Project Core Analysis Workshop (Discussing Threats to and Partners for Garchomp + Landorus-T)

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Threat:

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip

While Ferrothorn dislikes Scald, it can OHKO Gastrodon with Power Whip, doesn't mind Togekiss's Air Slashes (even at +2), and can 2HKO Togekiss back with Gyro Ball.

Partner:

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Roost / Earthquake

Mega Charizard X beats most of the threats to this core (bar Terrakion), including Thundurus, Mega Charizard Y, and Glalie. It can set up on most of the threats and KO them with either Dragon Claw or Flare Blitz. Charizard X also appreciates Gastrodon beating water-types and Togekiss spreading paralysis. If Terrakion is such a huge issue, then you can use Earthquake to KO it after a Dragon Dance.
 
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reserving energy ball 4 attacks gengar

With rules like this one, I prefer exercising leniency rather than enforcing it strictly. I don't want to discourage contributions, so if someone would like to mention a Pokemon that's threatening to the core and unlisted in the Viability Rankings, that's fine as long as they provide a genuine explanation behind their choice. Of course, the majority of threats and partners posted here should still be ones viable in OU and listed on the Viability Rankings. However, there's no harm in having some unranked Pokemon posted every now and then to shake things up a little. This was the case in the previous Core Analysis thread and the same policy is extended to this one. I can make this rule clearer in the OP.
oh thanks for the response I had a feeling Glalie would be questionable due to it's position in the current meta game and I really appreciate your response
 
Threat:


Serperior @ Life Orb
252 SpA/4 SpD/252 Speed
Timid
Contrary
- Leaf Storm
- HP Rock
- Glare
- Giga Drain

Serperior can outspeed both these Pokemon but cannot switch into Togekiss safely, however he can switch into Gastrodon safely. It can use Gastrodon as Leaf Storm fodder to get the +2 SpA boost. It OHKOs Gastrodon and at +2 it 2HKOs Togekiss with HP Rock while only potentially being 2HKOd on return so as a result Togekiss will go down before Serperior will if Togekiss switches into a full health Serperior.

Partner:



Heatran @ Air Balloon
4 Def/252 SpA/252 Speed
Timid
Flash Fire
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock

Heatran's Fire/Steel combo provide excellent synergy with these two Pokemon as it x4 resist any Grass moves directed at Gastrodon, x4 resist Steel type moves and is immune to any Poison type moves directed at Togekiss. While in turn Togekiss is immune to Ground type moves and x4 resist Fighting moves directed at Heatran, and Gastrodon is immune to any Water type moves directed at Heatran. It can absorb basically any move Mega Charizard Y can throw at it and has a 81.3% chance to OHKO with Stone Edge, although it must worry about Focus Blast. It threatens to outright OHKO Ferrothorn only fearing a potential Thunder Wave on the switch in and can wall Serperiors Leaf Storms only fearing potentially a HP Ground (however if it's carrying HP Ground it's not a threat to Togekiss). It also outright OHKOs Mega Glalie with Fire Blast only fearing EQ when it's balloon is popped.
 
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Threat:

Terrakion @ Choice Band
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Iron Head / X-Scissor
- Quick Attack

With just a little bit of prior damage (read: hazard or Gastrodon pivoting into attacks in general), Choice Band Terrakion wrecks this core with Banded Stone Edge OHKOing Togekiss while Close Combat OHKOing Gastrodon after a little prior damage.
 
Threat:

Kyurem-Black @ Choice Specs
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Hidden Power Fire
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power

Specs Kyurem-Black is a scary lure, and Draco does a meaty 70.6-83.3% to Gastrodon (Ice Beam is almost a guaranteed 2HKO after rocks, and has a 50% to 2HKO sans rocks), while you cleanly outspeed and blow out Togekiss with Ice Beam.
 
Threat Level Midnight:

Kyurem @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Roost
- Ice Beam
- Toxic

So, this is the famed Sub+Roost+Toxic Kyurem, which is pretty efficient at taking down this core. Gastro tends to be toxic bait and succumbs quickly to it. I'm sure there's a certain EV spread on Kyurem that's useful for setting up four substitutes, which I may or may not have. Anyway, Togekiss goes down to a few quick ice beams, which is handy to keep it from spamming heal bell. A potential scald burn could be annoying if Kyurem switches in on scald, but I still don't think that stops this fun stallbreaker from beating this core.
 

