Ghibli and Friends: A Gen8BalancedHackmons RMT
by, XxSevagxX (Lazzerpenguin)
[] 지브리 애니 OST 오케스트라 버전 Studio Ghibli Orchestra Collection
1. Introductionby, XxSevagxX (Lazzerpenguin)
[] 지브리 애니 OST 오케스트라 버전 Studio Ghibli Orchestra Collection
Hey all. For those of you who don’t know me, I'm an OM player, who mains Balanced Hackmons. I’ve been playing BH for basically the past 5 to 6 years now (damn it’s really been that long). I first started playing BH freshman year of high school when a cousin of mine told me about this sick pokemon spin off where you can give Shedinja sturdy. I was immediately captivated by this and excitedly immersed myself in one of the most unique, and sandbox-esq meta Smogon had to offer. Throughout high school I’d play on and off for around a month or so at a time, and would often hit Elo values of around 1400-1650. I mostly stopped playing BH freshman year of college, but really got into it again once Sword and Shield were released (sophomore year of college). I’ve obsessively played BH throughout the pandemic, and have drastically improved. During this time, I made my first Smogon post (where I called for shell smash to remain legal xD) and peaked #1 for the first time as well in August! Since then I’ve peaked multiple times, and recently I had a solid run in the BH Open tour (2021) where I finished 2nd and went 6 - 2 in OMPL.
I’ve been waiting to make my first RMT for a while now, despite the fact that I’ve built multiple teams which I’ve been happy and proud of building, because I’ve been waiting for when I build a team I see as truly unbeatable at the time. A team which I believe could play a strong role in the development of the meta and of stall in BH. It’s hard to really say whether my team will play a part in the development of BH stall builds for now, but I believe that for a moment, this was the best stall team in BH.
Upon completion of the 2021 OMGS Circuit Tours, a good friend of mine, Lepton, had made it into a tiebreaker for the 7th and 8th seeds for the OMGS playoff tours. I was really rooting for them to make it into the OMGS playoffs and absolutely loved the slogan “PILEOSLAM” (she went by Pileosand at the time, hence the pun) as a way of rooting her on, and I really wanted to help out by building a balanced hackmons stall team for her. She kindly accepted my offer of building such a team, and thus my team building process began.
Her opponent for this round was MAPLE, and I knew they weren’t very familiar with the balanced hackmons meta, thus a stall team would be perfect. I had wanted to build a stall for a while anyways, so I jumped at this opportunity. The whole team came together very quickly and I nearly had the final product in about 15 minutes.
The team started off with this Giratina. It's a set first piloted by Dimrah, and then adapted by Onyx. In general, it’s a really strong pokemon to start a stall team with due to how well it’s able to compress roles. This Giratina is able to make a ton of progress with Scald to deter out magic bounce pokemon, and has Stealth Rock to set hazards. Bunker is used for passive healing and poisoning opposing pokemons, and Core Enforcer is used to check Regigigas, and remove opposing magic bouncer’s abilities. Giratina is level 99 so that it’s able to underspeed other min, speed base 90 pokemon and fire off slow Core Enforcers. The chosen nature for Giratina was Relaxed, so that it can best tank Regigigas’ coverage moves, and be as slow as possible.
No-Face (Giratina) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Level: 99
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Core Enforcer
- Scald
- Stealth Rock
- Baneful Bunker
The next two pieces to my stall puzzle came very naturally. That being Ice Scales Zamazenta-C and poison heal Xerneas. Ice Scales Zama-C is able to naturally compliment Giratina due to its ability to come in on boombursts and then force out Xerneas sets with anchor shot. Topsy-Turvy is here for Nasty Plot and Quiver Dance sets that might be able to otherwise pp stall Spectral Thief, and Knock Off is here for metronome and heavy-duty boots, specifically on Xerneas, but has the added benefit of knocking off Rocky Helmets and Leftovers on some trapping sets. This gives it the ability to pp stall many of these sets. I decided to make Ice Scales Zamazenta-Crowned Impish here, so that it can at times, be a backup Regigigas wall if they have Avalanche as coverage for Core Enforcer Giratina, or Glacial Lance.
Pheal Xerneas was added to this team due to its immunity to Dragon type moves, specifically Core Enforcer. These two pokemon are able to check a lot of different attackers simply from their complimentary typings and are a good synergetic pheal core. This Xern set is something that I invented specifically for this team. Which I’ll touch base on later, since the set was put together at the end of the team building process.
At this point, I was already fairly happy with the direction the team was going, with one hard wall, one progress maker + Regigigas counter, and pheal Xern which can provide a variety of roles. The next thing I wanted to make sure I was safe against was fire coverage, special attacking pokemon, such as Reshiram, and a fairy resist, since Zamazenta-C can be overwhelmed at times by Xerneas. Thus, I decided to add Primordial Sea Melmetal onto the team.
Laputa's Robot (Melmetal) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Primordial Sea
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Anchor Shot
- Topsy-Turvy
- Shore Up
- Court Change
Melmetal is able to compliment Giratina and Zamazenta-Crowned incredibly well. It’s able to provide a third wall to Melmetal, cover for Giratina’s fairy weakness, and cover for Zamazenta-C’s fire weakness. It’s also able to wall almost every Regigigas set in existence, since it doesn’t get 2hkoed by Precipice Blades and doesn’t take much from normal + ice moves. It can be put in a sticky situation by some Knock Off + Spore sets, but those are always just walled by Giratina. Anchor + Topsy was chosen to be able to trap pokemon, and flip Regigigas’ stat boosts, as well as pp stall some quiver dance / nasty plot sets. Melmetal was selected as the Court Change mon because of a free moveslot here, and it’s ability to punish almost every spinner with Rocky Helmet and then Court Change back any hazards still up on the team’s side. Impish nature was chosen so that it wouldn’t get 2hkoed by Regigigas Precipice Blades. The team at this point was looking very weak to Palkia, so I decided to add (what is in my opinion the best check to Palkia in the game ) Prankster Tapu Fini.
Ponyo (Tapu Fini) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Haze
- Scald
- Soft-Boiled
- Parting Shot
`Prankster Tapu Fini is one of the best glue pokemon available to stall teams. Water / Fairy typing allows it to resist a bunch of types, such as Water, Dragon, and Fire that no other pokemon would be able to do, all in one slot. Tapu Fini is the best midground for Reshiram and Palkia sets, as well as some dark pokemon and pokemon that might be trappers. Haze and Soft-Boiled are self explanatory here on a Prankster pokemon, but scald is really nice for making progress and spreading burns. Parting Shot allows Tapu Fini to make midground scouting plays and quickly pivot out, allowing for the next pokemon to safely scout for a possible coverage move against Tapu Fini. The last piece to this puzzle was a Fur Coat pokemon. This team, which was being built during Zacian-C meta, needed a pokemon that can switch into as many Zacian-C sets as possible, and the top candidate for this was chosen to be Torkoal.
Calcifer (Torkoal) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Lava Plume
- Spikes
- Roost
- Teleport
It’s fire typing was key for resisting Sunsteel Strike, Play Rough, V-Create, and Glacial Lance and its bulk allowed it to not get 2hkoed by Precipice Blades. Lava Plume was chosen here to force out or heavily chip, and possibly burn Zacian-C. Spikes was chosen since this was the last pokemon and Spikes and no other team member had spikes. Roost is self-explanatory, and Teleport was chosen so that Torkoal gets to slow pivot and doesn’t get directly sent to hell by imprisonform pokemon.
As promised, we now come back to Xerneas. There were a few things the team needed and was weak to.
Forest Spirit (Xerneas) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Quiver Dance
- Rapid Spin
- Strength Sap
The first thing the team needed was hazard removal, since Court Change on its own is never enough. With Giratina being the most used ghost pokemon in gen8bh, it was possible to have a hazard removal with Moonblast, to force out Giratina, and Rapid Spin, to spin on outgoing Giratinas and clear hazards. That was the hazards situation figured out. The next thing the team needed was a way to not instantly lose to Adapt Groudon, since it 2hkoed the whole team. The solution, which is very unique to Xerneas here, is that if it runs +spe and Strength Sap, it is able to switch into a Choice Band, Adamant, Adaptability, Groudon Precipice Blades and usually survive the hit and then click Strength Sap to fully heal. This gives the team enough time to play around Groudon and eventually get into a situation where Groudon gets either burned or too heavily chipped. The last move on Xerneas was a way to provide a clear wincon to the team, which it was currently lacking, so it was decided that Xerneas’ last slot would become Quiver Dance. With that, one of the most role compressed mons I had ever built was born. Pheal Xerneas, a pokemon who was able to check some of the scariest choiced breakers in the metagame, spin away hazards, and win late game became the clutch which the team always fell on when things were looking grim.
With that, the team was complete. However, there were still a few tweeks left to be made. Despite resisting Fairy, Torkaol was unable to switch in on Pixelate Xerneas Boombursts and would get 2hkoed by both metronome and Pixie Plate variants. Thus, despite being the more awesome pokemon, it was decided that it would be swapped for Darmanitan-Zen, due to Darm-Z’s superior spdef, and very similar physical bulks (within 0.2%).
The next swap made was Melmetal for Celesteela. This was chosen more so because I wanted to c-team a Quantum Tesseract team with Adapt Precipice Blades Landorus-Therian and less so for a broader reason, since that set gave my team hell and Xerneas wasn’t able to do enough. However, upon making this swap, Celesteela proved to be an invaluable member of this team because of its part flying typing. Its flying type meant that it was immune to spikes, allowing it to be an even better Court Changer, and had great synergy with Darmanitan-Zen. The ground immunity also meant that it could at desperate times, swap in on Adapt Groudons to tank a neutral Thousand Waves hit (or nothing from Precipice Blades) and then safely swap to Xerneas. The ground immunity also helps for the newly insurgent Eternatus sets that can run any combination of Core Enforcer / Sludge Bomb / Blue Flare / Earth Power.
And with that the team was complete. I haven’t touched the original version at all since the few edits after the original draft, and have only made changes based on certain match ups, i.e. Wilo on Fini for some HO users, or Melmetal instead of Celesteela if I know someone really enjoys using offensive Regigigas sets. Now, I’d like to transition to how I use the team, and how someone else might want to use it.
3.1. ImproofingBefore I discuss the intricacies behind how the team operates, it is necessary for me to discuss improofing. To start with, Zamazenta-C is fully self-improofed because it has Knock Off + Anchor Shot. However, if desired, a Giratina swap can be performed to make progress on imposter. If Giratina doesn’t want to get hit by core, or its ability was suppressed by imposter, Giratina’s improof is Xerneas. Xerneas is able to both spin away hazards, and pressure with Moonblast and Quiver Dance. Early on in the game though, try not to let Giratina get its ability suppressed so that the opponent doesn’t have any incentives to click scald and burn Xerneas before it can activate its orb. However, a safe swap to Darmanitan-Zen with teleport coming next can also be performed to activate Xerneas’ orb safely. Xerneas’ improof is Celesteela and Zamazenta-C. Both can trap imposter and Topsy-Turvy the stat boosts without taking much from Moonblast. Xerneas can also be self-improofed because Imposter cannot sustainably heal itself with Strength Sap as Xerneas’ attack will eventually become very low and imp will stop healing. Celesteela is self-improofed by virtue of trapping, however if shed shell imposter comes in, Giratina or Zamazenta-C are the improofs. Giratina makes progress, and Zamazenta-C knocks off shed shell or other items. Tapu Fini’s improof is Giratina, since it’s able to make a ton of progress on it, and Darmanitan-Zen’s improof will be Celesteela, to CourtCchange spikes, Xerneas to spin away spikes, or Giratina to make progress. This is probably the least improofed mon on the team since Imposter is able to freely heal and sometimes set spikes when it comes
3.2. Gameplan
3.2.1. The Opening
The primary objective in the opening of the match is to 1. Scout the opposing team’s sets, and 2. Active Giratina’s and Xerneas’ Toxic Orbs. Thus, 9 times out of 10 I will lead Giratinaon turn 1 with this team and click Baneful Bunker. Usually, depending on the lead I’ll throw out a Scald / Stealth Rocks or go into Tapu Fini to scout what they’ll do and click Parting Shot. Throughout these turns, I’ll do a lot of “waiting” plays trying to figure out the sets, and searching for opportunities to get Xerneas in safely. This opportunity will arise when Tapu Fini parting shots on a switch, Darmanitan-Zen clicks teleport or after scouting your opponent you find a pokemon Xerneas can come in on safely. During the opening, I highly recommend not forcing plays that make progress, but to actively deny the opponent progress. This also gives the team the ability to scout for which matchups you might want to create in the future to trap and kill a possibly threatening pokemon. Playing aggressively can only backfire, as every pokemon on this team is critical and losing any early on, even if a lot of progress is made, is far too risky.
3.2.2. The Mid Game
This is where you start to really want to make progress and try to force out a win. The goal is to aggressively force progress with hazards and status, while looking for opportunities to trap + knock. You should be looking at specific pokemon you wish to chip, be it a spinner, defogger, or magic bounce pokemon. You should also generally try to avoid unnecessary pokemon to trap, since you might want to conserve your pp, and taking out a pokemon that can’t make progress or stop your own progress should not be a priority. Since your opponents team has been properly scouted as well, you’ll want to start forcing lines which will be beneficial to you in making progress, while also simultaneously not allowing your opponent room to breathe. Such play will often revolve around Giratina, and having it click Stealth Rocks or Scald to get the hazards chip or force in a Magic Bouncer and burn it. Scald on Giratina here, is one of the most valuable tools on the team since it allows it to burn most Magic Bouncers and incoming Xerneases. Another way in which progress can be made is by bringing in Zamazenta-C on a special attacker, and the pressure of getting trapped forces a pokemon to come in where its heavy duty boots are knocked and then it gets slowly chipped by hazards. Other sequences might be setting rocks up with Giratina, and then bringing Celesteela in on a ate-spinner and getting in chip via rocky helmet, and then the threat of getting trapped forces them out. Such plays allow the user to remain on the upper hand while simultaneously keeping the opponent at bay.
3.2.3. The End Game
At this point, victory is nearly assured. A certain pokemon that may have been critical to keep alive on the opponents team could be nearly dead, or enough hazards could have been stacked so that the opponent is under immense, almost instantly losing pressure. Here it is necessary that no new wincons open up on the opponent's side, and they don’t have time to recover. Such pressure is best applied with Xerneas. At these late game scenarios Xerneas often shines, with Quiver Dance putting instant pressure on a team, and forcing in defensive pokemon, which is completely losing for them. Trapping should also be utilized here to potentially take out a pokemon. Even if a pokemon on this team ends up losing most of its pp, as long it wasn’t vital to countering a pokemon on your opponent's side, it should be fine because their team has been chipped enough where Celesteela, or Zamazenta-C might not be necessary anymore. If such pressure is sustained until the very end, then victory should be assured.
3.3. Threat List
Most Eternatus sets should be walled by either Zamazenta-C or Celesteela. Celesteela will be able to wall the modern Mold Breaker or Simple sets which may carry Blue Flare / Earth Power, whereas Zamazenta-C should be able to wall the older sets with Adapt / Dragon Energy. The two combined should comfortably wall most sets, but if things get dicey it is advised to knock off Eternatus’ Black Sludge which is critical for it to heal with Zamazenta-C, even if Zamazenta-C will end up getting heavily chipped.
Most Pixilate sets should once again be manageable with Zamazenta-C and Celesteela. It should be advised that Darmanitan-Zen can also stop most Xerneas sets, and should potentially be used as mid ground to scout for potential V-Creates on Xerneas. The hardest Pixilate setes to wall are those containing V-create and Fishious Rend, which in this case, Tapu Fini should be used as a potential midground to Parting Shot into Darmanitan-Zen. Such sets are often seen without Recovery, thus they can be chipped down, but proactive play is required to ensure it doesn’t get enough free turns. Poison Heal sets are a bit more dicey. Long term, Thunder Cage / Spore sets should technically beat this whole team, however, this requires really slow play on the team’s part. Zamazenta-C should more or less be used as the designated switch-in for this pokemon. 1v1 from full Zamazenta-C will win, however if it gets chipped a lot or potentially loses its Leftovers it gets really dicey. Thus, a lot of pressure should be put on the opponents team by applying constant hazards, to try and keep this pokemon at bay, and beat the opponent’s pokemon before Xerneas beats the team. Tapu Fini can be used as a potential midground to try and lower Quiver Dance PP using Parting Shot and allowing Zamazenta-C to come in more safely. A sleep sack here also isn’t off the cards, but this should be chosen carefully, according to your opponent’s team.
There are numerous pheal Regigigas sets, which is why the team has three potential counters to pheal Regigigas. Facade / Koff / Spore variants are easily walled by Regigigas, but have chances to potentially break through Celesteela and Zamazenta-C. Facade / Glance variants are generally walled by Zamazenta-C and Celesteela. Facade / Glance / Spore variants beat Zamazenta-C and Celesteela 1v1. However, after a sleep sack, the other beats said Regigigas 1v1 by either pp stalling it (Zamazenta-C) or relying on Rocky Helmet chip + Topsy-Turvy to eventually kill it. Facade / Glance / Precipice Blades or V-create variants are walled by Celesteela, but decimate the rest of the team. Thus, when this variant is scouted, it is essential to keep Celesteela above ~80% since Glance will potentially 2hko it from 75%. Facade / Dragon Tail / V-create sets are walled by Celesteela. Sometimes a situation may become dicey where Regigigas becomes very threatening. Here, Tapu Fini or Darmanitan-Zen can be used to safely get a switch in, however they will be heavily chipped in the process.
Bolt Strike lacking Mold Breaker sets are walled by Tapu Fini. Mold Breaker Sets with Bolt Strike, although rarely seen due to the difficulties of improving it, require a Darm-Zen switch-in and a burn must be fished for. From here, Xerneas can wall it Strength Sap and force it out. These sets are generally very difficult to deal with, for any team, so some risks may have to be taken, such as going Core Enforcer w/ Giratina, or clicking Anchor Shot with Celesteela. Offensive pressure should be used in this case, specifically from Xerneas to force it out. Stealth Rocks will also heavily dent this pokemon so it will naturally be on a timer. Any other Kyurem-Black set will generally be walled via a combination of Darmanitan-Zen, Xerneas, and Tapu Fini.
Essentially walled by Tapu Fini. Tinted Lense or Thunder variants should require Zamazenta-C.
Walled by Tapu Fini and Celesteela.
One of the most threatening pokemon in the game, but should generally be walled by Celesteela or Zamazenta-C. Zamazent-C won’t be able to wall V-create varients. Giratina isn’t bad here either as Rayquaza doesn't often carry a dragon move, and Core Enforcer can offensively force it out.
One of the most threatening pokemon to this team. Band Adapt variants can run through this team in certain scenarios. Giratina can be a midground at times, but Xerneas is actually the designated switch in usually, since Timid Strength Sap allows it to kind of wall / stall it. Celesteela can also come in, if a Precipice Blades or U-turn is predicted. Some risks should be taken here to try and burn it. Hazard's game is emphasized to minimize its number of free turns. All other sets are generally walled by Giratina.
Choice Specs Adaptability sets are quite dangerous for this team since it has no ghost resists. However, Zamazenta-C can switch in on it, even though it gets 2hkoes by Moongeist Beam. Zamazenta-C outspeeds it, so it can click Recover before the next Moongeist Beam. If the opponent is staying in to try and wear it down, simply clicking Knock Off will eliminate the threat. No Retreat variants may be threatening, but Zama-C survives Stored Power, and through careful positioning Tapu Fini can deal with it. Mold Breaker sets are quite annoying, however a combination of Zamazenta-C and Xerneas can hold them off.
Triage Drum sets held off by Darmanitan-Zen, and Band Steel Worker sets have switch-ins of Giratina, Zamazenta-C, Celesteela, and Darmanitan-Zen. Even though theoretically it can 2hko all of them there are enough midgrounds to take a chunk from a hit, and then switch to somebody who won’t get 2hkoed.
Can be annoying at times. Celesteela is able to do the job with Topsy-Turvy and Rocky Helmet. Substitute variants are annoying, but Tapu Fini can pp stall them with Parting Shot and Haze and Celesteela can still come in to rack up chip. Can be long and annoying, but most Dragapults will have no way of making progress and should eventually be chipped by Rocky Helmet or PP stalled.
Probably the most threatening pokemon on this team. Against Adaptability sets with set-up, some risks will have to be taken to burn it, such as staying in with Giratina and clicking Scald (or Core Enforcer) or going hard Darmanitan-Zen and clicking Lava Plume. Xerneas can offensively deter it, and stall it with Strength Sap, however +1 Adaptability, Adamant, Bolt Strike is a 56% roll to ohko it. Risky plays must be made and careful positioning must be employed to not lose to it.
3.4. Pitfalls and Misc.
It should be noted, that if the opportunity arises to trap a vital pokemon on your opponent’s team early on in the game, this opportunity should not be missed. Simultaneously, a pokemon which might not be difficult to face for the team should not be trapped early on, as that lost pp could be vital later on. Additionally, Xerneas early on in the game, in certain scenarios can instantly win or reveal a lot of information about the opponent’s team as its unique moveset doesn’t allow solo anchor shooters to kill it, potentially revealing a magic bounce pokemon, or regenvester. If the opportunity arises, clicking quiver dance early could very well be advised. The team allows room for risky plays, such as clicking Scald on pheal Regigigas to try and catch a Xerneas coming in on a potential Core Enforcer. Even at times, it might be advised to stay in on potential Rapid Spins or Boomburst and click Scald / Baneful Bunker to try and make some quick progress via burn or poison, or to even just pp stall Boomburst. However, this should be done with caution because Giratina will be brought to very low hp, so it is only play which is allowed in certain match-ups. The team has many midgrounds with Zamazenta-C, Giratina, Xerneas, Darmanitan-Zen, and Tapu Fini, which can switch in on a variety of different pokemon semi-safely. Use these midgrounds liberally to cover most of the threats. Substitutes at times can be difficult for this team to play against since it relies a lot on Topsy-Turvy. The way to beat this is by using Tapu Fini to Parting Shot through the Substitute and then breaking it with the incoming pokemon. Finally, the purpose of the team is to keep pressure on your opponent by finding winning lines, but if after scouting it is shown that the opponent has no real way or line to break through the team, there’s no need to try and force a win. Playing safely here to ensure no such line opens up, is often the much safer option. Such pressure should mainly be applied when the opponent has a wincon that they are trying to achieve and need a certain position to achieve it.
4. Results and Discussion
The primary objective in the opening of the match is to 1. Scout the opposing team’s sets, and 2. Active Giratina’s and Xerneas’ Toxic Orbs. Thus, 9 times out of 10 I will lead Giratinaon turn 1 with this team and click Baneful Bunker. Usually, depending on the lead I’ll throw out a Scald / Stealth Rocks or go into Tapu Fini to scout what they’ll do and click Parting Shot. Throughout these turns, I’ll do a lot of “waiting” plays trying to figure out the sets, and searching for opportunities to get Xerneas in safely. This opportunity will arise when Tapu Fini parting shots on a switch, Darmanitan-Zen clicks teleport or after scouting your opponent you find a pokemon Xerneas can come in on safely. During the opening, I highly recommend not forcing plays that make progress, but to actively deny the opponent progress. This also gives the team the ability to scout for which matchups you might want to create in the future to trap and kill a possibly threatening pokemon. Playing aggressively can only backfire, as every pokemon on this team is critical and losing any early on, even if a lot of progress is made, is far too risky.
3.2.2. The Mid Game
This is where you start to really want to make progress and try to force out a win. The goal is to aggressively force progress with hazards and status, while looking for opportunities to trap + knock. You should be looking at specific pokemon you wish to chip, be it a spinner, defogger, or magic bounce pokemon. You should also generally try to avoid unnecessary pokemon to trap, since you might want to conserve your pp, and taking out a pokemon that can’t make progress or stop your own progress should not be a priority. Since your opponents team has been properly scouted as well, you’ll want to start forcing lines which will be beneficial to you in making progress, while also simultaneously not allowing your opponent room to breathe. Such play will often revolve around Giratina, and having it click Stealth Rocks or Scald to get the hazards chip or force in a Magic Bouncer and burn it. Scald on Giratina here, is one of the most valuable tools on the team since it allows it to burn most Magic Bouncers and incoming Xerneases. Another way in which progress can be made is by bringing in Zamazenta-C on a special attacker, and the pressure of getting trapped forces a pokemon to come in where its heavy duty boots are knocked and then it gets slowly chipped by hazards. Other sequences might be setting rocks up with Giratina, and then bringing Celesteela in on a ate-spinner and getting in chip via rocky helmet, and then the threat of getting trapped forces them out. Such plays allow the user to remain on the upper hand while simultaneously keeping the opponent at bay.
3.2.3. The End Game
At this point, victory is nearly assured. A certain pokemon that may have been critical to keep alive on the opponents team could be nearly dead, or enough hazards could have been stacked so that the opponent is under immense, almost instantly losing pressure. Here it is necessary that no new wincons open up on the opponent's side, and they don’t have time to recover. Such pressure is best applied with Xerneas. At these late game scenarios Xerneas often shines, with Quiver Dance putting instant pressure on a team, and forcing in defensive pokemon, which is completely losing for them. Trapping should also be utilized here to potentially take out a pokemon. Even if a pokemon on this team ends up losing most of its pp, as long it wasn’t vital to countering a pokemon on your opponent's side, it should be fine because their team has been chipped enough where Celesteela, or Zamazenta-C might not be necessary anymore. If such pressure is sustained until the very end, then victory should be assured.
3.3. Threat List
Most Eternatus sets should be walled by either Zamazenta-C or Celesteela. Celesteela will be able to wall the modern Mold Breaker or Simple sets which may carry Blue Flare / Earth Power, whereas Zamazenta-C should be able to wall the older sets with Adapt / Dragon Energy. The two combined should comfortably wall most sets, but if things get dicey it is advised to knock off Eternatus’ Black Sludge which is critical for it to heal with Zamazenta-C, even if Zamazenta-C will end up getting heavily chipped. Most Pixilate sets should once again be manageable with Zamazenta-C and Celesteela. It should be advised that Darmanitan-Zen can also stop most Xerneas sets, and should potentially be used as mid ground to scout for potential V-Creates on Xerneas. The hardest Pixilate setes to wall are those containing V-create and Fishious Rend, which in this case, Tapu Fini should be used as a potential midground to Parting Shot into Darmanitan-Zen. Such sets are often seen without Recovery, thus they can be chipped down, but proactive play is required to ensure it doesn’t get enough free turns. Poison Heal sets are a bit more dicey. Long term, Thunder Cage / Spore sets should technically beat this whole team, however, this requires really slow play on the team’s part. Zamazenta-C should more or less be used as the designated switch-in for this pokemon. 1v1 from full Zamazenta-C will win, however if it gets chipped a lot or potentially loses its Leftovers it gets really dicey. Thus, a lot of pressure should be put on the opponents team by applying constant hazards, to try and keep this pokemon at bay, and beat the opponent’s pokemon before Xerneas beats the team. Tapu Fini can be used as a potential midground to try and lower Quiver Dance PP using Parting Shot and allowing Zamazenta-C to come in more safely. A sleep sack here also isn’t off the cards, but this should be chosen carefully, according to your opponent’s team. There are numerous pheal Regigigas sets, which is why the team has three potential counters to pheal Regigigas. Facade / Koff / Spore variants are easily walled by Regigigas, but have chances to potentially break through Celesteela and Zamazenta-C. Facade / Glance variants are generally walled by Zamazenta-C and Celesteela. Facade / Glance / Spore variants beat Zamazenta-C and Celesteela 1v1. However, after a sleep sack, the other beats said Regigigas 1v1 by either pp stalling it (Zamazenta-C) or relying on Rocky Helmet chip + Topsy-Turvy to eventually kill it. Facade / Glance / Precipice Blades or V-create variants are walled by Celesteela, but decimate the rest of the team. Thus, when this variant is scouted, it is essential to keep Celesteela above ~80% since Glance will potentially 2hko it from 75%. Facade / Dragon Tail / V-create sets are walled by Celesteela. Sometimes a situation may become dicey where Regigigas becomes very threatening. Here, Tapu Fini or Darmanitan-Zen can be used to safely get a switch in, however they will be heavily chipped in the process. Bolt Strike lacking Mold Breaker sets are walled by Tapu Fini. Mold Breaker Sets with Bolt Strike, although rarely seen due to the difficulties of improving it, require a Darm-Zen switch-in and a burn must be fished for. From here, Xerneas can wall it Strength Sap and force it out. These sets are generally very difficult to deal with, for any team, so some risks may have to be taken, such as going Core Enforcer w/ Giratina, or clicking Anchor Shot with Celesteela. Offensive pressure should be used in this case, specifically from Xerneas to force it out. Stealth Rocks will also heavily dent this pokemon so it will naturally be on a timer. Any other Kyurem-Black set will generally be walled via a combination of Darmanitan-Zen, Xerneas, and Tapu Fini. Essentially walled by Tapu Fini. Tinted Lense or Thunder variants should require Zamazenta-C. Walled by Tapu Fini and Celesteela. One of the most threatening pokemon in the game, but should generally be walled by Celesteela or Zamazenta-C. Zamazent-C won’t be able to wall V-create varients. Giratina isn’t bad here either as Rayquaza doesn't often carry a dragon move, and Core Enforcer can offensively force it out. One of the most threatening pokemon to this team. Band Adapt variants can run through this team in certain scenarios. Giratina can be a midground at times, but Xerneas is actually the designated switch in usually, since Timid Strength Sap allows it to kind of wall / stall it. Celesteela can also come in, if a Precipice Blades or U-turn is predicted. Some risks should be taken here to try and burn it. Hazard's game is emphasized to minimize its number of free turns. All other sets are generally walled by Giratina. Choice Specs Adaptability sets are quite dangerous for this team since it has no ghost resists. However, Zamazenta-C can switch in on it, even though it gets 2hkoes by Moongeist Beam. Zamazenta-C outspeeds it, so it can click Recover before the next Moongeist Beam. If the opponent is staying in to try and wear it down, simply clicking Knock Off will eliminate the threat. No Retreat variants may be threatening, but Zama-C survives Stored Power, and through careful positioning Tapu Fini can deal with it. Mold Breaker sets are quite annoying, however a combination of Zamazenta-C and Xerneas can hold them off. Triage Drum sets held off by Darmanitan-Zen, and Band Steel Worker sets have switch-ins of Giratina, Zamazenta-C, Celesteela, and Darmanitan-Zen. Even though theoretically it can 2hko all of them there are enough midgrounds to take a chunk from a hit, and then switch to somebody who won’t get 2hkoed. Can be annoying at times. Celesteela is able to do the job with Topsy-Turvy and Rocky Helmet. Substitute variants are annoying, but Tapu Fini can pp stall them with Parting Shot and Haze and Celesteela can still come in to rack up chip. Can be long and annoying, but most Dragapults will have no way of making progress and should eventually be chipped by Rocky Helmet or PP stalled. Probably the most threatening pokemon on this team. Against Adaptability sets with set-up, some risks will have to be taken to burn it, such as staying in with Giratina and clicking Scald (or Core Enforcer) or going hard Darmanitan-Zen and clicking Lava Plume. Xerneas can offensively deter it, and stall it with Strength Sap, however +1 Adaptability, Adamant, Bolt Strike is a 56% roll to ohko it. Risky plays must be made and careful positioning must be employed to not lose to it.3.4. Pitfalls and Misc.
It should be noted, that if the opportunity arises to trap a vital pokemon on your opponent’s team early on in the game, this opportunity should not be missed. Simultaneously, a pokemon which might not be difficult to face for the team should not be trapped early on, as that lost pp could be vital later on. Additionally, Xerneas early on in the game, in certain scenarios can instantly win or reveal a lot of information about the opponent’s team as its unique moveset doesn’t allow solo anchor shooters to kill it, potentially revealing a magic bounce pokemon, or regenvester. If the opportunity arises, clicking quiver dance early could very well be advised. The team allows room for risky plays, such as clicking Scald on pheal Regigigas to try and catch a Xerneas coming in on a potential Core Enforcer. Even at times, it might be advised to stay in on potential Rapid Spins or Boomburst and click Scald / Baneful Bunker to try and make some quick progress via burn or poison, or to even just pp stall Boomburst. However, this should be done with caution because Giratina will be brought to very low hp, so it is only play which is allowed in certain match-ups. The team has many midgrounds with Zamazenta-C, Giratina, Xerneas, Darmanitan-Zen, and Tapu Fini, which can switch in on a variety of different pokemon semi-safely. Use these midgrounds liberally to cover most of the threats. Substitutes at times can be difficult for this team to play against since it relies a lot on Topsy-Turvy. The way to beat this is by using Tapu Fini to Parting Shot through the Substitute and then breaking it with the incoming pokemon. Finally, the purpose of the team is to keep pressure on your opponent by finding winning lines, but if after scouting it is shown that the opponent has no real way or line to break through the team, there’s no need to try and force a win. Playing safely here to ensure no such line opens up, is often the much safer option. Such pressure should mainly be applied when the opponent has a wincon that they are trying to achieve and need a certain position to achieve it.
4.1 Replays
The team’s debut: Lepton (Formerly Pileosand) Vs. Maple in OMGS playoffs
lph vs. Someone in a discord tour
Tectonic Destroyer vs. Someone in a discord tour
vs. Monsareeasy in OMPL (prep against Sugarhigh)
vs. Cityscapes in OMPL
vs. A LOSR
vs. A LOSR
vs. TTTech_ (512 turns)
vs. A LOSR
1854 elo land mark reached (466 turns)
The team has shown to be extremely effective in both ladder and competitive play. It was able to top the ladder (I don’t have proof :/ ) and get to 1854 elo relatively comfortably and is proven to be extremely resilient, even against stall forward teams. It has shown to be consistent as I was able to achieve a gxe of 92.0% on my alt Lazzerpenguin. It has also won a lot of room tours, and at times 6-0ing the whole floor as well. With the ability to beat balance / bulk offense teams, and the resilience, longevity, and pressure to beat stall teams, it has been shown to be very effective against multiple playstyles.
