Singles Break that Core (Week 17: Hippowdon + Lucario + Dragonite) ~ VOTING (post #395)

[6tennis]

Swampert @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Rain Dance

It can lead off the fight, set up its rain, and destroy this core, no questions asked. Its STAB coverage allows it to OHKO all variants of Manectric and Landorus-T. Rain Dance allows it to activate its own Swift Swim, allowing it to outspeed even Scarf Landog. After that its gargantuan Attack stat allows it to clean the opponent's team. It can switch on all of this core's attacks, bar EQ from Landorus-T.

 

[bobochan]

Milotic @ Assault Vest
Ability: Competitive
Level: 50
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Mirror Coat
- Hidden Power [Fire] / Hidden Power [Grass]
- Scald
- Ice Beam

Would be a very reliable mon to take on the core but unfortunately most Landorus-T's run Adamant nature.
Still would require a very high roll from both Thunderbolt + EQ to take out Milotic, while it can at least bring down one.
Mirror Coat is the best move against Mega Manectric, while Ice Beam can almost guaranteed to OHKO Landorus-T even before any boost.
Since Scizor loves to be on VoltTurn teams HP Fire can be used to against it or Grass if you prefer to take down bulky Water-types.

Calcs
252 SpA Mega Manectric Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Milotic: 86-104 (42.7 - 51.7%) -- 5.9% chance to 2HKO
252 SpA Mega Manectric Volt Switch vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Milotic: 68-84 (33.8 - 41.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252+ Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Milotic: 85-102 (42.2 - 50.7%) -- 2% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Milotic: 78-93 (38.8 - 46.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Mirror Coat on Volt Switch / Thunderbolt = GG
0 SpA Milotic Ice Beam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-T: 164-196 (99.3 - 118.7%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

 

[DragonWhale]

Voting time! Put your votes in bold

manga team : 3-attacks Mega Latias
thecrystalonix : Mega Venusaur
teamjohto : Bisharp
ethan06 : Gastrodon
GateCreeper : Rocky Helmet Cresselia
6tennis : Manual Weather Mega Swampert
bobochan : Mirror Coat Assault Vest Milotic

I'll edit this later with a vote :P

 

[Flamedood]

Was caught between M-Latias and M-Swampert but I'm going to have to go with manga team- Latias is an extremely underrated mega imo (especially it's "cro-tias" set) and unlike Swampert doesn't get chunked by eq or hindered by intimidate- although it doesn't appreciate any Manectrics carrying thunderwave, it still has the bulk and recovery to pull through

 

[Mishimono]

sorry I reserved something and never did it sorry I forgot about this :(. Anyway my vote goes GTennis it doesn't give a crap about Manectric and can easily 2HKO Landous-T

 

[Benzi]

I vote for teamjohto, unless the opposite team has godlike prediction and luck they are going to get hammered almost every time.

 

[GateCreeper]

My vote goes to thecrystalonix. Mega Venu has a really good time against these two. It doesn't mind Knock Off from Lando-T, and VoltTurn doesn't bother it either. It is also a pretty underrated mega that I don't prepare for 99.999% of the times when I make a team. Slapping a Talonflame on your team does not mean your team can handle Mega Venu...

 

[cant say]

Gastrodon for me, so I'm voting for ethan06. OHKOes both and takes poultry damage in return (allowing it to Recover easily). Not taking a mega slot put it ahead of Mega Venusaur for me, but M-Venu is no joke.

 

[GroudonEmpire]

My vote goes to thecrystalonix. Mega Venu has a really good time against these two. It doesn't mind Knock Off from Lando-T, and VoltTurn doesn't bother it either. It is also a pretty underrated mega that I don't prepare for 99.999% of the times when I make a team. Slapping a Talonflame on your team does not mean your team can handle Mega Venu...

Vote for thecrystalonix too.
For above and the fact that ferro (sometimes scizor but mainly ferro) and bulky waters (always) are on the same team as these two and are typically the 3rd members ferro suicune etc. HP fire Mega Venusaur is GG

 

[bobochan]

Chucking a vote for ethan06 and his Gastrodon of the EAST (way better than the girly West).
Although not nominated, Scizor makes a fantastic partner for being able to take on Landorus-T with some defense investment.
Gastrodon easily counters Mega Manectric, who is a huge threat for Scizor while also grabbing free boosts from Scalds and take on BRO.
Mega Venu was a really close call, having immunity to Toxic which is nice, would seen a lot more usage if it weren't for Talon and Mence.

 

[teamjohto]

gonna vote for bobochan.

Competitive on Milotic is criminally underrated in a meta where intimidate and other stat drops are the name of the game.

milotic isn't going to appreciate the damage Volt Switch deals to it but the boosting you get from every switch the opponent makes is worth it.

I'm personally not a fan of assault vest milotic cause recover is such a crucial move to have on a pokemon that tanky, but to each their own.

 

[NOVED]

voting for thecrystalonix
Mega venu is actually viable and works well against these two. It's also really underprepared for cause you cant always deal with it the same ways you would other grass types. Solid mon, i like it.

 

[DragonWhale]

thecrystalonix wins this week's break that core with their Mega Venusaur nomination! I swear that thing refuses to die against a lot of teams.

This week we will focus on an annoying pairing in the Battle Spot Singles format: Thundurus + Glalie!

Glalie is the infamous devil for setting up moody boosts constantly over multiple turns, and nothing helps it more than setting up against a paralyzed opponent. Thundurus helps greatly in this regard thanks to its prankster Thunder Wave, as well as scaring away a lot of common Taunters like Talonflame. Timer stalling is not an uncommon method players use to beat Glalie, so if your nomination takes into account timer stalling, don't forget to mention it as well as the conditions required to break the tie in your favor!

Happy posting!

 

[6tennis]

John Cena (Heracross-Mega) (M) @ Heracronite
Ability: Skill Link
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pin Missile
- Close Combat
- Rock Blast
- Bullet Seed

Simple, yet effective. Comes in on almost all of their attacks, then clicks Rock Blast.

252+ Atk Mega Heracross Rock Blast (5 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Glalie: 440-520 (120.8 - 142.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Mega Heracross Rock Blast (5 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Thundurus: 530-630 (146.4 - 174%) -- guaranteed OHKO

 

[teamjohto]

Mamoswine @ Choice Scarf
Adamant Nature
Thick Fat
252 ATK/ 252 SPE/ 4 HP

Ice Shard
Icicle Crash/Icicle Spear
Earthquake
Stone Edge

I would've chosen a dedicated Rock Type but that Prankster Thunder Wave is annoying man. And Mamoswine is just excellent when it comes to Genie slaying.

But I don't know why so few people run stone edge or rock slide on Mamo (less than 12% usage last I checked), but Rock coverage is excellent, especially on mamoswine to deal with threats that would normally force him out.

not much to say though, Choice Scarf lets you get your hit off before Thundurus can cause any real damage with Grass Knot, and Glalie can't do much to touch you except go boom with explosion. So just bop him with Stone Edge as well before you even see a Moody boost, no switching out required so you can afford to stay in against both opponents with Stone Edge.

252+ Atk Mamoswine Stone Edge vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Glalie: 152-180 (97.4 - 115.3%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Mamoswine Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Thundurus: 166-196 (107.7 - 127.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

 

[bobochan]

Smeargle @ Focus Sash
Ability: Moody
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Baton Pass
- Shell Smash
- Spore
- Protect

Espeon @ White Herb
Ability: Magic Bounce
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Stored Power
- Morning Sun

One of the best ways to combat Moody, is to use Moody yourself.
Smeargle best pairs up with Espeon, being Baton Pass buddies and all.
Protect is on Smeargle to scout for potential Taunt from Thundurus.
White Herb removes negative boosts from Shell Smash and Moody.

 

[NOVED]

Sylveon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball
- Baton Pass

Sylveon can take hits from thundurus and easily beat it 1v1. And hyper voice destroys glalie's main tool to abuse moody by hitting through substitutes. Granted, you have to dodge a sheer cold or two, but the odds are in your favor.

252 SpA Life Orb Thundurus Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Sylveon: 78-94 (38.6 - 46.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Thundurus: 177-208 (114.1 - 134.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

4 SpA Thundurus Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Sylveon: 51-60 (25.2 - 29.7%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Thundurus: 121-144 (65 - 77.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery

0 SpA Glalie Frost Breath vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Sylveon on a critical hit: 34-42 (16.8 - 20.7%) -- possible 5HKO
+2 0 SpA Glalie Frost Breath vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Sylveon on a critical hit: 67-81 (33.1 - 40%) -- 100% chance to 3HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 172 HP / 84 SpD Glalie: 159-187 (89.8 - 105.6%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. +2 172 HP / 84 SpD Glalie: 79-94 (44.6 - 53.1%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

 

[ethan06]

Terrakion @ Lum Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 220 Atk / 36 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Sacred Sword
- Stone Edge / Rock Tomb
- Substitute / Earthquake

Specifically designed to dodge Thunder Wave with Lum Berry and ignore Moody boosts altogether with Sacred Sword. All that needs to happen is no Stone Edge miss and a Sheer Cold dodge once you've worn Glalie down and you're golden. A little bit of spdef investment allows you to do this, in case the Glalie player decides not to risk the Sheer Cold:

+6 4 SpA Glalie Freeze-Dry vs. 0 HP / 36 SpD Terrakion: 139-165 (83.7 - 99.3%)

Best paired with a strong Electric type, like Raikou or Thundurus-T, who can come in on Thundurus's T-Wave if Stone Edge misses and pivot out again with Volt Switch. Theoretically, though, in a bast-case scenario Terrakion comes out on top :]

 

[cant say]

well since 6tennis rudely stole Heracross from me (albeit using a terrible max/max spread, use 162 HP / 252 Atk / 92 Spe so you aren't 2HKOed by non-LO Thundurus and still out speed Cresselia you nub), I tried to come up with something creative like Psycho Shift and/or Calm Mind Mega Alakazam / Gardevoir but I'm just gonna do something standard so I can maybe actually get votes this week

Conkeldurr @ Assault Vest
Ability: Guts / Iron Fist
EVs: 220 HP / 252 Atk / 36 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Knock Off

So this guy can come in on these guys and KO them which is what you want, right? Guts takes advantage of the Para (and any other status that gets flung around like burns etc.) but you can opt for Iron Fist if you want reliable power. Guts makes Conk a great status absorber though so its preferred and burn is so crazy common :(

Ice Punch + Mach Punch KOes Life Orb Thund, you'll want to run Iron Fist or get Para'd if you want to OHKO / get passed Sitrus Berry / bulky varients easier though.

As for Glalie, you'll want to Mach Punch it if if doesn't have a Sub up so that you can chunk as much health off as possible. If it has a Sub up then either Mach Punch or Drain Punch will break it easy. This does allow Glalie to stall a few turns by SubProtect stalling but as long as you keep breaking its Subs then it won't have a chance to attack you. Glalie can only beat Conkeldurr by managing to keep an intact Sub so that it can fish for Sheer Cold hits or whittle Conk down with Frost Breath, this requires free turns in the form of parahax and/or evasion boosts. Usually though, Conk should be able to break through.

the calcs

Defensive Calcs:

• 252 SpA Life Orb Thundurus Thunderbolt vs. 220 HP / 36 SpD Assault Vest Conkeldurr: 87-103 (41.8 - 49.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

• 0 SpA Glalie Frost Breath vs. 220 HP / 36 SpD Assault Vest Conkeldurr on a critical hit: 39-46 (18.7 - 22.1%) -- possible 5HKO
• +2 0 SpA Glalie Frost Breath vs. 220 HP / 36 SpD Assault Vest Conkeldurr on a critical hit: 76-91 (36.5 - 43.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
• +4 0 SpA Glalie Frost Breath vs. 220 HP / 36 SpD Assault Vest Conkeldurr on a critical hit: 114-135 (54.8 - 64.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Offensive Calcs:

• 252+ Atk Conkeldurr Ice Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Thundurus: 134-158 (86.4 - 101.9%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
• 252+ Atk Conkeldurr Mach Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Thundurus: 27-32 (17.4 - 20.6%) -- possible 7HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery

• 252+ Atk Conkeldurr Ice Punch vs. 236 HP / 4 Def Thundurus: 122-144 (71.7 - 84.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ Atk Guts Conkeldurr Ice Punch vs. 236 HP / 4 Def Thundurus: 196-232 (106.5 - 126%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 252+ Atk Iron Fist Conkeldurr Ice Punch vs. 236 HP / 4 Def Thundurus: 158-186 (85.8 - 101%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO

• 252+ Atk Conkeldurr Ice Punch vs. 236 HP / 240+ Def Thundurus: 90-108 (48.9 - 58.6%) -- 5.1% chance to 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
• 252+ Atk Guts Conkeldurr Ice Punch vs. 236 HP / 240+ Def Thundurus: 136-162 (73.9 - 88%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
• 252+ Atk Iron Fist Conkeldurr Ice Punch vs. 236 HP / 240+ Def Thundurus: 110-130 (59.7 - 70.6%) -- 84.8% chance to 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery

• 252+ Atk Conkeldurr Mach Punch vs. 172 HP / 0 Def Glalie: 98-116 (55.3 - 65.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 252+ Atk Conkeldurr Drain Punch vs. 172 HP / 0 Def Glalie: 180-212 (101.6 - 119.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

 

[GroudonEmpire]

Substitute to eat up free OHKO moves and block Swagger when up +

the decent chance of Frost Breath missing in the span of at least 5 turns +

accuracy drops from moody affecting frost breath +

Pressure which kills both Frost Breath and Sheer Cold accuracy MEGA FAST +

Electric Typing to remain immune from Paralysis +

Being Naturally Faster than both Serperior (these teams typically have both serp and thundy to assist glalie) and Thundurus-I +

Resisting the only attacking-move Thundurus-I that is paired with Glalie runs, Tbolt +

Calm Mind to buff up spatt and SPDEF so thunderbolts struggle to break our own subs +

Hp Ice for Serperior +

A ton of greatness aside from all stated above while NOT requiring a MEGA SLOT

I present to you:

Raikou @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 12 HP / 244 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Substitute
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Calm Mind

Don't ask me about ev spread because pretty much all the common variants of Raikou on japanese blogs have this spread. I don't know what it accomplishes and I personally prefer a more hp-invested spread but I've found from experience that this more offensive spread is probably superior. I've faced 1600+ Rated Thundurus who forfeit games vs Raikou with 2 Pokemon in the back and at other times complete 3-0s. Some of my stream archives include such battles as DragonWhale has witnessed and ethan06 witnessed another incident all within the same week iirc. Raikou can even survive leaf storm from serperior and 2hko with an offensive spread using hp ice which makes common Paralysis Support+Glalie fail vs this majestic beast!

 

[DragonWhale]

Voting time! Put your votes in bold.

6tennis : Mega Heracross
teamjohto : Choice Scarf Stone Edge Mamoswine
bobochan : Moody Shell Smash Smeargle + White Herb Stored Power Espeon
NOVED : Choice Specs Sylveon
ethan06 : Lum Berry Terrakion
cant say : AV Conkeldurr
GroudonEmpire : Sub Calm Mind Raikou

My vote goes to cant say. Not relying on low accuracy moves is really nice, and also not being locked into a move is really good as well.

 

[tko]

gonna vote for cant say. its bulk makes it so that thundurus does not do much, and glalie also isnt paired well with it, and it is not choice locked giving it a bit more freedom

 

[cant say]

I was gonna vote for Sylveon coz hitting through Glalie's Subs means it pretty much can't be used at all, but then GroudonEmpire comes along with his Raikou post and opens my eyes to its power! I think I have to slot Raikou into my next team somehow coz all I'm hearing is positive stuff so far. It basically walls Thundurus which allows it to Sub up and Calm Mind. Glalie can't do anything without speed and (a lot of) special attack boosts so you can just overpower it with Thunderbolt or use the predictable SubProtect stalling to get even more Calm Mind boosts.

 

[Benzi]

Have to go with GroundonEmpire since it can't be haxed by para and does not have to hit shaky accuracy moves.

 

[bobochan]

Voting GroudonEmpire's extremely standard sub CM Raikou-chan.
Raikou is a huge threat on its own and Pressure is the key here when beating up Moody Glalie.
Be careful of confusion hax from Swagger, otherwise you're sweet (especially since Glalie can't touch you.
Volt Switch variants form a nice partnership with Lando-T for some nice VoltTurn core (which I personally use).
Make sure to demolish that like button as it really shows the support~