Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
Dracovish's only real switch-ins are Water immunities like Seismitoad and Gastrodon. Rotom-C easily takes advantage of them and keeps up your momentum with Volt Switch. It also can potentially run Thunder Wave to help Dracovish in faster match-ups. This core really appreciates teammates handling Ferrothorn like Hydreigon and Cinderace.
A core I built a team around and have been seeing success with is Flareon+Gastrodon+Ferrothorn. Classic FWG core. 4 immunities between the 4 of them, Flareon is one of the best checks to Clef and also checks specially based Pult, Hatterene, Rotom-H, Rotom-C, opposing Ferro, etc. Gastro switches into water and rock hits for free and appreciates Flareon spreading burns and beating grass types. Ferrothorn is obviously the best grass type for this core, being able to take on almost any physical attacker in the tier.
Potential issues with the core are physical attackers that can break through Ferrothorn like Conkeldurr and other good fighting types. I personally enjoy LO Clefable as a partner to this core for that reason, as well as bringing offensive presence, but pokemon like Hatterene and Corviknight can work too, depending on what kinda team youre trying to build.
This core works by luring in their shared counters to create sweeping opportunities. Hydreigon at +2 can take care of Clefable, Mandibuzz, Toxapex and Tyranitar, who all normally stop Specs Dragapult from cleaning up.
Core likes having a Clefable switch in since Hydreigon needs setup time to beat it. Also really likes hazards because these queens force switches.
Dracovish's only real switch-ins are Water immunities like Seismitoad and Gastrodon. Rotom-C easily takes advantage of them and keeps up your momentum with Volt Switch. It also can potentially run Thunder Wave to help Dracovish in faster match-ups. This core really appreciates teammates handling Ferrothorn like Hydreigon and Cinderace.
I got DOMINATED by this core recently, running a rain team... The Rotom-C set was sub NP and just set up on my ferrothorn. Absolutely Machiavellian core.
Swords Dance Aegislash is a pretty potent win condition but it commonly runs into a few bulky roadblocks that prevent it from sweeping an opposing team. Conk has a great matchup against pretty much any fat mon in OU but specifically it helps against Mandibuzz and Toxapex, two of Aegislash's biggest counters. The synergy between these two is pretty sweet as Aegi helps take on Fairy-types and Psychics for Conk while Conk takes care of Dark-types like Bisharp that could pose a big threat to Aegi's sweep. Not too much else to say as this is a pretty simple core but I would pair it with some pivots like Rotom forms or Scarf Hydreigon to help bring in Conk easier so it can start breaking the opponent's team for Aegislash.
This core switches the roles of the above core, with Aegislash using it's Choice Band set to act as a powerful wallbreaker to break apart defensive cores for it's partner in crime, Throat Spray + Clangorous Soul Kommo-o. Kommo-o is very dangerous when set up but can still find issues against defensive titans like Toxapex who can survive a hit at full and Haze away it's boosts or phaze it out. CB Aegislash not only synergizes well with Kommo-o typing wise but is also able to lure in most of the defensive mons in OU and hit them very hard with it's STABs or Head Smash. Weakening these walls is necessary for Kommo-o to be able to sweep late-game. Pairing this core up with a Fairy like Clefable to set up Rocks and check Dragapult and Hydreigon, two Pokémon that pose a big threat to both members of this core, is a great choice and one I would recommend along with a pivot obviously to bring in Aegi and Kommo-o easier. (Rotom-Heat comes to mind as a great choice to patch up the slight Clefable weakness this core has). If you prefer Aegislash's Specs set to Band, that also works because both of Aegi's Choice sets are kind of broken fantastic wallbreakers and still pair up well with Kommo-o.
Dugtrio's been very prevalent this first week of SPL and these cores featuring it haven't been posted yet, so I figured I should.
This core's really obnoxious to deal with right now. Dragapult tends to bait in Pokemon such as Clefable, Sylveon, and Toxapex, which Dugtrio can take advantage of through U-turn.
This core follows the same principle as the other core. Pokemon such as Toxapex, Dracozolt, and Toxtricity tend to look to take advantage of Corviknight, which Dugtrio can capitalize off of when paired with U-turn Corviknight.
