Resource SV OU Good Cores

[Eviolite Bisharp]

Offensive core:

+ +

This was an idea that had when i was remembering things like VoltTurn in BW1 or The Vortex as SWSH players called to the chain of switch moves

Scizor and Raging Bolt are powerful pokemon that can answer each others checks: while Scizor struggles with Corviknight, Pecharunt, Tornadus, Mola and the birds (zapdos and Moltres) that Raging Bolt can take advantage of, Raging Bolt has troubles with pokemon like Ting-Lu, Blissey, Clodsire or Iron Treads, that Scizor can scare out with powerful U-Turns, Close Combats or Knock Offs. The only pokemon that doesn't mind facing these two mons are Great Tusk, Garchomp (if they don't switch into draco from Bolt) and Gliscor, which Wellspring completely dominates in a 1v1, and can force even more pivoting chains with U-Turn. At the same time, these mons have many ways of beating offense through priority with Scizor and Bolt, and trading to special breakers with tera with Wellspring. This structure can overwhelm a lot of fat teams while also doing well against offense

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Close Combat

Raging Bolt @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 124 HP / 252 SpA / 132 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 20 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Thunderclap
- Volt Switch
- Draco Meteor

Ogerpon-Wellspring (F) @ Wellspring Mask
Ability: Water Absorb
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Ivy Cudgel
- U-turn
- Play Rough
- Synthesis

 

[Hon07rial]

Good Morning, Smogon!
Firstly I'd like to thank Kd for hosting the resource, i was a bit concerned about a useful resource being archived and forgotten about despite the good it has.

Here is a dump of cores, some more common than others, i noticed in tour teams and popular ladder teams.
I will be editing in explanations and sets overtime but sharing the cores themselves as start is the priority since I expect the earlier to take quite a bit of time.

Standard Sand Offense

https://pokepast.es/5f8654cc2df7d903
Sand has been completely driven by Tyranitar in recent times as Hippowdon has seen no major results in a while.
It can be either a Smooth Rock set with Stealth Rock to prolong its Sand Stream or use Choice Band to aid Excadrill in its weaker stall mu and beat Corviknight, the both sets are capable of beating Pokemon Excadrill struggles with such as if the Excadrill opts to not use Rock Slide or if it opts to not run Substitute or Tera Blast Ice.
Excadrill is the premier and singular widely viable Sand Rush user since the ban of Last Respects.
It aids Tyranitar in its weaker offense MU and beats many of the faster threats it struggles with such as Cinderace and Iron Valiant.
The core is very flexible in both the sets both of the Pokemon can use and possible partners supporting them.
This core is quite weak into and similar threats and so it appreciates teammates that can handle them such as
can also be a very nice partner as a third wincon benefiting from the sand boost and can cater its Tera to check pokemon the larger team beyond this core may struggle with.
A replay showcasing the core in action




https://pokepast.es/add5831fa161c4ed
This hazard stacking anti-offense is the bread and butter of modern standard Bulky Offense in SVOU.
Ting-Lu lays down its hazards then uses Ruination, Whirlwind and possibly Red Card to shuffle and directly chunk or force hazard chip into opposing teams while disturbing any any attempt to setup that may be problematic to Dragonite and Zamazenta to handle.
Ting-Lu also aids Zamazenta and Dragonite by checking pokemon they may struggle with such as
Rocky Helmet, Red Card and Leftovers have all seen use on different teams. Ting-Lu can lay down either hazard or both.
Physdef and Mixed spreads have also seen use in addition to the Spdef standard spread.

Zamazenta with its offensive sets can pressure opponent teams into switching to rack up hazard damage or use Roar to do that more handly and itself is a possible sweeper and a sweeper stopper with its Iron Defense Body Press sets which while less common on this structure have seen use for their role compression and anti offense capabiltiies.
it also checks threats Dragonite and Ting-lu can not handle such as Dragon Dance (Must have Dauntless Shield active to switch on +1) and chunk shared checks between it and Dragonite such as .

Dragonite can either outright sweep using all the racked up chip between those two or chip the opposing team even more using its Bulky Dragon Tail set.
It also may beat walls and threats these two struggle with depending on its set such as Sinistcha if it is running a Tera Blast Flying set.

