Top 10 Titans of Generation 8 Balanced Hackmons

Reshiram makes the list mostly due to its impact early in Generation 8. Prior to the release of DLC2, Reshiram was one of the most threatening Pokémon available. Reshiram also directly influenced two major tiering actions: Shell Smash and Dynamax. Shell Smash Reshiram was a major threat primarily due to Dynamax Cannon, which meant that opposing Pokémon could not Dynamax in an attempt to stop its sweep. It also had the perfect mixed attacking sets to run Close Combat, which meant it could get past common Ice Scales Pokémon like Umbreon and Incineroar that other Shell Smash Pokémon could not. Originally, the BH council decided to suspect Dynamax, which resulted in a DNB result (Dynamax was later banned by council vote), and soon after banned Shell Smash as a result of Reshiram and a few other's grip on the metagame. Since DLC2 added many more powerful Pokémon, Reshiram has fallen from its former glory, but the impact it made early on puts it in the #10 spot.

I'm sure most of you are reading this asking yourself, "What the hell is Cramorant doing on a BH list?". As shocking as it is, Gorging Cramorant was in fact a major titan in BH this gen thanks to Gulp Missile. Researchers discovered that hacking in Gorging Cramorant with Gulp Missile allowed it to paralyze the foe (and deal 25% damage) the first time it was hit every time it switched in. Automatically having the full-powered Gulp Missile available to paralyze any Pokémon that damaged Cramorant had a huge impact on how the game was played. Any Pokémon was forced to risk being paralyzed at any point they attacked, which was a strongly dissuaded offensive Pokémon from making progress in games. Poison Heal Pokémon were the primary way to stop Cramorant, but attackers like Zacian-C and Pixilate Xerneas had little to no counterplay to its ability. In BH, being paralyzed is severely more impactful due to the higher power level giving little room for lost turns and the lowered Speed making it significantly more difficult to beat Imposter Chansey, so Cramorant quickly became the most prominent Pokémon in the metagame. Shortly before Cramorant's ban, Pokémon like Zacian-C would attempt to stop it by running Jungle Healing to heal their paralysis, but even this strategy was weak counterplay at best. Cramorant was quickly banned after about two months of terrorizing the metagame, and thus cemented itself in the #9 spot.

Poison Heal Regigigas has been a BH staple for many generations now, and this generation was no different. Returning with the DLC2 release, Regigigas immediately returned to the spotlight with its classic Dragon Dance and Spore sweeper sets. While very threatening, the addition of Zamazenta-C did slow down its progress a bit and forced it to choose between Precipice Blades and Knock Off to beat Zamazenta-C or Lunala. Later on in the generation, Regigigas was the main influence on the addition of Sleep Moves Clause due to its sweeper sets. Without Spore or Lovely Kiss, Regigigas was in a spot it had never been in before, as its Dragon Dance sets started to become less potent. With this, Regigigas began to take on a new role and began to run Spikes to gain progress against bulkier teams. This new role was a breakthrough for Regigigas, and eventually many sets would even forego Dragon Dance for other options like Flip Turn to gain momentum on entry hazard removal and Magic Bounce Pokémon. Overall, Regigigas has gone through ups and downs this generations but throughout it all remained strong and found new opportunities, which is why it makes the #8 spot.

Zekrom was a potent wallbreaker and the face of Bolt Beak, largely contributing to Bolt Beak's ban. Adaptability sets were incredibly difficult to wall and would OHKO most Pokémon after a Shift Gear boost, while its Poison Heal set was a solid wincon that was perfect for long games. Zekrom was especially potent early in the generation due to the lack of competition and was consistently one of the best Pokémon in the metagame. Bolt Beak was always a topic of contention due to Zekrom, but with the addition of Dragon Energy in DLC2, it became even more difficult for Fur Coat Pokémon to properly check it. After Bolt Beak's ban, Zekrom did fall out of favor slightly, but its immunity to paralysis has carved a niche for it in the current metagame. Zekrom's impact can be seen as the main contributor behind Bolt Beak's ban and being an absolute monster for the first half of the generation, which is why it finds itself in the #7 spot.

Galarian Darmanitan-Z bounced its way into our hearts and then bounced away right into the banlist. With insane offensive stats and STAB V-Create, very little can switch into this monster. V-Create Pokémon have historically been checked by bulky Dragon-types like Giratina, Zygarde-C, and Eternatus, but Galarian Darmanitan-Z blew them out of the water with its Ice-type STAB. Galarian Darmanitan-Z could use abilities like Intrepid Sword to boost its Attack, Magic Guard to prevent passive damage from entry hazards, and Mold Breaker and Desolate Land to get past different checks. Due to the coverage from its STAB moves and Bolt Beak, the only Pokémon that had a chance of walling it were Fur Coat Water-types like Seismitoad and Flash Fire and Primordial Sea Steel-types like Melmetal and Zamazenta-C. Galarian Darmanitan-Z was an even bigger beast once Glacial Lance was released, as it didn't have to rely on Triple Axel anymore. It did not take long after Glacial Lance's release for Galarian Darmanitan-Z to be banned, and the impact it had left was more than enough to deserve the #6 spot.