Seismitoad @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Earth Power
- Rest
- Stealth Rock
Who doesn't like first turn battle flow control? Hence I present to you, the "send-this-out-during-first-turn" core. The idea is simple : Choose to prevent opponent to setup hazard(click Clefable) or setup own hazard(click Seismitoad). In my opinion, Clefable is such a wonderful lead as it pressures early setup mons such as Ferrothorn and Ribombee with its large coverage movepools such as the ever-present flamethrower, thunderbolt and moonblast(See replay #1 and #2). After clearing up the opposing hazard setter, you can setup your own rocks using Seismitoad with ease, without worry about defogging the field later on. In most cases, Clefable first turn is relatively safe, with some exceptions being opposing Dracovish lead, which is why I chose Seismitoad to act as a check to it and make sure the core to be more customizable, after settling the omni-present Fishious Rend weakness that most cores suffer. Clefable and Seismitoad works so well with each other, one checks the mon that the other one can't, the quick example being Ferrothorn -> Clefable while Cinderace -> Seismitoad.
Brief explanation on the EV:
First of all, you may notice the weird EV spread on the Clefable. Well, the 252 spatk Modest to maximize damage, 180 speed is assigned to outspeed most Corviknight set, while the rests assigned to hp, enough to take one +1 Waterfall from Gyarados and revenge kill it(See replay #3).
Next, the Seismitoad set is full hp full defense Bold to tank Dracovish attacks better, or just any other physical attackers that threaten Clefable, such as Excadrill and Cinderace.
Problems:
- lack of speed
- special attack mons such as Aegislash
double Ghost cores have been widely used and are some of the most consistent in the tier offensively:
+
/
sets vary a lot team by team; Draga + Aegi can be any of Double Specs, Specs + Band, Wisp + Specs/Band, or even Scarf + Choiced, and Aegislash can even go SD if it really wants to.
Draga + Gengar has a similar amount of variation, with any of them being able to run Specs, Scarf and status + Hex.
for sampling set purposes and to save some time, I'll link Specs on everything.
another very potent and very highly regarded offensive core, they love breaking together and are nigh unstoppable with purely defensive counterplay. either of them can run Scarf as well, which adds more games to the mix.
Corsola-Galar @ Eviolite
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Strength Sap
- Stealth Rock
- Hex
Mandibuzz @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Roost
- Defog
- U-Turn
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
- Protect
How the core works?
This core's biggest speciality is that it can be used to cover most of the threats in the metagame while it can be used for hazard stacking (SR + Spikes) , hazard removal and spin-block (Ghost-type). So basically Corsola-Galar is a blanket check for many physical attackers but due to its vulnerability to all the entry hazards, Mandibuzz is added as an hazard-removal tool as well as it can handle its counters such as Hydreigon, Dragapult, and Gengar. Ferrothorn also has its benefits as Corsola-Galar handles fighting-types such as Conkledurr and Hawlucha while Ferrothorn can stack spikes as well as handle Corsola-Galar counters such as Rotom-Wash and Toxtricity. Also Corsola-Galar is one of the best checks for Excadrill ATM.
What can be added with this core?
In my opinion, Gastrodon will work perfectly with this core as it can check the main threat of the core i.e. Rotom-Heat. Also Gastrodon can absorb water which means it can check Dracovish.
This defensive Core profits from the good synergy Mandibuzz and Kommo-o have together with resisting a lot of threats in this metagame like Dragapult, Gengar, Aegislash and Hydreigon. This Core is meant to set-up Stealth Rocks with Kommo-o whereas Mandibuzz proves itself as one of the best Hazard-removers in the OU-Tier. Kommo-o can check Aegislash and Gengar whereas Mandibuzz can check Dragapult and Hydreigon. Kommo-o has Taunt on this moveset to prevent slower threats from setting up infront of it, thus it can manage to pressure these threats with blocking their setup opportunity.
Mandibuzz has a slow U-Turn to bring in other checks in safely and Defogs Hazards away, it also can pressure mons with Knock Off in its movepool to remove Items like Leftovers or Black Sludges, which is important to weaken their ability in the longterm of the game.
This offensive core has also an amazing synergy with each other since Clefable can offensively pressure Pokémon like Mandibuzz, Kommo-o (No Clangerous Soul Variant) Hydreigon and Ferro-Pex on the other hand Obstagoon offensively pressures Choice-Locked-Mons like gengar and the Rotom Forms since it doesn't mind a burn from Will-o-Wisp by them as it only helps to activate its Guts ability. This Core works very well with some Volt-Turn help to get these threats in safely and to gain Momentum.