This core is often paired with a ghost and a knock off user to enhance its hazard stacking aspect and can be paired with other sweepers that benefit from the hazard stacks such as .
A replay showcasing the core in action
Another one
And another
I could go on

https://pokepast.es/4b05488407b04043
This is a Bulky Offense Defensive Core
Garganacl uses its main way of making progress in Salt Cure, often compound with a way for Garganacl to be a wincon in Curse Earthquake or Iron Defense Body Press. Stealth Rock can be used instead if the team can't afford another user.
Tera Electric can be used as it helps Moltres answering Thunderbolt and some sets of
Tera Water too can be used as it helps answering the tier's offensive water threats to Moltres, and non-Thunderbolt

Moltres is an Amazing partner to Garganacl as it answers most of its threats such as and Substitute or Covert Cloak Dragonite allowing Garganacl to make more progress safely and as a bonus if any physical attacker triggers Flame Body, it is a completely neutralized threat to Garganacl and may even win on the spot if using a wincon set.

This core really hates
Pokemon that can answer her such as are appreciated.
Pokemon that appreciate the chip damage Garganacl racks and the pokemon Moltres checks such as are also great partners.
A replay showcasing the core in action
A second replay because this core is good
A third replay because this core is REALLY good


https://pokepast.es/d15ccf93b23ca28d
(1,2,3,4)

https://pokepast.es/026ef3be9ece437d
"Common" does not begin to describe this core, this metagame rewards blind sucker and rapid spin, I am definitely missing some.

https://pokepast.es/efcc8947b860013f

https://pokepast.es/e53e007d0b7ad637

https://pokepast.es/7394e04822ff8007

https://pokepast.es/db6366b1d9c00087

https://pokepast.es/e2fef4c8a4aa4f86

https://pokepast.es/7cecf2265a3bdaf6

https://pokepast.es/86595956cffa285a

https://pokepast.es/778f39a96607cd94

https://pokepast.es/5d05b9220f38e298

BONUS! Cores that are rarely used in tours but get quite a bit of usage on ladder every now and then.

Grasspam (HO)


Psychic Terrain (HO)


Trick Room (HO)



Shout out to 1LDK his SPL weekly report really helped my pattern recognition work better to see some of these cores which i otherwise dismissed and didn't notice.

 

[kd458]

Thanks for the support on the return of this resource! I'll provide an immediate update now with a couple of these submitted cores, and work on implementing some of the others over the course of this week. There are one or two changes that I'll make where I think it makes sense, with some things moving to text to make cores more generic, but I'd like to keep submissions as intact as possible; feel free to let me know any thoughts or feedback you have. Here are two I'd like to immediately highlight, and I will add these descriptions to the OP now with credits for each in their respective pastes!

Offense

VoltTurn

Metagame developments across the generation have led to the slow but steady rise of Calm Mind-less Raging Bolt, instead running Volt Switch to embrace a role as a very powerful pivot. This meshes well with Scizor's U-turn, while Scizor's Bullet Punch threatens Pokemon that can force Bolt out such as Kyurem and Iron Valiant. Scizor's U-turn can also bring Raging Bolt in on checks like Alomomola and Corviknight, while in turn Raging Bolt brings in foes like Slowking-G and Ting-Lu that Scizor excels against. This core is weak to hazards and appreciates at least some form of removal, while it also needs its own hazards to pair with Scizor's Knock Off and punish switches even harder with VoltTurn; Landorus-T can help in this role by getting up rocks, denying enemy hazards with Taunt, and bringing its own U-turn to the table, and Samurott-H can similarly set hazards while giving another pivoting option with Flip Turn. The latter also helps against bulky Ground-types like Great Tusk, Gliscor, and Iron Treads that are effective against this core, but Ogerpon-W in particular is excellent against these threats and can run its own U-turn to keep up the pivot chain.

Bulky Offense

Standard Sand

As with every generation since BW, Tyranitar and Excadrill have made their return as an OU-viable core that bulkier offense teams can be built around. Sand Rush makes Excadrill a terrifying threat that outspeeds the entire tier, with the added utility of hazard removal to enhance Tyranitar's longevity. In return, bulky Tyranitar not only boosts Excadrill's speed but also handles some of the Pokemon that Excadrill loses to outside the sand, such as Zapdos and Iron Moth, while luring common Excadrill checks like Great Tusk, Landorus-T, and Gliscor with Ice Beam. This core shares plenty of weaknesses that it needs its teammates to cover, with an Ogerpon-W check like Hydrapple or bulky Tornadus-T almost mandatory, and answers to Ground- and Fighting-types like the aforementioned partners along with others such as Moltres are required; teams using sand are often very pivot-heavy and other Regenerator pivots like Alomomola can glue them together while also giving Tyranitar much appreciated Wish support.

 

[658Greninja]

OU cores is back. Yay! Anyways, I believe this is one of the strongest BO cores in the meta just off of these three mons overlapping with their checks and how customizable each member of the core is. They specialize in punishing Balance while having anti-offense tools in Zama and +1 Valiant.

Wellspring’s job is simple. Force damage onto Zama/Val checks like Pech, G-Weez, Zapdos, Corv, etc. Taunt Oger is a personal favorite choice on this core, keeping Pech or other checks low enough to enable other members of the core and also 6-0 Stall and threatens Primarina which these two famously struggle vs.

Valiant is either an early game enabler or a mid-game cleaner on this core. The usual set here is Calm Mind, because Zamazenta struggles with Pecharunt and G-Weez, but CM Val easily muscles past those while Zama handles specially bulky Fairy resists like Gking. I found that Valiant becomes scarier if you drop Encore on the 4th moveslot. Pick your choice between Thunderbolt to snipe Corv/Molt, Vacuum Wave, or Destiny Bond to force a trade. CM Tblast Ground with Tbolt punishes so many team comps. Tblast Ground catches the usual targets for Shadow Ball, but now it snipes other Steels (Tinkaton/Heatran/Treads), punishes defensive Teras from Darkrai/Zama/Hydrapple, and grants you a T-Wave/Nuzzle immunity.

Zamazenta covers the lategame. With Wellspring and Iron Valiant terrorizing its checks, this opens up a lategame clean with the Za. AoA is a common choice, but the MU coverage from Wellspring/Valiant makes Ironpress a viable choice on this core, improving your MU into Gambit, Dnite, and other random physical nonsense.


Ting-Lu is a great mon to round out this core. Providing hazard support, stopping opposing sweepers with Whirlwind/Red Card, and covering Zapdos/Raging Bolt which are this core’s achilles heel. Val and Wellspring do an excellent job in pressuring Tusk/Treads while you can run Tera Blast Ground Val to catch Cinderace lacking.

Team where this core is used.
https://pokepast.es/86087c9adf2c9444



Surprised this core was never mentioned. It’s good for its defensive value but also its offensive value. This core is partially why Heatran rose to OU, it covers Heatran’s defensive shortcomings with Wellspring’s Ground resistance/Water immunity and G-Weezing’s Fighting resistance.

G-Weezing clears hazards up and punishes AV Torn and Gliscor. Heatran in return, swaps nicely into Gholdengo and traps Slowking-Galar/Blissey.

Heatran’s lesbian girlfriend Wellspring forces switch ins like Pech/Corv/Rilla that Heatran can exploit. It also provides the core with Knock Off and further breaking support.

The main appeal however is how well the core destroys opposing Balance. Magma Storm’s trapping doesn’t just force a kill, it prevents double switches, perfectly aligning your wincons. Alomomola is the main Heatran response, but guess what, it gets utterly destroyed by the Wellspring and G-Weezing in the back which have their own way of ruining the big fish.


This is often the mon to round out the core. Its main purpose is to cover the Grounds Wellspring doesn’t deal with very well such as CC Tusk and Lando. With heavy SpD investment it blanket checks specially-oriented Kyurem, one of the worst matchups for this core.

team where this core is used
https://pokepast.es/ba1b13c4a1847b66

 

[Eviolite Bisharp]

OU cores is back. Yay! Anyways, I believe this is one of the strongest BO cores in the meta just off of these three mons overlapping with their checks and how customizable each member of the core is. They specialize in punishing Balance while having anti-offense tools in Zama and +1 Valiant.

Wellspring’s job is simple. Force damage onto Zama/Val checks like Pech, G-Weez, Zapdos, Corv, etc. Taunt Oger is a personal favorite choice on this core, keeping Pech or other checks low enough to enable other members of the core and also 6-0 Stall and threatens Primarina which these two famously struggle vs.

Valiant is either an early game enabler or a mid-game cleaner on this core. The usual set here is Calm Mind, because Zamazenta struggles with Pecharunt and G-Weez, but CM Val easily muscles past those while Zama handles specially bulky Fairy resists like Gking. I found that Valiant becomes scarier if you drop Encore on the 4th moveslot. Pick your choice between Thunderbolt to snipe Corv/Molt, Vacuum Wave, or Destiny Bond to force a trade. CM Tblast Ground with Tbolt punishes so many team comps. Tblast Ground catches the usual targets for Shadow Ball, but now it snipes other Steels (Tinkaton/Heatran/Treads), punishes defensive Teras from Darkrai/Zama/Hydrapple, and grants you a T-Wave/Nuzzle immunity.

Zamazenta covers the lategame. With Wellspring and Iron Valiant terrorizing its checks, this opens up a lategame clean with the Za. AoA is a common choice, but the MU coverage from Wellspring/Valiant makes Ironpress a viable choice on this core, improving your MU into Gambit, Dnite, and other random physical nonsense.


Ting-Lu is a great mon to round out this core. Providing hazard support, stopping opposing sweepers with Whirlwind/Red Card, and covering Zapdos/Raging Bolt which are this core’s achilles heel. Val and Wellspring do an excellent job in pressuring Tusk/Treads while you can run Tera Blast Ground Val to catch Cinderace lacking.

Team where this core is used.
https://pokepast.es/86087c9adf2c9444



Surprised this core was never mentioned. It’s good for its defensive value but also its offensive value. This core is partially why Heatran rose to OU, it covers Heatran’s defensive shortcomings with Wellspring’s Ground resistance/Water immunity and G-Weezing’s Fighting resistance.

G-Weezing clears hazards up and punishes AV Torn and Gliscor. Heatran in return, swaps nicely into Gholdengo and traps Slowking-Galar/Blissey.

Heatran’s lesbian girlfriend Wellspring forces switch ins like Pech/Corv/Rilla that Heatran can exploit. It also provides the core with Knock Off and further breaking support.

The main appeal however is how well the core destroys opposing Balance. Magma Storm’s trapping doesn’t just force a kill, it prevents double switches, perfectly aligning your wincons. Alomomola is the main Heatran response, but guess what, it gets utterly destroyed by the Wellspring and G-Weezing in the back which have their own way of ruining the big fish.


This is often the mon to round out the core. Its main purpose is to cover the Grounds Wellspring doesn’t deal with very well such as CC Tusk and Lando. With heavy SpD investment it blanket checks specially-oriented Kyurem, one of the worst matchups for this core.

team where this core is used
https://pokepast.es/ba1b13c4a1847b66

Finally a based guy who dropped that Encore bs for a real move. I'm very fond of Destiny Bond as a trolling move. Really cool core, i should try it!

 

[kd458]

We're back for another set of additions to Good Cores! Thank you all again for the submissions, I've compiled a few and will add those into the OP shortly along with an additional core that I'd like to feature. Bear in mind that some of the definitions are flexible; for example, some balance cores can also fit on bulkier teams all the way down to stall, or are alternatively able to support more offensive structures and vice versa. Also, if you have name suggestions for any cores then feel free to submit them here, whether they be for cores you're suggesting or any already in the resource!

Hyper Offense

Trick Room

With an excellent Taunt-immune setter in Hatterene, Trick Room has carved out a niche in the tier with an abundance of slow breakers to take advantage of the room to sweep. None do this better than Guts Facade Ursaluna, able to invest in its bulk and become nigh unkillable in a single hit while underspeeding almost the entire tier, that bulk being further enhanced by Hatterene's ability to deny entry hazards. Hatterene is also able to switch in on revenge KO attempts from Zamazenta to set the room back up and bring Ursaluna back to full with Healing Wish, giving it even more room to take a hit and take KOes with ease. Other slow breakers like Kingambit and Iron Hands benefit from Trick Room, Healing Wish, and the breaking power against physical walls that Ursaluna provides, and this wallbreaking can even help faster Pokemon like Zamazenta clean up once the Trick Room ends. Hatterene cannot be the only setter for a team though, so other options like Cresselia, Mimikyu, Porygon2, and even Hoopa-U can ensure that Ursaluna is able to get off a sweep.

Offense

Darkrai Offense

When choosing to build with Darkrai, this is a popular and effective offensive core, seeing usage from ladder all the way to the highest levels of tournament play. It is unique in that, despite the massive set variety of these Pokemon, they will almost always find synergy; for example, Choice Scarf Gholdengo is able to threaten Dragapult for both partners and cripple walls like Alomamola, Ting-Lu and Blissey for Darkrai to take advantage of, while bulkier Gholdengo can switch in on Zamazenta and Iron Valiant trying to check either of the other threats. Nasty Plot Darkrai is an excellent sweeper that likes Dragonite eliminating the aforementioned Zamazenta and punishes Pecharunt, though a Boots Attacker set is able to burn or Knock Off key walls like Ting-Lu and Alomomola, and Choice Scarf Darkrai can instead provide speed control and do everything a Scarf Ghold aims to do while freeing up its item slot and also outspeeding Iron Valiant. Extreme Speed Dragonite acts as an excellent anti-offense tool which likes clear answers to Corviknight and Pecharunt, a quality even more important on Tera Blast variants that can also lure and eliminate Zamazenta, and even Dragon Tail can find value racking up hazard chip with a Gholdengo to block removal. This is a very flexible core that can be customised as needed for a team, pairing excellently with reliable hazard setters like Ting-Lu, Garchomp, and Skarmory, and it can fit on a wide range of offensive teams from Hyper Offense to Bulky Offense to even some variants of Balance.

Bulky Offense

Garg Moltres

Garganacl has risen again as a bulky threat with very few real switch-ins, and some of the few Pokemon that threaten it offensively are easily answered by a defensive Moltres; a wide range of physical attackers like Zamazenta, Great Tusk, Kingambit, and Rillaboom are threatened by a burn from Flame Body, while special threats such as Iron Valiant and Gholdengo can be checked with Moltres, particularly if it instead opts for a specially defensive investment. Garganacl is then free to spread Salt Cure and set Stealth Rock against Pokemon that Moltres struggles against like Ceruledge and Dragapult, or alternatively run a setup set to act as a wincon with a clear answer to its checks. Both of these Pokemon are weak to Knock Off however and appreciate hazard removal as support, while their defensive capabilities are excellent in supporting offensive partners like Zamazenta and Kingambit.

Balance

Weezing-G FWG

A classic structure of Fire-Water-Grass can take shape once more in SV OU, with an old-school staple in Heatran supported by a Water immunity and Ground resist from Ogerpon-W. This partner helps to punish Pokemon like Alomomola, Primarina, and Ting-Lu that might aim to switch in on Heatran, while in turn Heatran is able to take advantage of the more physically defensive Pecharunt and Corviknight as well as it walling Iron Moth. Both of these Pokemon are weak to entry hazards however, and Weezing-G provides much-needed hazard removal to support them. Weez is also able to handle threatening Fighting-type attacks from Zamazenta and Iron Valiant while appreciating the response to Gholdengo that Heatran provides. This core is weak to opposing Ogerpon-W, hence the option of multiple Grass-type Teras, while common Dragon-types like Kyurem, Dragonite, and Raging Bolt pose an unanswerable threat. This can be alleviated with faster partners like Zamazenta and Darkrai, along with more defensive teammates such as Corviknight, Gliscor, and Ting-Lu.

 

[Eviolite Bisharp]

Balance/Bulky Offense core:

Future Sight + Knock Off



This idea can also work with other powerful wallbreakers with Knock Off like Tyranitar or Hoopa-Unbound, but i find Weavile to be the most consistent choice on this core thanks to it's great speed tier and access to Swords Dance to become a terrifying setup sweeper.

The idea of this core Is simple: Galarian Slowking provides Future Sight support for Weavile to break past through walls like Dondozo, Galarian Weezing or Alomomola, and the snow that it provides with Chilly Reception gives Weavile consistent setup opportunities on pokemon like non-BP Corviknight. The powerful Knock Offs of Weavile can wear down the opposition quickly combined with a hazard stack combo and Ice Shard provides priority to deal with sweepers like Raging Bolt or Dragonite. While Glowking helps against Fighting and Fairy pokemon that would give troubles to Weavile, the latter one can deal with powerful Ghost and Dark types like Dragapult, offensive Gholdengo and Darkrai that are threatening to Glowking.

This core fits well on balance and bulky offense teams with the ability to hazard stack that appreciate the ability of this core to put pressure into the opponent and enhance the value of their hazards thanks to powerful Knock Offs.

https://pokepast.es/7c2914859f1c932a

This would be a sample set of this core. Weavile can use Heavy-Duty-Boots on bootspam structures, allowing it to go for a sweep with SD. Otherwise it can be used with Choice Band on teams that have solid methods of hazard removal and want a set with more inmediate power

https://pokepast.es/cd118c84f38a009b

Here is an example of a team that works using this core (that i built and i'm proud of)