Unix Time
It's been a while, hasn't it?
My last RMT was around 2 years ago, and during that time, I picked up a lot more than just Mix and Mega. I branched further out into the full extent of what Other Metagames can bring, and during this, I created a team that I can only call my magnum opus - Skybolt. Yet after this, there was more for me to do. During the last few weeks of SM, I had to ask myself - where do I go next? There was a lot of controversy surrounding Sword & Shield, and its dex cuts, proclaimed Dexit, made me worried for the future of Other Metagames. Enter National Dex - a safe space where the changes going into Generation 8 simply did not happen. National Dex is effectively an expansion pack for Generation 7 OverUsed, and even with my activism in a post in Policy Review, asking for changes to the metagame to make it less Pet Mod-like, I still thoroughly enjoy building for the metagame.
This team is a result of my time in National Dex. (No, this does not mean I am leaving the tier.) The metagame has had a bumpy ride for sure, and it's about to go into its second round of turbulence with the third On The Radar thread, and many metagame developments have been made, although a lot of them are directly the results of other tiers slowly being implemented into National Dex. A lot of these techs I myself have imported over, and during one round in the National Dex Fall Seasonal (round 9 to be specific), someone had brought a Spectrier against me, which most of us had previously written off for having "poor coverage". Realizing that my Mandibuzz had been beaten by a Spectrier on Sticky Web, I came to the realization that my assumption was wrong about Spectrier. And so, I got to work with building it, slowly improving on what partners to use. This is the result of a particular HO I had made with it in mind.
What more than to start with a broken? Ghostium Z Spectrier is an incredibly difficult Pokemon to resist at the moment, with very few Dark types existing in ND OU atm, and the rather unprepared nature that the tier was in at that state gave me the idea to start off the build with Spectrier, as it could very easily demolish a team without an adequate Ghost resist. Infact, most Blisseys were set up bait at the time until Spectrier became meta, and I revived an old tech from Generation 7 MnM - Psywave Blissey. Yet despite this, Spectrier is still very potent in most matchups, and the few resists that do exist are extremely heavily chipped by +2 Never-Ending Nightmare -> Shadow Ball. This sort of centralization was the first idea I had in my head.
Rillaboom is nigh on mandatory for HO - but you know what else helps it out? Its starter partner in crime, Cinderace. These two cause a lot of havoc alone behind the lines - Cinderace is an early-game powerhouse that can easily wreck through defensive cores for the midgame, and Rillaboom helps clean up at the very end, and helps Knock Off important items on some resists like Moltres. These have been tried and true for me, and pretty much a success on every Hyper Offense that has existed with these two on them, so I decided to slap these two onto the team without much thought.
Likewise with Spectrier, Magearna can be an incredibly obnoxious threat that centralizes matchups to heavy degrees. But its inclusion was a bit different - I needed a Steel-type that would be able to stave off annoying wallbreakers like Tapu Lele & Alakazam, so Magearna was a decent fit. However, because of the different spread I will go into later, it doesn't answer these threats as well as it could, and often times is not used as a check for these as they are quite rare in the first place. But it does have some different defensive roles that allow it to surprisingly tank a few strong STAB Ground & Fire attacks, and benefits very heavily from Rillaboom support.
So, for most Hyper Offenses, you will need a lead. Landorus-Therian is a bread and butter lead I've always used and still works fantastically here as it patches up the Cinderace weaknness the other four members of the team have as well as helps out with some less obnoxious threats like opposing Magearna, Heatran & Volcarona.
The final member of the team needed to patch up Cinderace & Greninja weaknesses, and Mega Gyarados was the perfect fit for this. The 50/50s you can pull with DD & the timing of the Mega Evolution + a secondary Intimidate also make Mega Gyarados a fantastic utility addition, and the ability to break down BlissBro builds on its own is also another boon that is worth mentioning. It also is a decent resist to opposing Spectrier so those matchups aren't complete hell to deal with.
Finally, the build was re-arranged to fit the thematic of the team and also obscure the teambuilding process so that it was harder to scout when it initially debuted.
1970 (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Swords Dance
- Stealth Rock
The beginning of time. Where it came from is a question that is difficult to answer; such time was not known to many, if any at all.
Contrary to popular belief in National Dex, I strongly believe that purely dedicated leads like Mew in Sword & Shield are garbage. Setting up multiple hazards in a row isn't profitable if the opposing team has a lot of Heavy-Duty Boots users, and because of how popular BlissBro builds are in the current metagame, it makes dedicated leads really difficult to produce things from. Contrary to those, Landorus-Therian patches up the team quite well I find. It helps with annoying Pokemon like Cinderace, Mega Lopunny and Magearna, and prevents the capability of a premature sweep from the opponent, via its Focus Sash. Even outside of its defensive utility, Landorus-Therian is a strong offensive threat on its own, often removing or solidly chipping Zapdos & Corviknight for Rillaboom. This combination of attributes made it a very desirable pick for this team, and makes play more flexible as you'll always have this in the back for an emergency check.
