Project NU Archetype Cores [Dragon / Fire / Flying]

Corthius

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Hosted by: Corthius Roxiee & Pokeslice
Revived from the version hosted by erisia in ORAS NU -
link to his thread

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shoutout to Datsplashtho for the amazing banner!

Type Cores are cores that originate from 3 types that work well together. They can be great offensively, or have really good defensive synergy. Some examples of popular type cores are the FWG (Fire, Water, Grass), SFG (Steel, Fairy, Dragon), and PDF (Psychic, Dark, Fighting). These type cores are further discussed in this helpful The Smog article by Albacore. The goal of this project will be to have the community come up with cores using the types assigned that week, and hopefully discover new combinations in the process. It'll be mostly focused on type affiliations and type synergy rather than matchups against specific Pokemon (e.g. "Garbodor switches into Fighting-type attacks" rather than "Garbodor switches into Toxicroak").

Here's how this will work:
1. We'll nominate a type core for the community to work with.
2. Submit your cores!
3. After the submission cycle has passed, voting for the best cores will take place. Everyone is allowed 2 votes, but you may not vote for the same person twice. For the case that only 5 core were submitted, everyone can only vote for 1 core.
4. The winners core/-s will be placed in the Hall of Fame.

Rules for posting your cores:
- Each core requires 3 mons.
- You may only post one core per week.
- You may reserve cores as long as you finish it in a timely manner (~24 hours). If it has not been completed by then, your core can be taken by anyone.
- Each core will require an explanation of its efficiency (e.g. why is this core effective? How do these mons cover each other's weaknesses well?)
- Post an import of the sets used.
- Be sure to explain any unusual EV spreads or moves used.

You generally shouldn't pick the same three Pokémon as another poster unless they have sufficiently different sets and functions. To make this easy to follow, I will try to make sure that each type in the week's combination can be represented by multiple NU-viable Pokemon.

Innovation is great, as long as it's viable and effective. If you are skeptical about the effectiveness of someone else's submission, feel free to provide constructive criticism. One-liners, arguments, and insults will not be tolerated, however, since those are not helpful.

For those who are unsure of what is expected in your posts, here is an excellent example that you may use for reference when making your own nominations.
(S/O to Rapture. for the post).

Have fun! I will start Week 1 tomorrow.
 
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Corthius

diehard hockey fan
is a Site Content Manageris a Forum Moderatoris a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Social Media Contributor Alumnus
Hall of Fame:

Week 17: - Poison/Fighting/Psychic winner: :Drapion::Mesprit::Silvally:(fighting) by Katy

Week 18: - Fighting/Psychic/Your Choice winner: :Sirfetchd::Vileplume::Articuno-Galar: by roxiee

Week 19: - Ground/Rock/Grass winner: :Flygon::Gigalith::Roserade: by Catalisador
Week 1 - Poison, Dark, Grass: Abejas
Garbodor @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spe
Impish Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Stomping Tantrum

Gourgeist-Small @ Life Orb
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Power Whip
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Sneak
- Synthesis

Silvally-Dark @ Dark Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Multi-Attack
- Psychic Fangs
- Flame Charge
Pretty fun core built around Silvally-Dark. Since this mon is usually a late game sweeper and really appreciates Spikes support, Garbodor functions as a great partner. This pokemon doesnt only provide spikes and toxic spikes support, but it also works as a great Fighting-type resist, being able to check pokemon like Sawk and Toxicroak, that can hit Silvally-Dark for super effective damage. The final member of the core is Gourgeist-Small which provides a secondary fighting resist while also having great synchrony with Garbodor. This is due to the ability of prevent rapid spin users by removing hazards and also being a great switch in to ground type pokemon such as Rhydon and Sandaconda. Gourgeist also keeps in check psychic and ghost type pokemon with Shadow Sneak, same as Silvally-Dark with its STAB Multi-Attack.

Week 2 - Ice, Ground, Ghost: Oathkeepre
Sneasel @ Choice Band
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Low Kick

Rhydon @ Eviolite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Blast
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic

Cofagrigus @ Leftovers
Ability: Mummy
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hex
- Body Press
- Iron Defense
- Toxic Spikes
Mostly offensive core here, save for Cofagrigus. Banded Sneasel is my favorite (and most likely the best) Sneasel going around right now and it just hits stuff hard. Offensive Rhydon gives the team rocks and I threw in Toxic to deal with opposing Dubwool & Cofagrigus so they aren't as much of a problem. Speaking of Cofagrigus, it rounds out this core with Hex + T-Spikes support to help out Sneasel. It's arguably the best Fighting check in the meta next to Garbodor and even halts opposing setup sweeping Dubwool in their tracks. Shadow Ball could be replaced over Hex, but I feel it helps with the Toxic Spikes in this case.

Replays for viewing:

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1088053724 (Orbeetle doing some work)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1088050290 (Sneasel making short work of that team)

Week 3 - Psychic, Fighting, Steel: Oathkeepre
Indeedee-F (F) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- Mystical Fire
- Trick

Toxicroak @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Focus Blast
- Vacuum Wave
- Shadow Ball

Togedemaru @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Zing Zap
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Nuzzle
Offensive-oriented core here. Went Specs Indeedee to increase that Psychic Terrain STAB damage and threw in the usual Gleam and Mystical Fire for Darks and Steels respectively. I threw in Trick to catch walls off guard of course. Went special Croak since it's really nice right now with all the Cofagrigus and Dubwool running around. Lastly, the core is rounded out with scarf Toge. It functions as 2 types of speed control with it being a scarfer itself and running Nuzzle to slow down the threats faster than Indeedee and Croak while also functioning as a pivot to bring either of them in!

Week 4 - Fairy, Water, YOUR CHOICE: Ho3nConfirm3d
Silvally-Water @ Water Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Multi-Attack
- Psychic Fangs
- U-turn

Clefairy @ Eviolite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Teleport
- Seismic Toss

Rotom-Frost @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Blizzard
- Volt Switch
- Defog
These three mons are some of the best mons for a pivoting team to ask for. Volturn has the potential to bring in a ton of abusers like Abomasnow, Drampa, Indeedee-F, and Perrserker to name a few, and pivots are essential as these wallbreakers may lack switchins otherwise. To help, Watervally, Clef, and Rotom-Frost offer pivoting in three different forms.

Watervally is a beast in its own right with that high powered Multi Attack, but with U-Turn and Swords Dance you can also dent Grass-types. This helps as any check to SD can be in some serious trouble when bringing in a wallbreaker.

Clefairy with WishPort is somewhat passive but really helps getting the team back to full. Watervally may take a lot of damage due to its natural bulk and switching into hazards, and Wish can really help.

Rotom-Frost finishes the core off with a threatening boltbeam coverage and pivoting. It also helps that it removes hazards while crippling setters like Piloswine, Ferroseed, and Garbodor, if not KOing other setters like Sandaconda with Blizzard.

These three can support an offensive VoltTurn team really well while still providing good defensive utility thanks to their bulk, typings, immunities, and supportive movepools. Some vulnerabilities like lacking a Grass- or Poison-type resist can easily be covered by the wallbreakers you wanna pivot into anyways like Drampa, Perrserker, and Golurk.

Week 5 - Fire, Water, Grass: Rabia & Jonater
Silvally-Fire @ Fire Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Multi-Attack
- Flame Charge
- Dragon Claw

Wishiwashi-School @ Leftovers
Ability: Schooling
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spe
Impish Nature
- Liquidation
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Protect

Gourgeist-Small @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Power Whip
- Explosion
- Flamethrower
- Trick
There isn't necessarily a whole lot synergy between these three Pokemon; this core functions well more because the Pokemon all fit on bulky offense very nicely. Toxic + Protect Wishiwashi is really good at chipping away at Grass-types for Gourgeist-S, while Gourgeist-S can smack Water-types that trouble Silvally-Fire.
[i'll add that Dragon Claw Silvally-Fire and Explosion Gourgeist-Small can both lure Drampa, which annoys the rest of the FWG core].
Rapidash @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Wild Charge / High Horsepower
- Morning Sun
- Swords Dance

Ferroseed @ Eviolite
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock

Quagsire @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Earthquake
- Recover
- Scald
- Toxic
Are you tired of terrorizing poor OU players with your generic bulky offense with toad, ferro and miscellaneous offensive mons? Well now you can do it in NU, with this special core: Rapidash, Ferroseed and Quagsire! Budget Ferrothorn Ferroseed can set up rocks and chip offensive mons that it checks. Fake Seismitoad Quagsire is a surprisingly solid physical wall that checks set up attackers and can stall them out. Finally, you got Rapidash, which can come on the defensive core's counters and set up on them. For maximum B A L A N C E, I recommend adding a Budget Clefable Clefairy to round out the defensive core.

Week 6 - Fighting, Ghost, Normal: Rabia & Oathkeepre
Miltank (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 HP / 240 SpD / 16 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic
- Milk Drink

Decidueye @ Choice Specs
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Shadow Ball
- Hurricane
- U-turn

Toxicroak @ Black Sludge
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Focus Blast
- Sludge Bomb
- Shadow Ball
- Vacuum Wave
Decidueye is really good at drawing in Pokemon that Toxicroak can take advantage of such as Dark-types and Sap Sipper Miltank, while Toxicroak appreciates Decidueye putting pressure on Poison-types. Miltank is a generally nice Stealth Rock setter to pair with these two because it handles Ghost-types.
Kangaskhan (F) @ Silk Scarf
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double-Edge
- Fake Out
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch

Froslass (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Spikes

Toxicroak @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Sludge Bomb
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
Why not throw in a little KangaSpikes into the mix? Kangaskhan is nice here with that double priority Fake Out + Sucker and the fact that Double-Edge hits everything that doesn't resist it very well. Add in Scrappy and throw on a stylish Silk Scarf and this thing can do serious damage. Froslass is the spiker here and can help with the physically defensive mons that Kang can have trouble with. Toxicroak is there too as a safety net for Fighting types along with Lass. It also has the NP sweeping capabilities which can be helped by Spikes as well. Overall, maybe not the best KangaSpikes core, but it can get the job done.

Week 7: Water, Poison, Grass: Corthius
Garbodor @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Stomping Tantrum
- Spikes
- Toxic

Basculin @ Mystic Water
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Psychic Fangs
- Flip Turn

Decidueye @ Choice Specs
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Leaf Storm
- U-turn
- Hurricane
God I love hazard stacking. Garbodor has proven to me to be a reliable Spikes setter. Its Poison-typing and good physical bulk allows it to check many common physical threats and some walls. Really good mon.
Decidueye established itself to be a threatening wallbreaker and with its dual stab combo only Miltank really switches in reliably. U-turn gains momentum which is an important part of hazard stack teams.
Basculin finally gets the love and attention it deserves. Mystical Water allows you to bluff a choice item which can catch some switchins off guard. Again, Flip Turn provides useful momentum.

Week 8: Bug, Water, Ground: Oathkeepre & xerovis
Ninjask
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Acrobatics
- U-turn
- Protect

Basculin @ Choice Specs
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Flip Turn
- Psychic Fangs

Sandaconda @ Leftovers
Ability: Shed Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Glare
Nice little VoltTurn core that has the best of all worlds. Physical breaker in SD Ninjask, special breaker in Specs Basculin, and a rocker + physical wall in Sandaconda. The snake can handle whatever Steels may hinder Ninjask from doing its job at sweeping with Acrobatics. The fish can Flip Turn on Grasses so that ninja bee makes them disappear. The fish also deals with physical walls that Jask doesn't like. Jask can even U-turn on the ever-common Galarfisk.
Accelgor @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Energy Ball
- Bug Buzz
- Encore

Piloswine (M) @ Eviolite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Stealth Rock

Wishiwashi-School @ Leftovers
Ability: Schooling
EVs: 252 HP / 208 Def / 48 Spe
Relaxed Nature
- U-turn
- Scald
- Protect
- Earthquake
Although accelgor often fits better on HO builds, it can be used alongside Wishi and Pilo on a Bulky Offense team as a spikes setter and speed control. Accelgor can encore trap mons to set more spikes up, but can also be used as a fast special attacker later in a game, while Pilo and Wishi can back Accelgor defensively and switch in to threatening moves while also providing valued offensive presence.

Week 9: Electric, Ice, Poison: RahelGamer03
Togedemaru @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Zing Zap
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Toxic

Rotom-Frost @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Volt Switch
- Blizzard
- Defog

Weezing @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
EVs: 252 HP / 196 Def / 4 SpA / 28 SpD / 28 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Bomb
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
- Psybeam
The core idea is a Volt-turn with Togedemaru and Rotom-Frost both have a very good synergy and cover the weaknesses with each other, This set of Weezing is from rozes, I decided to add it since it is a good check of the fight types and of Toxicroak in specific, between the 3 they obtain a great synergy a change that can be made is to change the ability of Weezing to Levitate although with Neutralizing-Gas it can absorb Tspikes in case of Rotom-Frost is not in the field to remove hazards.

Week 10: Ice, Ground, Fairy: Socrates1O1
Abomasnow @ Light Clay
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Aurora Veil
- Wood Hammer
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake

Ribombee @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Shield Dust
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Moonblast
- Energy Ball
- Psychic

Gastrodon @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 80 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 172 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Earth Power
- Sludge Bomb
- Recover
My idea is based on 'how to make Ribombee work'. So, basically to provide Ribombee with the support it needs in order to late game clean or put a huge dent into someone's team. Ribombee, therefore, is the quiver dance three attacks set with energy ball to hit Rhydon and Gastrodon the hardest way possible and Psychic to hit the poison types in the tier such as Qwilfish and, more importantly, Garbodor.

Abomasnow sets up the Aurora Veil for Ribombee which gives it an easier time to set up. Earthquake can chip the incoming steel types that Ribombee struggles with and Ice Shard provides the team with some nice STAB priority.

Lastly, since the first two Pokémon struggle very hard with steel types like Silvally-Steel and Togedemaru, I decided to add Gastrodon because that can easily recover off the damage done by those steel types and since this is a veil team it can invest more into SpA. The speed is to outspeed no speed base 60s such as Eldegoss and Weezing - the phys def variants have a good chance to be 2HKO'd.

252+ SpA Gastrodon Scald vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Weezing: 153-180 (45.8 - 53.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Gastrodon Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Eldegoss: 146-172 (45 - 53%) -- 86.7% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Week 11: Fire, Water, Grass: Roxiee
Magmortar @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rock Slide
- Fire Blast
- Focus Blast / Scorching Sands
- Taunt

Lanturn @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 40 HP / 160 Def / 20 SpA / 180 SpD / 108 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Scald
- Toxic / Rest
- Heal Bell / Sleep Talk

Trevenant @ Choice Band
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Horn Leech
- Poltergeist
- Wood Hammer
- Earthquake
I've been working on a team for the Magmortar submissions but these are three mons apart of the team and I have Taunt Magmortar to prevent defensive Pokemon like Weezing or Porygon 2 from recovering. While Magmortar acts as a Stallbreaker and Trevenant acts as a wallbreaker for the core, Lanturn can bring in both Pokemon safely with Volt Switch. Lanturn helps with Flying- and Fire-type Pokemon that threatens Trevenant like Rotom-Fan and Magmortar while in return. Magmortar helps with Steel- and Grass-type Pokemon that Trevenant and Lanturn needs extra support in while Trevenant helps with Ground- and Rock-type Pokemon like Rhydon, Sandaconda, or Cradily that otherwise threatens both.

Week 12: Rock, Grass, Flying: Katy
Lycanroc @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
- Accelerock

Trevenant @ Choice Band
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Poltergeist
- Horn Leech
- Rock Slide

Altaria @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Dragon Pulse
- Roost
- Defog
this core has a nice synergy as lycanroc can check dangerous flying types, which can threaten trevenant, in return trevenant can switch into fighting types, which can be troublesome for lycanroc. lycanroc can also revengekill centiskorch, sneasel, and other faster threats via the help of accelerock as it is stab and priority. trevenant offers alongside altaria a great water-resist and can also help vs pokemon like lanturn, jellicent, and vaporeon, whereas lycanroc is a great tool to remove rapidash. altaria is a great defogger with a great typing in dragon and flying and it can check fire-, water- and fighting-pokemon for the former two. altaria has also great longevity with having access to roost. in overall the core cancels out many weaknesses against other common pokemon such as golbat, crobat, rapidash, magmortar, jellicent, sneasel, and gurdurr.

Week 13: Dragon, Fairy, Steel: Katy
Aggron @ Choice Band
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Head Smash
- Heavy Slam
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock

Comfey @ Life Orb
Ability: Triage
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draining Kiss
- Giga Drain
- Calm Mind
- Toxic

Silvally-Dragon @ Dragon Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Multi-Attack
- Flame Charge
- Iron Head
this is an offensive core built with aggron, comfey and silvally-dragon. aggron has choice band + 3 attacks and stealth rocks, stealth rocks is mandatory and comfey aswell as silvally-dragon appreciate it, when opposing mons are chipped. furthermore aggron hits like a truck with its dual-stab options in head smash and heavy slam, when it is boosted by a choice band. earthquake is its coverage option and hits a lot of mons hard due to the boost via choice band.

comfey is another setup-sweeper which likes to have things weakened by aggron beforehand, it has life orb + 2 attacks in draining kiss and giga drain, which are effected by its amazing ability in triage. furthermore it has access to toxic, to cripple down bulky threats it naturally has trouble against, such as coalossal, centiskorch, and magmortar. the last slot is reserved for calm mind to further boost its great potential it has in the later parts of the game, when the opposing mons are weakened over the course of the entire game.

silvally-dragon is another offensive force and is very threatening when it is going in and ham, especially in the late game, it can be a great tool to break down weakened teams with a strong swords dance-boosted multi-attack and its coverage in iron head to hit fairies super effective, flame charge can help with giving it a +1 in speed and therefore makes silvally-dragon one of the fastest threats in the metagame, due to its natural good speed-tier in 317 with a jolly nature.

sidenote: the EVs are pretty much self-explanatory and don't need a long description on all 3 mons on this core, they are the standard EV-spreads. comfey has modest over timid to have the ability to do more damage output on opposing pokemon.

Week 14: Psychic, Dark, Steel: Katy
Articuno-Galar @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Competitive
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Freezing Glare
- Hurricane
- Substitute
- Calm Mind

Pangoro @ Life Orb
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Gunk Shot

Silvally-Steel @ Steel Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Multi-Attack
- Defog
- Thunder Wave
- U-turn
this core aims to help galarcuno and pangoro to break other fatter builds very easily with their good typing working together pretty well.
flying/psychic works well together with a fighting/dark-type as one of them is immune to ground and can handle other fighting-types for pangoro
and steelvally, whereas pangoro has an immunity to psychic-type attacks, which gives it the edge over psychic-types which are choice-locked
into their psychic moves. furthermore an offensive approach is really great in the current metagame right now and calm mind on articuno-galar
and swords dance on pangoro is capable of breaking a lot of pokemon in the tier together as a core.
furthermore steelvally can help this team out with defogging hazards away for them so they keep their longevity, and steelvally also has
thunder wave in its arsenal to slow down the opposing team a little bit, especially for pangoro, so it can outspeed these mons, as pangoro
suffers from a mediocre speed-tier. u-turn from steelvally gives momentum and brings in articuno-galar or pangoro in safely.


:articuno-galar: has the moves freezing glare, hurricane, substitute and calm mind, with heavy-duty boots which is able to do alot of work, especially with a calm mind-boost behind a substitute.
:pangoro: has swords dance as explained above and great dual-stab options in close combat and knock off, and its superb coverage with gunk shot against fairy-type pokemon such as aromatisse.
:silvally: (steel) silvally has multi-attack as its hard hitting stab, defog to remove annyoing entry hazards such as stealth rocks and spikes, thunder wave to further support the two above members of this core, and last but not least u-turn to get some momentum going.

Week 15: Normal, Flying, Ground: Corthius
Regigigas @ Leftovers
Ability: Slow Start
EVs: 248 HP / 4 Atk / 80 Def / 80 SpD / 96 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Protect
- Body Slam
- Toxic / Knock Off

Palossand @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Water Compaction
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Scorching Sands
- Toxic / Shadow Ball
- Shore Up

Mantine @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Defog
- Roost
- Toxic
So the core is build around Regigigas, which got a buff in its movepool, now having access to the combination of Substitiute and Protect so it can effectively stall out the turns before it can unleash its full power. The speed allows it to be faster than Timid base 85's after you get your speed. The rest is put into HP so it can live as long as possible to ensure it gets its original exodia stats. Body Slam + Toxic give it maximum annoyance and Knock Off can help with Steel types that are immune to Toxic and resist Body Slam.
Palosand is a fun and underrated pick atm and is able to check Toxtricity and the plethora of strong Fighting types. Shadow Ball can be used over Toxic to not get walled by Bronzong if you are concerned about that. Stealth Rock and Shore Up are standard picks so I don't feel the need of explaining them. Scorching Sands has a nice 30% chance to burn the opponent. The speed allows it to be faster than non-speed Rhyperior.
Mantine helps with Fighting types too, at least as a semi-check. It is also able to help with the water weakness from Palosand. The set is the most standard as it can be so I won't explain the moves. The speed is for adamant/modest base 65 like Centiscorch.

Week 16: Fighting, Steel, Flying: AlolaPersian12
Sigilyph @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Heat Wave
- Air Slash
- Defog

Copperajah @ Leftovers
Ability: Heavy Metal
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Heavy Slam
- Power Whip
- Heat Crash

Hakamo-o @ Eviolite
Ability: Soundproof
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Drain Punch
- Iron Head
Hakamo-o presents great opportunities for settup, as well as being good at it. Soundpoof is great because the sylveon hyper voice immunizer, iron head+stabs give a good cover throughout the goal. Copperajah assists you in hitting ground types with power whip, manages to pass 40 bases without investment and obtains stealth rocks. Sigilyth on the other hand is a fast sweeper, with great advantage that presents a good addition to the core.
 
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Expulso

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Week 1: Poison, Dark, Grass




Dark types are weak to Fighting, Fairy, and Bug-type attacks; Poison types resist all of these. In return, Dark types are immune to the Psychic-type attacks that hit Poison-types super effectively. Grass types are able to cover Poison types' weakness to Ground, resisting Ground-type attacks and threatening them back with a super-effective STAB. Grass types' Poison weakness is mitigated by the Poison type in the core. However, the core needs to find a way to account for Grass types' weaknesses to Fire, Flying, and Ice.

To aid your team-building, I have put together a list of viable NU/PU/NFE Pokemon for each type, although you are not limited to this list!

: :silvally-poison: :toxicroak: :skuntank: :garbodor: :qwilfish: :haunter: :roselia:
: :silvally-dark: :malamar: :skuntank: :thievul: :liepard: :sneasel: :zweilous: :vullaby:

: :silvally-grass: :leafeon: :abomasnow: :gourgeist: :bellossom: :appletun: :ludicolo: :trevenant: :eldegoss: :shiinotic: :roselia::ferroseed:
[ordered by BST, not viability]

Good luck! Submit your cores by Friday at 11:59 PM EST, and voting will begin on Saturday.

Note: Scrafty is banned, so you cannot use it as your Dark type.
 
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Oathkeeper

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Toxicroak @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Drain Punch
- Gunk Shot
- Sucker Punch

OR

Toxicroak @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Focus Blast
- Vacuum Wave
- Shadow Ball

Vullaby (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Foul Play
- U-turn
- Roost
- Defog

Appletun @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dragon Pulse
- Apple Acid
- Leech Seed
- Recover


Did you hear the one about the frog, the vulture, and the apple pie? Me neither, so here it goes.

First off, choose your poison (no pun intended) with Toxicroak with it being one of the best mons in the meta right now given how versatile it can be with its sets (SD, NP, Scarf, etc). I personally like special since it can deal with Dubwool and Cofagagrius and have reliable priority with Vacuum Wave unlike Sucker Punch. Once I start with Croak, Psychic and Ground are huge problems for it. Vullaby, while not a favorite here in NU, it does fit the bill and give the core (and subsequently, the team) Defog support as well as pivot for momentum. The fact that it is immune to both of Croak's glaring weaknesses is a huge bonus! It can also recover lost HP with Roost too. Lastly, we have Appletun to round out this core. It serves as a ground switch in to relieve Vullaby from potential Stealth Rock damage. It also can come in on whatever Fire type moves may be going around due to its nice ability in Thicc Thick Fat. Appletun also has the ability to heal itself with Recover and has support in Leech Seed to wear down Croak's checks.

The core does have a Flying weakness but the typings selected don't really help the fact. The bulk is interchangeable with Vullaby and Appletun depending on team needs of course!
 
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Abejas

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:Garbodor: :Gourgeist-Small: :Silvally-Dark:

Garbodor @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spe
Impish Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Stomping Tantrum

Gourgeist-Small @ Life Orb
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Power Whip
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Sneak
- Synthesis

Silvally-Dark @ Dark Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Multi-Attack
- Psychic Fangs
- Flame Charge


Pretty fun core built around Silvally-Dark. Since this mon is usually a late game sweeper and really appreciates Spikes support, Garbodor functions as a great partner. This pokemon doesnt only provide spikes and toxic spikes support, but it also works as a great Fighting-type resist, being able to check pokemon like Sawk and Toxicroak, that can hit Silvally-Dark for super effective damage. The final member of the core is Gourgeist-Small which provides a secondary fighting resist while also having great synchrony with Garbodor. This is due to the ability of prevent rapid spin users by removing hazards and also being a great switch in to ground type pokemon such as Rhydon and Sandaconda. Gourgeist also keeps in check psychic and ghost type pokemon with Shadow Sneak, same as Silvally-Dark with its STAB Multi-Attack.
 
:qwilfish: :liepard: :abomasnow:

Qwilfish @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 Spe
Jolly/Timid Nature
- Liquidation/Scald
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt/Destiny Bond
- Spikes

Liepard @ Black Glasses
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Nasty Plot
- Encore
- Copycat

Abomasnow @ Choice Specs
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Giga Drain
- Earth Power
- Leaf Storm

This tries to bring the most out of NP Liepard (I deem it quite good now that scrafty is gone), with Qwil and Aboma providing chip damage in the form of hail/spikes/helmet/breaking power to help your cat clean up. Synergy-wise, both Liepard and Aboma are fighting-type magnets (especially for powerful revenge killers such as sawk and toxicroak), allowing you free spikes and RH damage for late dark pulses. One could argue for Garbodor over Qwil, but para-spam lets Aboma spam powerful STAB more frequently and allows for do-or-die paraflinch shenanigans. Not only does Aboma function well as a wallbreaker here due to ice/grass/ground coverage being unresisted throughout the tier, its peculiar typing lets it in vs neutral fat mons Qwil likes to draw out (Lanturn, Pilo, opposing Qwil, electric types in general), this is useful because naturally tanky mons and fighting types are NP liepard's biggest enemies, so the more Aboma gets to come in for free, the better.

I recommend pairing this core with reliable hazard control that doesn't stack weaknesses with what you already have (Chan, GroundVally, DracoVally) and mons that can gain momentum (Togedemaru, Rotoms, Raichu, Silvally-something) to help Aboma get in safely. The snowman's speed tier is also incredibly average, so beware of fast Coil Sandaconda. Qwil is EV'd to outrun it, but try to keep it under control with other team members preferably.
 
:Silvally-Poison: :Eldegoss: :Liepard:

Silvally-Poison @ Poison Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Multi-Attack
- Swords Dance
- Psychic Fangs
- U-turn

Eldegoss @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Sleep Powder
- Rapid Spin
- Pollen Puff

Liepard @ Black Glasses
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- U-turn
- Copycat

SD Poison Vally can be good in the current meta, has the ability to pivot in on fighting types and threaten them with its stab multi attack and psychic fangs, which has an added bonus of removing veil. This mon also makes it possible to run lefties on Eldegoss since it absorbs tspikes. Those 2 work well as a hazard removal core. Liepard helps with knocking items which is invaluable this gen, giving the team a form of priority with sucker punch, has uturn to help with momentum grabbing and copycat for certain revenge killing scenarios.
 

Corthius

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cool project.


:Pawniard::Gourgeist::Qwilfish:
Pawniard @ Black Glasses / (Eviolite)
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Rock Polish / Swords Dance

Qwilfish @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt / Destiny Bond
- Spikes / Toxic Spikes

Gourgeist-Super@ Colbur Berry
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Synthesis / Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Shadow Sneak
- Will-O-Wisp
or
Gourgeist-Small @ Life Orb
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Power Whip
- Shadow Sneak
- Fire Blast
- Synthesis


:Qwilfish:
Starting of with Qwilfish, which provides Spikes or Toxic Spikes for the core, to wear down the opposing team. It also switches in on Fighting-/Ice- and Fire-Types, which hit Pawniard and/or Gourgeist super effectively. Taunt + Destiny Bond makes a good anti-/HO-lead and Rocky Helmet can punish U-Turn-user with chip damage.

:Pawniard:
Pawniard itself is pretty good at punishing Defoggers, that want to get rid of the Spikes/TSpikes, with Defiant. STAB-Knock Off is like the best thing to have right now + it provides priority in Sucker Punch. You can choose between Rock Polish or Swords Dance, depending on what your team needs. It also gives an Psychic-Immunity for Qwilfish and a resist against Flying and Dark for Gourgeist. Eviolite can be used, but Pawniard usually doesn't gain any notable Bulk.

:Gourgeist:
Last but not least, Gourgeist-Super/-Small. Which form you use depends on the rolle you want Gourgeist to fill.
Small works better with Spikes and functions as a fast Spin-blocker to prevent the removal of your Spikes via Rapid Spin.
Super is the form I would prefer with TSpikes, since it has a better longevity to wear the opponent down with poison damage. It also functions as a Spin-blocker (lol).
Both grant the team with a Ground-resist for Qwilfish and Pawniard, a Electric-resist for Qwilfish and a Fighting-immunity for Pawniard.

Not only does the core I've chosen complement each other by typing, but also complement the different rolls the Pokémons have in battle.
Qwilfish being the Hazard-setter with Pawniard and Gourgeist to stop/punish removal options.



Some Flaws:​
- Qwilfish is a pretty frail check to its resists, especially on the special side, so it may need some support on balanced teams. Mareanie can be used as an alternative on teams that want TSpikes-support since it is more reliable.

- Pawniards resists all exist theoretically but in practice its really frail and can't really switch into attacks that aren't Psychic.

- Gourgeist makes a good Electric-resist unless you're facing a specs Jolteon with Shadow Ball so keep that in mind.
 
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Rabia

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:garbodor: :silvally:(dark) :eldegoss:
Silvally-Dark @ Dark Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Multi-Attack
- Psychic Fangs
- Flame Charge / U-turn

Garbodor @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Gunk Shot
- Stomping Tantrum
- Haze

Eldegoss @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Pollen Puff
- Rapid Spin


very standard balance/bulky offense core. silvally-dark is a nice late-game sweeper that benefits from garbodor's spikes, while eldegoss + garbodor is a generally nice utility/defensive core I've used fairly extensively
 
Cool project Expulso!

Decided to try and go for a defensive core and minimize the lack of core defensive coverage found between the chosen types of Poison-Dark-Grass. These were named as flying, fire, and ice in the OP.

:ss/Qwilfish: :ss/Vullaby: :ss/Ferroseed:

Qwilfish @ Black Sludge
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Liquidation
- Taunt

Vullaby (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Defog
- Toxic
- Knock Off

Ferroseed @ Eviolite
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball





First we'll go with Qwilfish for the poison. Qwilfish is a unique support mon providing access to spikes/toxic spikes, thunder wave and taunt all in one neat package. To top this off it has an excellent ability in indimidate which can allow its teammates some switch ins against a softened opponent. Qwilfish also provides a resistance to ice and fairy for its partner in this core vullaby and provides a necessary answer for both fire and fighting for the other core-mate Ferroseed.
Vullaby brings a needed immunity to both ground, and psychic for the core, while also being able to brush off many unboosted attackers and provide a team with defog support and pivot potential. Vullaby also provides knock-off utility and packs toxic to further cripple teams. In addition, Ferroseed can switch into electric and rock attacks for Vullaby while qwilfish covers its ice and fairy weaknesses.
Ferroseed enjoys a stellar defensive typing which leaves it only weak to fire and fighting, both of which Qwilfish covers. In return Ferroseed can pop into electric and psychic moves with ease. It can provide a team great chip damage to the opponent with iron barbs and spikes, and also soften switch ins by giving teammates some leech seed recovery on the switch in. Ferroseeds great typing does lose the grass type benefit of resisting ground for the poison part of the core but Vullaby takes care of this for both Core-mates.

These three mons form a great defensive version of the proposed Poison-Dark-Grass. A main downside of this core is that 2/3 mons are heavily reliant on their use of eviolite, and so in a team sense adding a mon that can soak up knock-offs with ease (such as silvally dark or fighting) would be a needed choice.
 
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Expulso

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Ok we are going to accelerate this a little bit because tier shifts are happening soon (on or around April 1st, this Wednesday)

Week 2 will be done in the current meta: submissions will be open from Friday evening until Tuesday and then we'll vote on them Wednesday.

Then you guys can test out the meta for a few days and I'll post the Week 3 types next Sunday!

====================

I will post voting for Week 1 in ~12 hours; if you want to submit a core with the typing given above, please do so by then!
 

Expulso

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Week 1 Voting Stage

As described above, we are ending Week 1 a little bit early so that we can do Week 2 before the tier shifts occur.

the submitted cores are:
Oathkeepre :toxicroak: :vullaby: :appletun:
Abejas :garbodor: :silvally: (dark) :gourgeist: (small)
TTFTW :qwilfish: :liepard: :abomasnow:
the pharoah :silvally: (poison) :liepard: :eldegoss:
Corthius :qwilfish: :pawniard: :gourgeist: (super/small)
Rabia :garbodor: :silvally: (dark) :eldegoss:
xerovis :qwilfish: :vullaby: :ferroseed:

Before voting, I recommend you read through each of the cores rather than just looking at which Pokemon are used; even if the same Pokemon appears in multiple cores, it may be using different sets (e.g. NP Liepard vs pivot Liepard). I also encourage you to try them out on the ladder and share your thoughts on them in your voting post!

Vote for the 2 cores that you like the most from the posts above!
Voting will end 24 hours from the time of this post (4 PM Friday, GMT-4).

TTFTW
Abejas
 

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