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ok apart from that though, great post, funny (and possibly great) teams, will definitely use them on ladder
also for this to not be one liner:
Arceus-Ghost @ Spooky Plate
Ability: Magic Guard
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Judgment
- Strength Sap
- Circle Throw
- Spikes
are you tired of your opponent switching into audino or blissey or whatever into your mg torch spikes ghostceus and hardwalls it? no worries! get rid of them with this one simple move that forces them out into something that ghostceus would probably beat! then, they'll have to switch in again, wasting time and taking extra hazard damage!!! this works 100% of the time trust me bro
Shoutouts will be in post-ompl thread, individual mon thoughts + some meta observations in resources thread. I will add the links here when I get around to those posts.
DISCLAIMER: These teams are all generally specialized for a one-game set against specific opponents and I don't think any of them are very solid in a vacuum, as they all have some glaring flaws somewhere. I personally don't recommend directly using, but most of the ideas are workable.
I went into this week's prep expecting Potatochan to build their own team with help from QT, will, and tzaur. To prepare for more offensive teams and potential cheese like Normalize, PixiSpeed felt like a good bring, and Valiant seemed appealing. Unaware Etern also provides a solid safety net against potential setup, and is reasonable offensive pressure itself. Valiant's Pop Bomb/Boomburst are capable of putting Arceus formes into range for next attack, but needs sapblock support, so a blob provides that. Ice Scales Lunala improofs Valiant, and with the weakness to Ghost moves setting blob to Regenerator helps scout it at no cost. With one FC slot to cover most physical attackers, Fightceus provides the best blanket check potential and is not blockable by blobs. With RegenBlob Etern is free to run Taunt which can be incredibly useful to deny recovery and Topsy. Imposter ofc rounds the team off. The team felt a bit weak to Ghost-types with Ghostceus being reliant on Etern, so Imp runs Spooky Plate, as in matchups where its unnecessary it can just act as a Knock sponge. Since Imp is no longer Evio I decided to go with Evio Regen Chansey for the better physical bulk and utility moves. One funny thing about Spooky Plate Imposter is that in a test game I crit TTTech's setup Arceus-Ground and OHKOed it only because Plate boosted Shackle.
Obviously the prep went disastrous as Potatochan brought a 100% QT team and I didn't have the best punishers for the classic QT dual Regen core. This is worsened by Plate over Lens on Valiant as I thought the extra power on Extreme Speed would be crucial to hit better rolls on revenge-kill targets. Without Lens and with rushed play Valiant, who otherwise had actually a pretty good matchup, got put on a fast timer and without the main progress-maker and subpar hazard control progress was very difficult. I think if I won some key Etern speed ties the game could be dragged out but I didn't so gg.
TTTech in post-Diancie meta has basically exclusively brought fat and the teams have a lot of similarities. I knew I wanted to bring Unaware because he leans a lot on setup, particularly bulky setup, and Shackle can help lure and eliminate these wincons. With that, I needed a sufficient solo-breaker as I would also need FurScalesImp and some utility slot. Mega Gardevoir looked reasonably good into his teams with Psystrike to pressure mons like Ho-Oh, and TTTech's teams are slow enough for it to get plenty of opportunities, Knock Off removes AV and ESpeed is mainly a filler slot but can provide some emergency revenge-killing. I also wanted a Dark-type because TTTech ran a lot of Prankster with stuff like Glare PShot and Mortal, and AMuk seemed like a very appealing as a slow utility mon that walls Zam and soft checks other common special breakers. Groundceus improofs Garde and AMuk, the moveset tries to maximize its potential as a spinner. With Arc slot taken Diao looked to be the best Unaware slot with unexploitable typing and good STAB. Last slot FC I decided to go with MAlt for AshGren, Chomp, and Palk-O to a degree, and it can also be offensively improofed by Garde. Cloak Imposter is a standard bring into fatter structures. This team isn't a very a good team because it is highly specialized and some threats just outright win (like Kyu-B).
This week's prep went significantly better than before, while there are some deviations like a decently offensive Regen Etern set and a Normalize Flutter, most of the team was expected. I didn't expect the Eternatus to be Final Gambit (never scouted) and it traded for AMuk which actually was really useful in this matchup. Flutter Mane had no chance against Scales Judg Arc and Rev Dance DiaO (but if it was like Flare Boost I would be in big trouble). Eleceus was successfully baited and eliminated by Diao. Garde theoretically can claim kills easily but after misplaying Groundceus and losing it after an unlucky para on top of mispositioning to allow TTTech's Imposter to heal off its Para, Garde suddenly can't be utilized at all because Imposter copying it is an instant loss. Luckily the endgame ended up being unloseable due to Cloak Imposter completely walling Ting-Lu and PP stalling recovery slowly. This was sped up when I was able to get Garde in on Imposter to fire off a Knock Off which managed to remove Celesteela's lefties.
