Underrated Abilities in the Balanced Hackmons Metagame
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Introduction
In the Balanced Hackmons metagame, a whole world of possibilities is opened up. One of these possibilities is the ability to change a Pokémon's ability to any ability you want! This article will be exploring abilities that are not often used or are considered eclipsed by popular abilities such as Poison Heal and Refrigerate. We'll be exploring these abilities, their positive attributes, along with examples of Pokémon that can effectively utilize these abilities. These abilities are considered 'hidden gems', and I'd like to make them not so hidden and share them with you!
Illusion
"This Pokémon appears as the last Pokémon in the party until it takes direct damage."
Illusion is an ability only held by Zoroark in regular play, but in Balanced Hackmons, any Pokémon can have access to it. What sets it apart in Balanced Hackmons is that, for the most part, there is no way to know your opponent's ability outside of scouting with Trace, and the lack of Team Preview means that players cannot know in advance which Pokémon is going to be Illusioned as what. This ability is somewhat hard to pull off at times, but is also hard to play against. Players should choose their disguise carefully when using this ability, as recklessly building a team with Illusion can result in it never paying off, because once you've been revealed, the shenanigans are over. Another perk of Illusion is that Imposter can not transform into Illusioned Pokémon. For example, if a Mega Gengar is Illusioned as a Mega Aggron and a Chansey with Imposter comes in, it will not automatically transform. This can be very helpful in aiding set up sweepers and preventing them from being set up on, though it also gives away the Illusion in the process.
Illusion is best used on Pokémon with immunities. Ghost-types Illusioned as Fighting-type weak Pokémon make for great Illusion cores. Similarly, Fairy-types Illusioned as Dragon-type Pokémon to lure in opposing Dragon-type moves can be pulled off. A popular Illusion Pokémon is Mega Gengar, which has the benefits of being a Ghost-type with high Special Attack and Speed stats. Its Ghost typing allows it to form great cores with Pokémon that are weak to Fighting-type moves, and on top of this, it is immune to Fake Out, which Imposter Chansey often carries. With Extreme Speed and Superpower being common moves, its immunities definitely come in handy.
Sample Set
Gengar-Mega @ Spooky Plate
Ability: Illusion
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shell Smash
- Judgment
- Secret Sword
- Infestation / Spore
Tinted Lens
"This Pokémon's attacks that are not very effective on a target do double damage."
Tinted Lens is a powerful ability that allows the user's attacks to hit for neutral damage against opposing Pokémon that would resist these moves. For instance, a Ghost-type move used on a Dark-type Pokémon will be normally effective instead of being resisted. You'd think that this would be a prime offensive ability, no? Sadly, it's not extremely common, although not completely unseen. It has a large benefit on setup sweepers that allows them to set up without the fear of a resistant Pokémon coming in and halting a sweep. Some types, such as Ghost, already have great coverage, and Tinted Lens just pushes it over the top and makes sure that not much resists it. Some types with poor coverage, such as Grass, also enjoy being able to freely use their STAB moves without worry of their moves being resisted. This means that powerful Fighting-type attacks from the likes of Mewtwo-Mega-X can smack the Flying-types attempting to resist its onslaught!
Sample Set
Dialga @ Leftovers
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
- Doom Desire
- Wish
- King's Shield
- Tail Glow
Unburden
"Speed is doubled on held item loss; boost is lost if it switches, gets new item/Ability."
Unburden appears to be a somewhat gimmicky ability at first glance, as losing your item really sucks! The main draw of Unburden is that Imposter does not copy it, meaning that the Pokémon with this ability does not have to fear being revenge killed by an incoming Chansey. Unburden also allows for some interesting combinations, such as Belly Drum to activate Sitrus Berry, getting to +6 / +2 in just one turn, or Geomancy with a Power Herb for +2 / +2 / +6 instantly. Unburden's doubled Speed effect does only last while a Pokémon is in battle and resets Speed after a switch, so be careful! It's better to use later in the match when obvious users of opposing priority have been removed.
Sample Set
Ho-Oh @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Sacred Fire
- Acrobatics
- Diamond Storm
Soundproof
"This Pokémon is immune to sound-based moves, except Heal Bell."
Soundproof is a unique ability that does not see much usage in Balanced Hackmons or in regular play; however, it has a solid niche. Soundproof's main benefit is an immunity to the ever-common Boomburst. Another niche is its immunity to Perish Song, which can contribute to an interesting set which involves trapping a Pokémon with Mean Look and using Perish Song to eliminate it. This strategy works well on bulkier Pokémon, or on other Pokémon that do not enjoy stomaching a Boomburst.
Sample Set
Arceus @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Soundproof
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Thousand Waves
- Perish Song
- Knock Off
- Recover
No Guard
"Every move used by or against this Pokémon will always hit."
No Guard is an interesting ability because it assures that all moves on the field hit their target without fail, allowing for moves with low accuracy to be used. Some moves to abuse this with include 50% accuracy moves such as Zap Cannon, Inferno, and Dynamic Punch. This can be somewhat detrimental, however, because the opposition will never miss, although it isn't often that it is too problematic. There's really not much to explain about No Guard, but do note that not all moves have to have low accuracy, as limiting a moveset to only horribly inaccurate moves usually ends up in it being subpar for other reasons.
Sample Set
Mewtwo-Mega-X @ Life Orb
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Dynamic Punch
- Inferno
- Zap Cannon
- King's Shield
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