Miridy

♩_♩
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Threat:

Heatran (F) @ Power Herb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Taunt
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Solar Beam

Magma Storms traps both of them, Solar Beam murders Gastrodon, Heatran is faster than Togekiss with that ev spread and can easily taunt it in order to avoid Roost and then proceed to finish it with Magma


Partner:


Scizor (M) @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Atk / 16 Def / 200 SpD
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance /Defog
- Bullet Punch
- Roost
- Bug Bite/U-turn




When we look at the core, we can see that majority of threats for it are very powerful 'mons, whom are able to destroy even two sturdy users such as Gastrodon and Togekiss while still having the bulk to tank their attacks, for example: Draco Plate Dragalge gives problem to the core due to Toxic Spikes, Sludge Wave that kills Toge and a powerful Draco Meteor, Mega Gardevoir is faster and Hyper Voice can 2hko both of them, while also having access to taunt to block gastrodon from recovering, MetaGross Mega is also a threat, Togekiss dies and gastrodon has to worry about Zen Headbutt having good chances to 2hko together with a flinch chance. Gengar can easily scare off Togekiss with Sludge Wave and can tank a Scald, if required, like Gardevoir, Gengar usually has Taunt on its moveset, or more rarely Will o Wisp, which is something Gastrodon does not like at all. Lastly Kyurem-Black is also another problem for this team due to its bulk and great power, even Gastrodon has troubles tanking Specs Ice Beam from it, if we don't include the rare HP Fire, Mega Scizor can act as check for all of them, while also giving support against other more uncommon threats for this core such as Life Orb Terrakion or Swords Dance Weavile due to the priority Bullet Punch, if required, Scizor can forgo having Swords Dance as its boosting move, losing power, but gaining a valuable defog user, extremely helpful for someone like Togekiss, who is weak to hazards and Gastrodon that gives easy opportunities in order for the opponent to set 'em up.
 
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Threat

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 64 Def / 180 SpD / 16 Spe
Calm Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Roost
- Toxic
- Substitute

SubToxic Zapdos is probably one of the harder stops to this core, as neither member is able to stop Zapdos from setting up. Gastrodon needs to get a Scald burn on the first turn or call out Roost with Earthquake in order to deal damage, as otherwise Zapdos can easily stall it out with Toxic damage. On the other hand, Togekiss fails to do anything to Zapdos, being set up fodder on top of getting 2HKOed by Thunderbolt.

0 SpA Gastrodon Scald vs. 248 HP / 180+ SpD Zapdos: 67-79 (17.4 - 20.6%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Zapdos Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Togekiss: 206-246 (55 - 65.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Togekiss Air Slash vs. 248 HP / 180+ SpD Zapdos: 39-46 (10.1 - 12%) -- possibly the worst move ever
 

Martin

A monoid in the category of endofunctors
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Threat

Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Adamant / Lonely Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance / Grass Knot

Bisharp shits on this core regardless of whether it runs SD or that anti-stall Grass Knot set. +2 KOff OHKOs Gastrodon, as does Koff-->GK (which is designed to lure Quag but also achieves the goal of 1v1ing Gastrodon), and it naturally beats T-waveless Togekiss courtesy of its speed tier and offensive typing. Lonely>Naughty in general because it actually achieves something that Naughty loses to (can't remember what it is now but its kinda necessary).

Partner


Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Superpower
- Pursuit


BandTar is a solid partner for this core for a number of reasons. First of all, Pursuit is useful for most cores, and this one is no exeption. Being able to trap Gengar and other stallbreakers is extremely useful, as is Rock-type coverage to nail Talonflame (who otherwise gives this core a bit of a headache between Taunt, Wisp, Roost and its deceptively high special bulk). It fits onto both semistall and balance (where you will find this core) well for this utility too. It also eliminates Ferrothorn, who otherwise just shits on this core outside of Togekiss flinch cheese (which can be easily beaten out by T-Wave variants due to Togie lacking the move itself--which can rather ironically ParaFlinch it to death while healing on it with Leech Seed).

