Other Metagames BH: It's Prayer Time (peaked Top 10 ladder, 1588 ELO)



Introduction


I am presenting my greatest SWSH BH team yet featuring one of the coolest underrated mons, Mamoswine. The offensive core puts a ton of pressure on the opponent while the defensive core is able to eat hit after hit and then regain momentum. It's gotten me to a peak of 1588, and I hope it can get you there too because it's really good. I have provided calculations where I feel they are necessary.

Teambuilding Process



**I decided to start with Mamoswine because of excellent complementary coverage in Ground and Ice. running the calculations showed me that a choice band adapt set can get the 2hKO on Fur Coat Melmetal without leftovers almost all of the time, and Ground is excellent coverage overall as it hits many other walls such as Darm-Z, Toxapex, SNorlax, Umbreon and Eternitus for 2hKOs at worst. Earthquake also destroys Zekrom, Reshiram, Zeraora and Zacian-Crowned on the switchin. It just seemed like a great mon to use.


**I decided to add on FC Melmetal as an improof to Mamoswine and also to take on Zacian-C, as it is one of the best counters to that mon, and not being able to play around it is unthinkable. FC Melmetal also takes on Bolt Beak and Fisheous users naturally. I wanted to give it a self imposterproof set since it's really annoying to kill with my own mons.

**To compliment Mamoswine, I added offensive Eternitus, which has a beefy special attack stat which it can use. I wanted extra insurance against Melmetal, since that mon is so hard to kill otherwise. Offensive Eternitus also forces switches into special walls, which I can take advantage of as well. Its speed is one of its selling points as well, only being outsped by other things with 130 speed even at neutral nature because of the huge speed gap between Hydreigon (base 98) and Marshadow (base 125), which Eternitus doesn't care much about anyway.

**I wanted to add a Poison Heal Stallbreaker to my team because it otherwise has a really hard time against hard stall. PH users also absorb Knock Off if needed, and Knock Off is a rampant move on Defensive mons this gen. I heard about PH Golicipod which packs an extremely strong U-Turn and is able to get to 322 Speed after a Shift Gear. That was really nice, but I found myself wanting to actually outspeed those Base 130+ mons instead of having to U-Turn out of them, so I switched to Gyarados instead. Gyarados has the same Attack stat and enough speed to outrun the entire nonscarfed Metagame after a Shift Gear, which makes it a lot more dangerous. Gyarados also attracts Electric attacks, which I can use to get Mamoswine in.

**I needed a special wall to take attacks that Melmetal couldn't handle, especially against Reshiram, which is a huge threat otherwise. The bulkiest Special wall in this tier is arguably Eviolite Type: Null. Type: Null also has the perk of a solid offensive stat, meaning it's not as passive as Eviolite Chansey last gen, while still sporting amazing amounts of special bulk while running Ice Scales. Type: Nulll, by virtue of being Normal-Type, is also able to stall out monoattacking Dragapult, which is another reason I picked him.

**The final mon I added was an extremely fast wallbreaker, Scarf Darm-GZ. IT is able to outrun things like Belly Drum Necro-DM as well as Zacian-C, both of who could be really annoying to take on if other members are weakened. I also gave it Switcheroo in case there was an annoying wall that I needed to cripple.


The Team


da real pig (Mamoswine) @ Choice Band
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Icicle Crash
- Photon Geyser
- Sleep Talk


Mamoswine is a pretty fun wallbreaker to use. You might argue that the Ice typing does it more harm than good, and I do find myself clicking Earthquake the vast majority of the time, but Ice is useful for breaking through Flying and Grass-types such as Mandibuzz and Silvally-Grass. Photon Geyser is on there in case Mamoswine predicts Shedinja coming in or it has to fight Shedinja as the last mon. The real cool part is Sleep Talk, which lets it counterlead Mold Breaker Eternitus. Any of the other three moves will hit Eternitus supereffectively, and in the case of the STAB moves, will KO it easily unless it has a sash.

Another option over Adapt is Intrepid Sword, which might actually be the objectively better choice. The drawback is that it does reveal itself on switchin. It just occurred to me to try that, and I'm not sure if the extra damage is worth the loss of surprise value since people often switch Melmetal into this, expecting to eat a light hit.

Mamoswine can Dynamax to get rid of the Choice lock, and the defense boost from Max Quake is really nice for taking on Anchor Shot Steels. Icicle Crash can summon Hail to beat up Sheds and deal some chip damage.

