The Introduction to Balanced Hackmons (Gen 7 Edition)

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Background

Balanced Hackmons, known as BH for short, is an Other Metagame that allows players to use anything normally usable in-game, even via hacking. This means that almost every ability is usable on every Pokémon with any moveset, creating a metagame in which there are a near-limitless number of potential sets. Additionally, a few common clauses often applied to other tiers, such as the Species and Sleep Clauses, do not apply in Balanced Hackmons. BH is commonly referred to as the "sandbox" metagame due to its lack of limits gifting players the ability to run any set imaginable, within reason, of course. Balanced Hackmons does possess its own, unique banlist to keep the metagame 'balanced' to certain degree, however.

However, in order to understand the general concept of Balanced Hackmons metagame, there are some points to keep in mind when building teams, which are shown below as maxims.

Things to Understand

1. Understand common threats for each roles.

No matter what metagame one decides to play, they always have to be aware of the fact that it is important to understand offensive and defensive threats. Obviously, there are many, many more sweepers, wallbreakers, and walls in the metagame than the ones shown below, and the choice of Pokémon will depend on what Pokémon is the team being built around or the rest of the team.

Sweepers

Sweepers often rely on boosting moves, mostly Shell Smash, Tail Glow, or Shift Gear, in order to quickly accumulate boosts and proceed to pressure or sweep the opposing teams. They usually wait for the moment for their checks to be eliminated and switch in. They always have to watch out for Spectral Thief, however, since they usually won't get another moment to set up if they are hit by this move. There are countless possible sweeper sets thanks to the Balanced Hackmons metagame's mechanics, and common ones are featured here:

Because of Mega Rayquaza's offensive presence and the sheer amount of unpredictability it possesses, it forces switches very often. It can proceed to put a foe out of commission using Spore or set a Substitute, use Tail Glow, and spam +3 priority Oblivion Wing. Magma Storm and Moongeist Beam take care of Sturdy Shedinja, which will otherwise end up walling this set. The former also hits Steel-types super effectively, while the latter has the ability to super effectively hit walls such as Solgaleo and Giratina while bypassing some Unaware walls. Once Mega Rayquaza has successfully set up, it is very hard to stop. This set is easily Imposter-proofed and stopped by Unaware Mega Audino or Mega Gyarados. Although Triage Mega Rayquaza struggles with Psychic Surge, Dazzling, and Queenly Majesty, it is a formidably threatening late-game sweeper.

Mega Mewtwo Y also forces a lot of switches because of its status as the strongest special attacker in the game. While forcing out a foe or hitting one super effectively, Mega Mewtwo Y will gain monstrous stat boost thanks to Contrary. The longer opponents leave Mega Mewtwo Y alone, the harder time will they have stopping it. Of course, powerful sets like these require an Imposter-proof wall to keep Imposter users from countersweeping. The ideal options are Unaware Dark-types and, if one decides not to run Fleur Cannon and use Pixie Plate Judgment instead, Sand Stream Tyranitar. This set is also capable of using Spore to bypass Assault Vest users, which will otherwise survive a hit and steal boosts using Spectral Thief, or Moongeist Beam to bypass some Unaware walls and Sturdy Shedinja.

Regigigas is another Poison Heal Sweeper that does not have to worry about Spectral Thief thanks to its Normal typing. Since Imposter users do not hold Toxic Orb, they can't be poisoned outside specific occasions. When Imposters decide to face this Regigigas, they will lack poison status, meaning their Facade's Base Power will stay at 70 while Regigigas can use 140-Base Power Facades against them. Also, the Imposter will be susceptible to Spore while Regigigas doesn't have to worry about being put to sleep. If an opponent does not stop this Regigigas early, such as by using Core Enforcer, they will end up being swept by this titan. Even Core Enforcer will fail to stop Regigigas if it decides to carry Avalanche.

Wallbreakers

Wallbreakers are tend to apply offensive presence without being reliant on stat boosts, but instead through an ability, item, and high stats.

These four Pokémon are the most common -ate users, with (from left to right) the abilities Aerilate, Pixilate, Refrigerate, and Galvanize. Some of these sweepers are finally capable of shaking off their dissatisfying STAB combination and equipping themselves with powerful moves boosted by their new abilities. Fake Out and Extreme Speed are generally their physical STAB moves of choice, due to former's ability to deal free damage and the latter's ability to revenge kill weakened foes. As a special move, most of them carry Boomburst, and it does massive damage to most neutral foes thanks to the high Base Power of the move itself. Now these -ate users can fill the rest of their moveslots with coverage moves. Except for Galvanize users, most -ate users carry Precipice Blades or V-create to hit Steel-types, which resist their STAB combination, other utility moves such as Spore, or even hazard moves such as Stealth Rock to use on predicted switches. -ate users are very reliable revenge killer outside of anti-priority abilities such as Psychic Surge and Dazzling, and they are powerful wallbreakers with the appropriate Plates or Choice items.