1983 (Gyarados) @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Dragon Dance
- Taunt
Time's flow had only just begun for these creatures. And yet, they were about to be introduced to a whole lot more.
Greninja check #1, Cinderace check #2. Mega Gyarados helps with the team as it compresses a lot of roles as a bulky Water-type to help the team deal with the aforementioned two threats. It can also put more pressure on bulky Ground types like Hippowdon as a good entry point to allow the team to finish off its business in the midgame. Taunt is utilized over Substitute as it gives Gyarados a much better matchup against Haze Toxapex, which would otherwise be very obnoxious to deal with. It also chips Toxapex for Magearna to sweep later on in the game, and scouts for Haze on it.
1997 (Rillaboom) @ Life Orb
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Grassy Glide
- Knock Off
- High Horsepower
- Swords Dance
Ever since the dawn of time, engineers had hoped to re-create a system of time that would last them for decades. This was their result, and the majority of what came from Unix Time was of a result of this.
Greninja check #2. Rillaboom is quite possibly the single best thing to happen to Hyper Offense in Sword and Shield - it is effectively a grass type EKiller that supports the team through Grassy Terrain and provides a very easy to use lategame wincon. The support it provides for every Hyper Offense makes it practically mandatory for most Hyper Offense teams and I don't think I have to explain why. To prevent Mega Mawile from becoming a frustratingly obnoxious matchup, this Rillaboom has High Horsepower - something that worsens its matchup vs Ferrothorn but can make some more risky plays more punishable and a few annoying threats like Cinderace much easier to deal with.
2010 (Cinderace) @ Life Orb
Ability: Libero
EVs: 152 Atk / 104 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Pyro Ball
- Electro Ball
- High Jump Kick
- Work Up
It was a time of prosperity for those who had been created, but there was an ominous shadow that began creeping up on the residents - how much longer was this going to last?
Broken #1. Survived the bans, but I still maintain my position that this lone Cinderace is the most annoying thing for any balance to face right now. Cinderace is an impeccable attacker for HO, and something that can force out the majority of Steel-types in the metagame, some of which would be very difficult for Hyper Offense to deal with without the Megaless / Z-less slot that Cinderace occupies. The opportunity cost to run this & Rillaboom on the same team is often so low that it's a practically inevitable strat for modern National Dex Hyper Offense - this even translates into OU somewhat, despite the greater amount of prep made for both Pokemon. Ace also has the capability to severely pressure Water-types that Mega Gyarados can struggle with like Toxapex & Tapu Fini. The moveset was chosen specifically to be Pyro Ball EBall HJK - Electro Ball helps with dealing with bulky Water types and messes around early game significantly harder than any other Cinderace variant as it is mostly underprepped for compared to other variants that could be used on this team. High Jump Kick breaks through Heatran and deals considerably more damage to bulky Grounds like Hippowdon and Rocky Helmet Garchomp, which can make breaking in the later parts of the game considerably easier. As to why Sucker Punch is not on this Cinderace, this Cinderace prioritizes breaking bulkier builds over sweeping mostly, which is what makes it so deadly to deal with on a single case basis.
2024 (Spectrier) @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Grim Neigh
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Dark Pulse
- Nasty Plot
- Substitute
And yet, despite all of the wishes of the population - their doom came to them, not as a ever moving force, but as a sign of abandonment. Slowly but surely, the residents left, leaving all but a few systems running their simulation. Was it really meant to be this way?
Broken #2. Spectrier is an unstoppable force in the metagame - but it doesn't really do a whole lot for this team other than centralize matchups and revenge kill a LOT of Pokemon. Ghostium Z is used with Spectrier as it makes dealing with it in the short term extremely difficult to the point where only innate Ghost resists will be able to tank the Z move, and some threats may not even be able to deal with Spectrier guaranteed, like SpDef Hydreigon. Substitute is chosen over Taunt for ease of prediction compared to better breaking capabilities vs Stall & bulky Balance teams.
2038 (Magearna) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 52 Def / 24 SpA / 180 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draining Kiss
- Stored Power
- Shift Gear
- Calm Mind
But, all stories have to come to an end. Even those who were once standing, were wiped away by the machines they had once lived on, and turned to dust. Even in their final moments, they had lived a peaceful life, yet despite all of their internal troubles, had realized that this was not the end of civilization. Something new had arisen.
