Other Metagames No Spies Here - Balanced Hackmons Balance

[wooperboy60]

Hey! So I discovered BH about a month ago and since then it's become by far my favorite tier (partly because it's a very quick grind from 1000 to ~1500). I've noticed that basically no RMTs exist for it, so I figured I'd post my team that I've been using to climb my way up the ladder.​

Team at a Glance

So the team's pretty standard at first glance. The main idea behind it was that every member would have some way to punish opposing Imposters, since Chansey is basically the world's largest nuisance in this meta (well, her and Spore Spam). As such, every mon is either a counter or a strong check to another mon on the team.

With that out of the way, let's check out each member indivivdually!

Art by HarlequinWaffles

Racist (Diancie-Mega) @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 8 HP / 252 Atk / 248 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Extreme Speed
- King's Shield
- Spikes

The most basic Pixilate Fakespeeder there is, yet one of the most effective. I find Diancie to be one of the best revenge killers in the tier, and can completely tear through a lot of teams once its steel has been weakened enough, as long as I can conserve ESpeed's PP well enough. 248 Speed is enough to outspeed even the Jolly Kyurems, ensuring that I can out-prioritize their own fakespeed and OHKO. King's Shield is used to counter opposing Fakespeed besides that (e.g. from Rayquay or opposing Diancie). Spikes is surprisingly helpful due to how often Diancie forces switches, so long as their fairy resist isn't also their Magic Bouncer. It's also the only form of entry hazard on my team, so it's a primary way of dealing with the headache known as Shedinja, so long as I can spinblock/prevent Defog.

Assault Specs (Latios-Mega) @ Soul Dew
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- King's Shield
- Moonblast
- Earth Power
- Magma Storm

I swear Soul Dew Mega Lati@s is one of my favorite mons in this format. The item functions as both an Assault Vest and a Choice Specs without the disadvantages of either one, allowing this thing to function as a fierce wallbreaker, so long as the foe isn't fully SpDef invested. Moonblast + Earth Power obviously have amazing type synergy, and Magma Storm is there to catch the sneaky Sheddy on a switch-in. I've considered using Quiver Dance to make this thing a sort of bulkier Mewtwo Y, but I've found it to generally be outclassed.

Cannot Grasp True Form (Regigigas) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spiky Shield
- Belly Drum
- Extreme Speed
- Shadow Sneak

Ah, this thing is one of my favorite wincons in a match. Not only does poison heal make it immune to the ever-present Moldy Spore spam, if I'm forced out, I can stall back up and Belly Drum again~! Now, Facade may be twice as strong as Espeed, but I find that for cleaning purposes, Espeed does enough, and it's especially helpful considering I'm running absolute minimum speed on this thing. Now, why am I doing that, you may ask? Well...

Oh how I wish that's what he looked like...
​

Broccoli (Aegislash) @ Leftovers / Safety Goggles
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 116 Spe
Bold Nature
- Parting Shot
- Spore
- Topsy-Turvy
- Rapid Spin

Ah, my spinblocker/prankster spam mon. Basically works as a check to most setup mons through Topsy Turvy, most offensive mons without Safety Googles with Spore, and even most Magic Bouncers through Parting Shot! Rapid spin is, of course, obligatory support. Now, you might wonder why the hell I'd be running any speed on this thing, much less as much as 116, but that's explained by my anti-imposter theming with this team. With that investment, Aegis outspeeds an impostered Regigigas by one point, allowing him to get a quick Topsy Turvey before they can Shadow Sneak me! From there, I'm pretty much safe to do whatever I please, either Spore or Parting Shot out. I'm considering running Destiny Bond over Rapid Spin since most of the rest of my team doesn't really mind hazards, but they're still annoying.
Lefties are the only form of recovery (which is pretty noticeable if they're gone), but Safety Goggles work as anti-Prankster and anti-Imposter.

Nope.avi (Registeel) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- U-turn
- Recover
- Perish Song
- Aromatherapy

Registeel's probably my favorite pivot in the game, tbh. Magic Bounce kills Pranksters and Rocky Helmet punishes most physical attackers. I use this thing to hard-counter impostered Mega Diancie and Aegislash, and it's countered completely by Latios. 0 Speed and a Sassy nature allows for the slowest possible I-turn into whatever I need to go into. Perish Song is how I check Setup Sweepers and Baton Pass (especially *shudder* SubMoody evasion raises). Aromatherapy is mostly to wake up my team from Moldy Spore spam.

Mega-Ekans (Rayquaza-Mega) @ Safety Goggles / Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Substitute
- Tail Glow
- Oblivion Wing
- Earth Power / Magma Storm

And finally, I have a strong early game breaker/mid- to late- game cleaner. Gale Wings Rayquay is an awesome mon, with Sub to stop Imposters. Safety Goggles lets it safely take on Moldy Deoxys-S and Sub up, especially on the lead, where I can just proceed to Tail Glow and wreck shit up. Obviously, this thing is checked by Diancie if an imposter does manage to copy me before I get a sub, but it can prove to be difficult to deal with should it get one of its own up.
Magma Storm can kill Sheddy and has decent coverage alongside Oblivion Wing, but has a relatively high chance to miss.
Life Orb can be used for a significant power boost, especially against teams that don't run a fast Spore mon.


Threats:​

• Shedinja, which could honestly be considered a strong check to almost the entire meta. My team does well enough against it, but I have to play more carefully around it.
• Primal Groudon is surprisingly threatening, since it can OHKO or 2HKO most of my team with its STAB. Furthermore, it's fairly bulky, with only Latios able to OHKO unless it's SpDef, in which case God have mercy on me.
• Primal Kyogre is in a similar situation, with very few members on my team being able to easily 2HKO it. If it's SpDef and running King's Shield, my real only hope is to Perish Song and try to force it to stay away until I've set up.

Importable!

Racist (Diancie-Mega) @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 8 HP / 252 Atk / 248 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Extreme Speed
- King's Shield
- Spikes

Assault Specs (Latios-Mega) @ Soul Dew
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- King's Shield
- Moonblast
- Earth Power
- Magma Storm

Cannot Grasp True Form (Regigigas) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spiky Shield
- Belly Drum
- Extreme Speed
- Shadow Sneak

Broccoli (Aegislash) @ Leftovers / Safety Goggles
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 116 Spe
Bold Nature
- Parting Shot
- Spore
- Topsy-Turvy
- Rapid Spin

Nope.avi (Registeel) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- U-turn
- Recover
- Perish Song
- Aromatherapy

Mega-Ekans (Rayquaza-Mega) @ Safety Goggles / Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Substitute
- Tail Glow
- Oblivion Wing
- Earth Power

 

[aki0s]

Hey! Cool team & yeah the lack of BH RMT's overall suck. ;w;

The team looks pretty solid and I love the idea of Protean Soul dew M-latios. ;o

One change I could suggest is trying out quick feet Shaymin (invented by Rumors) over M-Quaza.
It's a pretty cool anti-imposter mon, a reliable sleep switch in (as long as it's spore if flame orb hasn't procced) and a great late game cleaner.

Shaymin-S

Shaymin-Sky @ Flame Orb
Ability: Quick Feet
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 SpD
- Oblivion Wing
- Ice Beam
- Tail Glow
- Magma Storm / Earth power / Leech seed / Spore

0 Spd ev's are to secure the 75% to ko full spdef Chansey after a tail glow (which draws in Chansey) & quick feet ensures you outspeed Imposter Chansey after the flame orb proc.
Oblivion wing to recover HP. Last move is your choice depending on what you need it to do. Magma storm / Leech seed obv kills Shedinja - earth power is nice for Diancie & Bulky steels etc.
Cleans up nicely late game/Mid game ;D

Calcs

+3 252+ SpA Shaymin-S Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Chansey: 672-792 (95.4 - 112.5%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Shaymin-S Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 416-492 (59 - 69.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

 

[dsm77773]

Hi wooperboy60 good team you have in here, and it's nice to have another BH RMT as honestly there aren't many.

What I like about this team is the creative options you chose (BD Poison Heal Regigigas, Speed EVs Aegi).
Some quick fixes:

• Fit in Boomburst on Mega Diancie. It's a huge nuke, aka 4 SpA Pixilate Mega Diancie Boomburst vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Arceus: 253-298 (57.1 - 67.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. And that's uninvested. Change its Nature to Naughty.
  
• I don't like Spikes on Mega Diancie. Magic Bounce Fairy resists are very common as almost any team has a bulky Steel-type (Registeel, Aegislash, Mega Aggron) to defend against -ates, and they commonly carry Magic Bounce. Also, Spikes, or any other hazard, are very easy to take out in BH.
• The only mons where Rapid Spin works is on -ates. Problem in BH is that there are A LOT of Ghosts running around (Giratina, Mega Gengar, Aegislash, QD Ghost Arceus) so Rapid Spin is easily blocked. Use Defog instead on Aegislash, it works even when facing Magic Bounce and thanks to Prankster it gets priority which helps in a desesperate situation.
• Hazards aren't even a soft check to Shedinja. To get rid of it you need Mold Breaker + Pursuit + prediction or Magma Storm / Infestation + prediction. I'd replace Earth Power with Magma Storm on Mega Ray for this reason.
• Also, Substitute already shields Mega Ray from status, so a Life Orb helps with extra power (recoil is negated by Oblivion Wing) or Leftovers help with survavility and works well with Substitute.
• Give Safety Goggles to Aegislash. This makes up for the slight loss on sleep coverage with the item change above, and allows Aegislash to be Imposter-proof. Otherwise, the Imposter can Spore you and then Parting Shot out. This way, you'll be able to safely Spore the Imposter while it can't do anything back.

Also, nobody uses Primal Kyogre anymore. On PDon, it's slow and itemless, and using V-create to KO you leads to stat drops, so it's easier to kill I guess. It's 2HKOed by PixiBoom as well iirc.

To sum up

Spikes -> Boomburst and Naughty -> on Mega Diancie
Rapid Spin -> Defog on Aegislash
Earth Power -> Magma Storm on Mega Ray
Safety Goggles -> Life Orb / Leftovers on Mega Ray
Leftovers -> Safety Goggles on Aegislash

Hope this helps, good luck!

 

[wooperboy60]

Hey! Cool team & yeah the lack of BH RMT's overall suck. ;w;

The team looks pretty solid and I love the idea of Protean Soul dew M-latios. ;o

One change I could suggest is trying out quick feet Shaymin (invented by Rumors) over M-Quaza.
It's a pretty cool anti-imposter mon, a reliable sleep switch in (as long as it's spore if flame orb hasn't procced) and a great late game cleaner.

Shaymin-S

Shaymin-Sky @ Flame Orb
Ability: Quick Feet
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 SpD
- Oblivion Wing
- Ice Beam
- Tail Glow
- Magma Storm / Earth power / Leech seed / Spore

0 Spd ev's are to secure the 75% to ko full spdef Chansey after a tail glow (which draws in Chansey) & quick feet ensures you outspeed Imposter Chansey after the flame orb proc.
Oblivion wing to recover HP. Last move is your choice depending on what you need it to do. Magma storm / Leech seed obv kills Shedinja - earth power is nice for Diancie & Bulky steels etc.
Cleans up nicely late game/Mid game ;D

Calcs

+3 252+ SpA Shaymin-S Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Chansey: 672-792 (95.4 - 112.5%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Shaymin-S Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 416-492 (59 - 69.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Thanks! This Shaymin set is actually really fun to use. The only major issue is that it's worn down really quickly against very offensive teams, especially if you don't have a chance to set up, and that the lack of power compared to Rayquay is extremely noticeable. Furthermore, the lack of sub means it's even more vulnerable to Fakespeeders. However, I have 6-0'd a few teams with it.

Hi wooperboy60 good team you have in here, and it's nice to have another BH RMT as honestly there aren't many.

What I like about this team is the creative options you chose (BD Poison Heal Regigigas, Speed EVs Aegi).
Some quick fixes:

• Fit in Boomburst on Mega Diancie. It's a huge nuke, aka 4 SpA Pixilate Mega Diancie Boomburst vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Arceus: 253-298 (57.1 - 67.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. And that's uninvested. Change its Nature to Naughty.
  
• I don't like Spikes on Mega Diancie. Magic Bounce Fairy resists are very common as almost any team has a bulky Steel-type (Registeel, Aegislash, Mega Aggron) to defend against -ates, and they commonly carry Magic Bounce. Also, Spikes, or any other hazard, are very easy to take out in BH.
• The only mons where Rapid Spin works is on -ates. Problem in BH is that there are A LOT of Ghosts running around (Giratina, Mega Gengar, Aegislash, QD Ghost Arceus) so Rapid Spin is easily blocked. Use Defog instead on Aegislash, it works even when facing Magic Bounce and thanks to Prankster it gets priority which helps in a desesperate situation.
• Hazards aren't even a soft check to Shedinja. To get rid of it you need Mold Breaker + Pursuit + prediction or Magma Storm / Infestation + prediction. I'd replace Earth Power with Magma Storm on Mega Ray for this reason.
• Also, Substitute already shields Mega Ray from status, so a Life Orb helps with extra power (recoil is negated by Oblivion Wing) or Leftovers help with survavility and works well with Substitute.
• Give Safety Goggles to Aegislash. This makes up for the slight loss on sleep coverage with the item change above, and allows Aegislash to be Imposter-proof. Otherwise, the Imposter can Spore you and then Parting Shot out. This way, you'll be able to safely Spore the Imposter while it can't do anything back.

Also, nobody uses Primal Kyogre anymore. On PDon, it's slow and itemless, and using V-create to KO you leads to stat drops, so it's easier to kill I guess. It's 2HKOed by PixiBoom as well iirc.

To sum up

Spikes -> Boomburst and Naughty -> on Mega Diancie
Rapid Spin -> Defog on Aegislash
Earth Power -> Magma Storm on Mega Ray
Safety Goggles -> Life Orb / Leftovers on Mega Ray
Leftovers -> Safety Goggles on Aegislash

Hope this helps, good luck!

Thanks a lot for the suggestions! I've tried them all out and here's what I think:

Tbh, some sort of hazard is absolutely necessary for this team to function, especially because of a lack of Sheddy control. Magma Storm works sometimes, but 75% accuracy means it's about as reliable as Focus Miss. Honestly, I've lost games because I've missed it thrice in a row. Considering that (against any experienced player) I'd have to both predict the Sheddy switch-in and hit, I've found Furthermore, Boomburst on Diancie allows opposing Chansey some attack to hit Registeel with, and it's been a major pain (especially since before I could just bounce back their Spikes if they went for them). Besides, Spikes at least force opposing Sheddy players to defog/spin, giving me some sort of control.

Safety Goggles are pretty cool on Aegis, especially against opposing Magic Bouncers or Pranksters, but the lack of recovery is kinda noticable. Furthermore, I haven't had any problem with opposing Imposters since Registeel beats them 100% anyway. I'll keep them slashed for now, since I haven't completely decided whether they're worth it or not. I've yet to come across a situation where Defog vs. Rapid Spin has really made a difference, so I'll keep you posted on that front.

I liked Safety Goggles on McRay because it could basically win me the game turn 1 against lead Moldy Deoxy-S :P Lefties aren't super useful because Oblivion Wing heals about as much as I need. Life Orb's power boost is pretty significant though. I'll leave it slashed next to Goggles.

 

[dsm77773]

Thanks! This Shaymin set is actually really fun to use. The only major issue is that it's worn down really quickly against very offensive teams, especially if you don't have a chance to set up, and that the lack of power compared to Rayquay is extremely noticeable. Furthermore, the lack of sub means it's even more vulnerable to Fakespeeders. However, I have 6-0'd a few teams with it.



Thanks a lot for the suggestions! I've tried them all out and here's what I think:

Tbh, some sort of hazard is absolutely necessary for this team to function, especially because of a lack of Sheddy control. Magma Storm works sometimes, but 75% accuracy means it's about as reliable as Focus Miss. Honestly, I've lost games because I've missed it thrice in a row. Considering that (against any experienced player) I'd have to both predict the Sheddy switch-in and hit, I've found Furthermore, Boomburst on Diancie allows opposing Chansey some attack to hit Registeel with, and it's been a major pain (especially since before I could just bounce back their Spikes if they went for them). Besides, Spikes at least force opposing Sheddy players to defog/spin, giving me some sort of control.

Safety Goggles are pretty cool on Aegis, especially against opposing Magic Bouncers or Pranksters, but the lack of recovery is kinda noticable. Furthermore, I haven't had any problem with opposing Imposters since Registeel beats them 100% anyway. I'll keep them slashed for now, since I haven't completely decided whether they're worth it or not. I've yet to come across a situation where Defog vs. Rapid Spin has really made a difference, so I'll keep you posted on that front.

I liked Safety Goggles on McRay because it could basically win me the game turn 1 against lead Moldy Deoxy-S :P Lefties aren't super useful because Oblivion Wing heals about as much as I need. Life Orb's power boost is pretty significant though. I'll leave it slashed next to Goggles.

On the Diancie topic, Boomburst should do around 35% so you're fine with Regi.
On Aegislash, I think the recovery loss is noticeable due to the odd (but useful) spread. You can keep Lefties if you want though.