Hello everyone! As the DLC1 meta is coming to an end, I would like to take this opportunity to make my first RMT, showcasing one of my favorite teams I’ve made in BH. Though SS BH and SS in general was hated on, and certainly made a lot of players quit, I felt that BH was really underrated as a whole, and is the meta that I’ve found most success and fun in. Regardless of how you feel about BH, I hope you would enjoy reading this RMT and knowing the team.
s/o pdt again for crushing me with this in ssnls. After realizing how great FC Lunala is, I started the team with it and added Future Sight as the offensive backbone for the team.
I added Darm-GZ as an offensive pivot, which could still break walls combined with Future Sight.
Seeing that Lunala is still largely weak to Knock Off, I added PH Hippowdon as a Knock Off absorber, while checking Zekrom and Sunsteel Strike Zac-C if Lunala is low. Ground STAB is also useful for hitting a large portion of the meta.
The team so far is weak to special attacks in general, so I added Snorlax as my go-to special check, while adding a crucial Prankster.
Darm-GZ and Reshiram could easily get out of hand, so I added PSea Zacian as an offensive check, as well as being my Spiker.
I wanted a reliable Spinner, so I added Pixilate Magearna for that as well as a strong special attacker that beats Dark-types.The Team
Lunala @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
- Will-O-Wisp / Rapid Spin
- Spectral Thief
- Future Sight
- Roost
The star of the show. Lunala is surprisingly bulky with Fur Coat while hitting surprisingly hard with both Spectral Thief and Future Sight. It’s a cool check to Zekrom, arguably the best and most versatile mon in the meta, since it outspeeds its Bolt Beak and steals its boosts before it could KO with Beak. It could also pivot into choice-locked Close Combat or Earthquake mons with much ease, often getting a free Future Sight or Burn every time it gets on the field. After some testing, I found that Rapid Spin is generally inferior to Will-O-Wisp despite Lunala forcing out opposing spinblockers and giving it a speed boost to outspeed Zac-C, given how Lunala is somewhat a shaky check to physical breakers with Knock Off.
Darmanitan-Galar-Zen @ Heavy-Duty Boots / Choice Band
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- V-create
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Earthquake
Darm-GZ is my first offensive pivot of the team. Mold Breaker is extremely annoying for most teams since they rely on Flash Fire or Fur Coat to check its powerful V-create. Combined with Future Sight, it’s able to blow past would-be checks such as Eternatus, PSea Zama-C and bulky waters like Primarina. Dark- and Steel-type switchins to Future Sight usually gets 2HKO’d by Close Combat, so when the turns are right you can make progress fairly easily. Heavy-Duty Boots is the item of choice, since it bypasses Darm-GZ’s glaring weakness to Rocks and hazards in general, allowing more wallbreaking opportunities when there’s a pending Future Sight. One can opt for a Choice Band to have more breaking power, but using it makes one have less freedom in switching, and it becomes harder to get the upper hand in a match.
Hippowdon @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Spectral Thief
- King's Shield / Stealth Rock
- Stealth Rock / Will-O-Wisp
Hippowdon is a really underrated pick in the current meta. It has just enough bulk to check Zac-C and Zekrom, among other physical wallbreakers that get forced out by STAB Earthquake or Will-O-Wisp. It serves as the main Knock Off absorber for the team as well as an emergency check to physical attackers if Lunala is low. Hippowdon is a great Stealth Rock setter since it gets a lot of opportunities to set it up due to STAB EQ forcing switches, and racks up damage well combined with Spikes and Future Sight. However, forgoing Wisp means you’ll have to rely on King’s Shield and pivot into Lunala to check Zac-C.
Snorlax @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Careful Nature
- Haze
- Recover
- Knock Off
- Teleport
Snorlax is my main special wall, as well as being the crucial Prankster you need in every single match, whether it be ladder or tour. Its excellent natural special bulk keeps dangerous threats like Reshiram and Eternatus in check, while Mewtwo's Psystrike couldn't 2HKO it either. Teleport nabs momentum really well to bring in Darm-GZ or Zacian, especially with a pending Future Sight, so you could keep pressuring your opponent and make progress continuously. Pretty standard set, but still works wonders. Do note that Specs DesoLand Reshiram and Specs Kyu-W can both 2HKO it, so you'd have to rely on Zacian and Magearna to offensively pressure them.