Both Cores work well in the current metagame with their synergy these mons have with each other and Kommo-o and also Obstagoon are rising up in popularity currently, since they have made an really good impact recently.
Balanced Core: View attachment 222472View attachment 222474 I wanted to build a core around Toxicroak, which is a pretty underrated threat this metagame. What makes it viable is it´s natural ability to break through the common Fairy + Steel defensive core thanks to it´s dual STAB in Poison/Fighting, as well as being able to use Toxapex, a prominent defensive wall in the metagame, as set up fodder. Gunk Shot hits extremely hard, even on neutral targets, while Drain Punch provides Toxicroak longevity. Thunder Punch rounds the set´s coverage in order to hit Toxapex, Corviknight and the rare Jellicent. Swords Dance bolsters Toxicroak´s offensive power even further and allows it to capitalize on the aforementioned Toxapex, as well as other slower Pokémon like Ferrothorn and Clefable. Despite this though, Toxicroak does have some issues. Namely the fact that Ghost Types pressure it well, both offensively and defensively, and it´s lackluster bulk. Thus pairing it up with an answer to these Pokémon became a must. Mandibuzz immediately came to mind, not only as a strong pivot, but also due to it´s access to the coveted U-Turn, which Toxicroak greatly appreciates to come in safely. On top of this, Mandibuzz also has access to reliable recovery, hazard control, and excellent support moves like Tailwind, Toxic and Taunt.
Toxicroak can opt to run Cross Chop over Drain Punch, which is it´s strongest Fighting STAB option with a high critical hit chance, but it doesn´t pick up any significant KOs that Drain Punch can´t, and the recovery provided allows Toxicroak to make the most out of it´s bulk. Poison Jab is your other Poison STAB option, but pales in comparison to Gunk Shot´s damage output despite having the benefit of being 100% accurate. Sucker Punch is definately an option to consider, as it gives Toxicroak a way to deal with faster Ghost Types like Gengar and Dragapult, both of which get KOed with a bit of prior damage. Last but not least, the obscure Vacuum Wave is another priority option, although is very situational, as the only significant KO it gets is vs a -1 SpD Cloyster (which will almost always be lowered by it´s own Shell Smash), but considering how prominent that Pokémon is becoming I thought it was worth mentioning.
Dugtrio traps and eliminates Keldeo's checks like Clefable, Toxapex, and Sylveon. Simple as that. I really like Choice Specs Keldeo here but some sort of CM sets can work too, though CM Keldeo is just worse than Specs.
(or )
Mixed Zeraora beats/heavily weakens many of Excadrill's defensive answers, most notably Corviknight. Without them on the radar, Sand Rush Excadrill in Sand steamrolls through a ton of teams. Picking between Hippowdon and Tyranitar for setting Sand up is your personal choice.
Scarf variants of Excadrill can outspeed and OHKO Zeraora and Toxtricity with Earthquake to help alleviate Primarina's weakness to them, while Kommo-O doesn't care about Venusaur and can threaten Corviknight for both Excadrill and Primarina. Without them, Primarina is free to find easier opportunities to set up subs and CM.
They all cover each other's weaknesses pretty well as well. Excadrill doesn't care about Electrics or Poisons that threaten Primarina and fairy moves that Kommo-O's ability choice doesn't handle , Kommo-O doesn't care about grass, electric, or fire moves that threaten Primarina (except the latter) and Excadrill (except the former). Primarina soaks up the fighting, Psychic, and Ice moves that threaten Kommo-O and Excadrill.
Dugtrio traps and eliminates Keldeo's checks like Clefable, Toxapex, and Sylveon. Simple as that. I really like Choice Specs Keldeo here but some sort of CM sets can work too, though CM Keldeo is just worse than Specs.
(or )
Mixed Zeraora beats/heavily weakens many of Excadrill's defensive answers, most notably Corviknight. Without them on the radar, Sand Rush Excadrill in Sand steamrolls through a ton of teams. Picking between Hippowdon and Tyranitar for setting Sand up is your personal choice.
Jirachi is able to come in on fairy types, notably Sylveon, that want to switch in on a potential +2 flash cannon from LO Hydreigon. Jirachi also u turns out of switch ins like corviknight for hydreigon to freely setup.
