Beheeyem

Beheeyem, The Cerebral Pokémon. Apparently, it communicates by flashing its three fingers, but those patterns haven't been decoded. It uses psychic power to control an opponent's brain and tamper with its memories.

Overview

Of all the Psychic-type Pokémon there, Beheeyem is definitely one of the strangest, but that's exactly what you'd expect from an alien Pokémon. It isn't something you run into often both when exploring Unova and in competitive battles, so it plays up the rare alien sighting trope very well. Unfortunately for Beheeyem, this doesn't save it from being just another Psychic-type wishing it enjoyed the days of the first generation when all you needed was Psychic typing to be threatening. Maybe the strain of travelling from the depths of space took a heavy toll on Beheeyem's strength, or maybe beings from space are naturally frail like Deoxys. Regardless, Beheeyem doesn't have a much that helps it stand out from other Psychic-types. A strong Special Attack stat characteristic of most Psychic-types is accompanied by staples like Thunderbolt and Shadow Ball don't help it stand out more, and tricky support moves like Wonder Room, Power Split, Guard Split and Synchronoise aren't particularly great moves either. Oddities like Rock Slide and Steel Wing are also useless on something with such a low Attack stat, so while Beheeyem certainly boasts a unique movepool, the useful moves it gets are nothing that something else can't use better. That being said, this extraterrestrial Pokémon does have the tools to scare a few things. A solid ability in Analytic makes up for its painfully low Speed by boosting its power even further assuming the opponent acts first. It can also function as a competent Trick Room attacker as a result of its low Speed and turn that weakness into a strength, but unfortunately that's about all Beheeyem has going for it. For an alien lifeform, Beheeyem really doesn't live up the these fears very well. That being said, when this planet already has Psychic-types like Metagross, Latios, Mewtwo, Alakazam and Lugia, it makes you wonder if aliens are really the scary ones around here.
Positives
+ A competent base 125 Special Attack naturally lets it function as a decent special attacker, and a solid special movepool gives it nice coverage moves like Thunderbolt and Energy Ball to play around with.
+ Beheeyem is well built for Trick Room, and as with most Psychic-types it has access to it in order to set up Trick Room by itself.
+ Analytic is an amazing ability and also lets it boost its power even further, which leads to incredibly strong hits when coupled with Life Orb or Choice Specs.

Negatives
- Beheeyem is slow. Base 40 Speed may be great for Trick Room and granting an Analytic boost, but this makes it very easy to revenge Beheeyem and take it out before it can hit back.
- On top of being slow, Beheeyem is also not particularly sturdy. While 75/75/95 bulk isn't the worst, it won't be taking many hits and unless Trick Room up it runs a big risk of not doing anything.
- Base 75 Attack means it won't be making realistic use of its interesting physical moves like Rock Slide or Steel Wing anytime soon.
- Pretty much everything that Beheeyem can do is done better by another Psychic-type. You'd think that a Pokémon from space would have something to set itself apart from other Psychic-types but unfortunately this isn't the case.
- Beheeyem's earsplitting cry.

Abilities

Telepathy: Prevents damage from team-mates during Double and Triple battles. This is effectively useless in Singles, so there's no point using this unless you use Beheeyem in Doubles or Triples. That being said, Beheeyem isn't much better there than it is in Singles anyway.
Synchronize: When this Pokémon becomes Poisoned, Paralyzed, or Burned, so does the opponent. However, Fire-type and Water Veil ability Pokémon cannot be Burned, Poison-type and Steel-type and Immunity ability Pokémon cannot be Poisoned, and Limber ability Pokémon cannot be Paralyzed. This isn't a terrible ability, but it's not a great one either. Copying Toxic onto a bulky wall can be useful but there's pretty much no reason to ever use this when its last ability is so much better.
Hidden Ability (Available):
Analytic: Attack power increases by 30% if the Pokémon is the last Pokémon to attack this turn. If you use Beheeyem for anything, you want this ability. The power boost is incredibly useful since Beheeyem will often be attacking after the opponent, and since this stacks with other boosts Beheeyem can deal some serious damage. This also includes the opponent switching out, so this is still a useful ability even if Beheeyem is under Trick Room. In other words, there's no real reason to use its other abilities over this.

Movesets

Analyzing the Situation

- Psychic / Psyshock
- Signal Beam
- Thunderbolt / Shadow Ball / Nasty Plot / Recover
- Trick Room
Item Attached: Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature

Trick Room is one of Beheeyem's biggest draws, and given its low base 40 Speed it naturally finds itself capable of running an offensive Trick Room set. It is important to note that devoting your whole team to Trick Room here is not recommended, since Trick Room is not a strong team style in Singles and stacks too many Psychic-types on a team. Beheeyem is also not sturdy enough to set up Trick Room multiple times in a battle, so in this case it will be setting up Trick Room primarily for its own use. Psychic and Psyshock are both options for STAB, though the decision in this case mostly comes down to whether you want Beheeyem to hit harder overall or hit special walls harder. Signal Beam is often not a great choice for coverage on most Pokémon, but it's the only move Beheeyem has to hit Dark-types that otherwise force it out and also has a chance to confuse the opponent. It also gives it an option to hit opposing Psychic-types hard although Calm Mind users are still dangerous for it. The last move is more flexible and ultimately depends on what you want out of Beheeyem's coverage. Thunderbolt is a strong coverage move that grants it solid neutral coverage while hitting threats like Xatu harder than Signal Beam or Psychic would. Shadow Ball is an alternative to hit Ghost-types harder but otherwise does not have much use since unlike Dark-types, most Ghost-types take heavy damage switching into Psychic-type moves. Nasty Plot sacrifices a coverage slot and Trick Room turns for the ability to set up, though this does make it a more effective wallbreaker. Recover is also an option in the final slot to help it stay healthy amidst Life Orb recoil and any residual damage. However, be mindful that finding an opportunity to use it can be difficult due to Beheeyem's middling bulk and low Speed, so finding ways to force a switch or get Trick Room up should be a priority if running Recover.

The EV spread and nature are standard for Trick Room. Quiet nature maximizes Beheeyem's damage output while lowering its Speed as much as possible so that it can outspeed as many things as it can under Trick Room. For this purpose a 0 IV in Speed is also ideal to drop its Speed even further. Maximum Special Attack investment naturally follows the Quiet nature to maximize its offensive presence, while full HP investment is meant to make Beheeyem as bulky as possible to help it take hits better and get Trick Room up. Life Orb is the item of choice, and it stacks with Analytic for huge damage on switches and if Beheeyem decides to attack without setting up Trick Room.

Fashionable in Space

- Psychic
- Signal Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Ground / Hidden Power Fire / Trick
Item Attached: Choice Specs
Ability: Analytic
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 172 HP / 252 SpA / 84 Spe
Modest Nature

A more direct approach to Beheeyem is a Choice Specs set, which boasts more immediate power without requiring setup. Once again, Psychic is the primary STAB move and breaks through so many things with an Analytic boost that Psyshock is not as strong of an alternative as it normally would be. Signal Beam is still Beheeyem's best option for hitting Dark-types and boasts an even greater threat if it hits a Dark-type on an expected switch. Thunderbolt grants it solid neutral coverage which is useful when predicting between Psychic and Signal Beam is too risky, and it also hits Water-types and Flying-types for huge damage. The final coverage slot provides numerous options, with Hidden Power Ground and Fire being strong options for hitting Steel types harder. Hidden Power Ground hits Probopass harder while Hidden Power Fire is good if hitting Ferroseed harder is more desirable. Due to the heavy prediction Choice Specs requires, this can lead to dangerously powerful Analytic boosted hits if successful, but keep in mind that being locked into Hidden Power is very risky so it can't be thrown around recklessly. As with many Psychic-types, Trick is another option in the final slot to cripple a wall or physical threat by forcing an unwanted Choice Specs onto them.

The EV spread is slightly more complex than the Trick Room set. Maximum Special Attack investment is straightforward enough, but 84 Speed EVs lets Beheeyem outspeeds uninvested base 50 Pokémon so that it isn't outsped the likes of uninvested Hariyama. If running Hidden Power Fire, Beheeyem will need 4 more Speed EVs to reach this same benchmark, and the rest is thrown into HP to increase bulk. If this Speed isn't necessary though, Beheeyem can opt for maximum HP investment since it won't be outspeeding too much regardless.

Other Options

- Energy Ball is a coverage option that hits Ground types harder, and most notably hits Quagsire. However, most of the Pokémon that Energy Ball hits already take huge damage from boosted Psychic-type moves.
- Beheeyem has access to Calm Mind so it can opt for a bulky Calm Mind set with Recover, but this set is outclassed by Musharna and Reuniclus so it isn't most effective use of Beheeyem.
- Thunder Wave is one of the best moves in the game, and it can be used to cripple a fast switch-in to possibly let Beheeyem down an opponent or otherwise help another partner sweep later. That being said, Beheeyem normally wants to focus purely on offense so this isn't easy to fit onto a set.
- Magic Coat is a tricky option that can be used on opposing hazard setters and get hazards up against the opponent or reflect Taunt back to the opponent, but this is not reliable and isn't worth the moveslot on Beheeyem.

VGC, Double & Triple Battle Options

Beheeyem faces stiff competition from Reuniclus. Only truly holding Telepathy over its head. As Analytic would clash with potential Trick Room set ups and Synchronize not being practical considering Beheeyem's opponents will try to OHKO it rather than status it.

Base 40 Speed and being Pure Psychic means Beheeyem's Trainer will get the most out of it through using it in Trick Room. Being purely Psychic type is a defensive liability, so moving first might alleviate some problems.

Beheeyyyyyy lmao

-Psychic
-Ally Switch
-Protect
-Disable
Item Attached: Sitrus Berry
Ability: Telepathy
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP, 252 SAtk, 4 SDef
Modest Nature

Beheeyem is a mixed bag of status moves. It works best in Trick Room so it can fire off a few moves. Most notably Ally Switch, which will swap Beheeyem with it's partner before it attacks, a rather odd but effective means of redirection. Protect and Disable work hand in hand as well under Trick Room.

Beheeyem's Telepathy opens up many doors for partner Pokemon to come in. Rhyperior can freely fire off Earthquakes while Beheeyem takes a predicted Close Combat with Ally Switch, same for Boombursting Exploud or the like.

It is wasn't apparent already Beheeyem is quite the niche pick for any Pokemon Team. Truth is if it had Prankster it would be a different story. But Beheeyem not being able to fire off moves safely without Trick Room is a bummer.

Countering Beheeyem

Unlike other aliens, Beheeyem doesn't require a giant space dragon or futuristic lasers to take down. Dark-types give Beheeyem huge trouble, especially if their typing grants them neutral damage from Signal Beam. This is particularly dangerous for the Choice Specs set since it can't freely use its Psychic-type STAB moves due to the fear of Pursuit trapping. Bulky Ghost-types are also bad news for Beheeyem since Pokémon like Dusknoir can take a Shadow Ball or Psychic and threaten it back with its Ghost-type moves. However, switching in directly multiple times can be risky due to the raw power that Analytic grants on top of Choice Specs or Life Orb. Bug-types are also dangerous for Beheeyem, since most of them can outspeed and OHKO with their respective Bug-type moves. Given its poor physical bulk, this also makes U-turn problematic in general. Steel-types like the previously mentioned Ferroseed and Probopass also give Beheeyem a tough time without the respective Hidden Power or Trick, and Steel-types that don't mind Hidden Power too much also prove to difficult for Beheeyem to beat. Beyond simple type advantages, Beheeyem's Trick Room set is hindered by Taunt users somewhat, particularly if it also runs Recover. Due to its low Speed it's also easy to revenge kill Beheeyem with something faster, and with its middling bulk this means it won't be taking a strong hit very easily. However, it should be noted that due to Beheeyem's impressive damage output with Analytic and a boosting item, walling it is not something that can be easily relied upon, especially with the fear of Trick on the Choice Specs set. Beheeyem might look bizarre, but if for any reason you see a group of them trying to invade the planet you shouldn't have much to worry about.

Locations in Games

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Not in game

FireRed/LeafGreen:
Not in game

Colosseum/XD:
Not in game

Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Not in game

HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Not in game

Black/White:
Route 14

Black 2/White 2:
Evolve Elgyem

X/Y:
Trade from Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire

Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Evolve Elgyem

Animé Appearences

Beheeyem has made a few appearances in the anime. In these, they were behind mysterious situations such as mind control of an entire city.

# -English Episode Name- -Jp. Episode Name- Pics
706 Beheeyem, Duosion and the Dream Thief Beheeyem and Duosion and the Dream Thief! Pics
794 Capacia Island UFO! Shining Flying Saucer! Beheeyem's Town!! Pics
12 The Future I Choose! The Future I Choose Pics
14 Fly! Wattrell Fly, Wattrel Pics
15 It's Someone You Can't See! Whosawhatsit? It's Someone You Can't See! Whosawhatsit? Pics
34 TBC Respective Departures Pics
44 TBC The Plan for Capturing Rayquaza! Pics