Good Cores
When building a new team one of the strongest starting points is a good core. Cores are typically made up of two or three of Pokemon that work well together in order to accomplish a specific goal. The majority of cores have a variety roles being fulfilled within them, allowing them to succeed in different areas. Depending on your team, cores can be built to be offensively or in a more balanced way. An offensive core is a group of Pokemon that are designed to enable the team to break through most other play styles. Whereas a balanced core will have a greater emphasis on providing support for a single, or multiple, attacker(s). There will not be space for defensive cores, as stall or more defensive play styles aren't viable. Having two support Pokemon on the field at the same time is enabling your opponent to get low risk damage. Keep in mind that a core of Thundurus and Mega Venusaur would be considered balanced as although they have decent bulk and support options, they are also used for their ability to offensively check Pokemon.
There are a few rules to follow:
1. When posting cores, please include an explanation. This should include details on the move choices, and any EV spreads that deviate from 252 / 252 spreads. Explain why these Pokemon work together, what support do they bring each other. These explanations don't need to be longer than a short paragraph.
2. No gimmicks, by this I mean unreliable strategies. This includes, but is not limited to: PerishTrap, Encore + Disable, Beat Up + Justified. Remember these are supposed to be good cores; reliable starting points for team building. In their unreliable nature gimmick based strategies aren't good.
3. Not completely necessary, but it would be preferred if you used the images from this site when posting your cores, for the sake of consistency.
Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf/Choice Specs/Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Earth Power/Protect
- Fire Blast/Protect
- Dark Pulse
Aegislash @ Leftovers/Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Wide Guard
- King's Shield
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
These two synergize really nicely together with Hydreigon being able to take out Ghost types that threaten Aegislash as well as opposing Hydreigon (if scarfed). Not to mention Earth Power is a decent check to Heatran while Fire Blast is pretty nice against Bisharp tho a bit unreliable. Aegislash helps with taking out opposing Fairy types, Ice types and Terrakions that threaten Hydreigon. Aegislash also provides Wide Guard support too for things like Icy Wind/Hyper Voice/Dazzling Gleam. However Bisharp is a huge problem to this core as well as speed control so you should watch out for that.
Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf/Choice Specs/Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Earth Power/Protect
- Fire Blast/Protect
- Dark Pulse
Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Substitute
- Protect
This core functions like the Aegislash-Hydreigon core, but Metagross has way more speed than Aegislash, which means that it supports Hydreigon better against Fairy types. Hydreigon can deal with ghost types for Metagross as well getting rid of other steel types for Metagross with Fire Blast/Earth Power, most notably Heatran and Bisharp, which helps a lot Metagross getting subs up. This core has trouble with Scrafty and bulky stuff like Suicune which can tank hits and can break Metagross subs with scald and if you don't go for sub you might get burned. A good team mate would be a fairy type, as you will have a nice DSF core.
Talonflame @ Charti Berry/Rocky Helmet
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 132 HP / 156 Atk / 84 Def / 4 SpD / 132 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Will-O-Wisp
- Tailwind
- Quick Guard / Flare Blitz / Taunt
Breloom @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Seed
- Mach Punch
- Spore
- Protect
This is a really good core. Talonflame sets up Tailwind and Breloom just outspeed and puts everything to sleep. Charti Berry helps Talonflame live a rock slide from Landorus and Terrakion, while Rocky Helmet can deal a nice damage to physical attackers.
The listed EV spread allows Talonflame to survive uninvested Rotom-W's Thunderbolt, non-STAB Thunderbolts, and Jolly Mega Salamence's Return. It also lets Talonflame survive Choice Band Talonflame's Brave Bird and KO the opposing Talonflame in return. The Speed EVs allow Talonflame to outspeed base 110 Speed Pokemon. More Speed investment can be used to outspeed Pokemon such as Mega Lucario or offensive Thundurus, in which case points can be taken out of Attack.
The two complement each other really well, and one pokémon alone usually can't break this core because of fast spores (Grass types don't like Brave Birds) but if your opponent gets a nice lead match up you're screwed, for example, if your opponent leads with pokémons that resist Breloom's STABs and that can put offensive pressure on your team like a combo of Mega Mence and Landorus can destroy this core, mainly because you can only put one mon to sleep (and because your 'mons are at least at -1 now) and they can deal a ton of damage to your team. Watch out for trick rooms users too. Good team mates are special attackers that can threaten intimidators and a good water type to get a nice FWG core.
