Resource Creative and Underrated Sets

Here's something else for Balanced Hackmons:



Manectric-Mega @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Galvanize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Ice Beam / Steam Eruption
- Encore
- Spore


So, while Manectric has gotten a new lease on life with Galvanize, it lacked the raw power of Xurkitree, Zekrom, and Ampharos as well as the bulk of the latter two, leaving it only with its sheer speed to stand out from the others. Its power is good, but not so much that it can break a lot of walls. Its also too frail to really set-up and its ideal set-up are hard to Imposter proof without using abilities or weird stuff like Magnezone. So, after a lot of pondering on figuring out on how to leverage Manectric's speed, I finally settled on an "Offensive Disruption" set.

Basically, this Manectric set, rather than trying to play slippery with switching and poking something here and there, it gets in, pissed off its opponent, and proceeds to blast them while they're unable to retaliate. Encore + Spore seems a little overkill, but the combination combined with Manectric's speed shuts down a ton of walls as well as a number of offensive threats. Just be sure the opponent isn't Safety Goggles first. Getting OHKOed on a failed Spore feels bad. If the opponent isn't Magic Bounce, which, as long as the Safety Goggles are in-tact, Manectric doesn't care about hitting by accident with its disruption moves, Manectric can screw them over, and faster too without even touching Prankster. Heck, it can even stare down that dumb Prankster + Imprison + Trap + Transform + Eviolite Chansey and force it out, something a lot of stuff actually can't claim.

Boomburst is the flagship move of the set as the damage cannot be overlooked, at least 2HKOing most non-bulky threats and even 2HKOing a few walls, like Aegislash-Shield (that or all the opposing users of them didn't know what EVs were.) The choice between Ice Beam and Steam Eruption depends on whether Zygarde-C or Primal Groudon is the bigger threat. There are pros and cons of each, as Ice Beam can 2HKO Zygarde-C, (with a small chance of 3HKOing +SpD and Poison Heal versions) and does decent damage to Giratina, two of its other big checks/counters. Steam Eruption, however, is a guaranteed OHKO on all variants of Primal Groudon that are not running a +SpD nature, which has a small chance of being 2HKOed. Both moves should only be used only when absolutely needed, as a resisted Boomburst is still stronger than a neutral Ice Beam and neither coverage move does much damage on neutral hits.

The support moves are the best I've found, but you can drop one for more coverage or run a different combination. Taking off Spore can free up the item slot. Taunt is pretty neat, though means most walls simply U-Turn and bring an offensive threat into your face, hence Encore, and Manectric doesn't have the bulk to take many U-Turns. Glare can be a nice surprise and Manectric is naturally immune to it, but it makes bypassing would-be checks muuuuuch more risky. Some other stuff could be neat, but I didn't toy around with them, so no comment.

Pair it up with teammates who appreciate the Electric coverage. For example, non-1k Arrows using Primal Groudon appreciates Manectrics ability to remove Flash Fire Celesteel and most Groudons also like that it can take out Kyogre too. Water-types aren't horribly common, but there are a lot of Flying types out and about that Manectric can outspeed and prey upon. Defensively, something that can eat attacks aimed at Manectric, usually Ground, and is slow enough to pivot Manectric in works quite well. Zygarde is a prime candidate, but Pokemon like Fur Coat Chansey or defensive Yveltal can also work.

Replays:

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7balancedhackmons-571407612

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7balancedhackmons-571773381

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7balancedhackmons-573467902

If these aren't satisfactory, then I'm going to have to start challenging people I know who are good to get replays. ...and probably change the team so they don't counter-team me.
 
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anaconja

long day at job
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor
Lugia @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Simple
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Stored Power
- Oblivion Wing
- Spectral Thief

I love using this bulky Lugia set because it can attract enough Pokémon to think they have to hit with Super Effective moves to deal enough damage, but that activates Weakness Policy which gives +4 Attack and +4 Special Attack, not including any boosts you might get from using Quiver Dance or Spectral Thief.
Many people forget the Simple doubles the amount of boosts from Spectral Thief, which makes quick work of physical Contrary users like MMX as you resist their Superpower and Spectral Thief to get +2 Attack and +2 Defense.

Lugia was chosen for its perfect typing where you have enough weaknesses to realistically activate Weakness Policy, STAB off of both Stored Power and Oblivion Wing, as well as enough bulk on both sides of the spectrum to survive these Super Effective hits. The reason for the -Spe nature is three fold: you don't want a Spectral Thief used to go after you the turn you set up Quiver Dance (Zygarde included), so it is better to go last, you want to ensure you use Spectral Thief last during the after your foe sets up (say against a Shell Smash Unburden Yvetal) and you don't want to lower your Defenses or Offenses because they will allow you to hurt your foe or survive attacks. Further +2 Speed from Quiver Dance makes up for the lack of Speed.

Keep in mind, just because Weakness Policy is a 1x use, doesn't mean Lugia needs it to sweep. Quiver Dance helps tremendously. Also if Imposter Chansey switches in before Weakness Policy activates and uses Spectral Thief on Lugia, guess what happens?

