 252 SpA Serperior Leaf Storm vs. 32 HP / 0- SpD Hoopa Unbound: 132-156 (42.7 - 50.4%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO. Again, Hoopa's never getting a safe switch in here but Serperior can't switch in either.
Starmie: A-la Latis, except Starmie's a little less threatening. That said, Hoopa doesn't want to switch in on a Hydro Pump from the offensive spinner. This is without the analytic boost: 252 SpA Life Orb Starmie Hydro Pump vs. 32 HP / 0- SpD Hoopa Unbound: 173-204 (55.9 - 66%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
Tyranitar: Again, common sense one. He's never taking a Drain Punch, ever, but Hoopa can't switch in on any of Jolly/Adamant 252 Atk Tar's attacks. 252 Atk Tyranitar Crunch vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 204-240 (66 - 77.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage. 252 Atk Tyranitar Stone Edge vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 253-298 (81.8 - 96.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage. Stone Edge from Scarf'd Tar actually comes close to guaranteed 1HKO after SS and LO damage, and achieves it if you throw rocks in too.
Mega Venusaur: Offensive variants threaten Hoopa on the switch with either STAB or status of some sort so again he's not an easy opportunity for Venusaur. But, one of the few so far that never wants to stay in on Hoopa even when healthy.
Weavile: More of an offense inclusion than a balance one, but in today's meta trend it's worth an inclusion. It can switch in on Dark Pulse or Psychic and proceed to reck with Icicle Crash or Knock Off, both of which can 1HKO with a little bit of prior damage. Knock off will guaranteed 1HKO after life orb damage or rocks, and Icicle Crash will 1HKO after both. 252 Atk Life Orb Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 296-348 (95.7 - 112.6%) -- 75% chance to OHKO. However in terms of the switch in the other way, Weavile is even sometimes 1HKO'd by Gunk Shot (always after Rocks): 48 Atk Life Orb Hoopa Unbound Gunk Shot vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Weavile: 247-291 (87.9 - 103.5%) -- 25% chance to OHKO.
So, there you have it. I might not have contributed anything anybody didn't already know, but I've put a lot of information in one place and made a fairly detailed analysis of the individual match ups of what I feel is the most diverse set, and certainly the one that has seen most success higher up the ladder. I'll end on a disclaimer: yes, Hoopa can run Scarf, and yes he can run Substitute. And all manner of other things. Here I've simply picked apart his offensive presence at it's most volatile and elaborated on his best chance against most threats. If I were to analyse scarf'd sets or the prediction games coming from Sub, I'd be here for even longer than I already have been. My conclusion:
So, he's a terror for balance. I've not listed anything at all here that he can't threaten, mostly by pressuring switch ins. But, the fact that there's two (fairly niche) things in this whole list (Chansey and AV Raikou) that aren't any threat at all to a healthy Hoopa, really speaks volumes. Hoopa can't force most of these things out if they're healthy, even if Hoopa is too. He's definitely a top A+ threat due to his uncanny knack of forcing anything up to 2 for 1 trades against balance, but based on his match ups against most of the above it's always going to be trades given that he can rarely rely on the Drain Punch recovery due to the thin coverage he gains from it (heck he's even beaten by Ferro's Gyro Ball through Drain Punch recovery and he's not that fast). I suppose that despite the fact that he first appears to have the capability to break through an awful lot of things, he'll have trouble doing it more than once or twice in a game and he's only going to do that if you build the team around letting him (hence the prevalence of the VoltTurn support for him - it's not even just a good way to support him, it's borderline required to make him work). And this is the key issue here - in theory he can break the balanced play style but in practice if your opponent carefully chooses what he trades for Hoopa, Hoopa can become a dead team slot if you're relying on him to beat anything specific. And, to return to the initial point, Hoopa can cause blanket-problems for balanced, but it's hard to say that he's a reliable check for just about anything specific or individual on this list. Leaving a pokemon in the S rank who relies on winning prediction games to actually succeed in wall breaking is a pretty unintuitive call, if you ask me. Not that anyone would, but hey. Just my two (thousand) cents.
Edit: a clarification, that this was mostly meant to demonstrate that he's not even a totally reliable winner against a well played balance build. I'd really support him knocking down below A+ into A or A-, to be honest, but I'll grant that that'd be a more controversial discussion.