In return, this core does a number of things for Tyranitar. The Water-type immunity that Gastrodon has helps out a tonne, as it discourages the use of Scald and Steam Eruption--giving BandTar an easier time against certain Pokémon. It also benefits from the Heal Bell support clearing it of any pesky burns that it gets while countering Talonflame, and the EQ immunity allows it to pivot through some of Tyranitar's bugbears.
 
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Gengar @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Taunt/Energy Ball

Gengar has a really good chance to OHKO Togekiss from full while it drops 100% if Togekiss takes SR damage. When talking about Gastrodon it is straight up OHKO'd by Energy Ball while it is crippled by Taunt since it doesn't allow it to setup.

252 SpA Life Orb Gengar Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Togekiss: 359-424 (95.9 - 113.3%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
 
Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 240 Atk / 12 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Icicle Crash
- Freeze-Dry

Mamoswine outspeeds Togekiss and OHKOes it with Icicle Crash. It also 2HKOes Gastrodon with any move + Freeze-Dry.
 

Infernal

Banned deucer.
Top partners for the Toge + Gastro core are Mega Scizor by Miridy, Heatran by TerrorthornColt, and Tyranitar by gamer boy. Mega Sciz has great typing synergy with the core and handles a good portion of the threats mentioned, such as Mega Metagross and the several offensive ice types posted. Tran has a similarly excellent typing synergy and ability to handle problematic threats to the core. When using Tran alongside this core, another variant to consider besides the one Terrothorn recommended is a bulkier one with Leftovers to provide more longevity. Lastly, we have Tar, who is a good partner for reasons stated by its nominator. I would like to mention Choice Scarf as a possible alternative to Choice Band. This gives an otherwise slow core some speed, all while enabling Tar to more effectively trap and revenge kill threatening Pokemon like Gengar, Bisharp, Zard-Y, and Thund-I.

Here is our topic for this week:

Volcanion @ Choice Specs
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Steam Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power Grass

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Calm Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave

Hopping aboard the Volcanion hype train around the forums! People have quickly realized how well Volcanion pairs with tons of Pokemon, many of which are fairies. Clefable is one of them, and together, these two cover a wide range of threats for one another. For example, Clefable dislikes running into Pokemon like Mega Scizor, Skarmory, Jirachi, Talonflame, and Heatran. These are all Pokemon Volcanion is able to check and pressure heavily with its high-powered attacks, demonstrating one way these two help each other. Like every Pokemon, Volcanion also has a fair share of Pokemon it's troubled by. Included in this category are things like Mega Latias and offensive threats capable of revenge killing Volcanion, such as Mega Manectric, Raikou, and Mega Diancie. Clefable's ability to handle these Pokemon and blanket check a host of others makes it a great partner.

Before ending things off, I would like to say Volcanion + Clefable is a very flexible core. You basically have two top-tier, very self sufficient Pokemon able to cover a ton of threats in two slots. They pair naturally with with numerous Pokemon, both mega and non-mega. This all gives a builder quite a bit of options when deciding what route to take when building around these two. Because of how many Pokemon pair well here and can be used alongside this core, I would love to see a lot of partner submissions please! Volcanion is our newest toy, and it'd be great to see the ideas people have partners-wise.

You may now begin discussing threats and partners. Make sure to specify whether the Pokemon you mention is a threat or a partner. This will run for 4 or 5 days depending on activity. Have fun!
 
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Martin

A monoid in the category of endofunctors
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Threat

Jellicent @ Colbur Berry / Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 168 SpD / 88 Spe
Calm Nature
- Recover
- Will-O-Wisp / Toxic
- Taunt
- Scald / Hex



