BH Balanced Hackmons

You may already know this set as was laddering with it the past few days, it's something I came up with once I saw the potential of Tinted Lens:


Blaziken-Mega @ Choice Band
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- V-create
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Stealth Rocks

Adamant Nature for 75% OHKO on Pogre with V-create, I switch to Jolly whenever I feel like the meta needs the speed.
It hits like crazy, easily improof with ghost flash fire/primordial see, can create momentum while hitting hard on switch outs.

Last move is Stealth Rocks because I didn't have a slot on my other mons and because you usually don't want to switch in your Magic Bounce on a V-create by this guy. Even Giratina takes 70% or so.

Beware of Fur Coat/Fire immunity/Trap/Ghost/Priority (triage and pixilate) and you're good to go
 
So, yeah, I've not been playing super competitively for a while. I don't really do tournaments, official or room tour, lately since my work schedule doesn't really permit me to do so. (Well, I can do the former, but making Europeans stay up until 4 A.M. to battle me just isn't nice or fair.) And laddering... I enjoy facing down good opponents, but staying at an ELO to regularly face good opponents and not the low ladder set-up spam squad requires a fair amount of time I don't quite have without giving up things I don't want to give up.

Plus, it doesn't help that I had a chance to do the recent suspect, but looked at the requirements, calculated a time estimate it'd take to reach them, and kinda went "meh" and didn't even try. Coulda done 'em, didn't want to, and it was a sign I needed to be done being competitive this generation.

...plus the fact Gen VIII is around the corner and Gen VII still isn't in a great spot, IMO, and won't get there before doesn't help. It's still better than late ORAS though. X/Y and Gen V are the best BH metas so far, fight me.


So... I'm gonna team dump some of my better or more interesting teams for you guys. With some explanations. I'm not including everything, I've run a few really weird teams or some that broke completely in certain circumstances. I'm also not including any teams others made for me for a couple of tournies. Some of these teams are also not currently legal, I'll mark them as such. Feel free to use these or modify 'em. But if you do so and do amazing and go to the RMT or brag about peaking ladder or whatever, please credit me?

Or you could offer suggestions for improvements if you want, but maybe do that privately so not to clog the thread?


Also, mind, I'm not a prolific team builder, so there's not a ton here. I never could just squirt out multiple viable teams a day like some of you guys do.

Kyogre-Mega (Kyogre-Primal) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin
- U-turn

Slaking-Mega (Regigigas) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Spore
- Knock Off
- Facade
- Dragon Tail

Gengar-Mega-Y (Giratina) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Recover
- Whirlwind
- Glare
- Knock Off

Sylveon-Mega (Audino-Mega) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Perish Song
- Recover
- Wish
- U-turn

Umbreon-Mega (Yveltal) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind
- Roost

Rayquaza-Extra-Mega (Rayquaza-Mega) @ Flame Orb
Ability: Quick Feet
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Oblivion Wing
- Ice Beam
- Tail Glow
- Earth Power


I'll start with the oldest one of the bunch. You might recognize this team, or a variant of it, from one of my old RMTs. Either way, the basics of this team have existed since all the way at the X/Y era and has changed very little. It's no longer top tier material anymore, but this team is great for breaking out of low ladder on a new account, if you're patient enough with it, or dealing with early matches of room tours and big tours if you're not against good players. High ladder and tournament play is possible, but very match-up dependent.

The goal of the team is to keep control over momentum by constantly denying your opponent to maintain it and capitalize on their situation.


Kyogre is the pivot and usual lead. It can pivot on expected Shedinjas and Illusions as well as Imposter leads. It can switch in to some threats, threaten with burns, and it clears hazards. Ice Beam helps discourage Giratina from spin-blocking.

Gigas is an older, non-set-up set. Might be a bit less functional in the sleep clause meta now, but basically it sleeps stuff, removes items, and smashes anything vulnerable to it. Core Enforcer users, Steel-types, Ghosts, and pivots all get screwed up by Dragon Tail.

Giratina is purely a "screw you" to momentum. Offensive stuff gets paralyzed (don't target Imposter though!), everything loses items, and Whirlwind keeps shuffling opponents around so they can't do much.

Audino is a simple Unaware wall. Used to be Cress, and Cress might be the better pick again. Perish Song is a hard stop to everything that's not a Soundproof sweeper and U-Turn keeps it from being trapped. Double recovery seems odd, but this is a stally team and Wish passing can a huge morale drop for your opponent.

Yveltal is a magic-bounce utility mon. Similar boat to Giratina and function, except it sets hazards for all the shuffling. Watch for Imposter though!

Ray is an independent set and is meant for clean-up. Once the opponent is sufficiently weakened that they can't stop it, Ray finds a nice, safe moment to come in, Tail Glow and Quick Feet up, and then proceed to destroy everything. Ray OHKOs Imposter 100% of the time with Ice Beam, even if Eviolite is still intact, and outspeeds due to Quick Feet, provided it has gotten a boost up. Unboosted does 40-48% and Chansey OHKOs back unboosted, so heads up there!

Fun fact: This set was first invented by myself in X/Y. It was Quick Feet Shaymin Sky. Someone, I forget who, said they'd be surprised if a status-orb set that wasn't Poison Heal or Magic Guard would ever be viable. Me: "Challenge Accepted!" Considering the concept is still viable today with Meta-Ray, I can safely say "Challenge Complete!"



Manectric-Mega @ Icium Z
Ability: Galvanize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Steam Eruption
- Ice Beam
- Volt Switch

Kyurem-White @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Refrigerate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Earth Power
- Core Enforcer
- Trick

Groudon-Primal @ Choice Band
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- V-create
- Thousand Arrows
- Sunsteel Strike
- Trick

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Core Enforcer
- Milk Drink
- Knock Off
- U-turn

Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 SpA / 0 Spe
- Soft-Boiled
- Metal Burst
- Parting Shot
- Stealth Rock

Giratina @ Terrain Extender
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Recover
- Defog
- Spectral Thief
- Baton Pass


I have an RMT on this one: http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/balanced-hackmons-manectrics-pre-primaldon-ban-squad.3617110/


Briefly though, it's a balanced team that bounces between an offensive and a defensive core. It's largely a tournament and high level team, since it struggles with set-up spam. And Mega-Kanga. Ouch. It's notable as well in that it's one of the first, if not the first, team to utilize Misty Terrain at high level play. It was brought along initially to help counter Psychic Surge, but Misty Surge is still super nice and it kept it up until Primaldon got the bucket.

Lead depends on opponent.

One notable bit is Manectric's Z-Ice Beam OHKOs non-Assault Vest Zygarde and KOs Giratina after a regular Ice Beam. Steam Eruption did OHKO non-immune non-AV Primaldon's, but that's not relevant anymore.

As an aside, I still think Manectric's a bit underrated. Yeah, it doesn't wall break like Xurk or Amph and it's not bulky like Zekrom, but it still packs a punch and its super fast.

I did try to update this team by replacing Primaldon with Red Orb Don and, it worked okay, but didn't quite have the same oomph. I think this team could be salvaged with the right replacement for Don since my other solutions required rejiggering the entire defensive core, which I never got around to.



Manectric-Mega @ Choice Specs
Ability: Galvanize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Trick
- Ice Beam
- Volt Switch

Swampert-Mega @ Terrain Extender
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Shore Up
- Skill Swap
- Core Enforcer
- U-turn

Giratina @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Spectral Thief
- Defog
- Circle Throw
- U-turn

Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Fake Out
- Heal Order
- Heal Bell
- Final Gambit

Garchomp-Mega @ Choice Band
Ability: Turboblaze
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Thousand Arrows
- Dragon Hammer
- Pursuit
- Trick

Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Illusion
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Careful Nature
- Nature's Madness
- Seismic Toss
- Sacred Fire
- Heal Order


An unfinished Electric Terrain team. Always meant to build a good one, but kept getting side-tracked. This one's in a decent spot. It's competitive, but not quite there. Manetric/Swamp/Chomp all worked solidly, and Imposter is Imposter, but always had trouble with the last two mons. It also has a lot of the same weaknesses as the Misty Squad does, which really didn't help matters since I was getting annoyed at all the teams I was inventing at the time being weak to set-up spam.

Chansey and Kanga are pretty bog-standard sets and need no explanation. Kanga's just kinda there and, if memory serves right, was scheduled to be replaced.

Manetric is a fairly standard Specs user. With Specs and Terrain, it hits friggin' hard and it's still fast to boot. Very little can wall this sucker, which made building around it a little tricky. And if it walled, it can just swap items with its counter to screw them over!

Swampert makes for a pretty great E.Terrain setter. Not only does it check other abusers, it's relatively bulky, has a rarely exploited weakness, and it also Imposter-proofs Manectric. It's set is entirely utility, although maybe I didn't need Core AND Skill Swap. Skill Swap is still fun though for checking Misty Terrain setters or, well... lots of other things, really!

Giratina is a fairly standard Poison Healer. I believe I had it to check Xtwo, among other things. I was probably gonna swap it out with something else.

Garchomp makes for an excellent partner for Manectric, as its STABs cover just about everything Manectric's Boltbeam doesn't. Moldy Band Arrows just smash up a lot of teams while Dragon Hammer was more of a Giratina removal thing. Pursuit was for Sheddy, although it's not the best anti-Shed since it can't switch in.

All in all, it was a good base, but it needs work and some tweaking.



Solgaleo @ Leftovers
Ability: Turboblaze
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Toxic Spikes
- Taunt
- Strength Sap
- Gear Grind

Yveltal @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Circle Throw
- Knock Off
- Baneful Bunker
- Spectral Thief

Zygarde-Complete @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- U-turn
- Core Enforcer
- Wish
- Baneful Bunker

Arceus @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Sassy Nature
- Boomburst
- Spectral Thief
- Shore Up
- Baton Pass

Gengar-Mega @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Merciless
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Venoshock
- Hex
- Secret Sword
- Defog

Groudon-Primal @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Merciless
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Precipice Blades
- Toxic Spikes
- V-create
- U-turn

I also have a RMT for this one! http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...primal-groudon-ban-balanced-hackmons.3626773/


In short, this is a Toxic stall-ish team. You know, that concept everyone laughs at becase "lolposionheal". And then it wrecks the PHer and everything else. This is definitely one of the most solid teams I made all generation. It only lost in the tournament scene because I brought Defog rather than Rapid Spin to a match.

Yes, really, the PP difference there was the entire deciding factor.

The team struggles a bit with Misty Surge, although, depending on the user, it can eventually punish them for keeping it up. And if the user isn't Poison immune, it can't switch into the T.Spikes safely.

Solgaleo... most people don't expect moldy Solga. This set screws with walls and ensures T.Spikes are set-up. It also KOs even Sash Shedinja (and cheeky APS Sash Diancies trying to Shell Smash on it). It was often the lead of the team and it only needed to get one layer of T.Spikes up for the rest of my team to do its thing.

Yveltal is just a good defensive partner for Solgaleo. The Solgaleo/Yveltal defensive core is probably one of my favorites this gen since they cover each other so well and it can be built upon very easily. The set here is based on an old set made by Adrian Marin, updated for modern times. It's a serious pain in the butt and denies momentum to the opponent. There were a few ladder rematches where my opponent said something like "oh god not this set again."

Zygarde is a fairly standard defensive/utility PH set. Baneful helps spread the delicious poison around. Wish just keeps the whole team going for a long time, specially the attackers.

Unaware Arceus is pretty darn good, try it! Steal boosts, can't be Spectraled back, and it can do good damage with stolen Sp.A boosts. Passing the boosts could often be a GG too. And not to Groudon or Gengar, but to Yveltal! Seriously... that set is surprisingly nuts with some stolen boosts.

Gengar is an obvious Merciless user with STAB Hex and Venoshock. Defog over Rapid Spin since, long term, my hazards are less important than theirs. This set always kinda suffered a bit of "what do I do with all my moveslots" syndrome since Secret Sword got clicked once every never.

Merciless Groudon was pretty crazy too. It could T.Spike on predicted switches or U-Turn to scout for checks/counters. It also scared its own Imposter if the Imposter was poisoned. 100% crit chance on a Primaldon was... nuts.

I tried updating the team by swapping 'Don for Mega-Ray, but it just didn't... flow right. Mega-Blaze had the right oomph and STABs offensively, but was too frail. I think I was considering toying with Reshiram next, but I didn't get around to it.



Aerodactyl-Mega @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Diamond Storm
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- U-turn

Cresselia @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heart Swap
- Baton Pass
- Recover
- Wish

Regirock @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Heal Order
- Parting Shot
- Core Enforcer
- Defog

Mewtwo-Mega-Y @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spore
- Stealth Rock
- Psystrike
- Secret Sword

Yveltal @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- King's Shield
- Knock Off
- Circle Throw
- Sucker Punch

Garchomp-Mega @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Precipice Blades
- Dragon Hammer
- Sunsteel Strike
- Trick


Based on an old Gen VI Sand Team, which in turn is based on a sand team Keep It Playful gave me. This team has seen ups and downs due to various bans. It's also very momentum based too, which is tricky! It needs tweaks to be viable. Most of it is good, but Mewtwo is a big weak link in the chain and Cress was also questionable when I last ran it.

Aero is the lead and sand setter. Rather than having a setter who took hits, I opted for one that who could avoid hits with its speed. It didn't attack often, but it had the option to deal with Pesky Sceptiles and Mega-Rays and the like.

Cress is a pretty standard Unaware wall. Steal boosts and pass them along with a Wish for good luck. Probably needs Spectral Thief these days since all the Smash.

Mewtwo was there just to set hazards and sleep things. It also abused stolen boosts well, but... while it worked wonderfully back in the day, this set is just dated and doesn't do hot in the current meta.

Regirock is a Sandy wall and is very sturdy when the sand is up! The set itself really needs no explanation, however.

Yveltal is another Adrian Marin Yveltal. In fact, I think this is actually the original set, or very close to it. General jerkhole to opposing momentum and Poison Heal helped offset the sand damage.

Chomp is the offensive sand abuser. Sand Rush outspeeds everything unboosted and Band makes it hit very hard. Sunsteel the Fur Coat walls or share the gift of being locked to one move with Trick. Once Sand was down though, it was usually time to retreat unless it outsped the survivors still.

Fun fact: the original version of the team used Terrakion instead! It was the only time I ever really saw Terrakion being viable in BH. But, that was the early days of X/Y, we're well beyond that now.



There were a couple of teams in here I built that have vanished. So, we're kinda skipping a few months here to more modern times, barring the experiments that didn't quite work in the mean time.


Solgaleo @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Careful Nature
- Sunsteel Strike
- Ice Hammer
- Rapid Spin
- U-turn

Yveltal @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Spectral Thief
- Circle Throw
- King's Shield

Xerneas @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Whirlwind
- Glare

Groudon @ Red Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fire Lash
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Synthesis

Arceus-Bug @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wish
- Shore Up
- U-turn
- Perish Song

Rayquaza-Mega @ Flame Orb
Ability: Quick Feet
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Oblivion Wing
- Ice Beam
- Moongeist Beam
- Tail Glow


This is my most recent and modern team, I started this when it became clear Sleep was going to get suspected and it was built with a few goals in mind.

1. Futureproof: be sleep ban friendly without being weak to sleep
2. Avoid the slow pivot spam plaguing the ladder without being vulnerable to it
3. Avoid role compression where possible
4. Modernize one of my historically best teams.


On point one, the team checks various status effects and utilizes their own. I couldn't predict the future and, as clear as the inevitable suspect was, it wasn't 100% certain. So, I needed to build for both a full ban and no ban/no suspect.

Point two, slow pivot stuff is... boring. Yawn. Stifling. Etc. I'm surprised everyone's just following the leader instead of finding ways to punish. I'm tired of racing to the slowest pivot. So this team just says screw it, we're gonna go fast and we're gonna take advantage of our speed the best we can. Our walls are faster than your walls and we're gonna abuse our 4th slot not being U-Turn six times in a row.

Point three, a role compressed mon does a lot of things in an average fashion, These mons are gonna do one or two things and they're gonna do them well. We're also not going to rely on this super roll compressed Pokemon being a lynch pin where, if it goes down, the team follows. This core might be more brittle, but instead of shattering, it only cracks.

And point four? This is effectively an update for the very first team I listed and, while I didn't quite finish it (yet), it's in a very good spot so far with a strong win rate. It needs a few tweaks somewhere, but I need more play testing to find the points that need adjustment.

This team's goal is to deny momentum to the opponent and keep control over it. A lot of shuffling is utilized once again as well as things to keep the opponent from moving, all the while burning time out on things like terrain and weather. And once the opponent is softened up, go in and clean-up. It's a little more reliant on its sweeper than the old version, since I don't have Regi's Facade to beat-up unprepared teams. But, it has its own tricks to apply pressure more directly.