Zeraora @ Life Orb
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Plasma Fists
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Grass Knot
Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 180 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 30 Spe
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Roost
- Defog
this balanced core is built around 3 top-threats of the current swords/shield ou metagame.
is here to ensure, that zeraora and corviknight stay healthy and un-statused via the help of aromatherapy. it can also wish-pass to zeraora, since zeraora has no reliable recovery and is rather frail in general. clefable can take on many threats defensively in the current metagame like dragapult, conkeldurr, kommo-o and hydreigon.
can take on many pokémon in the current metagame with good coverage options in close combat, knock off and grass knot. these three moves alongside its stab plasma fists can dent holes into the opposing team. plasma fists can take on many pokémon, since only ground pokémon resists the electric stab of zeraora, close combat can hit hydreigon and bisharp whereas knock off is great in general removing troublesome items like leftovers and grass knot is a great option to go through the ground-types which resist zeraoras electric stab those are seismitoad, gastrodon and hippodon.
is a good ground immunity and can help keeping hazards of bay and is able to u-turn out into zeraora to get this threat in safely. iron head is corviknights stab and can be helpful against alot of pokémon like opposing clefable and hatterene, furthermore this pokémon can be helpful against dugtrio because zeraora has trouble especially against choice scarf-sets of drugtio.
this core can cover up each others weaknesses pretty well and with a wish-pass / aromatherapy help from clefable and the slow u-turn from corviknight zeraora can manage to dent holes into many oppposing teams.
This is currently one of the most popular Defensive Cores in the metagame. They all have ridiculous recovery and pivoting making them super obnoxious to take out. These are all listed separately, however, I felt there should be a mention of all of them together.
+
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Whirlwind
Excadrill @ Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide / Rapid Spin
This is a simple core the doesn't need too much explanation; as it's arguably one of the most popular Sand Core in the metagame. Excadrill is very splashable to any Sand Stream user giving teams speed control and hazard removal; while Hippo checks offensive threats like Conkeldurr and Bisharp that force Exca out.
+
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Whirlwind
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Knock Off
- Body Press
Personally, this is my favorite Defensive Core to run, especially on Sand Teams. Hippo is capable of checking Ferrothorn's threats such as Conk, Cinderace, and Terrak. Meanwhile, Ferro checks Water Types for Hippo examples are Pex, Toad, and Vish. Ferrothorn also provides Spikes to stack along with Stealth Rock and can run Leech and Knock Off to punish Corviknight which would wall this core.
Clefable (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
- Moonblast
- Knock Off
- Soft-Boiled
- Stealth Rock
So basically I wanted to find a good core with Appletun because I believe it's really underrated as a physical wall/pivot against many common pokémon like Zeraora, Excadrill, Dracovish, Cinderace, Rotom-H, Bisharp etc. It has great bulk, reliable recovery and good ability in Thick Fat, which gives him essentially a Fire resistance and lightens his Ice weakness. He's also able to take on Ferrothorn thanks to Body Press and immunity to Leech Seed and can potentially wear opposing pokemon down due to Apple Acid if forced to a 1v1 situation.
I paired him up with Corviknight and Clefable to complete a Fairy-Dragon-Steel defensive combo that has the tool to navigate this meta and stay healthy. Appletun is rather passive aside from potentially spreading Leech Seeds or Toxics, but Corviknight and Clefable have great utility for the team, also providing momentum if you run U-turn and Teleport respectively.
Appletun (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Apple Acid
- Body Press/Dragon Pulse
- Recover
- Leech Seed/Toxic/Iron Defense
So this is the 'mon I wanted to showcase, it has a surprisingly high amount of physical bulk and can survive attacks from boosted Bisharp and Zeraora. It can actually survive two banded Fishious Rends from Band Dracovish under rain factoring Stealth Rocks and Leftovers, which is actually impressive. Of course its offensive presence isn't great but hey it would be OU if it was and it's still decent with Body Press against certain opponents. You can always use Dragon Pulse if you want, obviously. 4th slot is surprisingly flexible: Leech Seed provide useful passive recovery; Toxic can cripple opposing 'mons, especially the Fire types you easily counter but don't have really much to attack them with; alternatively, Iron Defense is a inferior yet interesting choice to improve your physical bulk on a switch and threaten more with Body Press (you should use Iron Defense ONLY if you run Body Press).