Weakness Policy activates on Lugia AFTER Spectral Thief, giving Lugia 3x Attack (+4), then Spectral Thief hits Imposter Chansey super effectively, which not only provides all of the Speed boosts of Chansey, but also additional power for Stored Power in case they switch out for a Normal type.

Notes:
When a foe uses Spectral Thief on you, Weakness Policy activates after the boosts are stolen.
When a foe uses Knock Off on you, Weakness Policy activates before Knock Off (just like Rocky Helmet and Focus Sash).
This set is extremely, EXTREMELY weak to Spectral Thief. And it's not like you can steal it back if the user is a Normal type, like Audino-Mega. Sure, it activates Weakness Policy, but then the opponent can simply steal that as well with a second Spectral Thief. Lugia boosting sets jsut aren't as viable as they used to be now because of popular sets such as Unaware Audino-Mega, Prankster D-Bond and Haze Registeel, and less viable but still useful Sturdy Shedinja.

Lugia isn't even that strong. Let's say you manage to get a Quiver Dance up:
252 SpA Lugia Stored Power (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Unaware Audino-Mega: 109-130 (26.5 - 31.7%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
+2 252 SpA Lugia Stored Power (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Registeel: 96-113 (26.3 - 31%) -- 9.9% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 SpA Lugia Stored Power (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Groudon-Primal: 301-355 (74.5 - 87.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 SpA Lugia Stored Power (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Celesteela: 127-150 (31.9 - 37.6%) -- 0.2% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Lugia Oblivion Wing vs. 248 HP / 252 SpD Unaware Yveltal: 82-97 (18 - 21.3%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery

Sure, Lugia may be bulky, but it's not like it's going to do anything.

(Also, boosted Lugia isn't a creative or underrated set)
 

RNGIsFatal

Banned deucer.
Balanced Hackmons



Zarel

Meloetta @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy / Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- U-turn / Volt Switch
- Spectral Thief / Rapid Spin
- Psystrike / Boomburst / Moongeist Beam
- Core Enforcer

MMY this generation is very strong. There is essentially no perfect switch-in considering aforementioned threat has 194 Special Attack with access to all coverage moves.



Mewtwo-Mega-Y @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave

My MMY set is currently imposter-proofed by Meloetta, and I won't have to do dumb stuff like Levitate Registeel! Yay!
For ****'s sake, don't run Levitate Steel-types, Thousand Arrows is everywhere.


Melotetta, thanks to the virtue of its typing, can take Psystrike, has above-average Special Defense stats, and most importantly, an immunity to Moongeist Beam. This makes Meloetta a very reliable switch-in against MMY.

The typing also allows Meloetta to check Mega Gengar assuming it lacks Normalize, unless the opponent has absurdly weird creativity and decides to run Dark Pulse or Signal Beam.

U-turn is self-explanatory, and is preferred over Volt Switch due to its ability scout against everything.
Spectral Thief is preferred to reduce Meloetta's problems with some passivity, and is a surprise factor to stuff like Mega Ray who thinks Meloetta is too weak to stop the setup. Rapid Spin can be chosen if your team lacks a hazard cleaner, but Meloetta is not the best user for that.
Psystrike and Boomburst will help Meloetta to keep its offensive presense, while Moongeist Beam can be used to imposter-proof itself while hitting Sturdy Shedinja.
Core Enforcer, while it might seem as odd option, nullifies the ability on the switch as most of people do know, and allows Meloetta to check Poison Heal Kyogre.

Relaxed nature can be run if you prefer to take Psystrike better... but it already takes 2 of them under the terrain boost:

252 SpA Mewtwo-Mega-Y Psystrike vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Meloetta in Psychic Terrain: 155-183 (38.3 - 45.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

I recommend Sassy nature since lack of +SpDef nature on RegenVest makes the difference of bulk very apparent.

Stuff Meloetta can deal with that Solgaleo cannot:

* Consecutive hits from plate-Judgment
* Sheer Force Earth Power or others (2HKOes Solgaleo)
* Boosted Moongeist Beam (Solgaleo can take +2 only when healthy enough)
* Gengar in general (excluding Normalize set)

Stuff Meloetta can deal that Gyarados-Mega cannot:

* Secret Sword
* Sheer Force Moonblast
* Rare Pixilate (???)

Meloetta's drawbacks:

* Weakness to U-turn's
* Relatively low Defense
* Prevalence of Knock Off forces a player to acquire Knock Off - absorber in the team
* Unlike Steel-types, has hard time dealing with -ates
* Can't handle rare MMY variants with Choice Specs + Psychic Terrain - Psystrike

Calcs:

252 SpA Mewtwo-Mega-Y Psystrike vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Meloetta in Psychic Terrain: 155-183 (38.3 - 45.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Mewtwo-Mega-Y Volt Switch vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Meloetta: 63-75 (15.5 - 18.5%) -- possible 6HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Mewtwo-Mega-Y Psychic vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Meloetta in Psychic Terrain: 101-121 (25 - 29.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Sheer Force Mewtwo-Mega-Y Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Meloetta: 111-131 (27.4 - 32.4%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Mewtwo-Mega-Y Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Meloetta: 91-108 (22.5 - 26.7%) -- 26.6% chance to 4HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Mewtwo-Mega-Y Psycho Boost vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Meloetta in Psychic Terrain: 141-166 (34.9 - 41%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 SpA Gengar-Mega Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Meloetta: 76-91 (18.8 - 22.5%) -- possible 5HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Gengar-Mega Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Meloetta: 133-156 (32.9 - 38.6%) -- 98.8% chance to 3HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Gengar-Mega Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Meloetta: 110-130 (27.2 - 32.1%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Adaptability Gengar-Mega Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Meloetta: 154-182 (38.1 - 45%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 SpA Meloetta Psystrike vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Gengar-Mega: 296-350 (91.3 - 108%) -- 50% chance to OHKO


DISCLAIMER: I may not the only one who uses the set, but I thought this was fairly rare.
 
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anaconja

long day at job
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor
I was actually in the process of editing my post just as you replied. I slashed Imprison beside Oblivion Wong not just for Imposter but for anything with Spectral Thief. *Check my edit time was a minute before yours*

Also: You don't think a 2HKO on Primal Groudon is significant? Unless Groudon can 1HKO, Lugia outspeeds and finishes it off the second hit with no worries.
None of these assume Weakness Policy is activated. For example, Knock Off on Registeel or Mega-Audino, which are pretty common moves, making Stored Power 300 base power. Further, Quiver Dance can be used on them unless they have Haze, Topsy Turvy, or Heart Swap (except Yveltal).

So let's say they switch in, takes 26% damage and then with Unaware Mega Audino uses Haze while I use Imprison. The next turn, it cannot Spectral Thief me, and Haze is already used, and if it switches out I can just set up again since it doesn't have Prankster Haze.

- meaning that if I Quiver Dance after it switches out, since I already have Imprison up, I can deal 26% again when it switches in next time, 26% against since I'm going first before it uses Haze, effectively taking over half of its HP.

Say Mega-Audino, comes in after I Quiver Dance. I use Stored Power as it uses Haze, taking 26%. The next turn it I use Quiver Dance knowing that it will not use Haze 2x in a row, while it uses Knock Off, which activates Weakness Policy, and gives Lugia +4 Attack, +4 Special Attack, which makes Stored Power 180 Base power + 2 Special Attack, +2 Special Defense, +2 Speed from Quiver Dance which puts it at 300 base power, letting Lugia deal 60% damage to her. In this process, Lugia has hit Audino for 86% damage. The next turn, I KO before they can Haze.

Oftentimes Yveltal has a setup move of its own when it carries Unaware. If that is the case, who is to say that Lugia cannot steal some boosts from it? Say it comes in when I use Imprison, then it uses Shell Smash to which I use Spectral Thief (the only move that would hit it). I get their boosts, prevent them from Spectral Theifing them back, and now outspeed them, letting me hit them while their Power Trip is at low power, especially since I have a -Spe nature.
Okay, I'd agree that Primal Groudon can't 1HKO. But still, you cannot handle Audino. Unaware Mega Audino doesn't use Haze, it uses Spectral Thief. By the time you Imprison the Audino has already Baton Passed to a sweeper. Let's say MegaGar:
+2 252 SpA Spooky Plate Gengar-Mega Judgment vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Lugia: 666-786 (160 - 188.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Also, Unaware Yveltal does not run boosting moves. Oftentimes, it has moves like Knock Off, Shore Up, U-turn / Baton Pass, and Spectral Thief. Only Unburden Yveltal runs Shell Smash.

Another threat I forgot - Fakespeed. Zekrom and Kyurem-B can easily revenge kill with Refrigerate and Galvanize.
252+ Atk Icicle Plate Refrigerate Kyurem-Black Fake Out vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Lugia: 152-182 (36.5 - 43.7%) -- 99.2% chance to 3HKO
252+ Atk Icicle Plate Refrigerate Kyurem-Black Extreme Speed vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Lugia: 306-360 (73.5 - 86.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Galvanize Zekrom Fake Out vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Lugia: 116-138 (27.8 - 33.1%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252+ Atk Galvanize Zekrom Extreme Speed vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Lugia: 230-272 (55.2 - 65.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
(Zekrom usually runs Focus Sash so it doesn't get OHKOed)
 
Balanced Hackmons



Zarel

Meloetta @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy / Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- U-turn / Volt Switch
- Spectral Thief / Rapid Spin
- Psystrike / Boomburst / Moongeist Beam
- Core Enforcer

MMY this generation is very strong. There is essentially no perfect switch-in considering aforementioned threat has 194 Special Attack with access to all coverage moves.



Mewtwo-Mega-Y @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave

My MMY set is currently imposter-proofed by Meloetta, and I won't have to do dumb stuff like Levitate Registeel! Yay!
For ****'s sake, don't run Levitate Steel-types, Thousand Arrows is everywhere.


Melotetta, thanks to the virtue of its typing, can take Psystrike, has sophisticated Special Defense stats, and most importantly, an immunity to Moongeist Beam. This makes Meloetta a very reliable switch-in against MMY.