Going through Akira's builds one thing that stands out is high Audino usage. This makes a Sunsteel spammer appealing, and I debated between Zac-C and Luke, ultimately going with the former due to high natural speed, since Luke would effectively have to give up the ability slot for Speed Boost anyways. Setup Chomp pairs with it to break down mono FC structures, and Guts was chosen for reduced vulnerability to status and knock off, and also improofs AMuk, which was recycled as it fit reasonably well as a para spammer for both physical breakers and hoping akira would never expect the immediate reuse. Swampert is the best/maybe only good option to improof Zac, Salt EQ helps pressure Steel-types for Mortal. I had to go Impless for the first time in months (years?) because I needed another FC to backup improof Chomp and beat AshGren and needed a Scales. Audino fit the FC requirement while helping compress a Ghostceus check to relieve pressure from Muk and Scales Arc, and with the Scales Arc I decided to half meme Psyceus for 1. STAB Psystrike to do big damage to Blissey and 2. better matchup into opposing take heart than Fightceus.
Akira brought an interesting HO. With the team comp and the Lunala lead I sacked Psyceus expecting Final Gambit (which it was) as Psyceus had no purpose against any of the threats while Muk might prove handy against Ghostceus. Then Swampert and Garchomp had incredible matchups but near the end I almost completely threw by switching Swampert out against Blaze (???, ig i was expecting Flower Trick??) and then nuzzling while Misty Terrain was up. Luckily Audino is the absolute goat and always lived a +4 V-create.
Around this week I started to get more busy irl and also started getting burnt out from the meta with hazards being so predominant and teamstyles linearizing, so I kind of got lazy with prep, with this team being built like less than a day before the game. Sevag loves to slap Protect moves on random Pokemon, as well as generally high Regen usage. Thus I wanted to avoid Choice-locked mons and special wallbreakers. This basically leaves Chomp as the best option, and I decided that SD Speed Boost to boost past Strength Sap seemed like a good set, with Sunsteel last slot to beat FC Fairies. Celesteela is annoying, and Mega Ampharos looked like a solid option to threaten it while underspeeding, with bonus points as a comedic bring against Sevag. Ting is a Ground-type that underspeeds MAMP to improof it, and then Dozo and Fairyceus kind of rounds off the defensive core. Sevag sometimes runs suspicious improofing, so Cloak Imp helps with that.
The matchup turned out to be pretty abysmal. Chomp is hard walled by Topsy Steela, and because I am Mortal Ting-Lu to have a move to threaten Imp (instead of Nuzzle), Etern is an enormous issue especially when I get Imp paraed. Somehow Sevag doesn't bring a Take Heart check and Fairyceus almost wins on the spot if I get some luck, but that doesn't happen with an immediate full para and speed tie loss, unfortunate.
Week 5 - Intermission
I took a break because of school work and had pannu play for me instead.
Prior to this week, I've been pretty open in expressing how I thought Sceptile and Celesteela, two mons with rather high usage, were overrated. I didn't know what I wanted to actually load into Ivar as he didn't seem to have immediate preferences, so I decided to pull a highlighter and load these two mons to surprise him. Final Gambit offensive Etern is a Sevag idea (he was going to load it vs me but brought wrong paste) to trade against special walls for teammates if needed, and seemed to synergize with Scept decently, originally ability was TBD. After trying some defensive core ideas, I realized that 4 attacks dual MG could exert a lot of pressure with the freed moveslot and lets me not run Regen on Etern, and to support would have Wish Regen Blob (original idea to load a third Muk-A). Then FC Steela as the only Steela set to fit here and Scales Fairyceus as the Arc-type that can backup check Garchomp were added to finish the core. Around this time I also realized that I have two MG mons and a Steela, so it naturally pushed towards a Superman structure. I was originally planning to use Cloak Imp to take advantage of weak Improofing from Ivar occasionally, but Boots Imp seemed fine too.