252+ Atk Choice Band Adaptability Mamoswine Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Melmetal: 204-240 (43 - 50.6%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Adaptability Mamoswine Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Umbreon: 242-286 (61.4 - 72.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Adaptability Mamoswine Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Eternatus: 588-692 (121.4 - 142.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Adaptability Mamoswine Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Eternatus: 500-592 (103.3 - 122.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Mamoswine Photon Geyser vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Eternatus: 294-346 (60.7 - 71.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO



attach your VC (Melmetal) @ Leftovers
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Recover
- Anchor Shot
- Will-O-Wisp
- Heal Bell



Melmetal's stats and typing speak for itself. On my team, I use this as the chief switchin to Zacian-Crowned, as even its strongest attack, V-Create, is only able to do a maximum of 47% before Leftovers. It has no problem taking things like +2 Bolt Beaks from Zekrom or a +3 Body Press from Zamazenta-Crowned, which lets it retaliate with WoW. Anchor Shot lets me trap Imposter, but also deals decent damage to even bulky neutral targets like non-FC Eternitus *about 30%) and Gyarados (about 25%), which forces them to recover. Will-o-Wisp also lets me negate Leftovers recovery, and Heal Bell is super important since my team would otherwise be crippled by status. It unfortunately loses to some physical Fire types such as my own Darm-GZ set, but my teammates help me with those.

Melmetal is occasionally a Dynamaxer, if it has been severely weakened by a surprise move or an annoying Critical hit. Its bulk after Dynamax is insane, and it can survive pretty much any one attack. Still, I really hate Dynamaxing it since the only move I can use is Max Steelspike, and only consider it as a last-ditch play.

big drag (Eternatus) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Clanging Scales / Dynamax Cannon
- Blue Flare
- Earth Power
- Thunder / Infestation



Next up is Eternitus, one of the coolest special wallbreakers right now. Clanging Scales is obligatory, since it has a chance to OHKO other Eternatus who don't have Ice Scales or Assault Vest (most of them don't). Clanging Scales also hits Reshiram, Zekrom, and the Kyurem forms for ohkos, but Dynamax Cannon is also acceptable since many mons will try to kill Eternitus by Dynamaxing against it, and this lets you just kill them anyway.

Blue Flare hits non-FF Steels in the metagame for an OHKO, no exceptions, as long as it actually hits. It also lets you hit neutral targets decently hard without taking Life Orb recoil, which can be really helpful if you just want to click a move. Earth Power is also vital to hit FF Melmetal and Aegislash for 2hKOs, and is generally a nice move to click against many teams who have a lot of Ground weaknesses. Thunder lets you KO Toxapex and 2hKO Milotic, but you will probably be really annoyed about missing it so much, and Earth Power can 2hKO Toxapex so it's not fully needed. Infestation allows you to prevent Sturdy Shedinja from staying in against you, though you can't really stop it from switching in. It's also useful for trapping targets so they can't try and dance around your moves, though you will take Life Orb recoil which is annoying.


boringboy (Gyarados) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shift Gear
- Fishious Rend
- U-turn
- Will-O-Wisp


This is a fairly standard Poison Heal Water set, taking advantage of the ridiculous power of Fisheous Rend to pose a big offensive threat while still being able to stallbreak. Fisheous Rend is able to 3hKO non Fur Coat Melmetal, which means that if switches in, it will be pressured into recovering to survive the next one. Shift Gear cranks up the speed to solid levels of 522 which lets it outspeed most +1 mons, which means it will almost always be hitting first with Rend against users without priority. U-Turn lets Gyarados pivot out of stuff like Anchor Shot and Octolock trapping. This team really hates those since it's not running other pivot moves. U-Turn also lets Gyarados pressure Prankster mons such as Snorlax and Umbreon better, since they may switch in once it reveals Fisheous Rend in order to halve the power of it with priority moves. Will-o-Wisp improofs the set and also hits Sturdy Shedinja, while also getting chip damage on Melmetal and other mons.


nothing to this (Type: Null) @ Eviolite
Ability: Ice Scales
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Careful Nature
- Defog
- Spectral Thief
- Recover
- Knock Off



Type: Null is actually a really stable Defogger, able to easily come in on tons of special attackers to Defog. The Eternitus matchup is annoying, since Eternitus can easily stall it out of Defogs, and I've thought about replacing it with Rapid Spin or Court Change. I think Defog is just the most reliable options for him. Knock Off and Spectral Thief ensure that Null isn't passive against defensive or offensive teams respectively, though he is still very vulnerable to trapping and must flee at the site of common trappers such as Ferrothorn and Melmetal. Still, a special attacker with Octolock could rip through Type: Null with ease. Type: Null also can struggle to take a hit from Turboblaze special attackers such as Reshiram, who can dynamax Blue Flare to get sun set up and then outdamage its recovery (Luckily, I can stall Dynamax out with Eternitus and then take most of Resh's HP with Clanging Scales or Dynamax Cannon). It is even able to eat unstabbed Power Trips from Shell Smash sweepers if they aren't running Simple or Speed Boost, which is great since I'm not running a Prankster Hazer, and I don't necessarilly need to overload Melmetal. Teleport is another option over Knock Off here to escape partial trapping, but I mean, you still aren't knocking off Melms or Ferro's leftovers, so it's pretty much a worse move.

