Approved by Sweep
Original thread by Halcyon
Good Cores Thread: ORAS Edition v2 by Gareth De Voir
So this checks Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, Extreme Killer Arceus, Ho-Oh, Yveltal, Latios and Latias, Xerneas, Zekrom, and probably some Pokemon I'm forgetting as well. Regular Salamence is unconventional but still very viable as it checks Ho-Oh and Primal Groudon in one slot, as well as Extreme Killer Arceus. Primal Groudon is the objective best Pokemon that's legal in Ubers, and it gives the team Stealth Rock and a good way to handle Xerneas. Mega Diancie rounds it out by providing a check to Latios and Latias and things like Yveltal and Earthquake-less Ho-Oh as well as giving you Heal Bell.
The draw of using this core comes less from its ability to check many Pokemon and more from its utility all-around; it provides teams with a cleric, wish passer, Stealth Rock, and one or two forms of hazard control in the form of three Pokemon while still handling most high-ranked threats, something I challenge anyone else to create in a core. It has a few notable weaknesses such as the uncommon Draco Meteor / Earthquake / Dragon Ascent / Extreme Speed Rayquaza, and Mewtwo if it manages to wear Groudon out. Primal Kyogre can threaten the team if it comes in on Primal Groudon, but this shouldn't happen too often. Calm Mind Arceus-Ghost could serve as a threat if the rest of the team doesn't handle it well, but it generally doesn't want to set up on any of these Pokemon. Arceus-Ground threatens it, of course.
It's important to note that Groudon is the least crucial member of the core. It was simply chosen for role compression as a Xerneas/Kyogre check, and it can really be dropped for anything else that checks Kyogre. Latias can provide Defog so it doesn't have to be run on Salamence or a different teammate, and Latios gives what looks like a stall core a more offensive tilt. Ferrothorn could be run over Groudon to give you a little more insurance against Latios and Latias while still providing Stealth Rock and checking Kyogre. Potentially even something like Palkia could be run in Groudon's place.
Good teammates include Pokemon like Ho-Oh to check Calm Mind Arceus-Ground, Latias to serve as an additional Water resist and backup Primal Groudon check, Arceus-Dark to handle Mewtwo and Rayquaza, and Tentacruel to serve as a Water resist, hazard control, and Dialga switch-in that provides Toxic Spikes. Running another soft-check to Mega Salamence such as Giratina-O or really any support Arceus that doesn't clash with the core type-wise is also probably cool.
That's clearly an offensive one, I think that I haven't to say much about that core since it speaks by itself, but Ill introduce it a bit. One of Ho-Oh's biggest flaws as you guys already know is the huge weakness to Stealth Rock and Mega Diancie with Magic Bounce mitigates it a bit. Ho-Oh helps Diancie too as it forces out Scizor and other Steel-type mons which threatnens Diancie, that is cool because it can 2HKO Pdon with Earth Power even if it's running a SDef set so Ho-Oh can spam its STAB fire more easily. Also Ho-Oh covers the weakness to ground that Diancie has, while the latter can switch-in on some Rock-type attacks (don't forget that it hasn't a really good bulk, though). Another niche that Diancie has is that it can revenge-kill SD Rayquaza if it can live an +2 ES, which is always nice as Rayquaza becomes a more dangerous pokèmon in ORAS. The core has obviously problems with strong Water-type attackers like Primal Kyogre and CM Arceus Water, therefore probably the best teammate for it are Primal Groudon to have a safe switch-in on strong Water-type attacks and one Lati Twin to act as a defogger in case Diancie can't prevent Stealth Rock and as well as another check to Primal Kyogre and other Water-type mons. I forget to say that you can run another move instead of Protect on Diancie even if it's probably the best one in Ubers as it's difficult to mega-evolve in a safe way Diancie, but you can always try options like Calm Mind which help you against fat n bulky teams. However, I would always run Protect for the reason I explained before and I'll use a mon that can help against bulkier playstyles. Thats all I guess, thanks for reading and have fun using this core! :]
This core is very great, and can work in tandem to beat out common Ubers Pokemon like Arceus, Primal Groudon and Xerneas. In terms of offensive synergy, Mega Gengar is weak around Pokemon such as specially defensive Primal Groudon, and is weak to Ground-, Ghost-, Dark- and Psychic-types. This is where YGod comes in and is either immune to, resists, or can handle most of these weaknesses. Yveltal's main concern is Xerneas and Klefki, and Mega Gengar can deal with both of those quite nicely. Also, they can force out common hazard removers like Latios, Latias, and Giratina-O. Great for keeping hazards in their field!
