Resource SV PU Good Cores

Approved by Shaneghoul | Inspired by SV RU Cores Thread | Art by UberSkitty =)
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Welcome to the SV PU Good Cores Thread!! A core is 2-3 Pokémons working in harmony to achieve a goal. In this thread, you can share cores you find effective as both a resource to new players, and to old players looking for something to build around. Offensive cores are comprised of Pokémon who effectively wear down one another's checks or take advantage of them in some way. Defensive cores are Pokémon that can work together defensively answer a large portion of the metagame. Balanced cores are typically something in between, like a breaker and a Pokémon capable of defensively answering its checks. All of these will be listed together in the archive, as there aren't likely to be enough cores to justify separating them.

Cores posted here must follow a few rules:
1) Every core must be tested to ensure that they perform well in the metagame. As such, including replays is recommended to further support the validity of your core.
2) Try to keep slashes to a minimum.
3) Include a short, concise description or explanation of the core, which should contain the following information:
- The type of the core (Offensive, Balance or Defensive)
- How the core functions
- How to use the core itself

Please include the following when submitting a core:
1) Provide the sprites and names of the Pokémon that make up your core.
2) Include the sets for your Pokémon (preferably in a pokepaste or using hide tags).
3) Write up a short description of how the core functions.

Cores will be added to the archive if they're viable enough, and follow the guidelines above. Posts that don't fit the guidelines may be deleted.
 
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This is very trivial and it adds nothing new, but I think that this defensive core should be here, as it could be the starting point of many Balance teams

:sv/quaxwell: :sv/tinkatuff:

Quaxwell @ Eviolite
Ability: Moxie
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Roost
- Liquidation
- Encore/Aqua Jet/Brave Bird

Tinkatuff (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Mold Breaker
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 248 HP / 20 Def / 236 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Knock Off
- Thunder Wave
- Encore/Play Rough


There are several selling points about this core.
First of all, these mons possess the best defensive types of the game without exploiting tera, providing lots of resistances: in general and historically, water and steel pair significantly well together.
Secondly, they provide an incredible role compression as you have a spinner with reliable recovery and a utility mon with Stealth Rock, Knock off and Thunder Wave that cannot be stopped by Hattrem thanks to Mold Breaker. Moreover both of them can hinder set-up sweepers by using Encore.

Role compression and the fact that these mons prefer not to be tera'd grant huge freedom concerning the choice of the other 4 members of your team as you can focus specifically on their tera strategy and they're not obliged to fulfill any support/utility role. You can even make this core stronger for example by adding a flying type (you gain a resistance to fighting and an immunity to ground) or a poison type, making your team more oppressive/challenging as you can set up and absorb Toxic Spikes now. In some of my replays, it seems that a ghost might be a good addition.

In any case, you might happen to use terastallization on these 2 mons: I like tera-dragon on Quaxwell :quaxwell: because you can change your weaknesses into resistances (sometimes you can win one last Rapid Spin by surviving from an electric type attack), while tera-ghost on Tinkatuff :tinkatuff: can be useful for spinblocking and to survive from CCs, so you can cripple the user with Thunder Wave.

The main flaw of these mons is the offensive presence which is basically non-existent on Tinkatuff (giving it Play Rough might not even be worthy) and it's shaky on the duckling as it possesses Moxie to deal more damage, but it's still situational: to improve your odds you can give up on Encore and put Brave Bird to catch Cacturne or Aqua Jet to revenge-kill very weakened stuff.

Silly me, I'm not used to saving replays, so I don't have lots of stuff saved: for now I'll just put what I have, hoping to expand the pool. In any case, the message that I want to deliver is that these two mons do lots of basic and canonical stuff (even if they're not the highlight of the battle), so they can enable a variety of teammates.
 
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Wes8888

Goon of the OM variety
is a Pre-Contributor
Rotom-F + Perrserker Volturn Core
:sv/rotom-f: :sv/perrserker:
Rotom-Frost @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Blizzard
- Will-O-Wisp
- Trick

Perrserker @ Leftovers
Ability: Tough Claws
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
- U-turn

Description
Rotom-F :rotom-frost: and Perrserker :perrserker: make a great balanced core and are both excellent pivots that can keep the momentum of the match under your control.

Scarf Rotom-F is great for controlling momentum, as it has a fast and strong Volt Switch and can force switches by giving slow, bulky mons its scarf with trick. Once it loses its scarf, it can use Will-O-Wisp to cripple physical attackers and allow its teammates to switch in more freely. It's strong STAB Blizzard also threatens out frailer foes. Without any bulk investment and no recovery, however, it can't take many hits.

Thankfully, for what Rotom lacks in bulk, Perrserker makes up for with solid stats and a great defensive typing. Tough Claws and Perrserker's naturally high attack stat make its moves pack a punch, and this, alongside stealth rock, can wear foes down fast. It's also rather slow, which means it can oftentimes get outsped, take a hit, and follow up with U-turn to safely bring in frailer offensive mons like Houndoom :houndoom: and Vivillon :vivillon:.

You have a great deal of flexibility with the rest of the team. Setup sweepers like the aforementioned Houndoom and Vivillon, as well as Oricorio-Pa'u :Oricorio-Pa and Vigoroth :Vigoroth:, really appreciate getting pivoted in safely, while bulkier mons like Grumpig :grumpig:, Gogoat :gogoat:, Quaxwell :quaxwell:, and Camerupt :camerupt: can help round out the teams defensive backbone. As far as tera types go, I don't really think it matters, as you'll usually be saving tera for your sweepers, but occasionally tera electric is worth it on rotom to pick up a KO with volt switch.

Threats

Fast pokemon with super effective coverage like Pyroar :pyroar:, Houndoom :houndoom:, Scarf Haunter :haunter:, Tera Fighting Oricorio :Oricorio-Pa, and even Tera Fighting Vivillon :vivillon: are problematic, for all of these can are capable of outrunning both mons and KOing them. Pokemon like Grumpig :grumpig: can take hits from these mons and spread paralysis to mitigate the speed issue, while your own fast sweepers, like the QD users, can simply KO them first if they get a chance to set up.

Finally, Crabominable :Crabominable: can be really annoying. AV variants can withstand Rotom's attacks, and with a little Speed investment it can outrun Perrserker and devastate it with STAB fighting moves. This is where Grumpig comes in, as with some Defense investment it can tank Close Combat and hit back hard with Psychic. Additionally, Crabominable can't come in on Perrserker's Close Combat and it doesn't appreciate being burned by Rotom on the switch, or having it's AV taken for that matter.

Replays


That's about all I have to say, thanks for reading, and have fun using this core!
 
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Camerupt + Flapple Offensive Core

:sv/camerupt: :sv/flapple:

Flapple @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Hustle
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Grav Apple
- Sucker Punch
- U-turn

Camerupt @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Tera Blast
- Protect/Stealth Rock

Camerupt and Flapple are some of the strongest mons in the tier, having very few switch ins which are basically limited to steel types (Eviolite Magneton :magneton: , Tinaktuff :tinkatuff: and Perrserker :perrserker:) for Flapple and Bulky Waters such as Quaxwell :quaxwell: and Tera Water Gogoat :gogoat: for Camerupt. They compliment eachother very well, threatening and switching into eachothers checks easily (Quaxwell can hit Flapple coming in with Brave Bird, but from my experience Encore is the preferred 4th move as of now).

Choice Scarf is by far the best set on Flapple. An Adamant nature and Hustle provide enough power while still letting Flapple outspeed most unboosted threats in the tier such as Houndoom :houndoom: , Pyroar :pyroar: , Squawkabilly :squawkabilly: , Oricorio :oricorio: etc. After the opponents steel type is chipped it's very easy for Flapple to take multiple kills with Outrage. The best tera type is Dragon, for even more power on Outrage.

Max HP Max spA on Camerupt gives it enough bulk to survive a lot of hits while maximzing its power. Leftovers give it a lot of sustain especially when paired with Protect. I've found that Tera Grass is the best Tera as it allows you to resist Ground and Water and hit back super effectively against Quaxwell :quaxwell: , Golduck :golduck: , Tera Ground Oricorio :oricorio: etc. You can also fit Stealth Rocks on the last slot if your team needs it.

Volt Switch users, especially Magneton :magneton: and Rotom-Frost :rotom-frost: are great partners for this core, creating even more opportunities to get Flapple and Camerupt in. Magneton :magneton: can also eliminate Tinkatuff :tinkatuff: with Magnet Pull if you choose to run it over Analytic.

Threats

Scarfers faster than Flapple such as Houndoom :houndoom: , Lycanroc :lycanroc-midnight:, Rotom-Frost :rotom-frost: and Golduck :golduck: can come in on Flapple's outrage and revenge kill it, which forces you to click u-turn for a large part of the game.



The games aren't the greatest display of the core but I don't have very many replays sadly
 
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Continuing the journey of "how do I make up for Quaxwell's flaws?", I want to suggest an Offensive core that can be used in Balance teams.

:sv/quaxwell: :sv/Skuntank:

Quaxwell @ Eviolite
Ability: Moxie
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Brave Bird
- Liquidation
- Aqua Jet

Skuntank @ Leftovers
Ability: Aftermath
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast
- Sludge Bomb
- Dark Pulse


People are discovering the potential of Offensive Quaxwell :quaxwell: which is less passive than the defensive one, but it still struggles against its #1 enemy: Misdreavus :misdreavus:, especially when TSpikes are up.


Here Special Skuntank :skuntank: comes into play, because this mon:
- can absorb T-Spikes;
- the special set is basically unaffected by Misdrea's Will-O-Wisp;
- both of the skunk's stabs hit supereffectively the "two usual types" of Misdreavus (ghost and Tera Fairy);
- Draining Kiss is a contact move so, when used by Misdreavus, Aftermath is still activated;
- it is still a mon with a nice speed tier and coverage with Fire Blast against Steel Types (be careful that Skuntank's special attack is not stellar: even after Nasty Plot, you need sr chip to kill Magneton);
- Dark Pulse and Sludge Bomb are moves with good secondary effects that might be handy sometimes.
- Shroodle :shroodle: can't Parting Shot (against a Dark type)

I put Tera-Water in case you wanted to survive from Houndoom (which won't use the dark move).
As I said previously, I recall that Skuntank's special attack is somewhat mediocre: you might want to give an extra kick with Expert Belt or Wise Glasses, but I think that Leftovers grant more longevity, so I don't like to get rid of them.

Regarding Quaxwell :quaxwell: I like a bulky offensive set with 44 EVs to outspeed uninvested 70s, because I think that you might still use it to take some hits, especially fire moves.
Besides its usual role to remove hazards, if it gets a Moxie boost (which is more likely if you have max attack), you can snowball and get rid of lots of threats, especially Dugtrio :dugtrio:, Houndoom :houndoom: and Pyroar :pyroar: (they get smoked even by Aqua Jet).
I like Brave Bird (and possibly Tera Flying) to deal with Gogoat :Gogoat: and Cacturne :CACTURNE:


A Grass type like Gogoat :gogoat: could also be a good partner for these two mons, to catch the supereffective grass, electric and ground moves against this core (I could even put it as 3rd member of the core, if someone tells me to do it).
Even something like Rotom-Frost :rotom-frost: is not bad especially against Gabite :gabite:.


Here you have a plethora of replays:
Skuntank can deal with Misdreavus and causes lots of damage (the Fire Blast roll on Magneton confirms my previous point of sr chip):
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pu-1826421239-rrcg1dww7sqtng1jkc8idoka5ix7ackpw
Despite the unfortunate Fire Blast miss and the fact that I didn't predict Misdreavus' tera fairy (tbh I did, but I wasn't able to cancel my action quickly), you can see Skuntank's pressure and its handy Aftermath for Draining Kiss. Moreover Quaxwell was great against Pyroar:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pu-1826435376-dqaz4c1uwuonnmgscar7ccnni5ecp6fpw
Usual Skuntank pressure against Misdreavus and Quax cleaning:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pu-1826438335-eazacjak09yixazlm2jbbns1i63fljrpw
Same skunk+quax showcase as the previous replay:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pu-1826448056-kr4j4cjtv7uf7uo3vqmju651amfkcw7pw
Useful tspikes absorption, quax's hazard removal and sweep:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pu-1826458487-o29kz1fafwmr56svrhgi99m3djxazwapw
More cleanings and sweeps:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pu-1826423390-3y9r4xkgzyds8wf6c5ulxpzxc7mhshvpw
Final Skuntank cleaning:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pu-1826418516-kkfc1t5odqiu5os5tlf2wdc9o137bl0pw
Quax's power:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pu-1826446426-93y5wuprj7kboq8a4lhj6wz3p9z79mjpw
Handy Aqua Jet:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pu-1826491291-yvhw2i45p4hgj7usjsaxaxv2753rco0pw
Handy tspikes absorption and aftermath:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pu-1826467254-tuwxbujps5c13d9irapo20x1v4rgg3bpw
Miscellaneous quax and skunk working:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pu-1826451676-xd2tqcxv7ssizxx29df5za438n7vbuopw
Some work by Quax:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pu-1826484615-5s6ucmqwx4xjwl4gyeicnydgygzollapw
Key Quaxwell against fire types:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pu-1826443524-r79oqfi3sj2y7ro0rao5hoeqwex1oswpw
Skunk makes Gogoat waste its tera. Usual duck'spin:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pu-1826415636-a1chojo23i08v9w2kbgvgg3g7kfpvykpw
Additional Quax cleaning:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pu-1825729364-yjzj1lpdb55tjeur77z76q10fu294tcpw
Despite a misclick, the core did work: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pu-1825754098-hnbsptriw7vynxf1ltwar8kz0ebplxdpw
Quax killing grass types and appreciated Skunk aftermath:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pu-1825761454-n4fxlggck5vi5jbpyd64doy12203p28pw
Quax snowballing and Skuntank cleaning:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pu-1825801087-xxbfydj67f7r0ik7hmk826tsxzo2p22pw
Remember that Dark Pulse can flinch:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pu-1825803613-wz0x4vrkygfgmb48vkqwy3wrzxoh2vxpw
 
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Misdreavus + Skuntank + Gabite Balance
:sv/Misdreavus: :sv/Skuntank: :sv/Gabite:

Currently I think these 3 pokemon define PU Balance.

Gabite has a lot going for it being one of if not the best lead in the tier and also being capable of beating Skuntank and the fire type threats.

Skuntank is the scariest "what's it going to do" pokemon in the tier being able to run physical, special, or defensive sets while being serviceable in each role. On top of that its special set functions as one of the best Misdreavus checks in the tier only being rivaled by Pyroar and Houndoom.

Misdreavus is almost certainly the best pokemon in the tier right now. Its setup + draining kiss sets are absurdly strong if left unchecked. Additionally, it outspeeds skuntank meaning if the skunk is physical it can get stuffed with a will-o-wisp. Missy also has the option of running power gem letting it bait its common switch ins into getting sent to the shadow realm using its tera fairy mode to finish them off.

Running Missy and Skunk together puts enormous pressure on the enemy forcing them to navigate around many potential combinations of utility and damage. Adding Gabite unlocks your team by ensuring that you go even or take an advantage during the first 3-4 turns. Gabite's only reliable checks as a lead can be easily exploited and often force the enemy into adjusting their gameplan to play at your pace instead of their own.

You can easily pair :sv/tinkatuff: with these 3.

Tinkatuff provides a special wall to pivot off of things like :frogadier:, :lumineon:, and :golduck: that might be threatening Gabite. Paralyzing a golduck or frogadier is a huge momentum grab and threatening to knock off anything that might want to switch often allows you to regain momentum.

I think :sv/gogoat: and :sv/raichu: are also worth mentioning.

Gogoat provides good coverage, handling :quaxwell:, :lilligant:, and being another way to check :raichu:. Gogoat also provides a secondary tera target to Misdreavus which is valuable.

Raichu is a good way to check basculin and is a good way to maintain momentum being able to chunk things with volt switch. This team doesnt mind fast voltturn as Misdreavus, Skunk, and Gabite all are capable of taking hits on switch in.
 
Camerupt + Frostom Dual Leads
:sv/camerupt: :sv/rotom-frost:

The idea here is to grab momentum by utilizing these two pokemon's wide coverage. The usual leads in PU are:
:gabite: :perrserker: :masquerain: :rotom-frost: :lumineon: :dugtrio: :skuntank: :qwilfish-hisui: :electrode: :vespiquen: :squawkabilly: :frogadier: :glimmet:

Obviously not all of these are exactly common, the last 4 are definitely less common than the former. Anyway, other than dugtrio one of camerupt and frostom have a good matchup into these leads.

With this set Camerupt Beats:
:perrserker: :masquerain: :rotom-frost: :skuntank: :qwilfish-hisui: :electrode: :vespiquen: :glimmet:

With this set Rotom-Frost Beats:
:gabite: :lumineon: :frogadier: :squawkabilly:

The Sets:

I linked them above but here they are again: camerupt | rotom-frost

These admittedly probably aren't anywhere near perfect, but here's the basic idea. Camerupt wants to be bulky enough to take a few hits, maybe set up rocks, and force switches. Rotom is obviously just there to pressure switches while switching out itself. Against Raichu/Ground types you click blizzard and pray it hits. These mons definitely rely on supporting cast to glue the team together, i've been running a water(cm golduck)/fire/grass(qd lilli)/rotom balance with sd qwilfish and sd perrserker in the back.

For water:
:golduck:: Provides a good answer to weather with cloud nine as well as some good utility with taunt/encore.
:lumineon:: Is a solid piece for a voltturn core.
:basculin:: Gives you a physical wallbreaker

For grass:
:gogoat:: Provides a solid pivot for things like raichu, lilligant, and dugtrio. Obviously you have to watch out for tera ice/flying with these mons but overall it is a solid mon.
:lilligant:: QD and sweep
:flapple:: Same as lumineon in that it gives you a decent speed tier with uturn access. This is also a pick that requires some support though.

Other options:
:skuntank:: Can replace qwilfish, can surprise opponents with special sets or sucker punch. Imo qwilfish is more versatile but skunk can be more of a wildcard.
:dachsbun:: Most of the mons here are low hp which makes dachs wish actually pretty decent for passing. This can replace perrs with fairy + fighting coverage which hedges for the loss of steel coverage. I also like to run roar to push out stall mons.
:misdreavus:: Offsets the many edgequake weaknesses if you're not running dachsbun.

So yeah that's about it. The plan isn't fancy at all, just gain momentum turn one and keep momentum through smart switches.
 
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