There is a reason for this lol. No, I've not moved on from Wobbuffet (he died a valiant death), but Jellicent has always been something that I've hyped up for a number of reasonsーnamely its matchup verses Starmie, its matchup versus Keldeo and, more recently, its matchup versus Volcanion have really stood out to me as being really useful for balanced/defensive teams. Its ability to spinblock versus Starmie is uncanny and makes it a really good candidate for balanced spikes stack. In addition, Jellicent is able to consistently take on Volcanion, being able to heal off of each of its eight precious Steam Eruptions that it switches into while taking basically nothing from Fire Blast and Sludge Bomb 'cause resistance and it takes <50% from HP Grass (and by extention HP Ghost and Elec). The given speed investment outpaces analysis Belly Drum Azumarill, allowing it to Wisp before it can KOff or Play Rough you. Your choice of item is entirely dependent on what you run in the status slot, with Wisp+Colbur being able to cheese Pursuit trappers like Tyranitar, Bisharp etc. who try and come in to trap you whereas Toxic allows you to stallbreak more consistently as well as allowing you to wear down Volcanion much more consistently if used alongside Hex (which doesn't do much without a boost tbh). In addition to taking Volcanion on, it completely shuts Clefable down with Taunt and is able to slowly-but-surely take it out by Scalding/Hexing, Taunting when it can still use Softboiled and recovering when its health gets too low.

Even if it lacks Hex and/or Toxic, Specs Volcanion loses to this if it locks itself into anything other than HP Grass. This is because it can be easily out-stalled between spamming Wisp and using Recover to heal off damage, allowing it to punish whatever comes in on it in the process.

Partner

Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Superpower
- Crunch

Tyranitar is in general a very good partner for this core. This is because it provides Pursuit support for Volcanion, which makes eliminating stuff like Lati@s that little bit less arduous, and the immense wallbreaking ability provided by Choice Band it just a really useful asset to pair with Volcanion. Volcanion returns the favor with Water Absorb and a Will-O-Wisp immunity, and having the extra power behind its attacks means that Tyranitar can help break down fat waters and dragons that try and switch in on it. The two are generally pretty good at breaking each-other's checks, so they tend to pair well with one-another in general. As for Clefable, Clefable handles the fight weakness slightly by providing a resistance while also benefitting from the poison resistance that Tyranitar has and taking no nasty chip damage from sandstorm, allowing it to take advantage of it to make breaking through certain things that little bit more quickly. Also fairy/dark makes for a pretty dank type core in general so there's also that.
 
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Threat:
upload_2016-4-21_19-12-52.png

Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Rock Slide

Sand Rush Excadrill (and Choice Scarf as well) are a huge threat to this core. Excadrill can use it's STAB moves to OHKO both Clefable and Volcanion and out-speeds both in and outside of sand.
252+ Atk Life Orb Excadrill Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 172 Def Clefable: 400-476 (101.5 - 120.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Excadrill Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Volcanion: 408-484 (135.5 - 160.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Excadrill cannot switch into Volcanion at all and drops to both Steam Eruption and Fire Blast in one hit. However, Excadrill can switch into this Clefable lacking Flamethrower (as Excadrill is immune to Thunder Wave) rather easily even with stealth rock on the field provided Clefable doesn't have any calm mind boosts and proceed to threaten the core.
0 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Excadrill: 69-82 (19.1 - 22.7%) -- possible 5HKO

Partner:
upload_2016-4-21_19-24-25.png

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 8 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock

Standard defensive Landorus-T spread that does a very good job of checking Excadrill after intimidate:
-1 252+ Atk Life Orb Excadrill Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 240+ Def Landorus-T: 99-118 (25.9 - 30.8%) -- 7.2% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
Landorus-T can then threaten Excadrill with Earthquake which OHKO's Excadrill. Landorus-T is also a great partner for this core in general because it can check Mega Metagross lacking Ice punch and threaten it with Earthquake as well as acting as a Talonflame hard check for the core. Landorus-T also provides Stealth Rock which is needed on every team.

I chose the standard spread and moveset but there is a lot of variation that can be used. An alternative spread of 252HP 168 Defense and 88 speed with an impish nature allows Landorus-T to out-speed modest max speed specs Volcanion and hit it with Earthquake. U-Turn can be switched for Knock Off or even swords dance though Swords Dance in general isn't usually seen on Defensive Landorus-T and this core doesn't do a bad job of Checking Mega Altaria, Mega Scizor, or Hippowdon which is usually where carrying Swords Dance on Defensive Landorus-T would be more useful.
 

Miridy

♩_♩
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Ahh, it's a pity I was ninja'd with cb Tyranitar, vouching that set, not only that powerful Pursuit is an invaluable asset for Volcanion, but you get to hit really hard on both offensive spectrum without even having to use a mega.
Anyways.