Solgaleo is a fairly standard AV-Regen set. Say what you will about Necrozma being the superior lion, Solgaleo is still bulkier and, since I'm running speed, I don't care about the lower speed. Ice Hammer helps it punish Zygardes, Rayquazas, and Giratinas that try to take advantage of it, switch in, or whatever. And while not an offensive set, there's enough damage to take advantage of them clicking Recover at the speed of a snail. Still a U-Turn though, since pivoting on offensive mons is still important.

With Yveltal, you see my love for the Yvelgaleo core once more. And how much I enjoy Adrian Marin's Yveltal set. (Seriously guy, if you're lurking and reading this, you better give me a like!) This one is almost identical to the toxic stall set, but swaps Baneful for King's Shield. Again, it steals boosts, shuffles mons out, and makes it self a pain in the neck.

I'm a bit vulnerable to Core Enforcer. Luckily, Xerneas fits with the above core and also is immune, making it also a good status check through Poison Heal. Its goal is to shuffle and status mons, keeping opponent from going anywhere. However, I'm also running Moonblast for added pressure on the opponent. It won't sweet anything (usually), but I'm playing the long game and my opponents Shore Up PP is more valuable than my Moonblast. Plus it can chip offensive Pokemon too, which is always nice.

Groudon is where the set deviates a big deal from the original. Instead of a bouncer, I have "Pressure Groudon". I saw a sorta similar set back before the 'Don ban randomly on ladder and I always wanted to try it. And... sheesh, it's kinda mean. Sunboosted Fire Lash hurts. And the guaranteed defense drop ensures nothing can wall it indefinitely without being immune or liberal use of Haze. Synthesis ensures that it just won't die and continues to pressure the opponent over the match. Earthquake over usual moves for a mix of accuracy, damage, and PP.

I'll be clear here: this isn't a sweeper. It's not a wall breaker. It's a pressure set. This isn't a SMASH! This is steadily squeezing your opponent tighter and tighter until they break. And it works marvelously.

Yveltal is the Imposter-proof for the set. It can switch in on Earthquake trivially and Fire Lash isn't a huge deal since it gets King Shielded. Imposter also is iffy on switching into 'Don anyway since it doesn't want a defense drop nor a SE Earthquake.

Moving on, Arceus is the Unaware mon. I picked Bug since I heard Imposters were copying the typing and umm... well... I have Don. And Mega-Ray. Otherwise, Perish Song shuts down all momentum again, U-Turn prevents trappin, and Wish keeps the entire team healthy. Arcues' speed ensures it can also recover in the face of most bulky threats too!

Finally, Mega-Ray. It's the same old independent Mega-Ray set I developed, based on my X/Y Quick Feet Shaymin-Sky. Only, I swapped Earthpower for Moongeist. Primaldon handles most Steel types on his own just fine, so runnin Moongeist lets me bop Shedinja and the stray Unaware user. Key point though, Arceus is immune, so Imposter can't abuse it. Solgaleo and Yveltal can also somewhat check too if needed. Either way, once opponent's team is soft, Ray comes when it's safe to do so, set-up, and clean-up.


Not shown

Middle Speed Trickroom: A concept to throw slow pivoting and offensive mons on their head all at once by using half speed invested mons around base 100 speed under Trick Room. It poofed while I was working on it. Most I remember was trying to abuse Mega-Garde, but I didn't face any good players with it to get a feel of it.

Anchor Shot abuse: Woulda shared this one even though the Genarite ban happened, but it was devoured too. A team all using and abusing Anchor Shot to demonstrate how dumb permanent trapping moves are. It was hardly finished, but it was pretty dumb and caused a lot of screams of rage.

Generic teams: I had a couple of "this is meta" teams that got erased somehow along with the above. Nothing really stand out about them, just the usual slow pivot standard set stuff. Made for low risk suspect laddering and junk, but I didn't really find them fun despite them being successful.

Weird teams/heavy ban abuse/experiments/failures: I can share these if you guys like. I figured I'd just focus on the viable teams and the older, successful teams that could still work today with a bit of modification. But I'm perfectly fine sharing some of the really dumb stuff I worked on this gen.

Teams given to me: Not sharing these unless the people who made them were to give me permission to do so. I can ask if you guys want, but no promises.
 
I know we pretty much moved on but I'd like to chime in with just one thing regarding imposter. It's not the main point, others have already covered those.

However it should atleast be mentioned that Imposter does significantly more good than bad in regards to team building. Imposter is a go to, easy to use counter to some of the scariest sets in BH. Without Imposter looming over the metagame set-up sweepers would run absolutely rampant. Without I suspect HO would be the name of the game as nothing would prevent you from building a team solely based around spamming set-up sweepers like Mega Rayquaza & MMY. Since Chansey almost always beats these mons non-imposterproof setup sweepers simply aren't viable and removing Imposter would open up a Pandoras Box of powerful threats that would be simply impossible to build around reliably. Sure you could still use -atespeed to check these mons but that most likely would not be enough in the long-run, especially with the ingenuity that the BH players have.

Just my 2 cents :)
 

Champion Leon

Banned deucer.
shoutouts to Rumors for making the original

https://pastebin.com/DVGNmRzt
in case you guys feel like building around some HEAT UNMONS i made e and f ranks for the vr last night. it's pretty comprehensive but i'm wondering if there are mons i overlooked that have worked out for others. what extremely niche mons have you guys used that aren't on here?
According to Bulbapedia, since Gen 5:
Weather Ball is unaffected by Normalize, Pixilate, Refrigerate, and Aerilate. However, it is affected by Ion Deluge (if the move would be Normal-type) and Electrify.

This means Nihilego can use it on its Sandstream sets over Rev-Dance for more power, still handling Gar, for 150 Base power over 135 (after STAB).

Meloetta! Yay! She made it!

*Misty Surge on Gyarados please ;).

Pretty useful list.

Good to see Rhy, Rhy get placed and finally someone mentions Lugia can be helpful. Suggested Ability would be Fur Coat, and Unaware for MMX, and Prankster (Roost can be useful for Bolt Strike and Ice Moves when going first).

Something niche I have used to good Prankster Core Enforcer spam is a Exeggutor-Alola because it can afford a Darkinium-Z, unlike Ampharos-Mega which needs Safety Goggles.
If it chooses Draco Plate instead (it can use Core, or also go Imposterproof with Judgement), then it will do as much damage as Ampharos-Mega with Safety Goggles on Core.

It’s a Spore Immune, Imposter resistant, that can Sleep, Boost, and Attack: Spore, Core, Copycat and Tail Glow / Parting Shot / Seed Flare.

It’s very niche, likely F-Rank, but a pleasant surprise.
 
Last edited:

a loser

I'm a loser, baby, so why don't you kill me?
is a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Community Contributor Alumnus
it's pretty comprehensive but i'm wondering if there are mons i overlooked that have worked out for others. what extremely niche mons have you guys used that aren't on here?
Nice looking stuff here. Some things I'd say you missed out on would most likely fit into F Rank but maybe sneak into E.

Mega Lopunny (Poison Heal, Tough Claws, Dazzling) - This mon has the niche of being a Normal-type that isn't walled by Steels. The speed is nice for things like MMX and Gengar but sucks being slower than MMY. The attack stat is actually pretty sad and doesn’t hit that hard without certain abilities or items or boosts. Hitting Imposter SE is nice and so is being immune to Spectral. This mon is pretty unexplored though and most people seem to favor DazzleSmash with Reversal and stuff but that is easily walled by Prankster Haze.

Marshadow (Normalize, Tough Claws, Adaptability) – Marshadow has an amazing STAB combo but a disappointing speed tier and attack stat for BH. It really needs to be faster to hit the Mewtwos and Gar and it really needs more power to break walls effectively. That being said, it can run really niche sets like Ghost Memory Normalize and Band/Scarf TC or Adapt, depending on if you want to break walls or surprise faster mons.

Mega Salamence (Fur Coat, ???) – Discount Mega Ray but with interesting variations in stats. It is surprisingly fast and has pretty good physical bulk to work as a niche Fur Coat wall but doesn’t have many useful resistances (i.e., Photon and Sunsteel still hurt bad) and hates Ice coverage. I guess it could serve as an improof to something like PDon, Mega Beedrill, or maybe even Mega Chomp if you ran Beak Blast.

Landorus-T (Regenerator, Aerilate, Adaptability) – Lando has an interesting typing and decent stats to allow it to try various roles. It could be a niche RegenVester with a strong Beak Blast and force out Steels like spinblocker Aegislash with Ground STAB. It even has not-terrible Special Attack if you wanted to play around with Ground-type Revelation Dance to nail NormGar. It could also serve as a niche wallbreaker with banded E-speed/Explosion/Ground moves on Aerilate or D-Ascent on Adapt sets. It doesn’t have many useful resistances for the meta though and isn’t that bulky or powerful really.
 
I'm not quite sure I understand the rank divisions. It kinda feels like more based on whether you've used it or not? But like, Alakazam-M can imitate nearly every Mewtwo Y set in the meta, only missing on the mixed sets, making it very versatile and easy to use if you're willing to make the trade off for speed over power. Yet it's ranked below Jellicent who... does what? The description says it beats PH users (how?) and isn't weak to Knock Off when it's a pitting 100/70 bulk against a super effective move. It's really hard to see any team wanting it except the guy who, when choosing his sixth Pokemon, goes "Crap, my team synergy absolutely must have a Water/Ghost type."

When I did mine, I made the division of E-rank can fit on a lot of teams with a little work while F-rank only fit on very specific teams. Compare Heatran, whose typing lets it actually check a number of threats in the game (Fridge, Pixilate, Aerilate, lotta Rays, some Gigas, etc) before it even picks up a set and can take down Imposters and put in some decent work offensively with the right set (Pixie Imposter-proof Heatran was always fun.) Vs Sylveon, who competes with Florges at being a little tankier on the special side than Xerneas at the cost of everything else. Or Snorlax, who's Slaking/Gigas except worse at everything other than a slow U-Turn.

Also, Sylveon is probably better than Florges since the special bulk difference is around 1% while it takes physical hits a little better.


Specific things...


Absol-Mega: Missing from the list. It's a pretty strong Sashsmash Power Trip user with Dazzling as its attack stat is competitive with most other Dark-types while also being a lot faster. It's just at an awkward speed vs bulk tier for other sets (115 speed but frail as heck), though it can do banded Tough Claws pretty decently. If it were at 130 speed or more, it'd be a lot more usable. MAMP made a team for me using it that I can share if you wanna see how it might be used, provided he gives me permission to share.

Absol: Super niche Simple Smash MEVO to Bounce sweeper.

Houndoom(-Mega): Similar boat to Absol in usable offensives but awkward speed and bulk. Unique typing to boot and it can do a Drought to Solar Power MEVO set. Not quite figured out a workable set for non-MEVO MDoom though. ...besides Sashsmash since almost anything can sashsmash.

Palkia: Fur Coat makes it a good check to Primaldon. I believe it can run Poison Heal in a similar vein to Primal Ogre too.

Manectric: Dunno why you say it's outclassed by Zeraora. Similar bulk (Mane is 70/80/80 and Zera is 88/75/80) and Mane has a stronger offensive presence (135 Special Attack vs 112 attack/102 special attack). Zera really only does the fast, pure disruption sets better. Either way, as someone who's used Mane too much this gen, it has three viable sets: Specs Galvanize, Galvanize disruption, and No Guard. Its Thunderbolt is way too piddly for other sets, even Sheer Force, and Thunder is rather unreliable. It has a semi-viable Refrigerate lure set, but eh. No reason for PH sets since it's not fast enough for pure support and too weak without Galv Boomburst or No Guard Zap (ignoring boosting).

Victini: It has a good Contrary STAB combo. It lacks oomph though until it gets going.

Celebi: Same as Victini, but worse since Grass hits less stuff. Seed/Spore immunity is nice though.

Umbreon: Missing Fur Coat. It can actually take on some MMX sets with Fur Coat, especially if packing Wisp. Or pretty much all of them not using set-up moves if you remove its item. Umbreon also leverages Foul Play very well to be less passive. And, notably, even min-investment MMY gets hit pretty hard by it. Rev Dance works better on Gengar though, even before Normalize. But...

0 Atk Umbreon Foul Play vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Mewtwo-Mega-Y: 236-278 (56.7 - 66.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Mewtwo with 0 EVs/IVs/Atk lowering nature)

For comparison...

252 SpA Umbreon Revelation Dance vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Mewtwo-Mega-Y: 126-150 (30.2 - 36%) -- 43% chance to 3HKO


I'm sure there's more. I work soon so I can't fully compare both of our lists. So, if you wanna double check mine for anything, here you go. Just, mind, it's from the Psychic Surge days and some things on it have risen to the VR and some VR have dropped off.


https://pastebin.com/5jpWdCa1
 

cityscapes

Take care of yourself.
is a Tiering Contributoris a Community Contributor Alumnus
glad to see some cool replies, thanks for posting everyone

Something niche I have used to good Prankster Core Enforcer spam is a Exeggutor-Alola because it can afford a Darkinium-Z, unlike Ampharos-Mega which needs Safety Goggles.
If it chooses Draco Plate instead (it can use Core, or also go Imposterproof with Judgement), then it will do as much damage as Ampharos-Mega with Safety Goggles on Core.

It’s a Spore Immune, Imposter resistant, that can Sleep, Boost, and Attack: Spore, Core, Copycat and Tail Glow / Parting Shot / Seed Flare.

It’s very niche, likely F-Rank, but a pleasant surprise.
this is neat, it sounds kinda gimmicky but i can see it working on some teams. prankster spore is honestly very underutilized.
Mega Lopunny (Poison Heal, Tough Claws, Dazzling) - This mon has the niche of being a Normal-type that isn't walled by Steels. The speed is nice for things like MMX and Gengar but sucks being slower than MMY. The attack stat is actually pretty sad and doesn’t hit that hard without certain abilities or items or boosts. Hitting Imposter SE is nice and so is being immune to Spectral. This mon is pretty unexplored though and most people seem to favor DazzleSmash with Reversal and stuff but that is easily walled by Prankster Haze.
this mon is pretty wack, ph sets do a lot worse than regi/slaking vs imposter and priority and you have to wonder what this mon really has over stuff like pblades regi. tough claws set does look nice though.
Marshadow (Normalize, Tough Claws, Adaptability) – Marshadow has an amazing STAB combo but a disappointing speed tier and attack stat for BH. It really needs to be faster to hit the Mewtwos and Gar and it really needs more power to break walls effectively. That being said, it can run really niche sets like Ghost Memory Normalize and Band/Scarf TC or Adapt, depending on if you want to break walls or surprise faster mons.
ghost memory multi attack is a dragon hammer-tier bad move but the scarf set looks very interesting. bops all of mmx mmy gar, not walled by common stuff, and gets good crippling utility with trick. i could definitely see this mon being usable.
Mega Salamence (Fur Coat, ???) – Discount Mega Ray but with interesting variations in stats. It is surprisingly fast and has pretty good physical bulk to work as a niche Fur Coat wall but doesn’t have many useful resistances (i.e., Photon and Sunsteel still hurt bad) and hates Ice coverage. I guess it could serve as an improof to something like PDon, Mega Beedrill, or maybe even Mega Chomp if you ran Beak Blast.
i was considering mega mence here but concluded that even the defensive sets are mostly outclassed by mray. the bulk increase isn't that much because of mence's bad hp, so i would use mray even on defensive sets because it can bluff offensive moves and deal more damage.
Landorus-T (Regenerator, Aerilate, Adaptability) – Lando has an interesting typing and decent stats to allow it to try various roles. It could be a niche RegenVester with a strong Beak Blast and force out Steels like spinblocker Aegislash with Ground STAB. It even has not-terrible Special Attack if you wanted to play around with Ground-type Revelation Dance to nail NormGar. It could also serve as a niche wallbreaker with banded E-speed/Explosion/Ground moves on Aerilate or D-Ascent on Adapt sets. It doesn’t have many useful resistances for the meta though and isn’t that bulky or powerful really.
when i was thinking about lando t i thought of it as a chomp alternative and overall passed it up because stab dragon ascent wasn't enough of a niche over cb chomp. that being said, the different sets here are more interesting and worthy of consideration, this is a mon that i could use.
I'm not quite sure I understand the rank divisions. It kinda feels like more based on whether you've used it or not? But like, Alakazam-M can imitate nearly every Mewtwo Y set in the meta, only missing on the mixed sets, making it very versatile and easy to use if you're willing to make the trade off for speed over power. Yet it's ranked below Jellicent who... does what? The description says it beats PH users (how?) and isn't weak to Knock Off when it's a pitting 100/70 bulk against a super effective move. It's really hard to see any team wanting it except the guy who, when choosing his sixth Pokemon, goes "Crap, my team synergy absolutely must have a Water/Ghost type."
sure, zam can use some of mmy's sets with somewhat comparable viability, and if mmy was banned zam would really rise up the rankings.

