“When I feel afraid, I open my heart and let love dissolve the fear.”
- Louise Hay
Hello everyone! I hope you all had a beautiful Pride month! I’m so excited to share my second ever RMT with you. This team has been about two months in the making and I feel it is finally at a place I can say I’m happy with. As of right now, my achievements with this team include topping the ORAS Pure Hackmons ladder, peaking at 1802 elo, a 28 win-streak on my Intrepid Heart ❤ account, as well as performing well versus many top players in the Old Shark room on Showdown. In addition, my use of this team is primarily responsible for Mega Gardevoir’s recent rise in usage, as well as its rise on the ORAS PH viability rankings (from D to C- to C) and especially on the Wonder Guard viability rankings (from unranked to C+ to B+).
❤
I wanna be defined by the things that I love
Not the things I hate
Not the things I’m afraid of, I’m afraid of
The things that haunt me in the middle of the night, I
I just think that
You are what you love
- Daylight, Taylor Swift
So a couple months ago, I was chatting with UT about Balanced Hackmons and I expressed how much I wished I could just run a team of six Xerneas. And then I said, “maybe I should learn pure hackmons lol”. He directed me to the best generation of PH, Gen 6. (Something I’ll always be incredibly grateful for.) I very quickly discovered that a team of six Xerneas wasn’t a new concept—but that didn’t dissuade me. I found MBouchon’s awesome Deer Squad RMT incredibly inspiring. After getting a feel for Gen 6 PH (via a few games on the ladder with the Deer Squad), I thought to myself—what if I could build a strong and competent spam team with one of my other favorite Pokémon?
You squeezed my hand three times in the back of the taxi
I can tell that it’s gonna be a long road
Team Building Process:
The earliest iteration of this team was actually a dual spam team consisting of three Gardevoir and three Arceus. It was definitely suboptimal (Luster Purge lol), but I’m actually quite surprised at how well put together it was for my very first PH team. It’s also interesting to note that both Wonder Guard Smash and Parental Bond made very early appearances. Wonder Guard Smash remained on the team throughout the entirety of its development, but Parental Bond left the team for a while until I realized how good it really was.
After my initial draft, I abandoned my dual spam idea and committed to Mega Gardevoir Spam. I spent multiple drafts trying out a ton of sets in the non-Gardevoir slots—Wonder Guard Mega Sableye, Poison Heal Yveltal, King’s Shield Primal Groudon, to name just a few. In particular, Groudon and Yveltal popped up on many of these drafts. The former for its amazing coverage alongside Fairy; and the latter for its great matchup versus Mold Breaker Mega Gengar. The Gardevoir sets here were mostly consistent—although I made the mistake in many drafts of having my Wonder Guard core consist of two Gardevoirs (essentially leaving me with one Wonder Guard because of shared weaknesses). It is also worth noting that the Yveltal + Primal Groudon version of the team, in particular, was featured in a youtube video by CHORUME.
This is the first version of the team that started to do pretty well. If I recall correctly, I believe I got to the top 10 on ladder with it. It’s still pretty suboptimal; it has the same Gardevoir-Gardevoir Wonder Guard core issue many prior iterations of this team had, in addition to a pretty suboptimal pick in Huge Power Mega Lopunny. It’s also not fully Imposter-proofed because of Stored Power on Mold Breaker Gardevoir. Still, it wasn’t all bad; Giratina helped ease the team’s weaknesses to Primal Groudon and ladder darling Regigigas, while Wonder Guard and Prankster Gardevoir were still as effective as ever.
Eventually, CHORUME clued me into the fact that you usually don’t want your Wonder Guard’s weaknesses to overlap, so the team was reworked again to include Wonder Guard Kyogre. Mega Rayquaza was added to give me a revenge killing option, though the set I was using at the time was nowhere near as sophisticated as the one I eventually used. I also started to test a bunch of crazy Gardevoir sets at this time now that one slot was freed up, including Pixilate Boomburst, Choice Scarf + Trick Wonder Guard, Choice Band Pure Power, and even Imposter. That last idea came courtesy of NToTheN, who I had started talking with and learning from around this time as well.