Threat:


Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]

4 atk Thundurus easily kills and outspeeds Volcanion, Thunderbolt and Sludge Wave are also a surefire 2hko on Clefable, while the latter isn't able to kill Thund with Moonblast, albeit they usually switch on LO Thundurus unaware (no pun intended) of Sludge Wave.

252 SpA Life Orb Thundurus Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 84+ SpD Clefable: 169-200 (42.8 - 50.7%)
252 SpA Life Orb Thundurus Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 84+ SpD Clefable: 239-283 (60.6 - 71.8%)
252 SpA Life Orb Thundurus Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Volcanion: 408-484 (112 - 132.9%)



Partner:



Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 208 Def / 52 Spe
Bold Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Pain Split
- Will-O-Wisp

So, huuh, seems pretty random buuut, Rotom-Wash is a great partner for the core, to be honest, the core is slow, and user that don't care about Thunder Wave Clefable and have the power to plow these two give the core quite some problems, for example: Excadrill murders the core, Earth Plate Landorus-Therian, perhaps even with SD murders the core, Offensive Heatran with taunt also gives the team some headaches, especially if we consider that Volcanion is weak to Stealth Rocks, and if they are in, chances are that Heatran can 2hko Volcanion with Fire Blast/Lava and Earth Power (if Heatran is modest, which is still faster than the posted Volcanion he will always 2hko Volc, rather, Earth Power alone has a chance to ohko) Rotom-Wash takes care of all of them but it doesn't stop here, the valuable Volt Switch gives the core momentum and can work two ways: the first way is in order to give Volcanion an easy entry against stuff that isn't scared of Rotom but it is of Volcanion such as Ferrothorn, Celebi or Tangrowth, the second way is that Rotom attracts stuff that can also check Volcanion such as Latios Mega Latias, or Vanilla Latias, so that with Volt Switch the player using the core can switch to a pursuit user such as Tyranitar or Weavile killing them easily, wow from Rotom also helps HP Grass Volcanion at gaining an edge against Gastrodon and lastly 52 speed evs let Rotom outspeed 8 speed Landorus-Therias, you may never know...
 
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Threat:



Dragalge @ Choice Specs
228 HP/252 SpA/28 Speed
Modest
Adaptability
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast/Hidden Power Fire
- Scald

Dragalge can come in on both these Pokemon and OHKO with Sludge Wave. The only thing it must be wary of is Clefable's Thunder Wave. Choice Specs Scald also comes in handy for any Landorus-T or Gliscor switch ins typically paired with Volcanion though you'd have to be boldsy to click it over Sludge Wave. Not really much needs to be said here lol.

Partner:



Metagross @ Metagrossite
252 Atk/4 SpD/252 Speed
Jolly
Clear Body (Tough Claws)
- Zen Headbutt
- Meteor Mash
- Hammer Arm
- Thunder Punch

Mega Metagross forms pretty excellent synergy with Volcanion and Clefable despite sharing a Ground weakness with Volcanion. Volcanion and Clefable act as burn fodder for it. It helps form 2/3s of a Dragon/Steel/Fairy core with Clefable. Volcanion helps remove the pesky Steel types that neither MegaGross or Clefable enjoy while both Gross and Clefable help with the Dragon types that trouble Volcanion. It can threaten to OHKO Dragalge with Zen Headbutt as it can tank a Choice Specs HP Fire from Dragalge. Hammer Arm can threaten any Chansey and Blissey that wall Volcanion and other threats like most Steel types that could potentially provent Clefable from setting up. While Thunder Punch can be used to threat Water types like Starmie and Manaphy and Jellicent that dont mind facing Volcanion.
 
Threat:

Garchomp @ Lum Berry
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Stealth Rock

Landorus-Therian @ Soft Sand
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
- Stealth Rock

Both of these Pokemon present a great threat to the core as they can outspeed and OHKO Volcanion with STAB Earthquake. They also survive anything Clefable throws at them and can boost up with Swords Dance to sweep the core. Garchomp needs Clefable to have a little prior damage to guarantee the OHKO though.