Corviknight (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 96 Def / 164 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 30 Spe
- Brave Bird/Iron Head
- U-turn
- Roost
- Defog
Disclaimer: I don't know the optimal spread for Corviknight, but I think he's the best option for this combo. If you need insurance against Bisharp, max def with Body Press might be useful, but if the rest of the team doesn't particularly struggle, either BB or Iron Head works. Iron Head is for fairies, BB is for more damage output and threats like Conkeldurr. Everyone knows this by now, but Corviknight is so useful through Defog and U-turn, two of the best moves in the game. 30 IVs in Spe to ensure slow U-Turns against opposing Corviknights.
Clefable (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
- Moonblast
- Knock Off
- Soft-Boiled
- Stealth Rock/Heal Bell/Protect/Whatever ffs
Of course Clefable rounds this core off with unrivaled utility movepool, status absorption (potentially cleric), amazing ability, key typing both difensively and offensively, decent bulk... Seriously this thing can do it all and can compress roles like no-one else while still maintaining effectiveness.
The main set I put here is the most role compression available, with STAB Moonblast, one of the best moves in the game in Knock Off to cripple everything that takes it, Soft-Boiled for reliable recovery and Stealth Rock because of course this thing learns Stealth Rock, why wouldn't a random little fairy throw around rocks to hurt opponents? In all seriousness, you can tweak this set to accomplish whatever role you need Clefable to do, I just think that having SR and Defog in this core already allows you to play this in more balanced teams as well. 4 EVs in speed to always have the jump on opposing Clefables, 1 more point in speed is definitely more valuable than one in defense. If you want to run the Wish+Teleport set, you might want to consider moving these 4 EVs somewhere else and maybe even go 30 IVs speed to have the slower teleport in case of mirror situation.
This core works is very versatile and can prove to be effective in many bulky builds, from Stall to Balance (for Bulky Offense you might need to tweak some spreads and movepools a bit more drastically) and provides a fairly strong defensive backbone to the team. Some threats are of course Nasty Plot Hydreigon or Specs Kyurem, for which Clefable always needs to stay healthy, and potentially mons like Crawdaunt or some SD Aegislash that gets too out of hand. No core is flawless, but I think this is pretty good considering it contains a pokèmon currently in NU and actually contributes to the combo's stability.
Kinda just a goodstuff core, but if u expect ur opponent to go into a Water Absorber vs ur Dracovish you can double into Kyurem to threaten with Freeze Dry. There is so little that wants to come in on Specs Kyurem that it's a great way to maintain offensive pressure vs an opponent that thinks they've neutralised Dracovish. Pair w/ smth like Rotom-H that can deal with Ferrothorn reliably bc u can't rlly force it consistently out w/ Kyurem+don't particularly want to eat a Body Press/Iron Head from it.
Evil and Good join forces to beat the opposition. Apart from typing puns, this core works well offensively due to LO clefable weakening/killing weavile's biggest threats like ferrothorn, toxapex, corviknight, conkeldurr, etc. Jolly Weavile, on the other hand, outspeeds faster mons like gengar, cinderace and nasty plot hydreigon thanks to his amazing speed tier. Of course certain pokèmon like the aforementioned cinderace need to be weakened in order to be killed with knock off, but being able to outspeed them in the first place is key. If you want to run Adamant Weavile to have more power, you need to keep in mind that you won't be outspeeding 110+ base speed pokèmon (you'd reach 349 speed while timid gengar ironically hits 350). EVs on clef to outspeed adamant 252 spe conkeldurr and everything slower, including corviknights, while retaining max power and as much bulk as possible. 164 may be run to outspeed 0 spe mandibuzz if you want.
Kinda just a goodstuff core, but if u expect ur opponent to go into a Water Absorber vs ur Dracovish you can double into Kyurem to threaten with Freeze Dry. There is so little that wants to come in on Specs Kyurem that it's a great way to maintain offensive pressure vs an opponent that thinks they've neutralised Dracovish. Pair w/ smth like Rotom-H that can deal with Ferrothorn reliably bc u can't rlly force it consistently out w/ Kyurem+don't particularly want to eat a Body Press/Iron Head from it.
