[OVERVIEW]
Eternatus is one of the most splashable and defining Pokemon in BH, capable of filling offensive and defensive roles through its excellent stat distribution, crucially outspeeding Arceus. Its Poison typing provides a crucial neutrality to Fairy and allows Eternatus to hit some of the most common specially defensive walls like Mega Audino super effectively, while its Dragon typing and naturally high HP allows it to heavily deter Imposter users from switching in. As a result, its Magic Guard set is one of the most defining offensive sets in the metagame, exerting strong pressure while retaining remarkably solid defensive capabilities. It can also serve a more defensive role with sets using Unaware or Regenerator that can blanket check a variety of setup users through its bulk, Speed, and typing that aids against common forms of passive damage, like poison and Thunder Cage. However, Eternatus's Speed leaves it outsped by and vulnerable to several prominent threats like Miraidon and Mega Alakazam. It is also highly reliant on maintaining high HP to retain Dragon Energy's power, which, when combined with its lower initial damage output, reduces its offensive consistency.
[SET]
Magic Guard (Eternatus) @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Dragon Energy
- Shell Side Arm
- Torch Song
- Strength Sap
[SET COMMENTS]
Magic Guard Eternatus is a setup attacker that is difficult to wear down that differentiates itself from other similar attackers like Mega Sceptile and Miraidon through its ability to easily pressure Fairy-types and Blissey without losing a recovery move. Magic Guard makes Eternatus incredibly difficult to chip down, helping maintain Dragon Energy's power, and it also negates recoil from Life Orb, giving Eternatus a much-needed damage boost. Shell Side Arm seems odd with Eternatus's base 85 Attack, but with the Life Orb boost, it heavily pressures Blissey, an otherwise difficult wall to surmount. Torch Song compresses boosting and coverage for Steel-types like Celesteela in one slot. Strength Sap is the preferred recovery move to keep Eternatus healthy. A Naive nature ensures Eternatus outspeeds the Arceus formes and Ultra Necrozma, and it is opted over a Hasty nature, as it helps against attacks from Pokemon like Mega Blaziken and RegenVest users as well as increasing damage dealt to Imposter users with Dragon Energy.
Magic Guard Eternatus fits on a variety of team structures thanks to its splashability. Thanks to Magic Guard, this set fits naturally on entry hazard-resilient teams as a source of offensive pressure, and it works well with other Magic Guard attackers like Mega Sceptile and Ultra Necrozma to overload their shared checks like Fire-immune Steel-types. Eternatus also synergizes excellently with hazard-stacking compositions, as checks like Ice Scales Pokemon cannot hold both Heavy-Duty Boots to negate hazards and Covert Cloak to prevent poison from Shell Side Arm. RegenVest users like Celesteela and Dialga-O pair well with Eternatus by providing Knock Off support against opposing RegenVest users while also checking faster offensive foes like Mega Alakazam and Mega Sceptile that threaten Eternatus. They can also sometimes provide paralysis support against Imposter users, rendering them useless against Eternatus. Blissey and Chansey can provide Wish support to help keep Eternatus healthy and allow it to forgo Strength Sap, and they also limit Strength Sap recovery from opposing Take Heart Arceus formes, helping Eternatus break through them easier. Eternatus also appreciates Knock Off absorbers like the Arceus formes and some aforementioned RegenVest Pokemon, as it is reliant on Life Orb for a significant amount of its damage output. Eternatus can be Imposter-proofed easily by Eviolite Chansey, either with Imposter + Jungle Healing or Heal Bell or with Magic Guard; other options include Fire-immune Steel-types and Take Heart Ice Scales Pokemon like the Arceus formes.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
For the Magic Guard set, Final Gambit is a niche alternative on more offensive teams or when coupled with Wish support as an option to clear out special walls for teammates like Mega Sceptile. Secret Sword is another niche alternative over Shell Side Arm or Strength Sap that hits Blissey and Chansey significantly harder and allows use of a stronger Poison-type STAB move like Malignant Chain, but it doesn't offer much else. Mold Breaker lets Eternatus bypass Well-Baked Body and Ice Scales to aid in wallbreaking, but the vulnerability to passive damage cuts into Dragon Energy's power much easier, it provides less defensive value, and Mold Breaker still can't beat Primordial Sea. Regenerator sets, sometimes with Choice Scarf, act as a decent pivot against threats like Mega Blaziken and Ash-Greninja and can provide utility through Spikes and Trick, although its offensive potential is low. A Fur Coat set seems appealing to act as a check to physical attackers like Sniper Ash-Greninja and Mega Blaziken, but it can be overwhelmed by the former after minor chip damage and has a glaring weakness to Mega Garchomp, rendering it mostly outclassed.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Paralysis**: Eternatus is very dependent on its Speed to function, making paralysis severely crippling and heavily reducing its offensive and defensive potential.