It’s around now that we start to see the current version of the team take shape. I realized that Mold Breaker Mega Gardevoir didn’t actually contribute to the “spam illusion”, so it was cut. Meanwhile, NToTheN created an incredibly specific Groudon-checking Mega Rayquaza set that we would eventually come to call “Suntail.” After a brief trial run with Mega Tyranitar and Cobalion, Choice Band Primal Groudon, also suggested by N, was added to the team in the spot Mold Breaker Gardevoir had vacated. I also dropped Imposter and Pure Power and all of those crazy Gardevoir sets I was trying for a Scarf Protean set. Primal Kyogre was swapped for Wonder Guard Meloetta because of the latter’s ability to check Mega Gengar and because the metagame was becoming increasingly well prepared for “XernOgre” cores.
With my realization that Parental Bond is better than Protean, a swap from Meloetta to the more physically resilient Arceus, and a few other minor tweaks, we arrive at the current version of this team. While it’s not quite a hyper offense like some previous iterations of the team, it’s still an offensive build with the majority of its defensive utility compressed into Arceus and, to an extent, Suntail. Offensive pressure is exerted largely through Primal Groudon and Parental Bond Gardevoir. And since this is a spam team, the threat of the latter often nets the other Gardevoir sets valuable free turns. Suntail provides revenge killing alongside Prankster Gardevoir’s Glare and Destiny Bond. And Wonder Guard + Shell Smash Gardevoir is a wincon once Parental Bond Gardevoir and Primal Groudon have eliminated the Wonder Guards in his way.
The Team…
I’ma love you even though I’m scared
Learning to be grateful for myself
Rafiel (Gardevoir-Mega) (M) @ Iron Plate
Ability: Wonder Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shell Smash
- Judgment
- Freeze-Dry (Frozen, Slowly thawing)
- Aura Sphere
This set might be my biggest personal contribution to the ORAS Hackmons format. As far as I know, I was the first person to use Mega Gardevoir as a Wonder Guard Shell Smash sweeper—or, truly, the first person to seriously make use of Mega Gardevoir at all. Before I started playing PH, no one even looked twice at Gardevoir (who was considered almost entirely outclassed by other Fairy- and Psychic-types). But since I started using this set, many players have now realized that Gardevoir actually outperforms Xerneas as a Wonder Guard Shell Smash user in the majority of cases. The set is now even considered standard enough to get its own entry in the strategy dex.
A combination of a strong Wonder Guard typing and naturally high special attack allow Rafiel to just auto-win in some matchups and serve as a powerful wincon in others. Iron Plate Judgment makes this set Imposter-proof and smacks Xerneas, Mega Audino, and opposing Gardevoir. Freeze-Dry covers a broad swathe of threats, but most notably 2HKOs physically defensive Primal Kyogre after a boost and OHKOs Wonder Guard Gyarados and Swampert before one. Aura Sphere hits Normal-type Wonder Guards like Arceus and Slaking. Moonblast, while powerful, is forgone here because both other Gardevoirs have it.
And isn’t it just so pretty to think
All along there was some
Invisible string
Tying you to me
Rafiel (Gardevoir-Mega) (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Destiny Bond
- Encore
- Moonblast
- Glare
Prankster Mega Gardevoir might look kind of odd, but it’s a surprisingly effective set. I even had one game with an earlier version of this team where this Rafiel took out half the opponent’s team by himself—he’s kind of the unsung hero of this team. Encore and Destiny Bond give me counterplay versus setup sweepers before and after they set up, respectively. Moonblast is a strong and spammable attack. Glare, however, is probably the most clicked move on this set. All the Gardevoir sets on this team, as well as both Primal Groudon and Mega Rayquaza, appreciate the speed reduction paralysis inflicts. And, of course, I never say no to a chance to get lucky. :)
And if you can’t be next to me
Your memory is ecstasy
I miss you more than life
Rafiel (Gardevoir-Mega) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Parental Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Earth Power
- Bug Buzz
- Seed Flare
Choice Scarf + Parental Bond Mega Gardevoir is another weird-looking set, but it’s actually very effective on a Gardevoir spam team. Due to the nature of spam teams, a fast coverage attacker like this version of Rafiel can easily net surprise KOs against opponents who play too carelessly. And against opponents who play safely, the legitimate threat of a fast and powerful attacker like this set can give the other two Gardevoirs free turns to set up or inflict status. As mentioned in the team-building section, this set actually used to be a Protean attacker on older versions of the team; Parental Bond is actually kind of another one of my innovations that happened because I realized that sometimes it’s just better than Protean. On Mega Gardevoir specifically, Parental Bond is easily superior to Protean both because Moonblast is significantly more powerful with both STAB and Parental Bond boosting it (notably OHKOing Giratina) and because Gardevoir’s physical frailty means it can’t really utilize the defensive advantages of Protean. In addition, the additional chance to activate a move’s secondary effect is pretty nuts. It synergizes particularly well with Seed Flare’s 40% harsh special defense drop rate, which allows Gardevoir to break through mons it normally couldn’t (take a look at this game, for example).
Moonblast is essential on this set; it OHKOes Giratina, Mega Rayquaza, and Mega Mewtwo X, and deals big damage to everything it doesn’t KO. Earth Power OHKOs Mega Gengar and Primal Groudon and smacks Air Balloon-less Electric and Poison / Dark Wonder Guards. Bug Buzz may look a little funny, but it OHKOs Mega Mewtwo Y after Stealth Rock and 2HKOs Cresselia and Meloetta. Seed Flare is the real gem of this set. Thanks to its 40% rate of harsh special defense drops, Seed Flare threatens basically everything that isn’t immune to it. A Modest nature and maximum special attack investment are used to hit as hard as possible while maximized speed and a Choice Scarf allow this Rafiel to outspeed every relevant unboosted threat (and some boosted ones, like +2 16 Speed Primal Groudon).
I recall late November
Holding my breath, slowly I said
“You don’t need to save me
But would you run away with me?”
“Yes”
Suntail (Rayquaza-Mega) @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Aerilate
EVs: 144 HP / 88 Atk / 248 Def / 28 SpA
Rash Nature
- Boomburst
- Fake Out
- Extreme Speed
- Roost
Suntail is the brainchild of NToTheN, so I’ll let you read more about it here. The short of it is that the wacky looking EVs, Roost, and Safety Goggles allow Rayquaza to check Spore + Shell Smash Primal Groudon sets with good reliability. N created this set specifically to help me with this team, as I really struggled to fit both a revenge killer and a Primal Groudon switch-in onto the team while building (that didn’t also stack weaknesses like Mega Abomasnow). The HP and Defense EVs allow Suntail to avoid the 2HKO from non-Choice Band Primal Groudon’s V-Create and Thousand Arrows, while the 28 Special Attack EVs and a Rash Nature allow them to OHKO standard Primal Groudon with Boomburst. The remaining 88 EVs are devoted to Attack and are just enough for Rayquaza to still function as an effective revenge killer. Suntail imposter-proofs Cymbeline.
I, I loved you in spite of
Deep fears that the world would divide us
So, baby, can we dance?
Oh, through an avalanche?
Cymbeline (Groudon-Primal) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Thousand Arrows
- V-create
- Spikes
- U-turn
Funnily enough, Shell Smash Mold Breaker Primal Groudon was actually on earlier iterations of this team, but I dropped it because it was really difficult to Imposter-proof and didn’t really mesh well with the rest of the team. But after I added Suntail onto the team, NToTheN suggested a banded Mold Breaker would fit really well. So I brought Groudon back and… Choice Band Primal Groudon is straight-up incredible for this team. Her V-Create obliterates the Wonder Guards and special walls that Rafiel can’t break and, in return, Rafiel Moonblasts Giratina away.
Aside from V-Create, U-Turn is probably the most clicked move on this set. The momentum Mold Breaker U-Turn gives you is pretty awesome—plus Banded U-Turn does good damage into Psychic-type Wonder Guards like Cresselia and Meloetta. I’ve also discovered a kind of “flowchart” with Prankster Rafiel and Cymbeline’s U-Turn that’s particularly good when playing versus SubPass users. Prankster Rafiel uses Encore to lock the SubPass user into Substitute (or Shell Smash or whatever), Cymbeline swaps in and uses U-Turn to break the substitute and pivot back into Prankster Rafiel to Encore it again. It can be repeated or, if I sense that my opponent is going to make a switch, Rafiel can use Glare or Moonblast on the incoming target. Thousand Arrows is a good secondary STAB that’s got amazing neutral coverage and Spikes is a move I use way less frequently than I would like to. In the future, when I revisit this team, I may try to fit hazards elsewhere on the team so that Cymbeline can experiment with other options. Also, I run fast Primal Groudon because I like to live on the edge. ;)
Made of glass the way you see through me
You know me better than I do
Can’t seem to keep nothing from you
How you touch my soul from the outside
Permeate my ego and my pride
Wonder (Arceus-Psychic) @ Shed Shell
Ability: Wonder Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Defog
- Aromatherapy
- Parting Shot
- Roost
I tried countless defensive Wonder Guard users before settling on this specific Arceus set. I needed something that was bulky enough to scout the opponent’s team, consistently provide Defog and Aromatherapy support, occasionally provide slow pivoting support, and, in a pinch, swap into Mold Breaker Mega Gengar—a very scary foe for GardeSpam. This Arceus is the convergence of all those team-building demands. The EV spread allows Arceus to tank a +2 Sludge Wave from Gengar after Stealth Rock, allowing them to swap into Gengar with decent reliability and pivot out to Prankster Rafiel, Parental Bond Rafiel, or Suntail. Roost keeps Wonder healthy, giving it more opportunities to scout the opponent’s team and support ours. Shed Shell insures that they aren’t easy prey for Encore + Perish Song Shadow Tag users. Wonder imposter-proofs Prankster Rafiel, Parental Bond Rafiel, and Suntail.
Is this the end of all the endings?
My broken bones are mending
And all at once, you are the one I have been waiting for
King of my heart, body and soul
Threatlist…
Mold Breaker Primal Groudon is a metagame warping threat. This team is prepped for it, thanks to Suntail and Parental Bond Rafiel’s Earth Power, but it still has to be played around carefully. In particular, Dark Void variants are very difficult to check, as Groudon can break through pretty much anything with decent sleep luck. Choice Band variants can also be difficult to play around, often requiring a calculated sac.
Mold Breaker Mega Gengar is a huge threat that can usually take a KO whenever it comes in if Arceus gets unlucky with sleep turns. However, Prankster Gardevoir can neutralize Gengar with Glare; both Prankster Garde and Suntail can revenge kill it with Destiny Bond and FakeSpeed, respectively.
Shadow Tag Regigigas (and Slaking) usually carries Bullet Punch or Shadow Sneak and can essentially force you to use only half the team (the non-Gardevoir half) until it’s removed.
An unfavorable matchup can force very careful play and hard reads. Wonder Guards with a favorable matchup versus both Cymbeline and Rafiel are difficult to play around. Similarly, Huge Powers and Proteans carrying the right coverage (Poison, Steel, or Ghost) can rip through this team without careful positioning. Prankster Rafiel’s Glare and Destiny Bond can mitigate these issues to some extent though.
Iron or Spooky Plate Imposter is a niche threat, but it does directly exploit Wonder Guard Smash Garde and can potentially surprise counter-sweep this team. The correct play in the case of a Plate imposter is to, first, either risk the speed tie or swap to Prankster Gardevoir if its focus sash is intact. If the former action is taken and the speed-tie is lost, bring in Prankster Gardevoir the following turn. Use Glare or Destiny Bond.
I wanna love me (Ooh)
The way that you love me (Ooh)
Ooh, for all of my pretty
And all of my ugly too
I’d love to see me from your point of view
- pov, Ariana Grande
Poképaste
Note: replays are organized alphabetically.
Versus Acura RL
A pretty exciting roomtour match in the OM room on showdown versus Acura RL using Mbouchon’s updated stall sample team.
Versus Acura RL
An interesting matchup (RL made use of Mold Breaker Xerneas) that highlights both the sheer power of Suntail’s Boomburst as well as the Substitute-breaking utility of Parental Bond.
Versus Astronyxx
An exciting game that really shows off the power of Parental Bond.
Versus Mbouchon
A somewhat long but thrilling game that also really shows of Parental Bond—notably Seed Flare breaks Mbouchon’s Giratina.
Versus Mcchdgff
This game really highlights Smash Wonder Guard Rafiel’s power as a matchup tool. After some scouting, he basically auto-won.
Versus NToTheN
An exciting game that’s fun to watch thanks to some hard reads on my part. To me, this game highlights why I chose Arceus as the team’s support Wonder Guard. It’s mixed bulk gave me opportunities to play around Gengar even in spite of some unfortunate sleep luck.
Versus Sheeplol’s Dual MMX
Versus Sheeplol’s Dual MMX II
A pair of really fun games against a very threatening archetype.
Versus slapthatman (on an alt)
This pivot-heavy fast-paced game is really fun to watch. Arceus is an all-star in this match, effectively checking Gengar and maintaining momentum throughout the entirety of the game.
Versus slapthatman (another of their alts)
Another excellent game versus slapthatman, featuring aggressive plays, Primal Groudon blowing things up, and Smash Wonder Garde being the wincon.