Hoopa-U S-A+: I'd be opposed to this drop if Hoopa actually checked anything specific, but blanket-checking a play style is an entirely different kettle of fish. Take this with a pinch of salt; I could digress to avoid this drastic oversimplification but I don't think I'll say it any better with a wall of text: I'm not saying that blanket-checking balance is less of a viability factor than checking [insert x common threats here], because it's not - if anything, it's more of a pro-hoops factor, but things that are used as complete or even partial checks to whole play styles or cores (e.g. Azumarill as a check to sand, or Thundurus as a check to offense) are generally used to do that because they check key members of that play style, which Hoopa just doesn't even under such a deliberately broad heading as 'balance'; for example, Azumarill checks choice locked Tar and non-offensive variants of Tar, and while healthy she can force out Excadrill, further she's also a go-to check to some of the most notable partners for sand offense, Keldeo and Heatran. She's a great check to sand-offense for that reason, but that's by no means to say that she checks every common partner for sand offense; her matchup with Ferro isn't a favourable one, and the dual-weather addition (of ZardY and, for example, Venusaur) is also a great way around Azu. That doesn't make her less of a great check to sand offense.
However, having digressed with an example that breaks down the match ups that let one thing check a play style/core, back to Hoopa-U: the wall breaking potential is huge, but does he actually check a large proportion of the metagame? Well, no. Let's in the same way break down Hoopa's matchup with balance. To start with, I'm going to base my argument around this, the Hoopa that NJNP built a team around and reached #2 with:
Hoopa-U @ Life Orb
Ability: Magician
32 HP / 48 Atk / 252 Spa / 176 Spe
Naive Nature
- Psychic / Psyshock
- Dark Pulse / Knock Off / Hyperspace Fury
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch
Lets analyse some examples of how he matches up against the most common or rising in popularity balanced defensive threats:
252 SpA Life Orb Hoopa Unbound Psychic vs. 252 HP / 112 SpD Hippowdon: 265-313 (63 - 74.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Hippowdon Earthquake vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 180-213 (58.2 - 68.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage
So add that to 2 turns worth of Life Orb recoil and 2 turns of sandstorm, plus potential Stealth Rock damage, and Hoopa has to rely on Hippo coming in on him to get the 2HKO. Moreover, he has to come in on Psychic/Dark Pulse to lose too; Hippo can survive the combo of a Psychic and either a Drain Punch or a Gunk Shot:
0 Atk Life Orb Hoopa Unbound Drain Punch vs. 252 HP / 144+ Def Hippowdon: 74-88 (17.6 - 20.9%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Life Orb Hoopa Unbound Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 144+ Def Hippowdon: 58-70 (13.8 - 16.6%) -- possible 9HKO after Leftovers recovery
So, Hoopa can win in one given situation; Hippo switches in on a 100% healthy Hoopa-U's Dark Pulse or Psychic, or on Drain Punch/Gunk Shot after some prior damage ready to take the Psychic. Some check, heh. NEXT!
Landoge - common on balance and offense. Non-defensive variants switch in on 3 out of 6 potential coverage moves (all barring HP Ice, Dark Pulse and Psychic which in and of itself isn't even close to a guaranteed OHKO without SR up) and OHKO with U-Turn or EQ. Heck, even Superpower can put it in LO recoil/SR range, and Hoopa doesn't want to come in on a Knock Off either. Defensive variants can also 1HKO with U-Turn, very easily (no calc required there) and defensive variant's EQ puts Hoopa into LO range after rocks:
0 Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 225-265 (72.8 - 85.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 268-316 (86.7 - 102.2%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Landorus-T Superpower vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 215-253 (69.5 - 81.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Landorus-T Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 174-205 (56.3 - 66.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
And, to prove that non-defensive variants can switch in on anything but the aforementioned coverage:
252 SpA Life Orb Hoopa Unbound Psyshock vs. 24 HP / 0 Def Landorus-T: 227-269 (69.8 - 82.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
And for completeness, a healthy defensive Landoge can switch in too and is at liberty to begin investing in Speed to win:
252 SpA Life Orb Hoopa Unbound Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 8 SpD Landorus-T: 247-292 (64.6 - 76.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Hoopa Unbound Psychic vs. 252 HP / 8 SpD Landorus-T: 278-329 (72.7 - 86.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Landoge can, for example, run a Jolly Nature with 248 HP / 156 Def / 8 SpD / 92 Spe, (yes, I've checked - this does beat out Impish defensively while EVing for the same speed creep) which will outspeed Naive 176 Spe Hoopa, maintaining the same level of special bulk as the standard Def spread, and also a good amount of defensive presence to continue checking what it usually does. Granted, Hoopa can also run more speed to creep on this Landoge, but Hoopa only has 32 EV's
So, Hoopa can stop standard Landoge from switching in without baiting a Drain Punch or Gunk Shot (both of which deal less than 25%), to an extent, but can't force a healthy Landoge out. And, the above spread can be used to specifically beat Hoopa. Given that Hoopa is considered a huge threat to balance, regardless of it's ranking, I can see things like Landoge and other balance staples starting to run specifics to beat it.
