BDSP Pure Hackmons Teambuilding Guide
I have been obsessed with BDSP Pure Hackmons recently, and I’m hoping that if I provide resources for this meta, then I can convince people to give it a second chance after what happened in PHPL. I find this meta to certainly have its problems, but with the right strategies in the teambuilder the metagame becomes quite a bit less focused around spamming Taunt and Quiver Dance until you can sweep. This guide will focus mainly on more defensive teambuilding, although options will be given for more offensive teams. Hyper Offense is still great in this meta, but with this guide I’m hoping I can show that defensive teams can most certainly work in this meta.
YOUR TEAM WILL NEED
- General answer(s) for non-Mewtwo special sweepers
- Mewtwo answer(s)
- ComaPhaze answer
- Hazard remover
- ComaPhazer
- At least one sweeper of your own
Note: Two Wonder Guards are also nice to have versus No Guard, but if you are fine with gambling or if you have Arceus-Ice, you’ll probably be fine.
General Special Wall(s)
First off, you will want at least one general answer for special attackers. From my experience, you have two main choices- Arceus-Steel for most teams, and Blissey if you like taking things more slowly. There are other options, of course, and I will go over some of them in this section.
Arceus-Steel @ Iron Plate
Ability: Comatose
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 30 HP
- Iron Head / Rapid Spin
- Circle Throw / Dragon Tail / Clear Smog
- Nuzzle / Foul Play
- Strength Sap
Arceus-Steel is generally going to be your best option for anything that doesn't have specific coverage for it, and can even take on mons that DO have specific coverage for it. Just look at these calcs-
+5 252 SpA Zap Plate Arceus-Electric Discharge vs. 252 HP 30 IVs / 252 SpD Arceus-Steel: 361-426 (81.4 - 96.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+6 252 SpA Pixie Plate Arceus-Fairy Moonblast vs. 252 HP 30 IVs / 252 SpD Arceus-Steel on a critical hit: 367-432 (82.8 - 97.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252 SpA Arceus-Fire Fire Blast vs. 252 HP 30 IVs / 252 SpD Arceus-Steel: 356-420 (80.3 - 94.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+6 252 SpA Sky Plate Arceus-Flying Aeroblast vs. 252 HP 30 IVs / 252 SpD Arceus-Steel on a critical hit: 386-455 (87.1 - 102.7%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
+6 252 SpA Meadow Plate Arceus-Grass Grass Knot (120 BP) vs. 252 HP 30 IVs / 252 SpD Arceus-Steel: 309-363 (69.7 - 81.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 SpA Arceus-Ground Earth Power vs. 252 HP 30 IVs / 252 SpD Arceus-Steel: 390-458 (88 - 103.3%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
+6 252 SpA Icicle Plate Arceus-Ice Ice Beam vs. 252 HP 30 IVs / 252 SpD Arceus-Steel on a critical hit: 348-409 (78.5 - 92.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+3 252 SpA Splash Plate Arceus-Water Origin Pulse vs. 252 HP 30 IVs / 252 SpD Arceus-Steel: 355-418 (80.1 - 94.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
And for some more obscure mons-
+4 252+ SpA Draco Plate Dialga Spacial Rend vs. 252 HP 30 IVs / 252 SpD Arceus-Steel on a critical hit: 374-441 (84.4 - 99.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252+ SpA Kyogre Origin Pulse vs. 252 HP 30 IVs / 252 SpD Arceus-Steel in Rain: 345-406 (77.8 - 91.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+4 252+ SpA Lustrous Orb Palkia Spacial Rend vs. 252 HP 30 IVs / 252 SpD Arceus-Steel on a critical hit: 374-441 (84.4 - 99.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
However, with Arceus-Steel being one of the better special walls right now, I would not be surprised if people start preparing more for it- Arceus-Grass may start dropping Taunt for Flamethrower / Fire Blast, Arceus-Fairy may drop Strength Sap for Earth Power / Judgment-Ground, and so forth. You will probably want backup for Arceus-Steel, and you have a few options for this:
Blissey is a second option, being able to take on almost anything Arceus-Steel cannot (save for really strong Fighting coverage).