Partner
Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Icicle Crash
- Freeze-Dry

Mamoswine is a really nice partner for this core because it can OHKO the fast Ground-types with Ice Shard while also checking Tornadus-T and Thundurus-I. Ground STAB also allows it to threaten opposing Volcanion which can be problematic for the core. Freeze-Dry smacks Gyarados, Quagsire, Seismitoad and Gastrodon very hard so that you can spam Steam Eruption. Watch out for Specs Keldeo though if you use this.
 
Threat

Nidoking @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Modest/Timid Nature
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Flamethrower/Stealth Rock
- Sludge Wave

Although very unorthodox and not too common in OU. Nidoking can reliably outspeed and OHKO Volcanion with an Earth Power and chunk out Clefable with a Sludge Wave if it can't get the one-shot. Although it doesn't appreciate switching into Volcanion, it can take most of what Clefable can throw at it.

Partners

Thundurus @ Leftovers/Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Hidden Power Ice
- Thunderbolt
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave

While Clefable can get the job done on T-waving, Thundurus can make for a good second choice. As a Taunter to prevent setup and halt stall teams that will prey on Clefable or Volcanion both. Thundurus makes for a good sponge into Steel attacks at Clef, and Ground or attacks at Volcanion. Alternatively you can run Thundurus-T to make a great Electric switch in vs Volc.

Lopunny @ Lopunnite
Ability: Klutz
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Jolly/Adamant Nature
- Return
- High Jump Kick
- Fake Out
- Ice Punch

Most of the threats to Volcanion and Clefable so far can be dealt with by Fighting types. The one I'll throw out there is Mega Lopunny, which can take on most of the problems to the core with a grin.
 
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Threat:

Landorus-Therian @ Soft Sand
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 56 HP / 220 Atk / 232 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Rock Polish
- Swords Dance

Standard DD Lando-T does really well against this core, as it outspeeds and OHKOes video Volcanion while it can 2HKO or, if it's at good enough health, set up on Clefable. It's immune to Teave as well, so it can potentialy switch in on that from Clefable
 

bludz

a waffle is like a pancake with a syrup trap
is a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
Partner

Aerodactyl @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Aerial Ace
- Aqua Tail
- Pursuit

This core is threatened by powerful ground types like Landorus-T, Excadrill, and Nidoking, other strong breakers like LO Torn-T, Gengar, some Thundurus variants, Mega Medicham, and also offensive Talonflame. A common theme here is the core being threatened by faster pokemon. Mega Aerodactyl's great speed allows it to check many of these faster breakers, and it can even Pursuit trap mons like Gengar and Torn-T. Pursuit is also great for removing opposing Latios/Latias for pave the way for Volcanion. Volcanion also supports Aerodactyl since it threatens bulky Ground- and Steel-types (Mega Scizor is particularly notable) as well as pressuring bulky Water-types.
 
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HailFall

my cancer is sun and my leo is moon
Threat:

Serperior @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power Fire
- Substitute

Serp sets up pretty easily on clef and volc locked into steam eruption, and can get sub up on clef in order to avoid twave. It boosts its special attack stat dizzyingly fast and if clef isnt already set up serp basically wins.

Partner:

Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 96 HP / 160 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- U-turn
- Knock Off

Torn is pretty cool with this core for a few reasons. Firstly it can handle sub serp fairly well (uses heat wave to hit more consistently but superpower is an option), which is important for the reasons i mentioned before, but it also checks a whole slew of other things that can be tricky for this core to deal with like gengar and keldeo. As you would expect, torn has a lot of options as far as what it runs, but you can also go for a life orb set that has iron tail to lure mega diancie (presumably max atk), or hp ice to break lando (comes in on clef and sd sets are a royal pain in the ass), or taunt to break chansey (technically walls both these mons if we forget hax), etc.
 

Take Azelfie

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Partner

Kyurem-Black @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Ice Beam
- Outrage
- Fusion Bolt
- Dragon Claw

As already stated this core doesn't like offensive Ground-types. Choice Scarf Kyurem can work well in this slot as it can help to kill Garchomp, Landorus, weakened Excadrill and many other things I could list. Volcanion also removes Steel-types that want to switch into some of Kyurem's Ice Beam. It also aids versus Torn-T and Thundurus which is also neat.
 