Similarly, to quickly touch some other examples: Rotom-W loses to any combination of two attacks, Hoopa runs enough Atk to 2HKO Chansey, Ferro and Tran with Drain Punch, and he beats Clefable/Sylveon with Gunk Shot, wrecks Mega-Venusaur with Psychic... the list goes on. BUT he can't safely switch in on any of them without tricking prediction 50:50s. Not one. Literally none of those. Nor can he beat them 1v1 assuming both are healthy. Well, maybe Chansey, but she's a bit different and if you're letting your Chansey stay in to get 2HKO'd by Hoopa on your balanced team, you've something wrong or you're on a 1 for 1 exchange with Hoopa and whatever you can revenge kill it with.
In terms of his matchup against balance's key offensive threats, aside from those already mentioned:
Alakazam - switches in on his sash and wins with Dazzling Gleam or hits a weakened Hoopa with Focus Blast. Shakier match up, but Hoopa was bound to get a few. I don't think it makes Hoopa a good Zam check as Hoopa is much more easy to wear down.
Azumarill: 252+ Atk Choice Band Huge Power Azumarill Aqua Jet vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 180-213 (58.2 - 68.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Hoopa Unbound Psychic vs. 172 HP / 0 SpD Azumarill: 282-333 (73.4 - 86.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Same as most of the others - Hoopa's never switching in but can win 1v1 with Gunk Shot. Azu can come in on anything other than a Gunk Shot.
Mega Altaria: 252 Atk Pixilate Mega Altaria Return vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 584-690 (188.9 - 223.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO. So, same thing. Altaria can take anything other than a Gunk Shot and 1HKO, and if she's Jolly (as in the calc) she outspeeds Hoopa too.
Bisharp: 252 Atk Life Orb Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 251-296 (81.2 - 95.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. Guaranteed to atleast put Hoopa into LO range with Sucker Punch after Rocks and thats assuming a healthy Hoopa. Bisharp can switch in on anything except Drain Punch. If it's a Dark Pulse, then thats a guaranteed kill right there after Rocks given that Hoopa will have already taken LO damage. And, for the record, this Bisharp calc is Jolly, which doesn't outspeed Hoopa anyway. Hoopa switching in on a Knock Off is: (98.3 - 116.1%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO, and Adamant Sucker Punch wins.
Either variant of Charizard: Can take any of Hoopa's attacks outside of SR, given their unnaturally high SpD, outspeed, and 1HKO with Dragon Claw/Flare Blitz or Flamethrower, respectively.
252+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Dragon Claw vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 288-339 (93.2 - 109.7%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO. 252 SpA Mega Charizard Y Fire Blast vs. 32 HP / 0- SpD Hoopa Unbound in Sun: 279-328 (90.2 - 106.1%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO. Even if Rocks are up, preventing the Zard switch in, Hoopa loses on its own switch in and loses 1v1.
Mega Diancie: Switches in on anything except Psychic ((89.6 - 105.8%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO) and wins. 252 SpA Mega Diancie Moonblast vs. 32 HP / 0- SpD Hoopa Unbound: 320-380 (103.5 - 122.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Dragonite: 252+ Atk Choice Band Dragonite Extreme Speed vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 222-262 (71.8 - 84.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. Hoopa does a maximum of 42% with Psychic before breaking Multiscale
Garchomp: This one's not a bad matchup for Hoopa (think of Chomp's offensive variant Dragon Claw as unboosted Zard X without the Tough Claws boost - i.e. guaranteed 2HKO) but again it's the speed tier that makes it entirely situation based.