The typing also allows Meloetta to check Mega Gengar assuming it lacks Normalize, unless the opponent has absurdly weird creativity and decides to run Dark Pulse or Signal Beam.

U-turn is self-explanatory, and is preferred over Volt Switch due to its ability scout against everything.
Spectral Thief is preferred to reduce Meloetta's problems with some passivity, and is a surprise factor to stuff like Mega Ray who thinks Meloetta is too weak to stop the setup. Rapid Spin can be chosen if your team lacks a hazard cleaner, but Meloetta is not the best user for that.
Psystrike and Boomburst will help Meloetta to keep its offensive presense, while Moongeist Beam can be used to imposter-proof itself while hitting Sturdy Shedinja.
Core Enforcer, while it might seem as odd option, nullifies the ability on the switch as most of people do know, and allows Meloetta to check Poison Heal Kyogre.

Relaxed nature can be run if you prefer to take Psystrike better... but it already takes 2 of them under the terrain boost:

252 SpA Mewtwo-Mega-Y Psystrike vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Meloetta in Psychic Terrain: 155-183 (38.3 - 45.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

I recommend Sassy nature since lack of +SpDef nature on RegenVest makes the difference of bulk very apparent.

Stuff Meloetta can deal with that Solgaleo cannot:

* Consecutive hits from plate-Judgment
* Sheer Force Earth Power or others (2HKOes Solgaleo)
* Boosted Moongeist Beam (Solgaleo can take +2 only when healthy enough)
* Gengar in general (excluding Normalize set)

Stuff Meloetta can deal that Gyarados-Mega cannot:

* Secret Sword
* Sheer Force Moonblast
* Rare Pixilate (???)

Meloetta's drawbacks:

* Weakness to U-turn's
* Relatively low Defense
* Prevalence of Knock Off forces a player to acquire Knock Off - absorber in the team
* Unlike Steel-types, has hard time dealing with -ates
* Can't handle rare MMY variants with Choice Specs + Psychic Terrain - Psystrike

Calcs:

252 SpA Mewtwo-Mega-Y Psystrike vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Meloetta in Psychic Terrain: 155-183 (38.3 - 45.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Mewtwo-Mega-Y Volt Switch vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Meloetta: 63-75 (15.5 - 18.5%) -- possible 6HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Mewtwo-Mega-Y Psychic vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Meloetta in Psychic Terrain: 101-121 (25 - 29.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Sheer Force Mewtwo-Mega-Y Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Meloetta: 111-131 (27.4 - 32.4%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Mewtwo-Mega-Y Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Meloetta: 91-108 (22.5 - 26.7%) -- 26.6% chance to 4HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Mewtwo-Mega-Y Psycho Boost vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Meloetta in Psychic Terrain: 141-166 (34.9 - 41%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 SpA Gengar-Mega Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Meloetta: 76-91 (18.8 - 22.5%) -- possible 5HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Gengar-Mega Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Meloetta: 133-156 (32.9 - 38.6%) -- 98.8% chance to 3HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Gengar-Mega Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Meloetta: 110-130 (27.2 - 32.1%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Adaptability Gengar-Mega Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Meloetta: 154-182 (38.1 - 45%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 SpA Meloetta Psystrike vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Gengar-Mega: 296-350 (91.3 - 108%) -- 50% chance to OHKO


DISCLAIMER: I may not the only one who uses the set, but I thought this was fairly rare.
just a thought, but your sheer force mmy set can be improofed by your own imposter chansey
 

E4 Flint

-inactive in BH due corrupt leader-
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Hello I am E4 Flint, back again with another set. Doing the CLC was a frustrating and subpar experience but at least I was able to create a set for Reshiram to carve a niche with. It is presented here below:
Overview:
+ magnet trap with stab fire and dragon moves
+ can eliminate not only Regenerator sets that usually think they are safe even when magpull is revealed because of Uturn and/or Core, but also Prankster by eliminating their +1 Dbond with a few imprisons and a Core Enforcer when they try to heal from Magma damage
+ Imposter-resistant with Imprison, as well as taking out the very common Core Enforcer from other mons.
> Max speed is in general preferred; I've been outsped by neutral Sol. -spD to nail Chan with Core and might as well use the attack on Uturn for M2Y
- max spe Sol still outspeeds

OO:
> Goggles are the only thing I can think of. Leftovers help for chip damage from the steel mon you've trapped though

Proof and Replays:
If my name isn't enough proof of this set's success, feel free to drop me a like here - and that was while running Ash-"Garbage"-Greninja.

Here are some notable replays:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7balancedhackmons-570816968 easily dismantled high-ladder stall by trapping regi/imposter
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7balancedhackmons-569213083 high ladder play where the Reshiram actually takes out a PH Kyogre
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7balancedhackmons-565982102 high ladder game again
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7balancedhackmons-565799785 generic mid ladder game
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7balancedhackmons-564897303 effectiveness against Prankster Registeel

Reshiram @ Leftovers
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- U-turn
- Imprison
- Magma Storm
- Core Enforcer
Thanks for reading!
 
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RNGIsFatal

Banned deucer.
Balanced Hackmons
The core that helped me get through the pain of core laddering challenge

Normally, I don't post another set for a while once I've posted something. I posted RegenVest Meloetta earlier today, but in order to commemorate our tier leader from doing what is impossible by reaching platinum in the CLC with Greninja-Assh, I will share a set that helped me reach silver and keep my patience.



Reshiram @ Choice Specs
Ability: Stakeout
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Core Enforcer
- Moongeist Beam
- Switcheroo

The set is pretty solid. If you successfully switched Reshiram on stuff like Registeel, Giratina and Zygarde-C, you can force a switch and nuke anything that comes in next, assuming you made the right prediction. The true niche of the set is the fact that the STAB combination is barely resisted by anyone and Sturdy Shedinja will die on Moongeist Beam.

But what is special about my core is this:



Audino-Mega @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spectral Thief
- U-turn
- Milk Drink
- Rapid Spin

Immunity to Dragon, immunity to Ghost, and this thing is now immune to Fire. Reshiram's Imposter cannot inflict any damage to this thing, and that is my way to imposter-proof the Reshiram I mentioned above.

...

Conclusion:

Imitation is the best form of flattery. Screw clc
 
The reason to use Manectric is for its STAB, otherwise you're going to use Ytwo since it has more power and a bit more speed, plain and simple. Hence why Galvanize is superior to Simple or whatever. And well, it also has a niche of being paralysis immune while being one of the fastest viable Pokemon in the meta, but that consideration usually doesn't come up in team building.

Also, Manectric can use Electric Terrain, but that + Thunderbolt (Thunder is way too innaccurate unless you waste an item on Wide Lens) is still weaker than Galvanize Boomburst by a wide margin. Besides, why have Manectric run it when you can have a slow setter pivot to Galvanize Manectric and start to nuke everything not immune?
252 SpA Manectric-Mega Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Arceus in Electric Terrain: 195-231 (51.1 - 60.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Galvanize Manectric-Mega Boomburst vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Arceus: 241-285 (63.2 - 74.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Manectric-Mega Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Arceus in Electric Terrain: 253-300 (66.4 - 78.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Galvanize Manectric-Mega Boomburst vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Arceus in Electric Terrain: 363-427 (95.2 - 112%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
...heck, Terrain + Life Orb Thunderbolt is barely stronger than no item Galvanize Boomburst. Really, Manectric should not be your Electric Terrain setter, it needs to be an abuser.

And again, not assuming Unaware, assuming Manectric isn't reliably getting its boosts because, lets be honest, your set cannot. Manectric doesn't have the bulk to set up in the face of other offensive Pokemon without a Sash, doesn't force out much of anything to get a free set-up turn, has no protection from (prankster) sleep, no way to bypass Unaware except Stored Power, no way to deal with stat stealing/removal, is hard-walled by Shedinja, is weak to Imposter, has the risk of backfiring spectacularly in certain circumstances, and only works once since the odds of you getting a non-Power Herb Geomancy off is extremely low. It could probably sweep like hell if it managed to get going unchallenged, but it seems like a stretch. ...oh, and Ytwo has STAB Stored Power, which is what allows the Manectric to even have a chance to bypass non-weak Unaware, so it runs Simple Geomancy Stored Power better.

Compare to my set, which hits hard enough to be a threat without set-up, can do so right out of the gate, can force out most slower Pokemon with a threat of a O/2HKO from Boomburst, can shut down most checks on its own to cover its lack of bulk, is slightly Imposter resistant provided its healthy, is protected against sleep, doesn't need to worry about Unaware or stat removal/stealing, can't backfire, works as many times during a match as it needs to, isn't outclassed in the same role by another Pokemon, and... well, it's walled by Shedinja, but can at least sleep the insect if its Lum/Safety Goggles are removed, so you don't have to worry about switching into Endeavor so much, and it struggles with some Magic Bouncers, but you can't have everything in one set. Either way, its efficient and reliable on demand in any circumstance where its not countered/checked too hard. Compare to something that would have a bit of trouble setting up and then can do it only once.

No offense OM, some of your stuff is kinda clever, but are you even play testing it before posting it here? This isn't really the topic for theorymonning, that's more for the main BH thread.
 
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If I mentioned or implied Electric Terrain doesn't block sleep, that's an error on my part. Though I was talking about Simple being vulnerable to sleep. Though whatever you're running along with an Electric Terrain Manectric is irrelevant to the discussion since I strongly feel there are much better setters who could safely slow pivot to an abuser like your Ampharos. Manectric runs to the risk of pivoting Ampharos into a Ground move, which... ow.

And, I don't keep pretending, but I acknowledge it has a lot of difficulties setting up since your Simply set doesn't create any opportunities on its own. Team support can cover that, sure, but then I can blah blah team support mine and that's a big theorymon discussion that really doesn't need to be touched on here. And once its set-up, it has difficulty keeping the boosts if you don't scout for and eliminate key threats. Something you can set-up only once to get one OHKO isn't a great idea if they can just switch Prankster Haze Registeel in after you take down their whatever. You won't be getting a second Geomacy up in that scenario. Now you could late game clean with it, but it'd be ridiculously overkill.

