Should You Pull? SS Hilbert & Genesect

Hilbert is a pretty laid-back guy, wouldn’t you say? He showed up fairly early in Pokemon Masters’ life and has largely been happy to explore Pasio alongside his Samurott. Sure, he’s had his moments alongside his Mightyena, but we don’t really talk about that anymore. Well, it seems that a guy can only be laid back for so long, as Ghetsis is ready to unleash a new fiendish plan… and what better way to fight this madman than with one of his own weapons? Genesect, the Paleozoic Pokemon, was revived from a fossil by Team Plasma and was outfitted with weapons to become a technological terror. It’s a deadly Mythical Pokemon with a history tied to Ghetsis’ plans, and it wants revenge. Together with Hilbert, they form a Sync Pair with a grudge, ready to take out anything that stands in their way.

Hilbert & Genesect comprise a Bug Type Tech unit with a weakness to Fire Type attacks. They have decent bulk for an offensive Sync pair, good Special Attack, and decent Speed. Their moveset begins with Metal Sound, which is a 2-bar move that drops the target’s Special Defense by 2 ranks per use. Dire Hit + comes next, and is a reliable way to max out Genesect’s Critical rate. This is backed up with Perfect Aim!, which does not raise Genesect’s Accuracy or give the sure-hit effect, despite its name. Instead, this 2-use Trainer Move gives +3 Special Attack and applies the Supereffective Up Next effect, ensuring more damage when Genesect hits its target’s weakness. We follow this up with Techno Blast, which is a Normal* type move that takes 4 bars to utilize and has a solid base power. And we totally won’t be talking more about Techno Blast more in-depth in the next section! Finishing up moves, Hilbert & Genesect’s Sync Move is Aim For Victory Bug Buzz, which is a Bug Type Sync Move that deals additional damage the more that the target’s Special Defense has been lowered, calling back to Metal Sound and its ability to soften up the opposing team.

With moves out of the way, next up are skills. To begin with, we have Bug Shift which we’ve seen before in the past; this skill turns Techno Blast into a Bug Type move. Huh, I could have sworn that I said that we wouldn’t be revisiting Techno Blast. Anyway; next up is Hilbert’s Plan, which changes the move type of Techno Blast to either Fire, Water, Ice, or Electric, matching the target’s weakness from among these four types if possible. Finally, Hilbert’s Aim takes this a step farther. With this passive skill, Genesect’s Techno Blast leaves its target with one stack of the Type Rebuff effect for Bug, Fire, Water, Ice, or Electric depending on their weakness the first time that it’s utilized on each battle. To summarize Hilbert & Genesect’s passive skills: Techno Blast go brrrr….

At the command of Hilbert, Genesect is an outright assassin of a Pokemon. Its powerful Techno Blast targets any one of five different type weaknesses with Super Effective damage, stacks one of five different Type Rebuff effects to cut those weaknesses even deeper, can be buffed even farther than that via the Super Effective Up Next effect, and can even tear down the target’s Special Defense in order to burn as deep a wound as possible with every super-charged hit. When Genesect has its sights set on you, then chances are that you’re about to be torn to pieces by this ancient predator given new life by Team Plasma.

But, when looking deeper, we can definitely see a few holes that start to show up in Hilbert & Genesect’s kit. First of all, while they are deadly against anything weak to Fire, Water, Electric, Ice, or especially Bug Type attacks, their utility drops sharply against any other weakness that the game may throw out. This can be a major issue on stages that sport multiple weaknesses, as Hilbert & Genesect can flatten one target, then become a bit sluggish against the others. And while Techno Blast is still solid due to its high base power and Genesect’s decent Special Attack/offensive buffing profile, it can definitely be a pain. This can be mitigated largely by using Hilbert & Genesect in your 3rd slot alongside a powerful Striker that can finish off whatever Genesect may struggle with, but this can also bring issues with the Move Gauge due to Genesect’s decent-but-not-astounding Speed combined with Techno Blast’s 4-bar cost. Overall, it’s not terribly difficult to make Hilbert & Genesect into monsters, but it is important to be mindful of their limitations.

Sync Grid Considerations & Lucky Skills

Sync Grid & Sync Levels

Let’s be honest here, Hilbert & Genesect are great even at ⅕. Their base kit is laser-focused and extremely viable in its own right. That said, their grid basically offers nothing at ⅕ aside from some stat boosts and Techno Blast: Power+2 tiles.

⅖ has a few nice offerings, like Insect Acceleration 2, Insect Power 1, Techno Blast: Move Gauge Refresh 3, Superduper Effective 1, and even Safety Tether. Nothing here changes the basic way that Hilbert & Genesect operate, but the additional options are appreciated.

⅗ is where we start to see some real power. Brain Power gives a huge boost to Hilbert & Genesect’s Sync Move, Super Freebie makes the Move Gauge way less of an issue, and Bug Enigma lessens their reliance on Metal Sound when using Bug Type attacks, just to name a few. And speaking of Metal Sound: Metal Sound: Ripple Effect 9 and Metal Sound: Charging Infliction 2 let Hilbert & Genesect work better in a somewhat more supportive role, where they can strip away the opposing team’s Special Defense with ease and effectively do so without using the Move Gauge when all is said and done. 

Going beyond the normal limitations, ⅘ only has Team Sharp Entry 1, which can cut a turn of setup off of Hilbert & Genesect and help the team at the same time, and Super Slowering Hit 9, which can drop the target’s Speed by 2 when hit by a Super Effective attack. Finally, 5/5 has Hilbert’s Aim for an additional level of the Type Rebuff effect when Techno Blast is Super Effective, and Cakewalk if you want even more Sync Move power and don’t mind picking up the aforementioned Super Slowering Hit 9 or pairing Hilbert & Genesect up with a Speed Debuffer.

EX Viability

While the stat-points that raising Hilbert & Genesect to EX will bring are definitely appreciated, the utility of the boost itself honestly depends on your intended use. If you’re looking for a powerful Bug Type attacker, then the Sync Move damage boost can make this laser-focused attacker hit like an orbital strike. If you intend to utilize them more for their wide range of additional types that they can snipe down foes from a mile away, then the boost is less useful as their Sync Move will tend to be less of a priority.

Lucky Skills

The tried-and-true Critical Strike 2 is king here, but it’s definitely not the end-all-be-all. If you’re considering loading up a Fire or Water Type Techno Blast, then Weathered Warrior 3 is an outstanding pick, as it can work with a Sun or Rain team respectively to make the resulting blaze or torrent sting a lot more, but won't be useful in all compositions where you might play this Sync Pair. Finally, Super Powered 3 will mostly be overkill on stages where Hilbert & Genesect are super-effective and won't be of any help against those where they might struggle a little bit more.

Games Modes

As should be pretty obvious by this point, the majority of Hilbert & Genesect’s utility stems from their ability to target one of five specific weaknesses. This can be a bit of a double-edged sword, as it makes them dominant in specific game modes, but less than perfect in others. For example; the Champion’s Stadium always has well-defined weaknesses to exploit for every stage, meaning Hilbert & Genesect have great average odds of going into any given week with a chance to genuinely shine. But, at the same time, the Battle Villa’s shifting type weaknesses and need to utilize non-refreshing MP makes them a pretty iffy choice for the monthly grind. One particular area that Hilbert & Genesect can absolutely shine in is the Legendary Arena, where their focused, single-target play style combined with highly useful Special Defense debuffs can shine with some very clean clears, but be aware of the fact that A: their Type Rebuff effect will disappear between HP Bars, and B: they need to be weary of bosses that switch up their weaknesses.

Team Compositions

So Hilbert & Genesect are a bit unique in terms of team comps, as this is essentially 5 different Sync Pairs in one in terms of the team that they’ll want to work with. As such, we’re going to break this section up a bit.

Bug Type

As a Bug Type attacker, the best possible teammate for Hilbert & Genesect is Special Costume Ingo & Accelgor. The ability to set Bug Zone will ramp attack and Sync Move damage up to 11, and the ability to boost the team’s Speed will make Techno Blast that much easier to utilize. Other pairings include powerful Bug Type attackers like Alder & Volcarona or Special Costume Emmet & Escavalier, though the sheer power on display here will outright require some Move Gauge support from Support units like Skyla & Swanna or Ingo & Excadrill.

Fire Type

When utilizing a blazing Techno Blast, the ultimate partner is doubtlessly Sygna Suit Morty & Ho-oh. With Speed buffs, Move Gauge acceleration, and the coveted ability to raise the Sun for even more Fire Type damage, this duo is extremely potent to say the least. Powerful Fire Type attackers like Sygna Suit Hilda & Victini, Anniversary N & Reshiram, or Sygna Suit Red & Charizard slot into this team exceptionally well, as Sygna Suit Morty & Ho-oh will generally provide all of the foundation needed for the entire team to go all-out with their Fire Type attacks.

Water Type

Water is another type with a corresponding weather-boost, and another chance to turn Techno Blast up to devastating levels. Much like with Fire, we have a Support unit that can change the weather with Sygna Suit Kris & Suicune. With the ability to bring on the rain, grant stacks of the Special Move Up Next effect, and boost damage via their Master Pair Skill, they can give a lot to Hilbert & Genesect, though their Move Gauge management is a bit lackluster. For this reason, the go-to unit to round out this set would be Dojo Gloria & Urshifu. With outstanding Move Gauge management and very high Water Type damage, this duo can beat any Water weak stage into submission with ease. Beyond this pairing, Archie & Kyogre or May & Swampert are also exceptional partners for their ability to make it rain and drop powerful AoE Water Type moves, though this type of setup is best utilized with a bit of Move Gauge help in the Support slot.

Electric Type

Electric doesn’t have a weather to take advantage of, but it does have a field effect. Electric Terrain can be effectively set by a number of Sync Pairs, including Volkner & Luxray, Classic Elesa & Emolga, New Years Volkner & Electivire, and Sygna Suit Thunderbolt Red & Pikachu, so they can all power up an Electrical Techno Blast with varying degrees of effectiveness. For doubling-up on Electric attackers, all of the above can definitely do the job, with Ash & Pikachu also thrown into the mix for their devastatingly powerful Electric Type attacks.

Ice Type

Ice is the only type available to Hilbert & Genesect that doesn’t come packed with a natural boosting field effect, but it does come as one of the types that doesn’t have quite as much powerful coverage given our current roster, allowing it to stand out for other reasons. Pairings with Holiday Leon & Calyrex, Sygna Suit N & Kyurem - Black, and Ghetsis & Kyurem are all great in their own right for this setup, though we once again have to visit the need for some Move Gauge support on that front, especially if you want to call on the skills of Hala & Crabominable and their age-old art of being as slow as a glacier.

Other Pairings

Outside of the above setups, several other Sync Pairs work genuinely well with Hilbert & Genesect - especially if you don’t want to go all-in for a team’s type. Classic Red & Snorlax can speed up Genesect’s Critical Rate buffing and grant the Super Effective Up Next effect, which synergizes perfectly with their entire core gameplay mechanic. Bede & Hatterene, Sygna Suit Brendan & Latios, Lucian & Giragarig, or Special Costume Rosa & Shaymin - Sky Forme can all target the opposing team’s Special Defense in order to lessen the need to rely on Metal Sound, which can be especially important for Sync Nuke builds in particular. Powerful Special Support units like Sabrina & Alakazam, Special Costume Lillie & Polteageist, or the aforementioned Sygna Suit Brendan & Latios can free up the use of Hilbert’s Trainer Move, allowing the player to hold onto it for the sake of its Super Effective Up Next effect rather than its +3 Special Attack per use. Finally, Palentines Serena & Whimsicott pair up with Hilbert & Genesect perfectly for Cakewalk builds, as they can bottom out the opposing team’s Speed and max out their team’s Speed with ease.

Honestly, Hilbert & Genesect are definitely worth adding to any team, but they may be overshadowed by other powerful options that can easily compete with or out-pace them. Sadly, this is not a case like Sygna Suit Giovanni & Nidoking where coverage is sparse on all of the available types, as Electric and Water in particular have attackers that can rival or dwarf Genesect in terms of damage output, while Fire and Ice in particular have new attackers that will both be running at the exact same time, making this investment a bit iffy for some. Still, even if you have all of these roles filled, Hilbert & Genesect can still occupy that 3rd slot to leverage some heavy additional damage. Chances are, you’ll always find a reason to use this Hero of Unova and Team Plasma’s secret weapon.