Now this core is weak to Deoxys-A (if it's Sashed then that's a big problem) Klefki, Ho-oh and some others that can take them only on specific conditions like Primal Kyogre, Mega Diancie, Arceus, Zekrom and Choice Scarf Xerneas. Primal Groudon is a great teammate, boasting enough power and bulk to take on these said threats (it can even also set up Stealth Rock). Good teammates include hazard stacker cores like Klefki + Primal Groudon since these two forces out many hazard removers. Additional support against Xerneas is appreciated to alleviate pressure off Mega Gengar, who loses to Scarf variants if played with poorly.
Yveltal's moveset can be up to you, I guess, as it can still come as helpful anyways.
so i was building with skymin recently and i realized that refresh megamence is a great partner. skymins able to trash arceus-rock while making a notacable dent in primal-groudon or giritina. in return, mence provides a ho-oh check and a status absorber for shaymin and can set up on weakened mons. at this point, mence can set up once its checks are weakened and clean house. mence also really appreciates shaymin's healing wishes to get it back in action. core needs support getting past ice types and hazard control, which makes arceus-water a cool choice, as its the only mon that fits those two categories, while also checking stuff like pdon or dialga and spreading toxic to weaken the opposing team. cool
This core has been good since BW, albeit with different sets. EKiller lures out everyone's favorite Ho-Oh check in mence, as well as mauling Primal Groudon and PhysDef POgre that might have been used as Ho-Oh checks in different circumstances. Ho-Oh lures out those Pokemon for Ekiller in turn, as well as luring and essentially beating Pokemon like Shuca Tyranitar and Rockceus that might otherwise have checked Ekiller. Ho-Oh also checks troublesome Ghost Pokemon for EKiller, which is nice. Additionally, running the two on the same team is enough to handle Geomancy Xerneas, in most cases. There's almost nothing that can switch into one and still be healthy enough to beat the other. Sets are standard but can be tweaked... Choice Band or Sleep Talk LO Ho-Oh can be used over Thunder Wave if you feel weak to Darkrai but Thunder Wave is optimal otherwise, EKiller can be made a Refresh variant but you will have a much harder time breaking Rockceus.
The synergy between these two is pretty simple as well. Scarf Xerneas beats Ghostceus checks; it switches in on physdef yveltal multiple times, takes Darkrai's sleep and KOs it, flat-out beats Darkceus and Tyranitar, and even lures out annoying Ho-Ohs with Rock Slide. Ghostceus in turn wears Klefki down for Xerneas, and when used together they give a player what's typically enough to handle annoying dragons such as Mega Salamence and Latios as well as things such as EKiller. Ghostceus' set is standard while Xerneas' is EV'd to live a +1 Mega Salamence. Xerneas' set can be tweaked depending on your team's needs (running Aromatherapy somewhere on it, for instance) and Ghostceus can be made SD if you go for that sorta thing.
Original thread by Halcyon
Good Cores Thread: ORAS Edition v2 by Gareth De Voir
Good Ubers Cores for All Generations!
(All credit goes to Sobi for the great banner!)
In the process of teambuilding, a strong core is a key component to make the process easier, and give the team a good back bone. This thread will be used for the purpose of showing off some great cores! You may like this thread to show off some cool mons that you put together, or just to steal some ideas for your own teambuilding, whatever works for you. So what constitutes a good core? Two-three Pokemon that work very well together in terms of synergy or goal orientation. Basically any two or more Pokemon you've used to accomplish any goal for your team, be it defensive or offensive in nature. When you put a core in this thread, I will put it in the corresponding spot depending on the generation your core is in. Please label your core with the generation intended in bold writing to make it easier for me. Replays with the core in use is also highly recommended.
Good cores from the old thread-All Gen 6
So this checks Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, Extreme Killer Arceus, Ho-Oh, Yveltal, Latios and Latias, Xerneas, Zekrom, and probably some Pokemon I'm forgetting as well. Regular Salamence is unconventional but still very viable as it checks Ho-Oh and Primal Groudon in one slot, as well as Extreme Killer Arceus. Primal Groudon is the objective best Pokemon that's legal in Ubers, and it gives the team Stealth Rock and a good way to handle Xerneas. Mega Diancie rounds it out by providing a check to Latios and Latias and things like Yveltal and Earthquake-less Ho-Oh as well as giving you Heal Bell.
The draw of using this core comes less from its ability to check many Pokemon and more from its utility all-around; it provides teams with a cleric, wish passer, Stealth Rock, and one or two forms of hazard control in the form of three Pokemon while still handling most high-ranked threats, something I challenge anyone else to create in a core. It has a few notable weaknesses such as the uncommon Draco Meteor / Earthquake / Dragon Ascent / Extreme Speed Rayquaza, and Mewtwo if it manages to wear Groudon out. Primal Kyogre can threaten the team if it comes in on Primal Groudon, but this shouldn't happen too often. Calm Mind Arceus-Ghost could serve as a threat if the rest of the team doesn't handle it well, but it generally doesn't want to set up on any of these Pokemon. Arceus-Ground threatens it, of course.
It's important to note that Groudon is the least crucial member of the core. It was simply chosen for role compression as a Xerneas/Kyogre check, and it can really be dropped for anything else that checks Kyogre. Latias can provide Defog so it doesn't have to be run on Salamence or a different teammate, and Latios gives what looks like a stall core a more offensive tilt. Ferrothorn could be run over Groudon to give you a little more insurance against Latios and Latias while still providing Stealth Rock and checking Kyogre. Potentially even something like Palkia could be run in Groudon's place.
Good teammates include Pokemon like Ho-Oh to check Calm Mind Arceus-Ground, Latias to serve as an additional Water resist and backup Primal Groudon check, Arceus-Dark to handle Mewtwo and Rayquaza, and Tentacruel to serve as a Water resist, hazard control, and Dialga switch-in that provides Toxic Spikes. Running another soft-check to Mega Salamence such as Giratina-O or really any support Arceus that doesn't clash with the core type-wise is also probably cool.
Salamence @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Toxic
- Dragon Tail
- Wish / Defog
- Roost / Protect
Only use Protect if you're running Wish Dx
Diancie @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Quiet Nature
- Moonblast
- Toxic
- Heal Bell
- Diamond Storm
Protect is terrible stop using it oml
Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
EVs: 248 HP / 56 Def / 204 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Precipice Blades
- Roar
- Lava Plume
- Stealth Rock
Running Stealth Rock on Diancie over Toxic lets you run a Rock Polish set on Groudon, if you want it.
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Toxic
- Dragon Tail
- Wish / Defog
- Roost / Protect
Only use Protect if you're running Wish Dx
Diancie @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Quiet Nature
- Moonblast
- Toxic
- Heal Bell
- Diamond Storm
Protect is terrible stop using it oml
Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
EVs: 248 HP / 56 Def / 204 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Precipice Blades
- Roar
- Lava Plume
- Stealth Rock
Running Stealth Rock on Diancie over Toxic lets you run a Rock Polish set on Groudon, if you want it.
That's clearly an offensive one, I think that I haven't to say much about that core since it speaks by itself, but Ill introduce it a bit. One of Ho-Oh's biggest flaws as you guys already know is the huge weakness to Stealth Rock and Mega Diancie with Magic Bounce mitigates it a bit. Ho-Oh helps Diancie too as it forces out Scizor and other Steel-type mons which threatnens Diancie, that is cool because it can 2HKO Pdon with Earth Power even if it's running a SDef set so Ho-Oh can spam its STAB fire more easily. Also Ho-Oh covers the weakness to ground that Diancie has, while the latter can switch-in on some Rock-type attacks (don't forget that it hasn't a really good bulk, though). Another niche that Diancie has is that it can revenge-kill SD Rayquaza if it can live an +2 ES, which is always nice as Rayquaza becomes a more dangerous pokèmon in ORAS. The core has obviously problems with strong Water-type attackers like Primal Kyogre and CM Arceus Water, therefore probably the best teammate for it are Primal Groudon to have a safe switch-in on strong Water-type attacks and one Lati Twin to act as a defogger in case Diancie can't prevent Stealth Rock and as well as another check to Primal Kyogre and other Water-type mons. I forget to say that you can run another move instead of Protect on Diancie even if it's probably the best one in Ubers as it's difficult to mega-evolve in a safe way Diancie, but you can always try options like Calm Mind which help you against fat n bulky teams. However, I would always run Protect for the reason I explained before and I'll use a mon that can help against bulkier playstyles. Thats all I guess, thanks for reading and have fun using this core! :]
Ho-Oh @ Choice Band
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 208 Atk / 52 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Sacred Fire
- Earthquake
- Sleep Talk
Diancie @ Diancite
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Moon Blast
- Diamond Storm
- Earth Power
- Protect
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 208 Atk / 52 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Sacred Fire
- Earthquake
- Sleep Talk
Diancie @ Diancite
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Moon Blast
- Diamond Storm
- Earth Power
- Protect
This core is very great, and can work in tandem to beat out common Ubers Pokemon like Arceus, Primal Groudon and Xerneas. In terms of offensive synergy, Mega Gengar is weak around Pokemon such as specially defensive Primal Groudon, and is weak to Ground-, Ghost-, Dark- and Psychic-types. This is where YGod comes in and is either immune to, resists, or can handle most of these weaknesses. Yveltal's main concern is Xerneas and Klefki, and Mega Gengar can deal with both of those quite nicely. Also, they can force out common hazard removers like Latios, Latias, and Giratina-O. Great for keeping hazards in their field!
Now this core is weak to Deoxys-A (if it's Sashed then that's a big problem) Klefki, Ho-oh and some others that can take them only on specific conditions like Primal Kyogre, Mega Diancie, Arceus, Zekrom and Choice Scarf Xerneas. Primal Groudon is a great teammate, boasting enough power and bulk to take on these said threats (it can even also set up Stealth Rock). Good teammates include hazard stacker cores like Klefki + Primal Groudon since these two forces out many hazard removers. Additional support against Xerneas is appreciated to alleviate pressure off Mega Gengar, who loses to Scarf variants if played with poorly.
Yveltal's moveset can be up to you, I guess, as it can still come as helpful anyways.
Gengar @ Gengarite
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Taunt
- Destiny Bond
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
Yveltal @ Life Orb
Ability: Dark Aura
EVs: 24 HP / 48 Atk / 252 SpA / 184 Spe
Mild Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Oblivion Wing
- Sucker Punch
- Taunt / U-Turn
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Taunt
- Destiny Bond
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
Yveltal @ Life Orb
Ability: Dark Aura
EVs: 24 HP / 48 Atk / 252 SpA / 184 Spe
Mild Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Oblivion Wing
- Sucker Punch
- Taunt / U-Turn
so i was building with skymin recently and i realized that refresh megamence is a great partner. skymins able to trash arceus-rock while making a notacable dent in primal-groudon or giritina. in return, mence provides a ho-oh check and a status absorber for shaymin and can set up on weakened mons. at this point, mence can set up once its checks are weakened and clean house. mence also really appreciates shaymin's healing wishes to get it back in action. core needs support getting past ice types and hazard control, which makes arceus-water a cool choice, as its the only mon that fits those two categories, while also checking stuff like pdon or dialga and spreading toxic to weaken the opposing team. cool
Shaymin-Sky @ Life Orb
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Air Slash
- Seed Flare
- Healing Wish
- Earth Power
Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Return
- Roost
- Refresh
- Dragon Dance
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Air Slash
- Seed Flare
- Healing Wish
- Earth Power
Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Return
- Roost
- Refresh
- Dragon Dance
This core has been good since BW, albeit with different sets. EKiller lures out everyone's favorite Ho-Oh check in mence, as well as mauling Primal Groudon and PhysDef POgre that might have been used as Ho-Oh checks in different circumstances. Ho-Oh lures out those Pokemon for Ekiller in turn, as well as luring and essentially beating Pokemon like Shuca Tyranitar and Rockceus that might otherwise have checked Ekiller. Ho-Oh also checks troublesome Ghost Pokemon for EKiller, which is nice. Additionally, running the two on the same team is enough to handle Geomancy Xerneas, in most cases. There's almost nothing that can switch into one and still be healthy enough to beat the other. Sets are standard but can be tweaked... Choice Band or Sleep Talk LO Ho-Oh can be used over Thunder Wave if you feel weak to Darkrai but Thunder Wave is optimal otherwise, EKiller can be made a Refresh variant but you will have a much harder time breaking Rockceus.
TOO SIMPLE (Ho-Oh) @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 204 Atk / 52 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Sacred Fire
- Earthquake
- Thunder Wave
NIGHT RIDER (Arceus) @ Life Orb
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- ExtremeSpeed
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 204 Atk / 52 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Sacred Fire
- Earthquake
- Thunder Wave
NIGHT RIDER (Arceus) @ Life Orb
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- ExtremeSpeed
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
The synergy between these two is pretty simple as well. Scarf Xerneas beats Ghostceus checks; it switches in on physdef yveltal multiple times, takes Darkrai's sleep and KOs it, flat-out beats Darkceus and Tyranitar, and even lures out annoying Ho-Ohs with Rock Slide. Ghostceus in turn wears Klefki down for Xerneas, and when used together they give a player what's typically enough to handle annoying dragons such as Mega Salamence and Latios as well as things such as EKiller. Ghostceus' set is standard while Xerneas' is EV'd to live a +1 Mega Salamence. Xerneas' set can be tweaked depending on your team's needs (running Aromatherapy somewhere on it, for instance) and Ghostceus can be made SD if you go for that sorta thing.
Xerneas @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 140 Def / 184 SpA / 184 Spe
Modest Nature
- Moonblast
- Grass Knot
- Rock Slide
- Sleep Talk
Arceus @ Spooky Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Judgment
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Calm Mind
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 140 Def / 184 SpA / 184 Spe
Modest Nature
- Moonblast
- Grass Knot
- Rock Slide
- Sleep Talk
Arceus @ Spooky Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Judgment
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Calm Mind
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