**Faster Offensive Threats**: Attackers like Mega Sceptile and Mega Alakazam outspeed and can OHKO Eternatus.
**Fire-immune Steel-types**: Steel-types with abilities that snuff Torch Song, such as Well-Baked Body or Primordial Sea Solgaleo and Arceus-Steel, are nigh immovable for Eternatus. Notably, Magearna with one of these abilities is immune to all of Eternatus's standard moves.
**Ice Scales Walls**: Select Ice Scales Pokemon such as Meloetta and Arceus-Ground shrug off Eternatus's attacks and can retaliate with super effective STAB moves, and unlike Blissey, they can safely withstand Shell Side Arm. However, they must hold Covert Cloak to prevent poison, as Arceus-Ground struggles to fit Take Heart, rendering them susceptible to repeated chip damage from entry hazards.
**Chansey**: Chansey's respectable physical bulk with Eviolite, in contrast to Blissey, allows it to comfortably handle Eternatus and notably deny recovery from Strength Sap.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/chessking345.355040/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/rightclicker.589755/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tea-guzzler.577920/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-blue-banana.649096/
Eternatus is one of the most splashable and defining Pokemon in BH, capable of filling offensive and defensive roles through its excellent stat distribution, crucially outspeeding Arceus. Its Poison typing provides a crucial neutrality to Fairy and allows Eternatus to hit some of the most common specially defensive walls like Mega Audino super effectively, while its Dragon typing and naturally high HP allows it to heavily deter Imposter users from switching in. As a result, its Magic Guard set is one of the most defining offensive sets in the metagame, exerting strong pressure while retaining remarkably solid defensive capabilities. It can also serve a more defensive role with sets using Unaware or Regenerator that can blanket check a variety of setup users through its bulk, Speed, and typing that aids against common forms of passive damage, like poison and Thunder Cage. However, Eternatus's Speed leaves it outsped by and vulnerable to several prominent threats like Miraidon and Mega Alakazam. It is also highly reliant on maintaining high HP to retain Dragon Energy's power, which, when combined with its lower initial damage output, reduces its offensive consistency.
[SET]
Magic Guard (Eternatus) @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Dragon Energy
- Shell Side Arm
- Torch Song
- Strength Sap
[SET COMMENTS]
Magic Guard Eternatus is a setup attacker that is difficult to wear down that differentiates itself from other similar attackers like Mega Sceptile and Miraidon through its ability to easily pressure Fairy-types and Blissey without losing a recovery move. Magic Guard makes Eternatus incredibly difficult to chip down, helping maintain Dragon Energy's power, and it also negates recoil from Life Orb, giving Eternatus a much-needed damage boost. Shell Side Arm seems odd with Eternatus's base 85 Attack, but with the Life Orb boost, it heavily pressures Blissey, an otherwise difficult wall to surmount. Torch Song compresses boosting and coverage for Steel-types like Celesteela in one slot. Strength Sap is the preferred recovery move to keep Eternatus healthy. A Naive nature ensures Eternatus outspeeds the Arceus formes and Ultra Necrozma, and it is opted over a Hasty nature, as it helps against attacks from Pokemon like Mega Blaziken and RegenVest users as well as increasing damage dealt to Imposter users with Dragon Energy.