A very scary mu and game. Both offensive mons on Ivar's team were threats considering my SpD core didn't resists Psychic and Celesteela has no bulk to stomach Gren's hits well. Zam also outspeeds Scept so he always has an out there. However Scept can potentially do something if Blissey gets removed and hazards also can relieve offensive pressure if they can stay up. Relatively early on Ivar resets hazards with Court Change. With this its basically revealed that Court + Ting's Mortal Spin was Ivar's hazard control, and since Steela can kind of always block Mortal I can keep hazards up. I then greeded with spikes predicting that Ivar wouldn't Ruination three times putting Steela in rocks range. Ivar makes a critical inaccuracy by going Alakazam instead of Stone Axe Waterceus to kill Steela and prevent the Wish Pass. Then there were some comedic misses but by keeping hazards up and getting Imp paraed Scept was eventually able to win because opposing Blissey had no setup control and instead relied on Zam to rk, which was impossible with many layers of hazards.
Week 7 - Intermission
Taking another break because of school and also because we were guaranteed in for playoffs. Clas helped sub in this week.
I had very little time to prep this week due to school work and city unable to play on weekend. Magic Bounce was highly appealing because city often slaps moves like Spikes on random mons as progress, Gholdengo seemed cool because it is selfproof and had good resistances. Waterceus felt promising as a FC user as it could use Judgment Mortal and reasonably threaten some Steels while being improofed by Ghold. I wanted another Mortal user that can complement Waterceus, and a Fighting-type like Zamazenta fit very well. For a solo progress maker I looked into Garde as it had enough power in slower matchups against city's builds. I really wanted an Unaware mon as city usually relies more on setup as wincons, Dialga-O was the original idea but I switched to Kyogre for better bulk against Etern. Scales mon needed to improof Garde and cover some weaknesses, original I had a meme SD Psychic Fangs Metagross but replaced it with Ho-Oh after Sevag pointed out no Knock. I decided to forgo Imp because city usually has very strong Improofing and can take advantage of it.
Not a very exciting game because I just had the best matchup ever with Kyogre walling her entire team basically and I had a FC Water move Waterceus to relieve pressure. Zama lead vs Bundle is funny where it was one of the few mons that outsped it.
Another team with Specs Gardevoir, which I felt was a good breaker to take advantage of the type of balances they have brought that aim to bring in UNecro, since Garde comfortably punches through Celesteela's lack of bulk and Audino's lack of Fairy resist, while providing some useful Extreme Speed utility. With Garde solo breaker there's limited options for a defensive utility mon that outspeed UNecro. Zacian feels passive while Miraidon doesn't really check anything, so I went with FC Zama again as its not a terrible Mortal user. It lets Etern in very easily though so I wanted a secure check to that, and PSea Solg does that while checking a few UNecro variants and Scept. Akira then suggested Pert as the Scales to check the remaining UNecro stuff, and also suggested a Bouncer last to help combat Spikes. Ghostceus seemed ok with easy selfproof and with NP SSA can pressure a lot of his builds. I wanted Imp because he used a good amount of Recover mons that Imp would be useful against. This team probably has tons of flaws because I had ideas entire week but couldn't realize them so was panic building right up to the scheduled time.
WHERE IS THE UNECRO? The MU still looked pretty good, as even after scouting Knock T1 Solg was a consistent check to Scept seeing no sapblockers, Phero is likely checked by Zama, and Garde can go in. After seeing Diao eat Spikes I was convinced it was RegenVest so I wanted to go Imp to scout but got trapped instead and traded mons, which I wasn't super happy about, though I did dodge two Saxes. The Garde ESpeed bait worked to eliminate the unknown threat, but then there was an endless cycle where I couldn't really pressure the Regen Steela porting constantly. Letting Garde get poisoned for progress worked. But then some serious hax happened to secure the endgame, although I feel like if Wisp hit I wasn't in a losing position though would require some work to get Garde in to break or set Ghostceus up for sweep.
Thoughts
Overall I don't have particularly strong opinions about anything in the meta. Think that the current meta, despite perhaps a bit boring still has room for development and there really isn't any standout problematic elements. With more BH players concentrated and a high number of games per week I do look forward to development over HPL.
A while ago I had very strong feelings about Stone Axe and I still think that it is definitely one of the few elements that could be looked at in the future, but maybe it's because people started building around it or just stopped using it but hazard stack hasn't felt as oppressive as during those few weeks (or maybe I just stopped caring when building and just prayed). There is also the argument that stuff like Stone Axe keeps everything below in check.
People talk about Take Heart but in all seriousness Take Heart has yet to be shown to be remotely problematic in any of the 31 OMPL games. Call it restrictive in defensive counterplay but there are plenty of equally if not more restrictive elements in other parts of the meta. There is also still a certain variety you can have on any team for counterplay, and it still offers benefits to the metagame through defensive and status absorbing utility.
