Other Metagames BH - Zamac + Palkia, Kick Ass Combo

[SuperSkylake]

Introduction​

The BH metagame is probably going to change soon as the council mulls over which overpowered moves to ban. As a farewell to this metagame, I present my most successful team, utilizing some really underrated breakers in Thunderous Kick Zamazenta-C and setup Palkia. This team has helped me vault to third position on the BH ladder, and stacks up at least fairly well against the top ladder teams. My best elo is 1763, which is in sight of the top position, but I didn't feel like continuing to wait 10 minutes or more for a single game that probably would get me 5 elo max.

Teambuilding Process​

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Zamazenta-c is the centerpiece of the team, after I rediscovered it while browsing through old natdex BH teams. It ably counters the big two poison heal sweepers, Regigigas and Xerneas, while also breaking other bulky mons with Thunderous Kick.

Doublade was chosen as an improof to Zamazenta-c. Doublade's excellent defenses on both sides after Eviolite and Ice Scales let it switch into fearsome attackers such as Pixilate Xerneas and Nasty Plot Yveltal. In addition, it is great for pivoting on an opponent's predicted trap move.

Prankster mons, Giratina, Ho-Oh, and Fur Coat walls are hard to break with Zamazenta-C. Palkia can easily bust through them with its mixed lustrous orb set, and it has enough bulk and speed to find setup opportunities. Palkia also helps to hold off dangerous weather offense.

Zacian is a perfect improof to Palkia thanks to Water Absorb. Imposter is completely unable to make progress if it comes into copy Palkia, which is very helpful when wearing it down. Zacian also sets up Stealth Rock and knocks off items, which is very useful because my team uses hazards often.

Dialga was chosen to help counter dangerous physical attackers such as Kyurem-B, Zekrom, and Zacian-C. I chose it because it is the most offensive of the available Fur Coat walls, packing an extremely strong Core Enforcer.

**I finished up the team with Prankster Regigigas. It has the highest balanced defenses of any Normal type, and as the Normal-type has no heavily exploitable weaknesses and is also immune to Ghost, it was the best fit. Regigigas is also able to bluff Poison heal until revealed at team preview.

The Team

Zamazenta-Crowned @ Metronome
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Anchor Shot
- Thunderous Kick
- Glacial Lance
- Slack Off
​

Zamazenta-C's bulk and speed let it quickly spiral out of control against unprepared teams. Many walls are compelled to heal if they switch directly into a Thunderous Kick, at which point Metronome and the defense drop force them to make a tough decision on what to do next. Anchor Shot lets you trap the Poison Heal sweepers, 2hkoing Xerneas while Xerneas can't kill in return with Moonblast. Two kicks takes down Regigigas. Glacial Lance deals 70% to Zygarde-C and 40% to Giratina without factoring in abilities, metronome boosts or defense drops, meaning that the latter two turns it into a 2hKO. Against unprepared opponents, Zamac can even take down imposter if it switches directly into a Thunderous Kick that has three or more metronome boosts behind it. The improof is Doublade, which just pivots continuously on it with U-Turn until it leaves.

calcs

252+ Atk Zamazenta-Crowned Thunderous Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Dialga: 104-126 (25.7 - 31.1%) -- not a KO
252+ Atk Metronome Zamazenta-Crowned Thunderous Kick vs. -1 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Dialga: 187-223 (46.2 - 55.1%) -- 61.7% chance to 2HKO

252+ Atk Zamazenta-Crowned Glacial Lance vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Zygarde-Complete: 432-512 (67.9 - 80.5%) -- not a KO (remember, even Fur Coat versions are put under severe pressure due to metronome)

252+ Atk Zamazenta-Crowned Anchor Shot vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Xerneas: 236-278 (51.7 - 60.9%) -- not a KO (click it twice and Xerneas dies, Zamac survives everything)
252+ Atk Zamazenta-Crowned Thunderous Kick vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Regigigas: 240-284 (56.6 - 66.9%) -- not a KO
+1 252+ Atk Regigigas Facade (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Zamazenta-Crowned: 133-157 (34.2 - 40.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO (dies in two kicks, but be careful of +1 Facades with hazards up)

252+ Atk Zamazenta-Crowned Anchor Shot vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tapu Fini: 94-112 (27.3 - 32.5%) -- not a KO (no metronome boost)
252+ Atk Metronome Zamazenta-Crowned Anchor Shot vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tapu Fini: 150-179 (43.6 - 52%) -- not a KO (the fourth consecutive time you click this move,, you are forcing Fini to spam recover to stay alive)

252+ Atk Zamazenta-Crowned Glacial Lance vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Yveltal: 232-274 (50.8 - 60%) -- not a KO (Thunderous Kick almost kills too)

Imposter calcs (no eviolite)
252+ Atk Zamazenta-Crowned Thunderous Kick vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Zamazenta-Crowned: 198-234 (28.1 - 33.2%) -- not a KO
252+ Atk Metronome Zamazenta-Crowned Thunderous Kick vs. -1 252 HP / 252 Def Zamazenta-Crowned: 355-420 (50.4 - 59.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: Ice Scales
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Careful Nature
- Recover
- Spectral Thief
- U-turn
- Spikes
​

Doublade is a solid special wall, only really losing to special Fire-types and Ghost-types. it switches easily into the ever dangerous Pixilate Xerneas and can at least pivot on Refrigerate Kyurem-W. Being able to pivot on Anchor Shots is great too. Being able to switch into tank versions of Zamazenta-C that have a fighting move such as the Cotton Guard Body Press or Fur Coat Low Kick sets is also invaluable. Stab Spectral Thief helps it to spinblock better against common spinners that can hurt it, such as Darmanitan-Z, which it threatens to 3hKO. It might be the weakest link in the defensive core, but I haven't found anything that can do better, and I highly value the easy Anchor Shot switchin and the spinblocking.

cals

252 SpA Choice Specs Refrigerate Kyurem-White Boomburst vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Ice Scales Doublade: 91-108 (28.2 - 33.5%) -- 0.1% chance to 3HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Kyurem-White Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Ice Scales Doublade: 131-155 (40.6 - 48.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO (Blue Flare threatens the 2hKO, but that lets you freely switch in Palkia)

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Eternatus Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Ice Scales Doublade: 131-155 (40.6 - 48.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252+ SpA Adaptability Yveltal Fiery Wrath vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Ice Scales Doublade: 158-188 (49 - 58.3%) -- 97.7% chance to 2HKO (pretty risky)

Palkia @ Lustrous Orb
Ability: Primordial Sea
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Rash Nature
- Fishious Rend
- Quiver Dance
- Steam Eruption
- Clanging Scales
​

Palkia breaks all of the walls that Zamazenta-C can't make easy progress against. If it is given a setup opportunity, something on the other team is almost guaranteed to take serious damage. Primordial Sea gives Palkia just enough extra oomph on its Water moves to threaten bulky mons, since Clanging Scales already does sufficient damage without the boost from an ability. Primordial Sea also has the nice bonus of stopping weather teams in their tracks if it can get in and out safely, as my team would otherwise not do so well against them. Many people have been caught flatfooted after they incorrectly assumed I was choice locked, only to be set up on next turn, and that blunder is very costly. Palkia's success is probably more a testament to the power of Fishious Rend than anything though, as special walls could take it on if it weren't for Rend's existence.

calcs

wallbreaking
252+ SpA Lustrous Orb Palkia Steam Eruption vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Zamazenta-Crowned in Heavy Rain: 219-258 (56.4 - 66.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252+ SpA Lustrous Orb Palkia Steam Eruption vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Zamazenta-Crowned in Heavy Rain: 328-387 (84.5 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ SpA Lustrous Orb Palkia Clanging Scales vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Giratina: 368-434 (73 - 86.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Poison Heal (not even a protect move can save it from dying)

252 Atk Lustrous Orb Palkia Fishious Rend (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Yveltal in Heavy Rain: 387-456 (84.8 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO (regenvest survives a +1 Steam Eruption from full health even after Stealth Rock)

252 Atk Lustrous Orb Palkia Fishious Rend (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Kyogre in Heavy Rain: 182-214 (45 - 52.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Poison Heal

252 Atk Lustrous Orb Palkia Fishious Rend (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tapu Fini in Heavy Rain: 154-182 (44.7 - 52.9%) -- 26.6% chance to 2HKO
252+ SpA Lustrous Orb Palkia Steam Eruption vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Tapu Fini in Heavy Rain: 130-153 (37.7 - 44.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO (if Fini is Fur Coat, Palkia can set up followed by Steam Eruption to threaten to burn and 2hKO, making good progress)

Against offensive mons
+1 252+ SpA Lustrous Orb Palkia Steam Eruption vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Zacian-Crowned in Heavy Rain: 424-501 (109.2 - 129.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO (outspeeds even jolly Zacian-C after one QD boost)
252 Atk Lustrous Orb Palkia Fishious Rend (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Xerneas in Heavy Rain: 387-456 (84.8 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO (most of them aren't running +spe
and everything else is pretty much dead once a quiver dance goes up

if Imposter switches in on Quiver Dance, it loses if Palkia has high health:
+1 252+ SpA Lustrous Orb Palkia Clanging Scales vs. 252 HP / 252- SpD Eviolite Palkia: 408-482 (57.9 - 68.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Palkia Clanging Scales vs. +1 252 HP / 252- SpD Palkia: 228-270 (59.3 - 70.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
since even if Imposter sets up Quiver Dance, two hits should be enough to kill it, when your own Palkia doesn't die in one hit. Note this is the worst case scenario with Eviolite Imposter; other Imposter items lose even harder if they switch directly into Palkia.

showing off the bulk
252+ Atk Choice Band Regieleki Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Palkia: 300-354 (78.1 - 92.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Transistor boost is a KO, so don't stay in until you know what it is)
252+ Atk Choice Band Adaptability Groudon Thousand Arrows vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Palkia: 284-336 (73.9 - 87.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Calyrex-Ice Triple Axel (40 BP) (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Palkia: 201-243 (52.3 - 63.2%) -- approx. 2HKO (You deal 96% minimum with +1 Steam Eruption)

Zacian @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spirit Break
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock
- Strength Sap
​

After reading that nightmarish set of calcs, you may be wondering how I improof Palkia. Zacian takes absolutely nothing from all of Palkia's moves, allowing it to get at least one free turn guaranteed if it switches in on Imposter. Palkia can then proceed to disrupt opponents with Knock Off or set up Rocks, and its insane speed lets it do this really well. Being able to sit on Rain teams' most powerful moves is a neat bonus. Knocking off the boots from Cram-G as it tries to Flip Turn away, even if it results in paralysis, has been really beneficial as well. Spirit Break helps to stall out some dangerous special attacking threats that Doublade can't handle, such as offensive reshiram and Darmanitan-Zen, and it also has more PP than Play Rough. Spirit Break also has the added value of annoying Baton Pass teams, who will be forced to pass the SpA drop or switch out.

Dialga @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Core Enforcer
- Rapid Spin
- Roost
- Heal Bell
​

Dialga is a strong Fur Coat wall for the team. Being able to switch into most Zacian-C sets is invaluable, and even though it can't hit Zacian-C back with anything but Rapid Spin, Dialga deals serious chip with Rocky Helmet. Even if Zacian-C runs something like Strength Sap, that's one fewer offensive move slot, meaning that another of my mons such as Doublade or Gigas might be able to wall it instead. Dialga also works as a backup against Poison Heal Gigas if Zamac is occupied, and it switches into Bolt Beaks, Fisheous Rends and Glacial Lances without too much worries. Against Ground-types such as Landorus-T and Groudon, Dialga has to flee, but Palkia can take care of them instead.

Regigigas @ Lagging Tail
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Haze
- U-turn
- Milk Drink
- Glare
​

The Prankster slot is occupied by Regigigas because it is not vulnerable to any serious moves. Lagging tail is ran to ensure the slow U-Turn while still being able to paralyze opponents with Glare, and also to punish Pokemon trying to trick Regigigas, though in the long run, Gigas loses more functionality with a choice item more than some random offensive mon is crippled by Lagging Tail, but it's at least better than giving them something like Leftovers.

Threat List​

Of course the team isn't perfect and there are threats that can run it over if given the chance.

* Zacian-C: you must keep Dialga's Rocky Helmet up on Zacian-C to have a good chance to beat it. If you can get Palkia set up, it can ohko Zacian-C but the opponent probably won't let you. A +1 Glacial Lance deals about 40% to Dialga, so don't let it take extra damage; the good news is that Glacial lance only has 8 pp so it can just recover stall that out. If things look dire, sacrifice Gigas to land Glare on it.
* Reshiram: This is probably the most dangerous threat on this list. offensive sets without choice item are pretty much impossible to switch into, and you have to hope you can paralyze it with Gigas to offensively check, or, if they are choice locked, drop the special attack using Zacian's Spirit Break and then predict the choice moves. Setup versions with Quiver Dance or Nasty Plot are very bad news. The good news is that you do have immunities to both Dragon and Fire, so smart prediction can let you position yourself, but it's still not fun and you could easily lose a crucial mon.
* Giratina: Giratina on its own isn't a huge problem, but with a solid defensive core, you may have to play an extremely patient game to remove Giratina so that your Zamac can break through the rest of the core.
* Mixed attacking mons with Fire coverage: This is more of a second tier threat but it can still prove dangerous if the wrong mon gets lured. This team doesn't have sturdy fire resists, so pokemon like Pixilate V-Create Xerneas can remove their chief counter which is Doublade, or V-Create Regigigas can actually kill Zamac if they start with Facade before Zamac can take them out with Thunderous Kick.
* Ho-Oh: Similar to Giratina, Ho-Oh is hard to remove with a solid defensive core backing it up. The main way to defeat Ho-Oh is to either paralyze it and just pound it with repeated neutral hits, or get Stealth Rock set up and knock off its boots. Both of these are far from guaranteed.
*Belly Drum: Belly Drum is extremely dangerous because you can't scout sets safely or with Imposter. For example if Zamac is running Unburden Drum you want to use Regigigas to haze its boosts, but if it's running Triage you can use Doublade to Spectral Thief them since it is probably resistant to all the moves, but there's no real way to know without losing something, so you must pick what you want to lose.

Conclusion​

With this iteration of the meta likely coming to a close, I think this team aptly characterizes how this meta was played. Even the most agile defensive cores can be taken out by a move they weren't expecting, and can't keep up with the increasing move power. Here's to hoping that some of the more overpowered elements are curtailed in some way. But while this team is still valid, go play with it, because it's really fun and it brings in wins!

Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8balancedhackmons-1278132777
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8balancedhackmons-1277932556 (extremely close game vs Huhshrug)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8balancedhackmons-1277918675 (another game against Huhshrug)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8balancedhackmons-1276129791
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8balancedhackmons-1274542616-1j0d80lhd613plbvndalx1cemelzccdpw (breaking through Dimra Double Imposter Stall using Palkia)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8balancedhackmons-1277924055-rwutdoxa83kpjbn15zms3guidq0brzwpw (Same team, same opponent, same result)

Importable

Zamazenta-Crowned @ Metronome
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Anchor Shot
- Thunderous Kick
- Glacial Lance
- Slack Off

Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: Ice Scales
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Careful Nature
- Recover
- Spectral Thief
- U-turn
- Spikes

Palkia @ Lustrous Orb
Ability: Primordial Sea
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Rash Nature
- Fishious Rend
- Quiver Dance
- Steam Eruption
- Clanging Scales

Zacian @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spirit Break
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock
- Strength Sap

Dialga @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Core Enforcer
- Rapid Spin
- Roost
- Heal Bell

Regigigas @ Lagging Tail
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Haze
- U-turn
- Milk Drink
- Glare

 

[in the hills]

Great team! Just a head's up, a few of your minisprite pictures don't work, so for future reference :pokemon: works better for that sort of thing, and should be easier with your screen reader too I believe

Really nice team overall, I think you detailed it really well and your threatlist gives readers a good take on your teams weak points, as well as how to handle those in battle. I do think the Ho-Oh weakness is probably the least manageable one on your team with Palkia being the only one that can deal much damage to it, though that's not a deal breaker or anything.

I did have one question though, is there any reason Adamant on Regigigas? With U-Turn as your only attacking move, I'd imaging Impish or Careful would make Regigigas better at checking attackers

 

[SuperSkylake]

thanks for the tip about the sprites: I was using Clean RMT to template it, so maybe that could be updated or something. No real reason for adamant on gigas except i was previously running Knock Off over Glare, but now, +spd is probably better to take on Resh slightly better.

 

[Varrio]

Very interesting team, looks really good. Just a question, how would Core Enforcer over Clanging Scales work on Palkia since it doesn't have the chance to miss and the defence drops and also has more PP? (I think) I don't think the 10 points in power would make much difference with Lustrous Orb boost, right?

 

[SuperSkylake]

the extra power is useful when a foe resists steam eruption, such as in the case of +SpD Ph Giratina, which can't be 2hkoed by Core Enforcer if Giratina uses a protect move. It's definitely an option, but the minus defense isn't much of a problem because you don't want to take many physical attacks anyway.

PS: I've been experimenting with other prankster users in the Regigigas slot. Tapu Fini is an interesting one to cover the Reshiram weakness, though this does mean I'm weaker against Ghost, and it doesn't solve the Ground-types problem (the team doesn't have a good switchin for Ground-type braekers like Lando-t or Groudon), so has to try and stay one step ahead of them. Fini is also a good deal less bulky than Gigas. I left the moveset and item the same.

 

[opfish]

Isn't Type:Null > Regigigas here?

 

[SuperSkylake]

Isn't Type:Null > Regigigas here?

No, Type:Null hates losing its eviolite to koff or trick, whereas Gigas doesn't mind losing Lagging Tail nearly as much. The bulk is appreciably greater, so it's an option worth considering. It's not strictly better though.