Ho-Oh may be an option if you have good hazard removal, being able to take on Fire / Grass, special Ghost / special Fighting, and Fairy / Ground coverage.
Or you could be a little silly and try something new, such as:
Crobat (takes on Fairy / Ground and Grass coverage)
Latias (takes on Fire / Grass coverage and can form your Mewtwo check alongside Foul Play Arceus-Steel).
If your team really struggles against certain Arceus forms (in particular Arceus-Fairy, Arceus-Fire, Arceus-Grass, Arceus-Ice, sweeper Arceus-Steel, and so forth), you could swap out Arceus-Steel with:
Heatran @ Flame Plate / Iron Plate / Dread Plate / Mental Herb
Ability: Comatose
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly / Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP
- Lava Plume / Iron Head / Rapid Spin
- Circle Throw / Dragon Tail / Clear Smog
- Nuzzle / Foul Play / Lava Plume
- Strength Sap
Heatran serves essentially the same role as Arceus-Steel. The only difference between the two is that Heatran does better versus STAB-only Arceus-Fairy, Arceus-Fire, Arceus-Grass, Arceus-Ice, and sweeper Arceus-Steel, while Arceus-Steel does better versus Arceus-Water, Ground coverage, and has a bit more bulk than Heatran.
Blissey @ Toxic Plate / Mental Herb / Dread Plate
Ability: Comatose
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play / Final Gambit
- Clear Smog / Circle Throw
- Nuzzle
- Strength Sap / Soft-Boiled / Final Gambit
Blissey can also be your main special wall, and can double as your general Mewtwo check. I don't think I really need to prove how bulky Blissey is to you all, but having a backup special wall in case Blissey somehow goes down may be nice, especially if you are running stall.
Other options
Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Comatose / Wonder Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play / Final Gambit / Magic Coat
- Clear Smog / Circle Throw
- Nuzzle / Magic Coat
- Strength Sap / Soft-Boiled / Final Gambit
Chansey is going to work almost exactly the same as Blissey, except now you are terrified of TrickScarf and can't run Mental Herb. I don't really think much else needs to be said here.
Giratina @ Griseous Orb
Ability: Comatose / Neutralizing Gas
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hex / Foul Play / Mirror Coat / Counter
- Dragon Tail / Clear Smog
- Nuzzle
- Strength Sap
Giratina is back, and is able to take on mons such as Arceus-Electric, Arceus-Fire, Arceus-Grass, Arceus-Poison, Arceus-Water, and so forth. You WILL need a backup for Giratina, however- Giratina will not be able to check Arceus-Dark, Arceus-Fairy, special Arceus-Ghost, Arceus-Ice, and so forth. Blissey or potentially Ho-Oh would work well as backups.
Ho-Oh @ Flame Plate / Leftovers
Ability: Comatose / Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nuzzle / Lava Plume / Rapid Spin
- Circle Throw / Dragon Tail / Clear Smog
- Lava Plume / Foul Play / Chatter
- Strength Sap
Ho-Oh is also an option, but you will have to keep hazards away like the plague. Ho-Oh would honestly be a great option if we still had Heavy-Duty Boots, but for some reason they were cut even though Sword / Shield has JUST introduced them.
Mewtwo Answer(s)
Every team (and I mean EVERY team) needs to be able to answer Mewtwo, preferably
after it has clicked Shell Smash. You could go for an overall check, such as Blissey, but most teams will need two checks. You will need to be able to answer most if not all of the following moves-
- Aura Sphere
- Dark Pulse (rare)
- Fire Blast (not super common)
- Focus Blast (rare)
- Moonblast
- Stored Power (140 base power)
- Psystrike (rare)
You can pretty much always assume Mewtwo will run two attacking moves, and that one will most likely be Stored Power / occasionally Psystrike. If you need ideas for Mewtwo-check cores, I will provide some below:
Arceus-Psychic + Arceus-Steel
Arceus-Psychic + Spiritomb
Arceus-Psychic + Tyranitar
Arceus-Steel + Giratina
Arceus-Steel + Latias
Arceus-Steel + Spiritomb
Blissey + Spiritomb
ComaPhaze Answer
Just like in Sword / Shield, ComaPhaze is here and can be very dominant in the right scenario. Most of the time, your team will need a mon with Magic Bounce in order to answer this, and there is a "best" option for most teams-
Arceus-Fairy @ Pixie Plate / Earth Plate
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Taunt / Earth Power / Judgment-Ground
- Strength Sap
- Quiver Dance
You already bounce back Whirlwind / Roar with Magic Bounce, but what about Circle Throw / Dragon Tail? Arceus-Fairy not only blocks Dragon Tail, but resists Circle Throw, and is not weak to Chatter (the most common filler move on ComaPhazers). If you are especially concerned about Circle Throw, you
could instead run Arceus-Ghost and adjust the coverage for it, but generally Arceus-Fairy is going to be your best option. This set in particular can double as your win condition / special setup sweeper.
Spiritomb @ Dread Plate
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 176 Spe
Careful Nature
IVs: 30 HP
- Foul Play
- Rapid Spin
- Sucker Punch / Magic Coat / Nuzzle
- Strength Sap
Spiritomb is another option I have tried recently. It's niche is being able to role-compress like nothing else, serving as not just your Magic Bouncer, but also a partial Mewtwo answer and your hazard remover. 176 Speed EVs will cause it to outspeed Arceus when Spiritomb is at +3. Will this ever be important? Probably not, but you might as well- games can be won via tiny optimizations like these.
Hazard Remover
The first thing you need to note about hazard removal in BDSP Pure Hackmons is that Defog is NOT a reliable option, so you almost always will need to run Rapid Spin. Wonder Guard is uncommon in BDSP Pure Hackmons, and there are only two or three relevant Ghost-types (Arceus-Ghost and Spiritomb, plus maybe Giratina). However, you can run Foul Play in order to check physical attackers (such as Arceus-Ghost and Regigigas), and so you can hit those annoying Ghost-types trying to block your Rapid Spin.
Spiritomb @ Dread Plate
Ability: Wonder Guard / Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 176 Spe
Careful Nature
IVs: 30 HP
- Foul Play / Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
- Sucker Punch / Gastro Acid / Toxic Spikes
- Strength Sap
This is what I usually run for hazard removal. Foul Play will OHKO Mewtwo if it tries to Shell Smash on you, and with Wonder Guard you can block annoying Chatter attempts from ComaPhazers. Knock Off is another option, if you want to remove Mewtwo's Life Orb or anything's Lum Berry. I honestly don't know why Spiritomb is not ranked- I would honestly rank this thing in A- if it was up to me.
Other Options
Arceus-Dark is another option on certain teams, although I have personally never used it before.
Arceus-Steel can also serve as your general special wall and as part of a Mewtwo-check core.
Drapion is generally just going to be a worse Skuntank. It IS an option, I suppose, but why use it?
Skuntank
might be able to do something, also being able to
kind of take on Moonblast / Aura Sphere / Fire Blast from Mewtwo (takes 98.5% max from +2 Fire Blast), and can run Black Sludge, but in my opinion Black Sludge is VERY risky to run when trying to punish TrickScarf. I'm mostly speculating here, but maybe someone could do something with Skuntank.
Tyranitar is going to be generally worse than Spiritomb, but is definitely an option if your team can make good use of it, being able to take on Stored Power or Psystrike / Fire Blast Mewtwo.
ComaPhazer
ComaPhaze is rather underutilized in the current BDSP Pure Hackmons metagame. The sets will for the most part be the same- Sleep Talk, Whirlwind, and either Chatter / Solar Beam or Focus Punch / Shadow Force. Other options for moves include Copycat, Mirror Move, Dig, Fly, Dive, and so forth. You
could run Circle Throw / Dragon Tail, but you will need to gamble when it comes to most Wonder Guards or a Fairy-type / Ghost-type. I'll provide some example sets below.
Arceus-Fighting @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Comatose
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 30 HP
- Focus Punch
- Shadow Force
- Sleep Talk
- Whirlwind
Gets STAB on Focus Punch, in case there is an annoying Arceus-Steel or Blissey you want to remove. Will have a hard time versus Arceus-Fairy and Arceus-Flying, however.
Arceus-Flying @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Comatose
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 0 Atk
- Chatter
- Solar Beam
- Sleep Talk
- Whirlwind
Arceus-Flying gets STAB on Chatter and won't have its speed dropped by Sticky Web. Trying to phaze out Arceus-Electric will be risky, however.
Other Options
Arceus-Ghost gets STAB on Shadow Force. Maybe someone could do something with that.
Arceus-Rock is an older pick, and is common on the sample teams.
Arceus-Steel (in my opinion) is kind of wasted if given a ComaPhaze set, but it
is an option.
Deoxys-Speed holding a Choice Scarf will outspeed even +2 Arceus, and it resists Stored Power or Psystrike / Aura Sphere or Focus Blast from Mewtwo.
Latias can be a part of a Mewtwo-check core, taking on Stored Power or Psystrike / Aura Sphere or Fire Blast.
Sweeper
This is what BDSP Pure Hackmons is well-known for. There are two main kinds of sweepers: Special Quiver Dancers, and Shell Smashers (which can be Physical, Mixed, or Special).
Literally any Arceus form (Arceus) @ STAB Plate
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP
- Judgment / non-Judgment STAB special move
- Taunt / Coverage / Spore
- Strength Sap / Coverage
- Quiver Dance
You will need to fill in some parts to make this set legal, but this is otherwise the most standard and important set in the metagame.
Arceus-Ghost @ Spooky Plate / Lum Berry
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 30 HP
- Shadow Force
- Low Kick
- Shell Smash
- Spore / Taunt / Strength Sap
Arceus-Ghost runs Shadow Force due to how few Normal-types there are in the game, and even if you hard-switch in a Normal-type after Arceus-Ghost uses Shadow Force, they will just Low Kick you next turn. One hilarious thing about this set is its hard counters- Swellow, Staraptor, and even Jigglypuff can almost completely stop this thing, with Swellow taking 97.2% maximum from a
+6 Low Kick on a critical hit, and being able to phaze it out with Dragon Tail. I have personally run Swellow and Staraptor on a couple of my teams, and they do their job well.
Mewtwo @ Life Orb / Lum Berry
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 0 Atk
- Stored Power / Psystrike
- Fire Blast / Moonblast / Aura Sphere / Focus Blast
- Shell Smash
- Spore / Taunt
Mewtwo is the biggest threat in the entire BDSP Pure Hackmons metagame, being able to OHKO most Arceus forms after a Shell Smash with a Life Orb-boosted Stored Power.
Regigigas @ Life Orb / Lum Berry
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 30 HP
- Extreme Speed
- Precipice Blades
- Shell Smash
- Spore / Taunt
Regigigas is better than Slaking for once, since special attackers are so common. However, a +2 Extreme Speed is only dealing 62.1% maximum to an Arceus form, and they will just click Strength Sap on you. Getting a Shell Smash off will also be hard, since Arceus will always outspeed you, and many Arceus sets carry Taunt. Maybe someone better than I am could make Regigigas work.
Other Options / Gimmicks
TrickScarf used to be very important, but in my opinion it has fell off. Most mons that are scared of TrickScarf can easily just run a Plate to block it from any Arceus form.
Options:
Arceus-Ghost uses TrickScarf on one of the sample teams.
Arceus-Ice with No Guard can probably run TrickScarf.
Deoxys-Speed holding a Choice Scarf will outspeed +2 Arceus. Someone can probably do something with that.
Mewtwo could maybe serve as a TrickScarf mon that answers TrickScarf, since it naturally outspeeds Arceus.
No Guard is here, and can be run to get a surprise KO on non-Neutralizing Gas mons. Gastro Acid is now used to eliminate Neutralizing Gas, rather than Wonder Guard.
Options:
Arceus-Grass sacrifices some Sheer Cold accuracy for a Spore immunity.
Arceus-Ice gets a 30% accurate Sheer Cold under Neutralizing Gas, and is immune to Sheer Cold itself.
Deoxys-Speed is VERY gimmicky, but it could maybe work if used well and on the right team. I'm thinking it could be a suicide hazard-setting lead that severely punishes any attempts to bounce back hazards through sending out a Magic Bounce mon.
Mewtwo hasn't been used as a No Guard in a while, but it probably still works.
Shadow Tag can try to take advantage of non-Neutralizing Gas mons, but I have personally never seen it, so I don't know what to recommend for it.
Options:
An Arceus form can probably run Shadow Tag.
Swellow tries to hard-check Arceus-Ghost, taking advantage of it running Low Kick and Shadow Force. It also naturally outspeeds Arceus, with a base Speed stat of 130 (compared to 120, which Arceus has).
Other options:
Jigglypuff is only really going to be used on a meme team. It could be VERY funny, however.
Staraptor is Swellow but slightly worse.
Swelllow is Swellow.
Weather can be run, since Drizzle / Drought / Sand Stream / Snow Warning activate if a mon with Neutralizing Gas switches out.
Options
for Rain (I have never seen anyone run Sun before, but it could probably work):
Arceus-Water hits a bit less hard and takes special hits a very slight bit less well than Kyogre.
Kyogre is less physically bulky and much slower than Arceus-Water, but hits harder.
Palkia is a Dragon-type and is faster than Kyogre, but is still slower than Arceus.
Wonder Guard exists, and is nice to have against a No Guard or an annoying Comatose mon spamming Chatter.
Options:
Arceus-Electric tends to run a sweeping set, with Gastro Acid / Discharge / Quiver Dance / Strength Sap or Taunt.
Arceus-Steel does Arceus-Steel things, just with Wonder Guard instead of Comatose.
Spiritomb is only weak to Fairy and can help against certain Mewtwo sets.
Closing thoughts
For now, BDSP Pure Hackmons seems to have quite a bit more potential than many give it credit for. In my honest opinion, PHPL gave it a bad showing, with Iguana's post here on the forums against it and Hendrit winning her match with Fullpass. With this post and any others I make, I'm hoping to show that BDSP Pure Hackmons is worth another try.
-electra
SWSH Pure Hackmons 
B -> C
B -> C
UR -> D
intimidate 
omastar 
Arceus-Fighting (Neutralizing Gas, Comatose)
Heatran (Comatose)
Arceus-Poison (Neutralizing Gas)
Jirachi (Comatose, Neutralizing Gas)
Arceus-Dragon (Neutralizing Gas)
Deoxys-Attack (Neutralizing Gas)
Shaymin-Sky (Neutralizing Gas)
Arceus-Bug (Neutralizing Gas)
Gliscor (Comatose, Neutralizing Gas)
Staraptor (Comatose)
Articuno
is still scary, but its ability to avoid Mach/ SSneak / Pjab/ GGrind/ Petal/ Bolt/ Fire/ Ice/ Diamond Storm will always be crucial as it shares the Dark weakness with only SubPass 
which is just worse than SubPass 
anyways.
does. Players like Iguana and Excaliju used Mold 
Cresselia
Darkrai