that being said, there aren't that many reasons to use zam instead of mmy. faster threats like scept are pretty rare, zam can't run sf bolt strike so it does worse vs ogres, and taking more from fakespeed/spectral/uturn actually sucks. i would use mmy>zam 19 times out of 20. as for jelly, i'd recommend that you try out teams with it like soup time and double jellyfish to get your own opinion on it.
When I did mine, I made the division of E-rank can fit on a lot of teams with a little work while F-rank only fit on very specific teams. Compare Heatran, whose typing lets it actually check a number of threats in the game (Fridge, Pixilate, Aerilate, lotta Rays, some Gigas, etc) before it even picks up a set and can take down Imposters and put in some decent work offensively with the right set (Pixie Imposter-proof Heatran was always fun.) Vs Sylveon, who competes with Florges at being a little tankier on the special side than Xerneas at the cost of everything else. Or Snorlax, who's Slaking/Gigas except worse at everything other than a slow U-Turn.
again, heatran might be a solid mon on a lot of teams, but are there really good reasons to use it over the 10+ other steels in the meta? especially when even levitate variants can get 2hkod on the switch by v create?
Also, Sylveon is probably better than Florges since the special bulk difference is around 1% while it takes physical hits a little better.
this is probably true unfortunately :(
Absol-Mega: Missing from the list. It's a pretty strong Sashsmash Power Trip user with Dazzling as its attack stat is competitive with most other Dark-types while also being a lot faster. It's just at an awkward speed vs bulk tier for other sets (115 speed but frail as heck), though it can do banded Tough Claws pretty decently. If it were at 130 speed or more, it'd be a lot more usable. MAMP made a team for me using it that I can share if you wanna see how it might be used, provided he gives me permission to share.
i really like this mon (used to be a mainstay on my ch team back in the day), but in gen 7 ash gren can run most of its sets a bit better bc higher speed + lure value unfortunately
Absol: Super niche Simple Smash MEVO to Bounce sweeper.
what is bounce doing for you though everyone uses haze and ur immune to topsy anyway
Houndoom(-Mega): Similar boat to Absol in usable offensives but awkward speed and bulk. Unique typing to boot and it can do a Drought to Solar Power MEVO set. Not quite figured out a workable set for non-MEVO MDoom though. ...besides Sashsmash since almost anything can sashsmash.
i have considered using houndoom but only being able to set sun the first time it comes in is really awkward on an easy to revenge kill mon. maybe it could be ranked if someone uses it but right now i'm unconvinced.
Palkia: Fur Coat makes it a good check to Primaldon. I believe it can run Poison Heal in a similar vein to Primal Ogre too.
you don't need fc for don v-create does 2 damage anyway. ph is kinda cool though.
Manectric: Dunno why you say it's outclassed by Zeraora. Similar bulk (Mane is 70/80/80 and Zera is 88/75/80) and Mane has a stronger offensive presence (135 Special Attack vs 112 attack/102 special attack). Zera really only does the fast, pure disruption sets better. Either way, as someone who's used Mane too much this gen, it has three viable sets: Specs Galvanize, Galvanize disruption, and No Guard. Its Thunderbolt is way too piddly for other sets, even Sheer Force, and Thunder is rather unreliable. It has a semi-viable Refrigerate lure set, but eh. No reason for PH sets since it's not fast enough for pure support and too weak without Galv Boomburst or No Guard Zap (ignoring boosting).
mane might be stronger than zera but on most teams i prefer the ability to outspeed mmy, especially with the threat of sets like sheer force. specs galvanize outspeeds gar which is kinda cool i guess but boomburst does like 30 to gira so it's kinda suboptimal as a breaker. no ph means can be worn down into espeed range pretty easily as well
Victini: It has a good Contrary STAB combo. It lacks oomph though until it gets going.
i'm pretty sure someone ran calcs and mmx does more damage on v create than victini. when people say contrary is broken 100/100 offenses is not what they are talking about
Celebi: Same as Victini, but worse since Grass hits less stuff. Seed/Spore immunity is nice though.
see above except with goggles mmy
Umbreon: Missing Fur Coat. It can actually take on some MMX sets with Fur Coat, especially if packing Wisp. Or pretty much all of them not using set-up moves if you remove its item. Umbreon also leverages Foul Play very well to be less passive. And, notably, even min-investment MMY gets hit pretty hard by it.
foul play is kinda cool but the issue i have with this set is ph mmx picking it apart with wisp/rocks/low kick doing a chunk and umbreon needing core to do anything back. fc is still probably as viable as the other sets though
 

Champion Leon

Banned deucer.
Love the discussion points everyone made so far on this topic.

glad to see some cool replies, thanks for posting everyone


this is neat, it sounds kinda gimmicky but i can see it working on some teams. prankster spore is honestly very underutilized.

this mon is pretty wack, ph sets do a lot worse than regi/slaking vs imposter and priority and you have to wonder what this mon really has over stuff like pblades regi. tough claws set does look nice though.

ghost memory multi attack is a dragon hammer-tier bad move but the scarf set looks very interesting. bops all of mmx mmy gar, not walled by common stuff, and gets good crippling utility with trick. i could definitely see this mon being usable.
i was considering mega mence here but concluded that even the defensive sets are mostly outclassed by mray. the bulk increase isn't that much because of mence's bad hp, so i would use mray even on defensive sets because it can bluff offensive moves and deal more damage.

when i was thinking about lando t i thought of it as a chomp alternative and overall passed it up because stab dragon ascent wasn't enough of a niche over cb chomp. that being said, the different sets here are more interesting and worthy of consideration, this is a mon that i could use.

sure, zam can use some of mmy's sets with somewhat comparable viability, and if mmy was banned zam would really rise up the rankings.

that being said, there aren't that many reasons to use zam instead of mmy. faster threats like scept are pretty rare, zam can't run sf bolt strike so it does worse vs ogres, and taking more from fakespeed/spectral/uturn actually sucks. i would use mmy>zam 19 times out of 20. as for jelly, i'd recommend that you try out teams with it like soup time and double jellyfish to get your own opinion on it.

again, heatran might be a solid mon on a lot of teams, but are there really good reasons to use it over the 10+ other steels in the meta? especially when even levitate variants can get 2hkod on the switch by v create?
this is probably true unfortunately :(

i really like this mon (used to be a mainstay on my ch team back in the day), but in gen 7 ash gren can run most of its sets a bit better bc higher speed + lure value unfortunately

what is bounce doing for you though everyone uses haze and ur immune to topsy anyway

i have considered using houndoom but only being able to set sun the first time it comes in is really awkward on an easy to revenge kill mon. maybe it could be ranked if someone uses it but right now i'm unconvinced.

you don't need fc for don v-create does 2 damage anyway. ph is kinda cool though.

mane might be stronger than zera but on most teams i prefer the ability to outspeed mmy, especially with the threat of sets like sheer force. specs galvanize outspeeds gar which is kinda cool i guess but boomburst does like 30 to gira so it's kinda suboptimal as a breaker. no ph means can be worn down into espeed range pretty easily as well

i'm pretty sure someone ran calcs and mmx does more damage on v create than victini. when people say contrary is broken 100/100 offenses is not what they are talking about

see above except with goggles mmy

foul play is kinda cool but the issue i have with this set is ph mmx picking it apart with wisp/rocks/low kick doing a chunk and umbreon needing core to do anything back. fc is still probably as viable as the other sets though
Mega-Lopunny works best as a Scrappy Sash Smasher: Flail, Reversal, Shell Smash and V-Create.

Mega-Lopunny’s lower bulk than MMX is what sets it apart, as it can take big hits for Focus Sash to activate to 1HP. Flail is for the Psychic, Flying, and Bug-Types that resist Fighting, while Reversal handles Rock, Steel, and Normal types.

Still, one might make a case for Pheromosa, using Reversal, Shell Smash, Mega Horn, and V-Create, but it’s not a big deal either way.
——
While Marshadow is too weak to pull off a Tough Claws Ghost Memory Set, let’s not pretend Ghost Memory is terrible.

Ghost Memory + Tough Claws on Belly Drum Priority Bannette-Mega basically KOs whatever it hits, goes first, while being completely Imposterproof.
——
Lower bulk on a Focus Sasher is like less Speed on a Core Enforcer... Perks ;).

——
Alakazam-M has a specific niche over MMY, Simple/Dazzling Smash.

With Simple, it can Spore more due to Speed, and take advantage of Stored Power for making up for lack of a boosting item/lower Stats. Stored Power, Moongeist, Shell Smash; Spore/Secret Sword (for mixed sweeping).

One set people don’t consider is base form Alakazam.
Remember, it’s Mega Form gets Trace, as in it can Mega and copy your foe’s Prankster Haze/Destiny Bond, and use Taunt.

If it uses Simple or Sturdy as a base ability, then Shell Smash, Stored Power, Secret Sword, Taunt/Spore, it can surprise it’s would-be checks, and “outspeed” their prioyrity. Stored Power can still hurt Unawares due to Base Power, but Photon can be used for Shedinja.
———
The Absol Set works because like Metagross, and Necrozma-Dusk Mane who all transform for Imposterproofing, it’s due to the difference in speed, EV’d according to ensuring Scarf Chansey is still outsped.

While Absol lacks the Attack and boosting ability (Tough Claws, and Nueroforce) of Metagross and Necrozma-Dusk Mane, it more than makes up for the power with STAB. Further, it could use Reversal, if it’s Base form is Sturdy, due to its low bulk (which isn’t as easily said for the two). Absol is niche, and Absol-Mega is more of a cause and effect case, it strictly relies on the form change for anything.
——
Rumors Isn’t Sheer Force Thunderbolt = No Guard Zap Cannon in Base power?
Sheer Force also enables Ice Beam to surpass Blizzard.
Sheer Force, also makes Blue Flare extremely Powerful.
——

Lastly, the thing I love about Exeggutor-Alolan is that you can bypass Unaware, even on Fairies immune to Core Enforcer, due to Seed Flare. If it triggers on their switch-in, you know it will deal double the next turn. Bam! Sorry Unaware Mega-Audino, you have to switch out again! Another free turn for Tail Glow.

Copycat also helps negate the worry for low PP, such as for Seed Flare.
 
Last edited:
Not gonna argue super hard or anything, but just some clarifications. (And on "there aren't many reasons to run this over other stuff in the meta", doesn't that apply to... literally everything in both ranks to start with?)

Zam: You forget the other niche of Zam is outspeeding MMX/Y, which lets it safely revenge KO roughly half the MMX/Y sets without resorting to Scarf or get momentum by forcing them out. (Zam's Moongeist 2HKOs MMY with hazards up, neutral nature, and no item/ability/terrain/move boosts, for example.)

It also makes it a slightly better Tail Glow user since it has to worry less than normal about being outsped. Phera still beats it by literally one point of base speed though, which sucks.

There's also the niche of naturally outrunning Scarf positive speed Hoopa-U. You'd have to run something weird like Bug Buzz to take full advantage of that though.



Heatran: It can't take V-Creates well, no, but that's all Steel-types anyway, FF aside. First big niche is it can self Imposter-proof or be easily Imposter-proofed thanks to its weakness. And while 130 special attack isn't impressive, it's good enough for some boosting sets or at least being less passive than others like Registeel.

Defensive niche though, double Fairy and double Ice resistance make it a good -ate check before you even consider ability. Double Grass, double Steel, and double Bug resistance might also have some value too, though I've not explored those avenues. Though running a calc, it has some promise as a Kartana check as well.

+6 252 Atk Kartana Sunsteel Strike vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Heatran: 159-187 (41.1 - 48.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 SpA Flash Fire Heatran Magma Storm vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Kartana: 1432-1692 (444.7 - 525.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Might be a good mon who needs to compress a Diancie, Kyurem, and Kartana counter into one role? It can straight up tank and OHKO two of them and deal some good damage to the other. It probably also matches well against Xerneas and Sceptile too. Really, Levi Tran was actually a meta mon, probably mid-to-high VR if that had been a thing at the time, until Thousand Arrows became a thing.



Absol (Regular): Mainly to block non-Prank Spore, Glare, Whirlwind, Topsy, etc. Again, it's super niche and probably something you'd use when prepping a team for a particular opponent in a tournament lest the ladder meta really favored it.



Fur Coat Palk: Mainly if you need to check sets like this.

252+ Atk Choice Band Tinted Lens Blaziken-Mega V-create vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Palkia: 222-262 (57.8 - 68.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Tinted Lens Blaziken-Mega V-create vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Fur Coat Palkia: 110-132 (28.6 - 34.3%) -- 3.1% chance to 3HKO

Compare to Ogre.

252+ Atk Choice Band Tinted Lens Blaziken-Mega V-create vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Fur Coat Kyogre-Primal: 238-282 (58.9 - 69.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Also worth noting...

252 Atk Groudon-Primal Precipice Blades vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Palkia: 198-234 (51.5 - 60.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Groudon-Primal Precipice Blades vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Fur Coat Palkia: 100-118 (26 - 30.7%) -- guaranteed 4HKO



Mane: Specs Ice Beam 2HKOs Giratina after 10-16% chip damage. Mane also becomes a fast breaker with E.Terrain support.

252 SpA Choice Specs Galvanize Manectric-Mega Boomburst vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Giratina in Electric Terrain: 221-261 (43.8 - 51.7%) -- 10.9% chance to 2HKO

I mean, that's not an amazing number, but that is a resisted hit on one of the bulkiest walls in the meta. Either way, if it weren't for Ground-types, Specs Mane would literally not need any moves for coverage on E.Terrain teams.

Also worth noting non-specs sets can opt to run Icinium-Z, which technically 2HKOs Giratina if you Ice Beam and then Z-Ice Beam. Zice Beam also OHKOs Zygarde too. Really, the big threat Mane has to worry about is Primal Groudon since it can't OHKO it anymore with Steam Eruption. It's only chance, without teammates, is for an Earth Power on it switching in followed by a Z-Earth Power. Or somethinking funky/memish like Entrainment or Gastro Acid on the switch followed by Steam Eruption.


OM! Sheer Force T-Bolt is a little weaker than Zap Cannon. Not by much, but it's there. The real thing though is you miss out on the guaranteed paralysis which makes switching into Manectric a pain for anything not immune. Even if your opponent is addicted to slow pivoting, paralyzing their walls is usually a good play anyway since the 25% chance to not move is more and more likely to dick them over as the match continues. Also being able to run Blizzard also compensates no Sheer Force on Ice Beam. It also opens Dynamic Punch if you're feeling trolly, but its a little suboptimal.

Galvanize is just a lot stronger for an offensive ability anyway. 3 of the 5 meta Soundproof sets (Zygarde, Swamp, Scept) are immune/highly resistance to Electric anyway unless you meme Soak. Slowbro can be dealt with using Energy Ball/Seed Flare, which doubles to help remove Swamp if its a concern and the off-meta Soundproof Kyo-P (not seen that one in ages though). Cress you kinda just have to resort to teammates. Either way, there isn't enough Soundproof in the meta that Manectric could otherwise bypass with Boomburst.

For Blue Flare, Galvanize Boomburst is usually enough damage to most Steels, except Steelix, at which point its an option. Though you might opt for Earth Power anyway so you can also hit Primaldon on the switch and also damage FF-Steelix.


Jellicent: Can you show me those teams/where those teams are? You have a loooot of long team posts and it'd take a while to dig through them all, assuming I even look in the right place.


Edit: Thinking about it for 'Doom's MEVO set, it might work best on a Sun team as a "second setter". That way it can reset the weather once for its team, giving it a bit of a team support role, while also not losing out entirely on its weather/ability if it gets forced out or the weather changed. This is purely conjecture though.
 