Versus slapthatman
Another fun game versus slapthatman. Notably, they use a cool Substitute Primal Groudon set that, unfortunately for them, is very vulnerable to Aerilate Boomburst.
Versus Bahamutlagoon (GardeSpam defeats MonoDon)
Features Bahamut using Mbouchon’s iconic “MonoDon” team. Note that I’m using a slightly outdated version of “Love Dissolves Fear” in this particular replay.
Versus Acura RL
A pretty exciting roomtour match in the OM room on showdown versus Acura RL using Mbouchon’s updated stall sample team.
Versus Acura RL
An interesting matchup (RL made use of Mold Breaker Xerneas) that highlights both the sheer power of Suntail’s Boomburst as well as the Substitute-breaking utility of Parental Bond.
Versus Astronyxx
An exciting game that really shows off the power of Parental Bond.
Versus Mbouchon
A somewhat long but thrilling game that also really shows of Parental Bond—notably Seed Flare breaks Mbouchon’s Giratina.
Versus Mcchdgff
This game really highlights Smash Wonder Guard Rafiel’s power as a matchup tool. After some scouting, he basically auto-won.
Versus NToTheN
An exciting game that’s fun to watch thanks to some hard reads on my part. To me, this game highlights why I chose Arceus as the team’s support Wonder Guard. It’s mixed bulk gave me opportunities to play around Gengar even in spite of some unfortunate sleep luck.
Versus Sheeplol’s Dual MMX
Versus Sheeplol’s Dual MMX II
A pair of really fun games against a very threatening archetype.
Versus slapthatman (on an alt)
This pivot-heavy fast-paced game is really fun to watch. Arceus is an all-star in this match, effectively checking Gengar and maintaining momentum throughout the entirety of the game.
Versus slapthatman (another of their alts)
Another excellent game versus slapthatman, featuring aggressive plays, Primal Groudon blowing things up, and Smash Wonder Garde being the wincon.
Versus slapthatman
Another fun game versus slapthatman. Notably, they use a cool Substitute Primal Groudon set that, unfortunately for them, is very vulnerable to Aerilate Boomburst.
Versus Bahamutlagoon (GardeSpam defeats MonoDon)
Features Bahamut using Mbouchon’s iconic “MonoDon” team. Note that I’m using a slightly outdated version of “Love Dissolves Fear” in this particular replay.
Thank you to my dear friend Lego, the rng wizard who gifted me a cartridge version Rafiel the Serene, pictured below.
Thank you to my friend UT, if not for whom I wouldn’t have even known ORAS Pure Hackmons existed.
A big thank you to NToTheN whose contributions and suggestions had a big impact on the structure and development of the team.
Thank you to Rain Moon, CHORUME, and vaithhh (over on Showdown) for your support early on in this team’s creation.
Shoutout to Mbouchon, the pioneer of spam teams in ORAS hackmons and the creator of the infamous Deer Squad—a significant source of inspiration to this team.
And thanks to all the lovely people in the Pure Hackmons discord who encouraged and supported me in the creation of this team!
Credits: Art, ‘rain over the marsh’ photograph, graphic design, and written content in this RMT created by myself, Daylight.
Thank you to my friend UT, if not for whom I wouldn’t have even known ORAS Pure Hackmons existed.
A big thank you to NToTheN whose contributions and suggestions had a big impact on the structure and development of the team.
Thank you to Rain Moon, CHORUME, and vaithhh (over on Showdown) for your support early on in this team’s creation.
Shoutout to Mbouchon, the pioneer of spam teams in ORAS hackmons and the creator of the infamous Deer Squad—a significant source of inspiration to this team.
And thanks to all the lovely people in the Pure Hackmons discord who encouraged and supported me in the creation of this team!
Credits: Art, ‘rain over the marsh’ photograph, graphic design, and written content in this RMT created by myself, Daylight.
Thank you for taking the time to read my RMT! I love this team very much and even though I already accomplished what I set out to do with this team, I’d still love to hear any feedback, suggestions, optimizations you have! Some ideas I’ve already personally had are: changing up the coverage moves on Parental Bond and Wonder Guard Gardevoir (Grass Knot, Spooky Plate, and Secret Sword are on my mind), testing Chesto Berry out on Suntail, and trying to fit Stealth Rock somewhere on the team. I would love to hear your feedback!
I got so much love
Got so much patience
I learned from the pain
Turned out amazing
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