I do love this core but a big issue is that the double is rarely *that* safe to make. It works a lot because most players are conditioned to just go hard into their water absorber on vish, but at the same time there are so many psychos on ladder that will just willingly gamble really important pieces, randomly predicting u to do some random shit like psychic fangs them and will stay in with shit like clef/rotom h and just throw out status and attacks in vish's face, all of which kyurem hates with a passion.
I do love this core but a big issue is that the double is rarely *that* safe to make. It works a lot because most players are conditioned to just go hard into their water absorber on vish, but at the same time there are so many psychos on ladder that will just willingly gamble really important pieces, randomly predicting u to do some random shit like psychic fangs them and will stay in with shit like clef/rotom h and just throw out status and attacks in vish's face, all of which kyurem hates with a passion.
Gengar @ Black Sludge / Life Orb
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
Conkeldurr @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Mach Punch
- Knock Off
- Facade
Many balance teams in SS OU tend to have three or four purely defensive Pokemon and two breakers (typically one physical and one special attacker), and I think that Gengar and Conkeldurr work well as the two breakers on those types of teams. I like to run Nasty Plot Gengar so that he becomes a more threatening breaker, but Sub/Wisp/Hex Gengar is good too. Conk will pretty much always have Mach Punch, Knock Off, and Facade, so the most common variance is whether it has Close Combat or Drain Punch. I think that Close Combat is much better to make Conk even more threatening (by giving it the ability to do stuff like almost always 2HKO max physically defensive Hippowdon and Corviknight) and the need for Drain Punch's recovery is lessened with the near omnipresence of Wish-Teleport Clef, but even with Drain Punch, Conk is still a capable breaker. Gengar and Conk synergize well with each other because they can take advantage of the common defensive switches that they tend to lure out. Nothing, aside from niche things like Galarian Weezing, can safely switch into Conk, but Toxapex probably does it as well as anything in OU. Doubling to Gengar against a Toxapex switch can be big, since Toxapex can't really threaten Gengar unless it has Knock Off, and even then, it's usually only doing 49.8 - 59% and Gengar can live without Black Sludge or Life Orb. Gengar gets a fairly free Nasty Plot against Toxapex and there's a 75% chance that +2 Thunderbolt OHKOs physically defensive Pex. Gengar also isn't threatened by and can set up against the rare, faster Clefable that threaten Conk. Gengar sits in a really nice speed tier and most of the Pokemon that outrun him don't want to risk switching into a Shadow Ball or Sludge Wave, so Nasty Plot works very well on Gengar. Life Orb can work as the item to help Gengar break better, by allowing him to OHKO Mandibuzz with a +2 Thunderbolt 81.3% of the time and guaranteeing OHKOs against even max Special Defense Corviknight with a +2 Thunderbolt and physically defensive Hippowdon with a +2 Shadow Ball, but I like Black Sludge to provide a little more longevity and not let Gengar get worn down by LO damage.
Conversely, one of the most prominent switch-ins to Gengar is Mandibuzz, but if you double Conk into Mandibuzz, you're in a good position to pressure your opponent. Mandibuzz can't threaten Conk much and that puts you in a position for a free Knock Off, or you can fire off a CC or Facade to try to catch something for big damage. Similarly, foregoing Focus Blast in favor of Thunderbolt on Gengar means that you have a harder time hitting things like Ferrothorn and especially Tyranitar, but if you predict a switch to them and double to Conk, you're threatening an OHKO or forcing something else to switch into Conk, which nothing really wants to. Conk also can revenge kill or threaten out Hydreigon with Mach Punch, which Gengar appreciates. +2 Sludge Wave from Gengar is a guaranteed OHKO against Hydreigon, but Scarfed Hydreigon can be problematic. Mach Punch from Conk does 77.5 - 91% against Hydreigon, so it helps Gengar that Conk can remove or threaten out Hydreigon. The same applies to Bisharp, who can switch into Gengar and chase him out with Sucker Punch, but Bisharp can't threaten Conk much and Conk's Mach Punch shuts down Bisharp.
In general, I feel like Gengar and Conk are both threatening Pokemon on their own that hit hard, but together, they can capitalize on some of each other's most common switch-ins and put a great deal of pressure on opposing teams. It also helps that Gengar and Conk are very different Pokemon with diverse coverage and hit different sides of the physical and special spectrum.
