Introduction:
With the arrival of home, a bunch of interesting new breaker options arrived, Basculegion-F looked like a really interesting option, so that's where I started my teambuilding. It has turned out to be probably my most successful team yet, and I am happy to have success with a more balance/BO team in the HO filled early home meta. This was built and played with prior to the
ban, but I don't think it changes the effectiveness of this team by too much. I laddered up with this team on my alt bob982374istesting.
Proof of Peak:
The Teambuilding Process + Roles:
Basculegion-F (F) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Adaptability
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Surf
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
With choice specs + adaptibility,
is an extremely potent breaker, taking advantage of common defensive cores that utilize slowking or
as their primary special switch-in, and using mons such as
or
to deal with HO teams. It also outspeeds the majority of defensive mons, such as defensive
or
. Water resists are pretty hard to come by in the meta at the moment, so combined with the always spammable shadow ball ghost stab, a lot of slower teams just find themselves unable to deal with
coming in off of volt switches or doubles as they go to a mon such as
. The reasoning for using basculegion over
, another very strong specs ghost type, is mainly that the stronger shadow balls is more relevant against slower teams, and having surf as a strong consistent and spammable secondary stab is great. One notable interaction is surf being able to 3hko av glowking, allowing you to continue spamming surf until they have to switch into something else, which almost certainly will not appreciate it. Offensive resists, such as
, or
will easily be 2hko'd, and can only switch in once. In addition, an important role in this HO filled early meta is that its typing resists the dual stabs of threats such as
, both
forms, and can somewhat check DD
as well, though it certainly is not a solid answer to any of those. In terms of its moveset, Shadow Ball is of course mandatory, surf is a consistent water stab, hydro pump is an option for a nuke when needed, and ice beam is nice for
and
. Terastilization is awkward, since with Adaptability, tera only boosts the power of water moves from 2x to 2.25x, while also losing adaptability on shadow ball. Defensive teras run into a similar problem, since you will lose adaptability on your stabs. As a result, Basculegion will rarely tera, though in certain cases the tera water slight boost can be useful.
Zamazenta-Crowned @ Rusted Shield
Ability: Dauntless Shield
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 64 Def / 192 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Defense
- Body Press
- Crunch
- Behemoth Bash
Looking at
, a glaring weakness is giving
a free crunch, so I added
as the next pokemon on the team.
serves as an ice and dark resist, and it would require a hard read for the
to go for sacred sword on the switch. Tera fire allows Zama to bypass will-o-wisp from
, as well as improve the matchup against
and draining kiss from
, and iron defense is a powerful wincon against offense. Iron defense + Body press is the main combo, behemoth bash for a strong stab, and crunch for the ghosts. 192 Speed evs with a Jolly Nature allows you to outspeed Jolly
, and max hp gives you better special bulk, at the price of some body press damage. Additional synergy with
is that
is one of the sturdiest defensive answers to Zama, and
can usually switch in fairly easily, since it's unlikely for them to shadow ball/hex on the switch in, which
lives regardless.
Scream Tail @ Leftovers
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 104 SpD / 152 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Wish
- Protect
- Encore
Wish from
in conjunction with
allows it to have more longevity in a slower paced game, and it is also useful to heal up
against
particularly. Encore with enough speed to outspeed
can allow you to answer Swords Dance variants, though running more physical defense investment could be an option to check it better. Encore is also crucial against
, since especially if this switches in on a shift gear, clicking encore will go second and give you even an extra turn compared with encoring before the opponent moves(NOTE:
has now been banned). Encore can also be used against
, though this is not even close to foolproof in stopping it. Protect is also nice in a meta containing
TR. Tera water is usually not clicked on this mon, though it is a good defensive type across the board.
Garganacl @ Leftovers
Ability: Purifying Salt
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Salt Cure
- Stealth Rock
- Block
- Recover
Everybody's favorite salt curer serves as our ghost resist and main
answer for the team. As a result, we use a mainly spdef spread, though with an impish nature to guaranteed live a sacred sword from Adamant Choice Band
, though this isn't super relevant and can be changed. It also deals with
, and is our stealth rocker. Tera water is great for
, as well as greatly improving the Rain matchup. Block over something else like protect is here to improve the stall matchup, thanks to Pinkacross for suggesting that. 4 Speed evs allows you to outspeed uninvested opposing
's, which can be nice.
Zapdos @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Static
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 12 Def / 60 SpA / 184 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hurricane
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Roost
Zapdos is our ground immune for the team, and checks pokemon such as
as well as
. Volt switch allows you to pivot out against
, while Thunderbolt allows you to go for electric STAB damage while staying in, against pokemon such as
. This spread allows you to outspeed
, and is guaranteed to live a +2 Adamant Dire Claw from
. Tera water is also pretty rarely used, but can be used against icicle crash from
in a pinch, and as an alternate water tera against rain.
Maushold @ Wide Lens
Ability: Technician
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Tidy Up
- Population Bomb
- Bite
- Encore
At this point, we don't have any hazard control yet, and without the return of more defoggers, there aren't too many options other than
or
. As a result, I wanted to try
as an offensive form of speed control, with some interesting sweep potential with Tera Ghost + Encore being able to lock in pokemon such as
or
into body press or iron defense. In addition, population bomb allows you to pick up a OHKO against
sash leads, which have been rising in popularity. Bite is a nice option to hit
, doing sizable damage against offensive spreads, and 2hko'ing max hp spreads. Maushold is one abuser of
Encores, since for example, if a
is locked into Calm Mind,
can switch in, Tidy Up to outspeed, and gain the ability to get off a fast Encore. In addition, Tidy Up boosted population bombs should not be underestimated even against pokemon such as
. However,
will always beat this if the opponent just goes for a behemoth bash, since you will not be able to beat that with Tera Ghost + Encore shenanigans. However, if they do fall for that, and ID or Body Press, you can get a second Tidy Up as they switch, and the next time they come in they will be 2hkod without being able to OHKO with Crunch. If an offense team allows you to get off a Tidy Up, and is forced to sack
for a burn, trading for the
is still fantastic. Note that this team has no Knock Off user, so Rocky Helmet
will be able to stop this quite reliably.
Team Paste:

Basculegion-F + Maushold Balance The paste has been fixed now that pokepaste is working again.
Threats:

This thing is a massive threat, in particular offensive sets under screens. The combination of Flamethrower/Fiery dance + Giga Drain + Tera Blast water/ground has very little counterplay on this team. Most of the time, I have tried to encore with
and then switch to
, but if they Tera Grass or Ground, it is pretty likely you will just lose.

Obviously this under TR is always a threat. However, with
and
to each resist one of its stabs, as well as
with protect to stall turns, it is often possible to stall out TR turns, and then threaten outside of TR with mons such as Iron Defense
, or Basculegion. I have not faced screens + Bulk Up
with this team, but the existence of encore on multiple mons should make it manageable. With the
ban, Trick Room may become a bit worse, making this less of a threat.

Swords Dance sets under screens can be threatening against this team. To deal with this, as they typically run Adamant,
will outspeed and can Encore, although it is of course difficult to switch directly in.
can also threaten to paralyze it with static. In the case that they are using a bulkier spread,
can also outspeed and encore.

Although
is quite good against specs
, Draco Meteor, especially with Dragon Tera, can break past it. Take advantage of the combo of
as a Draco immunity, and
as a Shadow Ball switch-in to pivot around it. The lack of fast speed control on this team makes
stronger against this team, but it should be defensively checkable.
Hazards:
This team relies on
for hazard control, leaving it susceptible to hazard stacking, with aggressive plays stopping Maus from getting a Tidy Up off.
Replays: (Note some of these include an older version of the team with protect over block on
)
https://play.pokemonshowdown.com/battle-gen9ou-1875720921 Peak game vs. Rain, pretty bad game but water
just won so thats that I guess
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1875715999 Vs. a fatter balance team. Aggressive doubles with
allowed it to just pick up KO after KO by strongly threatening every single opposing pokemon except for Dragapult.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1875712733-tf9g9n0bihfc5rznef1o46wbjhz2nkcpw
puts in work against HO, dubious turns vs.
though
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1875707301
shows that after it loses its defense boost,
is not even close to a switch-in, and
is super valuable against
in this game.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1875185492-whcyjjq0l0w96j8paxcq3f9r7vzdeuopw Another demonstration of
vs. a slower team.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1875867728-y09ftaunyuhy7emwyn43or9legt8qxspw Another
showcase vs. a slower team, played by me on a different alt, Mathismathin. In this game, even though my opponent was able to accurately prevent me from removing hazards, and had more defensive counterplay,
was able to break past much of the opposing team. Note that on turn 62, if I had tera fire'd on
, the endgame would have been much cleaner.
With the arrival of home, a bunch of interesting new breaker options arrived, Basculegion-F looked like a really interesting option, so that's where I started my teambuilding. It has turned out to be probably my most successful team yet, and I am happy to have success with a more balance/BO team in the HO filled early home meta. This was built and played with prior to the

Proof of Peak:
The Teambuilding Process + Roles:

Basculegion-F (F) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Adaptability
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Surf
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
With choice specs + adaptibility,
