Honestly.... now I'm theorymonning a bit, but if you want to set Manectric up, just Tail Glow or Shell Smash a Galvanize set. It'll get the job done more than well enough and can pull weight without setting up.
 
Update:
The Hall of Fame was designed to be extremely selective. I plan on adding some new things to it soon (and would gladly consider any set nominated by any of the representatives I appointed...hint hint), but you shouldn't expect it to be overflowing with sets like my archive was last generation. It's unfair to use that as a metric of the thread's usefulness; so far I think it has been a success on the whole. Also, no need to tag me as if I'm not already following along.

I put a provision in the OP stating that sets should be supported with replays, which was widely ignored (I myself even failed to provide replays once), and I am glad that OM! is planning to turn over a new leaf in that regard. I cannot moderate this thread myself, so I leave it up to the jurisdiction of the moderators to determine if certain posts follow the specific criteria I laid out in the OP, and so far, they have been doing a pretty good job (see: the Rotom-Fan debacle).

uc edit: this was in response to a deleted post which is why it now looks weird
 
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E4 Flint

-inactive in BH due corrupt leader-
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
I put a provision in the OP stating that sets should be supported with replays, which was widely ignored (I myself even failed to provide replays once), and I am glad that OM! is planning to turn over a new leaf in that regard. I cannot moderate this thread myself, so I leave it up to the jurisdiction of the moderators to determine if certain posts follow the specific criteria I laid out in the OP, and so far, they have been doing a pretty good job (see: the Rotom-Fan debacle).
Would like to step in here because I like this thread, having posted in it across gens, and am usually involved in cleaning it up.

I discussed some of the standards for this thread with uc and I think we agree on the following.

What this thread is for:
  • Posting creative and/or underused sets that are viable
    • Supporting Evidence including replays and ladder rank/general performance (tours can also work). I was debating about a hard and fast ELO req but after discussing with UC I don't want to set one, but it should be apparent that your set is effective (visible from the replay) against competent players/teams (visible from the replay and the ranking)
What this thread isn't for
  • Theorymonning: DO NOT do this here. Move that to the ladder thread if it is part of their policy. For example, I am fine with theorymonning BH sets or even teams in the BH ladder thread (though team discussion will eventually move to the BH Central Resource Threadcoming soon!) but it may not be the case for other OM's
  • Discussion of OM mechanics: Do this only to point out obvious flaws in a set posted here
  • General mud-slinging, insults etc: hate the set, not the player. Seriously, it's smogon-wide...
Specifically for sets designed for Balanced Hackmons:
  • In addition to the above, for BH specifically, if you post a set that might be cool but has very little to no viable Imposter support/resistance and can't justify it sufficiently, it will be removed. A good set with a bad imposter-proof is not a good set
  • Do not post one-trick ponies or one-time use sets
In general, follow the OP Uselesscrab made. Seriously, it is pretty much all there.
 
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Hey we can all be friends here right guys?

Anyway I've been experimenting with this set and others like it on the BH ladder for a while now and I wanted to come by and post a set for everyone to use or critique.


Swampert-Mega @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Level: 99
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Psycho Shift
- Core Enforcer
- Sacred Fire / Thousand Waves / Will-O-Wisp
- Shore Up / Leech Seed

Mega Swampert is a very underrated Pokemon in the Balanced Hackmons meta with a great 100/110/110 bulk and the ability to provide a check to Primal Groudon's coverage (Besides banded Tinted Lens) Electric Terrain and Galvanize users and various other physical threats. The main crux of this set is the move Psycho Shift in tandem with Poison heal and Toxic Orb. Essentially by using Psycho Shift, you can pass the Badly Poisoned condition onto any non Steel or Poison type regardless of ability due to Psycho Shift not being affected by Magic Bounce. This can break potential stalemates in longer battles caused by a stall versus stall matchup (or even stall versus offense for that matter).

Core Enforcer is a very, very spammable coverage option that is used more for its secondary effect than its damage output. Core Enforcer allows Mega Swampert to beat a majority of Poison Heal users such as Regigigas, Primal Kyogre, and Giratina one on one as well as letting it beat its own imposter one on one. If you are at a comfortable percentage of health and aren't immediately threatened by the thing in front of you, clicking core enforcer is generally your best bet.

The third moveslot is much more up to personal preference. Sacred Fire provides great coverage with Core Enforcer and comes with a high 50% chance to burn your target (More than scald!!!11!) and is what I use personally. Thousand Waves is a great STAB move that can trap the pokemon you are trying to check and beat them by poisoning them and recover stalling them (assuming they don't have a pivoting move). It also checks steels well. Will-o-Wisp removes much of the RNG involved in clicking Sacred Fire at the cost of being much more passive. (Thousand Arrows isn't listed but is also viable as a way to nail pokemon such as the likes of Celesteela however its lack of a secondary effect hurts mega perts ability to beat imposter).

The final Moveslot is preferred to be shore up to better check physical attackers but leech seed helps versus imposter as well.