Zacian @ Leftovers / Metronome
Ability: Primordial Sea
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fishious Rend
- Play Rough
- Strength Sap
- Spikes
Primordial Sea Zacian was brought up for around 5 months as a niche set to check Reshiram, but I've found more success with the set than "niche" on this team. It checks Reshiram, especialy Choiced and/ or DesoLand variants, extremely well, while serving as an emergency check to Darm-GZ. You could also predict a Choice-locked V-create and get a free turn. Fishious Rend + Play Rough as a "STAB" (psea boost) combo is surprisingly annoying to deal with, hitting walls like Steelix, Umbreon while forcing out slower attackers like Zekrom and Mewtwo by virtue of its blazing speed stat. Provided these switches Zacian forces, I decided to add Spikes in the mix for further hazards stacking. It is also surprisingly bulky with 92/115/115 defensive stats as an offensive check.
Magearna @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Calm Nature
- Anchor Shot
- Rapid Spin
- Boomburst
- Recover
Magearna serves as the glue of the team, clearing hazards, trapping Imposters and Steel-types, and providing a strong special hit to the team, other than Future Sight. Though Prankster is probably my favourite set for checking Zekrom, it couldn't fit all of these moves in so I had to go for the Pixi route, and it certainly wasn't bad. An unblockable Rapid Spin combined with excellent all-around bulk pretty much secures the hazards mu if you play it right, and it also gives it a crucial speed boost to outspeed the base 90 crowd, being able to clean Zekrom, Lunala, etc late-game. Boomburst is an extremely strong move which does like, at least 40 to all neutral targets, also giving it chances to Spin while the opponent fears Boomburst. A special attacker was also proved really useful when my whole team was physically oriented, so it struggled to break through physical walls like Eternatus when there’s the right support mons for tanking Future Sight.
Tips & Overview
Lunala @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
- Will-O-Wisp / Rapid Spin
- Spectral Thief
- Future Sight
- Roost
The star of the show. Lunala is surprisingly bulky with Fur Coat while hitting surprisingly hard with both Spectral Thief and Future Sight. It’s a cool check to Zekrom, arguably the best and most versatile mon in the meta, since it outspeeds its Bolt Beak and steals its boosts before it could KO with Beak. It could also pivot into choice-locked Close Combat or Earthquake mons with much ease, often getting a free Future Sight or Burn every time it gets on the field. After some testing, I found that Rapid Spin is generally inferior to Will-O-Wisp despite Lunala forcing out opposing spinblockers and giving it a speed boost to outspeed Zac-C, given how Lunala is somewhat a shaky check to physical breakers with Knock Off.
Darmanitan-Galar-Zen @ Heavy-Duty Boots / Choice Band
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- V-create
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Earthquake
Darm-GZ is my first offensive pivot of the team. Mold Breaker is extremely annoying for most teams since they rely on Flash Fire or Fur Coat to check its powerful V-create. Combined with Future Sight, it’s able to blow past would-be checks such as Eternatus, PSea Zama-C and bulky waters like Primarina. Dark- and Steel-type switchins to Future Sight usually gets 2HKO’d by Close Combat, so when the turns are right you can make progress fairly easily. Heavy-Duty Boots is the item of choice, since it bypasses Darm-GZ’s glaring weakness to Rocks and hazards in general, allowing more wallbreaking opportunities when there’s a pending Future Sight. One can opt for a Choice Band to have more breaking power, but using it makes one have less freedom in switching, and it becomes harder to get the upper hand in a match.
Hippowdon @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Spectral Thief
- King's Shield / Stealth Rock
- Stealth Rock / Will-O-Wisp
Hippowdon is a really underrated pick in the current meta. It has just enough bulk to check Zac-C and Zekrom, among other physical wallbreakers that get forced out by STAB Earthquake or Will-O-Wisp. It serves as the main Knock Off absorber for the team as well as an emergency check to physical attackers if Lunala is low. Hippowdon is a great Stealth Rock setter since it gets a lot of opportunities to set it up due to STAB EQ forcing switches, and racks up damage well combined with Spikes and Future Sight. However, forgoing Wisp means you’ll have to rely on King’s Shield and pivot into Lunala to check Zac-C.