252+ SpA Choice Specs Adaptability Basculegion-F Surf vs. 252 HP / 120+ SpD Assault Vest Slowking-Galar: 136-160 (34.5 - 40.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Adaptability Basculegion-F Surf vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Slowking-Galar: 182-216 (46.1 - 54.8%) -- 62.1% chance to 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Adaptability Basculegion-F Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Slowking-Galar: 324-384 (82.2 - 97.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Adaptability Basculegion-F Surf vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Magearna: 238-282 (65.3 - 77.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Adaptability Basculegion-F Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Magearna: 292-344 (80.2 - 94.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery 252+ SpA Choice Specs Adaptability Basculegion-F Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Magearna: 212-250 (58.2 - 68.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Adaptability Basculegion-F Surf vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Zamazenta-Crowned: 202-238 (52 - 61.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Punching Glove Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Basculegion-F on a critical hit: 147-174 (38.5 - 45.6%) -- approx. 7% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Choice Specs Adaptability Basculegion-F Surf vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Slowking-Galar: 182-216 (46.1 - 54.8%) -- 62.1% chance to 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Adaptability Basculegion-F Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Slowking-Galar: 324-384 (82.2 - 97.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Adaptability Basculegion-F Surf vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Magearna: 238-282 (65.3 - 77.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Adaptability Basculegion-F Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Magearna: 292-344 (80.2 - 94.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery 252+ SpA Choice Specs Adaptability Basculegion-F Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Magearna: 212-250 (58.2 - 68.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Adaptability Basculegion-F Surf vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Zamazenta-Crowned: 202-238 (52 - 61.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Punching Glove Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Basculegion-F on a critical hit: 147-174 (38.5 - 45.6%) -- approx. 7% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

Zamazenta-Crowned @ Rusted Shield
Ability: Dauntless Shield
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 64 Def / 192 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Defense
- Body Press
- Crunch
- Behemoth Bash
Looking at














Scream Tail @ Leftovers
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 104 SpD / 152 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Wish
- Protect
- Encore
Wish from










Garganacl @ Leftovers
Ability: Purifying Salt
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Salt Cure
- Stealth Rock
- Block
- Recover
Everybody's favorite salt curer serves as our ghost resist and main





252+ Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 0+ Def Garganacl: 294-348 (72.7 - 86.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Basculegion Wave Crash vs. 252 HP / 0+ Def Tera Water Garganacl in Rain: 159-187 (39.3 - 46.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Basculegion Wave Crash vs. 252 HP / 0+ Def Tera Water Garganacl in Rain: 159-187 (39.3 - 46.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Zapdos @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Static
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 12 Def / 60 SpA / 184 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hurricane
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Roost
Zapdos is our ground immune for the team, and checks pokemon such as







+2 252+ Atk Sneasler Dire Claw vs. 252 HP / 12 Def Zapdos: 324-382 (84.3 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Maushold @ Wide Lens
Ability: Technician
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Tidy Up
- Population Bomb
- Bite
- Encore
At this point, we don't have any hazard control yet, and without the return of more defoggers, there aren't too many options other than















+1 252 Atk Technician Maushold Bite vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Gholdengo: 214-252 (56.6 - 66.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Technician Maushold Bite vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gholdengo: 144-170 (45.7 - 53.9%) -- 93.4% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
+1 252 Atk Technician Maushold Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. +1 0 HP / 252 Def Zamazenta: 250-310 (76.9 - 95.3%) -- approx. 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock 0 Atk Zamazenta Crunch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tera Ghost Maushold: 180-214 (62.2 - 74%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Technician Tera Ghost Maushold Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Zamazenta-Crowned: 250-300 (64.4 - 77.3%) -- approx. 2HKO after Stealth Rock +1 252 Atk Technician burned Tera Ghost Maushold Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Volcarona: 360-430 (115.7 - 138.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Technician Maushold Bite vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gholdengo: 144-170 (45.7 - 53.9%) -- 93.4% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
+1 252 Atk Technician Maushold Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. +1 0 HP / 252 Def Zamazenta: 250-310 (76.9 - 95.3%) -- approx. 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock 0 Atk Zamazenta Crunch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tera Ghost Maushold: 180-214 (62.2 - 74%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Technician Tera Ghost Maushold Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Zamazenta-Crowned: 250-300 (64.4 - 77.3%) -- approx. 2HKO after Stealth Rock +1 252 Atk Technician burned Tera Ghost Maushold Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Volcarona: 360-430 (115.7 - 138.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Team Paste:






Basculegion-F + Maushold Balance The paste has been fixed now that pokepaste is working again.
Threats:

This thing is a massive threat, in particular offensive sets under screens. The combination of Flamethrower/Fiery dance + Giga Drain + Tera Blast water/ground has very little counterplay on this team. Most of the time, I have tried to encore with



Obviously this under TR is always a threat. However, with







Swords Dance sets under screens can be threatening against this team. To deal with this, as they typically run Adamant,




Although





Hazards:
This team relies on

Replays: (Note some of these include an older version of the team with protect over block on

https://play.pokemonshowdown.com/battle-gen9ou-1875720921 Peak game vs. Rain, pretty bad game but water

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1875715999 Vs. a fatter balance team. Aggressive doubles with

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1875712733-tf9g9n0bihfc5rznef1o46wbjhz2nkcpw


https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1875707301




https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1875185492-whcyjjq0l0w96j8paxcq3f9r7vzdeuopw Another demonstration of

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1875867728-y09ftaunyuhy7emwyn43or9legt8qxspw Another



Last edited: