NU combinations V3

[Sweet Jesus]

I feel this thread is very useful to help new users get better, but the second version is pretty outdated and Incon is dead so he can't bring it back.

A core is a combination of 2 or 3 pokemon that work well together because they either patch up their weknesses, demolish their respective counters or create a combo with moves such as baton pass. This thread's goal is for users to share the cores that work well for them so that the best ones stand out and become part of the metagame.

How to post:

Make sure you test the cores before posting them because although ninjask + rampardos might seem good on paper, we've all thought about it before and if you don't see it on the ladder, it's because it's actualy pretty gimmicky and easy to counter. While originality is encouraged, this is not a hipster contest. Don't just post because you are bored and secretly dream of making a bad pokemon get recognition among the community. Post because you believe your core is solid enough for other users to appreciate it and use it in their teams.

Add a description to your core, explain what makes those pokes good together and how users should play it. You can also add what counters the core so users know what weaknesses to patch.

 

[Celever]

A good core that I have found is the following;

@ Sitrus berry
Ability: Pickup
-Belly drum
-Shadow claw
-Extremespeed
-Seed bomb
EVS: 252 Atk/252 Speed/4 HP

@ Black sludge
Ability: Levitate
-Memento
-Will o Wisp
-Sludge bomb
-Thunderbolt/Pain split
EVs: 252 Speed/252 HP/4 SpAtk

Basically this is a core where you have weezing burn for physical attackers and then memento or just straight memento for the special attackers, then you can safely use belly drum on linoone since you cannot be KO'd even at 50%, especially the burned physical attackers. To go with this core you would usually want a gardevoir or drifblim to be a back-up memento, since linoone is the true core of your team. Linoone is only walled by steel types on paper, so you might want a fighting type or attack to go with it.

 

[qRob]

Regirock @ Rocky Helmet
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Impish Nature
- Drain Punch
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge

Musharna (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Synchronize
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SAtk
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Heal Bell
- Psychic
- Moonlight



Regirock takes care of common physical threats in the tier while taking resisted attacks and somewhat healing from drain punch. Any special attacker can be countered with a quick switch to musharna. A quick CM or nice switch could swap the games momentum in your favor. A threat to this core would be Ludicolo but 1 of the 4 other spots on your team could be filled with a pokemon to counter Ludicolo.​

 

[chitinase]

So far I've tried an Anorith + Shedinja + Grumpig core, something that sounds gimmicky but actually cover the weaknesses of each other really well.

Anorith @ Eviolite
Trait: Battle Armor
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- X-Scissor
- Rock Blast/Rock Slide
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin

Shedinja @ Focus Sash
Trait: Wonder Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- X-Scissor
- Shadow Sneak
- Shadow Claw

Grumpig @ Leftovers
Trait: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Heal Bell
- Psychic
- Whirlwind

Anorith has just enough speed EVs to outspeed not Jolly natured Armaldo, possibly one of the only reasons to use it. Eviolite gives it a little more of the survivability it desperately needs. Shedinja basically gets a free switch in once SR is off the field and something (possibly Anorith, given its pathetic defenses) dies. If something comes in to attempt to status Shedinja, Grumpig acts as a cleric and has a pseudo-resistance to the Fire-typing Shedinja is weak against.

A combination of water and dark types will have a field day with this core, but that's assuming they manage to play around the switching that will most likely (hopefully?) be going on.

 

[Celever]

Chitinase, this was kind of a thread to post simple cores that new players can use. Your core is a bit too... well, for one thing out-classed, and for another thing takes a lot of skill to use if you choose to do so. Also gardevoir wrecks the core, shadow ball shedinja and grumpig, and anorith honestly has no defense.

 

[viol and bass]

Chitinase, unless Smogon's analysis is incorrect, Grumpig cannot learn Heal Bell and Whirlwind at the same time.

