aVocado
@ Everstone
Update: When I made this thread ORAS wasn't released yet and as such, all the cores in the OP (so far) are XY RU cores.
From Post #32 and afterwards, all the cores are ORAS RU.
OP taken from Shaymin :D From Post #32 and afterwards, all the cores are ORAS RU.
permission granted from Molk
Welcome to the RU Core thread, where you can post, discuss, and debate about an essential part of teambuilding: Cores, and the synergy between certain Pokemon.
Effective cores are very important in competitive Pokemon, and any good player uses them, intentionally or not. Defensive cores rely on covering a lot of attacking types and common threats within the core, while also offering team support, so that the core is useful even when walled. On the other hand, offensive cores still like having the common attacking types covered between its members, but offensive synergy is most important. Be it one member of the core attracting Pokemon that another member can easily switch into and force out, one member luring and weakening the checks and counters of another, or one member being able to beat the Pokemon that the other can't, those are the characteristics that are wanted from a good offensive core. Finally, there are mixed or balanced cores, as well as support and pivoting cores, which blend in into offensive and defensive cores. Support or pivoting elements in cores aim to either provide easier switch-in and set up chances to offensive Pokemon, or help to wall and stall out the opponent in the case of defensive cores.
The point of the project is to help teambuilders, newcomers, and other battlers to assist them in helping building their teams. Therefore, please don't post bad examples such as Electivire + Pelipper. Post cores that truly work and be ready to defend why.
I suppose I should post a core as an example:
(additionally, any fire type + pursuit works, but this is the best.)
Spiritomb @ Black Glasses
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pursuit
- Sucker Punch
- Foul Play
- Will-O-Wisp
Moltres @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Fire Blast
- Hurricane
- Roost
- U-turn
The first Pokemon that pops up on your mind when anyone asks for a Moltres counter is Slowking, and naturally, because it is one of the best counters. Moltres is an extreme Slowking magnet, and this core aims to take advantage of that. With Life Orb and U-turn, Moltres lures out Slowking, U-turn as they switch, doing a good amount of damage thanks to Life Orb + no -atk nature, and going right into Spiritomb to Pursuit and checkmate Slowking, allowing Moltres to wallbreak a lot easier. This is a win/win condition no matter what; even if Slowking gets a burn on Spiritomb with Scald if it decides to stay in on the pursuit. The only time this might not work is if Slowking didn't switch in on Moltres's U-turn.
I use speed EVs on Spiritomb to outspeed Rhyperior, Doublade, and Slowking all in one (as well as Escavalier aiming to outspeed Slowking), and hit them hard with the appropriate move or burn them. With the core, I also used Life Orb Whimsicott, but it doesn't do anything specific tbh, it just hits things like Rhyperior/Gastrodon/etc that might switch in on Moltres, and I used the core to support this LO Whimsicott anyway, so use it if you wish.
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Giga Drain
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire] / Shadow Ball
- Encore
Some cores from the past thread:
by user: Antgeezy
Hazard-Stacking Offensive Core
Qwilzz (Qwilfish) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Spikes
- Explosion
- Toxic Spikes
Druddigon @ Leftovers
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 232 HP / 252 Atk / 24 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Fire Punch
- Sucker Punch
- Stealth Rock
Not really sure if this could be considered a core considering Qwilfish is just a suicide lead, but they work pretty well with each other so I'm rolling with it. The objective is to lead with Qwilfish, try to get as many layers of spikes/tspikes possible and then just explode if the opponent attempts to spin/defog. If you don't have to revenge an attempted spin/defog, Druddigon is usually a safe switch to go to so you can just plant rocks. Oh and taunt is on Qwilfish to taunt other common suicide leads like helix god.
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by user: Rob.
Delphox @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Grass Knot
- Psychic
- Calm Mind
Meloetta @ Choice Specs
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psychic
- U-turn
- Shadow Ball
This place isn't receiving enough attention, so I'm here to drop a jewel. I'm currently building a team around these two monsters; I assume there will be a huge increase of the usage of Meloetta and Delphox now that two of their biggest and best checks are gone (well Psychic-types in general received a huge boost in viability after the bans). But anyway these two function very well together thanks to their auspicious synergy. The strategy is very simple. Meloetta has a hard time dealing with bulky Steel-types who can switch in on all of its moves, subsequently forcing it out. Steel-types don't like fire so here is where the magician comes in. Meloetta can use U-turn to safely bring in Delphox on predicted Steel-type switch-ins. Delphox beats every Steel-type in the tier 1 vs 1 (it takes a shitton from Doublade's Shadow Sneak though). Then watch the tears of your opponent roll as Meloetta decimates their team after their counter is eliminated. It's not just limited to eliminating Steel-types either, Delphox can threaten most of the Pokemon in the tier with its great Speed and power. Calm Mind just makes it deadlier. And if you've managed to compile a great team that applies a ton of offensive pressure then the rest of the game should be e-z. Beware ... the reign of the Psychic-types is upon us.
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By user: Molk
Defensive Core:
Weezing @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Toxic Spikes
- Sludge Bomb
- Pain Split / Flamethrower
Aromatisse @ Leftovers
Ability: Aroma Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Aromatherapy
- Moonblast
Slowking @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Tail
This is a quite excellent defensive core if i do say so myself, and a great core to start off a stall/balanced team with for sure. Most Pokemon can be at least checked between the three Pokemon, and they happen to cover each other quite nicely overall, being quite hard to break through when played well. Weezing's solid Poison-type, great physical bulk, and access to Will-O-Wisp make it quite good at checking and countering various physical threats for its team such as Rhyperior, Virizion, Doublade, and Hitmonlee. These same attributes make it quite good at setting up multiple layers of Toxic Spikes, an always important tool for any defensive team that puts common wallbreakers such as Exploud on a timer, making them significantly easier to deal with. The only thing really holding Weezing back is a lack of reliable recovery: this is where Aromatisse comes in, as its access to both Wish (to keep Weezing healthy) and Aromatherapy (to keep things such as Will-O-Wisp from wearing down Weezing too much helps out immensely when it comes to keeping Weezing alive. To make things even better, Aromatisse's special bulk makes it quite easy to switch into Pokemon that would force Weezing out to throw up a Wish, and considering many of the physical attackers that can hope to break through Aromatisse struggle with Weezing (Doublade, Escavalier and Durant if Flamethrower), passing Wishes to Weezing is natural. Lastly, Slowking patches up most of the problems that Weezing+Aromatisse have on their own, providing some heavy duty Special Bulk to take on the special attackers that even Aromatisse can't (Moltres and Delphox are especially notable), and even checks some physical attackers that'd be an annoyance otherwise such as Cobalion, all in a hard to wear down package thanks to Regenerator. Assault Vest Slowking also provides the offensive presence for the core, using its solid base 100 Special Attack stat, Spammable STAB move, and great coverage to threaten opponents.
Hazard-Stacking Offensive Core
Qwilzz (Qwilfish) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Spikes
- Explosion
- Toxic Spikes
Druddigon @ Leftovers
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 232 HP / 252 Atk / 24 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Fire Punch
- Sucker Punch
- Stealth Rock
Not really sure if this could be considered a core considering Qwilfish is just a suicide lead, but they work pretty well with each other so I'm rolling with it. The objective is to lead with Qwilfish, try to get as many layers of spikes/tspikes possible and then just explode if the opponent attempts to spin/defog. If you don't have to revenge an attempted spin/defog, Druddigon is usually a safe switch to go to so you can just plant rocks. Oh and taunt is on Qwilfish to taunt other common suicide leads like helix god.
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by user: Rob.
Delphox @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Grass Knot
- Psychic
- Calm Mind
Meloetta @ Choice Specs
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psychic
- U-turn
- Shadow Ball
This place isn't receiving enough attention, so I'm here to drop a jewel. I'm currently building a team around these two monsters; I assume there will be a huge increase of the usage of Meloetta and Delphox now that two of their biggest and best checks are gone (well Psychic-types in general received a huge boost in viability after the bans). But anyway these two function very well together thanks to their auspicious synergy. The strategy is very simple. Meloetta has a hard time dealing with bulky Steel-types who can switch in on all of its moves, subsequently forcing it out. Steel-types don't like fire so here is where the magician comes in. Meloetta can use U-turn to safely bring in Delphox on predicted Steel-type switch-ins. Delphox beats every Steel-type in the tier 1 vs 1 (it takes a shitton from Doublade's Shadow Sneak though). Then watch the tears of your opponent roll as Meloetta decimates their team after their counter is eliminated. It's not just limited to eliminating Steel-types either, Delphox can threaten most of the Pokemon in the tier with its great Speed and power. Calm Mind just makes it deadlier. And if you've managed to compile a great team that applies a ton of offensive pressure then the rest of the game should be e-z. Beware ... the reign of the Psychic-types is upon us.
--------------------------------------
By user: Molk
Defensive Core:
Weezing @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Toxic Spikes
- Sludge Bomb
- Pain Split / Flamethrower
Aromatisse @ Leftovers
Ability: Aroma Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Aromatherapy
- Moonblast
Slowking @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Tail
This is a quite excellent defensive core if i do say so myself, and a great core to start off a stall/balanced team with for sure. Most Pokemon can be at least checked between the three Pokemon, and they happen to cover each other quite nicely overall, being quite hard to break through when played well. Weezing's solid Poison-type, great physical bulk, and access to Will-O-Wisp make it quite good at checking and countering various physical threats for its team such as Rhyperior, Virizion, Doublade, and Hitmonlee. These same attributes make it quite good at setting up multiple layers of Toxic Spikes, an always important tool for any defensive team that puts common wallbreakers such as Exploud on a timer, making them significantly easier to deal with. The only thing really holding Weezing back is a lack of reliable recovery: this is where Aromatisse comes in, as its access to both Wish (to keep Weezing healthy) and Aromatherapy (to keep things such as Will-O-Wisp from wearing down Weezing too much helps out immensely when it comes to keeping Weezing alive. To make things even better, Aromatisse's special bulk makes it quite easy to switch into Pokemon that would force Weezing out to throw up a Wish, and considering many of the physical attackers that can hope to break through Aromatisse struggle with Weezing (Doublade, Escavalier and Durant if Flamethrower), passing Wishes to Weezing is natural. Lastly, Slowking patches up most of the problems that Weezing+Aromatisse have on their own, providing some heavy duty Special Bulk to take on the special attackers that even Aromatisse can't (Moltres and Delphox are especially notable), and even checks some physical attackers that'd be an annoyance otherwise such as Cobalion, all in a hard to wear down package thanks to Regenerator. Assault Vest Slowking also provides the offensive presence for the core, using its solid base 100 Special Attack stat, Spammable STAB move, and great coverage to threaten opponents.
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