AshGren lacks usage to prove itself, going 1-3 in OMPL, a very small amount for a mon claimed to be problematic. Restricting Fur Coat typing isn't even unique to Sniper Gren as you almost always need to double FC if you want to use a FC weak to Chomp STABs. Mixed has severe issues with certain not uncommon defensive sets and also has lower raw power. Its also susceptible to every hazard and is outsped by a reasonable amount of mons that are seen regularly on teams considering the importance of speed control.
I don't really think Weather is an issue at all. Kind of lame to leech off of city but basically those reasonings she brought up. Rain was brought into the spotlight initially mostly by RoFnA beating TTTech in ssnl, but in that set Rain went 1-1, losing in 7 turns in the first game and winning the second game off of TTTech not expecting dbond and losing speed ties with Imposter. There is also a disturbing lack of players attempting to build their rain and using it to prove a point. I tried to build a rain team in 5 min and I think from just trying to build a team (and then piloting it) players can immediately find the issues with the archetype. Don't want to echo city too much but basically if you run solo abuser then it feels like too much invest for 1 mon (setter + improof), while if you run dual abuser you have a very fixed structure that needs to cover a huge amount of threats with very few slots due to lack of role compression.
Misc
You guys remember this post? Well this is the follow up part to that post. These results only use the regular season. Ties are broken using SB-score and then head to head.
Rank
Prediction Rankings
Actual Rankings
Actual Record (SB)
1
Malevolent Misdreavuses
Soul-Stealing Seven Star Solgaleos
5-2 (16)
2
W Virizzions
Black Diamond Kyurems
4-3 (14)
3
Walking Wokes
Walking Wokes
4-3 (12)
4
Black Diamond Kyurems
W Virizzions
4-3 (12)
5
Rise Up Darkrais
Rise Up Darkrais
4-3 (12)
6
Heart Takers
Dubwool Entendres
3-4 (10)
7
Dubwool Entendres
Heart Takers
3-4 (8)
8
Soul-Stealing Seven Star Solgaleos
Malevolent Misdreavuses
1-6 (4)
So overall not exceptionally bad, other than getting 1 and 8 wrong. 2 to 5 have the exact same record with 3 to 5 same SB score as well, and similarly for 6 and 7. Taking the absolute value of the differences with the actual rankings and then averaging all of them gives a average rank difference of 2.5
Now for the part that's actually interesting, which player predicted most accurately. Their own team was excluded and the other rankings were adjusted to reflect it, and the results are
1 - augustakiracityscapes
3 - aerobeeBoingK
Congrats to these players for accurately predicting
Thanks again to everyone that helped out for the rankings.
Anyone else get the feeling drought, and drizzle might be a little too strong? Especially drizzle with specs gren water spout. Feels like the ways to playing around it are super-specific being either a water immunity, priority on a mon that can also take on the drizzle setter, or an extremely bulky resist with recovery. Drought to a lesser extent since dragons are so easy to come by but still.
Anyone else get the feeling drought, and drizzle might be a little too strong? Especially drizzle with specs gren water spout. Feels like the ways to playing around it are super-specific being either a water immunity, priority on a mon that can also take on the drizzle setter, or an extremely bulky resist with recovery. Drought to a lesser extent since dragons are so easy to come by but still.
Investing in the future: A Balanced Hackmons guide on how to manage cryptocurrency and inducing FUD on the opposing party.
Introduction
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Investing is not only a technique applicable to finance, but in Pokemon as well. Have you ever clicked Stone Axe? That is an investment. Knocked Off your opponent's Item? Investment. Nuzzled that pesky Dragon Energy spammer? Investment. Indeed, many of 2024 BH's best moves are long-term investments. However, what if I tell you there is another, more potent investment move that no one is utilising?
How FUD works
Enter: FUD moves. What is FUD, you may ask? FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) is is a manipulative propaganda tactic used in sales, marketing, public relations, politics, polling, and cults. There are currently two FUD moves in Pokemon that are sure to bamboozle your opponents: Future Sight and Doom Desire.
These moves do nothing the turn you click them which may seem bad. However, it beFUDdles your opponent. These moves forces your opponent to play defensively lest their offensive mon become the target of your booming investment. Because of the looming doom, your opponent's offensive maneouvres will be limited, allowing you to play more aggressively.
When FUD strikes, it uses the raw special attack stat of the user to calculate damage if the user is not on the field. This means it's easy to improof FUD because if the imposter switches out, the FUD will use Chansey's weak special attack stat to calculate the damage. If the user is still on the field, it will take into account the user's item, stat changes and ability.