Here is a replay I have showing how Gengar and Conk can work together to pressure an opposing balance team. In particular, on turn 27, you see how Conk forces out Toxapex and I'm able to take advantage of this by doubling to Gengar. Gengar can then Nasty Plot and get a guaranteed OHKO against the Excadrill that switches in, trying to predict a Thunderbolt, with a +2 Shadow Ball.
One of the biggest things holding back CM Primarina/Keldeo is the existence of Toxapex. While you can sorta circumvent it with Keld if you carry Taunt, the fact that you can't do anything to stop it switching into your STABs over and over is somewhat exasperating, and it also means you can't really take it head on until Zeraora/anything else that can RK Keldeo has been removed from the picture (which is definitely easier said than done). Primarina, on the other hand, doesn't even have the luxury of Taunt access! This is where Salazzle steps in: it's pretty easy to force something like Clefable or Ferrothorn out with the threat its STAB moves and to catch Toxapex with Toxic, and from there Pex goes from being a block in the road to a total liability in the matchup, as both Keldeo and Primarina can simply set up Substitute and Toxapex can't do anything about it while Toxic damage racks up. This goes a very long way to opening up balanced teams in the long term, and if ur opp doen't carry Power Whip on Ferrothorn (moreso vs Primarina) it's often enough to win the game on the spot provided you don't play like a total buffoon. It also chips away at Snorlax to help force a Rest, which is handy because it generally beats Primarina fater than Primarina can beat it.
Surprised this wasn't in here already but here you go I guess. The premise is simple: Rotom-H pressures Ferrothorn/sorta Toxapex and encourages ppl to go into Seismitoad and Gastrodon, which can be crippled with Toxic and as such are no longer gonna be able to check anything for shit (mostly applies to Seismitoad). This pressures balanced teams in particular and goes a long way to helping Dracovish's team overwhelm them.
One of the biggest things holding back CM Primarina/Keldeo is the existence of Toxapex. While you can sorta circumvent it with Keld if you carry Taunt, the fact that you can't do anything to stop it switching into your STABs over and over is somewhat exasperating, and it also means you can't really take it head on until Zeraora/anything else that can RK Keldeo has been removed from the picture (which is definitely easier said than done). Primarina, on the other hand, doesn't even have the luxury of Taunt access! This is where Salazzle steps in: it's pretty easy to force something like Clefable or Ferrothorn out with the threat its STAB moves and to catch Toxapex with Toxic, and from there Pex goes from being a block in the road to a total liability in the matchup, as both Keldeo and Primarina can simply set up Substitute and Toxapex can't do anything about it while Toxic damage racks up. This goes a very long way to opening up balanced teams in the long term, and if ur opp doen't carry Power Whip on Ferrothorn (moreso vs Primarina) it's often enough to win the game on the spot provided you don't play like a total buffoon. It also chips away at Snorlax to help force a Rest, which is handy because it generally beats Primarina fater than Primarina can beat it.
Dracovish @ Choice Band / Choice Scarf
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fishious Rend
- Crunch
- Psychic Fangs
- Outrage / Dragon Rush
Surprised this wasn't in here already but here you go I guess. The premise is simple: Rotom-H pressures Ferrothorn/sorta Toxapex and encourages ppl to go into Seismitoad and Gastrodon, which can be crippled with Toxic and as such are no longer gonna be able to check anything for shit (mostly applies to Seismitoad). This pressures balanced teams in particular and goes a long way to helping Dracovish's team overwhelm them.
+ 
+ 
/ 
(or 
)
is here to ensure, that zeraora and corviknight stay healthy and un-statused via the help of aromatherapy. it can also wish-pass to zeraora, since zeraora has no reliable recovery and is rather frail in general. clefable can take on many threats defensively in the current metagame like dragapult, conkeldurr, kommo-o and hydreigon.
can take on many pokémon in the current metagame with good coverage options in close combat, knock off and grass knot. these three moves alongside its stab plasma fists can dent holes into the opposing team. plasma fists can take on many pokémon, since only ground pokémon resists the electric stab of zeraora, close combat can hit hydreigon and bisharp whereas knock off is great in general removing troublesome items like leftovers and grass knot is a great option to go through the ground-types which resist zeraoras electric stab those are seismitoad, gastrodon and hippodon.
[
/