This Sheer Force set is somewhat similar to Sheer Force Nidoking or Nidoqueen sets in regular metagames. However, one cannot easily determine the damage output when the same ability has been applied to a new Pokémon with base 194 Special Attack and a moveset that can be chosen freely. STAB Psychic with boosts from Life Orb and Sheer Force is capable of 2HKOing almost all neutral targets, and Mega Mewtwo Y's coverage options are able to bypass its usual checks: Earth Power hits Solgaleo and Registeel, Ice Beam OHKOes Zygarde-C and 2HKOes Giratina, and Moonblast 2HKOes Mega Gyarados and Yveltal. Although this set is quite prediction reliant, this problem can be solved by slapping in Tail Glow, which is able to raise Mega Mewtwo Y's Special Attack to astronomical levels, turning usual 2HKOs into OHKOs. Imposter proofing Tail Glow Mega Mewtwo Y with Tail Glow is quite easily done by running a Pokémon with unique typing and an ability; for example, Volt Absorb Yveltal can wall Mega Mewtwo Y with Psychic / Earth Power / Thunderbolt, and Bulletproof Yveltal can wall Psychic / Earth Power / Focus Blast. Or, one may opt to choose a wall that resists Psychic and has Unaware to ignore any boost Mega Mewtwo Y's Imposter has accumulated. This set, unlike the Psychic Surge set, which is quite easily walled, is able to break through variety of walls.

Walls

While incredibly strong attackers are present in the metagame, there are beastly tanks that are ready to handle these threats as well. They all share great natural bulk and useful resistances to take hits for their team.

Most walls in the Balanced Hackmons have minimized Speed EVs and IVs and a Speed-reducing nature to pivot as slowly as possible and Safety Goggles to keep them from being shut down by omnipresent Spore. Prankster users mostly carry Haze to remove any boost the foe has, which is preferred over other options like Topsy-Turvy because it is not blocked by Psychic Terrain, Dazzling, and Queenly Majesty. Destiny Bond is used as last-ditch method to shut down sweepers that cannot be shut down otherwise. Moves such as Encore are seen once in a while; although they are blocked by aforementioned anti-priority abilities, they provide good utility nonetheless. U-turn, or other pivoting moves, are mandatory on Prankster users to bring in your Pokémon safely. Lastly, recovery moves help Prankster users to stay healthy over the match.

Assault Vest pivot, also known as "RegenVest", is a different type of wall that is ready to tank hits from attackers that are not reliant on boosts but instead rely on immediate power such as Mega Mewtwo Y, Mega Rayquaza, and others. They often possess good natural bulk with unique typing, just like Solgaleo does; Solgaleo takes quartered damage from Psychic-type moves and has base 137 HP to make a good use of Regenerator, which does not force it to stay in and use a turn to recover itself after taking hit. RegenVest users are capable of fitting in almost any archetype of teams due to them being able to repeatedly switch into powerful attacks and pivot afterwards to secure momentum for their team.

Fur Coat walls are strongholds to most physical attackers due to the ability doubling their base Defense stats along with additional boosts from both EVs and IVs. They excel at walling physical Poison Heal users, such as Regigigas and Mega Tyranitar, and powerful physical attackers like Mega Mewtwo X. They mostly carry Core Enforcer to nullify wallbreakers are reliant on abilities such as Poison Heal, Adaptability, Tinted Lens, Tough Claws, and more, hazard control moves, recovery, and pivoting moves. The most relevant Fur Coat user is Giratina, due to its great natural bulk of 150 / 120 / 120, a typing that provides 6 resistances and 2 immunities, and lack of 4x weakness, which is the reason Zygarde-C is not as preferable wall as Giratina is.

Despite the existence of Mold Breaker, Sunsteel Strike, and Moongeist Beam, some Unaware users still perform well. Some bulky Pokémon are capable of functioning as Unaware walls with their natural bulk and typing. Mega Gyarados is one of the Pokémon that are capable of fulfilling this role thanks to its typing that leaves it immune to Stored Power and resistant to Power Trip, Sunsteel Strike, and Moongeist Beam, all of which are very dangerous moves with boosts. This lets Mega Gyarados function efficiently as a defensive setup check.

Despite its weakness to Sunsteel Strike and lack of many resistances, Mega Audino has unique niche as a wall in Balanced Hackmons metagame for many reasons. First, it can function as effective Unaware wall thanks to its immunity to Moongeist Beam, and it is able to check Triage Mega Rayquaza, special Contrary users, and all Mega Gengar variants that leave home without Poison-type moves. Second, its typing leaves it immune to Core Enforcer, meaning it will be an ideal switch-in to hazard move or status move users because its ability won't be suppressed by such moves. Third, taking advantage of its immunity to Ghost- and Dragon-type moves, Mega Audino can run select abilities such as Flash Fire, Soundproof, and Volt Absorb to Imposter proof a sweeper in its own team. Mega Audino is an exemplary Pokémon that shows even Pokémon without much resistances or outstanding stats are able to perform as good walls.

2. Make your team Imposter proof.

Ditto's hidden ability, Imposter. Introduced in Generation V, the ability transforms the user into a carbon copy of the opposing Pokémon, copying all of its stats excluding HP, typing, ability, and, most importantly, any stat modifications. The most common user of Imposter, Chansey, itself boasts a huge HP stat and access to Eviolite's passive defensive bonuses, both of which it maintains even after undergoing transformation. This means that Chansey is capable of transforming into a much more formidable version of any opposing Pokémon at any time. Given the nature of this set, many powerful sweepers such as Mega Rayquaza and Mega Mewtwo Y struggle to combat an Imposter Chansey 1v1. Additionally, should the foe not have an answer to one of their own offensive Pokémon, they immediately stand the risk of being swept themselves by their very own Pokémon. This danger defines the Balanced Hackmons metagame and has also given birth to a concept known as "Imposter-proofing", which is also known as "Improofing".

Chansey is the most relevant Imposter user and therefore is a threat that defines the Balanced Hackmons metagame; with Imposter, Chansey transforms into an foe while retaining its massive HP stat and 50% boost of both defense stats from Eviolite. This means even if one's sweeper wins the Speed tie, Chansey is likely to survive a hit and retaliate. While this ability may seem unbalanced to newcomers to the metagame, it is important to know that one has full control over opponent's Imposter. The stronger one's team is, the stronger Imposter users will be. This means that one can keep their own team from being swept by their own ally by utilizing what Imposter cannot copy.

Items

As mentioned before, the most relevant Imposter user is Chansey, and it mostly can't afford to hold any items other than Eviolite, since other items will significantly compromise its bulk. This means that one can have their Pokémon hold unique items like Plates and Memories to use Judgment or Multi-Attack to hit themselves super effectively while not letting the Imposter do the same. The most commonly known Imposter-proof set is shown below.

Assuming Imposters do not hold Plates, they cannot defeat this Mega Gengar. Since Judgment's typing is Normal without any Plates, Imposter cannot hit Mega Gengar, while Mega Gengar can hit its Imposter super effectively with STAB thanks to Spooky Plate changing Judgment's typing to Ghost.

Status

Similarly to the set above, Mega Tyranitar can take on its Imposters one-on-one by burning them with Will-O-Wisp, while it can steadily recover itself using its poison status. Assuming one does not boost too much with Shift Gear, Mega Tyranitar can still deal with Imposter users with Defense boost from Diamond Storm. If Mega Tyranitar chooses to carry Knock Off as its only attacking move, it can beat its Imposter even if its Attack has been boosted to +6.

Taking advantage of limited PP

Trapping sets are also possible ways to deal with Imposter. Zygarde-C's titanic bulk lets it take more than just couple hits from the Imposter, and it has sufficient time to recover itself before its health is dangerously lowered. Due to the fact that Imposters will have only 5 PP on each move after transforming, they will eventually run out of PP, as Zygarde-C stalls them. After running out of PP, the Imposter will be forced to Struggle and faint.

Improofing doesn't have to be done by acquiring a self-sufficient Pokémon; one can have an attacker with specific moveset and Imposter proof it by using a unique wall. For example, Mega Rayquaza can choose to have Precipice Blades as one of its coverage moves to hit opposing Steel-types super effectively while allowing its own Steel-types able to wall its Imposter by running Levitate.

3. Prepare your team against Sturdy Shedinja.

The only relevant reason why Shedinja is used can be found from its hard-coded HP stat of 1. This peculiar attribute allows it to utilize the ability Sturdy, which will activate every time it is hit by an attack and allows Shedinja to 'endure' the hit. Due to Sturdy letting the user survive any hit with at least 1 health remaining, Shedinja will still be at full health after being hit, taking absolutely no damage in the end. An HP stat of 1 also turns Shedinja into a fearsome wallbreaker via Endeavor, which makes the foe's current HP equal to Shedinja's, leaving them at 1 HP themselves. After using Endeavor, Shedinja can use a priority move to eliminate the weakened foe before it recovers.

There are limited ways one can ever hurt Shedinja. Weather damage from hail or sand, entry hazards such as Stealth Rock and Spikes, status damage from poison or burn, residual damage from trapping moves, removing its ability such as using Entrainment or Core Enforcer, and bypassing its ability via Sunsteel Strike and Moongeist Beam are ways to hurt and eliminate Sturdy Shedinja. Prior to 7th generation, the most popular way to eliminate Sturdy Shedinja was using a Mold Breaker Pokémon with Pursuit, which is able to hit Shedinja through Sturdy and land a hit using Pursuit even if Shedinja attempts to switch out. Although the introduction of Sunsteel Strike and Moongeist Beam has significantly reduced the usage of such strategy, "Mold-Pursuit" does not give Shedinja a second chance once it has switched into a wrong situation.

However, despite the existence of aforementioned ways to stop Sturdy Shedinja, one must run a wall that is able to safely switch into it when it attempts to use Endeavor in order to prevent one of its teammates' HP from being lowered to 1. This is where Ghost-types become very handy, because their immunity to Endeavor allows them to switch into Sturdy Shedinja, which normally has hard time damaging its opponent outsides using Endeavor with its abysmal stats.

It is important to note that teams that use Sturdy Shedinja usually protect Shedinja with heavy support, including but not limited to Magic Bounce users to reflect incoming entry hazards and status, walls that resist Sunsteel Strike and Moongeist Beam, Rapid Spin / Defog users, and Imposter Chansey to scout for the foe's movesets. Therefore, one must not recklessly risk to set hazards, spam status, or throw mindless predictions to eliminate Sturdy Shedinja. Just as players are eager to eliminate Sturdy Shedinja as soon as possible to open a way to sweep the other team, opponents will be extremely cautious about protecting their Shedinja.

4. Try to make creative sets.

Pokémon such as Imposter Chansey, Poison Heal Regigigas and Kyogre, and Psychic Surge Mega Mewtwo Y are seen very often due to their effectiveness. However, as popular those sets are, most competitive teams are usually prepared for such threats. This where your creativity has to take a step ahead and make sets that are viable yet imaginative and unpredictable!

Due to its mediocre bulk and Speed, Xurkitree is often dismissed as unviable Pokémon in the Balanced Hackmons metagame, but one cannot imagine how powerful attacks will be from a base 173 Special Attack stat. Being one of the -ate users whose STAB move is not resisted by Steel-types, Xurkitree is a devastingly powerful wallbreaker that is able to OHKO or dangerously weaken common walls, such as Registeel and Mega Audino. Although it is not very self-sufficient and requires heavy team support, Xurkitree's offensive presence is formidable nonetheless.

Assault Vest pivot Meloetta, namely "RegenVest Meloetta", is not common due to its below-average physical bulk and weakness to the ever-so-common U-turn. However, it walls almost all variants of Mega Mewtwo Y, thanks to its unique typing that provides a resistance to Psychic and an immunity to Moongeist Beam, the most relevant coverage move Mega Mewtwo Y carries. Mega Mewtwo Y tends to carry coverage moves aimed to Mega Gyarados, Solgaleo, and other specially defensive walls' weaknesses, and Meloetta's effectiveness as a wall shines from this.

Using creative sets from others is fun and enjoyable, but it is even better if you are the one who makes those sets! Who knows? The set you make may become a standard set one day.

Pokémon Sun and Moon and Balanced Hackmons

The Balanced Hackmons metagame was given many new things to play around with in the 7th generation. While the four Guardian Deities turned out to have minuscule or no viability in the metagame due to below-average stats for Balanced Hackmons's standards, new threats, such as Solgaleo and Zygarde-C took the spotlight due to the former being one of the best special walls and the latter being a BH behemoth whose bulk rivals that of Eviolite Chansey. Meanwhile, Lunala was dismissed as suboptimal Pokémon due to its very exploitable x4 weakness to Ghost and Dark.

A few newly introduced abilities, namely Water Bubble and Innards Out, had issues. Water Bubble having very limited counterplay, and Innards Out being exploited by having very frail Pokémon with high HP stat switch into any offensive threats and remove them from the game with itself. Comatose is another ability that was deemed problematic. Comatose + Sleep Talk being exploited as uncompetitive strategy to spam phazing moves to win with entry hazards resulted in an implementation of ComaTalk Clause that banned a Pokémon from having both Comatose and Sleep Talk.

Primal Groudon has recently been banned via suspect test. The whole community was divided with two sides, one claiming that Primal Groudon takes advantage of its insane level of stat distribution and typing to bust through any walls and thus is too versatile and exerts immense pressure on teambuilding, while the other side believed that Primal Groudon has sufficient counterplays available and is not banworthy. After series of intense discussions, the vote ended up leaving Primal Groudon banned. Although Primal Groudon is still usable with regular Groudon holding Red Orb and going through Primal Reversion, it is much less threatening than it used to be.

Conclusion

This was a brief overview of teambuilding tactics and top-tier threats and an approach to understanding the metagame. Since you know them at this point, feel free to start building your very own team from scratch and try playing it! Balanced Hackmons is a dynamic metagame with unpredictable strategies and teams roaming around in the ladder. Have fun on the Generation 7 Balanced Hackmons ladder in Pokémon Showdown!

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