Another factor in FUD's devious mechanism is the fact that it allows physical mons to target both sides of the defensive spectrum simultaneously. It is no secret that the best offensive mons on 2024 BH are mixed attackers. MMY, MMX, Rayquaza, Deo-A and others are all banned most because of how difficult it is to handle mixed attackers when you can only choose between FC or Scales/AV.
Just imagine these scenarios: You Doom Desire with your RegenVest Dialga as your opponent switches out to scales/regen mon because your Dialga has Stone Axe, Nuzzle or Knock Off. You slow u-turn as they click recovery, rapid spin, knock or whatever. You bring in your Garchomp. Now, your opponent has to switch their scales/regen mon out or get OHKOd by the band chomp. However, if they switch to an FC mon, they'll take a ton of damage from the special Doom Desire.
Users of FUD
You may wonder: what kind of mon should be investing in FUD moves? The answer is simple: Pokemon without an offensive ability or item but high base Special Attack. You see, just like how some people inherit generational wealth from their forefathers, so too should your offensive mon inherit your defensive mon's FUD investments. Defensive mons are able to afford to do nothing because they are tacky and have recovery. Furthermore, they also are more willing to run pivot moves because they don't require coverage to function like offensive mons. Regen mons are the perfect users of FUD because they can come in, FUD your opponent, then pivot out to your nepo baby offensive mon. FC, Scales, PSea, Bounce and other defensive mons are also able to FUD but they generally have less opportunities because they also have to click recovery moves unlike regen mons. Some examples of excellent FUD mons are listed below.
What to pair with FUD
As hinted previously, FUD moves pair extremely well with Choice Band nukes such as Garchomp, Blaziken, Necrozma and others. Although under-utilised, this method is widely known. But there are other methods of abusing FUD which I will now share.
1. Ruination FUD with passive damage: This usage of FUD involves setting passive damage triggers such as Hazards, Poison or Thunder Cage on to the opponent before your investment goes boom. These passive damage plays the role of Judge and Jury while your FUD acts as the executioner.
Imagine the following scenario: you set up rocks and a spike layer. You click FUD. your opponent switch to their Scales Arceus on a Thunder Cage and takes 36% from chip and 15% from the cage itself. Now they are forced to recover, but you are slower and click Ruination. The scales arceus ends the turn at ~25%. Guess what, now they have to recover again as you set up another FUD. The cycle repeats because your opponent can't go to their offensive mon, even if the Thunder Cage is not set up.
FUD forces recovery and denies entry of offensive mons, keeping you in an advantageous position.
2. Wall Street Balance: I am proud to announce a brand-new way to play BH in 2024: a new archetype I call "Wall Street Balance". The idea of this archetype is very simple, actually. Are you tired of Fur Coat mons walling your physical attackers? Are you tired of Ice Scales Blissey walling your Arceus? Well, you know what? Now is the time for Equality. Now is the time for Justice. Now is the time to go to the moon. In front of Wall Street Balance, ALL damage is distributed equally. Through the power of force-switch moves, your opponent will be relieved of the burden of choosing what mon to bring in. You set up Doom Desire but your opponent has a fat regenvest Kyogre in the back that wants to come in? Nope, force that lil bro out with a Dragon Tail and drag that Flutter Mane in. Oops, now the Flutter Mane is dead. You set up Future Sight but your opponent has a fat regen ting lu? Nope, bring that Blaziken in to take the Future Sight lil bro. I believe that Wall Street Balance is a natural fit for the Wasp archetype because of the ease in fitting phaze moves on regen mons.
What makes Wall Street Balance so great, you ask? Well, it's because FUD-fueled Dragon Tail is a Surprise Mechanism designed to trigger your dopamine-releasing receptors in your brain. Will RNGesus bless your rolls? Or will it forsake you? The only path forward is to keep rolling the dice. Even if you lose, you can just say your opponent got lucky. However, some would say that at the true coincidences are a rare occurrence.
I am trying out this set, which I am coining Scarydos. It let's you trap Imposter, and set-up as Salt Cure KO's it. I have used it as I Jaw Lock on their switch-in, or if they don't realize I use Cloak.
@ Covert Cloak
Ability: Magic Bounce
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Victory Dance
- Strength Sap
- Salt Cure
- Jaw Lock
Electro Shot is way better than Torch Song because:
1. It has 130 BP so it's already 62.5% stronger at base.
2. The special attack boost occurs before damage so it's technically a 195 BP move that snowballs.
3. It was boosted by Sheer Force for some reason (idk if this is still the case) so it worked on SF LO sets when it got banned. You still got the +1 special attack even with Sheer Force.