Last edited:
viability of trick room in balanced hackmons
in regular tiers the basis of all advantages that trick room brings lies in the fact that offensive pokemon as a rule invest evs in speed.
under trick room this requirement is lifted and pokemon can now invest in mixed offenses or defenses. This very fact however is completely overthrown in bhacks because pokemon already can invest in every stat. As a result trick room in bhacks in general can only offer niche and situational advantages. Its drawbacks however are almost still all present, such as turn limits, moveslot consumption and lack of protection against priority

this is a somewhat useable trick Room team I contrived it is weak to everything trIck room is supposed to be weak to, including Protect. Arceus lead to slow uTurn then kyogre attacks then groudon attacks then mewtwo or stakataka attacks then kangaskhan for shedinjaproof

Arceus @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle (/Magic Bounce)
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Trick Room
- Stealth Rock
- Skill Swap

Kyogre-Primal @ Splash Plate (/Choice Specs)
Ability: Tinted Lens (/Promordial Sea)
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Water Spout
- Steam Eruption
- Rain Dance (/Water Shuriken)
- Trick Room (/Trick)

Groudon @ Red Orb
Ability: Download
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- V-create
- Trick Room
- Ice Hammer
- Sunsteel Strike

Mewtwo-Mega-Y @ Iron Ball
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Fleur Cannon
- Moongeist Beam
- Psycho Boost
- Trick Room

Stakataka @ Ground Memory
Ability: Steelworker
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Swords Dance
- Trick Room
- Multi-Attack

Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Stealth Rock
- Photon Geyser
- Destiny Bond

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7balancedhackmons-880449684
 
Last edited:

Champion Leon

Banned deucer.
Not gonna argue super hard or anything, but just some clarifications. (And on "there aren't many reasons to run this over other stuff in the meta", doesn't that apply to... literally everything in both ranks to start with?)

Zam: You forget the other niche of Zam is outspeeding MMX/Y, which lets it safely revenge KO roughly half the MMX/Y sets without resorting to Scarf or get momentum by forcing them out. (Zam's Moongeist 2HKOs MMY with hazards up, neutral nature, and no item/ability/terrain/move boosts, for example.)

It also makes it a slightly better Tail Glow user since it has to worry less than normal about being outsped. Phera still beats it by literally one point of base speed though, which sucks.

There's also the niche of naturally outrunning Scarf positive speed Hoopa-U. You'd have to run something weird like Bug Buzz to take full advantage of that though.



Heatran: It can't take V-Creates well, no, but that's all Steel-types anyway, FF aside. First big niche is it can self Imposter-proof or be easily Imposter-proofed thanks to its weakness. And while 130 special attack isn't impressive, it's good enough for some boosting sets or at least being less passive than others like Registeel.

Defensive niche though, double Fairy and double Ice resistance make it a good -ate check before you even consider ability. Double Grass, double Steel, and double Bug resistance might also have some value too, though I've not explored those avenues. Though running a calc, it has some promise as a Kartana check as well.

+6 252 Atk Kartana Sunsteel Strike vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Heatran: 159-187 (41.1 - 48.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 SpA Flash Fire Heatran Magma Storm vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Kartana: 1432-1692 (444.7 - 525.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Might be a good mon who needs to compress a Diancie, Kyurem, and Kartana counter into one role? It can straight up tank and OHKO two of them and deal some good damage to the other. It probably also matches well against Xerneas and Sceptile too. Really, Levi Tran was actually a meta mon, probably mid-to-high VR if that had been a thing at the time, until Thousand Arrows became a thing.



Absol (Regular): Mainly to block non-Prank Spore, Glare, Whirlwind, Topsy, etc. Again, it's super niche and probably something you'd use when prepping a team for a particular opponent in a tournament lest the ladder meta really favored it.



Fur Coat Palk: Mainly if you need to check sets like this.

252+ Atk Choice Band Tinted Lens Blaziken-Mega V-create vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Palkia: 222-262 (57.8 - 68.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Tinted Lens Blaziken-Mega V-create vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Fur Coat Palkia: 110-132 (28.6 - 34.3%) -- 3.1% chance to 3HKO

Compare to Ogre.

252+ Atk Choice Band Tinted Lens Blaziken-Mega V-create vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Fur Coat Kyogre-Primal: 238-282 (58.9 - 69.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Also worth noting...

252 Atk Groudon-Primal Precipice Blades vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Palkia: 198-234 (51.5 - 60.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Groudon-Primal Precipice Blades vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Fur Coat Palkia: 100-118 (26 - 30.7%) -- guaranteed 4HKO



Mane: Specs Ice Beam 2HKOs Giratina after 10-16% chip damage. Mane also becomes a fast breaker with E.Terrain support.

252 SpA Choice Specs Galvanize Manectric-Mega Boomburst vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Giratina in Electric Terrain: 221-261 (43.8 - 51.7%) -- 10.9% chance to 2HKO

I mean, that's not an amazing number, but that is a resisted hit on one of the bulkiest walls in the meta. Either way, if it weren't for Ground-types, Specs Mane would literally not need any moves for coverage on E.Terrain teams.

Also worth noting non-specs sets can opt to run Icinium-Z, which technically 2HKOs Giratina if you Ice Beam and then Z-Ice Beam. Zice Beam also OHKOs Zygarde too. Really, the big threat Mane has to worry about is Primal Groudon since it can't OHKO it anymore with Steam Eruption. It's only chance, without teammates, is for an Earth Power on it switching in followed by a Z-Earth Power. Or somethinking funky/memish like Entrainment or Gastro Acid on the switch followed by Steam Eruption.


OM! Sheer Force T-Bolt is a little weaker than Zap Cannon. Not by much, but it's there. The real thing though is you miss out on the guaranteed paralysis which makes switching into Manectric a pain for anything not immune. Even if your opponent is addicted to slow pivoting, paralyzing their walls is usually a good play anyway since the 25% chance to not move is more and more likely to dick them over as the match continues. Also being able to run Blizzard also compensates no Sheer Force on Ice Beam. It also opens Dynamic Punch if you're feeling trolly, but its a little suboptimal.

Galvanize is just a lot stronger for an offensive ability anyway. 3 of the 5 meta Soundproof sets (Zygarde, Swamp, Scept) are immune/highly resistance to Electric anyway unless you meme Soak. Slowbro can be dealt with using Energy Ball/Seed Flare, which doubles to help remove Swamp if its a concern and the off-meta Soundproof Kyo-P (not seen that one in ages though). Cress you kinda just have to resort to teammates. Either way, there isn't enough Soundproof in the meta that Manectric could otherwise bypass with Boomburst.

For Blue Flare, Galvanize Boomburst is usually enough damage to most Steels, except Steelix, at which point its an option. Though you might opt for Earth Power anyway so you can also hit Primaldon on the switch and also damage FF-Steelix.


Jellicent: Can you show me those teams/where those teams are? You have a loooot of long team posts and it'd take a while to dig through them all, assuming I even look in the right place.


Edit: Thinking about it for 'Doom's MEVO set, it might work best on a Sun team as a "second setter". That way it can reset the weather once for its team, giving it a bit of a team support role, while also not losing out entirely on its weather/ability if it gets forced out or the weather changed. This is purely conjecture though.
What about giving Manectric-Mega Refrigerate?

252 SpA Life Orb Refrigerate Manectric-Mega Boomburst vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Giratina: 341-403 (67.6 - 79.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Life Orb Refrigerate Manectric-Mega Boomburst vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Groudon-Primal: 207-244 (51.2 - 60.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Manectric-Mega Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Kyogre-Primal: 203-242 (50.2 - 59.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Refrigerate Manectric-Mega Boomburst vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Yveltal: 356-421 (78 - 92.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Life Orb Manectric-Mega Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ho-Oh: 211-250 (50.7 - 60%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Manectric-Mega Blue Flare vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Registeel: 205-242 (56.3 - 66.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Life Orb Manectric-Mega Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Slowbro-Mega: 359-424 (91.1 - 107.6%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery

Unlike MMY, it lures in Dragon, Ground, etc. and can surprise foes with Refridgerate. Now you can bypass Slowbro-Mega with Soundproof and actually hit it with your STAB.

This also gives it a niche over Zora bc it’s SpA is just enough to 1-2HKO, thus it has a better SpA for this ability - and it actually matters.
 
OM! Fridge is fine as a lure set. It's pretty team specific though where you really need to remove Zygarde/Giratina without them bailing first turn its out. Soundproof Zygarde counter-lures the set though. :/
 
So... what does one do when they get sick and their internet decides to die at the same time? Well, simple: write up that bad team dump. So, here we go, I mentioned dumping the weird stuff, and now I am. These teams are ranging from just a single, critical head scratcher to just being overall bad stuff people probably laugh about on the Discord (and, in the past, the "Silly Things You Saw in OMs" topic). Some of this might be workable with a good bit of work, most teams have at least one or two sets that could be plucked out, dusted off, and made to work, and then other teams... they ain't got nothing you'd want.

Though... feel free to use or modify anything you see here. Just, good luck!


So, here we go. Get ready to to shake your head and face palm at some of the bad things I've attempted. ...but don't do that too hard since, let's be honest, we all got those teams that ended up being dumpster fires.


Kyurem-Black @ Never-Melt Ice
Ability: Refrigerate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Extreme Speed
- Sunsteel Strike
- Taunt

Kyurem-Black @ King's Rock
Ability: Skill Link
- Icicle Spear
- Bone Rush
- King's Shield
- Shift Gear

Rayquaza-Mega @ Choice Specs
Ability: Tinted Lens
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Oblivion Wing
- Secret Sword
- Moongeist Beam
- Core Enforcer

Diancie-Mega @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Pixilate
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Fake Out
- Extreme Speed
- Boomburst
- Earth Power

Manectric-Mega @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Galvanize
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Ice Beam
- Encore
- Spore

Chansey @ Spooky Plate
Ability: Imposter
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Fake Out
- Skill Swap
- Final Gambit
- Shore Up

The first team was set on abusing -ate sets hard. Or bluffing them. While not a great team, it still ticked off some players I repeatedly encountered. I fondly remember one guy screaming "Imposter Chansey is your only good Pokemon!" every time I battled and beat him.

I'm also not good at making offensive/HO teams, as you'll see as we go.

The first Kyu-B and the Diance are fairly standard -ate sets. May be slightly out of date by today's standards, but this was a S/M team.

The second was a Skill Link lure. It was meant to bluff being a Fridge set before setting up and sweeping. Again, a little dated, even for an uncommon set, and a bit trolly with the King's Rock. I also learned the hard way that low ladder players, and even some mid ladder players, are too dumb to realize that Kyu-B could KO their Ray with FakeSpeed if it had been Fridge and just attack instead, making this set much less effective. ....that or they were friggin' geniuses.

Ray is meant to look like it fits the theme of being yet another -ate set, but it's really just a straight copy of one of E4Flint's Mega-Ray sets he posted a long time ago. It did pretty good, although this was probably the wrong team to slap onto it.

Manectric is a Galvanize Disruption set. Good damage with Boomburst, decent switch-in damage on Ice Beam. Anything slower gets slept and walls get Encored. It's a pretty decent set, although in sleep clause land I'd probably opt for Glare or Nuzzle over Spore. It also needs bulkier teammates too.

Chansey is mostly standard Imposter of the era. Except Spooky Plate because I love trolling Gengar.



Pheromosa @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Aerilate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 224 Atk / 32 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Tail Slap
- Soul-Stealing 7-Star Strike
- Sunsteel Strike
- Pin Missile

Deoxys-Attack @ Leppa Berry
Ability: Harvest
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 0 Def / 0 SpD
- Genesis Supernova
- Catastropika
- Soul-Stealing 7-Star Strike
- Psystrike

Rayquaza-Mega @ Flame Orb
Ability: Quick Feet
EVs: 128 Def / 252 SpA / 128 SpD
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tail Glow
- Oblivion Wing
- Ice Beam
- Guardian of Alola

Deoxys-Attack @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Def / 0 SpD
- Destiny Bond
- Genesis Supernova
- 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt
- Moongeist Beam

Deoxys-Attack @ Focus Sash
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 0 Def / 0 SpD
- Psystrike
- Genesis Supernova
- Spectral Thief
- Frost Breath

Deoxys-Attack @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 0 Def / 0 SpD
- Defog
- Genesis Supernova
- Spectral Thief
- Oceanic Operetta

I'm not gonna go much detail into this one. This is from the CFZ suspect test and this team isnt salvageable anymore. And... it's as toxic as it looks. OHKOs abound! Only notable changes here were a Phera for checking the 6 Deo-A teams of the era and me running a bit of a test with Guardian of Alola Quick Feet Mega-Ray.

But otherwise... yeah. This was one of the more bull-crappy eras of BH, about tied with Parental Bond on everything.



Solgaleo @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 SpA / 0 Spe
- Rapid Spin
- Spectral Thief
- Gear Grind
- U-turn

Yveltal @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Circle Throw
- Knock Off
- King's Shield
- Spectral Thief

Zygarde-Complete @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 SpA / 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Core Enforcer
- Milk Drink
- U-turn

Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 SpA / 0 Spe
- Metal Burst
- Soft-Boiled
- Defog
- Parting Shot

Manectric-Mega @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Galvanize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Ice Beam
- Encore
- Spore

Groudon-Primal @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Precipice Blades
- Sacred Fire
- Spectral Thief
- Coil


Based on the name and memory, I believe this was cobbled together really fast to showcase Manectric for a VR argument? It looks like I pretty much just yanked Gengar out of an early version of my toxic stall team in the last dump and slotted in Manectric and then changed some abilities around.

I mean, why else would I have AV Regen Gear Grind Solgaleo? I guess for Sash Diancie? Either way, lemme try to explain this one...

Solgaleo appears to be more or less a standard Regenvest set, except the aforementioned odditty. Yveltal, meanwhile, is Adrian's Yveltal (yet again) and does its same old annoying song and dance.

Zygarde appears to be more or less a standard Fur Coat wall. The set suggests it was meant to deal with Gigas and perhaps PH Groudon. Or remove troublesome abilities before switching. Chansey is also a fairly standard Fur Coat set it seems. Why did I have double Fur Coat though?

Manectric is identical to the -atefence team above, except much better supported here. If you didn't read that, it does good damage with Boomburst, Ice Beams certain threats on the switch, and then sleeps things without fear of bounce or Encores walls and stuff using harmless moves. Just being a general pain in the neck that can't be slowed with paralysis with some damage to back it up.

Groudon seems to be the most interesting/creative set here. Unaware sweeping is kind of a dead art these days, but its probaly something that'd have promise. The cool thing about it is, on something sufficiently bulky, it doesn't care if the boosts get stolen since the stealer can't use them back. Anyway, Coil covers Precipice's accuracy issues, ensuring it doesn't miss after a boost or two, while the combo of Coil and Sacred Fire shuts down most physical attackers. And for Spectral Thief... do I really need to explain why stealing a Shell Smash with a bulky, Unaware attacker is amazing?



Manectric-Mega @ Choice Specs
Ability: Galvanize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Trick
- Ice Beam
- Volt Switch

Manectric-Mega @ Groundium Z
Ability: Dazzling
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power
- Volt Switch

Swampert-Mega @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Thousand Waves
- Spectral Thief
- Stealth Rock
- Recover

Celesteela @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Milk Drink
- Core Enforcer
- Knock Off
- U-turn

Sableye-Mega @ Terrain Extender
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Shore Up
- Spectral Thief
- Defog
- U-turn

Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Fake Out
- Heal Order
- Heal Bell
- Final Gambit

Okay, yes, I used that Pokemon too much this gen, I'll admit it. Which is weird since Mane isn't even in my top 50 favorite Pokemon. But ah well.

Anyway, if the name sounds familiar, it should. This is the first attempt at the Manectric E-Terrain team. There is a reason why I restarted with a V2 instead of trying to just fix this one. (And I probably need a V3.) You're probably looking over the sets and going "...wut?" and, really, you should be. So, let's get this out of the way...


First we have Specs Galvanize Manectric. There's nothing wrong here, this set hits pretty hard and pretty fast under Terrain. Anything it can't break it can Trick to and it can also pivot hard and fast as well.

The second Manectric... ummm... what was I doing? I remembered this thing being Sheer Force or No Guard but... Dazzling? I'm confused at myself! I guess Thunderbolt would have decent power under terrain, but the rest of the set? Yeah, I don't quite get it. I guess maybe it was some sort of weird Pixie Diancie check? I dunno, you guys tell me.

PH Swampert's a decent set that walls a fair number of things and will also eventually beat its Imposter. Eventually. Some day. ...we're gonna be here a moment. I imagine it was to check Imposters of the Manectrics and itself without fearing Terrain boosted attacks.

Celesteela is a standard FF Celesteela. The pick of Pokemon and ability tells me that I figured this out on paper rather than in-practice in finding type synergy. It feels out of place though since I don't really see why I'd need FF so badly when I have Swampert. Eh, the whole team's a mistake, so I'll let it slide.

I think Sableye was meant as a Mewtwo check. And it was also setting terrain. If I remember, it wasn't a particularly good setter as it got worn down pretty easily and felt deceptively not as bulky as its stats implied. The speed would be good for pivoting, but I just recall it not working well in the role at all.

Imposter Chansey is Imposter.