Mega Gardevoir: 252 SpA Life Orb Hoopa Unbound Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Gardevoir: 161-191 (58.1 - 68.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. Gardevoir can switch in on anything except a Gunk Shot (Dark Pulse is it's next best hit and does up to 78.7% before Garde mega's) and 1HKOs with Hyper Voice.
(Mega) Gyarados: Mega loses to Drain Punch even after Intimidate and regular loses to Dark Pulse depending on speed investment, but Hoopa doesn't want to switch in on a setup or an attack as he can't 1HKO at all but is cleanly 2HKO'd by the combination of a Waterfall and any other attack on offensive variants of Gyara.
Jirachi: Scarf comes in on anything except Dark Pulse and wins with U-Turn. Hoopa can't switch in on any of her attacks, especially due to the serene-grace'd burn/para/flinch/whatever chances. Defensive variants do the same albeit with less of an immediate threat to a healthy Hoopa.
Keldeo: Actually one of Hoopa's better match ups 1v1 but he still can't switch in. Only Specs and Life Orb can come close to a 1HKO with Secret Sword. Specs is guaranteed, Life Orb is guaranteed post-SR. For reference, without any boosts: 252 SpA Keldeo Secret Sword vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 210-247 (67.9 - 79.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. Keldeo can absorb any of Hoopas other attacks and threaten it though, and LO keldeo will win after Hoopa takes one hit from his own LO.
Kyurem-B: Given Drain Punch recovery, possibly one of the only things Hoopa can hope to switch in on. Once. Even then, if Kyurem's carrying a life orb, Fusion Bolt does a maximum of 85% which can some of the time put Hoopa into LO range again after rocks. Thats a good chunk more than an Ice beam, which goes to show how crippling Hoopas low base Def really is. Kyurem outspeeds 176 Spe Hoopa, too, if it's running 252 Spe itself, regardless of nature.
Latis: Same story coming up; they can switch in on anything but the right coverage move (Dark Pulse). But Hoopa can't come in at all except on Scarf'd Latios variants locked into Psyshock or another coverage move. If Hoopa's healthy it can most of the time (only most of the time) survive a Draco Meteor after rocks, but then also runs the risk of dying some of the time to it's own life orb recoil. Another one of Hoopa's better match ups but it's again a prediction game.
Mega-Lopunny: Can't switch in, period, except maybe on a Dark Pulse while healthy (39.8 - 46.8%), but gets the guaranteed 1HKO with HJK and comes pretty close to guaranteed with Return. Fake Out nets the kill with Return too. Even without that, Return puts Hoopa into LO range most of the time (all the time after SR).
Magnezone: Another of Hoopa's better match ups but he still can't switch in on a Thunderbolt as scarf'd variants will still net the kill most of the time due to Hoopa's life orb. 252 SpA Magnezone Thunderbolt vs. 32 HP / 0- SpD Hoopa Unbound: 132-156 (42.7 - 50.4%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO. Hoopa can't switch in on a healthy Specs Zone at all as it can't take either TBolt or Flash Cannon twice and can only 1HKO Zone with Dark Pulse after SR. Drain Punch recovery might swing it. Zone is still possibly the only guaranteed good opportunity for Hoopa to switch in yet though.
Mega Metagross: Another common sense one which I won't provide calcs for - it outspeeds Hoopa and wins with Meteor Mash (it's a guaranteed OHKO from Jolly/Hasty Meta), but Meta can't switch in on a Dark Pulse.
Raikou: Oh goody - we found a safe switch in! Vest Raikou does a maximum of 45% with Thunderbolt while taking the following from Gunk Shot: 48 Atk Life Orb Hoopa Unbound Gunk Shot vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Raikou: 221-261 (68.8 - 81.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. Specs Raikou isn't safe for Hoopa to switch in on, however: 252 SpA Choice Specs Raikou Thunderbolt vs. 32 HP / 0- SpD Hoopa Unbound: 180-213 (58.2 - 68.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. Both variants can still severely hamper Hoopa's health given they outspeed anyway.
(Mega) Scizor: 252 SpA Life Orb Hoopa Unbound Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mega Scizor: 208-246 (74 - 87.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. 252+ Atk Technician Mega Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 181-214 (58.5 - 69.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. Both Knock Off and Superpower from Mega Scizor do more to Hoopa, as does Life Orbed or Banded regular Scizor (who also can carry U-Turn). So this one is never a safe switch in for Hoopa unless it's so low that even a roost on the switch won't save it.