Threat:
Alakazam @ Alakazite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Encore

Trolls Volcanion by Tracing Water Absorb, allowing it to come into Steam Eruption for free while being able to shrug off other attacks not named Fire Blast. Mega Alakazam also Encores Clefable into Calm Mind, allowing you to KO it with Psychic.
 

Infernal

Banned deucer.
One of the best turn outs we've had so far, thank you for the contributions everyone! The top partners for this week are as follows:

Tyranitar
by gamer boy - When using Specs Volcanion, one of the main things to consider when building is Pursuit support to eliminate obstacles like Mega Latias, Latios, Slowking, and Jellicent. Trapping offensive electrics like Raikou and Mega Manectric is also useful. Although Clefable can check a good portion of these relatively well, eliminating them via trapping helps significantly to help Volcanion and relieve the pressure Clefable has to handle all of these threats. CB Tyranitar provides this assistance with trapping like no other and forms a powerful wall breaking duo with Volcanion. An overall nice partner alongside the core.

Landorus-T
by RonaldMcdonald - One of the main issues this core faces is a weakness to offensive Ground-types like Excadrill, which Landorus-T covers nicely. In addition, Landorus-T provides SR to the core, and is arguably the best candidate for the role here given the valuable defensive utility it brings to the table by providing a check to Pokemon like Charizard-X and physical attackers in general.

Thundurus-I
by Fire Fist Ace - With Pursuit support established by Tyranitar and offensive Ground-types checked by Landorus-T, there are two crucial things to consider now: speed and having something to pressure the Water-types Volcanion dislikes running into in general. Because the core is slow, some speed control is greatly appreciated to keep several faster offensive threats from going crazy. Even with Tyranitar to pressure Water-types like Slowking and Jellicent, the core would still appreciate a partner to further threaten them and others Tyranitar can't deal with, like Keldeo and Manaphy. Thundurus-I fulfills all of these roles well and can even carry GK to lure in and eliminate some nuisances for Volcanion, like Gastrodon.

With the top partners for this week decided, I'd like to extend my congratulations to gamer boy for entering the hall of fame with five winning entries! In honor of this accomplishment, I have decided to make this week's core feature Jellicent, who we haven't done in either thread thus far and has been receiving some attention lately!

Jellicent @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 172 SpD / 88 Spe
Calm Nature
- Recover
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Scald

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip

Jellicent has been receiving some attention lately thanks to its ability to keep popular threats like Volcanion and Keldeo at bay. Although other Pokemon like Slowking and Mega Latias can do something similar, Jellicent separates itself from them in a few ways. The first is an immunity to water, allowing it to avoid being burned and pressured as much into healing by Scald and Steam Eruption. The second is the ability to threaten trappers like Tyranitar thanks to Colbur Berry and Will-O-Wisp, which is useful given how often threats like Volcanion and Keldeo are seen alongside Pokemon carrying Pursuit. Ferrothorn benefits from Jellicent's ability to do all the aforementioned, and also appreciates how well it stops Pokemon like Starmie from removing Spikes. Typing wise, these two pair well nicely as well, resisting Electric, Grass, Fire, and Fighting for one another. This can be useful to, for example, discourage strong Fighting-types like Mega Medicham from clicking High Jump Kick versus Ferrothorn. Overall, these two possess many characteristics common to your typical Grass + Water defensive core. Because of the nature of the core, however, numerous offensive threats can break through these two easily. It's up to you all to find the threats this core has issues with and any partners capable of helping the core deal with them!

You may now begin discussing threats and partners. Make sure to specify whether the Pokemon you mention is a threat or a partner. This will run for 4 or 5 days depending on activity. Have fun!
 
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Take Azelfie

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Threat

Manectric @ Manectite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power Ice

It's simple, Manectric threatens both of these Pokemon through coverage. Flamethrower can KO Ferrothorn while coming in on an offensive move pretty safely because of Intimidate and Jellicent can attempt to burn Manectric but that doesn't effect it as a special attacker and Toxic doesn't stack up a lot due to Manectric hit and run strategy.

Partner

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 248 HP / 100 Def / 160 Spe
Impish Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Flare Blitz
- Roost
- Earthquake

Zard handles Manectric pretty reliably and finishes off the FWG core. It can handle Breloom decently which also hurts this team and can face off against common Steel-types which the core doens't handle to greatly against.
 
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