Broken #3. Magearna, likewise with Spectrier, is a very difficult force to stop in the metagame, however, this is more of an endgame force rather than an earlygame wallbreaker that also happens to be able to sweep due to its ridiculous speed tier (seriously, it's tied third fastest in terms of relevant non-Scarfers in National Dex, with only Mega Lopunny and Mega Aerodactyl outspeeding it.) The specific Magearna spread here allows Magearna to live a Pyro Ball from HDB Cinderace from full HP, and the speed tier allows it to outspeed Scarf Landorus-Therian after a Shift Gear. As for the moveset, it is fairly self-explanatory - and you could argue that running Aura Sphere would be a good idea seeing as this Magearna cannot break through Heatran, but the spread that this Magearna uses makes Aura Sphere quite an ineffective move to utilize against it.
Mega Lopunny almost completely shuts down Spectrier and gives all of the members of the team little room for error. Whilst Rillaboom can indeed smack it with Grassy Glide & Landorus-Therian can soft-check it, the amount of options Mega Lopunny has can really make counterplay quite messy at times. Landorus-Therian also isn't a guaranteed lead against it, as the very rare Triple Axel variants can easily stop Landorus from doing a thing to the opposing team (as long as all three Axels connect). The play here is to utilize Magearna as a way of deterring Lopunny from clicking other STABs and using it as the closest thing you can get to setup fodder.
Sand Tomb & Knock Off variants can be a huge issue for this team in its short lifespan. The only thing capable of forcing out Mega Scizor somewhat reliably is Cinderace, due to the existence of Curse sets. However, when the existence of Sand Tomb is thrown in the mix, pivoting around it gets considerably more difficult. It is also capable of checking Rillaboom & Magearna without much trouble, and can pick off Spectrier at low percentages. Counterplay around this mon however is often to "win first" which seems a little cliche, but given the amount of offensive pressure the team can exert, and a few assumptions such as assuming Mega Scizor doesn't have U-turn, then Mega Scizor can be turned into a winning matchup. Just play carefully around it, and make sure your answers aren't instantly worn down.
Tapu Fini, especially Calm Mind variants, whilst checkable by Rillaboom can get quite difficult to deal with over the course of a standard game. Fini is not only a decently reliable check to this particular Cinderace and Mega Gyarados, but can also prevent other members of the team from setting up on it with Taunt. The play here is to attempt to preserve and simultaneously bash through a Tapu Fini team with Rillaboom so that the rest of the members, particularly Mega Gyarados, can clean up afterwards.
With Sucker Punch, Cinderace can be a huge annoyance to deal with. No Pokemon on the team is completely a safe resist, sans for Landorus-Therian, and the rarity of Sucker Punch means that Magearna, which is EVd to live a Pyro Ball, can be surprised. It's very difficult to properly scout Cinderace, so the play is to make an assumption that it isn't if a wincon where it would be Sucker Punch is difficult to find.
Like with all Hyper Offense teams, they tend to struggle with threats with powerful priority. This is no exception - Swords Dance Rillaboom can be extremely obnoxious for this team to handle, ESPECIALLY if Cinderace has been worn down either through being chipped by Life Orb recoil or taking a stray hit from a Mega Scizor / Magearna. The major counterplay for this situation is to make sure that Rillaboom cannot pull off a Swords Dance freely - this means taking the most risks possible and potentially sacking good wincons like Mega Gyarados if the threat level comes to it. Banded variants can also be taken advantage of well by Magearna.
Replays:
vs Faded: 
This replay is the first instance I can recall of using Unix Time - it showcases the unhealthy aspects of Spectrier and Magearna and how even without the ability to damage Kommo-o greatly after popping its Z-move, showcases Spectrier's ability to influence plays and force sacks like no other.
Aurodian vs Sagisolar: 
In this replay, Mega Gyarados shows off its sweeping potential, and its ability to hax through teams for free wins.
vs Kaitlyn:
This replay showcases Magearna's spread very well - despite being a roll, Magearna manages to tank a Earthquake from full HP, leaving it at 12.5%, which was also enough to survive the incoming Fake Out from Lopunny. In conjunction with Draining Kiss' ridiculous healing potential, Magearna effectively claims a 6-0 victory in this game with its specific spread.
Epiloguevs Faded:
This replay is the first instance I can recall of using Unix Time - it showcases the unhealthy aspects of Spectrier and Magearna and how even without the ability to damage Kommo-o greatly after popping its Z-move, showcases Spectrier's ability to influence plays and force sacks like no other.