A level 99 version is preferred as to avoid the ability nullifying effects of an imposters Core Enforcer as well as getting the slowest possible Core Enforcer itself. It also nice to get a slower recovery in a lot of situations. The stat differences from a level 99 mega pert and a level 100 pert are negligible for the most part so don't worry about avoiding 2HKO's and OHKO's.

A few replays for your head top so watch how you speak on my name ya'know?
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7balancedhackmons-570873872
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7balancedhackmons-570894496


oops I thought I had more replays but I guess not. I'll add more as they come, sorry everyone!
 

RNGIsFatal

Banned deucer.

Swampert-Mega @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Level: 99
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Psycho Shift
- Core Enforcer
- Sacred Fire / Thousand Waves / Will-O-Wisp
- Shore Up / Leech Seed
As we have been discussing about the set outside of Smogon, I think this set is very good in terms of checking standard Primal Groudon, and I just want to leave few comments:

Drawbacks:

* I see how you stopped PH Regigigas in one of your replays, but it has hard time doing so it Regigigas has accumulated enough boosts. King's Shield might solve this issue?
* You can't imposterproof - even if your level is 99, Imposter still copies the identical stat of your Swampert, meaning you have 50% chance of getting hit by Core Enforcer last, and this will force you out against Imposter after your Poison Heal is gone.

Suggestions:

* Knock Off is very prevalent in the meta, and if you need Knock Off absorber in the team, don't run Psycho Shift because you can't use Poison Heal after the Toxic Orb has been Knocked Off, and I suggest Poison Fang which has 50% chance of badly poisoning the opponent and doesn't take away your recovery temporarily like Psycho Shift does.
* Only run one of poison-inducing moves or burn-inducing moves, since running both might be inefficient.
* Quite irrelevant but it is important about how you utilize Core Enforcer in this set, so maybe add a Fairy-type to the team.

Cool set!
 
As we have been discussing about the set outside of Smogon, I think this set is very good in terms of checking standard Primal Groudon, and I just want to leave few comments:

Drawbacks:

* I see how you stopped PH Regigigas in one of your replays, but it has hard time doing so it Regigigas has accumulated enough boosts. King's Shield might solve this issue?
* You can't imposterproof - even if your level is 99, Imposter still copies the identical stat of your Swampert, meaning you have 50% chance of getting hit by Core Enforcer last, and this will force you out against Imposter after your Poison Heal is gone.

Suggestions:

* Knock Off is very prevalent in the meta, and if you need Knock Off absorber in the team, don't run Psycho Shift because you can't use Poison Heal after the Toxic Orb has been Knocked Off, and I suggest Poison Fang which has 50% chance of badly poisoning the opponent and doesn't take away your recovery temporarily like Psycho Shift does.
* Only run one of poison-inducing moves or burn-inducing moves, since running both might be inefficient.
* Quite irrelevant but it is important about how you utilize Core Enforcer in this set, so maybe add a Fairy-type to the team.

Cool set!
I thought imposter copied all pokemon stats, so wouldn't the imposter still have the same speed stat as the level 99 swampert, so you would have a chance of being hit with core enforcer by your imposter and losing poison heal?
Thanks for the speedy feedback, I realize now that imposter still copies your stats regardless of your level now thanks to you guys so I went ahead and made it level 100. Also changed psycho shift to poison fang to avoid knock off and replaced sacred fire to Kings shield which helps me deal with very powerful wall breakers more easily (such as banded tinted lens Groudon which I mentioned earlier). I'll be testing these changes intensively and will edit my post when I fully understand what spread is most reliable. Thanks again friends! :)
 
I'll go ahead and work on getting some replays of my set when I can, I forgot about that being mandatory. Someone privately asked for some, so I was going to grab them anyway, now I just have more incentive to do so (1800ing randbats can wait.) Once I have them, should I repost the whole thing with replays added or edit them in and drop a post mentioning I added them?
 
I'll go ahead and work on getting some replays of my set when I can, I forgot about that being mandatory. Someone privately asked for some, so I was going to grab them anyway, now I just have more incentive to do so (1800ing randbats can wait.) Once I have them, should I repost the whole thing with replays added or edit them in and drop a post mentioning I added them?
I'd say edit them in and drop a post mentioning you added them.
 
Guys, this thread is for creative and uncommon sets that are successful on the ladder. It's not for "cool" sets or sets that got you a couple of wins. This thread is for sets that you have achieved success with. Sets that you have racked up a number of wins with and are somewhere in the upper vicinity on the ladder.

OM! you should just stop posting here because you clearly don't understand the point of this thread.
 

cityscapes

Take care of yourself.
is a Tiering Contributoris a Community Contributor Alumnus
Would like to step in here because I like this thread, having posted in it across gens, and am usually involved in cleaning it up.

I discussed some of the standards for this thread with uc and I think we agree on the following.