Arceus @ Leftovers
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tail Glow
- Spiky Shield
- Substitute
- Baton Pass

Gengar-Mega @ Spooky Plate
Ability: Normalize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Entrainment
- Substitute
- Judgment
- Baton Pass

Meloetta @ Leftovers
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Stored Power
- Moongeist Beam
- Baton Pass

Audino-Mega @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heart Swap
- Wish
- Baton Pass
- Stored Power

Arceus @ Mental Herb
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Substitute
- Quiver Dance
- Baton Pass

Yveltal @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Calm Nature
- Spectral Thief
- Baton Pass
- Knock Off
- Defog

Okay so... I really wanted to keep Baton Pass alive this gen. I think it might be possible but... this isn't the way to go about it. Having one, maybe two, Normal-types for Spectral is probably enough. And, either way, that doesn't stop Haze...

Anyway, this was a modification of a Gen VI Baton Pass team of mine that actually was successful. Unlike this team. This team is bad. Here's why.

Speed Boost Arceus is a weird set to begin with, but it works. Arceus lacks any real weaknesses, has good bulk, and a decently chunky Substitute, and is also immune to thieving. This set gets some boosts up to pass behind a sub. Originally it ran Cotton Guard last gen, but the sheer reduction of Extreme Speed has made that much less necessary.

Next up we have a Normalize Gengar that Baton Passes. I'm not 100% sure why I made this an attacker when it used to set up a Tail Glow for the sweeper instead very reliably. Probably Thief? Either way, it does a good job of disrupting the opponent and then passing. So far good, right?

...then we get to Meloetta. I mean, okay, I can see why. Immune to Spectral Thief and Moongeist while having STAB Stored Power. I get it. It makes sense on paper. But... it's Meloetta! I coulda at least ran Taunt or something for Haze users...

Prank Audino used to be Cress, but Cress really sucked at the time and wasn't Spectral Immune. Stored Power made more sense there where Cress could do decent damage with some stolen boosts. It was kind of a check to opposing set-up sweepers, Topsy-Turvy, or Imposters copying boosts.

Bounce Arceus for more subbing and some dancing. It was here to stop Taunt and Encore, really, and Mental Herb helped it block a Moldy Taunt too, which on the last team was sometimes a clutch play.

Yveltal was the check to Imposter Meloetta, taking not much damage and able to remove items in the process. If Imposter passed, it could then steal the boosts back and carry on.



Yveltal @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Spectral Thief
- Roost
- U-turn

Solgaleo @ Focus Sash
Ability: Simple
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Stored Power
- Thousand Waves
- Shell Smash
- Taunt

Yveltal @ White Herb
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Power Trip
- Oblivion Wing
- Shell Smash
- Imprison

Manectric-Mega @ Icium Z
Ability: Galvanize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Ice Beam
- Encore
- Stealth Rock

Swampert-Mega @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Core Enforcer
- Thousand Waves
- Milk Drink
- Defog

Chansey @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Lonely Nature
IVs: 0 Def / 0 SpD
- Metal Burst
- Destiny Bond
- Anchor Shot
- Spiky Shield


And here's my attempt at "Hyper Offense". I put it in quotes since it's not quite hyper. It's okay, I'm pretty bad at going full on offense. Being reckless is fun, but I suck at it.

So, let's start here with Solgaleo. Most people would expect a Regenvest set, especially as a lead. Dusk didn't exist yet but, honestly, I'd probably keep this as Solgaleo for the surprise factor it's intended to have. Simple Smash up, taunt Hazers and D-Bonders, and Stored Power stuff down. This thing solo swept a few times, believe it or not. T-Waves discourages Imposters and Steels in general from switching in. Might seem like odd coverage, but...

Bounce Yveltal counters the set. Imposters of Solgaleo are helpless against Bounce Yveltal. So, other than being a general purpose bouncer and pivot, it also blocked Imposters and also set up bluffs for the next set...

...which is a classic Unburden Trip Yveltal. Complete with Imprison to ensure Imposter can't do squat. (Blocking Triage Ray is neat too.) This set is pretty obvious and needs no explanation.

And then... I don't know why I shoved Manectric here. Maybe I was dead set on convincing people to VR rank it? Either way, another offensive-support set, this time setting hazards and one-shotting any stray Zygardes. Honestly, it kinda feels like I have halves of two different teams here.

Swampert was a general check to a number of offensive threats, like the omnipresent Gigas of the era (and I think Primaldon was still legal too?) It also Imposter-proofs Manectric and kills its own Imposters eventually.

Chansey is Innards Out Lite. This set takes quite a bit of finnese to use right, finesse this team kinda lacks. Done correctly, you switch it in safely with no hazards up, making it look like a Fur Coat set or something. Then you Metal Burst the attack or U-Turn. And after you got one KO, you pick up the second with Destiny Bond. Anchor Shot is there to try to force a U-Turn or attack and Spiky eases predictions.

But why did I give it speed IVs/EVs?



Kyogre-Primal @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Steam Eruption
- Volt Switch
- Heal Order
- Spiky Shield

Palkia @ Lustrous Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Water Spout
- Spacial Rend
- Stealth Rock
- Recover

Gyarados-Mega @ Waterium Z
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crabhammer
- Crunch
- Heal Order
- King's Shield

Manectric-Mega @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder
- Ice Beam
- Taunt
- Volt Switch

Xerneas @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Defog
- Heal Bell
- Milk Drink

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Destiny Bond
- Parting Shot
- Soft-Boiled
- Topsy-Turvy


So... this set is a very early S/M modernization of a Gen V team. It's... not modern at all anymore, but it was an attempt at the time! Well... post CFZs and Water Bubble. And it's a rain team! Always fun! I'd consider this a weird/bad team since it's hideously vulnerable to just about any modern attacker, it'd need a complete overhaul.

Kyogre is there to set and somewhat abuse rain. Oh, and pivot. That is all.

Palkia is a generally good all-round rain abuser and also took advantage of momentum to sometimes set rocks. Recover seems odd on the set, but it helps keep HP high for Water Spouts. Lustrous Orb is a little unusual, but it boosts the STABs with no drawbacks, unlike Life Orb and Specs.

Gyarados was the designated physical attacker. I'm guessing I have the Waterium-Z for a surprise rain-boosted nuke? Either way, if memory serves, Rain-boosted attacks hit hard enough as was, so it'd make sense. I guess King's Shield was there to block Fakespeed.

Yes, another Manectric, but hear me out! This was before the "obsession"! I didn't even realize Galvanize Manectric was a thing yet! The Gen V version of the team had Jolteon in this slot, so Manectric was the obvious, direct upgrade. Dry Skin let it soft check the other two attackers and also negated the damage from Life Orb. I give Manectric grief for its Thunderbolt being kinda weak, but its Thunder is fairly respectable. Not amazing, but 100% accuracy LO-boosted Thunders still do some work.

Xerneas is a counter to Palkia and Gyarados, thanks to Water Absorb and typing, and provides some additional utility, like burning opponents, removing Imposter Palk's hazards, and even providing clerical support! It might have been too dedicated at its role though.

Ferrothorn is the old Prankster Ferro set. It serves as a good check to Imposters for the entire team except Xern. You can tell how old the set is though thanks to Prankster Topsy-Turvy + Parting Shot. We're getting all Gen VI in here! I suppose today it'd still put in work though as people probably don't expect Prankster Topsy anymore.

...though if memory serves right, noobs on the ladder don't realize Flashfire exists, so good luck bluffing that.



Kyurem-Black @ Lum Berry
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Bone Rush
- Taunt
- Shell Smash

Kyogre-Primal @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Scald
- Shore Up
- Spectral Thief
- Volt Switch

Giratina @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Glare
- Knock Off
- Whirlwind
- Recover

Solgaleo @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Sunsteel Strike
- Nuzzle
- Rapid Spin
- U-turn

Mewtwo-Mega-Y @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psycho Boost
- Fleur Cannon
- Trick
- Volt Switch

Pikachu-Kalos @ Light Ball
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Skill Swap
- Recover
- Defog
- Core Enforcer


While this set is full of standard set junk, it's notable in that I made it when I was really bored at work and pretty much scratched the basic structure out on a piece of paper. It was a pretty decent team, actually. Would have needed a few tweaks to be amazing, but it's good enough that it shoulda been on the last list had I not overlooked it.

So... Kyogre is a standard Fur Coat set. Solgaleo is a standard AV Regen. Ytwo is a standard Psy Surge set. Good riddance to the last one.

The team was built around Skill Shot Kyu-B. And, I learned the hard way that low to mid-ladder folk completely forget Fakespeed Fridge Kyu-B is 99% of all Kyu-Bs and therefore don't fall for the bluff. Taunt was soooooorely underrated at the time (and still kinda is), which really let it abuse the 100% passive set-up checks of the time (and still does).

Giratina was ripped right out of my Anti-momentum team. It's literally the same set. Granted, item removal and Glare provide good support in general, especially for the last set to do it's thing.

I give Light Ball Pikachu a lot of grief as an Imposter but... with the right support, it is really fun to use. Glare on Gira and Nuzzle on Solga help ensure it outspeeds whatever it copies so it can decimate them. But otherwise... yeah, it's Light Ball Pikachu.



...Yes, that's the name.

Escavalier @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Spore
- Recover
- Trick Room

Ampharos-Mega @ Wide Lens
Ability: Refrigerate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Thunder
- Boomburst
- Milk Drink
- Trick Room

Xerneas @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Extreme Speed
- V-create
- Rapid Spin
- Heal Order

Cresselia @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Pursuit
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind
- Recover

Togekiss @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Moonblast
- Parting Shot
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost

Heracross-Mega @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Hammer Arm
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Trick Room


Honestly, not gonna comment much here since this looks like a copy-pasta of an X/Y team. A pretty decent X/Y team, but it looks otherwise untouched. I mean... there's Fridge Wide Lens Ampharos!

...which, speaking of, Wide Lens helped its Thunder not suck in the accuracy department. The set might be kinda legit as a lure these days though.

Anyway, this is a Trick Room team. Escalv is a Gyro Ball abuser, which is less meaningful in our slow pivot meta. Heracross is an attacker as well, with Hammer Arm technically boosting its speed in Trick Room. It's pretty cool. Xerneas is kind of a mixed role, priority popping specific threats or bopping walls with a V-Create. Pixie spin is unblockable, which is fun.

Defensively, moldy Cress ensures hazards and removes offending Shedinjas. FF Togekiss was, at one time, a really good Contrary check. It also hard countered a lot of Garchomp sets until Thousand Arrows came into play. I guess it could have also checked those V-Create/Precipice/Draco Meteor Primaldon sets when those were a thing.

But Togekiss sucks now. You probably don't want to use it.



It's Snow Time! (Regice) @ Leftovers
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Spiky Shield
- Milk Drink

The Unfinished (Lapras) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Protect
- Toxic
- Simple Beam

The Inconclusive (Umbreon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Heal Bell
- Foul Play
- Taunt

The Incomplete (Articuno) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Roost
- Substitute
- Psycho Shift

The WIP (Arceus) @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shore Up
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Whirlwind

It's cold!!! (Giratina) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Careful Nature
- Wish
- Recover
- Knock Off
- Heal Bell


Sooo... at the end of Gen V/start of Gen VI, I was working on a hail team. And then we learned weather was no longer permanent. So, this team was the left overs. ...I guess I had planned on trying to mess with it some this gen, hence the name and it being in my Gen VII BH folder, but it looks like it's been untouched other than a stray Spiky Shield. I do remember playing it when I was bored though.


Regice is a good wall with a bad typing. Really, it has the stats to be a great Fur Coat or AV Regen user. But... pure Ice-type. Sad day. Still though, it's the sturdiest wall immune to hail damage. The set is a classic Leech Seed staller, not something you see a lot on BH today. Not likely the best set for a hail setting for a full team since weather is so momentum based these days, but it's still pretty fun and frustrating!

Lapras is probably the best Ice-type who is not weak to Fire. Otherwise... this set is basically Stallrein. I distinctly remember basing this on the Gen V Stallrein set, but Lapras is bulkier and Poison Heal is much stronger. Simple Beam is an odd choice, but it used to be a goto option for checking Poison Heal, Magic Guard, and Contrary in one go.

Umbreon has some niche today in that it's the bulkiest mono-Dark type in the entire game. It's a small niche though. Ironically, it's standard sets are pretty much some of its best still, just with different abilities. I imagine with all the Shell Smashing and Belly Drumming, Unaware Foul Play would be pretty good if you can deal with the Sunsteels.

I had a reason for Articuno, but I don't remember what, precisely. Maybe a mix of bulk and power? Something that really appreciated Magic Guard with STAB Blizzard? Either way, Psycho Shift used to be a super meta move years ago until Gen Vi's Knock Off buff, particularly in that Imposters copying the set couldn't (repeatedly) spread status around. Toxic is probably stronger nowadays.

I think the purpose of this Arceus set was just hazard control and shuffling opponents into hazards + hail damage.

I used to run a lot of support Giratinas similar to this set in past gens. Wish + Heal Bell was practically a staple on all of them with the other two moves usually being some other utility as well. The set is probably still workable though.



Xerneas @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Pixilate
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Fake Out
- Frustration
- Parting Shot
- Earthquake

Venusaur-Mega @ Black Sludge
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 SpA
- Trick
- Shore Up
- Taunt
- Destiny Bond

Gengar-Mega @ Leftovers
Ability: Normalize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 0 Atk / 0 SpA
- Entrainment
- Heal Order
- Substitute
- Curse

Yveltal @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Oblivion Wing
- Dark Pulse
- Quiver Dance
- Spore

Kyogre-Primal @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Parting Shot
- Haze
- Destiny Bond

Registeel @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 SpA / 0 Spe
- Milk Drink
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Defog


There are two very significant things I remember about this team. The first is that it randomly encountered Lance (yes, THAT Lance) on the Ladder and beat him pretty soundly. Which, for all the hype about him and his mega ego, was a pretty big deal for me at the time. You can actually watch that replay here: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-155016943

The second thing was, the first BH Open of Gen VII, I was lazy and resting on my laurels. Cocky, over confident, thinking that I didn't really need to team build. My old teams would suffice. After all, this team was really strong when I made it and my Anti-Momentum team lasted a whole generation. So... cue MAMP utterly thrashing this team in the first round and giving me a wake up call about not relying on old stuff.

So, if this team used to be great, why is it here and not in the good teams like Anti-Momentum and Sandy Oldie? Simple: those teams still work more or less. This one was built for a meta that no longer exists and just falls flat. Like, not even beat noobs on the ladder consistently anymore. I remember trying after MAMP beat me, thinking maybe I just had a poor match-up. But nope, this team was now kinda bad, so I just cut ties with it.

Anyway...

Xerneas is a Imposter-resistant lead. Fake Out was for Illusions and some light scouting before bailing. Its damage wasn't amazing but, back then, you weren't expected to have Banded Huge Power base 250 attack to be considered an okay attacker.

Venusaur is a relic of a bygone era. Oh, sure, the set works pretty fine right now, but the typing has fallen well out of the meta since PH Ogre isn't a dominant force anymore. The set looks weird today, but it did its job just fine back then.

And here's a Gengar back before Normalize Spooky Judgement actually worked! Normalize Curse though is pretty nuts, however. This set actually used to run Gengarite back when Megas could Mega-evolve into themselves, so it'd, Mega-evolve mid to late game to make sure a specific target would absolutely die.

This Yveltal was, I believe, my attempt to innovate on the PH Ogre sets running around by taking the same concept and going to other Pokemon. It lacked some of the raw power and bulk, but it was pretty hard to take down once it was going. Dark Pulse was picked over Night Daze so to avoid Imposter haxing my accuracy.

Interesting note: Xerneas and Yveltal Imposter-checked each other. Yveltal could switch into all of Xerneas' moves without much worry. Meanwhile, my Xerneas ignored Spore and could hit back reasonably hard, enough that Imposter couldn't just set up. Usually this synergy was unnecesary, but it was cool nonetheless.

Kyogre is another relic. These days, it's Registeel with U-Turn instead of Parting Shot. ...okay, maybe it's not THAT behind the times.

Registeel is a fairly standard Magic Bounce set. Hazard control and pivoting, nothing else to see here.



Meloetta-Pirouette
Ability: Serene Grace
IVs: 0 Atk
- Core Enforcer


Okay, so... this oddity is sitting in my Gen VII BH folder on a team all by its lonesome and I cannot for the life of me figure out what this was supposed to be doing. I mean, this is clearly an early remnant of one of those teams of mine that got erased but... what was I doing? What was I planning with Core Enforcer Melo-P?

I just... don't understand.

Feel free to speculate on this since your guess is as good as mine.



Edit: I'm tempted to share most/all the BH replays I've saved over the years, since it's kinda interesting watching the meta evolve and stuff over time. Everything from Gen V to recent times. Anyone interested?
 
Last edited:

Champion Leon

Banned deucer.
So... what does one do when they get sick and their internet decides to die at the same time? Well, simple: write up that bad team dump. So, here we go, I mentioned dumping the weird stuff, and now I am. These teams are ranging from just a single, critical head scratcher to just being overall bad stuff people probably laugh about on the Discord (and, in the past, the "Silly Things You Saw in OMs" topic). Some of this might be workable with a good bit of work, most teams have at least one or two sets that could be plucked out, dusted off, and made to work, and then other teams... they ain't got nothing you'd want.

Though... feel free to use or modify anything you see here. Just, good luck!


So, here we go. Get ready to to shake your head and face palm at some of the bad things I've attempted. ...but don't do that too hard since, let's be honest, we all got those teams that ended up being dumpster fires.


Kyurem-Black @ Never-Melt Ice
Ability: Refrigerate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Extreme Speed
- Sunsteel Strike
- Taunt

Kyurem-Black @ King's Rock
Ability: Skill Link
- Icicle Spear
- Bone Rush
- King's Shield
- Shift Gear

Rayquaza-Mega @ Choice Specs
Ability: Tinted Lens
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Oblivion Wing
- Secret Sword
- Moongeist Beam
- Core Enforcer

Diancie-Mega @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Pixilate
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Fake Out
- Extreme Speed
- Boomburst
- Earth Power

Manectric-Mega @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Galvanize
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Ice Beam
- Encore
- Spore

Chansey @ Spooky Plate
Ability: Imposter
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Fake Out
- Skill Swap
- Final Gambit
- Shore Up

The first team was set on abusing -ate sets hard. Or bluffing them. While not a great team, it still ticked off some players I repeatedly encountered. I fondly remember one guy screaming "Imposter Chansey is your only good Pokemon!" every time I battled and beat him.

I'm also not good at making offensive/HO teams, as you'll see as we go.

The first Kyu-B and the Diance are fairly standard -ate sets. May be slightly out of date by today's standards, but this was a S/M team.

The second was a Skill Link lure. It was meant to bluff being a Fridge set before setting up and sweeping. Again, a little dated, even for an uncommon set, and a bit trolly with the King's Rock. I also learned the hard way that low ladder players, and even some mid ladder players, are too dumb to realize that Kyu-B could KO their Ray with FakeSpeed if it had been Fridge and just attack instead, making this set much less effective. ....that or they were friggin' geniuses.

Ray is meant to look like it fits the theme of being yet another -ate set, but it's really just a straight copy of one of E4Flint's Mega-Ray sets he posted a long time ago. It did pretty good, although this was probably the wrong team to slap onto it.

Manectric is a Galvanize Disruption set. Good damage with Boomburst, decent switch-in damage on Ice Beam. Anything slower gets slept and walls get Encored. It's a pretty decent set, although in sleep clause land I'd probably opt for Glare or Nuzzle over Spore. It also needs bulkier teammates too.

Chansey is mostly standard Imposter of the era. Except Spooky Plate because I love trolling Gengar.



Pheromosa @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Aerilate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 224 Atk / 32 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Tail Slap
- Soul-Stealing 7-Star Strike
- Sunsteel Strike
- Pin Missile

Deoxys-Attack @ Leppa Berry
Ability: Harvest
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 0 Def / 0 SpD
- Genesis Supernova
- Catastropika
- Soul-Stealing 7-Star Strike
- Psystrike

Rayquaza-Mega @ Flame Orb
Ability: Quick Feet
EVs: 128 Def / 252 SpA / 128 SpD
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tail Glow
- Oblivion Wing
- Ice Beam
- Guardian of Alola

Deoxys-Attack @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Def / 0 SpD
- Destiny Bond
- Genesis Supernova
- 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt
- Moongeist Beam

Deoxys-Attack @ Focus Sash
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 0 Def / 0 SpD
- Psystrike
- Genesis Supernova
- Spectral Thief
- Frost Breath

Deoxys-Attack @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 0 Def / 0 SpD
- Defog
- Genesis Supernova
- Spectral Thief
- Oceanic Operetta

I'm not gonna go much detail into this one. This is from the CFZ suspect test and this team isnt salvageable anymore. And... it's as toxic as it looks. OHKOs abound! Only notable changes here were a Phera for checking the 6 Deo-A teams of the era and me running a bit of a test with Guardian of Alola Quick Feet Mega-Ray.

But otherwise... yeah. This was one of the more bull-crappy eras of BH, about tied with Parental Bond on everything.



Solgaleo @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 SpA / 0 Spe
- Rapid Spin
- Spectral Thief
- Gear Grind
- U-turn

Yveltal @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Circle Throw
- Knock Off
- King's Shield
- Spectral Thief

Zygarde-Complete @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 SpA / 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Core Enforcer
- Milk Drink
- U-turn

Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 SpA / 0 Spe
- Metal Burst
- Soft-Boiled
- Defog
- Parting Shot

Manectric-Mega @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Galvanize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Ice Beam
- Encore
- Spore

Groudon-Primal @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Precipice Blades
- Sacred Fire
- Spectral Thief
- Coil


Based on the name and memory, I believe this was cobbled together really fast to showcase Manectric for a VR argument? It looks like I pretty much just yanked Gengar out of an early version of my toxic stall team in the last dump and slotted in Manectric and then changed some abilities around.

I mean, why else would I have AV Regen Gear Grind Solgaleo? I guess for Sash Diancie? Either way, lemme try to explain this one...

Solgaleo appears to be more or less a standard Regenvest set, except the aforementioned odditty. Yveltal, meanwhile, is Adrian's Yveltal (yet again) and does its same old annoying song and dance.

Zygarde appears to be more or less a standard Fur Coat wall. The set suggests it was meant to deal with Gigas and perhaps PH Groudon. Or remove troublesome abilities before switching. Chansey is also a fairly standard Fur Coat set it seems. Why did I have double Fur Coat though?

Manectric is identical to the -atefence team above, except much better supported here. If you didn't read that, it does good damage with Boomburst, Ice Beams certain threats on the switch, and then sleeps things without fear of bounce or Encores walls and stuff using harmless moves. Just being a general pain in the neck that can't be slowed with paralysis with some damage to back it up.

Groudon seems to be the most interesting/creative set here. Unaware sweeping is kind of a dead art these days, but its probaly something that'd have promise. The cool thing about it is, on something sufficiently bulky, it doesn't care if the boosts get stolen since the stealer can't use them back. Anyway, Coil covers Precipice's accuracy issues, ensuring it doesn't miss after a boost or two, while the combo of Coil and Sacred Fire shuts down most physical attackers. And for Spectral Thief... do I really need to explain why stealing a Shell Smash with a bulky, Unaware attacker is amazing?



Manectric-Mega @ Choice Specs
Ability: Galvanize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Trick
- Ice Beam
- Volt Switch

Manectric-Mega @ Groundium Z
Ability: Dazzling
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power
- Volt Switch

Swampert-Mega @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Thousand Waves
- Spectral Thief
- Stealth Rock
- Recover

Celesteela @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Milk Drink
- Core Enforcer
- Knock Off
- U-turn

Sableye-Mega @ Terrain Extender
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Shore Up
- Spectral Thief
- Defog
- U-turn

Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Fake Out
- Heal Order
- Heal Bell
- Final Gambit

Okay, yes, I used that Pokemon too much this gen, I'll admit it. Which is weird since Mane isn't even in my top 50 favorite Pokemon. But ah well.

Anyway, if the name sounds familiar, it should. This is the first attempt at the Manectric E-Terrain team. There is a reason why I restarted with a V2 instead of trying to just fix this one. (And I probably need a V3.) You're probably looking over the sets and going "...wut?" and, really, you should be. So, let's get this out of the way...


First we have Specs Galvanize Manectric. There's nothing wrong here, this set hits pretty hard and pretty fast under Terrain. Anything it can't break it can Trick to and it can also pivot hard and fast as well.

The second Manectric... ummm... what was I doing? I remembered this thing being Sheer Force or No Guard but... Dazzling? I'm confused at myself! I guess Thunderbolt would have decent power under terrain, but the rest of the set? Yeah, I don't quite get it. I guess maybe it was some sort of weird Pixie Diancie check? I dunno, you guys tell me.

PH Swampert's a decent set that walls a fair number of things and will also eventually beat its Imposter. Eventually. Some day. ...we're gonna be here a moment. I imagine it was to check Imposters of the Manectrics and itself without fearing Terrain boosted attacks.

Celesteela is a standard FF Celesteela. The pick of Pokemon and ability tells me that I figured this out on paper rather than in-practice in finding type synergy. It feels out of place though since I don't really see why I'd need FF so badly when I have Swampert. Eh, the whole team's a mistake, so I'll let it slide.

I think Sableye was meant as a Mewtwo check. And it was also setting terrain. If I remember, it wasn't a particularly good setter as it got worn down pretty easily and felt deceptively not as bulky as its stats implied. The speed would be good for pivoting, but I just recall it not working well in the role at all.

Imposter Chansey is Imposter.



Arceus @ Leftovers
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tail Glow
- Spiky Shield
- Substitute
- Baton Pass

Gengar-Mega @ Spooky Plate
Ability: Normalize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Entrainment
- Substitute
- Judgment
- Baton Pass

Meloetta @ Leftovers
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Stored Power
- Moongeist Beam
- Baton Pass

Audino-Mega @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heart Swap
- Wish
- Baton Pass
- Stored Power

Arceus @ Mental Herb
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Substitute
- Quiver Dance
- Baton Pass

Yveltal @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Calm Nature
- Spectral Thief
- Baton Pass
- Knock Off
- Defog

Okay so... I really wanted to keep Baton Pass alive this gen. I think it might be possible but... this isn't the way to go about it. Having one, maybe two, Normal-types for Spectral is probably enough. And, either way, that doesn't stop Haze...

Anyway, this was a modification of a Gen VI Baton Pass team of mine that actually was successful. Unlike this team. This team is bad. Here's why.

Speed Boost Arceus is a weird set to begin with, but it works. Arceus lacks any real weaknesses, has good bulk, and a decently chunky Substitute, and is also immune to thieving. This set gets some boosts up to pass behind a sub. Originally it ran Cotton Guard last gen, but the sheer reduction of Extreme Speed has made that much less necessary.

Next up we have a Normalize Gengar that Baton Passes. I'm not 100% sure why I made this an attacker when it used to set up a Tail Glow for the sweeper instead very reliably. Probably Thief? Either way, it does a good job of disrupting the opponent and then passing. So far good, right?

...then we get to Meloetta. I mean, okay, I can see why. Immune to Spectral Thief and Moongeist while having STAB Stored Power. I get it. It makes sense on paper. But... it's Meloetta! I coulda at least ran Taunt or something for Haze users...

Prank Audino used to be Cress, but Cress really sucked at the time and wasn't Spectral Immune. Stored Power made more sense there where Cress could do decent damage with some stolen boosts. It was kind of a check to opposing set-up sweepers, Topsy-Turvy, or Imposters copying boosts.

Bounce Arceus for more subbing and some dancing. It was here to stop Taunt and Encore, really, and Mental Herb helped it block a Moldy Taunt too, which on the last team was sometimes a clutch play.

Yveltal was the check to Imposter Meloetta, taking not much damage and able to remove items in the process. If Imposter passed, it could then steal the boosts back and carry on.



Yveltal @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Spectral Thief
- Roost
- U-turn

Solgaleo @ Focus Sash
Ability: Simple
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Stored Power
- Thousand Waves
- Shell Smash
- Taunt

Yveltal @ White Herb
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Power Trip
- Oblivion Wing
- Shell Smash
- Imprison

Manectric-Mega @ Icium Z
Ability: Galvanize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Ice Beam
- Encore
- Stealth Rock

Swampert-Mega @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Core Enforcer
- Thousand Waves
- Milk Drink
- Defog

Chansey @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Lonely Nature
IVs: 0 Def / 0 SpD
- Metal Burst
- Destiny Bond
- Anchor Shot
- Spiky Shield


And here's my attempt at "Hyper Offense". I put it in quotes since it's not quite hyper. It's okay, I'm pretty bad at going full on offense. Being reckless is fun, but I suck at it.

So, let's start here with Solgaleo. Most people would expect a Regenvest set, especially as a lead. Dusk didn't exist yet but, honestly, I'd probably keep this as Solgaleo for the surprise factor it's intended to have. Simple Smash up, taunt Hazers and D-Bonders, and Stored Power stuff down. This thing solo swept a few times, believe it or not. T-Waves discourages Imposters and Steels in general from switching in. Might seem like odd coverage, but...

Bounce Yveltal counters the set. Imposters of Solgaleo are helpless against Bounce Yveltal. So, other than being a general purpose bouncer and pivot, it also blocked Imposters and also set up bluffs for the next set...

...which is a classic Unburden Trip Yveltal. Complete with Imprison to ensure Imposter can't do squat. (Blocking Triage Ray is neat too.) This set is pretty obvious and needs no explanation.

And then... I don't know why I shoved Manectric here. Maybe I was dead set on convincing people to VR rank it? Either way, another offensive-support set, this time setting hazards and one-shotting any stray Zygardes. Honestly, it kinda feels like I have halves of two different teams here.

Swampert was a general check to a number of offensive threats, like the omnipresent Gigas of the era (and I think Primaldon was still legal too?) It also Imposter-proofs Manectric and kills its own Imposters eventually.

Chansey is Innards Out Lite. This set takes quite a bit of finnese to use right, finesse this team kinda lacks. Done correctly, you switch it in safely with no hazards up, making it look like a Fur Coat set or something. Then you Metal Burst the attack or U-Turn. And after you got one KO, you pick up the second with Destiny Bond. Anchor Shot is there to try to force a U-Turn or attack and Spiky eases predictions.

But why did I give it speed IVs/EVs?



Kyogre-Primal @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Steam Eruption
- Volt Switch
- Heal Order
- Spiky Shield

Palkia @ Lustrous Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Water Spout
- Spacial Rend
- Stealth Rock
- Recover

Gyarados-Mega @ Waterium Z
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crabhammer
- Crunch
- Heal Order
- King's Shield

Manectric-Mega @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder
- Ice Beam
- Taunt
- Volt Switch

Xerneas @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Defog
- Heal Bell
- Milk Drink

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Destiny Bond
- Parting Shot
- Soft-Boiled
- Topsy-Turvy


So... this set is a very early S/M modernization of a Gen V team. It's... not modern at all anymore, but it was an attempt at the time! Well... post CFZs and Water Bubble. And it's a rain team! Always fun! I'd consider this a weird/bad team since it's hideously vulnerable to just about any modern attacker, it'd need a complete overhaul.

Kyogre is there to set and somewhat abuse rain. Oh, and pivot. That is all.

Palkia is a generally good all-round rain abuser and also took advantage of momentum to sometimes set rocks. Recover seems odd on the set, but it helps keep HP high for Water Spouts. Lustrous Orb is a little unusual, but it boosts the STABs with no drawbacks, unlike Life Orb and Specs.

Gyarados was the designated physical attacker. I'm guessing I have the Waterium-Z for a surprise rain-boosted nuke? Either way, if memory serves, Rain-boosted attacks hit hard enough as was, so it'd make sense. I guess King's Shield was there to block Fakespeed.

Yes, another Manectric, but hear me out! This was before the "obsession"! I didn't even realize Galvanize Manectric was a thing yet! The Gen V version of the team had Jolteon in this slot, so Manectric was the obvious, direct upgrade. Dry Skin let it soft check the other two attackers and also negated the damage from Life Orb. I give Manectric grief for its Thunderbolt being kinda weak, but its Thunder is fairly respectable. Not amazing, but 100% accuracy LO-boosted Thunders still do some work.

Xerneas is a counter to Palkia and Gyarados, thanks to Water Absorb and typing, and provides some additional utility, like burning opponents, removing Imposter Palk's hazards, and even providing clerical support! It might have been too dedicated at its role though.

Ferrothorn is the old Prankster Ferro set. It serves as a good check to Imposters for the entire team except Xern. You can tell how old the set is though thanks to Prankster Topsy-Turvy + Parting Shot. We're getting all Gen VI in here! I suppose today it'd still put in work though as people probably don't expect Prankster Topsy anymore.

...though if memory serves right, noobs on the ladder don't realize Flashfire exists, so good luck bluffing that.



Kyurem-Black @ Lum Berry
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Bone Rush
- Taunt
- Shell Smash

Kyogre-Primal @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Scald
- Shore Up
- Spectral Thief
- Volt Switch

Giratina @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Glare
- Knock Off
- Whirlwind
- Recover

Solgaleo @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Sunsteel Strike
- Nuzzle
- Rapid Spin
- U-turn

Mewtwo-Mega-Y @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psycho Boost
- Fleur Cannon
- Trick
- Volt Switch

Pikachu-Kalos @ Light Ball
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Skill Swap
- Recover
- Defog
- Core Enforcer


While this set is full of standard set junk, it's notable in that I made it when I was really bored at work and pretty much scratched the basic structure out on a piece of paper. It was a pretty decent team, actually. Would have needed a few tweaks to be amazing, but it's good enough that it shoulda been on the last list had I not overlooked it.

So... Kyogre is a standard Fur Coat set. Solgaleo is a standard AV Regen. Ytwo is a standard Psy Surge set. Good riddance to the last one.

The team was built around Skill Shot Kyu-B. And, I learned the hard way that low to mid-ladder folk completely forget Fakespeed Fridge Kyu-B is 99% of all Kyu-Bs and therefore don't fall for the bluff. Taunt was soooooorely underrated at the time (and still kinda is), which really let it abuse the 100% passive set-up checks of the time (and still does).

Giratina was ripped right out of my Anti-momentum team. It's literally the same set. Granted, item removal and Glare provide good support in general, especially for the last set to do it's thing.

I give Light Ball Pikachu a lot of grief as an Imposter but... with the right support, it is really fun to use. Glare on Gira and Nuzzle on Solga help ensure it outspeeds whatever it copies so it can decimate them. But otherwise... yeah, it's Light Ball Pikachu.



...Yes, that's the name.

Escavalier @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Spore
- Recover
- Trick Room

Ampharos-Mega @ Wide Lens
Ability: Refrigerate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Thunder
- Boomburst
- Milk Drink
- Trick Room

Xerneas @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Extreme Speed
- V-create
- Rapid Spin
- Heal Order

Cresselia @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Pursuit
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind
- Recover

Togekiss @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Moonblast
- Parting Shot
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost

Heracross-Mega @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Hammer Arm
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Trick Room


Honestly, not gonna comment much here since this looks like a copy-pasta of an X/Y team. A pretty decent X/Y team, but it looks otherwise untouched. I mean... there's Fridge Wide Lens Ampharos!

...which, speaking of, Wide Lens helped its Thunder not suck in the accuracy department. The set might be kinda legit as a lure these days though.

Anyway, this is a Trick Room team. Escalv is a Gyro Ball abuser, which is less meaningful in our slow pivot meta. Heracross is an attacker as well, with Hammer Arm technically boosting its speed in Trick Room. It's pretty cool. Xerneas is kind of a mixed role, priority popping specific threats or bopping walls with a V-Create. Pixie spin is unblockable, which is fun.

Defensively, moldy Cress ensures hazards and removes offending Shedinjas. FF Togekiss was, at one time, a really good Contrary check. It also hard countered a lot of Garchomp sets until Thousand Arrows came into play. I guess it could have also checked those V-Create/Precipice/Draco Meteor Primaldon sets when those were a thing.

But Togekiss sucks now. You probably don't want to use it.



It's Snow Time! (Regice) @ Leftovers
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Spiky Shield
- Milk Drink

The Unfinished (Lapras) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Protect
- Toxic
- Simple Beam

The Inconclusive (Umbreon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Heal Bell
- Foul Play
- Taunt

The Incomplete (Articuno) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Roost
- Substitute
- Psycho Shift

The WIP (Arceus) @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shore Up
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Whirlwind

It's cold!!! (Giratina) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Careful Nature
- Wish
- Recover
- Knock Off
- Heal Bell


Sooo... at the end of Gen V/start of Gen VI, I was working on a hail team. And then we learned weather was no longer permanent. So, this team was the left overs. ...I guess I had planned on trying to mess with it some this gen, hence the name and it being in my Gen VII BH folder, but it looks like it's been untouched other than a stray Spiky Shield. I do remember playing it when I was bored though.


Regice is a good wall with a bad typing. Really, it has the stats to be a great Fur Coat or AV Regen user. But... pure Ice-type. Sad day. Still though, it's the sturdiest wall immune to hail damage. The set is a classic Leech Seed staller, not something you see a lot on BH today. Not likely the best set for a hail setting for a full team since weather is so momentum based these days, but it's still pretty fun and frustrating!

Lapras is probably the best Ice-type who is not weak to Fire. Otherwise... this set is basically Stallrein. I distinctly remember basing this on the Gen V Stallrein set, but Lapras is bulkier and Poison Heal is much stronger. Simple Beam is an odd choice, but it used to be a goto option for checking Poison Heal, Magic Guard, and Contrary in one go.

Umbreon has some niche today in that it's the bulkiest mono-Dark type in the entire game. It's a small niche though. Ironically, it's standard sets are pretty much some of its best still, just with different abilities. I imagine with all the Shell Smashing and Belly Drumming, Unaware Foul Play would be pretty good if you can deal with the Sunsteels.

I had a reason for Articuno, but I don't remember what, precisely. Maybe a mix of bulk and power? Something that really appreciated Magic Guard with STAB Blizzard? Either way, Psycho Shift used to be a super meta move years ago until Gen Vi's Knock Off buff, particularly in that Imposters copying the set couldn't (repeatedly) spread status around. Toxic is probably stronger nowadays.

I think the purpose of this Arceus set was just hazard control and shuffling opponents into hazards + hail damage.

I used to run a lot of support Giratinas similar to this set in past gens. Wish + Heal Bell was practically a staple on all of them with the other two moves usually being some other utility as well. The set is probably still workable though.



Xerneas @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Pixilate
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Fake Out
- Frustration
- Parting Shot
- Earthquake

Venusaur-Mega @ Black Sludge
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 SpA
- Trick
- Shore Up
- Taunt
- Destiny Bond

Gengar-Mega @ Leftovers
Ability: Normalize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 0 Atk / 0 SpA
- Entrainment
- Heal Order
- Substitute
- Curse

Yveltal @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Oblivion Wing
- Dark Pulse
- Quiver Dance
- Spore

Kyogre-Primal @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Parting Shot
- Haze
- Destiny Bond

Registeel @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 SpA / 0 Spe
- Milk Drink
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Defog


There are two very significant things I remember about this team. The first is that it randomly encountered Lance (yes, THAT Lance) on the Ladder and beat him pretty soundly. Which, for all the hype about him and his mega ego, was a pretty big deal for me at the time. You can actually watch that replay here: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-155016943

The second thing was, the first BH Open of Gen VII, I was lazy and resting on my laurels. Cocky, over confident, thinking that I didn't really need to team build. My old teams would suffice. After all, this team was really strong when I made it and my Anti-Momentum team lasted a whole generation. So... cue MAMP utterly thrashing this team in the first round and giving me a wake up call about not relying on old stuff.

So, if this team used to be great, why is it here and not in the good teams like Anti-Momentum and Sandy Oldie? Simple: those teams still work more or less. This one was built for a meta that no longer exists and just falls flat. Like, not even beat noobs on the ladder consistently anymore. I remember trying after MAMP beat me, thinking maybe I just had a poor match-up. But nope, this team was now kinda bad, so I just cut ties with it.

Anyway...

Xerneas is a Imposter-resistant lead. Fake Out was for Illusions and some light scouting before bailing. Its damage wasn't amazing but, back then, you weren't expected to have Banded Huge Power base 250 attack to be considered an okay attacker.

Venusaur is a relic of a bygone era. Oh, sure, the set works pretty fine right now, but the typing has fallen well out of the meta since PH Ogre isn't a dominant force anymore. The set looks weird today, but it did its job just fine back then.

And here's a Gengar back before Normalize Spooky Judgement actually worked! Normalize Curse though is pretty nuts, however. This set actually used to run Gengarite back when Megas could Mega-evolve into themselves, so it'd, Mega-evolve mid to late game to make sure a specific target would absolutely die.

This Yveltal was, I believe, my attempt to innovate on the PH Ogre sets running around by taking the same concept and going to other Pokemon. It lacked some of the raw power and bulk, but it was pretty hard to take down once it was going. Dark Pulse was picked over Night Daze so to avoid Imposter haxing my accuracy.

Interesting note: Xerneas and Yveltal Imposter-checked each other. Yveltal could switch into all of Xerneas' moves without much worry. Meanwhile, my Xerneas ignored Spore and could hit back reasonably hard, enough that Imposter couldn't just set up. Usually this synergy was unnecesary, but it was cool nonetheless.

Kyogre is another relic. These days, it's Registeel with U-Turn instead of Parting Shot. ...okay, maybe it's not THAT behind the times.

Registeel is a fairly standard Magic Bounce set. Hazard control and pivoting, nothing else to see here.



Meloetta-Pirouette
Ability: Serene Grace
IVs: 0 Atk
- Core Enforcer


Okay, so... this oddity is sitting in my Gen VII BH folder on a team all by its lonesome and I cannot for the life of me figure out what this was supposed to be doing. I mean, this is clearly an early remnant of one of those teams of mine that got erased but... what was I doing? What was I planning with Core Enforcer Melo-P?

I just... don't understand.

Feel free to speculate on this since your guess is as good as mine.



Edit: I'm tempted to share most/all the BH replays I've saved over the years, since it's kinda interesting watching the meta evolve and stuff over time. Everything from Gen V to recent times. Anyone interested?
I would be cool to go thru maybe 1 replay per era (game release, such as BW, B2W2, XY, ORAS, SM, USUM).

You could pick replays that impact the changes such as pre-suspect test or post-test, like 1 before the recent Sleep Clause for USUM, and showcase how people adapted from each change.

I like the creativity but it’s a huge post! I feel like I’m reading one the Art of War posts.

I think what might be good is to post them in the creative and underrated set posts, for the dump, but for the ones you love (like Manectric), you could mention them directly here.

Good to see Meloetta featured here!
Go Rumors, I like your creativity and penchant for new and fun ideas!

Don’t let the sick get ya down. One day when you are the boss you don’t need to call in sick.
 
I'm wondering,
In OU we've recently seen a "new" item rising in popularity : metronome, wich I find pretty interesting.
Idk if it would be meta or not but I'm asking if a potential set like this one could work :

Rayquaza-Mega @ Metronome
Ability: Aerilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Boomburst
- Knock Off
- Spore
- Substitute / Blue Flare / Core Enforcer / Moongeist Beam / Anchor Shot / anything you get the point

I went for an -ate set spaming boomburst because it is already one of the most spamable move in the tier (few resists, no typing immunity, no drawbacks, perfect accuracy) in order to freely setup on any prankster steel type.
Knock Off is here to remove Eviolite, Leftovers and Safety Goggles and Spore is here to help you setup and give you free turns to boost yourself to max damage.

At first, you are by far weaker than the Choice Specs set but after 5 Boomburst you bypass any switch in (exept Shedinja / Soundproof) :

252+ SpA Metronome Aerilate Rayquaza-Mega Boomburst vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Dialga: 223-262 (55.1 - 64.8%)

This set is still very unrefined (both nature and moveset are probably suboptimal) but I think the basic idea is here.

If you have any suggestions or comments, I have no clue if this set would be usefull in the current meta so feel free to give your opinion about it.
 

Champion Leon

Banned deucer.
I'm wondering,
In OU we've recently seen a "new" item rising in popularity : metronome, wich I find pretty interesting.
Idk if it would be meta or not but I'm asking if a potential set like this one could work :

Rayquaza-Mega @ Metronome
Ability: Aerilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Boomburst
- Knock Off
- Spore
- Substitute / Blue Flare / Core Enforcer / Moongeist Beam / Anchor Shot / anything you get the point
I went for an -ate set spaming boomburst because it is already one of the most spamable move in the tier (few resists, no typing immunity, no drawbacks, perfect accuracy) in order to freely setup on any prankster steel type.
Knock Off is here to remove Eviolite, Leftovers and Safety Goggles and Spore is here to help you setup and give you free turns to boost yourself to max damage.

At first, you are by far weaker than the Choice Specs set but after 5 Boomburst you bypass any switch in (exept Shedinja / Soundproof) :

252+ SpA Metronome Aerilate Rayquaza-Mega Boomburst vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Dialga: 223-262 (55.1 - 64.8%)

This set is still very unrefined (both nature and moveset are probably suboptimal) but I think the basic idea is here.

If you have any suggestions or comments, I have no clue if this set would be usefull in the current meta so feel free to give your opinion about it.
I could see this work because after using a move twice, the boost of 20% is the same as with Sharp Beak.

https://m.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Metronome_(item)
I think after reading Bulbapedia, since Metronome qualifies a call move as the move that is called upon this allows Copycat, etc. to be used with Prankster.

What also makes this move more powerful than expected, is that both the Charge Move and the Attack turn count as a boost.

So if I had a minimum Speed Prankster Bannette-Mega use Shadow Force, and then the next turn it attacks, it gains 20%, then if I use Copycat, it turns into that move, and safely hides Bannette-Mega (similar to Bounce/Dig/Fly), for it to Strike the next turn. Basically affording you a building power item with no drawbacks, and immunity to all attacks.

Since consecutive means 2nd onwards, in order to maximize the base power boost, you have to use the move 6 times (2nd time makes it consecutive which allows it to be the first boost).

I could also see this on Contrary sets that use moves without Immunity like Fleur Cannon and Leaf Storm. Sceptile-Mega has Spore, Draco, Leaf, Overheat.
Spore, Leaf on the switch, and Leaf again, and just keep going.

Edit: I tested it and Metronome does not boost on Copycat, but it should be coded to do so. Programming error.
 
Last edited:

a loser

I'm a loser, baby, so why don't you kill me?
is a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Community Contributor Alumnus
In Memoriam

I'd like to discuss what was one of my favorite bugs in Balanced Hackmons before it was finally squashed. Unfortunately it was done before the Alpha Pokemon's analysis was written up, so I wanted to make sure it was documented.

If you don't know about it, until recently Arceus in BH had a bug which led to Imposters of Arceus always matching the typing of the chosen Arceus sprite rather than the actual typing. Most Arceus used in BH are Normal-type without the appropriate Ability and Item. But thanks to this bug, if you chose the Arceus-Psychic sprite in the teambuilder you would be a Normal-type while Imposters of you would be a Psychic-type. This gave Arceus users a rare ability to self-improof with the right sprite typing, ability, and moveset. An example of a self-improof set is shown below.

Arceus-Psychic @ Leftovers
Ability: Soundproof
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid / Modest Nature
- Tail Glow / Quiver Dance
- Boomburst
- Moongeist Beam

- Taunt / Spectral Thief / Filler

Thanks to this set's design, it was able to setup in front of Imposter with no drawbacks and take it out by hitting the Psychic-type super effectively with Moongeist Beam. Meanwhile, Imposter could not touch you due to your ability and immunity to the moves. Outside of facing Imposter, the set was still effective. The combination of setup moves and Taunt allowed it to mess with Prankster users trying to Haze away stat boosts or heal off damage. Other offensive sets like Poison Heal also got better due to Imposter not having STAB Facade and being hit super effectively from coverage moves.

Another quirk of this bug had to do with the move Revelation Dance. Not only did Imposter take the sprite's typing, Revelation Dance's typing also matched the sprite's typing. This was not used as much because unfortunately it didn't give a STAB boost on Revelation Dance but still found usefulness in certain match ups. Take this set for example:

Arceus-Psychic / Ground @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Spectral Thief
- Recover
- Boomburst
- Revelation Dance

Thanks to the bug, this set was able to come in on Normalize Mega Gengar and force it out with a super effective Revelation Dance that hits after being entrained with Normalize. This was something that is usually only achieved by Yveltal. The addition of Revelation Dance also didn't take anything away from this set's ability to handle its usual threats, like Triage Mega Rayquaza and PH Xerneas.

I have always been a fan of Unaware Arceus and my favorite way to take advantage of this bug was to use the same set I have above but use Worry Seed in the last slot instead. This provided a lot of utility, from removing abilities like Poison Heal and -ate to fully taking advantage of Imposter. Without a trapping move, Unaware Arceus can be Imposter bait. Normally Imposter users can come in, heal up, spam Boomburst to waste time, etc. Thanks to the bug and running Worry Seed, this was no longer the case. If Imposter came in after Arceus had stolen some stat boosts, Arceus could steal the boosts from Imposter, tank an unboosted non-STAB Boomburst, and then use Worry Seed to remove the Imposter's ability. If attacking boosts were stolen, namely Special Attack, this would lead to someone having to take a +2 or greater Boomburst or at the very least force out the Imposter.

This bug was fun to play with and customize it to where even your teammates could take advantage of Imposter's typing. It increased the viability of our Jack of All Trades mon's offensive and defensive sets. Now that the bug is gone, Arceus is back to being the Master of None but still an overall solid option for a team slot. But let us all remember what was, when Arceus saw its full potential.

Now if only we could use specific Arceus typings without having to use Multitype and Plates :(
 
I'm wondering,
In OU we've recently seen a "new" item rising in popularity : metronome, wich I find pretty interesting.

