Gen 8 Are you feeling lucky? [Pure Hackmons / 112-0]

aerobee · Apr 29, 2023

Are You Feeling Lucky?

(If you intend to try this team it's probably a yes.)

Introduction

Generation 8 Pure Hackmons is the most hectic Smogon metagame I've ever played. The presence of Eternatus-Eternamax, a Pokemon that speed ties Mega Gengar with 255/250/250 bulk (and has the ability to make itself either physically or specially invincible with the Overflow mechanic), and Neutralizing Gas, which disables most would-be counterplay to Eternamax like Prankster, No Guard, and Shadow Tag, creates in the metagame a level of centralization that very few metagames, and certainly no modern ones, even come close to. Most people would look at this and avoid such a monstrosity at all costs, but such a broken metagame piqued my interest because I'm very cool.

Sword & Shield Pure Hackmons has had only three monthly ladders in its entire existence, and I wasn't satisfied with the teams I had built because the metagame was drastically different the first time it was a ladder (February 2020), and I was only able to gain hands-on experience on the last couple of days of the July 2021 ladder. So when I heard that Pure Hackmons would be a Leader's Choice OM for November 2022 (out of pity) I seized the chance to test out multiple teams I had built in advance, one of which (with minor tweaks) was successful enough for me to be making this RMT months after the end of the generation. I believe this team to be the most consistent in the current metagame, and probably will be for a long time if not forever.

It's worth noting that it's a myth that the game is entirely down to who's luckier with OHKO moves - having a good team structure and scouting and dealing with movesets properly are just as important. Most competent teams in SS Pure Hackmons run at least two Eternamax, with one being specially defensive and the other physically defensive, a Ghost-type to block Normal-type OHKO moves, a Flying-type to block Fissure, and a Magic Bounce user to not fold to Comatose + Sleep Talk users. What I want to get across is that it is possible to be consistent in Gen 8 Pure Hackmons, even if there's inherently a degree of luck in-battle.

This team got me to 1831 Elo, which is the second highest Gen 8 PH Elo achieved (first place goes to a different account I laddered with), and I achieved a streak of 112-0 before losing which I'm pretty sure is the longest streak that anyone's gotten in any Hackmons metagame so far. I also got 94% GXE by the end of the month, which is pretty good for a monthly ladder I think.

Teambuilding Process

I wanted to build with fast Eternamax, so that's what I started with.

:eternatus-eternamax:

Then I needed the obligatory specially defensive and physically defensive Eternamax, to prevent conventional offensive Pokemon from making any progress and giving opposing Shell Smash users a tough time sweeping.

:eternatus-eternamax:

In order to maximize consistency, a Ghost- and Flying-type are necessary to avoid getting KOed by Horn Drill, Guillotine, and Fissure. Wonder Guard Spiritomb was considered a noob trap at the time but I believed it had some potential, as ability removal in tandem with an immunity to Normal-type OHKO moves would make it much more difficult for the team to get worn down by opposing Substitute Eternamax. I chose Magic Bounce Landorus-T as my Fissure immunity because it had a neutrality to Stealth Rock and is an amazing check to Neutralizing Gas Regieleki.

:eternatus-eternamax:

At this point though, despite having both a specially defensive and physically defensive Eternamax on the team it still felt vulnerable to threats like Substitute Eternamax and Shell Smash Regigigas and Kyurem-B, so I added a Choice Scarf Zacian-C.

:eternatus-eternamax:

The team worked decently well, but still had a few issues - Eternamax with a Substitute already up really annoyed the team, and being locked into a Choice item made Zacian-C a momentum sink if I wasn't comfortable giving up its Choice Scarf at that stage of the game. I realized that Cramorant-Gorging fulfilled Zacian's job just fine, while also annoying opposing Substitute Eternamax extremely well.

These six Pokemon worked amazingly well with each other - from this point on, I just tweaked the movesets when I felt something had to be changed.

Notable Mechanics

Before reading further, you should probably be familiar with mechanics important to Pure Hackmons that are either obscure or completely irrelevant in most other metagames.

Overflow
- This is, without a doubt, the most influential mechanic in Pure Hackmons, and there's a good chance you haven't heard of it if you aren't well acquainted with Gen 8 Pure Hackmons. Natures in Gen 8 (and possibly some earlier generations) are WEIRD - when your nature is positive, your raw stat is multiplied by 110 then divided by 100, instead of multiplying by 11 then dividing by 10. This wouldn't be much of a problem in principle, but only numbers up to 2^16-1 (65,535) are properly stored when calculating post-nature raw stats. In practice, this means that if a Pokemon's raw non-HP stat reaches at least 655 unboosted, it actually loops over and becomes X-655, where X is your would-be raw stat. In earlier generations this had no practical significance, but in Gen 8 Eternatus-Eternamax, with its base 250 defenses, can actually "overflow" one of its defenses with a positive nature. Now here's the thing - when a Pokemon has 0 raw Defense/Special Defense, it takes negligible damage from attacks targeting the overflowed stat. This means that with 240 EVs and a positive nature on either Defense or Special Defense, Eternamax becomes either physically or specially invincible, which has profound implications for the metagame.
  ‎
Gulp Missile
- If you played Gen 8 BH you might know this one. Neutralizing Gas actually doesn't nullify ALL other abilities - a few Pokemon-specific ones still retain their effects in its presence. Gulp Missile Cramorant-Gorging actually comes in as the Gorging forme every time if it's selected in Teambuilder. Since Eternamax hates getting paralyzed due to losing the benefits that come with its 130 base Speed and losing turns against opposing OHKO move users, and Cramorant-Gorging actually has a pretty good typing in the metagame (with a Fissure immunity, Double Iron Bash resistance, and neutrality against pretty much everything else except for Bolt Beak), Gulp Missile Cramorant-Gorging is a strong force in the metagame.
  ‎
Comatose + Sleep Talk
- Comatose, in practice, makes the user asleep while still allowing them to move. This means that Comatose + Sleep Talk can be used together. Sleep Talk can also call phazing moves (Whirlwind/Roar/Dragon Tail/Circle Throw) at +0 priority, meaning with hazards on the field a fast Comatose Sleep Talk + Whirlwind user, in particular Choice Scarf Regieleki, can rack up chip simply by spamming Sleep Talk. Because of this, a Magic Bounce user is required on the vast majority of teams (you can run Suction Cups on something but it wouldn't be as useful overall; Dynamax is one-time use and is therefore not reliable counterplay).
  ‎
Ice Face
- Ice Face is another relevant, albeit more niche, Ability that's not nullified by Neutralizing Gas. Because Fissure, Horn Drill, and Guillotine are physical, and Ice-types are immune to Sheer Cold, Ice Face Eiscue is actually immune to all OHKO moves as long as its Ability is protecting it. After Ice Face is broken, positive nature Eiscue-Noice outspeeds Overflowed Eternamax thanks to its base 130 Speed, and can fire off Sheer Colds fairly easily (as not every team has room to pack an Ice-type). Eiscue can also reactivate Ice Face by using Hail, though doing so successively when turns are tight is difficult.

The Team

Eternatus-Eternamax @ Black Sludge
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Taunt
- Night Shade
- Horn Drill

Substitute Eternamax is the most potent win condition in the entire metagame, since you can punish pretty much everything (except Cramorant-Gorging) by preventing them from doing anything back with incredible bulk, a fairly fast Taunt, an OHKO move, and a good complementary attack. Substitute essentially gives Eternamax a free turn because it's so bulky almost no conventional attack is breaking through it unboosted (the only relevant ones I can think of are Precipice Blades Landorus-T, Psystrike Calyrex-S, and Glacial Lance Kyurem-B), giving it chances to fire off OHKO moves unpunished. Taunt prevents Overflowed Eternamax from using recovery or setting up a Substitute of their own, and notably prevents phazing via Whirlwind, setup with Shell Smash, and hazard stacking with Spikes; it also annoys Neutralizing Gas Regieleki and neuters Comatose + Sleep Talk users if used on the switch. Night Shade synergizes well with Horn Drill because it always chips Overflowed Eternamax and hits Ghost-types that Horn Drill can't. A Normal-type OHKO move lets Eternamax grab KOs against non-Ghost types. Just try not to Night Shade a Cramorant-Gorging because the team lacks Heal Bell/Aromatherapy and getting paralyzed makes Eternamax a lot less threatening than it would be. Black Sludge provides passive recovery since Eternamax is strapped for moveslots; it's actually enough in most games due to how ridiculously bulky Eternamax and its Substitutes are.

Eternatus-Eternamax @ Black Sludge
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 240 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Trick
- Rapid Spin
- Fissure
- Substitute

In fact, Substitute Eternamax is so potent that I decided to run two of them on the same team. Cramorant-Gorging traditionally enjoys switching into Substitute Eternamax because, as explained earlier, paralysis really sucks. And Trick screws it over. No one had used it previously but it actually worked really well for me. You can trick a Cramorant early in the game, then set up with Substitute + Taunt Eternamax and deny it recovery which is pretty cool. If the matchup allows, you can also trick annoying foes like Calyrex-S or even Shell Smash sweepers that might potentially punch holes in the team otherwise. Rapid Spin is amazing hazard removal and a good complementary attack to Fissure, since Ghost-types typically hate either Trick or Fissure and it has 64 PP; raising Speed is also extremely nice against opposing Taunt users. Fissure is the obligatory OHKO move, and Substitute is the obligatory Substitute. Black Sludge is passive recovery and bad news for Trick recipients most of the time; the EVs make Eternamax invincible on the physical side.

Eternatus-Eternamax @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 240 SpD / 252 Spe
Careful Nature
- Fissure
- Rapid Spin
- Spectral Thief
- Horn Drill

This is the Eternamax that's both the hardest to forgo when building (because being specially invincible means sweepers with Stored Power + a physical defense-hitting attack have a hard time breaking through if it's healthy) and the one you'd use the least in-battle (because it can't fit Substitute). Fissure and Horn Drill together hits everything bar Drifblim, so it's threatening against pretty much anything that tries to come in. Rapid Spin is such good hazard removal that I ran it on a second Pokemon. And Spectral Thief deters almost everything from using Shell Smash, though it misses out on Normal-types like Regigigas and Indeedee. Safety Goggles are to ignore Spore, and the EVs make Eternamax specially defensive by overflowing its Special Defense to 0. You won't really be sending this Eternamax out unless you need hazard removal, are facing an opposing Shell Smash sweeper, or you aren't feeling lucky.

Spiritomb @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Wonder Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Relaxed Nature
- Core Enforcer
- Recover
- Horn Drill
- Spectral Thief

Spiritomb acts simultaneously as a switch-in to Normal-type OHKO moves, a wall to Stored Power + Psystrike Shell Smash sweepers like Calyrex-S and Indeedee, and a check to Substitute Etermamax. Wonder Guard Spiritomb was considered a noobtrap for pretty much the entire generation, with the main set used being Magic Bounce (presumably because it's a Ghost-type not weak to Spectral Thief/Knock Off, though I personally think Magic Bounce Spiritomb's hard to justify using). However, I thought it had potential because of the existence of ability-nullifying moves, most notable among them being Core Enforcer as its effect worked even if opposing Eternamax already had a Substitute up. If said Substitute Eternamax ran a Normal-type OHKO move, Spiritomb could easily prevent them from being able to deal damage (though it would probably have to take a Night Shade or Knock Off hit in the process). I used Horn Drill because it synergizes fairly well with Spectral Thief, and having an OHKO move lets Spiritomb potentially threaten whatever comes in after forcing something out. It also helped against common No Guard users on ladder which is pretty funny. Spectral Thief is just Ghost-type STAB, but aside from OHKOing Calyrex-Shadow and chipping bulkier Ghost-types it allows Spiritomb to steal the boosts of, and heavily damage, Shell Smash users that had just used the move. Heavy-Duty Boots helps Spiritomb come in the presence of hazards, since it likes switching in and out a lot; a Relaxed nature decreases the chance that Regigigas or Obstagoon OHKOes Spiritomb with Power Trip after a Shell Smash use. Don't be afraid to Dynamax Spiritomb if Max Phantasm would KO an opposing Comatose + Sleep Talk user and the team's Magic Bounce user is unable to switch in.

Landorus-Therian @ Lum Berry
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thousand Arrows
- Fissure
- Corrosive Gas
- Recover

Magic Bounce Landorus-T was also considered an oddball set when this team was created, since its main functions (other than being a Fissure immunity) are hard checking most Regieleki sets and soft checking Zacian-C. Magic Bounce is essentially required in Gen 8 Pure Hackmons due to Comatose + Sleep Talk users, which would otherwise repeatedly force opposing Pokemon out and chip them with hazards until they faint or are severely damaged. Since I already had Wonder Guard Spiritomb, a Flying-type Magic Bounce user would be ideal, and after unsuccessfully trying Magic Bounce Yveltal I believed Landorus-T was the right Pokemon for the job. Thousand Arrows OHKOes Regieleki allows Landorus to hit the likes of Zacian-C, Cramorant-Gorging, and opposing Landorus-T decently hard. It also works well with Fissure, because after a Thousand Arrows use opposing Flying-types would be vulnerable to the move. Corrosive Gas seems weird on a Magic Bounce user but it's great at removing otherwise annoying items like Black Sludge on Eternamax, Leftovers, and Heavy-Duty Boots; I used it over Knock Off because hitting Cramorant-Gorging would use up Landorus' Lum Berry and Knock Off into Thousand Arrows doesn't KO it (I think Knock Off is still an option though). And recovery is self-explanatory. I used a Jolly nature to get the jump on unboosted neutral nature Regigigas, Obstagoon, and the occasional Indeedee, as Regigigas and Obstagoon take about 70~80%, and Indeedee gets cleanly KOed by, Thousand Arrows into 130-base power Max Quake. It's usually best to lead Landorus if you see a Regieleki on the opposing team, since Lovely Kiss Neutralizing Gas sets are very common and any non-Neutralizing Gas sets can be dealt with using Landorus' teammates.

Cramorant-Gorging @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Gulp Missile
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Taunt
- Horn Drill
- Recover
- Spikes

You might've noticed I've been talking about Cramorant-Gorging a lot, and that's because it's one of the most disruptive Pokemon in the metagame. With Gulp Missile Cramorant paralyzes pretty much anything not named Regieleki, and paralysis is usually permanent because of how hard Heal Bell/Aromatherapy is to fit onto teams. Taunt baits the opponent into attacking Cramorant. Naturally, the opponent might not want to attack, so instead they can switch and have their switch-in eat a Horn Drill in the face. Recovery is necessary for obvious reasons, and Spikes is a filler moveslot here because I didn't have hazards on any other team members. Rocky Helmet is useful because a lot of attacks you're switching into are contact (Spectral Thief, Rapid Spin, Knock Off, Double Iron Bash, etc.), notably netting 41% chip on contact move Eternamax in combination with Gulp Missile, and dealing 57% damage against Double Iron Bash Zacian-C. And an Impish nature lets Cramorant function more effectively. Of course, Cramorant's not going to do well against Regieleki or Comatose users, but pretty much anything else won't appreciate getting paralyzed and chipped hard in one go. Try not to use Spikes if the opponent has a Magic Bounce Ghost-type, since hazard removal is only on Eternamax and taking a turn to remove Spikes would be risky. Also keep in mind that Cramorant-Gorging changes into its base forme when Dynamaxing, so in most games you'd be better off Dynamaxing a different Pokemon. Oh, and don't be afraid to sack Cramorant if it means that a particularly troublesome Substitute Eternamax would become paralyzed.

Potential Changes

Although this team's about as good as it gets when it comes to Pokemon selection, there are a few changes one can make, without making the team significantly worse overall, to have a stronger matchup against certain threats.

Landorus-Therian @ Lum Berry
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thousand Arrows
- Fissure
- Corrosive Gas → - Rapid Spin
- Recover

Eternatus-Eternamax @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 240 SpD / 252 Spe
Careful Nature
- Fissure
- Rapid Spin → - Final Gambit / Whirlwind / Wish
- Spectral Thief
- Horn Drill

This would make Landorus-T the second Rapid Spin user instead of specially defensive Eternamax, and allow the team to remove hazards more easily against Fissure users, which are rarely Ghost-types due to how well Ghost-type STAB and Normal-type OHKO moves complement each other. Landorus can also outspeed every non-Choice Scarf Pokemon bar Regieleki at +1 which is pretty cool. This would also allow for an additional move, like Final Gambit, Whirlwind, or Wish on specially defensive Eternamax. The trade-off, however, is that you can't remove items with Corrosive Gas anymore.

Landorus-Therian @ Lum Berry
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thousand Arrows
- Fissure
- Corrosive Gas → - Knock Off
- Recover

Knock Off would allow Landorus-T to OHKO opposing Calyrex-S, and chip opposing Pokemon that aren't non-physically defensive Eternamax when removing their item. However, you'd have to play around Cramorant-Gorging more carefully than with Corrosive Gas, since it'd use up Landorus' Lum Berry and Knock Off into Thousand Arrows doesn't KO Cramorant, allowing it to switch out and back in at a later time even without recovering.