Grumpig also learns Whirlwind, which prevents boosting sweepers from setting up on it, but Whirlwind is sadly incompatible with Heal Bell, meaning you have to choose between one or the other

 

[cb aaron judge]

Simipour (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Gluttony
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 Def
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Grass Knot
- Nasty Plot

Gorebyss (F) @ White Herb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 208 Spd / 252 SAtk / 48 HP
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shell Smash
- Substitute
- Surf
- Ice Beam

The premise of this core is similar to that of the Rayquaza+ Salamence core found in Ubers. Since few teams can take multiple assualts of boosted attacks, this core can be very effective if used properly. While one Pokemon breaks down walls, the other cleans up the weakened team. However, with all double-dragon cores (a collective name for these), you need to build your team to get around their weaknesses.

 

[WhiteDMist]

In BW2, Grumpig gets Heal Bell from a move tutor, so it is now legal with Whirlwind. Still, it's hard to take that core seriously in general, and celever is right that newer players wouldn't even be able to use it properly due to their lack of knowledge of the metagame.

Now, I'll throw out a very popular core which anyone can use to decent effect:

Gardevoir @ Life Orb
Trait: Trace
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Signal Beam
- Focus Blast
- Destiny Bond

Musharna @ Leftovers
Trait: Synchronize
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SDef
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Moonlight
- Signal Beam/Heal Bell

This is a Double Psychic Core at its best, with one powerful Psychic meant to punch holes in the opposing team as well as lure out Skuntank. The other Psychic is then meant to sweep late game with a relatively simple set up. Obviously, it is Gardevoir who will lure in Skuntank, becase Destiny Bond guarantees that Skuntank will be in a lose-lose situation: either it dies due to Destiny Bond, or it tanks two Focus Blasts and dies regardless. Even worse, Gardevoir can use the threat of Destiny Bond to simply switch out until later. Musharna can easily sweep late game when Skuntank is taken out, though it will need some help dealing with the occasional Armaldo and Pinsir.

Having something to set up Stealth Rocks alone can improve this core. Something that can take on opposing Ghost types wouldn't hurt either, making Normal types like Braviary a decent teammate to act as a check (not counter). This core is great, but lacks Speed; therefore, a decently fast Scarfer is very useful, as well as a priority user. Gardevoir is a decent check to Rain and Sun sweepers thanks to Trace, but something to tank their attacks if Gardevoir falls would be useful so that Musharna won't have to. Other than that, a double Psychic core is simply very difficult to mess up, since it is much harder to stop them than many other kinds of similar cores.

 

[Ghosttripsixxx]

A great core idea already discussed previously in different places, is the Sawsbuck/Seismitoad core.

Sawed Off (Sawsbuck) (M) @ Yache Berry
Trait: Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd Jolly Nature
- Baton Pass
- Horn Leech
- Double-Edge
- Megahorn


Dookie (Seismitoad) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 56 HP / 252 SAtk / 200 Spd Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Wave/Substitute
- Earth Power
- Hydro Pump
- Stealth Rock
Sawsbuck functions as Seismitoads guardian against Grass attacks, which Seismitoad lures out just by being Water/Ground types. I tried Life Orb, and Scarf/Band sets before going with the Yache berry, and although I loved the power, Ice attacks are everywhere, and being able to take one makes a difference. Baton Pass, As my team carries threats that can go hard with the sap sipper boost, Double-Edge may have recoil, but it tears holes through teams, Horn Leech obviously, and Megahorn because Exegguttor, Luidicolo,Lefeaon, Musharna and Gardevoir piss in me cheerios, and thats not to be tolerated.

Seismitoad serves as an integral part of the team. He can lead,pivot or sweep. As lead, he makes a great counter to almost every hazard setter in NU, and can set up rocks himself. I went with three special attacks, Hydro Pump/Earth Power/Sludge Wave to make for maximum coverage in sweeper mode, as I BP CM boosts to Seismitoad if his checks and counters are down. Without CM boosts, Seismitoad still hits hard. Now I used to run Substitute, which would be the best bet for most teams, as people love throwing toxic at Seismitoad, and the Poke's that do it, like Alomomola, can be easily predicted through.

Now I've done quite well with the team using this core, but it does have some threats it has to address. Dynamic Punching Golurks invite hax catastrophes, but No Guard Golurks are subpar anyhow. Roselia's can just ohko Sawsbuck on the switch with Sludge Bomb, and Moxie Scarf Pinsir can get out of hand quickly. Eelektross and Raichu carry Grass moves, but can be out predicted. Without Megahorn or a dark type on the team, all the psychics running around the tier are troublesome too. Ludicolo's love to Ice beam on the switch, Yache ended that common problem. If they Rain dance and outspeed, they cant get the OHKO, and D-Edge or Megahorn OHKO. Lickylicky's fat self also does well against me, wishtect toxic stalling right through this core.

And for most functionality, I'd build a team around this set: (as pointed out by Annoyer)

Sawsbuck @ Life Orb
Trait: Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Horn Leech
- Double-Edge/Return
- Nature Power

Seismitoad @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Earth Power
- Hydro Pump/Surf
- Stealth Rock/Toxic
An improvement on my sets, and more easily built around. The second set would be best for players trying it out.

 

[Annoyer]

On Seismitoad, I would definitely run a Timid nature with Max Speed since one of the main key parts about the set is to outspeed max base 70s such as Samurott and outspeed neutral 85s such as Sawk. In my experience with toad, I dont think the Modest nature is too important especially not worth giving up the speed. On Sawsbuck, a life orb is important to get the OHKO on rott with horn leech and 2HKOing Haunter. Megahorn isn't too useful since Double-Edge annihilates most Grass-types anyways, and Nature Power (aka EQ) is useful to bypass Sucker Punch from Skuntank as well as hitting Steel types and hit Garbodor without activating Rocky Helmet or Aftermath.

 

[Aasgier]

I love you guys. Allow my favorite bug to rape your cores forever.

 

[JCM.]

Leavanny gets outsped and OHKO'd by Sawsbuck with Double Edge, iirc. Not that it's common in NU (or good, really).

 

[Celever]

Leavanny also can't do anything to weezing and is the perfect example to memento with weezing and then set up with Linoone.

 

[Aasgier]

Yes, Celever, but I wasn't talking about your core. Weezing is a great counter. It's just that after your core so many other cores appeared which are weak to it.
Sawsbuck/Seismitoad is the only other core in this thread that can play more or less around the mantis, (but still is in danger of being eliminated after a single mispredict).

And before it turns into a rant about Leavanny, Leavanny is only the Pokémon which first came to my mind. Megahorn Sawsbuck and X-Scissor Leafeon are very similar in this regard.

 

[Ghosttripsixxx]

Yes, as Aasgier is sagely pointing out, make sure your prepared for the coverage that Pinsir, Leafeon, Leavanny, and Roselia have against you when using Seismitoad/Sawsbuck.
Pinsir carry Close Combat/X-Scissor, Leafeon carry Leaf Blade/X-Scissor, Leavanny Leaf Blade/X-Scissor, Roselia Giga Drain/Sludge Bomb. And the first three carry Swords Dance potentially as well, although most Pinsir are Scarfing these days. In these match-ups if you mispredict, you lose, so teammates that can contain those threats in case of emergency are lovely.

 

[Constantinipple]

i have been testing out an offensive core this week and it has been working pretty well.

Muk @ Choice Band
Trait: Poison Touch
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Atk / 52 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Ice Punch
- Shadow Sneak
- Poison Jab

Shiftry @ Life Orb
Trait: Early Bird
EVs: 56 Atk / 252 SAtk / 200 Spd
Naive Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Dark Pulse
- Focus Blast
- Explosion / Nasty Plot

Samurott @ Life Orb
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 120 HP / 252 SAtk / 136 Spd
Modest Nature
- Taunt
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]

you can see its a very offensive core. the pokemon have great defensive synergy (although shiftry is quite frail), as every SE move is covered by another pokemon. the coverage that pokemons like timid LO gardevoir, SS Gorebyss and the occasional LO sawk carry still treathen this core quite alot though. CB Muk has been inspired by Punchshroom and LO shiftry by Zebraiken. the pokemon cover each others counters, and make the opponent switch alot so you can punch holes into the team. there will be many switches going on from your own side too, so i recommend using it with wish support as the core is prone to getting worn down and hazards.

Muk's ev spread is in such a way that he always survives rain boosted modest lo hydro pump from Ludicolo, and can retaliate with an OHKOing Poison Jab. its also OHKOs 252/4 Sawk and 252/4 Ampharos after SR. if you already have something for Ludicolo like Mantine or Regice, you should definitely run max hp/max atk, and probably speed creep evs too. max attack Muk definitely has its perks, like OHKOing 252/4 Eelektross after stealth rocks, and OHKOing 4/0 Haunter with Shadow Sneak (!) Muk owns against pretty much every special attackers, barring psychics (kadabra is Ko'd with shadow sneak regardless). Gunk Shot really wrecks havoc against most pokemon that are neutral to it, but the shaky accuracy is really a letdown. this is why i run poison jab too, as a Gunk Shot against Ludicolo can be fatal. Ice Punch gives some extra coverage for Ground types and Shadow Sneak is really handy for annihilating frail ghosts and psychics like Kadabra, Haunter and (weakened) Gardevoir, who think they can KO with their SE moves. he still lacks power and coverage for things like regirock and steels, but those are covered by the other 2 members.

Shiftry is awesome. with perfect coverage in Leaf Storm Dark Pulse and Focus Blast (iirc? correct me if im wrong tho), he fills up the holes that Muk cant. the evs are there to maximize power and to outpace neutral base 85s and positive base 70s, and the evs left are put into attack to increase Explosion's potential. i suppose you can run nasty plot in the 4th moveslot with a spread of 56 HP / 252 SAtk / 200 Spd and Timid nature, but i prefer Explosion over it to nab me some surprise KOs. when played correct, Sawsbuck / Seismitoad cores will be ripped apart by Shiftry, as well as the occasional Sap Sipper Miltank with correct prediction. Leaf Storm and Dark Pulse serve as main STABs and Focus Blast, although having somewhat unreliable accuracy is really needed to save my ass in many situations. Explosion is just there to wreck havoc and go boom all over your opponents face. oh, and that undersized pink elephant (musharna) is 2HKO'd by Dark Pulse

Samurott is the icing on the cake. EV's let him outpace uninvested base 85s, most notably Misdreavus and CB Sawk. most of the time he serves as antilead as his STAB hits most of the leads super effectively. where Shiftry serves as a fast pokemon, Samurott focuses more on offense, and boy, LO Hydro Pumps hit hard. 252/4 Regice cant even switch in safely with rocks up! Taunt lets me cripple Musharna, Alomomola, Misdreavus, Lickilicky or in short, a big part of the defensive bunch. the rest of the moves are self explanatory, but for those who are new, Water Grass Ice is perfect coverage.

 

[Punchshroom]

Beheeyem @ Life Orb
Trait: Analytic
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 Def
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spd / 3 Spd if using Hidden Power [Ground]
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt / Hidden Power [Ground]
- Signal Beam
- Trick Room

Misdreavus @ Eviolite
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Destiny Bond

Beheeyem is known for his incredible power, but also employs the "Double Dance" strategy, which is to boost offense against defensive and speed against offensive teams, with a little twist. Trick Room abuses Beheeyem's sluggish speed and outpaces nearly everything, hitting hard with 125 base Special Attack that offensive teams dread. The real kicker however is it's ability Analytic which, as opposed to a move, increases its damage output, meaning it does not need to use up turn boosting and opens up a moveslot for coverage. This makes it also less reliant on Trick Room than Duosion, a fellow slow, equally hard hitting Psychic-type. The complete neglect for speed allow Beheeyem to focus on its bulk for prolonged sweeps and/or wallbreaking. The catch to this is that Beheeyem can't boast insane "speed" and boosted strength at the same time, as Analytic and Trick Room kinda clash. Beheeyem also struggles with Dark-types, Ghost-types and special walls. Beheeyem would appreciate a partner who can lure these threats and either eliminate them or weaken them enough that they can't stop Beheeyem. So who could that partner be?

Enter Nasty Plot Misdreavus. Overshadowed by its more popular support set but by no means less effective, the surprise factor can net you unexpected kills (example: A Lickilicky attempts to setup Wishes or Heal Bell on you, only to watch in horror as you boost up, ready to rain heavy blows on it or the Wish recipient). The sight of Nasty Plot causes your opponent to scramble about for their special tanks, revenge killers ,Ghost resists or Dark-types: all Beheeyem would like to have removed. So how can Misdreavus deal with them? Firstly, Eviolite plays a huge role in the set's effectiveness, granting Misdreavus great bulk against the multitude of revenge killers who are too frail to take a hit in return. Most Ghost resists also heavily dislike Thunderbolt, namely Braviary and lands solid damage against Skuntank as well. Special tanks had better be able to do something about Misdreavus, lest they weather boosted assaults or even more Nasty Plots. Destiny Bond can remove a problematic opponent from play, usually one that troubles Beheeyem such as Skuntank or a Choice Band/Specs opponent that it can't take a hit from. Lastly, not only can Misdreavus pave the way for Beheeyem to succeed, but the exact opposite can happen as well, with Misdreavus utilizing its good speed and Beheeyem's wallbreaking capabilities to initiate a sweep itself.

Of course, the Dark and Ghost weaknesses the two share can be difficult to overcome without good play or sacrificing Misdreavus too early. Haunter can also cause problems for this core. Misdreavus's lack of defensive investment implies that this is an offensive core, which can quickly fall apart to opposing offensive pressure, especially when considering their redundant/lack of resisitances, so it is crucial that you make the first move if possible.

 

[Sweet Jesus]

Ok I was lazy, but finaly going to post some cores of my own

Core 1 (Offensive)

Rampardos @ Life Orb
Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 SAtk
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
- Crunch
- Zen Headbutt

+

Roselia (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 SAtk / 252 HP / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Rest

Rampardos is far from being the most common wallbreaker probably because of his mediocre speed and bad defences which force you to get a second normal resist, but it has 2 perks many other wallbreakers would kill for: it eats musharna for breakfast and it's not choice locked. The walls it does fear however are alomomola and tangela which are both terrible match-ups against roselia. The only thing tangela can hope to do is put rose to sleep on the switch (rose outspeeds tangela) but this will eventually miss in the long run and roselia can just switch out and heal with natural cure. Once roselia is on the field, it can either attack the 2 walls since she hits them both for super effective STAB dammage but the true beauty of this core is for her to lay spikes on the 2 to help rampardos wallbreak them in the future and help your team in general. Roselia is also good against offensive water and grass mons that outspeed and kill rampardos such as samurott and ludicolo.
You can add offensive miltank to the core as it will let you take on sleep powder instead of roselia therefore reducing the chance of getting fucked by a double switch or entry hazards if sleep powder just won't miss. Offensive miltank also works very well with rampardos since it outspeeds and does big damage to many wallbreakers that outpseed and ohko rampardos such as gardevoir, LO haunter, sawk and zangoose.
(This core can also work with garbodor over roselia depending on your needs)

Hide

Miltank (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Return
- Earthquake
- Punishment
- Milk Drink

Core 2 (Defensive)

Weezing @ Black Sludge
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Sludge Bomb
- Fire Blast
- Pain Split

+

Ludicolo @ Leftovers
Trait: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Giga Drain
- Leech Seed
- Synthesis

Basicaly a defensive core formed of 2 of the most underated walls in this meta imo. Weezing just takes on about anything physical bar mold breaker sawk, status sweepers, cb braviary tauros and rampardos (zen headbutt). People might think weezing is not as good now because sawk often runs mold breaker, but it still has a countless amount of attributes over other walls being : immunity to toxic and spikes and no pursuit weakness. The weakness to mold breaker earthquake can also be reduced by using protect on certan sawk weak mons to scout his move since he is often choiced and ludicolo can take a banded earthquake pretty well. Speaking of ludi, he also walls a huge amount of threats on the special side and can take a megahorn from mixed samurott and retalliate with giga drain (not from physical samurott but he's walled by weezing). Defensive ludicolo has an embarassing 4 move slot syndrome, but this is the set I find most effective. It struggles retalliating against grass pokes and can't set up a sub to protect from toxic, but hey your physical wall happens to be weezing ! Other cool and less cool stuff to know about this core are that most things that wallbreak ludi are stealth rock weak (haunter being the main non SR weak one). The core is extremly easy to set up hazards against but at least weezing can still wall for days even with full layers up. Gardevoir does not wallbreak ludi unless it has specs signal beam + SR in which case weezing can come in after the first (but it might be tricking it's item rather than attacking anyway). This core could also be pretty good in the next meta because weezing walls scolipede and klang and ludi's seeds will often force munchlax to switch out while sleeping. However, spikes scolipede could be more problematic (I still believe it won't be the best set though).

(All the 0 att IV's are for cunt bag liepard which weezing kills pretty well btw)

 

[Axelotl]

The WeeziColo core looks pretty cool. I'm trying to design a team around it on Showdown, although I'm trying to capitalise on Ludicolo's amazing recovery in Rain (Rain Dish + Leech Seed + Lefties = a shit ton of recovery). In that case Synthesis is semi-redundant, so I'm swapping it for Protect, and Giga Drain for Toxic. That set can make Ludicolo an extremely annoying wall, and I've even had moderate success with it in OU (which is probably due to a) permarain and b) the level of skill on the ladder). In that case the core would appreciate the help of Rain Dance support, so Ludicolo doesn't have to sack Lefties + a move for Rain Dance. I've been thinking about Ampharos, because it has a slow Volt Switch to ease pressure on Ludicolo, has it's one weakness covered by Weezing, and can utilise the rain itself if needed, hitting hard with STAB 100% accurate Thunder. Weezing should probably use Thunder over Fire Blast on a team like that, and I personally prefer Clear Smog on Weezing, because set up sweepers can be scary. Ampharos would have some pressure on it though, because it has zero recovery with a set like this, and it's going to have to set up the rain multiple times for Ludicolo to do it's job. I can also imagine it being more tempting to set up the rain and then going into a Swift Swim/Water type sweeper instead of Stallicolo.

 

[Sweet Jesus]

The WeeziColo core looks pretty cool. I'm trying to design a team around it on Showdown, although I'm trying to capitalise on Ludicolo's amazing recovery in Rain (Rain Dish + Leech Seed + Lefties = a shit ton of recovery). In that case Synthesis is semi-redundant, so I'm swapping it for Protect, and Giga Drain for Toxic. That set can make Ludicolo an extremely annoying wall, and I've even had moderate success with it in OU (which is probably due to a) permarain and b) the level of skill on the ladder). In that case the core would appreciate the help of Rain Dance support, so Ludicolo doesn't have to sack Lefties + a move for Rain Dance. I've been thinking about Ampharos, because it has a slow Volt Switch to ease pressure on Ludicolo, has it's one weakness covered by Weezing, and can utilise the rain itself if needed, hitting hard with STAB 100% accurate Thunder. Weezing should probably use Thunder over Fire Blast on a team like that, and I personally prefer Clear Smog on Weezing, because set up sweepers can be scary. Ampharos would have some pressure on it though, because it has zero recovery with a set like this, and it's going to have to set up the rain multiple times for Ludicolo to do it's job. I can also imagine it being more tempting to set up the rain and then going into a Swift Swim/Water type sweeper instead of Stallicolo.

All goes with preferences, but I believe defensive weather teams are pretty sure to fail acheiving anyhting without perma weather. You use ludi as a wall and he should therefore be easy to switch in. If you have to set up rain just to let him wall (that's not even killing) a mon that does around 40% to him (which is what most hard hitters will do) and only for a total of 8 turns (make that 6 with the set + switch turn and add leech seed's accuracy) and you don't have a very useful wall (note that in your own rain physical samurott is much more threatening to weezing too). I prefer to heal with synthesis rather than rain dish and only take advantage of rain dish when rain is not letting you heal with synthesis. Talking about rain, one of ludi's most important niches as a special wall is it's capacity to wall offensive ludicolo as well as having a chance vs mixed samurott if he doesn't predict the switch. Taking away giga drain will not let you retalliate vs those 2 huge threats of the NU meta which takes away the purpose of using ludi over other walls. For what is of leech seed, I don't suggest using it as your main strategy, the much bukier tangela or much faster serperior and jumpluff fill that niche much better. In this case leech seed is just a useful tool for incoming dragons or incoming pokes that might want to set up calm minds on ludi such as the very common musharna. It's surely a useful tool when your opponent is too dumb to switch, but very often it's more of a way to deal damage to an incoming physical attacker and heal your own weezing switch-in since he struggles to do so himself.

 

[kniteowl]

Lickilicky @ Leftovers
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Careful Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Dragon Tail
- Toxic

Musharna @ Leftovers
Trait: Synchronize
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Heal Bell
- Psychic
- Moonlight

This core was made to check the two biggest threats in the tier (Sawk & Musharna) while still being able to do double duty as physical and special walls.

Musharna is the only pokemon I can think of that can come in on any Choice Band Sawk and not be 2HKO-ed after rocks while Special Defensive Lickylicky can come in on any calm mind Musharna and either Cripple it with toxic against non-heal bell variants or phase out with Dragon-tail against heal bell variants

Musharna can also work as a cleric to heal off Lickylicky status because lickylicky has some serious 4MSS as it would also like having heal bell and body slam so Lickylicky doesn't become a dead weigh if it's hit by a stray toxic. While Lickylicky can pass wishes to Musharna that's taken a lot of damage and is in 2HKO range from a Sawk at the mid and sometimes end game. Sawk loves to switch into Licklicky so passing a wish to Musharna is relatively easy with some prediction.

This core is easily broken by many common threats in NU and requires some support by a 3rd team member but it really depends on which pokemon give you the most problems.

Sub Calm mind Gardevoir , Sub Disable Haunter & Support Misdrevus (With taunt & Will-o-wisp) give this core problems so having a dark type like Skuntank will give this core further Longevity.

Pinsir can also easily break this core having access to close combat for lickylicky and X-scissor for Musharna. Most Pinsir are generally choice users and have a stealth rock weakness he's easily played around if you can set up rocks and force Pinsir to switch and suffer hazard damage. If Pinsir is a big problem, most ghost types should be able to handle him, especially Golurk and Misdrevus. If you're using Haunter or Drifblim, be careful of stone edge.

Golurk is another pokemon that can give this core trouble depending on the set. As both can be hit super effectively with the right move but if you can find out which set it's using, you should be able to counter/check it appropriately. The Sub Punch set is especially dangerous to this core so keep an eye out for it.

Sub Bulk Up braviary can also give you problems if you don't have a Braviary Check as Musharna's Psychic may not break it's sub. A 64 EV investment in Musharna's Special Attack is an option if you want to always break 252 HP / 192+ SpD Braviary substitutes.

 

[Chieliee]

gonna post the offensive triplet and the defensive duo i'm using in my current team later today/this week/ever

 

[ryan]

Lickilicky @ Leftovers
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Careful Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Dragon Tail
- Toxic

Musharna @ Leftovers
Trait: Synchronize
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Heal Bell
- Psychic
- Moonlight

Just a little something to note on your Musharna set: while it is obviously a really solid set that can serve as a cleric, physical wall, and boosting sweeper, when using it as a part of a defensive core, you can also consider running a more general support/pivot set in lieu of the standard jack-of-all-trades one. A set with Baton Pass over Calm Mind can allow Musharna to come in on powerful threats like Sawk and then Baton Pass out, giving you outstanding momentum. This also allows you to escape the clutches of Skuntank. You can also run a status such as Toxic to help take on opposing walls or Thunder Wave to help take on the offensive threats that Musharna likes to switch into. Overall, while the standard Musharna set is definitely not something to mess around with, it has become really common and predictable. Utilizing this set can really help catch the opponent off guard without being gimmicky and situational.

 

[kniteowl]

Just a little something to note on your Musharna set: while it is obviously a really solid set that can serve as a cleric, physical wall, and boosting sweeper, when using it as a part of a defensive core, you can also consider running a more general support/pivot set in lieu of the standard jack-of-all-trades one. A set with Baton Pass over Calm Mind can allow Musharna to come in on powerful threats like Sawk and then Baton Pass out, giving you outstanding momentum. This also allows you to escape the clutches of Skuntank. You can also run a status such as Toxic to help take on opposing walls or Thunder Wave to help take on the offensive threats that Musharna likes to switch into. Overall, while the standard Musharna set is definitely not something to mess around with, it has become really common and predictable. Utilizing this set can really help catch the opponent off guard without being gimmicky and situational.

Fair enough my dual core pokemon set isn't really a complete defensive set but more of a semi-defensive/offensive set. Although running a full support set on Musharna may seem more appealing, especially on defensive teams.

I Prefer the mono attacking calm mind set, mostly because Musharna can single handedly sweep a team once it's checks and counters have been eliminated. There's also the psychological factor where players will play more conservatively with their Musharna checks/counters. If I run a support Musharna, once they know it's a support set they'll play a bit more aggressively and it may not be worth it if I only cripple one pokemon.

As for particular moves. If I'm using baton pass, it just has to be used in conjunction with calm mind or else I'm not fully utilizing it. As for momentum stealing... I can't see it working out too well, I would usually double switch if I expect Skuntank to come in on my Musharna after I switch Musharna into Sawk. A late Baton pass wouldn't make much of a difference.

As for dodging pursuits, that still requires prediction, if I'm already in against a Skuntank it's not always gonna use pursuit. It may use Crunch in which case Baton pass failed me. It really comes down to prediction. If you predict a Pursuit, stay in and use moonlight, if you predict a Crunch, switch out. Musharna is pretty bulky, unless skuntank is carrying a life orb or boosting item crunch will usually 3hko you.

As for Status moves like Thunder wave and Toxic. Most opposing walls carry their own status move (usually toxic), all you really need is some good prediction and switch into and share your status via your ability synchronize. I've toxic my fair share of Alolomola this way, not to mention walls are set up bait for Musharna. I won't deny Thunder-wave is useful on Musharna but in a pinch it's just best to attack threats with STAB psychic, especially Sawk, I'd rather have a dead Sawk, then a crippled one.

All that leaves are Dark types that wall you, the most common dark types are generally slow and don't care about being paralyzed, that includes Liepard who is reliant on Pranksters to deal indirect damage except when it actually attacks.

 

[watashi]

Ursaring @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Quick Feet
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Facade
- Crunch
- Earthquake

Wynaut @ Eviolite
Trait: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Counter
- Encore
- Mirror Coat
- Safeguard

The first thing about this core that stands out is the use of Ursaring over Zangoose. The latter is usually preferred because it is a lot stronger than Quick Feet Bear, but it misses out on Haunter, Sawsbuck, Charizard, and a bunch of other offensive threats. Most teams will generally have to revenge kill Ursaring with a Pokemon holding Choice Scarf, which is where Wynaut comes in. Unless the Pokemon is a Volt Switcher, Wynaut can usually come in and remove them with either Counter or Mirror Coat. Most teams should carry an Electric-type immunity anyways since Rotom-S and friends are so prevalent. Wynaut can also help Ursaring set up with Encore so it can run over the opponent's team.