I've not been keeping up with OU, but in BH I have trouble seeing it become a meta item by virtue of how pivot heavy and "total shutdown" heavy the meta is. It's pretty rare, outside of a sweep, that any attacker is able use the same move multiple times in a row without having to switch out or switch moves. Getting the maximum boost would be difficult and, in most cases you could do it viably, you'd probably be cleaning up for a win anyway. Your Ray set, for example, is liable to get bopped by Core Enforcer or Knock Off before it gets more than one or two Boombursts off or have someone slow pivot a check/counter on it.

There's also the stiff competition from choice items. Since attackers usually can't stay in very long, that immediate 50% boost is very attractive and not being able to switch moves often isn't a big deal when you're gonna be forced out anyway.

I wanna say the best use for the item would be a Pressure-style attacker, like a Fire Lash abuser. Problem is, those sets usually need to pause to recover and stuff every so often, so they lose the boost. The other major use I see is cleaning up late game, but usually something like a Shell Smash or Tail Glow boost are more than effective enough at that point.

Also worth noting that OU is a lot squishier due to lack of full EVs, which, on paper, makes it easier to rack up Metronome boosts by scoring KOs.

Definitely not saying it's useless. But I think using the item effectively in a consistent manner would be pretty difficult thanks to all the pivoting, Core Enforcers, Knock Offs, etc. Of course, I do welcome being proven wrong.
 

Champion Leon

Banned deucer.
In Memoriam

I'd like to discuss what was one of my favorite bugs in Balanced Hackmons before it was finally squashed. Unfortunately it was done before the Alpha Pokemon's analysis was written up, so I wanted to make sure it was documented.

If you don't know about it, until recently Arceus in BH had a bug which led to Imposters of Arceus always matching the typing of the chosen Arceus sprite rather than the actual typing. Most Arceus used in BH are Normal-type without the appropriate Ability and Item. But thanks to this bug, if you chose the Arceus-Psychic sprite in the teambuilder you would be a Normal-type while Imposters of you would be a Psychic-type. This gave Arceus users a rare ability to self-improof with the right sprite typing, ability, and moveset. An example of a self-improof set is shown below.

Arceus-Psychic @ Leftovers
Ability: Soundproof
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid / Modest Nature
- Tail Glow / Quiver Dance
- Boomburst
- Moongeist Beam

- Taunt / Spectral Thief / Filler

Now if only we could use specific Arceus typings without having to use Multitype and Plates :(
First of all, you can still use a Judgement Z-Crystal/Plate to bypass Entrainment Gar, which does even more damage due to a higher base power. Earth Plate works nicely for hitting Steel and Rock types that resist Boomburst, while Earth Plate Judgement does more damage to Aegislash than Moongeist Beam (for before you boost / Haze Prankster sets).
Thanks to the Sleep Clause, you are not missing Safety Goggles as much, and due to the Species specific benefit of Arceus, Knock Off and Trick still fail to remove your Plate, even without Multi-Type.

While Imposter cannot be hit by Spectral Thief anymore, on Unaware sets, your Arceus is more at a Stalemate than anything, and only fears PP Stall. I have used Toxic Spikes to alleviate this on teams that have similar issues.
—————
For a more helpful Soundproofer that can maintain near perfect coverage would be:
E7808348-0D04-4A8B-B120-700BE782078C.jpeg
Dialga @ Earth Plate
Ability: Soundproof
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Shell Smash
- Judgement
- Revelation Dance
- Clanging Scales

Here is a set that resists or is immune to its own attacks. Allowing it to sweep teams, without fear of Imposter:
+2 252+ SpA Earth Plate Dialga Judgment vs. -1 252 HP / 252 SpD Chansey: 730-860 (103.6 - 122.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252+ SpA Earth Plate Dialga Judgment vs. -1 252 HP / 252 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 486-574 (69 - 81.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

You can always lower the SpD to ensure it’s a 1HKO, if needed. *Most Priority is physical with the only exception being Triage, which is resisted by Dialga’s typing anyways.

+2 252+ SpA Chansey Judgment vs. -1 252 HP / 252 SpD Dialga: 157-185 (38.8 - 45.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
With Ground covering Steels that resist Dragon, and STAB Steel covering Fairies that resist Dragon, Clanging Scales hits all Dragons and anything else for Heavy Damage. Celesteela is the only Pokémon capable of resisting all of the moves, while it offers little threat to Dialga- even providing it time to setup more boosts. Earth Plate also lets it handle Entrain Gengar.
———
EDIT:
D8C462CF-2E18-46E8-81D6-3BB6695416B0.jpeg

Giratina-Origin @ Spooky Plate
Ability: Soundproof
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Shell Smash
- Judgement
- Secret Sword
- Clanging Scales

This Pokémon is purely Imposterproof and can effectively do what the Arceus form used to do: Stay immune to all of Imposter’s moves and use Ghost (STAB Judgement Spooky) to KO.

Clanging Scales is blocked by Soundproof and allows you to easily Imposterproof, (think of Soundproof Zygarde-Complete) Since Imposter lacks STAB.

Giratina-O, unlike Gengar has Dragon coverage and bulk, not to mention resistances so it can handle Rev Dance Kyogre, and can still hit with Secret Sword to bypass Assault Vest sets.

Before anyone says it’s SpA is low: it has the same SpA as Arceus, and unlike Boomburst, can hit things Super Effectively. Judgment Plate gains STAB to more than make up for the fact that Arceus had Tail Glow, and Clanging Scales lets it hit the biggest walls like Zygarde-Complete easily.

Audino-Mega can handle its STAB, but Secret Sword can hurt Fur Coat Chansey after a Shell Smash.
 
Last edited:
I'm wondering,
In OU we've recently seen a "new" item rising in popularity : metronome, wich I find pretty interesting.
Idk if it would be meta or not but I'm asking if a potential set like this one could work :

Rayquaza-Mega @ Metronome
Ability: Aerilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Boomburst
- Knock Off
- Spore
- Substitute / Blue Flare / Core Enforcer / Moongeist Beam / Anchor Shot / anything you get the point

I went for an -ate set spaming boomburst because it is already one of the most spamable move in the tier (few resists, no typing immunity, no drawbacks, perfect accuracy) in order to freely setup on any prankster steel type.
Knock Off is here to remove Eviolite, Leftovers and Safety Goggles and Spore is here to help you setup and give you free turns to boost yourself to max damage.

At first, you are by far weaker than the Choice Specs set but after 5 Boomburst you bypass any switch in (exept Shedinja / Soundproof) :

252+ SpA Metronome Aerilate Rayquaza-Mega Boomburst vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Dialga: 223-262 (55.1 - 64.8%)

This set is still very unrefined (both nature and moveset are probably suboptimal) but I think the basic idea is here.

If you have any suggestions or comments, I have no clue if this set would be usefull in the current meta so feel free to give your opinion about it.

This item is more psychological warfare than being practical.
If this items works on Assist it has lots of potential in BH.

I once had a BH tour match after which raccol pmed me cuz she thought i used this item.
But I did not knew that item back when and i gave an illogical answer.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7balancedhackmons-664660698Turns 34-38 were strong enough to set up a suspicion.


In Memoriam

...

If you don't know about it, until recently Arceus in BH had a bug which led to Imposters of Arceus always matching the typing of the chosen Arceus sprite rather than the actual typing. Most Arceus used in BH are Normal-type without the appropriate Ability and Item. But thanks to this

So this might have been the true reason Magnet Pull got banned if it has worked on Arceus-Steel.

As much as Regigigas sets are identical, Arceus sets vary.
Unaware works best because of Moongeist Beam immunity.
Normal type means your opponent has to earn his boosts.


Someone surely uses an Arceus like this for years;
I want to credit this Maximum thinker.

Arceus @ Metronome
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Defense Curl
- Rollout / Ice Ball
- Infestation / Spectral Thief
- Recover / Rest / Kings Shield / Shift Gear
 

Champion Leon

Banned deucer.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7balancedhackmons-896402002In my replay, you can see Normal Arceus used Ghost Revelation Dance, so the bug isn’t fixed. I tested Judgment Plate to see if my Gengar could hit it, but it wasn’t able to use Ghost Judgment because Arceus is Normal, but the form, without Multitype, shows as Ghost, but still lists Arceus as Normal.

*See Turns 10-13.

In Memoriam

I'd like to discuss what was one of my favorite bugs in Balanced Hackmons before it was finally squashed. Unfortunately it was done before the Alpha Pokemon's analysis was written up, so I wanted to make sure it was documented.

If you don't know about it, until recently Arceus in BH had a bug which led to Imposters of Arceus always matching the typing of the chosen Arceus sprite rather than the actual typing. Most Arceus used in BH are Normal-type without the appropriate Ability and Item. But thanks to this bug, if you chose the Arceus-Psychic sprite in the teambuilder you would be a Normal-type while Imposters of you would be a Psychic-type. This gave Arceus users a rare ability to self-improof with the right sprite typing, ability, and moveset. An example of a self-improof set is shown below.

Arceus-Psychic @ Leftovers
Ability: Soundproof
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid / Modest Nature
- Tail Glow / Quiver Dance
- Boomburst
- Moongeist Beam

- Taunt / Spectral Thief / Filler

Thanks to this set's design, it was able to setup in front of Imposter with no drawbacks and take it out by hitting the Psychic-type super effectively with Moongeist Beam. Meanwhile, Imposter could not touch you due to your ability and immunity to the moves. Outside of facing Imposter, the set was still effective. The combination of setup moves and Taunt allowed it to mess with Prankster users trying to Haze away stat boosts or heal off damage. Other offensive sets like Poison Heal also got better due to Imposter not having STAB Facade and being hit super effectively from coverage moves.

Another quirk of this bug had to do with the move Revelation Dance. Not only did Imposter take the sprite's typing, Revelation Dance's typing also matched the sprite's typing. This was not used as much because unfortunately it didn't give a STAB boost on Revelation Dance but still found usefulness in certain match ups. Take this set for example:

Arceus-Psychic / Ground @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Spectral Thief
- Recover
- Boomburst
- Revelation Dance

Thanks to the bug, this set was able to come in on Normalize Mega Gengar and force it out with a super effective Revelation Dance that hits after being entrained with Normalize. This was something that is usually only achieved by Yveltal. The addition of Revelation Dance also didn't take anything away from this set's ability to handle its usual threats, like Triage Mega Rayquaza and PH Xerneas.

I have always been a fan of Unaware Arceus and my favorite way to take advantage of this bug was to use the same set I have above but use Worry Seed in the last slot instead. This provided a lot of utility, from removing abilities like Poison Heal and -ate to fully taking advantage of Imposter. Without a trapping move, Unaware Arceus can be Imposter bait. Normally Imposter users can come in, heal up, spam Boomburst to waste time, etc. Thanks to the bug and running Worry Seed, this was no longer the case. If Imposter came in after Arceus had stolen some stat boosts, Arceus could steal the boosts from Imposter, tank an unboosted non-STAB Boomburst, and then use Worry Seed to remove the Imposter's ability. If attacking boosts were stolen, namely Special Attack, this would lead to someone having to take a +2 or greater Boomburst or at the very least force out the Imposter.

This bug was fun to play with and customize it to where even your teammates could take advantage of Imposter's typing. It increased the viability of our Jack of All Trades mon's offensive and defensive sets. Now that the bug is gone, Arceus is back to being the Master of None but still an overall solid option for a team slot. But let us all remember what was, when Arceus saw its full potential.

Now if only we could use specific Arceus typings without having to use Multitype and Plates :(
 
Hi! Since, BH Classic is Over I might as well post the sun team that helped me with a majority of my run in the classic (sorry for the late post!):

511UAoD59dL._SL1100_.jpg

Sableye-Mega @ Heat Rock
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Baton Pass
- Spectral Thief
- Moonlight

Blaziken-Mega @ Choice Band
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- V-create
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Sleep Talk

Blaziken-Mega @ Choice Band
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- V-create
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Switcheroo

Aegislash @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Parting Shot
- Spectral Thief
- Moonlight
- Defog

Celesteela @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Shore Up
- U-turn
- Destiny Bond
- Haze

Tyranitar-Mega @ Choice Band
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Pursuit
- Switcheroo
- U-turn
- Recover

I really enjoyed making the team since weather is such an unexplored play style in this current generation. The team basically melts through so many teams especially if they dont have anything to sponge a v-create or have a flashfire user. Though the team ended up being pretty rayquaza-mega weak it was amazing against many balance/stall teams (too bad hl made a stall to specifically counter it ;_;). Furthermore, I feel something that could be expanded more are more pursuit trap+abuser teams in general. This tyranitar set was extremely effective in countering normalize gengar as they almost never expect the switcheroo. Overall thanks to those who supported me and I hope people enjoy using this team!
 
Last edited:
Normalize Gengar is now one of those things which you have to make at least one counter or your team dies. I wish it wasn't the case. I feel like it's something that should be banned soon. Ah well. Here's some counters for it.

The first idea to counter it is only an idea and not a set. It's Magic Bounce. This is one of the better ideas since most carry Entrainment and not Skill Swap. The idea is to swap in the MB user against the Gengar and have it waste a turn. I'd recommend putting Nuzzle on it to slow it down so your heavy hitter can swap in and kill it like that. It doesn't work against Skill Swap Gengars though.

Judgement is also a good idea, for it is only affected by the plate you're holding, allowing for a powerful Ground, Psychic, Dark, or Ghost attack. Multi-Attack is worse but works on a physical set whilst Judgement is better on a special attacker.

My final idea is countering with an Entrainment and Prankster Pokemon. Prankster allows for you to go first so you can change it's ability and force a switch, and with Pursuit you can deal heavy damage to it when it does.
 
Normalize Gengar is now one of those things which you have to make at least one counter or your team dies. I wish it wasn't the case. I feel like it's something that should be banned soon. Ah well. Here's some counters for it.

The first idea to counter it is only an idea and not a set. It's Magic Bounce. This is one of the better ideas since most carry Entrainment and not Skill Swap. The idea is to swap in the MB user against the Gengar and have it waste a turn. I'd recommend putting Nuzzle on it to slow it down so your heavy hitter can swap in and kill it like that. It doesn't work against Skill Swap Gengars though.

Judgement is also a good idea, for it is only affected by the plate you're holding, allowing for a powerful Ground, Psychic, Dark, or Ghost attack. Multi-Attack is worse but works on a physical set whilst Judgement is better on a special attacker.

My final idea is countering with an Entrainment and Prankster Pokemon. Prankster allows for you to go first so you can change it's ability and force a switch, and with Pursuit you can deal heavy damage to it when it does.
You're completely right that normalize gengar (often called normgar) is something that needs a dedicated counter on most teams, the exceptions being weird HO teams where every pokemon outspeeds (think 6 mmy) or maybe you can get away with a lot a priority pokemon. However, there are quite a few options to counter it that you didn't mention so I'll try to fill in as best I can because I think it's a big problem new players can get frustrated with and hopefully some will learn something from this.

The only common things you missed are Revelation Dance and z-moves which, like Judgment, aren't affected by normalize. RevDance is especially useful since it can be used on regenvest pokemon who have the added special bulk needed to switch into gengar and z-moves are a bit risky since it's one shot at working. There are other moves that can change type and aren't affected like weather ball but these are very niche.

Another slightly rarer option is Trick which can remove the Spooky plate from gengar, which most use with judgment, and then ghost types should wall it (but not do much back usually). This is best used on specially bulky pokemon such as ho-oh that can switch in safely and can also disrupt other strategies.

Fur Coat (or other non-imposter) chansey can usually wall normgar all game so you can attempt to pp stall them or just wait for the opponent to get bored, and you can also use non attacking moves that aren't affected by normalize like spore, whirlwind, topsy turvey etc to disrupt them even after normalize.

Some abilities like Comatose and Multitype can't be removed so these can be useful against entrainment, but the pokemon still needs to beat normgar anyway, so maybe not giratina. These, along with magic bounce, can be used with Pursuit so that the normgar can be permanently killed rather than just scared away.

One last and very desperate check is imposter with a spooky (or even earth) plate. These let you use judgment against the normgar, but you still have to risk switching in which can be dangerous.
Kyogre-Primal @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 68 Spe
Sassy Nature
- U-turn
- Spectral Thief
- Rapid Spin
- Revelation Dance

Yveltal @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Rapid Spin
- Revelation Dance
- Beak Blast
- U-turn

Zygarde-Complete @ Groundium Z
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Shore Up
- Thousand Waves
- Entrainment
- Haze

Don't call me fat (Chansey) @ Eviolite
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Wish
- Whirlwind
- Metal Burst
- Baton Pass

Tyranitar-Mega @ Choice Band
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Pursuit
- Trick
- Sucker Punch

Gyarados-Mega (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Shore Up
- Switcheroo

Chansey @ Spooky Plate
Ability: Imposter
Happiness: 55
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Soft-Boiled
- Whirlwind
- Defog
- Trick
 
Last edited:

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top