Xerneas has been an insane presence ever since its release in Generation 6. Its Poison Heal set has been arguably on par with Regigigas as the best Poison Heal user at multiple points, while its Pixilate set had been on the back burner and picked up slightly late in Generation 7. When Generation 8 rolled around, that dynamic flipped with one notable change; Rapid Spin's buff. While the BP increase on Rapid Spin means the move is no longer a passive option, the Speed boost made Xerneas's Pixilate set insanely threatening. Not only is Pixilate Rapid Spin the best form of entry hazard removal the tier has to offer, offensive checks to Xerneas like Zamazenta-C no longer outspeed it after a Rapid Spin, which means Xerneas is able to deal damage to them first or recover HP and weaken them with Strength Sap. Switching into Pixilate Boomburst is already a tough task on its own, but with the added utility, Xerneas has become the embodiment of a titan. Its Pixilate set has undoubtedly taken over the metagame this generation, but its Poison Heal set is still massively threatening in its own right, and immunity to Core Enforcer blocks some Poison Heal counterplay. Xerneas is undoubtedly the perfect mon to start the top 5 titans.

Taking the #4 spot, Zamazenta-C finally found a metagame where it's great. In BH, you can hack in the Crowned formes and use them without having to hold their corresponding item and with any ability. This allows Zamazenta-C to take full advantage of its amazing stats and typing, making it an insanely flexible Pokémon that could fit on every team in either offensive or defensive roles. Zamazenta-C could run either Fur Coat or Ice Scales depending on what it wanted to check, or run Flash Fire to block certain threats like Galarian Darmanitan-Z and Eternatus. While its sets were generally simple and predictable, they were still quite potent and flexible. Its Speed tier meant that it outsped the majority of the metagame which made walling Pokémon even easier. Offensive sets like Belly Drum Triage and Choice Band Tough Claws also made a huge impact, especially early in the generation. How Zamazenta-C really shone is simple; its amazing stats and flexibility meant it could fill almost any role your team needs with ease and do it well.

Starting out the Top 3 is a simple one. Chansey is the face of Imposter in BH, with its 250 base HP and item options like Eviolite, Shed Shell, Choice Scarf, and Toxic Orb. Imposter wasn't nearly as impactful early in the generation as it was once Chansey and Blissey were released. Imposter is arguably the single most impactful ability in BH and even has the term Imposter-proofing coined for counterplay towards it. To beat Imposter, you have to find a way to beat a copy of yourself with base 250 HP and sometimes Eviolite boosts. To do so, people employ imposter-proofing strategies like trapping, Imprison, and Nuzzle to disable or hinder Imposter users. Chansey in the #3 spot makes complete sense when you consider the impact Imposter has made on the metagame.

Eternatus has been one of the most defining threats BH has ever seen. Similarly to Zamazenta-C, Eternatus has amazing all-around stats that allowed it to fill almost any role, with abilities like Fur Coat, Ice Scales, and Regenerator to provide the most utility. Eternatus set itself apart from other titans because it thrived with its offensive sets due to its amazing typing and almost unmatched base 130 Speed. Early in the generation, offensive Eternatus often ran abilities like Adaptability to capitalize on its powerful STAB moves that only Steel-types or Ice Scales Pokémon could reliably switch into. Steel-types like Zamazenta-C and Zacian-C were the best checks to Eternatus, but even they were susceptible to Earth Power and Blue Flare coverage. With its bulk and typing, wearing it down with defensive checks was very difficult, and offensive checks often were slower and susceptible to chip. Eternatus was arguably the most difficult Pokémon to check for most of the first half of the generation due to these qualities. With the release of DLC2, Eternatus gained access to Dragon's Maw and Dragon Energy, which turned it into an absolute monster offensively. Dragon's Maw Eterntaus quickly became a dominant set that essentially only Ice Scales Steel-types, Magearna, and Zacian-C could switch into. As the metagame settled, Eternatus counterplay revolved more around paralyzing it with special walls like Ho-Oh to make it easier to offensively check. In the current metagame, Eternatus is still one of the best Pokémon available, and is a powerful offensive check to massive threats like Xerneas.

Zacian-C gives Mega Rayquaza a run for its money as the most broken Pokémon ever to grace standard tiers. In BH, its power is somehow even more apparent (though Eternatus-Eternamax takes the cake as the most broken Pokémon ever and never graced the tier), especially as it started the generation without needing Rusted Sword. This was one of the most broken things BH has ever seen and was very swiftly banned, but as Zacian-C is an in-battle transformation, Zacian @ Rusted Sword was still allowed and forced Zacian-C to have Intrepid Sword and hold Rusted Sword. Even still, Zacian-C remained one of the best things in the tier due to its insane stats and good natural ability. STAB Sunsteel Strike was a great tool that made it so Fur Coat Pokémon were often poor checks, and players had to resort to Pokémon like Fur Coat Darmanitan-Z to check it properly. The main weakness of Zacian-C was a weakness to Imposter, but eventually the metagame became more centered around paralysis which made checking Zacian-C tougher throughout the match. Defensive Pokémon also had to watch out for the Imprison Transform set that became popular as a way to take out defensive checks with ease. Zacian-C was truly unmatched offensively and remained the most powerful thing in the tier consistently until Rusted Sword was eventually banned in June 2021. Being banned in two different ways is a feat that no Pokémon has ever accomplished in BH before, which when combined with the massive impact it left on the tier, easily makes Zacian-C the clear #1 Titan for Generation 8 BH.