Other Metagames [SS BH] PUNISHER (Peak #1, 96.0% GXE & 1845 ELO)

[a loser]

(As per usual, click on the banner to listen to the album that inspired the team and team member names)
​

I decided to dust off the cobwebs that are gathering around the Gen 8 BH ladder and make a run with my latest team. I submitted it as a sample team a while back, so the team has definitely seen some usage on the ladder, but despite the team being public I still saw some great success while using it. I think this more reflects the state of the BH ladder right now, which is lacking in higher tier players regularly playing, but I also think it speaks to the quality of the team and how it handles itself against various threats in the metagame.

​

This is the first team I built after the Isle of Armor DLC dropped and it features one of the new mons, Urshifu. More specifically, Gigantamax Urshifu-Single-Strike due to its somewhat unseen Dark/Fighting STABs. It did pretty well when testing it out on the ladder but my activity on the ladder dwindled some after posting it on the forums. But recently I started laddering again to get a taste of the meta and was pleased to see it still performs quite well. I've been exclusively using this team and I don't know for sure when my last loss with it was, but I at least have a 34 game winning streak going and it has helped me reach a personal and Gen 8 BH record GXE of 96.0%.

Proof of Peak

I'll get right into the discussion of the team and talk about teambuilding as I go.

Darmanitan-Galar-Zen @ Ice Memory
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- V-create
- Multi-Attack
- Fishious Rend / Bolt Beak
- Close Combat

DGZ's ability to ignore abilities sounded really appealing to me since most teams have to count on abilities like Flash Fire (FF), Primordial Sea, or Fur Coat (FC) in order to keep it in check. So for STABs, V-create handles things like FF or FC Zamazenta-C, Melmetal, and Ferrothorn while Ice Multi-Attack 2HKOs FC Eternatus and Seismitoad. I chose Fishious Rend as coverage to take advantage of Primordial Sea users like Zama-C or even to hit Prim Sea Zacian on the switch. Close Combat rounds out the coverage and allows DGZ to boost its Attack when Dynamaxed and potentially setup for a sweep. If you want to change things up, Bolt Beak is a great alternative to Fishious Rend that helps get rid of opposing Golisopod and Toxapex faster and makes Darm-Zen a backup improof in a pinch. The only bummer about using Ice Multi-Attack is that the mechanics recently changed Max Strike with Memory items to be 95 base power instead of 140, which is a big difference, but it still sets hail and is Ice-type.

Eternatus @ Black Sludge
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Scorching Sands / Scald
- Dynamax Cannon
- Milk Drink

Eternatus imposter-proofs (improof) DGZ thanks to Imposter not holding an Ice Memory to hit it super-effectively. It forces out Imposters of DGZ by threatening to set Spikes and chip its health with Dynamax Cannon. Spikes is great on this set because it puts lots of pressure on opposing teams and helps to limit the number of times breakers can come in. I decided to try out the new move Scorching Sands, even though I normally prefer Scald on FC Eternatus, because Ground-type provides much better coverage but the lower power and PP count is definitely a downside. Scald is certainly a great option for utility and spreading burns though. Dynamax Cannon is pretty mandatory on this set to make it less passive and to threaten opposing Dragon-types like Reshiram and Zekrom before they can use setup moves.

Zamazenta-Crowned @ Rusted Shield / Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Anchor Shot
- Shore Up
- Haze
- Court Change / Encore / Entrainment / Filler

With Anchor Shot, Zama-C can trap and eliminate Imposters of Eternatus if they decide to get greedy and stay in to fish a burn or set Spikes. This exchange usually ends with the opponent's Imposter gone, three layers of Spikes on their side of the field, and a free turn to switch out to a teammate as they are KO'd by Struggle all at the cost of risking a burn on Zama-C. Anchor Shot also ensures that Zama-C can trap and stall any Imposter that comes in on it as well. The rest of the moves go well with Prankster and help the team not be overwhelmed by setup sweepers like Belly Drum Unburden or random Shift Gear users. Court Change is super useful for flipping the hazard game in a pinch, but this last slot can be changed to whatever move you feel you need really. I chose Rusted Shield as its item because it makes it immune to Trick and Switcheroo, which are rare but can be quite annoying to deal with if played right. However if you don't fear being crippled by Trick, Leftovers are very nice to provide passive recovery throughout the battle. If you do opt for Rusted Shield, it might be a good idea to run Scald over Scorching Sands on Eternatus to take less damage when trapping Imposter, especially in the case of Imposter Pikachu with Light Ball.

Urshifu-Gmax @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Low Kick
- Rapid Spin
- Will-O-Wisp

I had my doubts about this set's potential initially but the more I've used it the more I think it has a very solid place in the metagame. Its STABs are very useful for pressuring stall cores that rely on Dark- and Ghost-types as well as spreading burns, since Urshifu threatens them both and is immune to status once its Toxic Orb is activated. STAB Knock Off makes it a very reliable Rapid Spin user and Rapid Spin is very useful for boosting its Speed to outspeed threats like DGZ, Dragapult, and Zeraora. I decided to use Low Kick for Fighting STAB even though Dynamax and the average weight of viable mons makes it either unusable at times or vary in power. Despite these drawbacks, Low Kick offers fairly high PP and still hits mons like Melmetal and Zama-C for 120 BP. On top of this, it can take advantage of the Dynamax mechanic to temporarily become immune to its Imposter's attacks while boosting its own Attack with Max Knuckle. These boosts combined with a prior Speed boost from Rapid Spin gives Urshifu potential to sweep. Poison Heal (PH) gives this thing some really nice longevity to help it stay healthy in longer battles.

Snorlax @ Leftovers
Ability: Ice Scales
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Careful Nature
- Spectral Thief
- Facade
- Recover
- Teleport

Ice Scales Snorlax fits onto the team less as an improof for a teammate but mainly to make sure I don't auto-lose to special attackers. Pure Normal-typing, massive HP and very nice Special Defense that gets doubled makes Snorlax really tough to break. It really benefits from Ice Scales halving the power of Secret Sword and Psytrike as well. Spectral Thief helps Snorlax not to be overwhelmed by powerful attackers like Mewtwo and even Kyurem-W that might try to setup in its face and break past it. Facade is a nice utility move that allows Snorlax to take advantage of stray burns or paralysis it might pick up throughout the battle and become less passive. Teleport gives the team its only pivot move, which is handy for gaining momentum when opposing special attackers are forced to switch out. Imposters of Snorlax are punished by Urshifu who can cripple it in multiple ways and Snorlax helps to improof Eternatus and the next and final teammate, Darmanitan-Zen.

Darmanitan-Zen @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Psystrike
- Soft-Boiled
- Worry Seed

I hate to say it, but double Fur Coat is not only viable in the meta but almost necessary to deal with the plethora of physical breakers and high powered attacks in their arsenal. While they share a weakness to Ground-type attacks, Darm-Zen and Eternatus pair well together as physical walls since Darm-Zen can handle the Sunsteel Strikes and Photon Geysers that threaten to break Eternatus. And lets be honest, everything is weak to Ground-type attacks this gen so it is futile to build against them really. Lava Plume is really nice to spread burns and take advantage of Darm-Zen's nice Special Attack and put pressure on Steel-types and neutral pivots like PH Golisopod. Psystrike is a really cool move to punish mons like Zamazenta and Eternatus. Worry Seed is useful for forcing out PH users and removing abilities like Fur Coat and Ice Scales so that Psystrike can hit harder. It can be a bit of a pain to deal with Imposters of Darm-Zen, but Snorlax can stall it while absorbing Plume burns and pivot into Urshifu, if healthy, to Knock Off the Imposter's item. In a pinch, you can use DGZ's Fishious Rend to hit Imposter for 42-50% after Eviolite is removed to force it out.

While this team has methods of dealing with and threatening each of the mons shown above, they can still threaten the team when running the right combination of moves and abilities. Mold Breaker abilities in particular pose a threat to the walls on this team that rely on abilities to check things. Mold Breaker moves, mainly Photon Geyser and Sunsteel Strike, can be threatening to both Eternatus and Snorlax since Photon can be both physical and special depending on the user.

Mewtwo is most threatening to break Snorlax if running either Mold Breaker Psystrike with Life Orb, which can 2HKO after minor chip, or Psychic Surge Photon Geyser with Choice Specs, which also can 2HKO after chip. Other ways Mewtwo can cheese past Snorlax include Simple Nasty Plot with Photon and something like Spore, but this is luckily not a common strategy. Snorlax also has the option to defensively Dynamax, which can cripple and chip Mewtwo by lowering its Defense or Speed with Max Moves so a teammate can revenge kill if necessary.

Calcs

252 SpA Life Orb Mold Breaker Mewtwo Psystrike vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Snorlax: 250-294 (47.7 - 56.1%) -- 24.2% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Mewtwo Photon Geyser vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Snorlax in Psychic Terrain: 244-288 (46.5 - 54.9%) -- 10.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

DGZ is most threatening when running Mold Breaker combined with moves like Triple Axel and Fishious Rend, since both of these moves can OHKO Eternatus and Darm-Zen, respectively, when DGZ is running Choice Band. Mold Breaker is fairly common on DGZ but is far from the only ability it runs, with Intrepid Sword, Desolate Land, and Magic Guard all being viable options, and being choice locked actually helps the matchup since a good read can force out DGZ or force the opponent to use their Dynamax turns. The stat drops from V-create also help the team to revenge kill opposing DGZ with Urshifu and DGZ or even Eternatus.

Calc (for desperate times)

+1 252 Atk Choice Band Darmanitan-Galar-Zen V-create vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Dynamax Urshifu-Gmax: 609-717 (75.3 - 88.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Although losing Shell Smash hampered the breaking potential of Reshiram and Zekrom, they are still both prominent threats with moves like Quiver Dance and Shift Gear along with the ability to be mixed attackers. Reshiram is particularly threatening to the team when running mixed sets with Dynamax Cannon/Draco Meteor and V-create, as it can KO both Eternatus and Snorlax if it gets the chance. Eternatus can only 2HKO Reshiram with Dynamax Cannon but is OHKOed in return by boosted Dragon-type attacks. This makes V-create sets very threatening as Snorlax is hit hard and KO'd after coming in on special Dragon moves.
Zekrom is slightly easier to deal with thanks to most running fully physical sets, which can be handled with the combination of Eternatus, Darm-Zen, and Zama-C. However, Mold Breaker sets with Shift Gear have a good chance to OHKO Eternatus with Dragon Darts after setting up and can blow past Darm-Zen with Bolt Beak. Luckily, Zama-C is good at stalling out Mold Breaker sets thanks to priority Haze and Recovery to drop Bolt Beak's base power. Keeping pressure on these two breakers with Spikes and attacks from DGZ and Urshifu is important and helps limit their chances of doing damage.

Calcs

252 Atk Life Orb Adaptability Reshiram V-create vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Snorlax: 497-585 (94.8 - 111.6%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Mold Breaker Zekrom Dragon Darts (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eternatus: 448-532 (92.5 - 109.9%) -- approx. 56.3% chance to OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Mold Breaker Zekrom Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Darmanitan-Zen: 354-417 (85.5 - 100.7%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

Zacian-C, with its constant Attack boost and great Speed, can be threatening depending on the moveset it chooses. The worst case scenario for the team would be Sunsteel Strike + Fishious Rend since these moves can be used to pick up 2HKOs on the FC core but this combination is slightly rare because it makes improofing Zacian-C quite difficult. Most sets that run Fishious Rend also run Behemoth Blade so they can improof with their own FC user. Darm-Zen can also ease the Zacian-C matchup by threatening to Dynamax and using Max Flare to do big damage and lessen Rend's power.

Lastly, as alluded to earlier, Ground-type moves can mean trouble for the team. Without STAB, like from Zacian-C Earthquake isn't too troublesome but Excadrill can pressure Darm-Zen, Eternatus, and Zama-C with its Ground STAB. Luckily for the team, Exacdrill is quite slow and frail and can be crippled or OHKOed by Urshifu, DGZ, and Eternatus before it has a chance to do damage.

Against Stall (in the first replay, I was using Imposter Chansey instead of Darm-Zen)



Against Balance






Against Offense (some is pretty cheesy)




Mirror Match

To wrap this up, I'm really proud of this team and the success it has had on the ladder. Reaching 96.0% GXE is a big accomplishment for me and it feels great to be the GXE leader in Gen 8 BH again, at least until dimrah comes out of hiding and breaks it again. I might try to ladder some more after posting this but something about that nice round 96.0 made it seem like a good stopping point. The team seems to have held up in the first DLC meta but I'll be interested to see how it fairs once we get more legends back in the second DLC later this year. I'm not sure that strategies like double Fur Coat will be as viable for that meta because a lot will be changing with the new stuff we get. But until then, I hope you've enjoyed seeing the team and I encourage you to try it out for yourself.

(Click on the team picture below for the paste)