The team has also been very successful on the competitive scene, going 5 - 1 even though it has already been revealed. The one loss as well came from a crit in a completely winning end game. Such consistency at the highest level demonstrated the efficacy of this team, and ability to play around various threats and team styles due to the many soft checks and midgrounds it has against many pokemon in the meta and its ability to put a lot of pressure on the opponent, allowing room to outplay even in tough matchups.
However, the team is a little outdated, since it was built during the Cramorant-Gorging meta, and its weakness to electric type moves is quite glaring. Darmanitan-Zen as a Fur Coat pokemon doesn’t have a large place in the meta anymore since Zacian-C is gone, so a better replacement and moveset could be found here. Its ability to soft check pixi Xerneas here is very valuable sometimes, but a change might be worth it, to shore up the team’s weakness against Zekrom and Thunder Cage / Spore pheal Xerneas sets.
All in all, I’m very proud to have built this team. I was really glad that it was able to help lepton win her OMGS playoffs game, and happy with its performances elsewhere in the competitive scene, and in ladder play. It has been shown that this team is one of the landmark stall teams in gen8bh with these achievements, but at the same time it is simply an improvement of past stall teams piloted by Onyx Onix 7 and Dimrah. To me, it seems as if the modern stall team is one with many soft checks, and midground plays, and capable of constantly putting the opponent under pressure via hazards and constant progress pressure. Future works include finding a more reliable way to check pheal Thunder Cage Xerneas and Adapt Zekrom. The pokemon most likely to be changed is Darmanitan-Zen since its uses have diminished, however its ability to make midground plays is still valuable, so it is important to keep this in mind while making any changes. . I hope that others take inspiration from this post and build and improve this stall team with their own unique ideas that build on past innovations in stall which is able to proactively counter the new Eternatus sets and pheal Thunder Cage Xerneas sets.
I’d like to first off thank lepton, for allowing me to build this team for them. I’d also like to thank A LOSER, for the countless testing I was able to do with him. Finally, I’d like to acknowledge some of the top stall builders in bh who really helped push this playstyle forward. In science every new breakthrough, and paper is merely building on previous discoveries, and similarly in bh and in stall especially, each new team is merely building on the previous one. My team took inspiration from the stall teams listed below, both in structure and playstyle, and I thought it was appropriate to not only thank each user for building these teams but to also acknowledge the importance of them in the development of my stall team and the archetype in general. I’m not sure if it does, but I hope my team is able to stand alongside these very important teams that came before me.
7. References[1] Adrian Marin “(Balanced Hackmons) A Paranoid Stall Balanced Hackmons team (win/loss 46-1)”, 2007 - 2019 Rate My Team, 2013
[2] morogrim “[BH] One Stall to Rule Them All (Peak #1, 95.1% GXE)”, Team Showcase, 2017
[3] Onyx Onix 7 “Gen 8 BH Gxe Record (Post Crown Tundra/Pre-Calyrex Ban)”, SS Other Teams, 2020
No-Face (Giratina) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Level: 99
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Core Enforcer
- Scald
- Stealth Rock
- Baneful Bunker
Heen (Zamazenta-Crowned) @ Leftovers
Ability: Ice Scales
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Anchor Shot
- Topsy-Turvy
- Recover
- Knock Off
Forest Spirit (Xerneas) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Moonblast
- Quiver Dance
- Rapid Spin
- Strength Sap
Laputa's Robot (Celesteela) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Primordial Sea
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Anchor Shot
- Topsy-Turvy
- Shore Up
- Court Change
Ponyo (Tapu Fini) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Haze
- Scald
- Soft-Boiled
- Parting Shot
Calcifer (Darmanitan-Zen) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Lava Plume
- Spikes
- Roost
- Teleport
Ability: Poison Heal
Level: 99
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Core Enforcer
- Scald
- Stealth Rock
- Baneful Bunker
Heen (Zamazenta-Crowned) @ Leftovers
Ability: Ice Scales
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Anchor Shot
- Topsy-Turvy
- Recover
- Knock Off
Forest Spirit (Xerneas) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Moonblast
- Quiver Dance
- Rapid Spin
- Strength Sap
Laputa's Robot (Celesteela) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Primordial Sea
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Anchor Shot
- Topsy-Turvy
- Shore Up
- Court Change
Ponyo (Tapu Fini) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Haze
- Scald
- Soft-Boiled
- Parting Shot
Calcifer (Darmanitan-Zen) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Lava Plume
- Spikes
- Roost
- Teleport
a chess match vs. Ivar
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