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grass is 4x resisted by some OU pokemons (notably ferrothorn)
grass = 7x offensives weakness ; 3 effectiveness
whereas rock rarely is more than 2x (except excadrill)
rock is 3x offensives weakness ; 4 effectiveness (including flying)
"grass spam" was a joke used because of bad offensive coverage,
but suported by Kartana and 181 base attack with double stabb under grassy terrain (in 7G, nerfed on 8G)
rillaboom has grassy slide so it can get past via its mediocre speed stat using a priority move boosted by terrain and stab. Rillaboom has coverage in superpower, knock, u turn, HH. It can also boost using SD and sweep weakened teams. It also has grassy terrain to support its teamates while tyrantrum has a very poor defensive typinig that leaves it tough to get in due to its poor special bulk and its weakness to common types such as ground, fighting, dragon, and its special defense leaves it to be Ko'ed by many special attacks such as Latios' Psychic, Hydreigon earth power KO'ing after rocks, slowbro scald doing 50%.
Rillaboom can use its defensive typing to switch into grounds such as choice locked lando-t or a predicted rocks or defog, garchomp earthquake, Ferrothorn barring body press and slap it back with superpower. It also has respectible bulk in 100/90/70 while tyrantrum has 82/119/59, it has above average phys def and CB head smash and thats it. grassy terrain also gives it leftovers for 5 turns to minimize chip and can also use it to heal teamates such as heatran, suicune, magearna, and cinderace.
rillaboom has grassy slide so it can get past via its mediocre speed stat using a priority move boosted by terrain and stab. Rillaboom has coverage in superpower, knock, u turn, HH. It can also boost using SD and sweep weakened teams. It also has grassy terrain to support its teamates while tyrantrum has a very poor defensive typinig that leaves it tough to get in due to its poor special bulk and its weakness to common types such as ground, fighting, dragon, and its special defense leaves it to be Ko'ed by many special attacks such as Latios' Psychic, Hydreigon earth power KO'ing after rocks, slowbro scald doing 50%.
Rillaboom can use its defensive typing to switch into grounds such as choice locked lando-t or a predicted rocks or defog, garchomp earthquake, Ferrothorn barring body press and slap it back with superpower. It also has respectible bulk in 100/90/70 while tyrantrum has 82/119/59, it has above average phys def and CB head smash and thats it. grassy terrain also gives it leftovers for 5 turns to minimize chip and can also use it to heal teamates such as heatran, suicune, magearna, and cinderace.
There is a reason why Rillaboom is OU and Tyrantrum is NU, isn't it? I don't want to use the same Pokémon for every team and I already use Rillaboom a lot. In fact you could also use one to support this core since Grassy Terrain boosts Grass Knot and both Tyrantrum and Zeraora appreciate certain Ground type attacks being nerfed. I don't aim at anything more than entertainment in playing this game and I will try to build and use teams around more obscure mons. That's just me though, if you want to maximize your chances to win, then yes you probably want to play Rillaboom way more than Tyrantrum lol
There is a reason why Rillaboom is OU and Tyrantrum is NU, isn't it? I don't want to use the same Pokémon for every team and I already use Rillaboom a lot. In fact you could also use one to support this core since Grassy Terrain boosts Grass Knot and both Tyrantrum and Zeraora appreciate certain Ground type attacks being nerfed. I don't aim at anything more than entertainment in playing this game and I will try to build and use teams around more obscure mons. That's just me though, if you want to maximize your chances to win, then yes you probably want to play Rillaboom way more than Tyrantrum lol
To be fair, this is the "good cores" forum. Most people will be passing through here in order to find cores that maximize their chances at winning, not cores that are interesting but sub-optimal (hint: good cores, not heat cores). I think you'll like the heat thread though. https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/heat.3658772/page-6#post-8707331
To be fair, this is the "good cores" forum. Most people will be passing through here in order to find cores that maximize their chances at winning, not cores that are interesting but sub-optimal (hint: good cores, not heat cores). I think you'll like the heat thread though. https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/heat.3658772/page-6#post-8707331
Yeah that's what I meant when I said my posts may be a little bit off topic. Also sorry for "wasting" space with these messages.
Also, you're a G my friend. I didn't know there was such a thread. I will definitely check it out, thanks.
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Earth Power
- Roost
A balance core of Drei and Pult, they both cover each others weaknesses. Hydreigon covers the ghost, ground, and dark attacks thrown at spectrier, while pult can take on Fighting attacks that are directred at Hydreigon. Dragapult spreads paralysis and combined with hex and the ability to cripple fast threats such as tornadus-t, spectrier, opposing dragapult and Scarf pokemon that want to revenge Hydreigon. Hydreigon uses the paralysis to outspeed after a NP and sweep teams that rely on clef, who has to check dragapult to not cromple to repeated hex's.
Triple Regen core. Slowking threatens special attackers such as defensive Hydreigon who does 34% MAX. Which is saying something, as it could also check magearna spamming fleur cannon and flash cannons directed at the core. slowbro protects the team from strong physical attacks such as Cinderace's Pyro Ball, Gunk Shot, and Zen Headbutt which it only fears a poison from. Also helps get its teamates in via teleport alongside its base 30 speed stat. Tornadus-therian has knock off, u turn, stab 110 BP hurricane with little drawback, also has defog to keep rocks off the field combined with its longetivity with heavy duty boots. It has a great speed stat in 121 which allows it to outspeed already fast threats such as cinderace, garchomp, speed ties with adamant barraskewda and is faster than any other threat there is. Combined with all of this, all pokemon share one trait, they are able to regen whenever they switch out, meaning if you arent able to pressure your opponent hard enough, they are able to switch out and regain all the health they lost in battle, they are also able to keep momentum up and always have the upper hand
92 SpA Hydreigon Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 80+ SpD Assault Vest Slowking-Galar: 116-140 (29.4 - 35.5%) -- 27.8% chance to 3HKO
252 Atk Libero Cinderace Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 123-145 (31.2 - 36.8%) -- 75.5% chance to 3HKO
This core is in old cores. I want to highlight this right now as Rillaboom is crazy good against offense and Magnezone simply removes some of the few checks to Rillaboom that current teams have for it right now. Main answers are Ferrothorn and the new main switch-in, Corviknight. Magnezone can also damage Magearna and heavily weaken a non-Superpower Melmetal.
These 3 mons work really well since they cover each others strength and most of their weaknesses. Hydreigon takes grass attacks from rillaboom and being able to roost it off, while also being able to provide defog and snarling and special attackers to weaken them for the team, being able to take on heatran well barring toxic is great for this team as well, and while being able to stand in the way of spectrier. Clefable stands in the way of cinderace spamming u turn, dragon moves from Latios and Dragapult, while also setting up rocks and getting rid of items like boots, boosting items like specs and scarf, and leftovers to help whittle them down. Slowbro here is the physical wall of the team, being able to take on many attacks while having great longevity as well with Teleport + regen and slack off. Scald cripples many physical attacks to the point that they can barely put dents into teams, and getting a burn is still cutting into their ability to stay alive. Future sight makes opponents to think twice about going into toxapex on something like CB urshifu-r, cinderace, or specs magearna and try to regen it all off. That is all, this is my defensive core
Garchomp @ Life Orb
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock / Scale Shot
Explanation:
These two are an absolutely bonkers combo, and in my eyes, one of the best offensive pairings in the tier. The reasons for this are relatively straight forward, as both of these Pokemon do an immaculate job covering one another's weak points and providing a lot of firepower for teams in need. Garchomp, for example, is inconvenienced without a Swords Dance boost by things such as Corviknight, Tapu Fini, and bulky Grass-types; however, Cinderace's STAB Pyro Ball and Gunk Shot absolutely obliterate most of Garchomp's most natural checks, while being able to give Garchomp boosting opportunities through pivoting against things like Heatran or Toxapex with U-turn. Additionally, Cinderace's ability to pressure Ferrothorn and Corviknight allows Garchomp to afford Stone Edge as a coverage option over Fire Blast, which is invaluable in the Mandibuzz and Zapdos matchups. In return, Garchomp can allow Cinderace to afford Gunk Shot to better pressure bulky Fairy-types like Clefable and Tapu Fini that can threaten Garchomp without a boost, as it does a great job pressuring Pokemon like Heatran that can trouble non-HJK variants.
However, I think the biggest reason I like this core is because both Pokemon can adapt their sets fairly easily to line up with their team composition, while still being able to work immaculately well together. Garchomp can easily get away with running Stealth Rock on teams lacking room for it, which can not only support its own wallbreaking abilities, but help to open up Cinderace for a swifter lategame cleanup. Or, Garchomp can take the Tankchomp route, buttering up contact attackers with Rocky Helmet + Rough Skin recoil and opening up Cinderace all the same. On the other hand, this core finds itself working splendidly on HO cores, as SD Scale Shot Garchomp and Bulk Up LO Cinderace are both very overwhelming wallbreakers that can easily open up one another's endgames cleanly with Screens support.
Good Allies:
Hyper Offense teams perform incredibly well with Swords Dance Garchomp and Bulk Up Cinderace as core wallbreakers. It's very difficult to consistently take on the onslaught of both members, especially with Screens support to create more effective setup opportunities. Other cleaners such as Spectrier or Magearna do a fairly good job cleaning up the rubble behind them, since both members of this core in tandem are extremely difficult to stay healthy against.
This core operates incredibly well with Future Sight and pivoting support to facilitate their wallbreaking potential. Slowbro is probably my favorite example, as it boasts great physical bulk and resistances to Ice- and Water-type moves that can give this core a bit of backbone on balance variations of the core, and Garchomp also provides an Electric-type immunity to bat. Zapdos is another ally I really like with these two, as it can provide a nifty Ground-type immunity, hazard removal, and even a pivoting option against Special walls like Glowking or Blissey if so desired to provide a wallbreaking opportunity for either member of the core.
Ferrothorn deserves a special mention as it provides an array of utility for this core: most prominently, Spikes support. Ferrothorn can afford this, as Garchomp can viably set Stealth Rock. This can be a major boon for making it even more difficult to switch into this core, but it also provides other utility such as Knock Off, Leech Seed, an extra layer of backbone, and a Steel-type boasting Dragon- and Water-type resistances for the core to make use of defensively.
This core is straight outta Gen 5, but with a twist. With the loss of HP Fire and the addition of Body Press, Magnezone had to adopt a different approach in the trapping of Steel type criminal #1 Ferrothorn. Furthermore, Corviknight is another relevant Steel type that gets fried by its Thunderbolt. As such, I feel like Magnezone is an underrated presence in this metagame, also boasting the ability to disrupt the dangerous Kartana and tanking Rillaboom's STAB attacks. However, when people see it at team preview they are very cautious with their metal birds or Ferrothorn, so they won't leave them in exposed. This is where Latios come into play. The Jet Pokémon equipes itself with an Eject Pack, to fire a 1-turn switch Draco Meteor on a Steel type to bring in Magnezone. Of course there are some Steel types that Zone can't beat, such as Heatran and Magearna, that can switch in on Latios, so it has adapted to them as well by running Earthquake to bait them for good damage, especially on Heatran. Eject Pack is also quite useful in just firing off a Draco against something that can tank it, not necessarily a Steel type, to immediately get momentum over them by bringing in a teammate that can scare it out, which may prevents the opponent from being able to use a recovery move.
These two also happen to cover their weaknesses almost perfectly (if Steel resistances weren't nerfed, they would have perfect type sinergy).
Teammates of this core include any sort of Pokémon that appreciates certain Steel types being removed or chipped down. Main examples that come to mind are Grass-spamming demons like Rillaboom, Tapu Bulu or Kartana, the former two also coming with the added benefit of softening EQs up for Zone (when coupled w/ Iron Defense, you may be able to beat a Ground type 1v1). Aside from hating Corviknights Skarmory and Ferro, they all love Magearna and Heatran being crippled by a well timed EQ from Latios.
Mamoswine is also a decent example, due to how well it does against slower teams when metal birds and ferrothorns are removed
This core can also be accompanied by Eject Button Toxapex, which does a fairly good job of covering threats that scare out Magnezone and/or Latios
Replay
This is a very short replay of this strategy in action. Leading Latios is very easy against slower builds because you can instantly get momentum with Draco Meteor, especially when the opponent here leads Melmetal thinking he's going to have a good time. Immediately Draco allows me to bring in Toxapex, that can live any hit (no one goes for EQ turn 1 with the team that I have, because there is no chance I switch Zone in on a Melmetal, it's a bad play). You can understand the set just by seeing that DIB did >40% to max def pex, so when eject button activates you already know the mon most suited to switch in. In this case, a bad lead Latios v Melmetal turn into Magnezone trapping the Melmetal on a single turn. All for the price of like 9% health on toxapex because of regenerator. of course i missplayed by going sub and not iron defense on the second turn, but to be fair i didn't think melmetal would break a sub with a x4 resisted move on a mon with 240+ evs on its 115 defense.
I really love this core in this meta, tried and true FWG with dual regen and lots of utility options. I think AV Tangrowth is underrated in this meta-- it can pivot into huge threats like Tapu Lele and specs mage, and scout their choice of move to pivot around safely as needed, easing prediction a lot. It's also extremely annoying for rain teams, as it can safely pivot around and tank hits from pokemon like kingdra, keldeo, koko, and magearna. It can punish an unboosted Crawdaunt or Azumarill in a 1v1 scenario, giving them less setup opportunities. Toxapex covers the rest of Tangrowth's weaknesses, providing a pokemon that can pivot into the ever obnoxious cinderace and punish u turns with helmet chip. It also rounds out the physically defensive backbone of the core, coming in on any immediately threatening physical attacker that annoys Tangrowth or Heatran. Shed shell is also an option, to pivot into Heatran if the team composition calls for it. Heatran is probably the best rocker to round out this bulky core, overall providing more spdef to the team to prevent Tang from being overwhelmed, and stops the core from losing to Magearna and Volcarona.
Sets
These sets are pretty flexible, and can be tailored to suit your team's needs. I like to use spdef plume tran with rocks and toxic, because I enjoy it's ability to beat many foggers and get consistent, accurate fire stab off when it needs to. Magma Storm is an option if your team needs it. Pex can be made shed shell if your team has problems with opposing Heatran. Calm mind fini can also beat this core, so poison jab pex is also certainly an option if you can't fit an offensive answer to cm fini on your team. I don't think Tangrowth should be changed much from this set though, these moves are pretty much optimal on assault vest tangrowth for hitting everything it needs to hit.
====================
Teammates
-- I've liked specs Tapu Lele a lot here, because it provides more utility to the team against scary balance breakers like Crawdaunt and Rillaboom, being able to guarantee that they are forced out via denial of priority with psychic terrain. It also provides a much needed stallbreaker to prevent from letting this core get too passive.
-- Life orb sd Crawdaunt offers another great stallbreaker, which such a bulky core benefits from so as to not lose to other fat teams. The dark type comes in handy as well, against pokemon like spectrier. It also offers another pokemon that can punish Heatran.
-- Scarf Landorus really rounds out the utility of this core, offering a defogger in an offensive slot, and providing an electric immunity to hault volt switch, because we've already used 3 defensive slots. General speed control and revenge killer.
-- Here are some weird but fun options. These are all normal types I've experimented with on this build, pretty much exclusively for checking spectrier. Imo, almost anything that can offer a very consistent spectrier check in an offensive slot has some value worth using in the current meta. All 3 of these pokemon are actually kind of tricky to naturally prep for, so they can pull their weight in a lot of matchups.
-Corv handles grounds and slowturns to bring in koko safely vs shit Koko doesn't have the longevity to come in on repeatedly, also the single best fallback vs Rillaboom.
-Koko functions as an Rker for threats like SD Chomp and the 2nd part of the volturn core obviously, also scares out pokemon like Fini and Lele that Corv lets it come in on safely.
Set Variation Stuff
-Gknot is less necessary with such a good fallback to offensive and defensive grounds alike, so I consider U-turn the better option for easing prediction unless you're just incapable of breaking Gastro or Quag.
-Press is an option over Brave Bird but i consider is noticeably inferior, most of the teammates you'd run with these are good Exca checks to pivot into anyways.
Teammates I'd Recommend
-Immediate ground pressure ,
-Elec immunity and fire resist +, +
-Powerful breakers in general ,
Urshifu-Rapid-Strike @ Choice Band
Ability: Unseen Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Surging Strikes
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Aqua Jet
Heatran @ Power Herb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Solar Beam
- Taunt
The gist of this core is very simple. Offensively, Heatran is meant to remove Toxapex, Slowbro and the rarer Tapu Fini, the three biggest counters to Urshifu. Also being a fire type means it can destroy bulky grass types like Tangrowth, which is rising in usage, that are lured in by Urshifu-R and U-turned on. Heatran can also check dangerous threats like any Adamant Rillaboom and choiced Kartana that heavily threaten Urshifu-R.
Conversely, Urshifu provides a strong hit for Ground types, has a great matchup vs HO due to Surging Strikes beating typical SR leads and ignoring Reflect. Aqua Jet Is a useful priority move as Thunder Punch loses its value with Magma trapper Heatran.
If you don't like CB Urshifu because of the insane popularity of Rocky Helmets, you can always run Protective Pads. You trade power for freedom and longevity. You can also run Bulk Up with PP.
Regieleki @ Choice Specs
Ability: Transistor
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Ancient Power
- Rapid Spin
This core is simple. Rillaboom beats every Ground-type in the metagame that Regieleki lures in and Regieleki beats those darn Flying-type Rillaboom dislike. They also form a pretty effective VoltTurn core to keep the momentum going (not to mention Regieleki is a good spinner thanks to the switches he forces). Also, Regieleki appreciate Grassy Terrain from Rillaboom for passive recovery and softening his Ground-type weakness. But keep in mind that Regieleki is kinda frail.
Recommended teammates:
- Forming a good Grass-spam core with Rillaboom and also appreciate Regieleki dealings with Zapdos, Moltres, Corviknight, Tornadus-Therian & Mandibuzz to let if freely spam those ultra boosted Leaf Blades.
/
- Slow pivots + Future Sight to make the core even harder to deal with
Other options: Heavy-Duty Boots are an option for Regieleki to makes its job at spinning easier. But you'll miss on that extra power provided by the Choice Specs.
I have been using this core and I think the two have GREAT type synergy. They do not share any weakness, and they can deal with each others "threats". Nidoking, is WALLED by Blissey/Chansey. Although, Kartana straight up 0hko's both with Sacred Sword. Things that are comfortable switching in to Kartana, like Celesteela or Corviknight get 2hko'd by Nidoking's Sheer Force boosted Flamethrower. The two, Celesteela and Corviknight can't really touch Nidoking either. Something that would help this team is probably a pivot because Kartana is literally a GLASS CANON and can never, and I mean NEVER swap in without slow pivoting in, or if you are sacrificing something so Kartana can get a safe swap. Nidoking is also pretty frail, so it helps Nidoking aswell. Slowbro or anything that can slow pivot like Corviknight or maybe even Specs Magearna would be nice to have. It is not required though.
Nidoking @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
Kartana @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Sacred Sword
- Knock Off
Regieleki @ Choice Specs
Ability: Transistor
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Ancient Power
- Rapid Spin
This core is simple. Rillaboom beats every Ground-type in the metagame that Regieleki lures in and Regieleki beats those darn Flying-type Rillaboom dislike. They also form a pretty effective VoltTurn core to keep the momentum going (not to mention Regieleki is a good spinner thanks to the switches he forces). Also, Regieleki appreciate Grassy Terrain from Rillaboom for passive recovery and softening his Ground-type weakness. But keep in mind that Regieleki is kinda frail.
Recommended teammates:
View attachment 315132- Forming a good Grass-spam core with Rillaboom and also appreciate Regieleki dealings with Zapdos, Moltres, Corviknight, Tornadus-Therian & Mandibuzz to let if freely spam those ultra boosted Leaf Blades.
Other options: Heavy-Duty Boots are an option for Regieleki to makes its job at spinning easier. But you'll miss on that extra power provided by the Choice Specs.
Really love Rillaboom Regieleki core. Seems very fun. I am also using Slowbro and G-Slowking as mentioned. The other 2 team members are Lando-T (for SR) and NP Hydreigon. But yeah, I could try using SD Kartana instead of Hydreigon
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
Calm Nature
- Spikes
- Knock Off
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
Toxapex @ Rocky Helmet / Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD OR 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
- Recover
- Haze
- Knock Off / Scald
- Knock Off / Baneful Bunker / Toxic / Toxic Spikes
FerroPex is a balance staple that continues to be strong today. The two are just extremely efficient annoyers and make laying things like Spikes a relative walk in the park. Toxapex is notable for its ability to keep Cinderace in check for Ferrothorn, while Ferrothorn's Spikes help to pressure anything that it/Pex knock the boots off of, in addition to checking Electric-types that give Pex a headache.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
Calm Nature
- Spikes
- Knock Off
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 136 SpD / 120 Spe OR 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe OR 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Calm / Timid / Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Taunt
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock / Toxic / Protect / Lava Plume (SpD only)
This core is typically run as a double hazard core on BO and balance, but when paired with stuff like Lando-T you often have room for Toxic on Tran too. Heatran really appreciates Spikes support and also sorta dissuades Fire-type attacks targeted at Ferrothorn, though that said it's far from reliable at keeping the available Fire-types in check. Ferrothorn is a nice Water-type check too, taking advantage of Scalds from Pokémon like Swampert and Slowking that like to pivot in on Heatran.
Rillaboom @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Grassy Glide
- Wood Hammer
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 136 SpD / 120 Spe OR 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe OR 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Calm / Timid / Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Taunt
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock / Toxic / Protect / Lava Plume (SpD only)
Very self-explanatory core. Heatran lacks reliable recovery and has a nasty EQ weakness, so Grassy Terrain is a natural fit alongside it. It also has a good matchup versus Corviknight, Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Mandibuzz sorta ish, which all routinely switch into Rillaboom.
Rillaboom @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Grassy Glide
- Wood Hammer
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Toxapex @ Rocky Helmet / Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD OR 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
- Recover
- Haze
- Knock Off / Scald
- Knock Off / Baneful Bunker / Toxic / Toxic Spikes
Another self-explanatory core. Pex under Grassy Terrain is virtually unkillable lol, and Pex has a good matchup versus certain Pokemon like Magearna and Cinderace, depending on the EV spread it uses. Make sure to pair with good Lele counterplay, as it can very easily screw with both of these Pokemon.
Rillaboom @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Grassy Glide
- Wood Hammer
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Toxapex @ Rocky Helmet / Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD OR 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
- Recover
- Haze
- Knock Off / Scald
- Knock Off / Baneful Bunker / Toxic / Toxic Spikes
Another self-explanatory core. Pex under Grassy Terrain is virtually unkillable lol, and Pex has a good matchup versus certain Pokemon like Magearna and Cinderace, depending on the EV spread it uses. Make sure to pair with good Lele counterplay, as it can very easily screw with both of these Pokemon.
Good partner for this duo is SpDef SubToxic Aegislash, set below. Handles Specs Lele like a champ, also is a good check to all Magearna too and most Special Attackers (watch out for Nidoking though, as well as Volcarona). Also frees up an option for Toxapex to run something other than Toxic/Toxic Spikes (Bunker is actually quite useful, and it can synergize well if Aegislash has already Toxic'd a threat that Pex can come in on.
Aegislash loves Grassy Terrain in general, since it gives passive recovery (great for Spell Tag/Specs sets) and weakens EQ, but this set IMO loves it even more than normal because it can stall with King's Shield for another round Lefties+GT (especially if behind a Sub).
Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 112 SpA / 144 SpD or 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD or [I'M WORKING ON IT]
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Shadow Ball
- King's Shield
- Substitute
The Special Attack EVs with a Modest nature guarantee the OHKO on the standard Specs Lele after 1 round of Rocks (without SR it's a 25% shot), as well as having a good shot to 2HKO Offensive Magearna (without HP investment) after 1 round of Spikes. I'm experimenting with other spreads since this benchmark is a bit arbitrary, and if you're running this set with Grassy Terrain, chances are the opponent will often have the benefit of it too (less likely with Lele but still, it can happen if you need to sack Rillaboom or something against Lele). Might be worth pumping in a bit of Def for dodging OHKOs from Garchomp/boosted Lucha/etc., but will see.
Kyurem and Heatran are both very good Special wallbreakers in the current metagame, when paired together they become extremely hard to deal with. Heatran's ability to cripple common Specially Defensive pokemon like Tyranitar, Blissey and Slowking-Galar can help Kyurem a lot and can often lead to overwhelming the opposing team. Kyurem also forces out bulky Water-types like Tapu Fini, Slowking and Gastrodon that can trouble Heatran.
Heres a team featuring this core:
Onto the next core
+
Tapu Koko @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Roost
- U-turn
- Dazzling Gleam / Toxic
Scizor and Tapu Koko make a great Volt Turn core in the current metagame (or in this case I guess TurnTurn?). Scizor has been shooting up in usage recently due to its ability to check two very prominent threats being Kyurem and Tapu Lele. Tapu Koko helps Scizor break through pokemon such as Corviknight and Skarmory which can be rather problematic for it otherwise. Scizor also helps out Tapu Koko by acting as a special sponge and helps Tapu Koko deal with grass types like Tangrowth and Rillaboom.
Heres a team featuring this core:
Those are all the cores I have to offer for now,
Bye
Rillaboom @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Grassy Glide
- U-turn
- Knock Off
Nihilego @ Choice Specs/Power Herb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 80 HP / 176 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Power Gem
- Sludge Wave
- Thunderbolt/Meteor Beam
- Toxic Spikes/Grass Knot/(Could also slash Thunderbolt here on a Meteor Beam set)
So I saw a post on the Viability Rankings thread talking about Nihilego and how underrated it is in the current meta. With Magearna banned, Melmetal falling off, the most prominent steels being Heatran and Corviknight, and Flying type mons having a hold on the meta, Nihilego has a decent place in the meta. Not a big one, but decent. Think of it like a poor man's Nidoking with Beast Boost and a nice base 103 speed or a Nidoking + Volcarona hybrid if running a Meteor Beam set (come to think of it, Nidoking + Rillaboom would make for an excellent core itself...). Anyways, I was thinking of how a good partner for Nihilego and Rillaboom fit the bill VERY nicely for an offensive core. Nihilego handling the Fire, Flying (bar Corviknight and Skarmory), and Poison type moves while Rillaboom takes care of the Water and Ground types that are the bane of Nihilego's existence. These two still don't appreciate having to face off with a Skarmory or Corviknight if Nihilego is lacking Thunderbolt so packing a check to them helps this core out nicely. Magnezone and Heatran can both trap Skarmory and Corviknight with Magnezone's Magnet Pull ability and Heatran's Magma Storm. Speaking of Heatran, if Rillaboom lacks Superpower, Heatran can mess this core up as well with the appropriate move. An answer to Heatran that can threaten it out such as Landorus-Therian or Garchomp fits this role well. Landorus-T in particular helps in this case in giving the core an extra check to Excadrill which can be threatening in the sand and can help Rillaboom chain U-Turn momentum.
Tapu Koko @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- U-turn
- Roost
Weavile @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Triple Axel
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
- Low Kick
or
Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Triple Axel
- Ice Shard
Once upon a time Weavile skyrocketed in usage on ladder and during SPL. That said, banded / SD Weavile with offensive pivot Tapu Koko is fantastic. Tapu Koko lures grounds, Weavile comes in, knocks off their "safe switches" (Corviknight, Clefable, Heatran (chungus)), that truly emphasizes the offensive power the core has because you cripple these switch-ins long term and get free momentum which is the intent. The preferred partners that you can use with the core can be any of Defog support, Rillaboom's Grassy Terrain (another mon that easily removes grounds while providing 6% of health every turn to both the breaker and pivot conceptually. Defog support because the point is to generate free switches while wearing Weavile's checks and counters down, removing rocks in the process and winning the game / cleaning with SD sets and CB sets with Ice Shard after the defensive core has been worn down respectively.
Choice Band Kartana is incredibly powerful, with it's good coverage and sky high attack only a select few pokemon can switch into it without being hit very hard. This is where Slowking comes in; it helps Kartana break through common switch ins like Skarmory and Corviknight. It also offers it a safe switch in since Kartana isnt the bulkiest and has a rather awkward speed tier. Slowking also deals with faster pokemon like Tornadus-T and Latios which Kartana can struggle to face. This pair can only be consistently dealt with by Mandibuzz and even that can be neutralized with Stealth Rocks after a Knock Off.
Good Teammates
Zeraora makes for a good teammate to this core since it also benefits from Slowking's Future Sight and pairs really well with Choice Band Kartana by pressuring a lot of its checks with Plasma Fists. Kartana can also pressure a lot of Zeraoras checks being Landorus-Therian and Defensive Garchomp. These however struggle against bulky Grass-types like Tangrowth, but that can be worked around by Zeraora's Toxic. Garchomp makes for a good teammate as well since it really appreciates Kartana's ability to bait in and 2HKO common defensive switch ins like Skarmory, and Corviknight with the help of Future Sight. This can enable Garchomp and let it set up and sweep easily.
-- I've liked specs Tapu Lele a lot here, because it provides more utility to the team against scary balance breakers like Crawdaunt and Rillaboom, being able to guarantee that they are forced out via denial of priority with psychic terrain. It also provides a much needed stallbreaker to prevent from letting this core get too passive.
-- Life orb sd Crawdaunt offers another great stallbreaker, which such a bulky core benefits from so as to not lose to other fat teams. The dark type comes in handy as well, against pokemon like spectrier. It also offers another pokemon that can punish Heatran.
-- Scarf Landorus really rounds out the utility of this core, offering a defogger in an offensive slot, and providing an electric immunity to hault volt switch, because we've already used 3 defensive slots. General speed control and revenge killer.
-- Here are some weird but fun options. These are all normal types I've experimented with on this build, pretty much exclusively for checking spectrier. Imo, almost anything that can offer a very consistent spectrier check in an offensive slot has some value worth using in the current meta. All 3 of these pokemon are actually kind of tricky to naturally prep for, so they can pull their weight in a lot of matchups.
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Zeraora makes for a good teammate to this core since it also benefits from Slowking's Future Sight and pairs really well with Choice Band Kartana by pressuring a lot of its checks with Plasma Fists. Kartana can also pressure a lot of Zeraoras checks being Landorus-Therian and Defensive Garchomp. These however struggle against bulky Grass-types like Tangrowth, but that can be worked around by Zeraora's Toxic.
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