I am trying out this set, which I am coining Scarydos. It let's you trap Imposter, and set-up as Salt Cure KO's it. I have used it as I Jaw Lock on their switch-in, or if they don't realize I use Cloak.
@ Covert Cloak
Ability: Magic Bounce
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Victory Dance
- Strength Sap
- Salt Cure
- Jaw Lock
The set is interesting in theory, but you'd have to somehow manage to keep Jaw Lock hidden until you either
A: Know that impostor is being switched in 100%
B: Have somehow managed to set up enough that you can sweep with Jaw Lock.
C: Confirmed that there aren't any stray Pixilate fairies that might end your sweep prematurely with Extreme Speed.
The set is interesting in theory, but you'd have to somehow manage to keep Jaw Lock hidden until you either
A: Know that impostor is being switched in 100%
B: Have somehow managed to set up enough that you can sweep with Jaw Lock.
C: Confirmed that there aren't any stray Pixilate fairies that might end your sweep prematurely with Extreme Speed.
My hazards typically wear down stuff (espeically with Giratina blocking Rapid Spin and my Steels blocking Mortal Spin), so I use Gyarados-Mega mid/late game so it's saved until I know their fairies are handled by Dialga, etc.
What I like about Jaw Lock is I can trap Normal-types like Audino-Mega who can sometimes switch-in, use Mortal Spin only to see Cloak work, while thinking it can take hits. Now their Topsy-Turvey gets Magic Bounced back, and for some set, they cannot switch out because they didn't carry Teleport.
My hazards typically wear down stuff (espeically with Giratina blocking Rapid Spin and my Steels blocking Mortal Spin), so I use Gyarados-Mega mid/late game so it's saved until I know their fairies are handled by Dialga, etc.
What I like about Jaw Lock is I can trap Normal-types like Audino-Mega who can sometimes switch-in, use Mortal Spin only to see Cloak work, while thinking it can take hits. Now their Topsy-Turvey gets Magic Bounced back, and for some set, they cannot switch out because they didn't carry Teleport.
I use Salt Cure so it hits the foe and they have to switch-out.
____
I have been using this set to good effect, its the ultimate troll set.
Your Boss () @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Stamina
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Calm Nature
- Body Press
- Pain Split/Strength Sap/Wish
- Take Heart
- Salt Cure
Wall your opponent's attacks, and you can set-up though Take Heart +SpD and cure status, while being able to build up damage for Body Slam. As you build up Def due to Stamina, you can add passive damage via Salt Cure, and immensely reduce the foe's HP via Pain Split after taking a hit.
Band Garchomp by Ivar57
[Balance - Choice Band Garchomp-Mega + Doom Desire Dialga-Origin]
[redacted] fortress by cityscapes
[Sun Offense - Drought Flutter Mane + Fur Coat Arceus-Rock]
Sheer Force Necrozma by aerobee
[Bulky Balance - Sheer Force Necrozma-Ultra + Regenerator Slowbro-Mega]
Also while understandably its unlikely while HPL is ongoing (check it out if you haven't!) we are always accepting sample subs or even indirectly as team showcases/dumps.
Band Garchomp by Ivar57
[Balance - Choice Band Garchomp-Mega + Doom Desire Dialga-Origin]
[redacted] fortress by cityscapes
[Sun Offense - Drought Flutter Mane + Fur Coat Arceus-Rock]
Sheer Force Necrozma by aerobee
[Bulky Balance - Sheer Force Necrozma-Ultra + Regenerator Slowbro-Mega]
Also while understandably its unlikely while HPL is ongoing (check it out if you haven't!) we are always accepting sample subs or even indirectly as team showcases/dumps.
The fate of many high level BH games often rests in who has the most stable defensive core and who has the best pivot/switching game. This set was created as the ultimate anti-defensive mon. But what really sets it appart from other defensive mons is it's unique way to improof itself, which is crucial since chansey is the one true king of defensive core switch out bonanzas.
Anti-Defense switch-in
Defensive mons praticaly always carry the same offensive moves: Hazards, Knock off, mortal spin, toxic, salt cure, thunder cage, normalize+entrainment, etc. These moves are all shut down by magic guard + unknockable plate. Even glare can be healed through jungle healing. The only commonly carried move by defensive mons that is somewhat of a threat to this set is ruination, but even then, it's usualy found on slower mons and paired with the previously cited moves that don't deal more than the 25% healed by jungle healing (both moves have 16 pp and ruination has 90% acc), making ruination a threat that has to be paired with offensive switch-ins as most users can't take down arceus on their own, only force it to low HP and switch out. Fortunately, Arceus can continue switching in on most defensive mons even at low HP with hazards on.
