Lower Tiers Good Cores in ORAS NU

[Choice Banned]

Offensive Core

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Shiftry @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Defog
- Leaf Storm
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch

Articuno @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Ice Beam
- Hurricane
- Freeze-Dry
- Roost

Offensive Defog Shiftry and Life Orb Articuno compliment each other very well. Beyond just Shiftry offering Defog support so Articuno can switch in easier, but they also have good synergy together, Shiftry checking Rock types for Articuno, and Articuno checking Bug, Flying, and Fighting types for Shiftry. It's a very useful core and Articuno in general is a pretty nifty mon once you look past the crappy typing. This core does have a bit of a Fire weakness, so adding something that checks things like Pyroar/Magmortar is recommended.

 

[astroboy]

ok so i love haunter (as in the pokemon) and i recently thought "whats a cool skunk lure that synergizes well with haunter" and badabang this core was made

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haunter is a really cool mon thats been hurt by recent tier drops (mainly skuntank), despite hitting incredibly hard, and can very easily bring stall/bulky balance teams to their knees thanks to its great stab attacks, which can hit most of the tier neutrally or super effectively, 2HKOing or OHKOing a good portion of the tier thanks to its high special attack stat alongside life orb. on the other hand, shiftry is an excellent wallbreaker that cam threaten defensive teams with its excellent coverage or boosting moves, while still standing strong against offense thanks to strong priority in sucker punch. together, they form a crazy strong wallbreaking duo, thats no pushover against offense either! shiftry also takes advantage of haunter screwing over audino, weezing, and garbordor, who are its most common checks. neato
u might be saying to ur self "but astroboy, u mentioned that u were gonna be pairing haunter with a shiftry lure! how is shiftry a skuntank lure? also, where are my wife and kids and my dog? what have you done with them? when is the mew xfiles season comin out? isnt gillian andresen bi? what if the aliens made her gay?" well, my fellow smogoner, have i got news for you! explosion shiftry is a hilarious skuntank lure my pal Hootie was talking about, and i decided to test it out. turns out that it actually ohkos standard skuntank regardless of shiftrys nature! mighty convient, considering skuntank is a very common switch-in to shiftry.
252+ Atk Life Orb Shiftry Explosion vs. 24 HP / 0 Def Skuntank: 448-529 (126.9 - 149.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Life Orb Shiftry Explosion vs. 24 HP / 0 Def Skuntank: 409-482 (115.8 - 136.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
most defensive teams nowadays rely on skuntank to deal with haunter, and with that out of the way it can proceed to mess up the traditional audino+quag+musharna backbones that r on most defensively-oreinted teams nowadays, so something like boomburst swellow that appreciates defensive cores beaten up so it can clean late game or whatever would be a great partner.
i really hate skuntank.

sets i use

anarchy (Haunter) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Substitute
- Pain Split

in the sun (Shiftry) @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Lonely / Naive Nature
- Explosion
- Sucker Punch
- Leaf Storm
- Knock Off

 

[Disjunction]

sets

Garbodor @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe
Impish Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes

Torterra @ Leftovers
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Atk / 128 Def
Impish Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Earthquake
- Synthesis
- Stealth Rock

This is a bread and butter core for the current meta. GarbTerra is a solid hazard stacking core that synergize with one another beyond just typing. While Torterra sets up Rocks and covers for the pesky bulky Ground-types that give Garbodor trouble, Garbodor is typically free to set up Tspikes because of the great offensive pressure Torterra provides to opposing Poisons. Torterra's usefulness as a Rocker also lie as arguably the most reliable check to Lanturn and most Volt Switch abusers. This core by itself isn't perfect, but they cover a lot of weaknesses and provides you with a good starting place to either patch up other defensive holes or build offensive cores to abuse the pressure that the hazards give off.

 

[Jarii]

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sets

Roselia @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 152 HP / 92 Def / 248 SpD / 16 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Synthesis

Prinplup @ Eviolite
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Defog / Ice Beam
- Toxic

This flower penguïn core is a solid hazard stacking core that has nice synergy with his typings. Prinplup sets up rocks against almost every physical attacker (except something like Shiftry or cacturne). Roselia is a reliable spikes stacker since it can spike stack on most special attacking Pokémons in NU, also it can deal with special Grass types like Lilligant and Vileplume (cacturne kinda but you need to play smart with Roselia then and keep it healthy). Roselia also deals with electric types where Prinplup also has trouble with. It's kinda strange to run hazard stack with Defog I know. But most of the time I run something like Scyther or Magmortar with this core which do not like Rocks at all. The core isn't perfect, but they cover a lot of weaknesses. You can go both of ways with this core like stall to balanced.

 

[DaRizzleTheMan]

Offensive Core

Poliwrath + Pyroar + Mawile

Poliwrath eats up the priority that is thrown at this team, as well as check threatening set up sweepers, such as SD Samurott, Klingklang and Carracosta in the tier. Mawile and Pyroar can cripple bulky walls with their amazing offensive presence, and enable Poliwrath to be able to comfortably revenge kill many pokemon with Vacumn Wave. Rock and Ground types who give Pyroar and Mawile many problems are severely damaged or outright beaten by Poliwrath, which can give Mawile a free turn to set up.

Pyroar is able to destroy the grass types that scare Poliwrath, as well as weaken many threats with powerful specs STAB Hyper Voices. Mawile absolutely hates Quagsire, and Pyroar is able to 2HKO Physically Defensive variants with Hyper Voice or cripple Curse Variants with HP Grass. Pyroar also provides a comfortable way of defeating Ferroseed, which can give this core a little bit of trouble. Pyroar can blow back the steels to help Mawile, and then it can steamroll through the opposing team.

Mawile is able to set up with SD and becomes a terrifying wallbreaker/cleaner. Pyroar and Poliwrath can deal with the pokemon that give it trouble, like Quagsire, Ferroseed and Weezing, or weaken them to the point where they are not threatening to Mawile, and can be picked off, and in return, Mawile deals with Mega Audino (if not carrying Fire Blast) and weaken Mantine significantly, which is a massive problem to this core, as it walls Poliwrath and Pyroar. Mawile can beat Gurdurr, rest assured it hasn't set up too much, by KOing it with Play Rough, because if not, it would be so difficult to defeat, as Poliwrath struggles vs Gurdurr.

If you want to build around this core, I would recommend a solid Grass Type, to have a more secure check to Quagsire and Lanturn (Water types in general tbh, but those especially), because they have to be played around by these three. Shiftry deserves a special mention because it can Defog away hazards for Pyroar and have a good time dealing with Psychic types, which can give Poliwrath a easier time. For a hazard setter, something that can deal with the fire types that disembowel this team, especially AV Magmortar, which can beat Poliwrath 1v1 with their coverage. So, something like Regirock is a nice check to fire types, as it can take a Focus Blast and KO back with Rock Slide or cripple with TWave, and doesn't fall prey to HP Grass Pyroar, unlike Rhydon (Rhydon is also a very viable option but I ran Regirock, just because I want to deal with opposing Pyroar a lot easier.) Regirock also absorbs the flying type moves Poliwrath hates, and in return Poliwrath pressures Steel Types and can KO Torterra comfortably. A switch in to Sawk is also helpful, although if Rocks are up then Pyroar can revenge kill, however you do not want to go into that situation. Xatu is a very nice option, it can stop hazards being layed in the first place, resist ground types and switch into Sawk easily, although you have to be worried about Knock Off and Stone Edge, as Stone Edge will always OHKO standard bulky Xatu and so will Knock Off unless you are holding a Colbour Berry.

Overall, this core does have its flaws, but it can be very, very threatening with the correct support.

Sets I used:

Hide

Poliwrath @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 96 HP / 252 SpA / 160 Spe
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Focus Blast
- Ice Beam
- Vacuum Wave

Pyroar @ Choice Specs
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Hyper Voice
- Hidden Power Grass
- Overheat

Mawile @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Swords Dance

 

[Orphic]

Here's a cool defensive core me and Teddeh made a team around recently which I've had a lot of success with:

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Musharna + Throh

The Sets

Musharna @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonlight
- Baton Pass
- Psyshock

Throh @ Leftovers
Ability: Guts
EVs: 208 HP / 48 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Circle Throw

Simple philosophy here; blanket wall everything with two fat mons. For a start, they cover each others weaknesses and such well like a good core should - Mushy blocks psychic attacks and Throh blocks bug and dark attacks, Throh even shrugs off status aimed at Musharna with rest. So Musharna is the blanket physical wall, shown by these calcs:
252 Atk Archeops Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 240 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 153-180 (35.3 - 41.5%) -- 76.6% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Life Orb Sheer Force Tauros Rock Climb vs. 240 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 165-196 (38.1 - 45.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Rhydon Earthquake vs. 240 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 144-171 (33.2 - 39.4%) -- 15.3% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Guts Swellow Facade (140 BP) vs. 240 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 205-243 (47.3 - 56.1%) -- 25.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Soaking up attacks from mons like swellow and Archeops that trouble Throh

Meanwhile, Throh is the blanket special wall, soaking up hits from mons that threaten Musharna:
252+ SpA Choice Specs Refrigerate Aurorus Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Throh: 208-246 (46.8 - 55.4%) -- 16.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Mismagius Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Throh: 118-140 (26.5 - 31.5%) -- 23.4% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Spell Tag Rotom Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Throh: 102-120 (22.9 - 27%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Haunter Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Throh: 125-148 (28.1 - 33.3%) -- 91.6% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Magmortar Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Throh: 153-181 (34.4 - 40.7%) -- 58.4% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
etc etc.

Throh is a complete beast and so under rated, it tanks hits and phazes mons that 2hko it so it can have a chance to rest. Not to mention, it even boosts its less impressive defense with bulk up and makes it's phazing circle throw stronger. On the other side of the core, Musharna boosts it's uninvested special defense with calm mind and proceeds to destroy anything that can try take it down with Psyshock.

Disclaimer: Bring support for Malamar.

 

[DaRizzleTheMan]

Here's a cool defensive core me and Teddeh made a team around recently which I've had a lot of success with:

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Musharna + Throh

The Sets

Musharna @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonlight
- Baton Pass
- Psyshock

Throh @ Leftovers
Ability: Guts
EVs: 208 HP / 48 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Circle Throw

Simple philosophy here; blanket wall everything with two fat mons. For a start, they cover each others weaknesses and such well like a good core should - Mushy blocks psychic attacks and Throh blocks bug and dark attacks, Throh even shrugs off status aimed at Musharna with rest. So Musharna is the blanket physical wall, shown by these calcs:
252 Atk Archeops Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 240 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 153-180 (35.3 - 41.5%) -- 76.6% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Life Orb Sheer Force Tauros Rock Climb vs. 240 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 165-196 (38.1 - 45.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Rhydon Earthquake vs. 240 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 144-171 (33.2 - 39.4%) -- 15.3% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Guts Swellow Facade (140 BP) vs. 240 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 205-243 (47.3 - 56.1%) -- 25.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Soaking up attacks from mons like swellow and Archeops that trouble Throh

Meanwhile, Throh is the blanket special wall, soaking up hits from mons that threaten Musharna:
252+ SpA Choice Specs Refrigerate Aurorus Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Throh: 208-246 (46.8 - 55.4%) -- 16.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Mismagius Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Throh: 118-140 (26.5 - 31.5%) -- 23.4% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Spell Tag Rotom Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Throh: 102-120 (22.9 - 27%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Haunter Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Throh: 125-148 (28.1 - 33.3%) -- 91.6% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Magmortar Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Throh: 153-181 (34.4 - 40.7%) -- 58.4% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
etc etc.

Throh is a complete beast and so under rated, it tanks hits and phazes mons that 2hko it so it can have a chance to rest. Not to mention, it even boosts its less impressive defense with bulk up and makes it's phazing circle throw stronger. On the other side of the core, Musharna boosts it's uninvested special defense with calm mind and proceeds to destroy anything that can try take it down with Psyshock.

Disclaimer: Bring support for Malamar.

I think this core is really cool, I really want to try this for myself, but I wonder if Hariyama would be a more preferable option, because it can eat up the Magmortar and the Aurorus's attacks a bit better, and won't take too too much more from the other calcs to make too much of a difference.
252 SpA Spell Tag Rotom Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 252 SpD Assault Vest Hariyama: 93-109 (21.6 - 25.4%) -- 0.3% chance to 4HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Haunter Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 252 SpD Assault Vest Hariyama: 113-134 (26.3 - 31.2%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Magmortar Fire Blast vs. 0 HP / 252 SpD Assault Vest Thick Fat Hariyama: 90-107 (20.9 - 24.9%) -- guaranteed 5HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Refrigerate Aurorus Hyper Voice vs. 0 HP / 252 SpD Assault Vest Thick Fat Hariyama: 94-112 (21.9 - 26.1%) -- 7.3% chance to 4HKO

I guess that recovery could be justification tho.

 

[DaRizzleTheMan]

Balance Core

Garbodor + Mesprit + Scyther/Samurott

OR

Garbodor provides a nice check to the likes of Mega Audino, and it forms a good hazard stacking core with Mesprit (Which really helps SD Scyther clean up), as well as the two having really nice defensive synergy together, as Mesprit resists Psychic and is immune to Ground, as well as doing massive damage to Rhydon and Quagsire with Energy Ball, which also helps Scyther and Garbodor can deal with Pawniard, which Mesprit cannot touch at all, and is very easy setup fodder, although the Colbour Berry weakens the Dark Type moves. Those pokemon struggle vs Psychic types, and due to the abundance of Colbour Berry, SD Scyther can take up this challenge well, being able to deal massive damage to them with Bug Bite. SD Samurott can also be a good member of this core because it doesn't need hazard removal added onto the team as you build it and benefits from Mesprit killing off Quagsire, as well as being a just as efficent cleaner. Garbodor can deal with the grass types it hates, and Samurott can deal with the ground types. Samurott can also deal with the powerhouse Fire types that this core struggles to defeat. The core struggles against Steel types, so Sawk is an amazing teammate to this core, as it can beat steel types and punch holes in the opponent's core, which gives Scyther or Samurott an easier time late game.

Hide

Mesprit @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
- Psychic
- Energy Ball

Garbodor @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 160 HP / 252 Def / 96 Spe
Impish Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes

Scyther @ Eviolite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Aerial Ace
- Bug Bite
- Roost

Or you can use over Scyther:

Samurott @ Lum Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Megahorn

 

[QueenOfLuvdiscs]

Specs Spam!!

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Hyper Beam is a good move

Aurorus @ Choice Specs
Ability: Refrigerate
EVs: 64 HP / 252 SpA / 192 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hyper Beam
- Hyper Voice
- Freeze-Dry
- Earth Power

Pyroar @ Choice Specs
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA
- Hyper Beam
- Fire Blast
- Hyper Voice
- Hidden Power [Grass]

The offensive combination of these two is so good in NU right now; Ice types in general are very good as most teams Ice resist is a water type, so Aurorus can abuse that as well as weakening them for Pyroar late game. The core works against most play styles as Aurorus can deal with balance/stall and Pyroar can deal with offense due to its base 106 speed. The reason they have Hyper Beam is because that slot is just filler on them anyways and it allows to to get a huge hit off before going down (and it so fun to see your opps mon just drop to a Specs Hyper Beam). Whilst they share a lot of weaknesses, that can be patched up with something like a Gourgeist or a Torterra to help mitigate some of them.

 

[Swagodile]

Specs Spam!!

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Hyper Beam is a good move

Aurorus @ Choice Specs
Ability: Refrigerate
EVs: 64 HP / 252 SpA / 192 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hyper Beam
- Hyper Voice
- Freeze-Dry
- Earth Power

Pyroar @ Choice Specs
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA
- Hyper Beam
- Fire Blast
- Hyper Voice
- Hidden Power [Grass]

The offensive combination of these two is so good in NU right now; Ice types in general are very good as most teams Ice resist is a water type, so Aurorus can abuse that as well as weakening them for Pyroar late game. The core works against most play styles as Aurorus can deal with balance/stall and Pyroar can deal with offense due to its base 106 speed. The reason they have Hyper Beam is because that slot is just filler on them anyways and it allows to to get a huge hit off before going down (and it so fun to see your opps mon just drop to a Specs Hyper Beam). Whilst they share a lot of weaknesses, that can be patched up with something like a Gourgeist or a Torterra to help mitigate some of them.

Gave it a try

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-266541478

Dude thought he could set up with Kadabra

Refrigerate Hyper Beam kills at +2 Sp. Def

 

[Shaneghoul]

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Skunk + seed is a really nice balance core. Ferroseed does an incredible job at walling a huge portion of the metagame, and getting up spikes/rocking, however it's biggest drawback is the fact that it can't break xatu, that's where skunk comes in. Skunk can switch in pretty freely to xatu as it's immune to psychic and it can't hit it super effectively with any of it's coverage, it can then proceed to click pursuit and generally remove xatu from the game. Knock off on ferroseed is also handy for getting rid of xatu's colbur which they all seem to be running nowadays. In turn ferroseed can support skunk by dealing with the mons skunk struggles with i.e. rhydon, carracosta, piloswine and klingklang.

Calcs

224+ Atk Skuntank Crunch vs. 248 HP / 176 Def Xatu: 240-284 (72 - 85.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
224+ Atk Skuntank Pursuit vs. 248 HP / 176 Def Xatu: 120-144 (36 - 43.2%) -- 96.3% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

0 SpA Xatu Signal Beam vs. 24 HP / 176 SpD Skuntank: 61-72 (17.2 - 20.3%) -- possible 7HKO after Black Sludge recovery

Sample Sets

Skuntank @ Black Sludge
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 24 HP / 224 Atk / 176 SpD / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Taunt
- Poison Jab
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit

Ferroseed @ Eviolite
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Atk / 156 Def / 56 SpD
Impish Nature
- Spikes/Stealth Rocks
- Leech Seed
- Knock Off/Gyro Ball
- Thunder Wave/Protect
(Generally you only want the attack if you're running knock as it allows you to beat klinklang).

 

[QueenOfLuvdiscs]

once again, my sets/spreads are showing their worth n_n

 

[Orphic]

Hey guys, engineered a pretty cool core I wanna show you that helped me get #2 on the ladder :)

+

Sets

Swellow @ Choice Specs
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Boomburst
- Heat Wave
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Grass]

Piloswine @ Eviolite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard

Swellow and Piloswine is an awesome core that works on the fact that not much takes a Boomburst right now except the likes of Rock and Steel types, namely, Klinklang, Rhydon, and Aurorus, which trouble Swellow. Piloswine provides a check to ice types as well as Volt Switch and handles the mons aforementioned that trouble Swellow, even Klinklang. Furthermore, it brings rocks to break Sturdy on mons like Sawk that can be sent in to revenge kill Swellow, and can help clean up KO's that Swellow misses out on with Ice Shard.

 

[TTFTW]

Offensive Core

sets

Vanilluxe @ Life Orb
Ability: Ice Body
EVs: 68 Atk / 252 SpA / 188 Spe
Mild Nature
- Explosion
- Ice Beam
- Freeze-Dry
- Ice Shard

Lilligant (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Giga Drain
- Quiver Dance
- Sleep Powder

Mixed vanilluxe pairs really well with standard lilli. While they don't have a great type synergy, their offensive synergy is pretty good. Ice cream lures in AV magmortar/spdef skunk to destroy them with explosion, allowing lilligant to put in a lot of work. Ice shard revenge kills cheops and swellow, both of which outspeed lilli and don't let it set up.

Lilli beats piloswine and aurorus, two hard checks to mixed vanilluxe.

Will provide a more detailed explanation later.

 

[Pokedots]

Two cores I've been using a ton lately

Rotom @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 144 HP / 112 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hex
- Volt Switch
- Pain Split

Ferroseed @ Eviolite
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 148 Def / 114 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
- Thunder Wave / Protect / Toxic

Thanks to its typing and bulk, Ferroseed is an excellent check to the likes of Kangaskhan, Lanturn, and Samurott, however that same typing makes it susceptible to Fire coverage from Tauros and gives it a neutrality to Flying instead of a resistance, making it a fairly poor answer to Swellow, Scyther, and Archeops. Coincidentally, Rotom is a very nice answer to Archeops,Scyther, Swellow, and Tauros, however as a Normal-type check it loses to Kangaskhan. Rotom and Ferroseed cover each other's weaknesses in a way that they can basically check every Normal- and Flying-type in the tier in addition to just a lot of the physical meta, and neither of them are particularly passive because of status, powerful STABs (in Rotom's case, full-powered Hex), and Volt Switch in Rotom's case. They also form a potent spikes stacking core, with Rotom spinblocking Rapid Spinners such as Hitmonchan and Claydol pretty well. Obviously the two mandate Fire- and Fighting-checks and some other stuff, but that's just basic teambuilding, and overall together they check a lot of stuff and wear down the opposing team with ease.

Magmortar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Vital Spirit
EVs: 104 HP / 252 SpA / 152 Spe
Modest Nature
- Fire Blast
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Flame Charge

Tauros @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Rock Climb
- Earthquake
- Zen Headbutt
- Fire Blast

Together these two put in a ton of work against balanced teams, being powerful attackers with colorful coverage and hitting from different sides of the spectrum. The two also have very solid matchups against most playstyles, and thanks to Tauros's high speed and Magmortar's Flame Charge they also double as potent sweepers. It's also great how a lot of people tend to switch in their Rock-type against Magmortar, taking a huge chunk and leaving their team open for a Tauros sweep. There's really not much else to say; Magmortar and Tauros can struggle with stupidly bulky walls such as Musharna and Mega Audino without hazard support, but beyond that they're very potent balance breakers by themselves that can blow past opposing teams for each other.

 

[shiloh]

Jynx @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Lovely Kiss
- Ice Beam
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast

Scyther @ Eviolite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Roost
- Swords Dance
- Aerial Ace
- U-turn

Jynx and Scyther form a really fun offensive core that can break apart teams with their sheer power. Life Orb Focus Blast Jynx lures in Steel- and Rock-types like Ferroseed, Klinklang, and Regircok all of which as solid checks to Scyther. Max Attack SD Scyther is actually a really fun set to deal quick damage to teams, as well as bring in Jynx on these slower pokemon like Regirock, Rhydon, and Ferroseed so Jynx can put them to sleep or hit them with Ice Beam or Focus Blast. These two are also really weak to Rocks, so a hazard remover like Hitmonchan or Prinplup would do wonders for this core.

 

[Davon]

Offensive Core

Shiftry @ Expert Belt / Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Knock Off / Sucker Punch
- Extrasensory
- Grass Knot / Dark Pulse
- Defog / Nasty Plot

Gurdurr @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Mach Punch
- Bulk Up

Mismagius @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Dazzling Gleam
- Destiny Bond
- Taunt

A cool offensive core made around the idea of Lure Shiftry which is really great in this metagame. Shiftry's switchins usually include bulky poison types like Garbodor, Weezing, and Vileplume. What this Shiftry Set intends to do is weaken those pokemon with Extrasensory. While not always going to knock these Pokemon out they lack recovery bar Vileplume. Gurdurr does great when these pokemon are absent which is why i paired Shiftry with it. Another Pokemon that compliment this core is Mismagius which can take care of Defensive Mesprit which this core struggles with. Mismagius can also Destiny Bond Skuntank which Shiftry struggles with. You can use Mismagius's Destiny Bond on Audino but I wouldn't depend on it, so bring something that can threaten Audino, and Mawile too even though it's not that common anymore. Prepare for Archeops too if u use this core.

 

[Juridisch advies]

Balanced core:

+

+

Rhydon @ Eviolite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Rock Blast
- Roar

Togetic @ Eviolite
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Toxic
- Heal Bell

Aurorus @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Blizzard
- Freeze-Dry
- Earth Power
- ancient power

This core brought me all the way up to 1350+ which, for me, is relatively high on the NU ladder. Rhydon and Togetic act as a strong defensive core and Aurorus just cleans up.
Rhydon: Ev's are there to tank hits. Stealth rock is mandatory for chip damage, earthquake + rock blast are STAB and rock blast is nice for substitute pokemon (e.g scyther) and roar is there to face out set-up Pocket monsters.
Togetic: My special tank and staller. It becomes really bulky with eviolite and it forms a great type core with Rhydon. Defog is there to give Aurorus a safe swith-in, Roost+toxic for stalling and healbell to keep the other members fresh and healthy.
Aurorus: Snow warning blizzard =power and at least a 2hko on most NU Pokemon, Freezy for water types, earth power for coverage and ancient power for STAB.

 

[QueenOfLuvdiscs]

Uhh...Togetic is RU, so I dunno how old that core is

 

[Juridisch advies]

Uhh...Togetic is RU, so I dunno how old that core is

Half-year-old. wasn't aware will delete post :)

 

[Dundies]

Got two offensive cores here:

+

importable

Xatu @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Signal Beam
- Roost

Shiftry @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Explosion

+

importable

Jynx @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Lovely Kiss
- Nasty Plot
- Ice Beam
- Psyshock

Shiftry @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Explosion

description for both

These cores are pretty similar to the Explosion Shiftry + LO Haunter core, but this time Shiftry aims to lure Skuntank to get rid of one of CM Xatu's biggest checks and one of NP Jynx's biggest checks, Skuntank. Sadly, Explosion Shiftry isn't all that uncommon anymore so you can't always successfully lure Skuntank, but since Skuntank is one of the more common checks for both of these mons, if Shiftry is able to take it out, you can usually clean late game with either of the two.

 

[Ren-chon]

Sets

Floatzel @ Life Orb
Ability: Water Veil
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Focus Blast
- Ice Beam
- Baton Pass

Lanturn @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 104 HP / 136 Def / 16 SpA / 212 SpD / 40 Spe
Calm Nature
- Volt Switch
- Whirlpool
- Scald
- Heal Bell

Scyther @ Eviolite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- U-turn
- Aerial Ace

That's the core I've been using quite extensively lately. Together, these 3 form a (baton?)volturn core that's quite hard to stop, with every one of them providing means to deal with each other checks and counters: Floatzel takes care of Rhydon, Archeops and Regirock, common switch-ins to Scyther, Lanturn can lure and trap opposing Lanturns with Whirlpool (+ Scald burn) making them unable to check Floatzel, and Scyther deals with Hariyama, bulky Psychics and bulky Grasses who could still pose some trouble to the other 2. As for things that this core appreciates, some sort of hazard control is the most obvious one, and like any volturn it loves hazard stack to punish your opp for switching too much.

 

[Evan.]

Offensive Core

importable

Combusken @ Eviolite
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest / Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Focus Blast
- Protect
- Baton Pass

Vanilluxe @ Life Orb
Ability: Ice Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Ice Beam
- Freeze-Dry
- Signal Beam
- Explosion

here's another offensive core with combusken which is, in my opinion, one of the best offensive mons in the tier. This time it's paired with vanilluxe, and while this core has no real defensive synergy, outside of an unfortunate scald burn, Vanilluxe can be BP'd into pretty much for free against the more passive combusken answers like Lanturn and Mantine. Not many teams have anything for vanilluxe, and at +1 speed it breaks most balance and offensive teams by itself. another thing about this core that's really nice is that the two mons also share similar checks like Magmortar, Hariyama and Musharna, which Vanilluxe can break down for Combusken through the use of signal beam and explosion. watch out for grumpig though, it may be the 12th best psychic in NU but it breaks this core in half.

 

[Sonzinho]

Smash Sweeper + Dual Memento (offensive core)

+

+

This core operates with Skuntank and Mismagius working together with the goal that Barbaracle makes the sweep. Special Skuntank lures things that could cause trouble to Barbaracle as Gurdurr, Quagsire, Ferroseed etc addition to using memento while Mismagius work very well creeping things that usually come to her as Skuntank with wow then using memento or used Taunt to prevent Mesprit, Regirock of use Thunder Wave or just taunt defogers keeping rock on field for the sweep not be hindered by sash users. This basically works luring Barbaracle counters and preparing the ground for eventual sweep, dual memento is great because it gives more of an opportunity to Barbaracle. I prefer a more bulky spread in Mismagius but you can use a more offensive if you want.

Import

No Hands (Barbaracle) @ White Herb
Ability: Tough Claws
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Razor Shell
- Frustration
- Shell Smash
- Earthquake

Mafioso (Skuntank) @ Life Orb
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Memento

Potter (Mismagius) @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 84 Def / 176 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hex
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Memento

 

[XenoTech N]

+

Defensive Core

sets

Audino @ Audinite
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Dazzling Gleam
- Wish
- Protect

Sandslash @ Lum Berry
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock / Swords Dance

This is a neat core that I've used on a lot of semi-stall and occasionally balance teams. Sandslash puts a stop to the Steel and Poison types that can 2HKO Mega Audino, and set up rocks, an SD, or just plain kills them, such as Skuntank, Klinklang, Garbodor, and Pawniard. Meanwhile, Audino puts a stop to just about anything that wants to come in on Sandslash, and hardwall them, such as Samurott, Lilligant, Jynx, and Torterra, then set up on them. MegaDino also can deal with the ghost types that give Sandslash trouble, as it is immune to their Ghost STABs and takes very little from anything else. In short, this core preys off of the fact that very little threatens Mega Audino, and then promptly takes advantage of the ones that do. It does have to worry somewhat about Aurorus, Pyroar, and poisons that aren't weak to EQ(Haunter and Vileplume, basically), but that seems to be about it.