Aurodian vs Sagisolar:
In this replay, Mega Gyarados shows off its sweeping potential, and its ability to hax through teams for free wins.
vs Kaitlyn:
This replay showcases Magearna's spread very well - despite being a roll, Magearna manages to tank a Earthquake from full HP, leaving it at 12.5%, which was also enough to survive the incoming Fake Out from Lopunny. In conjunction with Draining Kiss' ridiculous healing potential, Magearna effectively claims a 6-0 victory in this game with its specific spread.
Pokepaste
2020 has for sure been a bizarre year for me. It was a new surrounding for me - something I had hoped to do was become a major in Maths, however, due to the sudden changes of COVID-19 and some mental health issues that has not been a dream that I have been able to fulfill. However, despite all of those hardships and the inability to find a community, I instead socialized with the National Dex crew. I'm happy that I've come to such a place, and have continued on to enjoy the metagame, despite fluctuant feelings, anger and general emotion that I've been having to deal with for the past year. Hopefully, things will indeed get better, and I can enjoy the fruits of life once more. Thank you to the National Dex and Other Metagames Discords for supporting me throughout this time.
HBA: Zovrah cityscapes xavgb You guys have been there for me for a good while now, and although I may get frustrated at times with your comedy, it still brings a warm feeling to my heart when I see you guys execute it well. You've been there for me for the entirety of 2020, and although the situation may get worse, I do not think your presence will.
Triple shoutouts to xavgb specifically. You've been an excellent opponent in every metagame I've faced you in, have been insightful in most ways, and have snapped me out of many a confusing idea. Your sensibility has always gone bounds beyond what I've been able to leap, and you always manage to bring me back down from being too crazy. I hope to face you just as much next year, and I hope your ambitions of becoming a stronger player in main Smogon metagames is fruitful.
Krookscord: Sevelon Saladae Jordy Jho Sputnik yugon.exe Ainzcrad Kaitlyn Gomi
We've only been together for a short time but I've definitely had the enjoyable conversations that have reminded me of my adventures in the MnM Discord. I especially appreciated the conversation I had with Jordy & Jho about Roko's basilisk - was an interesting thought experiment that will probably ring in my head to this day.
OM (voicecall) gang: Lasen Gmansour20 Andyboy MultiAmmiratore Quantum Tesseract Euphonos
Lasen & Gman - Will always be happy to voicecall you in the OM discord and have a laugh about whatever controversy is going on in Smogon. It's generally enjoyable to talk to you in pretty much every way.
Andy, Multi & Quantum Tesseract - You guys are fantastic opponents, always a thrill to fight you. I hope to see you three in the next OM Championship!
Euphonos - If I ever want to talk about Camo really badly, I know who to talk to at a reasonable time. I'll always be interested in your sheer dedication to developing metagames, whether it be silently or not. Even if occasionally I may appear cold and think you're annoying, I'll be up to talk about things if I can find the right words. Thanks for continuing to stay with me despite that.
Triple shoutouts to xavgb specifically. You've been an excellent opponent in every metagame I've faced you in, have been insightful in most ways, and have snapped me out of many a confusing idea. Your sensibility has always gone bounds beyond what I've been able to leap, and you always manage to bring me back down from being too crazy. I hope to face you just as much next year, and I hope your ambitions of becoming a stronger player in main Smogon metagames is fruitful.
Krookscord: Sevelon Saladae Jordy Jho Sputnik yugon.exe Ainzcrad Kaitlyn Gomi
We've only been together for a short time but I've definitely had the enjoyable conversations that have reminded me of my adventures in the MnM Discord. I especially appreciated the conversation I had with Jordy & Jho about Roko's basilisk - was an interesting thought experiment that will probably ring in my head to this day.
OM (voicecall) gang: Lasen Gmansour20 Andyboy MultiAmmiratore Quantum Tesseract Euphonos
Lasen & Gman - Will always be happy to voicecall you in the OM discord and have a laugh about whatever controversy is going on in Smogon. It's generally enjoyable to talk to you in pretty much every way.
Andy, Multi & Quantum Tesseract - You guys are fantastic opponents, always a thrill to fight you. I hope to see you three in the next OM Championship!
Euphonos - If I ever want to talk about Camo really badly, I know who to talk to at a reasonable time. I'll always be interested in your sheer dedication to developing metagames, whether it be silently or not. Even if occasionally I may appear cold and think you're annoying, I'll be up to talk about things if I can find the right words. Thanks for continuing to stay with me despite that.
It's been a fun time everyone - here's to 2021, and another year of incredible gameplay!