Note: +2 on the Type: Null represents Ice Scales
252+ SpA Choice Specs Adaptability Reshiram Blue Flare vs. +2 252 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Type: Null: 130-154 (32.9 - 39%) -- 99.8% chance to 3HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Eternatus Blue Flare vs. +2 252 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Type: Null: 71-84 (18 - 21.3%) -- possible 5HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Refrigerate Kyurem-White Boomburst vs. +2 252 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Type: Null: 138-163 (35 - 41.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+2 252+ Atk Bisharp Power Trip (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Eviolite Type: Null: 267-315 (67.7 - 79.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


prayer time (Darmanitan-Galar-Zen) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intrepid Sword
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- V-create
- Icicle Crash
- Sunsteel Strike / Power Whip
- Switcheroo



Darm-GZ is one of the best offensive Pokemon we have right now, with stab on the most powerful move in the game and a huge attack stat. Hitting almost everything but bulky FC resists for a 2hKO with V-Create really puts the pressure on the opponent and pretty much forces him to do what you will expect, which is switch to their fire resist. Icicle Crash lands 2hKOs on Ferrothorn and Reshiram, and OHKOs other Dragons, even Eternatus. Sunsteel Strike hits Shedinja, but I've also considered Power Whip for FC waters like Seismatoad. This is usually unnecessary since you can just double to Eternitus or Gyarados to keep pressuring them, or trick them a choice item which is pretty much a kill on them anyway. I also thought about running Earthquake, but it's still not enough to 2HKO FC Melm.

If I am going to Dynamax something, Darm-GZ is a nice option. It keeps a solid speed stat and loses its choice lock after dynamaxing, and doubles its already solid HP. Max Flare is an incredible fire move which can still get the 2hKO on Melm and will kill it after Dynamax is finished with V-Create. Icicle Crash is a last ditch way to surprise Sturdy Shedinja with Hail.

This power, of course, comes at a high price, which is that Darm-GZ is super frail, and its speed is just shy of what you'd want. It can outspeed +2 Necrozma-DM which lets it be a check to Belly Drum sets, but it doesn't outspeed +2 Adamant Zekrom and Reshiram, meaning that the weather or terrain sweepers will probably kill it. Stealth Rock cuts half its HP which is really bad, and why I am running an odd number of HP so that it can switch into rocks twice and still be able to fire off an attack. I also was unable to find an Imposterproof wall for this Pokemon, which means that you'll have to determine the most suitable sacrifice and then bring it back in for the revenge kill. If you are locked into V-Create because you still have your choice scarf, just click V-Create again and the Imposter will die, unless it also has a scarf and wins the Speed tie. Then again, I always take Imposter into account at Team Preview, and don't bring it in much if I know that I'll probably be locking myself into Icicle Crash, since Imposter will just get a free kill. The breaking power is well worth the drawback in my opinion, especially since this team controls momentum so well.
+1 252+ Atk Darm-GZ V-create vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Melmetal: 318-374 (67 - 78.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252+ Atk Darm-GZ Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Eternatus: 438-516 (90.4 - 106.6%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Darm-GZ Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Reshiram: 211-249 (52.2 - 61.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252+ Atk Darm-GZ V-create vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 150-177 (49.3 - 58.2%) -- 64.5% chance to 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery


Threat List

* Trapping Moves: These can be annoying if I let the wrong mon get trapped. Octolock is especially annoying on my defensive mons, totally breaking through them.

* Surprise Dynamaxing: A general threat but this can be really annoying if I'm trying to wall something and it Dynamaxes, such as with Reshiram. Dynamax can also turn a 2hKO on Melmetal with Eternitus into a dead Eternitus, since Max Steelspike hits deceptively hard and Eternitus has no recovery.

* Opposing Darm-GZ: My team has no real switchins to Darm-GZ, and has to take advantage of surprise value to kill it. Eternatus can take a single V-Create, which is what it would want to spam, and force it out, and then it's a matter of keeping up offensive pressure to not let it back in though this isn't the easiest thing to do.

*Kyurem-W: Specs Kyurem-W deals almost 40% to Type: Null with Boomburst, meaning that it is hard pressed to switch in if it's taken even a little bit of chip damage. Knocking off the Choice Specs is imperative when facing this mon. Luckily, I have Eternatus to threaten it with the OHKO.