What this thread is for:
  • Posting creative and/or underused sets that are viable
    • Supporting Evidence including replays and ladder rank/general performance (tours can also work). I was debating about a hard and fast ELO req but after discussing with UC I don't want to set one, but it should be apparent that your set is effective (visible from the replay) against competent players/teams (visible from the replay and the ranking)
What this thread isn't for
  • Theorymonning: DO NOT do this here. Move that to the ladder thread if it is part of their policy. For example, I am fine with theorymonning BH sets or even teams in the BH ladder thread (though team discussion will eventually move to the BH Central Resource Threadcoming soon!) but it may not be the case for other OM's
  • Discussion of OM mechanics: Do this only to point out obvious flaws in a set posted here
  • General mud-slinging, insults etc: hate the set, not the player. Seriously, it's smogon-wide...
Specifically for sets designed for Balanced Hackmons:
  • In addition to the above, for BH specifically, if you post a set that might be cool but has very little to no viable Imposter support/resistance and can't justify it sufficiently, it will be removed. A good set with a bad imposter-proof is not a good set
  • Do not post one-trick ponies or one-time use sets
In general, follow the OP Uselesscrab made. Seriously, it is pretty much all there.
ok just wanted to point out that i disagree with the imposter-proof thing.

if you're forced to bring something stupid to imposter-proof a set, doesn't that point to the set's effectiveness?

as a nonexample of this, take cb primal groudon. it's easy to imposter-proof with prominent sets such as zyg-c and giratina. because of their prominence, these mons are seen on many teams meaning that more often than not your opponent will have a hard stop to pdon decreasing its effectiveness.

now take something like... idk rng's reshiram imposter-proofed by a flash fire audino. of course flash fire isn't a "good" option on audino. however, this is what makes it so viable: no one's going to run flash fire audino outside of this, meaning that teams often have nothing to stop reshiram. here the increased viability of reshiram makes up for the lost ability slot on audino.

so yeah as long as your set can be imposter-proofed at all, i don't think that's a very good argument.
 
I don't think running Flashfire Audino would disqualify as "little to no Imposter-proofing". It's certainly not ideal, but you can take that line of thinking and come up with other solutions. A slower, Flashfire Steel type could also work there as well, for example, at the cost of not being perfectly immune to the set. I think what Flint is trying to stop is stuff like "This Simple Geoshellsmancy set will sweep all teams ever, but it does require you to run Focus Sash Shield Dust Magnezone, otherwise the Imposter wins."
 
"This Simple Geoshellsmancy set will sweep all teams ever, but it does require you to run Focus Sash Shield Dust Magnezone, otherwise the Imposter wins."
i have no idea what possible set would require this
what set could possibly be good enough that it beats everything even half-common?
if it requires some gimmicky set to shut it down, that sounds like a good reason to run both it and the counter.
 
i have no idea what possible set would require this
what set could possibly be good enough that it beats everything even half-common?
if it requires some gimmicky set to shut it down, that sounds like a good reason to run both it and the counter.
I don't either, just was making up something very specifically gimmicky as an example.

A more practical example? Say... Simple White Herb Primaldon with Shell Smash / Thousand Arrows / Sunsteel Strike / Power Trip. There's literally nothing that resists the combination and the power would be so insane that Imposterproofing would be near impossible without some bullcrap like Focus Sash Prankster Topsy Turvy.
 
I don't either, just was making up something very specifically gimmicky as an example.

A more practical example? Say... Simple White Herb Primaldon with Shell Smash / Thousand Arrows / Sunsteel Strike / Power Trip. There's literally nothing that resists the combination and the power would be so insane that Imposterproofing would be near impossible without some bullcrap like Focus Sash Prankster Topsy Turvy.
i mean wouldn't that lose to prank haze or whatever? you're still gonna be able to shut it down with a non-deadweight set, that's why people don't run it to shut down tons of walls and everything. if it is as powerful as you're suggesting, everyone would use it to shut down every whole team.
 

cityscapes

Take care of yourself.
is a Tiering Contributoris a Community Contributor Alumnus
i mean wouldn't that lose to prank haze or whatever? you're still gonna be able to shut it down with a non-deadweight set, that's why people don't run it to shut down tons of walls and everything. if it is as powerful as you're suggesting, everyone would use it to shut down every whole team.
yeah except for the fact that you'd need to switch something in if you didn't want to risk the speed tie (which is a legitimate option on hyper offense teams but those are kind of bad right now). basically you'd be losing a mon each time imposter came in on a fully set up pdon. this is an example of unreliable imposter-proofing, not unviable imposter-proofing; the two are different. another example of unreliable imposter-proofing is say sturdy shed with no bouncer, meaning that if your opponent gets hazards up then you basically can't use that mon.

yeah honestly i'd define this imposter-proof thing on a case-by-case basis.
 
While this isn't super creative, it's definitely underrated.


Registeel @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Magic Bounce
Level: 99
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Knock Off
- Whirlwind
- Parting Shot
- Roost

Magic bounce Registeel is a really good check to normalize M-Gengar and acts as a nice pivot. With darkinium it's immune to trick and can pseudo healing wish with parting shot. Knock off is also really good for removing assault vest's from opposing registeel / pivots etc. The replays below show how it works better than what I can explain. This is an underrated set that has done pretty well for me, I haven't seen anybody really running it per-se so I decided it's best to post it here.

Also I'm somewhat alive again, hi.

Replays:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7balancedhackmons-557173757
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7balancedhackmons-555291457
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7balancedhackmons-557023916
 

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