Snorlax @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Careful Nature
- Haze
- Recover
- Knock Off
- Teleport
Snorlax is my main special wall, as well as being the crucial Prankster you need in every single match, whether it be ladder or tour. Its excellent natural special bulk keeps dangerous threats like Reshiram and Eternatus in check, while Mewtwo's Psystrike couldn't 2HKO it either. Teleport nabs momentum really well to bring in Darm-GZ or Zacian, especially with a pending Future Sight, so you could keep pressuring your opponent and make progress continuously. Pretty standard set, but still works wonders. Do note that Specs DesoLand Reshiram and Specs Kyu-W can both 2HKO it, so you'd have to rely on Zacian and Magearna to offensively pressure them.
Zacian @ Leftovers / Metronome
Ability: Primordial Sea
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fishious Rend
- Play Rough
- Strength Sap
- Spikes
Primordial Sea Zacian was brought up for around 5 months as a niche set to check Reshiram, but I've found more success with the set than "niche" on this team. It checks Reshiram, especialy Choiced and/ or DesoLand variants, extremely well, while serving as an emergency check to Darm-GZ. You could also predict a Choice-locked V-create and get a free turn. Fishious Rend + Play Rough as a "STAB" (psea boost) combo is surprisingly annoying to deal with, hitting walls like Steelix, Umbreon while forcing out slower attackers like Zekrom and Mewtwo by virtue of its blazing speed stat. Provided these switches Zacian forces, I decided to add Spikes in the mix for further hazards stacking. It is also surprisingly bulky with 92/115/115 defensive stats as an offensive check.
Magearna @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Calm Nature
- Anchor Shot
- Rapid Spin
- Boomburst
- Recover
Magearna serves as the glue of the team, clearing hazards, trapping Imposters and Steel-types, and providing a strong special hit to the team, other than Future Sight. Though Prankster is probably my favourite set for checking Zekrom, it couldn't fit all of these moves in so I had to go for the Pixi route, and it certainly wasn't bad. An unblockable Rapid Spin combined with excellent all-around bulk pretty much secures the hazards mu if you play it right, and it also gives it a crucial speed boost to outspeed the base 90 crowd, being able to clean Zekrom, Lunala, etc late-game. Boomburst is an extremely strong move which does like, at least 40 to all neutral targets, also giving it chances to Spin while the opponent fears Boomburst. A special attacker was also proved really useful when my whole team was physically oriented, so it struggled to break through physical walls like Eternatus when there’s the right support mons for tanking Future Sight.
Tips & Overview
- In general, try not to lose a single bit of momentum once you set up a Future Sight, since the team is rather weak without its support to hit the team's checks.
- Try not staying in on Lunala for so long, and scout for any Knock Off and Burns/ Poisons with Hippowdon before you stay and fire off Future Sights, since they severely hinder Lunala's longetivity. You don't necessarily have to go to Magearna to Spin ASAP, since the team isn’t really weak to Rocks and TSpikes, and apply pressure with Darm-GZ instead when you have the opportunity to.
- Also, you really have to experience with Lunala's bulk, I always underestimate that it could tank Beak / Rend really well but is 2HKO'd by Darm-GZ. It's a rather hard mon to use tbh, and you have to save it for Future Sights.
- You can be much more aggressive with Zacian than you think. 92/115/115 is impressive bulk for an offensive check, so you can usually hard switch in on Darm-GZ/ Resh even if they don’t go for a Fire move, forcing them out while you can heal.
- If you’re running it, try not revealing Metronome before you’re sure you could heavily dent a passive wall. Players often miscalculate the damage it could reach, and is forced to recover when they realize, so you can get free turns to use Sap or Spikes.
Conclusion & Insights
This team isn't a ladder peaker or tour winner, but it was a team where I had fun playing and it had a pretty high skill cap. I think I improved a lot as a player in Gen 8, the time I've had in BH as well as Tours would certainly be missed. This was still a really fun meta to play in, and I hope the meta after DLC would continue to improve as well. Thank you so much for reading this RMT, and I look forward to seeing you in the post-DLC meta!
This team isn't a ladder peaker or tour winner, but it was a team where I had fun playing and it had a pretty high skill cap. I think I improved a lot as a player in Gen 8, the time I've had in BH as well as Tours would certainly be missed. This was still a really fun meta to play in, and I hope the meta after DLC would continue to improve as well. Thank you so much for reading this RMT, and I look forward to seeing you in the post-DLC meta!
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