Cramorant-Gorging @ Rocky Helmet → Shed Shell
Ability: Gulp Missile
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Taunt
- Horn Drill
- Recover
- Spikes

I actually saw offensive Shadow Tag Regieleki a couple of times on ladder, which could remove Cramorant-Gorging while taking the relatively minor consequence of losing 25% of its health. Therefore Shed Shell's an option on Cramorant. The downside, of course, is that Cramorant doesn't chip opposing contact move users as hard when Gulp Missile is triggered.

Threatlist

Here are a few threats that give this team a relatively hard time:

:regieleki:

: Even with Lum Berry Landorurs-T, Neutralizing Gas Regieleki, especially with Lovely Kiss and/or Encore, is still annoying if used by a competent player, though the matchup is by no means impossible. Comatose + Sleep Talk Regieleki can also be annoying if Landorus-T has fainted; it can be annoying even in Landorus' presence if it packs Freeze Shock or Ice Burn and Dynamaxes to get rid of it. The aforementioned Shadow Tag Regieleki, although pretty rare, can remove Cramorant-Gorging with minimal consequences, but it can't really do anything to threaten Eternamax or Spiritomb without substantial team support.

:eiscue:

: As this team doesn't have an Ice-type, Ice-types running Sheer Cold are particularly problematic. However, none of them bar Eiscue-Noice (and the much more niche Darmanitan-Galar-Zen) are fast enough to outspeed Overflowed Eternamax, and Spiritomb is immune to Eiscue's Sheer Cold.

:regigigas:

: Shell Smash sweepers immune to Spectral Thief can potentially break through the team's defenses if smartly played, though they almost never actually sweep without relatively lucky sleep turns and at least opposing Eternamax having gotten hit by an OHKO move. Eternamax's defenses might be formidable but so are sleep moves and their ability to generate free turns for the user. The one game I lost on ladder was due to an Obstagoon cleaning the team by getting a 3-turn sleep against specially defensive Eternamax, after the other two Eternamax were hit by OHKO moves.

Heal Bell/Aromatherapy: Because this team relies on Cramorant-Gorging switching in on attacks to spread status, Heal Bell and Aromatherapy are annoying, particularly for the two Substitute Eternamax on the team. Fortunately, these are really hard to fit (I've only seen one competent team with Aromatherapy, and the Landorus-T using the move had to forgo recovery to run it).

Fissure/Horn Drill/Guillotine: You weren't feeling lucky enough (contrary to popular belief, it's fairly rare that games are only decided by which player hits more OHKO moves).

Although the above threats are either annoying or scary to face, they're by no means impossible matchups, and can be outplayed the majority of the time.

Replays

Conclusion

Gen 8 Pure Hackmons has been an incredibly wild ride for me. From running No Guard Ninjask on 1100's Pure Hackmons ladder in February 2020 to becoming an innovator in the metagame, I've learned the essence of the metagame from close to the beginning of the generation, and seen the DLC2 metagame develop entirely from a competitive perspective. I can confidently say that SS Pure Hackmons is one of the most unique metagames out there - no other metagame has simultaneously physically and specially invincible Pokemon, an extreme reliance on OHKO moves, and extremely centralized (but not nonexistent) ability metagame.

Bahamut for being a monke

Skooma for being a monke

Lectrys for being one of 2(?) other players with a genuine interest in exploring the metagame

Ransei NToTheN berry WrathoftheLeopard RL Alexgrizz manu 11 La fusión más 7u7 Ryan5374 Sheeplol and everyone else in the Old Gen PH community for being nice people to interact with and farm wins against on ladder

The AG community (too many names to ping) for being fun to talk with & putting up with my PH addiction

OM Staff for giving Gen 8 PH one last chance to shine before everything goes dark

And you, the reader, for taking the time to read through the entire RMT (unlikely) or just having the interest to click & scroll down

Remember to stay safe, have fun, and Pure Hackmons.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Importable: https://pokepast.es/d78fa1b33eecc414

Gen 8 Are you feeling lucky? [Pure Hackmons / 112-0]

aerobee

Pure Hackmons

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