In a tier with such an important surprise factor, being able to switch in a mon with such confidence it won't take any substantial or permanent damage before even scouting is priceless and extremly rare.
Anti-Imposter
This set also deals with chansey in a unique and extremly efficient way: No trapping, no spooky plate shenanigans, just the good old art of dealing damage faster than chansey can heal and healing faster than it can deal damage. Jungle healing might seem like inferior to regular recovery when paralysis is the only status that poses a threat, but it's mediocre healing capacity is actualy a perk when getting impostered. Ground judgment deals more than 25% to chansey after knocking off eviolite but normal judgment (after knocking off a potential plate), steel beam, thunder cage and knock off all deal less than 25% to arceus. This might just seem like an original somewhat bland way of dealing with chansey, but it's so much better than the usual gimmicks since it doesn't rely on landing a trapping move, can't be countered with a plate because of knock off and can't even be pp stalled through 3 or 4 well timed switch-ins the way many take heart + judgment arceus can. Unlike just about every other set, chansey is practicaly ALWAYS a bad switch-in against this set, therefore completely eliminating the guessing game.
General moveset
Even though it's attacking stat and absence of boosts make it's offensive prowess pretty meh in BH standards, it's coverage is pretty decent, and knock offing assault vests and leftovers on sp.d walls make it decently hard to switch into. The fact you have magic guard and are mostly switching in on defensive mons with no worries of hazards makes jungle healing a decent enough healing move.
Weaknesses
It's main weakness is probably take heart sweepers. Bulky flying types are a threat to the steel beam variation but the thunder cage variation often finds itself short on raw power, inviting wallbreakers and sweepers to switch-in. Regenerator mons that can tank knock off and pack a decent punch like AV kyogre should also be watched out for.
@ Covert Cloak
Ability: Toxic Debris
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder Cage
- Soak
- Strength Sap
- Encore
After you trap through Thunder Cage, Encore keeps the foe from switching moves as the passive damage accumulates.
Soak contributes to being able to break even Blissey, before Encore expires. As the passive and direct damage is quite a lot.
Toxic Debris works great as the foe tries to set up Stone Axe, or Salt Cure, or pivot moves.
Miraidon can work as a last-minute hazards setter, even if it gets KO'd.
Soak can trap Ghosts, say if they switch into Thunder Cage, and you Soak them when they use No Retreat.
It's hilarious when this occurs, as they cannot switch.
Ground types can also lose their STAB, if they come in on Soak, and then you pivot to an ally.
*Note, Soak fails on a Pokemon already Water, so you cannot Soak Swampert-Mega.
at first glance you might be thinking "nuke why the fuck is celesteela farmed by imposter this isnt your building style at all" to that i say this is intentional. i want imposter to be switching on steela so i can burn it. so next time it switches into agren i can switch into anger point arceus-steel, eat any move bc its burned and im arc bulk, get +6 and then instantly win!!!
i would put some replays here but all the games i got on ladder were imposterless so lol
@ Covert Cloak
Ability: Toxic Debris
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder Cage
- Soak
- Strength Sap
- Encore
After you trap through Thunder Cage, Encore keeps the foe from switching moves as the passive damage accumulates.
Soak contributes to being able to break even Blissey, before Encore expires. As the passive and direct damage is quite a lot.
Toxic Debris works great as the foe tries to set up Stone Axe, or Salt Cure, or pivot moves.
Miraidon can work as a last-minute hazards setter, even if it gets KO'd.
Soak can trap Ghosts, say if they switch into Thunder Cage, and you Soak them when they use No Retreat.
It's hilarious when this occurs, as they cannot switch.
Ground types can also lose their STAB, if they come in on Soak, and then you pivot to an ally.
*Note, Soak fails on a Pokemon already Water, so you cannot Soak Swampert-Mega.
Ngl soak isnt a thing. Tbh just use the fc/mg version: Miraidon @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Fur Coat
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Cage
- Strength Sap
- Torch Song
- Mortal Spin
Miraidon @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Torch Song
- Thunder Cage
- Dragon Energy
- Strength Sap
I prefer the FC version over the MG version, but its your choice.
Ngl soak isnt a thing. Tbh just use the fc/mg version: Miraidon @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Fur Coat
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Cage
- Strength Sap
- Torch Song
- Mortal Spin
Miraidon @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Torch Song
- Thunder Cage
- Dragon Energy
- Strength Sap
I prefer the FC version over the MG version, but its your choice.