Kangaskhan + Azumarill + Volcarona
I've used these three in the past personally and I can say that this is a very fun combo to use. The idea is to have Kangakshan provide a free setup for either Azumarill or Volcarona via Fake Out then try to plow through the opposing team as best as you can. Kangaskhan has a standard spread while Azumarill is meant to outspeed other Belly Drum Azumarill's by 2 points (to creep on the 20 speed Azumarill) and Volcarona is made to outspeed Jolly Scarf Landorus-T after a Quiver Dance. What's fun about this core is that each Pokemon has a set-up move that can turn them into a threat real fast, and they can each set up on each others counters. For example, Volcarona can set up Quiver Dances on Ferrothorn, Amoonguss, and Aegislash for Azumarill and Kangaskhan. Meanwhile, Kangaskhan can Power-Up Punch on Heatran and Tyranitar with relative ease for Volcarona and Azumarill gets a free Belly Drum off on Heatran for Volcarona as well. This core has a bit of a weakness to Mega Salamence which is why Tyranitar and Thundurus make solid partners.
I've used these three in the past personally and I can say that this is a very fun combo to use. The idea is to have Kangakshan provide a free setup for either Azumarill or Volcarona via Fake Out then try to plow through the opposing team as best as you can. Kangaskhan has a standard spread while Azumarill is meant to outspeed other Belly Drum Azumarill's by 2 points (to creep on the 20 speed Azumarill) and Volcarona is made to outspeed Jolly Scarf Landorus-T after a Quiver Dance. What's fun about this core is that each Pokemon has a set-up move that can turn them into a threat real fast, and they can each set up on each others counters. For example, Volcarona can set up Quiver Dances on Ferrothorn, Amoonguss, and Aegislash for Azumarill and Kangaskhan. Meanwhile, Kangaskhan can Power-Up Punch on Heatran and Tyranitar with relative ease for Volcarona and Azumarill gets a free Belly Drum off on Heatran for Volcarona as well. This core has a bit of a weakness to Mega Salamence which is why Tyranitar and Thundurus make solid partners.
Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Return
- Power-Up Punch
- Sucker Punch
Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
Level: 50
EVs: 228 HP / 252 Atk / 28 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Protect
Volcarona @ Lum Berry
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 68 HP / 252 SpA / 188 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Flamethrower
- Bug Buzz / Giga Drain
- Protect
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Return
- Power-Up Punch
- Sucker Punch
Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
Level: 50
EVs: 228 HP / 252 Atk / 28 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Protect
Volcarona @ Lum Berry
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 68 HP / 252 SpA / 188 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Flamethrower
- Bug Buzz / Giga Drain
- Protect
LO Virizion has become one of my favorite VGC mons simply because of its ability to do so many important things with one moveset, things that MegaMence really appreciates: checks the Competitive/Defiant duo in Milotic and Bisharp, respectively, something that pre-mega Mence really hates coming in on, beats most opposing Heatran variants with Close Combat (minus the rare Chople and Scarf variants), beats any T-Tar variant minus Scarf or DD sets with Ice Punch (you can still live one when at full if not boosted by DD) and can do a lot of damage to Rotom-Wash, perhaps even OHKO it when combined with LO Leaf Blade and whichever move Mence uses on it. Quick Guard provides excellent anti-priority support, whether it's to help its teammates dodge a Sucker Punch from Kanga/Bisharp, a support move from Thundy or Talonflame's Brave Bird. You could also opt for Stone Edge if your Zard Y matchup isn't favorable.
Meanwhile, Mega Mence removes Amoonguss and Mega Venusaur, two Pokes that Virizion absolutely despises.
Aegislash and Ice type moves pose a problem to these two, so Heatran is added to the core to provide a nifty 4x Ice Resistance and an offensive STAB capable of roasting Aegislash. Sub is also nice here because it'll prompt your opponent to double-target the Heatran slot, giving Mence, Virizion and whoever else is on your team more breathing room to cause damage to the opposition.
Mamoswine, especially Scarfed variants, has its way with this core, so possible teammates include bulky waters such as Rotom-W, Suicune or Milotic to form a nice FWG core.
Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 20 Atk / 236 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Protect
- Double-Edge
- Hyper Voice
- Draco Meteor
Virizion @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Leaf Blade
- Quick Guard/Stone Edge
- Protect
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
EVs: 44 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 204 Spe
Modest Nature
- Substitute
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Protect
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 20 Atk / 236 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Protect
- Double-Edge
- Hyper Voice
- Draco Meteor
Virizion @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Leaf Blade
- Quick Guard/Stone Edge
- Protect
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
EVs: 44 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 204 Spe
Modest Nature
- Substitute
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Protect
Mega Gardevoir + Infernape is a very good offensive core that pressures the opponent as Infernape kills the Gardevoir counters (for example Aegislash, Heatran and other steels) and provides Fake-Out support.
Sets:
Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psychic
- Encore / Disable / Imprison / Calm Mind / HP Ground
- Protect
Infernape @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 36 Atk / 220 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Overheat
- Close Combat
- Fake Out
- Protect / Encore / Faint / Quick Guard
Max Speed Gardevoir is the best choice together with Infernape as they both outspeed many common mons. The moveset is standard but the third slot is a filler move and not the most important imo. Encore is really good to suprise opponents who Protect against Infernapes Fake-Out or you can disable AV Landos Eq to support Infernape etc. You need Imprison for opposing Sylveons as you can't ohko it together with Infernape.
Infernape needs the Life Orb and the EV spread to ohko all common Gardevoir counters. You can decide between Protect and Encore but Protect is more important imo if you play Encore on gardevoir. Additionally, you can run Feint to break incoming protects or to break Wide Guards for Gardevoirs Hyper Voice. You can also choose Quick Guard to avoid Talonflames Brave Bird and prankster twave or swagger.
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze => Drought
EVs: 12 HP / 28 Def / 212 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Overheat
- Heat Wave
- Solar Beam
- Protect
Landorus-T @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Superpower
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
Charizard-Y is a very strong option for the Mega slot on a VGC team. It gives you ridiculously strong, sun-boosted STAB Fire-moves that threaten everything without a Fire-type resistance. Heat Wave offers strong spread damage, while Overheat works as a nuke to OHKO threats to your team. Drought Solar Beam gives you coverage to damage Watertanks and Rock-type Pokémon, that resist those Fire-type attacks.
The ability Drought also gives you a way to mess with opposing Sand or Rain teams and allows you to turn the moment in your favor, if used wisely.
The most common threats to Charizard-Y are opposing Rock Slide users like Landorus-T, Terrakion or Tyranitar and Pokémon that resist it's Fire + Grass-coverage like Heatran, Hydreigon or Mega Salamence. Less common checks include Pokémon like Entei, Garchomp, Mamoswine or Rotom-H. Charizard-Y's limited physical bulk also means, that strong physical attackers like Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Metagross or Talonflame can easily finish it after it has taken some chip damage.
The Special Defense is better, but also limited because of the low HP stat. It does allow it to take some special hits though. Bulky Thundurus-I can't OHKO you with Thunderbolt for example.
Additionally, Charizard-Y faces an awkward mirror match against opposing Charizard-Y, since it's offensive coverage is resisted.
The Charizard-Y EV spread is highly customizable. Personally, I prefer Speed + damage output over bulk, which is why I use this one. It's a simple offensive 252/252 spread with enough EVs moved from SpA to physical bulk to achieve this:
-1 252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 12 HP / 28 Def Mega Charizard Y: 128-154 (82.5 - 99.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252+ Atk Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 12 HP / 28 Def Mega Charizard Y: 129-153 (83.2 - 98.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
-1 252+ Atk Aerilate Mega Salamence Double-Edge vs. 12 HP / 28 Def Mega Charizard Y: 124-147 (80 - 94.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
-1 252+ Atk Landorus-T Rock Slide vs. 12 HP / 28 Def Mega Charizard Y: 120-144 (77.4 - 92.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
-1 252 Atk Garchomp Rock Slide vs. 12 HP / 28 Def Mega Charizard Y: 104-124 (67 - 80%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
-1 252+ Atk Choice Band Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 12 HP / 28 Def Mega Charizard Y: 97-115 (62.5 - 74.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
-1 252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 12 HP / 28 Def Mega Charizard Y: 128-154 (82.5 - 99.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252+ Atk Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 12 HP / 28 Def Mega Charizard Y: 129-153 (83.2 - 98.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
-1 252+ Atk Aerilate Mega Salamence Double-Edge vs. 12 HP / 28 Def Mega Charizard Y: 124-147 (80 - 94.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
-1 252+ Atk Landorus-T Rock Slide vs. 12 HP / 28 Def Mega Charizard Y: 120-144 (77.4 - 92.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
-1 252 Atk Garchomp Rock Slide vs. 12 HP / 28 Def Mega Charizard Y: 104-124 (67 - 80%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
-1 252+ Atk Choice Band Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 12 HP / 28 Def Mega Charizard Y: 97-115 (62.5 - 74.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Landorus-T is a great partner, because it has STAB Earthquake to threaten opposing Heatran, Terrakion and/or Entei.
