Battle Spot Singles Cores

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Battle Spot Singles - Effective Cores

One of the most difficult parts of Battle Spot Singles is finding Pokemon that work well together in a more restricted 3v3 format. Teammates that can cover more general threats tend to be more effective than making sure you have a solid answer to every relevant threat, but this can be difficult especially for people used to 6v6 formats. Likewise, you don't want to fall into the trap of always having to use the same three Pokemon together each game, so it's important that a core is flexible enough to function with other teammates instead of relying on the same two partners. This thread aims to guide you in that process by archiving popular and effective cores in Battle Spot Singles that are flexible enough to function not only with each other, but the rest of the team as well. Here you can discuss these cores and post other cores that you've found successful, so this thread should be used as a teambuilding resource for all players.

Rules and Procedures:
Since this is meant to be a resource to help people learn, please avoid posting cores that are just bad gimmicks or cores that you haven't actually tested. When posting a core, make sure to post sets and a short description of what the core does. A paragraph is fine, doesn't have to be super fancy or formal; just don't make it an essay. Also try to label your core as either an Offensive Core, Balance Core, or Defensive Core to make things easier to add. While not necessary, feel free to post any replays (PS or on cart) that showcase the effectiveness of the core, since replays are always helpful. A core doesn't need to be three Pokemon either, cores of two work just fine as well.

For simplicity's sake, try not to overload your post with too many cores at a time. One or two cores per post is fine, three if you really have stuff you want to share, but six cores is a lot of stuff to go through at once. Not all cores will necessarily be added to the archive, but don't let that deter you from posting a core if you think it's worth discussing. This is a discussion thread as much as it is an archive so don't hesitate to post, but if you're really unsure if a core is worth posting then you should probably not post it.


To start things off and to provide an example, let's post the popular Blaziken, Zapdos and Ferrothorn core.



This is a very popular Blaziken core on balanced teams, centered around covering Blaziken's few solid checks such as Talonflame, Azumarill and Slowbro, while wearing everything else down to let Blaziken sweep. Mega Blaziken's massive Attack stat makes Flare Blitz and High Jump kick incredibly deadly on their own, so its coverage slot is mainly filler. Physically defensive Zapdos covers Talonflame, Azumarill and Mega Salamence for Blaziken, and wears down physical attackers with Rocky Helmet, possibly crippling them with Static. Roost lets it do this effectively and allows it to fish for Static procs, and Thunderbolt lets it hit Azumarill, Talonflame and Gyarados directly to take them down if they set up. HP Ice hits Mega Salamence though Toxic lets it wear down other walls like Cresselia. Ferrothorn rounds out the core by providing a Water and Electric resist that can threaten Suicune, Rotom-W and Thundurus. It also offers Stealth Rock support, which is very useful on Blaziken teams for crippling Talonflame and breaking Focus Sashes for Blaziken. This is a very straightforward core but it's one with very few glaring weaknesses, and one of the more popular Blaziken cores for good reason.

Blaziken-Mega @ Blazikenite
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- High Jump Kick / Superpower
- Swords Dance / Knock Off / Rock Slide
- Protect

Zapdos @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Static / Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Roost
- Thunderbolt
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice] / Toxic

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip / Gyro Ball
- Gyro Ball / Knock Off / Protect
- Stealth Rock



With that, feel free to start posting cores!
 

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Balance Cores


Mega Blaziken + Zapdos + Ferrothorn submitted by myself


This is a very popular Blaziken core on balanced teams, centered around covering Blaziken's few solid checks such as Talonflame, Azumarill and Slowbro, while wearing everything else down to let Blaziken sweep. Mega Blaziken's massive Attack stat makes Flare Blitz and High Jump kick incredibly deadly on their own, so its coverage slot is mainly filler. Physically defensive Zapdos covers Talonflame, Azumarill and Mega Salamence for Blaziken, and wears down physical attackers with Rocky Helmet, possibly crippling them with Static. Roost lets it do this effectively and allows it to fish for Static procs, and Thunderbolt lets it hit Azumarill, Talonflame and Gyarados directly to take them down if they set up. HP Ice hits Mega Salamence though Toxic lets it wear down other walls like Cresselia. Ferrothorn rounds out the core by providing a Water and Electric resist that can threaten Suicune, Rotom-W and Thundurus. It also offers Stealth Rock support, which is very useful on Blaziken teams for crippling Talonflame and breaking Focus Sashes for Blaziken. This is a very straightforward core but it's one with very few glaring weaknesses, and one of the more popular Blaziken cores for good reason.

Blaziken-Mega @ Blazikenite
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- High Jump Kick / Superpower
- Swords Dance / Knock Off / Rock Slide
- Protect

Zapdos @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Static / Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Roost
- Thunderbolt
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice] / Toxic

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip / Gyro Ball
- Gyro Ball / Knock Off / Protect
- Stealth Rock



Mega Heracross + Cresselia + Heatran submitted by 6tennis


Primarily a Balance core, Heracross + Cresselia + Heatran is a powerhouse of a core. Mega Heracross has the highest base Attack stat in the metagame (unless you count MKang, MMaw, and MMcham, which have Attack-boosting abilities), great coverage, and a phenomenal ability in Skill Link, all traits that add up to it being a very effective wallbreaker. That said, its standard coverage misses out on hitting a few key threats, and there are a few Pokemon that Heracross won't be able to beat without a bit of support. That's where the rest of the core comes in: Heatran is a strong special attacker that has the coverage and firepower (haha, get it?) to break through what Heracross can't, and Cresselia is a bulky supporting Pokemon that provides Heracross the tools it needs to sweep.

The game plan here is simple: you put as much pressure on the opponent as you can, then once you've significantly weakened their team (since both Heatran and Heracross have a nasty problem with missing out on OHKOs with neutral coverage) you can move to Cress, use Trick Room, and bring in the other Pokemon to clean up. You can also force switches with Cresselia or Heatran, predict them to go into something that Heracross has a good matchup against, and switch your Heracross in to do considerable damage, since almost nothing can switch into a Heracross.

Heracross-Mega @ Heracronite
Ability: Guts
Level: 50
EVs: 156 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 92 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pin Missile
- Close Combat
- Rock Blast
- Bullet Seed

Cresselia @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Ice Beam
- Trick Room
- Moonlight
- Lunar Dance

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 252 SpA / 12 SpD
Modest Nature
- Fire Blast
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock



Bulky Thundurus + AV Mamoswine submitted by Viridi


A pretty cool core I ended up putting on a team by sheer coincidence, but it works really well. Thundurus generally handles bulky waters not named Rotom-W and paralyzes faster stuff like Mega Charizard X, so Mamoswine can sweep. This core also does an excellent job at shutting down some stall mons. Here's an example with Cresselia: Thundurus uses Taunt so Ice Beam (or the uncommon Psychic) is its only move, which Mamoswine doesn't care about, especially with the given set. The combination also handles Electrics such as Mega Manectric really well. The core is weak to some things such as Rotom-W, so you might want to have a teammate or two that can handle it. However, Nasty Plot is a decent option over Taunt to beat Washtom, but the core doesn't handle walls as well if you use it.

Credits to Hulavuta for noticing how good it is and encouraging me to post this.

Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 244 HP / 168 Def / 68 SpA / 28 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice] / Focus Blast
- Taunt / Nasty Plot

Mamoswine @ Assault Vest
Ability: Thick Fat
Level: 50
EVs: 44 HP / 156 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpD / 52 Spe
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Spear

 
Last edited:

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Offensive Cores


Mega Charizard X + Cresselia submitted by Hulavuta
I have an offensive core for you all. It uses Cresselia, but it is mostly offensive and tries to put pressure on your opponent while keeping momentum for yourself.



Pretty much standard sets for both of these Pokemon really, but that doesn't mean they're not effective. The excellent part of this core is that it allows Mega Charizard X to be both a wallbreaker and a sweeper in the same game. A lot of how this core plays depends on the third Pokemon you bring, but you wanna use Zard to break or weaken walls early game alongside whatever other Pokemon you brought. Sometimes it works as an anti-lead, but it does lose to common leads, like Garchomp, Breloom, and Mamoswine, so you don't always want to do that. But if you know your opponent didn't bring a dedicated lead, Zard has a pretty good matchup against most Pokemon as it can pretty much always take a hit and set up.

After you've weakened things enough, you can bring Cresselia in on something that can't beat it, and Lunar Dance. This brings Charizard back to full health where you can set up again and go for the sweep. Just make sure that the target is something that Charizard can set up on, it has really good typing, so it can set up on most water-types, fighting-types, fairies, etc. As long as it can't hit Charizard super effectively or put it to sleep/paralyze, it can use at least one turn to set up.

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake / Thunder Punch
- Flare Blitz
- Outrage

or

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Flame Charge
- Flare Blitz
- Outrage

Cresselia @ Rocky Helmet / Safety Goggles
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Ice Beam
- Psychic / Moonlight
- Lunar Dance



Offensive Trick Room Porygon2 + Mega Mawile submitted by jroxas


The Porygon2 + Mawile core has a straightforward and effective offensive strategy: have Porygon2 set up Trick Room, then start blasting holes in the enemy team (ideally with a Download boost) or bring Mega Mawile in and have it crush everything with its Huge Power-boosted attacks. While its main purpose is to use Trick Room, Porygon2 is strong and bulky enough to be threatening in its own right, capable of dealing serious damage to many common threats. Mawile can run Swords Dance to function in its traditional wallbreaking sweeper role, or just run four attacks and immediately start dealing huge damage.

This core is compact and flexible, affording a wide range of options for the rest of the team. One strong option is to lead with a threatening or disruptive Pokemon such as Garchomp or Breloom, weakening the opposing team for these two to mop up. Alternative speed control in the form of paralysis commonly accompanies this core, as do Pokemon that benefit from that abundant speed control.

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
EVs: 244 HP / 12 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Trick Room
- Shadow Ball
- Ice Beam / Discharge
- Tri Attack / Hidden Power [Ground]

Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Swords Dance / Iron Head
- Knock Off / Fire Fang



Belly Drum Azumarill + Mega Gengar submitted by GateCreeper


Pretty common offensive core here. The game plan with these two is to Perish Trap something that Azu hates to fight and can't set up on to clear the way for a Belly Drum sweep. Such things include Mega Mawile, Suicune, Breloom, Mega Venusaur, and many more. Gengar also resists all of Azu's weaknesses barring Electric, which is a really nice merit to this core. This core really despises Volt Switchers and U-Turn users in general, and opposing ghosts like Aegi and Gengar as they can just switch out of Perish Song. To alleviate this, a ground type like Hippowdon or Garchomp is often added to this core as a third member of the team to deal with these threats. Hydreigon and offensive Porygon2 are also common members to this core to quickly dispose of the aforementioned Electric-types such as Thundurus, and smash the ghosts that were mentioned before. Most of the time you don't want to lead with Azumarill if there's something that can hinder or stop it from sweeping. Gengar should be preserved as well to eliminate the threats to Azumarill, if any are present.

Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 228 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 12 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off / Superpower

Gengar @ Gengarite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 84 SpD / 176 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Perish Song
- Protect
- Substitute



Hippowdon + Mega Lucario + Dragonite submitted by cannibal


Lucario and Dragonite form part of what is known as a "Fantasy" core (Dragon/Steel/Fairy), which is a type combination known to cover each others' weaknesses well. Hippowdon is the wall of this core, good for tanking physical threats, such as Kangaskhan and Blaziken, that Lucario/Dragonite don't like taking hits from. Dragonite and Lucario are both huge offensive threats, capable of sweeping through teams if given the opportunity to do so. The type and role synergy that this core creates allows each member to find such opportunities.

When talking about Lucario and Dragonite, it's generally a good idea to make one a set-up sweeper and the other one not require set-up, such as Swords Dance Lucario + Choice band Dragonite. Both Lucario and Dragonite get priority attacks (Lucario even gets them on the Special and Physical side), so they are good at picking off weakened pokemon/revenge-killing.

This core could considered to be a more offensive core, since it's centered around two sweepers. It can be used alongside many pokemon and is fairly easy to build around due to its lack of obvious type weakness. As with many cores, Kangaskhan can brute force her way through this core with Power-Up Punch and Return/Double-Edge if given the right opportunities. Breloom is also a huge problem for this core due to its ability to disrupt with Spore and cause huge damage to Hippowdon and Dragonite with Bullet Seed and Rock Tomb, respectively. Running Safety Goggles on Dragonite can help alleviate the Spore issue, while also salvaging Dragonite's Multiscale from being chipped away by Hippowdon's Sand Stream.

This core is fairly slow overall compared to many popular Pokemon used on Battlespot (considering that Lucario's speed is not so great until after it Mega Evolves), so speed control and faster Pokemon work well for balancing out a team built around it. Adding a Fairy-type creates the full "Fantasy" core and can be a worthy teammate addition to this core type-wise.

Skywalker (Lucario) (M) @ Lucarionite
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Aura Sphere
- Flash Cannon
- Vacuum Wave

or

Lucario @ Lucarionite
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Iron Tail
- Extreme Speed
- Swords Dance

HungryHungry (Hippowdon) (F) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Yawn
- Slack Off

Dragon-Man (Dragonite) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Outrage

or

Dragonite @ Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake / Fire Punch


L7FG-WWWW-WW4W-PWTP
Showcases some of the type synergy of Dragonite/Lucario

ZSFW-WWWW-WW3U-2T9F
Showcases the raw power of special Lucario after a Nasty Plot. (But seriously don't try that at home, kids.)

ZSFW-WWWW-WW3U-2T9F
The whole squad in action! :D

I also have some PS replays for those of you into that:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/battlespotsingles-362735667
Fairly typical battle highlighting that even people like me with poor battle skills can succeed with this core.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/battlespotsingles-359068161
Here's what a good Fairy Godmother can do for this core! :D



Hippowdon + Volcarona + Mega Salamence submitted by Pearl
On another note, Hippowdon cores are hella good, and even though the metagame has adapted to deal with Korean Hippowdon + Dragonite + Mega Lucario teams, that's far from being the only viable Hippowdon core. Here's one of my personal favorites:


Hippowdon @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 20 Atk / 188 Def / 4 SpD / 44 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Rock Tomb
- Slack Off / Yawn

Volcarona @ Lum Berry
Ability: Flame Body
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Quiver Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Facade / Roost

(notes: Roost Salamence should run a more defensive EV spread. Alternative coverage options on Volcarona are definitely viable. No matter how tempting it sounds, never replace Rock Tomb for Yawn, and if for some reason you still insist, Facade Salamence becomes mandatory to deal with Will-O-Wisp Talonflame)



Azumarill + Mega Manectric submitted by SCBLOL26

Here's a solid and obscure offensive core that fits well on hyper offensive team as well as balance teams. This core is pretty straightforward in the sense that these mons can check most of each others checks. Manectric deals with talonflame, serperior, thundurus, rotom-w, ferrothron, and suicune fairly comfortably while also soft checking mega gengar and mega salamence. Getting rid of these pokemon keeps azumarill's longevity intact, something that slow pokemon, like azumarill, desperately need. Azumarill also helps soft check/weaken some of manectric's toughest matchups, like hippowdon, mamoswime, hydreigon and blaziken, giving manectric a better late game sweeping potential.

As for team partners, that usually depends on the type of azumarill set you're running. Two glaring weaknesses to this core consist of mega venusaur and mega kangaskhan. If running a belly drum azumarill a bulky wall, such as, rocky helmet cresselia can be a good switch in to strong physical attackers and also a great way to heal up azumarill to give it another chance to belly drum if necessary. If running choice banded azumarill, pokemon like SD garchomp or SD talonflame can be good to make this team less passive and allow the team to punch holes in more defensive oriented team.

It's usually good to send in manectric early game to get its mega evolve as soon as possible and have it volt switch around until it can sweep late game. BD azumarill works better mid game once its checks are usually weaken and has an easier time to sweep. While CB azumarill can really come in at anytime and nuke whatever mon is on the field.

Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
Level: 50
EVs: 228 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 12 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
- Aqua Jet

or

Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
Level: 50
EVs: 228 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 12 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet

Manectric @ Manectite
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Flamethrower
- Volt Switch



Aegislash + Hydreigon submitted by 6tennis


The main attraction of using this core is that it has perfect type coverage. This means that all of one Pokemon's weaknesses are resisted by the other. Add to this their amazing strength, bulk, defensive typings, and versatility, and you have yourself an amazing offensive core.

The idea is simple: the core consists of an all-out attacker in Aegislash and the premier wallbreaker Hydreigon. A combination of these two offensive threats puts massive pressure on balance and defensive cores alike. Aegislash can take even super effective coverage from weaker Pokemon to give itself a boost with Weakness Policy. Hydreigon has immense power, and a team requires very specific Pokemon to switch into it.

One area this core has a lot of trouble with is offensive Pokemon with good STAB coverage. Common threats like Garchomp, Blaziken, and Mega Mawile (under TR and with boosts) will tear this core apart, and neither of our Pokemon will be able to stop them once they get going.

DRAGON (Hydreigon) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power

SHIELD (Aegislash) (F) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
- Shadow Claw
- Shadow Sneak
- King's Shield
- Sacred Sword


Note: there are multiple sets that both of these Pokemon can use, which is another great thing about this core.



Aegislash + Togekiss + Latios submitted by bobochan

A core which I found in a replay from a Korean player when I was only starting out the metagame, because watching other players battle was another way for newer players to learn.

The main goal of the core is for Aegislash to sweep behind screens, so that it can fully take advantage of its Weakness Policy and superb defences. Two STAB moves that allows you to hit both physically and specially defensive targets, while Sacred Sword rounds out the set with near-perfect coverage against Kangaskhan, Chansey and Tyranitar.

Latios has decent synergy with Aegislash, as its immune to Ground-types, and resists Fire-types. Latios was the perfect dual screener for this core thanks to its nice Speed and a powerful Draco. Memento is a key move which prevents other mons from potentially using Latios as setup bait.

Dark-types and defensive mons threatens the core greatly. By equipping Togekiss with a Choice Scarf, it can outpace the entire unboosted metagame bar Mega Aerodactyl and Mega Alakazam. Trick is crucial in crippling defensive threats such as Suicune. Fire Blast will OHKO those 4x weak to it most of the time. Dazzling Gleam and Air Slash are mandatory STAB moves: Dazzling Gleam is able to OHKO Greninja (awesome), while Air Slash is also great for late game if you need an emergency revenge killer/cleaner and just hope for Serene Grace procs.

This SFD core is very beginner friendly and flexible, perfect for new players to use. You can replace Aegislash with pretty much any setup sweepers (or Mega) that appreciate crippled defensive mons, which can be either physical or special (Dragon Dance, Calm Mind users, preferably with Lum Berry or Substitute). Mamoswine is a threat to the core, making bulky Water-types perfect teammates (Suicune or Rotom-W). With that said, Mamoswine also makes a solid teammate for taking on SwagPlay users and every team needs a solid Electric-type switch in.
Latios @ Light Clay
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Memento
- Draco Meteor

Togekiss @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Air Slash
- Trick
- Dazzling Gleam
- Fire Blast

Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Shadow Sneak
- Sacred Sword
- Shadow Ball
- King's Shield



Mega Metagross + Hydreigon submitted by Misaka Mikoto

I've been using this offensive core for a long time and I really enjoyed it. It's pretty straightforward. Both Mega Metagross and Hydreigon have excellent synergy with each other in checking their weaknesses and breaking through walls.

What does Mega Metagross do for Hydreigon?
Hydreigon has a weakness to Dragon-, Fairy-, Fighting-, and Ice-types and Mega Metagross resists all the previously mentioned types and has no problem switching into a resisted attack. Mega Metagross can eliminate those pesky Fairy- and Ice-types like Sylveon, Mega Gardevoir, Whimsicott, and Weavile with its STAB Bullet Punch or Meteor Mash. With access to Ice Punch to hit Dragon-types like Dragonite, Garchomp, and Mega Salamence. It has Zen Headbutt, which is a nifty STAB move to take care of the Fighting-types like Conkeldurr, Breloom, and Heracross. Mega Metagross is a great wallbreaker with the ability Tough Claws under its belt and can put a huge dent in walls such as Chansey.

What does Hydreigon do for Mega Metagross?
Mega Metagross has a weakness to four types, which are Dark, Fire, Ghost, and Ground. That's where Hydreigon comes in handy because it resists Dark-, Fire-, and Ghost-types. It also has an immunity to Ground attacks due to its ability Levitate so it can safely switch-in on an incoming Ground move without either having to take damage. Hydreigon can take out physically defensive threats that threaten Mega Metagross like Mega Slowbro, Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Cresselia, Rotom-W, etc. Hydreigon has a wide range of coverage moves that can assist its partner as well. Examples include Focus Blast in order to break through Dark-types like Tyranitar. There's Earth Power, which can reliable OHKO Heatran. Also, there's Fire Blast, which is a nice complement to Hydreigon's STAB moves to get a hit on Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Scizor, and Skarmory. Also, Hydreigon can also be a great stallbreaker in dealing with Porygon2. Overall, Hydreigon can be an effective against walls that Mega Metagross can't break.

What are a couple of good partners for these two?
Fairy-types like Togekiss and Azumarill make excellent partners and both resists Bug- and Fighting-type attacks. Choice Scarf variants of Togekiss can assist in removing Volcarona that threaten both Mega Metagross and Hydreigon off the field with a STAB Air Slash. Also, wonderful for flinches cause of Serene Grace. Togekiss can also shut down defensive threats with Trick, especially bulky sweepers like Calm Mind Suicune. Azumarill has access to Superpower for Steel-types. Play Rough can knock out Dark-, Dragon-, and Fighting-types and with Mega Metagross and Hydreigon removing any threat that opposes Azumarill, it can freely set up a Belly Drum and sweep later in the game. Ultimately, it creates a nice Steel / Dragon / Fairy core. Thundurus can provide speed control with Thunder Wave and cripple fast attackers (bar Electric- and Ground-types) and with luck Mega Metagross or Hydreigon can freely attack with the foe being paralyzed.

Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
Level: 50
Jolly Nature
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
- Zen Headbutt
- Bullet Punch / Meteor Mash
- Earthquake / Hammer Arm
- Ice Punch

Hydreigon @ Choice Specs / Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest / Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast / Flamethrower
- Focus Blast / Earth Power



Mega Salamence + Tyranitar + Excadrill submitted by myself


Sand Rush Excadrill is an incredibly dangerous threat and it's easy to find yourself unprepared for this. With doubled Speed it can outspeed even Scarf Garchomp so Adamant nature and a Life Orb is preferred to boost power as much as possible. Earthquake, Iron Head and Rock Slide cover most threats, and if you can find a chance to set up with Swords Dance that can often seal the game right then and there.

Smooth Rock Tyranitar makes this possible, since it's very difficult to stall out the sandstorm for 8 turns in 3v3. Tyranitar is also bulky enough to get another chance to set the sandstorm going a second time if it does happen. This spread is taken from a Japanese blog and hits some very important benchmarks. Maximum Speed investment allows Tyranitar to outspeed Garchomp after a Rock Tomb and KO it with Ice Punch on the next turn, effectively circumventing the Focus Sash mindgames. The bulk also allows it to take a hit from Adamant Choice Scarf Garchomp and Earthquake from Adamant Mega Kangaskhan, while a combination of Rock Tomb and Superpower allows Tyranitar to win against Mega Kangaskhan. Stealth Rock is mainly to allow Excadrill to win against Sashed threats since you can't really afford to wait for Sand damage to KO them at the end of the turn, and the residual damage helps in general if you can't find an opportunity to use Swords Dance. There's a ton of options for Tyranitar here though, Foul Play, Thunder Wave, Ice Beam and other coverage moves are all viable options and it mainly depends on your preferences.

Mega Salamence rounds things off by covering this core's aversion to Landorus-T and pressures it from using Earthquake or Superpower, while threatening a setup of its own. Substitute is mainly a preference and prevents status, while Return is used to avoid destroying yourself with Double-Edge recoil, sandstorm and Substitute. Double-Edge and Earthquake are options over Substitute and Roost but again that's mainly a preference. Mega Salamence also beats bulky Grasses (Mega Venusaur) as well as non-Life Orb variants of Blaziken which can otherwise tear through these two. Life Orb Blaziken on the other hand can solo this core easily, and bulky Waters can be tough as well so always watch out for those.


Salamence-Mega @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Dragon Dance
- Substitute
- Roost

Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
EVs: 60 HP / 60 Atk / 132 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Tomb
- Superpower
- Ice Punch

Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance
 
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Psynergy

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Battle Stadium Head
Defensive Cores

/

Gliscor + Chansey + (Mega) Slowbro submitted by myself


This is a pretty standard defensive core, most stall teams will have some combination of these three, if not all three. Among Poison Heal and Natural Cure, breaking this core with status is difficult. Gliscor functions as a stallbreaker against other bulky Pokemon with Guillotine, and outspeeds everything up to max Speed Heatran. Hitting switches with Toxic from Chansey also allows Gliscor to stall out threats with Sub + Protect when Chansey can't afford to stay in. Chansey can also handle special attackers for Gliscor, notably switching into Ice Beam and Hidden Power Ice while both Gliscor and Slowbro can take Fighting-type moves for it. Slowbro functions as a more standard physical wall complementing Chansey's special bulk, and can take on Mamoswine for Gliscor better than Chansey. Mega Slowbro is common here because of its incredible physical bulk and ability to boost it further with Iron Defense, while being able to take out setup sweepers like Mega Salamence if they try to set up behind a Substitute. Rocky Helmet is a just as effective for teams running another mega like Venusaur and also lets it maintain Regenerator while chipping away at Pokemon that make contact with Slowbro. This core has huge Gengar issues though, so it's ideally used in conjunction with Tyranitar as seen below.

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 228 HP / 68 Def / 212 Spe
Impish Nature
- Protect
- Substitute
- Earthquake
- Guillotine

Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Def / 212 SpD
Bold Nature
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
- Toxic

Slowbro @ Slowbronite / Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Slack Off
- Ice Beam
- Iron Defense / Thunder Wave



Tyranitar + Chansey + Mega Slowbro submitted by Pearl
Tyranitar is absolutely vital for this core, or else Mega Gengar is pretty much free to walk all over it.

notes: Some Japanese players run a lot of Speed investment + Icy Wind on their Chansey, and even though that's more of a trend on balance, some stall teams run it as well because it has amazing synergy with both Mega Venusaur and Gliscor. And speaking of the latter, Fly > Guillotine is an option on some teams, as it makes stalling out the timer easier.

Also, I can't really say I'm a fan of the standard Mega Slowbro set. In my opinion, Ice Beam is generally a better option than Iron Defense, as it covers a vast amount of threats (Salamence, Garchomp, Thundurus, Dragonite, Serperior etc), and it's not like the standard team is getting swept by Iron Defense Slowbro anytime soon, considering the popularity of Thundurus, Gengar, Aegislash and other Pokemon that can break through it with ease.

Tyranitar @ Lum Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Atk / 4 Def / 204 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
- Rock Slide
- Foul Play
- Pursuit
- Thunder Wave / Crunch / Stealth Rock

Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
Level: 50
EVs: 108 HP / 252 Def / 148 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Toxic
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled

Slowbro @ Slowbronite
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 156 Def / 4 SpA / 100 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Scald
- Ice Beam / Iron Defense
- Slack Off


/

Liepard + Ditto + Breloom / Smeargle submitted by cant say
... or ...


Otherwise known as TACTICAT! This core is simple but effective against the right team. Basically, Liepard wants to lead and use Prankster Assist to use Spore, once the opponent is asleep it sets up a Sub, confuses the foe with Swagger, then uses Foul Play to take them down. Breloom and Ditto are chosen because their movepools allow for Spore to be the only Assist-retrievable move, meaning it's reliable. They're not dead weight though! Ditto is perhaps the scariest, as it can come in when Liepard is beaten, transform and use the foe's boosts to sweep. Breloom doesn't do much, but it's less dead weight than Smeargle. Because you have to fill a moveset with moves that cannot be picked by Assist, Smeargle cannot do much outside Spiky Shield and Transform. The biggest thing in Smeargle's favour is Dark Void which hits Grass-types attempting to absorb a Spore.

The best way of beating this core is a good Lum Berry lead as they usually just bust right through Liepard. Good examples include Volcarona, Garchomp, Talonflame, Blaziken, Aegislash, Dragonite, and Scizor. Taunt Thundurus and Whimsicott also shut it down.

Liepard @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 28 HP / 252 Def / 228 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Assist
- Substitute
- Swagger
- Foul Play

Ditto @ Focus Sash / Choice Scarf
Ability: Imposter
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Transform
-
-
-

Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Level: 50
EVs: 204 HP / 252 Def / 52 SpD
Impish Nature
- Spore
- Focus Punch
- Counter
- Protect

~or~

Smeargle @ Focus Sash / Custap Berry
Ability: Moody
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Void
- Counter / Endure
- Mirror Coat / Spiky Shield
- Destiny Bond


/

Thundurus + Glalie + Ditto / Clefable submitted by cant say
... or ...


This is another troll core that you have to look out for, and will give you headaches when it pops up on the ladder. I usually see this with a bulky Thundurus lead but there are lots of alternatives like Klefki, Liepard, and Whimsicott. Thund is probably the best though because of its great bulk and not having to rely on Foul Play for damage. Basically, Thundurus tries to incapacitate the lead so that Glalie can come in and start setting up. Ditto is a great backup for when Thund has been taken out by the Swaggered target and you can't safely set up Glalie, such as against Mega Heracross or Mega Kang. Clefable does the same but just walls them with Unaware while setting itself up with Calm Mind and/or Minimize.

Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 180 HP / 44 Def / 4 SpA / 252 SpD / 28 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Swagger
- Thunder Wave
- Substitute
- Thunderbolt / Foul Play

Glalie @ Leftovers
Ability: Moody
Level: 50
EVs: 172 HP / 84 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Protect
- Substitute
- Sheer Cold
- Frost Breath / Freeze-Dry

Ditto @ Focus Sash / Choice Scarf
Ability: Imposter
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Transform
-
-
-

~or~

Clefable @ Kee Berry
Ability: Unaware
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Wave / Minimize
- Calm Mind / Minimize
- Moonblast / Stored Power
- Moonlight / Rest


f anyone mentions the fact I use stuff like this they're ban
 
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Hulavuta

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I have an offensive core for you all. It uses Cresselia, but it is mostly offensive and tries to put pressure on your opponent while keeping momentum for yourself.




Pretty much standard sets for both of these Pokemon really, but that doesn't mean they're not effective. The excellent part of this core is that it allows Mega Charizard X to be both a wallbreaker and a sweeper in the same game. A lot of how this core plays depends on the third Pokemon you bring, but you wanna use Zard to break or weaken walls early game alongside whatever other Pokemon you brought. Sometimes it works as an anti-lead, but it does lose to common leads, like Garchomp, Breloom, and Mamoswine, so you don't always want to do that. But if you know your opponent didn't bring a dedicated lead, Zard has a pretty good matchup against most Pokemon as it can pretty much always take a hit and set up.

After you've weakened things enough, you can bring Cresselia in on something that can't beat it, and Lunar Dance. This brings Charizard back to full health where you can set up again and go for the sweep. Just make sure that the target is something that Charizard can set up on, it has really good typing, so it can set up on most water-types, fighting-types, fairies, etc. As long as it can't hit Charizard super effectively or put it to sleep/paralyze, it can use at least one turn to set up.

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake / Thunder Punch
- Flare Blitz
- Outrage

or

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Flame Charge
- Flare Blitz
- Outrage

Cresselia @ Rocky Helmet / Safety Goggles
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Ice Beam
- Psychic / Moonlight
- Lunar Dance
 


The Porygon2 + Mawile core has a straightforward and effective offensive strategy: have Porygon2 set up Trick Room, then start blasting holes in the enemy team (ideally with a Download boost) or bring Mega Mawile in and have it crush everything with its Huge Power-boosted attacks. While its main purpose is to use Trick Room, Porygon2 is strong and bulky enough to be threatening in its own right, capable of dealing serious damage to many common threats. Mawile can run Swords Dance to function in its traditional wallbreaking sweeper role, or just run four attacks and immediately start dealing huge damage.

This core is compact and flexible, affording a wide range of options for the rest of the team. One strong option is to lead with a threatening or disruptive Pokemon such as Garchomp or Breloom, weakening the opposing team for these two to mop up. Alternative speed control in the form of paralysis commonly accompanies this core, as do Pokemon that benefit from that abundant speed control.

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
EVs: 244 HP / 12 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Trick Room
- Shadow Ball
- Ice Beam / Discharge
- Tri Attack / Hidden Power [Ground]

Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Swords Dance / Iron Head
- Knock Off / Fire Fang
 
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Primarily a Balance core, Heracross + Cresselia + Heatran is a powerhouse of a core. Mega Heracross has the highest base Attack stat in the metagame (unless you count MKang, MMaw, and MMcham, which have Attack-boosting abilities), great coverage, and a phenomenal ability in Skill Link, all traits that add up to it being a very effective wallbreaker. That said, its standard coverage misses out on hitting a few key threats, and there are a few Pokemon that Heracross won't be able to beat without a bit of support. That's where the rest of the core comes in: Heatran is a strong special attacker that has the coverage and firepower (haha, get it?) to break through what Heracross can't, and Cresselia is a bulky supporting Pokemon that provides Heracross the tools it needs to sweep.

The game plan here is simple: you put as much pressure on the opponent as you can, then once you've significantly weakened their team (since both Heatran and Heracross have a nasty problem with missing out on OHKOs with neutral coverage) you can move to Cress, use Trick Room, and bring in the other Pokemon to clean up. You can also force switches with Cresselia or Heatran, predict them to go into something that Heracross has a good matchup against, and switch your Heracross in to do considerable damage, since almost nothing can switch into a Heracross.

Heracross-Mega @ Heracronite
Ability: Guts
Level: 50
EVs: 156 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 92 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pin Missile
- Close Combat
- Rock Blast
- Bullet Seed

Cresselia @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Ice Beam
- Trick Room
- Moonlight
- Lunar Dance

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 252 SpA / 12 SpD
Modest Nature
- Fire Blast
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock
 

As many of you know, this is a core that I've been enjoying a lot lately. Lucario and Dragonite form part of what is known as a "Fantasy" core (Dragon/Steel/Fairy), which is a type combination known to cover each others' weaknesses well. Hippowdown is the wall of this core, good for tanking physical threats, such as Kangaskhan and Blaziken, that Lucario/Dragonite don't like taking hits from. Dragonite and Lucario are both huge offensive threats, capable of sweeping through teams if given the opportunity to do so. The type and role synergy that this core creates allows each member to find such opportunities.

When talking about Lucario and Dragonite, it's generally a good idea to make one a set-up sweeper and the other one not require set-up, such as Swords Dance Lucario + Choice band Dragonite. Both Lucario and Dragonite get priority attacks (Lucario even gets them on the Special and Physical side), so they are good at picking off weakened pokemon/revenge-killing.

This core could considered to be a more balance core, since it includes a wall and two sweepers. It can be used alongside many pokemon and is fairly easy to build around due to its lack of obvious type weakness. As with many cores, Kangaskhan can brute force her way through this core with Power-Up Punch and Return/Double-Edge if given the right opportunities. Breloom is also a huge problem for this core due to its ability to disrupt with Spore and cause huge damage to Hippowdon and Dragonite with Bullet Seed and Rock Tomb, respectively. Running Safety Goggles on Dragonite can help alleviate the Spore issue, while also salvaging Dragonite's Multiscale from being chipped away by Hippowdon's Sand Stream.

This core is fairly slow overall compared to many popular Pokemon used on Battlespot (considering that Lucario's speed is not so great until after it Mega Evolves), so speed control and faster Pokemon work well for balancing out a team built around it. Adding a Fairy-type creates the full "Fantasy" core and can be a worthy teammate addition to this core type-wise.

Skywalker (Lucario) (M) @ Lucarionite
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Aura Sphere
- Flash Cannon
- Vacuum Wave

or

Lucario @ Lucarionite
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Iron Tail
- Extreme Speed
- Swords Dance

HungryHungry (Hippowdon) (F) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Yawn
- Slack Off

Dragon-Man (Dragonite) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Outrage


L7FG-WWWW-WW4W-PWTP
Showcases some of the type synergy of Dragonite/Lucario

ZSFW-WWWW-WW3U-2T9F
Showcases the raw power of special Lucario after a Nasty Plot. (But seriously don't try that at home, kids.)

ZSFW-WWWW-WW3U-2T9F
The whole squad in action! :D

I also have some PS replays for those of you into that:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/battlespotsingles-362735667
Fairly typical battle highlighting that even people like me with poor battle skills can succeed with this core.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/battlespotsingles-359068161
Here's what a good Fairy Godmother can do for this core! :D
 
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Pretty common offensive core here. The game plan with these two is to Perish Trap something that Azu hates to fight and can't set up on to clear the way for a Belly Drum sweep. Such things include Mega Mawile, Suicune, Breloom, Mega Venusaur, and many more. Gengar also resists all of Azu's weaknesses barring Electric, which is a really nice merit to this core. This core really despises Volt Switchers and U-Turn users in general, and opposing ghosts like Aegi and Gengar as they can just switch out of Perish Song. To alleviate this, a ground type like Hippowdon or Garchomp is often added to this core as a third member of the team to deal with these threats. Hydreigon and offensive Porygon2 are also common members to this core to quickly dispose of the aforementioned Electric-types such as Thundurus, and smash the ghosts that were mentioned before. Most of the time you don't want to lead with Azumarill if there's something that can hinder or stop it from sweeping. Gengar should be preserved as well to eliminate the threats to Azumarill, if any are present.

Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 228 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 12 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off / Superpower

Gengar @ Gengarite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 84 SpD / 176 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Perish Song
- Protect
- Substitute
 

Psynergy

Triumph and Glory
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Battle Stadium Head
Great start already! Good to see some really strong and popular cores coming along right away, we pretty much all know these are effective cores so of course these are all added. Right away we can tell there's going to be a lot more offensive and balance cores than defensive ones but that only makes sense since BSS has always been more friendly to offensive play anyway. Just so that the section isn't empty I'm going to throw in a standard defensive core right now.




This is a pretty standard defensive core, most stall teams will have some combination of these three, if not all three. Among Poison Heal and Natural Cure, breaking this core with status is difficult. Gliscor functions as a stallbreaker against other bulky Pokemon with Guillotine, and outspeeds everything up to max Speed Heatran. Hitting switches with Toxic from Chansey also allows Gliscor to stall out threats with Sub + Protect when Chansey can't afford to stay in. Chansey can also handle special attackers for Gliscor, notably switching into Ice Beam and Hidden Power Ice while both Gliscor and Slowbro can take Fighting-type moves for it. Slowbro functions as a more standard physical wall complementing Chansey's special bulk, and can take on Mamoswine for Gliscor better than Chansey. Mega Slowbro is common here because of its incredible physical bulk and ability to boost it further with Iron Defense, while being able to take out setup sweepers like Mega Salamence if they try to set up behind a Substitute. Rocky Helmet is a just as effective for teams running another mega like Venusaur and also lets it maintain Regenerator while chipping away at Pokemon that make contact with Slowbro.

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 228 HP / 68 Def / 212 Spe
Impish Nature
- Protect
- Substitute
- Earthquake
- Guillotine

Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Def / 212 SpD
Bold Nature
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
- Toxic

Slowbro @ Slowbronite / Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Slack Off
- Ice Beam
- Iron Defense / Thunder Wave
 
Hey Psynergy would it be a good idea to slash the Lum Berry DD set onto the HipDraLuc core? I'm not sure I agree with the one set-up sweeper. Having used that core extensively as the basis for my RMT, I've found being able to heal off status particularly useful, especially with Outrage confusion. And that's not even taking the ability to switch moves into consideration.
 

Psynergy

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Hey Psynergy would it be a good idea to slash the Lum Berry DD set onto the HipDraLuc core? I'm not sure I agree with the one set-up sweeper. Having used that core extensively as the basis for my RMT, I've found being able to heal off status particularly useful, especially with Outrage confusion. And that's not even taking the ability to switch moves into consideration.
You're right, it's definitely worthwhile to have DD Dragonite as an option on that core so I've added the DD set to it as well, since running DD instead of CB doesn't change the core itself, just changes how it plays slightly. All of the options are viable, it's pretty telling of the core's effectiveness when it has so many options it can go for and still maintain roughly the same function.

Also moved the core to offensive cores, it's actually super offense oriented as a core despite the bulky mon.
 
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Pearl

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Great start already! Good to see some really strong and popular cores coming along right away, we pretty much all know these are effective cores so of course these are all added. Right away we can tell there's going to be a lot more offensive and balance cores than defensive ones but that only makes sense since BSS has always been more friendly to offensive play anyway. Just so that the section isn't empty I'm going to throw in a standard defensive core right now.




This is a pretty standard defensive core, most stall teams will have some combination of these three, if not all three. Among Poison Heal and Natural Cure, breaking this core with status is difficult. Gliscor functions as a stallbreaker against other bulky Pokemon with Guillotine, and outspeeds everything up to max Speed Heatran. Hitting switches with Toxic from Chansey also allows Gliscor to stall out threats with Sub + Protect when Chansey can't afford to stay in. Chansey can also handle special attackers for Gliscor, notably switching into Ice Beam and Hidden Power Ice while both Gliscor and Slowbro can take Fighting-type moves for it. Slowbro functions as a more standard physical wall complementing Chansey's special bulk, and can take on Mamoswine for Gliscor better than Chansey. Mega Slowbro is common here because of its incredible physical bulk and ability to boost it further with Iron Defense, while being able to take out setup sweepers like Mega Salamence if they try to set up behind a Substitute. Rocky Helmet is a just as effective for teams running another mega like Venusaur and also lets it maintain Regenerator while chipping away at Pokemon that make contact with Slowbro.

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 228 HP / 68 Def / 212 Spe
Impish Nature
- Protect
- Substitute
- Earthquake
- Guillotine

Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Def / 212 SpD
Bold Nature
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
- Toxic

Slowbro @ Slowbronite / Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Slack Off
- Ice Beam
- Iron Defense / Thunder Wave
Tyranitar is absolutely vital for this core, or else Mega Gengar is pretty much free to walk all over it. In general, it's rare for someone to be using both Slowbro and Gliscor in battle at the same time, even though both are staples in Battle Spot stall. Here's a superior version (in my opinion) of the standard stall core:
Tyranitar @ Lum Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Atk / 4 Def / 204 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
- Rock Slide
- Foul Play
- Pursuit
- Thunder Wave / Crunch / Stealth Rock

Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
Level: 50
EVs: 108 HP / 252 Def / 148 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Toxic
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled

Slowbro @ Slowbronite
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 156 Def / 4 SpA / 100 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Scald
- Ice Beam / Iron Defense
- Slack Off
notes: Some Japanese players run a lot of Speed investment + Icy Wind on their Chansey, and even though that's more of a trend on balance, some stall teams run it as well because it has amazing synergy with both Mega Venusaur and Gliscor. And speaking of the latter, Fly > Guillotine is an option on some teams, as it makes stalling out the timer easier.

Also, I can't really say I'm a fan of the standard Mega Slowbro set. In my opinion, Ice Beam is generally a better option than Iron Defense, as it covers a vast amount of threats (Salamence, Garchomp, Thundurus, Dragonite, Serperior etc), and it's not like the standard team is getting swept by Iron Defense Slowbro anytime soon, considering the popularity of Thundurus, Gengar, Aegislash and other Pokemon that can break through it with ease.

On another note, Hippowdon cores are hella good, and even though the metagame has adapted to deal with Korean Hippowdon + Dragonite + Mega Lucario teams, that's far from being the only viable Hippowdon core. Here's one of my personal favorites:


Hippowdon @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 20 Atk / 188 Def / 4 SpD / 44 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Rock Tomb
- Slack Off / Yawn

Volcarona @ Lum Berry
Ability: Flame Body
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Quiver Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Facade / Roost

(notes: Roost Salamence should run a more defensive EV spread. Alternative coverage options on Volcarona are definitely viable. No matter how tempting it sounds, never replace Rock Tomb for Yawn, and if for some reason you still insist, Facade Salamence becomes mandatory to deal with Will-O-Wisp Talonflame)
Self explanatory core. Both Salamence and Volcarona have the potential to walk all over Battle Spot teams, and Hippowdon support makes them all the more deadlier.
 
Tyranitar is absolutely vital for this core, or else Mega Gengar is pretty much free to walk all over it. In general, it's rare for someone to be using both Slowbro and Gliscor in battle at the same time, even though both are staples in Battle Spot stall. Here's a superior version (in my opinion) of the standard stall core:
Tyranitar @ Lum Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Atk / 4 Def / 204 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
- Rock Slide
- Foul Play
- Pursuit
- Thunder Wave / Crunch / Stealth Rock

Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
Level: 50
EVs: 108 HP / 252 Def / 148 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Toxic
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled

Slowbro @ Slowbronite
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 156 Def / 4 SpA / 100 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Scald
- Ice Beam / Iron Defense
- Slack Off
notes: Some Japanese players run a lot of Speed investment + Icy Wind on their Chansey, and even though that's more of a trend on balance, some stall teams run it as well because it has amazing synergy with both Mega Venusaur and Gliscor. And speaking of the latter, Fly > Guillotine is an option on some teams, as it makes stalling out the timer easier.
That's a really interesting EV spread on Slowbro. I'm always looking for optimal EV spreads, and Im using a Slowbro, so I can't help but wonder about the spread you chose. I run max HP and 180 Def with the rest in SpD.

That prevents an OHKO from +2 Mawi among other stuff, with the SppD giving a chance against Gengar and what not. I don't have the 4 SpA and Spe, are those necessary? I was running calcs on SpA and I don't think just 4 does anything of note. Spe would mainly be for creeping 30s, but is that really worth anything? Maybe for the odd Amoonguss and paralyzingly enemy bro first...

Also, wanted to say I agree with you on TTar, or at least something for Gengar. Doesn't seem like much of a core if one of the most common mons walks all over it.
 

SCBLOL26

Have you ever had shoes without shoe strings?
is a Tiering Contributor
azumarill.gif
manectric-mega.gif

Here's a solid and obscure offensive core that fits well on hyper offensive team as well as balance teams. This core is pretty straightforward in the sense that these mons can check most of each others checks. Manectric deals with talonflame, serperior, thundurus, rotom-w, ferrothron, and suicune fairly comfortably while also soft checking mega gengar and mega salamence. Getting rid of these pokemon keeps azumarill's longevity intact, something that slow pokemon, like azumarill, desperately need. Azumarill also helps soft check/weaken some of manectric's toughest matchups, like hippowdon, mamoswime, hydreigon and blaziken, giving manectric a better late game sweeping potential.

As for team partners, that usually depends on the type of azumarill set you're running. Two glaring weaknesses to this core consist of mega venusaur and mega kangaskhan. If running a belly drum azumarill a bulky wall, such as, rocky helmet cresselia can be a good switch in to strong physical attackers and also a great way to heal up azumarill to give it another chance to belly drum if necessary. If running choice banded azumarill, pokemon like SD garchomp or SD talonflame can be good to make this team less passive and allow the team to punch holes in more defensive oriented team.

It's usually good to send in manectric early game to get its mega evolve as soon as possible and have it volt switch around until it can sweep late game. BD azumarill works better mid game once its checks are usually weaken and has an easier time to sweep. While CB azumarill can really come in at anytime and nuke whatever mon is on the field.

I hope you enjoyed my first ever post on the forum and can perhaps put this core to good use :]!
P.S. I have no idea how to put the importable in a tab so here's a pastebin :P http://pastebin.com/PE0iRKLX
 

Psynergy

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Updated this awhile ago and forgot to post, thanks for the input and cores Pearl and SCBLOL26, added all of that into the respective sections.

Standard stall teams in general are pretty cookie cutter so it's probably more accurate as a full team than smaller cores but you're totally right about Tyrantiar. Mence + Volc cores are also always solid and some of my favorites lately, Hippo is a solid addition to them especially with the Rock resist they always want.

Also a great first post SCBLOL26, always cool to see new people around here. For future reference, the format for hide tags is [hide*][/hide*] without the * symbols, always a useful thing to know.
 

cant say

twitch.tv/jakecantsay
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Yo where's the HAX CORES section? I don't like giving people ideas about this stuff but I figured it would serve as a PSA so you can plan accordingly. Luckily they aren't very centralizing and are usually beaten by your standard Lum Berry user, but if you don't have one then watch out!

... or ...


Otherwise known as TACTICAT! This core is simple but effective against the right team. Basically, Liepard wants to lead and use Prankster Assist to use Spore, once the opponent is asleep it sets up a Sub, confuses the foe with Swagger, then uses Foul Play to take them down. Breloom and Ditto are chosen because their movepools allow for Spore to be the only Assist-retrievable move, meaning it's reliable. They're not dead weight though! Ditto is perhaps the scariest, as it can come in when Liepard is beaten, transform and use the foe's boosts to sweep. Breloom doesn't do much, but it's less dead weight than Smeargle. Because you have to fill a moveset with moves that cannot be picked by Assist, Smeargle cannot do much outside Spiky Shield and Transform. The biggest thing in Smeargle's favour is Dark Void which hits Grass-types attempting to absorb a Spore.

The best way of beating this core is a good Lum Berry lead as they usually just bust right through Liepard. Good examples include Volcarona, Garchomp, Talonflame, Blaziken, Aegislash, Dragonite, and Scizor. Taunt Thundurus and Whimsicott also shut it down.

Liepard @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 28 HP / 252 Def / 228 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Assist
- Substitute
- Swagger
- Foul Play

Ditto @ Focus Sash / Choice Scarf
Ability: Imposter
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Transform
-
-
-

Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Level: 50
EVs: 204 HP / 252 Def / 52 SpD
Impish Nature
- Spore
- Focus Punch
- Counter
- Protect

~or~

Smeargle @ Focus Sash / Custap Berry
Ability: Moody
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Void
- Counter / Endure
- Mirror Coat / Spiky Shield
- Destiny Bond


aaannnnddd here's another one:

... or ...


This is another troll core that you have to look out for, and will give you headaches when it pops up on the ladder. I usually see this with a bulky Thundurus lead but there are lots of alternatives like Klefki, Liepard, and Whimsicott. Thund is probably the best though because of its great bulk and not having to rely on Foul Play for damage. Basically, Thundurus tries to incapacitate the lead so that Glalie can come in and start setting up. Ditto is a great backup for when Thund has been taken out by the Swaggered target and you can't safely set up Glalie, such as against Mega Heracross or Mega Kang. Clefable does the same but just walls them with Unaware while setting itself up with Calm Mind and/or Minimize.

Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 180 HP / 44 Def / 4 SpA / 252 SpD / 28 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Swagger
- Thunder Wave
- Substitute
- Thunderbolt / Foul Play

Glalie @ Leftovers
Ability: Moody
Level: 50
EVs: 172 HP / 84 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Protect
- Substitute
- Sheer Cold
- Frost Breath / Freeze-Dry

Ditto @ Focus Sash / Choice Scarf
Ability: Imposter
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Transform
-
-
-

~or~

Clefable @ Kee Berry
Ability: Unaware
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Wave / Minimize
- Calm Mind / Minimize
- Moonblast / Stored Power
- Moonlight / Rest


Don't use these, just be ready for them if anyone mentions the fact I use stuff like this they're banned
 
Don't use these, just be ready for them
EXCUUUUSE ME? Don't you use these cores? #exposed #cantplay

But anyway, here's an interesting core that I've been playing around with.

[INSERT AEGISLASH IMAGE HERE] [INSERT HYDREIGON IMAGE HERE]

The main attraction of using this core is that it has perfect type coverage. This means that all of one Pokemon's weaknesses are resisted by the other. Add to this their amazing strength, bulk, defensive typings, and versatility, and you have yourself an amazing offensive core.

The idea is simple: the core consists of an all-out attacker in Aegislash and the premier wallbreaker Hydreigon. A combination of these two offensive threats puts massive pressure on balance and defensive cores alike. Aegislash can take even super effective coverage from weaker Pokemon to give itself a boost with Weakness Policy. Hydreigon has immense power, and a team requires very specific Pokemon to switch into it.

One area this core has a lot of trouble with is offensive Pokemon with good STAB coverage. Common threats like Garchomp, Blaziken, and Mega Mawile (under TR and with boosts) will tear this core apart, and neither of our Pokemon will be able to stop them once they get going.

DRAGON (Hydreigon) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power

SHIELD (Aegislash) (F) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
- Shadow Claw
- Shadow Sneak
- King's Shield
- Sacred Sword


Note: there are multiple sets that both of these Pokemon can use, which is another great thing about this core. I've just listed the ones I use.
 
Last edited:

Psynergy

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Updated with the above three cores, Aegislash + Hydreigon is one of my favorite offensive glue cores, having switch-ins to stuff is really helpful and this core does that nicely.

Now, if we start seeing more Tacticat and Moody Glalie we know who to blame. me for adding the cores
 

bobochan

slow mo my bobo
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Steel / Fairy / Dragon (Balance Core)

A core which I found in a replay from a Korean player when I was only starting out the metagame, because watching other players battle was another way for newer players to learn.

The main goal of the core is for Aegislash to sweep behind screens, so that it can fully take advantage of its Weakness Policy and superb defences. Two STAB moves that allows you to hit both physically and specially defensive targets, while Sacred Sword rounds out the set with near-perfect coverage against Kangaskhan, Chansey and Tyranitar.

Latios has decent synergy with Aegislash, as its immune to Ground-types, and resists Fire-types. Latios was the perfect dual screener for this core thanks to its nice Speed and a powerful Draco. Memento is a key move which prevents other mons from potentially using Latios as setup bait.

Dark-types and defensive mons threatens the core greatly. By equipping Togekiss with a Choice Scarf, it can outpace the entire unboosted metagame bar Mega Aerodactyl and Mega Alakazam. Trick is crucial in crippling defensive threats such as Suicune. Fire Blast will OHKO those 4x weak to it most of the time. Dazzling Gleam and Air Slash are mandatory STAB moves: Dazzling Gleam is able to OHKO Greninja (awesome), while Air Slash is also great for late game if you need an emergency revenge killer/cleaner and just hope for Serene Grace procs.

This SFD core is very beginner friendly and flexible, perfect for new players to use. You can replace Aegislash with pretty much any setup sweepers (or Mega) that appreciate crippled defensive mons, which can be either physical or special (Dragon Dance, Calm Mind users, preferably with Lum Berry or Substitute). Mamoswine is a threat to the core, making bulky Water-types perfect teammates (Suicune or Rotom-W). With that said, Mamoswine also makes a solid teammate for taking on SwagPlay users and every team needs a solid Electric-type switch in.
Latios @ Light Clay
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Memento
- Draco Meteor

Togekiss @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Air Slash
- Trick
- Dazzling Gleam
- Fire Blast

Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Shadow Sneak
- Sacred Sword
- Shadow Ball
- King's Shield
 
Balanced/Offensive Core: Thundurus + Mamoswine



A pretty cool core I ended up putting on a team by sheer coincidence, but it works really well. Thundurus generally handles bulky waters not named Rotom-W and paralyzes faster stuff like Mega Charizard X, so Mamoswine can sweep. This core also does an excellent job at shutting down some stall mons. Here's an example with Cresselia: Thundurus uses Taunt so Ice Beam (or the uncommon Psychic) is its only move, which Mamoswine doesn't care about, especially with the given set. The combination also handles Electrics such as Mega Manectric really well. The core is weak to some things such as Rotom-W, so you might want to have a teammate or two that can handle it. However, Nasty Plot is a decent option over Taunt to beat Washtom, but the core doesn't handle walls as well if you use it.

Credits to Hulavuta for noticing how good it is and encouraging me to post this.

Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 244 HP / 168 Def / 68 SpA / 28 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice] / Focus Blast
- Taunt / Nasty Plot

Mamoswine @ Assault Vest
Ability: Thick Fat
Level: 50
EVs: 44 HP / 156 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpD / 52 Spe
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Spear
 
Last edited:

Psynergy

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Updated with the above two cores, some nice variety with these and more balance cores which is nice, that section is looking a little dry so if you've got any good balance cores feel free to post them. Only thing I changed was fitting bobochan's Steel/Fairy/Dragon core under offense, mainly because the sets on that core look more suitable for an offensive minded core even though it looks like a balance core on paper. I think with a Life Orb Latios and bulky Roost Togekiss it would definitely fit as a balance core though, if you've got some sets for that I'll definitely add that with the balance cores.
 
Offensive core Mega Metagross + Hydreigon


I've been using this offensive core for a long time and I really enjoyed it. It's pretty straightforward. Both Mega Metagross and Hydreigon have excellent synergy with each other in checking their weaknesses and breaking through walls.

What does Mega Metagross do for Hydreigon?
Hydreigon has a weakness to Dragon-, Fairy-, Fighting-, and Ice-types and Mega Metagross resists all the previously mentioned types and has no problem switching into a resisted attack. Mega Metagross can eliminate those pesky Fairy- and Ice-types like Sylveon, Mega Gardevoir, Whimsicott, and Weavile with its STAB Bullet Punch or Meteor Mash. With access to Ice Punch to hit Dragon-types like Dragonite, Garchomp, and Mega Salamence. It has Zen Headbutt, which is a nifty STAB move to take care of the Fighting-types like Conkeldurr, Breloom, and Heracross. Mega Metagross is a great wallbreaker with the ability Tough Claws under its belt and can put a huge dent in walls such as Chansey.

What does Hydreigon do for Mega Metagross?
Mega Metagross has a weakness to four types, which are Dark, Fire, Ghost, and Ground. That's where Hydreigon comes in handy because it resists Dark-, Fire-, and Ghost-types. It also has an immunity to Ground attacks due to its ability Levitate so it can safely switch-in on an incoming Ground move without either having to take damage. Hydreigon can take out physically defensive threats that threaten Mega Metagross like Mega Slowbro, Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Cresselia, Rotom-W, etc. Hydreigon has a wide range of coverage moves that can assist its partner as well. Examples include Focus Blast in order to break through Dark-types like Tyranitar. There's Earth Power, which can reliable OHKO Heatran. Also, there's Fire Blast, which is a nice complement to Hydreigon's STAB moves to get a hit on Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Scizor, and Skarmory. Also, Hydreigon can also be a great stallbreaker in dealing with Porygon2. Overall, Hydreigon can be an effective against walls that Mega Metagross can't break.

What are a couple of good partners for these two?
Fairy-types like Togekiss and Azumarill make excellent partners and both resists Bug- and Fighting-type attacks. Choice Scarf variants of Togekiss can assist in removing Volcarona that threaten both Mega Metagross and Hydreigon off the field with a STAB Air Slash. Also, wonderful for flinches cause of Serene Grace. Togekiss can also shut down defensive threats with Trick, especially bulky sweepers like Calm Mind Suicune. Azumarill has access to Superpower for Steel-types. Play Rough can knock out Dark-, Dragon-, and Fighting-types and with Mega Metagross and Hydreigon removing any threat that opposes Azumarill, it can freely set up a Belly Drum and sweep later in the game. Ultimately, it creates a nice Steel / Dragon / Fairy core. Thundurus can provide speed control with Thunder Wave and cripple fast attackers (bar Electric- and Ground-types) and with luck Mega Metagross or Hydreigon can freely attack with the foe being paralyzed.

Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
Level: 50
Jolly Nature
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
- Zen Headbutt
- Bullet Punch / Meteor Mash
- Earthquake / Hammer Arm
- Ice Punch

Hydreigon @ Choice Specs / Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest / Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast / Flamethrower
- Focus Blast / Earth Power
 
Last edited:
Balanced/Offensive Core: Thundurus + Mamoswine



A pretty cool core I ended up putting on a team by sheer coincidence, but it works really well. Thundurus generally handles bulky waters not named Rotom-W and paralyzes faster stuff like Mega Charizard X, so Mamoswine can sweep. This core also does an excellent job at shutting down some stall mons. Here's an example with Cresselia: Thundurus uses Taunt so Ice Beam (or the uncommon Psychic) is its only move, which Mamoswine doesn't care about, especially with the given set. The combination also handles Electrics such as Mega Manectric really well. The core is weak to some things such as Rotom-W, so you might want to have a teammate or two that can handle it. However, Nasty Plot is a decent option over Taunt to beat Washtom, but the core doesn't handle walls as well if you use it.

Credits to Hulavuta for noticing how good it is and encouraging me to post this.

Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 244 HP / 168 Def / 68 SpA / 28 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice] / Focus Blast
- Taunt / Nasty Plot

Mamoswine @ Assault Vest
Ability: Thick Fat
Level: 50
EVs: 44 HP / 156 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpD / 52 Spe
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Spear
Specially defensive Thund actually beats Rotom-W pretty well, tho it might be somewhat redundant with AV Mamo, it'd depend on the team. Swagger sets also do pretty well, as do offensive ones. So this core isn't necessarily that disadvantaged versus Washtom. Rotom-h is way worse for it.
 
The description of aegislash and hydreigon is not complete: not only does these pokemon have perfect type coverage as in they resist each others weaknesses, they also resist each type overall combined!
 

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