OM National Dex Balanced Hackmons

[Champion Leon]

There is 1 niche for Rayquaza that could be a decent 1-time surprise.

Imposter on base Rayquaza, and then Mega-Rayquaza while Transformed. If you Mega/Ultra while Transformed via Imposter, it literally becomes that Pokemon. BUT it keeps the moves of the Pokemon it transformed into, until you switch out and back in.

You can opt for a Life Orb to secure additional power as well, since if the foe isn't using Life Orb, you will actually out-damage them.

This is a niche, but it is there nonetheless.

**Also, you are not required to transform into Mega Rayquaza at any moment, you can maintain the Imposter ability in case you fear having to switch out. This is simply for role compression, where you have an Imposter until inconvenient, and then after you Mega, you can turn it into a sweeper on your next switch-in.

P.S. This can be done with any Mega / Ultra Imposter user, but Ray doesn't have an Item lock.

Rayquaza @ Life Orb
Ability: Imposter
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Heal Order
- Shift Gear
- Dragon Ascent
- V-create

Here is a replay outlining its unique niche.

 

[Pokemonhacker1]

Is this set good?

Palafin-Hero @ Life Orb/Choice Band
Ability: Strong Jaw/Iron Fist
Tera Type: Water/Ground
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Jet Punch/Surging Strikes
- Fishious Rend
- Headlong Rush/Earthquake
- Glacial Lance

 

[dtc09]

Is this set good?
View attachment 511560
Palafin-Hero @ Life Orb/Choice Band
Ability: Strong Jaw/Iron Fist
Tera Type: Water/Ground
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Jet Punch/Surging Strikes
- Fishious Rend
- Headlong Rush/Earthquake
- Glacial Lance

palafin's not really good, fur coat waters are the best physical walls in the meta, being basically mandatory because of zacc's presence, and they are an absolute hard counter to palafin. pdon also forces it to 50/50 between rend and headlong, and it's slow, not outrunning neutral arcs. with that said a fin set would still be better as psea w/rend headlong uturn/flip turn and smth like trick, as two water STAB moves are unnecessary and glance isn't needed with zygod gone.

 

[Champion Leon]

palafin's not really good, fur coat waters are the best physical walls in the meta, being basically mandatory because of zacc's presence, and they are an absolute hard counter to palafin. pdon also forces it to 50/50 between rend and headlong, and it's slow, not outrunning neutral arcs. with that said a fin set would still be better as psea w/rend headlong uturn/flip turn and smth like trick, as two water STAB moves are unnecessary and glance isn't needed with zygod gone.

I have a question: Is Kyogre @ Blue Orb with Intrepid Sword + Primordial Sea better?

Intrepid Sword provides +1 Atk which negates the Choice Band, Primordial Sea negates the advantage of Primordial Sea on Palafin.

Kyogre-Primal has an almost equal Atk stat to Palafin, but much bigger bulk, and can hit from both offenses (I.e. if it gets Burned).

Wouldn’t that allow it to better handle Fur Coat users? Especially since Thunder can function like PDon’s Solar Beam for breaking Fur Coat Waters?

It can serve as a switch-in to opposing Trick / Knock Off, and can just as easily Improof with a Grass-type.

Further, since it is not Choice-locked but still has equal power, it can afford to use a Healing or set-up move.

Kyogre @ Blue Orb
Ability: Intrepid Sword
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Fishous Rend
- Thunder
- Headlong Rush
- Heal Order / Strength Sap / Filler

Obviously, Intrepid Sword is a one-time use, just like it is on Groudon @ Red Orb, but Palafin @ Choice Band with Trick proves it is also a temporary boost.

Is this set good?
View attachment 511560
Palafin-Hero @ Life Orb/Choice Band
Ability: Strong Jaw/Iron Fist
Tera Type: Water/Ground
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Jet Punch/Surging Strikes
- Fishious Rend
- Headlong Rush/Earthquake
- Glacial Lance

That other guy’s point on Water Fur Coat users is basically negated with Kyogre’s Thunder:

252 SpA Kyogre-Primal Thunder vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Slowbro-Mega: 280-330 (71 - 83.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Kyogre-Primal Thunder vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Arceus-Water: 214-254 (48.1 - 57.2%) -- 92.6% chance to 2HKO

252 SpA Kyogre-Primal Thunder vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Dondozo: 316-374 (62.6 - 74.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

A Pokémon that handles its own “counters”? Pretty strong.

Kyogre has 180 SpA, so it doesn’t even need to setup in order to threaten foes off its Thunder.

Thunder also haxes for Paralysis @ 30%, which further helps it use Fishous Rend to now outspeed even more, and ensures even Pokémon that take neutral or resistance damage from Thunder risk getting hit with a max power Fishious Rend the following turn.

Thunder also can sometimes even break Protect, allowing it to score hits on PHealers that stall with a Protect move.

I suggest you just opt for a Choice Band Kyogre-Primal as well.

Kyogre-Primal @ Choice Band
Ability: Primordial Sea
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Fishous Rend
- Thunder
- Headlong Rush
- Flip Turn / U-Turn / Trick

Naughty nature is Bc it can afford to lose a little SpD to maintain its offensive presence, since it can still bulkier than Palafin on SpD.

Palafin has the advantage of being able to Tera, and is mildly faster, but if you are attracting slow Fur Coat walls, then your best bet is to have a SpA to bypass their Fur Coat ability, as you expect your moves to be able to hit non-walls hard enough as is.

Ensure your team uses Nuzzle or Sticky Web support to ensure the foes are slower than Kyogre-Primal so Fishous Rend does max damage.

Try this guy out, and let me know what you think! ;)

Also maybe show us a replay and we can help advise on team support.

 

[Pokemonhacker1]

palafin's not really good, fur coat waters are the best physical walls in the meta, being basically mandatory because of zacc's presence, and they are an absolute hard counter to palafin. pdon also forces it to 50/50 between rend and headlong, and it's slow, not outrunning neutral arcs. with that said a fin set would still be better as psea w/rend headlong uturn/flip turn and smth like trick, as two water STAB moves are unnecessary and glance isn't needed with zygod gone.

Thanks for the info, but just wondering, does that mean arc-water would do better with this moveset? Any improvements? I chose Palafin because it has 160 attack, so it can make the most of its stab, but do you know if another mon would work well with this moveset, and what I should replace glacial lance with, I welcome all suggestions, I was thinking maybe m-gyrados or Ashgren would work well with this.

 

[dtc09]

Thanks for the info, but just wondering, does that mean arc-water would do better with this moveset? Any improvements? I chose Palafin because it has 160 attack, so it can make the most of its stab, but do you know if another mon would work well with this moveset, and what I should replace glacial lance with, I welcome all suggestions, I was thinking maybe m-gyrados or Ashgren would work well with this.

waterceus sounds better than palafin, the problem is you take up your arc slot when it is so valuable for defensive cores, with fc waterceus/scales fairy/groundceus all being great. the best psea abuser is actually zacc, as it enjoys the fire immune, can have good utility, torque can hax through some stuff and it's a great improof to many mons while potentially being self-improof with anchor shot too against non-cloak/tera ghost imp.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

Honestly, Mray isn't that great imo, it's not that fast and the +1 in spatk or atk from download from the base inteprid sword are nowhere close to being threatening, it has some decent bulk but the moment it's forced to switch out it is pathetically weak, mixed sets are just outclasses by stronger variants like mmx/mmy/deo-a who run more power mixed libero sets as mray is disabled thanks to delta stream. However delta stream isn't an awful ability either, it just doesn't really have any place to be in the tier as it gets outclassed a lot sadly

I tried making it work as its my fav mon but that was a failure

Yeah. The things that make Mega Ray broken in regular meta, isn't relevant here. Everything can have almost any ability, and almost every mon can hold any item.

 

[Champion Leon]

One thing I thought about recently was looking at the player base as employees, and leaders as the HR team who will train their employees.

My goal is to have leaders guide, coach and train because if we ramp up the community's skills, our opponents will be better, the matches will be more frequent, and we will achieve better communication skills for quality posts. In the recruiting world, it is also about retention, so that we don't lose players to rivals (other metagames), similar to how companies improve engagement so they don't see employees resign for a different company.

We, as a community, should steer towards attracting new activity, and improve others so then they can equally contribute once they tap into their potential.

Overall, the more skillful players we have, the more meaningful contributions each person can make. This, ultimately, benefits the community and the metagame as a whole.

In my mind, I feel like it is best to list the rankings of what I feel are player base experience / activity levels:

Level 1 - Novice / Newbie - entry point of a first time player thru a "learning the ropes" player.
*Diving into the metagame.

Level 2 - Wins occasionally - Intermediate / Casual player - knows what it takes to play *but not what it takes to win. (I.e., they will use a Sample team based on what it should do, but struggle to comfortably adjust to their opponent's strategies both in the match, and in general).
**Going with the flow, and hoping for the best.

Level 3 - Average / Standard player - Wins as much as they lose - aware of the important strategies and key Pokemon *but fail to connect the dots of "why a team works". (I.e., good at using Sample Teams, struggles to build their own).
*Treading water, and enduring the learning curve.

Level 4 - Advanced / Skilled player - Wins about 2/3 of the time - aware of why a team works *but not how it can be improved (i.e., can build an effective Sample Team, struggles to identify its key weaknesses and keep it up to date in order to build an optimal team).
*Learning to swim, searching for the shore.

Level 5 - Expert / Can truly teach others - Wins 4/5 of the time - aware of what changes can be applied to their teams, and know why they won / lost. (They recognize their real opponent is "keeping up with the metagame itself", and their strategy has evolved to keep up with the shifts, and trends, because it is the moving target they successfully aim towards).
*Rides the wave itself, can now see the shore, and heads towards it.

Level 6 - Master / Can shift the metagame - wins 9/10 of the time - these are the players that make the metagame tick. (They know the usage stats, and probably influenced those metagame shifts that other players are trying to keep up with. They don't just build Sample Teams to keep up, their Sample Teams cause those shifts as more and more players use, counter, or find alternatives).
*Arrived on shore, setting the example of what it takes to get there.

Level 7 - Grandmaster / Oversees and outsmarted the metagame - Beyond impacting trends in the metagame, they plant expectations of what it means to be a solid player. They have long since finished the goal of mastering the metagame, they are setting the standards of what is even considered good / bad for other players to live by, and establish what should be suspected / banned or at least have the reasoning for others who decide to consider their points. They are focused on what improves the community.
*Built the community that lives on the shore.

As a starting point: How do you see yourself in this? What level do you feel applies to you?

Personally, I feel like Level 5. I routinely teach others, both in this thread and even against my opponents during our battle, and guide them to improve their own teams, and if needed, I at least ensure they understand my team so they know how to better face it or potentially use it. In doing so, I see their growth as I end up facing them in a battle later on, where they perform better than last time.

I know this post may seem long-winded, but we have a strong opportunity to guide people away from entry level to at least average level, so they are more aware of what it means to make it further. I am wondering if there is any feedback / strategies we can implement, so that players have more resources for improvement.

Tournaments can be a nice incentive for players to get better, as an example. They typically require replays as well, so that allows those players to get feedback on what caused a match to tilt in a certain player's advantage, if they took that opportunity, or if the other player was able to reverse that direction and take the win / why.

Tournaments also ramp up interest, and attract new players.

 

[Pokemonhacker1]

Honestly, Mray isn't that great imo, it's not that fast and the +1 in spatk or atk from download from the base inteprid sword are nowhere close to being threatening, it has some decent bulk but the moment it's forced to switch out it is pathetically weak, mixed sets are just outclasses by stronger variants like mmx/mmy/deo-a who run more power mixed libero sets as mray is disabled thanks to delta stream. However delta stream isn't an awful ability either, it just doesn't really have any place to be in the tier as it gets outclassed a lot sadly

I tried making it work as its my fav mon but that was a failure

You can keep its ability from turning to delta stream with the ability sheild item

 

[Pokemonhacker1]

One thing I thought about recently was looking at the player base as employees, and leaders as the HR team who will train their employees.

My goal is to have leaders guide, coach and train because if we ramp up the community's skills, our opponents will be better, the matches will be more frequent, and we will achieve better communication skills for quality posts. In the recruiting world, it is also about retention, so that we don't lose players to rivals (other metagames), similar to how companies improve engagement so they don't see employees resign for a different company.

We, as a community, should steer towards attracting new activity, and improve others so then they can equally contribute once they tap into their potential.

Overall, the more skillful players we have, the more meaningful contributions each person can make. This, ultimately, benefits the community and the metagame as a whole.

In my mind, I feel like it is best to list the rankings of what I feel are player base experience / activity levels:

Level 1 - Novice / Newbie - entry point of a first time player thru a "learning the ropes" player.
*Diving into the metagame.

Level 2 - Wins occasionally - Intermediate / Casual player - knows what it takes to play *but not what it takes to win. (I.e., they will use a Sample team based on what it should do, but struggle to comfortably adjust to their opponent's strategies both in the match, and in general).
**Going with the flow, and hoping for the best.

Level 3 - Average / Standard player - Wins as much as they lose - aware of the important strategies and key Pokemon *but fail to connect the dots of "why a team works". (I.e., good at using Sample Teams, struggles to build their own).
*Treading water, and enduring the learning curve.

Level 4 - Advanced / Skilled player - Wins about 2/3 of the time - aware of why a team works *but not how it can be improved (i.e., can build an effective Sample Team, struggles to identify its key weaknesses and keep it up to date in order to build an optimal team).
*Learning to swim, searching for the shore.

Level 5 - Expert / Can truly teach others - Wins 4/5 of the time - aware of what changes can be applied to their teams, and know why they won / lost. (They recognize their real opponent is "keeping up with the metagame itself", and their strategy has evolved to keep up with the shifts, and trends, because it is the moving target they successfully aim towards).
*Rides the wave itself, can now see the shore, and heads towards it.

Level 6 - Master / Can shift the metagame - wins 9/10 of the time - these are the players that make the metagame tick. (They know the usage stats, and probably influenced those metagame shifts that other players are trying to keep up with. They don't just build Sample Teams to keep up, their Sample Teams cause those shifts as more and more players use, counter, or find alternatives).
*Arrived on shore, setting the example of what it takes to get there.

Level 7 - Grandmaster / Oversees and outsmarted the metagame - Beyond impacting trends in the metagame, they plant expectations of what it means to be a solid player. They have long since finished the goal of mastering the metagame, they are setting the standards of what is even considered good / bad for other players to live by, and establish what should be suspected / banned or at least have the reasoning for others who decide to consider their points. They are focused on what improves the community.
*Built the community that lives on the shore.

As a starting point: How do you see yourself in this? What level do you feel applies to you?

Personally, I feel like Level 5. I routinely teach others, both in this thread and even against my opponents during our battle, and guide them to improve their own teams, and if needed, I at least ensure they understand my team so they know how to better face it or potentially use it. In doing so, I see their growth as I end up facing them in a battle later on, where they perform better than last time.

View attachment 511971

I know this post may seem long-winded, but we have a strong opportunity to guide people away from entry level to at least average level, so they are more aware of what it means to make it further. I am wondering if there is any feedback / strategies we can implement, so that players have more resources for improvement.

Tournaments can be a nice incentive for players to get better, as an example. They typically require replays as well, so that allows those players to get feedback on what caused a match to tilt in a certain player's advantage, if they took that opportunity, or if the other player was able to reverse that direction and take the win / why.

Tournaments also ramp up interest, and attract new players.

I feel like I am a level 4, as my entire team is hard countered by Blissey, (ie, if a team has Blissey imposter, I struggle to beat it). Any thoughts/suggestions?

 

[dtc09]

I feel like I am a level 4, as my entire team is hard countered by Blissey, (ie, if a team has Blissey imposter, I struggle to beat it). Any thoughts/suggestions?

that's called "improofing", and it's mandatory on teams. many offensive mons (specs mirai for example) just need something that walls imp safely (such as scales groundceus). to prevent imp getting free utility on your support mons, stuff like trapping to pp stall and crippling with status/knock are used. finally, some setup sweepers (such as tail glow mgar) use items to their advantage (in this case, spooky plate judge as its only way to hit ghosts). there's some complications like items to beat improofs but those are the basics.

 

[Champion Leon]

I feel like I am a level 4, as my entire team is hard countered by Blissey, (ie, if a team has Blissey imposter, I struggle to beat it). Any thoughts/suggestions?

One topic I think we should discuss would be ways to Improof your team.

Simple options like Anchor Shot + Salt Cure / Mortal Spin while holding Covert Cloak come to mind.

This is especially true when the moves you use do not compromise the moveset‘s utility outside of Imposter.

For example, PHeal Regigigas Facade is an obvious example of Improofing, but even when Imposter is not a factor, it delivers sweeping, status absorption, Knock Off absorption, and a nice Immunity to Ghost moves so if your foe has Specs Moongeist Beam / Astral Barrage, it can come in to force a switch.

What are some useful Imposterproofing that players should consider when team building?

These can be self-Improof sets like Covert Cloak Mortal Spin, as well as having a teammate Improof it like switching to a Fur Coat Rocky Helmet user on Population Bomb.

I think it can be broken down into 4 Categories:

Tera-Improof: Gaining an immunity or resistance to your set’s main offensive attack while being able to threaten the Imposter into a KO. An easy example would be Tera Fire V-Create Choice Band Zacian-C 1HKOing Imposter. Or at least undermine their strategy, such as Tera Ghost while you trap their non-Ghost Imposter.

Item Improof: Simply switching to a Rocky Helmet wall to tank the opposing Impostered Population Bomb can spell instant KOs. Other items like Focus Sash can ensure the Imposter is a 2HKO, while you 1HKO in return.

Ability Improof: Similar to Rocky Helmet, Liquid Ooze / Magic Bounce can punish Imposter that expects to heal off Strength Sap on a surprise switch. Entrainment on Normalize, Toxic Orb @ Poison Heal are more obvious examples, but others such as Unburden also work.

Move Improof: Poltergeist fails if the user lacks an item, (I.e. after using the consumable Bezerk Gene), and other moves that have restrictions such as Judgement (rather than a regular Ghost Attack) prevent Imposter from being able to mirror your moves’ functionality.

My personal favorite, especially since no one else really uses it or thought of it:

Using a Magic Bounce sweeper and Improofing with a Parting Shot teammate.

Prankster Parting Shot does work on Dark-types Bc the ability Magic Bounce takes precedence over the opponent’s type. Similar to using Prankster Toxic on a Magic Bounce Steel, it still is sent back at the user.

Prankster Haze users are common walls on teams, so it hardly feels like a compromise especially on a sweeper that blocks Strength Sap.

The goal here is to help newer, and any player really, improve their team building - which is the most important skill to have. Once you have a well-built team you understand how to best use, it will be able to use their Imposter to your own advantage, rather than being used by Imposter for the opponent.

Conversely, it will help you better plan how and when to use Imposter yourself. Such as when to use Eviolite or another item, which Tera to give Imposter, etc.

I cover that topic here from last page.

We should use this as a springboard for new discussion, because honestly this is the issue most people face until they get past the Advanced level.

Imposter always adjusts to you, Bc it basically is close to your Pokémon, so it’s ironically the easiest and hardest thing to prepare for.

This can mean that sometimes having a great offensive or defensive Pokémon backfires Bc Imposter can equal or even surpass that and it ends up making something not worth having on your team.

I think it would be ideal for you to post your team so we can guide you.

If you do so, someone at my level or above can train and coach you.

I take pride in mentorship and would be happy to provide feedback.

To my credit, I have seen people use my team, as well as the updated teams I built for people even as recently as yesterday.

I have been told more than once, including yesterday, that they never lost a match when using my team, until they faced me (and losing to their team’s creator is not something to be embarrassed by). The team they were using was the team I corrected and built from the original version here for TheRealOne:

Here is that replay as proof

Greetings,
Submitting a Sample Team on behalf of TheRealOne, upon their request:
View attachment 508238
Here is a replay I have after testing it Vs 1522 High Ladder Player

Overview

leads as it safely pivots off high-speed Volt Switches, to send in to set down hazards on the foe's team. also supports the team by spreading Nuzzle Paralysis, so as to ensure any set-up or faster threats are now outsped by . It's Ice Scales also serves as a nice wall for Special Attackers, including allowing it to Improof itself. offers the Fur Coat support and its helpful resistances make for an easy switch-in for Fishous Rends that threatens , in addition to Steel / Fire / Ice offense. provides Mortal Spin support to not only clear hazards, but also spread Poison, which allows it to serve as an Improof against enemy as well. Covert Cloak can be replaced by Ability Shield if need be, but Covert Cloak also lets it improof against Imposter too via Mortal Spin.

serves as a standard Prankster Hazer, while Red Orb provides Knock Off support, and handles opposing Fur Coat via Solar Beam. Imposter Eviolite aids as a last resort if the foe has a sweeper, or just a useful Pokemon worth copying, and if the foe has Imposter out you can use its original moveset for Court Change, Aromatherapy, or Whirlwind utility.

Threats

Pokemon like MG can pose a threat since it outspeeds , can opt for Chloroblast on , threaten with physical High-Jump Kick Fighting coverage, and overall feel unpredictable. with Specs and Tera Fairy Boomburst can also pose a threat to Giratina and can hurt Ting-Lu, but are still handled by Imposter, or after Giratina Teras into Steel.

If you read that post, you can see how my team update for them is literally designed for Improofing throughout the match.

Lastly, one of the best ways to beat Imposter is through your own!

If you have an Imposter out against their Imposter, then yours cannot Transform because it doesn’t work against a Transformed Pokémon. You can use this to your benefit, Bc it gives you leverage to use its original move set which can include Whirlwind, which forces them out.

Now, there are exceptions to this, such as if the foe has copied Magic Bounce / Good As Gold, but ultimately, as long as your Imposter is handling Special Attacks or a non-threatening wall (I.e. not using Body Press), then you can force out Imposter in 1 move.

Lastly, consider the relevance of an item AND Tera.

For example, how about Covert Cloak on your Water / Steel Pokémon, and you provide it with Salt Cure? Lump it with Anchor Shot to trap it. Mortal Spin can also be used as a backup if you predict the Imposter will Tera’d into Ghost, so now they get Poisoned when they hope to switch out after the turn they Tera.

You could even have Tera so that you Tera out of Water, so that if you fear Knock Off you still only take half as much damage as Imposter would take from Salt Cure.

The goal is to control Imposter, Bc facing Imposter should be easier than facing a mirror match where you face the same team as your own.

Rocky Helmet on a Fur Coat Pokémon against Imposter that lacks Protective Pads when using Population Bomb is another one.

I am rooting for you; and will be happy to help along the way.

Also, consider trying out that Kyogre set I made for you, Thunder breaks FC Water-Arceus and can easily be Improofed by your teammates. Kyogre is built to handle SpA so it is not fragile.

EDIT: Here is my latest score:

I think I will re-evaluate my self-assessment to Level 6: Master.

My teams clearly impact others as they end up using them, trying to counter them, and finding alternatives.

For example, after I checked usage stats, I see Groudon @ Red Orb's 4 most common moves among the top players are directly from my set, where V-Create has for the most part been replaced by Bitter Blade, and Mortal Spin is more common than previously.

I also see Dauntless Shield growing in popularity whereas I only used to see Intrepid Sword on its base form. I know my weaknesses - and my team, for the most part, directly covers them. I am not here to play, I am here to improve, and grow the community.

My Parting Shot Giratina set may seem generic, but people rarely used Parting Shot on Prankster before my team promoted it.
My teams don't really rely on adjustments, beyond a Zygarde-C ban, they function where they should: consistently.

For those interested in the usage stats, you can see this post that includes a breakdown from top players usage, to lower end, to the overall.

I Mastered the metagame bc I see what it demands and stay ahead.

 

[cityscapes]

personally i think trying to get new people in the community is less helpful or important than just working to make the community itself better to be in. i may have been a dumbass teenager for the majority of my time in this community but i still retrospectively regret all the time me and others spent on "drawing people in" by yelling at them to stop losing to imposter. you can never connect with someone over a game when neither of you have any idea why they play it or what they're looking for from it. if i could go back, i would spend all that time fucking around in call with like tea guzzler and my other pals ("pals" here including pretty much everyone in the bh and greater om communities), laddering with the grimiest teams known to man and making shoddily drawn memes in paint dot net.

let go of senses of "duty" toward the community. the more fun you have, the more others will look up to you and hence engage in the same stuff as you. i think silly posts meant to be controversial are more fun to respond to than like speed tiers or stuff people write to make them seem like a Respectable Player. and when people are having a lot of fun they also get good at the game, just as a bonus.

like fuckin i remember this one time i was laddering and i lost to this one 1300s dude over something silly (i dont remember what it was) and i was a little tilted. so we played a few rematch games and then talked about some shit and it turned out he was an ai nerd and i was too. so now we're mutuals on twitter and we talk about nerd stuff often. on the other side of things i go to this chess club irl and i really cant fully express the utterly dismal feeling of seeing a real person in front of you refuse to engage with you as a person and instead just default to playing their shitty chess opening again and again and talk about fuckin chess streamers. they are also a little bit bobby fischer if you catch my drift but thats for another time.

idk dude sometimes i think of this post and how mad everyone got about it but its funny as fuck, reminds me of hba back in the day when we all still played bh

edit: zoomers these days dont know that back in the day when we were disenfranchised by the community powers-that-be we would just make our own discord servers and play jackbox and have minecraft servers on aternos and those were some of the best days of our budding lives

 

[Pokemonhacker1]

I cover that topic here from last page.

We should use this as a springboard for new discussion, because honestly this is the issue most people face until they get past the Advanced level.

Imposter always adjusts to you, Bc it basically is close to your Pokémon, so it’s ironically the easiest and hardest thing to prepare for.

This can mean that sometimes having a great offensive or defensive Pokémon backfires Bc Imposter can equal or even surpass that and it ends up making something not worth having on your team.

I think it would be ideal for you to post your team so we can guide you.

If you do so, someone at my level or above can train and coach you.

I take pride in mentorship and would be happy to provide feedback.

To my credit, I have seen people use my team, as well as the updated teams I built for people even as recently as yesterday.

I have been told more than once, including yesterday, that they never lost a match when using my team, until they faced me (and losing to their team’s creator is not something to be embarrassed by). The team they were using was the team I corrected and built from the original version here for TheRealOne:
If you read that post, you can see how my team update for them is literally designed for Improofing throughout the match.

Lastly, one of the best ways to beat Imposter is through your own!

If you have an Imposter out against their Imposter, then yours cannot Transform because it doesn’t work against a Transformed Pokémon. You can use this to your benefit, Bc gives you leverage to use its original move set which can include Whirlwind, which forcea them out.

Now, there are exceptions to this, such as if the foe has copied Magic Bounce / Good As Gold, but ultimately, as long as your Imposter is handling Special Attacks or a non-threatening wall (I.e. not using Body Press), then you can force out Imposter in 1 move.

Lastly, consider the relevance of an item AND Tera.

For example, how about Covert Cloak on your Water / Steel Pokémon, and you provide it with Salt Cure? Lump it with Anchor Shot to trap it. Mortal Spin can also be used as a backup if you predict the Imposter will Tera’d into Ghost, so now they get Poisoned when they hope to switch.

You could even have Tera so that you Tera out of Water, so that if you fear Knock Off you still only take half as much damage as Imposter would take from Salt Cure.

The goal is to control Imposter, Bc facing Imposter should be easier than facing a mirror match where Imposter lacks your item. Rocky Helmet on a Fur Coat Pokémon against Imposter that lacks Protective Pads when using Population Bomb is another one.

I am rooting for you; and will be happy to help along the way.

That PHeal regigagas sounds

I cover that topic here from last page.

We should use this as a springboard for new discussion, because honestly this is the issue most people face until they get past the Advanced level.

Imposter always adjusts to you, Bc it basically is close to your Pokémon, so it’s ironically the easiest and hardest thing to prepare for.

This can mean that sometimes having a great offensive or defensive Pokémon backfires Bc Imposter can equal or even surpass that and it ends up making something not worth having on your team.

I think it would be ideal for you to post your team so we can guide you.

If you do so, someone at my level or above can train and coach you.

I take pride in mentorship and would be happy to provide feedback.

To my credit, I have seen people use my team, as well as the updated teams I built for people even as recently as yesterday.

I have been told more than once, including yesterday, that they never lost a match when using my team, until they faced me (and losing to their team’s creator is not something to be embarrassed by). The team they were using was the team I corrected and built from the original version here for TheRealOne:

Here is that replay as proof
If you read that post, you can see how my team update for them is literally designed for Improofing throughout the match.

Lastly, one of the best ways to beat Imposter is through your own!

If you have an Imposter out against their Imposter, then yours cannot Transform because it doesn’t work against a Transformed Pokémon. You can use this to your benefit, Bc it gives you leverage to use its original move set which can include Whirlwind, which forces them out.

Now, there are exceptions to this, such as if the foe has copied Magic Bounce / Good As Gold, but ultimately, as long as your Imposter is handling Special Attacks or a non-threatening wall (I.e. not using Body Press), then you can force out Imposter in 1 move.

Lastly, consider the relevance of an item AND Tera.

For example, how about Covert Cloak on your Water / Steel Pokémon, and you provide it with Salt Cure? Lump it with Anchor Shot to trap it. Mortal Spin can also be used as a backup if you predict the Imposter will Tera’d into Ghost, so now they get Poisoned when they hope to switch out after the turn they Tera.

You could even have Tera so that you Tera out of Water, so that if you fear Knock Off you still only take half as much damage as Imposter would take from Salt Cure.

The goal is to control Imposter, Bc facing Imposter should be easier than facing a mirror match where you face the same team as your own.

Rocky Helmet on a Fur Coat Pokémon against Imposter that lacks Protective Pads when using Population Bomb is another one.

I am rooting for you; and will be happy to help along the way.

Also, consider trying out that Kyogre set I made for you, Thunder breaks FC Water-Arceus and can easily be Improofed by your teammates. Kyogre is built to handle SpA so it is not fragile.

EDIT: Here is my latest score:

View attachment 512262

I think I will re-evaluate my self-assessment to Level 6: Master.

My teams clearly impact others as they end up using them, trying to counter them, and finding alternatives.

For example, after I checked usage stats, I see Groudon @ Red Orb's 4 most common moves among the top players are directly from my set, where V-Create has for the most part been replaced by Bitter Blade, and Mortal Spin is more common than previously.

I also see Dauntless Shield growing in popularity whereas I only used to see Intrepid Sword on its base form. I know my weaknesses - and my team, for the most part, directly covers them. I am not here to play, I am here to improve, and grow the community.

My Parting Shot Giratina set may seem generic, but people rarely used Parting Shot on Prankster before my team promoted it.
My teams don't really rely on adjustments, beyond a Zygarde-C ban, they function where they should: consistently.

For those interested in the usage stats, you can see this post that includes a breakdown from top players usage, to lower end, to the overall.

I Mastered the metagame bc I see what it demands and stay ahead.

Here is my team
Any Improvements?
Gyarados-Mega @ Life Orb
Ability: Sniper
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Fishious Rend
- Headlong Rush
- Surging Strikes
- Thunder Fang

Mewtwo-Mega-Y @ Choice Specs
Ability: Beads of Ruin
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Rash Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Torch Song

Mewtwo-Mega-X @ Choice Band
Ability: Sword of Ruin
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
- V-create
- Earthquake
- Close Combat
- Fishious Rend

Hoopa-Unbound @ Focus Sash
Ability: Simple
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
- No Retreat
- Jaw Lock
- Spectral Thief
- Power Trip

Zacian-Crowned @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Pixilate
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Boomburst
- Last Resort
- Skull Bash

Miraidon @ Zap Plate
Ability: Galvanize
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Boomburst
- Judgment
- Steam Eruption
- Expanding Force

 

[Champion Leon]

Missed the point.

Its okay, this post was geared towards currently active NDBH9 players hoping to improve… :)

That, in addition towards players who feel the community can grow Bc they have a hard time getting paired in matches due to a less active player base. It’s no one fault, but it could still improve if people feel more welcome and feel there is a clear guidance, so they don’t feel like it’s hard to figure out the metagame.

I remember you used to play BH seriously and mentioned you had over a dozen teams, and would post guides even longer than mine. Some of the more experience users, who also played seriously, would feel frustrated with posts that didn’t address what they wanted to read, such as a new player asking about Imposter, and they made it clear to that poster.

If a rude or dismissive reply becomes the norm, it would discourage those new players from continuing to play and asking questions to get them from newbie to average in skill.

I remember back then,, those new players gave up, the active players gradually left as they moved on, and the community suffered from a smaller pool of activity. Even waiting for a pairing for your next match could take about 10 minutes.

Now, Imagine if some of the same effort they put into those posts, was also afforded into showing others how to improve. That’s my goal here. I.e. helping the player I am about to reply to:

That PHeal regigagas sounds

Here is my team
Any Improvements?
Gyarados-Mega @ Life Orb
Ability: Sniper
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Fishious Rend
- Headlong Rush
- Surging Strikes
- Thunder Fang

Mewtwo-Mega-Y @ Choice Specs
Ability: Beads of Ruin
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Rash Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Torch Song

Mewtwo-Mega-X @ Choice Band
Ability: Sword of Ruin
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
- V-create
- Earthquake
- Close Combat
- Fishious Rend

Hoopa-Unbound @ Focus Sash
Ability: Simple
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
- No Retreat
- Jaw Lock
- Spectral Thief
- Power Trip

Zacian-Crowned @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Pixilate
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Boomburst
- Last Resort
- Skull Bash

Miraidon @ Zap Plate
Ability: Galvanize
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Boomburst
- Judgment
- Steam Eruption
- Expanding Force

Let's use Pokepaste for future teams, this serves as a nice link so you don't take up as much space in your post.
Now, our goal for a team is to face the

Standards checklist:

0. A. Before building always remember: Remove all Attack EVs, IVs from your non-physical attack Pokemon, so Strength Sap does not heal your opponent as much, and so if you are hit with Confusion (i.e. Magical Torque), you don't deal much damage to yourself.

B. Remove all Speed EVs, IVs, from you Defensive Pokemon, so this way you can avoid Core Enforcer removing your ability, and so if you have a pivot move, you can underspeed the opponent's slow pivot as well. These are optional if you have a Fairy-type since it is immune to Core Enforcer, and if you have Teleport to always go last on your pivot to your teammate.

1. Does each member contribute to my team in a way that benefits it?
(Decide what role each team member has, since you only have 6 and you want each team member to be worthy of its place on your team).

2. Do my teammates support each other - or themselves, enough?
(I.e. Handling Imposter, having a good switch-in to an opponent's Pokemon that threatens out your active Pokemon).

3. Have I included the standard Abiltiies / Moves that feel almost required? Prankster + Haze, Hazard removal (Tidy Up, Mortal Spin, etc.).
And do you have Pokemon that prevent the foe from using these moves? (Such as a Steel-type blocking Mortal Spin)

4. Are my Pokemon the best fit for my team, or are they just good in general?
(Are they ideal or just good on paper? An example would be when someone adds Imposter to their team because they don't know what else to include as their final Pokemon).

5. Do you have the necessary types to handle the bigger threats - both offensively and defensively?
V-Create, Fishious Rend, Gigaton Hammer, Rising Voltage, etc. are very strong moves that most people would consider when building their team - so that way a Sweeper doesn't just easily bulldoze their team.

For example, on my team, I use Ferrothorn, and it happens to be immune or resistant to all 4 moves. Groudon @ Red Orb also is resistant or immune to all 4 moves. That's why they are a great core on my team, they offer good moves, but still provide nice resistances / immunities.[/hide]

Pokepaste of team here. *It's a Newly Finished Version.

Overview

Now, onto your team:

I found that you relied on Offense too much, and therefore you can simply replace some offensive Pokemon with nice defensive Pokemon, otherwise if the opponent gets a good head start with a faster sweeper, it would be harder for you to recover and turn things around.

I also noticed MMY only had 1 move... so it was replaced first because it offered the least to the team: I added Prankster Giratina so it could easily support your team, and of course, use Tera Steel if it needed to absorb hits aimed at its Dragon-typing.

I also changed Miraidon to Gengar-Mega serve as the necessary pivot lead to scout what your foe is leading with, and allow for a faster pivot so you can see if they manually switch out, and send in a counter accordingly. It's also more reliable because Moongeist Beam breaks Ice Scales.

Zacian-C takes full advantage of its raw power.

I replaced Hoopa-Unbound with another Dark-type, Ting-Lu so it can handle Ghost and Dark-type attacks aimed at Giratina, such as Moongeist Beam off Specs Gengar-Mega, while offering an Improof to Miraidon. The reduces the need for Giratina to use Tera, and promotes saving it for something that isn't as easily prevented. Assault Vest Regenerator also allows for 1 more move, since you don't need Heal Order, and it blocks Moongeist Beam from bypassing its SpD boost bc its boosted by an item not an ability.

Next I replaced, Gyarados-Mega with another Water-type in Fur Coat Arceus-Water, this allows it to remove hazards, remove an opponent's ability, especially Groudon @ Red Orb, steal boosts so you don't rely on Haze Giratina to block set-up, and you can cover physical attacks, the same way Ting-Lu covers Special Attacks. Afterall, Ting-Lu handles Rising Voltage aimed at Arceus-Water, while Arceus-Water handles Fishous Rend aimed at Ting-Lu.

Lastly, I included Regigigas, since it is self-Improof, can provide helpful Knock Off support, so you have an easy time removing Covert Cloak and can now status your foes with Mortal Spin and Nuzzle. It can easily sweep, and is durable enough to exploit Poison Heal with Facade.

Please test it for yourself, and report the results. If any tweaking is needed you can highlight what you noticed were concerns after playing with it in your matches. Replays are always helpful.[/Hide]

 

[cityscapes]

Its okay, this post was geared towards currently active NDBH9 players hoping to improve… :)

i have a job interview in like eight and a half hours so this may not be the most coherent. still i will try my best.

i think my criticism was taken a little bit too lightly in your post. let me restate it more bluntly: i think "mentoring" is not fun. mentoring is what rich kids get sent to by their parents. there is no reason why we have to adopt their model here. those guys get paid to produce cookie-cutter children, we don't get paid and are not burdened with any such expectations. in light of this i question what the point of "student" and "teacher" roles are in the first place. it seems like they're just a barrier in the way of genuine social interaction with said pupil and ultimately do more harm than good. i ultimately would just like to play together with them, with no roles required.

im not saying be rude or dismissive to newbies. what im saying is dont treat them with kid gloves, dont give them easy shortcuts to higher elo as though its a gift. they should be in the advanced learning process from the start. why? cause that's where all the fun is.

also i think your analogy of the "shore" in your player level thing is a bit strange. like in big tournaments when you have truly passionate top players with good incentives to perform, those guys will fuck each other up. i mean absolutely burn each other to the ground. the way competitive games work is that one of those two players will be seriously forced to confront inadequacies rudely introduced to them by the other one. what is the community? the community is a campfire bright in the darkness that everyone sits and laughs by after the sunset. the community is where inadequacies go to die. really the community is for everyone. pacifying new players with "just run xyz to gain 100 elo kekw" instead of letting them fight and kill their inadequacies firsthand is and has always been the greatest mistake this community has ever made (of course besides the funny stuff that they delete your post for mentioning)

the chess world has fallen. Millions must blunder

 

[Champion Leon]

i have a job interview in like eight and a half hours so this may not be the most coherent. still i will try my best.

i think my criticism was taken a little bit too lightly in your post. let me restate it more bluntly: i think "mentoring" is not fun. mentoring is what rich kids get sent to by their parents. there is no reason why we have to adopt their model here. those guys get paid to produce cookie-cutter children, we don't get paid and are not burdened with any such expectations. in light of this i question what the point of "student" and "teacher" roles are in the first place. it seems like they're just a barrier in the way of genuine social interaction with said pupil and ultimately do more harm than good. i ultimately would just like to play together with them, with no roles required.

im not saying be rude or dismissive to newbies. what im saying is dont treat them with kid gloves, dont give them easy shortcuts to higher elo as though its a gift. they should be in the advanced learning process from the start. why? cause that's where all the fun is.

also i think your analogy of the "shore" in your player level thing is a bit strange. like in big tournaments when you have truly passionate top players with good incentives to perform, those guys will fuck each other up. i mean absolutely burn each other to the ground. the way competitive games work is that one of those two players will be seriously forced to confront inadequacies rudely introduced to them by the other one. what is the community? the community is a campfire bright in the darkness that everyone sits and laughs by after the sunset. the community is where inadequacies go to die. really the community is for everyone. pacifying new players with "just run xyz to gain 100 elo kekw" instead of letting them fight and kill their inadequacies firsthand is and has always been the greatest mistake this community has ever made (of course besides the funny stuff that they delete your post for mentioning)

the chess world has fallen. Millions must blunder

My goal wasn’t to make everyone a mentor.

It was to simply take requests seriously when someone has them, if you bother to reply at all. No response is better than a dismissive reply.

Remember, a lot of experienced players forget what it was like when they were the new player.

Veteran players probably started at the beginning of the generation alongside others so it felt like you were not alone, or carried over from prior generations and sometimes with experience comes a sense of feeling burdened with new people who have questions.

My own individual decision to help is because I genuinely enjoy getting someone from point a to b.

Many meta games have a thread for mentorship, and that is usually geared towards ones that are bigger like BH.

If you feel guiding someone is pacifying them, that kind of contradicts having VRs, and Sample Teams Bc that is already telling players what is good (based on rankings), and what sets work for the current meta (Sample Teams that showcase what movesets make sense for that team).

My point is being able to explain what those mean, it’s almost like they have the answer to a question of “what’s good?” But cannot explain “why it’s good”.

If new people shouldn’t be guided, then they may as well just play without visiting the thread.

Since a player who wants to get better naturally wants to learn from others who are ahead of them, whether it be asking a general question, or requesting someone help them with their team, it kind of goes hand in hand with what people post on the thread anyway.

Plus, I would rather get people to have some standards down, like letting them know PokePaste is a helpful tool to reduce length of a post.

Plus, sometimes the newbies teach the veterans. After all, didn’t the same person who struggles to face Imposter, in general, teach us that a Rayquaza keeps it’s ability upon Mega Evolving if it holds the Ability Shield item?

You can keep its ability from turning to delta stream with the ability sheild item

How many of us knew this? Even a shocked reaction for their post tells us.

I was simply making my post on Levels of skills so people can better size themselves up, and if they feel they need help go ahead and ask.

Also, it helps us know where someone else is, for example someone may feel they are an Advanced Level 4, but end up being someone who isnt quite there yet and can be brought up.

*I am sorry if I made you feel you have to post just to help others, my goal was to just help newer players feel validated when they need help, and so we don’t feel shy in being willing to at least take their posts seriously.

If you were brand new, wouldn’t you want to have someone better give you some pointers? If we have a lot of “nah, they can learn it on their own” like you kind of imply, then that doesn’t make sense to have that mentality if this thread is a resource to begin with.

Lastly, your point on Tournaments applies to metagames with Tournaments. Without any active signups for one, then the point you made is not applicable, and even if we start one soon, how often would a tournament need to happen for it to stay true? Sometimes you just get paired with an easier team or opponent, and you don’t know how you can improve your team if you win. Othertimes, hax tilts in the end result, even if the better team and player “should” Win.

Sometimes what’s good on paper doesn’t work in practice, and what’s good in practice doesn’t look good on paper. And that’s why reviewing stuff with others helps.

Also: Update on the team I made for Pokemonhacker1
Replay
Replay 2

This highlights its effectiveness in the match, and ironically, much of their team was similar to mine ;). I played masterfully, timing the end of their Terrain effects, controlling the match with hazards so they couldn't switch out and come back in with Imposter, and of course winning 5-0.

I tried to focus on the team on its own, reducing the use and reliance on my prior team, and it paid off, so after tweaking it, I am returning to my rightful place at #1. ;)

 

[LOrd Fernado]

i should've done this eariler but i just want to thank Cta and anaconja for helping me edit teams for this format - it's helped me understand the metagame a lot more and i'll post the teams and some replays of them:
MMX + Miraidon BO (pokepast.es) showcases: (ana helped touch up with this one)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexbh-1854675317-6sv76tl5uye7bor9jtvbc24yqvp47mppw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexbh-1854678793-o0r4s57jiudmmkgsk3777zsmtke7paepw (faced the same guy again)

M-Kang Balance (pokepast.es) showcases: (Cta basically built the team for me - didn't understand how this metagame worked)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexbh-1854681523-ldx6uelnysj5ktty68g0pj94va7w8iqpw (this was WAY too close)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexbh-1854689117-vn25cxbha1lv4bvsftkdlddfb9tw1c6pw (yveltal sweeps again)
Overall this metagame is undiscovered, underrated, but a super healthy one, with no major threats.

 

[Champion Leon]

i should've done this eariler but i just want to thank Cta and anaconja for helping me edit teams for this format - it's helped me understand the metagame a lot more and i'll post the teams and some replays of them:
MMX + Miraidon BO (pokepast.es) showcases: (ana helped touch up with this one)

I am so happy! I see your join date is February just 2 months ago.

This is what I was hoping for, new people being validated, and given useful guidance with welcome arms.

I really am glad that you showcased the credit for the people who helped, the replays to show your proper use and understanding of the team, and the team pokepaste like I mentioned in the last post.

Honestly, that’s all I was trying to say, and your post shows the result of community uniting to usher in new players, like when you said
[

M-Kang Balance (pokepast.es) showcases: (Cta basically built the team for me - didn't understand how this metagame worked)

Overall this metagame is undiscovered, underrated, but a super healthy one, with no major threats.

This will ultimately lead to even more community involvement, where a post like this serves as an example of how it pays off.

Totally happy for you, and this totally makes me feel like my points earlier are seen and heard.

Thank you for sharing. :)

Oh, and I am ranked #2 after laddering with mostly just the team I built for Pokemonhacker1

I faced high, medium, and low ladder, through the team I build, and with the testing I put into it, I see how well it paid off!

In the end, I don't just build, I tweak and adjust, and I am really glad with the updated final version of it called: The Champion's Gift because now he can see that the team really works for high-value synergy.

Speaking of, here are some helpful replays!

High Ladder Offense: tinydarki

Medium Ladder Stall: ☆aSian✿kIwI。 ͜つ °
Rematch: ☆aSian✿kIwI。 ͜つ °

Medium Ladder Balance:
ClevelandGamingYT

Low Ladder Balance: Yttrious
I had to face my own old team! This feels so rewarding, to see people use it all the time, and see my hard work benefit others. :)

P.S. Hadron Engine and Ori Pulse block Worry Seed, and Entrainment, which is another reason to use it over Swords of Ruin and Beads of Ruin, respectively.
I didn't realize it until my team faced those moves and my Gengar-Mega was immune, and guess what? It helped me win ;).

Unfortunately, the ladder is dead, otherwise I would go for #1.

 

[Champion Leon]

I have a new topic!

How do you guys use your Tera?

Sometimes people have used an identical Sample Team but with only 1 change: Tweaking The Tera Type On 1 or More Pokémon!

What Tera types do you guys suggest for the most standard Pokémon, and their Standard sets?

For example, I used to use Groudon @ Red Orb with Tera Fire to boost its Fire move Bitter Blade, but later I switched to Normal, to avoid Spectral Thief, and to thwart Normalize / Specs Ghosts that think they can streamroll.

One thing I also like doing is making my Zacian-C crowned a Fire Tera for KOing Imposter with V-Create. It’s so satisfying.

What are some of your favorite Tera-types, and does it vary heavily on the set you give your Pokemon, or is the type the same for a given Pokemon, regardless of its set?

For example, many Imposter Chansey use Ghost as their Tera to dodge a trap, and so if they don’t Transform, Ghost allows them to stomach a Fighting-type or Normal-type move. (Say you pivot Imposter in against a foe’s Imposter of MMX, and now it’s Triple Arrows is blocked).

I feel like this topic is really important for Teambuilding, and really impacts a match!

One of my favorite Teras is Tera Flying on my Dialga, Bc it gains an immunity to Spikes, Ground, and a resistance to Fighting, while packing a nice hit in Core Enforcer.

Pokémon like MMX attempting to 1-Shot Dialga lose their ability, take a dent to the face, and if they are Choiced, are forced out while I rack up hazards…

Have you guys reviewed your teams and kept the moveset but switched your Teras?

Does Tera become a huge use on something on your team, or is it more of a backup?

Let me know your thoughts on how important choosing the Tera is in your team building, and if the moveset is the deciding factor.

:)

 

[TechnoMikl]

I just recently got back into NDBH (the last time I played NDBH was a few years ago in Gen 8), and although I'm still learning the meta and the new moves and whatnot, I have a set I thought I'd share:

Perish Trap Pult

Dragapult @ Leftovers
Ability: Normalize
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Anchor Shot
- Entrainment
- Perish Song
- Taunt

This Pult set primarily exists to take care of defensive mons not named Giratina (aka not Ghost type), and I stuck it on a team with Leon's defensive core of Prankster Giratina/Regen AV Ting-Lu/Fur Coat Arc-Water alongside two Fishious Rend users to see how it would perform. I ran into Leon himself after a few matches, and I think I caught him off guard with the set (although I ended up losing anyways), which incentivized me to make this post.

Looking at the set, the idea behind it is fairly obvious. It's your usual Normalize + Ghost shennanigans, except that the set is entirely geared towards trapping and removing your opponent's defensive backbone. Regular Normalize Gengar can struggle with mass switching, recovery, Haze, etc., but once this Pult gets an Anchor Shot off on your opponent's Arc/Dialga/whatever else they have, you have Taunt to cover for Teleport and non-Prankster Parting Shot (and against Prankster Parting Shot, you can Tera Dark), as well as Entrainment to cover for a Volt/Turn move. The Lefties are there so even if you take a hit from the mon you're trapping before you can click Entrainment, you can wait some turns before clicking Perish Song to get back to full HP. Maybe there's a better item out there though.

That's about it for the Pult set, but I also want to give a bit more of a shout-out to Leon. Back when I started NDBH in Gen 8, I posted a team in the forums and asked for advice, and Leon really helped refine the team. He was consistently one of the most active and supportive voices in the community, and upon returning, it doesn't look like that's changed. The first few matches I played upon returning were with Leon's team, and it really helped me get a good feel for the format. So yeah, I'm not really sure where I'm going with this, but once again a massive thanks to Leon.

 

[LOrd Fernado]

I have a new topic!

How do you guys use your Tera?

Sometimes people have used an identical Sample Team but with only 1 change: Tweaking The Tera Type On 1 or More Pokémon!

What Tera types do you guys suggest for the most standard Pokémon, and their Standard sets?

For example, I used to use Groudon @ Red Orb with Tera Fire to boost its Fire move Bitter Blade, but later I switched to Normal, to avoid Spectral Thief, and to thwart Normalize / Specs Ghosts that think they can streamroll.

One thing I also like doing is making my Zacian-C crowned a Fire Tera for KOing Imposter with V-Create. It’s so satisfying.

What are some of your favorite Tera-types, and does it vary heavily on the set you give your Pokemon, or is the type the same for a given Pokemon, regardless of its set?

For example, many Imposter Chansey use Ghost as their Tera to dodge a trap, and so if they don’t Transform, Ghost allows them to stomach a Fighting-type or Normal-type move. (Say you pivot Imposter in against a foe’s Imposter of MMX, and now it’s Triple Arrows is blocked).

I feel like this topic is really important for Teambuilding, and really impacts a match!

One of my favorite Teras is Tera Flying on my Dialga, Bc it gains an immunity to Spikes, Ground, and a resistance to Fighting, while packing a nice hit in Core Enforcer.

Pokémon like MMX attempting to 1-Shot Dialga lose their ability, take a dent to the face, and if they are Choiced, are forced out while I rack up hazards…

Have you guys reviewed your teams and kept the moveset but switched your Teras?

Does Tera become a huge use on something on your team, or is it more of a backup?

Let me know your thoughts on how important choosing the Tera is in your team building, and if the moveset is the deciding factor.

:)

Hello first come first served ig… nah jk.
Generally I like using my Tera offensively rather than defensively, since it’s a safer play in general - in my two teams I usually tera my sweepers, Miraidon and Yveltal, but I like using my Dondozo as a Tera option sometimes too. Hope this helps with your persecution of ndbh topics

 

[dtc09]

I just recently got back into NDBH (the last time I played NDBH was a few years ago in Gen 8), and although I'm still learning the meta and the new moves and whatnot, I have a set I thought I'd share:

Perish Trap Pult

Dragapult @ Leftovers
Ability: Normalize
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Anchor Shot
- Entrainment
- Perish Song
- Taunt

This Pult set primarily exists to take care of defensive mons not named Giratina (aka not Ghost type), and I stuck it on a team with Leon's defensive core of Prankster Giratina/Regen AV Ting-Lu/Fur Coat Arc-Water alongside two Fishious Rend users to see how it would perform. I ran into Leon himself after a few matches, and I think I caught him off guard with the set (although I ended up losing anyways), which incentivized me to make this post.

Looking at the set, the idea behind it is fairly obvious. It's your usual Normalize + Ghost shennanigans, except that the set is entirely geared towards trapping and removing your opponent's defensive backbone. Regular Normalize Gengar can struggle with mass switching, recovery, Haze, etc., but once this Pult gets an Anchor Shot off on your opponent's Arc/Dialga/whatever else they have, you have Taunt to cover for Teleport and non-Prankster Parting Shot (and against Prankster Parting Shot, you can Tera Dark), as well as Entrainment to cover for a Volt/Turn move. The Lefties are there so even if you take a hit from the mon you're trapping before you can click Entrainment, you can wait some turns before clicking Perish Song to get back to full HP. Maybe there's a better item out there though.

That's about it for the Pult set, but I also want to give a bit more of a shout-out to Leon. Back when I started NDBH in Gen 8, I posted a team in the forums and asked for advice, and Leon really helped refine the team. He was consistently one of the most active and supportive voices in the community, and upon returning, it doesn't look like that's changed. The first few matches I played upon returning were with Leon's team, and it really helped me get a good feel for the format. So yeah, I'm not really sure where I'm going with this, but once again a massive thanks to Leon.

the problem with this set, and norm entrain in general, is that tinted lens zacc's an absurdly deadly threat that forces ability shield on every physical wall. this means they're free to u-turn anytime to something like zacc which outruns you. and if the walls aren't shield, they for sure are cloak, which avoids the trapping from anchor shot. this however can be fixed by using twaves > anchor, which isn't blocked by cloak.

even then it's still probably too gimmicky to work, as you either have knock support or you do nothing for the entire game. and then if your knock user can't really threaten the opponent's knock absorber (phealer for example) you're playing a complete 5v6, and that matchup fishing really isn't worth it.

 

[Champion Leon]

I just recently got back into NDBH (the last time I played NDBH was a few years ago in Gen 8), and although I'm still learning the meta and the new moves and whatnot, I have a set I thought I'd share:

Perish Trap Pult

Dragapult @ Leftovers
Ability: Normalize
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Anchor Shot
- Entrainment
- Perish Song
- Taunt

This Pult set primarily exists to take care of defensive mons not named Giratina (aka not Ghost type), and I stuck it on a team with Leon's defensive core of Prankster Giratina/Regen AV Ting-Lu/Fur Coat Arc-Water alongside two Fishious Rend users to see how it would perform. I ran into Leon himself after a few matches, and I think I caught him off guard with the set (although I ended up losing anyways), which incentivized me to make this post.

Looking at the set, the idea behind it is fairly obvious. It's your usual Normalize + Ghost shennanigans, except that the set is entirely geared towards trapping and removing your opponent's defensive backbone. Regular Normalize Gengar can struggle with mass switching, recovery, Haze, etc., but once this Pult gets an Anchor Shot off on your opponent's Arc/Dialga/whatever else they have, you have Taunt to cover for Teleport and non-Prankster Parting Shot (and against Prankster Parting Shot, you can Tera Dark), as well as Entrainment to cover for a Volt/Turn move. The Lefties are there so even if you take a hit from the mon you're trapping before you can click Entrainment, you can wait some turns before clicking Perish Song to get back to full HP. Maybe there's a better item out there though.

That's about it for the Pult set, but I also want to give a bit more of a shout-out to Leon. Back when I started NDBH in Gen 8, I posted a team in the forums and asked for advice, and Leon really helped refine the team. He was consistently one of the most active and supportive voices in the community, and upon returning, it doesn't look like that's changed. The first few matches I played upon returning were with Leon's team, and it really helped me get a good feel for the format. So yeah, I'm not really sure where I'm going with this, but once again a massive thanks to Leon.

If you Tera into a Dark-type, then Entrainment’s immunity is negated because you lose your Ghost-typing. It could also allow them to trap you when you use Perish Song.

However, one thing I want to say about your set is that I enjoyed facing it!

It was a bit pesky for me to try and work around it, and I think the only issue was making you guess whether I would avoid Entrainment by using Worry Seed so My next ally could come in, or if I got you to use Taunt when I used Mortal Spin.

Here is my tip: Try Perish Body on a fast Polemon that is really Bulky.

Thousand Waves, Encore, Heal Order, Baneful Bunker @ Shed Shell

The goal?

Slow pivot it in, on say a Teleport, outspeed the foe so when you trap, and they use a physical non-pivot move, you can Encore them, going first so they cannot switch. Perish Song triggers when hit by a contact move.

Being fast means you can use Heal Order before taking more hits, well at least after Baneful Bunker, and then Heal Order.

Baneful Bunker is in case they Tera Ghost to escape, but only after you Poisoned them after doing Encore :)

Long term damage At worst, KO at best via Perish Song.

Next, Shed Shell is so they cannot trap you with Imposter. Thousand Waves > Anchor Shot most of the time Bc Flying-types are few and uncommon, and the ones like Yveltal, are SpA anyways and wouldn’t use Physical moves unless utility like Spectral Thief.

One Pokémon I used to use this set on last Generation was Zamazenta-C, since it was bulky enough and fast enough to pull it off.

You may Wanna try it. :)

Also, I really appreciate your post highlighting my help for you last generation, and even now, so seeing how I was able to inspire your team and be a help to you, really makes my work have its “coming full-circle“ moment.

Thank you for being such a great person, Bc not everyone highlights who guided them. ;)

 

[Pokemonhacker1]

Here is my tip: Try Perish Body on a fast Polemon that is really Bulky.

Thousand Waves, Encore, Heal Order, Baneful Bunker @ Shed Shell

Perish body?

Dragapult @ Leftovers
Ability: Normalize
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Anchor Shot
- Entrainment
- Perish Song
- Taunt

I just have to say bruh, that is a cool idea, kinda reminds me of Wolfe Glicks Perish trap team(s), but for singles. Great set, cool Idea, would hate to face this set