oof sorry godzilla
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Resource National Dex OU Good Cores
- Thread starter Solaros & Lunaris
- Start date
Having the +2 Omniboost for Kommo-O is easier said than done due to the mon inability to get past fairies through a match. This puts Rain on a weird position where they are forced to play 5-6 because one of their mons is just gonna be a sitting duck until the endgame, and Rain preffers to abuse everything they have and go for a faster game, not to mention Mega Latias is already a tough Matchup for rain teams and Kommo-O just makes it worse. Manaphy is the better wallbreaker on Rain but you can replace it for Pokemon such as Tapu Koko if you desire (The Stall MU becomes a bit tougher).
Ash Gren doesnt use Gunk Shot because Spikes are more valuable in order for his rain teammates to have an easier time destroying the opposing team, despite Gunk Shot being decent coverage for Fini and Koko its not near as good as Spikes and its also kinda useless outside of the Fini Matchup since Koko gets destroyed by Surf or Hydro Pump under Rain, Spikes are able to put pressure on usual rain checks such as Amoonguss, Tangrowth or Toxapex and it doesnt really use Ice Beam for coverage either because his water stab nukes on rain.
Thundurus-T is not a fit for rain due to the lack of defensive utility that Zapdos has while keeping strong offensive pressure in order to deal with offensive grasses such as Tapu Bulu, Rillaboom or Kartana.
Ferrothorn Explosion is just letting yourself get run over by opposing Ash Greninja, the chip on Zapdos isnt worth it when most of your team is able to overwhelm it.
As for your Scizor mention, its the same as what i mentioned earlier, you need Ferrothorn in order to not auto lose to opposing Ash Greninja, it deals with Mega Latias better for sure but your dropping the Ash Gren Matchup entirely which is really terrible for Rain Teams
Gonna be my first post here so I'm just gonna get straight to the point. This is a double psychic core featuring tapu lele and mega medicham.
+
The whole point of this core is to spam Zen headbut with medicham doing so allows you to dish out tons of damage to defensive mons and even OHKO pex
Calcs: 252 Atk Pure Power Medicham-Mega Zen Headbutt vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex in Psychic Terrain: 302-356 (99.3 - 117.1%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Pure Power Medicham-Mega Zen Headbutt vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey in Psychic Terrain: 375-442 (53.3 - 62.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Pure Power Medicham-Mega Zen Headbutt vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable in Psychic Terrain: 249-294 (63.1 - 74.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
I hope you all enjoy having as much fun with this core as i did and to be honest this is like tapu lele version of koko + medicham core and it works pretty well Also Idk if this core has been posted I checked but couldn't find so.
+
The whole point of this core is to spam Zen headbut with medicham doing so allows you to dish out tons of damage to defensive mons and even OHKO pex
Calcs: 252 Atk Pure Power Medicham-Mega Zen Headbutt vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex in Psychic Terrain: 302-356 (99.3 - 117.1%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Pure Power Medicham-Mega Zen Headbutt vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey in Psychic Terrain: 375-442 (53.3 - 62.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Pure Power Medicham-Mega Zen Headbutt vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable in Psychic Terrain: 249-294 (63.1 - 74.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
I hope you all enjoy having as much fun with this core as i did and to be honest this is like tapu lele version of koko + medicham core and it works pretty well Also Idk if this core has been posted I checked but couldn't find so.
yeah right g shot is better it should be run more
Gunk Shot is nowhere near as good as Spikes. You're only hitting one or two relevant targets in exchange for having a far worse matchup against everything else since you aren't wearing them down with hazard stacking.
Also, not trying to mini mod here so I apologize in advance if this is out of line, but this isn't even the right thread for discussing this type of thing in the first place(this refers to your original post as well). And if you're going to argue for something, you have to provide actual evidence and reasoning. Responding with one-liners like "it better" not only doesn't help anyone understand, but it floods the thread with unnecessary stuff.
hmmph so let's see what g shot hits
all the tapus , clef,poisonium z wrecks hoopa unbound , gardevoir,speical tanks like flogres and so much more
try using it before say Insert Name Here is wrong
No one is switching this in directly on Gren in the first place and it outspeeds untransformed Gren anyways
Again no one is hard switching this in for you to lure it. Not to mention that non-scarf sets aren't staying in on you anyways.
Literally the only two relevant targets that you're luring with Z-Gunk and both are oftentimes paired with other mons like Ferrothorn, Toxapex, and Kommo-o that don't care for it and wall you more easily now that you're sacrificing Specs.
Again, not switching into Gren for you to lure it unless it's max SpD(which isn't common at all in the current meta) or trying to take pressure from Dpulse from a teammate like Pex(which probably isn't getting overwhelmed by non-specs variants anyways).
Yet again, no one wants to switch this in on Gren and Hoopa-U isn't even that common in the meta to even somewhat justify Z-Gunk Gren in the first place (and at that point just run the other mediocre option in U-turn on specs if you want to instantly remove it if your opponent's desperate/dumb enough to hardswitch it in on Gren in the first place)
The other mons you listed already suggested it, but these last 2 you mentioned pretty much confirms you're using ladder experience (which isn't great for supporting your argument when most players on ND ladder run really bad sets/teams that don't reflect the meta) to justify Z-Gunk Gren because no one competent actually uses them since they're nowhere near viable. And like most of the mons you mentioned here, Garde isn't hardswitching or usually staying in on Gren anyways.
Not to mention that by running Z-Gunk, you have to run a Def/SpD lowering nature to not weaken its power, making your weakness to stuff like priority worse. And by forgoing Specs AND Spikes, you're getting rid of the things that make Gren such a great lategame cleaner and general wallbreaker, making Gren incapable of doing anything. Anything that isn't Bulu or Fini just sits on you all day.
Last but not least, this still isn't the right thread for discussing this.
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Hi, I think this is a super helpful resource for newer players, although it is quite outdated, so I would like to remove some older cores and submit new ones!
Cores to be Removed
+ 
- Heavily outdated now, forces a lot of similiar structures / bad teams, no reason to use this anymore over slightly reworking the team
+ 
/ 
/ 
- Lol bad mon, got unranked recently, definitely doesnt deserve 3 slots for cores.
+ 
- I dont think AGren is the dark that ppl shld be using for medi teams, doesnt offer that much, MediVile is much more relevant to the tier rn.
Submissions of Cores
(Offensive)
+ 
Melm is an amazing mon right now, and with Mega Latios’ rise, it truly shines, with TWave luring Steel’s and spreading Para, helping Mega Latios break. Also has solid defensive utility in Melmetal checking fairys for it with Mtios checking the likes of Yard, Grounds and Kart.
+ 
PUP Encore MLop pressures Pex, Skarm, Corv greatly which vile appreciates, and vile cleans lategame while lop breaks, fairly self explanatory.
+ 
Hail is a thing now yeah.
+ 
Turn on the pex / tran, click the funny button.
/ 
+ 
Koko / Rilla turn on the Grasses / Steels / Grounds, Clown claims one, Koko Rilla pressure waters.
+
Diancie pressures darks for clown, keeps rocks off, and lures steels for clown to come in, also sets rocks for it to break easier.
+
Volcanion is extremely prone to hazards so Dia is already a solid partner, as well as providing rocks to chip teams trying to switch around Volc. SubVolc also abuses many steels that Dia lures in like MZor, Skarm and Corv.
+ 
Fight Z Kart lures and pressures Corv, Skarm, Zor which can cause issues for Tar, with Tar pursuit trapping Zap, Molt, MTias, Mtios etc and setting rocks for Kart to break better.
+ + ()
Solid GrassSpam core, Bulu providing defensive backbone and checks threats like MLati which Kart cant break, Lele is an additional member that cleans once steels are weakened by those two.
+ / 
Fast offense killer pivot + strong breaker, self explanatory.
+ 
Volcarona lures and kills Tran / Pex, Serp cleans. Serp breaks apart stall (Taunt + Leppa + Synth shuts down UnaClef + Chans), Volc cleans.
+ 
Garchomp lures and removes grasses, chomp cleans; Chomp breaks early, weakening corv skarm etc, gyara snowballs lategame.
+
Mega Latios appreciates Greninja providing spikes, letting it break much easier. Gren also appreciates Mega Latios pressuring PexClef or Fini cores hard.
+ + 
Mega Latios + Dual Trapper is tried and true, with Weavile removing Psychics and Zone removing Steels for the other two, and Sub Zone is used to remove Mega Mawile which can cause issues for the two but either work, and sub Mega Tios makes Heatran fodder.
+
KokoLucha has been a HO staple since G7, and now its an amazing asset to HO as it deals extremely well with other HO’s and offenses.
+ 
Hydreigon lures in Fairys like Clefable that Mega Mawile takes advantage off, and in return Hydreigin takes advantage of the likes of Gliscor, Heatran and Lando which Mega Mawile lures in. As Hydreigon wears down the Dark resists, Mega Mawile cleans much easier with boosted sucker punches.
Defensive Cores
/ 
+
Basically AmoongKing 2.0, checks threats for each other, + Bulu provides GTerrain to remove GKings ground weakness + provide additional recovery for it.
+
NS if this counts as a offensive core or not, but either way its a solid core, TWave on washtom is also usable to spread para better. Basically washtom checks fires and grounds, melm checks grasses in return.
+ 
Fini checks AGren, Tran and fogs so Zap can be 3a, checking Grounds, Grasses for Fini in return.
+ 
Cant go wrong with this for stall.
+
Functions in a similiar way to ZapFini, but Swole checks grounds as well, and Fini provides Status immunity for Swole.
Will edit if i miss anything^^
Cores to be Removed
+ - Heavily outdated now, forces a lot of similiar structures / bad teams, no reason to use this anymore over slightly reworking the team + / / - Lol bad mon, got unranked recently, definitely doesnt deserve 3 slots for cores. + - I dont think AGren is the dark that ppl shld be using for medi teams, doesnt offer that much, MediVile is much more relevant to the tier rn.Submissions of Cores
(Offensive)
+ Melm is an amazing mon right now, and with Mega Latios’ rise, it truly shines, with TWave luring Steel’s and spreading Para, helping Mega Latios break. Also has solid defensive utility in Melmetal checking fairys for it with Mtios checking the likes of Yard, Grounds and Kart.
+ PUP Encore MLop pressures Pex, Skarm, Corv greatly which vile appreciates, and vile cleans lategame while lop breaks, fairly self explanatory.
+ Hail is a thing now yeah.
+ Turn on the pex / tran, click the funny button.
/ + Koko / Rilla turn on the Grasses / Steels / Grounds, Clown claims one, Koko Rilla pressure waters.
+ Diancie pressures darks for clown, keeps rocks off, and lures steels for clown to come in, also sets rocks for it to break easier.
+ Volcanion is extremely prone to hazards so Dia is already a solid partner, as well as providing rocks to chip teams trying to switch around Volc. SubVolc also abuses many steels that Dia lures in like MZor, Skarm and Corv.
+ Fight Z Kart lures and pressures Corv, Skarm, Zor which can cause issues for Tar, with Tar pursuit trapping Zap, Molt, MTias, Mtios etc and setting rocks for Kart to break better.
+ + ()Solid GrassSpam core, Bulu providing defensive backbone and checks threats like MLati which Kart cant break, Lele is an additional member that cleans once steels are weakened by those two.
+ / Fast offense killer pivot + strong breaker, self explanatory.
+ Volcarona lures and kills Tran / Pex, Serp cleans. Serp breaks apart stall (Taunt + Leppa + Synth shuts down UnaClef + Chans), Volc cleans.
+ Garchomp lures and removes grasses, chomp cleans; Chomp breaks early, weakening corv skarm etc, gyara snowballs lategame.
+ Mega Latios appreciates Greninja providing spikes, letting it break much easier. Gren also appreciates Mega Latios pressuring PexClef or Fini cores hard.
+ + Mega Latios + Dual Trapper is tried and true, with Weavile removing Psychics and Zone removing Steels for the other two, and Sub Zone is used to remove Mega Mawile which can cause issues for the two but either work, and sub Mega Tios makes Heatran fodder.
+ KokoLucha has been a HO staple since G7, and now its an amazing asset to HO as it deals extremely well with other HO’s and offenses.
+ Hydreigon lures in Fairys like Clefable that Mega Mawile takes advantage off, and in return Hydreigin takes advantage of the likes of Gliscor, Heatran and Lando which Mega Mawile lures in. As Hydreigon wears down the Dark resists, Mega Mawile cleans much easier with boosted sucker punches.
Defensive Cores
/ + Basically AmoongKing 2.0, checks threats for each other, + Bulu provides GTerrain to remove GKings ground weakness + provide additional recovery for it.
+ NS if this counts as a offensive core or not, but either way its a solid core, TWave on washtom is also usable to spread para better. Basically washtom checks fires and grounds, melm checks grasses in return.
+ Fini checks AGren, Tran and fogs so Zap can be 3a, checking Grounds, Grasses for Fini in return.
+ Cant go wrong with this for stall.
+ Functions in a similiar way to ZapFini, but Swole checks grounds as well, and Fini provides Status immunity for Swole.
Will edit if i miss anything^^
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Offensive core
This is great core of sun team. Demolish almost stall variant.
manaphy appreciate rain and pursuit support from pelipper. Demolish almost all stall
Ash greninja lure toxapex, amoonguss , hydreigon. Tapu lele can double into ash greninja check, profit.
Psyspam , the set you could use are scarf lele + z celebrate victini / banded victini / mixed expanding force victini.
another psyspam , mega gallade appreciate psychic terrain from tapu lele.
tapu koko work as pivot for mega medicham, mega medicham also appreciate electric terrain from tapu koko. zenheadbutt generally better than thunder punch but thunder punch in electric terrain help you 2ohko mega sableye and slowbro (doesnt need terrain). You also could remove fake out to use both thunder punch and zen headbutt. Bullet punch also interesting choice for mega medicham because a priority move and it let you one shot mega diancie and alolan ninetales.
+ 
/ / 
Shuckle setup web while bisharp/serperior/thundurus prevent defog.
+ /
Mawile and medicham appreciate glare support from serperior.
This is great core of sun team. Demolish almost stall variant.
manaphy appreciate rain and pursuit support from pelipper. Demolish almost all stall
Ash greninja lure toxapex, amoonguss , hydreigon. Tapu lele can double into ash greninja check, profit.
Psyspam , the set you could use are scarf lele + z celebrate victini / banded victini / mixed expanding force victini.
another psyspam , mega gallade appreciate psychic terrain from tapu lele.
tapu koko work as pivot for mega medicham, mega medicham also appreciate electric terrain from tapu koko. zenheadbutt generally better than thunder punch but thunder punch in electric terrain help you 2ohko mega sableye and slowbro (doesnt need terrain). You also could remove fake out to use both thunder punch and zen headbutt. Bullet punch also interesting choice for mega medicham because a priority move and it let you one shot mega diancie and alolan ninetales.
+ / / Shuckle setup web while bisharp/serperior/thundurus prevent defog.
+ / Mawile and medicham appreciate glare support from serperior.
Don't see an explanation on this, can someone clarify?
mega mawile breaks and can be liberal with trading hp for damage since jirachi can healing wish to it later in the game. it’s like having 2 mega mawile.
My favorite playstyle is sun team so i will post some core that i think you could consider when building sun team. Some of this core might be obvious but it will help against newer player.
Weather core (sun team)
+ /
Hydreigon and tapu fini can be defogger for sun team, it also ash greninja and heatran switchin which a big problem for sun team.
+
mega garchomp can work as sweeper in sun. It help matchup against sand team and fire fang get a boost from sun.
+ 
tapu fini provide defog and misty terrain (block status) which help charizard x to sweep.
+
mega diancie provide magic bounce and help matchup against hail team.
+
it mainly to help against latitwin/garchomp in sun. Torkoal and weavile make matchup against trick room easier.
+ /
against balance team, Charizard x and blaziken soften defensive core and venusaur can sweep late game.
+
/ or other scarfer
For sun team you need speed control, You could consider using scarf victini / landorus or any other relevant scarfer.
I think Sun team is niche playstyle in natdex ou but it s good against bulky offense, balance, stall, grass spam and trick room team so you still could consider to use it.
Weather core (sun team)
+ / Hydreigon and tapu fini can be defogger for sun team, it also ash greninja and heatran switchin which a big problem for sun team.
+ mega garchomp can work as sweeper in sun. It help matchup against sand team and fire fang get a boost from sun.
+ tapu fini provide defog and misty terrain (block status) which help charizard x to sweep.
+ mega diancie provide magic bounce and help matchup against hail team.
+ it mainly to help against latitwin/garchomp in sun. Torkoal and weavile make matchup against trick room easier.
+ / against balance team, Charizard x and blaziken soften defensive core and venusaur can sweep late game.
+ / or other scarferFor sun team you need speed control, You could consider using scarf victini / landorus or any other relevant scarfer.
I think Sun team is niche playstyle in natdex ou but it s good against bulky offense, balance, stall, grass spam and trick room team so you still could consider to use it.
https://pokepast.es/9c70abc9eb5b68f7
Garchomp and Ash-Greninja form a potent offensive core that also comes with the benefits of both Stealth Rock and Spikes. Garchomp shreds through Toxapex, one of Greninja's biggest roadblocks, while Amoonguss and Ferrothorn do not want to take a +2 Earthquake. In return, Greninja pressures physically defensive Pokemon like Corviknight, Landorus-Therian, and the rare Slowbro. Each of them also appreciates the hazards the other can lay down as it makes it easier for them to break through their checks
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This core for a sun team is by far my favorite and one of if not the best core. Excadrill handles Rock, and Electric which Char-Y struggles with while also allowing rocks to go up for char-y to be able to sweep better due to the chip damage. But not only that Exca has rapid spin which gets rids of hazards allowing char-y to not extra damage that it doesn't need to take.
Char-Y complements excadrill due to the fighting which it tends to deal with but also allowing exca to avoid taking ground damage. Char-Y is one of the best mega pokemon used and this core will help any sun team.
Only posting these 2 cores for now, but'll probably put more later.
+ 
Anyone who's played Natdex OU or observed NDPL in the past few months will know that LandoFini has been the most prominent and efficient core for Offense and Bulky Offense teams alike currently. This is because the two can compress important roles such as Defog + Stealth Rock while checking several threats, such as offensive grounds (barring SD Gliscor) in the case of Lando, and Heatran and Ash-Greninja in the case of Fini. Both Lando's slow U-turn and Fini's Misty Terrain also provide more opportunities for their offensive teammates to come in and do their job without risking unnecessary damage/status, making it easier to make progress against the opposition. While this core does check a large amount of the meta, certain Pokemon do have the ability to break it with ease, notably Psychics, Fairies, and certain steel types. Therefore this core is often paired with teammates that can handle those threats, most notably steels of your own (sometimes double steel cores such as Corv/MSciz + Tran are used to ensure you're able to check as many threats as possible).
+ 
Similar to the Ttar + Kartana core, Weavile weakens and traps answers like the Mega Lati twins for Kart to clean up late game.
Pretty straightforward core.
+ Anyone who's played Natdex OU or observed NDPL in the past few months will know that LandoFini has been the most prominent and efficient core for Offense and Bulky Offense teams alike currently. This is because the two can compress important roles such as Defog + Stealth Rock while checking several threats, such as offensive grounds (barring SD Gliscor) in the case of Lando, and Heatran and Ash-Greninja in the case of Fini. Both Lando's slow U-turn and Fini's Misty Terrain also provide more opportunities for their offensive teammates to come in and do their job without risking unnecessary damage/status, making it easier to make progress against the opposition. While this core does check a large amount of the meta, certain Pokemon do have the ability to break it with ease, notably Psychics, Fairies, and certain steel types. Therefore this core is often paired with teammates that can handle those threats, most notably steels of your own (sometimes double steel cores such as Corv/MSciz + Tran are used to ensure you're able to check as many threats as possible).
+ Similar to the Ttar + Kartana core, Weavile weakens and traps answers like the Mega Lati twins for Kart to clean up late game.
Pretty straightforward core.
I don't get itAll Dugtrio cores have been removed, thank god
+ 
A large part of why blaziken isn't considered broken is not just its frailty, but that it isn't always able to accomplish much due to the pick your poison nature of choosing z move coverage, which necessitates prior setup to not get cleaved open by a revenge killer. It also struggles with numerous bulky waters and grounds due to the reduced power of its coverage or stabs without life orb. Enter Drought. The 1.5x boost to its fire stab and halved damage from water attacks allows blaziken to setup much more easily vs many threats and not get walled in turn. For example, it turns tapu fini from a check to setup fodder by halving the damage from scald and boosting Firium z to staggering levels of power. Here is just a sample of what it can do:
+2 252+ Atk Blaziken Inferno Overdrive (190 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Latias-Mega in Sun: 411-483 (112.9 - 132.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Blaziken Inferno Overdrive (190 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro in Sun: 325-383 (82.4 - 97.2%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252+ Atk Blaziken Inferno Overdrive (190 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Toxapex in Sun: 335-394 (110.1 - 129.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Blaziken Inferno Overdrive (190 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex in Sun: 258-303 (84.8 - 99.6%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252+ Atk Blaziken Inferno Overdrive (190 BP) vs. 252 HP / 148+ Def Kommo-o in Sun: 321-378 (90.6 - 106.7%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
+1 252+ Atk Blaziken Inferno Overdrive (190 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Landorus-Therian in Sun: 559-658 (146.3 - 172.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Blaziken Inferno Overdrive (190 BP) vs. 252 HP / 192+ Def Tapu Fini in Sun: 330-389 (95.9 - 113%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
I could go on but you probably get the point. Nothing walls this thing under sun barring water type unaware pokemon on stall teams, who still take nearly 50% from close combat and have a slight tendency to let their stall teams get 6-0ed by venusaur. Pelipper is also an issue due to resisting both stabs and changing the weather, but sun teams usually have the tools to beat rain teams regardless, so this isn't too much of a problem.
(Note: Any set with firium z paired with drought will have similar calcs, but protect is partially to demonstrate the lack of need for coverage due to the sheer power of z flare blitz under sun. It also has other benefits like allowing it to quasi-automatically outspeed threats as fast as weavile (aka most offensive pokemon in the tier, even unevolved greninja), blocking fake out from medicham and lopunny, and providing the one extra speed boost needed for some scarfers like lando-t.)
Now for the defensive aspect. In addition to setting up on usual targets such as blissey, ferrothorn, tyranitar, heatran switching out, choice locked kartana, etc., it can also set up on tapu fini and toxapex and inflict a massive amount of damage. Even slowbro fails to do enough damage turn 1, allowing blaziken to SD up and send it to the shadow realm with minimal chip.
Torkoal provides sun support (and can hold heat rock for extra sun turns), sets stealth rock with a level of consistency (threatening corviknight, kartana, lando-t, and zapdos with either a super effective burn or status, even threatening stuff like pelipper and fini on a reasonable prediction), and has a significant amount of defensive utility due to it's skarmory-rivaling physical bulk and only 2x weakness to stealth rock. The most obvious point of comparison would be Mega Charizard Y, who has an immense offensive presence, roost, and the ability to threaten rain teams immediately with its coverage. The difference here is that torkoal has a slightly reduced need for urgent hazard removal, has increased ability to pivot in due to its bulk, can hold heat rock for increased sun duration, frees up a moveslot for stealth rock, and can more consistently threaten sand teams with body press rather than relying upon focus blast accuracy. Additionally, it can free up a potential mega slot if one desires to use a different mega. There is an arguement for both setters, but in my opinion torkoal is a better overall partner for blaziken due to its support capabilities.
The exact set provided can have rapid spin swapped out in favor of body press, but since it doesn't even 2hko defensive heatran it's basically just for tyranitar, of which the teams it fits on are pressured very heavily by blaziken. Torkoal's hazard removal can be good in a pinch versus annoying defensive spikers like ferrothorn and skarmory, while a secondary form of hazard removal can often handle spikes ash-greninja and various stealth rockers.
Before Blaziken was introduced, sun teams have had a rough time in national dex due to their shaky matchup vs much of the meta. With the addition of blaziken for a fast, flexible offensive sweeper and wallbreaker to compress offensive roles, this might be able to allow them to shore up their defensive backbone or diversify the potential offensive pokemon that could be added.
I submitted this core to this thread at the end of June, where I am happy to say Torkoal won the vote for best Blaziken partner.
The only difference between this time and now is that torkoal is ranked in VR, and apparently I need to post it again for it to be eligible.
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Arena trap is cringe
Hi there. Been a while since I did something NatDex related, but I'd figure I'd share this with you. Whilst building to get back into the metagame, and trying things out in a few roomtours, mostly related to Weavile, I discovered this offensive core of 3. Unknown to me at the time, I would slowly grow to appreciate this core heavily as possibly one of the most consistent cores in the metagame - even without good removal, this core is still likely to get an insane amount of mileage just from the pure offensive synergy alone.
First, I'd like to talk about the synergy of Zapdos + Mega Lopunny. These two alone are already good as a core, with Zapdos being able to exploit the majority of Mega Lopunny answers, such as Toxapex, Slowbro, Corviknight (as much of a non-answer as that is), Landorus-Therian, and Tapu Fini. In contrast, Mega Lopunny forces out many Zapdos switchins, like SpDef Heatran, Magnezone, Tapu Koko and both Tyranitars. However, in doing so, there's a bit of a flaw that sticks out to me. Both of these Pokemon are pretty easy to punish, with Zapdos being blocked by smart play from Ground-types, especially Garchomp, and Mega Lopunny being easy to contact punish / losing a lot of its HP from Rocky Helmet chip.
However, Weavile takes this synergy to another level. The majority of Mega Lopunny checks also happen to be Weavile checks (such as Toxapex and Clefable) - a lot of these have their Rocky Helmet forcibly removed in attempting to deal with Weavile, due to the heavy amount of offensive pressure that it pumps out. The ones that aren't, however, are often Dark weak, meaning they're easy to chip down or force into uncomfortable situations with Weavile around. Additionally, good Zapdos pivots, like the Mega Latis, Gliscor, Garchomp, and Heatran, are all either pressured or outright trapped by Weavile, giving Zapdos a lot easier of a time of clicking and just overwhelming something, either by immediate power of the Z-move, or by continual damage from Hurricane if opting for a more hazard invulnerable core. This leaves very few Pokemon who can actually handle the overwhelming pressure of all 3 of these Pokemon at once, as even by offensive pressure, all 3 Pokemon in this core have the ability to inhibit many popular offensive picks, either by simply being faster than them or using Zapdos' Static paralysis chance to slow them down.
So... what flaws does this core have?
Offensive Stealth Rock setters - despite mentioning why Heatran is worn down quickly by this core, it is still no surprise that Heatran is a large threat to it. Being able to dodge 2HKOs from Weavile and Zapdos, Heatran is capable of getting rocks almost guaranteed vs any team of 3 that hopes to support these three, even being able to break past a Gliscor if played well enough. Diancie is also capable of forcing out Zapdos and getting up Stealth Rock very quickly.
Fake Out Fighting-types - both of these are capable of revenge killing both Weavile and Mega Lopunny, and are often very RNG reliant regarding their matchup towards Zapdos. Never-the-less, these Pokemon are still threats because they can cheese through Static activations, and are otherwise hugely threatening momentum wise, especially when paired with one of the Stealth Rock setters above.
Weather - whilst Zapdos has an excellent matchup against opposing weather, it is still not 100% foolproof. Considering a lot of the effectiveness of the other two members of this offensive core is that they just can't be out paced easily, dealing with this in your remaining slots is critical to success of the team.
Additionally, it's possible to drop one of the 3 members to create a good core of 2 - I just think the combination of all 3 is a very special core, and it is almost always worth it to slap a Weavile on the end if you're already using Zapdos + Mega Lopunny.
+ 
First, I'd like to talk about the synergy of Zapdos + Mega Lopunny. These two alone are already good as a core, with Zapdos being able to exploit the majority of Mega Lopunny answers, such as Toxapex, Slowbro, Corviknight (as much of a non-answer as that is), Landorus-Therian, and Tapu Fini. In contrast, Mega Lopunny forces out many Zapdos switchins, like SpDef Heatran, Magnezone, Tapu Koko and both Tyranitars. However, in doing so, there's a bit of a flaw that sticks out to me. Both of these Pokemon are pretty easy to punish, with Zapdos being blocked by smart play from Ground-types, especially Garchomp, and Mega Lopunny being easy to contact punish / losing a lot of its HP from Rocky Helmet chip.
However, Weavile takes this synergy to another level. The majority of Mega Lopunny checks also happen to be Weavile checks (such as Toxapex and Clefable) - a lot of these have their Rocky Helmet forcibly removed in attempting to deal with Weavile, due to the heavy amount of offensive pressure that it pumps out. The ones that aren't, however, are often Dark weak, meaning they're easy to chip down or force into uncomfortable situations with Weavile around. Additionally, good Zapdos pivots, like the Mega Latis, Gliscor, Garchomp, and Heatran, are all either pressured or outright trapped by Weavile, giving Zapdos a lot easier of a time of clicking and just overwhelming something, either by immediate power of the Z-move, or by continual damage from Hurricane if opting for a more hazard invulnerable core. This leaves very few Pokemon who can actually handle the overwhelming pressure of all 3 of these Pokemon at once, as even by offensive pressure, all 3 Pokemon in this core have the ability to inhibit many popular offensive picks, either by simply being faster than them or using Zapdos' Static paralysis chance to slow them down.
So... what flaws does this core have?
Offensive Stealth Rock setters - despite mentioning why Heatran is worn down quickly by this core, it is still no surprise that Heatran is a large threat to it. Being able to dodge 2HKOs from Weavile and Zapdos, Heatran is capable of getting rocks almost guaranteed vs any team of 3 that hopes to support these three, even being able to break past a Gliscor if played well enough. Diancie is also capable of forcing out Zapdos and getting up Stealth Rock very quickly. Fake Out Fighting-types - both of these are capable of revenge killing both Weavile and Mega Lopunny, and are often very RNG reliant regarding their matchup towards Zapdos. Never-the-less, these Pokemon are still threats because they can cheese through Static activations, and are otherwise hugely threatening momentum wise, especially when paired with one of the Stealth Rock setters above. Weather - whilst Zapdos has an excellent matchup against opposing weather, it is still not 100% foolproof. Considering a lot of the effectiveness of the other two members of this offensive core is that they just can't be out paced easily, dealing with this in your remaining slots is critical to success of the team. Additionally, it's possible to drop one of the 3 members to create a good core of 2 - I just think the combination of all 3 is a very special core, and it is almost always worth it to slap a Weavile on the end if you're already using Zapdos + Mega Lopunny.
I really like this core! I also wonder if a defensive zapdosbset with HDB or magnezone would work? I feel like a core restricted to balance (due to heavy reliance on pivoting and weaknesses to mchamHi there. Been a while since I did something NatDex related, but I'd figure I'd share this with you. Whilst building to get back into the metagame, and trying things out in a few roomtours, mostly related to Weavile, I discovered this offensive core of 3. Unknown to me at the time, I would slowly grow to appreciate this core heavily as possibly one of the most consistent cores in the metagame - even without good removal, this core is still likely to get an insane amount of mileage just from the pure offensive synergy alone.
First, I'd like to talk about the synergy of Zapdos + Mega Lopunny. These two alone are already good as a core, with Zapdos being able to exploit the majority of Mega Lopunny answers, such as Toxapex, Slowbro, Corviknight (as much of a non-answer as that is), Landorus-Therian, and Tapu Fini. In contrast, Mega Lopunny forces out many Zapdos switchins, like SpDef Heatran, Magnezone, Tapu Koko and both Tyranitars. However, in doing so, there's a bit of a flaw that sticks out to me. Both of these Pokemon are pretty easy to punish, with Zapdos being blocked by smart play from Ground-types, especially Garchomp, and Mega Lopunny being easy to contact punish / losing a lot of its HP from Rocky Helmet chip.
However, Weavile takes this synergy to another level. The majority of Mega Lopunny checks also happen to be Weavile checks (such as Toxapex and Clefable) - a lot of these have their Rocky Helmet forcibly removed in attempting to deal with Weavile, due to the heavy amount of offensive pressure that it pumps out. The ones that aren't, however, are often Dark weak, meaning they're easy to chip down or force into uncomfortable situations with Weavile around. Additionally, good Zapdos pivots, like the Mega Latis, Gliscor, Garchomp, and Heatran, are all either pressured or outright trapped by Weavile, giving Zapdos a lot easier of a time of clicking and just overwhelming something, either by immediate power of the Z-move, or by continual damage from Hurricane if opting for a more hazard invulnerable core. This leaves very few Pokemon who can actually handle the overwhelming pressure of all 3 of these Pokemon at once, as even by offensive pressure, all 3 Pokemon in this core have the ability to inhibit many popular offensive picks, either by simply being faster than them or using Zapdos' Static paralysis chance to slow them down.
So... what flaws does this core have?
Additionally, it's possible to drop one of the 3 members to create a good core of 2 - I just think the combination of all 3 is a very special core, and it is almost always worth it to slap a Weavile on the end if you're already using Zapdos + Mega Lopunny.
and mpunny) is a shame since as you mentioned it’s really strong!
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I mentioned the possibility of running HDB on Zapdos; though I don't really think going for defensive spreads is the best idea. You'd mostly want to stick to a similar EV spread because you have considerably better matchups vs Gliscor that way, whereas with a defensive spread you're likely to get sat on. Magnezone also works over Zapdos but the core is a lot more vulnerable to Fighting-types and other faster breakers that Zapdos mediates. I also think it tends to be a lot harder to break Ground-types with Magnezone, as you're mostly banking into the fact that you can trap some Steel-types that the core doesn't really struggle with, and further weakens the core vs Heatran, as Heatran is also capable of soaking up hits from Magnezone, and not only does it really stop it from clicking its Steel STAB, Z move variants also outpace Magnezone, making it a lot harder to punish Heatran from setting rocks.
I get what you mean mb
I have an OFFENSIVE core that i think works pretty well and deserves a spot in the archive
https://pokepast.es/d91db37026d60cd2
Simple, vic speed controls for shifu-r and kills shifu-r checks and counters with final gambit or v-create and could also bring it with u-turn, shifu-r breaks and kills the rockers of the tier so vic could have an easy time coming and abusing final gambit to the fullest, potential partners with this core could be mons such as mega diancie who likes vic speed control and final gambit and shifu-r breaking it checks so it doesn't have to worry about choosing between mystical fire or earth power and in return it keeps rocks off for vic and also could threaten shifu-r checks if it had the right coverage move, also koko enjoys vic final gambiting at grounds and shifu-r killing them and in return it could v-switch for both making a good volt-switch core.
https://pokepast.es/d91db37026d60cd2
Simple, vic speed controls for shifu-r and kills shifu-r checks and counters with final gambit or v-create and could also bring it with u-turn, shifu-r breaks and kills the rockers of the tier so vic could have an easy time coming and abusing final gambit to the fullest, potential partners with this core could be mons such as mega diancie who likes vic speed control and final gambit and shifu-r breaking it checks so it doesn't have to worry about choosing between mystical fire or earth power and in return it keeps rocks off for vic and also could threaten shifu-r checks if it had the right coverage move, also koko enjoys vic final gambiting at grounds and shifu-r killing them and in return it could v-switch for both making a good volt-switch core.
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+ Landorus-T, Serperior and Victini have some pretty nice synergy that fit on a solid amount of team structures, mostly offense and bulky offense. Thought I'd share it because I've been having some recent success w/ it and Victini has been seeing slightly more usage with the sample and Z-Celebrate sets, as well as Serperior being in an okay place rn with utility sets like the one in the paste above performing well.
Serperior is able to provide much needed speed control for the core in its nice speed tier and Glare, as well as directly beating Fini to let Victini freely spam fire STAB without being forced into a trade. It also forces progress vs. Glisc/opposing Lando and can deter A-Gren from clicking water STAB to open up other teammates.
Victini pivots out on Heatran / M-Pert / Gastro and other relevant fire resists to pave the way for Serperior. Lando is brought in on Heatran and can up/pivot for further momentum. Victini also breaks past M-Sciz, Ferro, Corv, and the like. It's also super important for stall/fat MUs as it cripples common rockers in Clef w/ Encore and pivots out on M-Latias, who is commonly seen on fat, to be crippled by Serp Glare.
Lando is Lando; helps ease the Heatran MU and appreciates Victini taking care of fat ground immunities/resists like Tangrowth, Skarm, Corv, and heavily chipping Zapdos. It comes out on these to make firing off attacks for the rest of the team easier. In addition to checking Heatran, it's also a valuable check to M-Lop, off-Sciz, etc.
Below is a team I made w this core; if you want to play with it yourself just grab the paste below (click on sprites):
The core is honestly pretty fun and I've been having a blast w/ it so far. Hope you do too!
larp