Magic Guard Eternatus fits on a variety of team structures thanks to its splashability. Thanks to Magic Guard, this set fits naturally on entry hazard-resilient teams as a source of offensive pressure, and it works well with other Magic Guard attackers like Mega Sceptile and Ultra Necrozma to overload their shared checks like Fire-immune Steel-types. Eternatus also synergizes excellently with hazard-stacking compositions, as checks like Ice Scales Pokemon cannot hold both Heavy-Duty Boots to negate hazards and Covert Cloak to prevent poison from Shell Side Arm. RegenVest users like Celesteela and Dialga-O pair well with Eternatus by providing Knock Off support against opposing RegenVest users while also checking faster offensive foes like Mega Alakazam and Mega Sceptile that threaten Eternatus. They can also sometimes provide paralysis support against Imposter users, rendering them useless against Eternatus. Blissey and Chansey can provide Wish support to help keep Eternatus healthy and allow it to forgo Strength Sap, and they also limit Strength Sap recovery from opposing Take Heart Arceus formes, helping Eternatus break through them easier. Eternatus also appreciates Knock Off absorbers like the Arceus formes and some aforementioned RegenVest Pokemon, as it is reliant on Life Orb for a significant amount of its damage output. Eternatus can be Imposter-proofed easily by Eviolite Chansey, either with Imposter + Jungle Healing or Heal Bell or with Magic Guard; other options include Fire-immune Steel-types and Take Heart Ice Scales Pokemon like the Arceus formes.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
For the Magic Guard set, Final Gambit is a niche alternative on more offensive teams or when coupled with Wish support as an option to clear out special walls for teammates like Mega Sceptile. Secret Sword is another niche alternative over Shell Side Arm or Strength Sap that hits Blissey and Chansey significantly harder and allows use of a stronger Poison-type STAB move like Malignant Chain, but it doesn't offer much else. Mold Breaker lets Eternatus bypass Well-Baked Body and Ice Scales to aid in wallbreaking, but the vulnerability to passive damage cuts into Dragon Energy's power much easier, it provides less defensive value, and Mold Breaker still can't beat Primordial Sea. Regenerator sets, sometimes with Choice Scarf, act as a decent pivot against threats like Mega Blaziken and Ash-Greninja and can provide utility through Spikes and Trick, although its offensive potential is low. A Fur Coat set seems appealing to act as a check to physical attackers like Sniper Ash-Greninja and Mega Blaziken, but it can be overwhelmed by the former after minor chip damage and has a glaring weakness to Mega Garchomp, rendering it mostly outclassed.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Paralysis**: Eternatus is very dependent on its Speed to function, making paralysis severely crippling and heavily reducing its offensive and defensive potential.
**Faster Offensive Threats**: Attackers like Mega Sceptile and Mega Alakazam outspeed and can OHKO Eternatus.
**Fire-immune Steel-types**: Steel-types with abilities that snuff Torch Song, such as Well-Baked Body or Primordial Sea Solgaleo and Arceus-Steel, are nigh immovable for Eternatus. Notably, Magearna with one of these abilities is immune to all of Eternatus's standard moves.
**Ice Scales Walls**: Select Ice Scales Pokemon such as Meloetta and Arceus-Ground shrug off Eternatus's attacks and can retaliate with super effective STAB moves, and unlike Blissey, they can safely withstand Shell Side Arm. However, they must hold Covert Cloak to prevent poison, as Arceus-Ground struggles to fit Take Heart, rendering them susceptible to repeated chip damage from entry hazards.
**Chansey**: Chansey's respectable physical bulk with Eviolite, in contrast to Blissey, allows it to comfortably handle Eternatus and notably deny recovery from Strength Sap.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/chessking345.355040/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/rightclicker.589755/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tea-guzzler.577920/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-blue-banana.649096/
Last edited:
