I think it is long overdue to have a Hackmons thread for the new gen. Hopefully we can help some newer players to this daunting tier and get some good discussion among experienced players.
What is this tier?
This, my hypothetical questioner, is Pure Hackmons. A world where anything goes. Any Pokemon can have any move, any ability, start as its mega evolution, and have 252 EVs in each stat. There are no clauses, either, so feel free to run 6 Pokemon on the same team, put all your opponent’s Pokemon to sleep (if they let you), or get +6 in evasion. The limitations of standard tiers hold no sway here, and creativity tends to be rewarded far more than in those tiers.
New: Pure Hackmons has the maximum EVs limit of 510 and Team Preview. Classic Hackmons has no EV limit and no Team preview.
Wait, so I can even use Wondertomb or No Guard Deoxys with Sheer Cold?
You absolutely can! Though keep in mind that Spiritomb gained himself a weakness to fairy with the new generation. Commonly players use other wonder guarder wish electric types and air ballon such as Mega Manectric or other Pokemon with rare/few weaknesses.
If you are new, let’s give some idea of the possibilities that lie within pure Hackmons. Note that EVs are all assumed to be 252 in every stat, just cuz we can.
Example Common Sets
Deoxys-Speed @ Focus Sash
Ability: No Guard
Timid Nature
- Sheer Cold
- Gastro Acid
- Sing/Parting Shot
- Stealth Rock/Parting Shot
Simple Deoxys-S lead set. Sheer Cold, and if they send in a Pokemon with wonder guard or sturdy, sing then gastro acid. Note that seeing Deoxys-S has a tendency to make people switch to their wonder guard mon, which you can take advantage of if you predict right. Sing is the preferred option for sleep when using no guard since it has the benefit of hitting through subs. Other moves can come in handy as a lead, if you want rocks up for damage pick steal rock; if you want to scout your opponent’s switch-in, use parting shot.
Manectric-Mega @ Air Balloon
Ability: Wonder Guard
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Gastro Acid
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt/Moonblast
A gift from X and Y, Manectric-Mega brings more power than Raikou with more speed than Jolteon. Electrode still outspeeds by 5 base speed, but usually Manectric-Mega is superior for his all-around good stats and far superior special attack. On this set, substitute blocks status like burn and toxic, which wonder guard won’t protect against. Gastro acid is for dealing with other wonder guard users. Volt switch is for scouting, useful if they have a faster gastro acid user out and you don’t want to get hit. Thunderbolt is for STAB when staying in, while moonblast is nice for hitting wondertomb and wondereye.
Giratina @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
Calm Nature
- Curse
- Milk Drink <- Recommended healing move
- Pick 2:
- Substitute/Spore/Dark Void/Baton Pass/Perish Song/Whirlwind/Topsy-Turvy/Dragon Tail/etc…
Giratina is here for his ghost curse, which will hit wonder guard even through a substitute or protect. Recovery is mandatory so you don’t just die after two curses. The other two moves are filler, and there are a variety of good moves to choose from, it mostly depends on what your team needs.
Countering Common Enemies
OHKO + No Guard: Wonder guard is immune to these moves, provided they are not weak to the type that the OHKO move is (e.g. if you are weak to ice you get hit by Sheer Cold). They often also carry status moves including gastro acid, so either substitute or magic coat is important to protect yourself from those.
Wonder Guard: Mold breaker ignores wonder guard completely. Gastro acid negates the targets ability until they switch out, but will not hit through substitute. Status like toxic, burn, leech seed, etc hits wonder guard, but usually not behind a substitute. Curse when used by a ghost type hits through everything, but costs half your health.
Sleep Spam: Magic bounce and magic coat bounce it right back at the enemy. Grass types and those with safety goggles are immune to spore, but can be hit by dark void, although that has a 20% chance to miss.
What is this tier?
This, my hypothetical questioner, is Pure Hackmons. A world where anything goes. Any Pokemon can have any move, any ability, start as its mega evolution, and have 252 EVs in each stat. There are no clauses, either, so feel free to run 6 Pokemon on the same team, put all your opponent’s Pokemon to sleep (if they let you), or get +6 in evasion. The limitations of standard tiers hold no sway here, and creativity tends to be rewarded far more than in those tiers.
New: Pure Hackmons has the maximum EVs limit of 510 and Team Preview. Classic Hackmons has no EV limit and no Team preview.
Wait, so I can even use Wondertomb or No Guard Deoxys with Sheer Cold?
You absolutely can! Though keep in mind that Spiritomb gained himself a weakness to fairy with the new generation. Commonly players use other wonder guarder wish electric types and air ballon such as Mega Manectric or other Pokemon with rare/few weaknesses.
If you are new, let’s give some idea of the possibilities that lie within pure Hackmons. Note that EVs are all assumed to be 252 in every stat, just cuz we can.
Example Common Sets
Deoxys-Speed @ Focus Sash
Ability: No Guard
Timid Nature
- Sheer Cold
- Gastro Acid
- Sing/Parting Shot
- Stealth Rock/Parting Shot
Simple Deoxys-S lead set. Sheer Cold, and if they send in a Pokemon with wonder guard or sturdy, sing then gastro acid. Note that seeing Deoxys-S has a tendency to make people switch to their wonder guard mon, which you can take advantage of if you predict right. Sing is the preferred option for sleep when using no guard since it has the benefit of hitting through subs. Other moves can come in handy as a lead, if you want rocks up for damage pick steal rock; if you want to scout your opponent’s switch-in, use parting shot.
Manectric-Mega @ Air Balloon
Ability: Wonder Guard
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Gastro Acid
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt/Moonblast
A gift from X and Y, Manectric-Mega brings more power than Raikou with more speed than Jolteon. Electrode still outspeeds by 5 base speed, but usually Manectric-Mega is superior for his all-around good stats and far superior special attack. On this set, substitute blocks status like burn and toxic, which wonder guard won’t protect against. Gastro acid is for dealing with other wonder guard users. Volt switch is for scouting, useful if they have a faster gastro acid user out and you don’t want to get hit. Thunderbolt is for STAB when staying in, while moonblast is nice for hitting wondertomb and wondereye.
Giratina @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
Calm Nature
- Curse
- Milk Drink <- Recommended healing move
- Pick 2:
- Substitute/Spore/Dark Void/Baton Pass/Perish Song/Whirlwind/Topsy-Turvy/Dragon Tail/etc…
Giratina is here for his ghost curse, which will hit wonder guard even through a substitute or protect. Recovery is mandatory so you don’t just die after two curses. The other two moves are filler, and there are a variety of good moves to choose from, it mostly depends on what your team needs.
Countering Common Enemies
OHKO + No Guard: Wonder guard is immune to these moves, provided they are not weak to the type that the OHKO move is (e.g. if you are weak to ice you get hit by Sheer Cold). They often also carry status moves including gastro acid, so either substitute or magic coat is important to protect yourself from those.
Wonder Guard: Mold breaker ignores wonder guard completely. Gastro acid negates the targets ability until they switch out, but will not hit through substitute. Status like toxic, burn, leech seed, etc hits wonder guard, but usually not behind a substitute. Curse when used by a ghost type hits through everything, but costs half your health.
Sleep Spam: Magic bounce and magic coat bounce it right back at the enemy. Grass types and those with safety goggles are immune to spore, but can be hit by dark void, although that has a 20% chance to miss.
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