Serperior: 252 SpA Serperior Leaf Storm vs. 32 HP / 0- SpD Hoopa Unbound: 132-156 (42.7 - 50.4%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO. Again, Hoopa's never getting a safe switch in here but Serperior can't switch in either.
Starmie: A-la Latis, except Starmie's a little less threatening. That said, Hoopa doesn't want to switch in on a Hydro Pump from the offensive spinner. This is without the analytic boost: 252 SpA Life Orb Starmie Hydro Pump vs. 32 HP / 0- SpD Hoopa Unbound: 173-204 (55.9 - 66%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
Tyranitar: Again, common sense one. He's never taking a Drain Punch, ever, but Hoopa can't switch in on any of Jolly/Adamant 252 Atk Tar's attacks. 252 Atk Tyranitar Crunch vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 204-240 (66 - 77.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage. 252 Atk Tyranitar Stone Edge vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 253-298 (81.8 - 96.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage. Stone Edge from Scarf'd Tar actually comes close to guaranteed 1HKO after SS and LO damage, and achieves it if you throw rocks in too.
Mega Venusaur: Offensive variants threaten Hoopa on the switch with either STAB or status of some sort so again he's not an easy opportunity for Venusaur. But, one of the few so far that never wants to stay in on Hoopa even when healthy.
Weavile: More of an offense inclusion than a balance one, but in today's meta trend it's worth an inclusion. It can switch in on Dark Pulse or Psychic and proceed to reck with Icicle Crash or Knock Off, both of which can 1HKO with a little bit of prior damage. Knock off will guaranteed 1HKO after life orb damage or rocks, and Icicle Crash will 1HKO after both. 252 Atk Life Orb Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Hoopa Unbound: 296-348 (95.7 - 112.6%) -- 75% chance to OHKO. However in terms of the switch in the other way, Weavile is even sometimes 1HKO'd by Gunk Shot (always after Rocks): 48 Atk Life Orb Hoopa Unbound Gunk Shot vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Weavile: 247-291 (87.9 - 103.5%) -- 25% chance to OHKO.
So, there you have it. I might not have contributed anything anybody didn't already know, but I've put a lot of information in one place and made a fairly detailed analysis of the individual match ups of what I feel is the most diverse set, and certainly the one that has seen most success higher up the ladder. I'll end on a disclaimer: yes, Hoopa can run Scarf, and yes he can run Substitute. And all manner of other things. Here I've simply picked apart his offensive presence at it's most volatile and elaborated on his best chance against most threats. If I were to analyse scarf'd sets or the prediction games coming from Sub, I'd be here for even longer than I already have been. My conclusion:
So, he's a terror for balance. I've not listed anything at all here that he can't threaten, mostly by pressuring switch ins. But, the fact that there's two (fairly niche) things in this whole list (Chansey and AV Raikou) that aren't any threat at all to a healthy Hoopa, really speaks volumes. Hoopa can't force most of these things out if they're healthy, even if Hoopa is too. He's definitely a top A+ threat due to his uncanny knack of forcing anything up to 2 for 1 trades against balance, but based on his match ups against most of the above it's always going to be trades given that he can rarely rely on the Drain Punch recovery due to the thin coverage he gains from it (heck he's even beaten by Ferro's Gyro Ball through Drain Punch recovery and he's not that fast). I suppose that despite the fact that he first appears to have the capability to break through an awful lot of things, he'll have trouble doing it more than once or twice in a game and he's only going to do that if you build the team around letting him (hence the prevalence of the VoltTurn support for him - it's not even just a good way to support him, it's borderline required to make him work). And this is the key issue here - in theory he can break the balanced play style but in practice if your opponent carefully chooses what he trades for Hoopa, Hoopa can become a dead team slot if you're relying on him to beat anything specific. And, to return to the initial point, Hoopa can cause blanket-problems for balanced, but it's hard to say that he's a reliable check for just about anything specific or individual on this list. Leaving a pokemon in the S rank who relies on winning prediction games to actually succeed in wall breaking is a pretty unintuitive call, if you ask me. Not that anyone would, but hey. Just my two (thousand) cents.
Edit: a clarification, that this was mostly meant to demonstrate that he's not even a totally reliable winner against a well played balance build. I'd really support him knocking down below A+ into A or A-, to be honest, but I'll grant that that'd be a more controversial discussion.
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