* Psystrike users: Mons with STAB on Psystrike can put huge dents into Type: Null while threatening Melmetal with coverage. A Specs Lunala was able to deal over 50% with Psystrike, something you'll see in one of the replays I have.

* Stealth Rock: It's important to keep up pressure to make Stealth Rock more difficult to set, since Type: Null's Defog pp will always run out before Stealth Rock PP does. Switching Darm-GZ into a Stealth Rocker as they set it can be a good strategy though, instantly bringing momentum back to you.

*Sturdy Shedinja: Though most of my team can threaten Sturdy Shedinja, it can still prove annoying, as it can set up Rocks on Type: Null and the Choice-locked mons, or just get the slow pivot. Still, Shedinja isn't the worst thing in the world for this team.

* Double Melmetal: Double Melmetal teams can be difficult to deal with just because of how bulky Melmetal is. The wallbreakers I'm running do a good job of pressuring Melmetal though, and it's often obvious which Melmetal they are using depending on what mon I have out.


Replays:
Here are some cool replays of the team!

Beating the #1 person on ladder convincingly, even though he has two Melmetals: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8balancedhackmons-1035989691
Beating OM!'s unviable Kyurem-W sets for lols: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8balancedhackmons-1035328289 https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8balancedhackmons-1035303039
Narrowly losing due to a Blue Flare miss (I would have won easily if it had connected): https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8balancedhackmons-1035062049
Beating Dimra: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8balancedhackmons-1034646305
Beating Shedinja Balance: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8balancedhackmons-1036085575

Conclusion


I really enjoyed playing with this team, and I know that you will enjoy it too, as it really forces your opponent to do what you want them to do. I also think that V-Create is an extremely powerful move and may be a broken one, as this team manages to do well even in a Flash Fire filled meta.

da real pig (Mamoswine) @ Choice Band
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Icicle Crash
- Photon Geyser
- Sleep Talk

attach your VC (Melmetal) @ Leftovers
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Recover
- Anchor Shot
- Will-O-Wisp
- Heal Bell

big drag (Eternatus) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Clanging Scales
- Blue Flare
- Earth Power
- Infestation

boringboy (Gyarados) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shift Gear
- Fishious Rend
- U-turn
- Will-O-Wisp

nothing to this (Type: Null) @ Eviolite
Ability: Ice Scales
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Careful Nature
- Defog
- Spectral Thief
- Recover
- Knock Off

prayer time (Darmanitan-Galar-Zen) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intrepid Sword
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- V-create
- Icicle Crash
- Sunsteel Strike
- Switcheroo
 

MAMP

MAMP!
Cool team! I'm a big fan of Mamoswine in this metagame, but I think with this set specifically it may be outclassed by Excadrill, which is stronger and faster and has a more useful secondary typing.

Excadrill @ Choice Band
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Sunsteel Strike
- Filler
- Filler

Excadrill can hit Shedinja with STAB, which frees up its moveset a bit more, and it has more relevant resists, notably making it a better Zekrom check. You could even run Double Iron Bash for a bit more power and a chance to cheese through walls with flinches. While Intrepid Sword is usually better than Adaptability, on this team it would prevent you from Imposter-proofing with Melmetal so I'm not sure it's worth it.

How do you find this team does against setup? The lack of any Prankster, Imposter, or even just priority moves makes it seem kinda hard for you to handle, but maybe it's easier in practice than on paper.
 
I've found that melm and null can easily eat any +2 physical or special hit, respectively, and cripple those setup mons before they can do huge damage to me. The team does require some heads up thinking to use well, as in you need to know what common sets are so that you can predict around them. The strongest special attack you'd likely be taking with Null is a +2 Mold Breaker Blue Flare from Reshiram, which can't ohko (I think it does about 80%), and for physical attacks, I guess a Shell Smash ground or fire type could pose some scary problems, though they often have to switch in to a huge hit from one of my offensive mons. So in practice, playing aggressively doesn't even let them get set up many of the time.

Regarding Excadrill, you may have a point there. I'll give it a try. It does seem to give all the advantages of Mamoswine and the stats and typing are better. Also, it would probably be able to more easily land the 2hKO on FC Melm, thanks to the extra few attack points. Thanks for the rate!
 
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After using my own team and getting stuck at 1300-1400, then switching to a meme team of 4 Necrozma-DW and 2 Lunala to reach 1470+ and dropping back to 1370 I really need a good team. Will test this out, thanks!

(im code8rut3 btw, i think we battled when i was using that meme team and you probably saw it)
 

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