Mine handles Normalize Dragapult, due to Soak- it removes fhe Ghost Immunity, and I can trap it as I Encore off set up.
I tried a similar set to the FC one except I used Topsy Turvey over Mortal Spin, and Ice Scales over FC. I found IS to be more helpful, and I think Mortal Spin makes it too vulnerable to Imposter after Knock Off. Topsy Turvey was also great in letting me stall by resetting their Atk stat to a positive number when I needed to heal against a SpA or wall for Strength Sap.
My set breaks walls like Blissey, and is not impacted by Haze, Topsy Turvey, etc., and Soak makes the foe 2x weak to Thunder Cage, thats like + 2 SpA. Plus if they were already resistant (say they were Dialga) now they are 2x weak so it’s like +6 SpA by making it from 1/2 to 2x effective.
5 turns of 12.5% damage is like 62.5% passive damage from just Thunder Cage, with Encore, I am able build that damage and use Soak to, at worst, double direct damage.
I don’t see the need to bother with Torch Song.
My goal is to trap walls that think they can just pivot out, but due to Encore they are trapped and cannot heal, while I negate their resistances/Ice Scales via Soak, and not worry about them being able to respond.
Your set is a sweeper set vulnerable to Ice Scales walls, and Prankster Haze/Topsy Turvey checks.
My IS Dialga with Mortal Spin & Knock Off beats that first set, for example. I also had it beat the second set bc Revelation Dance prevents a strong Dragon Energy, especially after Knock Off, as Strength Sap gives diminishing heals per use if I don’t switch out.
Whereas mine would trap with Thundercage, Soak it, and Encore it to prevent Mortal Spin/Strength Sap until it lost (I.e. if it went straight for Knock Off).
If Dialga went for Mortal Spin first, I would still be able to Soak it and use Encore allowing for a free switch to an ally as Covert Cloak prevents Poison, Dialga being Encored is forced to switch, negating any momentum they tried to gain.
252 SpA Miraidon Thunder Cage vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ice Scales Dialga-Origin: 85-102 (21 - 25.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after SOAK and trapping damage
In it, I replace with and it employs a cool strategy similar to Miraidon.
Can you guys guess what it does? Click the team to see!
Zamazenta @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Stamina
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spirit Shackle
- Encore
- Strength Sap
- Body Press
Spirit Shackle to trap as the foe strikes.
Encore so the foe builds up your Defense +1 thanks to Stamina.
Strength Sap to heal, as needed.
Finish off with Body Press.
Improof due to Encore wearing down their PP on moves like Strength Sap, which wont reduce your main damage, plus Encore when they run outta 5 PP makes it easy to trigger Struggle.
Covert Cloak also blocks Imposter Spirit Shackle.
shadowpea thank you for the Like! Whew, that was fast!
I'd say that the chance of a FurScales ban is the same chance as the moon falling out of the sky, breaking up into pieces in the atmosphere, and turning most of the world into orbitally-cheesed nachos.
FurScales is one of the only things keeping the offensive mons in check, and without it, the entire meta would end up becoming nigh impossible to switch into, and possibly devolve into a HO fest.
I'd say that the chance of a FurScales ban is the same chance as the moon falling out of the sky, breaking up into pieces in the atmosphere, and turning most of the world into orbitally-cheesed nachos.
FurScales is one of the only things keeping the offensive mons in check, and without it, the entire meta would end up becoming nigh impossible to switch into, and possibly devolve into a HO fest.
That doesn't make sense to me at all. The format is a total stallfest rn... Imposters with infinite PP, prankster Haze/Topsy-Turvy, everything with Shore Up, RegenVest, Tidy-Up for guaranteed removal, and already everything has 252x3 Bulk, etc. My games regularly go 50+ turns and I'm using a heavily offensive team.
That doesn't make sense to me at all. The format is a total stallfest rn... Imposters with infinite PP, prankster Haze/Topsy-Turvy, everything with Shore Up, RegenVest, Tidy-Up for guaranteed removal, and already everything has 252x3 Bulk, etc. My games regularly go 50+ turns and I'm using a heavily offensive team.
most of this can be worked around with preparation, Imposters struggle into common attackers like lucario and dragons, shore up is limited by 8 pp while things generally have 16 pp of stab moves minimum, regenvest can be knocked off, these things make the game more healthy as without it everything would click big buttons and win with little thought.
@ Covert Cloak
) @ Covert Cloak