Superpower gives you another option to KO Kangaskhan after some chip damage, if you want to preserve Charizard's Special Attack and is your best option against Hydreigon and Mamoswine. It also OHKO's non-Chople Berry Tyranitar, something that Earthquake can't do.
U-turn is for scouting, to create momentum, get out of dangerous situations while dealing chip damage and to cycle Intimidate.
Rock Slide is the best move in the metagame and needs no explanation, but for the sake of completion... it does deal at least chip damage to both opponents, has a very nice chance to flinch and threatens the Fire-types that resist Fire-, Grass- and Ground-moves like other Charizard-Y, Rotom-H and Talonflame. It is also useful to finish weakened Thundurus-I and Zapdos or to allow Charizard-Y to finish them with Heat Wave.
The ability Intimidate patches up Charizard's weak physical bulk and allows Charizard to stay around for longer. In exchange, Charizard's Drought neutralizes Landorus-T's weakness to Water-type attacks and Drought Solar Beam kills Watertanks for Landorus, that often carry Ice-type coverage to quickly KO it. Amoonguss and Breloom, two Pokémon that can be problematic for Landorus-T, are highly threatened by Charizard-Y and will think twice about switching in.
Simply spamming the spread moves Heat Wave and Earthquake/Rock Slide can be very effective with this core, because none of the common Wide Guard users have a great matchup against Charizard-Y/Landorus-T. Aegislash and Conkeldurr die to Overheat and Swampert dies to Solar Beam.
Add teammates that can deal with "double genie", Life Orb Bisharp and Mega Salamence, because those can be problematic matchups.
Conkeldurr deals with "double genie" pretty well, threatens Bisharp and allows you to pivot into a lot of the attacks that would be aimed at Charizard-Y/Landorus-T. It does nothing to improve your Mega Salamence matchup though.
Bulky Electric-types and Watertanks with Ice-coverage help against Salamence.
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Superpower / Knock Off
- U-turn
Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Def / 36 SpA / 164 SpD / 12 Spe
Calm Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
Landorus-T and Rotom-W are one of the most common balanced cores. Rotom-W being immune to Earthquake helps Landorus-T go for Earthquake without worry of hitting your own Pokemon. Landorus-T opts for a Choice Scarf to counteract its otherwise mediocre speed. With a Choice Scarf Landorus is comfortably able to run an Adamant nature maximizing its damage output. Superpower gives Landorus-T the ability to KO Pokemon, such as Terrakion and Mega Kangaskhan, without worry of Wide Guard. Knock Off allows Landorus to hit Ghost- and Psychic-types for super effective damage. Rotom-W can threaten opposing bulky Water-types with Thunderbolt. Landorus-T supports Rotom-W with Intimidate which furthers Rotom-W's overall bulk. The Defense EVs guarantee that Rotom-W can survive one Play Rough from Mega Mawile without Intimidate, whereas the Special Defense lets Rotom-W survive a Draco Meteor from Modest natured Choice Specs Hydreigon. The Speed is just a minor speed creep, for other Rotoms or Pokemon trying to speed creep Rotom-W. The remaining EV's went into Special Attack.
Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Play Rough
- Protect
- Sucker Punch / Knock Off
- Rock Slide / Iron Head / Substitute
Gothitelle @ Sitrus Berry / Mental Herb / Chesto Berry
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 HP / 12 Def / 244 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Psychic
- Protect / Rest
- Tickle / Taunt / Heal Pulse
Gothitelle and Mega Mawile form one of the best Trick Room cores. Mega Mawile is devastating under Trick Room, with its low Speed and monstrous Attack stat. Gothitelle only furthers this with its ability Shadow Tag, this allows Mega Mawile to safely pick up KOs without worrying about opposing Pokemon switching out. Shadow Tag and Intimidate also form a formidable combination, as the weakened physical attacker are stuck in unable to reset their weakened Attack stat. 0 IVs on both Mega Mawile and Gothitelle and their Brave and Quiet natures, respectively, maximize their Speed under Trick Room. Being faster under Trick Room priority is less of a concern, so Mawile can use Sucker Punch over Sucker Punch for more reliable damage. Rock Slide let's Mawile hit the Fire-types it otherwise can't hit. Play Rough is able to OHKO both neutral and super effective targets, this lessens the need for Iron Head to be run at all. Substitute can be run to block status moves like Will-O-Wisp and Spore. Gothitelle can make use of Rest to provide immediate and total recovery. Tickle when lowers an opposing Pokemon's Defense and its Attack by one stage, combined with Shadow Tag these drop are almost irreversible, giving Mega Mawile an easier time sweeping. Taunt can prevent Trick Room from being reversed, as well as shutting down Aegislash which is the biggest threat to this core. Heal Pulse can be used to keep Mawile and other Pokemon on your team healthy. Hydreigon makes a good partner to this core as it can take on the biggest threats, Ghost-, Steel-, and Fire-types. Hariyama and other Trick Room Pokemon are obvious additions.
Clefable @ Sitrus Berry / Rocky Helmet / Leftovers (Item dependant on what the rest of the team uses, but Sitrus is preferred)
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 28 SpA / 68 SpD / 4 Spe
Nature: Bold
- Follow Me
- Ice Beam
- Protect
- Helping Hand
Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate --> Aeriliate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe (Note: EV Spread may be optimized depending on the rest of your team, to survive certain attacks the team may struggle with)
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Protect
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
Bisharp @ Life Orb / Focus Sash
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Knock Off
- Protect
Oh the good old Drag / Fair / Steel core, back from it's peak usage in 2014. Dragons have a new friend to play with in the form of Mega Salamence, with a devastating 145 base attack and Aerilate to fire up those Returns to horrifyingly high levels. Let's look at each of the Pokemon individually.
Salamence - With Intimidate and a whopping 130 base Def., it can switch in to Landorus-T and setup all it wants. Dragon Dance is the main reason to use this set, as even at +1 attack it can OHKO 4 HP Kang ( +1 252 Atk Aerilate Mega Salamence Return vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Kangaskhan: 184-217 (101.6 - 119.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO. ) Roost is preferred over the second attack of Earthquake or Rock Slide because Flying is simply such a good offensive type on it's own, and Roost helps scout for/live HP Ices that would have KO'd Salamence if it wasn't for the loss of Flying type ( Before Roost: 252 SpA Life Orb Thundurus Hidden Power Ice vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mega Salamence: 192-229 (112.9 - 134.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO | After Roost: 252 SpA Life Orb Thundurus Hidden Power Ice vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mega Salamence: 96-114 (56.4 - 67%) -- guaranteed 2HKO) as well as general survivability.
Clefable - (EVs stolen from Angel Miranda, blog here ) Clefable is used as a great way to support Salamence, utilising it's staple move, Follow Me. Redirection + Set Up is such a powerful strategy at the moment, so Clefable supports Salamence blissfully. Unaware is the preferred ability, as although it may have negative synergy with Salamence's Intimidate, it helps against opposing Set Up sweepers, namely PuP Mega Kangaskhan and BD Azumarill. Sitrus is the chosen item as it allows Clefable a quick burst of HP when it needs it, but Leftovers or Rocky Helmet can be used also. EV spread, as explained in Angel's blog allows it to always survive +1 Bisharp's Iron Head (+0 because of Unaware) and Aegislash's Flash Cannon, whilst also OHKOing 4 HP Landorus.
Bisharp - Not much to say on Bisharp, considering it's a pretty standard set. The item is once again dependent on the rest of the team, but Life Orb is my personal preferred item. Bisharp's role is to complete the Fair / Drag / Steel core as well as provide Defiant support. In a VGC 2015 metagame so filled with Intimidate users that want to shut down Salamence as soon as possible, Bisharp scares them off at the possibility of giving it a +1 boost. It also provides the core with some excellent but at-times-hard-to-use priority in Sucker Punch.
I've had a lot of fun with this core, and I hope you do too :]
Breloom @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Seed
- Mach Punch
- Spore
- Protect
Liepard @ Rocky Helmet/Mental Herb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Foul Play/Knock Off
- Encore
- Swagger/Taunt/Thunder Wave
- Fake Out
I loved this core a lot back in VGC 2013 and even though Liepard lost the Dark Gem, which weakened it a bit, it's still pretty viable with Rocky Helmet/Mental Herb. The purpose of this core is to disrupt your opponent as Liepard has one of the fastest Fake Outs in the game while Breloom has access to the fastest Spore. From then on, you disrupt your opponent with SwagPlay and Encore which can easily allow you to control the game and force your opponents to make plays/risks they otherwise would not make. These disruptions will allow you to easily set up with your teammate such as PUPing with Kanga.
Milotic @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Competitive
EVs: 236 HP / 156 Def / 100 SpA / 12 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Icy Wind
- Ice Beam
- Scald
- Protect
Arcanine @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Atk / 148 Def / 4 SpD / 60 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
- ExtremeSpeed
Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 HP / 148 Def / 104 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Sleep Powder
- Protect
A traditional FWG core that has seen a bit of growing traction given what i've seen, these three offer a fairly decent Balanced core with a slight bias on defense.
Arcanine can come in with either two, pulling off an intimidate to help supplement either teammate's bulk. Both teammates also don't mind receiving an intimidate themselves, especially Milotic who receives a nice Special Attack boost. Arcanine can continue to spread status once it's on the field, or go straight for Offense using Flare Blitz. Extremespeed can be used to get in front of weakened threats and net a nice KO.
Milotic can help with speed control, using Icy Wind to force switches by your opponent. Scald helps Milotic score some burn hits, while Ice Beam can help take down Landorus-T and Mega Salamence. Sitrus berry helps Milotic stay longer on the field. Scald can be taken off for Hydro Pump if you're aiming for more power, or are using a support Arcanine.
Mega Venusaur has proven to be a rather Anti-Meta choice so far, with it's considerable bulk and access to Giga Drain a tough kill. Putting it into play with Arcanine means you have a nice resistance to Fairy Type moves (such as Hyper Voice Sylveon). The EV spread allows Venusaur to even out its defenses and Maximise bulk, as well as allow it to speed creep on other uninvested mons in its speed tier. Giga drain allows Venusaur to keep itself in play longer, and Sludge Bomb hits other grass types and Fairies for large chunks (in particular Whimsicott will take a hefty blow). Sleep powder allows Venusaur to provide some utility, as a sleeping foe is a vunerable foe.
This core would be complimented quite well by Offensive teammates, as this core focuses on Bulk. Tailwind support could be handy to help this team get the jump on other opponents while allowing you retain much of your bulk outside of Tailwind.
You have probably seen this core before (iirc lucariojr even made a NB report on a team with this core in it), and it is quite neat. Char Y provides sun which helps Rhyperior against Water-types, and nukes everything with a Grass-typing. Cresselia gives Helping Hand support to make the spread attacks from the other two hit harder than you thought was possible, and also provides TR support for Rhyperior, which also can be nice for bulky Char Y, in addition to beating Landorus-T for Char Y with Ice Beam. Rhyperior doesn't really help the other two with much, the core is more about supporting Rhyperior and not Rhyperior supporting others. Also notice that Char Y and Cresselia allow Rhyperior to spam Earthquake without any worries.
When it comes to partners for this core, Scrafty is an obvious choice, providing Fake Out and beating everything barrring Bug-types that threaten Cresselia. Venusaur in a double mega team also works well, as regular Chlorophyll Venusaur is good under sun, and M-Venu helps beat rain. Heatran helps against the Fairy-type matchup, and works well on sun teams due to its Fire-typing. If you still live in January Bisharp works too for patching up some weak points, but frankly Scrafty+a Steel-type is better, although Bisharp provides better Lando-T matchup and uses one slot only.
Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
Level: 50
EVs: 156 HP / 220 Def / 100 SpA / 4 SpD / 28 Spe
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave
- Solar Beam
- Fire Blast
- Protect
Cresselia (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP / 172 Def / 20 SpA / 92 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Psychic
- Ice Beam
- Helping Hand
- Trick Room
Rhyperior @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Solid Rock
Level: 50
EVs: 164 HP / 180 Atk / 28 Def / 132 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Ice Punch
- Protect
Ability: Blaze
Level: 50
EVs: 156 HP / 220 Def / 100 SpA / 4 SpD / 28 Spe
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave
- Solar Beam
- Fire Blast
- Protect
Cresselia (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP / 172 Def / 20 SpA / 92 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Psychic
- Ice Beam
- Helping Hand
- Trick Room
Rhyperior @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Solid Rock
Level: 50
EVs: 164 HP / 180 Atk / 28 Def / 132 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Ice Punch
- Protect
Heatran @ Shuca Berry / Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
EVs: 44 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 204 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave / Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Flash Cannon / Substitute / Ancient Power / Overheat
- Protect
Cresselia @ Safety Goggles / Sitrus Berry / Leftovers / Mental Herb
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP / 172 Def / 4 SpA / 92 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind / Helping Hand / Safeguard / Skill Swap
- Psychic
- Icy Wind / Ice Beam / Moonblast
- Moonlight / Thunder Wave / Trick Room
(Yeah, i used Platinum Sprites. Wanna fight about it?)
Well, Mr. Typing of the Year award and Miss Bulk of the Year and Support of the Year awards have amazing synergy together, both offensively and defensively, and support wise as well. Heatran is a Fire / Steel type that can get rid of any Pokemon that Cresselia can't break, mainly Steel-types, but it also scares away Fairies which are usually Specially Defensive. Cresselia, in the other hand, can do A LOT of things for Heatran. And i mean A LOT!
First of all, Cresselia resist 2 of Heatran's main weaknesses, these being Ground and Fighting, and can scare Pokemon that has these typings with the Super Effective coverage Ice Beam and Psychic provides, doing a lot of damage to Pokemon like Landorus-T, Conkeldurr, Terrakion, Breloom, and the list goes on.
It also provides crucial speed control Heatran needs to succeed, as its base 77 Speed leaves it in a very vulnerable speed tier. Cresselia learns 3 different speed control methods. YEAH, THREE.
Cresselia can slow down Pokemon like Landorus-T, Thundurus and Mega Salamence with Icy Wind, while hitting these Pokemon for decent chip damage Heatran appreciates to score KOs. On the other hand, Thunder Wave, even when it's really passive, it's a speed control method that last for the entire match, making Heatran have a better standing against Pokemon like Terrakion, Hydreigon or Breloom. Lastly, Trick Room makes Cresselia shine brighter as it sits at a below-than-average speed tier (base 85), making it a really dangerous Pokemon under Trick Room. Heatran is really slow as well, so it also benefits it in its matchup against Kangaskhan, Landorus-T and Terrakion.
Finally, Cresselia can support Heatran with other support options, such as Helping Hand, Skill Swap and Safeguard. Helping Hand makes Heatran score ridiculous OHKOs against Pokemon such as Amoonguss, Mega Gardevoir and Sylveon, while Safeguard... ehh, let's say Safeguard stop Thundurus' Swagger shenanigans from going on later in the match. Lastly, Skill Swap gives Heatran Levitate, and can also mess up with opposing Pokemon's abilities.
The EV spread in Heatran allows it to outspeed neutral nature base 70s, while maximizing its offensive power and with that little defensive investment, take important attacks such as Landorus-T's Earthquake (with Shuca) and -1 Mega Kangaskhan's Low Kick. On the other hand, the EV spread on Cresselia allows it to take Bisharp's Knock Off 100% of the time, survive 3 Brave Birds from Talonflame, and outspeed 4 Spe Rotom forms.
So I noticed that this core hasn't been listed yet, which is a shame because they have obviously made a huge impact on the VGC 15' format. What makes these two so effective is the sheer amount of options that they present for the player. Offensive pressure, speed control, damage control, shifting momentum, and board positioning are among the many possibilities they offer. Thundurus is usually bulky to be able to spread around Paralysis which coincides with Landorus-T's Rock Slide to reduce your opponent's chance of pulling off a move that turn. Landorus-T can go several routes such as: Assault Vest, Choice Band, and Focus Sash. I chose Choice Scarf for this instance as it gives you a better matchup against Charizard-Y. As for the spreads, Thundurus is designed to live a Choice Specs Draco Meteor from Modest Hydreigon and outspeed max speed positive speed natured Smeargle. Landorus-T is designed to outspeed Naive Blaziken after a speed boost, survive a +1 Life Orb Bisharp, and a HP ice from 252 SpAtk neutral natured Thundurus-I.
Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 236 HP / 204 SpD / 68 Spe
Calm Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt / Swagger
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 164 HP / 140 Atk / 4 Def / 28 SpD / 172 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
- U-turn / Stone Edge
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 236 HP / 204 SpD / 68 Spe
Calm Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt / Swagger
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 164 HP / 140 Atk / 4 Def / 28 SpD / 172 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
- U-turn / Stone Edge
Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP, 4 Def, 172 Sp. Atk, 4 Sp. Def, 76 Speed
Nature: Modest
- Shadow Ball
- King's Shield
- Substitute
- Flash Cannon
Togekiss @ Saftey Goggles / Sitrus Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP, 52 Def, 4 Sp. Atk, 116 Sp. Def, 76 Speed
Nature: Calm
- Air Slash
- Tailwind
- Follow Me
- Thunder Wave / Protect
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP, 4 Def, 172 Sp. Atk, 4 Sp. Def, 76 Speed
Nature: Modest
- Shadow Ball
- King's Shield
- Substitute
- Flash Cannon
Togekiss @ Saftey Goggles / Sitrus Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP, 52 Def, 4 Sp. Atk, 116 Sp. Def, 76 Speed
Nature: Calm
- Air Slash
- Tailwind
- Follow Me
- Thunder Wave / Protect
Anyway, onto the core: Togekiss supports Aegislash almost perfectly, rendering things like Hydreigon, TTar, Gengar, Flamethrower/Overheat/Fire Blast, Amoonguss, Breloom, WoW, Crunch Mega Khan, and Encore nearly useless, while Aegislash sets a Sub. Once a Sub is set, Aegislash can attack freely, or even attack consecutively without setting a Sub. Tailwind and Thunder Wave offer obvious Speed control, but both members abuse the ability to attack first very well. Against TR, Aegislash hits nearly every user of the move very hard, is immune to Fake Out, and Togekiss can fish for flinches with Air Slash. Facing a Subbed Aegislash while Paralyzed and being bombarded by Air Slash is absolutely disgusting, granting many free turns for Aegislash to sweep. The core needs hopefully obvious support against Bisharp, Heatran, and Lando-T but that really should be vital on every team anyway. I often found myself leaving Aegislash in Blade form 3+ turns straight, occasionally even going entire matches without even using King's Shield. It mostly just blocks spread damage and trolls shit if Kiss dies.
The large array of utility and resistances offered by a small, splashable core is impressive, and I've tested it extensively, including actual, irl VGCs. Good partners include Hydreigon (Dragon/Steel/Fairy, plus we've already covered Aegislash + Hydreigon, that's why I didn't make it a 3 mon core), TTar, and Rotom-W. Rotom-H lets you take the Goggles off of Kiss, but you have a *very* big Lando-T hole. TTar, gets great cover against Superpower / Low Kick with an immune partner + Follow Me 4x resist.
Aegislash's spread allows it to outspeed max Speed Thundurus-I and Tornadus-I (base 111) in Tailwind, which is a pretty good chunk of the game. HP is maxed for general bulk, it's not a special Sub / Lefties number. The remainder is dumped in Sp. Atk.
Togekiss is a specially defensive spread, designed to ironically survive 252+ Aegislash's LO Flash Cannon, enough Speed to outrun Scarf Adamant Landog and +1 252+ Gyarados (Jolly, max Speed, Dragon Dance) in Tailwind, with the remainder splashed in Def for general bulk. Thunder Wave is reccomended for powerful Speed control, and gut-wrenching hax abuse. Saftey Goggles lets you sponge Spore while Aegislash sets a Sub (making Scarf Breloom very, very fucking useless), and pairs well with TTar. It also lets you Twave like a plague even when Amoonguss tries to spam Rage Powder to contain the ParaFlinch hax. Sitrus makes you bulkier, which is nice for setting Tailwind multiple times. Protect is good if you already have T-Wave support like Thundy, as Togekiss does attract double targets, much like Amoonguss and Suicune.
You could also probably do Kiss + Sub Mega Metagross; similar concept, even moar flinching.
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